Synth noise rose around him like humidity – Souichi could feel the moist heat of the gyrating bodies around him, making his hair begin to spread out like an electrical charge, like smoke. He could feel it, everything around him in pin-point awareness, each pulse of the heavily throbbing electronic music shooting like an instant of cold fire down his back. Nerves jumped in the insides of his thighs as he tried to walk through the crowded place without touching anyone. Limber like a serpent, the tall college student swayed around the colonies of humanity enjoying themselves at this stupid party. Souichi Tatsumi didn't like the idea of being something he wasn't; not at all. Shrugging the lab coat across his back in irritation, he tried not to let the beat of the music get into his blood...

Where the fuck was he?

Someone taller than him brushed by Souichi's leading shoulder, grinding his now-unruly hair between their passing bodies, small explosions of bright pain pricking his hyper nerves...

"Give it..." a low voice growled in his ear, passed and was gone, but not before sudden need grabbed Souichi's pounding heart and squeezed the life out of those two delirious seconds...

"Wha...t?", he stammered, trying not to grab the passing stranger, trying not to give into the sudden temptation to give... anything... everything...

… trying to remember how to breathe.

What the fuck was going on here?

Standing still didn't help at all. The song had changed but somehow the slow throb had become worse, more wicked, the contradictions moaning into his ear by the hungry voice held his mind like a fist clenched in his hair, making him pant, making him need...

...Devils speak of the ways in which you manifest...

Souichi swore he would never, ever come to a party again. He needed to find Morinaga and then get the fuck outta here before something bad happened to him; he could feel his blood beating in his ears... could feel it... could feel phantom lips at his ear, seducing him, confusing him... oh... fuck...

Wait... who is that?

Is that... no, can't be – that guy's dancing with a chick.

Wait... can it? The damn lights are so fucking dim I can't see properly...

Emi? What the fuck is she supposed to be? A car-crash corpse? Wait... no, a zombie cheerleader? Yeah, probably. Nice blood spatters.

Souichi stood transfixed across the clichéd room, watching in the dim as his kouhai seemed to be enjoying himself with a... a...

… a girl.

Morinaga, as far as he could tell hadn't dressed up as anything or anyone – after harassing him to come and enjoy the holiday mood, the bastard hadn't bothered to participate at all - that was until he turned slightly and Souichi could read Morinaga's shirt. At least he could for a moment before the girl quickly shimmied back against Morinaga's chest and wound her hands behind his neck with a laugh the thunderous music drowned out completely.

Souichi didn't know whether to scream or laugh. It was too fucking weird, either way! Morinaga twisted in his partner's grip, pulling her hands out of his shaggy hair with a patient smile that didn't reach his eyes. The living-dead girl countered his defense by turning herself back against the tall man in her grip and pulling his long hands to her swinging hips.

What the fuck was she trying to do...? Anyone with eyes knew she was out of luck... what, could the bitch not read?

Unfortunately he caught Morinaga's hazy eyes at just that moment. Rather than break up the party, Souichi's kouhai mouthed a "Hi Sempai" at his silent watcher before another couple blocked his view momentarily.

Oh my beautiful liar, oh my precious whore...

When they came back into view, Morinaga had apparently changed his mind... and his orientation.

Tetsuhiro Morinaga was a demon and Souichi Tatsumi had to physically plant his heels in place to keep from throwing his unheeded drink at the nearest party-goer and stalking like murder to his roommate to do the unthinkable... Morinaga's eyes were stripping him, holding him down, fucking him...

Emi looked nervous now that she was no longer in control – her body was stretched back against the tall man behind her, both her arms held in one of his large hands over his bent head. Her bloody cheerleader's costume ride high along her ribs, white, blood-smeared skin slick with sweat. Morinaga ground the girl against him, his dark eyes fixed on Souichi – even as his other hand caressed his partner's short skirted thigh...

Haunted... haunted... when the minutes drag...

Flicking the nervous girl out of his grip, Morinaga twirled her around with a hiss, his sardonic mouth challenging Souichi to interrupt.

My disease, my infection... I am so impure...

The huge white word emblazoned on Morinaga's otherwise nondescript black shirt flashed itself quickly before he had once again drawn his mistaken seductress hard into his sinuous form. Souichi could almost the hear the bastard's slick voice in his ear as he mouthed the pleading words in their wicked pantomime... the fingers of one hand full of the girl's faux-blonde and blood-spangled hair, kneading and the other hand, splayed in the small of her back, trapping her... needing...

Haunted... haunted... when the minutes drag...

Souichi could feel it... he didn't need Morinaga's smoldering eyes to teach him desire or irony. While he was surprised at the bastard's audacity – was no one following the course of that hot stare? - the promises plain in Morinaga's body language were making the skin on his chest crawl. Sweat was trying to form at the collar of his lab coat... fuck... he could feel hot fingers on his own hips now... trying to open him up... his cock twitched... fuck!

When Morinaga slowly pulled the girl backwards and mouthed her throat in feigned desire, Souichi couldn't help himself. Shooting the last of his drink to hide his flaming face, the mad scientist broke the spell and headed for the door, wherever the fuck that was and god help the poor fools who got in his way! He couldn't take the jealousy or the confusion another goddamn second!

"Morinaga-kun! Where are you going?", Emi asked shakily, trying to make sure her blonde wig was still in place after the show they'd put on. She wasn't sure why Morinaga had refused her fun and then suddenly told her to play along when he so... completely! ... changed gears. If he really was what his costume said he was, well – damn... what a waste!

"Thanks for the fun, Emi-chan. I'll see you in class, OK? I have to go now, before he hurts someone...", Morinaga tossed back with a genuine grin, waving off his previous intensity his usual casual demeanor.

"Before who hurts someone? Wait... you're not really... are you?"

"What do you think?", was the last thing she could make out before the tall dark man was lost in the milling throng of party-goers.

Damn... what a waste, she pouted to herself, scanning the room for her next plaything.

His red shirt looked black from the heat... sticking to the sweating skin of his chest. The white lab coat glowed as it whipped his long stalking gait. Hair streaming out in a nimbus of feral energy; anger, desire, confusion all were radiating out from his sempai's form like a poisonous wake as he looked for the party's way out. Morinaga could have found him anywhere and cursed the minutes between his own exit and their arrival back at home... he couldn't wait to get the taste of living-dead girl out of his mouth. Was it worth it? His sempai looked so tortured, so very hot and bothered...! Morinaga caressed the well-loved memory of the taste of his sempai's lips, just for a second... just for a moment...

Turning towards the front door, Souichi caught sight of Morinaga out of the corner of his bespectacled eye. The flush on his cheeks was gorgeous against the pallor of his anger, his desire. Oh yes, it was so worth it; c'mon – give it to me, Sempai...!

"Nice costume, Morinaga. Do you enjoy hiding in plain sight?" , came Souichi's quiet snarl, once again dropping his eyes to Morinaga's shirt where the word, "fag" was emblazoned in large white friendly letters.

Morinaga smiled sheepishly, holding the door and going out after his prey, into the night - running...

The copywritten characters are the sole property of their respective holders; no infringement is intended - no money is being made. The words to the song playing at this particular party are those of "Reptile" by Nine Inch Nails, of which I own a couple of CD's, one shirt and a broken cassette tape... somewhere... but make no claims of creation whatsoever. I just happened to be drunk and had the stereo on...