Redhead

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen!" Jake yelled loudly, gathering all the attention onto him. And when he saw the people turning towards him, he stood straight and spoke with grandeur. "My junior brother finally got married today, so… DRINKS ARE ON ME TONIGHT! "

His announcement met with a wave of enthusiasm from the patrons as they all raised their glasses in delight and the bar momentarily turned rowdy with cheers and congratulations ringing aloud.

Jake took in the lively atmosphere and grabbed two shots in two hands and threw his head back as he downed them into his mouth at once. He then held his head high, closed his eyes and stretched out his hands as though he was a star standing in the spotlight receiving acclaims and applause.

As the excitement and the cheers slowly died down, a very displeased voice was heard, crashing in on Jake's fantasy. "You ready to leave yet?"

Jake was annoyed upon being disturbed when he was feeling so thrilled. He didn't even bother hiding his annoyance and replied offhandedly. "Hmph… I'm just getting started. And I'm not leaving unti- Eeek!

Jake's proclamation turned into a high pitched shriek when he saw a woman with striking reddish brown hair standing in front of the table. She stood just below him, with her hips cocked to the side and her arms crossed in front of her. She raised her head up as her sea green eyes sparkling with anger were glaring daggers at Jake.

She had a heart shaped face and her fair complexion dusted with freckles gave her a gentle, amiable bearing. But despite her harmless demeanor, Jake was shocked out of his wits as his eyes went wide in horror and he took a step back with his arms raised up in defense.

"G-Gi-Gina?!" He stuttered, his voice trembling as he stared at her in disbelief and immediately began to make sense of the situation. "H-how did you- "

He paused as the redhead turned her gaze to the surface of the table and frowned at all the empty glasses lying around. She then stretched her hand and picked up his mobile that was thrown aside and noticed the ongoing call.

She looked up at Jake with a condescending smirk as she put the mobile to her ear. "Lucian, I found him."

Jake realized what was going on felt an explosion of anger and frustration surging to his head. His face turned red with all the suppressed emotions and he sat down groggily on the table before clutching Gina's hand and pulling it closer.

"Rigel Silverlight! How could you?" He roared into the mobile in Gina's hand as if he suffered a heartbreaking betrayal. "How could you sellout your brother like that? After everything I have done for you- "

His sudden bout of anger worsened his dizziness and he felt disoriented while his face turned ruddy. And as though a switch has been flipped, he began rambling with distress.

"When you were surrounded on the Planet Black Moon, I risked my life and came to save you… And this is how you repay me? Do you know I'm still suffering internal injuries because I pushed myself too far at that time?! But you- How could you break our bond of brotherhood and… turn your back on me? What you are doing is against the convictions and morals taught by the School of Starlight. Do you know how disappointed and heartbroken Principal Hope would be?"

Lucian on the other end was stumped for two full seconds and then his forehead began to twitch in annoyance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in a bid to find and gather every bit of his patience.

That man… he needed a good beating. How could he talk about that now?

Forget it! It would be foolish to expect reason and logic from a drunk.

"Alright, enough." Gina pulled back her hand with a huff and placed the mobile by her ear. "Lucian, I-"

"You hear me, brother? Don't do this, don't go down the dark path." Jake didn't allow Gina to talk as he hovered over shoulder and continued with his tirade. "Remember why you joined the school. Remember why-"

Gina was fed up with his clamoring and pushed his face away from her with her hand and held him at a distance while scolding him angrily.

"That's it! You are no longer allowed to enact Domino's scripts anymore. Even if you are drunk, it is embarrassing and extremely terrifying to be mixing reality and fiction like this. I can't believe she managed to stuff those things so deeply into your brain."

'She really is one scary kid.' She thought as she shuddered in fright before she put the phone by her ear and spoke . "Lucian, I will take him back now. It's already late so you should rest."

"Remember brother. Don't let the darkness pull you in. Remember…" Jake was relentless as he kept going on and on.

"Ah yes yes, he will remember." Gina ended the call and shook her head as she looked at Jake who was still mumbling. "Now, come on. It's time to go."

Jake obediently got down from the table and stood right in front of her, his green eyes dull and hazy as he stared at her. "Back to the school?" he asked in a quiet voice, tilting his head to the side.

Gina felt her heart thump at his child-like demeanor and muttered distractedly. "Okay."

Jake gave her a thousand watt smile that warmed her cheeks, but she quickly shook off those feelings and reminded herself not to get bewitched by his charm and go soft on him.

She then turned around and fished out a credit card from her bag before passing it to the bartender. "Put everyone's drinks on this."

She just entered the bar when she heard Jake announce his brother's marriage and offered to buy drinks for everyone. And although she was miffed at Jake's behavior tonight, she would not let him go back on his word. Even if he wasn't conscious enough to follow through, she would make sure of it.

After the bartender swiped the card and gave it back to her, she threw it into her bag and turned to Jake with a resigned smile.

His eyes were heavy with exhaustion as he fought to keep them open and he was swaying left and right as if he would be blown away by a strong wind.

Gina took his hand and put it around her neck as she wrapped her other hand around his waist. She then leaned him onto her as she took some of his body weight and began to lead him out. "Now, let's go."