- Gabriella -

They say if there's a third time, there will be a fourth time, and if there's a fourth time there will be a fifth.

The party is on full blast with many students, great music and food.

Everything is going perfectly according to what we painstakingly planned. There's way more students than those in the Sciences. Someone has spread the news and students from other faculties like the Arts are here to join. Not that we mind.

The only thing that's not normal is me. I'm seeing strange things in this throng of people.

People with strange hair and skin. There are only a handful of them mixing around but they stand out so sharply against the background. My eyes are drawn to them like magnets and I feel like freaking out.

I can't believe it. It's back again the hallucinations or whatever they are. I gaped as a girl with green-tinged skin talked to her friend, who looks like any average person. There's another guy with strange glowing hair dancing to the music.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked twice just to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. Unlike all the previous times, they didn't disappear. I am still seeing them

The people around them are laughing and smiling obliviously to their strange appearance. Either they can't see it or they don't seem to care. I believe it's the former rather than the later.

This is unreal. What am I seeing? Who are these strange people? Can't anyone see them?

"Guys... do you see them?" I said eyeing the few of them. One of the few, the girl with greenish skin that I first spotted is walking towards us. Omg omg.

"See who? Where?" Shayla asks as she sipped the glass of drink she ordered from the makeshift bar.

"Yeah who are you referring to? Is it that group of boys over there? Those with nice washboard abs?" Vin said, eyeing a group of students at the other side of the bar table.

"No. Not them. Her. Can't you see that girl?" I'm whispering because she's coming over and the distance between us closes, then disappearing altogether.

"Hey bartender. Give me a shot of your best drink on the house yeah?" She said. She has a strange accent, a slight twang and yet it sounds soothing. Up close, the green is even more obvious. Her skin is almost giving off a strange glow as she placed her elbow onto the counter and tapped it with her fingers.

"Ooh she ain't half bad with the cute side skirt and button down tie dye top." Shayla says as she studies the girl who is standing beside our spot.

"She's going for the summer beach vibes." Vin nodded agreeing. "Gabriella, I didn't know you're into beach fashion. Maybe we can go for more shopping trips together."

"No! I'm not referring to her clothes. I'm talking about her body. Her skin! It's glowing green!" I'm literally staring at her and gawking openly.

"Hey Briel are you alright?" Claudia asks me concern lining her voice.

"Yes I think?" No, I'm freaking out here.

"There's no one here with glowing skin. What are you talking about?" Shayla stared at me.

"Are you sure you're still sober? Maybe the drink messed with your head. It's alcoholic." Vin said as she studied me but I'm sure my face isn't flushed.

"I'm not- I'm alright okay. And I'm telling the truth. You guys have to believe me." I trailed off as I watched the bartender hand the girl her drink and she drank it all in one shot and started chatting with the guy. "Those bloody agents. They're everywhere nowadays. You know who I'm talking about right?"

"The paranormal squad thing defusers whatever?" The guy is smiling as if they're sharing an inner joke.

"Yeah those guys. What are they doing here anyway? It's a party for Suola's sake. They don't know how to let loose don't they?"

Distantly, I hear Vin bragging about her getting her hands on a great bartender. She's saying that he had prior experience in bartending and works in one too.

"And he said he would be the bartender for our party for free when I offered to pay him for it. Can you believe it? He's such a nice guy! The drinks are awesome too." Shayla is nodding her head as she finishes her drink. Claudia is looking at me, worry in her eyes but she still nodded along.

"Yeah. Maybe there's something happening tonight. We demi-faes should look out for each other. Don't want to get caught in the crossfire." The bartender says, raising his eyebrows meaningfully at the greenish girl as he wiped the bar counter.

He looks like any normal guy except he's beautiful. I didn't realise it when the girls and I ordered our drinks earlier. Dark skinned, short slightly curling black hair, angled nose and a straight chin. Large uptilted eyes and long thick lashes. However, his eyes are mesmerising. Violet irises that come straight from a fallen angel in a fictional storybook. Other than his not so average looks, there's something different about him that I can't put my finger on. Something tells me he's more to it than his looks.

"Gabriella? Are you really alright? You've been staring at them for like 10 minutes." Claudia nudged me with her foot.

"Uh yeah. I'm fine." I repeated for what felt like the third time.

Vin and Shayla are staring at me with concern in their eyes. "You know what? Maybe you stay here and rest. We'll get one of the guys over to accompany you." Vin gave me a smile as she stood up, her indigo dress shimmering in the low lighting. She's waiting for me to reply.

I didn't miss it when Shayla stood up to bend near Vin's ear and said "Let's go. She's a little weird today."

"I- okay. Actually, you don't have to get the guys. I'm fine by myself." I said looking at Claudia who is hesitating about whether she should go or she should stay. I don't want to trouble the guys. They're discussing with the DJ about the music playlist and gathering song requests. Nodding at Claudia, I silently urged her to go on and enjoy herself.

She stood up finally making her decision. "Briel I'll be back okay? I will get him to come." With that she followed them after one last glance at me.

I stared at the makeshift bar, noting the polished table and rows of glasses hanging neatly in rows. Vin was right, this bartender guy definitely has experience. The strange girl with the glowing skin has left and he's wiping the glasses with a clean white cloth. He moved over to my spot as he picked up their empty glasses beside mine.

"Excuse me." I said before I could stop myself. My friends' disbelief only fueled my desire to prove that the things I saw are true. The bartender looked at me curiously. Damn it even his brows look good too.

"Are... are you a student here? I'm an Arts student." I said offering a feeble smile. This is so awkward. I'm terrible at initiating conversations with strangers.

"Yes. I guess you can say that. I'm a new student here." He said as he placed the empty glasses back down.

"Oh I see. Uh I...uh..." How should I ask him? Straight up whether he can see the girl's skin color? I mean since he was talking to her quite familiarly and he mentioned something about them being demi-faes...

"Do you know that girl from earlier? Her skin looks strange to me. For a moment there it seemed green to me. Maybe it was the lighting?" I decided to go right to the point instead of beating around the bush. I probably sound like a delusional person but then if he reacts normally I can brush it off saying it's nothing. Resolve enters me. That's right, no harm asking. If he replies in a confused manner I'll just say never mind.

He stares at me, surprise evident in his pretty eyes. "No. I do not know that girl." He shrugs as he opens the tap to wash the glasses. I waited for him to reply again after he wiped his hands dry on the cloth. He seems to be contemplating about telling me something which only makes me want to find out whether I'm right. "I..."

"Gabriella? Are you okay? I heard from Claud." I hesitated, not wanting to turn and look at him. And I was wondering who Claudia meant as "him". So it was Res.

He's not exactly the person I want seeing me in this state right now. But there is nothing I can do when he's already standing here beside me, concern creasing his warm brown eyes. "Gabriella?" After several beats, I finally looked at him. He stared at me in relief. Not now. I need to talk to the other guy.

I turned back to the bartender guy hoping to tell him to continue on with his sentence but he said "Someone you know? Well, excuse me." With that he left me with my mouth slightly opened as I watched him move away. I scanned the bar counter and I don't see any empty glasses at all. Wait was that a lie?

"You look okay. You're not burning are you?" Res asked me as he sat on the seat beside mine.

"Yes. I'm okay. Thank you for asking and coming over." I said, giving him a small smile as I hid my ire by drinking from my glass, and then too late. I realised I've already finished it minutes ago. I'm drinking from an empty glass. Embarrassment crept up on my face. Oh crap.

Either Res didn't notice or maybe he acted like he never saw, he only said "No problem. It was nothing." Then he surprised me by putting his hand on my forehead.

"Yep. You're definitely not burning." He says finally satisfied with his inspection.

"You didn't have to do that." I said protesting. "I'm totally fine." I'm suddenly hyper-aware of how close we are sitting together. I should be comforted that Res is here, yet I'm feeling restless. I feel like I need to get up and move around, so I swing my legs hoping this pent up energy would go away. Res chuckled at my protest.

"You should join them." I said as I watched the girls dancing and laughing when Mike told them another of his silly jokes. Jason is also there, and surprisingly he can dance really well.

I've learned the trick. The key is to ignore those strange people with strange appearances. They can't do anything to me. As long as I treat them as normal average humans, they don't seem all that weird anymore.

I took a peek at the bartender. He's busy texting on his phone instead of "washing" said empty glasses. Did he purposely avoid my question?

"Do you want to dance?" Res said. He completely ignored what I previously said to him. I looked at him then, staring straight into his eyes which I found are fixed on mine. I said nothing for several beats and he corrected his question. "Why not join us since you're feeling fine?"