Leo's smile immediately dropped when his eyes landed on Ivan. The blond-haired boy was sitting on the closed toilet seat, leaning back against the wall behind him. He had a book open in one hand, and his other hand was tightly gripped around a half-empty beer bottle. He was wearing a pair of blue baggy jeans and a black graphic T-shirt.

  “Holy shit. Didn't think I'd ever see you here.” Leo's eyes drifted down to the bottle in his hand. “You're even drinking beer. What has the world come to?”

  Ivan rolled his eyes. “It was either this or gin and—”

  “Gin is disgusting.” They both said simultaneously.

  Silence filled the room, and Leo could hear a faint trace of the loud music playing throughout the house. They stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds, then Ivan's gaze darted back down to the book in his hand. Leo's eyes moved to the book.

  “Typical. Reading at a party.”

  Ivan lifted his middle finger up to Leo, then took a swig from the bottle. He lowered the bottle languidly from his lips, then pointed it in the direction of the door, not moving his eyes from the book. “The other bathroom's down the hall.”

  Leo glanced at the door behind him, then turned back to Ivan. Would it be weird if he stayed? He really didn't want to know what was happening inside the locked bathroom he had already tried. And he really needed to smoke.

  He walked over to the small shower-bathtub hybrid and sat down on the rim of the bathtub, pulling at the cuffs of his jacket.

  Ivan glanced up at him and closed his book in annoyance. “Did you not get the hint, or are you just that stupid?”

  “I'm not leaving.” Leo wondered how long it would take to get Ivan to leave the room. He couldn't let anyone find out about the smoking, especially him.

  “Didn't you need to piss or something?”

  Before he could stop himself, Leo pulled out the cigarette packet from his pocket and held it up, waving the box in front of them like it was the only answer Ivan needed. Shit. Why had he done that?.

  Ivan narrowed his eyes at him, eyes bubbling with slight anger. “Smoke outside.”

  Leo scoffed at the suggestion. “And have someone see me? No chance.”

  Alphas didn't smoke; people could excuse drinking as long as he didn't get wasted and make a complete fool of himself. But the elders in his pack hated people who smoked.

  Ivan growled and said nothing in reply. Leo shrugged, taking that as a sign to continue — it was too late to pretend that Ivan didn't know now.

  He opened the bathroom window in front of him, then grabbed the lighter in his jacket pocket, lighting up the cigarette. When he took a drag, he welcomed the slight burn that engulfed his throat, blowing the white smoke in the direction of the window. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ivan watching him with an unfamiliar intensity.

  Leo turned. “Who are you hiding from?”

  Ivan shrugged. “No one. It's a nice bathroom.”

  Leo turned his head away, hiding the smile that was slowly forming on his lips. They continued in silence for a few seconds before Ivan put his book down and looked at him.

  “How's the headache?” He asked this like it was painful for him to do so. Because it probably did, he didn't actually care.

  “Fine. How's the face? Still cosmetically atrocious?”

  “You know what? Forget I asked.”

  Leo smiled. “Jeez, you give up so easily.” His smile lessened, and he looked at the other boy seriously, meeting his green eyes. “Yes, it's fine.”

  “Good.”

  Leo decided now would be a good time to finally ask the question that had been plaguing his mind since he had encountered the blond-haired boy in the bathroom. “What are you doing here?”

  Ivan glanced at him in confusion. “In the bathroom?”

  “At this party. You never go to these things.”

  Ivan said nothing for a while, and it seemed like he never would, and then, “My friends.”

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  Leo nodded, then smiled in amusement. “Would you have gone if they hadn't made you?” He knew the answer already, no. Fun wasn't a skill on the list of his capabilities.

  “No.”

  “Even if I was here?”

  “Especially if you were here.”

  Leo gave him a look. “Seriously? I would have come especially if you were here.”

  Leo had said it mindlessly, unaware of how it had sounded until he looked up and Ivan was staring at him, a monochromatic swirl of emotions in his green eyes that Leo couldn't decipher.

  “I just meant that—” His mouth opened, his brain struggling to continue whatever thought it had conjured up, before closing again.

  “Insulting you isn't a half-bad way to pass the time. These get boring pretty quickly when you aren't tipsy or having sex. You'll see soon enough.”

  He pinched the end of the cigarette, flicking it out of the window and then turning back to Ivan, who was staring at him blankly.

  The blond-haired boy's blank look was quickly replaced with his usual serious face a split second later. “You aren't drinking?”

  His book was now closed — lying abandoned on the sink counter beside him — and the empty beer bottle was lying upright on the floor next to his feet.

  “Nope.” Leo didn't want to elaborate because even he didn't know the answer to that. Why wasn't he drinking? Because he didn't want to? — When did he never want to? Because his dad had told him not to? His dad hadn't exactly said no, just strongly insinuated it. He definitely could if he really wanted to.

  “You don't wanna know why?”

  “Don't really care.”

  “Wanna see something cool?” Leo suddenly offered, aware of the giddiness in his voice. But he didn't care. He stretched out his hand towards the beer bottle, and Ivan chugged the rest of the beer before quizzically handing him the empty bottle. Leo walked to the sink and filled the bottle with water, feeling Ivan’s eyes tracking his movement. When he walked over to the bathtub and held the bottle over it, Ivan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

  “You ready?” Leo asked enthusiastically.

  “For what?”

  Leo loosened his grip on the neck of the bottle, making sure it was still tight enough that he wouldn't drop it, then he lifted his other hand, and before he could back out, forcefully pushed the edge of his palm flat onto the top opening of the bottle. The bottom of the bottle smashed open, and bits of glass and water fell into the bathtub with a sharp clang, while the top of the bottle remained intact.

  When he looked back at Ivan, the other boy was staring at the bottle in fascination and confusion. When he realised that Leo was watching him, his face quickly settled back into a neutral expression—attempting to betray nothing—but Leo could see a restrained twitch at the corner of his mouth. The closest he had ever been to seeing the other boy smile.

  He pumped a hand in the air, forgetting that Ivan could see him. The corner of Ivan's mouth twitched again, almost revealing that his face was actually capable of lifting his lips into a smile.

  “Cool,” Ivan remarked flatly. “That another skill you learnt with origami?”

  Leo shrugged. “Maybe. I bet you wished you could do that.”

  “It wasn't that impressive.”

  Leo scoffed. “Yeah okay …” He trailed off when he felt Amirah trying to reach him through the mind link.

  Hey, I'm kinda tired. Can we please go now? Amirah’s words came out timidly, snapping Leo out of his mini celebration. She didn’t sound in any rush, but there was an unusual hint of weariness in her voice. He figured she was probably fine, just tired, but he should probably go check on her.

  “I need to go.” He stood up, offering Ivan a hand. He pretended not to notice when Ivan ignored his outstretched hand and instead stood up and grabbed the broken beer bottle before exiting the bathroom.

  Leo turned back to scan the empty bathroom and spotted Ivan's book lying on the counter. He waited a few minutes, making sure that Ivan was far enough away, then exited the bathroom, grabbing the book before he could process what he had done.

  He navigated through the living room and found Amirah in the kitchen, sipping a glass of water. The cardigan she had been wearing was now off and wrapped around Mei, who was leaning against her.

  “Hey, where were you?” Amirah

  Leo shrugged. “Bathroom.”

  “For so long?” She glanced at her phone. “It's been like thirty minutes.”

  His eyes widened briefly in surprise. Thirty minutes. He had been in the bathroom, talking to Ivan for thirty minutes. It felt like ten. He shrugged in reply, and Amirah narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

  “Uh— You okay?” He scanned her face and Mei next to her for any signs of distress, but none were present.

  She glanced down at Mei and nodded. “Yeah. But I think we should put Mei to bed. She hasn't been looking well for a while now. Parker and Theo walked home.”

  Leo nodded. “You'd let me know if you weren't, right?” The question filled him with something he couldn't exactly name. Something he had been feeling since he and Ivan found out that they were mates, and Amirah had asked him what was wrong, and he had said nothing. He had always thought that if he found his mate, his future Beta would be the first to know. But he couldn't. It wasn't just his secret to share.

  She snorted. “You worry too much.”

  — — —

  When he eventually got home, he sat down at his desk and grabbed a pen, opening his journal. His eyes drifted to the book in front of him. The other boy was never getting it back if he could help it. He put his pen down and grabbed the book, inspecting the cover.

  When he opened the first page, he froze. On the inside of the front cover, in neatly written cursive, were the words:

  I know you told me not to get you anything, but I also know you're a sucker for books. Promise me you'll stay like that forever. I love you, and happy birthday, Vanya.

  ~ Love, Milena

  Leo sighed and closed the book. He definitely needed to give it back.