Disclaimer: As if I'd ever own Gakuen Alice…

Set Fire to the Third Bar
By Saltwater Romance

Dedicated: To a new year!

Youichi:

New York City; the home of the glam, the blitz, and the champagne life. What is it about the city that draws attention? Between the obnoxious clubs, the expensive high fashion stores, the filthy pollution, the poverty, the flashing lights that never go away and don't let you sleep, and foreigners desperately needing your attention, but you have no clue to help out? Yeah, trust me. The city life is nowhere near exciting and "fun." The people are crude, the fast food usually will give you an upset stomach, the smoke will choke you for at least a week, and if you don't invest in thick black curtains, you'll never be able to sleep.

"Get out of the way!" I slammed my hand against the driving wheel, and shot my head out of the window to yell at the teenage boy, who in turn, flicked his middle finger up; the daily language I intercepted.

Road rage? Me? Never. I laugh at the mere idea.

I just strongly disliked idiots.

My temples throbbed with the knowledge of how the city was crawling with them. If I had it my way, I would have been living the life in some unknown college with a small campus, having a job that I actually enjoyed, and studying to pursue my lifelong dream. Of course, my life wasn't all that great. I pressed on the gas pedal impatiently. I had other problems to tend to.

Maybe being a taxi driver was great… For people who actually enjoyed driving in overpopulated areas in America! I hate, I despise… No, I loathe the city!

I pulled over to a jumpy brunette who was flagging me down from half a mile away, a raven haired girl who was swaying with an unmistakable drunken grin on her face, and another glaring at everyone who happened to pass the trio. Though, not a lot of people were gawking. It was a common sight to that specific pub. It was atrocious in standard to every other bar and club, but it was cheap.

It was early January, and snow was cascading from the sky. If I had a weaker heart, I would've been able to pity them from the lack of shelter. Instead, I could only scoff. The brunette crawled into the backseat, undoing her scarf, and cheerfully babbled, "Thank you! Oh, thank you so much! Not a single cab stopped for us! Can you believe that?"

"No," I lied between gritted teeth. If I hadn't been so short on money, I would've ignored them too. No one wanted their car reeking of the stench of alcohol. Nor would they want to run the risk of someone puking in the car and having to pay to clean it up, "Where to?"

They directed me all the way across the city. It would've been a good twenty minutes before we reached the desired destination, "Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yes," the one in the middle snarled with impertinence, "We have the money."

It was as if she could read my mind. I was mentally calculating how much money I would've lost with driving them there. They better be excellent tippers, but I doubt it since they were just college students. Whatever. If you perform good deeds, good luck was sure to follow. I might as well suck it up; it's not like I could let them walk by themselves for an hour or two (drunk girl with them? They weren't going to go at a fast pace). If I read in the newspaper that they were murdered or raped, it'd be on my conscience.

"Blergghh," the one with the goofy smile finally uttered a sound from her quiet solitude that lasted too short. She retched all over a taxi that didn't even belong to me. Tonight was going perfectly, my eyebrows furrowed together with my lips thinning. I wondered if it was too late to chuck them out.

"I'm so sorry, Mister!" the bubbly one exclaimed, jumping into her purse, "I swear that we had no clue how much she drank… She's just going through a rough time in her life."

'Rough time my ass,' I bit my lip from any rash action. I wanted a good tip. I wanted a good tip. I wanted a good tip.

The girl finally withdrew a couple of tissues and a plastic bag triumphantly. The one next to her shot her a strange look as she shrugged, "Never know."

She then continued to speak to me, "We'll clean it right up."

The one in the middle gave a revolted glare at the suggestion since she'd be the one who had to clean up the mess, which was disregarded, before bending down to wipe up the brownish vomit with a shudder, "Easy for you to say. You're not the one cleaning it up."

"He he he. Miiiiiii-kan," the drunken one sang out as she stretched her arm over to the brunette, "You knoooowww… I'm jeaaalous that you ghot engaged."

"Why?" the brunette looked close to laughing, "He's your brother. That'd be incest, darling!"

"Noooo," the girl pouted, "At leeasst, we all knoww that he's nhot gonnnnaaa dissappearrr onnneee day and leaveeeee chu all alone. Fuckinnn' fuck fuck fuckkkinnnn'—"

"Stop with the profanities," I growled, rubbing my temples, "I hate people who can't express themselves without letting out a swear."

"Who is that?" the girl asked with widened eyes, "God. Is that chuuu? Give him baack to me! I loved him shooo much. I shwearrr I'll treat him beeetterr."

"Sorr—"

The girl in the middle thrust the bag of throw-up into the brunette's lap, effectively cutting off the unneeded apology, "Your turn. Switch with me."

"Can we?" the brunette peered at me curiously, but even curiosity couldn't mask her utter horror to clean. I shrugged. Well, if no one else cleaned it, the job would've been stuck with yours truly, "Yeah. We're at another red light."

She frowned.

"What did she even have?" I inquired politely.

"We don't even know," the non-brunette girl that was uprooted from her seat, pinched the bridge of her nose, and rolled down the window, "We just came there after someone called us to control our roommate. We found her that way."

"She must be bothersome," I commented after observation.

The brunette popped her head back up before adding her two cents with a bright smile, "Nah! She's the sweetest thing on this planet—"

"You're biased," the other one glared at her, "You're marrying her brother."

I couldn't agree more, but I didn't dare say that aloud. The brunette sighed and rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore the comment, "Anyway. She is usually a straight-laced person, and she never experimented with alcohol… You know, until now. So, her tolerance level isn't too high, but I guess after years of growing up with such an alcoholic dependent type of household could've made her curious."

"I'm going to kill Natsume."

"He's just a pyromaniac," his fiancée defended him. Albeit not so well.

"I don't care. He's going to pay for his sister up-chuck on my jeans!" she spat out disgusted, "And wasn't it always him playing matchmaker? Remember you and Ruka? Me and Koko?"

"Well," the other scratched her head, "He did have the best intention at heart…"

"Yeah! And what happened with his sister, hmm? A broken heart and reeking of vodka. At least with my brother, he just ignores me. And my personal life. Natsume should take a lesson."

"That's a loving sibling right there," I muttered underneath my breath.

"Hello," she responded without missing a beat, her deep violet eyes pierced through the rear view mirror, "Aren't we paying you? I suggest you shut your trap."

"Sorry about her too," the brunette sank back into the seat after opening the window from her passed out friend's side.

"And I'm sorry that she's an idiot," her violet eyes flashing.

"I'm sorry that she's a monster and a pain in the ass, especially if it's past her bedtime."

"I'm sorry that she's cranky 'cause her fiancé forgot to call her last Saturday, so she stormed around all upset and didn't leave others alone to finish their research papers!"

"I told you that if you needed to go, to go!"

"Well, you would've kept bugging me either way!"

"I would've been more understanding…"

"I GOT A C+ BECAUSE OF YOU! Don't you realize how much my grade-point could've been affected? I will be at the top of the class; I swear it on my life."

"Jesus."

"We're here," I drawled, not even close to being amused.

"Thanks," the overachiever handed me over a couple of crisp bills, "Keep the change. Might come in handy when you get rid of the smell."

"Mhmm…"

I waited for them to leave the cab before counting the money with large eyes. Even though they left a hefty tip, I was happy to get them out of my life.

I was just about to pull away from the curb, when the brunette smiled sheepishly and knocked on the window. I rolled it down so that she could request her demand, "Do you mind helping us? I'm so sorry to bother you again for all that you've done for us, but Hotaru and I aren't strong enough to lug her up five flights of stairs… The elevator is broken."

I rolled my eyes and exited the cab.

The girl was as light as a feather, but I didn't dare say that. I listened to the two girls dispute with each other about who was on "Aoi Watch" last, so that they could find someone to blame. In the end, they got shushed, and kept the rest of the journey silent. The brunette jiggled the key in, as the other one turned to me, "Thanks."

"No problem."

I placed the girl down as she was supported by her two friends.

I quickly left the building when the door closed behind the three to find a fine stuck beneath my windshield wipers. Fantastic.

Author's Sidenote:

Oh you know... Here's an idea for a review if you're stuck:

Dearest Saltwater Romance,

Nice beginning. I actually really *like/don't know/despise* that song that you're using as a title, but I don't get the relevancy of the story to the song. I hope you clear that up and continue this soon (: I can't believe how long it took you to post this because it's been up on your tumblr since forever!

From the Freshwater,
Yours Truly.

P.S I can't believe you added that part about Koko and Hotaru going on a first date! In the future of this story, you should definitely *expand/disregard* that little tidbit.