Julien and Nevaeah shared a look.
"…Care to elaborate?"
Andrew looked at Julien.
"I mentioned it before."
He thought about it for a moment.
"…Your friend's place?"
Andrew nodded and Julien fell into thought again when the man failed to elaborate further.
Was it Oasis itself that was supernatural, or just the stalker who was? What did Andrew do when he worked there? More importantly, would the stalker even be there when they got there?
He paused.
"It's Sunday now and there are only a few days until the full moon on Saturday. If we're going to pay them a visit before history repeats itself—we need to go soon."
Andrew frowned.
"We're not going anywhere. You stay here."
Julien stared him down.
"We are going together. Don't patronize me Andrew."
Nevaeah watched their confrontation, closing out the straggling holograms and gathering her things.
"I'll take that as my cue to leave."
She peeked at Julien.
"I kind of agree with him though."
Julien snapped back, refusing to look away from the other man.
"I can make my own decisions like you can yours."
He sighed, closing his eyes, he massaged the area between his brows.
"I didn't mean that."
He paused.
"I'll walk you out."
He stepped towards her but was stopped by a hand on his arm.
He looked at the hand, then at the offender.
"Andrew."
"We need to talk."
Julien glanced at Nevaeah who was getting closer to the door.
"We can talk later."
Nevaeah looked between them as she opened the door, offering them a small smile.
"I think I can get back safely on my own, thanks though."
Then she shut the door, leaving the two of them alone once again.
Andrew released his hold on Julien's arm.
"It's not your issue."
"It is."
"It's not."
Julien frowned.
"As long as you live with me it is."
Andrew furrowed his brow.
"I'm supposed to protect you."
Julien smiled derisively.
"Well you're not doing a very good job."
The room fell silent and Julien almost thought he saw hurt in Andrew's expression.
Julien covered his mouth with a hand and took a deep breath.
"I didn't mean that."
Andrew stared at him before looking away, attempting another approach.
"…What about school?"
"Don't you think I'd be able to focus better once I see this through?"
Julien pushed his hair back.
"I'm not trying to be difficult. But you won't tell me anything if I don't ask and I can't ask if I don't know what's going on."
Especially when you don't seem to even care about your own well-being.
Andrew opened his mouth, sighed, and said nothing.
They stood there for a while—until the pitter patter of raindrops filled the silence and the large window began to blur. Only when the sky became darkened by storm clouds did Andrew mutter under his breath—
'No se suponía que fuera así.'
—and close his eyes.
"We'll go Wednesday night."
Julien grinned triumphantly.
Considerate prick.
Julien didn't have class on Thursdays.
"Thank you."
Andrew didn't bother to respond. He started for his room, paused and added on:
"Don't confront anyone on your own."
Julien nodded before going back to his room as well.
He didn't sleep that night.
—
It was dark.
Julien looked around.
No, it's not dark.
His head was just covered.
Julien peeled off the sticky substance clinging to his face and took in his surroundings.
He was in the middle of a forest, a soft purple glow encapsulating the lonely den. He looked down at the dark mask in his hands.
It was a face, but whose was a question he didn't have the answer to.
It's different this time.
This was not the dream he was used to, but the cold dread and all-consuming regret remained unchanged.
Though this time, he was alone.
Whisper whisper.
Well, not quite.
He could hear the trees rustling foul warnings in his ears.
He walked, going from tree to tree in hopes of one of them telling him what this sinking feeling was in his chest. Or even for one of them to know whose face he was holding in the palm of his hands.
Julien wandered until his feet grew sluggish in thick sludge. He looked around.
I'm lost.
He was in the middle of an open field—no, a clearing.
He continued his journey, his bare feet sinking into thick mud as he took step after step through the empty space with bated breath.
Splish splish.
The squelching of wet earth turned to light splashes that echoed against the edges of the wall-less forest and his feet became soaked in a warm liquid that rose and rose until he too was submerged.
It was a familiar warmth, something recognizably human.
He panicked.
He was drowning in a river of blood.
He clutched his throat, clawing at its surface until rivulets of his own blood joined the rest.
Help—
He couldn't say that.
Save—
Who?
As his vision began to fade—
A hoarse whisper rang in his ears.
"Never—"
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*
With a dial tone, the message was cut short.
Julien jolted awake, sweat beading on his forehead as his heart fought against his chest.
We need to go.
Ignoring the breathlessness of his lungs and the swimming of his vision as dreary eyes laid on scarred palms, Julien disturbed the peace of another early Wednesday morning by barging into Andrew's room on shaky legs.
When he laid eyes on the other, his words caught in his throat and he strained to cough out—
"We need to go right now."
Andrew squinted his eyes at him as Julien walked further into the room, pacing about in search of the bag of dubious equipment the other man brought into the apartment a few weeks ago.
Julien knew he was being ridiculous.
He couldn't exactly skip his classes just because he was feeling disturbed by a nightmare that was already beginning to fade from his mind—more than that, even if he did, Oasis would've been closed by the time they got there.
It was just terrible timing all around.
But Julien couldn't shake the feeling that if they didn't get there soon one of them was going to die.
He growled in frustration.
"Where did you put them?"
Andrew furrowed his brow.
Julien made a gesture with his hands.
"The animal repellent."
Andrew shuffled out of bed and moved to another corner of the room, kneeling down to pull out a black case. Julien joined him in no time, popping it open and scanning the items before pulling out the one he was looking for.
"…You can take all of it."
Julien shut the lid and handed the case back to Andrew.
"Don't need it."
This is just in case anyway.
He took several deep breaths.
It did nothing to curb his anxiety but what could he do? He had no choice but to wait.
He paused.
"I'm going to pack us some clothes."
Andrew put the case back and tilted his head.
"Why?"
"Just in case."
Before Andrew could form a reply Julien was already zipping about grabbing whatever he could find from their rooms and throwing them into his school bag.
Andrew stopped him when he returned to take his toothbrush.
"What's happening?"
Julien didn't register the words at first and ended up nearly crashing into him.
He looked up.
"What?"
Right, he still needs that.
Andrew repeated himself.
"What's happening?"
Julien whispered the words a few times, dropping his bag to the floor. A few of the smaller items fell out.
"I—"
I don't know.
He stared at the bag.
"I don't know."
—
Julien bounced his leg as he waited for class to end.
Just two more minutes.
He looked at his hands, trying his best to remove the jitters by tracing over the scars on his palms—it wasn't helping.
One more.
"Don't forget about your test next week—"
Julien grabbed his bag before the professor could even finish talking and left the lecture hall, the door sliding shut behind him.
He looked around, spotting Andrew at a nearby bench, he looked up at the sky.
There was no reason for him to do so—the sun, having just reached a midpoint, wasn't anywhere close to setting. Besides, the full moon was still three days off. Everything was under control.
Everything is fine.
He tried his best to give Andrew a calm smile.
"How are you feeling?"
Andrew looked him over before standing up.
"Fine."
Julien scanned him before placing a hand on the other man's forehead and nodding to himself.
"Cool, let's go then."
Quickly.
Andrew licked his canines.
"…Do you need water… or something?"
Julien shook his head.
"I'm good, you're good."
He paused.
"Do you need water?"
He hadn't packed water.
Before he could change their course for the school store though Andrew quickly shook his head.
Julien looked him over again before taking a calming breath and nodding.
There was nothing to worry about.
—
It took three hours for them to arrive at Oasis—and only once they were firmly planted in the line among the throngs of people in anything from flashy yet scant attire to dark grunge and latex set ups—did Julien's prickling dread begin to wane.
Only then did he realize how tense he'd been all day.
He looked around.
How unlucky.
The people around them were suffering from Andrew's people-curbing presence—though the ones that weren't all there were handling it better—and he could only hope they didn't end up surrounded by a bunch of comatose people once they were inside.
He looked to the sky.
It's still pretty early.
Yet that didn't seem to deter the diverse array of party-goers. He was just glad Andrew convinced him to ditch the bag in the van.
He looked over his own outfit—finding it barely acceptable for the setting—then he looked over his taciturn companion whose frown slowly turned into a ferocious grimace as they grew ever closer to the building.
He could only imagine the sensory overload he was experiencing right now.
"Are you alright?"
Andrew met his gaze, grunting out.
"I'm fine."
Julien didn't really believe that but what could they do? Their goal was inside.
He scanned his face again before turning away to look at the rather flashy building. It was made of reinforced dark glass that reflected a dark rainbow like the wings of a raven, the door spilled lights of warm neon oranges, purples and blues that bounced off the face of the imposing bouncers, and just as his eyes passed over the entrance one more time—he felt a familiar spell.
He could feel the stalker's intense gaze graze over him and he shivered before the feeling disappeared just as quickly as it came.
I guess they're here after all.
He noticed Andrew looking in the same direction and that was enough to tell him that he wasn't just paranoid.
"He's inside."
Julien's heart skipped.
"Did you see him?"
Andrew tilted his head and furrowed a brow.
"Not entirely."
He thought for a moment.
"They're roughly 1.96m with a decently muscular frame."
Julien blinked.
You got more than me.
"At least now we know this trip wasn't for nothing."
Neither of them said anything else as they slowly reached the front of the line.
—
The lights flashed in rhythm with the music as sweaty and sensual bodies overtook the dance floor and busy qipao and changshan clad staff bustled about from booth to booth. The two of them were seated on the second floor overlooking the gyrating crowd growing less and less sparse as the sun slowly lost its altitude.
Julien had to admire the glitzy decor reminiscent of a dark jungle. The mixture of real plants and flowing water channels that connected to fountains outlined with golden trims, and the luminescent paint glowing alluringly under the water's surface beautifully reflected the name Oasis—and, undoubtedly, the owner's tastes as well.
This place must be popular.
What he was most curious about was—with who.
He spoke quietly, hoping that the bustling bodies and thumping music wouldn't prevent Andrew from picking up what he was saying.
"Can you spot them from here? Or somehow sniff them out?"
Andrew shook his head.
"I can hardly smell anything. And…"
He indicated the floor, there were far too many staff and customers around to pick out just the one they were looking for, especially when they weren't even sure what they were looking for.
"The lights aren't helping."
Julien shifted his gaze away from the floor, sending a polite nod to a group of girls in a neighboring booth that continued to steal glances their way as he scanned the staff and other guests on their floor.
"Is it just me, or are a few of the staff looking this way?"
Just as he said that, one of the nearby servers stiffly turned a corner and disappeared down the stairs. Another hid it a bit better, but they undoubtedly looked away as well, tapping another as they walked in another direction.
The only ones that continued to shamelessly stare were those too far away to hear what they were saying over the loud music and a few that didn't seem to notice anything at all.
"It's not you."
Julien tapped the table.
"Do you think they're… y'know."
He turned up his nose and tapped his forehead twice to indicate the moon goddess.
Andrew twitched his nose.
"Possibly."
Julien frowned.
Well give me something to work with.
At the very least the likelihood that Oasis itself was hiding something supernatural was increasing, but their clues to find the stalker were still nil. Looking at a particularly nosy server with messy brown hair meandering by the stairs, he suddenly had a thought.
Do we even need to find the stalker?
He was so focused on what lured them there that he never even considered the fact that Andrew used to work there as well. He whispered.
"Are any of your former coworkers still here? Maybe we can ask one of them?"
Andrew thought for a moment before nodding.
"They could be."
He looked at the nosy server shuffling on his feet near the stairs. The young man jumped when they made eye contact and quickly fled with a nervous expression on his face.
"That one, is my friend."
Julien looked in the direction the young man ran off to—the guy frantically whispering to a few of the other staff members as Julien teasingly smirked at the other man.
"He doesn't look that happy to see you."
Andrew huffed a laugh in reply.
"He rarely is."
Well that's unexpected.
Julien wanted to pry more but they had more pressing things to attend to.
"We'll get nowhere if we just sit here, let's see if we can talk to your old buddy, or really anyone else. If we separate—"
He paused.
"You don't happen to have a way to hide your ferocious aura do you?"
The entire reason they'd sequestered themselves off to the less populated second floor to begin with was because of Andrew's condition.
He'd noticed when they'd walked in and first started their investigation that the effect was linked to proximity. When they were together, people avoided them, but they wouldn't pass out like Nevaeah had. But as soon as they tried separating—there were a few casualties.
It'd be nice to just throw a blanket over him and call it a day.
"Nevermind, we'll just work together."