Being a supernatural being sucks. Honestly, it does. When you grow up reading and watching all the cool stories about werewolves, vampires, witches, and whatever else falls into that category, you can't help but wish you were something of the like. But just as you find the outcome to the understanding that Santa Claus and the Easter bunny aren't real, you know you're never going to fall madly in love with a vampire and get turned into one to live happily ever after for all eternity. We'll the bloodthirsty romance might not be in your destiny, but begrudgingly going out to a club for the first time to celebrate your friend's birthday and ending up becoming a missing person for a week certainly was. If I could do things over, I would have stayed home that night. Unfortunately, I put aside my disdain for loud noises and crowded places to please my friends.
"Come on Zoey, it's for my birthday, you have to come", Cassie pleaded with me in homeroom the week before the desired outing.
I scrunched my face in uncertainty, "I just don't know about going to a club, I'm not really a party kind of girl".
Lacey rolled her eyes, "How can you say you're not a party kind of girl when you've only shown up to like 2 parties in all of high school. Besides, we're now all officially 18, which means we can all go to the club together".
"Two times was enough to let me know it's not my kind of thing and going to a club is a louder more crowded version of a party", I turned my gaze towards Cassie, "Are you doing anything else to celebrate this weekend? Going to the movies? Out to eat? I'd even come to a get-together if you're having one at someone's house."
"We can all chill at my house after we go and experience the club together for the first time", Cassie began to bargain with me.
"Come on, don't you want to try and flirt with some older guys? Some of them might even buy us drinks", Lacey tried to reel me in with such fantasies.
Cassie, Lacey, and I had been friends since middle school. Cassie and Lacey were definitely closer and I took my place and the third wheel of the friend group. It was something that I occasionally felt twinges of jealously over, but it made sense. My preferences lied in staying on and hiding in my room during my free time. Cassie and Lacey were always looking for something to do whether it be as simple as walking around the mall to browse items none of us had any money to buy or trying to do something that would get us in trouble such as attempting to buy alcohol at a shady gas station with the plans of drinking it and spending the night in Lacey's car to avoid any of our parents finding out. Despite our opposition in personalities, Lace and Cas never seemed to get too annoyed with me and always made attempts to include me in everything with them even if I was in protest. There were even able to compromise and defer their plans to hang out at my house and simply binge TV shows together or play cards together while we gossiped. They were good friends.
Cassie and Lacey were both staring at me as I was contemplating the proposition of going to a club. The idea honestly scared me. Sure, we were all 18, with Cassie just turning 2 days ago. We could legally go to the club and dance and flirt with whoever we wanted there. However, being in high school still made it seem like it was something we weren't allowed to do. This is partly true when you add parental permission into the formula.
"I don't even know if I could get to let me go out like that", I began. The girls could sense I was beginning to waver. They both shot each other a glance assuming victory.
"Well duh, Zo", Lacey stated, "Did you think either of us was going to tell our parents?"
I should have expected as much. I had been chastised for this before by my friends. It is teenage law that there are just some things you avoid asking permission for if you can.
"You guys know I'm no good at lying".
"Nonsense, you're great when you want to be. So as a birthday present for me, I need to want to lie to your mom. All you have to tell her is you're staying the night at my house. She's never called to check on you before so there's really nothing to worry about", Cassie laid it all out for me.
"And what are you going to tell your mom and dad when they see us heading out that night? There's no way they'd be okay with you going to a club." Was my rebuttal.
"Don't worry, I've bribed my sister to let us get ready and stay the night at her apartment. As long as I watch her cats for free this time when she goes out of town for spring break, we're covered", was Lacey's retort.
The bell rang to let us know it was time to head to first period. I groaned in defeat. Lacey and Cassie smiled.
"Fine, but you guys better not ditch me if some guys start flirting with you".
" Deal," they said unanimously.
I lead the way out of the classroom room with the two of them close behind. I could hear the sound of high-five behind me followed by the sound of them giggling.
So there we were, in line with our IDs eagerly and somewhat nervously clutched in our hands as we awaited our entry into the building. I kept tugging my shirt down and crossing my arms to cover the small amount of my midriff that was showing. I felt embarrassed. I wasn't the type to wear something so revealing.
"Dude it's a crop top. It's made to show off a little skin stop pulling it down you're gonna stretch it" Lace scolded me.
"I feel naked though".
"It's literally like an inch between the bottom on your shirt and your skirt Zoey. And you look hot as shit right now. Try and pretend to be confident" Cassie said nonchalantly as she stood on her tiptoes to see how many people were in front of us before it was our turn to get our IDs checked.
I felt my cheeks redden at being called hot even if it was just a friend who said it. Cassie and Lacey always made comments like that to each other and me. One time I tried to compliment them back in a similar way, but they both laughed at me and said my delivery was off.
After about 5 more minutes we were up to hand the bouncer our IDs. The man gave us several looks between our licenses and us as if he was looking for discrepancies. Even if we were of age, we must have exuded the high school vibe. However, we were granted passage into the dark and loud establishment.
Cassie and Lacey looked around in awe of everything. I looked around too, not necessarily in awe but in curiosity. It definitely didn't look as nice as the club you see on TV. It had a small seating area to the side of the bar and a larger area in the center for dancing with a DJ booth on a stage in front. There were a few pool tables in the corner too. Despite it being a smaller club, it was packed and we struggled to make it through the dance floor to sit down in the lounge area by the bar.
We order a few sodas to drink while we continued to take in the environment. Cassie and Lacey stated they were looking for any cute guys they wanted to try and target. I don't think they wanted to admit they were a little nervous to be here too. They were always way more adventurous and willing to put themselves out there, but it was clear we were out of our element. Maybe we should have begged Lacey's sister to come with us as a chaperone. What would we do if guys came up to us and tried to hit on us or get us to dance with them?
"Hey, I saw you looking at the dance floor. If you'd like, I can show you some moves if you come dance with me?" A tall college-aged guy with a beer in one hand approached our booth. His question was directed towards Cassie apparent by him leaning close to her and holding eye contact as he awaited her response.
Cassie's eyes widened with shock. We had only been sitting down for about 5 minutes and one of us had already gotten the attention of some guy. He wasn't bad-looking, and I get that Cass and Lacey were hoping to meet some older guys, but surely Cassie would want to wait a bit longer to accept the attention of just some random guy.
"Um, yeah sure. That would be cool", Cassie responded sounding unsure but trying to be nonchalant about it. The man held out his hand for Cassie to take and lead her to the dance floor. She looked back at us and gave a silent squeal of excitement. I gave her a worried glance. Which she didn't seem to notice or was too caught up in the moment to really care.
"She'll be fine. She's not drunk or anything and we can see her from here", Lacey noticed that I looked worried.
"But we have no idea who this guy is. What if he tries to do something shady?"
"A lot of people come to these kinds of places to meet strangers. It's all for fun. It's not like we're gonna go home with a stranger for a one-night stand right now. Plus Cassie is pretty capable. Remember when Landon sent her that dick pic out of nowhere and she punched him in the face the next day at school? She's not going to let this guy do anything she doesn't want him to".
"I guess so". Cassie and Lacey were never really ones to take shit from anyone. Cassie specifically has no issues with confronting people and has had her fair share of being ready to fight someone. I think that comes from having 2 older brothers and her having to learn to stand up to them. Lacey never let people mess with her either, but she resorted more to using her intelligence and vicious words paired with a glare to make people back off from her. I was the one who ignored any possibilities of confrontation.
Lacey and I chatted while intermittently glancing towards Cassie. She seemed like she was enjoying herself. I suppose that's good since we did come out to celebrate her birthday. Lacey said she wanted to walk around a bit since we finished our sodas. We paced around the club walking by groups of people. Most groups were too busy talking amongst themselves to look our way. When we made our way near the pool tables, Lacey stopped to watch a group who seemed way too into the game as they were screaming due to their victory against their opposing teammates.
One of the guys on the winning side looked our way and made eye contact with Lacey. He gave her a smile and she smirked back at him. I had a feeling I was about to lose Lacey too. The man made his way over to us.
"Nice game", Lacey told him as he got closer.
"You only saw the end of it, you might not think it was that great if you saw some of my earlier shots", he joked.
"Well, I'm sure you did better than I could. I've never played before".
His eyes lit up with opportunity, "We're about play again. If you'd like I can teach you", he seemed to finally notice I was next to Lacey, "You can come too if you want" he offered.
"What do you say Zo?" Lacey asked.
I looked over at the guy's group he was with there were 2 other guys and one girl. They all looked a little older than us. They looked friendly enough. One of the guys must be dating the girl with them since his arms were draped over her shoulder. They were talking and giggling with each other before emerging themselves into a sloppy make-out session.
"I think I'm good, thanks for the offer though", I decided.
Lacey looked a little disappointed, "Maybe next time" she turned towards the man who made her the offer.
"No, you should go ahead Lace!" I said without hesitating. I didn't want to be the reason she didn't have fun tonight.
Lacey looked surprised, she turned towards the guy again, "give me one sec", he nodded in understanding while still smiling at Lacey.
Lacey grabbed my arm and we moved a few feet away, "You literally told us not to ditch you tonight remember? Now you're instigating the act of ditching?"
"You wanted to meet a cute guy too, I can't get in the way of that".
"You freaked out when Cassie went off that her guy, why the change in heart?"
"Oh there's no change in heart. You better keep your guard up and kick his ass if he tries anything. I'll go chill and keep an eye on both of you in case you need me".
Lacey looked lost in thought as if she was debating if it was the right call to go hang out with this guy, "Okay, but as soon as this game is over let's all meet back up to check in with each other. Even if we have to drag Cassie off the dance floor".
"Deal", I agreed, "Now go have fun".
Lacey walked back over to her new friend and gave me a small smile before turning her attention on him.
I walked back to the lounge area to sit down while I waited for my friends to take a break from their flirtations, but all the seats were now taken. I stood awkwardly to the side not really sure what to do. I glanced at the dance floor, Cassie and her guy were still dancing and having a good time. I could wait and maybe a guy would ask me to dance or to talk or something. The thought of it made me feel flustered or maybe I was getting hot from the number of people in the club. Taking a step outside might give me some clarity and at the very least would help me not feel so awkward. Luckily there was an outdoor section for smokers and those who wanted to escape the loud music. I made my way to the door and stepped outside.
You could still hear the music but it was dulled after the door closed. There were a few tables and chairs. One of which was occupied by a small group of girls. There was also a bench with a smaller table in front of it with an ashtray placed on it. It was unoccupied so I took a seat there. It was nice to be in an area that wasn't so crowded. I hadn't realized it but my head had started to throb slightly possibly from the volume of the music. This really was not my idea of fun. At least my friends were having a good time. We haven't even been here for maybe 30 minutes and both of them have already attracted the attention of guys. It was just what they wanted.
Cassie and Lacey have both had boyfriends before. They had skills in talking to guys and flirting, even if it was only a high-school experience. They weren't put off when guys gave them attention like I typically was. I hadn't had many propositions to be someone's girlfriend but I had been asked to hang out a few times throughout school. I always ended up saying no with one exception of a group date with Cassie and Lacey. We all went to hang out at Lacey's boyfriend's house when his parents were out of town. I only agreed because Cassie and Lacey begged me, similar to how they got me to come out tonight. It wasn't actually that bad of a time. It was just the 6 of us and we spent most of the night talking, playing some card games, and drinking the small amount of alcohol we were able to procure from Lacey's older sister. At one point my date scooted closer to me, which made me sit up straight. I didn't move away, we were technically on a date it made sense as to why he would want to sit closer to me. Then he put his arm around me and pulled me closer to his chest. My entire body probably turned red. He never seemed to notice I was uncomfortable. I never said anything to make him think I was simply because I wasn't sure what to say. Then he put his hand on my thigh. I immediately stood up, still red in the face, and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I ended up going home shortly after that to avoid any more physical contact. I think it frustrated Cass and Lacey, but they understood that's how I was and never said anything about it.
"Mind if I take a seat next to you?"
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the voice of a woman hovering over me as I sat on the smoker's bench. I gazed up at her and immediately felt in awe of her. She couldn't have been more than a few inches taller than me, she had long beautiful auburn hair. She wore a simple outfit of jeans a crop top like myself except hers was shorter and much and much more opportune for her chest area. But what struck me as the most intoxicating part of her were eyes. They were a piercing blue and almost seemed to glow. I felt like I was getting lost in them. I almost felt like grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit next to me to oblige in her request.
What on earth was I going on about. It wasn't like me to be that obsessed with how attractive someone is. Maybe she was just the most beautiful person I had seen. Crap. I had been staring at her too long without responding.
"Go ahead", I was barely about to make out.
She smiled at me and sat next to me. She lit a cigarette and began to smoke.
"I'll assume you don't mind? Seeing as how you're sitting in the smoker's section", she was talking to me again.
"Oh no, I don't mind" I laughed nervously as I tried to avoid looking at her directly in the eyes again.
We sat next to each other quietly for several minutes. I should have just gotten up and given her some space, but it felt too uncomfortable to get up as if I was purposely trying to avoid her.
"Did you come here alone?" She spoke to me again.
I felt my heart race as I tried to respond, "No, I'm here with a couple of my friends. We're celebrating my friend's birthday tonight".
"Ahh, how fun. How come you're not inside hanging out with them?" She continued to smoke her cigarette.
I cleared my throat before responding, "They both are being entertained by boys at the moment".
The woman gave a small laugh, "You could be doing the same you know? Or is that not really your thing?"
"Honestly, I'm just here cause my friends begged me to be. I feel pretty out of my element".
"No interest in mingling?"
"That and it's kind of loud and crowded".
"Ahh, you're more of the stay-at-home with as little people around you type of person" It wasn't a question but rather an observation.
"Basically".
We sat there in a few more minutes of silence. I continued to avoid eye contact and she never once tried to look at me when we spoke either. It felt like she was doing the same.
While we sat there, our attention was directed to the door as it opened and a very obviously drunk couple stumbled through the door. They giggled as they saw people look up at them. They made their way to one of the tables in the corner of the outdoor patio. It wasn't long before they started engaging in some serious PDA. I saw the guy rub his hands through the girl's hair and then he slowly moved his mouth to the nape of her neck. I had to look away before anything more happened.
As I quickly darted my gaze from the fraternizing couple, I could feel the intense stare of the woman next to me. It was the first time she looked directly at me since she asked if she could sit next to me. But this time, she had a wry smile on her face. Did she think I was snooping on that couple? I felt embarrassed. I avoided her eye contact.
"You look so uncomfortable," She laughed, "Does PDA make you squirm" she dragged out the "m" sound in her last word.
"I better go check on my friends", I rose and scrambled inside. I could still feel the woman staring at me with her piercing blue eyes as I closed the door behind me.
I scanned my room for my friends. Thankfully there they both were standing near the wall on the opposite side of the room. I made my way to them. They were both talking and laughing with each other as I approached them.
"Where have you been Zo? Did you meet a guy?" Cassie sounded hopeful.
"No, I was just taking a break outside", I explained.
Neither of them asked any further questions and they began to dive into how their nights had been going. They were both eager to get back to their respective guy friends they had made but stated they wanted to have a few minutes of girl time before we broke off again.
Just then I felt soft arms drape themselves over my shoulders. Normally I would jump and scamper away at someone doing such a thing, but they felt warm and I didn't seem to mind. Except I really should mind because some stranger was way too close.
"Let's go dance", I recognize the voice. It was the woman from outside. Did she follow me inside, to ask me to dance? I glanced at Cassie and Lacey who both looked shocked at the encounter.
I turned to face her, ready to tell her no.
"Well, I um, I don't even know who you are" was all I was able to manage to say once I saw her again.
"I'm Zella", she smiled
"I'm Zoey", I responded and continued to stare at her, "We're still kinda strangers though" I mumbled.
Zella let out a chuckle, "Oh come on, I don't want you to be left out tonight. You said your friends found people to keep them entertained tonight. Let me do that for you"
I turned towards my friends who looked like they were watching a movie which kept them on the edge of their seats. I think they were waiting for my response to see how they should act.
I tried to contemplate saying no, but the pull of Zella led me to say this, "Just one dance".
Zella grabbed my hand and paved the way for us to go to the dance floor. I could hear Cassie giggling and Lacey saying "no way" and we created space between us.
Zella grabbed my other arm and placed it in hers as he took our spot on the floor. I noticed several glances towards her from those who surrounded us. People were no doubt enamored with her.
I wasn't much of a dancer, but with Zella as my puppeteer, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. We swayed with each other to the beat of the music. I felt myself start to smile and feel less uncomfortable. It was kind of fun to be dancing with her. Zella seemed to notice and pulled me closer to her to continue our movement together. As to be expected, I felt slightly flustered at us becoming closer.
"I think it's cute how easily you blush", she spoke to me loud enough for me to hear the sound of the music.
I looked down at the ground at her comment unsure of what to say. I looked back up and her and smiled shyly.
Zella brought her face close to mine and then to my ear to speak at a lower volume, "You have such a delicious energy about you".
"huh?" Was my response.
Zella laughed and she continued to move with me from side to side. I found myself thinking I should look to check where my friends were. They might have been waiting for me to return or maybe they ended up going back to hang out with the guys they met earlier. I tried to pull my eyes away from Zella to take a peek at the spot we left Cassie and Lacey, but I couldn't move them. All I could do was gaze at the woman in front of me. I don't know how much time had passed while we danced together, but Zella began to lead me away from the floor without saying where we were going. I didn't even ask, I just followed her.
We ended up outside. I thought maybe we were back on the patio but instead, we were in what looked like an alley. We must have gone through a side door to the club. The faint smell of garbage made me aware there was a dumpster a few feet from us, but it didn't seem to bother either of us.
"You know I wasn't planning on hunting for someone like you tonight. But the way you looked so embarrassed just by seeing another couple kiss each other... well I thought it was endearing".
I heard what she said, but didn't make sense of what she meant. I wanted to ask a question to clarify, but I remained silent and continued to look at her. I felt like a freak. How could she still want to be hanging out with me when I kept staring at her like she was some piece of meat.
"You're so flustered by this whole interaction you can't even say anything. It's adorable. I should go after innocent ones like you more often. It's always so refreshing", Zella said as she placed a hand on my cheek and slowly caressed it.
She backed me up against the brick wall outside with her hand still rubbing my cheek. She moved her face closer to mine and approached my lips. My heart began to race and without thinking I brought my hands up and covered my face as if I was about to get mauled by a tiger.
Zella backed up. I noticed what I had done and suddenly felt a little embarrassed. I looked at Zella she looked dumbfounded at my reaction.
I lowered my hands and found the will to speak again, "Oh, I um, I'm sorry. It's just I don't know if I'm ready to do anything like that", I gave a small uncomfortable smile.
Zella looked a little annoyed at my comment but then gave a laugh as her initial response.
"I guess I assumed my natural allure would have been enough. You've got quite the willpower my sweet friend", Zella smiled seductively at me, "But I'm afraid that I need to eat".
Zella brought herself closer to her again staring directly into my eyes. Once our eyes locked I felt a sudden urge come over me. This time I wanted her to kiss me. I felt myself hoping she would try again and to my satisfaction, she did just that. She held my face in her hands and brought our lips together at last.
Am I seriously having my first kiss right now? With a girl? I didn't even know I was into girls. I'm still not sure if that's the case. But I was definitely into Zella. Our kiss felt like pure bliss and I found myself actually kissing her back. We weren't just kissing, we were full-on making out now. I felt like I should be blushing or embarrassed right now, but the only thing on my mind was her, and I wanted more of her.
As the kiss went on, I began to feel weak. I still wanted to continue to have our lips together, but I felt my arms fall to their side. My eyes became heavy and even though I was standing up just fine seconds ago, my knees began to give out. Our lips parted as Zella caught me from falling to the ground.
"Wh- what's wrong with me?" I slurred out. Was I about to faint just from a kiss? If that's the case I might as well go ahead and die right here in this alley.
"Sorry dear, it's just a side effect. But i's well worth it isn't it? Now don't get me wrong, a normal kiss would never feel that great. I can only assume this was your first one".
My mouth opened to form a response but I couldn't. I was too busy trying to fight off going unconscious.
"Now the question is, do I finish the job, or leave you in the alley for your friends to find you", Zella began to question herself.
"I feel like it'd be a waste to not suck up every last bit of energy you have, but I can't lie. I feel a bit attached to you now. It's not every day you meet someone as innocent and cute as you. You're like a little stray puppy", Zella giggled at her own words.
She looked down at me with contemplative eyes. She was trying to decide what to do, but I was not mentally aware enough to decipher any of her words. I needed to stay awake. Passing out at a club with a stranger seems like a good way to get kidnapped or worse. I stared at Zella now suddenly really a small amount of rage. What the hell did she do? Did she drug me? I was trying hard to think of a way to push myself out of her arms but I didn't have the strength. I looked into her eyes and narrowed mine at her to show my displeasure in how this situation was going.
As I looked into her eyes, hers widened and then seemingly lit up as if a light bulb just went off above her head.
"Oh now there's an idea," she said to herself.
Zella gently set me down on the ground and crouched near me smiling wildly.
"Zoey. I am about to give you the best gift you will ever get in your entire life. It might be a little scary at first, but trust me it will be well worth it once you understand everything. Hey, stay with me!" She exclaimed her last sentence as she noticed I was starting to doze off.
"This is serious. Don't fall asleep when I'm trying to change your life", she chastised me.
"Now, I've only done this a few times so hopefully I can remember how to do it right" Zella closed her eyes as if she was trying to recall this information she was looking for.
"Alright, here goes nothing".
Zella touched my forehead with her 3 middle fingers. I felt a sudden rush of warmth come over me starting from where she touched me. Then she looked at me and said, "It's a pretty simple process. I've marked you now all you have to do is give me a kiss. Doesn't have to be anything fancy like our other one".
What the hell was she talking about.
"What the hell are you talking about", I was finally able to speak.
Zella sighed and rolled her eyes, before locking them onto mine again, "Kiss me", she commanded.
I followed her order and gently placed my lips upon hers. This kiss didn't feel like the last one. I was the one in control of this kiss. As we engaged in our second kiss, I suddenly felt an energy surge through my body, I no longer felt weak. I felt stronger than ever in fact.
Then I collapsed and lost consciousness.
Before I blacked out I heard Zella's voice, "Crap did I give her too much".
I jolted up from my bed. I felt refreshed like I just had to best night's sleep anyone's ever had. I stretched my arms up ready to take on a new day. Except when I looked around my room I came to the realization that I was not in my room. My eyes widened and I felt a wave of panic come over me.
Where was I? It looked like a hotel room. No, I was more like a motel, it definitely was not nice enough to be anymore more than that. I tried to recap my memories. What was the thing I remember?
I went out with Cassie and Lacey. We were at a club. I met a woman. We were dancing, then she led me to an alley. I had my first kiss, and then my second kiss. Her name was...
Before I could finish my brainstorm, the door to the room opened.
"Oh thank god you're awake!" Zella exclaimed in relief.
She collapsed on the edge of my bed, "I was worried I did it wrong. But turns out even if you give someone too much energy it still works".
I scooted myself back until I hit the headboard behind me. I looked around the room to try and find a weapon. Had Zella kidnapped me? I needed to get out of her. Surely there were other people stating at this motel. If I could just make a break for the door, I could start screaming for help. I would be okay.
"Jeez Zoey, don't look so panicked", Zella said as she looked at me.
I glared at her, I no longer felt the admiration I felt for her last night. Sure she was still gorgeous, but I was able to look past her appearance and seethe in rage over the events last night.
"What did you do to?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I guess I should start explaining things. We don't have much time, so we need to start our crash course", Zella said nonchalantly.
I stared at her with daggers awaiting an answer.
"Alright alright, chill out. I thought you'd be too timid to be pissed off at me. If you weren't so cute I might be intimidated" she teased me.
She looked at me as if she was waiting for a response. I didn't give her one.
"Right... well", Zella began, "Congratulations Zoey. You can say goodbye to your old life as a boring human".
Zella stood up off the bed with her hands on her hips and turned to look at me.
"You are now a succubus".
I'm a fucking what now?