AU: Teenage Meta Mischief

[Damien Tremblay]

Damien had never been a bad kid. He followed rules, he kept good grades, he didn't cause trouble. He stayed out of the way, and was largely overlooked due to his powers. Not that he minded. He liked being invisible, not standing out.

At least, most of the time he did.

The minute he had arrived at the annual Hammel retreat and had been sorted into his group for cabin assignments, he had very much wished he was more visible. And less quiet. Less... shy. Why? Because their cabin leader was an older student. A pretty older student. He'd seen the older boy around Hammel a few times, and now he was supposed to stay in the same cabin? This would either go vey well, or very, very poorly.

It hadn't taken long for Damien's cabin mates to clue into his little crush, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. At least Josef himself seemed blissfully oblivious. Of course, his cabin mates were more inclined to cause trouble, and were quick to find a solution.

Just a few days into the trip, one of the boys revealed some smuggled Jack Daniel's, and promised Damien that all he needed was to get a little drunk for Josef to notice him.

... Sadly, the seventeen year old believed him.

The group waited for Josef to leave before slipping out of the cabin and sneaking around behind it. They didn't go far, mostly because of teenage cockiness that they wouldn't get caught. Then the real party began.

It didn't take long for Damien's head to swim and his body to feel... fuzzy. But on the plus side, he was starting to feel braver. He grinned as the bottle was passed back to him and lifted it up in a mock toast. "I am soooooo gonna tell him tonight!" And with that, he took another drink. This had been a great idea.

[Josef Muller]

Josef had been given the position as camp leader, he supposed, because someone hoped that he would grow into responsibility if he was given a chance to be responsible. He’d never really thought of it like that. But as he was nineteen years old, in his last year, and had mentioned to the counselor that he wanted to be a recruiter, someone had decided to actually put the young, irresponsible boy as the leader of a cabin. Because they had really been that intelligent. But much to his surprise, Josef had actually been able to live up to the expectations and had become…well, if not a GOOD counselor, at least a reasonable one who was able to keep the kids under control. It helped that they were all younger than him.

Well, not that much younger. Still. Lately, he was a little concerned. Every time he walked into the cabin, all the boys got really quiet. He’d tried to bring it up to the teachers, and they’d said that they were probably planning something, and for him to keep his eyes open. So one night, after he’d come back from a—ahem—liaison in the forest, he wasn’t entirely surprised to find that no one was in the cabin, and there seemed to be quite a racket going on in the back. He sighed, shook his head, and trudged back, taking care, the closer he got, to make sure his steps were quiet. To his surprise, it seemed to be the quietest boy, Damien, who was being the loudest. And the drunkest. Oh dear. Josef frowned, then decided to just bite the bullet and stepped out.

“Tell who what, Damien?” he said brightly, then eyed the other boys, who had all frozen. “Whose idea was this, huh?”

[Damien Tremblay]

In all honesty, the idea of doing anything to go against Josef's instructions and expectations had really made Damien think twice about the whole escapade. But the more the other boys had talked about how good it would be for him, and how much Josef would notice him for it... he had been fairly easy to convince. He would have done just about anything to impress Josef, and if drinking with his cabin mates was the best way, he had been in.

Giggling now, Damien passed the bottle off again, twisting his fingers in his curly hair. This was so much fun! No wonder adults did it all the time. Now they just had to wait for Josef to come back from... wherever he had disappeared to.

Apparently that wasn't long. No sooner had Damien decided he was ready to own up to his crush, when Josef appeared from the side of the cabin. His eyes went wide, and he froze like a deer for a moment. This was probably so many levels of Not Good, buuuut... well, the man had asked a question. And Damien was still feeling brave. Brave enough to actually talk to Josef.

Cat calls of 'Tell him, dude' were quickly hissed as the others tried to hide the bottle. Damien steeled his alcohol fueled nerves and stood up. ... Okay, his balance was off, but he could still do this. "Youuu..." he began. After a last desperate look at his classmates, he lost his nerve and sat back down. "Nevermind." He was hopeless. And he didn't want to rat out the others. "We... found it?" That was innocent, right?

[Josef Muller]

Oh, Damien. Josef quite liked the younger man. For one thing, he was cute in a curly-haired, wide-eyed sort of why. He was shy and he was sweet and he’d never caused Josef any trouble at all. And if he periodically caught the boy staring at him…well, he hoped it was in a role-model sort of way. Damien wasn’t that much younger than him, though, but he’d chalked it up as nothing to be concerned about. But this—this he was very surprised to see. Why in the WORLD was Damien drunk? And what was he doing to his hair? Clearly, he didn’t have much experience with drinking. This had been someone else’s idea, and whoever had done it was going to be in trouble, that was for damn sure.

This was the first time that Damien had ever actually spoken to him, though. It was nice to actually have the boy stand up and look him in the eye, although he wondered what the ‘tell hims’ were all about. “All right then.” He shrugged and smiled, then turned to eye the other boys with a distinctly less-friendly look on his face. “Drop ‘em and go back into the cabin. Right now. I’ll deal with you all later.” The boys obeyed and quickly fled, leaving Josef with Damien. He sighed and approached the boy, folding his arms over his chest. “Can you stand? And what do you mean, you found it?”

[Damien Tremblay]

Well, Josef was half right. The staring was a little in admiration, just... not the kind Josef was thinking of. Damien just didn't know what to do with his feelings while sober, let alone drunk. Sneaking tiny glances now and again had seemed to be his go-to solution, and so far it had worked. Sort of. But now he really didn't know what to do. His feelings were all jumbled and the world seemed tilted. And Josef sounded... Josef sounded mad.

... Josef sounded pretty when he was mad.

It took Damien a minute to focus back on Josef, though now he was trying to hide a coy smile. How did one express that someone was, for lack of a better word, sexy when they were mad? ... Probably not a good idea while tipsy.

Hey. When did everyone else leave?

"Uhhh... what?" Right. Standing. "I can," he said before getting back on his feet. Okay, he wobbled a little, but he was up. And somewhat meeting Josef's gaze. ... His eyes were really pretty close up. "Ummm..." He still didn't want to get anyone in trouble. So. What do we do when we are drunk and trying to distract?

Right. We flirt. Badly.

Damien stumbled closer to Josef, smiling in what he hoped was an adorable way. "Doesn't matter. It got your attention." He giggled, biting his lip. This was what he'd wanted. Sort of. Hopefully Josef wouldn't be too mad.

[Josef Muller]

Was Damien…smiling? Josef didn’t think he’d ever seen that expression on the other boy’s face, and he blinked, distracted for a moment, but not long enough to miss someone trying to sneak back for a bottle. “Hey!” he shouted. “In the cabin. now. I’m warning you!”

The poor boy really was drunk. Josef’s lips quirked into a sympathetic smile, and he moved forward to catch his elbow to steady him. “There you go.” This was one of the first times Damien had managed to meet his eyes, too. Shame it only happened now. He had a nice smile, even when drunk. Josef sighed. He really was going to kill those boys for doing this. It wasn’t just a prank. He’d done plenty of pranks. This was just mean. “Damien,” he said patiently, “You’re not going to get into trouble. I just need you to tell me—uh.” Was he being flirted with? By quiet, shy Damien who hardly looked him into the eye? Josef stared for a moment, mouth opening and shutting, then cleared his throat.

“Uh. Did you WANT my attention, Damien?” The redhead would go first, he decided. He wouldn’t hit him. Cabin leaders didn’t hit, but he’d pull him aside and have a stern word or three.

[Damien Tremblay]

Yes, Damien was smiling. Even when Josef took his eyes off of him to yell at one of the other students. He really was kind of pretty when he was mad, even when he was yelling. This baffled him, because people weren’t supposed to be pretty when they were mad. They were supposed to be scary. Somehow, Josef defied this rule.

At least, he did when the world was still a little wobbly.

When Josef caught his elbow, Damien giggled more, pressing his hand to his mouth in a vague effort to stifle the noise. Giggling wasn’t sexy, it was... well, not sexy. Hell, he didn’t know how to be sexy, but he was going to damn well try. “Buuut... if I’m in trouble, then you’ll be mad.” Yes, this was his logic. “Aaaand you’re kind of pretty when you’re mad.”

He waited for a moment, wondering if that was the right thing to say when you wanted someone to like you. Maybe the alcohol wasn’t really what did it. Maybe it was how it made you feel, and what it made you say? Though when Josef finally seemed to get it, the younger boy practically beamed at him. “A little. ‘Cause you’re... um. Hot.” There, he said it. That hadn’t been so hard!

[Josef Muller]

He was giggling, too? In spite of the fact that Josef was still extremely annoyed with whomever had this idea and convinced the boy into it in the first place, he couldn’t help the slight smile that curved up his lips. It was, well…endearing. Josef had met a few drunks in his time, and he had to admit, Damien was the most adorable thus far. “Pretty, am I?” he teased gently, deciding to take it as a joke. “Only when I’m mad? Well, I’ll take that as a compliment I guess.”

Yes, adorable. But clearly not quite as innocent as Josef had first pegged him to be. His smile froze at Damien’s words, and he stopped to stare at him. And finally, pieces slotted into place. Oh. Oh. Shy glances, would never talk to him, the smile when he’d seen him. Josef suddenly felt really, really stupid. Well, it wasn’t the first time. But now what did he do? Damien wasn’t that much younger, but—well, he reminded him of a puppy. Especially right now. And in truth, Josef was more used to getting turned down than telling someone no. And he didn’t want to HURT Damien, it was just—well. The poor boy was pretty sloshed. He probably didn’t know half of what he was saying.

“Yeah?” he said faintly. “Uh. I see. Damien, where did you put that bottle?” He needed a drink. Screw responsibility—no one had put anything in the manual for this.

[Damien Tremblay]

At the question, Damien nodded vigorously, though he swayed slightly when he was done. Right. Bad idea. The world was just a touch more unstable now. Though the second part had him shaking his head just as vigorously. “Not only when you’re mad! Aaaaalll the time!” Was that clear now? He hoped so, because it was true. Josef was very, very pretty. All the time.

He was still plenty innocent, truth be told. Getting drunk had not been his idea, and the crush had started out fairly innocently. The problem now was that he was acting on it. Something he never thought he would have had the courage to do. At least he was getting it out now. He wanted to tell Josef that he privately adored him, yes. And maybe the boys were right, and this would all go perfectly.

... He wanted the bottle? Well, then he would have it. Damien stooped down to check the grass before his fingers touched the bottle. Grinning, he held it up in triumph and offered it out to the older boy. He didn’t know how much was left, but he hoped it was enough. “I found it!”

[Josef Muller]

Yup. Apparently, under Josef’s oblivious eye, his quiet, good boy of the cabin had been developing a crush on him. All without him knowing. Okay then. “Easy, easy,” he cautioned, unable to stop the smile that appeared on his face again as he reached out to put a hand on Damien’s shoulder and steady him. “I get it. I’m pretty. Thank you, Damien. I. Uh. I appreciate it.” Was that what you were supposed to say? Man, he would’ve loved Dr. Neville here right now. Or…anybody.

Damien was swooping away before he realized what he was doing, and he opened his mouth to warn him to be careful—the boy was drunk enough to fall flat on his face—before realizing that was silly. Oh well. He took the bottle and eyed it. Well, he should probably turn it in. But that would get Damien in trouble. Which meant, to Josef’s mind, that it was time to deposit the evidence. So he opened it and took a swig. It burned down his throat. “Thanks,” he gasped. Whew, that had been strong. “Okay. Why don’t we—sit down, yeah, and, uh, you can tell me what happened here. Okay Damien? Here.” He took his elbow again and helped him sit before falling back himself, taking another swig. “Start at the beginning.”

[Damien Tremblay]

Poor Josef. Though, at least it meant that Damien had been doing a good job of keeping it under wraps. That had been the goal to start with. Now... well, now the goal was to tell Josef, and he had done exactly that. Well, kind of. And now he was considering ways to make himself wobble more, if the end result was Josef touching him. Maybe he needed to drink more. "Not just pretty. Really pretty. Really..." More giggles. "Sexy." Yes, he had just admitted his cabin leader was sexy. Sue him.

... He probably should have warned him that it tasted gross. Damien's first drink had brought tears to his eyes as he had swallowed. It got better, though, as the world and his body had turned fuzzy. He watched him curiously before processing what the hand on his arm meant. Right. Sitting. With all the grace of a drunken hippo, even with Josef's guidance Damien ended up more or less crashing down into a sit. After a moment of laying on his back, he sat up and grinned. "The other guys said drinking makes people you like like you back!" That was a good a start as any. "Sooooo we drank." He scooted slightly closer to Josef. "And it worked." All he wanted now was to hug Josef. And maybe even steal a kiss.

[Josef Muller]

Oh good. Not just a crush but apparently full-blown in a…wow. A way he wouldn’t have expected. Josef swallowed and took another swig of the bottle. Drinking wasn’t going to help, but it would make things seem a lot better to his mind. Or, so he hoped. He really had no guarantee of that, but he could cross his fingers and hope for the best because he didn’t know what else to do. “Thanks, Damien,” he managed at last. He didn’t squeak. It was more of a…voice-cracking thing. Sure. “That’s, uh. That’s sweet.”

Unlike Damien, Josef had experience with drinking, and his tolerance was even decently high. Which was good, because there wasn’t too much stuff in the bottle.

“I think,” he said slowly, “the idea of that one is to, uh, get the other person to drink. The person you like, I mean, and that way—anyways.” Now was NOT the time to talk about getting your crush drunk, something Josef had only been tempted to try once. Just once. And he’d never actually—well. “I don’t suppose you have a name of who told you this?” he asked, then sighed. “Damien, have you ever just tried, uh, telling the person you like? You know. Without drinking?” He wasn’t going to go into the ‘it worked’ thing even if he was paid. No way.

[Damien Tremblay]

Damien couldn’t help it. Josef was unfairly attractive, and Damien was getting much more comfortable with the whole ‘liking girls AND guys’ thing. Well, at the moment. Drinking made everything seem so much easier. In response to Josef’s thanks, he just grinned again, completely forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that he still looked like a little kid when he did that. Little kids were not sexy. “Welcome,” he said happily, not cluing into his surprise as much as perhaps he should have.

“... Ohhhh.” Well. That might have been nice to know earlier. Then again, it probably would have been difficult to get Josef to drink if no one else was. A tiny frown appeared on Damien’s face before he sighed. “Billy told me. Heeee had the stuff.” He waved his hand vaguely at the bottle Josef held. “That.” And now Billy was forever branded a liarface in his mind. Still, this was kind of working. Even if he did have to think extra hard about Josef’s question. “Uhhhhhh no.” He shook his head again. “It wouldn’t work.” Mostly because he didn’t have much confidence. But with the alcohol in his system, even if he felt funny, he was feeling brave. “But I can now.” With that, he moved even closer, trying to keep his swimming mind on the task at hand. “Because I liiiike you.” He grinned again before sitting up higher and trying to kiss Josef.

Unfortunately, his coordination had gone down the drain, and he barely managed to graze his cheek before falling sideways into the grass. For a moment, he was stunned into silence, but the giggles returned fairly quickly. “I feel funny.” Yes, because that was brilliant. Tell your crush you like him, then fall over and act like an idiot.

[Josef Muller]

Josef, however, didn’t ignore it, and couldn’t help the grin that curved up his own lips at Damien’s look. He was…adorable. And Josef had a fondness for adorable. He’d never been much into the guys who considered themselves sexy. That, he was discovering, was just an excuse for being arrogant. Cute—cute was a different story.

“The bottle?” Well, that was two counts against Billy, who was going to be in serious trouble by Josef’s mind. Providing alcohol and talking poor Damien into drinking it weren’t ways to get onto Josef’s good side. The exact opposite, in fact. But he’d make sure to do it quietly once Damien was sober so he didn’t embarrass the other man. That was the last thing he wanted to do to the kid. He knocked back another gulp from the bottle, beginning to feel warmer now and a bit muzzy and like everything was…good. He shook his head. “It takes courage to say that you like somebody, yeah, but it’s a good feeling if they say they like you back. And they do, some of the time.” He blinked as Damien tried to kiss him and ended up falling over. He rolled his eyes and, giggling himself, pushed Damien over so he was on his back. “That’s the alcohol, goof. Besides, this is how you kiss someone.” He leaned in to kiss Damien. He made it not…particularly thorough this time. Partially because he was drunk, and partially because he was still sober enough to realize that this boy was a lot younger than him. He pushed himself up. “See?”

[Damien Tremblay]

Damien was still figuring out exactly what drew him in to certain people. Especially other guys. But with Josef, it was easy. Everything about the older boy had drawn him in. In particular, his eyes, but he wasn't likely to admit that. Not even when drunk. He was just happy to finally have Josef alone.

"Yeah, the bottle." Funny, he had no issues ratting Billy out to Josef. Had he been anyone else, he might have stayed quiet, but he was willing to answer just about anything the older boy would ask him. He didn't even care that Billy would be in trouble. He just cared that he felt funny, and Josef was close by. This was better than he had expected it could be. Especially when Josef started talking to him. He liked his voice. His hopes were even brought up a little. "Sometimes?" As in, now?

It had seemed as good a time as any to try to kiss Josef. He just hadn't factored in things like gravity, and impaired motor skills. As he stared up at the stars, he grinned and let Josef roll him back. "I think I like alcohol!" Not to mention being called cute things by Josef. His eyes widened slightly at the kiss, taking a moment before being able to return it in any way, shape, or form. Okay. He liked kissing Josef. He felt warm and scratchy, and he smelled good. It ended too soon for his tastes, though, and even made a little whining noise as he pulled away. "Aww, do that again? Please?"