To be fair, the invitation never said anything about the even being semi-formal, so when Tori arrived at the Christmas party in an ugly Christmas sweater, her surprise and embarrassment was understood.

“Maes! You said my outfit was okay! What part of wearing an ugly Christmas sweater to a semi-formal party is okay?” Tori asked while trying her best to hide her sweater and strangle her friend at the same time.

“I said your outfit was fine. I never said it was fine for the party,” he defending himself while downing a glass of eggnog.

“And you Alzono! Why didn’t you put a dress code on the invite?”

“Alzono has no problem with your wearing what you’re wearing although Alzono would have preferred a Mrs. Claus costume a bit more senorita,” he said with a wink.

On the other side of the room, her ex-boyfriend Baise found himself in a similar situation. Having thought it was a simple get together with friends, he wore his favourite and ugliest Christmas sweater which resulted in him turning redder than Rudolph’s nose.

“Should I ask?” Elena asked as she brought Baise a drink.

“I’d rather have some drunken courage thank you very much,” he said, downing both glasses.

“Baise-san, do you want to borrow my jacket?”

“No thanks Yuto,” he said, raising the glass, “drunken courage.”

“Oh by the way, your Tori-san is also here, she’s dressed in a similar manner,” Yuto said but Baise was already long gone. “Lane-san, do you think it’s a mere coincidence?”

“Don’t know, let’s go ask Alzono.”

Baise managed to find an unopened bottle of rum and a quiet place that was the second floor balcony to hide his sweater. In his semi-drunken and reminiscent state he couldn’t help but wonder what Tori was doing. It’d been over a year, almost two, but he still couldn’t get over their breakup.

“Oi Tori, what’re-you-do-hic.” Baise tried another mouthful of rum to stop the hiccupping. “’Oi Tori! Tori. Tori. Tori. Tori! Victorian!”

“What! Baise?” Tori asked as she walked up the stairs. Like Baise, she wanted to find a quiet place to rest when she heard her name being called by some madman. “Baise is that you?”

Turning around at the sound of his name, Baise saw his beautiful ex-girlfriend and her ridiculous sweater and immediately bursted out in laughter, “What are you… what are you wearing? You wore that you a party?”

She walked over to where he was sitting on the balcony and removed his arm that was clutching his stomach, “You did the same thing idiot. Move over and hand me the bottle.”

Sobering up a bit after his laughing fit, Baise did as he was told and handing her the bottle. She sat next to him and positioned herself just like him. Legs dangling off of the ledge and her face pressed against the bars.

“So,” she said, “how have you been?”

“Been better,” he said, taking the bottle from her to have a sip. “When did you start drinking?”

“Just occasionally, when you need some liquid courage you know? Why’d you wear a Christmas sweater?”

“Didn’t know anything about a semi-formal dress code. You?”

“Same. Get a new girlfriend?”

“No. Get a new boyfriend?”

“Nope.”

There was a long pause between the two. They both wanted to ask the same two questions, it was a matter of who was going to ask first. Shaking the bottle that was in her hands, she muttered a quick, liquid courage, between downing the last bit and turned to Baise to ask, “Why did you break up with me?”

“I didn’t think someone like me was worthy of someone like you. Why did you let me leave? You promised that we’d be together.”

“Thought you deserved someone better than me. Do you still think that? That you’re not worthy?”

“Yeah I do, but … I want to work to be someone worthy of you. What about you?” He asked while lying on his back. His feet began to swing at a faster pace as he waited her answer.

“Yeah but I think I can be better for you.” She joined him on lying on the floor staring up partially at the night sky and partially at the ceiling. “We’re a bunch of idiots aren’t we?”

“Which topic are you talking about?”

“Both. The shirts and our relationship.”

“Yeah, we kind of are. If we only talked back then. Do you want to try again?”

“Is that you are the alcohol talking?”

“Me. I miss you.”

“Okay.”

“I’m glad I wore this sweater.”

“Me too.”