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The music thudded against the walls of the fraternity house, making the plastic cups vibrate on the tables. Merlin cringed in a corner of the couch, eyeing the exit and wishing he had the power to teleport straight back to his dorm room.
"Come on, Merlin! Cheer up a little!" Will said, appearing out of nowhere and shoving a cup of soda into his hand."It’s the first party of the semester. You need to stop living in the library."
"I only came because you threatened to burn my chemistry notes," Merlin retorted, adjusting his glasses. "I hate this. Too many people, too much shouting, and... oh, fantastic, there’s the epicenter of the chaos."
[...]
Merlin looked toward the center of the room. As always, Arthur Pendragon was the center of attention. The university's star quarterback, the ultimate popular guy, surrounded by people laughing at his every joke. To the entire campus, Arthur was the epitome of the golden boy and absolutely straight. Only his innermost circle—the knights on the football team, his stepsister Morgana, and their friend Gwen—knew the truth: Arthur was bisexual and, on top of that, head over heels in love with the nerdiest guy in the science department.
The problem was that Arthur handled his feelings in the worst way possible. Every time he crossed paths with Merlin on campus, his nerves got the better of him, and he ended up blurting out some arrogant comment or acting like a pretentious jerk. Because of that, Merlin had him categorized as an insufferable, self-centered snob he would never willingly speak to.
[...]
From the other side of the bar, Morgana watched her brother with a mix of amusement and pity. Arthur kept glancing over at the corner where Merlin sat, completely ignoring the conversation around him.
"If you keep staring like that, you're going to burn a hole in his hoodie," Morgana whispered in his ear, nudging him. "Why don't you go over and talk to him like a normal human being for once?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Arthur muttered, taking a long sip from his cup. He was noticeably drunker than usual, a questionable tactic to build up his courage.
"Arthur, you've had a few too many," Gwen intervened protectively. "You should slow down."
[...]
But the alcohol had already taken effect, dissolving the athlete's usual shield of pride. Arthur spotted Will walking away toward the kitchen, leaving Merlin completely alone on the couch.
"This is my chance," Arthur declared, his voice slightly slurred.
"This is going to be a disaster," Lancelot sighed, exchanging a resigned look with Gwaine and Percival, who were already pulling out their phones in case they needed to step in.
[...]
Merlin breathed a sigh of relief at the momentary peace, but it didn't last long. A shadow loomed over him, and looking up, he found Arthur Pendragon swaying slightly in front of the couch.
"Great, just what I needed" Merlin murmured, rolling his eyes and getting ready to stand up and leave.
"Wait... don't go" Arthur said, reaching out a hand to stop him, though he ended up leaning heavily on the arm of the couch. His gaze, usually sharp and competitive, was strangely soft and out of focus.
"Look, Pendragon, I'm not in the mood for your nonsense tonight. Find someone else to bother," Merlin said defensively, bracing himself for the usual sarcastic remark.
[...]
But the remark never came. Instead, Arthur stared at him, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol, and let out a deep sigh.
"You're very difficult, you know that?" Arthur stammered, sitting heavily beside him, far too close. "I try to be cool around you, but you always look at me like I'm some kind of freak. And you're right, I'm an idiot. A total idiot."
Merlin blinked, completely thrown off by the sudden shift in attitude.
"Are you... drunk?" he asked, stating the obvious.
"A little. Or a lot. Doesn't matter," Arthur waved a hand in the air. "What matters is... I like you, Merlin. I've liked you since the very first day of classes when you dropped all your books in the cafeteria and thought no one saw you.
But every time I get near you, I get so nervous and act like a jerk because I don't know how to talk to you."
The noise of the party seemed to fade away for Merlin in that exact moment. He sat frozen, watching the most popular guy on campus confess his feelings with total vulnerability on a ragged couch.
"You... me?" Merlin stammered, feeling his own prejudices crumble in seconds. "But you don't even know me. I thought you hated me."
"I don't hate you. I really like you," Arthur insisted, leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes with a goofy smile. "I just wanted you to notice me. Though I guess now you hate me even more for ruining your night."
[...]
A few yards away, Morgana and Gwen watched the scene, ready to step in if Arthur passed out right there. Merlin looked at Arthur, realizing for the first time that beneath the cocky athlete facade was someone completely different—someone who, as absurd as it seemed, became totally clumsy just by being near him.
Merlin sighed, but this time a small smile tugged at his lips.
"I don't hate you, Pendragon," Merlin said softly, gently taking the empty cup from his hand. "But you are completely wasted. Come on, let's go find your friends before you decide to confess your love to the entire university."
Arthur opened one eye, smirking with a touch of confidence that Merlin was suddenly starting to find less annoying.
"Does that mean... I have a chance when I'm sober?"
"It means you're drinking water first," Merlin replied, standing up and offering him a hand to help him to his feet, deciding that, after all, the party hadn't been such a mistake.
[...]
The next morning, the sunlight filtered mercilessly through Arthur's bedroom window, making him bury his face in his pillow with a groan. His headache was monumental, but it was nothing compared to the sudden mental collapse he suffered as the memories of the night before began to rush back in blurry but painfully vivid flashes.
He had confessed. To Merlin. In the middle of a party. While he could barely stand on his own two feet.
"Tell me that was a nightmare," Arthur groaned at the ceiling.
[...]
His bedroom door swung open and Morgana walked in, holding a black coffee and a painkiller, a look of absolute satisfaction on her face.
"Good morning, captain" she said, setting the mug on the nightstand. "Your performance last night was worthy of an award. I didn't know you turned into a tragic poet when you drink too much."
"Shut up," Arthur sat up slowly, rubbing his temples. "How bad was it? Tell me the whole campus didn't see me."
"Luckily for you, your faithful knights and Gwen formed a human shield," Morgana replied, crossing her arms. "But Merlin definitely got the message. In fact, he was the one who dragged you to Lancelot's car because you kept insisting you wanted to give him your varsity jacket."
Arthur hid his face in his hands, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.
[...]
Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Merlin sat in the cafeteria, stirring his coffee without taking a single sip. Will sat across from him, devouring a pastry and watching him with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you going to tell me what happened last night, or are you going to keep trying to hypnotize your coffee?" Will asked. "I disappeared for ten minutes, and when I came back, you were escorting Arthur Pendragon himself out of the house. I thought you hated him."
"I thought I did too," Merlin admitted in a whisper, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "But it turns out... it's not exactly like we thought. He was drunk, and he told me things. Strange things."
"What kind of strange things? Did he threaten you with a football?"
"No, Will. He told me he likes me. Since the first day. And that he acts like an idiot around me because he gets nervous." Merlin let out a sigh, resting his chin in his hand. "And the worst part is... I think he was telling the truth. He looked absolutely terrified."
Will stopped mid-bite, processing the information.
"Wait, ¿the king of the campus, the guy half the university thinks is the poster boy for straight guys, turns out to be bisexual and in love with you, the guy who corrects physics professors?"
"Keep your voice down," Merlin hissed, kicking him under the table.
[...]
At that exact moment, the chatter in the cafeteria seemed to quiet down a notch. Arthur had just walked in alongside Gwaine and Lancelot. He wore a baseball cap pulled low and sunglasses that failed to hide his discomfort. His eyes scanned the room almost by instinct until they locked directly onto Merlin's.
Arthur froze. Gwaine nudged him playfully, whispering something that made Arthur turn completely red.
To the surprise of all his friends, and breaking his usual habit of turning around or snapping a sarcastic comment, Arthur took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked straight toward Merlin's table, leaving his knights behind.
Will stared at Merlin, his eyes wide.
"Come down to earth to Merlin, danger approaching" Will whispered, though he didn't move an inch, far too intrigued by the drama.
Arthur stopped in front of the table. He took off his sunglasses with a slightly trembling hand, revealing noticeable dark circles and an expression of pure apology.
"Hey," Arthur said. His voice wasn't arrogant anymore; it sounded remarkably humble.
"Hey, Pendragon," Merlin replied, keeping his cool outwardly even though his heart had decided to double its speed. "I see you survived the night."
"Barely." Arthur cleared his throat, glancing at Will before looking back at Merlin. "I... wanted to apologize for last night. I shouldn't have approached you like that, especially not in that state. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
[...]
Merlin watched him closely. The vulnerability from the night before was still there, barely hidden beneath his designer clothes and athletic posture.
"You didn't make me uncomfortable, Arthur," Merlin said, using his first name for the first time. He saw Arthur's eyes light up almost imperceptibly at the sound of it. "I was just surprised. Very surprised, actually."
"Yeah, well... I tend to cause disasters," Arthur offered a slightly timid smile, scratching the back of his neck. "But everything I said... despite the alcohol, it was true. I've been an idiot all this time because I didn't know how to talk to you."
[...]
The cafeteria kept its usual bustling rhythm; nobody paid real attention to the conversation, assuming the team captain was simply discussing classes with the science department nerd. No one guessed how much their lives were shifting in that little corner.
Merlin smiled faintly, closing his textbook and standing up from the table, leaving Will speechless.
"Well, Pendragon, since you're sober now and seem to know how to talk like a normal person... how about you buy me a real coffee and tell me all over again? But this time, without the swaying."
Arthur blinked, stunned, before a massive, genuine smile broke across his face, wiping away any trace of his hangover.
"Deal," Arthur replied instantly, stepping aside to let him pass with a courtesy that made Morgana, watching from the cafeteria entrance, raise her coffee mug in a victorious toast.