Dissolve by L.V. Hunter

Kai jumps to his feet and eases me down on the bed.
    “Holy shit, how much did you drink? Are you okay?”
    “I-I’m fine,” I manage. “It’s vodka, and I had three gulps - three shots, more or less. I’ll be alright. Just don’t -”
    I pull his hand off my shoulder, and he starts back.
    “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean to-”
    “It’s fine,” I murmur. “I’m just not good with guys touching me.”
    He’s quiet. The cartoons keep playing in the background, like some kind of sick mockery of our silence. I pick a bag of fritos out of the gas station haul.
    “Thanks for buying all this, by the way.” I say. Kai rummages through another bag. He pulls out a container of guacamole and uncaps it, handing it to me.
    “Can’t have salty-ass chips without some guac.”
    “Agreed.”
    We watch the TV for a bit, Kai sitting with his legs splayed against the side of the bed, on the floor, while I’m on top of it. He’s suddenly careful about making sure our hands don’t touch when we reach in the same chip bag, or pass each other energy drinks. The booze is hitting me hard, and I start laughing at every little thing in the cartoon, and Kai laughs with me. A joke has us both practically in tears, and a thump and a shout of ‘shut up’ from the wall next door is the only thing that ends our laughing spree. We cover our mouths and struggle to contain ourselves.
    “Shh, shhh. Shut up,” I wave my hand at him. “I don’t wanna get kicked out.”
    “It’s okay,” He scoffs. “I’ll drive us home if we do.”
    “You can’t! The roads are closed, dumbass, and it’s cold and you’re drunk.”
    “Uh, no, you’re the drunk one. I haven’t touched the stuff. Gotta have a clear head in case you pass out.”
    I flinch, the words too convenient, too much like I’ve been expecting. He must see how I react, because he backtracks.
    “Shit, shit shit . I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant in case something happened to you -”
    I shove the water bottle of vodka in his face. “Chug, mister.”
    “What?”
    “I can’t be the only one drunk, here. You have to be compromised, too. It’s gotta be equal or I can’t…” I take a breath. “I can’t. I don’t want to go back to my Dad’s, but I can’t do sleep here if you’re more in control than I am. It scares me too much.”
    Kai’s mismatched eyes go soft. He takes the water bottle and determinedly downs nearly half of it. When he comes up for air, he salutes.
    “Reporting for duty, ma’am.”
    I laugh and grab the bottle back from him. “That was a whole shitload. Are you gonna be okay?”
    “I had to catch up. If I die here, donate my corpse to science.”
    “Right, because I definitely want a bunch of Kai clones running around and shacking up with every girl under the sun. No thanks.”
    “Hey man, an army of shag bots with my devastating good-looks would be unstoppable.”
    “I would go on a personal vendetta to assassinate every single one of them.”
    He laughs. “Train for tens years under a waterfall.”
    “Get really good at guns,” I add, stuffing peanuts in my mouth. “Kung-fu cage fights every night to toughen my muscles up.”
    “No guys would mess with you then,” He says. “You’d be safe from their evil clutches.”
    “Truly. Why haven’t I thought of this sooner?”
    “Assassin training might be a little expensive.”
    “And I’m broke.”
    “We’re all broke. We’re in college.”
    “And my Dad hates me.”
    “Join the club!” He toasts at me with a cheeto bag.
    “Your Dad sounds way worse than mine.” I say.
    “He’s the worst guy alive,” Kai’s eyes get distant for a moment, but then he forces a smile. “I bet your Mom’s pretty great though.”
    “Oh, are you kidding? She’s the best. When I graduate and get a good job, I’m gonna help her out with all the stuff at the house - renovations, mortage. All that good stuff.”
    “That’s awfully noble of you.”
    “What else am I gonna do with