Morning light crept through the blinds.

  A sort of blinding, stabbing, somehow all too loud morning light that brazenly disregarded the blind's function and instead seemed to focus on Kyle's closed eyes. The light rattled around inside of his skull like a marching band's drum-line, hammering at his eyelids. He rolled over, groaning, mouth chalky, head pounding.

  What happened last night? How had the date gone? And why is the light making so much damn noise.

  He noticed his shadow pulling away from him, stretching under the door frame and into the other room. Of course. *He* would have answers.

  Kyle staggered upright and nearly fell over, his head throbbing and his legs wobbling. He steadied himself, and tried again. Slow, careful steps.

  Away from that damned light.

  He crept out of his bedroom, down the hallway, following his shadow's trail, and into the kitchen, where Kyle's shadow had just finished making two mugs of fresh coffee. The shadow was fresh, neat, irritatingly composed - a stark contrast to the wreck across the table.

  “Morning, champ. Rough night?” the shadow asked, chuckling to himself while he poured a bit of Irish crème into Kyle's coffee. "This might take the edge off."

  Kyle groaned, dimmed the light while clutching his head and took a seat. “I don't know, you tell me. I don't remember anything. What… what the hells happened?”

  The shadow pushed the mug towards him, settling in like a storyteller about to enjoy himself. “Oh, where to begin? Let’s see. We arrived at the bar early, some time before your date. You *steeled your nerves* with a shot, quite understandable, given how long it has been since your last date. Then, as fate would have it, a generous stranger bought a round for the whole bar, some sort of anniversary celebration, I'm not sure, and naturally you couldn’t resist two more. By the time your charming companion arrived, eh, what was her name?"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Kyle furrowed his brow, trying to push past his scrambled thoughts and recall. What was her name? "Uh.."

  The shadow waved a hand dismissively, "Well, I'm sure it wasn't very important. It's just her name, after all." The shadow smirked, teasingly. "Yes, when she arrived, you were quite... loosened. When she said she loved, well, surely you remember the name of the dog that bit you?"

  Kyle frowned, that detail clear in his pounding skull. "Tequila."

  "There we go, its coming back to you. Yes, when she said she loved tequila, you ordered another round of shots for you two. That is where the evening truly began to slip away."

  Kyle groaned, "I did.. four shots in half an hour?"

  "Oh, no. No, no, no. You did *far* more than that, I was just sure you blacked out at that point."

  “…Oh no.”

  “Oh yes.” The shadow leaned in, grinning. “The first great disaster? Like, the big one? It was a karaoke bar. Your idea, if I remember right.”

  Kyle went pale.

  “You grabbed the mic, declared your eternal devotion to.. well, whatever her name was, and sang! Well, sang might be too charitable. Imagine... a goose in distress!" The shadow excitedly recalled the scene, gesticulating wildly with his hands. "The whole bar booed, quite an achievement, happens very rarely. Your date clapped politely. Which is probably the worst way to clap. Why she didn't leave then, well, I really can't say.”

  Kyle dropped his face into his hands and groaned again.

  “But the fun didn't stop there, did it? Does the Dragonbreath Chili Challenge ring a bell?" the shadow asked, voice bubbling with amusement. "She said she liked spicy food, so I guess you had something to prove. You want to guess how that panned out?"

  “Gods kill me now.”

  "Funny, you were saying the same thing to the waiter last night. You begged the waiter for milk, bread, sugar - anything to douse the fire. Meanwhile, she finished the challenge, no problem. I bet she has her name on the wall of challenge champions. Ah, that's where you could find it, that pesky name!" the shadow quipped, sipping his coffee with mug in hand.

  "I can't believe what an ass I was."

  “Oh, you weren't done, that's just the highlights.” The shadow started ticking things off on its fingers. “You also picked a fight with a blue oni bouncer, but he decided you weren't worth it and he gently set you down outside. You told her you ‘voted for the Wolf’ so that makes you an Alpha male. And after that, when she tried to leave, you clung to her sleeve in the street, bawling, begging for a second chance. The crowd loved it. I'm pretty sure someone made a TikTok. Gosh, we're probably famous now!”

  Kyle groaned face-down on the table. “…I don’t remember any of this.”

  “That’s why I was the designated driver last night." the shadow said, smiling and cheerful. "One of us has to be responsible.”

  Silence. Then, muffled into his arms:

  “…You think I still have a chance with her?”

  The shadow sipped its coffee, smirking. “Oh, absolutely. She had a letter couried to you just this morning.”

  Kyle's eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Yep. It’s a copy of a request for a restraining order.”