Everything Meant Nothing | Part 6: The Freshers Party (Patreon)

All characters depicted in this story are fictional and 18 years of age or older. Everything portrayed is safe, sane, and consensual.

Part 6: The Freshers Party | Halfway To Him

Min was already dressed when I came out of the bathroom.

Black pants, cute white tee with an oversized blazer, sleeves pushed up to the elbows, hair slick and perfect like he’d walked off a Seoul fashion week runway. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping something fizzy, scrolling through his phone like the party wasn’t even worth thinking about.

“Is Theo coming?” I asked, pretending like I wasn’t fishing. My shirt was still clinging to me from steam, and I was holding two outfit options in hand.

Min looked up with a smirk. “Changed again?”

“I don’t know what people wear to parties in the UK.”

“Anything. Everything. Nothing, sometimes,” he said, then shrugged. “Yeah, Theo said he might come. I talked to him this morning. He was weird about it, but he’ll show. .”

I nodded, trying not to look too interested.If Theo was going to be at the party, I wanted to look good. Not desperate, not obvious - just… undeniable. The kind of good that looked accidental. Like I’d rolled out of bed looking hot and slightly mysterious.

So I picked the dark green shirt. My fanciest one, technically. Slim fit, sleeves rolled a little at the forearm, the collar crisp in that quietly sexy way. I didn’t button it all the way, just enough to leave a hint of collarbone, a little skin. Cute, but still hot. Approachable, but with intent. Like I’d made an effort for someone, even if I pretended I hadn’t.

I checked myself in the mirror. Tousled my hair. Frowned. Then tousled it again. I was overthinking it.

But fuck it, if I was going to embarrass myself tonight, at least I’d do it dressed well.

Just as I was tucking the shirt in, Yuki appeared in the doorway and gave me a once-over. She grinned. “Hot. But approachable. I like it.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Not that you’re dressing for anyone specific,” she added, voice sing-songy.

I looked at her, deadpan. “Nope. Definitely not.”________

We got to the party a little before nine. It was already crowded. People spilled out into the yard and front steps. Lights pulsed from the windows, and some guy was waving around a speaker like he was DJing the apocalypse.

Inside, it was what you’d expect; sweaty walls, random shouty music, half-finished conversations and laughter that sounded a little too loud. Someone shoved a tray of jelly shots into our hands the second we walked in. I took one out of politeness. It wobbled like a cartoon heart.

I was trying to stay close to Min and Yuki, but that lasted about four minutes. A group of girls from Yuki’s dorm spotted her and squealed. “Couple games! You two! Let’s go!” They grabbed Min by the wrist.

Yuki turned, apologetic. “Troy, wait...”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving them off. “Go be cute.”

Min raised a brow. “You good?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll mingle.”

I didn’t mingle.I found a half-empty couch in the quieter part of the house and sat with my drink. The music was muted here, and I could finally breathe. I watched the light flicker off a cracked mirror across the room. I felt my phone buzz.

It was Luke.

Luke: How’s the UK treating you?

I stared at the message.

Did he care? Did he want a reaction? Was this just his way of reminding me he still existed, still had a hook in me? Maybe he just wanted to feel missed. Or maybe...worse...he missed me. Just not in the way I needed.

I didn’t respond.

I couldn’t.

I set the phone down on my thigh. A few seconds passed.

Then it buzzed again.

Luke: I miss you.

My chest went tight. I felt it, stupidly, stupidly deep. The kind of ache you don’t admit out loud because it makes you look weak. Like after everything, after all the ways he’d twisted me around and dropped me when it got too real; my body still reacted like he mattered.

I almost teared up. Just a flicker. Just enough that I had to blink fast and look away.

God. Why did he still have that power?

I turned the phone face-down and leaned back on the couch, pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes. I breathed in deep. Tried to swallow the lump rising in my throat. I didn’t want to cry. Not at some random house party. Not over someone who made me feel small.

I just needed a second.

“Why are you sitting here like you just got dumped?”

I opened my eyes.

And there he was.

Theo.I blinked. Theo was suddenly there, standing next to the couch. He was in a fitted black tee that clung to his chest and arms, the sleeves hugging his biceps just enough to show how solid they were. Dark jeans hung low on his hips, casual and careless, like he hadn’t even tried. His dirty blonde hair was pushed back, still slightly damp, like he’d stepped out of the shower and straight into the party without a second thought. You could see the outline of his pecs beneath the fabric, the faint contour of abs when he moved; casual, effortless, and completely unfair. He wasn’t dressed to impress, but somehow looked better than anyone else in the room. The kind of hot that short-circuited your brain if you let your eyes linger.

He dropped onto the armrest beside me. Close. Not quite touching, but enough to feel the heat of him. “Where are Min and Yuki?” he asked.

“Some couple game thing.”

Theo laughed. “Figures. That’s why I avoid these.”

“Then why come?”

He glanced down at his drink, then at me. “Min said you’d be here.”

I blinked, unsure if I heard that right. “Me?”

“Yeah,” he said casually. “And… I figured I should stop being a dick.”

“You weren’t.”

He gave me a look.

“Okay,” I admitted. “You were a little cold.”

“I’m not great with new people,” he said. “Or small talk. Or feelings. Or… life. Rough breakup.”

I snorted. “Relatable.”

He looked at me. “You don’t seem like the brooding type.”

“I’m not. But I moved here to get away from someone. So.”

He winced. “Ex?”

I nodded. “Sort of.”

Theo took a sip of his drink. “She sounds awful.”

“He,” I corrected.

Theo didn’t flinch. “Right. Sorry. I meant they. Or he. I mean...sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “You’re okay. I’ve heard worse.”

He studied me for a beat. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I hesitated.

He didn’t push.

Eventually I said, “We were never official. But it felt real. We’d sneak around. Make promises we didn’t say out loud. And then one day he just… said it wasn’t like we were dating. Like none of it mattered.”

Theo leaned back slightly, exhaling. “That’s fucked.”

“Yeah.”

“And he still texts?”

“Randomly. Like tonight.”

Theo raised a brow. “Ballsy.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. It’s not even about getting back together. It’s just… a reminder. That he still has access.”

He nodded slowly. Then looked around. “This party’s shite,” he said.

I smiled. “You think?”

“I know a better place.”

He stood, finished the last of his drink, and extended a hand to me. Palm up. Solid. Casual, but with intent.“Come on.”

I looked at his hand, then up at his face; calm, unreadable, a little amused and something fluttered in my chest. My pulse kicked. I didn’t let myself think. I just reached out and took it.

His grip was warm, his skin rougher than I expected. He tugged gently and pulled me to my feet. The closeness between us now felt electric, like I’d stepped into something charged.

As we slipped out the door together, one thought hit me....maybe Theo wasn’t just the hot, quiet asshole I’d made him out to be. Maybe he was something else entirely.

Everything Meant Nothing | Part 7: "I Know A Place"