[January 29, 11:04pm]

The moment Baekhyun stepped into the club he regretted it. He never really liked clubbing back home; the only reason he ever went was to keep Kyungsoo from doing anything stupid – like murdering each and every person who dared look at Jongin. Jongin loved dancing (it was his profession, after all) so naturally he loved spending nights out at the clubs. He always managed to talk his high-school-sweetheart-turned-fiancée to come out with him, claiming having his other half there made it more fun, and although Kyungsoo could barely keep from tripping over his own two feet, who was he to deny Jongin when the younger was pouting so cutely?

He blinked a couple of times for his eyes to adjust, feeling blinded by the multi-coloured strobe lights. He pulled at the tight neckline of his sweater; with all these sweaty bodies the club could double as a very smelly sauna. People were all around him, grinding against each other and brushing up against Baekhyun. His lips curled back in disgust. Why did he agree to this, again?

There was a large dance floor in the middle of the club (that looked to have originally been nothing but a large warehouse). On the outskirts of the central dance floor were small (large enough for one person), raised circular stages, each with poles protruding from the centre and reaching up to connect with the roof. Men and women alike occupied the small stages, all barely clothed (and, though Baekhyun didn't think it possible, only getting less-clothed as their dances went on) with brightly coloured hair and slim, toned bodies covered head to toe in glitter. None of the dancers really caught Baekhyun's eye, though people surrounded the stages and threw notes at their favourite dancers. Baekhyun didn't personally see the appeal, in fact watching the strangers take their clothes off made him slightly uncomfortable.

Beside him, Jongin clapped happily. Baekhyun didn't understand the kid. Who actually enjoyed this place?

“Kyungie hyung, let's go dance!” Jongin exclaimed happily, tugging at Kyungsoo's hand.

“Nini, we can't just leave Baek. Why don't we go get a drink first?” the elder suggested.

Jongin sighed. “I guess so, I’m just really excited! I've never been to a club this cool! Look at the dance floor; the floor actually lights up!!”

Kyungsoo smiled up at his fiancée in awe, he loved it when Jongin got excited like this. His eyes lit up in the prettiest way, and he gestured a lot with his hands as he spoke animatedly. How was he so lucky to land someone like Jongin?

“How about I go dance and you guys can meet me out there when you've settled in a bit? I know this isn't really you guys' scene,” Jongin offered.

He knew what Jongin said was true, but Baekhyun pouted anyway. He was fun! He could party with the best of them when he wanted to, he just never wanted to. (At least, that's what he tells himself and anyone who dares call him a stick in the mud.)

Baekhyun also noted the way Kyungsoo's eyes narrowed, the equally-short man already having spotted a few people's eyes lingering on Jongin a little too long.

If there was one thing that Kyungsoo worried about in his relationship, it's that one day Jongin would realise he could do so much better than him and leave. It didn't help that Jongin went to the clubs so often; the elder had two left feet, wouldn't Jongin prefer someone he could properly dance with, instead of just someone to sway beside him, or to rub up against when he was feeling frisky and had had too much to drink. Because of that, the shorter was very possessive when it came to the younger man. It's one of the reasons he always joins Jongin at the club (well, that, and those puppy-dog eyes are absolutely killer).

With all those prying eyes in mind, Kyungsoo knew he didn't want to leave Jongin out on the dance floor alone. But, he also didn't want to leave his best friend all alone either...

Luckily for Kyungsoo, Baekhyun made that choice for him.

“It's alright, Soo,” he said, knowing how his friend gets when Jongin is involved. “You can go, I’m just going to find the bar and go from there. I might even meet you guys out there if I get buzzed enough,” he finished with a light-hearted laugh. What he didn't mention was how unlikely that last scenario was.

“Are you sure you'll be okay?” Kyungsoo asked, snaking a hand around Jongin's waist. That action alone told Baekhyun that Kyungsoo had already made his choice; Baek wasn't mad though, he understood that Jongin comes first. He hoped that one day he would have that too.

“Yeah, I'll be fine!” he lied easily. This really wasn't his cup of tea, but he was a grown man and he could entertain himself for a while – and if that didn't work he could always resort to paying someone else to entertain him.

With one last “okay”, Kyungsoo let his lover drag him to the dance floor. With his friends now out of sight, Baekhyun made his way to the bar.

He ordered a fruity shot that was more sugar and flavouring than alcohol, but because of his small size and low-tolerance, it was enough to have him feeling it.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He read the name, groaned and ordered another, stronger shot.

Taeyeon.

She was the daughter of a CEO of some fancy company that made a lot more money than Baekhyun's father's own. Mr Byun had met Taeyeon's father while at some big, city-wide meeting and they had the brilliant (Baekhyun requests that you note the sarcasm) idea to marry the two and merge the companies.

Now, Baekhyun knows that his father's business could really use this merger and, like the dutiful son he is, he agreed to it (this union had been in the works since Baekhyun was seven; it's not news to him, and he wasn't about to throw all his and Taeyeon's family's planning away. It's all part of a bigger plan, after all).

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

That's another part of the reason he came to Vegas with his friends, as much as he likes to pretend that what his parents are asking doesn't bother him, it does. He just wants to live and let loose for a bit before he's legally tied to a multi-million dollar company and woman he has no feelings for.

Baekhyun hadn't exactly told Taeyeon that he was going away, which he's realising now was a bit of a mistake on his part because she would not. Stop. Texting. Him.

In a vie to ignore the rest of her nagging messages, he turned off his phone placed it down on the bar in front of him.

Just in time, it so happens, for a cute boy with a pixie-like face, pastel pink hair that was swept aside in waves and wearing the tightest, sparkliest pants Baekhyun had ever seen, to approach him. The pink haired boy's eyes were lined in dark black liner that formed two perfectly-symmetrical wings at the corners of his eyes. His small but plump lips shined with a pink gloss and his skin was covered in silver and blue glitter. Baekhyun couldn't help but assume he was one of the dancers.

“Now,” the pink-haired boy said in a surprisingly deep yet smooth voice, edging closer to Baekhyun, who was now fidgeting awkwardly on his stool, “what's a guy like you doing alone at a place like this?”

Baekhyun straightened up in indignation. He frowned at the pixie-man's words and folded his arms, turning his body to fully face the other.

“What do you mean a guy like me? What's wrong with me?” he shot back in his own defence.

“Hey, I didn't mean anything was wrong with you, you just seem...out of place. With the exception of your hair and eye-liner, you're dressed like you're volunteering at a soup kitchen so I assume you aren't looking to score,”

“I let my friend style my hair and I don't go anywhere without my eye-liner. I've been told my eyes are my best feature,”

“You do have nice eyes,” Luhan said with a nod, as though he was giving his approval. “You don't seem interested in me at all, so you aren't here for the dancers and-”

Baekhyun scoffed at the guy's cockiness. “Maybe you're just not my type?”

Truth be told, Baekhyun didn't even know what his type was. He hadn't experimented with dating a whole lot and, until this very moment, it'd never bothered him.

Luhan raised an eyebrow and shot Baekhyun a deadpan look.

“Sweetie, I'm everyone's type,” he shot back. Baek rolled his eyes. “And,” he continued, “although the drinks here are more flavouring than actual alcohol, not to mention severely overpriced, you're sitting at the bar pouting into your pint. So my guess is...bad breakup?”

“Aha!” Baekhyun shot up in his seat. “Not a bad breakup, no breakup at all, actually. I'm here with my friends but they went