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Of course Sen picked him out all but immediately. Because Emerson couldn’t have nice things. If it were any other person, being noticed so quickly might’ve made him preen. With Sen, it only stoked a flicker of irritation as he turned himself back around to face the taller man again (or so he told himself.)[break][break]
If he’d been self-conscious about the tight fitting clothes he’d been wearing before, it doubled as Sen eyed him. His fingers picked absently at the fluffy, white fringe of the red crop top. The thick, reindeer bell collar suddenly felt like a step too far. As did the matching shiny, pleather short shorts and the thigh high socks. All of it too much effort. Except for the antler headband, that was fine.[break][break]
He probably would’ve fuckin’ died if he’d thought to add a fluffed reindeer tail to the back.[break][break]
“What about it?” he huffed, cheeks reddening against his will at the pet name nickname that had been annoyingly assigned to him. The choice had been funny at the time– Rudolph the red-haired reindeer. Now, he wanted to evaporate.[break][break]
“At least I’m wearing something. Real creative of you.” Em’s eyes flickered down, and back up to Sen’s face in what he hoped was a look of judgment. And not just blatant ogling of the other’s shirtlessness which had already been an image that stubbornly refused to be scrubbed from his mind. His arms folded, hip subconsciously popping with his attitude.[break][break]
“Don’t you have other people to inflict your presence on?”[break][break]
It was cheap bait, even if Em didn’t fully realize what he was doing. The inadvertent effort there to goad Sen into an argument, which meant that Sen’s attention was on him, and not somewhere else, as he’d questioned. His chin tipped up defiantly, and the loose, half-hearted braid he’d attempted earlier slid off of his shoulder.

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He nearly balked at the blunt response. His eyes went found, and if he hadn’t already been flushed, he certainly was now. “I know how to dress!” he squawked back at him, and because life hated him, the bell on his neck jingled merrily as he shifted forward.[break][break]
There was some truth to Sen’s claim, though. Emerson didn’t typically dress in such flaunting ways. He was more apt to be found in loose clothing that swallowed him up and hid him away. Normally this sort of attention made him uncomfortable, but when it came from Sen, it was provoked a confusing mingle of haughtiness and satisfaction.[break][break]
Em’s face scrunched up in a defiant pout, and he pointedly looked away when he was caught staring. Not that it was all that difficult to catch him in the act, blatant as he was being. “Yeah, I’m sure you like to think so,” he grumbled, arms folding tighter across his chest.[break][break]
And then the situation threatened to tilt out of his favor. The idea of Sen leaving his bubble was both appealing and unpleasant. Finding someone else to spend his time with was inevitable, but it made something ugly coil up in Emerson’s belly. Green-tinged, though he wouldn’t give Sen the satisfaction of admitting it.[break][break]
He stepped closer, almost toe to toe with the taller boy. His chin tilted up, bottom lip puffing as amber eyes narrowed at blue ones. He was not sloshed enough for this. To blame any decision on drunken indiscretion. What he wanted was to be unbothered, and apathetic. Let Sen wander off into the party like he’d just insisted.[break][break]
“Not even the tiniest bit.” But the firm retort wavered. A wobble in his voice that told on him, edging toward coyness rather than coldness.[break][break]
Stupidly, he wanted the attention. The heat of a stare on him, even as he attempted to rebuff Sen. How far would he go in a bid to pull Em’s favor? He had to wonder.

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Emerson’s face twisted up in annoyance, heat further reddening his cheeks. “Because I don’t always like to sacrifice comfort,” he huffed. And okay, yeah, he had a tendency to wear clothing that engulfed him. It only added to the overall image of his tiny stature, but that also made him easy to miss too. He only went out of his way to draw attention when he wanted to (which was almost never.)[break][break]
But of course Sen had shown up on one of those rare occasions.[break][break]
Take the fucking compliment, shit. His petulant stare cut away, fixating on the crush of people moving in uneven motion on the makeshift dance floor. “Thanks.” He would’ve preferred to sound bored, rather than flustered. But there he was. Being flustered and annoyed. Warring with himself over the fact that he wanted Sen’s attention on him.[break][break]
Just him.[break][break]
And so naturally, when he pushed the envelope and bluffed, the asshole didn’t take the bait. Emerson froze in place, the merry jingle of his bell ringing once as his posture went rigid. The heat of Sen’s breath tickled at his ear. Words rushing through him as Sen not only refused the bait, but raised the challenge as well.[break][break]
The plastic cup in his hand crinkled furiously as his fingers squeezed it mercilessly. Amber eyes narrowed, and he refused to look at him, lips set stubbornly in a thin line. The fucking nerve–[break][break]
He wasn’t going to be the one to chase Sen.[break][break]
A shiver wormed its way down his spine as the warning looped its way through his head. Twisted with a pang of envy (ugh) at the idea of spotting him grinning down at someone else.[break][break]
He wasn’t–[break][break]
A grumble rose in his throat as Emerson whirled back to the table, lite-brite antlers wobbling on his head. Grabbing the open bottle of tequila he poured more into his stupid cup and slammed it back. Then he discarded it and stomped back into the crowd. Pushing his way through taller bodies in search of the hot idiot himself.

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Em stammered, jaw slackening as his eyes whipped up to Sen’s. Color that rivaled his hair baking itself under his skin. Uprooting him had been easily accomplished, and the redhead clutched at his cup as he just stared. Words failed him, and all he could feel was anger and a distinct sense of being flattered. Which made him more angry, really.[break][break]
All the more reason to not chase after Sen. And yet he’d done that anyway.[break][break]
Even though he’d followed, Emerson didn’t immediately approach King Dickhead again. Amber brown eyes watched him from a short distance, in a way that he wanted to be cool and unaffected, but was clearly not. No, his infuriated little glare was fiery at the very least.[break][break]
And then his eyes caught sight of someone approaching—a girl probably their age, making her way through the crowd with clear intent as she eyed Sen.[break][break]
Oh. Oh no. That would not be a game Em was about to entertain, and he knew Sen would play it. He coasted in from his hiding spot, sliding up in front of him before the girl could even get close.[break][break]
“You’re the worst, you know that right?” Of course Sen knew that. He made it his job to be the worst. He pressed closer, leaning up against him as he cast a short glance over his shoulder at the would-be interceptor that said “Back off.” They steered clear, looping a swift u-turn away—brows raised and eyes rolling.[break][break]
His usual, stammering meekness had ebbed away. Replaced the cattier confidence that he usually only found behind the shield of a computer screen. Maybe it was the cheap booze. It had to be. Mainly because Em didn’t want to accept that it might’ve been the way Sen’s gaze had raked over him earlier, or the things he’d said.[break][break]
Either way, he was disgruntled by the fact that he’d fallen for it. Thin fingers wound around Sen’s with a surprising steeliness despite his darting eyes and burning cheeks. “C’mon,” he huffed as he adamantly tugged at his hand. Though whether to the dance floor or somewhere less…crowded, he wasn’t exactly sure. He was just operating on auto-pilot and pent up emotion.

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Emerson could feel his nostrils flare. Indignance crept back into his expression as his lips pressed into a thin line at the sight of that grin. And at the same time, his heart beat hard in his chest, a spike of adrenaline following his own forward behavior.[break][break]
“I swear to god,” he complained, eyes rolling, “you are the only one who would take it that way.” His words had not been intended to go straight to Sen’s head, and yet they had done exactly that. Em swore he could see the other man’s cranium expanding in real time.[break][break]
Why did he continue entertaining this? Why was the rush of it so enticing under the heat of his irritation?[break][break]
Maybe it was the slight feeling of power that followed when he spied the somewhat dumbstruck expression that crossed Sen’s face as Em warded off the competition. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling so in charge. It was like a sudden craving.[break][break]
Maybe he was a tiny megalomaniac in the making.[break][break]
It propelled him to pull Sen through the crowd until they were in an equally cramped hall. An annoyed sound crept up his throat as he failed to find a space not already in use. If only because it was difficult to see over the swarm of partiers. “This sucks,” he grumbled, his hand still curled in Sen’s as he rolled up to his toes.[break][break]
And no, he was not going to ask for a boost.

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