215 Inevitable Crash (7)

By the time Lily calmed down, some time had passed, and Iris' stomach grumbled in displeasure. The last time she'd eaten was around midday, and it wasn't much. Now that it was evening, past six o'clock, she was getting hungry again.

"Let's go downstairs, maybe they have something to eat at the party," Lily suggested.

Hand in hand, they did just that. Upstairs, the noise had been a faraway cacophony of unrecognizable sounds, but the closer they got, the louder everything became. The words of the song were as hard to grasp as before, but they became so loud that any kind of speech turned impossible. Even shouting wouldn't avail a person to making themselves understood.

Thus, without speaking, Iris and Lily grabbed some snacks from the tables while looking for something more filling. There wasn't anything of the kind around the edges, so they went deeper into the partying people.

The scarcely dressed men and women were staggering and laughing all around them, but none looked like a danger to society. Only to themselves. Some walking by the edge of the pool would fall in, resulting in mass shrieks of hysteric laughter, until the person got themselves out.

Near the center, there was a large tent with all kinds of food. Most of it were still snacks, like chips, sea creatures on sticks, olives, and peanuts, but there were also a few leftover pizzas on the side. Whoever had ordered them had clearly changed their mind by the time they arrived.

Iris pointed at them, and Lily nodded. The two of them swiftly grabbed a portion for themselves and made to escape. They were halfway out when some guy grabbed Lily by the shoulder. She turned to him, and he started shouting something to be heard, but the music was just too loud. Whoever put it on was against people being able to communicate.

Without the ability to hear, Lily just shook her head and tried to wrench her shoulder free, but the man didn't let her go. His brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. From his mouth movements, it was clear that he began speaking faster, but it was still out of anyone's hearing range. He didn't even bother to lean it so they might possibly hear one another.

Right as Iris started to consider hitting him with her pizza, since it was the only thing near her hands at the moment, a punch flew at the guy. Even though the sound was impossible to have been heard, Iris could have sword there was an audible crack before the man fell to the ground, clutching his nose.

Gale stood before Lily, looking beyond pissed. His face was red, and he was breathing heavily, his chest raising and falling with each intake of air. When he looked over at Iris, there was an accusation in his eyes.

Shaking the fist with which he'd hit the guy, he looked away and motioned for them to leave with his other hand. Suddenly aware of their precarious situation, Iris took hold of Lily and dragged her away, back into the house. She didn't stop until the din of the party became a faraway noise once more.

Never having participated in a serious party, Iris hadn't considered that someone might end up being less than courteous to them. It wasn't like she didn't know what happened when people got too much to drink, but they were usually harmless. They were just people having fun, and as long as you didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother you.

"I'm sorry," Iris murmured, clutching her side from all the running. "I should have known better than to go there."

"I would have needed to go by myself then. Brother sent away most of the servants when he was in a bad mood, and among them was the cook."

"I-I… see."

Iris did not see how that made any sense, but she was realizing that she was wholly unprepared for life around people. Her expectations somehow always ended up clashing with the reality of the situation.

They then found a solitary corner and opened their cold pizzas. It was a poor excuse for a meal, but edible. That was the best compliment that Iris could think of at the moment.

Midway through, the phone in her pocket vibrated. She took it out and saw a message from Kyro. [Where are you?]

[With Lily. I went to check up on her.]

After she sent this message, there was silence for a long time. She finished another quarter of the pizza before Kyro sent her a short few words. [Be safe. Come back home soon.]

[Will do! ^^]

Happy that Kyro didn't scold her, Iris grinned at the phone. She had planned to return home before him, but who could have known that this place was so far away.

'I should get moving, though, it's already this late.'

Once the meal was done, Iris exchanged a few more pleasantries with Lily, got a promise from her that they would keep in contact from then on, and called a taxi. There were none near this area since who would hire a taxi in this kind of rich folk part of the city, so Iris was forced to wait over twenty minutes for her ride.

By the time she reached home, it was already midnight, and she was beyond exhausted. Sitting in a small, cramped car for hours was a task more taxing than she would have ever imagined had she thought of it.

Upon unlocking the door of the house, Iris didn't light the lamps, not wanting to wake Kyro. He had work tomorrow, so she tried to be as quiet as possible while taking off her shoes and sneaking into the bathroom to wash her hands.

When she was about to head into the bedroom, a voice startled her. "Iris." It came from the living room area, and she glanced over at the sofa which had a dark shadow now that she looked over there.

"Yes…" she said, cautiously coming over. What was Kyro doing over there? And why was he still awake? Her heart picked up speed when she realized that he had to have been waiting for her. "I—"

Her words were cut short by a movement from him. With a pull at her hand, he brought her onto his lap and wrapped her in an embrace. "Did you ever consider what I might think upon not finding you home without you having said a word about going out?"

"I…" Iris wanted to say something, explain herself, but the closeness of their bodies and the velvety voice by her ears scattered away all her thoughts. The only thing in her mind was to turn her head a bit and do something that would prevent both of them from speaking.

She could feel Kyro's heartbeat by her side, which was only a little slower than her own rapid one, and the way her skin heated up under his touch. His presence was such a familiar one, her mind threw away all the troubles to the side and just focused on the moment.

With a sudden burst of self-confidence, Iris cocked her head to the side. "Am I in trouble?"

Her words startled Kyro, but he soon caught the hint of mischief in her tone. His lips quirked up involuntarily. "Oh yes, you are."