The Dominant Rivals

3.The Drunkard

“Yaa,Dami? W-whhyyy are we sppinning?” Kailas giggles uncontrollably as the people circles in his head.  He felt a rush of excitement and dizziness, his laughter filling the air. The world becomes a blur of colours and sounds as if he’s caught in a whirlwind of joyous chaos. 

Kailas was drunk. Like... drunk drunk. Like, singing every song he knew and that is in his I’m-the-worst-singer-but-I-will-anyway tone. Doing impressions of cartoon characters in front of people in the club. Damien gazed at him; he couldn’t help but be reminded of their tumultuous history together. They had often clashed, disagreed, and butted heads, but seeing Kailas in such a broken state stirred a mix of emotions within him. He shook his head, trying to alleviate the throbbing sensation that indicated an impending headache, while the bartender looked on with a sympathetic smile at the sorry sight before them.

The bartender chimed in, “I think your friend’s had enough for tonight. It’s better to take him home and make sure he’s safe. Shall I call you a cab?” he politely asked the only sober person among the two.

It appeared that this Dog went in a cab for his ‘date’. Damien nodded gratefully at him and turned back to Kailas. “Come on, Doggy. We’ve had our fun tonight. Let me take you home."

Kailas, with his head on the cold bar counter, suddenly jolted up and slapped like a toddler throwing a tantrum. “No! I don’t want to go back!” he wailed, lunging forward and grabbing the bartender’s collar.

The Polite bartender nearly choked. Startled by Kailas’s sudden outburst, Damien reacted swiftly and reached out and firmly but gently pried Kailas’s hand away from the bartender’s shirt, guiding him back into his stool. As Damien settled him down, he apologized to the bartender, who seemed shaken by the sudden outburst. The polite bartender accepted the apology and then hurriedly moved away to attend to other customers, leaving Damien to deal with Kailas’s outburst. Poor guy seems like have a lot of people like him already, the last thing wanted to be choked to death by a drunkard.
 
While Damien was apologising to the bartender, the drunk Kailas was already on his way onto the crowded dancefloor in wobbly steps. He stumbled and bumped into several people, causing them to spill their drinks. The music blared as Kailas tried to find his rhythm, oblivious to the chaos he was causing around him Amidst the tangled bodies and the euphoric sensation that ripples through his body as he begins dancing with random strangers, he presses his body against theirs.

He felt a hand pressing on his pants and turned to see a person who was in colourful makeup or whose face was glowing because of the lighting effects. Before he could initiate a dance, a strong hand abruptly seized his wrist, pulling him upright. Kailas blinked, trying to focus on Damien’s face through his bleary eyes.

“I’m the kmight in the shimy arrrmour.” Kailas stood on his wobbly legs near the dance floor and slurred.

Damien sighed, realising that reasoning with Kailas in his current state might be futile. Deciding to play along for the moment, or was there any choice for him? The thought of the potential headlines of the next day being about a silver-haired man found dead near the road or having Ollie’s disapproving eyes on him for adding to their poor pal’s worst time alone. He could already imagine Shion laughing his ass off, looking at both their conditions.

He took a step closer to Kailas, adopting a serious tone. “Alright, Knight in the Shining Armour, let’s get you out of here.” He firmly grasped Kailas’s arm, trying to guide him away from the chaotic dance floor.

Kailas resisted, swaying unsteadily and mimicking the act of drawing a sword from an invisible heath. His words slurred, and he proclaimed with tipsy determination, “No! D, I nee' to pro-tect the ke' to our realm”