𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟑𝟓. 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁

"Are you sure about this?" Tae asked for the fiftieth time as they arrived at the nightclub of her choice.

"Yes," Cara told her firmly. "It'll be fun...right?"

"Yeah, but just as a warning, there will be....a lot of people," she said as she fixed her faux fur jacket. "A lot." She checked the strap of her stilettos, which matched her silver dress in the same metallic tone, but in an electric blue instead of silver.

"I am aware of that," Cara sighed. "But we are only there for answers, may I remind you absolutely no drinking!"

"What do you have against drinking?" Tae asked.

"You could...." Cara shook her head. "You could harm others. How many people have been killed in car accidents that weren't their fault? I will never drink." she took a deep breath. "....and I need you sober."

Tae nodded, her look turning serious. "I understand Cara."

She grins, lightening up the mood. "Hey, you look drop-dead gorgeous!"

Cara bit her lip bashfully as she glared at her friend. "I still can't believe you made me wear this."

Taelyn had snatched a dress from Jynni's closet, which she had told Cara she planned to never return because it was so gorgeous.

As for the dress itself, it was a tight-fitting piece the same style as Tae's, but in a dark twilight color, and made of a smooth velvet fabric instead of Tae's shimmer-covered satin piece. The neckline was straight across, but rather low, and the sleeves off-the-shoulder and ruffled. The dress also had a slit up the right side, which was covered in a meshy material.

Cara was surprised this thing even fit her, considering how it was bodycon, and was borrowed from Jynni, whom she didn't think she was the sam size as.

Taelyn grinned. "I think it looks beautiful on you. And you'd better be grateful I let you borrow my shoes."

Tae had lended her strappy midnight-colored heels for the night.

Unfortunately, they were killing Cara's feet.

"Yeah, yeah," Cara mumbled. "Let's get going. It's going to be eleven soon, and I don't want to drag this night longer than it needs to be."

Tae nodded, grabbing her phone nad keys and shoving them into the small clutch bag she had brought. Cara gave Tae her phone as well, which she also put in the bag.

Cara put on her - or Jynni's, rather - I put on my - or Jynni's rather - shimmering silver maxi cardigan, and then unlocked the door, ready to head in.

Two minutes later, Tae and Cara stood at the entrance doors of the nightclub, having gotten past the lazy bouncer outside.

Cara tried not to wrinkle her nose at the stench she held her chin up high as some people looked their way. She fluttered her head about, flaunting the waved curls her light garnet locks have taken on.

The place reeked of sweat and drinks, the air hot and humid, a change from the frigid cold outside. The music was playing so loud, the poor girl's ears pounded, and people shouted and yelled over the music. Some people were dancing, or does grinding on the closest person count as dancing? Some people were taking shots at the bar, probably long past their limit.

She looked over at Taely, who was running a hand through her straightened ebony locks. She catched her friend's gaze and signaled for Cara to follow her to a more secluded area.

"What do we do now?" Cara asked her, having to talk a little louder over the music, even though they were more away from it.

"Split up," Tae directed. "I'll take this side, you'll take that side. Look for people who look weird or suspicious. Maybe older ones. Don't take up any offers from anyone. If you find anything, inch away and text me. We'll put our ringers on so we can hear the notification." She unzips her clutch bag and hands me my phone.

Cara nodded, and took her phone. She was still in awe of her friend's leading skills. She herself wasn't a bad leader, but Tae was a natural-born one.

They split up, and Cara pushed her thick hair out of her face, feeling slightly nervous as she moved away. She had never been here before, and the stories of people being assaulted in places like these were enough to make her scared.

I wish Tae wouldn't have left me, Cara grumbled as she quickly moved back to the entrance and pushed hte door open, going outside. She opened her phone and dialed Aiden.

He picked up in a few rings. "T-Tiger? What are you doing? It's almost midnight! Where are you?"

"Aiden, were you sleeping?"

"Yes," he muttered.

"Aiden, I need you to listen to me. Tae took me to a club," Cara explained, and he gasped. "Let me explain first. She believes that we can find more answers here. I barely got in though, we had to forge my ID. Anyways, if anything happens, I'm going to call you and if I do, that means that I need you here quick. This is my Plan B because this is a really shady part of town. I'll have to be talking to seedy people."

"Cara, you're a genius," Aiden breathed out. "Send me the address."

Her fingers quickly copied the address of the nightclub and sent it to Aiden.

"I can't believe Taelyn took you to a club," Aiden said as an afterthought, and she could hear the frown in his tone. "I'm gonna talk with her."

"Aiden, no, I agreed to it and-"

"Yes, but I worry for you Tiger. You could get kidnapped or harrassed or-" he cut himself off, and she could practically see him running a hand through his ruffled golden hair.

"Aiden, I appreciate your concern, but I agreed to it fully and I believe if I'm here, we can gain some knowledge on where the Itch Gang is hiding out."

He sighed. "Thank you for contacting me. I'd kill myself if anything happened to you over there."

A blush creeped on her face, and she was suddenly glad he couldn't see her."Yeah, I'll call you if there are any problems. Get some sleep Aiden, I'll talk to you in the morning, if nothing goes wrong."

"Keep yourself safe Cara. I'll see you in the morning. Hopefully."

"Bye Aiden. Goodnight."

Cara ended the call and headed back into the club, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. Then, she flung them open, immediately on the lookout, scanning the interior.

I'll have to go to more secluded places if I'm going to find people who can give us information on a gang of thugs, she thought, and then sighed. What am I even doing here? No, no, don't think that, you coward. Be brave, it's just people...

She quickly moved through the crowds of sweaty and barely clothed bodies until she got to a more closed off area. Her eyes looked through the area.

The people in these areas are more limited, so hopefully I might find someone who looks as if they may be helpful...

Her dusky orbs wandered for a little moment before they locked onto a man sitting in the corner, wearing from what she could see a pair of slacks and a black button-up dress shirt, ironed to a crisp.

Bingo.

a/n: i'm so sorry for my absence (again), here's an extra long update to make up for it <3