My Type of Socializing | ✓

Chapter 24

"No thanks," Assad said on Adam's behalf, pushing away the arm of a student that was offering Adam an open beer. "He doesn't do pills," Assad said, and the blond student pulled his hand back before raising his hands up in surrender.

"Suit yourself," he said, before turning and walking back into the crowd of college-aged students. The place was packed, and rowdy to the extent that Adam couldn't pick our whose voice was whose. Beer bottles were sprawled on the floor, and trays of snacks became empty seconds after leaving the kitchen in the back.

Adam blinked, looking at Assad who was now shaking his head as he let out a sigh.

"Psychedelics," Assad said, shrugging. "I'm sure you're not trying to get high this night."

Adam looked down at his lap. "Oh." So, the man had been trying to offer him a party drug diffused in beer?

"They're pretty common in parties like this, but if you avoid drinks you should be fine—also, cookies and baked goods. I'm not sure what has marijuana in it or not. They could be edibles," Assad started rambling as Adam's eyes scanned the room. Assad had been invited to a party on campus, and Adam had decided to follow him on a whim. Aside from being the oldest person in the room, Adam was also the most plainly dressed and most quiet.

Also, since it was a party people did come up to him with the assumption that he would like to talk, drink something, eat some snacks or dance. Adam blinked, started to feel irritated by the flashing blue-green party lights. He began to wonder if it had been a good idea to tag along with Assad. The younger man didn't seem to be having fun either and was spending more time protecting Adam from advances instead of partying.

The party was in the lounge of a student dorm, and it kept flooding with people that Adam assumes we're from other buildings or other floors.

"I think this might have been more fun for you if I wasn't here," Adam mused, looking at the group of students with colorful hair that were joe dancing on the table while receiving a round of applause from everyone else. "It looks fun, and you're just here, guarding me like a dog."

"Don't say that." Assad gave Adam's shoulder a squeeze. "It's nice enough just sitting here with you."

Adam's face warmed up at that.

"Really?" he asked, letting his eyes flicker to hold Assad's gaze.

"Really," the man said, nodding his head before smothering Adam in his arms from the side. "Also, I would be driving back regardless so it's not like I can drink in the first place." Adam chuckled. Assad did have a point there. The two talked. It was hard at first to hear each other over the music, but it got better with time. As they talked about mundane things like what they would have for lunch tomorrow, Adam couldn't help listening in on the conversation happening behind them between a group of people.

"Hey, did you see this?"

"See what?" A drunken feminine voice asked.

"There's word out that Archie Carter's been plagiarising someone this whole time."

There was the sound of a beer can being opened.

"Who?" A person asked as someone on the other end laughed so loudly that their voice topped the rap music playing from the plugged-in speakers.

"Archie would never do that."

"There's an audio leak on YouTube showing that he did."

"What?"

Adam felt his face get drained of blood when the sound of Archie yelling at him filled the room from the phone's speakers. Someone even turned off the music so everyone could hear it better. Soon people were approaching the person holding the phone or pulling out their own phones to look for the leaked video.

"Can I see that?"

"Ouch! Hey asshole, don't shove me!"

The person pushed aside was ignored. "Is it real?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Holy shit!" The words were followed by some gasps.

The murmuring turned into a full-blown conversation, and soon all the art students were gathering around in groups of three to seven to discuss what they had just listened to. Adam's heart was racing, and he was straining his ears to listen to every possible conversation until a hand squeezed his shoulder.

He blinked, turning to his side to find Assad smiling at him.

"Do you want to head out?" The dark-skinned man asked as someone turned off the party lights to switch to the white fluorescent bulbs in the room. It seemed the party had been brought to a halt to address the scandal.

"I w-would like to," Adam stuttered, feeling a shiver run through his spine.

Assad hummed, nodding his head before getting up from the sofa invested with crumbs of god knows what snacks before reaching out a hand to Adam. The paler man took it, and helped himself up, wobbling a bit before following Assad.

The younger man led them out of the room, and then the main building. They walked in the silence of the night for a while, listening to each other's breaths and footsteps as they made their way to the rental car Assad still had on him.

"Did you...?" Adam trailed, not finding the voice to finish his question. Did you leak it? He wanted to ask but couldn't muster the straight to do so.

"Yeah," Assad said, turning up the car's heater before driving out of the dormitory's parking lot. "I couldn't stand seeing you worry about everything, so I took things into my own hands. Don't worry, we already sent a copy to your company, so I don't think they'll point at you for leaking it. It could be anyone handling the case—even the lawyers they've consulted."

Adam licked his lips, staring down at his shaking hands sitting on his lap. "Do you think people will believe me even though Archie said all that? I heard people saying that they think it's fake—"

"It doesn't matter what they think, it matters what Archie's company's reputation will be like after this. He's doing to lose his job," Assad said. "Don't worry about the unlikely situation that things won't go your way."

Adam nodded, agreeing with Assad's assessment of things. He did have a habit of questioning himself to the point of paranoia.

"When we get home, let's order pizza and play Counterstrike," Assad said, making Adam chuckle a bit.

"It's like twelve in the morning," Adam retorted.

Assad shrugged, taking a turn. "I know a pizza place that doesn't stop delivering until two in the morning."

Adam smiled at that, resting his head back on the seat. "Okay, let's order pizza, then."

Assad grinned and soon started talking about toppings and asking if they could also get ice cream, and just like that Adam stopped worrying about Archie.