"Hey Riarshi, wanna go to the club tonight?" Tabito asked while the two partners packed their bags on the sideline of practice field B. His voice was filled with a childish excitement.

Riarshi, who was down on one knee, rose to his feet, clutching his bag in his hand. "The club? For real?"

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon outside on the practice fields. The winds were still warm and leaves littered the green grass with spots of orange, gold, and brown. Not a single cloud swam in the sea of blue sky above their heads.

With their last class complete, Riarshi and Tabito had successfully survived another week of the Hero Program.

The day after the third practical exam, during a trip to Merino's, Riarshi had told Tabito everything about his and Hara's adventure in the woods. He informed him about The Divinity Rise, Hara's extreme spell, the broken leg, and most importantly - the borderline way Nurse Jayne heals her patients. Tabito, however, hadn't seemed the least bit surprised by anything Riarshi told him, except for the bit about Nurse Jayne. Tabito only smiled, nodded, and sipped his drink with a mischievous curl at the corner of his lips.

Riarshi had questioned Tabito about his lack of shock. To which Tabito answered, with obvious delight, that it wasn't the first time he heard the story from someone.

Tabito and Riarshi reunited their duo. And their return to dominance the following week of classes reminded Riarshi how grateful he was for the alliance they formed earlier in the semester.

Tabito's magic skill, combined with Riarshi's proficiency in strategy and reaction, had pushed the team through their intense assignments, all while the total number of Newbies left standing dwindled daily.

"Hell yeah! We've been busting our butts for the last month," Tabito pleaded. "We deserve a night out to enjoy ourselves."

Tabito had a point. Studying for their classroom tests and training for the practical exams had taken up most of their free time.

"I usually go once every month when I sense the stress starting to build up. It helps me let loose a bit." said Tabito.

Riarshi tossed his bag over his shoulder. He'd never gone out for a night in the city before, and his stomach fluttered nervously at the thought. Riarshi, however, felt it necessary to do something Tabito wanted to do, especially with how much Tabito had sacrificed to support him throughout the Program.

"Sure, I'm down," said Riarshi, straining a smile. "But I'll be honest, I've never been to a club before. Or even been in the city at night. I don't even know if I own any nice clothes."

Tabito slapped a hand on Riarshi's shoulder and shook him playfully. "Dude, don't worry about it. I know the night-life might seem a bit scary for a country boy like you." He jabbed Riarshi in the chest with his finger. "Just dig up something that's not wrinkled, and you'll be fine. You don't have to dress all flashy to impress the ladies. Sometimes, it's the ones who look like they couldn't care less who get all the girls."

Although Riarshi laughed at his innocent taunt, Tabito wasn't wrong. He was a little intimidated. He knew nothing about the girl part, though, but that was the least of his concerns.

"Gotta get you out of your comfort zone, Riarshi," Tabito added. "You can't stay locked up in your room each weekend. I know it's intimidating and new, so I understand that you're nervous. But sometimes you gotta go straight at what makes you afraid and anxious. Then, once you kick it in the teeth, you'll realize that it's not too bad or scary. That's the only way to grow!"

Tabito waved goodbye at the corner of the street. "Meet me at the city square at nine o'clock. I know a bouncer who'll get us right in."

***

When nine o'clock struck on Riarshi's cell phone, he finally pulled the phone away from his nose. He stood at the center of the familiar city square, just to the side of the band stage.

Music blared through the glowing purple speakers surrounding the square. A jazz band commanded the stage, dishing out smooth songs that made people dance on the random patches of green grass between the pathways.

His unbuttoned white-collared shirt was tucked into a pair of slim-fit denim jeans. Clothes were never an enormous concern to Riarshi. If he could wear one outfit for the rest of his life, and never had to wash it, he would. He was so accustomed to athletic sweatpants and normal shirts that this dressy outfit he pieced together at the last second felt foreign to his skin.

Riarshi had never been downtown on a weekend, so the music bumping around the square blended with the noise from the crowds a bit differently than a normal weekday afternoon.

Whenever he and Tabito walked to Merino's after class, the city square was never too busy. One could walk along the paths with relative ease, despite the minimal shoulder space. On this warm Friday night, however, it seemed that the entirety of Spiritfield's young-adult population virtually spilled out from every corner of the square. 

The entire plaza was packed to the edges, shoulder to shoulder. Riarshi had to squeeze himself through dozens if not hundreds of loud, possibly drunk people just to get to the band stage. Everything was loud - the electronic music, people's chatter and drunken yells, the rumble of feet on pathways, and the rhythmic smack of people kissing in secluded corners.

Flashing colored lights darted around the ground and sky to the beat of the music. The bright neon glow of building signs lit up the sides of the many shops and buildings, cascading off their tiled roofs. Various brands of cologne and the slight hint of cigar smoke perfumed the air.

Vendors stood in front of their stalls, shouting deals and handing out free glowing sticks that some hung around their necks like jewelry.

The atmosphere was like a city-wide party that left Riarshi in a music and light filled hypnosis. It wasn't until a finger poked him on the shoulder he broke from his daze.

"Yo!"

Riarshi immediately recognized the voice and spun on his heel. "Oh, hey Tab-i...to?"

His voice trailed off, and face dropped once his eyes scanned over his friend. Tabito stood in the middle of the square, just a few feet away from Riarshi, dressed in a neon green shirt with the collar popped, a purple pair of skin-tight pants that glittered in the dozens of flashing lights around the square, and a dark, tinted pair of aviator sunglasses that shielded his orange eyes.

Riarshi said nothing for a moment.

"Tabito..." he sighed after a while. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"Dude, what?! This is my party outfit! Doesn't it just scream that I'm looking to have a good time?" Tabito suggested, perplexed that Riarshi would even ask such a ridiculous question.

"It screams something all right," Riarshi grumbled.

After the two teens shared a laugh together, Tabito checked his phone, which had buzzed in his pocket just moments before. "All right, our third should be here soon," he said, swiping the screen and, with an effort, pushing the phone into his tiny pocket.

Riarshi's shoulders dropped like a heavy bag of stones. "Our... third?" he asked.

Tabito pointed over Riarshi's shoulder, "Speak of the devil king, here she is! Yo, what's up?!"

Despite the displeasure churning acid in his stomach, Riarshi turned around. To his surprise, his lips slightly parted when his eyes scanned over what was in front of him.

A short girl stood just an arm's reach away from Riarshi. Her midnight-black hair was slightly curled at the ends and fell like  ribbons on top of a navy blue crop-tee. Skin-tight jeans lined her shaply legs with varying sized holes, each cut displaying teasing hints of olive tanned skin. A pair of bright blue eyes staring at Riarshi completed this breath-taking girl's outfit. She was neither smiling nor frowning.

"Bout time you made it, Hara!" said Tabito, waving his hand.

She didn't answer immediately.

"You know I rarely go out, Tabito. I needed to take my time," said Hara, dropping her glittering eyes and sounding somewhat shameful.

"Three hours, right?" Tabito spat with a laugh.

"No," she snapped. Her expressionless face hardened.

Riarshi scooted over to Tabito, leaned in, and grumbled in his ear, "Tabito, what the hell is she doing here?"

Tabito leaned too and whispered back, "Come on, man, I know you two don't get along but trust me-" he inched in closer, "-she told me about the tree incident before you did. She's still stressed about it. She, uh, has been feeling kinda lonely lately."

Riarshi tilted his head.

She's still stressed about that?

In the week since the third exam, Riarshi could tell that Hara had been intentionally avoiding him. Even though they never spoke to each other in or out of class, they would, nevertheless, make eye contact at random times throughout the day. Before the third exam, she would respond to his glance with an icy glare, thus earning her the nickname of Ice Queen.

Ever since their adventure, her eyes were constantly avoiding his. She had been isolating herself on the field and in the classrooms, sitting on the far ends away from everyone else. She refused to speak to anybody and would stare off into the distance. He believed she was furious with him for antagonizing her at the end of the night, or even because of the hypocritical comment he made before she left.

Either way, he didn't really care. His relationship with her couldn't get much worse, anyway.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Hara huffed, tapping her foot on the cobblestone pathway of the square. 

Normally, this showing of annoyance wouldn't intimidate the boys, but her eyes joined the flashing lights of the night with a bright blue glow. A few in the crowd noticed this, twitched, and stepped back. Her magic was at the ready.

The two boys split apart and nervously chuckled.

"Oh, nothing! Let's get going in, eh?" suggested Tabito, scratching the spot between his neck and back of his head.

Tabito led his friends to a corner of the square where a club named The Grimoire called home.

Clubs were eighteen plus and, luckily for the group, all three members were exactly at that mark, with Riarshi being the latest to hit the milestone earlier that spring.

A heavy bass pounded from just outside of the club, each drop vibrating through the asphalt beneath their feet. Riarshi saw a revolving lamp of flashing lights similar to the ones in the center - spinning green, pink, yellow, and blue throughout the club interior.

On the exterior - tall vertical strips flashed a rainbow of colors in random, artistic patterns. The windows to the club were darkly tinted, reflecting the multitude of lights coming from the strips and the center of the square.

Riarshi slowly and tentatively paced behind the other two, all while trying his best to absorb the foreign sights and sounds that flooded his senses. He had never experienced such an electrifying atmosphere before. Every sensation was new. Fascinating, but also intimidating.

Pushing the anxiety away, he bared down and caught up to Hara and Tabito. He had to escape his comfort zone, just like Tabito said. 

After waiting in a short line, and occasionally shaking off the chilling night breeze, the three teens found their way to the front door of the club. The boys' dress shoes and Hara's heels clacked on the concrete pathway as they walked. Tabito reached for the handle of the large, dark-framed door when a mountain of a man slid in front, blocking the entrance like a massive wall.

He wore a fitted black t-shirt that constricted his hairy arms and molded to his large, plump belly. A full, rounded beard covered the man's face, and thick pink scar sliced from the middle of his forehead to the scruff of his right cheek.

Simply put, he looked freaking terrifying.

"What the hell you think you're doing, pal?" the gigantic man growled at Tabito from behind his dark-brown beard, crossing his massive arms over his chest. His eyes flashed a greenish-blue.

"Oh, uh, just trying to head in, sir," Tabito answered with a surprisingly shaky voice.

Riarshi's hands twitched. His pulse quickened. "Tabito, didn't you say you know the bouncer?"

Looking rapidly back and forth from Riarshi to the man, Tabito stammered, "Oh... I... uh..."

Suddenly, the man grabbed Tabito by his popped collar and lifted him into the air with little difficulty. Tabito kicked and flailed for his life, gripping the man's wrists with whitened knuckles. Steam seemed to belch from the man's nostrils with each breath he took.

"Listen here, pal. I'd recognize that orange hair anywhere. You pull this shit all the time. I've told you before to get your scrawny ass the hell out of here and never come back! But look what happened. You've returned to try your little game again!" he roared. Spit flew from his mouth.

Riarshi stood dumbfounded and wide eyed at the bottom of the steps. He looked over to Hara, who appeared as though she couldn't care less.

The man lifted Tabito higher, and his greenish-blue eyes shone brighter. "I'll show you what happens to little bastards who think they can just walk in here!"

A small spark lit on Riarshi's foot before Tabito burst into a roaring laughter.

"Big Joe, oh my gods, you got him so freaking good!" he cackled with tears flowing down his face, which he wiped away with a finger flick.

The massive man winked, gently plopped Tabito back onto his feet, and straightened his popped collar. His mean and cold snarl transformed into a wide and warm smile with sparkling eyes.

"Tabito, you little bastard!" the man roared, embracing Tabito with a bone-crushing bear hug. He let go and held Tabito out an arm's length away. "You haven't come out in forever. It's been about two months! What the hell took you so long?!"

Tabito released a quick bark of a laugh. "Well, I've been crazy busy with the Hero Program lately. It's either studying or training. Both have eaten up all my time, even on the weekends. I haven't had a free night to make it downtown!"

Tabito, after another shared bout of laughter with the gigantic man, finally introduced Riarshi to Big Joe, a family friend who had known the boy since he was in diapers.

"Nice to meet you, my man," said Big Joe, his massive hand gripping Riarshi's. "And welcome to The Grimoire - greatest club here in Aginem! The music is always up to date, with a few oldies thrown in now and then... for nostalgia sakes, of course. The drinks are top-notch, only the best liquor and beer, and strong enough to make you powerless for a week! Been working here most of my life, thanks to my size and all. Hmm... If Tabito pulled that act with you it must be your first time here, am I right?"

Riarshi nodded.

Big Joe smiled through his bushy beard at both Hara and Riarshi. "You two found a true clown to hang out with, didn't ya?" He threw a quick and playful elbow into Tabito's side, which still knocked the teen back a few feet.

Riarshi and Hara's minds must have merged, because their thoughts were exactly the same.

He doesn't even know the half of it.

Then, with failed discretion, Big Joe leaned in toward Tabito and whispered, "Hey, how's ya mom doing?"

Tabito's face, once glowing with pride, suddenly drained of color.

"She's, uh... she's doing good!" Tabito hid this shift well with a large cheeky grin.

Riarshi, who was staring at Tabito, wasn't fooled.

Big Joe, however, was. He rejoiced, gave Tabito a heavy pat on the shoulder, and directed the three of them into the club by motioning with his bear paw of a hand. With another smile emerging from the depths of his beard, he told the three of them to enjoy themselves and to stay safe.

What was that change about? Riarshi thought as they entered The Grimoire.