**Yaoi Warning**

     “It’s fucking freezing,” Dev muttered as a gust of cool air slid up his sweater, a violent shiver wracking his body.
     “It is nearly Christmas, Dev,” Jerry laughed, bouncing along beside him along the sidewalk. “And you are just wearing a sweater.”
     Dev scowled. “It’s a warm sweater, and it isn’t that far from the car to Jessica’s house.”
     “Then quit complaining,” Jerry grinned, seemingly impervious to the cold as his thin shirt rode up an inch or two in time with his stride. Jerry gave Dev a wicked look. “Or maybe I should say stop trying to get Jos to press up against you and warm you up. We’re going to a party, after all, and I don’t think you want to put on a show for people.” A delicate pause. “Another one, that is.”
     “Suck me,” Jos tossed lightly toward Jerry as he slid up next to Dev, wrapping an arm around his waist. “And its not like you need much of an excuse to get me closer.”
     “It wasn’t an excuse,” Dev said, exasperated. “I was just talking.”
     “Does he ‘just talk’ a lot?” Jerry asked over Dev’s head.
     “All the time.” Jos sighed back, a wicked glint in his eye. “Only way to shut him up is to occupy his mouth with something else.”
     “Not a hard task, I think.”
     “Or a very hard one, if you want to look at it that way.”
     Jerry nodded. “At least he has the manners that make it possible.”
     “Oh, of course. It wouldn’t work if he didn’t know not to speak with his mouth full.”
     “Jos!”
     Jerry and Joscelin dissolved into laughter at Dev’s indignant expression, unable to hold their serious expressions any longer.
     “Lighten up, sweet thing,” Jos murmured in Dev’s ear once he had regained control of his laughter, his voice still lightly breathless with amusement. “We’re just playing.”
     Dev could feel a blush staining his cheeks, from both Jos’s words and the intimate position they were in that he could feel Jerry eyeing with interest. He ducked his head and tried to wriggle loose, but Jos just moved with him, pulling him tighter against his body.
     “Why so shy, Dev?” Jerry asked with a grin. “It isn’t like you haven’t been caught in worse positions before.”
     Dev shot Jerry a glare. “Just because I’ve been in them before doesn’t mean I want to be in them again.”
     “Of course you do,” Jos grinned. “You wouldn’t let me do it, otherwise.”
     “He’s got a point. Apparently you’re very vocal. I’m sure you would protest.”
     Dev crossed his arms over his chest as they turned to cross the grass, heading for the sound of the party already spilling out of Jessica’s house and into the backyard. “Hate you all.”
     “Aw, but you love me,” Jos sing-songed in his ear, a grin curving his lips.
     Dev cut a glance his way. “Hate you.”
     “You love me. I’ll prove it.”
     Dev just raised an eyebrow as Jerry let out a choked laugh from his other side. “You’re going to prove that I love you?”
     “Mhm.” Jos’s grin got wider.
     “And how, exactly, are you going to do that?” Dev asked, taking a careful step backwards out of Jos’s reach.
     “If you come closer I’ll show you.”
     Dev eyed him askance before turning to ring the doorbell. “Maybe later.”
     Jos snorted and palmed his ass, making Dev jerk and let out a yelp of surprise. “Killjoy.”
     “Perv,” Dev glared, shifting Jos’s hand from his ass to his waist.
     “You love it,” Jos shot back, tugging Dev back into his body.
     Jerry rolled his eyes as they started at it again, both perfectly happy to be arguing over the trivial. Eyeing the way they seemed to unconsciously wrap around each other, he shifted on his feat, wishing Jessica would come answer the door faster. He was itching to find a playmate for the night, and he didn’t want all the fun ones to get taken while he was stuck waiting with Dev and Jos.
     Yes…Jerry thought when the door finally opened, Jessica openly staring at Devon and Jos as she let them inside, barely giving him a glance. He took a moment to get used to the pounding music that was vibrating the floors, to adjust to the dim lighting and the smell of alcohol. He grinned as his gaze swept over the mass of people. Oh yes, this was certainly going to be an interesting night.

     “Where’s Jerry going?”
     Jos glanced up at Dev’s question, putting a bit if distance between their bodies as they entered the house, conscious of how people might react to too much touching. He kept one hand resting lightly around Dev’s waist, though, in a relaxed but definite statement of possession. There wasn’t a chance in hell his lover was going to be grinding with some slut cheerleader tonight.
     “He’s going to find a one night stand.”
     Dev did a quick double take at Jos’s casual reply, jerking his head around to track Jerry’s figure as he wove his way through the crowds. “How do you know? Why? That seems so…”
     Jos laughed as they began to wind their way toward the kitchen where they knew food would be found, ignoring the sideways looks that flitted their way. “Dev, that’s what Jerry does at parties. Horny little boy, he is, and there’s plenty of guys willing to ‘experiment’ and not admit to it later.”
     “I don’t know,” Dev frowned. “That seems kinda…”
     “Slutty?”
     “Well…yeah”
     Jos grinned as Dev’s face was lit by a string of Christmas lights, clearly outlining his blush. “Don’t be shy of it. That’s the way he acts and he knows it.” Jos shrugged. “It works for him.”
     Dev gave him a considering look over his shoulder as he shoved through the swinging door into the shockingly empty kitchen. “Have you ever done it?”
     It was Jos’s turn to blush now. “Uh…yeah. A few times. Really not my thing though. I don’t do casual all that well.” He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Dev’s shoulders. “Plus I was always too fixated on a certain football player to divert my attention toward something else.”
     Dev snorted as he began to grab two beers and a platter of food out of the fridge. “Yeah,” he said, pouring out the drinks. “Andrew is pretty captivating, I have to say. It’s hard for people to take their eyes off him, especially when-”
     Dev broke off into laughter as Jos let out an indignant noise, striding forward to grab his shoulder and spin him, pinning him back against the refrigerator.
      “You,” Jos said, trying to find the words as Dev just continued to laugh at him. “You are just…ugh.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to Dev’s, swallowing his laughter. “You’re just a little smart ass,” he sighed against Devon’s mouth.
     “Mhm,” Dev murmured as he shifted positions, wrapping a leg around Jos’s. “You love my smart ass.”
     “Love you.”
     Dev let out another breathless laugh at the delight Jos seemed to get out of saying those words out loud, arching his back to rub their bodies together as he teased Jos with his eyes, finally giving him what he wanted. “Love you too.”
     “Aww, isn’t that cute. Say cheese!”
     Dev and Jos turned their heads in surprise, in time to be blinded by a flash of light. Shaking his head as he moved back, Jos finally cleared his eyes enough to get a look at the sheepishly grinning Amy who stood, hip cocked, digital camera in hand.
     “I couldn’t resist, you guys. The moment was just too perfect. I bet I could sell it to Kodak as the perfect moment, if I wanted to.”
     Dev snorted, sliding past Jos to grab their abandoned drinks and pop a few chips into his mouth. “Always looking for that moment. One day I’m sure you’ll even find it.”
     “Shut up,” Amy grinned, tossing her hair. “I’ve got it this time.” She played with buttons a moment, then turned the camera to display the screen. “See? Kodak personified.”
     “Or porn,” Jos commented from behind Dev. “Could be like, early stages of porn. Next you’d see us stripping off our clothes and displaying our hot, manly, well oiled bodies to their best advantage.”
     “Jos!”
     “What?” He shrugged. “It does. Its all like…just nevermind. I’m not even going to explain it.”
     “You should probably stop while you’re even a tiny bit ahead,” Amy agreed, shaking her head as she saved the picture. “Dev’s gonna start wondering how you know so much about porn soon.” She glanced at Dev. “Whoops. Too late.” She shot them both a  grin as she backed out of the room. “Merry Christmas, darlings.”
     “Well it did,” Jos muttered as he grabbed the drink Dev held out, dropping his eyes to the floor. “Don’t look at me like that. You know its true.” Jos glanced up when he was met with silence. “What, you’re going to try to say you’ve never looked at gay porn on the internet?” He watched for a moment as Dev’s cheeks began to color. “That’s what I thought.”
     “I don’t admit to doing it, at least, and not in front of Amy.”
     Jos shrugged. “Not like she didn’t know, darling.” He shot Dev a wicked look over his shoulder. “Come on. I’m thinking that we should go dance right now. It’s a good thing to do, coming off a nice chat about porn.” He dropped a quick glance downward. “Or we could try out some of those beds Jess’s got upstairs, but I’m thinking we should save that for later.”
     “…Let’s go dance.”

     Jerry paused with his watered down beer halfway to his mouth, his eyes caught on the sight Dev and Jos cut as they slow danced together. They couldn’t have picked a better place to stand, he thought wryly as he watched them through his eyelashes, pretending to listen to the words of the boy prattling nervously next to him.
     A Christmas tree lit them from one side, casting shadows and colors across their figures, defining certain features and blurring others, giving them a private kind of look, like they were alone in the midst of all the other couples.
     And they were, in a way, he thought as Jos shifted in Dev’s arms, his form glaring against the dark window behind him. The only gay couple, or at least the only openly gay one. And the only couple that looked like they could lay down where they were and make passionate love to each other at any second without giving a shit what anyone thought about it.
     Jerry grinned at the thought, knowing how much Jos would probably enjoy doing just that. The little bastard already had the tips of his fingers just under the line of Dev’s boxers, not really noticeable unless you were looking for it. His other hand was almost at Dev’s hip. Almost. Just a bit higher and he would have made it, but as it was Jerry couldn’t classify what Jos was doing as anything other than a blatant ass grab.
     And Jerry wasn’t quite sure if that red tint to Dev’s skin was the Christmas lights or a blush, but he knew which he would have laid odds on.
     Still, the fact that Dev was letting Jos put his hands where he wanted said something, as did the careful way Dev was keeping his arms around Jos’s shoulders. Nothing improper there, if you didn’t take into account the way Dev’s head was laying on Jos’s shoulder, turned toward Jos’s neck.
     He couldn’t be positive, but Jerry was pretty damn sure from the expression on Jos’s face that Dev was biting him. And Jos was liking it. His own form of revenge for Jos feeling him up in public, Jerry supposed.
     He finally registered the fact that the boy he had been pretending to listen to wasn’t talking anymore. He glanced quickly over to check if what’s-his-name was pissed and felt a smile beginning to twitch at his lips.
     The boy had caught sight of Dev and Jos too, and apparently couldn’t drag his eyes away. He was the only one, either, Jerry thought as he flicked his eyes around the room. Pretty much everyone was watching out of the corner of their eye if they weren’t outright staring.
     No doubt they were drinking it all in, fuel for tomorrow’s gossip. Hell, next hour’s gossip.
     They’d all be talking about it, embellishing it, until it sounded like Dev and Jos had fucked under the Christmas tree.
     Which, to be honest, Jerry wouldn’t put past either of them, but he was at least reasonably sure that Dev wouldn’t let it happen in front of witnesses unless he had some major incentive.
     Or was, you know, unconscious.
     Some things were going to hold true throughout all the stories, though, Jerry sighed to himself as he took another look at the room. The things that the smarter people were noticing and linking together, like the way that Jos was much more comfortable than Dev was, the fact that Dev wasn’t protesting when Jos slid his hand just a bit more into Dev’s pants, the way Dev had, if you though to look for it, unconsciously moved to twine his arms around Jos’s neck instead of wrapping them around his waist, a move that gave away a whole lot more than Jos think Dev ever wanted anyone knowing for certain.
     “Is Devon still into girls?” The boy asked suddenly, sounding like he wasn’t sure what he wanted the answer to be.
     Jerry cut him a look. “Why do you think that?”
     “Dunno,” the kid shrugged. “Just kinda looked like he was staring at one of the girls who passed by, for a second.”
     “The one whose sweater was hanging a bit too low of her shoulders?”
     “Yeah. Her.” A sideways glance. “He still likes girls, doesn’t he? He’s bi.”
     And that, Jerry thought as he made a noncommittal noise, acting like it had never occurred to him to ask, was what was going to get noticed and talked about the most.

     Ashley leaned against the wall, watching as Adrianne and Andrew flirted with everyone around them while still holding on to each other like they could never dream of looking at another person. She smiled and replied to all the comments that came her way, but her attention was on them. Watching the way the light moved across their faces, the way they angled their bodies, their expressions.
     She took a sip of her Sprite, eyeing them over the rim of her cup, wondering not for the first time what would happen to her if she stepped forward and decided to make a move on Andrew like she had seen Addy do so many times before with other people’s boyfriends.
     Social suicide, she thought. No way I would survive the backlash from that.
     She slid her eyes over to where Devon and Joscelin were swaying to the beat of the song pumping through the house in a distracted manner, their attention clearly on Andy. And from the animation in Andy and Dev’s expression, and Jos’s frequent eye rolls, she felt safe in assuming that they were talking about football.
     Some things never change, she thought as she watched Dev run a distracted hand over the arm Jos had slung around his waist. Even if people do.
     She watched as Dev blushed when Jos pressed a kiss to his neck, a flicker of amusement flashing as she remembered the first time he had done that for her, behind the middle school, both of them grinning about it like idiots afterward.
     Devon…he wasn’t that bad. He was good looking, as nice as could be expected, shy, but good at hiding it. And if he and Jos were dating, well, at least the rumors about Jos and Jerry would finally die down. Those had always annoyed her, because any person could see that while it might have been true, it sure as hell wasn’t happening now.
     Not that anyone really listened to her, if Adrianne said something to contradict.
     But that was beside the point. Dev was a nice guy, and they’d had some good times together. Which was why this was going to be hard, but really, it had to be done. Some things were more important than the last remains of a friendship.
     She slid her hand into her pocket, taking out her cell phone and scrolling through the text messages again until lighting on the one she wanted. She had it memorized already, but she wanted to see it one last time. Insurance that if she did this, things would finally work out.
     Your last chance. Act quickly, or else he’ll be out of reach together. And then where will you be?
     She didn’t want to bother wondering how Emily had gotten hold of her number. She just wanted to get this done with, and then focus on the prize.
     She slid her eyes to the left, drinking in the sight of Andrew as he laughed at some off hand comment, his eyes bright, hair shining, just begging to he threaded through her fingers. And if he strayed a bit, well, as Devon had proved people changed. And under the right kind of pressure Andrew would too. He would see that she was what he needed, and she would have him and finally, finally, not have to see Addy’s self satisfied little smirk anymore.
     But she had to act tonight, because with Christmas break coming up she wasn’t going to get a better chance. And with all the alcohol that Jessica had broken out tonight, she was sure to get more than one try if the first didn’t work.
     “Hey,” she said casually into a lull in the conversation, drawing attention to herself as all eyes looked eagerly to the new source of entertainment. Ashley let her eyes linger on the sight Dev and Jos made before deliberately tearing them away, flashing a half curious, half wicked smile. “You remember how Dev used to not really care what Adrianne did?” Nods. “I wonder what he’d do now if someone made a pass at Jos…”
     Ashley leaned back against the wall and let the conversation flow around her, murmuring a word here and there, trying to direct it where she wanted it to go. Not that it needed a whole lot of directing, to be honest. Clearly the topic of Dev and Jos’s relationship was one people were willing to gossip about to no end, and apparently, once it was pointed out to them, every girl and guy was wondering the exact same thing, especially as the first furtive whispers of maybe Dev still being into women started to pop up.
     What would Dev do if he saw someone hitting on Jos?
     What would he do if he saw something more than that?
     Ash let the thread of the conversation go and watched Dev and Jos for a moment, then slid her gaze over to Andrew.
     By the time they decide to do something they wont even realize I suggested it, Ashley mentally sighed, not sure whether to be grateful or annoyed over the fact. And by the time they follow through…well, if nothing else there will be some new gossip to pass around.
     Sorry, Devon, she thought with a quick twinge of regret.. But some things are more important than you.