Thomas didn't know when he started finding Aris hot or when he became attracted to him, but it was happening and he didn't know what to do.

"Ugh! You're so obvious Tom!" his twin sister Teresa groaned after classes one day.

Brenda nudged her and shot Thomas a sympathetic look. "Aww I think its adorable how he has that dazed and longing look in his eyes! He finally found someone after Newt moved away! Remember when we had to play the Cheer Up Crew?"

"Don't remind me," Teresa said as she twisted her lips into a wince.

Thomas ignored them as he watched Aris laugh at something Sonya said. His white teeth glittered in the light as he threw his head back, laughing loudly at whatever was said. Secretly he wished he could be sitting over there, laughing with Aris, instead of eating lunch with his sister and her girlfriend like usual. God, he felt like such a loser.

"Yo!" Brenda called to him as she waved her hand in his face. "You try asking him out or something?"

Thomas shook his head no and Teresa muttered that he was too chicken to even strike up a regular conversation with Aris. Brenda sighed and craned her neck as Minho stood up from his table and strode over to theirs.

"Hey it's my favorite running shuck-face!" Minho yelled as he came up and punched Thomas in the shoulder. "How's it going?"

"Hey Min," Thomas said as he snapped his head towards his running partner. "Not much. Practice is canceled tonight, right?"

Minho nodded before he clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Yup and tonight, you all are invited to party with me at SCORCH for Alby's birthday. Try to dress a little nicer than your usual klunk, okay? Gally's rule, not mine."

"Yes!" Brenda declared as she pumped her fist in the air. "Perfect timing Minho – bought the perfect clubbing outfit and was waiting for the right time to rock it!"

"SCORCH? The club that's practically impossible to get into? How the hell did you guys book that?" Teresa demanded.

Minho shrugged as he tried to look modest. Brenda tilted her head and her eyes widened.

"You shank! You hooked up with someone to book the place, didn't you?" Brenda chortled as she slapped Minho on the shoulder. "Well figures – you are ridiculously hot Min and word has it you're such a –"

"Slim it!" Minho cut her off, his ears burning red. "For the record Miss Canada, the shank asked me and I did him a little favor after a dry spell. He just said I could have whatever I wanted and I asked him to hook me up with the venue for the Admiral."

"You're cruel Min," Brenda taunted as she shook her head. "What was that guy's look on his face after you blew him?"

Minho's face burned at that question and he started mumbling that he had some big exam to go study for. Teresa snickered as she watched him walk off and Thomas took this time to excuse himself, dumping his trash into the respective containers before heading to his class on History of Architecture.

"Yeah I found you – welcome," the bouncer said as he unclipped the rope.

"We're here! We're HERE!" Brenda screamed, slightly tipsy from drinking before they came.

"Slim yourself Bren, you're being really loud," Teresa said as she steadied her. She looked over her shoulder at Thomas and yelled that she was going to grab a drink.

"Don't worry, I'm designated tonight," Thomas sighed. "Just don't get so wasted that you're gonna get sick later."

Teresa grinned before planting a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're fantastic Tom – thanks!"

"Yeah…don't mention it," Thomas called after her. He watched as his sister guided Brenda to the bar so they could buy some drinks. He wandered around the dance floor, saying hi to Zart and Clint as he passed them.

"Anyone see Winston around?" Zart asked as he nursed a whiskey and Coke in his hand.

Clint rolled his eyes and yelled, "Probably in a dark corner hooking up with Jeff – once we got here, all Jeff wanted to do was find Winston!"

"Get out!" Zart said as he stepped back in shock. "Win and Jeff? They're an item – when'd that happen?"

"They're not official," Thomas chimed in. "Jeff's parents pulled a strict 'No Dating Anyone, You're Gonna Be a Doctor' spiel on him but he and Winston have been sneaking it behind his parents' backs." He scanned the club for Minho and spotted the older boy standing to the far left of the club, waving him over. He excused himself before weaving his way through the dance floor, accidentally jostling Beth who snarled at him for making her spill her drink. She lunged at him, losing her balance and almost falling flat on her face, until Harriet caught her.

"Walk it off Stick," she told Beth before addressing Thomas. "Sorry about her – she sometimes forgets her limits and tends to go off about the littlest things after a couple of drinks. Hey, you're Thomas, right?"

"Umm yeah that's, that's me, why?" Thomas asked as he tilted his head.

Harriet rolled her eyes before scanning the club for someone. Once she found who she was looking for, she waved them over and turned back to Thomas. "You know Aris, right?"

"Yeah he hangs with you guys, why?" Thomas asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey Harri, what's – oh man," a male voice said as he came up behind Thomas.

Thomas turned and saw that it was Aris, hair tousled and someone's bright pink lipstick on his cheek, which was starting to flood with color. Thomas bit his lip and forced himself to smile, raising a hand to greet the other guy. He knew it – of course Aris wasn't into guys – how could he be so shucking stupid?

"Hey slinthead! I was waving you over – c'mon!" Minho yelled as he gripped Thomas's shoulders and began steering him over towards Alby. He shot Harriet an apologetic look before leaving Harriet and Aris on the dance floor.

Thanks Minho, Thomas thought as he got away from Aris and Harriet. He tried to hide his disappointed look as Minho pulled him into a conversation with Alby and Frypan, talking about their futures after undergrad. Meanwhile, Harriet gripped Aris by the shirt and dragged him off the dance floor.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" Harriet demanded as she nearly threw Aris back against the wall. "You were going on and on about that Stick and just when I brought you two together, you roll up from a make-out session with a Stick girl! So who is it? Who the Hell do you want?"

Aris winced as he fixed his hair and wiped off the hot pink lipstick as best as he could. "Harri, I'm sorry!" he said. "Look, I didn't ask for that to happen – Rachel was dared to make out with someone and she picked me of all Sticks! It's not like I asked for that kiss – honest!"

"Did her breath smell like wine?" Sonya asked as she joined them.

"Ye-yeah it did, now that you mention it," Aris admitted.

"Wine does that to her – she takes a few sips and she can't turn down a dare," Sonya sighed. "I mean, it could be way worse, but don't worry – she won't remember it in the morning."

"Thomas might remember though," Harriet groaned as she ran a hand through her dreads.

Sonya blinked and looked from Aris to Harriet. Aris let his shoulders sag as he admitted to Sonya that Harriet waved him over just after Rachel cornered him and planted her hot pink lips on his cheek.

"Stop playing it safe and take a risk Stick," Harriet coached him. "Do something obvious to make your feelings known."

Aris threw his hands up in frustration and groaned. "I can't just go over there! Minho's not exactly warm and welcoming and Gally…"

"Gally what?" Sonya demanded.

Harriet sighed as she glanced over at the shifty eyed Civil Engineering senior. "They hooked up a few times before Ben transferred here. But the Stick still sort of likes Aris so…"

"Wow…I mean just…" Sonya trailed off. "Okay listen Stick. Night's far from over – you might have another chance to fix this mess."

"Thanks for coming Shank!" Alby said to Thomas as he shook hands with him. "I'm gonna call it a night before the rest of these slintheads decide to push more alcohol into my hand." He laughed loudly, slapping Gally on the shoulder before bidding Minho and Thomas goodbye.

"I'm itching to invade the kitchen," Frypan admitted as he craned his neck in the direction that the servers were disappearing. "Should I?"

"Fry! Fry! Fry!" Minho chanted, a hint of a slur in his voice.

Thomas grinned as Gally and Ben egged Frypan on and he clapped loudly as Frypan put down his drink, squared his shoulders, and strode toward the kitchen as he rolled up his sleeves. Gally and Ben rushed towards the serving window to see what was happening and Minho grinned at a girl from across the room.

"Sorry Shank, think I've snagged one tonight," Minho apologized as he headed in the direction of the girl. "Take it URP! Ugh, sorry, take it…take it easy Shank, m'kay?"

Thomas nodded as he watched Minho walk over to the girl. They chatted briefly before Minho took their drinks, set them on the table nearby, and grabbed her face to kiss her roughly. Thomas coughed before turning his head, scanning the room for Brenda and Teresa. He spotted a girl wearing an outfit like Brenda's and walked in the direction where she was standing, her back to him. As he wove his way through the crowd, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned.

"Oh um, Aris! Hey what's – hmmph!" Thomas started to say, only to find the other boy's lips on his. His cheeks flooded with color and he groaned when the other boy slipped his tongue in to deepen the kiss. He cupped Aris's face in his hands before pulling away for air.

"Whoa," Thomas murmured as he touched his lips. "But wait, I thought –"

"Rachel got a dare and she kissed me while she had about 2 glasses of red wine in her system already," Aris yelled over the noise of the dance floor. "She's not my type I'd date – we're just neighbors and childhood friends!"

Thomas frowned at that statement and he tilted his head towards the other boy. "So…that means…what?"

Aris rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If that kiss didn't tell you that I'm into you, then I don't know what the hell will."

Thomas allowed a small smirk to cross his lips before he leaned closer. "Hmm…well, we could just ditch this place. Go somewhere quieter, ya know?"

The green eyes glittered at that suggestion and Aris returned Thomas's smirk with his own coy grin. "My place is a few blocks away – we can make it there in a couple of minutes."

"Tom!" Teresa called out.

Thomas groaned as he turned towards Teresa, whom had Brenda slumped against her shoulders.

"Let's go home, okay?" Teresa half yelled. "I've got a massive headache and Bren's out of it."

Aris cursed under his breath and Thomas leaned in, muttering an apology.

"All right then," Aris said as he walked with Thomas to the exit of the club. "But you owe me Thomas. One-on-one, just the two of us. Okay?"

Thomas nodded before leaning in to press a quick kiss on Aris's lips before fishing his keys out of his pocket.

"Maybe later?" Thomas asked over his shoulder, hoping he didn't seem too eager.

Aris grinned widely and replied, "I'll be up for a while, so yeah that's fine. Just…try not to keep me waiting, okay?"

"Got it Shank," Thomas promised before herding Teresa and Brenda in the direction of his car. "See you later."