Chapter 84: Stepping Up (Jesse)
Cordelia is here. "How do does my hair look?"
At our club!
Even though I know Willow hates her to the same extreme I crave Cordelia, she's my best friend and hints at the truth. "You should use a comb. Still got a few leaves in that mop."
This is my chance. The words become a mantra as I try to ignore the snickering from my friends and head for the stairs.
Doyle's words repeat in my mind as I catch sight of the Cordelia and the half dozen friends taking up most of the floor.
Be direct with what I want and accept a no for what it is.
Instead of hanging around the edge of her group until I build up the nerve to say something stupid, my feet bring me right up to the girl of my dreams.
"Hey Jesse," Harmony tries to get my attention not that I'm a somebody in her eyes. But I don't even register the words and sidestep around her.
"Let's dance." My arm is stiff with what I hope looks like confidence as I hold it out. "Might even get you a drink after, if you don't step on my feet."
Her affronted looks is quickly replaced with a calculating one. Her piercing gaze puts me under the spotlight and I'm amazed to find I pass her muster. "Yeah, alright."
"What brought you here tonight?" Swaying to the music, I can only hope she doesn't feel the thundering of my heart.
I do a good enough job that Cordelia pulls me closer as the song ends. "Another one?"
"Well now you have to let me get you that drink."
Holy crap, she's actually smiling.
"What, you going to try telling me you know someone behind the bar?" Cordelia allows me to bask in the radiance of her smirk. "Because I'm not falling for that one again. I'll know if you just spike my drink."
"Doyle's sister is the bouncer. She wouldn't mind slipping me a few."
At least I hope so after opening my stupid mouth. "Might even be able to get a whole tray sent over to your table if I time it right."
As in any time before Doyle gets here.
"
Well if that's actually true, you've just earned a spot at the party this weekend." She practically shoes me off with the promise a table will be claimed before I return.
It takes longer than normal to worm my way through the crowd and out the bomb shelter's doors. Darla proves she's way cooler than any of the teachers and lets me finish her smoke. Not even laughing when I choke and cough on the rank fumes in an attempt to impress.
"Drinking ages didn't really exist back when I was alive." Shrugs Darla when my shock becomes apparent. "And I got up to a whole lot more than that before I was your age. Who am I to be a hypocrite?"
"Well as far as I'm concerned, you're the coolest adult I know!" She actually gets surprised enough by the words to let me pull her into a quick hug.
I'm about to head back inside when Darla grabs my elbow with a warning hiss. "We're not alone."
"What?" My eyes dart around the alley, bringing a sensation of dread when I see four sets of glowing amber eyes.
They're all low to the ground and it's clear they aren't the usual fangsters. But it's only when the blood curdling laughter begins that I have clue as to what the threat is.
"I've seen Lion King at least a hundred times at Willow's house." The lump in my throat is incredibly difficult to swallow. "I know what a hyena sounds like."
"Get inside and tell Dennis I need some he-" She steps in front of me just as the shapes burst forth from the shadows.
Two of the beasts go for Darla. But that means the last pair is coming straight for me and I barely manage to throw myself inside before I get turned into manburger.
The narrow stairs are what save me, the circular descent means the hyenas have to follow me at a walk. My rolling body ends up sprawled on the upper walkway and startles the club goers into silence.
I don't let it last long though and scream a warning. "Rabid dogs!"
It seems like people are going to ignore me. But when the first of the beasts makes it down the stairs, the screaming is picked up by everyone.
Holly is a girl I never really spoke more than fifty words to since I met her in grade three. But I'll never get a chance to do so now that her throat's been torn out by an animal.
She's not the only person to get savaged by the hyenas. But she was the first to die and the rest all seemed to blend into each other.
Surging panic makes me leap over the railing and drop the twelve feet just as snapping jaws close where I had just been. My landing isn't graceful in anyway and I end up tumbling onto my side with a groan.
"Cordelia!" I know my friends are together and will be able to keep themselves safe. "Where are you?" But Cordelia and her friends are completely clueless about the real dangers in Sunnydale and I need to get to them.
I find them cowering with the rest of the dancers as one of the animals descends to our level. With one escape blocked, only a few at a time manage to escape up the other set.
A yelp from above makes me grin in relief.
Dennis must have gotten out of the kitchen.
With renewed confidence in our odds, I pull Xander's pocket knife out. With a flick of my wrist, the loose blade is out.
But really not ready for any kind of action.
Regardless of how useful the weapon is, it's all I have at my disposal. Cordelia and her friends are left at the back of the line, finding popularity at school means nothing in the den of the outcasts.
As the snarling beast chomps down on Harmony's ankle, the snooty blonde shrieks in agony. Two late to save her from harm, I try my hardest to at least save her life.
Throwing myself onto the animal, I stab into it's neck repeatedly. The spray of warm blood makes it hard to keep my grip on the hyena's fur.
But I refuse to let go until it lets go of Harmony and lays still at my shaking feet. It's only when her mangled leg is free that I realize the screams from above are still going on.
