Life of the Party

Chapter One: The Nightclub

A/N:

This was completely unexpected! I typed this up in less than a collective three hours of editing time! I actually started earlier today, just after I published the latest chapter of Passive Versus Active!

Well, that's beside the point. I must apologize for not having updated anything else before publishing this, but hey, inspiration hit me like a tidal wave! What was I supposed to do?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your read! See ya at the bottom!

The obnoxious cacophony of sounds known as the newest pop song did little to comfort me as I sat at the table with my friends, gulping down shot after shot of some liquor that I couldn't remember the name of. Normally, I wouldn't have ordered so much alcohol, what with my amazing tolerance for the cursed drink, but I wasn't paying. So I figured, 'who gives a toss?'

I was currently sitting at a far-off table in the town's best nightclub, the Life of the Party. The experience had been less than fun for me so far, and it didn't look like it would get better any time soon. I still had yet to feel even slightly tipsy, despite the strength of whatever alcohol I had been downing nonstop.

"Wow, look at her go!" someone said from the table next to us, pointing shamelessly at me. His buddies laughed at his next comment. "That chick's downed at least ten shots of Russian Vodka, and she doesn't even look tipsy!"

I turned to the man who said that, giving them a hard look that said, 'I'm still sober enough to beat the crap out of you.' That shut him up, and he turned back to his own table to converse with his friends once more. Satisfied, I turned back to my twelfth shot, downing it in one gulp.

"How are you not even a little drunk yet?" Blunt as ever, Liz.

I shrugged my shoulders, pouring another shot from the bottle we had bought. Even Liz hadn't anticipated that my tolerance for alcohol would be this high.

Too bad for her, I found myself thinking wryly. Since she's the one who's paying tonight. I'm almost done with this bottle, so soon it'll be time for another one.

The song changed, turning to a fast-paced dance song. All of a sudden, Liz swiftly turned her head to me, her pink-dyed hair bouncing slightly. One look in her eyes was all it took to discern her plans. I immediately shook my head feverishly, not even giving her a chance to ask.

"Oh, come on!" Liz said dramatically, pulling me up. "You've got to get over him! Just get out there and ask someone to dance!"

I shook my head once, twice, and thrice more. The motion caused my other friend, who had been silent the whole time we had been at this nightclub, to look up from her book. I looked over at her desperately, pleading with my eyes for her to try to dissuade Liz from her goal of making me dance with a complete stranger.

"You know, Liz is right," my other friend, Shino Asada, said, effectively abandoning me. "You need to get over him and that no-talking-after-breakups habit of yours. Just go out there, find someone and ask them to dance. It's not going to kill you."

I sighed inaudibly, weighing my options. I could do as they say and probably end up dancing with some creep who would want nothing more than to get me in bed with him, I could defy my friends' orders and stay where I currently sat, or I could get up, go into the crowd, and head straight to the bathroom to hide out until it was time to go.

That last one seems like a relatively good plan. Let's go with that one.

I slowly got up, eliciting a 'go get 'em!' from Liz. Sinon appeared to be satisfied as well, for she immediately turned her spectacled gaze back down to her book and continued reading. I frowned, feeling guilty for silently lying to them.

I began walking into the middle of the crowd, trying to remember where the bathrooms were located. If I wanted to fool Liz and Shino, I knew I would have to go right through the dance floor before finding them. I just hope no one notices me and asks me to dance.

But of course, fate was never so kind. In the middle of my trek to the bathrooms, as I tried my damnedest to be unnoticeable, I heard a smooth, masculine voice say, "You know, if you're trying to look inconspicuous, you're not doing a very good job of it."

I looked over to the source, finding a man a little taller than I was, with ebony hair, steel-gray eyes, and a well-toned, though not overly-muscular, body structure.

I gave him a look that said, 'don't talk to me,' but the man ultimately ignored it. He smiled, walking too close to me for comfort.

"Let me guess," he whispered in my ear, making me shiver with fear. "You're looking for the bathrooms?"

He backed away, grinning broadly as he watched my face turn three shades of red. However, despite his wide grin, his eyes told a completely different story about his emotions. Before you ask, no, there was no lust in his eyes. Only…

Sadness.

It was intriguing, to say the least. Everything else about him alluded to happiness, bliss, being filled to the brim with positive energy. But then, when I looked into his eyes, I saw nothing but sorrow, emptiness, and even a hint of self-loathing. And yet, despite the sad vibes she got from his eyes, he didn't seem bitter in the slightest.

He must have noticed me staring, because he averted his eyes, pointing to my left. "The bathrooms are that way."

I nodded my head in thanks, going in the direction he pointed, and was relieved to see the bathrooms in the distance. I looked behind me, finding the man to be gone. Of course, it was only then that I realized something very odd.

How did he know that I wanted to get to the bathrooms?

After only five minutes, the guilt overwhelmed me. There was no way I could just wait there all night, deceiving them into thinking I was dancing with some total stranger. Unless it was that guy I met… no! I don't even know him! He could be a rapist, for all I know!

I sighed as I exited the stall I had been occupying. But… he didn't seem like one. He seemed so… sad… underneath that smile.

After exiting the bathroom, I made a beeline for the table my friends were sitting at. When I got close enough to see them, though, I felt my face go pale.

There were three older men there, all of them sporting lustful expressions. Both of my friends looked very nervous, and I instantly knew what was about to happen. Before I could go and intervene, however, I felt a hand on my right shoulder. Then, I heard a familiar voice once again whisper in my ear.

"Those girls your friends?"

I turned to face the man beside me, nodding timidly. He got the message, and for the first time since I met him, I saw him make a frown. "Give me a second. I'll take care of this."

He walked over to the three men, saying something to them. I couldn't hear him over the loud music, but whatever he said obviously made them angry, as proven when two of the men's lustful expressions turned to ones of anger. The third, however, had a very smug look still plastered on his face. But then, after my ebony-haired acquaintance pulled something out of his jacket pocket, his look changed to one of fear.

What's he doing…? I thought, watching as he continued to speak. The faces of them men he was addressing grew whiter and whiter, until they finally got up and left for the door. What just happened?

Once they had all left, he put whatever he had shown them back in his jacket pocket, then turned to face me. He waved for me to come to the table, and when I walked over, he smiled broadly once again. Even so, his eyes remained ever-sorrowful.

"Asuna, you'll never guess what just happened!" Liz shouted, though her voice still seemed somewhat quiet compared to the sound of the music. "This guy just saved us from a bunch of thugs!"

She pointed the ebony-haired man, who rubbed the back of his neck, smiling embarrassedly. He quickly recovered, his smile returning to its normal, cheery form. "Nah, it was nothing. After all, you're her friends," he said, pointing to me. "Right?"

"Wait…" Shino spoke up, looking between us curiously. "Do you two know each other?"

I feverishly shook my head, still refusing to talk. The man next to me seemed to explain things just fine, so why should I break my tradition?

"No, we just met on the dance floor earlier," he explained, tactfully leaving out the fact that I was looking for the restrooms. "We didn't even exchange names. She's not much of a talker, is she?"

"W-well," Liz started, looking down at her lap. "She's not usually like this."

He looked down, seemingly deep in thought for a few seconds. Then, he looked up, an expression that said, 'Oh, that makes sense!' on his face. "Oh, I get it. She just broke up with someone, right?"

All eyes at the table turned to him in shock, including my own. He must have seen the small amount of pain in mine, for the next thing he said was, "Sorry, did I strike a nerve?"

There was no malice or sarcasm in his voice. Only genuine concern, the same kind that now crossed his facial features. Not wanting to make him feel bad, I quickly shook my head. He sighed in relief, eliciting a silent giggle from me. He's just like a little kid.

"Wait, how did you figure that out?" Shino queried, her book long forgotten on the table.

He closed his eyes, a serene expression coming across his face. "I've been going here a long time. It's almost like it's my home," he said, his serene smile somehow calming me. "And when you're at home, you tend to notice anything and everything that stands out, right? Well, it's kind of like that. I've had a lot of fun just watching interesting people from afar, and in the process, I've learned how to tell when something's off about them. I can tell a lot about a person by how they act, what they do, and who they hang out with here."

I just stared at this man, a look of awe stuck on my features. When he opened his eyes, however, I quickly looked away, a blush growing on my cheeks. What's wrong with me?!

"Anyway, I don't think I've introduced myself, have I?" he queried rhetorically, giving us a blinding smile. "My name's Kazuto Kirigaya."

Liz decided to speak up for us, being the most talkative one of our little group. "I'm Rika, but my friends call me Liz," she said before pointing to Shino. "This is Shino. It's a wonder she hasn't started reading again. And finally, the one you met earlier is—"

"Asuna!"

All eyes turned to me, surprised at my sudden outburst. I was just as shocked as they were, honestly; I wasn't planning to talk for several days at least. Even so, I had to finish my introduction. "T-that's my name."

At this, Kazuto gave me the happiest smile I had seen him give all night. "Asuna, eh? Nice name! I'll remember that one."

"Why?" I queried, further startling my friends.

"Because you're interesting," he told me before looking at his watch. When he looked back up, his eyes widened considerably. "Ah, man! I've gotta get over there! Sorry, but I have to go…"

He got up from his seat at the table, (when did he even sit down?) giving Shino and Liz smiles before turning to me. "Hey, do you think we could all meet up here again?"

The question caught me completely off guard. "I-I don't know—"

"Next Saturday at eight! We'll be here!" Liz shouted, startling all of us. Shino looked at Liz as if the pinkette had gone mad, and I did nothing but stare in shock at my friend's audacity.

"Sweet!" Kazuto said, giving us a thumbs-up. "Well, I'll be seeing you!"

With that, he left our tables, bidding us goodnight.

It had apparently snowed since we had gone in the Life of the Party, for when we exited the building, we were greeted with white all around us. So pretty…

"Hey, do either of you think his name sounded familiar?" Liz said from my left, sporting one of her rarer looks: one of contemplation.

"I feel like I heard it on the news somewhere…" Shino said from my right, pulling her face out of her book once more. "Why?"

"I dunno, it seems like he's famous or something…" Liz replied. Not a second later, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Guys, I just remembered where I heard his name!"

"Where?" I asked her, all reservations about talking gone thanks to Kazuto.

"It was on the news last week! Kazuto Kirigaya is the name of the new owner of the Life of the Party! He's the one who made the renovations to the place that made it more popular!"

"What?!"

A/N:

So, how was that? Like it? Hate it? I hope you'll be able to tell me what you thought of this in a review!

I guess that's all I have to say! Here's the disclaimer!

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything I use from them!

See you later!