Chapter Text
Noel's never been much of a party person.
Sure, he's never minded parties, but he hasn't attended one since freshman year. Mostly because all the parties he'd been to took place in some kid's small ass apartment, with a fuckton of people he didn't know. Oftentimes he went with Aleena, just to chase off the assholes that hit on her and didn't know when to quit. Other times he went with Spock, but Spock was decently popular, and usually disappeared after about half an hour.
But tonight, Noel is here with Cody, and he guesses that Cody has always been a party person.
Cody, who clasps his hand and drags him around the party to introduce him to some of the other members of his percussion ensemble. Cody, who never leaves his side or abandons him, not even to piss ("Can you make sure no one opens the door while I'm in here?"). Cody, who is quite drunk, and betting to a group of guys that he can do ten cartwheels in a row across the front lawn in a straight line.
Noel's only had a few drinks, two or three (four?) bottles of Seagram's, a few shots of Peach Amsterdam. He smoked a little. Yeah, he's a little crossed. Mostly to loosen him up. Make him sociable. It works, sort of, but he mostly just giggles at Cody and follows him around while he turns into a high-class frat boy.
He feels good. He feels good just holding Cody's hand and not thinking much of it. He feels relaxed and happy and sated.
Cody's touchy-feely when he's drunk. Squeezing Noel's hands, shoving him when he makes him laugh hard enough, touching his back when introducing him to people. It's a subtle touch reserved for just him and, well. Maybe it isn't just the alcohol making his face warm.
Once they've both had their sufficient fill of socialization Cody yanks him towards the front door and they spill out onto the front lawn. It's quieter out here, the music from the house distant and muted. Cody totters a bit before righting himself, his smile dopey. He's clutching an entire bottle of Bacardi in one of his hands.
"Whooo!" he calls into the night. "Dude what a fuckin' good day. Hasn't it just been fuckin' great?"
"It's been awesome man," Noel says. "Where do you wanna go now?"
"I'm fuckin' starving dude," he groans exaggeratedly. "We should go to, like, McDonald's or somethin'."
"Hell yeah," Noel agrees, because he's got a fat case of the munchies and McDonald's is within walking distance. "Wait, what about your diet?"
"Doesn't count if I'm drunk, dude," Cody says, and rolls his eyes like it's obvious. "Duh."
Noel shrugs, grinning. "Okay. But you gotta leave the bottle. We can't just walk up in there with a bottle of liquor."
"Oh yeah." Cody squints at the bottle in the darkness before shrugging himself and lifting the bottle to his lips and taking several large swigs. Noel doesn't bother looking away from the way Cody's Adam's apple bobs as he gulps.
"Well don't fuckin' hog it all," Noel says, grabbing for it. "Pass that shit, brother."
Cody burps and gives it to him.
"Nice," Noel says and takes a couple swigs himself. Ugh, it's gross, Noel has never liked clear alcohol, but he can't be bothered to care. He drops the bottle into the grass with a dull "thud."
"Dude, you can't fuckin' litter! The environment," Cody gasps dramatically, but he's already making his way towards the sidewalk.
"Man fuck the environment," Noel says as loud as possible. It echoes around the neighborhood, which makes Cody laughs so hard he doubles over, and it's the only sound Noel ever wants to hear.
They stumble out of McDonald's carrying two bags of food, walking back towards campus. Cody hadn't even pushed open the fingerprint-stained double doors before he was stuffing a McChicken into his mouth, moaning.
"Oh my God. This is the best thing I have ever tasted," he whispers. "Oh my fucking God dude."
"Yeah? You tired of eating fucking eggs and whey protein?" Noel pops a fry into his mouth. The salt explodes on his tongue.
"I don't use whey protein," Cody huffs. There's a glob of mayo on the corner of his mouth. "I'm a diver, not a bodybuilder."
"Sure you aren't," Noel teases and pokes one of Cody's firm arms.
Cody makes that magical laughing noise again, cringing away from his touch. "Stop, dude, I hate when people do that!"
"What, do this?" Noel sidles up as close to Cody as possible, raising his voice to a high falsetto and wrapping his free arm around Cody's bicep. "'Oh, Cody! You have such big strong arms! I want you to just carry me off into the sunset'!"
Cody snorts and giggles, and Noel wonders if it's a trick of the light coming from the streetlights they walk by, but he swears he's blushing.
They end up in Noel's room, Noel sprawled across his bed, Cody sitting in his desk chair and attempting to put Noel's clarinet together.
"It's not working," Cody whines, his clumsy fingers attempting to fit the pieces together.
"Nah, dude, you gotta - " He sits up, his head swimming. Fuck, he's drunk. "Ya gotta grease the cork first. 'R else it won't fit."
"That's what she said," Cody says and collapses into a fit of giggles, nearly dropping the clarinet entirely.
Rolling his eyes, Noel makes a grabby hand motion. "C'mere."
Instead of just handing over the instrument like he'd anticipated, Cody clambers onto the bed with him, so they're sitting shoulder to shoulder, thighs brushing together. Cody, as always, is completely oblivious to how Noel stiffens almost immediately.
"Don't you just shove this piece in there?" Cody says.
I'd love to shove my piece -
"Yeah, just. Here, gimme it." Noel assembles it with relative ease. Fixing the reed onto the mouthpiece and securing the ligature around it, he smoothly plays a B-flat major scale.
Well, it sounds decent to him. He's pretty drunk.
Cody gawks at him like it's the most amazing thing he's ever seen. "Woah, dude, you're so talented."
"Shut the fuck up, all I did was play a scale," Noel says, shoving him a little. "You see me play all the time."
"No, but dude," he insists, "you're so fuckin' talented. Like. I don't think people tell you that enough. Like how dope of a musician you actually are. It's fuckin' mind-blowing."
Cody's looking at him like a work of art, his half-lidded eyes sparkling. It makes Noel's heart seize.
"Wow," is all he can say, awed, "thanks, dude. I really appreciate that."
"Just telling you what you told me," Cody says, shrugging, referring to yesterday night's text conversation. "Thought you needed to hear it."
Noel doesn't know what to say. He's bad at this, at accepting compliments. As he scrambles for something to respond with, Cody takes the clarinet from him.
"So you just kinda put your lips on it and blow?"
"Err - " Noel fights valiantly not to say something lewd, "pretty much, yeah. But put your top teeth on the mouthpiece and curl your bottom lip. Like this. . ."
And whatever face he makes must be absolutely hilarious because Cody bursts into laughter.
"I'm being serious!" Noel says and shoves him again, giggling. "Just do it and you'll see what I mean."
Cody complies, still chuckling, and blows. He's not holding any keys, so the note that comes out is high and squeaky. Noel feels vaguely sorry for the people that live on either side of his dormroom.
"Here. Hold these keys down. . ."
Noel moves his hands over Cody's, leaning into him further to fix the pads of his fingers over the correct keys. Cody's breath is measured and steady in his ear. When Noel backs away, he's pointedly staring in another corner of the room, blushing.
"There," he says, his voice a little lower than he intends. "Now try."
Cody jolts out of whatever daze he's in and plays a perfect B-flat.
"Good!" Noel hums. "Look, now you're a clarinet player."
Cody looks at him.
(His eyelashes are really long.)
Noel looks back.
(Why does he suddenly feel so sober?)
And then Cody leans in.