So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways
All my underdogs, we will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty-gritty, dirty little freaks
Won′t you come on, and come on, and raise your glass

I wondered if it was because of the Secco that I was hardly surprised by his presence. But still... Chishiya and karaoke? That went about as well together as Niragi and a tea party. But there he was, casual as ever, sunk deep into his armchair, hands in his jacket pockets, watching us giggling almost amusedly. Every now and then I noticed him shaking his head in bewilderment, as if he couldn't believe he was here to watch our amateurish performance.

Why was he here?

The question increasingly forced itself into my head as the fog of alcohol in my head cleared a little.

"Maybe I did it to confuse you."

His words from earlier still echoed in my head. Was that perhaps the reason? Did he do it all because he wanted to upset me? But what exactly did he get out of it? No matter how much I thought about it, nothing about his behaviour made sense.

Kuina chose the next song, a well-known anime intro, and this time we all sang along, even Minsu's soft voice could be heard in the background. Nevertheless, I couldn't stop my eyes from furtively glancing over at Chishiya. He had this strange pull about him that kept drawing me in, whether I wanted to or not. And Chishiya - he seemed all too aware of my attention, almost as if he enjoyed it when my eyes were on him.

Like a narcissist who secretly craved admiration.

I quickly shook off the thoughts and tried to turn my concentration back to the music. But it was difficult to simply block out Chishiya's presence. I could literally feel him watching me and scrutinising my every move, almost as if he were conducting a medical study.

"Come on, Izzy, let's have another drink!" Kuina shouted enthusiastically, pointing to the bottle of strawberry sparkling wine next to me.

That suited me just fine. The alcohol would certainly make this strange tension in me disappear quickly. And probably also lower my inhibitions again.

Who cares?

I quickly grabbed the bottle and topped up our empty glasses.

My gaze slowly returned to Chishiya.

"So, Chishiya, while you're here, you have to join us in a toast," I said challengingly and took a fresh glass from the sideboard.

Chishiya raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think that alcohol will make your yowling more bearable?" he asked, half mockingly, half amused.

I snorted defiantly.

"No, but it might help to loosen you up a bit," I said and was about to refill the glass as I headed towards him with wobbly steps.

The red liquid sloshed menacingly over the rim as I set the bottle down again. Chishiya watched with slight suspicion as I carefully balanced the glass in my hand.

"Thank you, but I'll pass. I prefer to keep my wits about me."

Visibly disappointed, I lowered the glass in my hand. I would actually have liked to have seen him drunk. Would he be any different then? Just... more approachable. Probably not.

"That's so typical of a bore like you," I grumbled and stared sullenly into the brimming glass.

I let out a sigh.

"Hm whatever" I said, shrugging my shoulders and lifting it to my lips to empty it in a few draughts.

Chishiya almost looked a little surprised when I put it down again.

"If you keep this up, our late shift tomorrow could be pretty interesting. Just for the record, I won't take any notice if you slack off."

I rolled my eyes.

"So you're not just a bore, you're also a moraliser," I replied stubbornly, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.

Chishiya just grinned and leant back with his arms crossed.

"Well, someone has to make sure you're halfway fit tomorrow."

I snorted and put the glass down on the table with a dull clink.

"Tss, I'm old enough to know what I'm doing," I slurred, more to myself than to him. "And until tomorrow night... Well, it'll be a while, so chill out, Chishi."

Chishiya frowned. He looked at me for a moment, as if weighing my words in his head.

"So Chishi, huh? Didn't realise we were so familiar with each other already."

"Well, listen, you don't realise how hard it is to say your name being drunk," I said reproachfully.

Chishiya laughed softly.

"That's the most creative excuse I've ever heard for giving myself a nickname. I'm...almost impressed."

I was about to shoot something back, but a touch made me flinch. Kuina had grabbed my arm and was tugging on it.

"Come on, Izzy, we don't have much time until midnight and you said you wanted to sing that one song from Twice."

"Er yeah."

I barely managed to object before Kuina had dragged me back in front of the screen and pressed the microphone into my hand. I smiled a little confused at her behaviour, but said nothing as the song had already started. Even though my senses became a little foggy again, I still had the impression that she was reluctantly tolerating Chishiya's presence here. But when the song started, my concerns were blown away again.

With each song, I could feel the alcohol getting into my head and enveloping me in a pleasant warmth. I smiled to myself, realised how I was becoming more relaxed and the words just flowed out of me. I was still aware of Chishiya's presence, but this time I managed to block it out.

We belted out one song after another into the microphones with total dedication until my voice had the volume of a squeaking chicken. But I hardly cared.

The atmosphere swept me away so that I could no longer stand still. My body felt light, almost weightless, and before I knew it, I began to dance.

Just as I was performing Madonna's Like a Virgin with a dramatic arm movement and a sweeping turn, there was a sudden abrupt cut. The sound stopped, the screen went black and all you could hear was our last, desperate "touched for the very first time" echoing in the silence. At the same moment, the lights went out. A moment of silence... and then a quiet, unmistakable snort from the background.

"Wow, impressive finish," Chishiya said dryly.

We stared at the black screen in front of us.

"Well, guys, I guess that's it," I heard Kuina say with a sigh.

I groaned.

"Seriously? I was really good just now...would definitely have cracked the high score. For sure..." I said, the heaviness of the Secco clearly noticeable on my tongue. "I'll go to Hatter and complain...yes, I will...can't be..."

Kiko next to me just laughed.

"Well, I'd be curious to see the reaction," Chishiya interjected with amusement.

Shortly afterwards, it got brighter again: a dim light on Kuina's bedside table flickered on. One of those battery-powered lamps. I blinked in confusion. The light was... funny. It flickered in front of my eyes. But maybe that was just me.

Only a few minutes later, Kiko and Minsu said their goodbyes, while I sank to the floor, a little weak. My head was pounding a little and I realised that my vision was a little blurred.

Kuina's eyes wandered to me. She wore a tired grin.

"And you? Are you going to spend the night here?"

"Nah," I said in a hoarse voice. Damn, I sounded like I'd inhaled two packets of cigarettes. "I'm... about to leave too. Just one more tiny sip."

With a quick swish, I raised my glass with its red contents.

Kuina's gaze wandered over to Chishiya, who had remained motionless in his armchair the whole time, perfectly camouflaged, like a cat lurking silently in the shadows, watching its prey before going on the attack. The only thing missing was that his eyes flashed in the darkness.

Kuina's expression became a touch sharper.

"Well, did you have fun, Chishiya?"

Was it my imagination or did she sound a little... passive-aggressive?

The man I spoke to nodded thoughtfully, as if he needed to think about it for a moment.

"Well, I have to admit, it had a special entertainment value, even if my ears almost bled in between," he said and then slowly rose from his chair. "I'm going to leave now too and enjoy the heavenly peace and quiet in my room."

He walked past me and gave me a cursory glance. A slight tingling sensation spread through my stomach. Why was he looking at me like that? So... indefinable.

I frantically emptied my glass and jumped up. Okay, actually it was more of a slow stagger. The strength drained from my legs. They felt strange - so... flabby. And somehow they weren't doing what I wanted them to. I carefully groped for the bed next to me and clumsily pulled myself up from the floor.

"Hey, w-wait for me," I called after Chishiya and tried to catch up with him, my steps as clumsy as those of a newly hatched baby penguin.

He turned round and raised his eyebrow snidely again, as if my fate was the last thing he cared about.

"Why should I?"

"So you...," I dragged a few steps towards him, causing me to stumble so badly I almost fell over my own feet. "You can't just run off like that. That's... rude! Really! You sit in the corner all evening, doing nothing but making big speeches and then... you just take off. Wh-what are you doing? Can't you...?"

I lost the thread. Why was I talking so much anyway? I looked briefly at Kuina and she was grinning broadly. But... Wasn't there something else in her eyes? What was it? Worry? Yes, that had to be it.

"I can take you downstairs too, Izzy," she said with a grin, stepping towards me. "Not that you'll get lost on the way there."

She hooked herself under me.

"Oh come on, I can manage that," I waved her off and resolutely pulled away from her. "I'll just get in the lift and whoosh," I made a sweeping arm movement, "I'll be there... It's that quick."

She nodded hesitantly, as if she had her doubts.

"All right, if you say so."

Her eyes flicked briefly over to Chishiya. She looked as if she wanted to ask him something. But instead she just pressed her lips together.

"Don't worry. I'm already grown up, I mean... well, an adult, I guess." I staggered a few steps towards her before suddenly falling into her arms. Her embrace was warm, almost comforting, and for a moment I didn't want to move at all. Kuina blinked in surprise, but then she gently placed a hand on my head and patted it as if I were an unhelpful toddler. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Kuina," I murmured against her shoulder. "We really must do it again sometime. And then I'll sing you to the ground."

I let out a silly giggle.

"That's for sure. Good night, Izzy-chan!" she said with a wry smile and waved to me as I walked out of the room with Chishiya, who, for whatever reason, was still leaning in the doorway watching us.

Had he been waiting? For me?

As soon as the door closed behind us, we stood alone in the sparsely lit corridor. Only the faint light of the emergency lighting flickered from the walls. My head still felt strange, as if it was hanging in a cloud somewhere.

"It's pretty dark in here, isn't it?" I said after an awkward moment of silence.

My voice was still raspy from singing, but my mood was still cheerful.

"Yeah, just make sure you don't trip over your own shadow."

I snorted out loud.

Why was that so damn funny?

"Maybe the shadow will trip over me. And then...I'll just run away really fast. That's actually the idea. Why didn't I think of it before?"

Did I just say that out loud? Oops.

I giggled again, this time at myself, and felt the heat rising in my cheeks.

Chishiya looked like he had to stifle a grin.

"No offence, but in your current state, it's more likely to overtake you."

"My condition? Do you have a problem with my condition? Not everyone can be as frosty as you. And so...you know...weird and confusing. Why are you still here talking at me? Do you want me to sing for you?"

Chishiya shook her head.

"Do you really think I risk further hearing damage?"

"If that's the case, then I'm leaving now. The show is over. Hasta la vista."

I turned around and headed for the lift.

"Oops," I gasped as the floor began to move beneath me. "This is... like being on a ship... haha..."

Panicked, I stretched my arm out towards the wall to look for support and looked up. But it wasn't the wall. It was soft - a shoulder. Where had it come from?

My head slowly lifted and I met Chishiya's unnerved gaze.

"Where are you going anyway? The lift is over there."

I followed his gaze.

"I know," I chortled. "I just wanted to test you. And you passed the test. Congratulations." I shook his arm exuberantly, as if he had just won a gold medal. There was no sign of emotion on Chishiya's face. Instead, he just sighed resignedly, as if he was slowly losing patience with me. "Have you swallowed your humour or what? Oh no, wait, I forgot you don't have one," I teased.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but I could swear that the corner of his mouth twitched briefly.

"Come on," he said, grabbing my shoulders to turn me around and pushing me roughly towards the lift.

"Hey, what'cha doing?" I protested, trying to tear myself away from him. To no avail.

He pressed the call button without letting go of me.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to get you to your room because otherwise you'll be wandering around helplessly in the corridor all night and might end up sleeping it off on my doorstep."

"Helpless? I'm not helpless," I shouted indignantly. "And I didn't drink that much. It was only three...no - four or maybe four and a half glasses," I said thoughtfully, counting them silently with my fingers.

"It hardly matters how much it was when you have zero alcohol tolerance."

Chishiya pulled me into the lift with a tug and then let me go. He pressed the button with the number 3 and put his hands back in his pockets. He leant against the wall, almost dismissively, as if I were an annoying but necessary evil that he didn't want to waste his time with.

I scrutinised him curiously and felt my heart quicken at the sight. That tingling sensation again. But it felt good. Somehow exciting.

But why was he always acting so cold? And why did that fascinate me so much?

Suddenly he looked at me again and a smug grin formed on his lips.

"Enjoying the view?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Pfft, I was just looking at you because you're hard to miss with your I'm-too-cool-for-this-world face. That doesn't mean I admired you or anything. Okay...maybe I was looking a bit. So what? Don't think anything of it. You were just in my field of vision."

Chishiya just grinned silently to himself and crossed his arms casually.

"Hmm, really? So you're saying I don't make you nervous at all?"

He pushed himself away from the wall and took a step towards me. I froze when his face was only a few inches away.

"N-no, n-not at all," I stammered, trying to sound confident, but my voice almost broke when our eyes met.

"Then why do I hear your heart beating all the way here?"

I swallowed, trying to collect myself, but his proximity made it impossible to think clearly. He was far too close. And he was right, too. Damn. But could he really hear that?

"Pah, so this... that's not my heart," I finally objected, desperately searching for words. "That's... that's... the lift! It just makes weird noises sometimes."

Chishiya raised an eyebrow, his grin widening.

"Ah, I see. The lift. Of course."

His voice dripped with sarcasm, and I knew he'd seen through me.

"Yes! Exactly!"

I nodded vigorously, swaying slightly and staggering back. With a swift movement of his hand, Chishiya grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him. At the same moment, the lift signal sounded and the doors opened.

Chishiya ignored it. He looked deep into my eyes and I couldn't help but stare back. His face was so close that I could feel his breath on my skin. His arm nestled gently around my body as he scrutinised me intensely and my heart clenched painfully.

A faltering giggle escaped my throat.

"Chishiya," I called out piqued. I wriggled out of his grip and he let go of me immediately. "What d'ya think you're doin' here?" I asked reproachfully.

He raised his eyebrows as if he wasn't aware of any guilt.

"I was just preventing you from making acquaintance with the floor."

"Well, I may not be in my right mind, but I realise what you're trying to do here. That's really... not okay, you know? You can't just...get that close when I'm...well...like this. Just drunk. That's immoral."

"Immoral?" he repeated slowly, almost mockingly. "Then why did I get the impression that you liked it?"

His gaze was penetrating, as always. And I no longer knew where to look without my cheeks flaring up treacherously.

The way he stood there - so nonchalant, so uninvolved - and yet with a look that went straight to my core. As if he could read my mind. It drove me crazy.

"Oh, shut up," I shot back, turning abruptly and walking - well, stumbling - out of the lift.

Chishiya snorted behind me, but followed me quietly into the dimly lit corridor. I glanced over my shoulder at him.

"What's wrong? Why are you following me? Are you afraid I'll get lost? Or... wait, are you worried about me?" I teased him with a playful grin. "The cool, aloof Chishiya - worried? Now that's something."

"Hardly," he replied coolly. "I just want to avoid you doing something stupid and maybe running into someone from the military. In the end, Kuina would blame me for you rolling around drunk in the corridor somewhere."

"Oh, really?" I paused and staggered a few steps towards him again. "Do you know what I think? I think you actually quite like me. You just don't want to admit it."

I tapped my finger playfully into his chest as if I had just deciphered the mystery of the universe and gave him a triumphant smile.

But Chishiya, as always, didn't let on. His expression remained completely expressionless, apart from the tiny hint of amusement that flickered in his eyes.

"Of course, you're right, Izumi. I just live to chase after you and listen to your profound theories while you can barely manage to walk two steps straight."

His tone was snide. But before I could come up with a repartee, he put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me roughly along the corridor.

"Come on now. Move," he said, clearly more irritated by now. "Otherwise we'll still stand here in the morning. I hope you still know where your room is? Or should I put you down here on the carpet?"

"There!" I shouted, stopping abruptly and pointing to a random door. I nodded vigorously. Chishiya stepped up to the door and pushed the handle down - nothing happened. The door remained locked. A loud laugh burst out of me. "Haha, just kidding!" I exclaimed, swaying slightly to the side as I gave him my widest grin. "It's the 13th."

Chishiya closed his eyes briefly, taking an audible breath. Without another word, he pushed me towards the right door, his movements still calm but now much more urgent. Even though he tried not to let it show, he looked increasingly annoyed and I had to admit that it was fun to get him a bit worked up.

"You know, you could be a bit more grateful to me," I said as we walked on. "At least I bring a bit of entertainment into your grey, monotonous life."

"If by entertainment you mean that I have to stop myself from just abandoning you somewhere, then yes," he replied much more harshly.

Chishiya's eyebrow went up, the typical gesture that I had come to know almost as well as his cynical comments.

I chuckled.

"You're so cute when you're annoyed, you know that? Then you always raise your eyebrow and narrow your eyes, like you're about to do something to me. Wait, something like that." With exaggerated seriousness, I tried to imitate his facial expression. I barely held the grimace for two seconds before I burst out laughing. Chishiya looked at me, almost disapprovingly, his arms crossed loosely in front of his chest and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, just like that, haha. You've really got that down."

I pointed at him and giggled, unable to pull myself together.

"Glad if I could entertain you," he replied dryly, but the little twinkle in his eye revealed that he was actually enjoying himself a little, though I'm sure he'd never admit it.

I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and had to lean against the wall to stop myself from falling over.

"But you know, you should laugh more often. It makes you... er... almost human."

"And you should drink less often," he replied, pushing me towards my room again.

"Well, I think we should do that again sometime. It was really funny with you. And then you have to have a drink. I swear, it'll be epic. Maybe then you'd finally be-"

With a soft sigh, he opened the door in front of me and gave me a little shove when I didn't move and just kept talking at him.

"Tell that to your pillow. Good night, Izumi.

I pushed my lips forward a little.

"But you did have some fun, didn't you? Admit it!"

"Sure, it was... unforgettable," he said dryly. "Go to sleep now."

With those words, he let the door fall into the lock behind me.

"Thanks for bringing me home, Chishi - ah no - Doctor Eyebrow," I called after him, chuckling, but his footsteps were already moving away from my door.