The night was still young. Ryuuji thought he'd never, ever think those thoughts, but he did now. The night was young, and he didn't even want to imagine how tired he'd be once the night was, well, dead. Picturing a night as living entity made it a bit easier, somehow. The night was young, then it matured, and then it grew old, and eventually… it died. That's when they'd be asleep, Ryuuji figured.

At that particular moment, the night wasn't really all that bad. They were sitting down, having noodles, and chatting idly. But he didn't know how he felt about the party they were supposed to go to.

Part of Ryuuji wasn't used to socializing with a lot of people. Going out, meeting friends, all that… but another part of him truly enjoyed it, more than he wanted to admit. And he got to spend more time with Taiga, too. Not that he didn't usually do that either way.

After they finished their noodles, they paid and got up to leave. They walked through the city as the clock ticked away, and according to Tamura, they had started walking towards the party they were attending.

"We probably won't be staying at the party for too long," Tamura said. "Maybe just in time to get a few drinks and meet some people. Any of you ever drink before?" He asked, grinning widely at the others. Minori shook her head, a curious expression on her face. Taiga and Ryuuji simply looked at each other, swallowing nervously.

"W-Well," Taiga stuttered, pushing her fingertips against each other. "It wasn't our fault… so to say… uhm…" She mumbled.

"Y-Yeah, it was more, uh… well, the others, they…"

"And then we drank but we didn't know, and…"

"So someone spiked your drink?" Tamura laughed.

"Yeah, something like that," Ryuuji sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And it was on a school trip, too."

"Wow, that's interesting," Torya hummed, a finger to her lips. "Sounds like a fun school trip."

Ryuuji's eyes widened, and suddenly he was laughing together with Taiga, and it seemed like they couldn't stop. Tamura and Torya looked quite confused, but Minori started laughing too. They laughed, and they laughed, and the others just grew more and more confused over the situation.

"What is it?" Torya asked, puckering her lips in question. Ryuuji was trying to compose himself enough to speak.

"Yeah, sure," he laughed, a hand on his stomach. "We had lots f-f-fun."

"Pffffsh," Taiga spat, and she nearly fell to her knees because she was laughing too much.

"What's so funny?" Tamura uttered.

"Well I kind of, you know, almost died," Ryuuji said, and suddenly he wasn't laughing so much, but instead just chuckling to himself.

"You did die, to be fair," Minori added, winking at him.

"Oh, right, from that video Yukuri had?" Tamura asked, and Ryuuji nodded quickly.

"Damn, that was some experience," Ryuuji sighed, and Taiga suddenly frowned a little.

"It was terrible, so I don't even know why we're laughing. You almost left me, stupid dog." She growled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm okay now, though, so it doesn't matter."

"Hmpf." Taiga scoffed, and then they all continued towards the party. They had to walk for a while before they got there, and seeing where it was wasn't exactly a difficult task. It was a huge house, apparently belonging to someone rich, and to say the house was completely full was an understatement.

The music was loud, and Ryuuji was surprised that none of the neighbors had complained. They could see a lot of people on the big balcony by the second floor, dancing to the music with drinks in their hands. So this was a typical teenage party, Taiga thought. She'd never seen one with her own eyes.

"Oooooh, this looks so cool," Minori uttered with wide eyes, and Tamura chuckled in response.

"I know, right? Come on, let's go in."

"Are you sure we're welcome?" Ryuuji asked with a frown. After all, the people who owned the house probably had no idea who they were, even though chances were they went to the same school.

Torya and Tamura looked at each other for a little while and chuckled before they looked back to the others. "Trust me," he said. "People have big expectations for this movie, you know."

"What?" Taiga uttered, looking extremely confused. She looked at Ryuuji as if awaiting an explanation, but he just shrugged. "This sounds a bit shady."

"Come on, let's just go inside," Torya said, and they all followed her to the main entrance. Getting inside was pretty difficult, considering the vast amount of people that were there. Ryuuji had no idea that there were so many party animals in their town. The music was really loud, sounding like some kind of American rap music.

Taiga nervously clutched her hands around Ryuuji's arm, afraid of getting lost in the crowd of people. The crowed opened up a little when they got further in, and in the middle were two big couches and a table, and it looked like only a few certain people were allowed to sit there. It looked like something you only saw in movies, and Minori was completely ecstatic about it.

"This is so cool!" She exclaimed, wiggling about with her hands pinching her own cheeks. Some people there looked at them with curious eyes.

"Hey, you're the guys who's playing in the movie club's next project, aren't you?" A girl shouted over the music into Ryuuji's ear, and he nodded in response, his nose a bit wrinkled. So it was common knowledge already, apparently.

It only took a few more seconds before some people came over with drinks for them all, saying hello to Tamura and Torya in the process. Taiga and Ryuuji looked at the drinks in their hands, looking as hesitant as they could possibly get. Minori, on the other hand, had already decided to have a little fun, and was drinking from her glass. Taiga couldn't even imagine how Minori would be under the influence of alcohol.

The music suddenly stopped, and Taiga took that chance to talk to Ryuuji. "Hey, Ryuuji," she said timidly, tilting her head a little. "Why not just let go? Just for tonight? As long as we're together, we'll be okay, right?"

"Yeah… I think you're right." Ryuuji nodded, smiling a little. They lifted their glasses a little, but then a voice shouted over the room, in what sounded like English.

"Enough of this bullshit rap music!" The voice shouted, and Ryuuji was surprised that he managed to pick up on what it meant. Maybe he'd gotten better at English after all. "Julian has arrived, and it's time to get this party started for real!" The voice, that turned out to be Julian, shouted. It only took a second before some fancy-sounding guitar riff played over the speakers, and with a smile, Taiga and Ryuuji drank. The drinks appeared to be quite strong, and they both gritted their teeth a little.

The music transitioned over into something heavier, and even though most of them didn't really listen to metal music, it did kind of set the mood.

"Let's go meet up with the others, and find the host of the party!" Torya shouted to them, and they started making their way further through the crowd. It didn't take them long to find Julian by the mixing tables.

"Yo," he exclaimed, nodding at them before downing the drink in his cup. These guys seemed to be more acquainted with alcohol compared to Minori, Taiga and Ryuuji.

"Yooo!" Minori shouted back, waving at him.

"Glad you guys could make it. Let's find Yukuri and Ami." He told them.

"The Chihuahua's here?" Taiga asked, and Ryuuji just shrugged.

"But before that, let's get you guys a refill!" Tamura grinned deviously, and before Ryuuji could even heave a sigh, their glasses were full again. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a long night.

They all made their way upstairs, where the familiar voice of Yukuri Haruno roared over the music. Was she using a microphone? Upon further inspection, Ryuuji realized that she was in fact using a microphone that was only connected to the speakers on the second floor so that the people there could hear her. They all seemed pretty excited about Yukuri being there, for some reason.

"Ryuuji, I can't see anything," Taiga told him, so Ryuuji hoisted her up on his shoulders. She took another swig from her drink as she looked at Yukuri who stood on a big box, probably being used as some sort of stage.

"TELL ME AGAIN HOW HAPPY YOU ARE THAT YOU WERE ALL INVITED TO MY PARTY!" She shouted into her microphone with a big grin on her face, her blonde hair waving as she moved.

"YEAAAAH!" The crowd roared, and Ryuuji had no idea how they hadn't been able to hear them downstairs.

"So this is Haruno-chan's party?" Minori shouted, and Tamura nodded simultaneously with Torya.

"Yeah, she hosts this kind of party about one time every month, while her parents are away!" Tamura shouted back, and they all nodded in understanding. So she came from a wealthy family, to say the least.

"YOOO, YUKU!" Torya screamed from the top of her lungs, and Yukuri actually heard her. Her head snapped in their direction, and her face lit up as she saw them.

"GET YOUR BUTTS UP HERE!" She beamed into the microphone, one finger pointed sternly at the group of friends. Ryuuji's eyes widened a little, and he wanted to protest, but Tamura and Minori was already in the process of pushing them towards the big box. It was even bigger than Ryuuji thought from the get-go. Hell, it could almost even count as a real stage.

Ryuuji bent down a little so that Taiga could step right onto the box, and she looked as nervous as ever. The others climbed up too, and the crowd cheered them on.

"Jeez, we're teenagers, not movie stars," Ryuuji mumbled, and somehow, Minori had heard him.

"But we're movie stars soon enough, aren't we?" She grinned, putting a thumb in the air, which resulted in another boasted roar coming from the crowd. There had to be at least 60 people in there. Looking at Yukuri, Ryuuji noticed that she wasn't just the flustered girl who got embarrassed after seeing Ryuuji and Taiga as a couple. She seemed like a very confident girl.

"HERE THEY ARE!" Yukuri exclaimed, motioning towards the group that had just walked up on the box. "THE REST OF OUR BELOVED MOVIE CLUB, AND SOME OF OUR ACTORS! CAN THEY GET A HELL YEAH?!"

"HELL YEAH!" The crowd shouted, fists pumping into the air.

"How the hell does she get them so fired up over something so trivial?!" Ryuuji asked Taiga, and she just shook her head in confusion.

"I have no idea, Ryuuji," she replied, and he could see how embarrassed she was. Probably about the whole period thing.

"DO YOU GUYS WANT TO HEAR OUR ACTORS TALK?!"

"YEAAAAAH!"

The microphone was handed to Minori, who with red cheeks and a tipsy voice roared even higher than Yukuri had.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO THE MOVIE CLUB, EVERYONE! FIGHTOOOO!" She yelled and pumped her fist into the air, and so did the crowd.

"IPPATSU!"

"DO WE WANT THEM TO GET INTO CHARACTER?!" Yukuri shouted into the microphone that Minori held, and the crowd replied positively. In other words, they screamed even more. "THEN GET INTO CHARACTER AND CONVINCE US ALL!"

Minori tightened her grip on the microphone and cleared her throat. She took a deep breath and shouted in a much deeper voice than she usually had. "PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD OR I'LL RENDER YOU INCAPABLE OF WALKING BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SAY 'CARROT ON A FLIPPING STICK'!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAH!" The crowd roared, obviously liking Minori's "bad cop" character. The microphone was then passed to Julian, who scoffed slightly and turned his head away.

"I don't care how many people you killed during the dark war, you sad looking sod, I just want to go home."

"YEAAAH, JULIAN, WOOHOO!"

The microphone was then passed to Tamura and Torya, who both got down on their knees. "Always and forever at your service, my lord." They said simultaneously, and the crowd roared once again. Ryuuji still didn't understand why this excited them so much. Did the movie club really have that good of a reputation?

The microphone was passed to Ryuuji, and he was almost sure he'd make a fool out of himself. But he might as well just go for it, and the alcohol made it a bit easier too. "I sense in you, stranger, that you have experienced pain. Pain maybe greater than mine, yet… you stand composed. How?" He spoke in a dark voice, and the crowd seemed to be just as excited about his role. Ryuuji handed the microphone to Taiga who was trying to hide the fact that she was scared senseless. "Just go for it," Ryuuij said into her ear, and she nodded hesitantly.

Taiga cleared her throat and stood straight, one hand holding the microphone whilst her other arm hang straight by her side. Her expression was empty. "Pain is imminent. Reaction is optional. Your weakness is proven in the fact that you care."

"YEAH! YEAH! YEAAAAAAAAAH!"

After passing over the microphone, Taiga huddled close to Ryuuji again. Why exactly they had to act like their characters, she didn't know, but people seemed to enjoy it.

"WAS THAT FUN OR WHAT?!" Yukuri shouted into the microphone, and the crowd hoyed and cheered. Ryuuji sighed a little and took another swig of his drink, and he could feel that he was actually getting a bit dizzy. And from the looks of it, Taiga was feeling the same.

"So, do you think this party's close to ending?" Ryuuji asked Torya, having to cup his hand around her ear in order for her to hear anything. She laughed and shook her head violently.

"Are you kidding me?!" She exclaimed while laughing, and then Yukuri shouted into the microphone once more.

"WHAT DO YOU GUYS SAY WE STOP THIS KINDERGARTEN PLAY AND GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!"

"YEAAAAAAAH!"