A Date for Tonight
The next gala came and went. After night had fallen and most of the guests had left, Caitlyn and Vi stepped outside the Kirammans’ mansion for a breath of fresh air, leaving Caitlyn’s parents and Jayce Talis negotiating with a few potential Hextech sponsors inside.
“You remember our promise, don’t you?” Vi asked as she led Caitlyn down the path out of the garden.
Caitlyn chuckled slightly as she opened the gate. “How could I forget? Where are you gonna take me?”
Vi allowed herself a cheeky smile, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she brought Caitlyn down a side street in Piltover that Caitlyn herself had never been to before. It was tucked away in a quiet section downtown that only came to life at night.
The street was small, but both sides were lined with street hawkers, bars, cafes, all open only at night. These stores were usually dark and dingy during the day, the only light being the sunlight streaming through the windows. Now, the signs were lit with neon colours. The street was not exactly crowded, but there was a considerable amount of people.
Vi led Caitlyn to a bar about fifty metres in. It was empty with the exception of the single barkeeper standing behind the counter. It wasn’t a man or a human — it was some sort of green-skinned, humanoid, vaguely fishlike creature. It had an eyepatch over one eye, a strangely triangular goatee on his chin, and rows of sharp white teeth, making the single golden tooth stand out.
“Jericho!” Vi called. She knocked on the table, and Jericho turned. He grinned, exposing his chompers, and started pouring a cup of something for Vi.
“What is this place?” Caitlyn asked. As a high-class member of the House of Kiramman, she rarely visited bars or had alcohol. Even when she did, it was in controlled doses out of fear of getting drunk and losing control of herself.
“A favourite haunt of mine,” Vi said. She slipped into a seat at the counter and slid her fingers over the rough wooden top. Jericho slammed a glass mug filled to the brim with golden, frothy beer in front of her, and Vi gave him a nod of thanks.
“Sit.” Vi gestured to the seat next to her. “What do you drink? Whiskey? Beer? Or is champagne the only kind you take?”
“Oh, shut up.” Caitlyn rolled her eyes as she settled onto the seat. “For the record, you’ve only seen me drink champagne because it’s the only kind my parents will tolerate at their events.”
“Are they…okay with this?”
Caitlyn blew a raspberry. “Probably not. But at least I’m not getting wasted in front of the other Houses.”
She, too, got a beer. For a few minutes, they sat there together in silence, enjoying one another’s company and the quiet of the night.
Caitlyn took a sip of the beer. It was bitter, and the smell of the alcohol raced up her nostrils to the back of her head. it was far less refined than the other wines or champagnes she had tried, but somehow refreshing. She set down the cup and glanced at Vi, who seemed right at home.
“You…come here often, I suppose?” she ventured.
Vi smirked. “Understatement. This place is mostly empty, so lots of silence and space to think. Plus, if you ask me, Jericho’s one of the best chefs and bartenders in town. Am I right, big guy?”
Jericho didn’t speak, but he chortled heartily and nodded. Then, his eye locked onto Caitlyn, and he flicked his head, as though questioning her presence.
“Ah.” Vi nodded and swallowed another gulp of beer. “Sorry. I forgot to introduce. Jericho, this is Caitlyn Kiramman, my…ah, date, for the night. It seems she will soon be as much a regular as I am.”
Caitlyn arched an eyebrow. “Good luck trying to get me drunk more often.”
Jericho ran his gaze up and down Caitlyn’s figure, then looked at Vi and gave her a thumbs-up of approval.
“Doesn’t talk much, does he?” Caitlyn said.
Vi shook her head. “But if you spend more time around here, you’ll learn to read him like a book.”
Jericho grinned at Vi, poured her another drink, and retreated to the back of the bar, leaving the two of them alone.
“So…I’m your date for tonight, huh?” Caitlyn asked. Her eyes had taken on a mischievous sparkle.
Vi put her foot up on the table. They had changed out of their gala clothes, and Vi was now dressed in a hoodie, red jacket, leather pants and boots. “That’s the plan,” she said. “How’re you liking it out here?”
Caitlyn allowed her small smile, but she didn’t respond immediately. She felt the weight of Vi’s gaze on her. She wasn’t used to being so carefree, without the usual rules and restrictions chaining her hands to her sides. Out here, in a dingy bar on the edge of Piltover, she felt…safe with Vi. Safe enough to take just another sip…
“It’s quiet,” was all she said, but the nostalgic sort of joy in her eyes was all Vi needed to see.
Vi's smile softened just slightly. “Yeah, that’s the appeal.” She took another drink and let the silence settle around them. The night felt less like an event and more like something… personal. A rare moment of calm. “Not really your usual scene, huh?”
Caitlyn shook her head. “No, but it’s nice. Not everyone’s pretending to be something they’re not.”
They both fell into a comfortable silence for a while, letting the world outside fade away. The bar’s dim glow and the low hum of voices became their own little bubble of time, where nothing mattered except the moment they were sharing.
In that brief second, Vi took in Caitlyn and saw her — really saw her for the first time. She was seeing more than the angry girl she’d first met in the police station. She was seeing a smart, beautiful young woman. Caitlyn was attractive, no doubt about that, and the difference between her and the other Piltovans around her class certainly helped her case. The humility wasn’t always a given with high-class folk, but to Caitlyn, it seemed like a natural instinct.
Vi smiled.
Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing,” Vi answered quietly. “Just…wondering how you’re still single.”
Caitlyn’s cheeks took on a reddish tint.
~~~
Caitlyn could barely open her eyes.
For a moment, she lay there, awake but not fully present. Even from behind her shut eyelids, she could feel the burn of the sunlight on her face, as though it were trying to pry her eyes open with a red-hot iron.
Her head was pounding, with the sort of ache that made her wonder if she had been knocked in the head with a brick — sharp, repetitive, as though someone was driving daggers into her skull. She turned away from the sunlight and took comfort in the darkness that followed the shift. She could feel the soft sheets of a bed beneath her fingers, a pillow behind her neck, the faint smell of lavender permeating her nostrils.
The last thing she remembered was Vi, laughing at her in some sort of bar. There was a green guy with an eyepatch. Music. Beer. Vi.
Her stomach churned, and she felt the taste of alcohol creeping up her throat. What the hell had she been thinking? A blur of images flashed through her mind. She felt Vi’s grip on her wrist, the smooth pavements of Piltover under her feet, Vi’s hoodie under her arm…
She had a hazy memory of Vi supporting her, helping her walk — no, Vi had carried her back. Wasn’t that what happened? Initially she had leaned heavily on Vi, until Vi gave up on making her walk straight and just carried her instead.
A wave of pain washed over her, and she winced and shifted again. She sat up, rubbing her throbbing temples, and tentatively opened her eyes. She was back in her own room, which only meant Vi had knocked on the door, much to the Kirammans’ surprise, probably.
For a moment, Caitlyn felt…ashamed. Embarrassed that she’d had to be carried by a friend because she’d gotten wasted. Then, she suddenly recalled Vi’s steady presence, a sort of quiet concern for Caitlyn. Something she’d felt at her side — subtle, but yes, it was there.
She glanced at the clock. It was already late afternoon. Caitlyn closed her eyes, trying to compose herself before stepping outside to face her parents.
Caitlyn was about to step off her bed when she noticed Vi. Vi had apparently crashed on her floor after their little adventure, too exhausted to return to her own home. She lay next to Caitlyn’s bed, on the soft carpet that extended just beyond the borders of the bed frame, sleeping soundly.
Had she stayed here all night to look after Caitlyn?
Bitterness and shame washed over Caitlyn again. She resisted the urge to kick Vi in the head and scream, I CAN LOOK AFTER MYSELF.
But could she, really? In that state? A part of her was grateful to Vi for bringing her home and even staying the night to look after her.
Guilt gnawed at Caitlyn’s heart. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen — getting drunk, losing control, having Vi carry her back and take care of her like she was a damsel in distress.
Yet, as Caitlyn reached down and brushed a strand of hair from Vi’s face, she couldn’t help smiling. Vi had been there for her when she needed it. She could have left Caitlyn in the bar, or left the house after dropping her off, but Vi took it upon herself to make sure Caitlyn would be okay.
And to Caitlyn, it was something worth being grateful for.
~~~
“Did I do anything stupid last night?” Caitlyn asked.
She and Vi stood together at the gates of the mansion. Caitlyn was preparing to see Vi off in the evening, after a quick dinner and some food to thank her.
Vi shook her head, but the smile on her face betrayed her.
Caitlyn sighed. “What did I do?”
“Where should I start?” Vi mused. “Let’s see…you forgot what milk was and called it cereal water. You took a lobster from the fishmonger and tried to bring it back to the sea. You tried to eat your doorknob because you thought it was gingerbread. You weren’t walking straight. You —”
“Okay, you can go home now.” Partly mortified, partly tickled, Caitlyn slammed the gate in Vi’s face. On the other side of the gate, Vi called out to her.
“Believe me, cupcake, I’ve done worse. I won’t be going anywhere just because of this.”
With that, her footsteps retreated down the path.