Since I got there so early, the line was actually fairly short. After the five Gothic princes and princesses of the night got in, I yanked my ID out and handed it to the bouncer with confidence, pulling my hood down so he could confirm it was me. He scrutinized the card, finally accepting it and motioning me in. I gave him a nod of thanks and stepped inside, taking off my hoodie and putting it on a coat hook. I grabbed my phone and wallet out and shoved them in my boots, stretching my newly exposed arms and looking around.

I had been to nightclubs before, so nothing really stuck out to me, besides the tables filled with Gothic gear and spooky sales near the dance floor. It was new, but I wasn't too interested. I just wanted to get out of here to go to Aunt Libby's and sleep. I wasn't in a clubbing kind of mood. Funny how just your name can drag your mood down so bad.

The music was loud, but without hundreds of club-goers, it was still quiet enough to where I wouldn't have to yell to be heard. I walked over to the bar, where a bartender who's named tag dubbed him "Romeo" was preparing some kind of red martini for a girl with black hair so long she might has well made her goth alias "Repun-Zed." I tugged my wallet out, pulling out a few bills.

" 'Scuse me," I said, placing money on the counter and glancing up at the "House Specials" board, "I'd like an Execution, virgin as a 30 year old in his Mom's basement, and a little bit of info that you might be able to provide."

"Looking for someone?" He took the money without hesitation, pulling out a glass and preparing my drink. Jeez, what a sell-out. I gave him like fifteen bucks. Remind me not to trust him with any personal info.

"You could say that," I said, sliding into a bar stool and putting my wallet back in my boot, "Name's Alexander Sterling. Comes around here from time to time. Long black hair, brown eyes, spider ring."

Romeo paused for a second, his back turned to me as he reached for a pewter bottle. I couldn't tell what his expression was, but I guessed it was thought. He turned around, looking at me oddly. "I don't know. I might know someone who does, though."

"Seriously?" Well, this was better than expected. Maybe we could get out of here with Alexander sooner, and I could get home and get the unavoidable lecture and punishment out of the way quicker. Romeo nodded, making some sort of gesture to the other bartender and sliding out from behind the counter. He motioned for me to follow, and I jumped off the bar stool, forgetting the drink and following him to wherever he was leading me.

"He's right up there," he said, pointing to a spiral staircase on the right edge of the dance floor. I thanked him, and he gave me a knowing smile, turning around and going back to his post. Ignoring the thudding bass rattling my rib cage, I approached the staircase, unaware of the pair of eyes watching me as I went.

"Supplanter," the psychic said, his golden eyes barely visible from under his hood. I turned my head. Despite the music being near-deafening, I was so close that he didn't need to strain his voice. I wasn't even aware I was passing the tables, I was more unfocused than I thought.

"What?" I asked him, and he shook his head.

"You were meant to take the place of another. Where one is supposed to be, you will arise."

"I don't understand!" Goddamn psychic speak. "What place? Who am I replacing?"

"For these troubles to settle, you must sacrifice yourself in place of another. To plunge yourself in an eternity of darkness, you will save one important to you from a similar fate. Cast peace among all." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, all the body language I needed to know that this was all the help from the netherworld I was going to get. Or something. Let's hope he wasn't just some nutjob, it might've been important. Or the product of crystal meth. Y'know, whatever, right? Since he didn't need money to tell me, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and tried my best to keep it in mind and made my way to the staircase.

When I reached the top, I first thought it was empty. The balcony overlooked the dance floor, but at first glance, it seemed like I was the only one up here. But once my eyes adjusted to the poor lighting, candles in place of lights, I noticed the figure of someone on the couch near the railing, looking at the dance floor. When I coughed to make my presence known, he turned to me, but I still couldn't make out any features. It was so dark, he was pretty much a silhouette.

"This is a VIP only area," I heard, and immediately I cursed Romeo for throwing me into a tiger's den without so much as a warning.

"Sorry" I said, faking confidence and taking a step closer, "Didn't know it was exclusive up here. Just wanted to enjoy a birds eye view of goths dry humping each other to Marilyn Manson."

It was a risk, since I wasn't sure whether or not he'd take it as an insult. But, to my relief, he chuckled and waved me closer. I accepted the invitation, hoping this was who Romeo expected me to find. If he knew where to find Alexander, then the awkwardness would be well worth it. As I got closer, I took in his appearance, or at least, what the candles on the table in front of him illuminated. His skin was pale, unhealthily so, and his fingernails were painted black. I didn't even entertain the thought of this being a girl, they had an unmistakably male figure.

"So, did you find a calling up here?" He asked as I sat next to him on the couch. I observed him further, ignoring his question for a moment. His hair was a platinum blonde-maybe even white-with blood red tips, and long enough to cover his eyes from my view. He had a metal skeleton earring, and it looked like he had eyebrow piercings, but with his hair in the way, I couldn't be sure.

"A calling in the form of a bartenders directions," I said, fiddling with my bracelets. He turned and looked over the dance floor, and it occurred to me that he wasn't looking me in the eye.

"Ah, so why did you really come up here?"

"I heard you can lead me to someone." Finally, he turned to me, brushing his hair out of his eyes. A bright blue and a neon green greeted me, and almost as soon as our eyes met, I began to feel different. That same, magnetic attraction I was feeling on the way here was ringing in my brain, and I thought I would never stop looking in those eyes.

"Why look for someone else?" he said with an arched brow and a confident smirk, "The only one you need is right here."

[AUTHORS NOTE: Hey guys! Glad you're enjoying the story! Unfortunately, I've kind of hit a block with where to go at this point, sadly just when it was starting to get good! Considering I have over 20 other small stories to pump out on my deviantart, I won't be able to get back to this for a bit of time. Long story short, this story is going on hiatus for a while! Thanks so much for your patience, and thank you for reading!]/div