Lia liked to drink. She liked the way it made her looser and more fluid in conversation. She liked how she became more outgoing and if she were honest, less like her true self. Where sober Lia was hesitant and guarded, drunk Lia was friendly and naive. She herself believed that people liked her better that way, so she drank.
However at present Lia wished she were a tad more sober. The beautiful girl who asked her to sit down- Jade, as she introduced herself- ordered them three rounds of shots since she sat down, and seemed to hold her liquor much better than Lia did. Or it was just that Lia had been drinking all night before then, and she had a later start. Whichever it was really didn't matter. Lia tried to concentrate on what she was saying as her head felt fuzzy and heavy. It was weird, Lia thought then, that alcohol didn't make her tired so much as it made her feel like she was already dreaming.
Jade was clearly Faeryn, Lia knew that from when she first saw her. Her deep scarlet eyes, like luminous pools of blood, gave that away instantly. The specific type is called Harin, a type that survives off of blood. Harin mostly populated Andaria, besides a few others like the Ghi and Vyladan. Lia had had hookups with Faeryn before and much preferred their company anyway when they didn't get political and stayed away from the topic of the war, like the Harin mainly did. One thing she loved about Andaria was how the Elysian and Faeryn mingled and lived in tolerance of one another, almost harmony.
The others who were sitting with Jade introduced themselves as Dean, Luna, Wade, and Ara. They were also Faeryn. Dean was very pale and wore street clothes that gave off the impression he didn't care much for his looks, except that they were clearly designer and he smelled of fresh cologne. Luna had bronze skin and wore a sleek red skater dress with a deep v-neck. Her amber hair was tied in two braids that fell past her elbows. Wade was tan with a beanie and dressed similarly to Dean, who he kept chatting to over his martinis. He wore silver glasses and had very sharp features. Ara had freckled skin and a shock of orange hair which exploded from her head in tight corkscrew curls. Her deep red eyes looked very kind and inviting. She wore a dark blue jumpsuit which complimented her hair nicely. They all chatted heartily amongst themselves, and seemed to be celebrating something. Lia wanted to ask what it was but was trying to let Jade lead the conversation, especially feeling drunk as she did.
The band in the VIP lounge was playing swing jazz music with an old-time feel. All around the walls, the deep red lights and curtains seemed to envelop Lia the same way Jade's eyes did. They were almost the same shade, Lia noted simply as she watched her while she spoke. She had just finished downing another shot and was giving the glass back to the waiter, turning to Lia with a throw of her satin hair. Lia was utterly captivated by her.
"You don't mind if I step out a moment and head for the restroom real quick, would you?" she asked in her honey-like voice. "Drinks run through us like water. It's a bit of a nasty affair. Normally I'd think it wasn't worth it, but tonights a bit of a special occasion." Her smile lifted at the corners, crinkling her eyes.
"I don't mind at all," Lia shifted a bit to give Jade room to get up, then paused. She hadn't gone all night it would be an opportunity to be with Jade alone. "Actually... I have to use it as well. Would it be alight if I tagged along?" Lia tried her hardest not to let her words slur together but knew she was doing only a half-good job at it.
Jade smiled warmly and lent a hand to help her up, which Lia took with a skip of her heart. The contact of Jade's skin was like ice and Lia bit back a shudder at the sensation. She was so enthralled with Harin and how they seemed so otherworldly. It was part of their allure.
"Of course, I don't mind at all. There should be a restroom for the VIP lounge exclusively." She offered Lia her arm to help her along. Lia knew she ought to feel slightly embarrassed at how obviously drunk she was, but she was too busy being amazed at the attention she'd been shown by Jade that she didn't even care. Why someone like Jade would go for someone like her she couldn't understand. She let herself be led by Jade, who seemed like she was often in the practice of leading drunk girls along to the restroom.
Two bodyguards stood at the entrance to the lounge and opened the ropes for them as the walked up. "Excuse me, we were looking for the VIP restroom," Jade said in a cool voice. For being Harin, she didn't sound as though she had an accent like those who spoke Haric fluently often did. Then again, those in the Andaria didn't frequently use Haric for everyday conversation.
"I'm sorry miss, the VIP restroom is currently out of order at the moment. You'll have to use the downstairs one," one of the men said.
Jade made a short noise of disgust. Lia could hardly blame her; the main restroom for the club was always in shambles and smelled largely of urine and vomit. Still, she was at least used to it. They headed downstairs into the large dance floor area, where the delicate music of the lounge fell away into loud electronic music. Bodies were closely pressed together in the pit like shadows, obscuring what anyone really looked like. Lia felt a sharp pang of guilt as she'd almost forgotten about Allie entirely. She reached for her phone, thankful she'd brought it down with her, and saw no new notifications from Allie. She must be having a good time then, Lia thought hopefully.
"This way!" Jade yelled next to Lia, escorting her towards the public bathrooms. They entered into the dingy women's restroom which only had three stalls, one of which was always unusable. Jade looked like she was on the verge of puking, which Lia thought only half of which was due to drinking. It smelled rancid in there.
"You go first, I don't have to use it as bad," Lia said to Jade as someone exited the farthest stall. Jade gave her a small smile that said thank you, and ducked into it. Lia turned to the dirt-stained mirror on the wall and set down her phone on the counter as she looked at herself. One of the lights was flickering on and off annoyingly. Her hair looked a little out of place and her mascara was smearing, but otherwise she thought she looked okay. She grabbed a napkin and tried to clean up her makeup a bit before heading into a recently-vacated stall. In the next stall over, she could hear the tell-tale signs of Jade throwing up and tried to block it out.
She emerged a moment later and saw Jade had finished as well and was standing by the door, waiting for her. The line grew longer since they'd come in. Jade stuck out from everyone else like a jewel in a pile of coal, Lia thought achingly. She was so breathtaking, from her golden features to her dress, which put the rest of the girl's outfits around them to shame.
"You alright?" Jade asked. A few of the girls in line were looking at Jade oddly; some with jealousy, some with fascination. Lia felt color rush to her cheeks and hoped Jade would write it off to the alcohol. She was struck by how much she liked Jade. It was a long time since she'd felt so into someone like she did her.
"Yeah, are you?" She asked as she walked back up to her, taking her arm again.
"Yeah. I think I'm going to lay off the drinks for a bit, though," Jade said with a small smile. They headed back up to the lounge, where all of Jade's friends sat chatting still. They sat down as Luna turned to Jade with an accusatory grin.
"Biting off a bit more than you can chew?" She asked, clearly a bit amused.
"I'm just partaking in the celebrations," Jade said lightly.
"You're going to need to pace yourself a bit if you want to last a while, you know that," Luna said tauntingly. She was still on her first drink, whatever it was. It's peachy contents sparkled with a clear layer on top.
Jade gave her a wry look. "I can pace myself however I like to, darling." The way she said darling made Lia's heart skip. She couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of not being the one it was said to, however. Which is ridiculous, Lia reminded herself. Luna and Jade were clearly only good friends. Still, looking more at Luna, she could see how much prettier she was than Lia. How her long lashes fell delicately over her cheeks as she talked, how her lips seemed to form into a perfect curved heart, how her slim fingers held her glass with precision-
"Besides, I was thinking of heading out soon," Jade said to Lia's right. Lia stopped focusing on Luna entirely, her heart feeling like it had shattered and burned. Had she been such awful company? Yes, you have, Lia reminded herself, you drank her drinks and offered up almost nothing interesting about yourself. Not that she thought she had much interesting to offer.
Lia was cut from her reverie as Jade reached and held Lia's hand unexpectedly. The sensation of her cold touch seemed to sober her up somewhat as she snapped to attention, looking at Jade. "That is, if Lia was ready to depart as well." She turned to Lia and it was as though time froze. Was she offering to take her home? Lia sat with her mouth open, unable to even say anything. All the others were looking at them with amused faces. They think it's funny because of me, I'm nowhere near as pretty as they think Jade deserves. She bit her lip subconsciously, looking between them.
"It seems we're being left behind by Jade once again," Wade spoke through a small smile. "Well, go on you two, have fun."
"Are you okay?" Jade was looking at Lia seriously, concern mixed with uncertainty.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm ready to go," Lia said in a rush, gathering her purse and standing probably a little faster than she'd intended. Her mind was swimming, yet despite everything, she'd never felt so alert. Jade rose and said goodbye to them all, who watched them go off with a wave. Lia was too excited about the prospect of going home with Jade to care what they thought of her then.
"Are you sure you're alright? You look like you wanted to say something back there," Jade said as they crossed the ropes and down the stairs, leaving out the back doors to the alley. Cold air hit Lia like a wave, raising goosebumps up on her arms. She never thought a jacket was necessary when clubbing and was now regretting it. She'd always go home drunk anyway, which warmed her up. But tonight, despite drinking more than she thought she'd ever had, she felt suddenly very aware of everything. The chill only worked more to clear her head, if anything.
"I'm just surprised, that's all." Lia was very conscious of her hand in Jade's, where her icy skin lay on her own.
Jade stopped for a moment outside in the alley, hand in hand with Lia. Overhead the sky was freckled with a dazzling array of stars mixed with smoky clouds. A crescent moon hung low in the sky, light pouring off of it like a beacon. The wind lifted Jade's hair around her pale face.
"Surprised about what?" The moonlight bounced off her hair and almost ran like a winding river down her bare collarbones to her dress, which twinkled as though it were it's own galaxy. Her eyes were deeper in the darkness of the alley, closer to black than red.
"That out of everyone there, you chose to talk to me," Lia said honestly. She figured that now, if ever, was the time to be candid. All night she hardly contributed anything to the conversation. She felt as though she hadn't given a single genuine ounce of herself. If Jade was going to like her, she wanted her to like the real her. "You're so beautiful; you can have anyone you want. I just thought that I wasn't..."
"Good enough?" Jade looked confused, and a little hurt on her behalf, which made Lia's heart contract.
Lia said nothing. She felt color rush into her cheeks. Why was this so hard? She had no problem picking up girls at clubs any other time. But in front of Jade, it was as though all her ease and calm had left her. This wasn't where she'd expected the night to go.
"Lia... you know not everything is about looks, right?" Jade was looking at Lia as though she saw her for the first time. "I mean, you are beautiful, but that's not everything. I saw you looking at me all night while you were with that guy and you looked like you'd rather be anywhere else but there. I figured you wanted to talk to me and I wanted to talk to you. But not just because of how pretty you are."
Lia didn't know what to say.
"And besides," Jade continued, "I wanted to have fun tonight. I thought you might be down for a party."
"What is it you guys were celebrating?" Lia decided to finally ask, in part to change the subject.
Jade gave a little laugh and pulled out her phone, typing something into it. "It's my birthday today. I don't normally go out clubbing, but you're only twenty-two once."
Lia was only half-listening. Jade's phone just made her remember something. "My phone. I left it on the counter in the club." She mentally cursed herself.
Jade looked up at her and seemed to register her panic. "I'm sure it'll still be there. Or someone's returned it to the staff. Let's go get it." She put her phone back in her pocket as they headed inside. The line to the bathroom was out the door, and Lia almost tripped over a girl wearing thick platform boots before shoving inside and seeing the counter was empty.
She fought her way past the numerous people in line back out to the dance floor and saw Jade speaking to one of the staff. The guy she was speaking to had his ear to her mouth, and was shaking his head as he turned back to look at her. He pointed to a direction near the front. Jade locked eyes with Lia as she rejoined her.
"He says to check the security by the entrance!" she yelled over the music. A futuristic beat was playing loudly. They walked up and checked- many phones were sitting in a pile, but none of them were Lia's. They reemerged back into the street a moment after.
"Shit, someone probably took it." Lia cursed herself heavily. The alcohol seemed to be wearing off of her, leaving her with panic and unease.
"Maybe it'll turn up tomorrow if you go back," Jade reassured her, "It was in the bathroom. Sometimes drunk girls take things with good intentions and only remember to actually turn it in after they've sobered up some."
"But my friend, Allie, she's gonna kill me if I leave and don't answer her," Lia said. She felt the tell-tale pressure in her throat that accompanied the urge to cry and forced it back. It wasn't the first time she'd let Allie down and forgotten to text her when she left with a hookup, but she felt awful about it when she did. Especially since she'd been the one to drag Allie out in the first place.
"I'm sure she'd understand when you tell her what happened," Jade said. "You can text her from my phone in the meantime," she said, offering her phone to Lia.
"Thank you so much, I can't believe I forgot about it," Lia said as she sent a quick text to Allie: It's Lia. Lost my phone, this is someone's I met in the club. I'm okay, just let me know you got home later. You know where the spare key is. She handed back Jade's phone, grateful that she at least had her tonight.
"Don't worry, worst case scenario you need a new phone. Things can always be replaced. I have no problem taking you home tonight to make sure you're okay. I already called us a ride." Jade put her phone back in her pocket, giving Lia a warm smile.
"Thank you, Jade. And happy birthday." Lia bobbed on her toes, hugging herself from the cold. The club's warmth had been a nice break, if only for a moment.
"Thank you. I'm sorry I can't provide much warmth. In fact, I think I only make it worse," she said with a small frown.
"No, you don't actually." Lia gave her a smile. Her long hair pulled into a ponytail was frizzing a bit at the sides, little wisps of black hair clinging to her skin. Along the street, cars drove by dropping off and picking up people from the club. It was a busy night.
A moment later their ride arrived, and Lia and Jade stepped inside. They set off downtown, away from where Lia and Allie's apartment was at. Lia watched as the streetlights whizzed by, casting dancing shadows across Jade's profile.
"My place is near the west end, a little far from here," Jade said as they continued along. Lia wasn't sure how, but she wanted to restart before she'd made an idiot out of herself forgetting her phone in the bathroom and get back to flirting. She didn't even feel tired as she'd expected to.
"Your friends are all very sweet."
Jade smiled at the thought of them. "They're really great. If you get to know them, you'll love them too."
"How did you meet them?" They had turned a corner and were going down a long stretch of road. Empty shops and businesses rose in tall buildings on either side of them.
"I met Dean and Wade in school, about four years ago. They're best friends. And Luna and I met when we were kids, she's like a sister to me," Lia mentally kicked herself for ever being jealous of her. "And Ara and I met through Dean and Wade. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met." Jade's eyes lit up when she spoke of her friends and Lia knew she meant every word. She wondered if she looked that way when she spoke about Allie.
"I wish I had a tight-knit group of friends like that. I know a lot of people, but don't call myself that close to most of them," Lia admitted. She wondered to herself why she was saying this, being as truthful as she was. She felt it was easy to trust Jade, like she wouldn't judge her for what other's would.
"Well you were there with your friend, Allie right? She must be close to you." Jade's eyes shown under a passing streetlight as she looked at Lia.
"She is, she's my best friend," Lia said, and the image of Allie popped into her head: flowing dark hair much like her own, luminous eyes the color of lapis, her cheeks and nose sprinkled with freckles. Anytime Lia thought of Allie, it was like thinking of home. She loved Allie in a way she'd never love anyone else, and she knew then that she looked the way Jade did when talking about her friends.
"What is she like?" Jade asked lightly.
"In a lot of ways, we're different. She doesn't like to go clubbing, but she does anyway for me. She's a bit of a homebody." Lia thought for a moment, the image of Allie and all of her small quirks warming her from within. "She does so much for me, so many little things that I don't even think about a lot of the time. Like cleaning up around our apartment, or taking off my makeup when I fall asleep with it on. And if we ever fought about something, she wouldn't use that stuff against me, saying how she does all this for me and how I'm undeserving. She'd never do that. In fact, I can't remember the last time we seriously argued over something."
"She always puts other people before herself. She's over-protective of those she cares about, which is why I freaked out at the club about my phone." Lia realized she was rambling and stopped, looking over at Jade.
"It's obvious you care about each other a lot," Jade said, her eyes gentle. "It's really sweet, the way you talk about her."
Lia felt herself blush for what felt like the hundredth time that night, feeling Jade take her hand across the seat. It sent jolts of energy through her, quickening her pulse.
They were pulling up to a nicer row home area in the West end, the car slowing to a stop. "This is my place, on the right." Jade stepped out with Lia right behind her, thanking the driver. The chill was short-lived this time as Jade opened the door to her home, letting Lia into a nicely adorned foyer. She took off her heels and Lia did the same with her thigh-highs, exposing her fuzzy socks underneath. She didn't realize how sore her feet were until she stepped out of her shoes. The apartment was all beige walls with expensive-looking, detailed paneling and dark hardwood flooring. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and large mirrors reflected herself back on the walls.
"Wow, your place is nice," Lia said as she looked around. Jade walked down the hallway into the kitchen, where she was getting out a charcuterie board filled with various meats, cheeses, and fruits.
"Thank you. I hope you like something on this, I keep them for guests. Not that I often have them," Jade said with a small smile, sliding it across the counter towards Lia.
"I do, thank you," Lia plucked a piece of pepperoni and ate it absently. She couldn't stop looking at everything, at how nice and new it all looked. A thought suddenly struck her as she looked back at Jade, who was getting out some wine glasses from the cabinets. "It's heated in here."
"Oh, yes, I keep it warm too. I don't feel the cold at all, but it helps the furniture and other things stay in nicer condition if it's not cold constantly. Plus, the pipes would freeze, and that'd be bad." She set the two glasses down on the marble countertop, and went into the fridge, producing what looked like two kinds of wine. "One is a red merlot, if you like it, the other's blood."
Lia watched as she poured two glasses for them both, one the wine and the other deep, viscous blood. She knew it was probably rude to think it was gross, but seeing Jade bring the glass up and drink it like water sent a shudder through her. She was used to Harin and knew they tended to only drink animal blood, but it was still unsettling.
She tried to distract herself from this by drinking some of the merlot, which was actually very sweet. She made a noise of approval as Jade settled into the barstool next to her.
"Do you live alone?" Lia asked, glancing around at the spacious kitchen. It was pretty large for just one person.
"No, I live with Luna, but she's hardly ever here. She spends most of her time over her boyfriend's place uptown."
"Was he there tonight?"
"Who, Dean or Wade?" Jade laughed, her sharp white teeth stained with the blood from her glass shining under the lights. Despite everything, Lia found she was even more attracted to Jade then. There was an openness and sincerity about her that made her so inviting. "No, they're not dating her. She's dating a Ghi guy who works at a coffee shop. It's all very romantic."
"You're gonna think it's funny, but I thought you and Luna might have liked each other earlier. I thought I might have some competition," Lia said candidly.
"Luna? You couldn't have picked someone worse," Jade said, amused. "She and I are like sisters. I could never think of us like that." She laughed again, shaking some thought out of her head. Her blonde hair pooled around her shoulders like liquid gold.
"I guess I understand that feeling. That's like me and Allie. Close as sisters." Lia sipped more of her glass, easing her way into drinking again. She checked the clock over the kitchen: it was close to one in the morning. It somehow felt so much later to her than that.
"I guess I'm glad then, the way you'd described her I almost thought that I had competition." Jade's smile lit up her face, even more dazzling in the intimate space of the kitchen.
The feeling passed over Lia again: astonishment at how Jade could even think of Lia as someone worth liking. She bit her lip lightly as she thought of Allie. "Has she texted you back, by the way? Has she said anything?"
"Oh, let me check," Jade scrolled through her phone, opening up her text messages. Her perfectly unmarked face scrunched up as she looked down, shaking her head. "It says it never went through. Must be the club's service..." She looked worryingly at Lia.
Lia tried to hide her dismay. "It's okay, she knows I'm alright. I just hope she gets home okay." She tried to force away the look of disappointment that would be on Allie's face when she realizes she left her again. She downed the rest of her glass, blinking back tears as the alcohol burned the back of her throat.
"Would you like some more?" Jade asked as she turned to get up. Lia reached out, stopping her short.
"It's okay, I think I'm alright for now." She let her hand linger on Jade's arm, her warm skin being cooled by Jade's. Jade sat back down, grabbing gently for Lia's hand. She held it at her lap as she reached up and cupped Lia's cheeks. Lia felt herself go stiff from nerves, waiting for Jade to make the next move.
"Lia, you're really such a sweetheart. I would really like to go on a date together sometime, if you'd like."
"Yes, I would love to," Lia said as the warmth from her cheeks seemed to vanish under the chill of Jade's hand. "Tonight has been wonderful. And happy birthday," She said again. Her voice shook slightly, and Jade smiled at her as if she understood how nervous she felt.
She let her hand drop from Lia's face, giving her hand another squeeze. "Actually, Lia, there's something else I have to tell you." Her expression fell slightly, lines of concern appearing between her eyebrows.
"What is it?" Lia asked, for some reason feeling nervous. As she did so, a scream resounded from outside in the street and a sound like a car smashing into a pole followed. Lia and Jade shared a look of alarm, darted up, and looked uneasily towards the door.
"What was that?" Lia asked. More screaming and a car siren going off sounded like it was just beyond the door.
"I have no idea," Jade sounded scared. "But I think it's best if we stay inside."
"It sounds like someone got into an accident." Lia ran for the door before Jade could stop her, yanking it open to a scene of absolute chaos. There was a car on fire that collided with a telephone pole across the street, sending sparks flying into the night air, people screaming and fleeing from something.
"Lia, get back inside, it's not safe!" Jade yelled as she was behind Lia now, trying to reach over her and pull the door shut.
"What is that?" Lia ignored her efforts to close the door as she squinted up the street. Something was coming in a collective horde down it, and as they got closer, Lia could see it clearly: countless mutated monsters, some covered in blood and holding weapons, cascading like a wave of death coming right towards them.