Another World | NejiTen

Chapter 13 | Memories

The girls walked to the bar, which was only a few blocks away from the campus gates. None of them wanted to drive after getting drunk. Since students had the day off tomorrow, the gates would close at four in the morning, like any weekday. 

"How are we gonna get in?" Tenten asked, suddenly realizing the problem with their age. They were all nineteen, except for Ino, who had turned twenty last month.

"I know the owner well," Ino explained, "Getting in will be a breeze."

The group of girls stepped inside the bar, which was blaring with music and flashing with multicolored lights. It reeked strongly of alcohol, and there were people dancing on one side of the room. There were even poles in the dance area, and over by the dance area was a small stage for karaoke. 

Ino walked to a counter by the door, the girls following her. "Hey Jiraiya!" She said with a grin.

"Hello Ino, haven't seen you in a while. I see you've brought some lovely young ladies?"

"Yes, you know Sakura, Hinata, and Temari already, but meet Tenten," Ino said.

"Nice to meet you," Tenten said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you too," Jiraiya replied, chuckling. "Tell me Ino, how's Naruto doing?"

"He's great! He even has a, dare I say...love interest," Ino replied, winking. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hinata's blush, despite the darkness of the room.

"Ooh, who is it?"

"Sorry, promised not to tell," The platinum blonde explained, smirking.

"Alright, well ladies, have fun!" Jiraiya informed the five girls.

They nodded, heading towards the drink counter. Ino ordered a glass of tequila before turning to the girls. "What do you all want to drink?" Ino asked.

"I don't drink," Tenten said quickly.

"Aw, c'mon Tennie, won't you at least try a drink?" Ino asked.

The brunette shook her head no. After a little more pleading from Ino, she finally agreed to try one. Simply try. It couldn't hurt, right? 

Tenten sat in a chair, a glass of peach margarita sitting on the table in front of her. She eyed it suspiciously, sniffing the contents of the glass with a frown on her face.

"Tenten, stop being paranoid, there's no poison in it," Sakura assured her friend, patting her shoulder. She held a half-full glass of champagne in her hands.

Tentatively, the brunette took a sip, testing the flavors on her tongue. They were unexpectedly pleasing to her taste buds. She swallowed before taking another tentative sip of the drink, which she now declared was absolutely delicious. Tenten couldn't taste much of the alcohol, fortunately for her, but the fruity flavor was indeed good.

"Enjoying it?" Ino asked, already feeling slightly tipsy from her glass of tequila.

"Surprisingly, yes," Tenten replied, taking a larger sip as her eyes wandered the room. A woman was dancing on one of the poles, flashing her body for everyone to see. The brunette shook her head in disgust, turning back to her satisfying drink. Once she finished that glass, she started getting more confident about drinking, asking the bartender for another. After around five glasses, her head was starting to feel fuzzy. 

A drunk Ino dragged Tenten towards the dance floor. She obliged, following the platinum blonde towards the crowd of people, dancing for who knows how long before they went to the karaoke stage. 

"Sing!" Ino encouraged her, grabbing a cordless microphone from a table beside them.

Tenten shook her head, sober enough to know that she didn't like embarrassing herself in front of a crowd. Ino continued to persuade the brunette until she gave in, snatching the microphone from her hands and walking onto the stage.