Vice

Chapter 1

I stumbled forward in Perdita's strappy platforms, towards the excited chatter drifting from the queue. Most people had turned up in groups- safety in numbers I suppose. They were gonna need it.

The queue stretched down the street for miles. 

"Great! This is gonna take forever and a day!" I muttered angrily, annoyed at my cowardice which had cost me so much time. Valuable time.

Hesitantly, I joined the back of the queue, next to a group of girls who were huddled together comparing bite marks on their necks and thighs. Would Perdita have been amongst them? I considered asking one of them how long they'd been waiting but they seemed too engrossed in their conversation. I sighed and checked the time on my phone.

"In a hurry?" a voice asked from behind me.

I turned my head and found myself staring into a pair of cold grey eyes.

"Yes, actually." I replied cautious to the fact that if he was standing in this queue he probably wasn't right in the head.

A sly grin spread across his pale face. He ran his hands through his long straggly hair, swaying from side to side slightly as he studied my face. I edged away carefully, aware of the fact that he was either high as a kite or mentally deranged; I couldn't risk anything happening to me- not yet anyway.

"Well I can fix that." he decided, placing his arm round my waist and leading me to the front of the queue. He was surprisingly strong for someone who looked so slight, and delicate. Before I could protest, the crowds who had waited so patiently in the queue were in uproar shouting their protests at the injustice of the situation. The boy just looked ahead and kept a steely grip around me, but his eyes were manic... he was enjoying this.

"Thanks, but i really don't mind waiting" I said, trying to make my voice heard over the outburst from the crowds. Either he didn't hear me or he just decided to ignore me because he made no reply.

As we reached the monstrous bouncer that stood like a boulder, blocking our entry into the club, the boy and the boulder exchanged a few words. Fleeting glances passed between them until finally, the boulder's steely gaze fell on me.

"I'm gonna have to see your ID" he said, his voice slicing through the hubbub of the noisy queue.

I quickly flashed him my student ID card; after carefully examining the plastic he seemed satisfied and waved us through into the club. A collective groan was heard as the door shut behind us. 

A wave of heat hit us as we entered. The club was... magnificent. Perdita used to go on about how cool it was to be inside "The Last Drop" but I never really got what she meant- not until now. The place looked like it used to be one of those old theatres; the ones with the plush red velvet carpets and crystal chandeliers, there was still a ghostly trace of the elegance left as I looked up at the theatre boxes above the stage and the gold and crimson wallpaper. 

The original theatre seats had been removed and in its place dance floors had been constructed. Exotic dancers twirled in giant metal cages which hung at different heights from the ceiling; on the stage played an indie band (somewhat resembling The Addams Family) and below them in a sort of mosh pit a crowd swayed- almost trance like, to the pounding rhythm which shook the club.

Beside me the grey eyed boy stood so close i could feel his breath on my neck.

"There, fixed it. I said I would didn't I?" said the boy, his lips close to my ear as he tried to make himself heard over the pouding music.

"Thanks." I offered, unsure what exactly he was expecting me to do next.

"I'm Cora." 

"I know." he replied. The sly smile returning to his lips.

"and you are...?" I asked, feeling awkward at his weird reply. A cold sweat broke out over my body. Every single part of me said Run. And trust me; I wanted to, more than anything in the world, I wanted to get this boys slimy hands off my waist- I wanted to push him away, run, and never look back. But I was doing this for Perdita.

For Perdita. I reminded myself as the boy edged closer.

"You can call me Axe" he crooned, chuckling darkly to himself.