LUCY
I did. Never felt so out of place in my entire life.
MINA
Maybe you’re so out of place that you’re actually in exactly the right place.
LUCY
That makes no sense.
MINA
You’ll see.
LUCY
I’ll see what?
But she doesn’t reply, just sends a string of emojis: a tiny vampire, a cocktail, a black heart and some others which don’t make any sense. I smile and pocket my phone.
When I look back up, I crash into Bram’s gaze– dark, intense and, just for that moment, laser-focused on me. There’s a heavy song playing– gritty and raw, just like him– and I can feel it like a heartbeat through my whole body. He pauses a moment before one corner of his mouth lifts into the briefest flash of a smile, and then he turns his attention back to the drink he’s mixing, his head bobbing rhythmically to the beat of the music.
It’s not my kind of music at all, so when the chorus comes I’m surprised to find that I do actually recognise this song. That said, it’s been difficult to avoid Dawn Breaks Black the last few years. They’re everywhere. I can’t remember the lead singer’s name, but he definitely looks like someone who’d frequent this bar, and the idea of it makes me smile.
I’m suddenly struck by inspiration, and I pull out my notepad and pen, scribbling down my thoughts before they escape me entirely. I won’t use even half of this stuff in my story, but something compels me to get it all down anyway– to get every detail of this night on paper so that I can come back to it again and again. It feels important, though I can’t say why.
By the time I look up from my notepad, the bar has begun to clear. I check my watch and am a little surprised by how much time has passed, though it shouldn’t surprise me that much, because when I flip back through my notebook I find I’ve filled four full pages with frantic notes. I don’t see Bram at first, and a momentary panic grips at my throat, but then all of a sudden he’s right there in front of me, sweeping his hair to one side in that way that’s becoming familiar.
For a moment, neither of us moves or speaks. There’s just this strange energy between us, a hum like electricity– residual adrenaline, perhaps, or something else entirely. But then he smiles broadly, fangs bared, and the spell is broken.
‘You want to come and meet the guys?’ he asks with a jaunty cock of his head.
And I really, really do.
Chapter Eight
BRAM
I’m strangely nervous as I head around the bar towards Lucy. I could have just waved her over to meet everyone, but she looked a little lost there for a moment or two, and I was ducking through the bar flap and heading her way before I knew it. The bar’s started to empty now, and those who haven’t left have migrated into the depths of booths and dark corners, so there’s really no need for the guiding hand on Lucy’s back as we walk towards the bar, but once it’s there I can’t quite bring myself to pull it away.
Quinn catches my eye and raises his brow in a question, that infuriating smile that I love and hate pulling at the edge of his mouth. He’s about to say something stupid, I know it.
Lucky for me, he’s not the only one who’s noticed my hand on Lucy’s back.
‘Emmy,’ I croon, as she wanders towards us, ‘come and meet Lucy.’ I widen my eyes as she looks at me– it’s a practised cry for help and an expression she recognises immediately. She elegantly inserts herself in front of Quinn and beams a huge, black-lipsticked smile at Lucy.
Emmy is easily the gothiest goth of any of us, and an absolute sweetheart. She’s in neck-to-floor black lace today, topped with a Bitten T-shirt nipped in at the waist by a leather corset. Her jewellery is no more understated: heavy chains around her neck and patent bands on her wrists with long metal spikes that graze along the bar as she reaches over it to shake Lucy’s hand.
‘Lovely to meet you,’ Emmy chirps, ignoring Quinn as he grumbles behind her before skipping off to serve someone at the other end of the bar.
‘You too,’ Lucy replies with a soft smile, and then I watch her eyes widen as she clocks the spikes. ‘I love these,’ she says, reaching out a finger to touch one. ‘You could do some real damage with them.’
Emmy’s grin pops a dimple in her pale cheek just as Fox bounces up behind her, purple curls bobbing as she throws heavily tattooed arms around Emmy’s shoulders.
‘Lucy, this is Emmy and Fox. They’re siblings.’ I wave my free hand awkwardly between them. I’ve never introduced a girl to my colleagues before. Not that Lucy is agirlgirl, of course. ‘Guys, this is Lucy. She’s a journalist, and she’s writing a story on the Goth Weekend.’
‘Oh, sweet.’ Fox steps out from behind Emmy and thrusts out a hand to Lucy, who shakes it warmly. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Lucy.’