Party Favors

It wasn't like she had come here to be a prude, however. If that were the case she wouldn't have come to this party at all. She did her fair share of ogling, seeing bulging muscles and chiseled jawlines and hearing raucous laughter as groups of people wearing funny clothes joked amongst themselves and drank. She saw the occasional person ogle her back, giving smiles to the men and winks to the women. Already, the flood of chaos and the lingering scent of pheromones were starting to get to her, even before she had grabbed an unopened can of cherry hard seltzer off a table from the room behind where all the games were happening, and adjacent to the dance floor, where she had done most of her staring in the multicolor flashing lights.

Opening the can and bringing it to her lips, she let the bitter drink coat her palate before swallowing. The night had just begun, and her body felt as warm as her throat as she nursed about half of her can. She could feel her ears starting to pulse from the heavy bass, and her knees bobbed in time with the music. The liquid courage was already doing its magic.

As she grew a tad bit warmer, she could feel the inhibitions in her starting to break down, and a wide smile formed on her face as she looked back at the pong tables, and there, she had found two guys who definitely stood out, and not just because of their choice of costumes. Two white guys wearing a banana and pickle costume weren't necessarily the kinds of people that Amanda thought she would be wanting to talk to, but as they stood there at one of the pong tables, not necessarily towering over anyone, there was something about them. Maybe it was the way that the banana hooted and hollered whenever either team sank a ball or missed compounded with the pickle's penchant for calming the game down and keeping the stakes high with every toss, and how they led the raucous laughter that echoed throughout the game room.

Either way, Amanda felt something that she didn't feel: a need to get closer to them, and that was enough for her to carry herself towards them. They might have been corny and a bit lanky and pale as hell, but they also seemed like a fun time to be around. It didn't take long for her to go to the pong table, and she was able to push herself through the crowd just enough to lock them in her sights.

Even if they weren't there, though, she had been roped into an interesting game, or at least, one that was very close. Both teams, one couple being a football player and his cheerleading girlfriend and the other team being a sexy gender-swapped version of Mario and Luigi, had one cup remaining, and it was Luigi's ball. The pickle raised his hand up, and the commotion quieted down just enough for Luigi to concentrate on her throw. She gave the ball a gentle toss, which then plonked against the table before landing into the cup of beer in front of the football duo. Mario and Luigi shared a high five while the small crowd, led by the banana and pickle, hooted and hollered in celebration.

And even Amanda, who didn't know about this game moments before, had found herself screaming and cheering, sticking her fist up into the air and pumping the air. A bright smile was on her face, the infectious enthusiasm already bubbling up with the boozy drink inside of her, and she could feel her glasses fogging up just a bit, but not enough to be much of a problem for her. She didn't need to see that far ahead of her with the table in front of her when the only thing she was doing was celebrating.

Between the raucousness of her cheering, her incredibly conservative outfit, and her standing so close to the table that it could brush up against her abdomen, Amanda was spotted pretty quickly, and the man in the banana suit pointed at her. A small blush formed on her cheeks and she could feel her stomach drop slightly.

"You there! Professor! Got a partner?"

Amanda looked around the group of people; there had been sexy schoolgirls and scientists but only one professor in the mix: herself. She pointed at herself and looked back at the banana man. "Me?"

"That's right, you!"

Amanda's mouth opened in disbelief, the corners of her lips pointed up in a wide smile as she realized what was going on. The banana, co-king of the beer pong table, was going to be her partner. Not wanting to one-up herself and say that she could take whoever on herself, she took a deep breath to get her cool. Bringing the can of seltzer to her lips, she took a long swig, the fizz and bitter flavor taking as much of the edge from the situation as the alcohol was going to do moments later, and she looked at him with a confident smirk as she brought the can back down to her chest.

"Why? You want one?"

The banana man's lips curled upwards, and he headed towards the head of the table. Amanda walked over to him, taking note of the stool besides them with a pile of cups that he was taking some from. She placed her can beside the stack of cups, and looked at him while he was finishing his arrangement of the cups in a triangle. That enthusiastic air that he gave off was stronger the closer that she got to him, and as their costumes were close enough to touch, she felt herself having trouble doing anything but smile.

"What's your name?" Amanda asked the man in the banana.

"I'm Tom!" His brilliant blue eyes met hers as he turned, piercing through her somewhat fogged-up glasses enough for her to pull them away so she could wipe them off with her blazer. As their gazes met again, Amanda's smile grew, her hands resting just a bit in front of her hips.

"Nice to meet you, Tom. I'm Amanda."

"Nice to meet you too, Amanda! Have you played pong before?" In his words lacked any kind of condescension; just making sure that this random woman whom he found at the table knew anything about the game beyond spectating.

"Of course I do, Tom. It's not my first frat party."

The pickle man walked over to Tom's side, holding a few cans of different beers. He was slightly tanner than Tom, but still noticeably pale. "And this here's Bob. He's a total bro."

Once Bob gave Tom all the cans, he gave Amanda a wave, green eyes showcasing pleasure while the rest of his face kept the same, stoic expression. "Yo."

"Nice to meet you too, Bob," Amanda said, taking a few cans from Tom's arms, taking the moment to brush hers against his. His skin was oddly soft for a man, even through the carpet-like layer of hair on his arms; not that it didn't stop the heat from bubbling up inside of her. She opened her cans and poured equal amounts into a few of the cups, making sure not to fill any of the ones that Tom was filling or had already filled.

Her attention was now on Tom, and Tom had turned his attention to the rest of the crowd, as if searching for two people for him to face off with. Amanda waited, clicking her heel against the tile rhythmically, but the sounds were drowned out by the commotion around her and the bass from the dance floor nearby. At least there was Tom beside her, and Bob nearby.

"You find anyone yet, Bob?" Tom asked.

Bob shook his head. That was, until two people had shown up, one of them wearing a sweat-covered button-up shirt, and Amanda could feel a bit of dread fill her body.

Of all people, it just had to be James.

"Amanda! I thought we'd be playing together!" His tone was partly a whine, and the person beside him wore a costume that Amanda could only describe as painfully edgy; it was the most conservative outfit, but a trench coat and fedora was definitely not the way to go.

Amanda shook her head. "Sorry, James. I got caught up in the excitement and now I promised Tom here that I was going to play a round with him!"

Bob brought his hands in front of him, his arms crossed like an X. The table quieted down, and he started speaking in a high baritone.

"We're about to have another game underway, but first, let's introduce the teams!" Bob then pointed at Tom.

"I'm Tom, and I'm a banana!" He flashed the crowd a cheeky smile before sticking his hands up in the air, spinning around and basking in the chorus of cheers that quickly came from the crowd. As he slowed down, as did the audience, and Bob was pointing at her.

"I'm Amanda. Professor Amanda." She adjusted her glasses and stuck a leg out, earning a bit of cheer but not necessarily the amount that Tom had gotten.

Bob then pointed at James. "Hello. I'm James, a sexy teacher." He flexed, muscles bulging from his shirt, and a few whistles came his way amidst a mezzo-piano cheer.

"I'm Todd, a spy," the trenchcoat said before tipping his hat to a crowd that was only more quiet when Bob made a motion of silence. Hell, when Bob motioned his arms in front of him, making a cross, Amanda swore that the audience was louder than Todd's introduction. Todd and James both grabbed a few cans of beer and opened them up, pouring decent amounts into the cups before pulling out of two of them two ping pong balls.

They both tossed their balls at the same time. James ended up capturing the closest one to them, and Todd got his in the middle cup. They high-fived one another to a chorus of loud cheers from the audience. Amanda's eyebrows furrowed slightly, only for Tom to pat her on the back. She looked towards him as he grabbed the cup that James had sunk.

"Lucky round," he said. "I know we can beat them."

Tom proceeded to down his cup and Amanda gingerly reached for the one in the middle. She drank the bitter liquid as quickly as she could, chugging it less for the appealing sight (and the applause she was receiving for it) but to taste the swill for as short of a time as possible. It left her throat warm as she felt the ping pong ball against her lips, and she pulled it out of the cup not long after.

Tom was right, though, even if it was the alcohol starting to talk for her: she had this in the bag.

Tom was the first to toss and he plonked it against the table before it bounced directly into one of the furthest cups, earning another round of applause which Tom was quick to soak up. He turned towards the audience--his people--and flashed them a wide smile. To emphasize the slight-enough-to-be-appealing boorishness Tom exuded, Amanda teasingly ran a hand along his arm.

Tom's arm felt a lot harder than it looked. It was meant to be a joke, but her fingers lingered momentarily, as if forgetting that she was on his team for a game for a few seconds there. Once the applause ended, though, she was quick to turn her attention to the game going on, along with James' sneer.

Amanda's smile grew bigger, and it grew even more as she bounced her ball off the ping pong table and it landed directly in the middle of the cups, a perfect shot from which he would have to drink. Hoots and hollers followed as James and Todd grabbed their cups of alcohol and drank from them, taking long sips of the beer before placing them aside.

The game had continued for a decent amount of time like that, with the two teams shooting and occasionally scoring, leading the other team to have to drink from the cups. The more that they drank, the more their accuracy lowered, and the more time that they spent trying to get their shots lined up perfectly.

Tom, particularly, was good at holding his liquor. Perhaps it was because of his pseudo-lanky build that let him be more of a heavyweight, or the time he spent here implying that this certainly was closer to his hundredth game of pong than his first; he kept throwing balls that looked like they would sink, much to the chagrin of James and Todd.

The more they drank, the hotter they felt. Amanda had opened a few buttons on her blazer and used the heavy garment to fan herself, shaking her hands back and forth and letting the cloth do most of the work. James was starting to sweat through his shirt, letting it cling tightly to his body. Todd revealed that underneath his trench coat he wore no shirt, as if he were trying to busy Amanda with the view of his musculature. It would have been a pleasing sight had it not been for Todd's glare matching James' in lecherousness. Meanwhile, Tom had some sweat on his brow, but he looked cool and coordinated as he threw another shot and sunk the penultimate ball into a cup.

Todd grabbed the beer and drank it down, making sure to accidentally spill a slight amount of it down his chin and onto his pectorals. Wiggling his eyebrows, Amanda looked away from him and towards Tom, whose bright smile and radiant confidence was a much better sight, even if the banana outfit was still goofy. She was definitely tipsy enough to find it entertaining.

She was also thankful that James and Todd at this point were poor shots. They had five cups they could aim at, all arranged in a trapezoid, and none of their balls came close to landing in it. Perhaps the hole in Todd's lip wasn't for show if they were already that intoxicated.

It was Amanda's turn to throw, and she could feel the world grow muffled around her. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, her hand quivering slightly. She could carry the game. She could sink the last ball and beat them once and for all. She could prove so much to herself with this, that she was beyond a girl with good grades and a penchant for attracting dunces like James. She tossed the ball, and after bouncing on the table, it went in.

The crowd went nuts. The hoots and hollers from the audience were enough to rival even the booming music playing from the other room. Defeat necessarily wasn't on Todd's face, whose smile radiated decent sportsmanship, but it certainly was on James', who seemed to think that this would have been an opportunity to show off and have a victory to assert his dominance, or something like that. Amanda couldn't care less, especially not when Todd was raising the final glass in the air and drinking it down. Even the practically-naked spy who was flashing more bare chest than covering up received applause as he chugged down his sixth cup.

From there, Todd and James had left the table, leaving herself and Tom at the head of it. He looked at her with a smile, one which she mirrored eagerly.

"Another round?" He asked.

Amanda shook her head. "I'm good. I'm gonna check out what else this place has to offer."

That necessarily wasn't her game plan, but the thoughts that were settling in her head were a far cry from being acceptable at the beer pong table. Thus, she took a few steps away from it, making sure to perform as much of a sashay as she could away from the table and towards the dance floor.

She could feel his gaze on her, and as she looked over her shoulder, a move as calculated as every step, brown hit blue, and she could feel the electricity, far from that of just impromptu partners at a drinking game. It was as if he had finally realized that the touches in the thick of it were calculated. And with a subtle nod, she invited him over, but not without looking aside to the table and seeing his pickle-suited compatriot. She nodded at him, faced Tom again, and mouthed two words.

Bring Bob.

From there she had disappeared into the darkness of the dance floor, the stench of beer's prominence quickly being overwhelmed by the scent of body odor. People in sexy outfits jumped up and down drunkenly to the beat as best they could, and those who weren't were scattered around the floor, with women grinding themselves against men; there was even a train of them going on with a man wearing a particularly ridiculous werewolf vampire getup at the very back. A row of chairs had been completely occupied by people getting lap dances. It was like everyone had one thing on their mind if it wasn't having a good time, and it was exactly what Amanda was looking for.

Now if only the two of them would show up. Until then, she bounced on her feet as best she could; she didn't want to risk jumping and breaking her heel, especially not when there was the inevitable luxury of what was to come.

Instead of an inevitable luxury, though, the first person she saw whom she recognized in the mass of dancing people was James, who was neither jumping around or getting grinded on. Instead, he was awkwardly scouting around the dance floor, the expectations of what he wanted growing painfully desperate by the second. Not that she didn't know what exactly he wanted from her already; that was the reason why a pang of dread coursed through her body. No amount of liquid courage, she was realizing, would make her want to go anywhere near him.

Unfortunately, just how it was in that one class they took, Amanda was a James magnet, and he waved her over. "Hey, Amanda! Didn't expect to see you here!"

Amanda took a deep breath. She literally just had to see him when they were playing pong. She invited him to this party. He gave her a fucking ride. Despite standing still, he walked over to her anyway, a wide smirk on his lips with the kind of intent that almost felt malicious. It was enough for her to reach into her blazer pocket and take a hold of her mace during her bouncing.

With her other hand, Amanda gave a wave which was cheeky in all the wrong ways. Instead of it being flirty, it felt defensive. She didn't pull it out quite yet, though; not until there was a massive party foul would it be warranted, and despite this guy's existence almost counting as one for her at this point, she held her tongue and braced for the worst.

"So, how are you liking the party?"

Amanda inhaled through her teeth. She knew what was coming with the small talk. "It's fun. Enjoyed that little game of beer pong between us."

"Yeah," he said, bringing a hand to the back of his head. "That was kinda fun."

"Made some new friends today, too." Amanda's smile grew a bit bigger.

"You mean that fuckboy who was on your team?" James asked, his gaze narrowing slightly.

"Tom is not a fuckboy, James. You're one to talk about them when a guy wearing a fedora and no shirt was a better sport about losing than you!" Amanda's eyebrows furrowed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Hopefully the professor's look made her somewhat more intimidating to him.

Apparently not. "Jeez, what's your deal?"

Amanda wanted to roll her eyes, or at least grab him and shake him, but he was not worth the contact at this point. "Don't call my friends fuckboys."

James shook his head, mirroring Amanda's actions. To be blunt, she was growing more scared of him; she was shorter and his musculature definitely overpowered hers. "I thought girls like you were supposed to be easy, so wouldn't those guys be fuckboys if you like them so much?"

It took a few seconds for Amanda to think about what he had said, and once it clicked, it took all the restraint in the world and Tom standing behind her to ensure that she didn't pull out the mace. Girls like her? Was this really what it was all about? It made the horrifying outfit make much more sense to her, and why he was so hellbent on being a professor with her as the student. She had been right all along in calling that thing a porno outfit; more accurately, it was a hentai outfit. She could feel a wave of nausea course through her spine, and she suppressed a gag.

There was absolutely no way that James was going to get what he wanted today if that was the way he was going to go for it. If she wanted to cover herself up more with her blazer because of what he was saying, she couldn't imagine it going well for the many others that were like her in the party. He'd pull the same stunts and have it never work, especially when there were people here who had more savory intentions behind their smiles even if their end goals were the same. It was a saving grace of sorts, thinking that James would keep doing this again and again, only to get rejected.

Tom being behind her was a saving grace as well, because if James was going to go down that route, he might as well. If he was going to think that of her, she might as well show it. If it was easy James wanted, it was easy James got.