A light in the dark

Dai hopped out of the car before Míngzé did and already ran for the front door. On moments like these he questioned the pokémons abilities. Perhaps he was not the right one to help him with daily things after all. It was fine. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself the way it was now.

Sāng assured him that Vince’s pokémon were all nice, although there were a lot of them apparently. He hummed softly in amusement. “We’ll see about that.” Other people’s pokémon were always a bit too unpredictable to his liking, but surely it would be fine. At the mention that one of Sāng’s pokémon was with Vince, he shot him a surprised look. “Oh, alright.” It probably had something to do with everything that had occurred, but if Sāng was not willing to talk about it, he would not pry. It was, however, a reason for him to be more concerned.

A familiar voice sounded and Míngzé turned around to face her, a small smile plastered on his lips. “Hi Mindo,” he greeted her in return as he raised a hand. It was around then that she spoke again and he raised an eyebrow. The way the tone in her voice changed so abruptly. “Not the warm welcome I expected,” he muttered to himself, confused by the sudden change. Unless— it would make sense if Mindo and Sāng knew each other too, they lived in the same building only on different floors.

Míngzé stood there completely dumbstruck for a moment. Even before Mindo confirmed it, he came to the realization that these two knew each other and were not on good terms it seems. Sāng even went as far as calling her the Devil. “That’s a bit harsh,” he muttered silently. He felt like he’d fallen into a cage of wild pokémon that were about to fight. While he was not able to see either of them, his gaze shifted between the two as they spoke.

And now apparently he was at fault too. If the situation had been different, he might've explained his reasoning. “Hey, whatever is going on between the two of you, has nothing to do with me,” Míngzé said as he raised both hands in surrender. This was getting out of hand and fast. A deep sigh escaped and he rubbed his eyes. Now he was wrong for being friends with Sāng, apparently. “Is this really necessary?” If only he was able to see the dead stares those two were giving each other. Not that he needed it, he could almost hear the venom dripping from their voices.  

While Mindo and Sāng were going back and forth with their comments, Míngzé simply stood there. He could not suppress a sigh and for a moment he thought about leaving. Letting them sort their shit out themselves while he would go home. Dai sat at his feet and was just as confused as he was.

To his surprise Sāng actually asked Mindo if she wanted to join them. What surprised him even more was Mindo who agreed to actually join them. “What?” The question was out before he had time to swallow it. They had been at each other's throats moments ago, and now they wanted to grab a drink together? Totally lost for words he turned around until he saw the small dim light that told him where the entrance was.

“Just so you know, I won't testify as a witness if either of you decides to kill the other.” And after raising a hand to wave he simply walked away. He would not wait for those two to sort their shit out and if they didn’t, then he would simply go home anyway. The only problem was the alcohol in his system— at least that is what he would put the blame on if he knew. Míngzé saw a light and simply assumed it was where he needed to go, unaware he was off course and not heading towards the entrance at all.

If these two were going to start some pity fight, they could do so without him getting involved. Convinced that he was going for the entrance, Míngzé started walking. This was a path he took almost daily, he recognised the light above the door. The ugly dim yellow light that was sometimes flickering on and off. Only something was amiss—

Before Míngzé was able to figure it out himself, he felt Sāng’s hand around his, stopping him while at the same time he could hear Mindo’s voice. His brow knitted together as he looked at the light he’d seen. It was still there but moving closer. A car, not the light he thought it was.

“I knew that,” Míngzé said immediately while turning back towards Sāng. No he didn’t. “Glad it helped you two stop butting heads.” He ended his sentence with a firm nod. That one shot combined with the one cocktail. After their drive home Míngzé had hoped that the effect would’ve worn off, but apparently that was not the case at all.

His hand traced Sāng’s until he found the spot right above his elbow ditch. The extra support it would offer him felt like something that he needed. A game of truth or dare. There was only one way that could end, especially if Mindo joined them too. It was only normal that she— no wait, she actually agreed to it, saying that he still owed her a drink. “That's true— I guess, although, I owe you much more than a drink.” That whole morning when Mindo had helped him was kind of a blur to him, which was no surprise.

A smile formed on his lips. “Let’s do this then, what could go wrong?” Perhaps not the question he should be asking.