THREE
Perks & Mysteries

THE INTIMIDATION WAS coursing its way through my veins when we neared the boathouse even further. If I thought that the music was loud before, it would be deafening now that we were right by the entrance. The queue seemed to drag on forever, and not knowing if I should go ahead to the front of it or the back, there we stood simply gawking at the decoration of the place.

"I will admit, I'm actually scared of going in," I said. At this point, I had to shout right by my friends' ear in order for them to hear clearly what I've just practically announced.

"I understand what you mean. The bouncer fiasco from before really put enough doubts in my mind about the queues, if you ask me." Bella snorted in agreement, shivering slightly to prove her point.

"But we will still have to get in. I mean, we're already here, after all. So do we queue or do we just strut in and pretend that the line never existed?" Minnie trailed off, eyes darting back and forth between us and the queue.

"And what are you lovely ladies doing just standing there?" A velvet-smooth voice drawled from behind us, miraculously loud enough for us to hear. The voice could be heard easily above the sound system with no struggle whatsoever, and I could hear each clear syllable of the word.

Curious as to who had spoken, the three of us whipped our heads around, arms separating for the first time through the night so far. The man that stood behind us couldn't be older than 25-years-old, with hair white as snow and eyes a bright bold blue that sent electricity into the air. He towered over us, standing tall and decked with muscles all down his biceps; he was a pure figure of a god amongst mortals. His skin was a dark brown, nearing that of the cooling night. It contrasted heavily, yet surprisingly naturally, with both his hair and eye color.

My friends and I just stood there, blatantly gawking at that specimen of a man, not believing our eyes that a god could walk amongst us mortals.

"Girls?" He asked, snapping us back to attention as I instinctively went to straighten out my sweater for good measure.

"I'm Bella." The brunette waved casually – or as casually as she could in front of such an attractive man – before pointing towards the both of us. "This is Addison and Minnie," she introduced.
The man's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of our names, almost glowing in the dark as a small smile graced his lips. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, girls." Swiftly, he took each of our hands in turn and placed a small kiss on the back of it. I could almost swear if I pushed Bella right now, she would collapse into a hoppy fangirling fit. "My name is Calvin."

"Delighted to meet you, Calvin." I smiled, shaking his hand slightly in greeting.

"That would be an understatement," Bella whispered under her breath but I had easily caught it.

With a roll of my eyes, I continued with what I had been saying. "We received an invitation to the party. And also as the guest of honor." My hands reached into the pockets of my jeans as I pulled out the golden letter, allowing it to catch the rays cast by the strobe lights both inside and outside the boathouse. "But the line seems to go on for forever and honestly, the bouncers look rather intimidating. Do you think you can help us?"

Calvin did not hesitate for even a single moment once he took a glance at the letter. Instead, he placed a hand over mine, gently pushing the letter away. At first, I had thought that he was rejecting it and turning us away, but his next few words easily brightened up my features again.

"There will be no need for that. Come on, my brother is the host of the party. The bouncers will have no problem letting my friends in." He winked, sending us all into delighted giggles. "Just make sure not to boast too much when you're inside about how you skipped the queue. Some of the party-goers had queued for nearly two hours before they could get in."

With that, he turned to walk towards the boathouse, waving us over to follow him.

"Perks indeed," Bella spoke in hushed tones against my ear once Calvin had walked out of hearing range, her hand placed on my shoulder as she gave a light squeeze.

I couldn't agree more about how fortunate it was for us to bump into the host's family.

"Maybe we will get to find out who the host is?" Minnie asked in an equally soft voice, wiggling her eyebrows just the slightest before tossing her red flame hair over her shoulder. She was careful not to let Calvin hear what she had said.

I did not reply to that statement, leaving Bella to whisper back in excited tones. Instead, my eyes were trailing after our new friend as we made our way towards him. Through his white t-shirt, there was a faint glow under it. It was a light that was emitted in a sort of pattern or symbol of sorts. Squinting slightly, I bit onto my lip before pulling the girls closer towards Calvin, closing the distance between us so that I could examine the tattoo better.

It felt as though I had seen that symbol before. The glow was soft, almost an impossible hum to show when in comparison with the heavy light pollution where we were at. And yet, it shone with almost an otherworldly look. From where I stood, I could make out a bow and arrow inside of what seemed like a four-petal flower. The petals had a pointed edge to it, with a center of a simple round circle bearing a crown within it.

I pursed my lips, pinching them together as my mind reeled in different possibilities.

"Do they sell glow in the dark tattoos now? Technology is simply getting too advanced." I leaned over to Minnie, muttering to her the question as softly as I could. I nodded at the tattoo peeking out through Calvin's thin white t-shirt.

To that, she simply shrugged. "You have to admit, though. It looks pretty cool. Different from normal tattoos."

I frowned. "I've seen that symbol before, though."

"Tattoos are more often than not rather common. Everybody had an infinity sign on some part of their bodies back in those days where they were in trend, remember?"

Though I was still unsatisfied with the answer that Minnie provided, I did not question it any further. Confusion laid itself upon me as we followed Calvin in. The three bouncers barely even looked twice before stepping past for our lot to walk through. Past the music, I could faintly make out sounds of protest from the line behind us and I couldn't help but grin.

The second we entered, the lights dimmed even further except for the occasional bolt of white light coming from strobe lights situated at the very front of the boathouse. The place was massive, at least three stories tall with multiple rooms leading away. The center of the boathouse was cleared out for the party, a huge rectangle bit of space that allowed us to see past all three stories and the glass roof due to the architectural design. Two flights of stairs were situated at the far end corners, right by the DJ table and beverages. It did seem, however, that it was barricaded off, most likely for safety purposes. It was never the best of choice to place dunk people with towering steps, anyway.

"I need to go find my brothers and inform them of your arrival. He will be most pleased to learn that the guest of honor had finally arrived." Calvin spoke, barely even straining his voice but enough for us to hear. "I hope to see you again soon?" His last question was directed to Bella, to which was a giggling fit when Calvin took her hand, placing a small kiss right into the center of her palm.

She nodded enthusiastically, her head bobbing up and down at rapid speeds to signify her agreement. And with that, Calvin turned away and he was gone, blending easily into the crowd even with his towering height.

"Wasn't that strange?" Minnie asked, a hand on her hip as her doe eyes scanned the area scrutinizingly.

"He's beautiful!" Sighing in an overly exaggerated manner, Bella placed the back of her hand against her forehead, leaning against Minnie as she slid down slightly.

"You are absolutely insane, Bella. You just met the guy! His whole family could be lunatics or serial killers for all you know." I laughed, gently shoving Bella as she stumbled slightly before standing to her full height.

"Just because he paid more attention to me doesn't make him a lunatic." Scowling, Bella folded her arms across her chest in defiance, playfully sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah it pretty much does," Minnie whispered under her breath with a joking smile shaping her lips, but it wasn't low enough for Bella to miss. The latter gasped, her jaw dropping in shock and mock offense as she reached to mess up Minnie's impeccably straight and tidy hair. Her red head of hair tangled almost too easily at that, making Minnie pout in annoyance.

"You guys have to stop messing around." I laughed. "You might just hit the limit one day and actually begin to tear out each other's hair!"

"Don't worry, Addison. The three of us will remain as best friends for the rest of forever. Not even death will be able to stand in our way," said Bella. She promised her words, crossing her heart with a smile.

However, before I could reply, a chill went down the back of my spine as a sudden burst of cold filled the room. Wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to preserve heat, I shivered lightly before glancing back at my playfully brawling friends.

"Did you feel that?" As I spoke, my breath let out a small gust of white mist, resembling that of smoke before dissolving into thin air. I blinked in surprise, waving the smoke away in a hurry.
"Feel what?" In perfect unison, the two stopped before glancing around. Their breaths, were, however, perfectly smoke-free. In fact, I seemed to be the only one affected by it, the more I glanced around.

"Nothing," I said instead, pulling the sleeves of my sweater down as best as I could. "Why don't I meet you two later? Half an hour at the drinks table, okay?"

"You alright, Addy?" Red eyebrows scrunched in confusion, Minnie placed a hand on my shoulder. The very second her hand touched the bit of skin on the nape of my neck, she jerked back as if burnt. "Holy shit, you're freezing!"

"I'm fine." Cupping my hands over my mouth as I spoke, I turned away before they could notice that something was amiss. "Just forgot what the party scene felt like, I guess. It will take me a few good minutes before I can adjust again. But you guys deserve to have your fun. Don't let me drag you guys' joy down."

"Are you sure you will be okay left alone?" Now it was Bella's turn to speak, eyes worried as she darted her glance between Minnie and me. I nodded once in reply. "Be careful, okay? We'll see you in a bit then, I guess."

Nodding once more, I waited for my friends to walk away and disappear into the crowd before I quickened my own pace. Weaving easily through the crowd, I soon found a little spot just under the lower ceilings that belonged to the second level instead of the high glass roof like the middle of the dancefloor.

As I stayed in the shadows, however, I could not seem to shake off the foreboding feeling that there were eyes staring at me, watching my every move. And yet, I knew that it was impossible. My back was propped up against the wall, leaving nowhere else for anyone to look at me from except for my front to which I was observing with great attention. However, proving contrary to my belief, the chills that made my hair stand on their ends were ever-present.

When yet another gust of cold air enveloped my body, I shivered, letting out a breath of air to warm myself. Just like before when I had spoken, my breath elicited a cloud of white smoke, the sign of the cold clashing with the warmth of my body. Here it was, another sign that something was obviously wrong with me.

Darting my eyes upwards to the second level almost instinctively, I observed the railing for anyone that could possibly be looking. All I caught, and I wish I hadn't, was a dark figure making its way back towards the shadows. I knew then that those silver eyes will be forever imprinted in the depths of my mind.

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