"Jane. Jane. Jane. Jaaaneey- come on Jane!"
Jane looked up to make sure professor Mendicant was busy before she turned around. "What do you want Roxy?" She hissed from between clenched teeth. Roxy never paid attention during class, but Jane needed to listen if she wanted to pass.
"Me and Calli are going to a new club tonight, you game?" Roxy replied smoothly, as if they were sitting at lunch instead of the middle of a classroom.
"I told you, I don't like clubs. Now if you don't mind I want to listen to this lecture." Jane snorted, turning back around.
"Buuuut Jaaane!" Roxy whined. Jane didn't bother turning around, Roxy was only this whiny when she was drunk, which is to say, all the time. She was a really good friend, but Jane got tired of it after a while. Even the students near them were starting to stare. All the while Roxy was leaning forward, chanting: "Jane. Jaaane. Jany bebe- hic."
"No."
"But Jane, that hot new boy is going to be there." Roxy protested. Jane considered this. A few weeks ago a mutual friend of theirs, Jake English, got a new roommate. Jane had only met Dirk once, but found him to be fairly attractive. Although he did seem a bit nervous to meet new people. Though, it could have just been her. Jane didn't like to play it up, but she was an important heiress to the Betty Crocker company.
"Fine!" Jane sighed finally.
"Ms. Crocker is there something you want to say?" The professor asked, looking up from her white board.
A few of the kids near Jane snickered. "No ma'am." Jane said quickly, blushing furiously. She hated being called out in class, especially by the nice teachers like Mendicant.
"Buuuusted." Roxy giggled, sinking into her chair.
"I can't believe you got me in trouble like that!" Jane complained loudly as she and Roxy walked back to their apartment. They had just gotten out of their last class for the day, biology, and wanted to get home before the sun set.
"I can't believe it took you so long to agree to come out with me." Roxy retorted. She had sobered up since five, mostly because their history professor, Slick, didn't allow drinks in his lecture. Which was so stupid since he spent like the whole class sipping on water.
"What new club is this again?" Jane sighed, pulling her backpack up.
"Well actually I was looking it on my laptop during biology-"
"How?" The professor didn't allow laptops.
"And it's not new, it's really old which is totes fucked up cus I've been to every nightclub in this dismal town and I've never heard of it before." Roxy continued, ignoring her friend. "It's called Ebony, and it's kinda in the shady part of town."
"Roxy!" Jane whined. "You know I don't like going near there-"
"Look I've been there plenty of times and I'm still alive." Roxy pointed out gently. Jane considered bringing up Roxy's scars, but decided against it. "And you'll be with me and Calli."
Calli was Roxy's girlfriend, a charming little British girl who moved to the states a year ago. She was petite, but Jane quickly learned to not judge her by appearance. Calliope was a black belt, and a sharp shooter, almost as good as Roxy herself. They had met at a junior marksman competition and hit it off. Jane felt sorry for anyone stupid enough to pick on the couple.
"I don't know Roxy." Jane puffed her cheeks out in defiance.
"Jane. Jane. Jaaaane." Roxy giggled. Hmm, maybe she was still drunk. "I swear I didn't know where it was when I asked you to go, but I would appreciate it if you still came with us. Just this one time and then I will only take you to regular, not scary clubs for the rest of your life."
Jane glared at her, until Roxy took her cheeks in her hands and poofed out the air. They both laughed until they couldn't breath, and Roxy actually dropped all of her books to the ground.
"Ok, ok fine, I'll go. But just this one time. Promise?" Jane asked, wiping away a tear.
"Promise." Roxy agreed, pulling her best friend into a bear hug. Jane gasped as she was lifted of her feet, which set off the laughter again.
Twenty minutes Jane was pulling on her light blue party dress and fixing her make up in the mirror. Again.
"Jane dear you look lovely." Calli said as she entered the bathroom. Her pixie haircut was dyed white, which may have looked weird on some people but made her look like some sort of green eyed angel. Calli applied a thin line of white eyeshadow without even looking, her gaze still on her nervous friend.
"If you say so." Jane mumbled, flattening her ruffles out. "You know I don't like clubbing a whole lot."
"Yes, that Roxy always drags you around." Calli sighed. She had heard the 'I'm not normally a party girl' spiel more than once. "We will be fine! Try to have fun. Meet a cute boy."
"Which reminds me- Roxy!" Jane called, leaving Calli to finish her makeup.
"Yesh?" Came to the muffled reply from the kitchen. Jane stepped in to find Roxy sitting on the counter, a shot glass in one hand, an open bottle of vodka in the other. "Pre-gaming" Roxy said, lifting the bottle to fill the glass once more.
"Am I going to dd tonight?" Jane asked cautiously. "Or is Calli- wait no thats not what I came out here for. You said Dirk was going to be there tonight, right?"
"Yes. And before you -hic- ask, no I'm not stalking him. I asked him if he had plans and it shliped out before he could stop himself." Roxy slurred. She downed the shot and shuddered. "Oh that hit the spot. Did you want Calli to dd? Neither of you has had anything to drink yet, right?"
"Before he could stop himself? Were we not supposed to go to, what was it, Ebony? Is that his club?" Jane asked curiously. She couldn't help it. If something didn't make sense she would turn into a full out super sleuth until she figured out what the problem was. Jane loved solving mysteries. She considered opening a detective business with her friend Terezi, but the blind girl wanted to be a lawyer.
"Jane. He only said it cus he wanted me and my hawt crew to go tonight. It's not a riddle, its flirting. F-l-i-r-t-i-n-g. Say it with me F-"
"He better not have invited you to a club." Calli said threateningly as she walked back into the room.
"Oh good we're all here!" Roxy said, jumping from the counter. Jane and Calli both jumped forward to aid her, but Roxy swatted them away. "If you think there's a single thing I can't do when I'm drunk, you're wrong." She said seriously.
"Never." Calli smiled. She took Roxy's hand and glanced over at Jane. "Who's dd tonight?"
"I guess me." Jane muttered, grabbing her car keys from off the counter. "I don't want to be drunk in some strange club tonight."
"Great!" Calli said as she took the bottle from Roxy.
The trio headed out to Jane's civic. It was a little silver thing Jane had gotten for her sweet sixteen, and so far it had lasted her four years. Calli and Roxy squeezed into the backseat, both giggling and sipping from the bottle. Jane climbed into the front seat, and then refused to leave until both of her passengers had their seat belts on.
"Did that man have blood on his shirt?" Jane asked a half hour later as they neared the club.
"I think it was ketchup." Calli said hopefully. "You need to take the next left." She added, glancing down at the directions she had printed out.
It took them another five minutes to find the place, followed by thirty minuets of finding a spot and walking back to the club. Roxy boldly led them to the back of the line, right behind a lovely bunch of people who looked like they belonged in a cheap vampire movie.
"Is that Dracula?" Calli asked, peeking over Roxy's shoulder.
"Who wears a cape to a club?" Roxy giggled back at her.
Jane didn't say anything, there was just too much to comment on. She had never seen so much leather in one place, and she had been to a tanning factory once. Everyone seemed edgy, and kept throwing confused glances at the three college girls. They looked like they had never seen something as bright as the dress Jane was wearing. She felt very out of place, but her friends were just too drunk to notice.
The line lowly inched forward, and after coughing up twenty dollars a piece the girls found themselves inside the dimly lit club. The club was just as intimidating as its line of patrons. Dark curtains hung across the ceiling, giving Jane the impression she was in a cave. The only real source of light was a a few lamps, and a strobe light near the center stage. Smoke wafted through the club, giving it a burning sugar smell. The most prominent feature was the music. Techno music blasted through the speakers, making the whole building feel like it was rocking. The dance floor was a writing mass of tangled limbs, each person indistinguishable from the next.
"That's a lot of people." Calli shouted. Jane barely heard her over the din.
"Before we get started, I really really have to pee." Roxy shouted back, tugging on her black skirt for emphasis. The blonde girl took off into the crowd, leaving Calli and Jane to follow or be stranded in the sea of goths.
Calli followed her in, but despite her better judgment Jane stood just outside the doorway. She nervously glanced through the crowd of people wondering if Dirk really was in here somewhere. Jane adjusted her glasses when she saw a blonde boy, but it turned out to be someone she didn't know. He saw her looking, and gave her a wink. Jane blushed furiously and turned back to scanning the other side of the room.
"Looking for someone?" A raspy voice asked from her left. Jane jumped and turned around, finding herself face to face with a tall boy with black hair, his face painted to look like some sort of dark clown.
"N-No." Jane lied quickly. "Just waiting for some friends to come out of the bathroom." The second part wasn't a fib, so she didn't feel too bad. Still, he didn't need to know what she was doing.
"No need to get defensive sister, I'm the owner of this club, I can tell you who comes and goes through the gates." He said, his smile drooping into some sort of half grin. He looked high out of his mind, and his clothes didn't even match. Jane winced. "I'm Gamzee Makara."
"Uh, no seriously, I'm fine-" Jane started weakly, wishing Roxy would just finish peeing already.
"Who are you?" Gamzee asked. Was it just Jane, or was his grin turning wicked? He knew he was making her uncomfortable, and that seemed to make him happy. What a sicko.
"Uh." was all she managed before a third voice cut into their conversation.
"There you are princess!" Both of them turned to see Dirk walking toward them Jane thought her heart was about to stop. He was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a tight black wife beater, but he still looked incredible. Then he swooped in and put his arm around hers. "I've been looking everywhere for you, you know how easy you can get lost in a place like this. And run into the wrong people." He looked pointedly at Gamzee with the last sentence.
The owner retained his smile, but Jane could see a cold hatred in his eyes. "Ah yes, I think you two were just leaving then? Because I've said before Dirk, YOU'RE NOT MOTHERFUCKING WELCOME HERE." He roared, making a good portion of the dancers freeze.
Oh, so it wasn't his club like Jane had originally thought. Dirk just sneered. "Yeah, you've made it clear." He said, tightening his grip around Jane's arm. He shoved her through the crowd, and away from Gamzee before she could say anything.
Just when they reached the exit she realized she had forgotten her friends. "Wait Dirk!" She said, tugging on his arm.
He looked at her, and she saw that maybe he wasn't as cool as he'd like her to think. She had a way of knowing when something was wrong. "She did not- You came here with Roxy and her girlfriend didn't you." it wasn't even a question. He knew what was wrong.
Jane nodded.
"I told her not to come, I warned her-" He sighed, resting his hand across his triangular shades.
"She said you were just flirting." Jane defended her friend weakly.
"She took a warning as flirting?" Dirk responded. "How is she still alive? You go outside and wait for us near your car. I'll be right back." Before she could protest he dove back into the crowd, disappearing almost instantly.
Jane considered going after him, but didn't want to risk running into Gamzee again. Instead she listened to Dirk and headed outside.
They had only been in the club for a few minutes but it felt much colder outside somehow. Jane sat on the hood of the car, gazing up at the night sky. All of the stars had come out, lighting the filthy parking lot with a soft glow. It was only a half moon, but it was still brighter outside than in.
Jane was just starting to relax when she heard a crack from somewhere behind her. She gasped and turned around, tired of things sneaking up on her. This made what, three things tonight alone? Too many. Jane searched the parking lot for the source of the noise, slipping off the hood and walking to the back of the car. The noise came again.
A few cars down Jane swore she saw something glowing, but it was gone before she could get a proper look. Besides, people don't glow in the dark, right? Jane took another step forward when she heard a loud scream from the club.
Dirk had walked outside, a furious Roxy thrown over his shoulder, Calli trailing behind them.
"Set me down!" Roxy was shrieking, hitting Dirk in the shoulder. "We just got here!"
Jane looked back to where she thought she had seen someone, but they were gone now. She sighed and walked over to join her friends. Dirk gently set Roxy down, and she shoved away from him.
"I told you not to come." Dirk snapped angrily at her.
"I can go where ever I want!" Roxy shouted back. Then her eyes went side and she clamped her hand over her mouth. Roxy dashed to the bushes before promptly throwing up into them.
"Roxy!" Calliope shouted, racing after her.
Dirk took the opportunity to talk to Jane. "Look this really isn't the best place for people like you." He said silently. Then he frowned and rubbed his neck. "Not that there's anything wrong with you, it's just the place. Uh, you should just go."
"I came to see you." Jane said before she could stop herself.
Dirk stared at her, until she started to feel self conscious. Well, that was the reason, she just hadn't meant to tell him. "Don't." Was all he could say. "Just don't, I 'm not worth it princess. Take your friends home, and forget about this place."
Then he turned and walked away. Away from the club, away from her. Jane felt her face flush. Tonight didn't quite turn out the way she wanted it to, but Dirk had made a mistake in how vague he had been. He had made himself a mystery, and Jane was going to solve him whatever it took.