Julien was starting to feel as though he was the ugliest bitch the Discovery District had ever seen.
"Andrew, are you sure these are your former coworkers?"
He nodded.
"I left in August."
Julien sighed dramatically and leaned against the bar—even the bartender had fled somewhere when they'd walked up to ask her a question.
It had already been 30 minutes since then.
They started off with Andrew's supposed friend, or tried to, but before they could get close the man clumsily excused himself from the conversation he was pretending to have with his coworker and sped-walked directly into the crowd. When they tried talking to the woman he was talking to, she fled as well.
This repeated with Every. Single. Person.
But based on their reactions and Andrew's feedback, something became clear:
Not every staff member was human.
Those that fled before they got close smelt 'off' to Andrew—and they were undoubtedly the ones they could get answers out of if they could just get their hands on them.
Andrew hunched over the counter and took a deep breath.
"You should try asking alone."
Julien glanced down at him—now that was an odd sight.
"I thought you didn't want me to."
Andrew rubbed his nose.
"It'd likely bear better results."
He stood up straight and Julien followed suit eyeing the other carefully.
"Let's head back first."
—
It wasn't until Andrew practically fell into the booth that Julien confirmed something was wrong with him. He checked the time.
The sun is probably gone by now.
"Andrew, be honest with me."
He leaned forward, placing a hand on Andrew's forehead. He wasn't feverish but that didn't mean they were in the clear.
"On a scale from: everything is still alright, to—we need to get the fuck out of here right now—how do you feel?"
Andrew sat up straight and met his steady gaze but Julien wasn't buying it. He waited for the man to reply.
"I'm just thirsty."
Julien scanned him up and down before turning away.
Dehydration or sudden onset vampirism.
"I'll be back soon."
Andrew nodded and when he didn't say anything else Julien left in search of a staff member that wouldn't flee immediately.
There were none on the second floor—they'd scattered the moment Julien and Andrew came up—none on or by the stairs, and the bartender was still MIA.
If there wasn't something seriously wrong here he would've had a lot to say about the staff's bad manners. He took a deep breath, muttering to himself.
'If any of you can hear me, I'm just trying to get some water man, stop avoiding me.'
Sadly, his request wasn't answered until he wandered into a part of the club they hadn't explored yet. The strip side.
No discrimination here huh.
There was a group of scantily clad women on the left side teasing the audience with travelling hands, and another group of somehow even less clothed male dancers doing the same on the right.
Avoiding both, Julien grabbed onto the nearest staff member he could find and requested a bottle of water. As he waited, he noticed Andrew's evasive friend being hassled by a taller staff member he hadn't seen earlier—a muscular woman with grey curls and a dark-blue dragon-print qipao.
So this is where you went.
He continued observing the situation until the server came back with the water. Then, taking the glass bottle, he walked over and leaned on a nearby wall, eavesdropping on their argument. The brown haired man hissed out.
"…I'm telling you…can't be…"
"Then…think I can? Ya know…can't…"
"He already…can't you… It's your fault not mine!"
The grey-haired woman grabbed the other by the collar, popping one of the buttons on his changshan.
"And I'm handling it!"
"How is this handling it!"
Julien had a hard time picking up the rest of what they were saying as their argument fell to a whisper before the grey-haired woman marched off.
Silently watching the brown-haired man huff and puff as he scrubbed at dirty tables and placated rowdy guests, Julien turned away.
I should head back.
Now that he knew where he was hiding, he could always come back. Right now, his priority was making sure Andrew wasn't dying on him.
Or taking anyone else with him.
—
It's getting harder to navigate through here.
Finally reaching the stairs, Julien took a moment to wipe his brow. He was fortunate to be taller than most because as the night drew on, the crowd grew and the number of obstacles with it. The bright side was that it meant the runaway staff had no choice but to come back out, the darkside was that just going back and forth was going to become a pain in the ass.
Julien trudged up the stairs and looked at his sickly companion.
He was asleep.
That can't be good.
Walking up to their booth, he moved to touch his forehead again when Andrew grabbed his arm and stared at him with dark amber eyes.
Julien felt his heart jump.
They've changed again.
He placed the bottle of water on the table and gave him a nervous smile.
"Hey… Are you alright there?"
Andrew grunted out a reply and grabbed the bottle, impatiently ripping off the top and downing the entire bottle in a second before slamming it down on the table.
Julien winced.
Maybe he was better off asleep.
He scanned Andrew's hands and ears, but other than his eyes, there were no other changes—yet.
"Do you need anything else?"
He didn't dare try to check his temperature again, but he didn't need to. Andrew was starting to sweat out all the water he just drank like a runny faucet.
The man drummed his fingers against the table, frowning as he seemed to snap out of whatever spell he was under.
"Pain. I need pain meds."
Julien nodded hurriedly.
"Ok, yeah, I've got you just—"
He glanced at the door below, people were pouring in—it was peak hours now.
Going back to the car is out.
"I'll go ask the bartender."
If nothing else, there was bound to be something in the back. If not, he could always just give Andrew a shit-ton of alcohol and hope for the best.
Alcohol usually dulled pain—if it didn't make things worse.
—
It was hard to see in the throngs of people grinding against each other and he deeply regretted leaving their booth.
Thankfully, he wouldn't need to go the pump-Andrew-full-of-liquor route, but now he was having trouble even getting to him.
People just wouldn't move.
As he continued pushing his way through, Julien crashed into a beautiful grey-haired woman. She was taller than he was and carried a silver tray with liquor and snacks that she somehow managed to balance despite all the shoving.
It's her.
Collecting himself, he quickly apologised and tried to get past her. She looked annoyed at first, but then there was a sudden shift in her expression.
It was recognition.
He froze.
Maybe…
Curious, Julien asked,
"Do I know you?"
After a few more seconds of staring, she smiled playfully and batted her lashes.
"Do ya? Or are ya hittin' on me sweetheart?"
Her voice was more androgynous than he thought it was earlier and there was an almost seductive lilt to her tone. If Julien didn't have more pressing things to worry about, he might've been mesmerized.
He quickly shook his head.
"Sorry for asking, but do you mind helping me reach the stairs?"
She gave him a pleasant smile.
"It'd be my pleasure."
He sighed in relief, silently observing her as she cleverly navigated the floor. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, Julien gave her a friendly smile of his own.
"Thank you Madam, I'm good from here."
She almost looked offended.
"Madam? I'm hardly older than ya hun."
Not knowing what to say to that, he apologized and started up the stairs. She followed.
He glanced behind him.
She definitely knows something.
He just needed Andrew to confirm it.
Reaching the top of the stairs she stopped and Julien did as well, feigning innocence.
"You didn't need to come up with me."
She smiled pleasantly.
"Who said I was? I've got somethin' to do up here myself doll."
She glanced behind him at booth 7, her eyes lingering there as she continued.
"Humor me for a sec, you here with someone?"
He looked behind him as well, then gave her a firm nod.
"Yes, my… yeah, I'm here with someone."
Would it come off a certain way if I said bodyguard?
She pressed.
"Significant other?"
Julien hurriedly shook his head.
"Gods no, nothing like that. He works for me."
Well, technically he works for my sister.
She stared at him, her brown eyes almost seeming to have a golden sheen to them as they bore a hole straight through him. Julien could tell she had another question on the tip of her tongue, but she seemed hesitant to voice it.
Julien shifted uncomfortably from her sturdy gaze.
"I'm curious about something too ma'am."
She seemed to realize she was staring and apologized.
"You can just call me Rasheeda hun."
"Then Rasheeda, how tall are you?"
She widened her eyes before playfully tapping him on the shoulder.
"Why? Feelin' insecure?"
He shook his head, a bashful smile appearing on his face.
"It's not often I meet a lady as tall as you are, so I'm just curious."
She covered her face, stealing a glance over the second floor balcony.
"Well since you put it that way."
She leaned in, tickling his ear with her breath.
"196. I usually keep the heels off 'cause of it so don't go tellin' everyone m'kay?"
He covered his ear and she winked before walking away.
"Ring the third bell on the right if you wanna leave me a tip, pumpkin."
Julien watched as she slowly dissolved into the crowd.
"Well, thank you again Rasheeda! It was nice meeting you!"
She smiled but said nothing.
Julien dropped his own smile.
So it was you after all.
He slid back into the booth, offering Andrew an apologetic look.
"I got lost."
Andrew waved it off, his complexion growing worse by the second.
"Did you get it?"
"Yeah, here."
He handed Andrew the pills and watched him down a handful in one gulp.
That definitely didn't look like the recommended amount.
He shuffled around in his seat, waiting for Andrew to go back to some semblance of his normal demeanor before speaking.
"I think I found our stalker."
Andrew looked at him with a frown.
"Don't tell me you told them that."
He rolled his eyes, moving over to Andrew's side.
"Of course not. I'm not sure how the scent thing works exactly but check if I smell like mint."
Andrew shuffled away.
"That's not a good idea."
Julien huffed.
"Do it before it wears off."
Andrew cautiously leaned in and took a sniff before pushing him away.
"It's there."
Andrew leaned forward, nearly slamming his head on the table as his breathing grew heavy like a marathon runner.
Was it that bad?
"Go back to the car."
Julien slid away, but didn't leave.
"What about you?"
Andrew exhaled deeply.
"It'll be fine."
Julien was about to voice a complaint when he noticed the second floor grow unusually still—leaving only ambient noise from below. But before he could process what that meant, Andrew grabbed him by the arms and held onto him like a life raft, shoving his face into Julien's neck.
He flinched.
His arms were on fire from the heat of his grip and he felt a cold shiver from the insistent breathing against his collarbone.
Unsure of what to do, he looked around to see if anyone was looking, only to realize they were the only ones left on the floor.
Damnit.
He frowned, his heart quickening in pace at the realization that he was alone with a feral Andrew again.
What type of luck is this?
"Hey, I can't go back if—"
Andrew bit him, actually bit him.
And if he bit any harder he wasn't going to have a collarbone.
Julien realized the situation was a lot more pressing than he gave it credit for and he lifted his legs in an attempt to rabbit-kick himself free.
All it served to do was make Andrew's grip stronger.
Damnit.
Just as Julien began to panic, a middle-aged woman with smoke-grey hair came up to them and pulled him away—freeing him from Andrew's death grip.
He looked up.
She's huge.
"What is wrong with you? It is dangerous for a pup to be out this close to the full moon."
She paused, her lips curving into a frown.
"You are human."
She looked at the other man. The moment Julien was torn away, Andrew hunched over in pain and began clawing at the seat beneath him, occasionally reaching out to grab at Julien. The woman stood between them and put a palm over his forehead, causing a faint purple glow to emit from her palm and Andrew to fall asleep.
Hoisting the man over her shoulders—Julien noted that she was the taller one—she nudged Julien's foot with her own and began walking away.
"Come with me."