EVENT: Autumn Dance, open to all students/staff

[Jared Park]

While Jared was sifting through the crowd, trying to find a familiar face, he remembered the roommie he left a while back, Devin. Like her, he did have a recurring thought of asking if they could walk together to the dance (there’s always safety in numbers and hopefully he’d get a few tips on how he could make the night interesting for Noor, seeing that she’s also a girl). Unfortunately he got sidetracked, particularly because he thought he’d lost so much time looking for the perfect accessory that he was already running late (and he did not want to make Noor wait, it would leave a bad, bad impression of him on the girl). As it seems, the dance has started only for a few minutes when he entered, and Noor isn’t around yet (according to Jared’s “reliable” set of eyes).

A bit out-of-place since his search for the familiar face wasn’t that fruitful, he decided to get something to drink (he wasn’t that thirsty, but at least he’d appear like he belonged). He gave a quick nod to Dr. Neville, dodged the school’s local paparazzi (whom he met in the pond a few days back), and squished through a few people before finally reaching the table.

Just when he resigned to lean back on a wall feeling so lonely, he heard a(n un)familiar voice call. “Oh hi Noor.” He couldn’t hide his smile. Now he won’t feel so alone anymore. “Y-Your dress looks fantastic,” Jared stuttered, suddenly remembering his brother’s pointers, “I like it. The lace and the black patterns are lovely, and the black bolero is a wonderful touch. So is your necklace.” He stopped himself from babbling, thinking it might off the lady, then gave her another shy smile. “W-Would you like a drink?”

“So, you’ve been here long? I mean, how long have you been here? I mean, you waited for me, right? No wait, I-I...” He was ok with casual small talk, so he does wonder why he feels so nervous all of a sudden. Probably because it’s a dance? Hmm. Anyway, Jared hopes he can somehow deviate from all the cliché Jasper taught him earlier, thinking the night would be a flop if this continues.

[Noor Qadri]

...What? The girl just looked at him for a moment, trying to process whatever it was Jared had just said. Yes, she had picked up that it was complementary, but she wasn't entirely sure what a bolero was. (By process of elimitation, she figured he was talking about the jackety thing. There was a reason she had enlisted her sister's help to get this outfit together.) "Oh, thank you." Noor said, smiling a little and putting her hand to the necklace in question. But inside, she was asking herself, "Why, why do I always pick the gay ones?" From up close, she could tell he was wearing more jewelry than she was, including earrings. Noor didn't even have her ears pierced. "You don't look bad yourself." Even if the puffed sleeves did kind of give him a piratey look.

But he was still a nice guy, and she nodded when he asked if she wanted a drink. "Yeah, so long as no one has spiked it yet." Yet being the key word, there. She didn't have particularly high expectations that the punch would remain non-alcoholic for the rest of the night. Not that anyone could blame her for that. She didn't know where some of those upperclassmen--Rixon and Verax--could make an appearance. So she might as well get her drink now, while she could be pretty sure she was safe.

And though Jared kept running his mouth off, Noor liked him. Yeah, it was obvious he was trying a bit to hard, but he was trying to impress her, and that meant something, right? "Hey, Jared, you can relax. I only just got there. I wasn't waiting." She took the her drink from him and smiled. "I walked in, looked around and saw you. And then I walked over, and you know the rest, because you were there." Gay date or not, she was going to have fun tonight.

[Courtney Ross]

Courtney quietly reminded herself that no one, absolutely no one came to parties on time, certainly not school dances and it was entirely normal that her date-type person was not here after thirty three minutes and twelve seconds of Courtney actually being inside of the auditorium. Not that she was counting or anything. Still, Courtney was clutching her cup rather nervously. There weren't that many people at the dance yet, and no one really seemed to be dancing, though one girl was zipping around on roller skates. Wasn't there a song about that? Nevermind that. Courtney's gaze returned to her delightful ambiguous punch, and she took a deep breath. She was going to be fine. Even if she didn't dance all night, she had to at least hit the floor. She owed it herself, or something.

And then Ariana appeared out of seemingly nowhere - could the girl teleport? - and with a quick glance, hugged her, leaving Courtney at a loss as to what to do. People did not just hug her. They barely recognized her around here, because she hadn't really sought anyone out. Really, it had been months since her last hug and oh no oh no she was just standing there terribly stiffly and not responding to the hug at all wasn't she? That was a bad response! However, Ariana didn't seem to mind her terrible social graces and seemed perfectly charming, even though her smile was a bit frightening. A bit like a smiling wolf, really. Not that wolves actually smiled or anything so absurd. Courtney smiled back nervously, ducking her head slightly as she always did. Stupid shyness.

"Hi Ariana." Courtney muttered, getting a good look at her as she pulled at her dress quickly and nervously. Ariana looked absolutely stunning. Where had she found anything that looked that good on her? Suddenly, Courtney had a vision of what was to come. First, she noticed the dress and - there it was - her heart would flutter as a warm feeling bubbled in her stomach. Then, she would start to get distracted by her hair and the slightest movements Ariana made. Then bugs would swarm and the dance would totally suck. As usual, Courtney was going to very quickly become smitten with and then just slightly intimidated by a very pretty girl. And then she was going to attract a swarm of insects and scare everyone away. Avoiding that had just become her top priority for the night. "You look... amazing." Well, there went step one. "Ah, do you want some punch?"

Alright, so she had a plan. First, she had to calm herself down. Maybe multiplication tables were in order. And secondly, she needed to sit back and think of Ariana as a friendly date. Yes, she was lovely, but a friend. Friends were no big deal, and absolutely nothing to get insects to swarm over. Yes, her plan was going to go off swimmingly. As long as she didn't squish her cup of punch and send it flying everywhere. That would be bad.

[Evan Brackett]

Why Evan even bothered to go to the school dance was beyond him. He couldn’t dance, nor did he have the desire to learn. He knew some of the people that were going to be there, but it wasn’t like his friends had asked, pleaded, or forced him to go. The only reason, he supposed, was that he had been signed up for the match maker and didn’t want to disappoint this Fifi Hart by standing her up. The fact that he had been matched was in itself a mistake, a practical joke of one of his peers. If it weren't for that note he got in his mailbox, he wouldn't have been rummaging through his closet right now, trying to find an outfit.

As for what he was going to wear, he didn’t put much thought into it. A button up shirt and some dark slacks would suffice, right? It was the best he could on short notice, as he didn’t have time to go home and pick something up nor did he want to go into town and buy new clothes. He hoped that Fifi wouldn’t mind the lack of formality.

It didn‘t occur to him that he had no idea what Fifi Hart looked like until he arrived at the auditorium. He sighed, and stood outside the doors, debating whether or not he should just leave. After coming to the conclusion that he needed to stay and at least try to find the girl, he began to ask around. Or he would have if there were people to ask, but almost everyone was already inside or hadn't arrived. The only person he saw was some sleazy looking girl smoking a cig. He would have preferred to avoid her, but what choice did he have?

“Uh, ‘scuse me?" He spoke to her timidly, "I’m trying to find someone. A girl named Fifi Hart. Do you know her?”

[Vincent Verax]

Normally, Vincent wouldn't bother with a school dance except if he had a plan to ruin it. (You'd be surprised how a handful of firecrackers going off in rapid succession would scare people off.) But this time he was actually planning to behave, because he had a date that he wanted to impress. In fact, he wanted to impress little Moe so badly that he had spend nearly the entire day getting ready, with some help from a certain teleporter.

He hadn't exactly asked for help, but when Emma had bamfed into his apartment with clothes in her hands, he couldn't say no. It was made even harder when she promised that Moe wouldn't be able to resist him if he wore what she picked out. He had whined at first, that the pinstripe suit wasn't tight enough and then that it didn't show enough, but Emma had countered all his complaints. She unbuttoned the jacket and the top few buttons of the shirt underneath so that just enough of his chest was showing, then pushed him out of the apartment before he could complain about anything else.

Anything else that bothered him was quickly forgotten when he picked Moe up from his dorm, his jaw practically hitting the floor when he saw his pretty little boyfriend all dolled up. The compliments had spilled out of his mouth in a slurred mess and Moe had already had to smack Vin's hand off of his thigh. "God, y'so fuckin' perfect." He mumbled before sweeping the boy into his arms and carrying him off towards the auditorium. Moe was far too good to actually walk there, don't you know?

Strolling into the auditorium with Misato still in his arms, bridal-style, and late as usual, he looked around to survery the students already there, as well as what faculty had shown up to chaperone. They would determine what sort of insanity he could get away with and for once, Vincent was hoping not to get kicked out. Moe had been so excited for the dance that Vinnie would feel awful if he ruined it for him. "Hey, y'totally th'bes' lookin' one here." Vin smirked, finally setting Moe back down on his own two feet. When will he learn that flattery will get him nowhere?

[Misato Hazukashi]

Considering the amount of time and effort Misato put into his outfit, it would be nothing less than rude for Vincent not to compliment him. Every tiny detail had been tailored to fit his image of gothic lolita - something he knew his boyfriend liked. After seven hours of furious preening, the little blonde was ready and waiting for Vincent to show up, pacing back and forth in the dorm, nearly driving Sammy and Ember mad as he flapped around.

But then Vincent arrived and Misato visibly swooned, his little arms coming around Vincent's neck, happy to be carried out and towards the auditorium, touching his fingers to the older boy's lips. "Awww, Vinvin is my handsome dark knight!" He said excitedly, kicking his legs and resting his head on the exposed part of chest. His eyes were sparkling delightedly as he carried on heading towards the dance, head throbbing with sheer happiness. Dress up time was good before Vincent, now with him it was even better.

"They'll see up my skirt." Moe added with a little pout as they got into the hall, wiggling out of Vincent's arms and kissing the goth boy on the cheek. "And we don't want that." He said softly, instantly eyeing all the other outfits with admiration and awe. "You're the handsomest." The boy giggled, squeezing Vin's hand nervously as they headed towards the drinks, the blonde peering into the punch bowl with a curious blink. "What's this?" He asked, looking up at Vincent as if he were the fount of all knowledge - not a chance.

Pouring himself a little glass and sipping it, Moe lit up. "Can you dance?" He said suddenly, looking up at Vincent with an eager expression. "I want to dance with you all night then we can go to my dorm and eat pizza." He smiled, despite full well knowing leading Vincent anywhere near a bed was a risky idea. But dancing pushed the worries away, and the bubbly Japanese teen bounced on his toes, leaning up for a kiss.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann smiled, glad to see she hadn't been waiting long, and feeling the honesty from her proved she wasn't just saying it. Not that Ann pried into her emotions to see if she was lying. She wasn't that good of an empath, she got the emotions as people felt them, everyone in the room included. Everyone had a lot of muted excitement and nervousness. And someone in the room (she really had no idea who) was both fuming angry, embarrassed, and some other things Ann tried to keep away from her. The last thing she wanted was to be mad for no reason.

She remembered her training and focused to keep a shield around her emotions, and not let others influence her own. After a moment, she was back to her normal, awkward and slightly confused self. She glanced around at people, seeing the interaction going on, not many people were dancing, if at all, but it looked as though it had just started. She glanced back at Devin, and wondered if the girl would like to dance at some point in the evening, Ann herself knew it was impossible for her to do such a thing, and she didn't even entertain the idea of trying. It was flat out impossible. The closest she'd get to dancing tonight might be a tapping foot, but that was it.

"Uh...wanna go get something to drink?" Ann asked, just so they weren't standing in the middle of everything. Ann would feel better if she had a back to the wall, but it wasn't about her. It was about Devin too, and what she wanted to do. Though if Devin suggested they grab a table...well, she wouldn't object in the slightest. She might suggest it first, but she didn't know yet.

[Eric Bower]

Because he was one of the first people to arrive, he had...well a lot of time to worry over nothing. After standing around like a little idiot he made a beeline for the food table. When in doubt, snack! It offered a better alternative to standing by himself without anything to do in the meantime, and he also could sample all the things out on the table. And once people started to arrive, he looked over them, seeing that he recognized no one, though he did see both roommates walk in, he didn't get their attention. He was to embarrassed to draw attention to himself. He was fine alone, at the moment.

He had just finished his little cup of punch and had turned around to refill it when there was a tap on his shoulder. He was still a bit jumpy and the unexpected tap caused him to jump a bit, and that unfortunately had him turning the ladle of punch on his hand instead of the cup. "Aaah." It was cold. He set his cup down and grabbed a handful of napkins and started to wipe himself off, while he turned to see Autie standing there in something that was extremely surprising, but not at the same time. It would make sense that Autie would wear something made completely of flowers. His cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.

"H-hi! You look amazing! Terrific. Splendid. That isn't uncomfortable at all? I mean, don't the stems itch?" Eric, breath and calm down. He blushed a little as she complimented him and then shook her head to her apology. "It's fine. Nothing was happening before anyway, I got here a little early. I've never been to anything like this either. Once he was sure he dried his hand with the napkins he turned a little and tossed the soggy wad into the trashcan next to the table.

[Devin Sykes]

"A drink sounds good." Devin agreed with a smile "Maybe we could sit down somewhere and people watch until things get going?" She suggested.
She wasn't sure if Ann was the party type, she knew she'd be more than happy to get on the dance floor later on, but she'd be just as content hanging out if that was what Ann wanted to do, and she figured doing it this way meant if Ann just wanted to stay sat down, they could do because they could just keep talking, but dancing or mingling was always an option (though she figured, given her empathy, that mingling wasn't high on the list).

Actually, now that she thought about the empathy problem, an out-of-the-way table might be perfect, kept Ann from being too caught in the middle of all those emotions, but was still part of the party and not completely anti-social. Devin was actually rather proud of herself for the suggestion when she considered that, ok so it wasn't the most radical idea in the world, but it was a good one.

[Fifi Hart]

The cruel irony of Evan wanting to avoid Fifi would have been too much for the brunette had she known who was approaching. It appeared the universe or karma or whatever deity watched over awkward teenagers was playing a cruel joke on Evan as Fifi sat up and ran her fingers through her pixie-cut hair. “I know her.” She said, smiling slightly and pulling her cigarette from her lips and blowing the cloud over her left shoulder. “You’re looking at her.” She added, giggling slightly.

Evan really was laughable at this point. Aside from his outfit, which would make him stick out like a sore thumb with is casuality, Evan just…he just screamed fresh meat. Fifi was a vinidictive little creature, and her favorite thing to do was to make her prey squirm. She stuck her cigarette between her lips against and extended her hand to him, smiling cheekily. “Pleased to meet you, Evan. “ Fifi chirped, her words malformed because of the obstruction in her lips.

Tonight would be fun. Very. Very. Fun.

[Ann Hudgins]

"That sounds like a great idea." Ann was only too happy to put as much space as she could between people without leaving the room (she spent money on the dress, therefor she'd be at the dance). She really appreciated the sentiment from Devin, because she could tell that Devin didn't want to make Ann uncomfortable. She happily led the way to the refreshment table, her eyes cast quickly from those huddled around the table before she recognized Dr. Neville there, with a small and almost embarrassed smile on her face she turned to him.

"Hello Dr. Neville." She said with a small wave. It was all thanks to him that she was even standing in the room at the moment. If it wasn't for his encouragement (and borrowed courage) Ann never would have taken the steps needed to make it here. She'd really like to repay him somehow, maybe even hug him, but that was impossible. She then turned to the punch and filled it before her eyes cast between Devin and Dr. Neville. She didn't know if they'd met or not, a and she wasn't sure if she should introduce them or not.

[Devin Sykes]

Devin smiled, glad that Ann seemed to be having a good time already - or was at least pleased with the idea, and that was good enough.
She was sort of determined now, to give Ann a good night, because she suspected that with a gift like hers, Ann didn't often have a lot of good times - school dances were probably a nightmare of conflicting emotions, so she wanted to try and give her at least a memory of one good one.

"Hey, Dr Neville." she echoed Ann, lifting her hand in greeting - like Ann she had quite a lot to thank the doctor for, he'd been the one to help her get over her somewhat destructive phase, and now she was starting to focus again she could see how ridiculous she'd been back then, and she was incredibly grateful to Dr. Neville for snapping her out of it.

[Evan Brackett]

Van gave the sleazy girl a once over as she sat up. Okay, he'd admit that she was kind of pretty, but that skirt was scary short, and she was smoking even though she didn’t look any older than him. This girl was bad news if he ever saw it. Although, he wasn't one to complain if she was willing to help. “You do? Aweso--wait, what?” His eyes widened slightly when the girl announced herself as Fifi. “You?“ Well, that’s just great.

He was surprised at her sharpness as she deduced who he was. Apparently she deserved more credit than what he was willing to give her. He ignored his conscience as it screamed at him not to take the girl’s hand, shook it gently, and forced a smile. “Uh, likewise,” he lied. Maybe it was the cigarette or maybe it was the scandalous clothes, but there was something about this girl that made him uncomfortable. He definitely didn't want to be out here with her alone. Van gestured to the doors and asked, “Shall we go in then?”

[Fifi Hart]

Unfortunately for Evan and Evan’s ignorance to Fifi’s abilities, it wasn’t being alone with Fifi that would harm him…it was touching her. And the poor boy had already crossed that line. The handshake lasted longer than usual for two reasons: Fifi did not want to let go, in order to prolong Evan’s exposure to her dastardly touch. And a very good-looking and very obviously taken fellow walked by her with what was quite possible the most adorable girl in the world in his arms. She scoffed and released Evan’s hand. Why couldn’t she have pulled that guys name out of the hat?

“Don’t look so scared, Skinny.” She teased, winking at him and following the direction of his gesture towards the door. “Do you dance?” She asked, waving her arm slightly to encourage Evan to loop his own in hers. No use letting him get away, right? Make no mistake…Evan looked awfully intent on getting away. “’cause you don’t really look to keen on being here.” She added with a slightly scathing tone.

[Evan Brackett]

If Evan had any idea what Fifi was up to, he wouldn’t have touched her with a ten foot pole. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the pleasure of knowing what her ability was, and didn’t think anything of the extended handshake. He did catch her scoff, however, and watched chuckling as the couple went by. It was some what comforting knowing that she was also disgruntled with the match. Too bad he didn’t know what was going on in that mind of hers.

“I’m not scared,“ he argued. As for the dancing, he didn’t say, but his expression was that of revulsion. Escape? Gladly. Every development so far--from being in the match maker to meeting Fifi--had been a major let down. The only problem was he was too polite to do that, no matter how much he wanted to get away. Reluctantly, Van looped his arm through hers and led her into the auditorium. He couldn’t help glowering at her when she called him out on not wanting to be there. “No, not really,” he muttered in response.