The music in the club drilled a thumping bassline through them, but Wren wasn't paying attention to it anymore. They were far more interested in the glimpse they'd just received of a figure drifting through the bouncing and jumping bodies of the crowd, a flash of
something
that had captured their gaze for a brief instant before disappearing, leaving an aching absence that needed to be filled.
They set off in the direction of this new mystery, the raucous energy of the club barely even registering. They pushed and slipped through the close-pressed dancers, until a sudden foot in the wrong spot sent them stumbling - right into the arms of their target.
"Watch yourself, little thing!"
The voice was deep, soft, and accented by a gentle chuckle, and it came with a pair of firm arms wrapping around Wren. They took a breath, and their senses were flooded with the scent of white chocolate and frankincense, a bizarre mix that still wrapped itself around their brain. The arms around them set them back to being balanced, easily lifting Wren's light frame as they finally got their feet planted.
Stepping back, Wren finally got a look at the object of their fascination, and the sight made their heart skip a beat. They were wreathed in layers of lace and fishnets, a long gown draped over a lithe, androgynous body. Beneath the layers, whenever they moved, something Wren guessed was latex glimmered in the flashing club lights. They were ethereal, and beautiful, and yet Wren wasn't interested in any of that, because they had just lifted their eyes to the person's face.
Or rather, Wren lifted their eyes to a pair of full, smiling lips, coated in lipstick that was as black as ink, glistening under a spotlight. The colour of midnight. The rest of the club was merely an afterthought to Wren, now, the only thing their mind could focus on were those shimmering black lips, the slowly widening, teasing grin emerging on them, the words beginning to form.
"You know, it's usually my outfit that people stare at..."
Startled out of their reverie, Wren immediately blushed, hard. "S-sorry! Uh, I didn't mean to bump into you, I just, was, going this way and, tripped-"
"Shh." The lips pursed for a moment, before the teasing grin returned. "Relax, little thing. Besides, there are far worse things to bump into. I'm Opal, a pleasure." With that, they extended a gloved hand, delicately requesting a shake. In Wren's mind, they could only picture themselves bending down to kiss it, the image shunting itself to the front of their thoughts, but they fought it back.
"I'm Wren."
"Wren. How delightful to meet you." Something about the sound of their own name passing Opal's lips, slipping through that pitch-black lipstick, made Wren's knees quiver. "Buy me a drink?"
"Yes!"
The conversation flowed easily between them, although Wren couldn't help themselves from continuing to drift away for moments at a time, staring at Opal's lipstick. Every time, though, the only reaction would be a teasing grin and a wink, before Wren caught back up with the chatter. They watched Opal raise a cocktail glass to their lips, and felt nothing but jealousy for the purple liquid flowing past them.
"You know, I can tell what you're interested in." Opal's remark tore Wren from another long, drawn out moment of being entranced by their lips. The teasing smile stayed in place as they continued, "People tend to be drawn in by them, and after they get what they want, they tend to not come back the same. Are you sure you want them?"
Wren laughed off the comment, even though the serious tone had sent goosebumps running down their back. "I'm mostly just curious about how well your lipstick is holding up. Does it not transfer?"