"...Where's Ushio?" The drunk Tomoyo asked. "I want to give her a great BIG birthday hug."
She slowly got on her feet and made her way to the door leading to the hallways, unable to even walk straight.
Leaning left, and right and left again. It's clear that as of now, she has no balance. She had only taken a few steps when she stumbled
"Whoa, Hey!" Sunohara yelled as he rushed over to Tomoyo and grabbed her in the middle of her fall.
"You need to be careful. Why don't you just sit down for a bit." He suggested as he sat her down on the floor.
"Aww you saved me! My little knight in shining armor." Tomoyo said as she placed her hands on Sunohara's cheeks.
At this point Sunohara started to blush. He knew very well that Tomoyo had no control of herself anymore and is very unpredictable.
"Why is your face red?" Tomoyo asked. "...Are you drunk?"
"No, I'm not." He replied. "...But I think you sho-"
"You know I've never said this before... you're pretty cute." Tomoyo said.
"..."
"NANI?!" Sunohara thought to himself.
That was the first time Tomoyo has ever called him cute. Or even referred to him as anything being attractive. Those words. Coming from her made his blushing even worse.
"Wha.. I.. ehh" Sunohara was at a loss for words right now. This IS Tomoyo he's sitting in front of..right? Not some mirage or some projection of his dream?
"You two look so lovey dovey." Sanae called out of the blue.
"I don't think lovey dovey is the right word for this!" Sunohara responded.
"This seems oddly familiar..." Tomoya said underneath his breath as he watches on.
Nagisa pops up behind him. "What was that?"
"NOTHING." Tomoya immediately replied.
"This party just got a little interesting" Akio thought to himself.
"So... do you think I'm cute?" Tomoyo asked as she started getting closer to his face.
Sunohara looked at his friends, widening his eyes as some sort of distress signal. "H.E.L.P. M.E"
But Tomoya and Kyou just stared back with an added smirk while Nagisa, Mei, Kotomi and, Ryou were at a loss, shocked at what's happening
He turned back to Tomoyo who was inches away from his face. "Uhh.."
"UHH?!" Tomoyo interrupted. "You don't think I'm cute?" She said in a whimpering voice.
"NO NO NO I think you're very cute! Always have!" Sunohara blurted out without even thinking.
"Uhh.. I mean... in a friendly way? So you don't think you're ugly or anything..." Sputtering out anything he can say to steer away from that awkward reply. Caught in an embarrassing situation, he thought to himself, "this is so FREAKING awkward."
He felt his heart skip. Tomoyo may be drunk, but is she going to remember this? He knows for damn sure that the others heard what he said. He turned his head to see Tomoya and Kyou high fiving each other while trying desperately to hold in their laughs.
"Bastards..." Sunohara said inside his head.
"Aww, you're so nice Youhei!" Tomoyo exclaimed. Since when did she start calling him Youhei?
"You know.. after we graduated.. I missed you a lot. I mean like.. like A LOT A LOT." Tomoyo said. "And you know.. I err.. I kind of thought you were an annoying jerk back in high school.. But you aight!"
As she said that she leaped onto Sunohara and gave him a tight hug. The hug made him fall on his back, taking her down with him. Tomoyo raised her head to see that she's staring into Sunohara's eyes. Sunohara started to feel the butterflies in his stomach had returned. He looked at Tomoyo. Her blue eyes, her hair falling onto his, her cheeks pink from drinking. She was.. beautiful.
" HEY!" Akio screamed. "You two should kiss!"
That loud voice snapped Sunohara out of his trance. "That's not funny." He answered back as he propped himself and Tomoyo back up. Truth is he wanted to kiss her, but she's not herself right now. It would be wrong for him to take advantage of her like that.
"You got it?" Tomoya asked.
"Got it." Kyou replied.
"Hey Youhei.." Tomoyo said calmly.
"What?"
"You have a little something right here." She said as she placed her fingers on his nose.
"Eh? What is it?" Sunohara asked.
"YOINK!" The girl said as she snatched away his glasses.
"Hey!" Sunohara yelled out. "Man, you're acting a little childish don't you think?"
Tomoyo placed Sunohara's glasses on her face and began to mimic his voice, "Man, you're acting a little childish don't you think? ...You're so serious all of a sudden. You really need to lighten up and have some fun once in a while Mr. Serious pants."
Sunohara whispered under his breath, "coming from you... It's just weird."
"Don't sweat it kid. People always get a little carried away when they're drunk." Akio told Sunohara
"Hey.. Youhei." Tomoyo called.
Sunohara turned to Tomoyo who was clumsily holding his glasses over her head. Her face awfully close to his.
"You know you can't see well without your glasses... Are you willing to do ANYTHING to get them back big boy?"
Sunohara's heart began to race at those words. He had never seen this side of Tomoyo before. The silver haired girl who was the poster student in high school is now drunkenly flirting with him. Sunohara sat there frozen with Tomoyo's face inches away from his, thinking of some way to respond.
Ryou who was embarrassed from watching the whole scenario spoke out. "Please Tomoyo, Sunohara's not-"
"SSHH... Don't worry about it sis." Kyou interrupted with a devious smile. "Youhei can handle this."
Sunohara found himself in a really narrow situation. He knows that if things continue the way they are, it's going to be disastrous. With the party's heat and his heart racing, he frantically tries to think of some excuse to give her.
"Ssuuu... uhh. Tomoyo, why don't we go get some more cake. It might make you feel better you know." He nervously told Tomoyo.
"Are you saying I'm drunk or something?" Tomoyo asked while leaning side to side, barely holding herself up straight.
"Yes. You. Are."
"No way am I drunk, how dare you! I don't need an idiot telling me how much I've had to drink!" Tomoyo hissed at Sunohara
"Look, you're obviously drunk right now. I don't want you to do anything you're going to regret in the morning." Sunohara told Tomoyo
"Well I am complete control of myself Mr. worry pants!" Tomoyo said as she poked Sunohara's forehead. "Right guys?"
"Absolutely, party on Tomoyo!" Tomoya yelled.
"This party is turning out to be more entertaining than I'd hoped." Tomoya thought to himself. This hysterical moment might never happen again. He's not going to miss this show for the world.
Most of the people in that room were secretly enjoying the comedy that was going on. Tomoyo continued to tease Sunohara when she suddenly called out, "Oi Kotomi? you want some of this sake? It's real good you know? Come on over here!"
When Kotomi came and knelt beside her, she offered a glass of water.
"You should drink some water. It will help you feel better." She said politely.
"Err.. Okay! Since you're so worried about me." Tomoyo said as she took the glass. "You know.. you.. I have the upmost respect for you ya know that?"
"I mean you went through so much... and you still turned out to be an AWESOME person... Up for another glass sister?" Tomoyo asked as she put down the glass of water and reached for the sake bottle.
Kotomi gave her a confused expression as she turned to look at the others. But they all just gave her a, "LOL You're on your own " look.
Tomoyo grabbed the bottle and waved it in front of Kotomi. "Come on, you only live once!"
As Tomoyo started to pour sake into a cup, Kotomi slowly scooted away awkwardly to safety.
Sunohara came up with the only solution to stop Tomoyo from acting up any further... SANAE'S BREAD...
"Yes... It's the perfect plan" He thought to himself. One bite from Sanae's pastries would render her unconscious for the whole party. It's not something he would ever want to do to Tomoyo, but with this situation, he's willing to do anything. But first he needs to get down to the bottom floor in order to acquire one.
He slowly made his way up pretending to stretch his legs. He eyeballed the stairwell leading down to the shop. With Everyone distracted and Tomoyo still trying to talk to Kotomi, he carefully makes his way to the stairs...
"Oi-Hey! Oh no you don't! ... Where do you think you're going?" Tomoyo asked as she grabbed onto Sunohara's ankle.
"Crap!" Sunohara thought to himself.
"I just ... I'm going to the bathroom." Trying to make the lie as convincing as possible.
"Why bother yourself taking the long way?" Akio said" There's another bathroom right over there."
He pointed to ANOTHER bathroom which happened to be on that floor.
"Ohh...Right..." Sunohara said weakly.
"So much for that plan." He made his way inside the bathroom, not really needing to do anything other than to think of another solution.
He began to devise another plan... He spent a good five minutes pacing back and forth in the bathroom.
"There's only one way to stop this now... " Sunohara thought to himself. "I need to drink with Tomoyo! With me drinking with her, we'll most likely dry out all of the sake. Soon she'll be out cold, and won't be able to do anything embarrassing
Even though he rarely drinks, Sunohara was confident that he can handle his alcohol a lot better than Tomoyo. Plus she's already drunk, so it shouldn't be too hard. He put his game face on as he prepared to fight fire with fire.
He casually walked out of the bathroom and sat back down next to Tomoyo, noticing the bottle in her hand, he decided to put on his act.
"Huh? You're still drinking?" Trying to sound convincing.
"Mmmm Hmm. You're not too chicken to drink some are ya boyo?" Tomoyo asked as she drew herself closer.
"Well.. I guess I can cut loose just for one night." Sunohara replied.
"YAY!" Tomoyo said with excitement as she grabbed two empty glasses and poured the sake.
Meanwhile the rest of the party were still watching with such thrill. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.. They can see right through Sunohara's predictable plan.
Akio whispers to the others, "we should wager on who's going to last the longest.. I got 1000 yen on Tomoyo girly over there."
"Are you kidding me? Sunohara's sober while Tomoyo's drunk out of her mind." Tomoya stated. "My money's on him.
"I agree. With Tomoyo's current condition, I don't think she'll last long if she consumes any more sake. Sunohara's chances of winning are definitely greater." Kotomi said.
"My brother isn't as a strong drinker as you think he is." Mei claimed. "Tomoyo has always beated Sunohara in whatever competition. My bet's on her!"
"Agreed. 1000 yen on Tomoyo." Kyou said. She turned towards Nagisa and Ryou. "What do you two think?"
Ryou blushed, "Oh, uh.. I don't think it's right to make bets on things like this."
"Yea. Tomoyo and Sunohara are our friends. This is just mean." Nagisa said.
Akio jumped in. "How about raising the stakes to 2000 yen?"
"Tomoyo." Ryou and Nagisa said without hesitation.
Akio grinned to himself and turned to Sanae "What about you?"
Sanae rubbed her head awkwardly." Uhh... I think I'll stay out of this one."
"Ahh you're no fun." Akio said
Meanwhile Sunohara and Tomoyo had already started killing the bottle of sake. The drunk girl easily gulps down her drink while Sunohara is cringing at the taste.
"Oh come on! You can do better than that!" Tomoyo said as she poured Youhei another drink.
It had only been a few drinks, and already he's feeling the effects. His face was getting warm. His skin tingly, and his emotions were slowly making their way to the surface. But he told himself that he had to stay in control.
The spectators continued their activities trying not to look conspicuous as they watched.
"Hoo Hoo, what a battle this is!" Akio snickered under his breath.
Only a short amount of time passed by, but for Sunohara it seemed to have been an eternity. He finds himself starting to laugh for no reason, finding it difficult to sit up straight. He knows he's a little drunk... Anymore drinks and he's going to end up like Tomoyo.
At this point the two of them were simply sitting down shoulder to shoulder leaning on a wall.
"You drink like a wuss." Tomoyo teased Sunohara
"Wha... Who are you calling.. a wuss?... You man." Sunohara shot back a witty comment in return.
Tomoyo started to giggle. "You're such a lamo."
They stayed that like for a while. Everyone else continued on with the party. Sunohara and Tomoyo watched as Ryou began telling people their fortunes.
They watched as Kotomi took out her violin and prepared to play it.. only to have others stop her.
They watched as everyone played truth or dare, and seeing Sanae cry when she asked Akio what he honestly thought of her bread. They saw how fortunate they are to have such wonderful people in their lives.
The two sat there slumped against each other for what seemed to have lasted a lifetime. No cheeky words were being exchanged, no jokes were cracked, no arguing, no fighting. Nothing was happening.. But yet it felt so blissful.
"Youhei..." Tomoyo said.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever been in a relationship these past years?... With a girl?" She asked.
There was a slight pause until Sunohara replied, "nah."
Tomoyo turned to Sunohara. " How come?"
"I don't know." Sunohara answered. "I guess I'm... Just not boyfriend material. You know?"
Tomoyo rested her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't say that.. I think... you would make a great boyfriend for any lucky girl. You know?"
Sunohara who was starting to lose himself, "hmmm. You think so?"
"I know so." Tomoyo answered. "Anyways... *hic...Let's have another glass! The night is still young you know? KANPAI!"
Everyone in the room raised their glass. "KANPAI!"
Time passed, and all the bottles of sake were finally empty, but the party was still very lively. Everyone sat down to rest, having friendly conversations and laughing it up with each other.
Akio casually sat down next to Tomoya, "I believe you owe me 2000 yen kiddo."
"No way, it wasn't a fair bet anyway." Tomoya stated
"EHH? What the hell do you mean? I won fair and square!" Akio retorted. "If you don't cough up I'll double it!... With interest!"
Kyou giggled at the sight of those two arguing.
Kyou looked up at the clock... 2:00 AM. At this point they might as well be spending the night here.
Her eyelids were getting heavy and she felt that she would knock out the second she closed them. But she didn't want to go sleep yet, not with the party still going on and everybody still awake.
She looked around the room when she noticed that two people were missing.. Sunohara and Tomoyo. She looked over to where they had been before and found no one. She continued to scan the room when she found the two shoulder to shoulder on the couch... Sleeping peacefully.
*9:00 AM*
Sunohara woke up on the couch with a raging headache. He looked around the room and found no one else in sight. He figured they must've left a while ago.
He slowly raised himself up with his hand on his head... "Uhh... Wha.. What the hell happened?" He muttered to himself.
All he could remember was having several drinks with Tomoyo, having a conversation with her... And nothing else.
Soon Akio walked into the room, fresh from the shower.
"Ahh.. Looks like little Romeo has awakened." He said
Sunohara looked at Akio, "Where is everybody?" He asked.
"Well..." Akio said as he dried his head with a towel. "Everyone slept overnight, and went home this morning. Anything else?"
Sunohara managed to get off the couch and on his feet. Standing up made his headache worse. "Uhh... yeah. What happened last night? After I started drinking?"
Akio stared at him. "You... really don't remember?"
Sunohara raised his head in surprise. "Did... Something happen?"
Akio started to laugh, "Aww man! HAHA! You should've seen it! You and that Tomoyo were putting on quite a show." He said. "It was definitely a night to remember."
Sunohara's heart dropped into his stomach when he heard those words. They didn't do anything embarrassing did they?
Sunohara asked very curiously, "Akio. What happened?"