"Happy Birthday, Bitch!" Selene screamed, throwing a handful of balloons and confetti at Nyx's bed and handing over a poorly wrapped gift. Nyx blinked sleep from her eyes and took the box with shaky hands.

"Christ, Selene. What time is it?"

"Seven!" She jumped on the spot with an expectant grin. Her eyes flitted between Nyx's flushed face and the gift until the anticipation became too much. "It's a dress for tonight!" 

Nyx finally grinned and rolled herself out of bed to hug her best friend. "Thank you, Selene."

"Don't thank me, open it!"

"Dear God," Nyx moaned, tearing the paper off the partially squashed box. It looked fancy, and her heart rate sped up. She opened the lid and gasped.

Steel-blue ruching, a sweetheart neckline and billowy long sleeves were what she noticed first. The dress complemented her fiery hair and slate eyes perfectly. If Selene hadn't gone into nursing, she would have made an excellent stylist.

"It's gorgeous! You really shouldn't have! How much was this?"

"Don't ask me that, you ding dong. Get ready. This is only the first part of your gift." The last words came out in a tight squeak as a barrage of gift cards were thrown on her duvet. "Mani-Pedi, hair and makeup. Restaurant tonight; after that, we're hitting the hottest club in town."

"You are so lame!"

"What? That's what they're calling it. It's new! Demonology or something."

Nyx let the excitement take hold of her as she padded to the bathroom. "Alright, well, I'm gonna go shower."

"Be quick. Your manicure appointment is at eleven."

She looked over at her bedroom clock and scoffed, "That's hours away."

Selene sighed and ran from the room, shouting something about getting breakfast ready.

After a decent shower and change, Nyx swigged back Selene's famous smoothie, and they headed for their appointment.

Nyx settled for white coffin-shaped acrylics with black marble as the feature on her ring finger. Selene mulled over fourteen shades of blue before picking a matte navy and stiletto shape.

"You're gonna poke someone's eye out with those," Nyx said after spying Selene's nails carved in sharpened points.

"That's the plan!" she quipped.

The day simultaneously dragged and zoomed past before Nyx noticed her hunger. "Do you have any snacks in your bag today?" she asked as they sat in the hair salon, waiting for the bleach to process.

 Selene rummaged around, but she could only offer a few squashed energy bars and a bag of pretzels from the bottom of her handbag. Nyx sighed and picked at the crumbling bar before settling on the crushed pretzel dust. 

By the time they finished, Nyx's stomach felt hollow while the rest of her looked primped within an inch of her life. The dress hugged every dip and curve of her body, and her makeup accented every feature on her face.

"Woah, you're so hot. If I wasn't straight-"

"Selene, stop. You're gonna make me blush."

The pair hit the town and caught every eye they passed, regardless of gender. The attention went straight to Selene's head while Nyx increased her pace and avoided eye contact. They entered the restaurant and sat in a corner with intimate lighting and lush furniture.  

"What are you gonna get?" Nyx asked, eyeing the restaurant's very expensive menu she picked up from the table. Eternity. It appeared an apt name considering it felt like they weren't going to eat for eternity. All the other patrons were well-dressed, with pinched faces as if they looked down on the world. 

"I'm thinking the potato thing for the entree, the fettuccine and sorbet for dessert," Selene said with a grimace. "This place is so fancy. I checked the menu before we came, but it's different."

"It's probably on rotation or something-"

"Precisely," a posh, masculine voice replied. "We change menus each week to keep our competitors guessing." The server hovered above them after appearing from thin air. 

Nyx smiled politely and made eye contact with Selene. "Cool."

"Are you ready to order?" he asked, a smile pulling at his lips.

Selene stared in a daze at him before clearing her throat. "Uh, yes." She smiled uncertainly and repeated her order, with the official names off the menu, before the server turned to Nyx while typing into a small tablet.

"And you?"

"I'll have the same, please. But I'll have the plant-based version of the Fettucine. No dairy."

The server sniffed and tilted his head slightly, casting a shadow beneath his eyes. "Are you certain? The meat and cheese charcuterie selections are to die for."

Nyx didn't like the way he stretched out the word die and went to reply when Selene jumped in.

"She's vegan. But thanks anyway."

He briskly nodded, tucked the menu's under his arm and strode away.

"Selene," Nyx whined, watching his tense form retreat into the kitchen space.

"What?"

"You brought me to a fine dining restaurant specialising in carving up animal body parts. They'll probably think I'm the devil now," she finished in a hushed whisper.

Selene chuckled and downed a complimentary glass of red wine. The food appeared at a leisurely pace, and they decided to skip dessert before they wasted away. Nyx knew fine dining was more for the experience, but she hoped to be at least full after the dent in Selene's pocket. They left the restaurant craving fast food and quickly stopped before walking the rest of the way to the club.

"Hurry up, Nyxie. The lines gonna be a mile long," Selene said, reaching her hand out to Nyx, still swallowing her last fry.

"My feet hurt," Nyx whined but accepted Selene's hand as she pulled her closer to the thumping music and strobing lights.

Demonology stood proud at an old street corner shrouded in an aura of darkness and heat. Bodies lined up around the building, all adorned in various shades of black, and Nyx felt overdressed.

"Better overdressed than under," Selene whispered, apparently reading her mind.

A bouncer called out to them as they passed the entrance to line up. "Hey, you two!"

"Are you talking to us?" Selene called back, her free hand sitting atop her hip.

"Yeah. You can come straight in."

A cacophony of boos and complaints rolled over the women, but the bouncer gave them a stern look. The crowd quieted, and he turned his attention back to the pair. "So? What do you say?"

Selene seemed to ponder it a moment, and Nyx prepared to refuse when her friend marched towards the entrance pulling her behind.

It felt insanely unfair to the waiting people, and when she went to walk past the bouncer, he stuck out his arm, stopping their path.

"ID first."

Selene pulled hers from her clutch, and the bouncer let her in instantly. 

Did he even look at it? Nyx wanted to tell her friend to wait, but she already disappeared through the darkened doorway.

"Here's mine," she said, holding up the licence she pulled from her small handbag. She was proud of the picture. The first two driver's license photos were awful, but this one captured her looks well. She didn't think she was the hottest girl in the world, but she saw the beauty in her sharper, sculpted features.

"Nyx," the bouncer whispered, almost to himself.

"Yep, that's me."

He nodded and peered inside the club doorway before returning the card. "Enjoy your night," he drawled.

Discomfort pooled in her belly, but she rushed past him to find Selene, quickly becoming disoriented by the club maze. The darkness felt thick with body heat and cigarette smoke. She didn't think people even did that anymore. At least not inside. "Selene?"

The corridor twisted, and she followed a strobing light and steady bass that poured underneath a curtained wall. Then, with a push, she slipped through a gap in the fabric and gasped. Bodies gyrated and pulsed to the lyric-less sounds, lips and teeth meeting necks and chests as people had clothed sex on the dancefloor.

"Christ..."

"Nyxie!" Selene appeared at her side, out of breath, her lipstick smudged across her cheek.

"Have you been-"

"Hell yeah, he was so hot. But I can't find him now. Come with me to get some drinks!" she shouted, reclaiming Nyx's clammy hand.

When they reached the bar, Nyx quickly thumbed Selene's red-stained cheek and scanned the room again, wiping the lipstick on a napkin. Everyone looked hot, and Nyx started to sweat. I'm way out of my element. A faint buzzing tickled at her hip, and she rummaged through her handbag for her phone. One flick of the power button and her heart stopped.

Across the screen in small font, words from someone she wiped entirely from memory.

Hello,  Nyx. Remember me?

A/N

Well, well... Who might this be?