"So this is the club, huh?" Leah asked as they stood in front of the Rustic Noir that night as they stood opposite the club building of Harlow.

The building dominated this entire block... it was a big converted warehouse with industrial aesthetics that somehow managed to look both gritty and glamorous at the same time.

Metal framework was visible through floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the packed interior with bodies moving in rhythm inside and there was a neon sign spelling "RUSTIC NOIR" in flowing cursive lettering casting light across their faces in the night.

"It’s one of the biggest buildings in this town and it looks so good~" Leah finished with her eyes sparkling with genuine appreciation.

Wren couldn’t deny it. The place looked good from the outside... way better than he’d expected for a small-town establishment.

The exposed brick gave it character, the vintage bulbs strung across the entrance in artistic patterns created warm amber glows and that whole underground club aesthetic made it feel exclusive and worth visiting.

"Old Man" Jeff was seated there as usual on his weathered wooden stool by the door, watching the flow of people come and go with his perpetual knowing smile, like some guardian of the threshold.

It was five of them that were here... Wren, Diana, Rita, Dani and Leah. They were currently the ones standing there on the sidewalk as loud music came from the inside of the Rustic Noir with bass so heavy and deep it made the windows vibrate in their frames and the ground buzz under their feet.

"It’s okay if you try to sugar-coat it..." Rita said with a sigh, adjusting the hem of her dress self-consciously. "I heard clubs in the cities are much bigger with better sound systems, more space, fancier drink selections, celebrity DJs..."

She shrugged with her expression turning very philosophical as she accepted that Harlow wasn’t the best place in the world.

"That really doesn’t change the fact that you’ll enjoy your time here tonight," Rita continued with growing enthusiasm. "The energy is amazing, people are friendly, and Bart makes incredible drinks. So should we enter? How about you, Diana? Are you prepared for this?"

"I... I think so," Diana said while clutching Wren’s hand from the side, her palm slightly sweaty with nervousness that made her grip tighter than usual.

Even though she was a resident of this town and had lived here for years... Raising Zoe and managing the household, this would be her first time here inside the Rustic Noir.

The club had always seemed like something for younger people, wilder people or people without responsibilities.

While she was excited now, genuinely looking forward to experiencing something new and different, she didn’t want to separate from Wren for even a single moment. He was her anchor in this unfamiliar territory.

"I’ll have a few drinks..." Diana said, trying to sound confident and casual about the whole thing.

"Just don’t go crazy," Rita warned with a knowing look that suggested she’d seen plenty of first-timers overdo it before. "Oh, and remember both of you, first impressions matter here."

Rita said the exact same thing Cara had told him last week. Wren nodded as they crossed the street together, waiting for a car to pass.

"Naturally, first impressions do matter everywhere you go," Leah said while running a hand through her purple hair, making sure it sat perfectly. "But I’m concerned if Dani is old enough to drink..."

She said it with a completely straight face.

"Uh, excuse me?" The short girl took offense immediately with her face flushing. "I’ll have you know I’m twenty-three and old enough to drink."

"I know," Leah said with a laugh, her green eyes crinkling with amusement. "I was honestly just playing around to see your reaction."

Dani clenched her fist in frustration and then rushed to Wren’s side, jabbing a finger at Leah accusingly.

"Wreennnn~" Dani whined while clutching his other hand between her chest. "She’s bullying me. Tell her off or something."

They had already arrived at the other side of the street and were in front of the Rustic Noir with Old Man Jeff looking at them.

He had a stick of wood in his mouth like a toothpick, and it seemed even now, the middle-aged man was still trying to cosplay being an old man despite probably being in his late twenties.

"Welcome all of you to the Rustic Noir," Jeff said while sitting properly and smiling warmly. "I hope you lot have an amazing time."

"Thank you, Old Man Je—" Rita was interrupted as Diana stepped forward.

Diana moved right in front of Old Man Jeff while holding out a wicker basket with a shy smile.

"So, uh..." Diana began with a soft and kind voice. "This is my first time here, and while I couldn’t bring gifts for everyone to commemorate it, I heard from Wren that you were the one sitting down outside so I got a basket of fruits that I hand-picked myself."

She pushed the basket toward him gently and her smile grew even wider.

"I hope you like them..." Diana said with a shy expression.

Old Man Jeff took them with trembling hands and looked inside. Truly, there were so many ripe fruits in the basket... perfectly ripe apples with deep red skin, golden pears, fuzzy peaches and clusters of purple grapes.

They all looked very healthy and his lips opened wide in surprise.

"You’re a goddess..." he said with complete sincerity.

Diana’s face went pink immediately.

"H-huh? No, I’m just a normal human." Diana said while stepping back nervously then Old Man Jeff stood up with a warm smile as he held the basket in his hands like it was treasure.

"What’s your name?" he asked kindly. "And the name of the other woman with purple hair?"

"And my name?" Diana stammered. "It’s Diana."

"I’m Leah," Leah said with a smile on her face. "Nice to meetcha."

"Please come along with me, all of you." Jeff said, gesturing toward the entrance.

And with that, they followed Jeff inside through the heavy double doors that led into the club proper.

Leah’s eyes widened dramatically as she saw a mass of people inside filling the dance floor... easily a lot of bodies packed together, moving in synchronized rhythm to the pounding electronic music that shook the entire building.

Arms were raised in the air with people lost in the beat and the crowd moving like a single organism.

The colored lights swept across them in hypnotic patterns... red, blue, purple, green, and other different colors flashing in time with the bass drops.

Some people were taking shots at the tables scattered around the periphery, laughing and shouting to be heard over the deafening music, and she was honestly a bit excited about the whole experience.

However, they stopped upon getting inside the entrance, and immediately Old Man Jeff looked at Diana with an almost ceremonial expression on his weathered face.

"May I take your hand?" he asked politely. "It will only be for a few seconds, I promise."

Diana looked at Wren uncertainly, making eye contact for permission and reassurance. He nodded his approval. She brought out her hand hesitantly, and Jeff lifted it up into the air high above her head as the DJ stopped playing the music.

Sudden silence fell over the entire club making the transition a bit jarring.

"Listen up, everyone!" Jeff’s voice bellowed across the space. "We have two new members today! And the first one is this amazingly beautiful woman that’s the kindest of all the people I’ve seen. She’s Diana the Goddess!"

Loud cheers erupted all around. People started clapping, whistling, raising their drinks in salute. Diana blushed even more while glancing at Wren and Rita desperately.

’Why are all these people cheering for me?’ Diana thought, feeling her tummy hurt with nervous butterflies.

Jeff let go of her hand, and she squeaked as she quickly returned to Wren’s side and next, he turned over to Leah and extended his hand with the same ceremonial air.

"May I have your own hand?" he asked Leah.

She nodded curiously as he reached out his own hand.

Old Man Jeff held Leah’s delicate pale wrist firmly, hoisting her hand high into the air so the entire room could see her clearly.

Everyone stopped moving completely, falling into anticipatory silence as all eyes turned to the entrance. It was a bit strange to get two new people in one day... usually they only got one newcomer per week at most but they weren’t going to complain about the excitement since fresh faces meant fresh energy.

"Listen up, Harlow!" Jeff’s voice bellowed cutting through the din and echoing off the exposed brick walls that lined the interior of the club. "We’ve got another new one! Following in the footsteps of Diana the Goddess, we have another fresh face joining us today!"

He shook Leah’s arm like displaying a trophy for all to see.

"Meet our newest addition! From this day forward, she shall be known as... Leah, the Saint!"

’What the fuck...’ Wren blinked in complete disbelief as more cheers came from the crowd.

People started chanting "Saint! Saint! Saint!" enthusiastically while raising their glasses high, and the music kicked back in even louder than before with the bass drop hitting hard enough to rattle teeth.

Jeff let go of Leah’s arm before walking to the front door with purpose as his ceremonial duty complete for the evening.

"I hope you all have a great time," he said over his shoulder before returning outside to his post. Immediately, Dani spoke up while people began surrounding them, curious about the newcomers.

"That’s very unfair!" Dani said while shaking her head indignantly. "He didn’t even ask you any questions and just assumed you were a Saint. Talk about favoritism..."

"Yeah, I agree," Wren frowned. "Leah is anything but a Saint, what a scam."

"Come on, you’re just jealous because you don’t have a good nickna—"

Several people rushed past her mid-sentence and surrounded Wren specifically, cutting off her words.

"Wren the Ironbreaker, please sign my arm!" someone said while bringing out their arm and a permanent marker.

Wren’s face twitched.

"Sign your arm?" Wren asked as several other people made the same request, holding out markers and bare forearms. "Why am I signing your arm?"

"If you do, then perhaps I’ll get your strength and win against the strongest Harlow Handshaker..." the young man said with a shrug and extended the marker closer. "Please, Strong One, do this for me."

The man had red cheeks, so it was obvious that he had a lot to drink already. His words were slightly slurred but regardless, Wren took the marker and signed on his hand as well as the hands of other people that brought out their hands, creating an impromptu autograph line before returning it.

"Is Wren famous?" Leah asked while finding it hard to believe that Wren had just signed off a few hands like some kind of local celebrity.

Rita pointed to the far end of the room where tables were set up for the Harlow Handshake game.

"When Wren played the Harlow Handshake last week..." Rita explained, "once he won and left the club, they found out that the table had cracked where he had put his elbow during the match."

"Cracked? The hell?" Wren said, genuinely surprised. "That was strong iron, wasn’t it?"

"Yes, that’s why people want your strength," Rita said with an amused smile. "But hehe~ That doesn’t matter right now. Let’s go get some drinks~"

Rita walked over to the table where the bartender was stationed with a smile on her face. The rest of them followed close behind, weaving through the crowd as they reached the bartender’s table.

The fat man with a chef’s hat on his head looked up and smiled in recognition.

"Aha! Rita the Drinker, you’re back? You too, Wren the Ironbreaker, and Dani the Short..." Bart said cheerfully.

Dani threw up her fists in outrage immediately. It seemed everywhere she went in this damn town, people joked because of her height and she wasn’t that short... just five-one! That was perfectly normal!

"Thanks, Bart," Rita said, ignoring the outburst from her daughter and she continued without missing a beat.

"Give us some shots of Harlow Hammer..." Rita said. "Let’s get in the mood."

"Harlow Hammer? Is it good?" Leah asked curiously. "And also, Wren, are you allergic to this kind?"

She looked genuinely worried about potential allergic reactions.

"It’s really good, though a bit less strong than what I’m used to drinking." Dani replied with her anger already forgotten.

"I’m not allergic..." Wren confirmed and Leah perked up immediately with her concern vanishing.

"Then I’m excited!" she said with a bright smile.

"As you wish..." Bart said, reaching under the counter.

Bart brought out five shot cups which were heavy crystal glasses that caught the colored lights beautifully. He spread them across the table in front of them in a perfect line, spacing them evenly with practiced precision then he brought out the golden bottle of Harlow’s Hammer, distinctive with its bold black lettering and amber liquid that seemed to glow.

He shook it once, twice, three times, building anticipation deliberately. The liquid swirled inside, creating a small vortex of color then he uncorked it with a satisfying pop that somehow carried over the music.

He began pouring each shot with theatrical slowness, letting the amber alcohol flow in perfect streams. The liquid caught the club’s colored lights as it filled each glass, glowing like molten gold under the strobing reds and blues.

When each glass was about three-quarters full, he reached into an ice bucket with deliberate ceremony.

One by one, he dropped a single crystal-clear ice cube into each shot glass with perfect precision. The ice crackled as it hit the alcohol, tiny fracture lines spider-webbing through the cubes instantly.

Condensation formed on the outside of the glasses immediately, frosting them over with a beautiful crystalline sheen.

Bart set the bottle down with a decisive thunk, he was clearly proud of his presentation.

"Here you go," he said with satisfaction.

Each of them reached out and took their cups. The glass was freezing against their fingers, almost burning with how cold it was.

Diana took hold of her cup, and her hand trembled slightly.

"You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to..." Wren said quietly, noticing her hesitation.

The woman puffed her cheeks in determination.

"I will." she said firmly before drinking it down in one smooth motion. They dropped their cups on the table with satisfied sighs as the glasses clinked against the wood.

As Leah dropped hers, she looked at Bart with sparkling eyes.

"Bart, I’d like another one..." Leah said eagerly.

Bart chuckled warmly.

"Even a Saint like you can’t escape the allure of good alcohol. That’s nice..." he said, already reaching for the bottle again.

Meanwhile, Diana dropped her cup with a softer clink.

"Hic..."

Diana hiccuped once with her shoulders jumping slightly. Wren raised an eyebrow. Was she already drunk? That was fast... incredibly fast. It had only been one shot.

Diana raised her arms and put them on Wren’s shoulder, draping herself against him.

Wren blinked in surprise.

"Diana, what’s wro—"

One instant he was with his head up and the next instant his head was down with Diana standing up and they were making out.