inferno // l.s.

five

been a busy week, but here's an update!

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louis follows niall around like a lost puppy until they reach a set of double doors. niall greets the front bouncer, liam, with a fist bump. liam's a little taller than niall with a buzz cut, an art gallery's amount of tattoos and puppy dog eyes that make him look really...really soft on the outside. niall introduces louis as a guest visitor via harry and liam gives him a handshake before letting them through.

"it's a little dead right now because we opened maybe an hour or two ago but it'll pick up," niall says, placing a hand on louis' shoulder as they squeeze through the line of people.

niall leads him to the main door and louis' lips part in shock. there's not only one stage in the center of the room but even smaller stages in different areas of the first floor. they're singular platforms, possibly used for side spotlight, each with their own poles and ample enough room to move and interact with customers. niall tells him they're called satellite stages. on top of each stage has a muticolored strobe light to add to their performances.

tables and chairs are in the middle of the floor, booths on each far end. the booths have a side entrance and are covered just about 80% of the way, from what louis can tell. there's a bar parallel to the main stage with a mirrored ceiling above it, rows and rows of alcohol brands stacked high up until it reaches the glass. the floor is carpeted, much similar to paralyzer, but this place is fucking huge compared to his home club. it's also two stories, but wow...

"welcome to paradise."

"holy shit," louis finally manages to say. he continued to gawk at the sight before him, unsure whether he liked the size of the venue more or the fact that he was personally invited to give this place a test run.

niall shows him the second floor which is more like a balcony than anything with tables and chairs and very few private booths. he explains to louis that most large groups reside up here instead of down below. louis gets a full tour of the place, including locker rooms and behind the bar and louis feels a wave of excitement ride through him. this is different, the club has a very nice vibe to it and he likes it already.

he's also shown some private lounges for longer sessions which are nice as well, each room has speakers built into the walls and are furnished with either a sofa or a small bed, plus a large chair almost similar to a throne. one private room has a black throne, the other has a red one. mirrors are behind either piece of furniture, there's tables with ashtrays for smokers and buckets of ice with champagne bottles sitting in them ready to be popped and consumed. niall calls them the 'boyfriend rooms'.

"before you ask," niall says as they pass a doorway. "this hallway leads to some offices. uh, employees aren't really supposed to go back there unless specifically asked by harry or mitch. sometimes liam. so don't go back there unless you wanna deal with the consequences."

louis nods and follows niall to a table that a few people are seated around. he's introduced to two dancers, cara and luke, plus mitch and the dj named ty. mitch and ty are dressed rather formally, wearing nice suits and each sporting a tie, compared to luke and cara who are dressed in stage attire. louis can tell that luke is eyeballing him in particular and it causes a blush to rise onto his face. is he really that big of a deal?

after about an hour of mingling with the table, louis follows niall to the bar because the irish lad said he was thirsty and promised louis a drink as well. the bartender, michael, gives louis a grin as he slides him a lemonade and welcomes him to inferno. he has dark red hair and an australian accent like luke.

louis watches a few people dance, taking notes of how everything works and he feels a nudge to his knee.

"you gonna go up there?"