#45: Stereo
Yusaku is not from Satellite in this one.
The music was blaring, far too loud for Yusaku’s tastes. Then again, he was sitting right next to the stereo, so that could have something to do with it.
Yusaku hadn’t even drunk many drinks, yet he could already feel a headache coming. Somehow, he had managed to get talked over by Ryoken and Takeru about coming to a bar with the group. Now, though, he was sitting here, alone. He was pretty sure Ryoken and Spectre, at least, were on the dancefloor. Takeru and Aoi were there, too, or then Takeru was throwing up in the bathroom with Shima. The rest, Yusaku wasn’t sure. Maybe they were getting more drinks at the bar, maybe they had found themselves at the karaoke, who knows. But Yusaku found himself sitting there, alone, too damn near the stereo and the music was on too loud and he wasn’t enjoying this night.
Suddenly, someone sat in front of him on the table, pushing a glass in front of him. He frowned down at it, then glancing at the man in front of him. He had black hair with golden highlights, the deepest blue eyes he had ever seen and a weird, yellow tattoo on his face. The smile the man shot him was the best thing Yusaku had ever seen, at least in his drunken haze it seemed that way. “It’s water. You looked like you needed some.”
Yusaku glanced down at the glass again. It looked like water… “How do I know you aren’t trying to drug me?”
“Because if it was entertainment I wanted, I’ve got plenty here.” The man gestured to the dancefloor. “The albino looks drunken enough that he’ll probably hit the karaoke soon and start a fight with the ‘King of Karaoke’, Jack Atlas himself.”
Yusaku glanced back, and… yeah, the man was talking about Ryoken, who really looked like he might just hit the karaoke next and let everyone hear his drunken singing. The young man probably wouldn’t have any recollection of tonight, he looked that drunk. And Spectre… yeah, Spectre was making out with Aoi. They were both definitely way too drunk, too.
“… You have a point”, Yusaku admitted, glancing back at the water. Suspicious as he was, he was drunk enough to let it slip his mind. Instead, he took a sip, nodding to the man. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” The man smiled. “Why are you sitting here all alone, brooding, anyway?”
“Don’t really wanna be here”, Yusaku admitted, nodding towards Ryoken. “But, my friends dragged me here.”
The man glanced back at Ryoken and then at him. “That… that’s your friend?”
The incredulous and worried look made Yusaku crack a smile. “That is his own fault, and I will laugh at him tomorrow when he has no idea what he has done.”
The man chuckled, before glancing back at Ryoken. “… Damn, I should probably go stop Jack before those two really get into a fight.”
“Your friend?” Yusaku paused for a moment. “The King of Karaoke?”
“So he thinks, but he’s horrible.” The man shook his head. “But, when you’re drunk enough, you can do crazy things, right?”
Yusaku had to agree with that.
“Oh, by the way.” The man stood up, smiling to him. “There’s a free table when you go five tables that way. It’s far enough from the stereos that it shouldn’t seem too loud.”
Had he been that obvious? “… Thanks, for letting me know.”
“… You know, I’ll go stop Jack and make sure Crow didn’t get himself thrown out.” The man stared at him with a seductive look. “If you want to, I’ll join you at that table after that?”
Yusaku might enjoy tonight, after all.
