Prologue: A Night Out
Sollux looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. He smoothed out the front of his crimson button-down shirt. He glared at the top button, left open because he did NOT like to feel like he was choking. The same reason he never wore a tie, he always felt like a noose was being slung around his neck and that any moment it would inexplicably tighten and choke the life right out of him. He undid the next three buttons, leaving his chest exposed. His frown deepened into a concentrated scowl. His skin was too pale. Even with the hint of olive from his Japanese ancestry, it just wasn't enough to cover up the rest of his Angelo-ungodly-pasty-white glow. He spent way too much time indoors, and he never took his shirt off outside no matter how hot it was. He quickly re-buttoned two buttons, leaving the top two unbuttoned before again smoothing out the shirt. Then he noticed his necklace was obscured by the shirt so he undid one of the buttons. While normally odd numbers bugged him, three buttons allowed his necklace to be visible. Just a simple hand-beaten metal coin with a little Roman Numeral Two embossed into the silver, it had been a present from his mother on his birthday, the last one she had been alive for. He smirked as he idly fingered the worn metal before returning to his reflection. Yes, the necklace was showing and just enough skin too.
Sollux unbuttoned the sleeves and rolled them up; it was going to be way too hot at the club to have them down. But with the sleeves rolled up the shirt could NOT stay tucked in. It looked too formal and too geeky. Unsnapping his faded blue jeans, Sollux pulled the red fabric from the denim confines before readjusting his bee print boxers (His LUCKY bee print boxers) and re-snapping the jeans. He glanced in the mirror again and turned one way and then the other, but his frown still persisted. He glanced over at his phone that was sitting on the sink. No new messages. Feferi was working a late shift at the dinner and Aradia wasn't feeling well. Karkat never even responded. Typical. What was the point in going out if no one was going with him? Besides he had a huge stack of work orders next to his computer that needed done. But it was Friday night, and moreover if he fired up his computer he'd spend the night surfing tumblr and Beta Testing the new World of Warcraft expansion instead of working. No, a night out was what he needed. And Dave might be at the club. He seemed like a pretty chill dude and might even let him into the DJ booth to mess with the programing for the lights, though he'd have to avert his eyes if the blonde started making out with his "bro" again. Ok so last time it wasn't making out, it was practically fucking. And if John thought HE was embarrassed, it was a good thing Sollux had just bowed out gracefully. He hadn't gone back for two months, afraid to look Dave in the face. It was cool if the aloof-DJ-ninja-cool-kid liked boys, but Sollux didn't and that just wasn't a comfortable situation to be around sometimes.
Looking into the mirror, Sollux finally ripped his glasses from his face and yanked open the cabinet, reaching around on the top shelf till his fingers touched on a small plastic case. He never wore contacts. At least behind glasses people wouldn't really look too closely at his eyes and see that they were different colors, even if just slightly. But with contacts, that shield was gone, and tonight was a night to live dangerously. Though he wished at least Aradia was going with him. He would have loved to have spent the night grinding against her on the dance floor, staring into her deep brown eyes and kissing her lushes red lips. He turned a saline-glazed glance towards his phone and absently bit his lower lip. Maybe he should text Aradia and see if she was feeling any better. No. She had been adamant about not wanting to go. He turned back to the mirror and stared at his own reflection for a moment or two before reaching under the cabinet and pulling out some styling gel. That's where he stopped himself.
"What the actual fuck?" He laughed sardonically at his own reflection.
He started putting the gel away, but decided Fuck It; this was his night to enjoy himself. Squirting a little into his hand, Sollux ran his fingers through his tangled brown hair till it took on that messy look that was all the style these days. Not that he would know anything about style. Replacing the bottle back onto its shelve; Sollux glanced around deciding if there was anything else he needed. When his eyes landed on the can of Axe body spray, he didn't even think before he swiped up the can and sprayed an X across his chest and gave his back a quick spritz too. Feeling his pockets to double check he had his wallet and his keys, the brunette grabbed his phone off the sink and exited the bathroom before he could decide to change his mind about his appearance. Again.
The music thrummed against Sollux's skin, pressing in on him like being deep underwater, but he sort of enjoyed the feeling. It was like being wrapped in a warm cocoon of sound, a place where he could forget the worries of the outside world and recuperate. When he had arrived, almost immediately he had caught Dave's eye and got flagged over to the DJ's booth. Now he had a nifty little V.I.P. badge that hung loosely around his neck which would let him in the booth with just a flash to the kinda sweaty looking bodyguard. Sollux thought his name was Equius or something crazy sounding like that. European if he remembered what Dave said correctly. Dave also said people called him The Horse, and not for any nomenclature reasons either. The blonde had assured him that "Dude is hung" and Sollux was perfectly okay with leaving it at that, though the general curiosity would claw at the back of his thoughts whenever he passed the muscular man.
After spending some time in the booth with Dave, Sollux got the urge to move and had excused himself from the booth, promising Dave he'd be back with a shot for him. The brunette had tried to squeeze his way onto the dance floor, but there was just never an opening and he was forced to stay on the outskirts. Not that he really minded. With Feferi and Aradia having left him high and dry there wasn't really anyone to dance with. Dancing with total strangers just was too awkward for the typical social recluse. Soon Sollux found himself leaning against the bar, attempting to get the bartenders attention which was currently turned to some bimbo red headed chick who was showing him way too much cleavage. Sollux waited for a few moments and was about to give up when a voice caused him to turn.
"Wwhat ya havvin'?" The slight stutter was what first caught his attention.
The guy was about his height, maybe just a little taller, with broad shoulders. He was lean, accentuated by his form fitting black shirt and tight jeans. Swimmer's build. Sollux would kill for a body like that, but his gangly form just wasn't built for muscle definition like that. Plus his sedentary lifestyle was one he preferred and going to a gym had always seemed like a waste when he didn't have an ounce of fat he could afford to lose. Sollux let his eyes drift up lazily. The guy had a firm set jaw, thick black framed glasses, and ebony black hair about medium length with a bright purple streak running like a skunk stripe from his bangs backwards. Great. An emo gay guy.
"Thorry, not interethted," Sollux turned back to the bar and silently cursed at the bar tender to hurry up.
"Come on," The guy's smirk didn't fall, "At least let me buy you a drink."
Sollux wasn't one to turn down free alcohol and this wouldn't be the first gay guy he'd gotten a drink out of, but this time he felt inclined to be upfront, "Not gay dude."
"Oh," That made the other man's smile fall a bit and for some reason that troubled Sollux more than it should have, "Wwell the offer still stands."
"Fine," Soullux chuckled a bit bemusedly.
The man smiled broadly and snapped his fingers twice. The bar tender turned to look annoyed at whoever had called him in such a manner but then rushed over quickly leaving the red headed bimbo looking confused and hurt. Sollux couldn't help but smile at it.
"What'll it be?" The bartender seemed eager to take their order now, whereas five seconds ago he didn't even know Sollux had existed.
"Twwo Honeycombs," The ebony haired man ordered and turned a sparkling gaze towards Sollux, his Violate eyes twinkling.
Sollux stood there baffled. Almost no one ever ordered Honey Liqueur, and it had only been with his regular visits that they kept any in stock (Well that and a word or two from their star DJ). How this purple streaked fahonista knew they kept it perplexed him. Keeping a wary eye on the other man, Sollux accepted the drink when the bartender slid it across the faux marble. He made sure the other guy tipped back the drink before he let the sweet liquor pass his lips. The sugar that coated his mouth washed away his momentary suspicions as the burn of the alcohol warmed his gut. As he set the glass back down he watched his black haired patron pull out a wad of cash to pay the tab and tip the bartender. So that was why the guy came running so quickly, he knew this dude was loaded. The man turned his violate eyes back to Sollux, a slight glaze now present in their sparkle.
"I'm Eridan by the wway," The man extended his hand and Sollux shook it curtly.
The name did something to his brain. Or maybe it was the alcohol. Either way he was having one of those fuzzy, non-real, déjà vu moments. It almost kept him from picking up on the next thing the man said.
"So, Sol," His smile was bright and relaxed, "Howw about another drink?"
Sollux's brow furrowed, "How did you know my name?"
"Wwhat?" Eridan laughed, but the nervousness was evident to Sollux who stood up straighter and took a step back, "You just told it to me."
"No, I didn't," Sollux breathed and took another step back, "Wow, look at the time, I gotta go."
And with that the brunette turned heel and quickly fled back to the DJ's booth, chancing a glance back to see if he'd been followed, but the man still stood at the bar looking confused and heartbroken. Sollux barely remembered to flash his badge at Equius before he burst through the door of the DJ's booth. He was confronted by a sapphire pair of eyes.
"Oh, Hi Sollux," John beamed.
Sollux tried to smile back, but it must have come out more like a grimace because John's face fell. Sollux was about to apologize when Dave turned from his equipment.
"Yo, what gives?"
"Huh?" Sollux looked really confusedly at the blonde.
"I thought you were bringin' me back a shot," Dave explained, "Woah, dude, you ok? You're all sweating and pale and shit."
"Yeah," Sollux laughed anxiously, "I'm jutht…not feeling well. I think I'm gonna thkip out."
"Alright dude," Dave shrugged, but his brow was still furrowed a bit in worry, "Text me that you got home ok?"
"Yeah," Sollux was feeling dizzy suddenly, like he might vomit; it was suddenly too hot and cramped in the small booth.
"Feel better!" John called out as Sollux quickly exited the booth.
Brushing past Equius, Sollux made his way to the back exit, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. He saw no sign of Eridan, and for some reason he felt both relieved and disappointed. As he jumped into his car and turned the key to rev the engine to life, he began to try and calm himself. Rationalizing this was better than primal fear. He was pretty regular at the club, and just because he hadn't seen Eridan before didn't mean anything. The club way pretty big, and there were always a ton of people there. Besides, Sollux kept to the DJ's booth, or with Feferi or Aradia when they came, he never really cavorted with the general crowd. Sollux let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He had been stupid. Eridan probably had seen him a couple times and asked around about him. It wouldn't be hard to get out of the bartenders what his name was or that he always ordered the same drink. Sollux actually smirked a little, no one had ever gone that out of their way to try and impress him. But there was just a nagging feeling in the back of his head, something he couldn't put his finger on. Maybe it was the post-winter-anxiety of the onset of spring (It was April after all). Maybe it was because it was Friday the 13th. Sollux tried to shake it off, no matter the cause. When he got home he texted Dave(He knew if he didn't he'd get a phone call at around 4a.m. just to make sure he wasn't dead in an alley) and headed straight for bed, suddenly and inexplicably tired. The last though that crossed his mind before he fell asleep were Eridan's sparkling purple eyes and the way he said his name. Sol.