Gabe Vincent's Story

Mr. Vincent

Gabe was running a bit later than usual, mostly because he had forgotten some things and had to turn back to get them before he started to head for his classroom. He was in a bit of a rush, even though he didn't have classes until later on in the day; but he hated no being ready in advance. He was just the type of person that hated not having everything he needed to do done. So, as he walked down the halls on his way to his classroom, he passed by Nina and Will, almost without noticing and giving them a simple, "Hi!" But he stopped, turned around, and added, "Wait...Why aren't the two of you in class...?" He pointed between the two of them and shook his head, lifting his hands up to his shoulders as if to say, "no big deal, don't worry, I'm late, too." before walking between them, a hand gently placed on Nina's shoulder in a brotherly way, and leaving Will to lead himself, then started to walk the two of them to the class they shared. Before he let them go, he looked at Nina, smiled, and said, "Have a nice day, Nina. Try your best; I'll see you later."

And with that, he spun around and started towards his classroom, stressing out a little, but hopefully not showing it. He had quite a bit to do to prepare for the day's classes, and he hoped he would be able to finish in time. He entered his classroom, and the sight of his many, many plants brought a smile to his face as he started to write on the chalkboard, prepping himself and the room for the day. It actually didn't take long to get things set up (he often exaggerated the time it would take him to do things, something he probably picked up from his step-mother) and he started on the task of tending to his plants. One by one, he started to talk to them, just as he did every day; watering the ones that needed it during his conversations with them. He honestly identified better with the plants then with most people, sometimes. At least the plants didn't look down on him or call him weird. They were always very nice to him. Gabe appreciated that.

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Peter

Peter had sort of ignored Portia, and it was probably noticeable. He wasn't trying to be rude (and she knew that, no doubt), he just had a few other things on his mind. He had this stupid lesson, and he had to worry about his next lesson and then some, but, honestly, when the dance was brought up, he whipped his head to look at Danni. His jaw dropped and he shook his head, as if to say, "I cannot believe I forgot about that!" His hand went to his head and he closed his eyes, a simple, "Ah, shit..." Pouring out of his mouth before he could even think twice about the words.

He crossed his arms and shrugged, "Oh, gods...I am so smooth, forgetting to ask someone to go with me...." He started to rack his mind for what girls he could ask, and then crossing them with what girls would actually agree to go with him. He should've taken care of this weeks ago. Curse his procrastination on these matters. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, this is probably why he didn't have a girlfriend. He could never remember these sorts of things. Well, that and he was a manipulative jerk that honestly didn't think about other people, but that was aside the point.

Chloe Huntington

Chloe kinda' zoned out for a while, looking at the cage that Boone had produced. She wondered what was inside, and she inclined her head to the left, furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes - in short, her concentration face. There was something oddly menacing with the cage, and with it being Mr Keating's class as well, menacing was expected. Her concentration was broken however by Sinclair's reply to her drowning comment. Ah, at least someone knew who she was directing that statement at. "Oh, all right Sinclair. Just for you. I'll only maim for now." She joked, smiling mischievously. Chloe didn't know why she hated Ava. Nothing had happened between the two, but for some reason, she really disliked the blonde haired girl. Then, Zeke appeared, and she didn't have to stay in that awkward situation any more, with Ava's eyes burning into the back of her head. Now that was a horrible feeling. He made an entrance, that was true, but honestly, she didn't really care. They were friendly to each other, but they weren't "friends." She couldn't help but giggle a little at his comment though. "But I like feisty. Feisty is good." Everlie's little comment about "dousing enough people for now," brought her back to their side of the classroom, and she smiled at the girl. "But please? Just one more wouldn't hurt!"

"The moment with Caspray?" Chloe turned around to Clover and nodded her hair. "Yeah, he was looking all sweet-eyed at her. Almost tripped over his own words too! It was a sight to behold." She laughed, looking back at the guy she treated as a brother, poking her tongue out at him playfully. Soon, he had began the lesson, and her attention was taken by him; this class was her favourite out of them all; it wasn't just the teacher, it was the whole concept of the class. When he revealed the bunny, she laughed slightly with confusion. "Erm... right. A bunny?" However, then, when the teacher when into detail about this creature, her smile dropped. "Oh. Not a bunny. Gotcha'." She turned to face her group of friends, plus Ava, and conferred with them. "Kill it? Ev, have you thought that he might be lying? Keating is that sort of person you know? He'd get us to kill an innocent rabbit to fail us, trust me. It seems too... passive, to be aggressive. I mean, it's barely moving." Her expression was puzzled. Now what?

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[font=georgia][center]William Hawk

Soon, dear William was being escorted to class by Mr Vincent, the woman-trapped-in-a-man's-body in his eyes. He took a step to the left, away from the two others that he was with as the teacher slung his arm around Nina's shoulders. He still felt terrible about the whole letting her down idea. Maybe it would have been better if he had asked her along to the dance. He dragged his hand through his hair and sighed gently, the hair thing being his little tell that he was upset. Sure, he had decided only to do it for an act, but underneath, it was more than that. Why had he been so stupid? She'd never agree to go with him now! William Hawk, you fucking idiot. He gave himself a mental slap, and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about the other girls that he could ask.

Chloe? Nah, she's too interested in someone else. Danni? Nope, too masculine. Portia? That could ruin everything. Jackie? Ooh... Jackie... She's my best fri--

Thud!

His train of thought was cut off by something hitting him square in the face, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the open door of a locker. "Fuck... that hurt..." he spoke to himself, clenching his nose as they arrived at Cadwell's class. His hand stayed pressed against his already bruising nose as he stood there, not interacting with anyone. He now felt shit, was in pain, and was embarrassed. Brilliant day. He didn't join a specific group when told to by the teacher, or react to the compliment that he gave to every one of his students. He just stood there. No-one would want him in their group now.

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[font=georgia][center]Lukas Tricon

Lukas' eyes snapped over to Mr Keating as he mocked Clover's answer, and he glared at him. It would probably be bad to set his hair on fire too; two people in the space of fifteen minutes really wasn't the best idea. The thought did cross his mind though, but he just shrugged it off when the teacher apologized, letting Clover have her romantic reply. However, again the mood was ruined by Sinclair opening his annoying mouth, and spilling out words that threw his mood deeper into the deep end. "Well Sin, I could go with Mr Keating, but then I'd be leaving Clover all alone, seeing as you're going with Ava now, and all. But I think Clover will be better company, don't you?" He grinned, the maliciousness of his words lacing the air with cruelness. Okay, so, Lukas Tricon wasn't someone that you should put in the same sentence as the word "malicious" or "cruel," but in this case, where Clover was involved, he was incredibly protective. He knew that Sinclair liked his girlfriend, and that annoyed him. And being the man that he was, he would let this annoyance be known to everyone. He kissed Clover gently on the lips, letting his love flow through him to her, thought their touch. "Thank you." He whispered softly, pecking her nose before he pulled back. "You'll definitely be a better date that Keating, honey, believe me."

He then looked at the cage that was produced by Keating, and looked shocked as he revealed the white creature inside. He listen to the story that came along with the rabbit, something about a "cerberbunny", something he had never heard of before, and he looked at it in fascination. Anything new to him was awe-striking, and he wanted to figure out everything he could about it; and this creature wasn't any different. He looked around to Clover and leant in to her ear - "Bed probably would have been safer. Don't want you being mauled by the vicious bunny." He spoke quietly, a small laugh accompanying his voice. The bunny didn't look scary at all, but you could never be sure. One moment, you could be watching a television, and the next, it could burst into flames. Maybe the rabbit wasn't going to spontaneously combust, but in theory, it could grow and turn into some sort of vicious monster. He took into consideration to what Chloe said, shaking his head though as he did. "Yes Clo, he could. However, it could also be a vicious killing machine. I agree with Evie. We should kill the infernal thing before it goes all postal on us."

Lukas wasn't one for killing innocent things, but if Clover was in danger from being bitten by a rabbid rabbit, then he was certainly going to protect her. Even if it meant causing the rabbit to spontaneously combust himself.

Rhea Xior


Rhea cracked her neck for a moment, realizing that her desk had been placed in a corner for whatever Keating had been preparing for, "I take it that you're planning on ravishing the ball tonight, then? All decked out in a lavish gown, birds flittering by your sides and placing a tiara on your head? Everything hot pink, no less." she chuckled at the comment, taking it as Keating's normal type of sarcasm. She put her hands on her hips, as if imitating a worrisome mother. "Now Keating, you know that not even someone like you can go to the dance without a date." she winked at him for a second. "I see how you look at Ms.McCarty, Keat. So...when are you gon-" just in the nick of time Amarie herself appeared, Rhea hadn't had much of a problem with her, and she felt Keat would hate her if she did, though its not as if they were on the best of terms, when it came to Rhea, who was? She mumbled a 'Hello' to Amarie when she greeted her, and left the teachers to talking, she was surprised at the lack of students in the room, and the bewilderness she felt standing there, watching Amarie and Keat, kissing each others asses. She shuddered for a moment, hoping that she wouldn't be like that when she was older. Not even minutes passed by, and Fion, the gym teacher came busting in, torturing Boone and his social abilities, despite his arrival scaring the hell out of Rhea, she laughed. The morning had certainly brought along it excitement. Amarie had started to complain of Fion's presence and so did Boone, she started with her haughty-taughty way of speach which always annoyed Rhea. and Fion reveling in the short simple moments of life like he always was, he had a thing for being on the edge, Rhea admired that. In the middle of staring at the professors, her phone had started to ring, she answered it, already knowing who was going to be on the receiving end. "Morning Preist..." she said, her tone of voice loving, instead of the clever, and superficial tone she took with everyone else. "Hey, It's Priestly. Are you in Keating's class yet? And if you are, on a scale of G.I.R. to Scrooge, how grumpy is he today?"

She giggled before answering him. 'I'd say Scrooge, now that Fion walked in..." she took note of the situation as Amarie left to do her Amarie business, 'Hey, you heard about the dance, right? So who do you plan on going with?..."

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Ezekiel Row


Zeke swished the spoon he had in his mouth, trying get as much cinnamon as he could off of the spoon from the oatmeal, that he had quickly devoured, he looked down for a moment, and found Everlie standing in front of him, he nearly chocked on the very spoon he was licking on. Ever since that day in Power Control class, talking to Everlie had become a problem, now that he was afraid of hurting her, even though the last time he hadn't purposefully done it. "H-hey!..." he turned back into his usual charming self, not letting the past get in the way of what was happening at this very moment. "I was just so, so hungry, that I didn't even think about sitting down..." he pointed to his stomach overexagerating the gesture of hunger, by folding over and then laughing as he did so. 'You look really nice today, Everlie, I mean really..I woke up this morning not even knowing where I was..." he smiled warmly at her, then the nagging feeling of the dance seemed to skip across his mind, his eyes suddenly brightened up, it was perfect to ask Everlie, I mean...as friends at least, he had to try something. "Um...Everlie....would you...would you...um..."

"C'mon Zeke grow some balls, I've done more dangerous stuff than this..." The little hamster wheel in his brain had suddenly stopped working, as he stared at Everlie, trying to find the words to perfectly grasp the situation. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. "It'd be really great if we went to the dance together...I mean- just as friends! Or unless someone already asked you, I mean there are many guys who would love to go with you I'm sure, just try to take it into consideration...and-" Zeke began to ramble on, unable to stop due to the thoughts and embarrasment leaking from his mind. Simply put, asking Everlie to go to the dance was almost unreal.

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Cale Anderson

Taking a few slow steps towards his door, Cale pointed his bushel of dark hair out into the hallway, he could tell he was late for History, but he hoped that Hensleigh would understand, it was his way of doing things. He stepped out of his room fulled dressed, and prepared to go to his next class, he propped his bookbag over his shoulder, and then made his way across the corridor, he stopped near Lukas's room with his door slightly open, as far as Cale knew Lukas had been depressed ever since Cale first came here, something about a girlfriend, Cale could never understand that type of attachment, honestly, he tried to sympathize, but he could not inherit Lukas's emotions, it was something he was going to need to get over one way or another. He walked ahead, not even taking the time to peer in, he needed to get to class quickly as he walked in a fast pace down the hallway. His walk slowed as he came across Mr.Vincent's classroom, he hadn't even walked in, and he was already blushing like mad. He stepped slowly towards the door, as to bring any attention to his presence. He was too nervous to actually say anything, and what could he say? "Hey I'm Cale Anderson, and I like you..." he shook his head in denial, and took the courage just to greet him. "H-hey..um good morning ...." he said quietly, he leaned on the door with his bookbag now clutched to his chest.

"There's going to be a private?" The words caused the young, handsome teacher to crack a half-smile, mostly because of the tone with which they’d been said. Ness was such a confusing woman sometimes, and in this situation it was sort of getting on his nerves. One second she was mad, then careful, then passionate, then playful. Such a huge bundle of moods to go through in such short time, and though he wanted not to, he couldn’t help but want to leave her there… high and dry, not answer her question, not care about this whole situation. As it was, however, he desperately wanted to not hurt her, and really, how hard could that be? Right now he just had trouble figuring out what he wanted from her. I reality, he should probably dismiss her. Get things over with and stop this entire ordeal while he still could. Problem was, kissing her had opened all the wrong doors, and he could almost feel the hope shining in her eyes. Such desperate, innocent hope that he’d feel about her like she did about him.

Nate wanted to tell Ness something that’d make her happy, something that wouldn’t hurt, but he wouldn’t lie to her either. He couldn’t tell her what he felt was as deep and loving as what she did, and he hated himself for it. But facts whre facts. Thing was, on top of it, he didn’t want her hating him; he didn’t want to lose her again. Not now, now that he had her back in his life. You’re such a dick, he almost screamed at himself in frustration. But he kept his mouth shut, until he spoke to her. “Well… I guess, sometimes? It can’t really be avoided, can it? Besides, we’ve got quite a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?” He was being very careful with his words, though he didn’t let his inner turmoil show in any way. If Ness found out he was trying to avoid letting her know that he wasn’t in love with her, she’d just… well, the Ness he’d known way back, would’ve broken. And now, looking at her, he could almost sense that she still would. He’d done this to her; he’d inspired hope, relit the flame, made her feel again. And he was probably going to break her because of it, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

Her next words almost caused him to puke it guts out. Not because he was disgusted with her, but because he was with himself. What the hell was he doing here? Why was he doing this to her? As it was, however, he could feel his stomach constricting and had to fight hard merely so smile vaguely at her. He couldn’t hide the fact that he was really unsure of what to do, and he didn’t want to either. Ness needed to see that he was just as troubled as she was right now, albeit for different reason. And oh, that hope in her eyes… it was killing him, to be frank. So instead of looking at her, he averted his gaze, sighing softly as he looked out the windows. She wanted so badly for more to sprout between them, and he just… he had no idea what to think right now, so instead, choosing to give himself some time to think things over, he merely said, “I really don’t know, Ness… I just, I need to think things through. Things are much more difficult this time around. I’m a teacher, and you’re my goddamned student. I just got here, and I have enough of a bad reputation with women, I don’t need a student-relationship on top of it.”

He sighed once more, before his eyes once more found her pretty face, “so, um… we’ll figure it out. I promise. I just really need to think, okay?” he finished, before softly brushing his lips against her forehead. Then he grabbed his papers, leaving the essay assignment on the table. He put Juliette’s note with songs in his pocket and smiled gently and Ness, before remembering he had a job too. “Oh, and I’ll need you to do the first assignment. Can’t treat you differently than the others, right?” He wasn’t even kidding this time as he handed her another piece of paper, this one with the first assignment. He always had extra copies. His head was just too full of thoughts and ponderings. He needed to get away from Ness right now, yet he had stuff to do at the grand hall what with the ball, and he knew she would be there too. So he did something he hated himself for in the same instant the words left his lips, “I’ll need the first assignment before the ball. I know you have a couple of periods off right now, so you should be able to squeeze it in.” He left the room, briefcase in hand, before she even had the time to respond.

Nate didn’t look back at Ness, he didn’t want to, he couldn’t. If he did, his guilt would only intensify. What kind of bullshit person was he? Giving her a couple of hours to do an assignment he’d given the others a week to do. He’d been desperate, though… desperate for some time without her beautiful, hopeful gaze to make his heart ache. Didn’t make him despise himself any less, however. The teacher sighed once he was a couple of feet away from the history-room. He’d have to return in an hour to teach his next class, but he needed to sort out music with Juliette. Ah, Juliette… there was a girl who would drive him crazy if she had the chance. Had she not been his student, he would have been all over that girl. As it was, however, Nathan was fighting instinct on this one. It wouldn’t take much for him to break, however. She was infuriating, sarcastic and absolutely awful to deal with, but he loved it, and god did she know how to spark his interest.

She was incredibly… well, honestly he thought her so sexy. There was just something about her, though he was 6 years her senior, that made his blood heat. And she was Ness’ best friends to make matters worse. As though his attraction to her in the first place wasn’t entirely inappropriate. He made a face as he took the list of songs out of his pocket, looking it over. He doubted there would be any problems; Juliette was a daughter of Apollo after all, and they had great taste in music. Hs lips curved into a wry smile going over it. It was a nice mix of up-beat and slow songs, appropriate for a dance like tonight. Not that he was surprised. Spotting the song “check yes, Juliet”, the teacher almost laughed out loud but managed to only chuckle softly. Clever chick. He shook his head, smiling again, feeling more like himself. Ness had brought him out of his comfort zone, but Juliette would bring him right back in. Making his way to the great hall, Nathan felt his mood improve gradually, closing distance in step with it.

As the young teacher reached the hall, he was back to smiling his usual charming smile. Upon hearing music he deducted that Juliette was there, so he opened the door, spotting her spazzing about in the next instant. He chuckled, calling out to her, “well, aren’t you the queen of grace, Juliette? I hope you don’t plan on dancing like that at the ball.” He said playfully, glint in his eyes. He was teasing her, flirting softly, even though he knew he shouldn’t. Right now he just couldn’t help it. He needed the easy conversations he led with Juliette… he needed the air, and the playfulness. The serene, guilty mood with Ness had nearly killed him. The last thing he wanted was to think of that right now. Hell, if he could just eradicate Ness from his mind completely for the moment, he’d be pretty content.







Red… red was all there was. Why was everything so red?! The little girls’ eyes went wide, realizing her alarmclock was beeping like there was no tomorrow. She’d thought she was still dreaming, what with red covering her eyes. In the next instant she giggled, her confusion evaporating, finally noticing that she could feel the read stuff. Right, hair… hair again. She brought up both her hands to brush the hair aside, blowing air at it too, though it didn’t much help. The girl sat up, looking around now that her eyes were clear. She didn’t sleep very calmly… at all. Her duvet had ended up on the floor along with her pillow. “Oh!” she exclaimed, laughing. “What’re you doing down there, Mr. Bumble?” She asked the big, brown teddy bear lying on the duvet. She bent down to pick it up, smiling at it. “Why do you insist on sleeping on the floor? Such a silly thing to do.” She said, voice holding all its usual chipper cuteness, even though she’d just awoken and the alarm was still making noise. As she realized that, she almost jumped, thinking that she might accidently wake someone else with the noise, moving to shut it off instantly. She’d hate herself if she caused someone to miss any sleep they could’ve otherwise gotten.

Her beautiful eyes brightened as she put down Mr. Bumble, knowing she had to get up, another lovely day awaiting. She couldn’t wait to see everyone again! It had been so many hours, and the sun was already shining through her white curtains. Her smile widened as she got up, wearing her usual little, pink nightgown. Phoebe went to open the curtains, gazing up at the sun. It was only like 8 am, but the sun rose early in the summer. She loved summers especially for that. However, she had to put some clothes on and get to class; biology more specifically, which meant Gabey. She hadn’t seen Gabe since yesterday morning and she missed him so much. She got a little mother-sick sometimes. Yeah, Gabe was practically her mother. Much more so than Iris, and she loved him more than any other. He had always, always, always been there for her, and it had taken absolutely no time for them to establish a sort of mother/daughter relationship. Gabe even took her shopping sometimes, and he always baked cookies.

Thinking of cookies, the redhead realized she needed to get some breakfast. If she didn get any, Gabe would nag her about it. He was such a caring man! Hopping around her room, the little girl managed to dress herself in this (without the hat), brushed her teeth and skipped along, making her way out the door to reach the cafeteria where she grabbed an apple and an orange, waving at the everyone there “hi guys!” she exclaimed, all happy and adorable, smile on her lips. She recieved several greetings back. After all, who could really dislike little Pheebs? Then she realized Zeke and Everlie were there. Two amazing, lovely people. She didn’t have time for a big greeting, unfortunately, because she really, really wanted to see Gabe, but she did manage to give Everlie a little peck on the cheek, saying “Morning you two!” with a bright smile, before hurrying along. She started munching on her apple, half running, half jumping to reach her favorite room in the entire school quickly.

Turning the corner, the little redhead spotted Cale in the doorway, talking. Probably to Gabe, which meant Gabe was there. Not that she hadn’t expect him to be, but still. She giggled to herself, throwing her apple-core in a nearby trashcan. She put the orange in her bag and advanced into full running mode. “Gabeeeeeyy!” she almost shouted happily as she jumped him, arms winding around her absolute favorite friend and teacher. She laughed joyfully, looking up at him with big eyes before she turned her head to smile brightly at Cale. “Morning Cale! Sleep well?” She asked him, always trying to have the guy open up. He was such a cute one! She was still holding onto Gabe, having missed him. Her heart warmed at his smile, so she couldn’t help babbling more, “Gabey, my special friend fell onto the floor again, and my duvet… and my pillow. They all just left me, but it’s okay really. I swear… I picked him up! And later I’ll have a serious talk with him about leaving me in the night. I don’t think he was gone long, though.”

Around people who weren’t Gabe, Chloe or Chance, and a few others, Phoebe talked of Mr. Bumble as her ‘special someone’. She wasn’t embarrassed really, she just didn’t want everyone to know. They might steal him for fun, and not realize that it wasn’t fun. It’s not like she thought they’d ever steal him to be mean, but still…

"Well, I'm glad that you picked him up...I doubt that he was gone for long at all, he was probably just trying to get away from those legs of yours. You kick something fierce when you're asleep, you know." Gabe said, which caused Phoebe to look up at him, innocent look in her eyes, a little regretful pout on her lips. “But... Gabey, I don’t mean to. I swear… it just… it sorta happens.” She sighed, before her face relit in a smile. “I’ll work on it!” Not that it would help any at all, because it was all unconscious, but of course Phoebe paid no mind to silly logics like that. Then when Gabe let go of her her arms fell to her side, gaze moving to follow the teacher, eyes going wide as she realized that he was turning to his desk, and bag. Bag usually meant something good was coming up. He was probably going to make her eat something like always. He tended to do that. He always brought some kind of sweet or other for her, and she loved it. She loved Gabe all in all. No one rivaled him, though she’d never be able to realize that herself. In reality, Phoebe felt she loved all the people close to her equally, but Gabe had a special place in her heart, truly like an unbreakable parental bond.

Many considered Gabe a sort of mother-away-from-home, but to Phoebe he really was. He represented what she’d never had before the academy, and they were closer than anyone else there. Not that those people weren’t close, not at all, it’s just that… nothing would ever come between a mother and her daughter. It was that kind of love, even if Phoebe was a little clueless she knew she’d never get over it if something happened to her Gabey. Her heart warmed as he started his usual mothering, asking how she’d slept, and whether she’d had anything to eat. It caused a loving, warm smile to adorn the redhead’s features. The look on his face made her giggle a little. He was so protective of her, always wanting her to take care of herself. If it hadn’t been for Gabe, Phoebe probably wouldn’t really eat at all, because honestly… she’d forget to. There were so many exciting things in the world, and eating seemed like such a waste of time compared to that. As it was, she rarely ate even with Gabe’s mothering. When he wasn’t around, Phoebe sort of neglected her own needs, even the simplest ones.

“Yeah, I slept fantastically. I know I had a really good dream, but I can’t even remember what happened in it anymore. I think I was at a wedding.” She said, thoughtfully, then remembering that he had asked another question too, she smiled up at him. “Oh, and I ate! I ate an apple… and I brought and orange too.” She said, taking the fruit out of her bag to show as evidence with a proud look on her face. “See? And I’m going to eat it!… later.” She added, knowing that it would probably be an hour… or two, really. He would most likely tell her that she needed to eat something more substantial, but she didn’t need to. She was a tiny girl with a frail built; she didn’t really need all the much sustenance to keep her motor running. For some reason energy always came to her in bursts, without food really. Luckily she didn’t like coffee either… she was crazy enough as it was. Imagine little Pheebs on coffee? She’d had one sip once and had almost doubled over from the horrible taste. Of course she hadn’t said anything, though, but her face had made her opinion clear to anyone. She was a very expressive girl.

As Gabe started rummaging through his bag, talking all the while, Phoebe’s face gradually lit with recognition, and with that; excitement. She knew precisely what four hours of nothing to do did to Gabe Vincent. He always, always, always ended up baking. And a lot of it too. Oh, and he big bonus? He was always so generous with it! Not like he could ever eat it all alone, anyways. “oooh! I know, I know!” She squealed, jumping a couple of times in excitement. “Cookies, right? Right? Are there any chocolate-chip?!” She got her answer as the man placed the three containers on the desk. She laughed happily, smiling up at her teacher/mother/friend. “Oh yay! There are!” She was so excited it was almost stupid how eager she got over something as simple as cookies, but really, Gabe’s cookies were the best she’d ever had, and he baked them with love too, always with the intention of bringing smiles and happiness, something always ensured when dealing with Phoebe. Little things would have her jumping up and down. The little girl opened the container with chocolate chip cookies and took out one only to take a bit in the next instant. She murmured a thank you to Gabe, hearing him offer a cookie to Cale.

She sunk her bite, smiling widely as she held out the box towards the guy. “They’re like… heaven! Heaven in the shape of little chocolaty goodness cookies!” She giggled, taking another bite, all the while talking… with her mouth full of course, which Gabe would probably chastise her for as usual. No one but him had ever really taught her manners, and he’d been too late by the time he entered her life. There was no changing it now, not that he didn’t try. “Gabe’s a genius with this stuff, I swear.”




Nathan laughed at Juliette’s reply to his comment, walking up to her instead of shouting across the room. “Ah, yes,” he said, “encourage… of course. Except that would be to do something worthwhile, like study, not whatever you think you’re doing there. Besides, we both know your confidence is just fine,” he said playfully, a coy glint in his breathtakingly intense eyes now focused on her. “You certainly do not need me to tend to it.” That much was true; rarely had the man met a person seemingly more confident than this girl, and she was only 18! Usually women didn’t feel that confident in their own skins until much older. It made him feel like his attraction was somewhat justified, but gods… he really wished it wasn’t there in the first place. He cast Juliette one of his usual smiles when she asked about the list next. “Of course I remembered it.” He said, a pretend-hurt touch to his voice. “What did you expect?”

Nate found he wasn’t in the mood for all of this social closeness. Well, not with this amount of people, anyway. He had hoped it would be mostly vacant right now due to classes and such, but no… it was so damn crowded with people he felt he needed fresh air. Ah, yes… fresh air would be nice right about now. Before he could say anything about his opinion of the list, or ask Juliette to take a walk with him, Ava was popping in, asking whether she could help with anything. The fact that she had not even noticed him made him smile, though he quickly moved to help the girls with the boxes. He didn't say anything, but rather listened to the girls conversing. Once they finished, the boxes scattered around then, he smiled at the girls, still quiet before glancing around him, noticing all the usual people there with the exception of a few. The teacher didn't bother interrupting the girls as they kept talking, but rather watched actions around him, only turning back to them once Ava left. As soon as she did, however, Amarie was there, saying good morning to them both. Would it never end? Nate was oddly irritated by the constant interruptions, really, which was weird, because he was normally very sociable. However, perhaps this whole situation with Ness had taken a worse toll than he’d thought at first. It didn’t help that it was Amarie either, of all people.

However, Amarie had done nothing to irk him, so he merely smiled and gave a nod of recognition, “morning, Miss McCarty. “ Was all he said before turning to Jules once more as the woman left to do whatever she felt she needed to do. “I need some fresh air,” he started, realizing his request for a walk, meaning alone time with Juliette, might seem weird to some. He didn’t really care, though. He’d already been selfish once today, why not do it again? He needed to get outside for just a little while, perhaps breathe again. “Would you care to join me for a walk?” He asked her, smile on his lips, usual glint in his eyes, even though his body was growing restless. He really needed to have a talk with it about disturbing him and his work to this extent. They didn’t really have time to leave, but at the same time… whether they talked inside or outside didn’t really matter. Besides, there was a certain limit to the amount of people able to work on the same things. Not a lot was left over to do by now, honestly. The teacher ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the windows, longing to be on the other side of them.

Then Ness walked in, and her words caused him to sigh softly, but he didn't show anything in his demeanor; didn't even look at her really, except for a short glance. He felt like kicking her... and then kicking himself. She was mad at him? Fine, he got that, but there was no need to run about making everything obvious to people. And, was it just him or was she being overly dramatic? It didn't really matter, though, because the girl left right after her little rant. He felt guilty like hell, but then again... she couldn't possibly know that, or his intentions. He could somewhat understand her feelings, however, but at the same time it seemed so... childish. Yes, childish was a perfect word to describe it. Her little outburst brought him back on track, and with that realization, a slight frown creased his forehead. Ness might be 19, but she was still just... a kid. She was a bright girl; of course she'd make it to the ball! And then... at the same time he wanted to kick himself for being so selfish with her. He'd go apologize later, he decided, and tell her to hand in the essay in a couple of days instead. After talking to Juliette, of course. Ness needed to calm herself a little first. No way was he going to go talk to a raging woman. They were totally incoherent in all ways possible.

Ezekiel Row



Zeke smiled, very exicited, his heart pumped with warmth and excitement, he grasped her shoulders quickly, and pulled her into an affectionate bear hug. He hadn't been this excited in a long time, in all honesty, he wanted to kiss Everlie, but he didn't have the gall to go that far, but he was close, realizing that Everlie was nearly lifted off the floor. He blushed, and then let her down when he realized how close they were. "Sorry..." his blush still evident on his face. "I mean, I guess I was really looking forward to you saying yes..." out of the sheer elation he kissed Everlie on the cheek. "Thanks, I really wouldn't have known what to do if you said no. What class are you going to next? We could walk there together if you want, I'm pretty much free for the morning, if Keating isn't angry today."


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Cale Anderson


"Oh, good morning Cale, how are you?" Cale stuttered and blushed, a usual habit of his whenever he was around Mr.Vincent. "I-I...um..." "Oh! Come on in, is there anything I can help you with? You got through the homework alright? Want a-"

“Morning Cale! Sleep well?” Both Cale and Gabe were interrupted by the ever charming Phoebe. Cale turned to Phoebe, who looked just peachy this morning, like she always did, Cale gave her a genuine smile. "I'm fine, Phoebe, it's so nice to see you..." his voice was soft, and silent, compared to Phoebe's vibrant and boisterous manner, though Cale couldn't care less, maybe some of the things that Phoebe did made him more confident, he couldn't tell. “Gabey, my special friend fell onto the floor again, and my duvet… and my pillow. They all just left me, but it’s okay really. I swear… I picked him up! And later I’ll have a serious talk with him about leaving me in the night. I don’t think he was gone long, though.”

"I'm sure you'll find whoever it is, Pheebs, I don't think anyone would want to get away from you.." he wondered who exactly, her 'special friend' had been. Phoebe had already started her conversation with Gabriel; those two were well acquainted, Cale observed that long ago. The two had started an almost, mini tea party in front of Cale, it intrigued him, how they both had their share of sweets. He was tempted to actually try one, but too nervous to ask, like he usually was. As for now, he knew that his next teacher wouldn't mind so much if he didn't attend. As intertwined in the little party they were having, Mr.Vincent actually asked for him to join."S-sure..." he smiled at the two, hoping they wouldn't mind his company.

Gabey Vincent

Gabe smiled at Phoebe, "A wedding? That's just great. And I'm sure you'll be able to stop kicking things out of your bed with practice." He frowned a little at the girl's lack of a breakfast and sighed, "Pheebs, sweetie, you gotta eat more than that. I don't want you to whither away, after all. But I guess you eating a little something every few hours is preferred to you not eating at all." He wasn't meaning to nag the girl, honest, he just genuinely worried about her, really. He chuckled when she guessed what he'd brought her correctly and said a simple, "Ding ding!" Like you would hear in a game show. Thus was Gabe and his quirkiness.

He sighed and shook his head at Phoebe, "Don't talk with your mouth open. And they're not that good...And I'm not a genius. I just...Learned a few things from my step-mother, is all. But, please, have as many as you'd like. I have plenty more where that came from, trust me." He smiled warmly at Cale, that was one of Gabe's natural talents; making people feel welcome, like they belonged, all with something as simple as a smile or offering someone a cookie. It was probably because he did most everything with the utmost sincerity, he honestly cared about people.

He picked his tea up off his desk and sipped on it, content to watch the teens devour his treats; he very rarely took a single bite of the sweets he made...He was always too busy giving them away to enjoy them. But, to him, watching people eat the things he made was more enjoyable than all the cookies in the world, really. You just can't beat that kind of feeling.

---

Peter Mahony

"You don't happen to have that copy of "How Not to Literally Murder Your Students" for me to borrow, do you?" The moment Peter heard those words, a smirk appeared on his face, "Well, gee, I think I have it in my dorm room somewhere. Found it over the summer, thought it'd be a great gift for you." He was, of course, only teasing. Mr. Keating was all but used to Peter's snarky banter by now, and in any normal circumstance would pretend not to enjoy trading wits with the boy...But he wasn't in much of a good mood, at that exact moment. This was both a good and a bad thing.

He shifted a little in his seat at the teacher's musings, everything in Peter hoped his other classmate's wouldn't show. That meant an easy boost to his grades. An easy boost to his grades meant he wouldn't have to study as hard later on too keep up his impeccable report card. Peter liked getting good grades...He liked proving he could be as clever and smart as anyone else, and he wasn't just another kid with wings on his shoes...Though he wasn't exactly helping that stereotype by owning a pair of shoes with wings, but...He just liked those. Made him feel in touch with his father, in a way. Plus, they were pretty fly, if he said so himself. Ugh, Peter, you have got to stop with the puns. You're killing me, man. Peter Mahony was always the type to think in third person. Says it helps keep his thoughts organized.

When Cadence walked back in the room, though, Peter sighed and muttered, "Hey, does she count? She was already here, after all..." He turned to look at her, shooting her a look that said; "Why the fuck would you come back to class?!" It wasn't an angry look, more of a 'how could you be so stupid?' look. But the eyeroll, oh that roll of her eyes. Peter rolled his own eyes back at her, shrugged, and turned to face anywhere but her...Not out of spite, but so she wouldn't see the grin that was forming on his face. Oh, yeah, he was most certainly waking up, now.

The little redhead smiled brightly and Cale’s sweet comment. He was such a darling, darling person! It really was too bad he was so shy with most people. “Thanks you, Caley, but he wasn’t gone at all. I already found him!” She answered; chipper as always before she turned to Gabe with all his glorious mothering. It made her chuckle to hear him say exactly what she’d expected him to about the food. In response she merely gave him a little hug and a loving smile while whispering “I love you, Gabey..” It was a simple statement, but so full of love from such a little girl. Really, one would expect Phoebe’s huge heart to burst out of her little chest at one point or another. She just held so much love for so many people, it would be considered impossible by many. However, Phoebe always had room for one more, or to even expand the room she’d already made for someone. She was just that kind of person, and for some reason she couldn’t even bring herself to dislike the most vile of people. She always, no exceptions, found a reason to like them. Even if it was just a thing she’d once seen them do for someone else five years ago. She didn’t let go of things like that.

Phoebe finished the cookie she’d started munching on just as Cale’s quiet voice stuttered a single word, making her eyes brighten along with a smile offered to the guy. Except just when she was about to say something more, she was interrupted by Gabe being Gabe. It made her laugh at him as she turned a playful grin in his direction. “Gabey… I can’t very well speak with my mouth closed, you know.” She knew he’d meant to tell her not to speak with her mouth full, but it was always so much fun when he messed things up like that. He was just so amazing sometimes! “And how do you know they’re not that good when you never have any, silly you?” She giggled, dug her delicate hand into the container and handed it in Cale’s direction, turning back to him, looking happy as ever. “Here you go, dearling!” She almost twitted, voice excited to finally get to include Cale in any real interactions with anyone who wasn’t her. “C’mon inside,” She invited, knowing class wouldn’t start for another ten minutes or so. Plenty of time. “You are ever so welcome.”

Once Cale had taken the cookie, the little girl hopped onto the desk, utilizing the last bit of unoccupied space on it. Gabe’s desk never was very empty. Things were always kind of lying about. She smiled at Cale and opened her mouth, about to ask him who he’d be asking to the ball when she suddenly realized… no one had asked her. Her mouth shut immediately. Now that she’d turned 16, she was finally going to her first ball and no one wanted to go with her. Her happy expression crumbled right then and there, causing her to look down at the cookie-container in her lap. She had found a beautiful dress, but somehow that didn’t really matter if no one wanted to put a flower in his chest-pocket to match its gorgeous colour. The fact that she was actually curious about who Cale would bring, ceased to matter. That was not Pheebs’ way at all; she was always much more interested in everyone else than herself, but for some reason it really hurt to know that no one wanted to go with her.

She hadn’t really thought of it before, never being one to look ahead for trouble, which meant that it now hit her with full force. A rarely seen, heartbreakingly cute, yet so very sad expression spread on her pretty features. She didn’t notice it, but rather had her mind focused on what she’d possibly done wrong. Her mood had been so good only moments before and now her it had turned around 180 degrees, spiraling downwards at a fast pace. She didn’t cry – not yet, but she could feel water gathering in her big, beautiful eyes. Phoebe was never sad, not really, but she’d never felt rejected before either. It was not a feeling the girl was used to; she had always been loved dearly by everyone, and she had always loved them all back. Which only made this hurt even more; why didn’t boys like her? Had she done something wrong? Was there something wrong with the way she looked? She hugged the contained in her arms as her head gradually began its way downward, hair moving to cover her miserable face. Now she just wanted to go cuddle Mr. Bumble.





Nathan smiled, relieved to hear Juliette’s agreeing to take a walk with him. He turned back to look at her and chuckled to see the smile playing on her lips. “Yes… the list,” he agreed, almost as if he only just remembered that that was what he was supposed to talk to her about. He had been so occupied by other things he’d nearly forgotten why he technically needed to talk to her. Perhaps he’d go find Poppy afterwards. She was always much fun to hang around… somehow that chick always saw things just right, and talking to her really was much more appropriate than talking to Juliette. However, he actually did have something job-related to speak with his beautiful student about, so it was what it was. Noticing Lukas, he smiled at the kid, "Morning Lukas. Nice to see you out and about." He was also glad Juliette had asked Ava to go talk to Ness, yet at the same time he was worried she’d be mad enough to talk of their little secret. He could only hope she didn’t want her friends knowing about him, or that she at least didn’t feel the urge to spill her guts.

When Juliette started walking towards the door, throwing a little comment his way, the young teacher laughed, “aren’t you a bossy one?” he shot back playfully and began making his way outside, assuming she’d follow. Once they were a little distance away from the grand hall, well on their way outside, the handsome man glanced at Juliette before taking out the song-list and waving it in the air. “Firstly… ‘check yes, Juliet’? Really?” he said; an obvious teasing note in his voice before he stopped waving it and merely held it. Then he just shook his head at her, glint in his eyes. He had decided not to let Ness enter his thoughts right now. He would focus on Juliette and hope that it’d help a little. “Secondly, I hope you have more where that came from, dear, or we will be exceptionally low on musical choices. Can’t very well replay ten songs all night, can we?” Of course, he knew she’d probably have tons of music on her mind, and that these songs were probably only samples. Basically the list was only for him to judge whether that kind of music would be appropriate for the ball. She probably had a bunch in the same style already playlisted on her Ipod.

By then, they’d reached a door which he pushed open, holding it for her like a true gentleman, a charming, playful smile adorning his handsome face. “Ladies first,” he commented.

Rhea Xior

Preistly, always had a way with avoiding uncomfortable topics, but hell, Rhea had her ways too. She just wanted to see if he was attending at all, and he would be stuck worrying way too much, about taking her, she couldn't care less if they went skinny dipping in the lakw during the dance. Just the thought of being close to somebody tonight, made everything alright. She would tell Preistly that in an hour, she found herself blushing at the small Blackberry. "Would Priestly be crazy enough to go skinny dipping with her?.." the complexities of the relationship was built on the fact that both of them were people, your parents warned you about, and were told to stay away from. Purely outcasts. Rhea wasn't admitted that they were totally made out for each other, after all if they were afraid to take the next step and tell her peers, then maybe they weren't, though the Academy would seem so mundane without him, seeing as Rhea had nothing to actually get back to, Priestly was basically keeping her emotional net up, an she hoped she was doing the same for him. She thought about texting him back again, but feared having her cellphone being taken away by Keating, who was fuming this morning. It was pretty obvious he had those awkward social problems, which was replaced by his usual snarkiness, Rhea found herself laughing at the situation, "How in the world does he operate like this?.." she thought to herself. She turned back to the students, and Boones who had finally straightened the mess his classroom had just been, so much had happened that Rhea hadn't even noticed the people who strolled in. While closing down her phone, she waved a hello to Peter, who was probably busy ,making Candence swoon, he wasn't known for subtle flirtation. She put her phone back into one of the smaller pockets on her book bag, sighed, crossed her arm, and waited for Boone to do some flips.
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Ezekiel Row

Free as a bird, and letting the depressing thoughts escape his mind, Zeke would have fall into a trap if he wasn't so stuck in the last few moments. "Well lets just go there right now.." Zeke had a tendency to get the hiccups whenever he was excited for something major, he could feel his chest bursting. He led Everlie by her hand, her single, soft hand, he had memorized its texture, considered his were more calloused from the years of rough housing. He led her into the main corridor where most of the classes were, and Boones, just around the corner. He peeked in with one eye, seeing now that Keating was probably starting his first lesson, he opened the door, letting Everlie walk in before him, as gentlemanly as he could.



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Cale Anderson



(Unfinished mainly due to time constraints, I'll finish it tomorrow)

Gabe Vincent

Gabe had always been fond of Phoebe's reactions to his nagging, he knew that she knew that he meant it all in the most loving way possible, so when the girl hugged him, he just grinned and hugged her back. A chuckled found it's way out of his mouth, not because the girl saying she loved him was funny, but because it made him truly and genuinely happy. As his stepmother had always said, "Gabriel, nothing makes a momma happier than her kiddos sayin' they love her." He knew that to be true. He rubbed the small girl's back and mumbled, "I love ya too, Pheebs." Before turning to his papers, trying to get them in some semblance of order. He sighed as he looked at the guitar leaned in the corner against his desk and asked, "Why do I even have that blasted thing?" The question wasn't directed at anyone, it was just Gabe's scattered way of thinking at work.

“Gabey… I can’t very well speak with my mouth closed, you know.” At those words, Gabe couldn't keep laughter from bubbling out of his mouth, he just couldn't help it, he'd mixed words up again and just generally made himself look silly. All the same, he playfully glared at Phoebe and said, "You know what I meant, young lady." He knew she'd understand, he wasn't upset, it was all just playful teasing, really. At her next words, though, he just shook his head and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. A gesture that generally meant, 'okay, okay; you win.' He glanced up from his chaotic desk to ensure Cale was coming inside and looking comfortably enough; the boy was so shy, after all. Sometimes Gabe felt like these kids needed an extra shove, and maybe it wasn't his place, but he especially felt like he needed to help more introverted kids feel at home, after all, he'd been there, been the random guy that didn't fit in. He'd actually had no clue how to act in a classroom, when he'd first started attending Olympus, much less how to casually mingle. He smiled at Cale, and started to say something, when Phoebe hopped up on his desk. He chuckled and sighed at the same time and moved things around so she could sit a bit more...Comfortably.

Though, when the girl didn't say anything for a moment, he looked back up at her. Phoebe was always chattering away, so her not talking was a bit...Bothersome. Her posture indicated that something was wrong, and Gabe was around in front of the girl in a flash. One hand rested on her arm as he said, "Phoebe...Honey, what's wrong?" Suddenly, Cale didn't matter, papers didn't matter, that stupid guitar didn't matter. Fion could probably burst through the door singing a musical number from The Wizard of Oz and Gabe wouldn't notice. His baby girl was upset, and he couldn't figure out why. What was happening that could have upset her? Was it something he had done? He hoped he hadn't done- or said- anything to upset the girl. He gently pulled the container of cookies out of her arms and rested it on his desk, not taking his right hand off her upper arm.

He rested his other arm on her shoulder as he tried to figure out what could be wrong, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a thing. His eyes started to fill with their own tears as he empathized with the girl, he didn't even know what was wrong, but she was upset, and so was he. Honestly, he could barely remember a time when he hadn't felt her pain. Phoebe being sad was just so rare, she was such an easygoing, happy, upbeat girl; seeing her upset like this was enough to practically kill Gabe, his heart just absolutely wrenched at the sight. And so, naturally, he did the only thing he knew to do; he pulled the small girl into a hug. It was a tight hug, the kind that makes you feel safe, secure, loved. The kind that practically says: "go ahead, cry on my shoulder" because you know they care enough about you not to care. After all, Gabe could wash mascara out of a white shirt, he'd done it before, and he'd do it again. That much didn't matter to him. What matter was his baby girl, and nothing was gonna change that.

((I will edit in Petey and probably Ducky as soon as I can, probably in the morning...Or they may end up being a new post, depending on how things go. I dunno.))

Chance looked at Chloe. She was talking and he looked at her as she did with a blank expression on his face as she told him. She didn't want to go with him? Why not? Was he not good enough? Did she find a new best friend? It was like her rejecting him even though he asked as friends it hurt him and she didn't understand that part of him and she probably never would but he wouldn't display it to her. When she suggested asking Pheebs out to the ball he just nodded and listened to her suggestions as always. She seemed to always mean well but it still hurt him and as he watched Chloe look over at Malcolm a new type of pang hit him and it was odd to him. He some how just kind of wanted to go over and beat Malcolm up in the face for what seemed to be no apparent reason. Why would he do that? Why? This was all so new to him and his brain had been going and going and couldn't comprehend it well enough and he sunk under the water and let it wrap around him and cool him off before he resurfaced and looked at her. "Phoebe would love the idea." He said placing a cheery grin on his face. He made it easy to read and easy to think he was alright with this situation.

Chance then decided to get out. "I got myself all wet now." He said chuckling and then went onto shore. He took his wet shirt off. It had clung to his body which made it difficult to get off. In an instant he saw a girl come up to Malcolm speak to him and then walk away. He was a little confused but none the less just shook the thought away. He then carried his shirt with him as he left and walked off to change. As he got to his room he disposed his wet clothes and put on a pair of shorts and a grey tank top. As he sat there on his bed he looked over at his board on his wall. He saw all the stuff on there and he saw the pictures of Chloe that he had and even those just made his heart skip a beat. This was stupid, he couldn't have feelings like that for Chloe it just wasn't right..Well it was but to her it probably wasn't. She was more into Malcolm. At the thought of that his nose wrinkled. His eyes then shifted to the piggy bank he smashed earlier. What was he supposed to do? Soon if Chloe and Malcom became something then he'd have not only lost Miss Piggy but also Chloe. It sickened him and it made it feel like the weight of the world was placed in his hands. Why? Why did this have to be his fate? He was the son of the goddess of luck..Not bad fortune but he supposed no amount of luck would help him with things like these.

Taking a deep sigh in anger filled his body, the heat starting to go through his body and he let out a loud groan and then followed by that was a growl. It was like a beast was taking over the man and he just couldn't contain it. It was what it was like with all of Chance's emotions, all a different beast for each emotion and sometimes it grew so great he couldn't help it and it just got out of hand. Chance ended up knocking over his night stand and punching a hole through the wall from his anger. It just wasn't fair, the cruel world just wasn't fair and he hated it, for all the cruelty that it had and all the suffering he had to do. Why couldn't he do anything right? Why couldn't he please just one person? He wasn't enough for anyone..He was useless. The most useless person..How far would luck get you if it was limited..How far would any of his traits get him? He had nothing and no one understood that. He had great friends yes but it just wasn't enough..They all had someone else they fell back on and he was always the third wheel that nobody needed or wanted..He was just there for purpose.

He finally sat down and exhaled as the rage beast had left his body for the moment and just as quickly as the rage monster left the sadness beast was tugging at his heart strings and playing with them into a sad melody that only he knew so well. Soon it clawed at the pit of his stomach and soon it made the tears trickle down his cheeks. Without really noticing he was laying curled up on his side on his bed in his tornado of a room. He was now shaking, he wasn't cold but it seemed as the monster was doing it to him and his throat felt like it was getting tighter and tighter and he couldn't contain it no farther. Something lurched out of his throat and it was a sob, a cry, a wail, just sorrow coming from the man. Men had feelings too and Chance was usually a brick wall but right now the tears came hot and slid down his face one by one making another sob come out and this time rack his whole body as it happened. His hands shook and he felt far from his body and no one would bring him back. He would not tell Chloe these feelings, she couldn't see how much he was torn apart..This had happened in the past but he shrugged it off as just one of his stupid episodes again. He finally fell asleep and calmed right down.

When he awoke he had a clear mind and he went and washed his face. Soon enough he came out and saw all the money left on the floor, he dug through the mess and picked up all the money and shoved it in his pocket. He had an idea for later but that was for later right now he had other plans and ones that would be better than what he had planned to do with Chloe, he didn't need her she could just drop off the face of the planet right now and not a bone, muscle, tissue, fibre, cells, genes, and such on would give a damn. His mind was on anti mode right now as he started heading towards the room otherwise known as Mr.Vincent's class. He didn't have class with the man this morning but he knew that was where Pheebs was and the two of them together just sent good vibes around him and generally made him a happy person. He reached the room and turned the knob and entered the room. He saw the two of them and someone else his mind wouldn't allow him for the time being.

Chance came over and grabbed a seat and he had a goofy smile on his face as he waved to all of them in a cheery and bright way. "Hey Pheebs!" He said excitedly and then turned to Mr.Vincent. "Hello Mr.Vincent! How are you this morning?" He asked and then turned to Phoebe. "Hey Phoebe. I was wondering if you wanted to come to the ball with me. I think it'd be fun and we'd be able to dance and you know perhaps tell our stuffy friends later about how much fun we had dancing and laughing together." He said with his bright smile plastered on his face as he let a small chuckle come out of his mouth. He now waited for a response and hoped he wouldn't be turned down yet again.

---

Sybil had woken up in her room and she groaned as the sunshine hit her face. She didn't like mornings and she hated them more so when she was hungover. Being hungover wasn't the best thing in the morning. She flipped the blankets over and then stumbled out of bed. Her head was spinning round and round. Grunting she made her way over to the bathroom and pressed her face on the cool tiles cooling her face down as she did so. Sybil eventually got up and then she went into the shower. She washed her hair and her body and rinsed. After the cleaning was process she wrapped a towel around her as she went to go get something to wear. What she found happened to be a pair of short shorts that happened to be denim. Soon enough she threw on a baggy sweater, she rolled up the sleeves and looked at herself. She looked fine and looked good.

Sybil then did her hair and make-up and got something to eat and she was on her way out of her room. She didn't have terribly too much to do but as she walked around eating her apple a few thoughts crossed her mind but more than half of them she couldn't do anyways. The last idea came to her while she was staring at the door numbers and who belonged in who. Eventually she ended up at the door where she believed that Ducky was in.

Knocking on the door she entered it and smirked. "Honey I'm home!" She exclaimed. "Did you miss me?" She said and laughed. Sure they weren't great friends but they still seemed to be friends and she flirted with him a few times. He was more of a party buddy you could guess. Sybil didn't even really know but she wasn't scared of a guy who called himself Ducky no matter how good looking and strong he seemed he didn't scare her one bit and that was pure fact.

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(Yeah this is pretty much the whole post, Zeke doesn't have much to say >.<)
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Phoebe was on the verge of crying when she heard Gabey’s always so comforting, caring voice, asking her what was wrong. She took a deep, slightly trembling breath, trying to keep the tears in. If she started crying, it would hurt her Gabey, and she didn’t want that. She knew she could cry in front of him; she had done it before. He and Fion were always the people she came running to when something was wrong, not that she didn’t trust her peers, but sometimes, when you were sad, grownups were sort of just… better. Fion was like a very old big brother, and Gabey was a mother, so really… who she ran to often depended on what was wrong. In this instant, Gabey was perfect. She let the container of cookies slip out of her hands when Gabe moved it, putting it on the desk. She heard Cale ask what was wrong as well, but she didn’t have the energy to reassure him, which only made her feel worse. She hated herself for making everyone around her feel so terrible. She knew Cale worried about her; it was apparent in his tone, and it warmed her big heart.

The little redhead pensively bit down on her lower lip, closing her eyes due to the sting of tears not shed. She felt the water gathered in her right eye released in the shape of a tear almost casually rolling down her cheek. She snuffled, finally raising her head and thereby eyes to gaze up at the man who’d practically raised her as though she was his own. Then she quickly wiped the tear off her cheek, worried that Gabey might see and feel sad too. She knew he already felt her pain enough as it was. It was just something he’d developed over time. Almost magical, really; his empathic abilities regarding hers. Sometimes it was really amazing that he could always tell if something was wrong, and at other times it got… a little bothersome. She loved him more than anyone, though. “I…” she began, not quite able to finish the sentence. That was when she realized how silly she was being; crying over not being asked to the ball. It wasn’t like she had a love interest like Robert, Ava and Chloe, right? Or did she? She wasn’t sure what she felt about Nova; she couldn’t figure it out, but she didn’t think she loved him like that… did she?

Then Gabe pulled her into a tight, protective hug and Phoebe instantly relaxed, no longer worried about sounding silly or stupid. Gabe wouldn’t see it like that; he’d understand her, and accept her feelings. He always did; that was the great thing about Gabe, she though as her arms wound around him, clutching him to her in search comfort, he never judged. He always just accepted and loved; she knew she couldn’t get that anywhere else. Pheebs was naïve, she’d be the first to admit that, but she wasn’t entirely clueless; she knew nothing rivaled the love of her mother. She burrowed her head in his shirt, closing he eyes. She didn’t feel like crying anymore; it was almost as if Gabe had dried away her tears with only a hug, and it was so amazingly comforting. She came to rest her head sideways against his chest; he was much taller than her. Not that that was anything unusual. She took another deep breath, still feeling sadness pounding in her heart. Her tears might be gone, but the sadness wasn’t. Her pretty eyes glanced down at the floor, even as she was being held by the best person in her life.

“Gabey… no one has-“ she began but was interrupted when she heard the door opening and became curious. Her head turned ever so carefully, still against Gabe’s chest and she almost smiled to see Chance entering. He didn’t have biology with her, so what on earth was he doing there? She watched him moving to take a seat before greeting her and Gabe. “Hey Chancey,” she said quietly, casting him a little half-smile that was in no way typical of the girl. Then he said words she hadn’t thought she’d ever hear from her best friend’s lips and her eyes widened in surprise, lips curving into a happy Phoebe-like smile. Her heart fluttered gleefully at him inviting her to the ball. It wasn’t a date, and she didn’t crave one either, in all honesty. As long as someone even thought of asking her, she was happy. She giggled at his comment about their ‘stuffy’ friends, though she sensed something else from him; an unusual vibe. Phoebe didn’t usually register a lot with people, but she had known Chance for so long, she’d learned to tell when something was wrong.

It was a little weird, him asking her to the ball; he usually went with Chloe. Perhaps that was the issue… she’d turned him down? Said yes to someone else? Chloe liked Malcolm, Phoebe knew, and anyone could tell that Chance liked Chloe. Oh, she thought as the mystery was solved in her head. She decided not to mention it in the next instant, thinking it to be a sore subject with the guy. So instead, Phoebe, suddenly a big bubble of cheeriness, tenderly unwrapped herself from Gabe’s arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek, smiling up at him. “It’s alright, Gabey.” She chirped, “I was just sad no one wanted to go to the ball with me, but I’m happy now! See?” She said, casting him the brightest of smiled before sending one Cale’s way. “You’re sweet, Cale.” She stated, “thank you for caring.” Then finally she skipped over to where Chance was sitting and seated her little self on his lap, wrapping her arms around him in a hug part joy, part comfort. She didn’t want him to feel sad. “I’d love to go to the ball with you, Chancey-bancey!” She said happily, laughing with giddiness.

“We’ll show them how much fun we are, right?” She smiled brightly at him, giving him a squeeze. “And and… you should see my dress! It’s sooooo beautiful and green!” she continued excitedly, her mood growing quite… bubbly with lovely expectations. It was going to be so much fun! Phoebe always had fun with Chance. “Are you wearing a suit? You’ll look dashing in a suit, I think, and tie or no tie? Do you even know how to tie one? Hah… tie a tie. That’s funny,” she blathered, laughing softly. “Oh, I’m babbling… I’m sorry!”







To Robet’s pretend-hurt, Alex merely chuckled, glancing at his best friend, mock-winking in a ‘I’m sexy and I know it’-kind of way, all that. “You know you love it. We’ve talked about your masochistic tendencies.” Then he continued by opening his door and such.

Alex narrowed his eyes at his sister as she replied to his avalanche of questions, feeling suspicious. She’d been in the city, and nothing had happened? A cute girl like her, all alone? If she didn’t want to tell him though, he wasn’t going to push it. Everyone had a right to their secrets. Hell, he had a whole closet of them himself. Secrets only Robbie knew of; secrets having to do with his past. When she told him he was too over protective though, he just shrugged, smiling at her. “It’s my job,” he stated playfully. Wasn’t something he wasn’t used to hearing. All of his sisters liked to inform him of that. He was serious, though; he really did view it as it job, or duty. Then he merely followed up with another avalanche. One which she replied to in her usual manner. It caused him to smile wryly. Well, at least she was apologizing (he chose to ignore the exasperated tone with which it was said) so he was alright. He calmed down and chuckled. “It’s a big deal to me,” he stated, serious now. “You know that.”

He sighed though, letting her go. He couldn’t force his sisters to listen to him, but he could try to make them see the reason behind them… or at least empathize with his need to protect them. Not that it did him any good. What he got a roll of their eyes, and a comment about him being overly protective. He didn’t think there was such a thing. Then she noticed Robbie and her joy made Alex smile as he closed the door, letting the two of them have at it. Reunions were not something you should interrupt. It was that way with them; Robbie hadn’t interrupted while Alex had talked to Em. It was that mutual respect that formed the foundation of their friendship. When she made a joke about Robbie having no girlfriend, he chuckled. “Oh, he has the balls,” he muttered to himself. Robbie wasn’t shy at all. Not in any way. He wasn’t afraid to ask a girl out, afraid of rejections. Nope, he just did it. Some said it made him stupid, some said brave… Alex chose to view him as slightly reckless with a touch of insanity. It was awesome, really. Even if Robbie’s sights were set on his sister. On the positive side of things, he couldn’t think of anyone more worthy of Junes than Robbie.

The history teacher definitely wasn’t it. And just like that, his irritation was back. He sighed, rubbing his temples with his index fingers. Sometimes sisters were just drags. He heard Robbie blaming him for making him cry and laughed. “Technically it is your fault,” he commented. Robbie was the only one who could bring him from angry to happy in a second for some reason. Hell, if he’d been a girl, the two would’ve dated honestly. That’s how perfect they were with eachother. Perfect match. Then he rambled about Jules and asking her to the ball. Then he was running out the door. Alex closed the door behind him and laughed, finding great amusement in his friend’s carefree attitude. “Welcome to the house of crazy,” he said playfully to Emilee, smiling at her. Then he stretched; something he hadn’t even thought to do yet. He always stretched when he got out of bed, but a lot had happened his morning. He knew Jules wasn’t going to say yes to Robbie, and he’d informed his friends of this, but it didn’t stop him from trying. Alex knew he’d be back there quite soon though, probably throwing himself face first into Alex’s bed.

However, right now it was just him and Emilee so he wiggled his eyebrows at her in a silly manner just like him and spoke, remembering that he had things to tell her. Like Blitz. Remembering his girlfriend he could almost feel his smile widen of its own accord, his eyes brightening at her beautiful face passing through his mind. She shook his head though, noting to himself that he needed to make a romantic gesture tonight… or something like that. It was the ball, and he knew blitz cared about it. Like most guys, he personally wasn’t all that into it; formal getup and all, but he went for her sake, and he wanted to make the evening special for them. “So, Em,” he began, still smiling, “guess what?” When she replied he continued, “Blitz and I are officially dating now. See what you missed?” he teased her, solely due to the fact that she’d said her time away hadn’t been all that long. He was proving her wrong by telling of the stuff that had happened while she was away.

He knew Em would be happy for him. She’d been there, along with his other close friends and family, when Becca had left to go ‘find herself’ about a year ago, like that wasn’t a bunch of bullshit right there. They’d dated for 3 freaking years and suddenly she’d stopped knowing who she was? It had taken him quite a while to get over her, and he hadn’t dated until Blitz just a few days back. He wasn’t the type to date girls all over the place. He probably could; he knew he had his looks to brag about, if nothing else, but he wasn’t that guy. He wanted something steady; something he could count on. Not a lot of loose relationships he couldn’t figure out; he’d been let down enough already so he tried to keep himself somewhat safe. It was better that way. Besides, dating around like that just felt weird, having been with just one girl pretty much through all of his dating-age.

After a while, Robbie walked right inside, his path set on the bed and just like Alex had predicted, the guy planted himself face first on the bed. He sighed and shook his head. Then he closed the door again after his friend. He was used to that. It was like Robbie had been raised somewhere where the doors closed by themselves. He didn’t mind though, because honestly it was just Robbie, and Alex had already accepted everything about the guy. Then he asked Em to be his date, which made Alex smile wryly. He couldn’t have one sister, so he took the other? Oh, he was going to be bullied for this one. “Stop hitting on all my sisters, dude… what’s next? You gonna hit on me too? Is this like an Apollo-kids obsession?” He couldn’t help it. As long as Rob wasn’t crying or acting extremely upset, Alex knew things could be fixed with jokes and teasing. So he chuckled, deciding to steer his mind off of Jules, and he knew exactly how to do it, “c’mon… don’t whine. You need to start getting ready for tonight if you want to look perfect. Besides, I need help figuring out what to do for Blitz tonight.” He said the word ‘perfect’ in an over-exaggerated gay-ish voice, before chuckling. He knew all about his friend’s OCD-tendencies and it was always such fun teasing him about it.

There were many hours yet until the ball took place, but the both knew they could easily spend a week coming up with ideas, setting things up and getting ready. They also always did it together. Except Alex hadn’t gone last year; it was right after Becca’s departure and he hadn’t felt up to it, so Robbie, like the amazing friend he was, had stayed in his room with him, keeping him company. Robbie’s company was the only one he never minded and he’d appreciated the support. This year he had a new girlfriend, and he needed Robbie to be his little helper like always. Alex loved doting on his girlfriend(s), but he also always had Robbie help him. They just worked best as a team, and if he knew Robbie, which he did, the guy would be all worked up over it as usual. For some reason he loved helping make the romantic gestures, just as much as Alex loved carrying them out. Perfect friendship, wasn’t it?







Nathan could feel the heartbeat of his beautiful student pick up when he kissed her, and as things heated up to the point of near eruption on his part, it only increased its pace. His wasn’t exactly being calm either, but it wasn’t quite as bad. Together they made a soft melody, Thunk-thunk thunk-thunk-thunk thunk thunk-thunk. Nathan was quite aware that he was ‘poking’ Ness by now, so when she gently moved her hands from his hair, moving to his chest and oh so softly urging him away, he assumed that was the reason. Nathan moved, although reluctantly. He didn’t want to move even an inch away from this woman, and apparently she didn’t want him to far away either, which made him smile, even as his eyes were still fixed on her lips, moving with the sound of her panting, gathering air. He could feel it too, as their lips were still touching, albeit very little. It was enough to have him wanting more of her; more of their kiss. He knew his own breathing was quite heavy, but he didn’t care. He was crazy for her.

Nathan, not quite willing to not be kissing her, started planting little kisses along the side of the neck, his hot breath tickling her slightly as he did so. He felt he needed to have his lips on her, needed her to feel him. She brought this side out in him for some reason. Maybe feelings too, like with Juliette. Perhaps he was merely too blind to see it; wouldn’t be surprising, honestly. When she breathlessly told him that she ‘supposed’ he was forgiven, he chuckled, mouth gracing the soft skin of her neck, his voice laced with desire still. He moved his lips up to nibble at her ear a little, huskily whispering in her ear; “Appreciate it,” playfulness turning into flirting just by the nature of their situation. “I don’t know how I feel about you,” he noted, still whispering, his voice intoxicating in its own right. “Need help sorting it out… need time.” He didn’t like admitting an inability to something, but he had to tell Ness something. He had to explain a little, because he personally felt like he was using her. And that thought was a bucked of cold water thrown in his face.

He sighed softly, pressing his soft lips against her neck once more before straightening to gaze down at her. He didn’t let go; once more, he didn’t want to. It felt too right, having her in his arms. The look in his eyes went from merely heated and passionate, to showing the caring, softer emotions he felt, yet couldn’t place. His bodily desires were still displayed, but they were covered by something more… human. He smiled at her, a gentle, caring, yet somehow still incredibly charming smile. He didn’t want to say more, but rather wanted her to reply; talk to him… help him? He had a feeling he could no longer have a casual relationship with Vanessa. Now they were more. He didn’t want to go back; he wanted to kick himself for it, but he loved being with her, and he was being stupid and reckless, but a part of him wanted the affair, even if they had to keep it a secret. A very big secret, because he knew he couldn’t keep his hands off of Juliette for much longer either.

He felt like such a manwhore. Honestly, he felt like his old self. He decided one thing though; he would be open with Ness and tell her right from the start that he couldn’t have anything with her that involved monogamy. He’d already accepted that he’d have to bend the rules. No way was he going to be able to keep his hands off of her. Now the problem was… the two girls he wanted were really close, possibly even best friends, and he didn’t want to break that up. He didn’t want to be the reason for the two breaking up their friendship. He was just a guy, and a lousy one at that; one they’d be better off without. What was he going to do now?

Her Reaction

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Twinge of Jealousy

Walking out dat classroom door

This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but Boone Raziel Keating was actually shaving. It had been a while since he'd worked to make himself presentable to the general public, but today would be special and he would make sure of it. He put product in his hair, splashed his face with water a couple times, applied a hint of cologn- oh god, was he sweating? No, no, he wasn't nervous and it certainly had nothing to do with the fact that this was an event that he was genuinely clueless about. He'd never been to a dance because he'd been a little bitch in his adolescence and a bitter old coot up until he had a certain English teacher he wanted to impress. He would act like a perfect gentleman tonight. Everything would go smashingly. He was determined to be as good of a date as humanly plausible, even if twats like Brendon and nagging students prone to snogging and punching and, oh god, not musical date asking tried their best to intervene. Wait, no... this was just babysitting. He had to remind himself that he wasn't actually attending the ball- just chaperoning it. Surprisingly enough, this concept actually brought down his nerves. After this partcular morning, which had proved to be both aggravating and humorous, he had stowed himself in a good vat of whiskey and reading and now that he was sobered up and a good deal more intelligent, he was actually pretty calm again. Aside from the ebb of nervousness eating at the insides of his brains.

He adjusted the bowtie on his favorite suit. It was more formal than he normally wore, obviously, but not that far of a stretch from his casual clothing either. Even though he was a bit of a mess at times, he couldn't remember the last time he'd simply gone out wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans or something of the sort. He rather liked feeling dapper in his attire; it was one the things he felt he could do particularly well. Yes, he looked good. He had this in the bag. There was absolutely nothing to be worried about. He leveled eyes with himself in the mirror, a big frown spreading across his chin as his pep talk did little to nothing to calm his nerves.

He shook his head and left his reflection to itself, exiting his room and slinking down the hallway. He could use a walk and he might as well go on over to the ball now. He had never been one to be fashionably late, but rather awkwardly punctual. As he strode over to his destination, he caught glimpse of precisely the woman who'd been on his mind, ravished in gold and casually strolling like a petal fluttering to the ground. He immediately slowed his pace so as not to seem hurried and cleared his throat, eyes taking her in as he felt a surge of relief wash over him like the ocean lapping at the sand. He treaded closer to her and called out from a few yards away, "You look beautiful." And he meant it, too. Any anxiety he'd felt had vanished the moment she was around- silly how a proud man could get himself into a fuss about nothing. He smirked where he wanted to smile, but no good lady revealed all of her playing cards at once. And if Boone was anything, it was a good lady. Wait, what?

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Nova was positively radioactive this evening, a burning ball of celestial jubilance that couldn't be snuffed out even if a worm hole tried sucking him in. Okay, that may have been a bit of a stretch. He may have been excited for the ball, but even he wasn't invincible against tears in space and time. He had on a suit that was actually somewhat silly, but he was proud of it nonetheless. Though his oxford clad feet couldn't sit still, it was purely out of anticipation. The pant legs were shorter and revealed his ornate socks, and he was quite fond of his suspenders and bowtie. There was fancy gold buttons on the cuffs of his sleeves and a fancy watch clung to his wrist - it was all about the little things with Nova. With a mind like his, attention to detail was key.

He busteld around here and there like some sort of caffeneited puppy, not doing much more than running around his rooming area without a purpose in sight. Finally, he stopped - he had to kind of force his feet to be still for a second- and remember what it was he needed to actually do. He'd spent weeks preparing and yet he still felt like he had no clue what was going on. Okay, okay, he should go meet up with Peter. Yes, he'd do that. He would find Peter and ask him about his plans for the ball. If he said that he wasn't going, Nova would obviously persuade him otherwise because nonattendance was simply not an option. He smiled, made sure his phone was in his pocket, and then scurried out his door.

If he didn't have such a linear mind, Nova would have thought about a number of other things- he'd have thought of Lukas and whether he had ended up going out after all- of Cale and whether the boy decided not to be as reclusive as usual - of Phoebe and any date related problems she may have had. But, Nova Tricon had an extremely linear mind, one of those trains of thoughts that just plummeted through in one direction at a time. It could jump from topic to topic rather well, but when he was hell bent on a single mission, other obstacles tended to get plowed down in the process. He may have been brilliant but he was certainly not conventional. He focused so precisely on one topic- obsessed over every single tiny thing about said topic- that the others faded into the background. It was a strength and a weakness. If he were to open up his brain to all the possiblities, he'd have probably exploded into a million pieces. One boy simply could not have that much information streaming in like that.

So, he simply walked (or, rather, sprinted, as he was extremely excited) over to Peter's room and knocked at the door, several raps in a quick succession. It was his typical knock, rather distinguishable, and surely Peter would have been expecting him anyway. Truthfully, nothing of the sort had been planned but Nova had a terrible habit of assuming things like this and Peter would probably be used to such actions by now. "Hey, Petey. Peter. Pete, it's me. Peter, it's Nova." he called from outside the door as if the other wouldn't have been able to guess it already. The ball was still hours away, yet here he was like an incessant bee buzzing around outside the poor lad's room.

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Poppy sat criss cross applesauce on the carpet in her room's floor, leaning back breezily onto the palms of her hands as she grinned up at the bearded man before her. She and Fion had spent most of the day paling around like a bunch of kids, but that really shouldn't have surprised anyone because they were more like children than some of the students sometimes, and it had all ended very conveniently for Poppy as Indian cuisine in her own home with company to boot. She wiggled her toes and stretched like a cat, a big yawn bubbling up from the pit of her chest and pouring from her mouth. It'd been at least a couple days without sleep now, and when it got to be this stage, pretty much everything felt like she were dreaming instead of waking. No, that wasn't quite right, either. It was more like a mixture of both, and while it'd been miserable to deal with as a child, she'd somehow managed to revel in the feeling now.

Of course, she didn't voice these ponderings, simply because Poppy Krass rarely ever did. "You and my stomach have got to be best friends by now, Fion." she said, a little comment thorown out to show her appreciation for his culinary generosity. She dabbed a bite to eat before she cracked her neck and checked the clock on the wall. "It looks like it's about time to prepare for the ball. Baby sitting and puppy guarding aren't things to put off. Think of all the unsat babes and helpless pups." she said, mostly to humor herself- she was a frequent abuser of self indulgence. Yet she decided she'd much rather peck at her food and chat as she got ready, and took another bite. She rocked up to her feet in one fluid bounce before trailing lightly to the bathroom where her dress was already waiting. It was something her mother had sent her a long, long, long time ago- no doubtably taking up a full two weeks pay checks. The woman had long since forgotten the meaning of frugality. She'd never really had an occassion to wear to 'til now, either. She suppressed a sigh though she really did love the woman as she quickly zipped it up before returning back out in a remarkable amount of time, her hair remained in its sloppy bun and her feet remained in her cowboy boots, face makeup less. Now decked out in a fancy gown, she plopped back down in her place and picked up another bite.

She spoke while she chewed. "I know I was makin' fun of you earlier for it, but I've never been one for this sort of thing, myself." she admitted, referring to the upcoming dance. While it wouldn't seem like a big deal, it was actually quite a morsel of information she'd tossed out- a blantant and honest self reflection offered to another person. She didn't bother to explain herself, but rather hopped back up and dabbled her face with makeup, drawing her hair back easily as well. "You got a date?" she asked, though she could probably guess the answer. When you worked at the academy like this, your selection was rather limited. It would have been rude not to ask, though. She ripped off her cowboy boots and pawed about the room searching for anything heel-ey or strap-ey or just not ridiculous. Ridiculous was a good word for times like these, in her brain, call her biased or not. She had a tendency of rejecting things that called for uniformity and caked on grandeur. It was like watching a sea of cloned peacocks bobbing about, trying to impress one another with things that didn't matter, all moves feigned and faked. Her mind wandered to Gabe, picturing him all dolled up and beaming, his easy smile spreading on his lips as if things like dances and formal get togethers were actually enjoyable. Who knew? Maybe they actually were for the man. She wished she had a tenth of his optimism, a dull dread throbbing in her chest as she thought about attending this. She let out this feeling in a sigh, remembering that when you're adult, sometimes you simply must do things you don't wish to, and that was that.