BLACK ROSE

No love among us

Alex. 

I slow down when I notice Heather and Ciara nearing us suspiciously fast. So fast I realise they're running towards us, laughing and smiling, with open arms.

Embracing them in a hug we almost fall as I stumble three steps back.

"I don't get a hug?" Ace whines and pouts like a kid demanding attention. He's an attention seeker, in all forms and he knows it. Hides and denies it, but deep down he knows it.

"Where's Mae?" Ciara asks, looking behind our backs. No matter how hard she tries she won't be able to spot her vibrant hair. Though she informs us she's spotted Sophie's red hair and Francis. We wait for them to catch up with us, then proceed to make our way to the club.

"She'll come later," I say. Leaving out the information about bringing her new friend along.

A big neon sign guides the entrance, loud music instantly hurting my ears. People pushing in and out, so many unknown faces I can't even figure out if they're seniors or juniors, or friends. Sparkling clothes and accessories, perfect hair and outfits. Everyone here understood the importance of tonight, as it seems.

"Who owns this club again?" Francis speaks up. "Or how did... who booked it?"

Ace and Parker both shrug, leaving the answer up to me. I'm not better informed than them. "As far as I know someone from the student council booked it. Apparently their uncle, or something like that, owns it. Or maybe knows the owner. I don't know, Francis."

"What matters is that the club is booked for the night," Parker says over his shoulder. "It's ours for the next few hours."

We stop by the door and wait for the others. The security guard flashes us a number of suspicious looks, but never approaches us. Our friends are late, taking their time to make a dramatic entrance. When we all finally gather together, except for Mae who informed me they'll be late, we get in the queue. It's surprisingly short and I realise a big amount of all these people here aren't even going in. They must be family members or friends dropping them off. We might be the only ones bringing a little army with us.

The guard asks for our names, each and every. Once he's confirmed we're on the list, he opens the door. I don't see anything at first, only hear the loud music. My ears get swallowed in extreme pain as I frown. The music is too loud, dangerously too loud. If I'm in pain just by the entrance, how unbearable is it further inside?

There's a black carpet on the floor, every now and then illuminated by red lights like the neon sign at front. My eyes immediately land on the bar with the wide range of alcohol bottles standing on small shelves. Neon lights all around the bar, covering every inch. Bottles sorted out by colour and shape and size, perfectly paired in small groups. Everything looks so organised, neat and untouched.

As always our first way is to the bar. Either I've gotten used to the music, or the DJ has realised he played too loud, cause suddenly my ears don't hurt anymore. I can hear both my own thoughts and the other's voices again.

We order the same drink, asking if it's possible to place them on trays. None of us expect them to offer to bring the drinks over. But as the barman explains, there aren't many people here yet and unless you have experience carrying twelve drinks on two trays over a distance like that, you'll spill them all. So without further complaints, we thank him and run over to secure us some seats.

Twelve people.

Thirteen with Mae.

I've never realised how many we were. It's always come so naturally I consider us to be less. Spending every day with them has taken away my ability to see the real number behind our little army, as Calhoun likes to call it. Twelve people take up a lot of space, I realise. Twelve people in the public, when we every once in a while show up all together, make a lot of heads turn our way.