In the rather nice apartment, the sound of a TV was heard throughout. Its audio was constantly changing and noticeably switching between channels as the holder of the remote looked on in boredom.

The pair, a man and woman, looked on at the TV with both staying at both ends of the couch as they watched it, though this was mostly a concerted effort on the man's part.

“On today's forecas-”

“You killed me brother you basta-”

“Samantha you can't leave me for Roberto-”

“And right here, we've got ourselves a mighty fine-”

The woman with dark hair and pale skin, wearing only dark clothing, gritted her teeth and threw down the remote on the nearby coffee table. Which left Miguel praying the worst didn't happen, as he wasn't a fan of the sound the glass made when the remote slammed the table.

“Can't you afford any better channels? Like half of the things are locked and I'm pretty sure most of these are just local channels anyway.” She said as she tried to keep down her annoyance.

“Uh, I just pay for t-the Internet… the cable just comes included…” He weakly muttered, trying not to look her way.

She sighed and picked up the remote before turning off the TV.

“And was hoping to catch the unification match coming up. How the hell are you paying less for cable than a broke bitch like me? Unless…”

She quickly turned the TV back on and looked through the premium channels.

“Shit, I could have sworn you would be the type to pay for those porn channels.”

“Y-you can watch porn on cable!?” He said with a blushed face.

“If you pay for it.” As she looked at him and his reaction she couldn't help but sigh. “(I thought talking to him a few nights ago would have helped to remind who I am, but it really does seem the bastard forgot who he hung out the most with, second to his brother.) But what's up with you Miguel?”

“What's up with me? You're the one talking about porn!” He answered.

“So? We all watch it, there's no point in acting like a nun about it.”

An awkward silence took over the room as Miguel contemplated his next words.

“But that's not the sorta thing two… friends who haven't seen each other in a while would talk about, would they?” He answered in the most diplomatic tone he could muster.

“Fuck off dude, back in high-school you used to tell me you had a thing for thighs and wished you could get a thigh job from one of my friends, there's no point being a prude around me.”

“(I DID!?) Is, uh, is that so?”

Louise scooched over on the couch and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, you've been so fucking annoying these past few days.”

“I'm sorr-”

“Don't apologise, dumbass, it's a personal thing. Like do you seriously not remember me, you and your brother hanging out back in those days?”

“Don't say it like, you're making it sound like a long time ago.”

“Miguel, that was 12 years ago.”

He could only sigh as she delivered a cruel blow to the man who thought he was still in his youth.

“God, 12 years ago?” He sighed

“Anyway, like, you know, stop being so stiff around me, it feels like I'm holding you hostage.”

She moved her hand to his back and patted him.

“You say that, but, uh-”

“Speak up Miguel, give me what's on your mind. I don't want you pussyfooting around this.”

“Pussyfoot? Are you in your sixties?” He offhandedly commented. He looked like he swallowed a capsule after realising what he said and quickly turned around.

“See, like that! You used to be pretty funny back in the day, so it's nice to see you haven't lost that aspect of yourself.” She answered with a smile.

She got up and began looking around the room.

“He-hey what are you doing?”

“Chill out, I'm just looking for something to lighten the mood.”

She began searching around the living room before quickly making her way to the kitchen.

She returned a minute or so later disappointed by her lack of discovery. “Where's the booze?” She asked.

“Booze? What does it have to do with anything?”

“I wanted some shots to lighten the mood? So what’s a rich boy like you have around the place? Cognac, champagne, shit, I'll even settle for some budweiser.”

“I don't have any.” He responded as he looked behind his couch towards her.

She raised an eyebrow. “Miguel, if you don't want me drinking your hooch, I can buy my own. Don't try to fucking-”

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As she looked at his face and the ensuing dread taking over his face instead of insult or defiance, she realised he wasn't lying.

“You're kidding me? How old are you now?” She asked.

“Twenty-six…”

She walked around and sat back beside him, closer than she had earlier. (He felt pathetic having his heart rate shoot up so drastically. He knew he didn't interact with women much after college but this was just pathetic.)

“Twenty-six and you haven't gotten your gills wet?”

She saw the embarrassment building on his face quickly and quickly back-tracked.

“(What am I thinking? After his parents died, he probably didn't leave this place much after. Honestly not being fond of booze is probably best after something like that.) Ah, forget it Miguel. There's a first time for everything. Do you have any, uh, alcohol?”

“Huh? No, I just sai-”

She shook her head and continued. “Not like “alcohol” alcohol, like the shit they use in labs. You're a scientist right? You loved that shit back in high-school and heard you graduated college.”

She reached her fist out towards him.

“Congrats by the way.”

He slowly reached his fist out and fist-bumped her.

“Thanks?” He said unsure. “I wouldn't say I'm a scientist per se, I just have a bachelor's in botany.”

“You bragging or something?”

“No, I-”

“I don't mind man, just keep it humble. What even is botany?”

“It's studying plants, to put it simply.” He sheepishly answered.

“Oh, so like biology for plants.”

“Sure. (Sigh, not exactly but it should get the idea across.) But what does that have to do with anything?”

“So you must have some solvents lying around right?”

“...(How do you know what the word solvent is but not botany?) Maybe?”

“So bring out the eth- ether? ethus?”

“Ethanol?”

“Yeah, that one. It was on my tongue. So you should have some ethanol lying around right? Bring it out.”

She said as she got back up and brought him up to his feet.

“You can't be serious.”

“Come on, what's wrong with it? I've had plenty of friends tell me the lab stuff is good enough to drink.”

“(I mean, they don’t usually put nasty chemicals in ethanol nowadays.) Yeah but, just ethanol? I'm pretty sure most of that stuff is like 40-80 ABV.”

“ABV?” She asked.

Being a man who didn't drink, most of his information regarding spirits came from the good ole internet. And considering ABV made more logical sense to him than either proof measurement, he preferred using that.

“(I should have just said percent…) Alcohol by volume. I think it'd be around the 80 to 160 proof range if you're talking about drinking alcohol.”

“Oh… Don't worry lightweight, I'll water down yours.”

“Woah, woah, who said I'm gonna drink it?” He said with a raised voice.

Louise had begun walking but it didn't seem she had a destination in mind as they ended up right back in the kitchen.

“Come on, isn't drinking alcohol supposed to be flavoured?”

“Eh, it'll pretty much be a stronger vodka, nothing too out of the ordinary.”

“That's all vodka is?” Miguel said, surprised.

“Yup, just water and alcohol. Now where'd you put that alcohol?”

“I'm not even sure if I moved here with that stuff. Pretty sure I used it for a chromatography project in my second year but… have I used it since?” He wondered.

“Come on science guy, you must have an inkling of where it might be, right?”

She asked as she looked around.

“Of course not, do you remember where most of the stuff you used in school is?”

“Come, it wasn't that long ago was it?”

“I graduated like 6 years ago and even then, I don't think I even touched any of the shit I bought for my courses in at least 7.”

“So no lab booze?”

“No. No lab booze.”

She sighed and let go of his hand. (And as much as it pained him to admit, he didn't mind the warmth of her hand.)

“And here I was hoping to have your first drink be something to remember. I guess a beer will have to do. Wait here I'll get us some.”

He grabbed her as she walked off.

“Y-you don't have to.”

She turned back to him. “Come on Miguel, this shit’s a rite of manhood, don't you want to know why so many people can't put that stuff down?”

“...”

“...Okay, maybe alcoholics aren't the best thing to associate with it. But best trust me, dude, take some sips with me and we'll be back in high-school by the end of the night.”

Miguel looked unconvinced by her words but let her go. She looked back at him and begrudgingly shrugged her shoulders.

“Jeez, alright, here's what I'll do. I'll buy some booze and put it in the fridge. If you ever feel like drinking some with me, just hit me up.” She said as she walked off.

“A-are you sure? I mean, like, if you want I can take a few sip-”

“It's good Miguel, I'm not gonna force you into anything. The booze would probably taste disgustingly bitter if I was forcing you to drink with me.” She said before she walked off.

“By the way, do you have a spare key?” she asked as she turned around.

“N-no. I gave it to my brother.”

“Ugh, you're telling me that piece of shit can just pop by whenever he wants?”

“Yeah. (I guess she still holds a grudge against him. Bro, if you try to make a move on her, I'll be sure to bury you next Mom and Dad so you're not lonely in the afterlife.)”

He thought as she walked off to the front door.

With the first time he had to himself in three days, he sat on a stool in the kitchen and tried to catch his breath.

“I'm living with a woman and she's not even my girlfriend.” He said as he sighed. “I don't know my apartment's policy on this sorta thing so maybe I should call the front desk.”

He pulled out his phone and looked through for a number. He found the front desks and moved his finger closer. After all, he didn't want to get kicked out just because he was letting Louise stay over.

Maybe they could even get rid of he-

As he thought about it, he put the phone away. She didn't have anywhere to stay for the moment and he didn't mind having her stay here that much longer. Besides, maybe this was the chance for him to finally get a girlfriend…

He facepalmed as the obvious thoughts entered his head. He wasn't going to lie to himself. The entirety of her stay so far, he couldn't help but have thoughts at the far reaches of his mind, hoping for some sort of ecchi-like encounter happening between the two. Whether catching a glimpse of her exiting the shower or maybe even having her come on to him as he tried and failed to resist her temptations. A part of him wanted something like that to happen.

But this was real life and other than sleeping on the same bed as her, nothing of the sort was going to take place.

“A man can hope, can't he?” He thought to himself as he got back up and headed back to his room. He wasn't sure how long she'd take but he wasn't gonna let this opportunity slide without doing the five-knuckle shuffle.