Nathan Hensleigh's Story

Lukas Tricon

Anyone around them would literally have seen Luke's eyes light up slightly when Ava said that she would go to the ball with him. It had been little over two months now since Clover had left, and he hadn't left his room, so this chance of going out with his friend to a dance would be fantastic for him. He still felt a little weak, a little jumpy and upset, and who could blame him for that, but it was going to be a good night. If there was one other person in the entire world that knew exactly how he felt, it was Ava; he was glad that they hadn't spoken about Clover's departure, and he felt like they didn't need to - they were already hurting too much, and that would only bring it to the surface once again.

"Great!" He smiled, before he noticed her eyes darting to the floor, and for a brief moment, he was worried that she had only said yes to him, because she didn't want to go alone, or because she felt sorry for him. Then, he saw the blush creeping up her cheeks, and it brought him back to reality - Ava would never do something like that to him; she was his best friend, other than his brother of course. "Yeah, o-of course, as friends... but..." He paused for a moment, and took the second to tuck a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. It was a friendly gesture, of course, but there was something else behind it, something he couldn't pinpoint. Something that reminded him of how he had felt about Clover. His hand dropped to his side, and he looked back up into her eyes once more. "We can't have you going on your own now, can we?" He smiled, before they carried on towards the girl's dorm rooms.

However, as they neared Ness' room, he saw Mr Hensleigh standing outside her door, and he heard him apologize for something. Luke stopped and looked over to Ava for a moment, before gesturing in the opposite direction. "She seems kinda' busy right now... wanna go sit somewhere? Like... the garden?"

---

Ness Tate

Ness had been sitting in her room, working studiously hard on her assignment. She was on the third paragraph now, but on an assignment, she could usually write up to fifteen paragraphs. This was her first assignment for her history class, and she didn't want to rush it, or get a low grade on it, so even though there was a ball tonight, she was going to work on this until she had finished. It wasn't as if she was going to be letting anyone down or anything, except Ava and Jules (Jules especially, they were girl-dates); she hadn't been asked to the ball by a guy, so that made it slightly easier for her to not go at all. She wanted to go, she did, but there was just no way that she was going to get this finished in time. She was trying so hard not to think about Nate as she wrote, reading through the paragraphs in the books to her left. If she did, there would be no way that she would be able to concentrate. Instead, her mind would be filled with complicated feelings for her teacher; the ones of lust, longing and happiness, and the contradicting ones of hatred, rage and sadness.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door however, and she was about to tell whoever was there to go away as she was working, before she heard who it was. Her pen hit the desk lightly as she dropped it in shock - he was here? And... apologizing? That wasn't the Nate that she knew; he never apologized, never cared about anything. But he was apologizing. She had heard the word sorry escape from his mouth. He then said that he had been a jerk, and that he had moved her assignment deadline. Wait... moved the deadline? A smile flickered across her face as she heard this, and she closed the book that she had been working from, quite happy with this new development.

Slowly, Ness stood up from her chair, her legs aching from sitting there for so long without a break. Many questions ran through her head as she walked towards the door, and when she got there, she paused for a moment. Should she let him him? Was there any reason to let him in? Would she be angry at him, or shout, or want to kiss him again? So many feelings were running through her, and she didn't know which one of them would explode in his face when she saw him. She opened the door slowly, and the first thing that she noticed was the sincere expression on his face. It was right then, that she knew what feeling would be the one to arise up.

"You better come in then." She spoke softly, moving out of the way so he could enter into her bedroom. Within seconds of the door shutting, the Latina woman snapped at him.

"Your sorry? Sorry for what exactly? Pulling me back to you and kissing me? Running out on me, leaving me with an assignment with a stupid deadline that not even a child of Athena could achieve? Or for everything you did in the past to me - you know, not being there? Oh please, tell me. Enlighten me, Mr Hensleigh? Te idiota, mujeriego, hombre increíblemente guapo!

Nathan didn’t say anything as Ness opened the door. He’d already said all he needed to say to her. The rest was in her part of court, so to speak. His face didn’t show the guilt he was feeling, he knew she’d be aware how much an apology meant from him. It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize his own mistakes, but for some reason he’d always had an issue with the phrase ‘I’m sorry’. Perhaps because it was just used to much by people who didn’t really mean it and he didn’t want to be one of those people. Then she invited him in… or well, invited was maybe too kind a word for it, but she at least let him in. No, that wasn’t quite right either. Oh well, he supposed it didn’t matter really. He could tell she was still angry with him though, and for some odd reason he didn’t mind it. Her glare was actually rather… sexy. Nathan blinked a couple of times as the thought registered. He cleared his throat, smiling slightly at the woman. “Yeah, I probably should,” he agreed and stepped inside.

He heard the door close behind him and turned around to explain himself, but was interrupted before he could even begin, by a raging Vanessa. He raised both eyebrows in surprise, watching her as she ranted at him. Guilt was tearing at him, but at the same time she looked so incredibly hot. Nathan had always likes feisty, and if there was one thing Latina women had in common, it was their passion, and when angered that just spun way out of control. He let his gaze wander around her body, noting every crook and angle; every little place he knew she liked to be touched and kissed. Meanwhile his mind was reliving some of their more heated moments in the past, his eyes clearly showing exactly where his mood was headed. When she started speaking Spanish he just hit his limit. He had always loved it when her mother language passed her lips, and pairing that with her passion, he couldn’t help it anymore. His lips curved into a smile wherein all his own intentions were so apparent to anyone.

“Did I ever tell you that you’re incredibly sexy when you’re angry?” he said, interrupting her just as she was about to say ‘guapo’, voice husky with wicked intentions he shouldn’t even be contemplating. At the same time, the handsome teacher took one step, bringing him as close to Ness as possible. In the next instant he had her pushed up against the door, his lips crushing hers in another heated, passionate kiss. Yet this, this was far more distinct than the one in the class room. This was intense, and in no way was it merely him having missed her. No, this time it was pure, undiluted heat. He let one hand slowly make its way down her body, stopping in its tracks only to insistently grasp her thigh, moving her leg up to his waste. Meanwhile, his other hand moved to clasp her neck passionately, gently holding her head exactly where he wanted it. It ‘accidently’ brushed the side of her breast on its way, his body pressing into hers, his lips still working their frenzied magic. Ness was driving him absolutely crazy, his mind reeling from the intensity of the whole situation.

He’d lost control right then and there, and he couldn’t make himself regret it. It just felt too damn good. She felt too damn good; every curve of her soft, perfect body pressing into the firm muscles of his. There was no way out now; he couldn’t go back and he really didn’t want to either. Why should he keep denying himself the pleasures of life? He knew there was an answer to the question he should be remembering, but he truly couldn’t make himself care about it. All that mattered was Ness; her body, her kisses, her passion. He wasn’t about to let that go just because some people had issues with the fact that she was a student. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered besides the woman in very close proximity.

Robbie Devaux

Robbie glared at his best friend as he dragged himself out of bed, and blamed him for the headache that had formed. His own reaction was just to pout at his best friend and tilt his head to the side; his best sad puppy impression. "Now, now, Alex." He spoke, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "There's no reason for you to be mean to me, is there? I did nothing wrong! Why do you hurt me like this?" Instantly after, his rant was interrupted by a knock at the door. He stopped acting like an idiot and composed himself; anyone could be at that door, and depending on who it was, he had to look his best. That was one thing about Robbie that again, related back to people saying he had OCD; the perfection thing.

Who was there though, was someone that he wasn't expecting. It was someone who had seen him act like like an idiot so many times before in the past, and someone who had left the Academy to go her own way a few weeks or so ago (he wasn't very good when it came to taking notice of dates and times and such - it was probably only a few days). He sat there on his knees quietly whilst Emilee got re-acquainted with her brother, the boy that had missed her like they had grown up together and she had left, not like they were half siblings who had known each other a few years. After their hug ended, she came dashing over to him and tackled him down onto his back, jumping on him in a hug. He laughed as he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her tightly for a brief moment. "I miss you too! He made me cry, Em! Alex blamed me for something I didn't do - tell him off?" Robbie grinned to one of his best friends, before she instantly gave him a tongue lashing about getting a girlfriend. "All right girl, it's only been a little while, okay! You know I like someone, Alex knows I like someone, hell - everyone knows I like someone, except her. I'm going to ask her to the ball tonight; if she doesn't say yes, what will I do? Will you go with me, Em? As my best girlfriend in the entire world? Like, pretty please? Well, unless you get asked...VAnyway do you think she'll say? Ohhh! Talking about that!"

Robbie was literally a whirlwind of a boy. One moment, he was sitting next to Emilee on the bed, and the next, he was practically running out of the door. "I said I would go and see her, to ask her! I'm going now! Wish me luck, toodles!" He grinned, before dashing towards the hall where Jules would be working on helping out with the ball. Luckily, he stopped himself from running into her like an idiot again as he came around the corner, and saw her walking towards the door. He took a moment to regain his breath and push his hair into place, before calling her name. "Jules!" He said, walking quickly in her direction, picking up a daffodil from the verge of grass as he went. He presented it to her with a large smile on his face, before asking her the big question.

"Jules, will you go to the ball with me?"

---

Ness Tate

Robbie Devaux

Robbie felt his own face mimic that of the beautiful daughter of Apollo; his eyes falling as her's did, his smile failing as hers did. He frowned slightly when she said "Oh Gods, he was right" and he tilted his head to the side in his trademark puppy face. He was going to ask what she meant by this, when she began her little speech, upon which she was turning him down. Of course, he had been expecting it; there was no way that a beautiful, popular, funny, bright, amazing girl like Juliette would go to the ball with a strange, crazy little nobody like him, but it had still hurt as she turned him down. He didn't let it show though, and he pressed his lips together slightly, just nodding. She was going with Ness[i], that was okay, they were best friends. [i]I'm her brother's best friend, yeah, like that's the forbidden relationship she had on her mind right now. They were best friends, but don't be friends make the best couples? He wanted to say all of this to her, but he kept his gentlemanly ways however, and stood there, with a stiff upper-lip.

Then, he made her cry.

Oh, this was not good. Alex was going to kill him, for one, and two, it broke his heart to see one of his best friends, and the object of his own affection running away from him, with tears streaming down her face. He could see the pain in her eyes when she turned around to apologize once more, and he knew exactly what she was thinking in that moment; that he was going to hate her. That they would no longer be friends, because she couldn't like him as more than a friend, because he had took it one step further than she would have liked it. Robbie's gaze was quickly taken by the boy that was staring at him from across the room. Bailey had a bemused look on his face as he kept his eyes on him, and the two stood in an awkward position, just looking at each other. He then heard the boy's condolence, and instead of pouting or moaning, Robbie just shot a small smile in his direction. "Yeah, I suppose." He said, before an idea came to his mind. "Look, I gotta run, but I'll talk to you later, man? Okay? Gotta' make this right again. Ciao!"

Then, he followed after her, running in the direction of her room. He had to speak to her, had to tell her that everything was going to be okay. He couldn't stand to leave it like this between them, he wouldn't have it. However, when he got there, he could literally hear her weeps through the door. Robbie couldn't go in there, knowing that he had done this to her; his mind was conflicted. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but he knew that he was the cause of her sadness and pain, meaning that he felt terrible in himself. Instead, he knocked on the door of the girl in the next room, who looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Excuse me, could I borrow a pen and some sort of paper, please?" She looked back at him as if he had spoken in Inuit. "Hello? Una pen ee paper, por favor?" He asked once more, this time, his tone slightly more irritable, even though he was whispering. He didn't want Jules to know he was here. "A pen, woman! Pen! Paper?" He groaned with wild eyes, before finally, she understood him and threw a pencil and a pad of sticky notes, at his face, then slammed the door shut. It was better than nothing.

After creating his little note, Robbie rapped on the door of Juliette's room, and then ran away, running back to Alex's room. When he got there, he walked straight through the door, face-planting the bed. As he hadn't left more than five minutes ago, both Alex and Emilee were practically still in the same place. "Em, be my date?" He asked through the duvet, his mind darting back to the little present he had left on Jules' door step. When she opened the door, she would see the daffodil that she had left in his hands, with a sticky note on it, which said;

Jules, whoever you go with to the ball, make sure you save one dance for me?
P.S. Keep the daffodil - I picked it because I thought it would look beautiful, and bring out your eyes. Instead, you put it to shame. ~ from, a friend.

---

Ness Tate


Ness glared angrily at her history teacher as he stood opposite her, his eyes looking everywhere but directly into her eyes. She watched his eyes literally eat up her body, and the flickering of his lips at his cheeks. Was he actually enjoying this? Was he liking the fact that she was extremely annoyed at him, and really felt like punching him at the moment? Seriously? She began to see the emotions growing in his eyes, and confirmed that her suspicions were right - he was looking at her that way. This made her more angry, and to be fair, it also made her feel slightly good - well, who wouldn't feel good in her situation. However, the rage was beginning to overthrow her happiness, causing her feelings towards him to be completely unbalanced. She hadn't realized that she had slipped into Spanish towards the end of her rant, and if she had, she would have stopped herself in her tracks; she knew exactly where her native Spanish tongue had gotten her in the past, and it sent little shivers down her body as to think where. Then, Nate's signature smile was plastered over his lips, and she knew where they were once more. They were in the same position they had been this morning, with those extremely erotic feelings between them.

Within seconds, Ness was being grabbed by the man that she had fallen for and hated more times in the last few hours of her life than she had through the last three years, and then she was pressed up against the door, trapped in between the wood and his warm body. Her body reacted instantly to his, pushing herself slightly upwards so that her chest was pressed directly against his. She could feel that the only feelings being thrown into this kiss were completely primal, animalistic, and passion, whereas their previous kiss was filled with sweet longings and forgotten or lost memories. As his hands roamed her body, hers got lost in his beautiful mess of hair, weaving strands between her fingers, using this to move his face closer to hers, his lips to crush hers. She felt his hand touch her breast, which she honestly didn't care about - it made her want him even more, a feeling completely foreign to the innocent Latina. Her body was ruling her now, not her heart or her brain - she was in enemy territory. She let a delicate, whisper of a moan break through her lips when he pulled her leg up to his waist, and her body relaxed further against his. There was no way that there were going to be able to get back from this now. No way they could leave each other alone. Both of them knew it, she could feel that coming from him through their kiss. It caused so many problems, and yet, she decided not to care. The pure adrenaline, and the pure desire running through her body took those thoughts of problems away in an instant, and let her sink further and further into the kiss.

After a few moments though, she had to breathe – her heart was beating too fast for her to continue one, and his lips moving far too fast, and far too expertly for her to keep up with. Ness unlocked her hands from his brunette curls and brought her hands down to his chest, gently pushing him away from her, but only as far as so his mouth was barely touching hers. She didn’t want him any further away from her, in case he ran away again. She knew his feelings would never reciprocate hers, unless hell froze over, but she wants to enjoy it for now, knowing that he wanted her more than anything at this moment in time, more than he cared about his job, his reputation, or anything else. As she spoke, in a breathless, whispered voice, her lips delicately brushed against his, her smile being for nobody but him.

“I suppose you’re forgiven.”

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?

Chloe Huntington

Chloe watched her best friend climb out of the water, leaving her all alone, and for the first time ever, she didn't feel happy, or tranquil in the water any more. With Chance going, it felt as if the water around her grew cold, stopped moving, and was rejecting her. She never felt like this in water, and soon, she was making her way towards the bank, wanting to free herself of it's confinements. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Yes, she had suggested that Chance ask someone else to the ball this year, but she hadn't been mean about it, had she? She had actually been very nice about it, but saying that Phoebe would be interested in going with him. She had always seen those two as an amazing couple, and even though she wasn't going to push it, this was the perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other a little better, and see if they have any more feelings. The brunette bit her lip softly as she waded through the water as quickly as she could, trying, and wanting to get out. However, what she saw next though, made her freeze in her tracks.

A blonde girl, one that she had seen the face of so many times in the past came out of the trees, and grabbed Malcolm from behind, hugging him. Chloe watches his reaction careful as Emilee continued to talk to him, and she saw his eyes blankly looking at her, barely registering the girl that was there. He seemed to be on a completely different planet as she spoke to him, before dashing off in the direction of the dorms, muttering something about going to see Alex. Then, he snapped back into reality, and called over to her, making her too come back into the real world. She quickly close her mouth, realizing that she probably looked like a fish, with her mouth gaping over like that and she carried on making her way over to the bank. There, she pulled herself out of the cold, unwelcoming water, and wrapped her towel around her body after she had picked it up from the ground. She walked over to Malcolm and sat down beside him, still reeling from the knowledge that Emilee was back. She had no chance with Malcolm now.

"No, that really happened. A blonde Emilee just hugged you, spoke to you, and ran off." She said, stretching her legs out in front of her and then crossing her ankles. "She didn't stick around long though, did she? Are you two going to catch up at the ball tonight? I mean, you always go together."

Smooth, Chloe. And incredibly subtle.

---

Ness Tate

Ness felt dizzy as she moved Nathan slightly away from her, but only a couple of centimeters. If he were any further away from her than that, she'd feel completely lost, and would scramble to take a hold of him again. She didn't want him to leave her again, as he had done earlier; she didn't want him to get scared or worried or anything at this moment in time, she wanted them both to enjoy where they were. She could see in his eyes that he still wanted her, wanted more than what she was giving him, and she felt exactly the same way about him. She wouldn't be able to just accept this any more - this couldn't be the end of their little involvement. There was no way that she could survive that, and by what she was reading from his eyes, or getting from his body language, he felt exactly the same.

She felt her body begin to react to her gorgeous history teacher as his lips began to place soft, delicate kissing in the crook of her neck, something she had loved since he had first introduced her to the feeling three years ago, and she let her hands roam his body; brushing over the muscles in his arms, caressing his cheek, neck, and hair, before letting her hand run down, to gently rest on the top of his bottom. She could feel his little large visitor softly pressing into her abdomen as he pushed his body closer to hers, but instead of making her uncomfortable as it would have done, it just made her smile - knowing that she had done that to him, it just made her feel close to him once again. She had missed this, missed being with him, and being close to him. She didn't just have a physical desire for him, she had an emotional one too, but at this moment in time, all she could think about what how he made her feel when he touched her. It was like the fourth of July in her mind.

Ness had to bite her lip softly to stop herself making any more open noises, as Nate moved his lips upwards towards here ear, nibbling it softly before whispering. His words sent a little shiver down her spine, causing her to move both of her arms to wrap themselves tightly around his body, and her head to bury itself in her shoulder. He would probably be able to feel her smile as she pressed her face into his body, trying to take in every last bit of this moment - everything from his scent, to the way she felt, and the way their bodies moved together perfectly, like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle coming together at the end of the puzzle's completion. She nodded slightly as he said that he needed time to work out how he really felt about her, his voice muffled from his lips still being attached to the soft skin at her collarbone. She too had to decide what she felt about him, as in reality, she really didn't know herself. Had she glorified him, wanting the relationship that she had had with him in the past back? Did she really know him at all, or did she just know the man that had used her when she was a child, took away her innocence and left her broken? She didn't know at all - the one thing that she was sure that she knew however, was that she wanted him. Be it physically, emotionally, mentally, or all three, she wanted him - no, she needed him.


The Latina student looked back up at her history teacher as she heard him sigh, and she brought one of her hands up to his face, gently cupping his cheek. She watched the pure passion in his eyes melt away, bringing a softer, more caring side of him through. Her thumb delicately stroked the strong, stubbled cheek, and her eyes linked with his - there was no going back now. "Nate," her voice was nothing more than a whisper, "take as much time as you need, I need time too. I just want you to know, I can't go back. I... I don't want to go back. I can't stop feeling this way around you. I know it's stupid, I'm a student, you're a teacher but... we could try... secretly, I mean."

Ness wasn't the sort of girl to go behind everyone's back, or lie to people, so Nate would understand how serious she was being. She couldn't see any other solution to their problem. He wanted her. She wanted him. They could have each other, if it was secret. She didn't care how many rules were broken in their little "relationship"; she couldn't stop her feelings any more.

Nathan didn’t spend a lot of time getting ready. As a matter of fact, all he did was shower and put on one of his many suits, ruffle up his hair and add on his favourite, signature hat, with this end result. Then he took a quick look in the mirror with a wry smile, wondering why he even bothered dressing up. Wasn’t like he was inviting someone to the damn thing, considering it a student-event, and he’d honestly rather go in almost nothing, lure Ness back to his cabin and… uh, yeah. It would be safe to say Nate’s mind hadn’t been in the right place since he’d left Ness’ room several hours ago. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her body, her smile, her laugh, and man, the way she wiggled her hips when he moved his… oh, nevermind. It was like the time they’d shared getting closer physically had gotten them closer emotionally too. He’d spent most of his lone time trying to analyse himself and the strange feelings coursing through him. Both the ones Ness caused and the ones Juliette caused.

He’d reached several conclusion; one, he was getting closer to Ness, letting her in, and two, he didn’t like it. Oh, he liked being with her, but he didn’t like feeling stronger emotions and he certainly didn’t like letting people in like that. It was just too much. He cared about a lot of people, but he’d never loved anyone besides his mom, and that had been a different kind of love altogether. If he grew much closer to Ness, who was slowly creeping her way into his heart, he didn’t know what he’d do. Probably run… or just generally screw things up so that she’d drop him, and be angry enough for her to get over him quickly. It would solve his issues, truly, except if he got her that pissed, he wasn’t sure what she’d do, and he didn’t feel like finding a new job in all honesty. He sighed, rubbing his neck and rolled his shoulders. He wouldn’t shove her away, though, but he’d try to distance himself, try not letting her in too much. He didn’t want to hurt her though, so he still had no clue how to accomplish this agenda.

Off to the ball, prince charming a sarcastic voice sounded in his head. It didn’t entirely feel like… well, him, but he merely shook his head and let it slide. He often did that; felt like there were two parts of him battling eachother, so it wasn’t exactly new. He smiled to himself, deciding that all the crazy with Ness and Juliette was merely messing with his head. Once things quieted down, he’d go back to being himself and everything could just… stop being confusing. Then he put on his shoes and walked out the door, leaving it unlocked in case he wasn’t home when Ness stopped by like they’d agreed. It didn’t take long for him to reach the hall, his strides long and controlled, yet fast. He was the first one there, exactly like he’d intended. He knew it’d still be a while till people began arriving and he was just fine with that. The handsome teacher then started moving around the room, rechecking everything to make sure all was in order before the ball. Wouldn’t want anything going awry.






A male hand shot out, cranking up the volume on the stereo currently blasting “Animals” by Nickelback, not because it was the most amazing of songs, but he knew the lyrics by heart and it had a pretty awesome beat. A wide smile spread on his face as his body began moving to the beat while he moved around, rummaging through drawers to locate all the stuff he’d need. He’d been sensible enough to shower before Robbie, wellknowing of the fact that his best friend liked to spend forever merely washing himself. How he did it, Alex had never quite been able to understand. Personally he had trouble spending more than the average 10 minutes in the shower. They were guys. Not like they shaved (much), conditioned or used lotion… then again, actually now that he thought about it, Blitz had left some stuff last time she’d slept over. And well, knowing Robbie… the thought made him chuckle as he shook his head at his friend, perfectly aware that the guy would smell all peachy when he came out of the bathroom where he’d now been for what? 20 minutes? Half an hour? Either way it was a long time.

He glanced at the bathroom door and grinned, calling out, raising his voice over the music, “Hey, Rob! Done shaving your legs yet or do you need help?” That was basically Alex’s way of saying ‘finish up before I come in and force you to’, something he’d actually done once. He’d ended up washing the soap off of the guy while he was still applying it. Hey, it’d been his second time of doing it. He was plenty clean already, and Alex had gotten sick of waiting. Then Alex had shut off the water and thrown the guy’s pink towel at him before twisting a towel, ready to whip Robbie into shape. He’d wiggled his eyebrows, he recalled, all ‘do it, I dare ya’, and of course Robbie, being who he was, had been deliberately extra slow. So yeah, that had result in a towel-fight where they’d both ended up with plenty of red spots, but laughing all the same. Ah, good times. The memory had him chuckling to himself, as he finally found the dark blue tie he’d been looking for. He couldn’t decide whether to wear the dark red or the dark blue one, so he’d have Robbie pick. Robbie’d love the opportunity to play ‘fashion guru’ anyway, and Alex was happy to oblige because he sucked with stuff like that.

Then he, still dancing slightly, went to get his black suit out of his closet, hanging it on the outside, looking it over. He wondered what Blitz would be wearing; she’d look absolutely gorgeous in something green, matching her beautiful eyes. Ah, those eyes. He could get so lost in them, which was incredibly annoying because it caused him to lose his cool. But that was how he was with Blitz; she reduced him to a lovesick puppy, yet he couldn’t even make himself dislike it. One look into her deep, sparkling eyes, paired with her bright smile bringing about those cute little dimples? Yeah, that was enough to have him practically ready to marry her. Of course this was all due to her amazing personality; the way she just got him and always made him eager to be the best person he possibly could. He could feel a goofy, loving smile coming onto his face by itself just at the thought of her.






Phoebe looked her green dress over, smiling brightly as it hung there on her wardrobe. This was one of the rare moments where she was actually alone, and she wouldn’t be for long either. She was going over to Chloe’s room to get ready. And while they were at it, Pheebs was going to ask her what was going on and whether she’d rejected Chance because of Malcolm. Of course she’d never tell Chloe how Chance felt about her; that was their thing, but she found herself curious and she’d chosen not even to mention Chloe when she’d talked to Chance, so this was her only opportunity to find out. She imagines Chloe would be eager to tell her in any case if she was going with Malcolm. It made Phoebe smile, although it was slightly touched by sadness. She loved both of them like siblings and she wanted them happy, but it was just so frustrating when having one happy made the other one miserable. Chloe’s happiness was Malcolm, not Chance. Phoebe knew this; she knew Chloe would probably never see Chance as more than a friend, yet she couldn’t be upset with Chloe, because she couldn’t help how she felt and she loved Chloe too. It was so hard.

Phoebe knew she was Chance’s second choice, but she wasn’t exactly upset about that, either. But then again, she wasn’t like most girls. She didn’t need to be first, as long as someone even thought of her. Really, she was so easy to please. It made her smile; she’d try to keep Chance away from Malcolm and Chloe and just… cheer him up. She was usually good at that; cheering people up, and especially Chance. She made a little, eager jump, giggling softly. This evening was going to be great! Then she hopped around her room, packing the big, red bag on her bed. She was putting make up, jewellery, her little silver clutchbag matching her dress, and of course shoes, in there. She had been looking forward to this for days; getting ready with Chloe. She hadn’t really been with her for the last two days, and today she hadn’t seen her at all. She missed her Choe-wowey, in all honesty. Phoebe had already showered and was now dressed in a big, black shirt that was around 3 sizes too big. It reached down to cover the top half part of her thighs, which made it good enough for outside activities. Besides, she was in the girls’ dorms. Not like all that many guys would be wandering about there.

She grabbed the pale green nailpolish she was planning on wearing, closed her bag, slipped into a pair of flats, gently placed her dress over her arm and then grabbed her bag with a little difficulty. She had a bit of trouble opening the door with her hands full, but she managed with elbow, chin and whatever else she could think of using. She grinned in victory when the door slid open, giving it a triumphant look. “Hah! I won!” She exclaimed, laughed and added “bye, Mr. Bumble!” to the teddy sitting on her bed. Then she pushed the door shut with the tip of her right shoe and made her way down the hall to reach Chloe’s room. Once she was there, she knocked with her available elbow and smiling brightly, she waiting for her sister to open. Once the door was opened, Phoebe’s smile brightening as she lifted up the nailpolish, making it viewable, a helpless, cute look on her face. “Help?” she said, begging Chloe with her eyes. They both knew Pheebs always got more polish on her fingers than her nails when she did it herself – which was why she didn’t wear it usually, and the primary reason to her needing Chloe’s help.

Chloe Huntington

Chloe was ecstatic as she danced around the room, her ipod playing away to We are Young by Fun, one of her favourite songs at this moment in time; if she had known that her arch nemesis Ava was listening to the same song at the same time as her, she would have ripped it out of the ipod docking station, and deleted it straight off of the playlist - there was no way that she wanted anything to be the same as that blonde demonic spawn of Aphrodite. However, she didn't know, meaning that her face was still covered in smile, as she danced around, getting herself ready. As she had been waiting for Phoebe to arrive, she had decided to put her dress on. She had thought about starting on her make-up, but she decided to wait until Pheebs arrived for that. She had missed her little sibling, and was looking forward to spending this time with her, before the ball.

The brunette daughter of Poseidon felt like she was the personification of water as she span barefoot around the room, watching her dress fan out beautifully around her. She had chosen the dress because of it's shimmer, because of it's sparkles that represented the droplet of water and because of the way that it fell like a waterfall around her body. Unlike a lot of the other girls, she had decided not to go for a slinky dress that clung to her body, as that just wasn't her style. She paused for a moment, looking in the full length mirror in her room, smoothing the bottom out delicately. She wondered what Malcolm would think of her attire, and she watched the bright smile attack her face as that beautiful child of Ares popped into her mind. She still couldn't believe that he had asked her to go to the dance with him, and her confidence level was on an all time high. There was nothing that could make her upset or sad now - nothing. She was literally on Cloud Nine.

Then, there was a knock at the door, and she dashed over, a little skip in her step. She had to hold her dress up slightly as she went, the dress being fit to her height with heels, but she dropped it down when she saw who was there, cutely holding out a bottle of nail-polish in her direction. "Pheebs!" She burst, pulling her best female friend into her room, closing the door behind them, and then wrapping her into a tight hug. "Phoebe Everton, I've missed you! Of course I'll help you sweetie. Dump your stuff and lets make you beautiful... well, more beautiful than you already are!"

---

Lukas Tricon

Luke had decided to get ready on his own for the ball, before going over to Jules' room to collect Ava. He had asked her earlier in the garden where she was going to be, and he had gotten from her that she was slightly annoyed at the non-communication that had happened between her and her best friends. In response, he had just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and given her a hug, one which was supposed to be friendly and comforting, but which instead held all of the awkward feelings of two "friends" who didn't have the courage to tell one another what the other was truly thinking. He had planned to check on Nova before going to find his beautiful date, to just check over what he was wearing, and surprise the boy by actually coming out of his room, but he hadn't seen his twin since this morning properly, or when he noticed him bustling around in the auditorium.

There wasn't really much that Luke had to do to get ready; just shower, sort his hair out into some sort of order, and then slip on the tux he had bought. So, he was just sitting in his room, not doing anything. He supposed that he could go out and find someone to hang around with, but there really wasn't much point. So, he just lay back on his bed, playing with the present that he had received from his brother that morning - he decided that doing something constructive was much better than doing nothing at all.

---

Ness Tate

Vanessa Tate was a whirlwind of happiness. Literally, the smile on her face was so large, it looked like she had stuck a slice of melon in there, and it had gotten stuck. But she had ever reason to be happy, and as she picked up various items off of her usually sparkling bedroom floor, she moved slowly in time to the random Latin beat that was playing through her speakers. She laughed to herself as she sorted out her messy duvet covers, moving them into some sort of tidy position for her to flop back into later, at whatever time that would be. It was strange, seeing her bedroom with so many things out of place, but when she thought about it, it really hadn't been her fault. That pillow over there by the window? Nate. Her slipper hanging from the fan on the ceiling? Nate. And that love bite just under her ear? Nate. Wait, what? Ness pulled herself back over to the mirror on her desk and looked at the purple-red bruise that had appeared underneath her ear. Quickly, she pulled out her compact from the make-up case that had been sitting on the side, and covered it up as best she could, leaving only a small red mark showing through; if anyone noticed it - she fell and smacked it against the corner of the table. She'd have to talk to him about his hickey positioning tonight.

Ness was looking forward to going over to his apartment tonight, although she was slightly scared petrified about being caught sneaking into a teacher's apartment. She had an excuse all thought out, of course, in case of a dire emergency, but she was worried about it. However, that worry made it almost even more fun, and deep down inside her, she knew that she was going to enjoy seeing her beloved history teacher tonight more than the actual ball itself - that one was a given. Her body was literally itching until she was able to see him again, able to have him in her arms again, to kiss him and .... to do other things to him. Her mind briefly flashed back to that afternoon, her eyes sliding closed for a moment as she remembered the way that his lips felt against her neck, the way this hand made her skin tingle with every moment, and the way that his... well, at that moment she had to open her eyes and bring herself back to reality - if she hadn't, she might not have been able to stop herself from running over to him right now.

Within time, her room was pretty much back to the way it was, and Ness' outfit was almost completed. Her dress fitting her body perfectly, her make up sorted, her heels slipped on, her toe and finger nails painted the same shade of red as her dress, her earrings secured in their place, and the necklace that had belonged to her darling Grandmother hanging around her neck. She admired herself in the mirror momentarily, the red silk feeling amazing against her skin. It reminded her of her dressing gown, the one that she had slipped on just before Nate had left, and a sultry smile took over her lips as she wondered what he would think of her dress. However, there were much more pressing matters at hand now, than the sexy teacher. There was a hair issue. Ness was terrible at sorting out hair, and her slightly damp brunette waves were hanging down her back, with no style at all. Ava and Jules were the ones who usually worked wonders on her hair, but there were no where around. She was shocked, as the three of them usually got ready together, but this time, they hadn't actually decided on a place for them to gather yet.

Then, there was an angry knock at the door, and after a quick peek out of her window, Ness knew who was standing there. She opened the door, softly biting her lip. She could see the anger etched across her best friend's face as if she were a marble carving, and the folded arms were another dramatic touch to her statue. "Hey... Ava." She spoke softly, moving back and inviting the girl into her room. As she turned, she saw that the one item out of place in her room was her lamp - which was knocked over onto the floor, the shade having fallen off. She moved over to pick it up, sticking it back on the desk by her mirror, hoping the blonde wouldn't ask. "Are... are we going over to Jules'? I mean... you two did promise to help with my god-awful hair." She forced a small, awkward smile onto her lips as she watched the expression on Ava's face.

Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

---

Robbie Devaux

"I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICAAAAA. BUM DUM DUM DUUURRR...."

Robbie's voice resounded throughout the entire bathroom, his singing voice echoing due to the ambiance in his best friend's bathroom. The music was loud, loud enough to drown out the music that Alex was playing in the other room, and his voice loud enough to irritate. He had been in that bathtub now for about twenty minutes, and in no way was her ready to get out. Robbie took a lot longer than most girls to get ready, and strangely enough, that wasn't much to do with the whole "looking perfect" thing. No, it was much more to do with the fact that he felt so relaxed in a bathtub, that he never wanted to leave. In his bath, there was some sort of mango-smelling bubbles, something that Blitz had probably left behind after a sleepover or something. If it was Alex's, he'd start questioning his sexual orientation. The smell was intoxicatingly good, and he made a mental note to thank the blonde girl who had been one of his best friends for what seemed like forever, for leaving it here. He would also have to ask her where he got it from, as he must have some. A pink towel was wrapped around his already washed hair, as he didn't want to get it wet once again. If even a strand got wet again, he'd have to wash the whole thing twice - another one of his strange OCD-like habits.

His tranquility didn't last much longer however, as soon, his best friend was banging against the bathroom door, ripping him out of his Toto moment. He sighed and stepped out of the bath, shouting something back to his friend along the lines of "You wish your legs were as smooth as mine", although the extreme noise of both songs battling each other would probably have drowned out his voice. Robbie took his time drying himself with the other soft pink towel that he had; yes, the pink towels were seen as a little gay, but they had been a bargain price and he had been low on money. The music still played in the background as he spent another ten minutes getting his suit on, styling his hair into his trademark "quiff", and spraying himself with copious amounts of David Beckham's Instinct, one of his most favourite brands of cologne. When he had brushed his teeth twice, and checked himself over in the fogged up mirror another thousand times, the brunette man opened the door.

Robbie came out of the bathroom shrouded in steam, making him look like some sort of God coming down from the heavens, which was funny due to the fact that he was a demi-god. As he walked out though, he saw the lovey-dovey grin on his best friends face, one that had him looking off into the distance, as if at that exact moment, he was getting lost in his beautiful girlfriend's eyes. Robbie ran over to his best friend and began to shake him, a faked expression of worry on his face. "Dear God, Alex! Come back to our world please! Please don't leave me alone here! Don't make me kiss you again, buddy!" As he spoke this out loud, a laugh followed, his mind going back to that one day where his friend had fallen off of his bike, when they had been racing. Alex had smacked his head pretty hard against the pavement, and had knocked himself unconscious. Now, being fifteen, Robbie hadn't checked his friend's pulse of anything, and instead, had instantly thought that he was dead when he didn't respond to his name. Yes, he was a bit dramatic. So, he had bent down, and tried to do CPR, but instead, had just kissed him on the lips, not knowing how to perform that manouvre.

Robbie had to wipe tears away from his eyes as he thought about Alex's expression that day, and he sat down on the bed for a moment, trying to catch his breath before he fell over. He saw the two ties lying on the edge of the bed and he pointed to the dark red one that lay to the left. He had seen what Blitz was wearing, and instead of telling Alex, had kept it a secret. But the blue one would definitely clash with her outfit, that one he was sure of. "Go with the red, Alex," He said, as soon as his voice was stable enough to speak, "trust the Guru."

Ness Tate

Ness watched her friend walk into her room, and by the look on her face, she was not happy. The blonde's usual bright, happy smile had been replaced by tight lips and her large inviting eyes replaced by glares. Oh, this was not good. She could see that she was extremely angry with her, and that it probably had something to do with the fact that the girls had practically gotten ready on their own this year. Ava's next words confirmed her suspicions, and as she sat down onto her messy bed, Ness quickly began to think up some excuse. Erm, I was busy? Oh yes, obviously Ness. I... was doing my work? That could work, because I really was doing that before... Then, she was brought out of her little excuse-making world by Ava's voice once more, which was this time laced with shock and stifled laughter, instead of malice and sarcasm.

The Latina raised her eyes to look at her best friend, and her mouth fell open at what she was holding in her hands. Her red lace bra. She reached over and grabbed the undergarment from her best friends hands and threw it over in the open door of her dorm room bathroom. No wonder she wasn't able to find that earlier. She laughed along side Ava as she got up to steal her lipgloss, and her eyes wandered up to the fan, wondering why the God's hadn't pointed that out to her earlier. Her face was red with embarrassment, but the smile on her face was large. Ness felt her skin grow a little hot and her heart skip a beat when Ava asked if it had been Mr Hensleigh that she had in here, a mixture of both fear and excitement running through her body. The girl shrugged it off, laughing as she replied to her friend. "Oh yes, because I'm really the sort of girl that would sleep with a teacher. I mean, I cried when he gave me an assignment. Oh, i have an extension on that, by the way." Yes, diverted away from that subject easily. Ness felt confident that she had taken away any thought of Nate, but now she had a different dilemma. She was not the sort of person to just sleep with anyone; that was a given. She was too naive for that sort of life. So, what was she going to say.

"To be honest," She began, changing her mind with her excuse at the last moment, "I was looking for my phone. I haven't seen it since I came back from class, and I tore apart my room looking for it. Yeah... things kinda' got a bit messy in the process, and things got thrown around. I still haven't found it though." Okay, she hadn't lied to her best friend - she was a terribly liar, and her phone really had gone missing. She had just.... manipulated the truth, al little. That was all. She never realized before how much she did hate lying to people, but she'd have to deal with it. That was what Nate and her had decided. It was their deal, if they were going to have any sort of "relationship." Why did it have to be so awkward? She needed a hug. She'd have to wait until later though in his room for that.

Before she could carry on with her friend, and ask her what the hell she was going to do with her long brown waves, the door was flung open and in tumbled Jules. The smell of liquor hit her nose as soon as the brunette girl fell in, and crashed onto her bed, and began pulling at her hair. "Jules.... honey, put the flask down please, before you spill it over the both of us." Ness moved to take the flask from her friend's hand, and placed it next to the wine bottle that Ava had brought over. She had her own bottle of wine in the bathroom that she had bought for her friends, and there was also a bottle of Vodka, but there was no way that she was bringing them out with Jules in this state. "You do realize you're supposed to be in charge of the music, chica? You're going to be playing Uptown Girl and The Cha Cha Slide in this state." The brunette shook her head, before turning to Ava. "I didn't tell you when you came in, because I thought you were going to strange me, but you look beautiful, my dear. Really - you look like a princess in that colour. Also, would you be able to do my hair? I'm not having pig tails."

Chloe Huntington

Chloe was never one of those girls that usually got all excited for a stupid occasion such as this; she would much rather stand at the back of the room, laughing over the stupidity of the giggling girls with Rhea or Niamh. However, this year, she was going against everything that she knew, and was actually looking forward to going out tonight, and getting all dolled up for it was just another part of the excitement. There was one major difference this year however, than to any other year. This year, she wasn't just going with Chance, her best friend. No, she had actually been asked to go with someone. She had been asked to go with the boy that she had been crushing on since he had arrived, Malcolm Murdock. Chloe had no idea if he had only asked her to go with him because Emilee had decided not to go with him, or just because he wanted to go with her as a friend; and she really didn't care. She was going to be able to spend time with him tonight, because he had asked her.

Phoebe's infectious smile only made the one on the brunette's face grow bigger, and as she swept the red-headed beauty into her room, she almost felt giddy with excitement. It was better to let it out now, than to let it out later, and scare Malcolm away. Tonight, she was going to be her cool and collected self. However, right now, she was a giggling mess. "Yes! Yes, it's Malcolm! He asked me. I was like... ahhhhhh in my head, but I kept my cool on the outside." She told her "little sister," and then inquired about her date. "What about you? Did Chance ask you to go with him?" She hoped that he had, purely because well, one, she felt bad for not going with him, and two, because the two of them were her favourite people in the world, minus Boone and Malcolm, and she wanted them together - it'd be too cute.

The smile on her face didn't falter when Phoebe started babbling about too much green, and silver, and various other things that were worrying her about her outfit. Chloe just laughed and sat the girl down on the bed, taking the pale green nail polish into her hands. "Come on, hands up. The green isn't too much, honey. It'll look lovely." She smiled, before she began to paint the colourful liquid onto her friend's fingernails. "Am I doing your toes too?" The brunette girl wasn't usually one for getting all beautified and helping out other people at the same time, but with Phoebe, she just couldn't refuse. The two usually had so much fun together, and this was just going to be another fun time to add onto the list.

---

Lukas Tricon

Lukas was beginning to get nervous now. So much so that he had decided to put down his little toy before he broke it, or dropped something because his hands were getting sweaty. He didn't know why in the hell he was beginning to feel like this - his heart beating a little bit faster, his hands beginning to sweat slightly, and his collar beginning to feel awfully tight around his neck. There wasn't any reason for him to be feeling like this, to be getting worried and nervous; he was going to the ball with Ava. Ava Sawyer, his best female friend in the whole world. The one who had been there for him when Clover had left, and vice versa. The one who knew him more than anyone else (minus Nova) and the girl that he would protect to the ends of the earth and back. So, why was he getting nervous? She was just his best friend, right?

There were confusing feelings running through the blonde male as he made his way towards Ava's dorm room, the cream rose corage sitting in it's little box. He had bought one for her months ago, when he was with Clover, and they had decided to go. Ava had always been one of his best friends, so when he had been shopping with his brother for the blue corsage to go with his girlfriend's dress, he had also picked up a cream one for Ava - Nova had told him that if you didn't know the colour of the girl's dress, go with cream or white. It would go with everything. And so, he had.

He curtly knocked on the door of Ava's room, however, with the lights being off, he knew that it was a futile effort. He then made his way over to Jules' room, but he decided not to knock in the end, seeing the girl dash out of the room like a cheetah on crack. That meant that there was only one other place she could be - Ness' room. Luke could literally hear his heart beat in his ears when he heard Ava's beautiful laugh through the door of the Latina's woman's room, and he knocked three times, before calling out her name, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. It did. "A-Ava?"

---

Ness Tate

Vanessa watched as Ava's mothering instincts came out, getting Jules to drink water in between her alcoholic ones. That night had not been on of her favourites at the Academy, the one where Jules had been so drunk that the two girls had actually had to carry her back to her room, as there was no way that she was even standing up, let alone walking. "Yes, please, no repeat of that night. I actually like this dress, and don't want it ruined by grass stains and vomit." They had obviously forgiven Juliette for her behaviour that night, but being the good best friends that they were, they had never let her forget it. A smile appeared on the Latina girl's face as both girls said that her hair was perfect the way it was. "Really? I mean... it's just... hanging..." She said, pulling at one of the brunette girls. "Hang on..." Within a few moments, Ness had moved from her bed and dashed into the bathroom, and come out with her hair pulled up into a messy bun. She didn't like her hair down at the best of times, and for a formal ball, decided that it being up made it look so much nicer. It also showed off the back of her dress.

"No restrictions? Jules honey, we restrict alcohol because we have to, not because we want to." She laughed playfully to her friend. There was something up with her best friend, she could see it through her eyes, but she didn't want to say anything - Jules was one of those girls that you let tell you things that were playing on her mind, you didn't ask. Ness realized however that she was feeling the same way, and didn't want any restrictions on the night either - just fun. Her mind was a mess; thinking about how stupid she had been this afternoon, letting herself be swept off of her feet by her history teacher, but also how much she had enjoyed it, and how special he had made her feel. She knew that there was much more to their relationship than just something physical, but it was all too complicated. She didn't want to think about it tonight however, and she would sort it all out another done. "Okay, just fun." She nodded, before heading into the bathroom.

Ness had just come out of the bathroom with her small, secret bottle of vodka when she saw Jules' jumping up in shock. She vaguely registered what the girl was saying in her fast and high pitch pace, something about loving her and music, and then she was gone. The brunette girl just shrugged, and put the third shot glass down on the side. She filled up the other two that she had brought out, and handed onto Ava. "To having fun." She grinned, clinking her glass with her blonde best friend, and then knocking it back. The liquid burned her throat as it tricked down to her stomach, but it was a nice feeling, a warm feeling that she had grown to like over the years. However, before she could take another, there was a knock at the door, and the shaky voice of Lukas Tricon was projecting itself.

"Right, I'm off mi amiga to find my date. I have no idea where she is, but I'll find here - there's no way I'm walking into that room on my own." Ness took the bottle of vodka and slipped it into her clutch bag - there was no room for anything else in there, minus a stick of lipgloss, but that was all that she needed. With Jules' flask in her hand, the girl kissed her friend softly in the cheek, and pushed one stray lock of blonde waves back from her face. "There, perfect. He's going to pass out when he sees you, honey. Be sure to shut the door when you go." She grinned, before heading out, passing Luke as she went.

The silver heels that sat on her feel clicked softly against the pavement as she headed over to the auditorium, spotting her date sitting on the floor, slipping her own heels on. "Well well well, there you are. Thinking you can get rid of me that easily." She smiled mischievously, holding out the flask of some form of alcohol to Jules. She pulled out the vodka from her bag, this time being less graceful and taking a sip out of the bottle. In that room was the man of her dreams, and she couldn't do a thing about it - the alcohol was going to be necessary. Ness took a moment to compose herself, moved that one little strand of hair back into place and reapplied her lipgloss, before turning to her brunette buddy once more, holding out her hand to help her up. "Shall we?"

---

Robbie Devaux

Robbie took a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes, looking up at his best friend through a blur. There was something fantastic about their relationship, and something so unique about it too. Robbie knew that he would never be able to feel this way about another person without having some sort of confusing-homosexual feelings for them. But with Alex, it was just friendship. Brotherly friendship. A friendship that could never be replaced by anyone else, or could never be broken. The two of them were a duo, and it had been that way for as long as Robbie could remember. Sure, there were additions to their group, like Emilee, and Blitz, but it would always be the two of them. His mind was ripped out of his little reverie as Alex's voice hit his ears, and he looked up at him, his eyes filled with confusion for a moment; he had always been quite a slow boy, and when someone took him out of a daydream, he had to take a moment or two to get his bearings.

"Oh Alex, you know you're not going to get anything out of me. I'm a closed book, and I've swallowed the key, my friend. It's not my fault Blitz loves me more." The brunette male grinned to his best friend, and then laughed at his expression. He knew that it had been a match made in heaven, the relationship between Blitz and Alex, and he felt amazing that he had been the one to introduce them - Robbie had been friends with Blitz from their first days here, and then he had brought Alex into the equation. He felt like a love genius when they clicked. "God, I should have been a child of Aphrodite, with my mad love skills." Sometimes, Robbie had a habit of blurting stuff out that he had been thinking, confusing those around him to no end. But it didn't stop him from doing it - it only made it more fun to see their reactions to his words.

"If you even think about taking those pants off, I'm going to staple them to that chiseled butt of yours." He pointed threateningly at Alex, his eyes squinting in a glare for a moment. "Those pants were made specifically for you, I guarantee it. The Gods took me in their direction. We can't ignore our parents signs, my friend." His lips changed into the bright smile that was known all around the Academy, and another laugh escaped his mouth at the curse word he was called. "Why, your vulgar language upsets me, Alex." He feigned wiping a tear away from his cheek, putting on the sad act. However, this facade only lasted for a moment though, as soon, the iPod began to play his playlist.

"Excuse me? Why would I change the track? Did you not see the "Robbie is Awesome" playlist that I put on there last week? My god, Alex. You don't change Britney Spears. Britney changes you." The playful smile never left the child of Iris' lips as he began to sing along to the song, dancing around the room.

Oh yes, tonight was going to be good.

Phoebe laughed at Chloe’s excited ramblings, loving the fact that she was so keyed up about the ball this year. She knew her friend hadn’t been last year, or was generally into the whole fancy, princess dress-up scene, so the fact that she was now babbling as if she was mimicking the redhead herself, was really a testament to how much of affect Malcolm had on her. So she smiled brightly, letting Chance slip to the back of her mind, that is… until Chloe asked about Chance, at which point the little girl chuckled, feeling a little awkward in her current situation. She looked down at her dress before glancing up at Chloe one more, her smile back. “That’s amazing, Chloe! I can’t believe he finally did it!”She squealed, once more excited; Chance would want Chloe to be happy to, so Phoebe decided not to worry. He would be able to deal… hopefully. She then stuck out her tongue at Chloe, “and yeah, Chance asked me… probably after you turned him down. How’d he react?” She said the words casually, smiling at Chloe, though the fact that she wasn’t jumping up and down in happiness that he’d asked her, would be enough of a cue that she had something else on her mind.

Then the redhead shook her head, smile brightening, “anyways, we’re going to have fun no matter what.” She didn’t want to ruin the evening, at all. She could always ask Chloe tomorrow, anyways, she decided, putting all of her worries away once more; something Phoebe had mastered. If anyone actually knew she was doing it on purpose, they might’ve thought something of it, but instead people often perceived her as stupid and clueless, which she really wasn’t. Well, clueless maybe, once in a while… often, but not stupid. But Phoebe, like most people at the Academy, hadn’t had a joyful childhood. Well, not at first anyway. It wasn’t nice knowing you’d been thrown away; disregarded like worthless trash. Maybe that was why she’d reacted that much to the fact that no one had asked her. It had hit a sore spot in her usually chipper and joyful bubble.

So Phoebe went on with everything, putting her stuff on Chloe’s bed and so forth, of course taling gibberish about nail-polish. She really was worried; Phoebe never dressed up. She never did anything to look all beautiful and womanly, but the dress she’d picked out with Gabey was very… adult. Phoebe loved the dress, she really did, but she didn’t want everyone to expect her to suddenly have grown up, becoming all mature, just because they’d see her in an outfit showing that she, in fact, wasn’t a child. Maybe of mind most of the time, but not of body. Then as Chloe gently guided Phoebe down to sit on the bed, she giggled, smiling up at the brunette she considered a close sister more than merely a friend. After Chloe had complimented the colour and began painting her nails, Phoebe looked around her, smiling before she looked at Chloe once more. “Thank you,” she then told her, voice peppy as always, her eyes showing the excitement she was feeling at finally going to the ball. “I’m just sooo nervous. I mean… what if they all just stare at me like I’m a complete idiot?” He big, brown eyes peered up at Chloe, her voice all worried and innocent.

The fear was legitimate; Phoebe usually didn’t really think about what people thought of her, but for some reason nervous energies were causing her to be all squeamish, nervous to let everyone see this side of her. It wasn’t something she normally let out, at all. Pheebs was the girl you’d see in cute skirts, never low cut or sexy and never fancy in any way. She would wear heels often, because was so tiny, but never with the intention of drawing eyes. Her dress was formfitting and in a colour that would most likely stand out among the others. A part of her wanted to run back to her room, find a cute summer-dress and wear that, but she’d decided that she would, for once, let herself be a young woman instead of a girl. She was scared people would stop liking her though; afraid they’d think she’d changed along with her wardrobe. She’d have to take the chance sooner or later, however, and merely hope that people wouldn’t think it too odd. She sat still, her hands and nails in Chloe’s capable keeping. She glanced at the nails painted colourful so far, a cute smile playing at her lips.






At Robbie’s comment about his love skills, Alex laughed, very familiar with his friend’s tendency to just say something totally random. “Oh yeah? Mad love skills? You on about Blitz and I again?” He’d tease, almost a hundred percent sure of his evaluation. He knew Robbie well enough to quite often guess correctly at his thoughts. Sometimes it even got a little creepy how accurate it would be. “You’re not that good, you know. You didn’t introduce me to Becca, remember?” Alex had gotten over her enough to talk about her without feeling that tint of sadness, well… mostly, anyways, and he’d done that by working her into jokes and stuff like that, so now it had merely become a habit. He did have a point though; Alex had been crazy about Becca, more so than he was Blitz, and he’d practically died on the inside when she left, but he hadn’t stopped loving her. He was pretty sure he never would.

Robbie’s reply to Alex complaining about the pants, made the slightly irritated guy chuckle. At the pointing and glaring, Alex smiled wryly lifting his hands in the air as if he was on gunpoint. “Easy, tiger. I’ll keep the pants on.” He said before laughing again, going back to buttoning his shirt. When his friend then commented on being called a bitch, Alex chuckled, glancing at Robbie, his voice playful when he spoke, “and your bitching upsets me, so I guess we’re at a loss, buddy.” It was an old argument really, one the pair had take up time and time again; Robbie would act like a bitch, Alex would tell him he was being one, and then his friend would usually act out some kind of faked surprise or grief in his usually overly dramatic way, only really proving Alex’s point. It would probably never end. Really, Alex was only waiting for Robbie jump out of the renowned closet and go “Boo! Hey Alex, I’m gay and running away to Vegas to get married to my incredibly handsome lover who wears tight jeans to make his chiselled butt look good!” Yeah, thinking about it, Alex could sooo see that happening. He wouldn’t mind it. There was nothing gay about their relationship, and that wouldn’t change ever, even if people often assumed them to be a couple.

That actually reminded him of one time they’d been out, just the two of them. They’d decided to spend a weekend in the city, and damn… the amount of people who’d thought them gay. Of course, the duo had played along. What was the fun in proving them wrong, when their assumptions were so much more entertaining? Other fact; girls let you see them naked if they thought you were gay. Not that any of them had ever exploited that… at all… in any way. Really, they‘d been perfect gentlemen. Or… yeah, not really. Alex shook his head, chuckling slightly at the thought. The two of them had done a lot of stupid shit, really, of which not even half was known to others.

Robbie’s reply to Alex’s request of changing songs wasn’t really surprising. He had worked out the answer about two seconds before Robbie told him he’d again been messing around with his Ipod. Alex laughed as Robbie began dancing around the room like the freak he was. “Must’ve missed the memo you didn’t leave me after you made it.” He said, chuckling. Robbie knew very well that Alex never checked his Ipod; it usually just played at random, as he didn’t have music on it he didn’t like… except when Robbie decided to be a meddling little bastard. He really should start checking the playlists once in a while. “Besides,” he then added, a glint in his eyes as he finally finished buttoning his shirt, leaving a couple open at the collar, “you’ve forced me to listen to Britney Spears a million times now, and she has yet to work her so-called ‘magic’.” Then he’d grab the dark red tie and loosely fit it around his neck. He’d button up and tighten the tie later. Right now they still had several hours to pass.

He looked up from his tie to glance at Robbie, laughing at his terrible moves, “that dancing looks like crap. Please, at least get the booze for me if I’m going to have to survive these horrors” He said it playfully, smiling wryly, obviously meaning the part about the dancing, but he was also very aware that as soon as he had finished himself up enough at this point, he would be dancing just as awfully right along with him. It was tradition, actually; awful music and terrible dancing. The two just fit so well. Match made in heaven and all that.







Nate had spend the last couple of hours making sure all light were in order, that the drinks weren’t too strong, that the DJ’s equipment wasn’t by any chance failing two hours before the ball, and so on. It was relaxing, and he was sort of in his own world, mind wandering from Ness to Juliette and back again, musing the possibilities and problems connected with the two beauties. He honestly wanted to tell Ness that he could be with just her, but he also wanted Julietter. He’d realized that during his time to himself; he wanted her. She was infuriating and a challenge. Well, more of a challenge than Ness was, in any case… not that that said much. Now, it wasn’t that he considered Vanessa easy, but if he’d been more of a bastard, he might phrase it like that. He knew she provided no challenge, she knew it too, and he was pretty sure it bothered her a little how easily he had her wrapped around his finger.

Now, Hensleigh wasn’t the type to manipulate and lie but at one point or another, he’d begun pondering the possibility of both girls, although he was quite aware that they were close, and that it would provide issues. Worse issues than the fact that they were students. He pushed it away though, and decided to keep Juliette at a distance. He knew he could trust Ness; he knew what he had in her, even if he didn’t quite know how he felt about her, he did like her company, the way she made him feel less like an asshole, like she had expectations of him, and for some odd reason he didn’t understand, he wanted to live up to them. He certainly didn’t want to hurt her. It was odd, considering how he’d easily cheated on her in the past, not caring whether she found out or not. Maybe it was because he’d changed, or maybe it was because she had. Either way, Nate found himself caring more about her feelings than his own wishes. However, it wasn’t like she was letting him down on the physical front. He was still slightly surprised at how… intense she had been; passionate and determined. He would’ve thought her to be the tender, mousy kind, having him do all the work, due to her… soft nature. Instead, she’d proved him wrong.

As his mind began travelling down that path, a voice peeped don’t go there, Nate, which startled him, causing him to blink a couple of times as he looked around. Odd, no one was close enough to have spoken to him. He shook it off on a sigh; it was just another thing connected to all these women-troubles. And on that note he head Juliette’s sarcastic voice behind him, so he turned on his heel, pausing when he saw her. Was it that late already? Nate hadn’t even noticed as time had flown by him. He cleared his throat, his eyes finally taking her in, noting the beautiful blue colour of her dress. “Good evening to you too, Juliette,” Nate merely said, amusement playing both in his voice and his charming mile. He could tell by her slightly slurred words, and oddly swaying stance that she’d jumped aboard the alcohol a little prematurely. Now, Nathan remembered clearly how he and his friends had gotten pissed before the ball back when he was a student, so he wasn’t surprised, but he had sort of hoped they’d all be too busy to talk to him. His eyes then strayed from the gorgeous brunette to the Latina woman he had been with a few hours prior.

Of course she’s wearing red, he thought, sending her a subtle smile of appreciation; she’d understand his meaning. Basically; “you look beautiful, and I can’t wait to tear it all off of you later.” He was certain only Ness would catch onto it, however. Nate had long ago mastered the art of subtleness, his eyes showing what he wanted to show, and only to who he wanted it shown to. There were obviously the occasional slip-ups, but he had himself under control right now, even if temptation one and two had just stepped into the grand hall. His eyes darted back towards Juliette; she looked fantastic, his favourite colour, blue, matching her skin perfectly. Of course, he couldn’t really tell her this, so instead, Nathan merely sent her a smile, his eyes showing her what he couldn’t tell her with words.

Chloe Huntingon

Chloe's smile faltered only slightly when Phoebe asked her about how Chance had reacted to her rejecting him to go to the ball that night; did she know then, that he hadn't reacted the best way? She had to; she wasn't jumping. And that was rare for the little red-headed girl. "Erm, well... let's just say he hasn't spoken to me since he stormed out of the water and walked away from me." Chloe hated the fact that she had upset her best friend - she knew that she was going to have to speak to him about it later, and see if there was anyway to make it back up to him. Chance was one of those people that doesn't trust very easily, and if someone hurts him, it takes them a long time to get back into his friendship circle. The brunette had been on the outside of the circle once more, and she hadn't liked it. She would sort it out with him though, and it would all be fine. He wanted her to be happy, didn't he? Chance cared about her enough as his best friend to want her to do to the ball with someone that she had had a crush on for years? Oh dear....

Trying not to show that Phoebe had brought up something bad, the girl started humming a soft tune as she painted her friend's nails. She was glad that Phoebe was happy with Chance asking her; the two were way to similar for a relationship between them not to work, and also, it would be pretty cute, the two of them together. "Of course we're going to have fun! Although, I'm going to steal him from you for a moment and talk to him later, if that's okay?" It was something that she had learnt to do over the years - you had to ask Phoebe if you wanted to do something, as she was a very emotional girl, and the slightest thing could upset her. If someone just walked in and asked to talk to Chance tonight, without clearing it with Phoebe first, then the girl would probably burst into walls of tears.

The daughter of Poseidon knew that Phoebe was worried about her attire - it was different to anything that she had worn ever before around the Academy, and she was scared that she was going to be looked at. "Honey, you have nothing to worry about," Chloe began, moving so that she could start painting Phoebe's toenails to match her fingernails, "you're going to look beautiful, Chance is going to love what you're wearing, and if anyone stares at you, it's going to be because how beautiful you look. Besides, I think you're going to look like a beautiful mermaid in that."

That was always a good way to go; appeal to her childish side. Mermaids were good.

---

Lukas Tricon

The blonde haired boy smiled softly at Ness as she walked past him, and he took those few seconds to prepare himself. He had everything, didn't he? Wait, there wasn't anything for him to bring, just the little box that was situated in his hand. His mind was beginning to falter, wondering about things that he didn't have to, panicking about the slightest little thing. Maybe this had been an adventurous idea, deciding to come to the ball on the first day venturing out of his room in weeks. With Ava by his side though, he was going to be fine. Yes, that was what he was panicking about. Yes, that. Simple.

Luke's mindless ramblings stopped however when Ava stepped slowly out of the door, he felt like his breath had been knocked out of him. He had never seen a woman look so beautiful in his life, not even Clover. She looked absolutely stunning. There were no words to describe the mixture of feelings running through his system right now, but my god, the butterflies in his stomach were going wild. He had a strange urge to take her, hold her, and never let go, something that he had never felt for the girl that had been his best friend for years. He didn't realize that he was standing there, staring at her like a gormless fish until she stepped forward, placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. This snapped him back into the amazing reality that he had entered, and he floundered for a moment, looking for the right words to say.

"Erm... thanks. I... Ava, you look... w-wow..." His voice had obviously been carried away with his breath upon her sight, and soon, he was just holding out the little ornate box, a smile appearing on his face. Nova had been right - this had been the perfect colour to use. It went perfectly with the colour of her dress, and the sunshine colour of her hair. "For you."

---

Ness Tate

Ness giggled at her friend's terribly Brooklyn accent, shaking her head softly. This however made her slightly dizzy, and she had to stop quickly. After three shots in a very short amount of time, the vodka was quickly going to her head; she was going to have to slow down with her drinking already. Unlike both Ava and Jules, Vanessa wasn't one for drinking very much, only on extremely special occasions would she let herself go over the edge and past "tipsy." She just didn't like the feeling so vulnerable and weak when alcohol was powering her, instead of her mind, so she made alcohol one of the scarcest things in her life. Tonight though, the vodka was going to be her best friend. And why was that? Because her real best friends were going to be elsewhere - one draped over Lukas, looking into his eyes all soppy, and the other was going to be drunkenly wandering around, and chatting up the history teacher. That one was a given; Jules was another of the girls with a crush on the teacher. Ness didn't like it at the best of times, but now? She was going to hate it even more. Hence, the vodka.

"Why thank you." She grinned happily, pushing any negative thoughts out of her mind as she linked her arm with Juliette, and walked into the auditorium. The committee that had been working on the ball, the one that she was supposed to have been on but severely neglected her duties for, had done an amazing job. It didn't look like the hall where the announcements were made or where inside gym class was held occasionally; it looked like a ballroom. The fairy lights looked like twinkling stars, draped around the room, and by the way there were sparkling, it literally made the room look as if it was alive and moving. "Wow..." She breathed out, her eyes fixated on the beauty of it. However, she was quickly brought out of her little reverie by the sound of Jules' voice, and the movement of her unlocking their arms.

"Mhm?" The confused Latina turned to ask her friend where she was going, and warn her that she couldn't leave her alone, but she was already gone, headed in the direction of the beautiful Nathan Hensleigh. He looked... well, beautiful standing there in his suit, leaning casually against something. It slightly irked the girl that he didn't even have to try to make her body react to him - her heart was already beating a thousand times a minute, and her cheeks were probably flushing red. She had no idea what Jules had gone over there to talk to him about, and she was about to turn away and preoccupy herself with something else, probably more alcohol, when Nate caught her eye. He looked at her, his eyes telling her more than words would have done at that moment in time, and she returned his look, a delicate smile making a brief appearance on her face. However, when Jules started talking, their locked eyes quickly fell, and she leaned back against the wall that she had been standing against, crossing her arms over her chest. Oh yes, alcohol was going to be needed, all right.

Ness pulled the small vodka bottle out of her bag again and took another sip, letting her worries and cares be whisked off by the amazing feeling of the alcohol trickling through her system. She overheard a snipet of Jules' voice, however hard she was trying not to, but she couldn't stop the amused smile from taking the place of her straight lips. Juliette had mentioned something about his hat. And if there was one thing that Ness knew about Nathan Hensleigh, it was that you didn't mess with the hat. "Oh, this is going to be good." She muttered to herself, that smile not fading away.

---

Robbie Devaux

Robbie laughed along with his friend as he instantly knew what he was on about. "Oh, you know I'm amazing. Who else would have thought you two would have clicked together, right?" He paused for a moment as Alex spoke about Becca, and then pointed at him, a condescending tone taking over his voice. "Oh yes, I didn't introduce you, but she hurt you. Ergo, even though you loved her, not the best relationship in the world. Talking of that, I'll kill her if I ever see her. But Blitz won't hurt you, so I am still a genius." Robbie had quite the ego, and if anyone tried to bruise it, including Alex, he would protect it to the end. It was really one of the most manly parts that he had left about his personality, so he had to take the best care of it.

His smile came back to brighten up his face however when Alex said that he would keep the pants on. There was one thing that his best friend never argued with him on, and that was fashion. The two boys would argue about everything else; from history, to television, to philosophy, politics and even video games, but fashion was the one thing that Robbie was amazing at, and Alex practically knew nothing about. Without him there, Robbie believed that his friend would probably turn up to the ball in Thomas The Tank Engine PJ's or something, and even the thought alone made him shudder. "Remove the pants and die." He reiterated forcefully one more time, again warning his friends of the dangers that would occur if he even went near the button and zip of the pants.

Soon, he was dancing around the room, ignoring Alex's grumblings about him not pre-warning him about adding music to the ipod. It was best friend's rights, having total access to everything the other owns, so he hadn't said anything about it. Besides, Robbie had lost his own ipod months ago, and decided to use Alex's as a back up. It was good enough, and the two were usually together anyway, so there was no harm done. "You are not drinking before going out, Mister." He stopped mid arabesque and pointed at his friend again, using the same frown that he used when talking about the pants. "If you get there sloshed out of your brains, Blitz with murder you, then turn her fury on me. I'm not having that, okay? No child of Zeus is going to be angry at me!" He told him, before going back to his dancing. Yes, he was a terrible dancer, but there was no need for his friend to make fun of him for it!.... Okay , there was, that was the joys of their relationship, but still. Robbie continued on, without a a care in the world, singing along at the top of his voice until the song ended. Then, he turned to Alex, and pouted at him.

"Can we leave yet? Pretty please?"

"Erm, well... let's just say he hasn't spoken to me since he stormed out of the water and walked away from me." Chloe said. Pheebs could tell by the slight hesitation that her friend didn’t feel comfortable talking about that specific incident, but Phoebe hadn’t expected her to either. Instead of saying anything though, she just smiled at Chloe; a sweet smile expressing the fact that Phoebe felt sorry for her. She wanted so badly to tell Chloe how Chance felt about her, but she couldn’t, firstly because it wasn’t her feelings to speak of, and secondly, she knew Chance wouldn’t want Chloe to know. Phoebe was scared that their friendship for become awkward and strained too, so she understood Chance, and she really didn’t want to see Chloe and Chance change. They were her best friends and her tender heart wouldn’t be able to take it if their friendship was broken due to something none of them could really help.

The daughter of Iris had been watching her nails slowly become colourful and pretty when Chloe said, "Of course we're going to have fun! Although, I'm going to steal him from you for a moment and talk to him later, if that's okay?" The redhead looked up at her friend then, tilting her head slightly to the side, a beautiful smile on her lips as she thought about it. Not whether Chloe could talk to Chance, because of course she could, no doubt about it. It wasn’t like Chance was Phoebe’s date like that. They were just going as friends, and she really had no claim on him at all. Besides, Chloe was Chance’s friend too. She thought the two needed to talk, but she was afraid it wouldn’t help any. She was afraid it would go totally wrong and Chance would end up upset after she’d spent hours getting him into a good mood. So even though Phoebe didn’t feel like she had sole rights to Chance, she still felt slightly hesitant at the prospect of Chloe pulling him aside. She didn’t want the night ruined for either of them, and it things went wrong then the magical night Chloe was to have with Malcolm would be ruined, along with the fun Chance was going to have with her.

Her smile had slowly disappeared as she thought about it. Most of the time, Phoebe wasn’t the girl who thoughts things through but it was different with Chloe and Chance, because she knew them so well, and loved them so much. This meant that even though Phoebe was young and naïve, never having had to really deal with unpleasantness from people, she still felt like those two needed her in some way. Maybe that was why she loved them so much; they made her feel like she meant something in the world. Especially since Chance felt like he did about Chloe; he needed her to look out for him a little when he couldn’t do it himself. The little girl sighed softly as she peered up at Chloe, her brown eyes apologetic. “Chloe… I, um… are you sure you shouldn’t wait till tomorrow or something? What if things go wrong and you’ll end up upset when you should be having a wonderful time with Malcolm? I mean… I don’t know…” With that she shut herself up by softly biting down on her lower lip.

As Chloe moved to paint Phoebe’s toe nails, the girl giggled slightly. She was sort of ticklish on her feet, but not so much that she’d accidentally kick Chloe. She did have to fight herself not to start fidgeting, though. She smiled down at Chloe, bright, happy Phoebe back entirely as her friend complimented her. “A mermaid?” she asked her friend, laughing joyfully. She supposed her dress did have the perfect colour for such a thing, and with her red hair she was sort of like Ariel, “like Ariel?” She then continued, sort of excited to see if her friend would agree. Ariel had a green tail, and Phoebe loved that movie. She generally loved Disney movies and owned all of them. Most on DVD, and a couple, those not yet on DVD were VHS, but she had them all. Some had been random gifts from Gabey, because he loved surprising her like that, some had been birthday gifts from Chloe and Chance, and some had been given to her by others yet, again on birthdays and such. She’d bought some of them herself too, for the money she made helping out at the office, in the kitchen and so forth. She’d happily do it for free, but they’d insisted on paying her, so she wasn’t going to say no to that.






At Robbie’s little rant about being a genius; he really was quite the cocky one sometimes. It Made Alex laugh at him, throwing a sock-ball in the direction of his head. “Shut up, Robbie.” He then said playfully, still laughing at him. He did notice the tone Robbie had taken with him, but he also knew it was just Rob being Rob, so though the condescending nature of it would’ve pissed him off with anyone else, he always just laughed it off with Robbie. He knew it confused people sometimes, because they saw how he acted with Robbie first and would then assume he would take as much crap from them, which wasn’t the case. Robbie was special; he always had been, and there was no changing that. Nothing in the world would ever come between these two, and they both knew it. They were eachothers’ rocks and most trusted friend. The fact that Robbie knew of his past, and the other way around, was quite the testament to that, considering that it was some dark shit no one else knew of them.

Alex spotted his friend stop in his tracks when he mentioned alcohol, which immediately clued him in on the guy’s opinion on it. Alex was sighing even before Robbie started talking, well aware that this was going to be a ‘don’t drink, Alex!’ moment of Robbie trying to be the parent. When he finished talking about a furious Blitz, Alex laughed. “Sure… Blitz’s fury,” he started, teasing his friend before mock-shuddering, “scary thing.” The handsome 19 son of Apollo then laughed, winking at Robbie, “c’mon, not like I’m gonna get pissed, but a little bit of alcohol would just… really help my nerves sooo much,” the last was said in an over-dramatic, teasing voice. They both knew Alex didn’t get nervous. The guy had enough confidence for 10 people, but somehow he wore it without being an arrogant ass. Sure, he was an ass towards people he didn’t like, but he wasn’t arrogant. He didn’t feel better than everyone else; he merely felt confident with himself, comfortable in his own body. It was quite the feet, actually.

Alex finally slipped his jacked on and finished buttoning the shirt. However, his tie was still hanging lose. Then he put on his shoes, bending down to tie then, making a face at the fact that the pants were so form fitting. It wasn’t that Alex usually wore baggy clothes, but he didn’t exactly wear tight jeans either. Then he stopped, looking down himself, trying to decide whether to let it be slightly his style and leave the shirt out, or go all fancy and tuck it in his pants. Then he glanced at Robbie, gesturing at the skin, “in or out?” he simply asked, knowing that Robbie would understand his meaning. That was the beauty of their close friendship. It often worked just like mindreading.

Then as Britney finally stopped moaning from the speakers, Alex sighed in relief. It turned to laughter as Robbie pouted asking to leave. “Can’t,” he said, “your date’s coming over, remember? And I don’t think Em’s gonna be happy to find an empty room when she gets here.” At the end of his sentence, Britney’s next song, toxic, began and Alex groaned, murmuring “I hate you,” to his best friend just as there was a knock on the door. The son of Apollo smiled to hear it, knowing only one person could be; his baby sister. Again, he started laughing when she stepped inside, her eyes closed, all cute. He shook his head, still chuckling. “We’re dressed, Em,” he’d tease, “ouch. Therapy? is Robbie really that ugly? Aw, that’s not nice. I think he’s simply adorable. Needs a little bit of meet on those bones, but other than that, I think you’re being cruel.” The word ‘adorable’ was obviously mimicking a stereotypical gay voice, something he did a lot when talking to Robbie. It just fit.

When she commented on the music, Alex laughed again and pointed at Robbie. “His playlist, I had nothing to do with it, opposed the idea and I promise you, I have been trying my damnedest to shut it out. I keep trying to tell him that children of Apollo know better, but he won’t listen. Not that that’s anything new.” He made a face at Robbie, laughing before walking over to give his sister a little hug, gently kissing her cheek. “You look beautiful, Em, and did I tell you that I like the blonde locks?” He added, all sweet and brotherly, smiling at her. Everyone knew that a compliment from Alex was quite the thing, considering how honest he was. He wouldn’t have said anything if he didn’t honestly think she looked amazing.





Nate listened to Jules babbling on about music in all her drunken glory; it caused a wry smile to adorn his handsome features, looking her over. He chuckled at the hat-comment, just about to reply when she took his hat. No one messed with the hat. Nate loved the hat. The hat was sacred territory. He never let anyone else wear it, and he hated it when someone thought it oh so funny to take it off of him. It was disrespectful and you didn’t disrespect the hat. It just wasn’t cool. So Nate’s smile disappeared instantly and he narrowed his eyes just slightly before once more masking his irritation to reveal a wry smile and a raised eyebrow. The second Jules turned around, Nathan’s hand shot out, smoothly grabbing the hat to slide it back onto his head in one fluent movement. Then he smiled again, this time a real smile, his irritated moment over. He had his hat back; no reason to be all moody anymore. So he gave the hat a little tap, making it tip slightly to the side. Perfect he thought, still smiling his usual, charming smile.

Then he finally spoke to her, his voice light and playful, “well, I’m glad you figured things out with the music, considering your condition, however, perhaps I should go check it out before everyone gets here.” Then, slightly less playful he added, “and don’t touch the hat.” On that note, Nathan cast her a charming smile, turned around and stalked to the DJ, his steps controlled, masculine and elegant as he put his hands into his pockets. Nate couldn’t decide whether to like her boldness or to be slightly annoyed with her. One one side, he’d always had a thing for fiery girls, which was what attracted him to Juliette in the first place, but… the hat. The hat was just a line he allowed no one to cross. He wasn’t entirely sure why, in all honesty. Perhaps because his first one had been a gift from his mother he sort of connected the two things in his slightly odd mind, but he really didn’t know.

That was the thing about Nathan; most of the time he wasn’t clear on why he felt what he did, or even what those feelings were, yet he always displayed confidence in himself. At times that confidence caused him to be slightly cocky too, but the fact that he really had no control over him emotions was something only he knew; something he kept hidden. He’d told Ness he didn’t know how he felt about her, which in all honesty was unusually vulnerable for the teacher. He glanced at Ness, flashing her a smile before he reached the DJ, asking him whether he could take a look at the Ipod. The guy smiled at Nathan, leaning back in his chair with a ‘sure, knock yourself out’, which made Nate laugh. “You know, I’m sure that’ll actually happen by the end of this evening.” The DJ chuckled as Nate went through the playlist on the Ipod, calmly looking it over to make sure Juliette hadn’t decided to add something entirely inappropriate while drunk. People had this tendency to do these silly things when they got drunk. Typical alcohol. Thinking of that, Nathan was starting to feel like he’d need a dose himself.

Chloe Huntington

Chloe watched as Phoebe's smile faltered, thinking over her proposition of stealing Chance away for a few moments. She could practically see the cogs turning around in red-head's brain, her eyebrows furrowing together as she thought. It was a rare sight, seeing Phoebe in such a deep state of concentration; she was so childish and silly most of the time that she never thought about anything. Soon, the girl began to speak, the smart and reasoning tone in her voice surprising the daughter of Poseidon. She listened to her friend, nodding along in affirmation. She had to give the girl credit; she had thought about it thoroughly, and had come up with a better idea.

"I suppose you're right." Chloe spoke softly, putting the lid back onto the nail polish once she was done. "I don't want to ruin our happiness for tonight, do I? And I don't want to upset him especially, because he's gotta keep little ol' you happy, right?" She smiled, bringing back that happiness that she had lost momentarily. "Let those dry, and don't touch them." She told Phoebe, looking down at her dress for once movement, to make sure that she hadn't spilt any of the green liquid down it, and luckily, she hadn't. Chloe nodded as Phoebe came back to her usual, happy, innocent self, and she had to smile at the one that had appeared on her "sister's" face. She knew that the mermaid thing was going to make her happy. "Oh, definitely like Ariel. But you'll be an even prettier mermaid than the one in the film."

Taking a moment, Chloe walked towards her deck and picked her phone up, sending a quick message to Malcolm. They hadn't sorted anything out about meeting each other, and she was just wondering what they would be doing. There was no harm in that, was there? Chloe was completely new when it came to boys and dates, purely because she was always so caught up gazing after Malcolm - not actually going somewhere with him.

Hey ^_^
I was just wondering where you wanted to meet tonight? We're almost ready!

"Do you know where you're meeting Chance tonight, honey?" She asked Phoebe as she placed her phone back on the desk, and moved over to delicately play with one of her friend's strands of beautiful hair. "Also, what are you doing with your hair? Down, or up?"

---

Lukas Tricon

The smile that lit up Ava's face was heartwarming for Luke, and it made his smile grow even more. The feelings running through the blonde haired boy were strange and foreign, but they also made him happy. He knew, deep down, that this was wrong, having feelings for the girl that had been the best friend for both him and his girlfriend, but that was being pushed away by thoughts telling him that he didn't care. Clover wasn't in the equation any more, and as much as it hurt him to think it, it was growing on him that he didn't care any more. Clover was slowly disappearing from his heart and his thoughts, and being replaced by the beautiful Ava. The girl who wasn't going to leave him, the girl who wasn't going to hurt him. "I'm glad you like it." He spoke softly, his eyes being drawn to the beautiful flower for a moment, and how it didn't even compare to her gorgeousness.

"Of course I'm excited," Lukas smiled, reaching towards her, taking her hand softly in his, "because I get to spend the night with the most beautiful girl in the world on my arm." The words coming out of his mouth were words that he would have said to Clover in the past, but now, that just sounded like blasphemy. There was no other person in the world that he would have wanted to have with him tonight, not even Clover, and that thought made him extremely happy. His hand seemed to fit perfectly with hers, and he linked his rough, blacksmith fingers between her delicate ones. It was like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle had been put together for the first time.

"So, are you ready to go?"

---

Ness Tate

Ness had to almost stop her mouth from falling to the floor when Jules took the hat off of Nathan's head, and instead, she laughed. The look of joy and rebelliousness was evident on her face as she tried to get away from the older man, but the expression on his face was the one that she was laughing at. His beautiful smile had been replaced by a scowl, and his eyes had changed from soft, to glaring. Ness had learn this lesson almost three years ago, when she had taken his hat off of her head - yeah, she cried herself to sleep that night from his reaction. She knew how protective he was over the darned thing, and it was only on the head of the beautiful brunette girl for a second, before it was whipped back off again. Observing this from the wall was quite entertaining.

Then, the man shot a smile in her direction, and it brought back the feelings that she was trying so hard to repress. Well, just until she got out of this ballroom anyway. The vodka was back in her hands in a moment, and she was taking another sip. Yes, she had taken quite a bit of the alcohol in a short time, but she couldn't think of any other way that she would be able to stop herself from going over there and taking him in her arms once again. She was of the legal age to drink anyway, so nobody could say anything about it. Also in her bag was a little bottle of whiskey, one of those ones that you would bring home from a family member after you've been on holiday. You'd only get four or five little sips out of it. She kicked herself away from the wall gently with her heel, knowing that if she had done it any harder, she would have broken her heel.

She passed Jules, who probably had only some conscious idea of where she was right now, and she walked over to the DJ table. She was only meters away from the male whom she cared about so much, and yet, despised for having her wrapped around his little finger. "I just wanted to say that you probably shouldn't let her near the music tonight, no matter what she says." She wasn't really talking to Nathan, more like her DJ, but her eyes kept flicking over to him. The DJ just nodded back to her, agreeing with her statement - she wasn't going to be letter Jules out of her sight if she could help it tonight, but the girl would probably slip out of her grasp - she was sneaky like that. The Latina girl then took the small bottle of whiskey out of her bag and placed it in front of the history teacher. The exchange wouldn't have been able to be seen by anyone but the DJ, not even Jules if she had been watching, as Ness' back would have been hiding it. "I saw your eyes darting over to that alcohol table. You're probably going to need it if you're going to survive the night." She smiled, her eyes looking into his. Her voice held a tone of seduction, and yet, also had an undertone of playfulness. She then turned away, making sure to do it slowly, and made her way back towards Jules. However, before she left, she turned around again and gave a nod. "I like the hat."

Vanessa moved her butt a little more than she usually would have done when she walked, seeing as it was in the direction of her history teacher, and wrapped her arm around Jules' shoulders. The vodka was beginning to go to her head now, and a small giggle escaped her lips. "So, Juliette. What do we do now, eh?"

---

Robbie Devaux

Robbie knew that if there was any sign of Alex being under the influence of alcohol, Blitz would rip both of their sets of testicles off. Like he stated before, he didn't want a child of Zeus after him and angry at him, especially one that had been his friends for such a long time. Robbie understood that he was being a little bit paranoid and a little bit motherly, but he was totally serious about alcohol - it was the one of the only things that he was truly serious about, and Alex was the only person that knew why. It had everything to do with his past, and his father, but if anyone asked him why he was so up-tight about alcohol, his answer was that he had gotten too drunk once and ended up in hospital with blood poisoning.

"You're as stubborn as an Ares child, you know that?" He grumbled to his best friend, however a mocking tone was present in his voice. Soon, he sighed and gave in, knowing that Alex wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. "Okay, okay - you can have a drink. Just... if you even smell of it, she'll kill me!" He brought back the playfulness into the room by pretending to die on his friend's bed, his tongue sticking out at the side, to add a touch of drama to his scene. His tongue came back into his mouth after a few seconds though - as he didn't like the feeling of his tongue going dry, and he didn't even have to look up when he was asked the question about tucking in or keeping out. "Keep it out. As much as it'd look nice tucked in, there needs to be some... relevance, that it's actually you wearing it, not my gorgeous masterpiece. So, keep it out." Robbie smiled, a small laugh coming out of his lips. He knew that Alex would look perfect before they left, and he would feel like Michelangelo, who had just finished his sculpture of David.

He soon bolted up from his position though as there was a knock on the door, and Emilee's sing-song voice floated through. "Em!" He shouted, as Alex went over to hug her. As soon as he was done, he shoved the brunette male out of the way and wrapped her in a hug once again, this one slightly better than the first, seeing as the two of them were now standing, instead of being a collapsed heap on the bed. "Alex, you're being mean again! Emileeeeee.... " Emilee was more than just Alex's big sister, she was also Robbie's. She was the only one who was able to sate both of their needs as a sibling. She was also able to get involved in their little tiffs and not be injured by Alex's harsh words. He poked his tongue out at Robbie as he hugged his date for the evening. "You love my music, Alex! You just won't admit it! You're a closet camp. You know you are." He winked at his best friend, before turning to Emilee once again, taking in her appearance properly for the first time. "He's right Em, you do look beautiful. Aren't I just so lucky to have you as my date?"

His smile was bright and true as he stood there. Robbie was extremely excited now, and he just wanted to get going and dance.

As Chloe agreed not to talk to Chance tonight, Phoebe smiled happily, “right!” She said, laughing a little, “Chancey is so much more fun when he’s in a good mood.” Then as she stopped painting Phoebe’s toe-nails, the child of Iris laughed. “I knoooow,” she said, playfully sticking her tongue out at Chloe. She knew not to touch them; she just… didn’t really do the painting part. The girl smiled widely and Chloe’s next words about her being prettier than Ariel. “Nah,” she said, giggling softly as she began swinging her legs back and forth, made possible by the fact that her feet didn’t quite reach the floor from where she was sitting on the bed. “Ariel has no imperfections; she’s a drawing,” she countered, laughing. “And I have ugly feet, a mole on my neck, and a lot of scars on my fingers… though, mostly those are my own fault.” Then the tiny redhead laughed again, before she tilted her head slightly, thoughtfully adding, “I should probably start looking at the vegetables I chop in the kitchen.” Her face lit up in another big smile then, looking at Chloe as the girl moved to her phone, picking it up to text.

Pheebs was willing to bet the text was for Malcolm. Who else? She’d just agreed not to talk to Chance yet, so really, it could only be Malcolm. Not that Chloe didn’t have other friends; she had plenty, but none that she had reason to text right now. She didn’t say anything; merely sat there, on the bed, waiting for her nail polish to dry, swinging her legs, watching Chloe. She was so happy for Chloe, it was almost indescribable, yet a little part of her heart, the one that belonged to Chance, just… couldn’t help feeling bad about it. This whole situation was just so conflicting! She began softly humming a melody, looking at her beautiful dress. Chloe was right, she supposed; she would look pretty in it, but whether or not she looked good wasn’t the actual issue. Phoebe’s mind drifted to Gabey; he’d told her not to think about what everyone else would think, because they loved her no matter what she wore; they’d understand that her dress didn’t change the person she was, and she supposed he was right. His words had been helpful, but the tight hug that followed had been even better. She loved him so much; he was just always there to say or do exactly the right thing.

The child of Iris was shook out of her own little world when Chloe turned to ask her about Chance. She turned her head to look at her, a bright smile on her lips, “oh, he’s meeting me there. Just seemed easiest.” She said, joy in her tone. Then as Chloe moved to play with her hair, asking what she wanted to do with it. “You decide.” She said, having complete confidence in Chloe’s judgement. Besides, Chloe was most likely going to be doing it, so it made sense to Phoebe that she got to decide. “Whatever you think would look good, I’m fine with. Hey, how is it, anyway? The ball… what was it like last year? I never asked. I mean, is it themed or just sparkly and glittery? Do people get like… really, really drunk and puke everywhere or just a little tipsy? Will everyone be dancing? And how about Niamh and Cadence? I know they’re going, but, I mean, they don’t like these sort of things, do they? So why are they going? It’s going to lots of fun, but I don’t understand. What do they even do at these things? Is Chance a good dance, by the way? I never danced with him before, and I’m really nervous he’ll step on my toes now that you just painted them so pretty.” She was babbling again she realized; Chloe couldn’t possible remember to answer all those questions. The girl blushed slightly, her cheeks suddenly matching her hair, a little, apologetic smile on her lips, an embarrassed laugh emanating from between them. “I’m sorry… I just… I think I’m sort of nervous.”





At Robbie’s comment about the shirt, Alex laughed, adding a sarcastic “right”, shaking his head, letting the shirt hang loose, and that’s when Em knocked on the door. Soon he was hugging her, complimenting her. As she replied, he chuckled. “I should’ve,” he just managed to add before he was brutally pushed out of the way, hearing Robbie whine as he did so very, very often. Alex managed to take a few steps back, balance regained in minute and he laughed at Robbie along with Emilee, sticking his tongue out at him. “Yeah, you’re right. You figured out my secret, Robbie. Whatever should I do now?” He replied playfully, before he finally tightened the tie up, looking at himself in the mirror. He’d done his hair when Robbie had gone to the bathroom to shower, and now he looked the way he was supposed to… or something. He let the jacket remain open too and straightened himself.

Then as the two conserved, talking about Em’s appearance, Alex began drifting off a little, fixing the tiniest little things in his outfit, like a little crease here or there; made him feel a little like Robbie, honestly, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want anything ruining tonight for Blitz. Now, he knew his outfit wasn’t really that big a part of it, but he knew his girlfriend would be straightening out his outfit the second she saw him, if he didn’t do it himself, so really he was just relieving her of work. Or maybe he was sort of… nervous? No, that wasn’t the word. Excited? Not about the ball, but about Blitz. He loved that beautiful smile on her face, and he’d make sure it stayed there the entire evening. He’d allow nothing to get in the way of those plans and he knew how much the ball meant to her; she’d spent so much time setting it all up, he knew she wanted the evening to be perfect. That was the thing with children of Zeus, he supposed; perfectionists. But hey, after a couple of years with Robbie, you got used to stuff like that.

Alex was brought back into the world when he heard that magical name on his sister’s lips. He glanced at her. “Huh? Bailey?” He asked, wondering. “He’s gay, right?” he then continued, smiling wryly. What? So he got a little jealous. Now, he knew the kid had nothing on him, but it was the principle of the matter. He didn’t want Blitz taking an interest in anyone else; he’d never forgive her if she screwed things up. He knew that. The circumstances never mattered; it was the act itself. Didn’t matter, though; he knew Blitz. He trusted Blitz. Didn’t he? Yeah, he did. Blitz was an amazing, smart, beautiful, strong girl and he loved her. He knew she loved him too, so why was he even considering the fact that she might hurt him? She’d never do that. It wasn’t who she was, which was exactly why he’d let her in. Well, as much as he let anyone besides Robbie in, anyways.

“Oh well, doesn’t matter,” he then continued, smiling wryly at Robbie and Emilee. “I’ll just go find her there, I suppose. We were supposed to meet at the ball, but if I know Blitz, she’d love it if I came by, so…” he said, bowing at the pair, “I’ll get going, unless you have something you need to change about the way I look, Robbie?” He straightened, smiling wryly at Robbie as he made his way towards the door. He placed his hand on the handle, but didn’t leave yet. Robbie would throw a fit if Alex left looking less than he could, so the tall male remained inside the room, waiting for his best friend to comment.





Nathan had heard the sound of heels closing in before Ness’ voice made an appearance. He looked up from the iPod, smiling at his beautiful Latina. She really did look quite gorgeous, he had to admit. Besides, he was done looking through the playlist, and as the girl talked to the DJ, Nathan put the music player back into the dock, looking up just to see Ness placing a little bottle of whiskey in front of him. He chuckled at her words, “yeah, you’re probably right,” he told her, a seductive glint in her eyes, “although I’m certain my plans for later will make up for it.” Then he took the bottle, watching her walk away, until she turned, commenting on his hat. Nate sent his student a wry smile; he knew she’d seen the exchange between him and Jules. “Oh, I know,” he merely said, voice flirtatious. He couldn’t help but look at the perfect bottom swaying on Ness’ way away from him. Then he cleared his throat and chuckled a little.

He talked to the DJ for a little while, before Nate made his way down the snack-tables, catching sight of Lance a little off to the side. As usual, the kid was more or less alone. Nate shook his head, turned around so that he was slightly out of sight. Then he downed the entire bottle Ness had given him; then threw the empty glass in the trashcan to his right. He sighed, relieved. He could feel his stress-level decreasing by the minute. He’d survive this. He would. Nathan let a gust of air pass his lips, rubbed his neck a little and turned to watch the room a little. It was quickly filling up; his students already chatting eachother up, flirting, hugging and laughing. He missed being a carefree student sometimes, he had to admit. And then, on the other hand, he could do without the extra, raging hormones. He had enough sexual issues as it was. His eyes landed on Juliette and Ness, watching them a little. He was so fucking screwed, it was almost unreal. He knew that Juliette didn’t know of him and Ness, he also knew that Ness didn’t know that he actually took an interest in the brunette. If something happened between him and Juliette, Ness would flip. She’d probably be able to take him being with someone else, as per their agreement to be in an ‘open’, secret relationship.

However, he also knew that the Latina wouldn’t be able to accept it with her best friend. And that’s what Juliette was; Nate had picked up as much. He’d never let her know that, though; probable deniability was his best friend sometimes. He shook his head, deciding not to worry about women any more today. Well… until after the ball, at which point he’d be busy with one Latina in particular. His gaze went from the girls to his younger half-brother, smiling at the kid before walking over to him. “You don’t exactly look happy to be here, Lance.” He noted playfully, raising his eyebrow at the son of Poseidon. “You realize it isn’t mandatory, right?” He smiled at the kid. Nate honestly had no idea why Lance had even showed himself; he wasn’t the most social of people, and the teacher hadn’t expected him to be there at all. He hoped Lance would take the opportunity to break out of his shell a little; too many students here tried to distance themselves.

Chloe Huntington

No reply yet. Chloe's hand had flitted over to her phone, checking the messages icon at the top, hoping that Malcolm had text her in the time it had taken her to finish her friend's nails. But no, he hadn't. Maybe he had forgotten? Oh no, Chloe. Don't think like that. That's not you. You're the confident, sassy daughter of Poseidon. Be that girl, instead of the worrier, tonight. Her own brain was lecturing her on putting herself down, and she had to shake her head to bring her back to the reality of her bedroom, with little Pheebs sitting on her bed, her legs swaying backwards and forwards. "You, missy, do not have ugly feet, or any of that stuff you said that makes you think you're imperfect. You're beautiful, deal with it." She stuck her tongue out playfully at the little girl she thought of as a younger sister, more than she did a friend.

Then, the brunette girl was sitting behind Phoebe, her hands running through her beautiful red locks. "Meeting you there, huh? If Malcolm doesn't message me back, I'll go with you and just talk to people until he arrives." She shrugged, parting the hair at the center, before frowning, then putting it back the way it was. "Mhm... how--" Chloe began to speak, telling the girl what she was planning to do with her hair, but then Phoebe started on another one of her rants. This time, the girl could barely keep up with the thousands of questions escaping the younger, crazy girl's lips, and her eyes widened in shock at how quick her voice had become.

Once Phoebe had stopped talking, finally, Chloe put her hands softly on her shoulders, and took in a deep breath, asking the girl to copy her. "You need to calm down, sweetie." She smiled, before then leaning back and she began to play with the girl's hair. "Right, from what I remember you asking, here are your answers; I have no idea if there is a theme or not, but if there was, we would have been told by Jules and her large mouth. Of course people will get really drunk, throw up and pass out - I hope to be one of them, but you stay away from all that. I reckon most people will be dancing, yes. We all love a good party. The two Hades daughters will probably be there, but if they cause problems, you know ol' Nate or Boone will throw them out, if they're coherent enough to do so. Finally, Chance is a wonderful dancer, you have nothing to worry about. If he even chipped your beautifully painted nails, I'll drown him, okay?" She laughed playfully, before tugging lightly at one of the strands in Phoebe's hair. "So, what about if we push all your hair to once side, clip it in place, and have ringlets coming down?"

---

Lukas Tricon

"Well, sleeping with a hanger in your mouth just has to be slightly uncomfortable, don't you think?" Luke's voice was playful as he spoke to his beautiful date for the evening. He gently squeezed her hand as they walked slowly towards the auditorium, and he couldn't stop himself from looking over at her. How had he gotten here? About two months ago, this girl was his best friend, his girlfriend's best friend, and they were happy like that. But now, since Clover had left, look at them. They were holding hands, walking as dates to the ball together. He couldn't ignore the butterflies that were darting around in his stomach; they weren't something that occurred when you held hands with your friend.

Deep down, Ava had always been something more to Lukas. He had always wanted to protect her, hug her and be close to her. Yes, he had loved Clover very much, and he hadn't ever thought about cheating on her, but now that she was gone, he was beginning to realize the force as to which he was being drawn towards Ava, and he had been for some time. "I'm glad I asked you too, Ava." The blonde boy shot her a beautiful smile as they walked through the corridor.

He really was the luckiest guy alive. Maybe Clover had left them with some luck after all.

---

Ness Tate

Ness felt that usual tingle through her entire body as she looked at Nathan Hensleigh. He had such a hold over her, it was stupid. Honestly, what girl let herself get this involved with someone that she knew wasn't right for her, yet she wanted with all of her heart. Vanessa was supposed to be a smart, naive, and sensible girl - but really, she was being reckless and irresponsible. But, she liked it. There was nothing that was going to keep her from her teacher, the man that she had lusted after for the last three years, and even though it felt so wrong, it was oh, so right. The way his hands felt on her body, the way he knew exactly what she liked and where, and the way that he knew exactly how she was feeling, even when she was trying to hide it from him. She felt her legs almost turn to jelly at the sound of his seductive voice, the mentioning of them being together tonight causing her to smile as she walked away from him.

Oh, Nathan Hensleigh, what do you do to me? She thought to herself as she walked back towards her friend, slinging her arm over Juliette's shoulders, hugging the girl to her body lightly. She had no idea that her best friend was on the same train of thought as her, and that was definitely for the best. She was happy, right now; happy with how she looked, happy with being with her best friend, happy for Ava and Luke, happy about what was going to happen after the ball. The girl was a smiling mess. Then again, the alcohol coursing through her system had to have something to do with her overly happiness. It was either that or the way that Nate had that hold over her that just made her smile when she was in his presence. She didn't know; but what she did know was that she was going to have a good time tonight with Jules, and that they would steal Ava for at least one dance.

However, even through the tipsy cloud that was beginning to cover her mind, Ness could see that Jules wasn't right. She didn't have her usual bright smile plastered over her face, the one she had on was obviously fake, and she looked almost sad. Her words made the Latina girl frown and she used her free arm to pull the bottle of vodka out of her bag. "Have some, honey." She smiled, giving it to the brunette. "What do you mean, you don't want to be you? Look at this place, Jules! You've done this. It's beautiful. You look beautiful. And you, are going to be you tonight. Just a happy, drunken you." She grinned playfully, before taking a sip of the vodka herself, then slipping it back into her bag. If she was caught giving alcohol to an under-age student... well, she'd probably be pushed. Oh, I'd like to be punished by a certain teacher. That naughty thought caused a giggle to escape her mouth, and then she gave her friend another hug, before dropping her arm to her side. "Come on, babe. Cheer up. Let's have some fun tonight. okay?"

---

Robbie Devaux

Robbie sat quietly for the first time whilst Emilee and Alex spoke about Blitz and Bailey. His mind flickered towards the boy that the two had mentioned; Bailey Raynes. The boy was a confusing specimen to say the least, and Robbie had taken a strange interest in him. He was such a lovely boy, and yet, there was something about him that intrigued the child of Isis. He had no idea what it was that was pulling him towards the curious child of Zeus, but something was. Maybe it was just the way he liked to understand everything and everyone around him, Bailey included. Who knew? Robbie sure didn't. A sigh escaped the male's lips as he sat there, contemplating everything. He was friendly with Bailed, but he wanted to know him better. He wasn't sure how much better though - feelings like this were completely knew to the boy who everyone thought was 'gay', but he hadn't really admitted it himself yet - hell, he wasn't even sure that he was. He just knew that he had strange feelings towards a couple of the men here at Olympus, and Bailey was at the top of his list.

His mind was brought back to the room however when Alex moved, and he was standing in front of the door." Don't you dare leave this room, Mr Reed. I swear to God, I'll kill you with rainbows." He grinned playfully, although there was a serious tone in his voice. Robbie stood up and made his way over to the male that he had no feelings for; the one male he knew he would never have feelings for in that way. Alex was his best friend, always had been, and that really would never change. He tightened the knot at the top of the male's tie slightly, hating the slacking look that his male friend seemed to prefer, and then he walked around him, as if surveying a statue. He brushed off a little bit of fluff from the man's backside, and then came around to the front once more. His eyes were squinted, as if looking for any imperfection, and after pushing one little strand of Alex's hair back to the place from whence it came, the frown on his face was replaced by a bright smile.

"There. You're complete. See, what would you do without me? You would have left looking like a slacker with messy hair and butt fluff. You're welcome." Robbie bowed playfully in front of his friend, before gestured for him to leave the room. "Go, get your girl. Give her a kiss from me." He winked.