Do You See Me Now? ✔

Chapter 4 - The Club

Saturday, October 13th

     There were plenty of things his friends didn't need to know. And the fact that he told Yoni a little about his relationship—or the lack thereof—with his father, was a rare thing for him to do. Being gay surely wasn't something that she, or anyone for that matter, would ever be able to pry out of him. Well, not the people he considered friends.

Jesse had a long list of hook-ups with guys, and in the heat of the moment, Jesse felt better than he ever did. But afterwards, while he woke up, his still felt shitty for cheating on Yoni, even if he considered their relationship to be fake.

And since Yoni was still acting weird on Friday during school—as if she knew more than he told her—he had mostly ignored her calls after school, sending one simple text to tell her that he was having a guys night at Axel's place, to cheer him up after being dumped by Donna.

The night had been great, and they had a lot of fun. They slept over at Axel's place like they usually did after a game night at one of their places, and the next day they had gone to soccer together.

Calix scored two amazing goals, and midfielder Gerald had scored a third goal, leading them to victory yet again. They were unbeatable that season. They were on fire. And Jesse was on fire since Calix had celebrated his goals mostly with him.

But now it was Saturday night, and it was their usual night to go out. Jesse had managed to sneak out of the house and had gone over to their regular club, using his real ID to get inside. He wasn't allowed to drink legally, but the bartenders never seemed to care and poured alcohol to anyone who was asking.

While Yoni and Francesca mostly hung out with Donna and some of their other friends, Jesse had started binge drinking along with Axel, ending up drunk within no time.

"One more, Jesse!" Axel lolled his head, slamming a hand on the bar, before gripping it to stay upright. "One."

"As if you can handle more." Jesse laughed, and ignored the look of disapproval from Calix, who wasn't really into getting drunk that much. Jesse ordered another round of shots for Axel, himself and two other guys called David and Chester.

They downed the shot after a round of cheers, and Jesse grabbed hold of David to prevent from falling over.

"Don't you guys think you've had enough?" Calix took his hand away from David, and steadied Jesse in a pose that enabled him to look at Jesse. "You're wasted."

Jesse stared into Calix' bright blue eyes, trying to come up with a witty answer. But his in alcohol drenched mind didn't offer him any answer at all. If only Calix would end up drunk out of his mind for once. Maybe, just maybe, then Jesse would stand a chance.

But he didn't and he shrugged Calix' hands off his shoulders eventually. "Live a little." He told Calix with a drunk smirk on his face. "You're young."

"And I'm having fun." Calix chuckled. "You'll never change." He shook his head, patted his shoulder and let go of him the second Francesca showed up by their side.

"Hi honey." She greeted him cheerfully. "Want to dance?"

"Sure, sweety." Calix smiled warmly at her, and allowed her to grab his hand and guide him towards the dancefloor.

"He's so fucking whipped it's getting annoying." Axel slurred into his ear. "Like, you aren't glued to Yoni's side all the time. But they are still acting like love-sick puppies who just found each other."

"Yeah..." Jesse nodded in agreement, but refrained from voicing his actual thoughts. Like how he wanted to stand in Francesca's place. And he would act like a love sick puppy for years to come too. Because that's just what Calix does to others; he turns them into mushy, love-sick puppies who were addicted to his smile, his eyes, his laugh. Francesca and Jesse were far from the only ones who were affected by his charms.