Blac Out

Just a heads up--This is my first post and I hope you like it. If not, then just don't read. Comments are always appreciated.

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The gyrating bodies and the overly loud music filled the room, mixing with the smell of smoke, sweat, and sex. The lights flashed rhythmically, and I couldn't stop the slight smile that came to my face, tilting my lip ring with it. The club that I worked at, named Black Out, was probably the best one yet; it was sexy without being skeavy, and even while sex and drugs were offered if you had the right amount of cash in your wallet, nothing ever got out of hand.

"Hey, handsome," said a voice to my right and I chuckled, immediately recognizing Laura's voice even when the pumping lyrics playing over the speakers. "I thought you had the night off?"

I turned to the spunky red head and winked. "I couldn't stay away from that hot body for that long. It was torture," I teased, and was gave an appreciative grin for the compliment. "Don baled so I took over his shift," I said truthfully, and Laura nodded.

"Figured. I'm sure he's gonna get fired soon, anyway, Nix. Did you hear the news?" She had to lean close to shout in my ear, and I got the scent of something sweet, like coconut and some other tropical fruit.

"No, what?"

"The head honcho's here. Apparently, he actually decided to walk among us mere mortals for a night." I raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to go on. "Yeah. Apparently, we've been getting a bad rap and he wants to make sure it's just a bunch of crap from our competitors."

"You shittin' me? This place is like a fucking haven!" I shook my head. "I bet he's pissed to all hell."

"You have no idea. Luckily, besides Jesus being sick off his ass and Don skipping out, it's been a pretty good night. No fights or overly horny males." Laura's eyes suddenly locked on a busty blond across the room, and she licked her lips in hunger. "I'll talk to you later, Nix. I see some tits just dying to be licked."

I laughed and gave her a friendly shove. "Be safe," I said, as usual when Laura spotted her prey and decided to go in for the kill. With a shake of my head, I wondered off upstairs, which was a few rooms sectioned off for employees only. Two bathrooms, male and female, sat off to the right with a slightly larger room for relaxing on break and a mini fridge off to the side if we needed to stash something in it. On the other side of the upstairs was a storage room and an office, the head honcho's--as Laura referred to him--office, that had sat unused since I had started working as a server.

Rafael Nives, or Rafe, as he's often called by the higher-ups, had taken a run down, rat infested building and turned it into one of the most successful clubs in the city. Really, from what I had heard, the guy was a complete miracle worker, with the looks and money to boot. I walked into the men's bathroom, absently wondering what he would look like, since there were no pictures of him and he never showed his face. Tall? Short? Charismatic, of course, and probably a little on the older side.

The door creaked open as I zipped up my jeans and looked over to see some one entering. "Hey," I said with a frown. "Who the hell're you?" I asked, realizing this guy didn't work here. "You're not supposed to be up here. Go use the john downstairs."

The man kept coming closer, and I couldn't even see his features. The black hoodie he wore was pulled on over his head, his face shadowed from me, and the dimly shining lightbulb above didn't exactly help. Uneasiness settled in the pit of my stomach and I backed away. "I think you should go," I tried to growl out threateningly, but my voice broke slightly at the end. The man lifted his head, and our eyes locked--his an abnormally bright blue, and he pulled his lips back from his teeth, making an awful noise deep in his throat.

I stared in horror as his canines elongated, saliva dripping from the pointed edges. "Oh, fuck 'me,'" I groaned as the vampire came closer. "I am so fucking 'tired' of you fangers!" He rushed me, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back hard, exposing my throat. He buried his head in my neck, and I felt a flash of pain which was followed by a moan that seemed to be wrenched out of me. It felt like he had set fire to my blood, the pain so excruciating that I became paralyzed for a brief moment. Soon, though, I managed to regain control and slid a pencil out of my back pocket, shoving it deep into the leech's chest.

He gave a terrible, ear-piercing shriek, and I jerked away from him as he fell on the floor, convulsing before he finally lie still. With hesitance, I nudged him with the toe of my boot, but he didn't move, and I heaved a sigh of relief, deciding to lock the bathroom door behind me and just leave him there. Vampire bodies decomposed a lot quicker than human ones, turning into a dust-like substance within hours.

I whistled as I walked back downstairs, looking for Laura but finding that she was gone. With a grimace, I checked my watch, seeing that my shift was over for the night. I didn't want to stay another minute, not after getting chewed on, but as I stood to leave, I felt a hand grab my arm. I looked up and scowled, seeing Luke, who was one of Mr. Nives' closest friends and also the manager.

"What can I do for you, Lukas?" I asked politely, pointedly looking at my watch, then the door.

"Rafe wants a word," he said grimly, and my stomach sunk around my feet. I followed compliantly, not knowing what else to do and having no where to run. Back up the stairs I had just come down, and across the hall.

Luke knocked on a door and there was a low, gruff, "Come in."

He pushed open the door before dragging me in with him, and it slammed behind the both of us, causing me to flinch. I looked around the room before I let my eyes fall on the man in the chair. He took my breath away. He was far too rugged to be beautiful, but he certainty wasn't nearly as old as I was expecting, maybe only twenty-six to my rather young twenty-one. His hair was midnight black and tied into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, a single strand hanging in front of his face. As if to balance it, there was a scar on his other cheek, running from temple to jaw line, and it was obvious that he hadn't shaved in a day or two. The word 'gorgeous' flashed through my mind and I couldn't help but stick with it--it was the only word that I could apply to this man's looks. Simply gorgeous.

"Nicolas Hatch. Twenty one years old, lives alone, single. No family to speak of. No close friends. An ex-heroin addict. My, my, you've got quite the rap sheet here, 'Nix.'" For some reason, my nickname coming off of his lips sounded condescending, sarcastic, as if he were mocking me.

I straightened my posture. "The past is the past," I said with a casualness that I definitely didn't feel.

"Let's cut straight to the point, shall we? Just an hour ago, you murdered a colleague of mine." Rafe's low voice, telling me these words, made me gape at him.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about?"

"The vampire. In the bathroom," Rafe said, seeming to gauge my reaction.

After a moment, it finally sunk in. I knew that Black Out had a lot of vampire clientele, I just didn't know that one ran it. "Oh, for fuck's sake! He tried to 'eat' me. It was self defense!"

Rafe stood and rubbed his chin. "That may be very well, but you're still in a lot of trouble. Killing one of our own is punishable by death." I tensed at his words. "However," he continued, "I think I have a better proposition."

"What?" I asked tiredly, suddenly very wary of the fanger in front of me.

"Be my slave."