Dirty Little Secret

Chapter One - Long Island Iced Tea's & Euler's Identity

I shouldn't have come here.

That was my first thought as I looked up at the neon flashing sign that read 'Milkyway', and the long line of people waiting in front of it. My eyes scanned the crowd and my heartbeat picked up quickly as I took in the unfamiliar clubs scene.

So this is what all the fuss is about.

My mind was practically screaming at me to get back into the cab, hop on the first Bart home and return to my bed like nothing had ever happened, but my feet remained nailed to the ground, suddenly feeling like they weighed a ton. They probably did though; these deathtraps people called heels –which according to Google were part of the appropriate clubbing attire- were heavier than my two-volume, 4,448-page Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (A birthday present from my mother). I didn't think I'd be able to get very far in them either, without breaking my neck that is.

After taking a long, deep breath which was meant to be encouraging but came out rather shakily, I managed to move my feet towards the back of the line of drunk, giggling women, hanging on the arms of equally intoxicated looking men.

I probably stuck out like a sore thumb standing there all by myself, squeezing my clutch to my side as if it were my life line. I guess at the moment it sort of was though. It was the only control I had over the situation; it carried everything from my phone, money and keys to an extended map of San Francisco in case, god forbid, something happened to my phone and I was unable to call a cab.

You could say I was a bit of a control freak, but I preferred the term prepared. Though, most people at school did in fact stick with the former. It's what I was known for being after all.

Nina, the uptight, know-it-all, control freak.

Yeah, lovely, I know.

I didn't really mind though; I mean, I might not have a lot of friends –ok, so no friends at all-, and boys avoided me like the plague, but it was all I'd ever known. Besides, it allowed me to focus on my school work and poetry; the only two things that really mattered at the moment. All the other stuff like friends and boys could wait until after I finished college.

Well, tonight being the only exception.

I might've been the outcast of my age group, but I was a teenager nonetheless. And like any other teenager, I was curious. Therefore, since senior year was only a week away, I was allowing myself one night of exploring the unknown; one night to act like a completely reckless and out of control teenager.

Just to get it out of my system.

As I waited in line I examined my outfit once more; now this definitely wasn't something the normal Nina would wear. I compared the red long sleeved bodycon dress that clung to me like second skin to the attire of the women standing in front of me in line. While mine was a bit more proper, since my definition of out of control did not include flaunting all of my assets, I definitely looked the part.

I didn't once take my eyes off the tiled street below my nude pumps as the line moved forward, afraid of making eye contact and being found out. Even though I had borrowed my mother's clothing and make up, I doubted I looked anything close to the twenty-one years of age required to get into the club. I was only seventeen after all.

It tried to reassure myself with the reminder that this club was known for being careless about checking ID's. It was one of the main reasons I had chosen this club in particular. That, and the fact that it was far away from home.

I was so lost in thought, that by the time I reached the bouncer, I didn't even realize it.

"Please move along miss, you're holding up the line." A gruff voice sounded from my front, and I looked up to meet the –very annoyed, if I may add- gaze of a thick, bald man dressed in all black. I swallowed nervously as he eyed me up and down, scrutinizing me with his gaze.