Strange but True

Chapter 5

Zac's party is loud.

Then again, most parties are. I don't know what else I expected. All parties are loud, and full of people. That's basically the definition of a party.

I move closer to Quon. If I have to be close enough to someone to touch them, it might as well be my boyfriend.

I like him. I like him a lot.

In fact, I love him.

He's my best friend and my boyfriend rolled up into one person.

"You came!!" Zac runs over to me and flashes a bright grin. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Thanks," I answer. It's only polite.

"There's food and drinks over there," Zac says, pointing across the room. "And the dance floor is over there. Do what you want and have fun!"

He walks over to greet some other guests, leaving me with Quon, Xander, and Yugo. But not for long.

Xander finds Shu and Valt, and goes to hang out with them. Yugo goes off to attempt to talk to a girl, who's sitting at a table by herself. Now it's just me and Quon standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"My team's over there," Quon says eventually. "I should go say hi. You cool with that?"

"Sure." I don't want to hold him back from his friends. "Actually, I have a few people I should say hi to."

"All right."

We part ways. I start sneaking through the crowd. I'm not sure who exactly I'm trying to find. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Daigo Kurogami.

Should I say hi to him? I haven't talked to him in quite a while. I think it should be fine. My restraining order probably expired or something.

Do they expire? I'm not sure.

Either way, I slip my way through the crowd and over to Daigo.

"Hi, Daigo Kurogami," I say.

"Gah!" Daigo jumps and spins around. "Oh, hey, Ukyo!"

We have to shout at each other, the music is blaring.

I smile at him. He's not telling me to go away. That's a good sign. "Having fun?"

"So far, yeah."

He's still adorable. He's so tiny. I could just pick him up and run away. I'm not going to do that, though. That would be beyond creepy.

"Me, too," I say. This conversation has been pleasant so far. I don't want it to get awkward. "I have a few other people I need to say hi to, so I'll leave you alone."

"Okay. Have fun."

We end it there, and I think that was the perfect place to end it. I slip into the crowd again, away from him. Now who should I find?

There's Rideout. I'm almost amazed they showed up. Katana is with Mick, of course. They're more focused on each other than anyone else. The young kid on their team, I think his name is Kyo, is talking with a few other younger kids there. The actual captain of the team is who knows where. I don't see him over with everyone else. I don't see Lui, either.

Thank goodness.

Shinki is by himself, sitting at a table. That's who I should say hi to.

I sneak up behind him. He's on his phone.

What are you doing, Shinki?

Hmm...

"Hi," I say.