#soty4

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 4

Aryll was feeling particularly petty by the end of the day. She really didn’t want to ruin her streak of ignoring her brother, but she supposed that was already ruined that morning when she announced she was going to school. But there was definitely no way she was going to go home and chance seeing him and giving him the chance to argue with her. So, as the day came to an end, and waiting at the last possible moment, she texted Link, stating simply that she was sleeping over Cremaia’s and would not be home until Saturday.

It took a while for Link to text her back, and when he did, she was already at Cremia’s, trying on outfits her friend had picked out for her that were, in her words, ‘club appropriate.’ His response was nothing more than a simple ‘k.’ She didn’t exactly expect anything more from him, but she still felt disappointed that he wasn’t putting in more effort. But then again, neither was she. She closed the message and pushed her thoughts aside. She checked herself out in the mirror, and despite her earlier trepidation to Cremia’s clothing choices, she didn’t hate how she looked. She had never cared much for style before, and never wore anything besides jeans (Link always teased her that dresses were here favorite when she was younger) and plain shirts, steering clear of patterns, bright colors, and lace and frills. This was the first time she had worn a skirt - and a black, very short, leather skirt, at that - and a shirt that actually showed - no, accentuated - her cleavage.

She felt unnecessarily girly. And a little sexy. Very sexy. It was… sort of thrilling, and she found that she didn’t mind it as much as she thought she would. Tonight was about letting go and having fun again. Something she felt she hadn’t done in a while. Cremia was right; she needed to get away. To loosen up. To live her life. And what better way than to break a few little laws and get a little drunk? It seemed like the thing to do to help her forget about her problems. Link certainly did it enough.

Aryll and Anju sat on Cremia’s bed while Cremia worked diligently at her makeup. Her mouth was open in concentration as she perfected her eyeliner, then applied her lipstick, finishing it with a smack of her lips. She tussled her hair, checking herself in the mirror before giving herself a nod of approval.

“Plenty of makeup to go around,” she said, turning to them.

“Where are you taking us?” Anju asked wearily.

Aryll took the offer of the makeup wordlessly, applying the eyeliner to her eyes in thick strokes.

Cremia grinned. “Well, first, I thought we’d pregame here for a couple hours. No sense going out this early.” She tapped on her phone as she spoke, scrolling through various apps and web pages. “There’s a few good clubs in the city we can hit. And if you’re really feeling adventurous, we can take a drive and see where the night takes us.”

“Oh, a road trip!” Anju said. “We should totally do a road trip this summer!”

“Now we’re talking,” Aryll said. She smacked her lips together and gave herself a flirty look in the mirror. “Hit the coast and never come back.”

“Maybe, like, after graduation,” Anju said.

Aryll frowned. “You mean we can’t just drop out?”

“I also invited a few other people out with us,” Cremia said, interrupting them. “They’re gonna meet us at the first club.”

Anju frowned. “I thought this was girl’s night.”

“Totally,” Cremia said. “But, my goal is to get Aryll’s pants off.” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. “I invited Mido.”

Aryll blushed. “Shut up,” she hissed. “Why would you do that?”

“Because he’s soooo dreamy!” Cremia teased. “He’s strong. And sexy. But not as sexy as some people.”

Anju threw a pillow at Cremia.

“Come on, Ary,” Cremia whined. “You had the biggest crush on him.”

“And then you made out with him,” Aryll reminded her.

“Oh, yeah,” Cremia said. “But I’m done with him. You can have him now.”

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered.

“He’s bringing his friends, too,” she assured her. “There will be plenty to pick from.”

“I was hoping to just get shit faced,” Aryll said.

“Drink enough and you might get lucky, too.” Cremia moved to her closet, pulling open the doors and digging through. When she emerged, she had two bottles of liquor in her hand. “Drink up, ladies!”

They started off with shots, and Cremia laughed as they choked and coughed. “Amatures,” she said as she poured three more shots.

“I can’t do that again,” Aryll said, shaking her head.

But Cremia brought the shot glass to her lips. “Drink! Drink! Drink!”

Aryll closed her eyes and downed the second shot. “Oh my Goddesses,” she groaned. “What is the appeal?!”

After a third round of shots, Cremia dug through her closet once more, pulling out a case of wine spritzers. “These will be more your style,” she said, then added, “Pussys.”

They were much more tolerable than whatever hell fire was contained in the two bottles Cremia first brought out. They went down easily, and they drank them casually over the next couple of hours as they chatted and took selfies with one another. By the time night had crept in, the case was empty, and they were giggling together on the bed.

Cremia got to her feet. “Ah’right,” she said. “We’ve gotta club to rock.”

“How do you ‘spect us to even get in?” Anju said. “We’re minors.”

“Never fear, Cremia is here!” She thrust a fist in the air, then fished through her purse, tossing two ID cards at them. “I hook my girls up!”

“Where…” Aryll started, then shook her head. She didn’t even want to know.

“Nice photoshop job,” Anju said, admiring her older looking appearance on her card. “Glad to see that older me is still hot.”

Cremia rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I made you forty, jeez.” She grabbed a set of keys off her dresser, threw her purse over her shoulder, and left her bedroom, calling after her friends.

“Wait a sec,” Anju said as they followed suit. “Should you really be driving?”

“We’re literally going down the street,” Cremia said. She lead the way through the house and outside where her mother’s car waited. “We’ll be fine.” The keys were left for ‘an emergency,’ as her mother had said. “Only if the house is on fire or the city has become over run with aliens, or if you are dying.” It wasn’t the first time her parents left her alone for the weekend, but it was the first time she could (legally) drive, and she wasn’t about to waste a perfectly good opportunity to hit the town.

The three girls slid into the car. Cremia navigated them the short drive down the street, and then a few blocks over, before parking in a lot outside of a club. A bouncer stood at the door, checking IDs of those who entered.

“Follow my lead,” Cremia said as they stepped out of the car. “Act like you’ve done this before. Don’t be idiots, k?” They hurried across the street between stopped vehicles and navigated to the back of the line, stopping only when Cremia was pulled quite literally into the crowd.

“Hey!” Mido called to them, waving them over. Cremia stood between him and his friends, giggling as she moved between them, closer than necessary.

“Hey,” Aryll said sheepishly. Her head was already swimming, and she had started to feel nauseous, but she was determined to push through the night. There was no way she was backing out now. And for the first time in ever, Mido had spoken to her, and her feelings for him immediately ignited once more. Goddess, he was hot.

Mido smiled. “Started without us?” he said. He took her wrist and pulled her into the line with them.

“It’s free to raid my mom’s booze,” Cremia said.

“Don’t worry,” Mido said. “We’ll keep the drinks coming.” He turned his attention back to Aryll. “I was really surprised when Cremia said you were coming out.”

Aryll brushed her hair behind her ear and blushed. “Huh? Wha? Why?”

Mido shrugged. “Didn’t really think you were the type.”

“Guess there’s a lot you don’t know about me,” she said with a flirty smile.

Mido’s grin widened. “Yeah?”

“Watch it, man,” the guy beside him said, elbowing him. “You know who her brother is, right?”

Mido laughed. “The dumbass with a sword? I’m not worried.”

A couple of the guys oohed teasingly, and Aryll frowned.

“Jealous, Mido?” Cremia teased.

Mido grinned and crossed his arms. “If I’m jealous of anything, it’s that he’s fucking the queen.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Anju offered. “He’s being cocky. He’s got jock brain.”

The guys laughed. “Football guys are idiots,” one said to Mido.

Mido rolled his eyes and grinned. “We’ll see who’s the idiot when I get a full boat into college.”

Aryll shrugged. “Nah, he’s right,” she said. “Link is a dumbass.”

They had made it to the front of the line, and Mido held his arm out, allowing the girls to enter first. They flashed their IDs at the bouncer, who glanced at them quickly before ushering them into the club, already checking the group behind them.

From outside, they knew the music was loud, but Aryll still wasn’t quite prepared for how loud it actually was once they made their way inside, then down the stairs. Except for the disorienting flashing lights, it was dark and foggy. Dark masses danced and grinded on one another on the dance floor, laughing and posing for pictures. Cremia gripped their wrists as she lead them through the room as if she had done it a hundred times. The guys had momentarily disappeared, but Aryll was more focused on the bodies that pressed up against her as they wandered the club.

After a moment, Cremia seemed satisfied with their location, and she pulled at Aryll’s wrist, dancing seductively against her.

“Come on,” she shouted over the music. “Get into it. Give ‘em something to watch.”

Aryll shrugged. If you can’t beat them, join them. She took Cremia’s hand and followed her moves, dancing as best as her drunken mind would allow her. Within a few minutes, Mido and his friends had found them, drinks in hand. Mido offered Aryll one of the glasses in his hand, and she took it eagerly, smiling a wordless thanks to him. She didn’t question what it was, fearing it would be like the shots Cremia gave them, and instead held her breath and drank.

It didn’t taste as bad as she expected, though she still didn’t know what the hell it was. She finished it quickly, regardless, and set her empty glass on one of the nearby tables as Mido pulled her toward him. He put his hands on her waist, and they moved down slowly to cup her ass. He leaned in, pulling her closer and whispered in her ear.

“Show me all the things I don’t know about you,” he said flirtatiously.

Aryll smiled and pressed closer to him, grinding up against him as she had seen the other women do. She turned her back to him, then continued to grind against him. She could distinctly feel him against her, in more ways than one, but otherwise took no notice as she lost herself in the music.

Throughout the night, they continued to dance and drink. Just as they promised, the drinks kept coming from various sources. Each one tasted a little different, but after a while, she didn’t even notice that. But it didn’t take long before she started to feel more and more sick to her stomach. She was stumbling over herself, and though Mido tried to catch her at every chance he could, he was no better off. At some point in the night, she remembered his lips against hers, then moving sloppily to her neck. His hands moved over her body, caressing her thigh and cupping her breasts. She had tried to pull away, but only stumbled against him more, sending him the opposite message she had intended.

Soon, her stomach couldn’t handle it any longer, and she found herself vomiting violently into a trash can. Cremia took her hand and lead her into a bathroom where she puked first into a sink, then into a toilet. Cremia held her hair back, but the sounds made her sick, too, and she gagged and choked.

Aryll could not hold her head up any longer. She felt the world spinning much too fast, and her head hit the floor. She hardly noticed the pain, but did feel the cool tiles against her face, and it felt refreshing against her hot skin. And that was the last thing she remembered.

“Aryll!” Cremai shouted to her. “Wake up, idiot!” She whined loudly and did her best to pull her friend across the bathroom, but she was much too drunk to even keep herself up right. She dropped to her knees and slapped her across the face, but Aryll did not budge. After trying a few more times, Cremia started to panic. She searched the bathroom desperately, for what she didn’t know, before running as best as she could back into the club, searching for her friends.

Anju and Mido and his friends were leaning against the bar, talking and laughing when she stumbled up to them.

“Aryll’s out,” Cremia said, panting. She pulled Mido through the crowd and into the bathroom, showing him her passed out friend. Mido picked her up as carefully as he could, then followed Cremia outside and to her car as Anju jogged to catch up with them.

“Maybe you should call an ambulance,” Mido said after securing Aryll in the backseat.

“No,” Cremia said. “Serious? We’ll be so fucked!”

“I dunno,” he said wearily. “She doesn’t look good.”

“Shell be fine,” Cremia insisted. “I’ll jest take ‘er home and shell sleep it off.” She slid into the car behind the wheel, starting the ignition as Anju got in beside her.

“He’s right,” Anju said. “We should go to a hospital.”

“Will still be fucked!” Cremia said. She squinted her eyes as she concentrated on driving. “It’s easier to get home.”

“Cremia,” Anju said fiercely. “She’s not okay! Hospital!”

Cremia groaned. “Fine!”

Anju turned to the backseat, pushing Aryll in her best attempt to wake her, but she did not move or utter a sound. Her lips twisted in concern, and she moved her fingers under Aryll’s nose, then to check her pulse on her neck, and she panicked.

“She’s gonna die!”

“She’s not gonna die,” Cremia barked. “Oh my Goddess!”

“Cremia, this isn’t good,” Anju sobbed. She shook her head and buried her face in her hands. “We’re so fucked. Hurry!”

“Okay!” Cremia stepped harder on the gas, blowing through a stop light and causing the cars that tried to get through to slam on their breaks and ski across the road. Their horns blared angrily as they sped onward down the center of the road, no longer keeping to their own lane. Cremia navigated as best as she could between vehicles, ignoring the side view mirror as it clipped another vehicle and flew through the air, landing on the car behind them and cracking the windshield. She didn’t slow as the road narrowed, moving away from the heart of the city.

It was darker where they were, and she was sure she knew the way to the hospital, but it seemed then that they were completely lost. Still, she sped through the dark streets, cresting over the hills and careening dangerously around the corners. The headlights didn’t seem bright enough for the dark hour, and an early spring fog had settled in, making visibility more difficult. Still, she sped on, taking another corner much too fast and finally spinning out of control. They screamed as the car spun across the road and finally slammed into a tree, and their world fell darker than the night.