❝ recipe for disaster. ❞
acxdaehyun:
Daehyun resented even the idea of school – the ecstasy of surviving high school had seemed even better than the narcotics at the time. And yet he’d accepted the invitation to Xavier’s, seduced by the promise of harnessing his powers. Years devoted to cultivating his gifts had helped… a bit, but on most nights like tonight, Daehyun craved the times he’d ducked away from the guards of his boarding school, the bittersweet stench of sweat and alcohol in a deafening cube of strangers, it was a bliss of chaotic oblivion.
A couple steps past midnight, Daehyun waded through the rippling crowds, remembering the smoky blend of cheap perfume and homemade cigarettes. Having shoved a few unconscious bodies away from the stools, Daehyun pursed his lips at the sight of the bartender who was too preoccupied with drying the vomit off the other side of the bar to notice him. As he attempted to call the bartender, some blind drunk before him turned and charged into him, throwing him off balance into the bar.
“What the hell?” he hollered through the blaring tunes, his attention focused on whether the drunkard had soiled his clothes. There was a brief apology, one which Daehyun would have brushed away, if the voice hadn’t sounded a bit familiar.
Glancing back at the perpetrator of the crime, his eyebrow shot upwards at recognition of the kid, who’d clearly recalled that he was out after curfew. Vertical? Vermin? Ver- “You,” he murmured, the name of the kid escaped him in the moment, his mind having shoved away any relation to Xavier’s. There was some duty, he supposed, as a staff member to scold the kid, drag him back, but he’d just arrived not even an hour and it’d been a whole week since he’d last been at a club. So when Ver-something offered the shot, he shrugged the duty into an abyss and broke into a grin, “Why not,” as the liquid touched his lips, his face contorted in disgust, “tastes like shit, man, you call these drinks?”
Arms crossed and feigning a scold, Daehyun frowned at the boy, “So why have you purposely disobeyed the curfew, Ver- uh, Ver-…”
goddamn, this sucks and it is the second worst thing that could happen. he’s uncomfortably nervous, an emotion he would rather completely avoid at the club, and to add onto his bad luck he can feel his stomach crawl from the sudden spike in anxiety. no way he’s dealing with strict, up-tight mutants today. there’s still time to make a break for it, and vernon does glance over to the neon red exit sign (blocked by a legendarily sloppy couple), but before he can run the opportunity plucked from his hand and is downed in a single swig. no, it’s more like he spun three lucky sevens, and won the jackpot.
can you say S-C-O-R-E?
the corners of his mouth twitches, laughter bubbles at the back of his throat, but he smothers it with a slow, crooked smile. “must be hard being that picky.” he retorts, then throws the other shot back. like fire, it burns his mouth on contact, but he had grown up on bottles of r&r and burnasty’s and the bitter taste passes with a breath of air. “uh, jeez. the same reason as everyone else. i’m an adult, you know.” now he’s grinning, the alcohol is barely touching his senses but the combination of booming music and knowing he’s not going to have to deal with any of xavier’s backwards ass policies is instantly relaxing.
“it’s vernon.” he corrects. without a full glass in his hand the situation feels awkward and he’s not sure what to do with his hands. when a foreign girl puts down her drink he fights the urge not to swipe it, and he realizes how he should have bought full drinks instead. he has to do something, the energy of the room is overwhelming, and would not go ignored. “you can order your 'cosmo’ now, princess.” vernon’s sarcasm knows no bounds, and he steps out of his way to make a little room for daehyun. teasing the staff usually got him a lecture, but now he’s on an even playing field and he’s more than happy to take full advantage of it. “you do you.” he adds, smirking for good measure. there’s still time to escape, but it seems like he won’t need to.
