Chapter Text
It was a party, Isak could remember that much. If anything, he could remember a lot of people occupying almost every crook of the frat house. He could remember how loud the music was, but he couldn’t remember what songs were played. And he could remember who invited him to the party, but he couldn’t remember who it was that led him into the empty bedroom last night.
“How stupid do you have to allow someone to take you to a bedroom during a party when you’re drunk as fuck?” Jonas had teased him the next afternoon when he tried explaining how little he could remember last night. They laid in his room, just talking in the dark as they recovered from their hangover. If Isak could recall correctly, Jonas was just about as drunk as Isak was that night, if not worse. But Isak wasn’t about to expose him; he could hardly remember what year it was without looking at a calendar.
“I’m being serious, Jonas,” Isak said, furrowing his eyebrows together. “I don’t remember what happened to me, and all I remember is you finding me naked in the room this morning. No one else was here with me, Jonas. I need to know what else happened.”
Isak planned on taking it easy today at the frat house. He lived with Jonas, his best friend, Even, Magnus, Mahdi, Eskild, Elias, William, Chris, and others that Isak didn’t know. He hardly came out to any parties they had, but he was more worried about passing his classes at the moment rather than being in a fraternity. Jonas kept telling him to loosen up and just have some fun while he was in college, but Isak constantly refused. If he wanted to have some fun, he could always sit in his dark dorm room wrapped around in his favorite blanket, watching episodes of The Office on his laptop while eating leftover takeout. But of course, he didn’t tell Jonas about his ideas of fun, and now that Isak got a taste of college’s expectation of fun, he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to do it ever again.
“Well, if you think you got raped, you don’t have any evidence,” Jonas pointed out, shifting on the bed. “Why do you always assume that the worst things happen to you? Just because you’re getting bad marks doesn’t mean that you’re going to get raped in the same year.”
The word made Isak cringe. He didn’t like that it sounded like he got raped, but he knew that all the arrows were pointing in that direction. “Whatever, but someone led me to this bedroom, Jonas. I remember that I didn’t just walk here by myself. It’s really fuzzy and everything and I really need to know what happened, now.”
“Go ask Even if you want to find out what happened. He could barely get his eyes off of you the whole night,” the raven muttered. “If you find out anything, tell me.”
Even was nothing more than “that really nice kid” to Isak. Sure, they talked a few times, but they never actually hung out or went anywhere as friends. If he had to be honest, he would love to hang out with him. They shared a lot of the same interests and had a lot in common, which got eased some of the awkwardness whenever they talked. It kind of startled him hearing that Even couldn’t stop looking at him, but he didn’t find it to be a bad thing. No, Isak didn’t like to think himself as even remotely attractive, and deemed that to be the reason why he could never get into a relationship with a girl.
He knew that Even was gay while he was straight, but maybe he could use that as an advantage to get information out of him. When he was sure that everyone was awake, Isak knocked softly on the tall blonde’s door, giving him the warmest smile that he could muster. “Hey, Even. Can I ask you something?”
He nodded and stepped aside to let Isak in, closing the door behind him. Even was somewhat timid and lazy – the lack of decoration and abundance of trash and clothes in his room only screamed that. Isak could relate though, but his room was much worse. During high school one time, his room had gotten so full of trash and rubbish that his dad had found a raccoon snacking in the closet.
“Last night,” he started and sat down on Even’s bed. “I was drunk as fuck and I can hardly remember anything. But, the thing is that I remember someone taking me into Jonas’s bedroom. I don’t know what happened after that but Jonas said he found me naked this morning on his bed. Did you happen to see who took me upstairs? That’s all I’m asking.”
Even’s face turned a light shade of red as he looked away, pretending to ponder. Isak sighed as he patiently waited for his answer. He wouldn’t have guessed that Even had a crush on him, but if he did, he didn’t really care. He wouldn’t date him, that was for sure, but it wouldn’t bother him like it might bother other people who have same-sex admirers.
“Oh! You did go upstairs with someone, and willingly, too. I was looking for Eskild when I saw you laughing with them, but I didn’t really get a good look at their face. They were wearing really dark clothing and they were facing away from me.”
“Are you kidding me?” Isak exploded, slamming his fists against the soft mattress. Even looked taken aback at the sudden outburst, and when Isak recovered, he took a step closer. “I’m sorry I didn’t help much, but if it makes you feel better, I can help you look for them.”
Isak shook his head, running his fingers through his hair as he stood and started pacing the room. “No, I should probably do this alone. I don’t want to keep asking around and I can probably find him faster if I do it alone.”
Even grabbed his shoulder, making Isak jump and look at him. Even returned the look of shock with a smile. “Let me help. We don’t have to look around, I can ask you questions and point out people who might’ve done it. And you might not remember much now since you still have a hangover and your memory is a bit foggy, but as time passes and you see familiar things, you might remember. I want to be there to help you when your memories come back. Besides, if someone really did rape you, they won’t have the chance to do it again once we catch them.”
An uneasy feeling settled in Isak’s stomach as he heard the word. He wasn’t even sure if he was raped, but a sinking feeling in his stomach led him to believe otherwise. Dubiously, Isak stared long and hard at Even’s sweet smile, and hoped that he wasn’t being deceived. But Even was one of the sweetest people he knew, and didn’t look capable of hurting even the smallest offender. For all he knew, Even could’ve been the one who led him to Jonas’s room that night, but there was no need to jump to conclusions so soon.
So Isak returned the smile and nodded, leaning in and giving him a hug. “You’re the best. Thank you so much.”
“The last thing I want is for anyone to get hurt like that again, even if we don’t really talk. Let’s go eat some breakfast to help you think clearly, okay?”