The turquoise hedgehog slunk his way into the building, flashing his I.D to the man standing out front before heading straight towards the bar.
He wasn’t usually a drinker, but tonight he felt like it would be the only medicine that would help.
The music was booming, almost too painful to bear. He came alone, feeling extremely awkward – even more so when he leaned against the counter, three or four women gawking at him for a moment before turning their heads away. He clearly wasn’t from this part of town. He wasn’t in tight leather or spikes. He wasn’t wearing any makeup that made him look dead. Hell, he wasn’t even wearing fishnets. He was wearing neon green and black arm warmers, black combat boots and an unzipped black sleeveless top. He at least tried, but most of his outfits were too colorful to even remotely fit in.
The man behind the bar turned to him, leaning an elbow against the structure.
“What’ll it be?” He spoke loudly, clearly immune to the music.
Here was where he would falter. Usually he had a translator to explain what he’d wanted, but this time… he had no one. He cleared his throat softly, a motion that was unheard over the loud thumping of today’s newest hit.
“I, uh—” He breathed, completely unheard. He lacked any tone whatsoever, pausing with a brief sigh. He held up one finger as if to suggest he wanted a moment to think. The man nodded, turning his back once more.
The hedgehog fumbled through his pockets, finding his phone. He decided to just type up what he’d wanted, doing just that and waiting for the bartender to turn back around. As the man did, he slid his phone towards him with a gesture towards it.
The man leaned down and squinted, looking back up to the hedgehog with a brow quirked.
“You want a screwdriver?” Xander nodded.
“Not very talkative, are we?” The man mumbled as he pushed the phone back, setting to making the requested drink. Xander’s ears rotated to the sides in embarrassment. He wasn’t really able to say anything, having been born mute. He’d been used to it by now, having known nothing but muteness throughout his entire life. Even with this, it was still awkward to try to cope in society with his problem, few were sympathetic. Most mistook him for being mentally handicapped.
Xander turned away from the bar for a moment, watching the crowd dancing. They all seemed to be having a good time. He hoped that he would be able to do the same.
“Your drink, kid,” The bartender spoke up once more, reaching over to tap the turquoise hedgehog on the shoulder. It had actually caused him to jump, startled. He turned back before giving the man a grateful smile, paying him what he’d requested.
The bartender clearly wasn’t sure what to think of this boy. He looked rather young, wouldn’t talk and was clearly alone and awkward.
“Actually, wait, how old are you?”
To this, the turquoise hedgehog held up two fingers on one hand, one on the other, taking the drink and walking away before he was bothered any more by the man. He quickly disappeared into the crowd, finding a vacant table and sitting down at it. He took a sip of the drink he’d purchased and couldn’t help but wince. He was such a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Three drinks later and Xander was starting to feel rather good. He had gained enough courage to venture onto the dance floor, making his way over to it. He stepped onto it, instantly surrounded by beautiful women. He was once again intimidated, but chose to ignore it as best as he could. He wasn’t going to ruin this buzz.
He danced until he was drenched in sweat. No one seemed to care, everyone high on the moment. Eventually he began to grow tired, attempting to slide towards the outer parts of the dance floor. His attempts were halted as a man stood in his way, staring him down.
His vision was too blurred to focus on him well, but from what he could see, he was a fox. He was probably a little older than him and was wearing a trench coat, goggles and neon green fish net all over his well-toned body. He was a tan color with black and purple shoulder-length hair. When the two locked eyes, the fox smiled.
“You’re new here.” He purred, offering the hedgehog his hand to help him down. He took it with a small nod, not really sure why he’d been pointing this out. The fox led him down, but instead of stopping there he continued to bring him to a slightly less populated area – one where bodies weren’t rubbing up on each other constantly… at least, not everyone’s.
The fox almost immediately moved in on Xander, taking him by a complete surprise. He had no idea how to react, being pushed against a wall by the other. He had been about to defend himself, but this thought flew completely out the window as soft lips pressed against his own. Xander’s heart leapt into his throat, completely baffled and confused at this happening. He didn’t know where to even begin, trying to push the other off as he felt the fox’s tongue plunge into his mouth.
After a few moments, he gave in. He was no match for the other’s strength, and quite honestly… it felt good. Not that he would ever admit this to anyone else. He had been hurting so badly lately, his wife having left him for another man.
He kissed the other back with an equal amount of passion, lifting up a hand to caress his chest and abdomen. His heart was beating like a fury, unsure of whether he felt more violated or comforted by this stranger.
Their kiss seemed to go on for hours. It very well may have, for all he knew. Once the fox had decided enough had been enough, he slowly started to pull away. Xander looked up at him with sad eyes, questioning why the other had quit. The fox chuckled, leaning over to lightly lick at his neck.
“My name is Vincent. I own this club. You’re too cute to be alone here.”
Xander, by now, was trembling. His heart rate hadn’t decreased in the slightest. He just looked up at the other with pleading eyes, waiting for him to continue.
“My number. Call me if you ever get lonely...” The male winked as he grabbed the hedgehog’s hand, placing a piece of paper with a written number in his palm and closing his fingers over it. Xander stared down at his hand for a moment and then looked back up. The fox was gone.
Vincent, huh? He thought to himself.
He frowned, crossing his arms. Now that he’d come to realize what he’d done, he had felt incredibly awkward and even more self-conscious. He was not interested in men. What gave that guy the idea that he would enjoy sharing saliva with him?
Even worse: what if someone he’d known saw that? Maybe he was just too drunk to notice and it was really a hot chick. Yeah, right. He doubted that was right. He was already starting to sober up and he definitely had noticed that it was a man. Women were much… softer. To say the least.
With this, he decided it had been a good time to leave the club before anything even weirder had happened. He took a deep breath, finding his way to the exit.
