Chapter 5, page 24

Theo swore as he clicked the lighter again, the wind extinguishing the spark of the flame the second it ignited. The set had run over, as per usual, thanks to Matt’s inability to say no to an encore. It was nearly 1 in the morning, and he had been practically gasping for a cigarette by the time their team came to take the guitar out of his hands. It was a beautiful night, all things considered, a rare warm breeze hugging him through his sleeveless jacket. The bar had emptied almost an hour ago and yet here he was. Less than 5 hours before he was up for work. Not that he would sleep, not with how much caffeine was still currently pumping its way around his system. The man growled around the end of the unlit cigarette, the white stick bouncing in his mouth as he patted his pockets, searching for the spare box of matches he always carried. Pulling it out of the tight back pocket of his jeans he froze in the middle of the movement, turning his head to survey the dark alleyway that led out towards the back of the bar. He blinked, staring blindly into the dark, and listened for a repeat of the strange sound he had heard. It was somewhere between a sob and a retch, a low rasping noise that was not altogether human. Theo stepped down to the roadside, cocking his head as he chewed the cigarette, moving out towards the far yellow-tinged glow of a streetlamp. In the still of the night, he could hear the buzz of the electric lights above the bar, his own hushed exhales as he walked. It was only when he rounded the corner that he spied the movement on the ground, the figure bathed almost completely in shadow, twitching, and jerking in a series of painful spasms that made their small frame curl up on the tarmac. The cigarette fell discarded from his mouth as he found himself running to their side, turning the body towards the light as the stranger arched away from his touch. Their shape was distinctly human, with long limbs and sweat-licked skin. They weren’t wearing much, clearly someone who had been at the club for at least part of the night. He felt his hands brush against the skin of an exposed midsection, the line of the man’s stomach cold as ice despite the warmth of the evening. “Hey, easy there, I’m a police officer,” Theo soothed, “Are you okay? Did you take something?” The other man turned his face towards him and for a moment he saw a glint of amber in the lamplight. “No freakin’ way,” he breathed, “Coffee shop nerd? The Hell you doing here?” Blair narrowed his eyes up at him in confusion, barely recognising the man behind the dark streaks of makeup he hadn’t even realised that he was wearing on stage. He tried to speak and then choked back a pained sob, further curling up into a ball, trying to pull his body closer to the cover of the building. “You need to tell me what you took,” Theo urged, crawling closer and gripping the man tightly on the shoulder, “Did you drink something? Take a tablet? We need to get you to a hospital or something.” Blair let out a garbled noise that was closer to a snarl than actual words, stretching out a hand to take a fistful of the other man’s jacket. He squeezed it tightly in his ghostly fingers, frantically shaking his head. “I can’t just leave you here,” the blond said, watching as the other man’s grip began to loosen and fall away. His arm was so pale, it almost seemed to burn in the spots where the moonlight touched him. “Inside,” Blair rasped, his breathing becoming shallow, “I need…need to get inside. Away from the light.”