Code Black // Arrow

01 - Club

Six Years Ago:

Club Nova raved with party life within its high walls. The DJ played all the right songs to keep the crowd dancing all night without straying off to another club in the city. Multicolored lights were strategically placed all around the building, flashing down upon the dance floor. The vibrated beneath everyone from the booming EDM music and over-the-top bass.

Hensley Merlyn's hands were thrown in the air as she danced her worries away. She discovered last year Club Nova was the perfect place to de-stress after school and her life overwhelmed her. Everyone warned her senior year of high school would be the worst and, so far, they all seemed to be correct.

Every night, she was slammed with piles of homework from all of her classes and the stress of sending in college applications before she graduated in six months.

A pair of calloused hands slid across her hips and pulled her against the chest of a dark haired guy. Their bodies moved in sync as they danced to the loud music. A smile grew on Hensley's lips while she focused on the music and danced with the young guy, no older than nineteen.

They were in the middle of the second song when the boy was abruptly yanked away from her body. She whirled around at the sudden loss of his warm hands on her hips, instantly rolled her eyes when she spotted two familiar men chase the boy away from her.

The two men angled their bodies toward Hensley, purposely ignoring everyone who accidentally bumped into them while they stood in the middle of the dance floor. Her hips continued to sway to the beat of the song blaring through the speakers.

The men— both in their early twenties— glowered at the young girl in front of them. The darker haired one wore a pair of dark pants and a blue, buttoned up shirt with a dark jacket while his friend wore a similar look; dark washed jeans, maroon plaid shirt under a black leather jacket.

The brunet narrowed his sapphire blue eyes onto Hensley's face with an irritated look etched on his facial features. "What are you doing here?" Tommy Merlyn folded his arms over his chest.

Hensley flashed a bright smile at her older brother. "Dancing!" She yelled back, happily. She playfully poked his chest. "It's one of the many things you can do at a club."

Tommy glared at her and tilted his head to the side. "You're seventeen, Hensley. How did you even get in?" He shouted over the music.

Her right hand dipped into the back of her jean pocket. A form of identification was handed over to the two of them, pinched between her fingers. Tommy and Oliver peered down at the card, taken aback when they saw her picture printed on it along with her actual birthdate. They shared a look with each other before they turned back to the teenager.

"This isn't even fake," Oliver realized in a perplexed tone. "How did you use your real ID to get in?"

"I know people, Ollie." She grabbed the small card back and slid it back into her pocket. "I guess having the name Merlyn really helps. They love me here, especially the guards."

Tommy pressed his right hand to his face, stressed out. "Hensley, you need to go home."

She shook her head in response. "No, I don't think so." She continued to dance as a new song came on and the crowd cheered with excitement. "I had a really long week. I deserve to be here and I'm not going home when it's not even midnight."

Loud groans erupted from their lips when Hensley easily slipped into the mass of people on the dance floor right before their eyes. She ducked down and squeezed between couples without being caught by them.