DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

19

Each of them was now dressed in their best. Josh wore a pair of black slacks with a white button-down shirt that was only buttoned halfway, showing off his chest. Ban and Keith were in similar outfits—Ban wore a red shirt, and Keith a light blue one. The girls, however, were the real showstoppers. Both were adorned with gold jewelry. Rose's hair was curled flawlessly, and she wore a two-piece outfit with a top and a skirt, white with sparkling gold jewels bedazzled into it. Jasmine, on the other hand, wore a short black dress with dark makeup to match. Her back was exposed, and she completed the look with tall black boots that climbed up her legs.

The bouncer at the door required everyone to eat a lotus fruit before they were allowed to enter the building. No one batted an eye as they took the fruit and popped it into their mouths before walking into the club. When it was the demigods' turn, they too put up no fight before being allowed inside.

The club was dark, illuminated only by colorful, flashing lights that could blind you if you stared for too long. Loud rap music filled the air, and people were grinding against each other to the beat. At the front of the room, the DJ stood, clicking buttons and bouncing his head to the rhythm.

Jasmine took a deep breath. This was her second strongest element—behind water. She often went clubbing with her friends every other weekend. What? She was a college student. Don't judge. She knew exactly where they needed to go first.

"We need shots!" she shouted over the music.

"Sounds good to me!" Keith shouted back, and the others nodded in agreement.

The bar was overcrowded with people waiting for drinks. Jasmine, however, knew how to work around this. She walked up and squeezed her way to the front of the bar, slipping through the crowd unnoticed, as most were too drunk to realize she had skipped the line entirely. She gasped when she noticed the familiar brown hair of the male bartender. What was Alexander doing here?

The bartender turned around, and she sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't actually him. The bartender approached her with a charming smile—not as charming as Alexander's, but charming nonetheless.

"Hello, ma'am," he greeted her. "What can I get for a beauty like you?"

She didn't answer immediately. Her head throbbed with a splitting headache as thoughts of Alexander filled her mind. She knew she was supposed to be doing something related to him, but she couldn't remember what.

"Uh, ma'am?" The bartender waved his hand in front of her face.

"What?" She snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry. That was rude of me. I just have a bit of a headache."

"That's quite alright." He smiled. "Here." He handed her a shot.

"What is this?" she asked, sniffing the drink. She was picky about alcohol—she hated hangovers. There was no way she was going to take a shot of bottom-of-the-barrel vodka.

"It's just a shot of lotus juice for your head," he explained. "It'll make you feel better."

"Right, of course," she whispered, staring at the liquid. She hesitated. Why did it feel wrong to drink this? Something in her mind was itching to surface—something about the fruit. She got a nervous feeling. The same feeling you get when you aren't watching your drink and deciding whether or not it is safe to drink.

The bartender noticed her hesitation and tried to entice her again. "Let's make a deal. You take the shot of the juice, and I'll make free shots of whatever you want for you and your friends."

"Really?" Jasmine asked excitedly. Sadly for her, she'd forgotten all the drinks in this club were already free. She'd also forgotten that she really shouldn't drink that juice.