your eyes say yes --- [noah]

[LEONARDO CAIUS NAJIM]

Leo was good with parties. He wasn’t very social, but he had his friends along with him to ease that tension—along with a few drinks at hand. Being the youngest of four brothers, Leo had his far share of “experimenting” as his brothers often dragged him along on their outings (a softer word for parties so their dad didn’t get a heart attack), so drinking wasn’t a stranger to him (though, shh, he was still underaged). Leo made sure he never got drunk though, at most tipsy, because apparently a whole different side of him came out when he was fully drunk. He wasn’t sure if it was a bad thing but knowing his brothers, they were just easing his thoughts while they secretly laughed at him. Only a few drinks. That was Leo’s limit.

At least, he thought so. What are the odds that the juice was spiked, too?

After about the fifth cup, Leo began to feel the after effects of the “juice.” He wasn’t stumbling everywhere, no; it was more like a comfortable buzz in his head that lifted his mood. Fortunately his friends stopped him from reaching over for another cup to prevent him to getting actually drunk, and he settled himself near the fireplace, scanning the crowd of people. Leo was surprised there weren’t any more drunkards running around the house, considering the perfectly masked spiked juice that was literally at all of the corners of the house. Ugh, he just knew he was going to have a small headache in the morning from it—faintly he wondered what kind of alcohol it was as he suddenly tasted the bitter aftertaste in his mouth. Leo cringed—it was obviously a lot stronger than he expected it to be, and he headed off to find the refreshments. Maybe there were a few water bottles lying around—and that it wasn’t spiked either. If it was even possible to spike water.

After wandering off and finally finding the kitchen, he made a small sound of triumph as he saw a pack of water bottles in the corner, untouched and forgotten. He twisted the cap and gulped down the water gratefully, savoring it as the bitter taste in his mouth began to wash away and down his throat. There was still a subtle taste leftover in his mouth, though it was nothing food couldn’t solve. Heading to the counter of appetizers, he popped a cheese cracker into his mouth, scanning the crowd again. Where were his friends, anyway? Don’t tell him… fuck, he must’ve lost them in the crowd. Sighing, he pushed through the crowd, luckily not having to crane his neck too much due to his height, though with no luck, he wasn’t able to find any of his friends. He hadn’t brought his phone either, so from then on, finding them was based on peer chance. Leo didn’t like the idea of being left behind with no way getting home—he was not going to walk either. If he came home past curfew, his dad and all his brothers were going to jump him with an interrogation.

Giving up after a few minutes, he settled back over to the refreshments, leaning against the counter. He was feeling dizzy again, so no more movement until he could see straight. He did feel good though, and unconsciously, he reached for another cup of “juice,” the bitter aftertaste not as strong as he remembered it to be. Leo knew he shouldn’t have, which was why he looked the crowd again for his friends, however saw a familiar face. They hadn’t talked much before, but Leo felt in the mood to socialize. The power of a few unknown drinks. “Noah, right?” he shouted over the loud music, leaning against the wall next to him. “Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t seem like the partying type.”

[NOAH AIDEN KIMURA]

And, really, the thing was that Noah was actually pretty good at the whole party thing. It was easy to not get involved in anything that he didn't want to -- sometimes being a complete and utter stubborn mule was a good thing -- but the environment parties created was something he enjoyed, even reveled in. For one thing, he just liked being included in things like this, and even though he knew how lame it sounded, he was always pleased that he was deemed 'cool' enough to be invited to them, even though he didn't drink. He must be doing something right, though it probably helped that he didn't begrudge people their fun -- he didn't enjoy it when people judged him, so why would he do it to others? Just sometimes, though, when he lost his friends and couldn't be assed to find them again, Noah would feel a little awkward -- being an earth elemental, it was pretty easy for him to start chatting up the people around him, and he knew most of the people around so it wouldn't have been hard, but there were a lot more people than he had anticipated at the beginning of the night, and oftentimes, he just didn't know where to start. So he'd just taken to checking his phone for any signs of life from his friends when Leo -- Leo? ...his name might be Leo, but Noah was a little fuzzy on details, really -- called out to him. He hadn't spoken much with the wind student, so he was actually a little surprised that he knew his name but Noah couldn't be sure 'Leo' was his, but he was glad for the conversation starter -- a few more seconds and Noah the awkward turtle would be pretty evident for all to see.

"I don't seem like a lot of things I am,"

[/color] Noah joked, taking in the other's appearance and slightly mussed up...well, everything. Clearly someone had a bit to drink. Studying the other's face carefully, Noah wondered if his name was Leo or not, but then felt kind of stupid for thinking about it for so long -- it wasn't like they were best friends and he forgot his name, and if he was going to get pissy over someone not remembering what his name was, then Noah has better people to socialize with. "You're...Leo, right? I think you were in my something-or-other class last year or whatever."[/color] All right, that part may be a giant lie but at least Leo wouldn't be able to tell. Hopefully. Noah did unconsciously take a step away, though, as Leo's added height made it a pain to talk to him when he had to tilt his head up and lean closer just to be heard -- half the time, Noah was pretty much just speaking into his shoulder. He wasn't even very sure if he was being heard.

"But no, you're totally right. I never come to these things -- too innocent for it. It's a wonder I even made it past the front door without shriveling and going up in flames,"[/color] Noah deadpanned. He couldn't help his face, okay. Some people had mature faces, and some had perpetually young faces, and Noah was unfortunate enough to fall in the latter category. Even now, people kept thinking he was a thirteen year old. It made getting into PG-13 movies a pain. The 'innocent' thing wasn't too far off, admittedly, but he wasn't a completely naive moron. At least he thought.

Noticing the cup in Leo's hand and the unmistakably strong scent of alcohol coming from the other boy, Noah's mommy tendencies began to kick in before he could control himself, offering the other his half-full bottle of water from the kitchen. He didn't make a move for the cup -- 'never take a drunk man's cup' was the saying, right? -- but there was still a little ways to go before the party ended and he figured the last thing anybody would want is to get sick, especially when they don't live there. "Uh...you probably need this more than I do,"[/color] Noah smiled, shaking the bottle at him a little.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[LEONARDO CAIUS NAJIM]

Leo raised an eyebrow at the other, a small smirk tugging on his lips. “Yeah? Mind telling me another?” Flirting? Flirting. Could that even be counted as flirting? All he knew was that he found the Earth adorable, something he wouldn’t voice out in his normal state of mind. But he was buzzing, the effect of the unknown contents of the cup, so he’d use it to his full advantage until he sobered up a bit. He’d never been able to formally talk to Noah—which was strange, considering they travelled around in the same circle, just never fully acknowledged each other—so this was a change. Leo figured Noah couldn’t find his friends either in the huge crowd and loud music. “Yeah, you’re right,” he replied, nodding once. To be completely honest, he wasn’t expecting the Earth to remember his name at all, so he was pleasantly surprised. “Art class,” he corrected, chuckling. “I remember seeing a cute face.”

Okay. Let’s get things straight. Leo wasn’t usually like this—hell, he was in the closet for Pete’s sakes—so flirting openly was a part of his daily routine. He had a bad habit of blurting out the wrong things at the wrong time (actually, just all the time) so he tried avoiding that as much as possible in fear of being slapped, kicked in the balls, and shunned as the jerk who tried to come onto an innocent bystander. Maybe that’s why he liked taking a few drinks every once and a while. A new person, a clean slate. That’s what high school was about, right? He always seemed to find the right words after a couple of drinks.

“Innocent?” he repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow again. Leo crossed his arms across his chest, a glimmer of amusement crossing his eyes as he studied Noah’s serious face intently, finally reaching a conclusion. “They say the innocent are always the wilder ones,” he pointed out, another smirk tugging at this lips. He’d honestly like to witness that, considering his young face. Leo leaned a bit closer as the music grew louder and the bass deeper, making sure he could be heard over the background noise. “Promise me one thing,” he said, swirling around his drink, the liquid licking at the sides of the cup. “I get to bring out that side.” Leo stopped to look at Noah, a slow grin forming on his lips as he took another sip he knew he shouldn’t be taking, though all the while his eyes never left the Earth’s.

He stared at the water bottle as Noah offered it to him, shoving his half-empty cup at a nearby stranger who happily took it from his hands, shortly chugging it down before leaving, as Leo presumed, to get another cup from the kitchen. He turned back towards Noah, taking it in his hands and lifting it slightly, smiling. “Thanks.” Leo took a huge gulp, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done. Granted, it nearly wasn’t as good as what was in the plastic red cups, but he was glad to be able to sober up a bit. There was no use in getting shitfaced drunk—and embarrassingly so, considering he was actually socializing. “You sure you don’t want a drink?” he asked, tilting his head towards the kitchen. “I promise I’ll keep an eye on you.” And the grin was back, hinting that he was joking. But hey, nothing wrong with a few drinks.

[NOAH AIDEN KIMURA]

Noah boggled at that. Did he have another? Well, he probably did, but he couldn't really remember anything when put on the spot like that, and it was hard to really think when his ears were turning pink at what sounded like flirting. He wasn't 100% sure that it was flirting or just drunken attempts to make conversation, but certainly, his life just wasn't the sort to lend itself to getting hit on at parties. The flush of happiness came, though, as it was wont to do -- who didn't like being complimented, right? -- because, though he'd never admit it, and certainly not to someone he shared an art class with once, it felt nice getting someone's attention. Even if a crick was developing in his neck because constantly having to look up at someone just to look at them was a little bit of a pain. "Sorry, but everything else is a secret. You're most welcome to try and figure out the rest,"

[/color] Noah grinned -- not entirely untrue, as Noah was always up for more friends, and Noah knew Leo, somewhat, as they shared a lot of the same mutual friends, but for the first time really speaking to him, Noah wasn't finding him to be awful to be around. Height difference aside.

God, it had been a long time since he'd flirted with anyone, though, if what this was could even be constituted as flirting -- Noah wasn't entirely sure. Some people just got this way when they drank, which was fine, but he was always used to playing the good wingman rather than be the object of someone's eye, no matter how fleeting it may be. It wasn't unwelcome -- just a feeling he had to get reacquainted with. Like wobbling a little when you get back on a bicycle after years of not riding one. "I promise, but what happens if you find that maybe I really am as innocent as I look?"[/color] Noah challenged, shifting on his feet a little as he met Leo's eyes, smile still ever present. That, also, wasn't entirely untrue, but Leo didn't need to know that -- no one did, really, if it came down to it. But it helped that Leo was really cute, though, staring at him now and from what he could remember in their joint art class. A lot cooler than Noah was, himself, too, which made Noah wonder why he chose him when the party was full up on other good looking people. "I wouldn't want to bore you."[/color] He peered up at Leo through his bangs, the grin from before scaled down to a smile that he hoped was flirty rather than, say, dorky or dweeb-like, and couldn't help but wonder if this was the right thing to be doing or not.

At the offer of a drink, though, Noah just laughed and shook his head no, hair flying about, too used to saying no at this point to let the minimal amount of peer pressure affect him much, if at all. "No thanks, I'm perfectly fine. Someone has to make sure everyone gets home okay,"[/color] Noah said, though he left out how he was always his friends' designated sober companion. That is, if he could even find his friends at the end of the night -- he wasn't sure how he was going to get back to campus otherwise, but this train of thought also sparked a notion in his head. "Where do you live?"[/color] Noah asked, suddenly getting the inkling that maybe Leo doesn't live on campus at all, since if he did, Noah would have definitely seen him sometime wandering the cafeteria, despite being in separate wings. Then he realized that it was probably a little sketchy to be asking that with no explanation, and Noah's cheeks flushed pink as he rushed to clarify. "I mean, I figure I would see you around the Academy a lot more if you lived on campus rather than just in art class."[/color]

( ew, sorry this post sucks, but i need to revive noah muse or something, badly. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[LEONARDO CAIUS NAJIM]

Leo waited patiently for Noah’s answer, his eyes never wavering from him. Whatever this alcohol was, it certainly increased his attention span and interest toward the Earth—but perhaps it was always like this and the alcohol magnified it. After all, he and Noah had never spoken to each other before this party until now, where Leo was a bit tipsy and they both just so happened to be alone. No mutual friends to get in the way and distract him, just the two of them in a crowd. He quite liked that thought. “Is that an invitation?” he asked, his eyebrow raised and his lips in a small smirk. Was this considered a response when flirting with somebody? Leo would take it. It was better than nothing, and he grinned back in triumph as he caught the color of the other’s ears. Success? Success.

It wasn’t a secret that Leo was a bit more affectionate when he was tipsy/drunk. It wasn’t like full on groping someone and stating he loved them; it was just subtle. Sort of. And this is probably the lighter side of his affectionate acts; there wasn’t any actual skin contact yet, but he faintly wondered what it’d be like to reach out and touch his cheek. He wondered if it’d be soft; warm. He wondered if the same color that flushed his ears would taint the spot he touched. He wondered, he wondered, he wondered. “Hmm, let’s see,” Leo mused as he pretended to think, leaning in slightly as he studied Noah’s face intently, searching for an answer. “Well, I do like challenges,” he finally said, though he did not move from his position. He could faintly feel Noah’s breath on his cheeks and it felt warm, pleasant. The Earth was fairly adorable and he couldn’t help but return the smile before standing up straight, hands stuffed into his pockets. “Boring? I don’t know about that. Corrupting the innocent sounds like tons of fun to me.” Leo chuckled, softly pushing back the hair that was covering Noah’s eyes. Leo liked his eyes, and he returned his smile once again easily.

“Ah, so you’re the designated driver,” he chuckled again. Leo wasn’t surprised, really. Noah just didn’t seem the drinking type, but then again, he could be wrong. After all, they didn’t know each other very well. He took another drink of water, cringing at the taste of diluted alcohol. That, or it was just the alcohol in general. The bitter taste wouldn’t leave his mouth and moved to take another drink, until he froze halfway, and eyebrow raised as he stared at Noah. Why was he asking where he lived? Leo laughed, capping the water bottle again. “Sorry to say, but I only give out that information after a couple of dates,” he teased as he played with the plastic bottle in his hand for a brief moment before returning his attention back at Noah, grinning at him. “But I can make a few exceptions.” He noted the color change in the Earth’s cheeks, chuckling, and nudged him gently with his shoulder. “Kidding. I live with my dad,” he explained. And three older brothers, he wanted to tack on, but it seemed like unneeded information. “Why?”

[NOAH AIDEN KIMURA]

In what would most likely not be considered brand new information, Noah wasn't all too accustomed to pretty heavy-handed one-on-one attention, but this weird, sort of flirting thing with Leo was flattering, even welcome. He'd never figured they would have much to talk about -- actually, it wasn't as if they were talking about much, but still. Leo ran in a different crowd than Noah usually did, but it was hard to think of reasons why Noah hadn't extended a hand in friendship, even despite their close age and being in the same year at school. But was that an invitation? Noah had just said anything that popped into his mind that sounded like he knew what he was doing since he hadn't flirted in so long that he suspects he may have forgotten how to, but thinking on it a little bit, he realized it was a bit of an invitation. He responded to Leo's smirk with a small smile of his own, wondering if the Wind was like this outside of a party setting. "I suppose it could be. I wouldn't be against the idea, if it helps you figure that out."

Noah had gotten used to Leo's face being rather close to his, so when the other straightened and pulled away, he actually felt a little disappointed. He wouldn't call himself an overly affectionate person by nature. He liked his own personal bubble, but he hadn't expected his guard to go down so quickly, allowing Leo to get close enough so Noah could feel the warmth radiating from the other's cheek, could catch the scent of his cologne. Call it contact intoxication or whatever, but it was hard to stay calm and collected under the circumstances, although the most it showed on Noah was the flushing of his cheeks and the sudden urge to reach out and run his own fingers through the other's hair. That would be a decidedly bad decision, though. Maybe. Perhaps. Even if Leo looked like he would like it a little bit. "And what if I'm really not as innocent as you'd believe?"

[/color] Noah ducked his head a little as Leo's fingers brushed his hair away, the touch leaving him conflicted -- he didn't usually like people touching his hair, but it felt nice this time. And he was starting to think that Leo was showing signs of being the exception to a lot of his rules.

"Guilty as charged. Never leave home without your token sober friend,"[/color] Noah laughed, affirming his role as, well, the token sober friend. Seriously, someone had to make sure everyone was okay at the end of the night. Shifting a little on his feet, he moved a bit to the side as more room in the kitchen opened up -- people probably came and went as they talked, but truthfully, Noah hadn't paid much attention to them in the meantime. He shook his head, though, about to reinforce the fact that he really wasn't trying to be a creeper or anything of the sort before Leo replied, and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that his curiosity was understood. For the most part. "I was just wondering why we've never really talked before, but it makes sense if you live off campus. Are you implying that this is a date, though?"[/color] Noah asked, a bit amused. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[LEONARDO CAIUS NAJIM]

In the back of his mind, Leo knew this was a bad idea. He’d wake up with a headache with barely any recollection of the previous night, then he’d see Noah again, and be the awkward person he was and be unable to explain his what he thinks is flirting. Leo’s flirting attempts had never panned out well before, so he wasn’t sure how the whole thing worked or if the Earth liked it or not. At least so far things were going well. Noah didn’t look offended by anything Leo had said and hopefully it stayed that way for the rest of the night—the alcohol somehow managed to keep back his usual word vomit and overall awkwardness from pouring out. “Then I would gladly accept,” he replied, his smirk turning into a smile as he looked at Noah. Goodness. Maybe flirting while slightly drunk was good practice for future flirtations. Leo just hoped the Earth wouldn’t be disappointed to find out he was horrible at this kind of things while sober. His aunt claimed it was charming; though he was sure she’d take back those words of encouragement if she ever witnessed the travesty that was Leonardo Najim and the romance department. “Maybe in return, I’ll tell you a few of my own secrets.”

Leo raised an eyebrow, the small smirking returning on his lips. No matter what angle he tried to look at the Earth, he just couldn’t find Noah not innocent. Be it the baby face, the smile, or just the overall (and what Leo could read in the short time they’ve spoken to each other) feel of him, Noah just wasn’t the “not-so-innocent” type. “I’d find it hard to believe,” he replied honestly, chuckling, though his eyes turned mischievous quickly after. “But surprises are what keeps life exciting, no?” He barely noticed the small flinch when he reached out and swept away Noah’s hair to the side; rather, he let the tips of his fingers linger on his cheek before Leo dropped his hand immediately, not wanting the Earth to feel uncomfortable.

“I’ll remember that,” Leo chuckled, rolling his eyes. Once upon a time he was also the “token friend,” that is, until his brothers dragged him to a party and Leo had one too many drinks. Long story short, he woke up with a horrible hangover and a not-so-happy father. Thankfully he didn’t take the brunt of the blame, and it was amusing to see his three older brothers apologizing for taking their little (and under-aged) brother to a party with alcohol. ‘Course, Leo was turned off by parties for a little while until he managed to get used to the fact that every drink and any party contained alcohol in it. “It can be if you wanted it to be,” he replied as he shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I wouldn’t mind.”

[i'm so sorry this took so long. ;~;]