"Where's the bathroom?" Kasaan asked as Kyle was leading him around.
Kyle grabbed his shoulder and led him through the crowd. It was so crowded that if you didn't keep contact, you could lose your friends. "Excuse me," he said as he squeezed through the crowd. "I love you. You're gorgeous," he complimented everyone as he went through. Everyone was polite and complimented them both in return.
"This is kind of fun," Kasaan admitted. "Everyone's so nice. It's weird."
"That's the PLUR.," another random girl they were passing interjected. "Can I give you this?" She held out a clip with a flower on it. She was reaching to clip it onto his hair. Out of reflex, he grabbed her wrist.
"What do you think you're doing!" he snapped.
Kyle immediately at the same time grabbed Kasaan's wrist in a way to make sure he didn't hurt the girl. "It's okay. It's a rave thing," he assured.
"I'm sorry, it's my first time at something like this," Kasaan blushed, embarrassed. She continued to clip it onto a flap at the front of his shirt.
"It will keep the bad spirits and energy away," she smiled. "The name's Cora." She embraced Kasaan, then Kyle. She made a heart with her hands and continued to disappear into the crowd.
"Oh shit. You been sprouted," Kyle beamed.
Kasaan looked at him confused. "What's that mean?"
"She gave you a sprout, and when someone puts it on you, it means you've been sprouted," Kyle explained.
Finally reaching the bathroom, Kasaan clicked a pen and drew a circle on all the walls in the bathroom. The circles all glowed white and vanished. Kyle clicked a pen and a holographic screen appeared showing the bathroom from all angles. They were showing what the circles could see, like a camera. There were also screens showing the club from multiple angles.
"I didn't realize you were already drawing circles," Kyle exclaimed with a smile. "Always working even while you were having fun."
"We came here because we have lives to save," Kasaan reminded him. "I don't want to make a mistake and miss anything."
"Don't worry," Kyle assured. "I'm sure my friend Russo may have a clue on what's been going on here. Let's head to V.I.P." He led him out of the bathroom and back through the crowd, finally reaching security for the V.I.P. section. Kyle walked right in, but when Kasaan tried to follow, the guard blocked him off.
"He's with me." That was all that needed to be said to make the guard stand down. Kasaan snuck and drew a circle right at the V.I.P. entrance.
"Have fun," the guard switched up, being nice to them.
"Kyle!" a loud voice came from the distance in the lounge area.
"Russo, baby, get over here," Kyle threw on a fake Italian accent.
Russo was a tall Italian kid from Jersey. He was buff and wide-shouldered. He had tats and his shirt off, showing rock-hard abs. He hopped over the couch and ran towards them full speed. Kyle braced and embraced him. Then Kyle lifted him, spinning in circles.
"Okay, put me down, bro," Russo continued to laugh. "I'm going on in a minute B2B with Subtronics."
"Bro, I still can't believe you really got the gig with Subtronics," Kyle marveled. "But straight to business. This is Kasaan, my main man from the academy."
"What's up, bro?" Russo reached out to greet Kasaan. Their hands clapped nice and crisp. "That was crisp. This your first time at a rave, bro?"
"Yeah," Kasaan admitted.
"I can already tell you like it," Russo stated. "Let me give you the short version of what I'm doing before I go on. My music is coded at a frequency that reveals malevolent spiritual energy."
"What? No way," Kasaan was intrigued.
"With this, we can finally stop this curse once and for all," Kyle beamed.
"Wait. Kyle, have you been planning this this whole time?" Kasaan realized, actually proud of Kyle for not slacking off.
"What? I gotta pass too," Kyle informed. "You're not the only one who cares about our grade."
"How do y'all know each other?" Kasaan asked.
"You can tell him that I'm gonna get ready and finish setting my runes to make the magic happen," Russo informed them. He then evaporated into smoke and vanished right in front of them.
"I was working a job in Jersey with my dad," Kyle began to explain. "There was an evil witch siphoning the life energy out of the locals. People were turning up missing frequently. It just so happened Russo and Shirin were the witch's children."
"What?" Kasaan was amused. "What happened?"
"They helped us take down their mother," Kyle informed him. "Their father was a hunter. She killed him as soon as he was on to her. They stayed with my family for a while after that, and they also hunt now too. I called them when I realized the location and that he was playing."
"I'm impressed. Tonight has really been something," Kasaan admitted.
"Come on," Kyle instructed. "Let's go on stage. He's coming on."
The backstage view while Subtronics and Russo went back to back was crazy. As Russo played, Kasaan noticed runes shining on every wall and the ceiling. Through the lights and lasers, there was a stronger energy felt, like a pulse. The colors of the room began to light vibrant blue, and in four areas there was a deep red glow.
Kyle pulled out his pen and opened the holographic screen again. He pinpointed and marked all the people with the red glow.
Kasaan smiled in approval, watching Kyle work. Then a voice snapped him out of his gaze.
"Hey handsome." He looked up to see the same girl from the entrance approaching him. "Fancy seeing you back here," she teased.
As she got closer, he could see her ears were really sharp and the wings were real. "Wow, you're really a fairy," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, so you know that and you aren't scared?" she teased.
"Scared? I'm mesmerized, if I'm being honest," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck a little embarrassed. "I've read about fairies in class, but I've never seen one in person. Now that I have, I'm envious of everyone who got to marvel at you before me."
"Don't flatter me," she chuckled. "What's your name?"
"Kasaan. What's your name?" he asked.
"Bellethina, but you can just call me Bell," she smiled, looking him in the eyes. "Give me your number. Maybe we can catch some shows together or just hit the town." She handed him her phone. He put his number in it and immediately sent a text to himself.
"I look forward to meeting you again," he said, hugging her before she left back to her group of girlfriends. He watched her go, mesmerized by her beauty.
"Oh my god, girl, he was cute," he could overhear her friends saying, right before the bass dropped and everyone started headbanging wildly. The music was so strong Kasaan could feel it in his bones. It felt like the whole building was shaking. It was pure mayhem in a good way. There was a mosh pit in the crowd. The security tried to stop it, but they failed. The music had everyone letting loose. Kasaan finally let loose and started dancing too.