Gimme Gimme - Tamaki Amajiki

twelve

I don't care if he's a nobody...
In my heart he'll be a somebody!
Somebody to love me!

┏━━                            
SOMEBODY
  ‍   ‍       ━━┛

"Gimme gimmeeeee! That thing called love! I want itttt!"

Morioka squinted with one eye as she winced at the loud singing coming from the center of the room. Nejire was spinning in circles in the dark room that was lit up with LED lights and a disco ball above their heads. Couches were placed against the walls and a TV against the opposite wall so they could see the lyrics of the song that was playing and they could sing along to it.

See, the gang was at karaoke for Nejire's birthday. It was her idea—of course, as the only one that could sing well and with confidence in the entire group. She was currently singing some song called "Gimme Gimme" from a musical called Thoroughly Modern Millie, which no one else knew but Nejire seemed to adore. Most of the song was loud and upbeat and had a catchy tune and was about love, so what's not to like?

Morioka leaned her head back against the cushion, closing her eyes. She was the only one that hadn't sung yet tonight. And for a fair enough reason... she was just too sad to sing something happy like the others. They were all having so much fun and singing their hearts out (despite some of them being a little bit tone deaf), she didn't want to dampen the mood with her own problems. Nejire brought them here to relax and have fun before finals which were practically right around the corner.

Morioka knew her friends deserved to have fun. She knew they would try to make her feel better if they knew she was even remotely in a sad state. She didn't want to take them away from this.

"Hey Rio..."

Morioka peeked one eye open at the voice calling to her.

A boy with slicked back purple hair and purple eyes stared down at her with his hands in his jean pockets. And for once, she was relieved that the purple aesthetic didn't belong to Akibara.

She smiled lightly. "Hey Tamaki."

He returned her smile. His mouth moved as he said something but she couldn't hear him over Nejire's singing. Morioka cocked her head to the side, confused. "Huh?"

He frowned when he realized his soft-spoken voice wouldn't cut it here. He gestured awkwardly to the empty seat beside her. Oh! She nodded, understanding that he wanted to sit next to her. He sighed and plopped down beside her, both watching Nejire sing and dance for a few seconds.

Amajiki then leaned into her ear and said, "A-are you doing ok?"

Morioka let out a breath and pursed her lips, overthinking her answer. Her expression fell slightly as she refused to look back at him. "Yeah. I'm doing ok. Are you?"

He shrugged. "It's a bit loud."

Morioka smiled and laughed a bit. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her, trying to get a sense of why she was trying to mask her emotions. He could see the strain in her eyes and the quivering of her smile as she fought to keep up appearances. But he couldn't tell why she was so sad... He hated to see her this way.

"Yeah, this isn't really your type of party, huh?" she replied.

He pressed his lips into a flat smile. "No, not really."

She smiled and leaned back again. "Yeah, me neither."

Now that definitely didn't sound right coming from her. She was the party girl! The group's certified "drunk!" This was definitely her scene, but she acted like she didn't belong. Amajiki frowned at her, staring at her as if he was scrutinizing her. She definitely noticed this.