Torin loved Halloween. As cliche as it was, it was the one night out of the year he could be someone else – anyone else. He didn't have to be the perfect soldier, the perfect assassin for the Coalition. Instead, he could be a Viking. And he could drink like one without being judged.
Leaning against a wall of the ballroom where the Coalition was hosting its annual Halloween party, Torin found himself letting out a carefree laugh at some terrible pun the knight standing beside him had made in an attempt to flirt. Torin couldn't remember the guy's name – he thought it started with M – and he really wasn't all that interested in finding out what was under all that armor and chainmail, but he was providing some good conversation to keep Torin occupied while his eyes scanned the crowd for Excalibur.
He knew that Cal would never turn down a good party with plenty of booze, even if it meant he had to suffer through costumes and Ravyn's insistence that he had to partake in the festivities and customs of the evening. Cal would have tried to fight Ravyn on the idea of dressing up, but Ravyn White was a force to be reckoned with when she set her mind to something. And making sure all her friends were dressed up for the holiday was something she put her mind to every year. So while Cal would be in a grumpy mood this evening, Torin knew that the young man would be in attendance and in costume. So he continued to search the crowd for the familiar sight of Cal's scowl, or the shade of his light hair, or the gait of his walk. The chances of Excalibur dressing in anything other than the same costume he wore every single year was slim, but Torin didn't want to take his chances on missing the boy because he glanced past all the others.
Torin didn't bother with pleasantries when he stepped away from the flirty knight without a word or a glance when he spotted a scowling pirate downing a shot next to a sinful-looking vampire. Grinning to himself, he pushed his way through the crowd towards his lover (boyfriend? ex-boyfriend? ex-lover? frequent on-again-off-again boy toy? Torin honestly didn't know where they stood anymore...) and his best friend.
"Well don't you two look stunning tonight?" Torin teased, tossing an arm around Ravyn's shoulders and snagging the shot of whiskey Cal was about to down. He ignored the glare Cal sent him and instead offered a grin and a wink as he downed the whiskey himself.
"Torin, I'm so glad you found us! Will you please tell Cal to lighten up and enjoy the fun of Halloween?" Ravyn begged the man beside her, rolling her eyes as she gestured towards her cousin. "He doesn't seem to understand that costumes only enhance the fun of the party."
Cal muttered something under his breath–probably something rude and obscene given the way he was looking at Ravyn–but Torin elected to ignore it as he grinned devilishly at the young man. Unwrapping himself from Ravyn, he took a step closer to Cal, fiddling with the hilt of the (definitely real, despite the no-weapons policy) sword that hung on the man's hip.
"What, Excalibur, you don't think costumes can make things a little more... exciting?" Torin asked lowly, raising an eyebrow suggestively. He noticed the faintest hint of a blush color the blond's cheeks as met Torin's eyes.
"I happen to think they're quite nice. Especially when they make someone already so handsome look... well, downright sinfully good," Torin teased, nudging Cal's shoulder, before adding, "Kinda like you and I."
Excalibur snorted at the addition. Torin couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at the pirate's amusement.
"You just had to go and compliment yourself too, huh," Cal noted, a smirk pulling onto his face.
Torin shrugged innocently. "Couldn't risk you not complimenting my costume. I don't know if you've noticed, but I look ruggedly handsome tonight," Torin half-joked. "I had to make sure that it was appreciated."
Cal shook his head amusedly at Torin, who was still staring rather fondly at the blonde pirate next to him. Both boys got so caught up in each other's presence and the palpable feelings lingering between them that they failed to notice their best friend rolling her eyes and stalking off with a dramatic flourish of her cape. Ravyn needed a drink after witnessing their sickeningly sweet googly eyes for each other. And she needed to find Atticus and Alice, to make sure they were dressed up as well, before finding Lev and showing him just how attractive of a vampire she was this evening.
YOU ARE READING
A Coalition Story
Teen Fiction"Ravyn, I don't even know if I'm into guys," Cal whispered harshly. "Torin isn't a guy, he's a man, and you're into him," the willowy girl insisted, pushing her cousin forward roughly. He groaned, which caught Torin's attention, distracting him from...
