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 Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 3:44 pm
Abbey was buzzing with excitement already. She'd finished her make-up and hair rather quickly -- it was an easy choice; make-up was light and waterproof because the clubs tended to be overheated during the winter months. They turned on the heater and then all the bodies packed in meant it was super warm. The outfit wasn't easy to pick out, but ultimately she picked a pair of tight, ripped-up jeans, a pair of thermal leggings under that, boots, and a crop top with a jacket over it. Tonight she was meeting up with Yukio. She'd found him through TikTok on her 'for you page', and messaged him. He seemed fun. They'd managed to get their schedules to line up and meet up on this Saturday night. Despite it being forecasted to be in the twenties around five or six in the morning. That was fine, she would, hopefully, be home well before then. So she got to the club 'early' for their meeting, ten-thirty almost on the dot. Her hand was stamped as a minor and she was allowed in after paying the fee. Honestly, Abbey made a beeline to get herself a soda and find a comfortable spot to wait for Yukio to find her. They hadn't said where they'd be meeting, just somewhere inside the club.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 4:17 pm
Yukio wasn't that hard to spot amongst the kids waiting to get in at the club. With his blue hair knotted up into a ponytail and a top hat bearing a bright orange scarf, he loomed a bit over the rest of them. Paying his fee to get in, he checked his jacket and made his way toward the bar to get something to drink. He paced himself with hydration on club nights – the bathrooms at these places were notoriously crowded and kind of ew, so he found it easier to sweat off his drinks. Club nights were the best nights. They meant he wasn't languishing around his apartment trying to figure out what to do, even though he had plenty he could be doing: coding, playing with his sound mixes, nosing about online with various virtual friends. But club nights meant getting out and dancing, and that was what he lived for. Looking around at the growing crowd, he spotted a familiar blonde head at the other end of the bar. They'd only met once in person, but knew each other on sight through TikTok. He plucked his phone from the safe spot in the top of his combat boots and thumbed off a quick text. [[Abbey. There you are.]]
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 4:24 pm
Straw in her mouth, Abbey's phone vibrated against her leg and she pulled it out before her head shot up. She glanced around and spotted that blue hair. A hand was raised and she waved him over, scooting over for him. "Yo!" She called out above the music. It wasn't that loud yet, and there weren't too many people around. She did grin at him in a wide, lazy way, looking him over from head to toe, and shook her head. Typical boy clothing. It suited him and at the same time, it was almost outdated. Abbey might call it a cute look for him, but she hadn't gotten a gauge on preferences about things yet. "Hey Yukio, you came early too?" That was surprising, honestly. She figured at last one of them would be late. He was a lot taller in person. "Gives us time to talk before it really gets crowded."
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 4:40 pm
"I'm never late for club night," Yukio replied with a raised eyebrow. "I'd rather beat the rush and camp on a good spot." He didn't smile – he rarely changed his flat expression, except for the eyebrow – but the tone of his voice was warm and pleased to be in Abbey's company. Reaching up, he lowered his ever-present little round mirror shades down his nose, peering at her over the tops. Her outfit was super cute, he thought, pretty much on point for her. He'd noticed that Abbey was on top of all the latest trends, and that carried over into clothing as well. "You look great tonight. Ready for some dancing." He signaled the bartender and ordered a drink for himself; soda, like hers, as he didn't care much for the taste of alcohol (even though he was finally of age to drink it). "So," he said when he got his drink and took a sip. "This is going to sound horribly cliche and stupid, but do you come here often?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 4:48 pm
"I was born ready to dance, darling," she said in an exaggerated manner. "And thank you, I think I always look good, but I did particularly dress up since I knew I was meeting with another TikTokker." Abbey winked at him after and blew him a kiss around her straw. From her TikToks he would know she was a fairly flirty person anyway. "I just hope you can keep up. TikTok dances are one thing, but how are you at something a bit longer." Double meaning and she just grinned, biting the tip of the straw before she pushed her drink away at his next question. A hand came up to push the hair off her shoulder and she considered the question, rolling her head from side to side. "Well, not to this club particularly, no. Most of the 'clubs' I go to are out in the middle of parking lots in a circle of cars. Indoor clubs, I go to one further downtown that has a large plaza for live shows. I love a good concert. It's got two floors, and a pool hall attached? I forget the name. Which do you frequent. Do you....like to go where you DJ or do you have secret favorites?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 5:18 pm
Yukio gave a soft little snort of an amused chuckle, as well as what could almost have passed for a smile from him, one corner of his mouth twitching up at the same time. "I can go all night long," he teased back. He knew full well she was a playful flirt, so no harm in playing the game right back at her. "Yeah, I know that place," he nodded. "I've played out there a few times, and seen a couple shows with DJs I like. It's a great venue. Funny, I can't remember the name either…" He thought for a moment. "Oh right. Downtown. That's the name of the club. Duh." He briefly contemplated her next question. "Oh, I'll go to where I DJ, I don't care. It helps get my face out there if people see me at the place all the time. Means they'll come back for nights I do DJ. I get a lot of requests too if people recognize me. I especially like Topline," he started, ticking off the names with his fingers, "Moe's, That Place, Neo but only on Nocturna night cause that's the only goth club in town… um, Power… Those pretty much cover where I tend to hang out."
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 5:36 pm
She couldn't help the giggle from his flirting and took another sip of her soda. Abbey's posture shifted, resting her head on her fist as she listened to him, recognition appearing on her face as he listed his favorite clubs. "Oh s**t, I know those. Well, not... what's Nocturna night?" Color her surprised with not knowing something. A vibration of her phone had her glancing toward the screen and she quickly typed out a reply to someone, unmatching eyes moving rapidly. She locked her phone, turned it over, and turned those eyes back to him, grinning. "That's cool though. I guess you do build connections DJing where you club at. Plus I bet you get the VIP treatment sometimes. Exclusive booths, better booze." She was daydreaming. She didn't know what 'better booze' was because she took what she got. Sometimes her older friends handed her random drinks, and as long as it wasn't straight liquor she seemed to enjoy all of them. "Does that happen, or am I totally buying into the movies?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 6:16 pm
"Nocturna is the goth night at Neo," Yukio said helpfully. "Every Tuesday. It's one of the few times I get to spin some seriously obscure 80s and 90s stuff. I surprise even some of the hardcore goths that turn out for Nocturna." Again he snorted softly, this time raising an eyebrow and quirking his mouth almost into what could pass for a smirk. Throwing people for a loop was fun. "Yeah, I sometimes get the VIP treatment, depending on the club. Not at Downtown – they're too big a place, get too many big-time acts there – but at Power, Nocturna, and like Moe's, yeah." He paused to take a drink from his soda. "Nice booths – booth in the case of Moe's," he said with that same little almost-smirk, "and I usually get comped on the drinks. I can usually get guests in too, so if you ever want to live that DJ life like I do, let me know and I'll make it happen." He relaxed a bit, leaning against the bar as one foot tapped to the beat of the warmup music playing. It was nice when accidental friendships happened from random online encounters. "What about you? You have your finger on the pulse of everything cool. Got any places you go to that I don't know about?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 6:34 pm
Abbey's face fell a little when she realized he had repeated himself. Of course, it was goth night at Neo. Made sense. She tapped her nails against the glass and listened to that smooth voice he had. Her mind went to he should try his hand at storytimes, but even those were getting old with all the platforms. Didn't do as well as her dancing. "Oh, not really. Being nineteen has its disadvantages. Even if you know about the underground clubs you can't get in. Especially when you're plastered all over TikTok like I happen to be. Ah, to be known is a curse." Abbey leaned back in her chair then, crossed her legs, and gave a very helpless sort of shrug. "So I can say I know about this little basement rave that goes down on Fifth and Lavender." It was the one she wanted to go to the most. The rave didn't have a name, just a location, and no one knew who ran it. Just that it opened every weekend. Even in the videos, his stoneface had been disarming, but she was starting to see the micro-expressions. A little tilt of an eyebrow, a twitch of a lip, but no real smiles. The song playing got her head bobbing and foot-tapping against the bar of her stool, the metal clacking getting drowned out, thankfully by the bass.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 7:30 pm
Yukio nodded sagely. It sometimes really was a curse to be known. He was nowhere near as known as Abbey was, what with her presence on TikTok and all. But he could empathize with her in that, to a certain extent. In truth, he was better known in hacker circles than he was as a DJ, at least outside of Destiny City. And it was his deepest desire to change that. His eyebrow went up as she mentioned a basement rave that went off every weekend, a mysterious event with a mysterious organizer. "I, uh, know about that rave," he nodded. "Been a few times, actually. DJed a few times." He leaned in a little closer and looked over the tops of his shades, golden eyes meeting her mismatched gaze. "I don't know who runs it, but they have… intermediaries who handle face time. I could probably interface with one of them and get you in. Maybe some of your friends too." With a small shrug, he sat back. "If you want, of course."
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 7:44 pm
Abbey couldn't contain the excitement that spread through her face. It zipped down her posture, sitting up, perking up completely before she started nodding enthusiastically. "Would you? Could you? God, I'd love to go. Swear I won't even corner someone to buy me a drink. I just want to go. Holy s**t! How are you so cool?" Honestly, Abbey could lean over and kiss him just for offering, instead, she bounced in her seat a moment before getting up. Her phone was once more in her hands, but she set it to camera mode instead and moved around to the other side of him to get a photo. She couldn't announce that she might be going to the rave (never count your chickens before they hatch.), but she could show everyone who she was meeting with. "Mind if we get a photo? I do various snaps through the night. I'll let ya see it before I post it and stuff like that." She grinned and winked at him again.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:05 pm
"Sure, no problem at all." Yukio understood the ways of the TikTokker. "But please tag me as DJ Buster. Gotta get that word fame, you know." Somehow he guessed he had just made her night. There was no guarantee, of course, that he would be able to sweet-talk the handlers of the secret organizer into letting him bring guests, but it couldn't hurt to ask. And he liked Abbey. He knew she'd be on her best behavior if she got in; this meant too much to her. He made sure his shades were situated correctly and his hat was on straight so he wouldn't embarrass her by showing up a mess in her picture. Moving in close enough to nearly touch heads with her, he assumed his normal stony expression. "Ready when you are…"
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 3:32 am
Abbey let him situate himself, get back into his cool persona for online, and adjusted herself just a little bit more. Puckering her lips a little in a kiss, winking a bit, she took the picture (or a few of them) and then pulled away to look through them. She was checking the lighting, checking their expressions, and people in the background. Maybe a little a**l about this, but it was her image, her job at stake. She pulled up her snapchat, picked a cute filter that didn't mask them but enhanced them and held her phone back out to him. The message she typed up was 'Getting hyp with @DJBuster tonight. Say hi if you see us!'. "If you don't like the pic, let me know."
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:21 am
Lowering his shades, Yukio eyed the photo on Abbey's phone. It was a cute pic, very much on point for the two of them. "Looks good to me," he nodded, leaning back again and pushing the round shades back up. "Should get us both a good amount of attention. Post away." He took a drink from his soda and signaled for another. Somehow he suspected he wasn't going to get a lot of dancing done, but that was perfectly okay with him. The opportunity to do some impromptu marketing for himself, combined with the chance to talk to someone who was fast becoming a good friend, was invaluable to him. Not only that, but he was learning about the world of the influencer, and that alone was worth it. "It'll be fun to see how many of the people here follow your Snapchat," he said with that tiny smirk. "Actually, let me text my contacts for the basement rave right now, while I'm thinking about it. I owe you that much at least."
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:36 am
She was itching to do some dancing herself, but Abbey wasn't sure when would be a good time to pull him to the floor was. It had been a minute since she was trying to make a friend that wasn't also a label representative or something along those lines. So as she worried the inside of her lip a bit, she let him text. The picture was posted with a few hashtags to a few different platforms before she squirreled her phone away. "When you're done," she said casually, finishing off her glass, which was mainly ice with a whisper of soda flavoring, "We should definitely dance." Abbey met his eyes directly and flashed him a wide grin. "It's a little early still, but they're playing some good songs tonight." A lot of things with bass she could definitely dance to well.
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