"What about that guy? He's hot, right?" Amanda asked.

Akko barely looked up from her drink at the question. "I know you don't like guys, but I'm pretty sure you still have eyes." The brunette sighed before knocking back the rest of her drink and chuckling. "Huh. That rhymed. I'm a poet and I didn't even know it."

Amanda raised a brow at that. "You gotta be drunk if you thought that was funny."

"Oh, give me a break. You've been trying to hook me up with people all night. It's not my fault I need a drink or two just to survive this."

"Maybe not, but it is your fault for being such an innocent little snowflake. I would be a failure of a delinquent if I didn't try to tarnish such a pure maiden."

Amanda's words might have elicited a blush or "Nani ka?!" a few hours earlier, but even Akko's energy levels had their limits, and the alcohol was not helping them.

"You're one to talk. How's your progress with Hannah?" As Amanda groaned and pointedly refused to make eye contact, Akko noticed a new arrival to the dance bar. "Speak of the Devil. Hey Hannah!" Akko stood up and began waving the girl over.

Hannah tried to roll her eyes at the sight of Akko and Amanda, but a rebellious smile slipped onto her features nonetheless. She said something indiscernible to someone who had yet to enter the bar and began weaving her way towards the notorious pair.

Akko only managed to focus on the newly arrived ginger for a moment before her friend appeared and stole Akko's attention and breath.

Blonde hair? Check. Tasteful yet alluring outfit. Check. Flawless skin? Check.

Akko's already endangered heterosexuality? Extinct. Akko's fragile and drunken mental state? Destroyed.

"Hey Diana! Yo, it's been forever since I last saw you. What're you doing here?"

"Evidently I have been working too much, so Hannah is forcing me to relax by getting thoroughly inebriated." Hannah crashed into the booth occupied by Amanda, leaving a lone seat open across from her in the booth with Akko. Diana seemed taken aback by the sight of a third girl she had never seen before. "I apologize for intruding, but it seems as though we will be sharing a booth, unless you would rather have Hannah and I sit somewhere else. I would hate to ruin your evening just for my own enjoyment, and there are plenty of other seats available."

Akko, devoid of speech, frantically shook her head.

If Diana was put off by this, she did not show it. "Thank you, Miss…?" she asked as she sat down.

"Akko," the broken bisexual managed to mutter before releasing a torrent of words. "Or I guess it would be Miss Kagari, since that's my family name, but that sounds weird, so just call me by my first name, though really that's actually Atsuko, but people close to me just call me Akko, and I'd like you to be close to me."

Hannah was torn between staring dumbfounded at Akko or helping Amanda who was now choking on laughter and whiskey.

Fortunately for Akko, Diana decided to let the comment pass. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Akko. My name is Diana Cavendish."

"Wow, even your name is pretty."

Pink came unbidden to Diana's cheeks as Amanda quietly spoke to Hannah. "I literally said Diana's name as she was walking in. Why is she acting like this is the first time she's heard it?"

"I don't think she's heard anything except Diana's voice since she caught sight of her. Now be quiet so we can watch the show."

Meanwhile Diana was quick to recover. "My, Hannah told me I would have no trouble finding other girls here, but I hardly expected to find one so quickly who was so eager to flirt. Thank you for your kind words, Akko.

Akko flicked her gaze down at the leather of the booth between her and Diana. "Sorry. I'm not normally like this, but spending this long around Amanda without any alcohol would have been torture."

"Fair," chimed in the aforementioned redhead.

"That, and I'm really bad at talking around pretty girls."

"I suppose that must make it difficult for you to practice giving speeches in a mirror, then?"

"What's that supposed to… oh." It was Akko's turn to blush and Hannah's turn to choke on her drink.

"Wow Cavendish, I didn't know you had it in you."

Amanda's mouth was poised to make further remarks, but Hannah recovered fast enough to speak first. "Diana, Amanda and I are going to go do a little dancing. Can we count on you to take care of Akko?"

Diana was hesitant to remain behind with the admittedly cute, yet drunk stranger sitting beside her, but Amanda and Hannah had been metaphorically dancing around one another for months now, so some literal dancing was long overdue. Besides, Diana would have been lying if she said she was not interested in getting to know the Japanese girl next to her. "Of course, Hannah."

"Hold up a second. This was just starting to get good." Amanda was stopped from commenting further by a hand on her arm.

"Amanda," Hannah started with a tone of voice which should have been illegal to use on a lesbian while locking eyes with her. "Don't you want to dance with me?"

The troublemaker failed to see the full pout Hannah was giving her due to how close their faces were, but she saw enough. "Okay," she squeaked out.

With that, Hannah dragged her out of the booth and out towards the bar's modest dance floor. Once both redheads had departed, Diana returned her attention to her remaining companion. "Akko, are you alright? You seem upset about something."

"Amanda just left me with a really hot girl while I'm drunk. What if I need someone to bail me out?"

"You have only been with me for a few moments, and you have already determined that I am such a bore that you need Amanda to bail you out? This, right after you claimed to require alcohol just to stand being around her. I must admit, I feel rather insulted by the implication there."

Akko flopped backwards from Diana and waved her arms back and forth fervently. "Wha- what, no! That's not what I meant! I'm sure you're super fun. I just meant that…." Akko stopped as she noticed Diana failing to hide her giggles. "Oh, you're just teasing me."

Wow, I was right on both counts," Diana began while warmly smiling at her impromptu partner for the evening. "You are cute while flustered and while pouting. I am quite impressed."

Doki doki. "You- you know, for- for someone s-so eager to call m-me a flirt, you sure seem to enjoy messing with me."

Diana leaned back in her seat and released a heavy sigh. "Hannah may have been right. My workload has been significantly amplified by the events of the past few weeks, and it seems that the stress has built up more than I realized. I need to blow off some steam, and flirting with you seems to be working for that." The blonde stopped to think for a second. "Still, as much as I am enjoying this, I would love to have a conversation of greater substance with you. Flirting can only take us so far, and any friend of Amanda O'Neill must have more to her than a pretty face. Shall we get to know one another better?"

"That sounds good to me. Maybe I can sober up enough to not make a fool of myself and to survive more compliments." Akko found herself the target of an uncharacteristically mischievous look from her newest friend.

"Oh, well we cannot have you sobering up, now can we? How am I to worm all of your secrets out of you unless you are drunk? Shall we move this to the bar?"

"Eeeeh?!"

"So you met Amanda because she flooded your dorm?"

"She tried to install a hot dub in her dorm room! Her room was above mine, so I ran up there to see what was causing the leak. As soon as she explained the plan I ran back downstairs, put a bowl under the leak, ran back upstairs, and joined in. All of us nearly got expelled." Akko's cheeks puffed up at the memory. "They didn't even let us keep the hot tub."

"What a shame," Diana laughed. "I would have loved to join you some time."

"Yeah right, Miss 'medical school student, top of my class in undergrad, and heir to the Cavendish estate.' I'm sure you'd be willing to take the risk of expulsion."

"I do not sound like that! And I am sure the risk of expulsion would have been worth seeing you in a swimsuit."

Akko giggled. "Sure, flirt all you want. It doesn't hide the fact that you're a super nerd." A revelation hit. "Oh my God, you would look so hot with glasses on!"

"Are you fantasizing about me right to my face?

"Can we go to a store that sells glasses right now? Please Diana, I need this."

Diana tried with questionable success to ignore the way the brunette's begging and pronunciation of her name affected her. "I think I might have ordered you too many drink. You are being a little more open than I initially intended."

"Honesty is the best policy! And don't think you're getting yourself out of this. To the glasses store!"

"Would you not rather join me on the dance floor? I haven't seen Hannah or Amanda in a while."

"Oh, they left."

"Excuse me?"

"While you were in the bathroom earlier they came by and Amanda asked if I was ready to leave, and I said no, so they said you'd take me home." Akko looked down for a moment. "I probably should have mentioned that earlier."

Diana began to rub her forehead as her brow furrowed. "So Hannah and Amanda left a clearly intoxicated young woman with me, another young woman who has been feeding her drinks all night, and who is clearly interested in her?"

"You're interested in me?"

"I will call you a cab, and then I will call Hannah and Amanda. They need to know how dangerous of a situation this could have been if I had been someone other than myself. Honestly, this is completely unaccept…"

"Diana." The blonde paused. "Calm down. You know what you just said? 'If I had been someone other than myself.' Well, you are yourself, and Hannah and Amanda know that. They trust you with me, and your reaction only shows that they were right to. Heck, I've only know you for a few hours, and I trust you, too." Akko looked down at the floor and chuckled. "Besides, there's not much you could do to me that I would have a problem with, drunk or not."

"Oh." Red overtook Diana's features. "I fear I have not response to all of that. Would you mind if we danced until my brain recovers?"

Akko snorted. "Of course not. Let's go."

And so a relatively drunk Diana was led to the dance floor by a relatively plastered Akko. The crowd had significantly thinned itself out since Amanda and Hannah's departure, but there was still the odd couple or two dancing on the fringes as well as one guy confident enough to dance alone in the middle of the room. This odd assortment was soon joined by two intoxicated young women.

"Now, Miss Kagari, I know I invited you out here, but are you sure you are even in a proper enough state to dance. I would hate to see you get hurt out here."

"I doubt a fall would hurt me more than missing out on the chance to dance with you. I still need to win you over with my slick moves."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Trust me, you do not have to worry about winning me over. Somehow your mixture of sincere, sweet, and sexy has been incredibly effective. You must get all the girls."

The intensity of Akko's gaze was only enhanced by the pair's close proximity. "I don't do this with other girls. I can only talk to you like this because you're the most beautiful person I've ever met, and everytime you look like you'll forget that fact I feel the need to remind."

"May I kiss you, Atsuko Kagari?" The breath from the words teased the brunette's lips.

"How bold, Diana Cavendish," Akko said before nodding.

Unfortunately, the second before their lips met, Diana stopped and separated from the other girl. "Wait, you're drunk. What if you're just going along with this because of the alcohol?"

Akko huffed. "Diana, I appreciate the thought, but I just told you that I trust you enough to take care of me, and now I need you to trust me when I say I know what I want. When I wake up tomorrow, my first plan will be to find a toothbrush so we can do what we are about to do again while I am sober, so shut up and kiss me, please."

There was not much Diana could say to that, so she put her seventeen years of schooling to use and followed the directions given to her.