Lovey Dovey V'Day Dance

[Joshua Bernstein]

((this is set on Saturday, February 8th))

Valentine's Day being a symbol of romance and attraction it was only logical that the LGBT Youth Center would host a dance in honor of the holiday. After all, most of the youth who attended were oppressed precisely because of who they were attracted to, and so a dance they could safely attend, bringing dates if they so desired, was precisely the sort of event expected.

The volunteers had spent all morning setting up the decorations; red and white and pink streamers, and tables full of baked goods and candy (and some healthy options for those more interested in actual meals). Balloons floated above the guests, shiny and festive, and a local DJ played love ballads as people filed in.

The only detraction from the day for Josh was the presence of Jeremy Derenstein.

The PUSE rally had certainly been eyeopening in that regard; he'd thought so highly of the younger man! And to find out, his fellow volunteer had such an ugly, bigoted side.

But this day was about the youth who relied on the center, and he couldn't and wouldn't ruin that by confronting Jeremy. Instead he pressed his lips into a thin line whenever they were forced to interact, but otherwise ignored the other man. He could get through this.

As young people began trickling in he offered Sean a larger smile than he was willing to show any PUSE member. "I wish I'd known of a place like this when I was a teen."

[Deleted]

Kodi... Really had no idea why he was coming to this. He hated Valentine's Day, saw no point in the stupid thing other than stupid couples showing off their stupid 'love' for each other in front of people that didn't have any. He supposed the only reason he'd actually shown up was to maybe find a potential hookup, and see what other events might be going on at the center, since his first visit had been so... Not unpleasant.

He glanced around the area, his features dark and scowl-y and very unfestive for the occasion. He had found himself a nice, quiet corner to brood in, watching all the other pairs go around on their merry way and be all fucking adorable together. Gross. Kodi swiped a hand through his mussy blonde hair; he'd hardly even bothered to dress up, only putting on his nicest jeans and a shirt that didn't actually have tears in it. His dark eyes were smeared with their normal kohl liner, making his overall appearance rather unapproachable and grumpy.

How he expected to actually meet someone here was anybody's guess. At least there was food, he supposed. He approached the table and nabbed a couple of rolls of meat with some crackers, tearing into them as soon as he retreated back to his corner.

[Carter Chevalier]

When a Chevalier was bored, most events were worth going out for. He wasn't exactly revelling in recent conversations with his brother - who evidently had someone sleeping over now days - so he found no real need to sit around his dorm for the remainder of his night. He could message any number of people; Sylvie, of course. She'd always answer. Rya too, if he wasn't so sure it'd end in some imperative conversation that dragged their relationship around the strange level they were at.

Dances were strange, though. Carter rarely mingled with people his own age in such a capacity. He was barred from the Halloween one, and that suited him just fine.

Maybe he'd find something worth keeping his attention for an hour or two.

Sure enough, he saw a boy. A recognisable one at that. And instantly Carter found himself curious; what was he doing here? Kodi wasn't exactly... A people person by any means. The immaculately dressed Chevalier decided to make his way over to the boy who sat in his proverbial corner.

"Hiding, are we?" He asked, his eyebrows raising; "I never thought you'd be a wallflower."

[Erik Stewart]

It was a good thing the dress policy wasn’t enforced at the door, because Erik didn’t have anything that could even remotely be called decent. Most, if not all, of his clothes came before his time at Hammel and they were at least five years old. On top of that, Erik didn’t exactly have the most dapper fashion sense in the first place. They were all jeans and denim vests and sleeveless tee’s or oversized hoodie sweaters (all white trash articles) and all had the scent of smoke on them, to varying degrees.

His strategy was to cling to the sidelines. Like most of his trips to the LGBT Center, he was here for the food. Erik had some right now: a molten chocolate cupcake with pink-and-white sprinkles and a cup of pink lemonade.

“This is fuckin’ fresh,” he told Kodi.

Erik hadn’t come with Kodi, but he’d found him here. He’d quickly joined him, being the only face he recognized. Not that he could get much conversation out of him; he seemed a little down, though he hadn’t pushed for reasons why. When Erik didn’t get a significant reaction from him, he nudged the boy’s shoulder. “Hey you want me t’get you a cupcake?” Erik took another bite and spoke through it. “…’S fuckin’ cute. Lookit this shit.”

He looked up when he noticed a familiar blond face heading towards Kodi. He still had some trouble differentiating between the two, but after a second or two of squinting he was fairly certain it was The Other One.

“What’re you all doin’ here?” Erik didn’t see Dom, but he figured he wasn’t far behind.

There were pink, red and white Dollar Store streamers tucked around the auditorium, cheap cardboard decorations, fluorescent lights, white-yellow cracked and stained walls… “Place isn’t exactly French boudoir,” he muttered, almost to himself (one of the only French words he knew, unsurprisingly) as he took another bite.

[Greg Mackenzie]

So Greg didn’t really do much for the party. In the planning aspects, at least. He unfortunately discovered the centre’s existence just over a week ago, and by then the people involved were just polishing the last few kinks of the event.

But that didn’t stop him from treating the event like it was his baby. Or being so proud that there were heaps upon heaps of people coming in.

And he’d say that technically he did help pretty the place up. Picked the décor, arranged the tables and chairs, and spent the greater part of his Saturday trying to figure out how to roll crêpe paper properly so it looked like professional streamers and not just misplaced tissue paper. Oh, and invited every and all social contacts he’s made over the past few weeks. (Which wasn’t a lot yet, but he’d change that soon enough).

So yeah, he did have a reason to be proud of the event.

He spent a lot of time making sure the décor was perfect that he almost didn’t have time to come back to Hammel and change. The brunette’s not exactly the one to go to a party on time (he’s almost always the one who arrives thirty minutes after, and that’s actually early for him), but this was special so he tried his best to get back from the centre to Hammel and back in less than ninety minutes.

Which explained why he was a little out of breath when he entered the place, dressed in black skinny jeans, a leopard print shirt, denim jacket-vest, and a silver mustache necklace. Not exactly Valentine’s-y, but he’s among those who think red-white-and-pink’s been an overdone concept for the dance too, so yeah.

He wanted to say hi to Mr. Bernstein, but all the running around had made him hungry and thus made a mad dash to the cupcakes. If sex was always as good as this red velvet cheesecake cupcake, then I’ll have twenty, he thought, unconsciously projecting it to a couple of people around him. He was about to grab another cupcake when he caught the snide remark about the place’s decorations. “Hey. I spent three hours on the cutouts and the streamers,” he interrupted, unaware of the white icing still on his upper lip, “Had a paper cut even. Not fun.” He showed the small group his bandaged middle finger. “Don’t be rude.”

[Deleted]

Ohh. This was the best idea! Nao was really glad he came. The festivities was enough to coax a wide smile even on his expressionless face. He kept his eyes wide, darting them from one person to the next, letting them linger on a handsome older spectacled gentleman, then again on a blonde that carried himself like a prince.

A prince. He could imagine him dress in fine robes and riding a white horse out into the sunset. With Nao in his lap of course.

He shook those fantasies away and headed for the other sight that caught his eye and full attention. The buffet. Which was generously set with meat, food, rolls, food, cheese, food, pastries and candies. That was Nao's first stop, definitely.

The short boy grabbed a plate and started loading it up indiscriminately, taking a good portion of everything the party had to offer. By the time it was full, he had only portioned half the buffet line. Nao puffed out his cheeks in frustration. He didn't want to have to come back. But he supposed there wasn't much choice.

With some reluctance, Naozumi departed from the table and drifted through the crowd, strategically positioning himself for a good view of the eye candy he'd spotted earlier. He munched while he ogled.

[Asher Hayes]

The Valentine's Day dance was finally here. Asher had spent the better part of an hour getting ready. He had decided to wear one of his nicer shirts and pair of pants. Ash had added his own twist to the outfit by putting on his pair of mad scientist stomper boots. Before leaving his dorm, he quickly fixed his hair in the mirror. It was the most effort he ever put into his appearance. Generally, asher only spends twenty minutes at most getting ready. This caused him to be very surprised when he glanced at the time on his phone. It was all for a good reason though. He was going to woo the ladies (or men) at the dance. Asher wasn't much of a flirt but he tried his best.

When he entered the LGBT Youth Center, music was blaring and the crowds were dense. Asher made his way towards the snack table as he tried to scout out someone interesting. He wasn't looking for a fling, he was looking for love. It was the perfect location to find someone because unless a girl turns out to be lesbian, there will be no chance of someone rejecting him because they don't "play for that team". Asher munched on some chips and sipped some soda as he continued walking around the room. His phone vibrated so he pulled it out to check who texted him. When he was focusing on his phone, Ash bumped into someone and spilled his drink. "Sorry, my bad!" He said quickly hoping they wouldn't blow a fuse.

[Deleted]

Kodi was busy stewing in his own dark and twisted thoughts when Erik nudged him, and he blinked, slowly coming into focus. Had he said something? Kodi continued to chew - or, more appropriately, tear - into his own snack, shrugging a shoulder as he glanced at what Erik was munching on. "I ain't much into sweets, 'specially the kind that look like that," he grumbled. "S'like... Eye diabetes, or somethin'." Way too sweet. And way too grossly festive. This whole place was giving him the shivers - he wasn't sure how long he could actually take it. He might just end up grabbing as much food as he could and making a break for it.

He was still brooding quietly when a new blonde face made its appearance, one that almost immediately sent Kodi's insides twisting - in what, exactly, he wasn't entirely sure. There was no way he could tell the difference between the two twins, he hadn't spent enough time around them; all he knew, or rather, the opinion he'd made from what he'd heard, was that they were both rich bastards that looked down on those who were less 'fortunate'. He supposed he'd see for himself.

"Well, fuckin' surprise for you, then," he grumbled, ripping into another piece of meat. "What'd you think, I'd be out there dancin' like all those other little shits? I'm just here for the food." It was only the half-truth - he still wanted to find out some other events that might be going on soon. "What'sit t'you, anyway?" He shot a glance at Erik, then at the half-wit moron that shot them a snarky remark for what Erik had said. Kodi stayed silent, just bared his teeth, which were already sharp from eating (a habit he had yet to break).

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

Supporting the LGBT Youth Center had been something of a worthwhile past time for Izzy. It helped her get out and meet students - some from Hammel, some not. She knew how to relate to a majority of their issues, but she also knew it wasn't right to force them to talk. Somehow she'd made some kind of headway with the aggressive little dentokinetic - that was most definitely something to be proud of, if something relevant came from it.

Valentine's Day was an important time, even if people didn't see it that way. The place was decorated to the nines and she was glad for that. If nothing else, this whole thing meant people were going to find ways to intera-

Was that Kodi in a corner?

Isabela breathed a slow sigh. At least he was here.

Catching wind of a specific conversation, the black and white clad woman - Leather jacket, striped shirt, skin tight jeans and monster heels that didn't make her look quite so short - breezed past young Greg as he defended his decorations.

"And a fine job you did too," She said quickly, patting her hand to Greg's shoulder as she continued to walk, "It's good to see you be proud of your hard work."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had volunteered at the Pilot Ridge LGBT Youth Center for many years. It was a change of pace from working at Hammel; while he did counseling here as well, he also was able to do other activities, and the focus was different. Not a mandatory school, those who broke the rules could simply be asked to leave, rather than having to worry about more complex fallout. More than that, it was a mix of different faces, even if there was some overlap.

Plus, Josh could volunteer with him here as well, and there were no debates about policy. In that way, it was nice. Although he wished that such a resource center was unnecessary, as a result of widespread acceptance.

At least they could give the teenagers a Valentine’s Day dance.

It was a week before Valentine’s Day, but that was fine. He had to chaperone next weekend at Hammel, and he had a surprise planned for his partner. Anything had to be better than the Hammel dance two years ago; the image of Brendan and Vincent Verax remained burned in his mind two dozen months later.

“I wish you’d had it too,” he replied to the attorney. Sean thought that Josh would have had an easier time with coming out and with accepting himself if such a place had existed during their teenage years. The telepath, on the other hand, would never have availed himself of it, as he had identified as straight as a teenager. “But there were other battles.”

Homosexuality was criminalized and pathologized; transgender identities were all but ignored. So much progress had been made in forty years.

Thus far, the dance had excellent attendance, and it was early yet. Sean was pleased.

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia stepped out of her Grandfather’s car in the parking lot, wearing a red dress; that had actually been her mother’s. She found it weird that the woman had given her something, and she really wasn’t sure what to think about it. It had came in a couple days ago in a box, with a note of her mother telling her she wanted to wear this dress to the valentine dance like she had. It actually made Kam cry, it was not something she had expected, and something she had found joy in. She knew it was the wrong move to actually find joy in this, because her parents were going to do something to make her hate them all over again.

With the dress at this moment she was wearing a jacket, red lipstick, high heels, and some jewelry. Her hair was still long, considering it was still winter, and she had managed to curl the ends of her hair very nicely. If she was going to be vein she would completely say that she looked great tonight.

She stepped through the doors into the area where the dance was taking place. The LGBT center was not a place she visited, so other than school dances she never been in the building. Why? It wasn’t that she was against what the center stood for, she really didn’t care what sexuality or gender someone was, she just didn’t really have an interest in any of the activities that goes on here outside of Hammel events.

Working her way over to the food, at this point she had left her jacket where everyone else had. She really wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking, she was focused on the dance floor, and if she could spot any cute boys she could maybe dance with for an hour or so. It wasn’t till she realized she should be looking where she was going till she bumped into boy with blue hair, who was unfortunately holding a drink. Some of the liquid ended up on Kam’s dress, her dress that her mother gave her to wear tonight, the only thing other than money the woman had given her was now ruined. It made her want to cry, however she didn’t. “Don’t you know how to watch where the fuck you’re going!” Naturally she blamed him, when really it was more her fault… But she had to blame someone…

[Matthew Rowland]

He had dared the bus system once again, knowing that last time the universe pretty much told him not to. Luckily, he was “allowed” to arrive in one piece without much hassle. Matthew had been single since… forever, honestly, so he had no real reason to celebrate this ‘holiday.’ But, things needed to change at some point, right?

Not really dressed for the occasion (more dressed for the weather), Matthew entered the center, taking a look around. He’d been here a few times before after discovering his sexuality, but never during one of it’s events. He smiled, taking it all in before venturing in further.

His first stop was the buffet of snacks. He’d been on the bus for entirely too long and needed something to nibble on. He grabbed a few crackers but passed on anything else for the moment. Matt never considered himself a wallflower, but not being able to speak normally meant he started out on the sidelines. He never let that stop him for long, though. Besides, he wasn’t too familiar with everyone in attendance, despite it seeming as if all of Hammel was here. He reached and grabbed a cup of water, sipping it as he walked around slowly.

What he truly wanted was some liquid courage, but he was highly doubtful that that was being served.

[Hay-lin Mae]

Hay-lin stepped out of the taxi right after Olive (her German Sheppard Seeing Eye dog) jumped out of the vehicle. She did not know why she was here at this dance; she wasn’t a teenager anymore, and it wasn’t like she had a date. Being surrounded by teenagers, or people in general was not something she really liked, and would rather not be around a crowd. There were of course of things that she did not like about school dances, one of the other major things however was how all the students were horny at dances. It put her in an awkward position as a teacher, because not only did she have to ‘watch’ it/them, she could feel, and hear it a lot more than any regular person could.

She stepped into the dance area of the building, she had been at the LGBT center was she was a teenager; she had came here often with her brother Zack. Mostly because he wanted to go, and didn’t want to go alone, and she was the only one that would. Least to say, she was quite familiar with the place, so she had no trouble navigating the building. Everything here seemed to be the same, even where the dance was held. This was something she was glad about, it meant less trouble for her.

As the smell of perfume, food, roses, and a lot more things hit her nose, she felt an overwhelming sickness in her stomach, and she yet again had to wonder why she even came here to begin with. Sighing, she made her way over to the food tables, grabbing something to eat on a small plate, this was probably a bad idea since she felt sick to her stomach, but it gave her something to do.

[Sawyer Lynn]

Getting a gig at the LGBTQ center had been lucky for Sawyer. Cash upfront, free food, excellent music and eye candy everywhere. She managed to snag a last minute outfit she thought looked ridiculously snazzy on her. In a good way though, as she checked herself out in the mirror of the center, tugging at her ponytail and sweeping her bangs so none of her hair was out of place.

"Damn girl, you look sick." She blew a kiss to her reflection as she unzipped her jacket and adjusted her cleavage. "Girls, it's showtime." She shot two imaginary guns to the mirror and walked out to the still empty room.

Having already set up her computer with the sound system, Sawyer put on her headphones and switched everything on. Within seconds, the room was filled with some electro punk beats. One could never go wrong with electro punk beats.

She caught sight of her favourite gym teacher with Greg Mackenzie and waved to them both. The crowd was slowly filtering in and she started playing some upbeat classic rock and roll song that everybody would enjoy. Not necessarily dance to but as long as it kept people loose, that was all that mattered.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon didn't visit the LGBT centre regularly, he didn't see the need. He was happy how he was, and he didn't need support with that. The only reason he would go is to meet other people like him, but he wouldn't be able to relate to them on an emotional sense, most likely. Other than... he didn't need to be thinking about Nick right now... maybe he did need to go more often... he could worry about that later. Right now, he was dressed quite sharp, and ready to just muck around. He hadn't asked anyone to come with him, he felt like he hadn't been sociable enough recently anyway, so now was the time to at least make some new friends.

After taking his time to get there, he arrived at the half-full centre and smiled; he loved this kind of atmosphere. So many people, all so happy and friendly. The positivity was warming, bright. The music was great too, he couldn't help but dance a little as he walked around, recognizing multiple faces from Hammel and smiling at all of them. He made his way over to the refreshments and grabbed a drink of the first thing he found; he didn't really mind what it was.

Gryph glided past everybody and leaned on a bit of clear wall, still swaying a little. Sipping his drink, he took in the scenery... he was glad he'd decided to come to this. But he'd actually socialize in a minute.