"You know, I'm kind of glad it's so dark in here," Eric told Patrick after he managed to find him. "I'll feel less awkward getting Sophia's attention if I can't see that she's avoiding me on purpose. You've been here longer than I have. Is she here yet?"
"Not that I know of," Patrick replied and trained his light around the room until he incurred the wrath of a gray one who was in his demon form by shining it in his eyes. "I mean, she could be looking like her demon self, cause some people here are, but I don't think she's come."
"Well, that's a relief," Eric wiped his brow. "It gives me time to prepare."
"All right," Patrick put his hands on Eric's shoulders. "You remember what we talked about when it came to Sophia?"
Eric turned to face him. "No. I don't think you told me anything at all. Not yet, anyway."
"Ah," Patrick nodded. "So it was all just in my head. Well, for starters, don't start talking about your baby plans, okay? That doesn't seem to have worked out for you so far."
"Yeah, all right, I'll try not to do that," Eric nodded. "Is she here yet? I want to get this conversation over with."
"No, I don't think she is," Patrick replied. "If you don't think you can dance or anything, go get a drink, sit down, and watch for her."
"All right," Eric agreed. "I bet she's gonna be fashionably late just to annoy me, though."
"Maybe," Patrick shrugged. "Now, you need me for anything else? No? Good, cause I have someone to dance with. Excuse me."
Eric then watched as Patrick went to dance with Addie, then sighed and ordered a drink while watching the door, just as he had suggested.
Amy and Elijah arrived at the club, showed their invitations, and got inside with ease and, perhaps because he wanted to prove that he wasn't cowardly, when Amy suggested they try and find Selina to thank her for inviting them, he agreed immediately.
"And could you…could you be polite?" Amy asked. "I wouldn't appreciate being embarrassed in public."
"It's dark," Elijah replied irritably as they made their way toward a woman with a dress covered in lights who was perched on a neon pink sofa. "No one will see us." Then he sat down next to the woman. "Look at this, I'm sitting on pink furniture," he remarked. "Aren't you surprised? Nice place you have here."
"Hello, Elijah," Selina greeted him, her voice pleasant. "So glad you could come and I really hope you enjoy yourselves."
"We will," Amy smiled. "I don't see why we wouldn't."
"Good," Selina smiled. "Cause the whole point of this place is to just have fun. Lots of fun. There's a bar over there where you can get a drink if you want one."
"Oh, I don't think I should," Amy shook her head.
"Why?" Elijah wanted to know.
"Cause I've decided to lay off the alcohol for a little bit. It's bad for you, you know," Amy replied and then strode off. Elijah didn't know how to respond to that, so he gave Selina a nod and then strode off.
He followed Amy, and when they paused outside of the door to ladies' room, she finally turned to face him. "If you want to talk to me, go ahead and say what you need to say," she demanded. "Cause I have to go use the toilet and you're not allowed in here."
"Says what?" Elijah asked. "That little sign on the door?"
"Yes," Amy nodded. "And common courtesy. Why do you want to come in so bad anyway?"
"Cause you and I need to talk, don't we?" Elijah questioned. "And this seems to be one of the few places around here where that could be done in relative privacy."
Amy opened her mouth to protest further, but Elijah had already let himself in the well-lit room and shooed all the women out, asking one to guard the door and not let anyone else come in until he said so. Then he turned to Amy and cleared his throat.
"Do you mind if I go to the bathroom before we do this?" Amy questioned, squirming a little. "It's kind of an emergency."
"Please go ahead," Elijah nodded and leaned against the row of sinks. "I'll wait."
Amy rolled her eyes and locked herself in the toilet stall, quickly doing what she had to do and then coming out.
"Your skirt is a bit hiked up," Elijah remarked as she shut the stall door behind her, a smirk on his face. "Would you like me to fix it for you?"
"No thanks," Amy replied, trying not to blush as she reached behind her and found, to her chagrin that he was correct. "Thanks for warning me, though, so I didn't go back out there and make an idiot of myself."
"Oh, it's dark, so I don't think anyone would have noticed for a while," Elijah assured her. "But just the same, I think it was a good idea for you to straighten yourself out beforehand."
She came toward him and they just looked into one another's eyes without saying a word. He reached out, she gasped and stepped back, tripping a little on her heel. He grabbed her so she didn't fall, and then he bent his head and kissed her as she threw her arms around his neck.
She allowed the kiss to be a lingering one, but when he finally let her stand upright, she was frowning.
"What?" Elijah asked. "What was wrong with that? I would think you wouldn't have let it go on so long if you hadn't liked it."
"No, it's not that," Amy shook her head. "It's not that. I did like it. But Elijah, this is a bathroom, for crying out loud! We can't just make out or do more than that in a bathroom! It's unsanitary!"
"Oh, I agree," Elijah nodded. "The mood just overtook me, otherwise I would have waited." He paused, then took her in his arms again. "Are you saying that you'd not mind kissing again as long as we did it somewhere else?"
"Yes," Amy nodded. "I'm sure I would. And then maybe….we could start over? Go see a movie or something?"
"Go out for a drink?" Elijah moved her hair out of her eyes and cupped her face in his hands.
"I told you, I'm holding off drinking for a while," Amy reminded him. "And I'm not breaking that vow, even for you."
"But you're serious about giving me a second chance?" Elijah questioned.
"Yes, I am," Amy nodded. "Unless you plan to engage in that same caveman behavior like you did before. Cause I won't tolerate that."
"No," Elijah shook his head. "I won't do that, I promise. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't do things like that to someone I love. I guess I was just so scared of losing a person who understands me so well that I behaved irrationally."
"Did you just say that you love me?" Amy asked. "If you did, would you mind saying it again?"
"Yes," Elijah nodded, his fingers threading through her red hair. "I love you, Amy."
She smiled. "I love you too. Now, what do you say we get out of this bathroom and go anywhere else in this club?"
"I'd like that," Elijah nodded, finally opening the door and allowing the woman guarding it to step aside and let others in. "Let's go."
"Isn't it a boon that it's so dark in here?" Klaus asked as he led AnnaLynne onto the dance floor, put his hands around her waist, and began dancing with her.
"Why would it be a boon?" AnnaLynne asked. "Are you planning on copping a feel and are glad that no one will notice?"
"Would you love it or hate it?" Klaus asked as he twirled her, her bright pink dress glowing under the black lights.
"Well, I think I deserve something like that happening," she pouted. "Cause when you answered your door, you were wearing clothes. You lied to me."
"Where's the fun if you know it's going to happen?" Klaus asked as he pulled her close and hiked up her skirt so he could cup her bottom.
"Good point," AnnaLynne conceded, then gave him a slap and kissed him. They then continued to make out and touch each other in the dark as the pulsing music played around them and were very much put out when it stopped and Dorian came on the stage, a spotlight illuminating him in the dark.
"Sorry to interrupt the fun everyone, but I just wanted to take a few minutes to welcome you to The Underground. I understand that there are some tensions between my friends and I and all the rest of you supernatural creatures. This club is my way of telling you that there's nothing to worry about. This is a place for werewolves, witches, vampires, and anyone else to mingle with my fellow demons, maybe even make a friend or two, and learn that we're not as bad as we might seem. Cause we're really not. All right, have fun all!" He stepped away from the microphone and the music started again as he walked around the club with his flashlight, looking at the couples who were dancing, surprised that some of them were other supernatural creatures with demons. This was good. It meant that there was actually a chance that they could actually have other demon hybrids besides his and Selina's children and his grandchildren running around someday.
After his father's speech about the purpose of the club, Eric was feeling even more resolute about what he and Sophia needed to do, but when she finally showed up with Lilith and Caleb, he decided to follow Patrick's advice and talk about other things first.
"Hello, Sophia," he said, approaching her.
The closer he got, the more she backed away, until he finally said, "I'm not going to hurt you or drag you off against your will or anything. I just want to talk!"
"Yeah, about what?" Sophia asked. "You've only been able to have one conversation for the longest time and you know how I feel about that?"
"I actually just wanted to know how you felt about the club," Eric corrected her. "And I wonder if you'd like to dance with me. I really like your dress."
Sophia heard what he had to say and then turned to Lilith and her uncle. "Should I do it?" She asked. "Should I dance with him?"
"If that's what you want," Caleb told her. "We'll be right here watching you. We won't even blink."
"Yeah, so go ahead and have fun," Lilith added as Sophia made some hesitant steps toward Eric. "Who knows? You might be glad."
"Are you sure?" Sophia questioned.
Lilith gave Eric a keen glance and asked, "If she goes with you, will there be any shenanigans? Are you going to be troublesome? Be honest."
"No!" Eric shook his head. "Not bad shenanigans, anyway. Only ones that she agrees to."
"Damn right," Sophia nodded. "If you're not lying to me, I guess I'll spend time with you."
"Oh, how generous," Eric remarked dryly. He took her hand and led her away from Caleb and Lilith and gestured at a couch. "Why don't we sit? Then we can talk."
"Is it about babies, cause I don't want to talk about babies," Sophia replied. "I don't think I have the strength for that. It took all I had in me just to get dressed and come here."
"Well, why do you think that is?" Eric asked. "It's not normal for you to be sick, is it?"
"I don't know," Sophia shrugged. Then she lay down with her cheek on one of the neon green pillows of the sofa. "I just want to sleep…"
"If this is you saying you don't want to talk to me, you could have just said that from the start," Eric pointed out.
"Oh, for god's sake!" She cried. "Not everything is about you, Eric!" Then her eyes widened and she stood up, clutching her stomach and running to the bathroom as Eric was left speechless and alone on the sofa.
Meanwhile, his father was chatting up Sam, and Roxie, who'd been specially invited by him.
"I just wondered," he remarked in an offhand way, "if I couldn't convince the two of you to come work here for me?" He eyed Roxie. "We're going to need a manager who knows what they're doing and you have the experience." He turned to Sam. "And did you say that you played an instrument? Live music wouldn't hurt."
Sam chuckled. "You know, Leslie asked me to ask you if you could give me some work," he told Dorian.
"She did?" Roxie cried, "Why? Is what I'm offering suddenly not good enough for her?"
"She seems to think it wouldn't hurt me to have a bit of variety in my work," Sam remarked. "Don't worry, I told her I liked working with you."
"Well, of course if you'd like to work somewhere else, either from time to time or altogether, go ahead," Roxie huffed. "As for me, thank you for the offer, Mr. Gray, but I don't see myself leaving my bar anytime soon."
"I thought you would say that," Dorian nodded. "But if you're ever in the mood for something a little different, it's a standing offer."
"Thank you," Roxie nodded. "I'll keep it in mind if by some freak of nature, I don't have my bar anymore."
Meanwhile, AnnaLynne was on her way to the bathroom after she and Klaus had spent some time doing shots with a group of white ones, who were very surprised about the high tolerance both had.
"Damn bladder," she cursed. "Always interrupting my fun." It was then that she was grabbed around the waist and a hand was put over her mouth.
"Don't move," whispered a voice in her ear. "Don't speak, don't even breath. I know you're a demon. I know you want to destroy us. That's not going to happen. We're going to destroy you,first. And the explosives that are in the utility room are going to blow this place up any minute now."
AnnaLynne's eyes widened and she squirmed to try and get away, but some sort of magic was put on her by another man so she became unable to move as she was taken out behind the building that contained the club (one of the warlocks used magic to zap them out) and a bunch of vampires and some warlocks, all men who worked for Mikael and John, were waiting. The goons threw AnnaLynne down on the ground, put a gag in her mouth, tied her hands and feet, and then everyone began to kick and hit her without mercy.
When she was bloody, swollen, and bruised, the beating finally let up, and the spell that had kept her immobile was removed. As a final humiliation, they took her purse and ran off, leaving her injured on the ground.
Covered in blood and full of pain, AnnaLynne tried to move, but couldn't. Then the boom happened, and she thought that maybe she'd been lucky not to be in the club after all.
