Waiting Games (Sawyer, Open)

[Jace Murphy]

Wandering into the common room of her dorm, Jace noticed she was alone. The colorful doors of her roommates were open and the only light was coming from Jace's open door. She glanced over her shoulder at her desk, where the paper designating her matchmaking date read off Sawyer's name in curling letters. She half-considered begging out of the date when she saw her roommate again. It was pure accident that they'd ended up matched, and she really didn't need any more awkwardness in her dorm. Besides, Sawyer was the one roommate who seemed to enjoy her company beneath all the joking innuendos. But she hadn't heard anyone come home all day, so maybe they were just supposed to meet at the dance.

Sighing, Jace turned back to her room and stared down at her costume. She wriggled out of her day clothes and pulled on a a pink, flower-printed long sleeve shirt, followed by pair of muddy green coveralls with the sleeves cut off and a silky teal jacket with green and silver embroidering. She struggled with her hair, trying to tie it up in two buns on top of her head. In the end she used more bobby-pins than was probably necessary, but the effect was close to what she wanted. She slipped on her chunky black flip flops, checked herself in the mirror and started for the dance.

When she arrived in the auditorium there were a few people milling around, but no Sawyer in sight. Oh well, it was early yet. Jace made her way for the snacks and nibbled on some pretzels.

Nearly an hour later, Jace was leaning against the wall next to the punch bowl, cradling a cup in her clammy hands while her insecurities played havoc in her brain. Of course she'd been stood up. Why wouldn't she? If she had learned anything, it was that her roommates seemed to enjoy making her uncomfortable. Sawyer probably didn't like her either. She probably read her match sheet and had a good laugh with Bluejay and Lucy. They were probably making fun of her right now. The sick feeling in her stomach grew until she was sure it must be showing on her face. She pushed off the wall and wandered the perimeter, staring at her painted toenails with a grimace.

[Sawyer Lynn]

Stumbling into the auditorium in her Beavis mask, a light blue "Death Rocks" printed tee and dark blue shorts, Sawyer shoved Lucy away from her, laughing at how the other girl stumbled away before counter attacking her with her own drunken shove.

Yes, the voice mimic and the ink manipulator had had a pre-dance drinking party because what exactly was the fun in arriving anywhere sober?

After five minutes of just shoving and giggling, Lucy's pimp arrived to pull her away and Sawyer rolled with it, trying not to draw too much attention to herself, lest she got in trouble for being drunk. But two seconds in, she was just swaying along to the music, drunkenly shaking her ass every here and there with some random folks who either looked disgusted by her twerking or aroused.

She moved far away from the aroused.

In her search for something to munch on, she saw a very familiar face under a not so familiar costume walking a bit forlornly across the dance floor.

"Murph! Hey Murphy!" Sawyer threw her hands up, her voice muffled under the huge Beavis mask she had on. Channeling the actual voice of the voice actor of the character, she tried again. "Muuurrrph!"

[Jace Murphy]

Kicking at a scuff mark on the linoleum, Jace almost didn't hear her name being called. Only when it grated over her ears with the familiar voice of a character her cousins had obsessively quoted through middle school did she look up. Sure enough, she spotted a person in a Beavis mask...well staggering was a delicate way to put it. "Beavis" swaggered under the weight of several drinks if Jace was any judge of intoxication--and she thought she was after meeting Robby's friends a few times.

The voice that called her sounded exactly like the voice character, and after a moment she put two-and-two together. And the only voice mimick she knew was her no-show blind date. A host of emotions ranged through her from relief to indignant. Jace struggled to make her expression neutral. She closed the distance between Sawyer and herself to keep her drunken roommate from attracting the attention of any chaperones with her terrifying dance moves.

"Nice of you to show up, Sawyer," she said, frowning at how petulant she sounded. "You could've just said you didn't want to go with me. I know it's not a...thing. But I thought it might be fun."

And maybe that we could be friends, she finished silently.

[Sawyer Lynn]

Jace's cold response, at first, went unnoticed but the look on her face made Sawyer stop in her tracks. Her ensuing statement confused the voice mimic just as much as her tone.

Having not been at all aware of Lucy's part in the whole debacle that was the Halloween Dance matchmaking, Sawyer's confusion was real. And mixed in with the alcohol she had consumed in the past hour, the confusion was slowly turning into hurt.

"What? The fuck are you talking about?" She asked in a slurry voice, pulling the mask off, revealing her sweaty clingy hair and smeary eye-liner. She pushed her hair back and fanned herself with her shirt, still looking at Jace for an explanation.

[Jace Murphy]

Throttling the urge to stomp away, Jace sighed and reached out to steady her swaying roommate. Her roiling insecurity made her stomach feel unsettled. When Sawyer removed her mask, Jace pulled her hand away, startled by the look on her face.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out if Sawyer was messing with her or honestly confused. She stared down her nose at Sawyer and folded her arms. Brushing a stray hair out of her face, she jammed her hands down into the pockets of her coveralls. She tried to paste a glare on her face, but Sawyer's apparent confusion had her off guard.

"The matchmaker sign-up? We're matched?" Jace said, frowning. She rocked on her feet, raising her eyebrows expectantly. "Didn't you get the paper they sent out?"

[Sawyer Lynn]

Mumbling a quick thanks at the steady hands, Sawyer scratched the back of her head as she saw Jace's expression properly. Briefly, she wondered what got stuck up her roomie's butt and died in there. The silence from the other girl didn't help either. It just fuelled the anger that had started up in the voice mimic.

Jace's next statement confused Sawyer even more. They were English words but none of it made sense in the same sentence. Matchmaker? If she knew they even existed, Sawyer wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole, let alone voluntarily.

It didn't even occur to her that she had been set up until Jace finished talking.

"W...wait no. What?" Sawyer rubbed at her eyes, smearing her eye-liner even more, making her look even more ridiculous than she already did. "I didn't get shit, man."

[Jace Murphy]

Sawyer's genuine confusion finally convinced Jace that they'd been set up for some joke. She let out a frustrated noise and cast her eyes around the room, looking for someone who seemed to be enjoying their scene. She couldn't see anyone through the moving bodies on the dance floor but she had her suspicions. Her hands clenched into fists in her pockets. She had less trouble with her roommates last year after coming out than with this set so far.

But Sawyer looked like a mess with her makeup smeared and confusion evident on her face. Jace sighed and scrubbed her face with her palm. She was beginning to feel hot in her costume, sweat beading along her neck and arms. She shed her jacket and folded it over her arm. Maybe she could get out of here soon once this nonsense was sorted. She wasn't going to be made a fool of in the middle of everyone.

"Someone got us," she said finally. "Well, more accurately someone got you. I put my own name in."

[Sawyer Lynn]

When Jace finally spoke, Sawyer let out a frustrated sigh, realising that the only person who would be dumb (or clever and brave) enough to put her name in as a joke would be Lucy Serrano. What a psycho, Sawyer thought fondly.

"Why in the hell would you do that?" She asked, using her shirt to tuck in under her sweaty breasts. "God it was fucking hot under the mask but I didn't know know my boobs would suffer too." She mumbled to herself. Looking up again at the taller but younger girl, Sawyer narrowed her eyes. "Wait...you got me as your partner..." Her alcohol-addled brain was slow on the uptake but she was getting there.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be anyway?" Sawyer asked, finally looking at Jace in her outfit.

[Jace Murphy]

Jace flushed when Sawyer asked why she entered the matchmaking, mumbling under her breath. She rubbed the back of her neck, clearing her throat. "I've never...ah...I've never dated anyone. So I don't know how to...go about asking anyone out."

And there was her roommate from last year, a harsh rejection that she hadn't wanted to relive. Luckily Sawyer hadn't stood her up on purpose. But it had reminded her of that rejection. That memory kept her from asking Sawyer if she would've come if she'd known she was paired with Jace in the first place.

"It's very hot," she said awkwardly, jumping on the change in subject. She took a small step back when Sawyer tied her shirt up, blushing and looking around the dance floor.

"Yeah, I got paired with you," she said slowly, turning her gaze back to Sawyer with a concerned frown. "They did say the matches weren't going to be perfect. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they just stuck names in a hat and pulled out a pair."

"Oh, I'm supposed to be Kaylee from 'Firefly,'" she said, startled into a smile. It was a show she'd stolen from Tommy's bedroom in middle school. She and Robby watched it regularly and it was one of her favorite shows. She was going to keep it to herself that she once wore it to a sci-fi convention, though. Especially since it was a convention where she'd been chaperoned by her mother.

[Sawyer Lynn]

Sawyer tilted her head to the side when Jace said she’d never dated. “You’re kidding me right,” the voice mimic commented bluntly. There was no way the girl had gone through her whole fifteen years of life never having gone on a date. Sure she was a giant but she wasn’t ugly. Or a bad person. Sawyer thought she was a bloody catch. People…what dolts.

Looking at Jace curiously when the girl stepped away, it was then that she put two and two together. “Oh, that’s not even what I was gonna say. You’re gay, aren’t you?” Sawyer asked without a filter. It would make sense, for sure. What with all the anxiety when they first met and stuff.

“Isn’t that how they pick the dates to these kinds of things? You say which sex you prefer…? The fuck did Serrano put for me?” Sawyer snorted before pushing her hair back behind her shoulder. “Fucking hell I need some ice!” The tiny voice mimic barrelled through the crowd, pulling Jace with her in search of the concession stand.

“So I’m drunk. If you couldn’t tell. So…once I’m cooled off, we’re dancing, all right? Fuck yes, ice!” Sawyer went to the cooler with the bottles of soda and dug her hand in and came out with a few ice cubes. “Oh sweet merciful lord Jesus.” She murmured as she rubbed the cold ice against her neck and dropped one in between her boobs. She continued to rub the ice everywhere on her face and neck.

[Jace Murphy]

Jace jerked back in surprise at Sawyer's shock. "Well no, I mean, it's not like I've had much time too...I just kind of figured some stuff out...I mean..."

She flushed, unable to keep from stammering. Torn between over-sharing and wariness, she couldn't quite find the words to answer. The attention her roommate was giving her wasn't helping, either. Sawyer was beautiful and confident in ways that Jace envied down to her bones. Thankfully Sawyer asked the question Jace was tap-dancing around. Jace nodded sheepishly.

"I'm...yeah. Gay, that is," Jace let out a high, nervous laugh. "Sorry. I mean: Yes, I'm gay."

Her stomach dropped and she felt light-headed and breathless. Aside from Robby and her terrible roommates from last year, Sawyer was now one of the handful of people who Jace had told about her sexuality. Most of her roommates from last year found out when the one she was crushing on paraded the news around their common room in disgust. And Robby was related to her, so he didn't really have a choice in the matter.

By the time Jace worked up the courage to meet Sawyer's eyes again, her roommate was dragging her across the room toward the refreshment table. Her flip-flops scuffed on the floor as she tried to keep her feet underneath her. Wild laughter built up in her chest as the relief washed over her.

"Drunk, really?" she laughed breathlessly. "I couldn't tell."

She clapped a hand over her mouth to hide her toothy, giddy smile. The rush dampened her self-consciousness, and she barely blushed when Sawyer started icing herself down.

"Sorry, this has been a bit of a roller-coaster of a night for me," she said sheepishly. "But I'm up for some dancing."