Chapter 1 The Stranger

• “Hey, Athena. I’m going to the ABCD tonight; do you want to join?”
• Athena put her notebook inside her bag. Their last subject has already ended and in two more weeks, they will be graduating.
• “Pass. I need to finish my thesis,” she replied.
• “Geez, you’re too studious. You need to chill. Come on, my treat.”
• She stood up and pushed the chair under the table. She put the strap of her bag on her left shoulder. “Did you finish your thesis already, Bethany?” she asked.
• Bethany just rolled her eyes. “Nope.”
• “See, that’s what I’m talking about. No club nights, not until we finish our thesis.”
• Bethany stumps her feet as they walk outside the room. “It’s Friday today and we don’t have classes tomorrow. Why do we need to study?” Bethany asked.
• She heaved a deep sigh as she saw how Bethany started to throw tantrums. “Fine.”
• “Ye—”
• “But no hard drinks,” she added.
• Bethany pouted her red lips. “Killjoy.”
• She just shook her head.
• It’s been years since they became friends. They met during their freshmen orientation, and they build a friendship together as they have the same course and block. Bethany’s parents were rich and she was the only heir of their business. She should be living in a high-class penthouse, but she chooses to stay with her in an old apartment near their school.
• Bethany is a rich kid and was paying her own tuition. While she was just a scholar. They’re not suitable for each other but they build an unbreakable friendship to make things possible. Bethany’s parents have no say about it because they already knew her for years.
• “WE should dress hotly and elegantly, tonight,” Bethany said as she started to choose clothes on her cabinet.
• “I’ll just wear pants and a blouse,” she said, and kept on typing on her second-hand laptop. She can’t afford a new one and just bought a class A laptop at the electronic store near their campus. She got it from her salary last month. She’s working part-time in the restaurant in front of their school as a waitress.
• “What? You should wear sexy clothes. ABCD is for elites. You should dress one,” Bethany said, and sat on the bed.
• “Sorry. But I’m not rich.”
• Having the battle with what she would wear. In the end, Bethany wins but promises that it’s just for the day. She’s not fond of partying nor clubbing, but Bethany won’t stop bothering her until she agrees. To cut tackling useless things, she just said yes. Besides, her friend was right, it’s Friday. And academics have been hectic with them the past few days as graduate students. They badly need to chill.
• “How do you do that?” she asked Bethany, who kept on walking like a ramp model back and forth.
• Watching Bethany move with stealth while wearing stilettos, blew her mind. Well, it’s not the first time that she has seen her friend wear heels. But now, she is forced to wear one, and it’s her first time. She tries to walk elegantly but not as smoothly as her best friend.
• “Oh, please. I came out of my momma’s womb on a heel.” Bethany turned back to her with a smirk across her mouth. She just sighed back at her, adjusting her dress.
• Her dress was short as she felt the chill run up in her leg. Goosebumps danced along with it.
• “Girl, you look hot! The men are going to devour you tonight,” Bethany said while looking at her up and down. She just ignored her and walked towards Bethany’s black Mercedes Benz. Who would have thought that a girl with an expensive car was living in an old apartment?
• Bethany drives until they reach the ABCD. From the name of the bar, it really sounded too enchanting and only suited elite people of society, and it was hard for her to fit in. But she had a friend who’s one of them. Perhaps she should try to blend in. Just for tonight.
• The bouncer throws a smirk at her as she stood taller than Bethany, who is busy getting her ID in her clutch. The man’s eyes traveled up her legs, she just raised her left brow and walked inside.
• “I’m going to grab some drinks. Find us a seat,” Bethany said.
• She just nodded as her eyes lingered inside the club. Mood lighting sets the sensual tone of the place. Including the smoke that enveloped the main floor, several bodies were already grinding together.
• “I see a table to the left, meet me there,” she said as she turned to the left.
• A few minutes later, she saw Bethany approaching her direction. “There you are. Wow, you snagged us a table of VIPs. Did you flash the guard with your tits?” her friend asked with a sly smile.
• She just shook her head and told her to sit down.
• Bethany handed her the drink. She then started to scan the VIP section and her eyes immediately settled on a table in the right corner of the room. A group of important-looking men sat in a circle, and she could tell that they were intimidating, and held some sort of power.
• She enjoyed the rest of her drink chatting with Bethany about random news.
• “Let’s go dance,” Bethany said, but she refused. “Come on, Athena,” Bethany insisted.
• “No. I already agreed to come here but not dancing and grinding my body towards those people out there. Who knows if they’re going to touch you anywhere?”
• Bethany then left her on her seat. After a few minutes of grinding and swaying Bethany’s hips on the dancefloor, her friend then came back. “I have to pee,” Bethany said.
• She squinted her eyes and pointed to the bathroom sign. “OK, let’s go!” she yelled over the loud music.
• Bethany shook her head, “no, I can go by myself. I’ll be fine,” and she took off towards the bathroom before she could protest. But she couldn’t be at ease as she saw how red Bethany’s face—she was drunk already. So, she followed her. But Bethany sped off towards the bathroom sign swiftly and she lost her in the crowd.
• “Damn it!” she cursed. Elbowing her way through the crowd, she kept her eye on the bathroom sign just ahead.
• Scanning the doors, she came across the men’s room. The moment she put her eyes in, she gasped as she saw two people making out. But it’s not what they’re doing that surprised her but the thing that she believes doesn’t exist. Fangs.
• “I’m sorry, wrong bathroom,” she said and got out of there as fast as she could and never had the chance to see the man's face, and didn’t bother to find her friend.
• When she came back from her seat, she immediately tossed up her remaining drink. She doesn’t know if she was just hallucinating, but she really saw something that caught her interest with her very own eyes.
• She bites her nails as she thinks about what she will do next, as curiosity starts to evade herself. She stood up and kept an eye on the bathroom as she awaited the couple who were making out in the men’s section. But a few minutes later, she failed to see them. She was about to step down when she finally saw two figures coming out of it. The lights inside the club were dim and colorful, and she couldn’t clearly see the man’s face, but she could remember what he was wearing.
• She remained standing and eyeing the stranger. The two went out of the club. Thus, her eyes widened so as to not miss a thing, she secretly followed them.