3K✩ Special - Slumber Party

"We're having a slumber party at my house this weekend," Minoru announced at lunch one day.

You stopped inhaling your lunch long enough to listen. It sounded like she was declaring a new national holiday. And she might as well have been, given Kimiko's reaction.

"Yeees!" Kimiko bellowed, before pounding her fists on the table repeatedly, making everyone's bento boxes shift around the surface. "Slum-ber par-ty! Slum-ber par-ty!"

"Minoru, are you sure that's a good idea?" Oshiro asked with a wince. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she didn't want to go.

"All my ideas are good ideas, Oshiro. Need I remind you who talked you out of piercing your own-"

Oshiro lunged across the table to seal one gigantic palm across Minoru's mouth. "Haha! Shut up. Aina doesn't need to know about that."

You didn't know what Oshiro tried to pierce, but it must have been something pretty embarrassing because this was the first time you'd ever seen her really blush. Kimiko was snickering and even Hinata was hiding a smile behind her hand. Obviously you were the only one not in on the joke. As usual.

You couldn't really be bitter about it. They'd been friends since middle school, after all. You only entered their clique at the beginning of senior year in high school.

Kimiko did her best to help you feel included, though. She slung an arm around your shoulders and pulled you in close to her side. "You'll love our little slumber parties, Aina," she whispered right into your ear, causing you to shiver. "You name it, we've done it! Dance, paint each other's nails, DIY sushi, spin the bottle, cu-"

"That was one time, and we promised not to talk about it!" Hinata cried, already looking tearful. Oshiro reached toward her, pausing with a frown when Hinata flinched back, before slowly reaching out again to pat her back soothingly.

"There, there," Oshiro said, obviously not used to being the group's comforting presence. That was usually Minoru's job.

"It's settled then!" Minoru sighed, clapping her hands together once before looking everyone around the table in the eye. "Everyone, come over to my house by six PM."

...

So you showed up at the foot of Minoru's mansion at exactly six. It was already dark outside.

You'd walked there, which was an impressive feat with your haul. This was your first slumber party with all your new friends. You didn't know what you should bring and what would be provided, so you packed as if you would be camping for the weekend. Sleeping bag and all.

"You're late," Minoru said, opening the door the moment you set foot on the front porch. She was already dressed in her pajamas, a long white nightgown that made her look like a doll meant for display only. She was holding something, half hidden by the door.

"What do you mean?" You asked incredulously. "It's six."

"No, it's six oh-three. We've been waiting for you. And what are you carrying? Are you planning on moving in?" She didn't seem as put off by the idea that you might suddenly decide to live with her without even asking first as you felt someone should be.

"Uh, no."

"Oh..." She sounded almost disappointed. Maybe you were just hearing things, though. She handed you the tall glass of carbonated purple liquid she had been holding. "Drink this, and I'll let you in."

"What's in it?" You asked, looking at the cup with suspicion.

"Sprite, Jolly Ranchers, and purple food coloring," she listed off, holding up a finger for each ingredient.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

You cautiously accepted the drink and took a sip. It looked like something you'd find in a beaker in a mad scientist's laboratory. It didn't taste nefarious, though, if nefarious had a taste. It tasted like candy. And, duh, of course it did, candy was a main ingredient.

The sugar and fizz felt so good going down your throat that soon you found you had finished the entire glass. The long walk to her house must have left you thirsty.

"Good girl," she said, taking the empty glass from you with one hand and stroking your cheek with the other. "Now, follow me. I'll show you where you can set down your stuff."

...

You needed to mix sugar with more sugar and caffeine more often, because this was the best sugar high you had ever experienced. It felt like you'd chugged five energy drinks in a row. Wave after wave of intense euphoria washed over you. It felt like you were floating on a cloud, high above all your worries and cares.

You'd just changed into your pajamas so you were lying on the couch in Minoru's living room, marveling at how the leather was soft as butter beneath you. You were just starting to wonder where the other girls were when Kimiko burst into the room.

"You're here! Come with me," she urged, taking your hand and pulling you along behind her. It sounded like fun! She was a fun girl, your friend Kimiko. You remember being mad at her but don't remember what you were mad about. It must have been nothing. Nothing important, anyway.

The two of you snuck around like spies, walking on tiptoes and sticking to shadows. Eventually, she led you out the front door and onto the lawn. Minoru probably wouldn't like you on the grass, but she wasn't here right now, was she?

"What are we doing?" You asked in a stage-whisper. You were having trouble controlling your volume and not simply shouting for joy.

"Shhh, just wait for it," she instructed you, digging her bare toes into the soil like a seedling trying to take root.

Just when your anticipation had hit the roof, the sprinklers turned on and Kimiko let out a little shriek of excitement. She dropped your hand and started spinning like a top, head back and arms outstretched.

You laughed at her childish antics before joining in. The cool water felt amazing against your feverishly hot skin. It felt like your muscles were singing. Your skin tingled like your whole body was submerged in the fizzy purple drink Minoru gave you.

Your fun was cut short when you tripped over one of the sprinklers and fell down into the damp grass. It clung to you like a lover, a hundred tiny tendrils holding on to you so you didn't leave. You fell on your ankle funny, but you didn't feel any pain so everything must be fine.

Kimiko leapt through the spray of water and scooped you up. You two swung each other in circles so fast your cheeks flapped in the wind.

You took the opportunity to admire her. She was a gorgeous girl, like a teenage idol. Most teenagers, including yourself, were like awkward second-evolution Pokemon. Not your friends, though. They were pretty, smart, funny, strong... Better than you in every way.

But they love me, you think as another wave of optimism washed over you. They're my friends and they love me.

You unlinked one of your hands to stroke her cheek, and suddenly the two of you broke apart and fell to the ground.

You didn't sit up right away for fear of vomiting from dizziness. Instead, you just laid on your back and stared up at the sky. It was too light in the city to see any stars, but the moon looked particularly lovely tonight. Although the moon looked lovely every night.

Kimiko crawled over to you, looking like a lioness on all fours. She nudged your legs apart with her knees and laid in the cradle of your hips, her head on your chest. Normally you would protest, but you didn't have the energy to do so. Instead you just laid there, spread out and panting in the grass.

After a little while, she tilted her head up sweetly. She was too low to be able to kiss your cheek, so instead she just mouthed vaguely at the corner of your jaw. You giggled, ticklish. Encouraged by your response, she leaned further up and nipped your earlobe before licking your ear.

"Gross!" You yelled, even though the sensation of her tongue in your ear made you shiver. In revulsion, of course. You weren't a pervert. You weren't.

"You love it. You love me," she said. Then she sank her teeth into the meat of your shoulder, bit you as if you were a ripe peach. You gasped, waited for the pain but only felt an unrelenting pressure. She sat up partially, still hovering over your prone form. Her lips were blood red. "Say it."

"What?"

"Say you love me."

You gave her a dopey smile and threw your arms around her. "I love you," you told her.

She stared down at you for a long time, her eyes as dark as the night sky above you, before finally sighing. "I want to stay like this forever, but we should probably go back inside. Mommy's gonna be mad I robbed the cradle."

As if on cue, the porch light of Minoru's mansion flicked on.

...

Minoru was waiting for you both on the porch with two white, fluffy towels.

"Aina, your ankle!" She exclaimed. You looked down at your feet to see you had a gash on the side of one of your ankles. Blood was pouring out of it like a waterfall.

"Oops," you whispered. You thought the trail of footprints you left behind you was from water but it was blood. You must have cut yourself on one of the sprinklers. You didn't even feel it, though. Surely you would've felt such a bad wound.

"Poor baby... This is why you should stay inside, where it's safe and I can watch over you." She was talking to you but actively glaring at Kimiko.

The troublesome girl shrugged sheepishly and said, "Sorry, Mommy..."

Minoru shook her head in exasperation before swaddling you both tightly in the towels she'd brought out and leading you back inside, into the kitchen. She probably didn't want you on her hardwood floors, as drenched as you were.

There she sat you and Kimko down at the island and pressed purple drinks into your hands before saying, "Drink up. I'll go find you some dry clothes," and leaving.

You went to take a sip when Oshiro swooped in out of nowhere and took your cup away. "Oh no you don't!" She crowed, doing the same to Kimiko. "I'm cutting you off."

"You are the antithesis of fun," Kimiko whined, trying her best to swipe her drink back, but Oshiro simply held it out of reach like the bully she was.

"You love me and you know it."

"I dooo!" She crooned, pausing her pursuit of her drink to wrap her arms around Oshiro's waist and press her cheek to her chest. "Do you love me too?"

"You shouldn't have to be told, but yes. I love you too."

"So, can I have my drink back?"

"Not on your life. Sit your skinny ass down."

Kimiko huffed but shimmied onto the stool across from you again. She made silly faces at you to make you laugh, but you were too fixated on Oshiro. She poured your drinks down the drain before rinsing out your cups.

You watched in confusion as she appeared to mix the exact same drink she'd just gotten rid of. Sprite, Jolly Ranchers, and purple food coloring....

"How is this any different than what I had before?" You asked.

"It's the same minus the drugs," Oshiro deadpanned, raising one arched brow at you. "Damn, princess, you really are dense."

Rude, you thought, sulkily sipping your drink. That explains my chemical optimism, then. The drink tasted the same. Of course the bitter taste of the drugs would be masked, though. There was enough sugar in it to kill a horse.

Minoru returned at that moment with clothes in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. She set both down on the island before digging a couple of items out of the pile of cloth and advancing on Kimiko. "Arms up," she instructed, and Kimiko obeyed without question.

You watched in astonishment as Minoru stripped Kimiko down to her bra and panties before dressing her up in the new pajamas as if she were a doll. It was embarrassing just to watch. You wanted to look away, but it was like a train wreck.

Then Minoru turned to you and tried to do the same. "Arms up," she said.

"Oh hell no. I can dress myself, thank you very much," you answered, sliding off your seat and walking up to grab the clothes from her.

"Aina, it'll go faster if you just let me help you." She used her height to her advantage and held the clothes out of your reach.

But Oshiro was even taller than Minoru and she snatched them out of her grip before throwing them at you. "She doesn't want your help," she snapped. "Just tend to Hinata and Kimiko while she gets dressed in the bathroom. Then you can play nurse."

Minoru glared at Oshiro, but you peeked out from behind her imposing silhouette and mouthed, "Thank you." Then you scurried away to the bathroom while they were still busy staring each other down.

...

Once you were done getting dressed, you wandered into the living room where all the other girls were. You could tell because it was the loudest room in the house.

Hinata was laying sideways across an overstuffed recliner, her head propped up on one arm and her legs slung over the other. Kimiko sat criss-cross-applesauce on the floor in front of the sofa as if it was strictly for decoration and she'd be yelled at for sitting on it.

Both of them were too fixated on the television screen, where some anime was playing, to look in your direction when you walked in the room.

Oshiro watched them from the other doorway with the same enthralled gaze they directed at the flat-screen TV.

"I don't know why you like animes that make you cry, Hinata," Kimiko declared around a mouthful of popcorn so buttery you could see its sheen on her fingers and lips.

"It's a sign of good writing. It means the writer made me feel something."

"Whatever you say. I'm not complaining. I just love bright colors when I'm high."

Apparently you did, too. You spent a good ten minutes standing in the doorway, swaying to the rumba beats of your heart in your chest, hypnotized by the television screen.

You liked the yellow-haired character the most. Yellow made you feel like dandelions were growing out of your throat and into your mouth... But, like, in a good way. It felt like happiness was bubbling inside of you, rising from your toes and popping in your mouth.

Minoru pulled you from your trance by resting one gentle hand on your shoulder. "Sit down and let me look at your ankle." She led you over to the couch and sat you down before kneeling at your feet.

You didn't think it was really necessary. It had stopped bleeding. Still, Minoru liked playing nurse, taking care of you, so you let her. You didn't have the energy to fight her anymore.

She cooed to you throughout the whole process. "Does this hurt, sweetness?" as she rubbed an alcohol-soaked cotton ball into the edges of your wound. "I hope this doesn't scar too badly," as she applied the butterfly sutures. "Almost done," as she padded and wrapped your entire ankle in gauze before slipping on an ankle brace for good measure.

Then she put away the first aid kit and took out a nail kit without a word.

You watched in fascination as she trimmed, filed, and buffed your fingernails and toenails to a shine. She seemed to be enjoying herself, humming faintly as she worked. It was kind of nice, having someone wait on you hand and foot. Literally. Although it also made you feel a little like a doll.

Once she was done, she pulled out a glossy nail polish in your favorite color and started applying it to your nails. You didn't think you ever told her your favorite color, though. Huh. Must be a lucky guess. Or maybe your memory was bad. That was probably it.

After each coat of paint, she put your nails under a weird alien light. She noticed you looking at her and reached up to rest a hand over your eyes. "Don't look directly into the light, sweetness," she scolded.

She seemed satisfied after god knows how many coats. "You know I love you, right?" She purred, smiling up at you from your feet. You smiled back and nodded. No one else would treat you this nice.

"Who wants sushi?" Oshiro called from the kitchen before appearing in the doorway again. You didn't know when she had left, probably went to get out the sushi fixings, but she was back now.

"I want sushi!" You crowed excitedly, getting up off the couch and jumping up and down. You were filled to the brim with genuine youthful energy.

The others weren't as enthusiastic. They probably experienced enough slumber parties that DIY sushi had lost its magic. That, or they were too high to do anything other than watch television. Either way, they didn't give her more than a backward glance.

She looked at you and nodded in the direction of the kitchen before striding away.

"Aina," Minoru said before you could follow her. "Be careful with Oshiro. And let her do all the knifework. I don't want you getting hurt." Then she sidled up behind Hinata and started braiding her hair. Hinata glowed under her attention, but it made Kimiko scowl before her concentration settled on the TV again.

You snorted on your way to the kitchen. Now that Oshiro had given up trying to run you off from the group, you were probably safer with her than you were with Minoru.

The kitchen island was overflowing with sushi tools and fillings. You couldn't name all of the things on the table, but you recognized them from those fancy sushi restaurants that made the food in front of you. You didn't realize you were drooling until you felt something dribble down your chin.

Oshiro let out a snort of laughter before gesturing you over to the island. You walked over until you were situated in front of the whole smorgasbord. Oshiro was at your back, so close you could feel the warmth radiating from her. That was the only thing keeping you from saying fuck the art of sushi and grabbing fistfuls of sushi fillings to stuff in your mouth.

"Okay, princess...What kind of sushi do you want to make?"

"Uhhh..." You didn't know a lot of sushi off the top of your head. If only you had a menu in front of you... That kind of defeated the purpose of DIY sushi, though. Like ordering a basic sandwich from Subway.

"Nigiri sushi is fish on top of rice," she offered helpfully. "Maki sushi is usually rolled."

"Maki sushi!" You wanted a sushi roll.

"Okay, so first we grab our nori. Our nori has a rough side and a shiny side." She reached over and grabbed a rectangular sheet of seaweed, turning it over in her hands. Both sides looked pretty shiny to you.

"How do you know which is which?"

"Well, you see, the shiny side is shiny."

You let out a sarcastic laugh. "They're both pretty shiny, Oshiro."

She sighed through her nose before continuing, "It's just for presentation purposes. Just put the shiniest side down on the bamboo mat." The bamboo mat was wrapped in plastic, likely to keep the rice from sticking in the grooves.

"Next we dip our hands in here, which is water with just a little bit of vinegar. It's important to keep our hands moist," she said, dipping her hands in a nearby pot. You made a face at the word moist. Luckily she couldn't see it, or she surely would have teased you mercilessly.

"Then we grab some rice from the hangiri. The hangiri keeps rice warm or body temperature." Oshiro grabbed about a handful of rice and balled it up into something resembling a baseball. You made another face. You hoped she washed her hands before this demonstration.

You thought it important to speak up here before things went any further. "You're just using your hands?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"What about the rice paddle?"

"You mean the shamoji? No one uses shamoji for anything other than spanking." She picked up the rice paddle and gave her palm a few experimental whaps. "Do you want me to make that cute bum red?" She asked flirtatiously, her voice low as a moan, right next to your ear.

You sputtered, blushed, and turned to punch her in the shoulder. She just laughed and laughed and laughed. "You're gonna have to hit harder than that to get a reaction out of me, princess. Now, eyes forward!"

The sushi lesson continued as if she'd never made a pass at you. The blood in your cheeks and ears did not dissipate with the sexual tension.

"You draw a line across the nori with the rice and fold it down, leaving a little section at the top uncovered. Now, which fish do you want?"

"How do I know it's good fish?" You'd heard about some sushi restaurants replacing white tuna with escolar, also known as the diarrhea fish... You didn't eat any white tuna, just in case.

"Smell it," Oshiro said, picking up one of the fish sticks and holding it up to your nose. "It'll smell like the sea, like an ocean breeze. Fresh, almost meaty. If it smells like fish, it's already gone too far."

Not what you meant, but good to know. You could trust Minoru. She wouldn't poison you. At least, not with food.

"Now, we have crab, shrimp, tuna, salmon, hamachi, and uni..."

"Uni? More like, ew-ni." It was by far the least appetizing thing on the table, followed closely by the roe.

She craned her head so you could see the judgmental look she was giving you. "Have you ever tried it before?"

"No, but it looks nasty."

"Try it."

"No."

"Try. It." She scooped up a portion of uni in a spoon and tried to feed it to you, kept bumping the edge of the spoon against your two front teeth. You opened your mouth to tell her to stop, and that's when she jammed the spoon in your mouth, so far back you gagged.

"It's good, right?" It certainly tasted better than it looked. "Fun fact: it's an aphrodisiac."

You choked.

After that, Oshiro let you pick out the fillings you wanted. You decided against uni, just in case. You didn't want to be anymore turned on than you already were.

"Finally, it's time to roll. You hold your fillings, fold it over the top, and give it a little squeeze. Aaand... You have your roll!"

Oshiro went to grab a knife and cut it, but you were too hungry to wait. You took a bite off the end like it was a raw-fish burrito.

"How do you know so much about sushi, Oshiro?" You asked around your mouthful.

"My dad used to own a sushi restaurant."

"He doesn't anymore?"

"No." She went still and silent behind you. Then the moment passed and the spell was broken. "Anyway, now you know how to make sushi!"

Yeah, you'd think. Once you were done eating your sushi roll, you gave her a beseeching look over your shoulder.

"You weren't listening, were you?" She sighed heavily. You shook your head. You were listening! It was just so hard to concentrate on what she was saying. There were too many steps to remember.

You remembered what Kimiko had done earlier, though. You turned around to wrap your arms around Oshiro's waist and press your cheek to her chest. "Do you love me too?" Kimiko had crooned. Instead, you said, "Can't you just do it with meee?"

She heaved another sigh before rubbing slow circles into your back. "Let's try again. First we grab our nori..."

...

"Are you two done Lady and The Tramping sushi rolls in here?" Kimiko asked as she pranced into the kitchen like a prize-winning pony. She was carrying a baby pink sake bottle with both hands. Maybe she was afraid she would drop it if she only used one hand.

"Kimiko! What did I tell you about drinking while on Minoru's shit?!" Oshiro yelled, loud enough that it hurt your ears.

"It's fine, Dad. I just needed something to keep me buzzed. I'm already coming down from Mommy's happy pills. What about you, dollface? That ankle hurt any?"

Now that she mentioned it... Yeah, it was starting to hurt a lot. You'd been keeping your weight off it while standing by the island with Oshiro. Nonetheless, the ache just kept growing. At the same time, though, you no longer felt wired in the positive sense. And that was a good thing, right?

"I'll take that look on your face to mean yes. Don't tell Mommy, unless you want more of her 'love.' Now, come on, you two, it's time to play... SPIN... THE... BOTTLE!" Kimiko cheered, throwing the bottle up into the air and just barely catching it before it shattered into a million pieces on Minoru's kitchen floor.

"I don't think so," you said primly. "I'd rather sit this one out." Sitting sounded really good right about now. Playing spin the bottle with your friends... Not so much.

You once caught feelings for a pretty girl you looked at for a little too long in class. Kissing was a whole 'nother level. And it was dangerous to catch feelings for any of your psycho friends who could potentially murder you.

Hell, you were still under the assumption Hinata and Kimiko were straight. And Minoru and Oshiro were so many leagues cooler than you that they were practically unattainable. This was a recipe for disaster.

Now that you were no longer too happy to care about anything, a snake pit of anxiety started coiling in your belly.

"Sorry, princess, everybody plays at least one round. It's a tradition we started back when the strongest thing we drank at these get-togethers was grape soda." Oshiro said, before picking you up by your waist and slinging you over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "Just close your eyes and imagine you're kissing the cutest boy you can think of."

That's how you ended up kneeling on the floor, shoulder to shoulder with Kimiko and Minoru, staring down the pink sake bottle like it was a gun.

"So here's the rules," Minoru announced, putting her hand on the bottle, "You spin the bottle and kiss whoever it lands on for a minimum of three seconds. We go in order of group seniority, so I go first and Aina goes last."

Then she gave it a spin. Your heart beat harder in your chest each time the mouth of the bottle passed by you. It landed on... Kimiko. She grinned like she had just won the lottery.

You got a front row seat to their kiss, considering Minoru had to bend over your lap to get to Kimiko. You leaned back as far as you could, as if someone was about to set off a firecracker in your face.

In reality, it was much more innocent than that. Minoru cupped the nape of Kimiko's neck, tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, and kissed her. You watched, red-faced, as Kimiko's tongue darted out to caress Minoru's lower lip. She did not open her mouth to admit her, however. Still, a thin string of saliva connected them until Minoru pulled all the way away.

"Thanks for the sugar, Mommy," Kimiko teased.

"Oshiro, spin," Minoru ordered after she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her nightgown.

Oshiro reached over and spun the bottle hard. You watched it so intently that you got dizzy. It landed on... Minoru. Neither looked happy about this outcome.

"Well, pucker up, buttercup," Oshiro growled before lunging across the circle and kissing her. The force knocked Minoru flat on her back. There was a loud thud as she knocked her head on the floor. You didn't see the kiss itself, just watched in bewilderment as Minoru started pounding on Oshiro's back with her fists as soon as her three seconds were up.

"You're a brute!" Minoru spat once Oshiro finally backed up a respectable distance. Her mouth was swollen, her lower lip split and bleeding. She didn't wipe her mouth on her sleeve this time.

"And don't you fucking forget it." They came across as bitter exes that still held a flame for one another.

Next was Hinata's turn. She timidly turned the bottle, got barely any true spin on it. It lazily twirled around a few times. You didn't watch it this time. Watching it just made you more anxious.

But maybe if you watched it then it wouldn't have landed on you.

You locked eyes with Hinata across the circle of girls. She looked just as shocked as you.

"Lucky you, Hinata! Go on and kiss the girl," Kimiko said. However, there was a mean twist to her lips.

Hinata nodded and crawled across the circle to straddle your lap. You subconsciously leaned back on your hands to make more room for her to sit. You don't know where she got her confidence from. She was normally such a shy girl. Still, she was blushing just as hard as you were.

She reached out and held your face in the palms of her hands. It felt better than any touch you ever experienced. You were thankful you were already sitting, because your legs felt like they melted into jelly. Your heart was pounding again but not from the drugs.

Then she tilted your head up a little and stroked your lower lip with her thumb. Her warm breath fanned over your face. It smelled sweet, like spun sugar. There was raw emotion, something you couldn't quite decipher, in her eyes. Her pupils seemed to pull you in like black holes.

It was so cheesy, like something out of a romance novel, but it felt like time stopped when her lips met yours. Her lips were soft as velvet and sweet as candy. You wondered distantly if it was the lingering purple drink on her mouth intoxicating you or if it was just her.

You kept your eyes half open, sneaking little peaks at her, checking to see if she was enjoying herself. Your stomach was fluttering, like it was full of butterflies. This felt like a dream, like a figment of your imagination. You waited for Minoru's awakening pinch but were left waiting.

Then her lips left yours, and you came crashing back to reality.

You just kissed your friend. Your straight friend. Not even your friend, your "friend," in quotation marks because she might end up killing you. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

You crab-walked backwards and out of her embrace.

"I've got to go," you quickly told all the girls as they looked on in shock. Then you fled the room. You needed to find your shoes, needed to get out of here. You could come back for the rest of your stuff later. Where in this godforsaken mansion had you left your shoes?

Meanwhile, your friends were calling after you, shouting for you to come back. When it became clear that you weren't returning, they got their legs underneath them and came after you.

"Relax, it's just a game," Kimiko yelled after you. She came up behind you and grabbed your shoulder, but you shrugged her off.

She was right. All of this was just a game. None of it was real. But it felt real to you, and this may be your new reality if you didn't go back to your old world after the main character reached an end in the game. You may never see your real friends and family again.

"You're just coming down from the happy pills," Minoru said, situating herself in front of you and grabbing your arms, pinning them to your sides. You tried to shake her off, but she held fast, like you were a child throwing a tantrum.

That's right. Minoru had drugged you. Again. And you had fallen for it. Again. So fucking stupid. You struggled against her even harder.

"This is why you don't drug your friends, Minoru," Oshiro hissed.

"Shut up, Oshiro!"

Kimiko looked anxiously between Minoru and Oshiro. She was obviously losing her buzz and having to deal with the leftover anxiety from the drugs as well. And, on top of that, Mom and Dad were fighting.

Hinata trailed after the rest of the group, still under the purple drink's effects. She had a dreamy look in her eyes as she pressed two fingers to her mouth.

Minoru looked you dead in the eye and said, "Now I'm going to go get something to make you feel better. But you need to calm down. Oshiro." On command, Oshiro came up from behind and wrapped her arms around you, tight as a rope. Only then did Minoru let go, floating away like a Victorian ghost.

"Think of this as hug therapy. My mom used to do it with me all the time." As if on cue, Kimiko and Hinata came over and wrapped their arms around the two of you, turning it into a group hug. Oshiro relaxed behind you. You went stiffer than a board.

You knew it was meant to be comforting, but it only made you feel trapped, cornered like a wild animal. You did your best to wriggle out of the embrace, kicked the shit out of their shins. If only they would let go, let go, let go!

Minoru came back with a glass of water and a white, rectangular pill that looked very similar to the one she gave you that day Oshiro almost drowned you. You eyed it with suspicion, increased your struggles tenfold. Kimiko and Hinata backed off to make way for her.

"Open up," Minoru cooed. You expected Oshiro to play devil's -or, rather, angel's- advocate, come to your defense and argue against treating sober anxiety with drugged bliss. But she didn't. She said nothing, only tightened her grip on you when you jerked away. You felt like you were caught by a boa constrictor.

Eventually, you got tired of pointlessly struggling and followed her instructions, sticking out your tongue for the pill and letting her pour cool water down your throat. Oshiro let go of you, just like that. You swayed on your feet, legs suddenly unused to carrying your weight. She settled a steadying hand on your shoulder, patted it twice.

You were still anxious, still wanted to escape, but you couldn't now. You didn't want to be high on the walk home. And what would Aina's parents think if you returned home like this?

Minoru fed two more pills of varying portion sizes to Hinata and Kimiko, who accepted much more graciously than you. She even tried with Oshiro, who gave her nothing but a, "I think the fuck not." You pouted at her, feeling betrayed.

"Let's go to bed." Minoru said at last. "You'll feel better in the morning."

...

You woke up way too damn hot.

You reached down to push away the blanket, but your hand met skin instead of fabric. That confused you for a minute, until you remembered your sleeping arrangements.

Minoru insisted the group always slept together, puppy pile style, and had a king-sized bed in her refurbished basement up to the task... Just barely. It fit four people comfortably, but, now that you had been added to the group, it was a tight squeeze. Minoru made it work, though.

Somehow you ended up in the middle, laid out flat on your back despite the fact you took up more space that way. Draped over your entire right side was Minoru, pressed against you warm and tight, like she'd earned the intimacy. On your left, with an arm slung over your waist and a leg tucked between your own, was Kimiko.

Behind Kimiko was Oshiro, spread out on her back just like you, but with one arm stretched over Kimiko's waist to reach you. Her hand was sprawled over your bare stomach, where your pajama top had ridden up.

The only person not in skinship with you was Hinata. She was just curled around Minoru's back, face pressed into her hair. Her snoring reminded you of the purring of a little cat.

Once your body was fully awake, it informed you that you had to pee.

You groaned in the dark, trying to devise a way out of your bonds. First things first, you carefully picked up Oshiro's hand by the wrist and relocated it to Kimiko's exposed hip. Then you tried to slip out of Kimiko's clutches while disturbing her as little as possible. She sighed against your neck in her sleep like she was disappointed.

Last but not least was Minoru, who seemed to want to keep you by whatever means necessary. You tried shrugging her off but she just clung tighter, cuddled closer. After what felt like an eternal struggle, she finally woke up.

"Where do you think you're going?" She whispered, half sitting up and knuckling one of her eyes. You admired the curve of her jawline before it was ruined by a yawn.

"I gotta pee," you blurted out.

She nodded in understanding but it took her a full minute to slowly, almost reluctantly, let you go. "Come right back."

You didn't want to come back, climb back into that hellishly hot snake pit of limbs. So, instead, after you had flushed and washed your hands, you tiptoed upstairs rather than down, to Minoru's room.

It really was beautiful, like a little princess slept there. Every room in her house, all the way down to her refurbished basement, looked like it belonged in a magazine. You yawned and pushed a majority of the pillows to the floor before crawling under the covers.

You woke up some time later to Hinata nuzzling her face into your neck. "I couldn't sleep without you," she murmured in explanation. Good, you were a little lonely anyway.

Then Oshiro was on your other side, shoving an arm under your pillow. "You left me there with Minoru," she grunted. Fair point! She could stay.

You don't know when Minoru came up to spoon Hinata or when Kimiko all but climbed on top of Oshiro, but suddenly the bed was hotter and even more cramped than the one downstairs. Probably because they were trying to fit more people in less bed.

You hadn't been to a ton of slumber parties in your time, but you knew this wasn't normal. Oh well, you thought, turning over in your sleep and practically rolling on top of Hinata, causing her to squeak. You'd have a talk about boundaries in the morning.