The dance floor was a large fifty-by-fifty square dais at the very center of the club. A single step led down to the rest of the place, with a bar lining the entire right wall, and booths and tables taking up the left and front. At the way back, a DJ station towered over the dance floor. A man with a bright pink Mohawk was currently spinning, his hair and teeth glowing.
The black lights painted the world in a mysterious radiance, turning everyday objects—like Delaney’s Converse—into flashy items. The entire high-rise ceiling was covered in tiny glow stars of all sizes.
Despite her reservations, Delaney loved that she could disappear here, blend in and become just another cog in the universe. It was liberating in an odd way, one she couldn’t quite place her finger on. Word spread quickly in a small town, and the town her parents still occupied off the coast of Maine was as small as they came. Not for the first time, she inwardly rejoiced at the fact they’d agreed to send her to boarding school.
She’d spent the past four years at Cymbeline Academy, a good two hours from where her parents lived. Just enough distance for Delaney to feel independent.
Mariana leaned in and screamed against the curve of Delaney’s ear, “I’m going to get a drink!” They’d spotted Ottus working the bar when they’d entered, but Mariana had insisted they dance first, no doubt to build up her nerve.
“Are you sure?” Delaney asked. “Do you want me to go with?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want our first face-to-face to be with a third wheel, no offense.”
Delaney held up her hands and kept dancing. She spun as her friend disappeared among the masses, and Delaney twisted her hips and waved her arms to the heavy thrum. The song changed and she loosened up, switching tactics with ease.
The crowd moved in on her, caging, and she laughed when a boy around her age made a really bad robot move to get her attention. He fell into step with her and they swayed to the beat, close, but still far enough apart for it to be appropriate. Another three people turned toward them and joined, two of them girls.
She didn’t know how many songs passed with them, but when she realized it’d been a while since Mariana had gone, she waved at her new friends and stepped back to go find her.
For a moment there she’d been able to distract herself with the music, but now enough time had passed that she was starting to get tired. Mariana was the partier in their equation, with Delaney merely dragged along for the ride every once in a while.
Stepping down from the dance floor, she scanned the bar, which stretched across the entire wall, easily spotting Mariana in her red outfit.
Sure enough, she was leaning across the white bar top, laughing at something Ottus had said.
He was all height and muscle, hair a mix between blond and brunette, depending on which way he turned his head. He’d shaved it so that there wasn’t much to see anyway, making it even harder to correctly guess the shade.
The two of them had connected on one of the many dating apps Mariana used. The apps helped connect humans and aliens who were looking to get to know one another better, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise that Delaney’s best friend had signed up.
With a shake of her head, she decided to walk over and let her friend know she was leaving. There were enough people there that she had to move through the throng cautiously, but she’d only made it a few steps before someone slammed into her from the side.
She almost lost her footing, and instinctually reached out, grasping on to the other person’s arm. Once steady, she glanced up to find herself staring at one of the most beautiful girls she’d ever seen.
They were about the same height, with the same narrow shoulders and long legs. The other girl’s hair was even cut practically the same length, to just past her chin. That was where the similarities ended, however. Where Delaney’s hair was a vibrant red, this girl’s was inky black and slick like silk.
“Are you all right?” Delaney asked, pulling back and straightening.
The other girl stared at her oddly for half a second before the lost, distracted expression on her face suddenly morphed into a large smile. It was almost a bit creepy how wide it was, and Delaney instantly distrusted it.
“I’m perfect,” the girl said in a high voice. She reached out and rested her hand on Delaney’s left shoulder, squeezing lightly. “You have a fantastic night.”
“Um”—Delaney turned as the girl went to step by—“yeah, you, too.”
The girl was swallowed back up by the crowd. She hadn’t even apologized for walking into her. Suddenly Delaney was completely drained. The music was too loud and the air was too stifling with all these people. Deciding she’d definitely more than done her best-friend duties, she turned back toward the bar where she’d seen Mariana only a few minutes before.
Only Mariana was no longer at the bar. Neither was Ottus.
Frowning, Delaney pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. There weren’t any messages, so she tapped Mariana’s number and lifted the phone to her ear. It was hard to hear anything over the music blaring from all directions, but she was calling mostly so that her friend’s phone would ring long enough to get her attention.
As it continued to ring in her ear, Delaney moved toward the exit, eager to get out of the throng. Outside, the air was sharp, and she sucked in a deep, chilled breath. It was close to one in the morning, and the line they’d waited in earlier was gone. There weren’t many people out, just one or two smokers tucked against the brick siding by the door.
She turned away from them, heading in the direction of her car.
Mariana’s voicemail picked up, and Delaney decided to give it one more try. After that she was going to resort to texting and waiting in the car. They’d driven together, so she didn’t want to leave without knowing where her friend was and if she’d need a ride or not.
Knowing Mariana, the answer to that was the latter.
Just as Mariana’s voicemail picked up again, Delaney’s phone dinged. She paused at the entrance to an alley between the club and the equally large brick monstrosity next to it. Her car was visible on the other side of the street, directly under a streetlamp, so she could easily see within. It was empty.
She moved her attention to the screen and sighed when she saw the text message was from Mariana. Her friend let her know that she’d grabbed a ride with Ottus and was heading back to his place for the night.
Mariana had ended the text with a kiss emoticon and a winky face that had Delaney rolling her eyes and laughing at the same time.
Relieved that it meant she could now head home without worry, Delaney went to take a step forward, checking both sides of the street for oncoming traffic.
Before she knew what was happening, a heavy hand slammed against her mouth, yanking her back against someone’s solid chest. She dropped her phone and, in her shock, watched it ricochet off the cement ground.
It landed on its back, so that the smiling image on her home screen of Mariana hugging her was the last thing she noticed before being tugged into the dark alley.