The aftermath of Sherry

Chapter 7: Drinks, Emotions, and awkward situations.

A/N: I'm back, folks! I'm back yet again to confuse y'all .

Thank you Mila for your reviews! I have been trying to write this chapter for weeks now but I just can't seem to find my footing. Seeing your review today during my morning walk made me launch into my room and finally finish this chapter.

To those who still keep on reading and reviewing this story. Thank you very much:)

Disclaimer: Here we go again with the " I don't own DC, Gosho Aoyama does" thing.

Ran

Two silhouettes, locked in an embrace and oblivious to the world around them.

It was dark but I'll recognize him anywhere and as I looked down from the window glass of my father's office, the picture of his face buried into someone else's neck was something I knew I couldn't forget.

I don't know the girl but I have a feeling that I have met her before. The way her strawberry blonde hair glints against the moonlight reminds me of someone—of a certain cold and aloof little girl with the same hair color. A shadow of doubt rose like an acid on my throat. Burning. Suffocating.

Shinichi wouldn't lie, would he? But perhaps lying and not being completely honest is not the same.

And perhaps I was blind or just plain ignorant to see which one he is being.

The lack of lighting did nothing to hide the raw emotion on his face. For weeks, he acted in total control and unfazed. Every movement was well executed, every smile seemed calculated, and every word was well-rehearsed. But he's not acting right now. He's not even trying.

Every concealed emotion was on display for the woman to see and yet he never looked more relaxed than he is at the moment.

A familiar blonde head emerged from the café door, and I knew that whatever reprieve that the two shadowy figures have had was short- lived. They tentatively pulled away from each other, I expected their faces to be painted with guilt because if my instinct was right, the man who's slowly walking towards them meant something to the girl.

But to my utter surprise, the woman had an amused smile on her face while Shinichi.. Shinichi wore a look that he had never shown me before—an impassive face with an undeniable albeit subtle hint of jealousy.

That's when I realized that things might actually be more complicated than they already are.

Shiho

The sound of the door opening and closing brought me back from our cocoon and I reluctantly stepped away from the body I've been sharing warmth with for the last minutes to turn to the person who just went out of the door.

" Hey, Miyano. Don't tell me you're cheating on me already?" the blonde guy said with a hint of amusement on his voice and features as he struts to where we are.

I flashed him a teasing grin. " I can't cheat if we're not even dating yet, can I?"

I saw him put his hand on his chest and tried to look offended. But I knew better. He thinks he's a good actor but he's really not. I knew that during the time we spent together-or rather he forced me to spend with him. He would ask me to meet and when I turned down his incessant requests throughout the week, he took it to himself to just randomly show up on me. And I'd be a liar if I say that I hadn't appreciated it. He made it bearable. He had made me less lonely just as I made him less alone himself.

He was easy going and approachable with his charisma and alluring smiles—a complete opposite of what I am. And oddly enough, that pulls me in instead of pushing me back.

" You hurt me, Sherry"

" You can cry if you want." I replied while rolling my eyes to his ridiculous acting.

But he just smirked and poked the bridge of my nose with his index finger. " Only if you offer your shoulder"

" aheemm" Shinichi clearing his throat made us both turn him. He had this confused look on his face.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt but how did the two of you become close?"

I opened my mouth to explain but Rei beat me to it. "Jealous?" he said with a naughty smirk.

I kicked his shin.

" Aww!" he hissed, glaring at me.

I brushed it off and turn to the baffled man in front of us, only to see the flush on his face. "Don't mind him, We met about a month ago."

" Oh"

" I'd say, to call it a meeting was an understatement" Rei quipped with a haughty look in his eyes.

' Bastard.'

I tried kicking him again but this time, he anticipated it. Bouncing away from my reach, he threw me one of his flirty winks.

" Can't fool me twice, dear"

" Anyway, should we go back inside? Or are you trying to monopolize my date tonight, Kudo?" he casually added.

The look on Shinichi's face doesn't look oh so casual though. It almost looks territorial. I don't know what's up with him but I'm not used to be on the receiving end of this. The only times I see him make this face was whenever he mentions that Sonoko dragged Ran into yet another one of her blind dates.

" Well, come on you two. Might as well socialize a bit" I said to break the palpable tension in the air.

Successfully capturing the attention of the source of this energy, Shinichi dragged his eyes away from Rei to meet mine and I gave him a small assuring smile.

"Let's go"

"Well, well. If it isn't the girl of the hour."

This came from a slightly slurring voice behind me and I inwardly cringed at the arm that was unceremoniously slung on my shoulders.

The narrowed slits of my eyes were only welcomed by an idiotic grin.

"Look at that, you grew up rather well, you evil girl"

Shinichi groaned at his best friend's words. I turned to him and raise my brow.

"What happened to him? Last time I've seen this crazed detective, he's not quite this…handsy"

" ahhh..that might as well be connected to his current predicament on a certain brunette who refused to date him unless he stops running away to solve cases everyday" This came from Shinichi's doppelganger who approached us in a confident stride.

We are now standing in front of the bar with respective drinks in hand. Looking at our small, chaotic group gives me a headache.

" Reminds you of a certain brunette too, doesn't it?" the drunk detective said while looking directly at Shinichi with a smirk.

I sighed.

The magician chuckled and bent to whisper to me. "Isn't this fun? Or we could get out of here to have our own"

"Not unless you want to be dismembered, Casanova. Stop trying to steal my date" Rei interjected with a joking tone but with a certain glint of warning in his eyes, which made me roll my eyes in return.

In the far corner right behind Rei, Akai Shuichi was leaning his back against the wall with amusement in his eyes from the scene unfolding in front of him.

' Glad someone is enjoying this situation' I thought.

" He's so drunk. Where is he staying for the night?" that came from Rei.

" He's staying with you, right? I answered, glancing at Shinichi for confirmation.

He nodded. "Yep, it might be time for us to go."

"Killjoy"

"Party pooper"

Heiji and Kaito said at the same time, which earned them a glare from Kudo.

"Well, we won't have to go so early if someone didn't let him have way too much fun with the drinks"

The magician merely shrugged at this. "Don't look at me, he wanted to let loose. You guys and your girl problems!"

Rei actually choked on his drink with this as he tried to stifle his laugh.

"I'm telling you, Girls are nothing but a source of headache when you get serious about them. Why subject yourself to that if you can just have fun?"

This was my turn to groan. "Right"

"Anyway, I think heading home is a good idea at this point." I added, throwing a glance at the detective who seemed to have slumped and dozed off in the bar chair.

"Great!" The painful grimace on Shinichi's face as he looked over at his friend, made me chuckle.

" I'm guessing you didn't bring a car?" Rei asked sarcastically.

On my periphery, I saw Kaito scratch his head.

"So you're not helping them, huh?" said the figure standing beside her by the wall.

"Nope, I'd rather exclude myself from that ruckus" I replied as we watch the three grown men struggle to haul the drunken detective to his feet and convince him to cooperate instead of listlessly moving his arms around.

" Aren't they, your friends, Hime?"Akai said teasingly. He knows it bothered me to no end whenever he calls me that. Sometimes, I think he does that on purpose to get a rise out of me. To say that we started off rocky was an understatement. I once hated this man and blamed him for my sister's downfall, but here we are. Through blood and bruises, we survived with the help of one another. We've grown quite close since then, especially that we are apparently related by blood.

"And here I thought, I could just stand here and pretend not to know them"

And as if on cue, three heads snapped in our direction.

"We heard that!"

"Hey! That's cold!"

"Ice queen, indeed"

Akai chuckled at this. "You have a rather…peculiar set of friends, Hime. Keep close to them."

Looking at the four of them hissing and snapping at each other while trying to support one as they trek across the room, a foreign warmth bloomed in my chest. It brought a small tug of a smile on my face.

'Yeaahhh'

"So you have the hots for her" the slurring voice said from the backseat while pointing to the driving Rei and to me.

" And YOU!" he continued, pointing at Shinichi this time.

" You..Whats up with you?Don—Don't tell me" His eyes widened as if he just hit a sudden realization.

" Wow, this is awkward."

" Shut up!" we said in chorus.

-End of chapter-

A/N: So this chapter is a little bit happier than the others before it. I'm an introvert and I like listening to sad songs, and somehow it became sort of a theme in most of my works here. This morning I was listening to the song called Roses by The Band Camino (it's a banger, btw) and I guess the lyrics hit me good that I'm actually thinking of incorporating some of it or maybe just the general idea of it in the next chapters.