Fear

1• That Friday Night - Part 1

It was a breezy Friday night in late October, around 8pm. The sky was dark and cloudy, and the fumes of alcohol wafted through the backstreets of the city, carried by the wind, as party-goers prepared for a long night of drinking in the clubs.

My best friend, Isabel, had been begging me for weeks to go to the club with her, as I'd just turned 21. "Just one night, I promise, you'll love it!"

I was never one for parties and socialising. I'd told her "No" for three consecutive weeks, but I felt bad for letting her down, so finally I said,
"Fine. One night! But the drinks are all on you."

She picked me up from home at 5 and we drove back to her place because she insisted on giving me a "makeover."

I emerged from the front door two hours later feeling like a weird Barbie doll. I wore a tight black off-the-shoulder dress, a pair of black diamond-encrusted heels, and a little black and white purse.

I honestly wasn't keen on the look myself, but I saw how Isabel's face lit up when I came out of her bedroom. At least I made her happy.

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"I promise, Em. You're gonna have the time of your life!"
I glanced over at her with a side-eye, slightly annoyed. I knew she'd said something, but we'd only just walked through the club's entrance and the music was already overwhelmingly loud.

The sickening stench of alcohol was suffocating, and sweaty bodies crammed the dance floor. I must've shown my disapproval on my face because she rolled her eyes at my sour attitude.

"This is why I don't go out," I moaned.
She grinned at me and shouted at the bartender for two Blue Kamikazes as we took two seats at the bar.

I recall gazing around the club as we waited for our drinks. It didn't take me long to single out the loners, they were obvious.

But as I was gazing around at everyone, that was when my eyes landed on someone in the back corner. It was dark, save for the colourful neon lights that momentarily flickered bright enough for me to make out details of his face. It was pretty hard to say what he looked like.

He was a silhouette, standing apart from the crowd and smoking a cigarette. I observed him as a thin string of smoke ascended from his mouth. Through the crowds, he caught my gaze, which startled me a bit, and he turned his head to glare back at me. It was slightly intimidating, but it allowed me a better angle to look at his face.

By the looks of it, he had dark hair and seemed to be on his phone with someone. He kept his stare on me and said something, but it was too dark for me to lipread.

Suddenly, I was startled as Isabel screamed in excitement behind me. Losing my focus on the mysterious man, my head snapped around, hearing her yell over the booming music.

"Woohoo! Alright, two Blue Kamikazes coming right up!"
She placed said beverage on the counter in front of me, keeping hers in her other hand.
I noticed her lift her bum off the seat to adjust her dress, allowing me a moment to glance back at the corner.

The man was gone.

"This'll loosen you up a bit, Em."
I nodded slightly. I remember thinking how I didn't fit in.
"Go on then! Get it down ya!" She laughed her funny obnoxious laugh. We had a joke that her laugh sounded like a spray can.