Oh, he was so fucked.
Chapter 14
Pomping
Coming in through the side door by the dining room, skin itching with dried sweat and grime, Logan couldn't help but feel like an intruder. The halls of Minotaur House were unusually quiet. The formal living room, the den, and the dining room itself; all devoid of the usual scattering of guys studying, eating, or just simply hanging out.
Strange. Did everyone get Rapture'd or something? Aliens swing by with a teleporter beam? Or...wait — are those the same thing?
Despite the silence, Logan poked his head into the chapter room, expecting to find it as full and lively as the rest of the house was dead, but — no dice there either.
Huh. Maybe a fire drill no one told me about?
Every evening for the past two weeks, this room in particular had been a bustling hive of activity. Paired up with the tri-Pi sorority, the men of Mu Tau Rho were playing eager hosts as everyone worked together on the joint Homecoming house float. There was a hotly contested betting pool on what percent of it would be finished in time for the competition, versus how much would be propped up by duct tape and pledges both painted to match.
Logan had expected tonight to be more of the same when he got back from football practice, ready to roll up his sleeves and pitch in as well after he'd had a shower. But only a rainbow confection of tissue paper and chicken wire met Logan's sight, like a cage of piñatas had exploded across every surface and corner. This room was just as empty as the rest of the house.
Except — no, not empty. There was a faint humming coming from the other side of a wall of pomped flowers. More bloomed in the corner as Logan watched; squares of yellow and orange tissue paper steadily poked through with the eraser end of a pencil.
"Hello?" Logan called.
"Logan?" came Oz's voice, before his familiar head popped out from behind the colorful construction. "Hey! You're back already?"
Logan shoved down the warm glow that threatened to erupt at Oz's greeting, forcing his face into a scowl instead as he drew near.
"Yeah, man. It's eight pm." He looked around, confused. "Where is everyone?"
Oz frowned. "Over at the sorority house for a 'supply run' to get more paper," he said, making finger quotes.
Logan grinned, immediately recognizing the code for an impromptu party. "Cool. Let me grab a quick shower and change, then I'll be ready to go. Were you waiting for me?"
That was…kind of sweet, actually. The deal he'd made with Oz had come with a lot of unexpected surprises for Logan — a LOT of unexpected surprises. But sticking around for someone to get home before going to a party together? That was something couples did, not them. Still, Logan found he… He didn't mind it.
But Oz's face twisted up in a grimace. "No. The guys said I should stay here," Oz huffed. "That I'd 'be a waste of a good date.'"
The finger quotes had returned, as had Logan's answering scowl.
"Awaste?" he couldn't help but echo, even though he already knew what their frat brothers had meant.
A waste of a date… because Oz was gay.
Or, more accurately, that's he's O-U-TOut-with-a-capital-O
"You should go," Oz was saying over the roar of something dark and angry thundering in Logan's ears on Oz's behalf. "They'd love to see you show up."
"Well, they can kiss my ass," Logan decided. "We'll have our own party. Lemme clean up and I'll come help you with that."
Oz looked at him strangely. "You don't have to. You should go out and have fun."
"I don't think I'd be very 'fun' around those guys right now," Logan replied. A thought burned bright in his mind just then, of finding whoever had told Oz to stay here and offering them a choice of black eyes. "Just give me five minutes, and I'll be right back."
Logan started to turn, but Oz's voice stopped him.
"Hey, Logan?" Oz said, glancing around as if he expected to find someone hiding in the corners of the empty house, before motioning Logan closer.
"What's up?"
"Um…" Oz bit his lip. And no, Logan should absolutely not be finding that adorable. Damn, this deal of theirs was messing with his brain. "We've pretty much got the whole place to ourselves…"
