"Dude, how are you feeling?" Thea yelled in Alyx's ear as they vibrated along with the thumping music in the large living room.

"Slightly tipsy," Alyx yelled back, her arm around Thea's shoulder as the bass thumped through the speakers. "You wanna go check the kitchen?"

Thea nodded into Alyx's neck, and the two of them squeezed through the crowd toward the kitchen. The whole space was decently stuffed with the whole dance program and their friends. A lot of people were crowded into the fairly small college apartment.

As with many parties, the counters were filled with glass bottles of liquor and mixers and there were a few guys just hanging around the drinks. They didn't seem creepy and Thea seemed to recognize them and walked over to chat, leaving Alyx to follow her like a lost puppy.

"Wait, Alyx!" A feminine voice echoed from behind her and she turned to see Daphne, a girl who was also in the dance program and was in a few of the same classes as Alyx. She was cool if Alyx remembered correctly. Always had a very solid outfit on and tonight was no exception.

"Hey Daphne," Alyx said and yeah... she was probably drunk now. There were too many 'y's in that 'hey.'

Standing next to Daphne was a Hispanic-looking guy with curly hair and a graphic tee that seemed like it was for a fundraiser of some sort, Alyx wasn't gonna try and decipher it.

"Hey Alyx, your solo was incredible. I really felt the sadness you were sharing. It was sick," Daphne said, going in for a hug which Alyx happily reciprocated. She loved hugs. As Daphne pulled away she gestured to her friend, "This is Cas."

Cas waved. It was small but the grin on his face was undeniable. He was cute. Alyx would absolutely kiss the shit out of his soft lips. She wasn't blind, he was hot. She was drunk though so maybe he wouldn't want to kiss her. Who knew? Certainly not Alyx right now.

"Hey, Cas," Alyx waved in response, taking a sip of her drink, it stung at her throat for a second but she pushed past it.

"Hey," Cas said and the two of them watched as Daphne got distracted by something and wandered off, leaving the two virtual strangers in the kitchen alone. "Um, I should probably follow her," Cas said, gesturing with his thumb in the direction Daphne had walked off in.

Alyx nodded, looking over to Thea but seeing her engrossed in conversation. She wasn't going to interrupt so she might as well join Cas and Daphne in whatever they were trying to do. This is what house parties were all about. "Mind if I join you?"

"Nah."

She walked behind Cas, pausing for a second as they reached a pretty aggressive crowd of people. Cas stuck his hand out behind him as the bass dropped on the song and Alyx suddenly felt like she was in one of those romance movies where two people lock eyes and they know this is it for them they are forever. She locked eyes with Cas, his hazel eyes almost black in the low light. This was it for her. He was hers forever. They haven't really talked. She was drunk. He looked kind of tipsy. It didn't matter though.

Alyx took his warm hand in her own and followed him as he shouldered his way through the crowd in the vague direction of Daphne's sequined shirt. She couldn't really focus on anything other than the warmth of his hand in her own. It felt sticky and sweaty and a bit like a kiss. Where she knew something more could happen it just wasn't right now.

They emerged from the crowd, Alyx noticing when she collided with Cas' warm back. His hand separated from hers to quickly steady her by her shoulder. It felt even more like a kiss. Like something he did unconsciously because he didn't want her to fall because he cared about her.

Alyx had felt this way about guys before, it was usually just the alcohol and it faded the next time she saw the person so Alyx wasn't concerned. She'd felt it before and she'd feel it again. It was normal. It was fine. She took another sip of her drink as she watched Cas whisper into Daphne's ear.

Daphne nodded in response to whatever Cas said and held up her phone to show Cas something on it. Alyx wasn't particularly paying attention. More so trying to figure out why Cas' hand was so warm on her shoulder. And also why it was still there. It'd been a minute since he'd put it there. Was that too long?

"You want to get some fresh air?" Cas asked, his head dipping down to speak into Alyx's ear.

This was boy code for 'Want to go make out on the balcony.' Alyx nodded. She sure did want to go make out on the balcony.

She took his hand again and followed his lean body through the crowd and through the sliding glass door of the balcony. The fresh cold air hit her like a brick and Alyx suddenly realized that she was a lot less drunk than she thought she was, most of the fuzzy feeling in her head was just from the hot sweaty air inside the apartment. But then why was she in a drunk enough headspace to be feeling completely enraptured by a guy she just met and hadn't even talked to?

Cas leaned against the railing, his arms crossed on them as he inhaled and closed his eyes. He had nice eyelashes. 

HOLY FUCK. What world was Alyx living in?

"You okay?" She asked. The vibe right now was not exactly a 'Want to go make out on the balcony' kind of vibe.

He sighed, "Yeah." Some drunk guy crashed into Alyx's back and her tumbler almost toppled out of her hand but Cas' hand came up to quickly stabilize it on the railing. His arm came around her back. It wasn't pulling her into his side like she would have hoped but it was providing a barrier between her and the rest of the dumbasses cavorting on the balcony. "I'm just not really a party person."

"I am," Alyx said, her eyes focused on the soft freckles on his face. "If you want someone seasoned to teach you how it's done."

Cas smiled and it... she wasn't sure if she could compare it to anything she'd ever seen before. Alyx was a dancer, she understood physical movement in space, but she wasn't good with words. If she had to pick some things to compare Cas' little smile to it would probably be; jumping in puddles when you're a child, getting something right on the first try, or your favourite song on the radio when you least expect it. It was like a surprise but... a joyous surprise.

Alyx wasn't a words person.

"I might, at some point." Cas fished around in his pocket with his right hand, the one that was further from Alyx's body. He pulled out his phone, clicked around on it for a minute, and then handed it to her. "Give me your number."

She did as he said. Not because he told her to do it but because she wanted to do it. Because Alyx wanted to see Cas every single day for the rest of her life.

She handed it back to him and he smiled again and it felt the same as seeing it for the first time. Like a surprise. Like a gift.

"Alyx?" He asked.

"Alyx," She confirmed, taking another sip of her drink, hoping the liquor would make her brave enough to kiss him. It just warmed her body, no boost of courage, no new fearlessness. Just Alyx standing on a balcony next to Cas.