[IC] Behind Blue Eyes [1x1]

[QueenOfWands]

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ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Aphrodite herself seemed to be blessing Alexander’s life at the moment. Gigi wanted to spend the night… with him? Sure, it wasn’t anything sexual or intimate. She needed a place to stay for the night because her place was being fixed up? Whatever the reason, it seemed that his little day dream was coming true. The movie finally ended, much in the blood bath it had begun, and Alexander flicked on the lights at the first chance he got. “Let me grab some more blankets and pillows for you.” Alexander made his way to a linen closet, pulling out some pillows and blankets, practically showering Gigi on the couch with them. He couldn’t admit to her that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep in his room tonight, and it would be more ballsy than Alex was to ask her about sleeping in his bed with him. Not that he didn’t want to do that. He totally wanted to do that! Alexander climbed onto a separate love seat, letting Gigi take over the couch. Though she honestly didn’t need the entire thing. She is so tiny, but lethal! “If you need anything, just let me know.” Alexander winked, pulling out his phone to message Jacob his excitement of having Gigi spend the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the Friday dismissal bell rang, the ball was the only thing anyone talked about. Every boy and girl was giddy with the idea of getting dressed up, pretending to be someone different for the night, and pretend that everyone was from a different world. Each of the Swedes were excited for it in their own regards. Jacob and Arthur were both happy to be spending such a “romantic” evening with their girlfriends. Alexander was excited just to be part of a huge party, and getting a chance to see Gigi in a dress. Terrance, on the other hand, was taking this as an opportunity to get over his feelings. The remainder of the week still weighed heavily on Terrance, and he had to constantly keep his mind distracted from the ideas of Helene. He tended to focus his time on school work he was almost a week behind on, drinking alcohol, or speeding up and down the highway strip. If his family didn’t have the pull that it did over the town’s police force, he probably would have had his car impounded for the number of speeding tickets he recently received. But this was going to be his chance to have a change of spirit. It would be almost like a fresh start between him and every girl he either hadn’t met yet, or hadn’t hooked up with yet. Perhaps he would be able to find another body to keep his mind off of Helene’s.

At Terrance’s home, the boys had all gathered and were already dressed. Arthur wore a deep navy suit combination. Though he wasn’t much of a fan of the joker mask, it was the only one he could find to match what he wore. Arthur decided to keep his long hair down, which made it significantly obvious who he was, there was no hiding those long blonde locks. “You know, you’re supposed to make it hard for Eva to figure out who is who right? You’re the only person at this school with such long blonde hair!” Arthur shrugged. Jacob was going to be sneaking around the crowd, playing a little bit of hide and seek with Alyssa. For some reason, he liked to keep Alyssa on her toes. Where as Arthur would rather be found quickly and intermingle with Eva. It felt as if they were bonding closer due to the news of Eva’s pregnancy. It was still such unknown and uncharted territory, but Arthur was ready to brave it with her. He ran his hand through his hair, texting Eva. “I’ll be the one in blue.”

Terrance was funning a comb through his hair a few times, and fixing his bow tie on his suit. Terrance however was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. He just had brown hair and brown eyes, the most plain and common traits of almost the entire world. It would be almost impossible to distinguish himself from other guys known around campus, much to his own pleasure. What happened tonight was just going to stay in the ball tonight. He needed distractions to get his head out of the water. Terrance reached in his pocket and pulled out a flask, taking a quick sip. Arthur and Jacob from a distance were shaking their heads as he offered it to them. “Pregame a little? Oh come on! Don’t give me that look. I told you guys, I’m fine. Let me have my fun!” Terrance passed the flask to Alex who took a hearty, brave drink. He was going to need quite a bit of liquid courage tonight. His jet black hair was slightly spiked, and his caramel eyes shone through his mask. Unlike his friends, Alexander usually tried to go over the top in his look. Something that could be both laid back and formal at the same time. Jacob put on his mask, completing his own ensemble. The four arrived in Arthur’s silver volvo, and almost as quickly as they arrived, they dispersed into the crowd of girls and guys, talking and dancing. Either on the look out for their significant other, or on the prowl to catch a new one for the night. Arthur wasn’t sure what to do, as he stood relatively awkwardly. All of his friends had abandoned him, and he still didn’t know where Eva was yet. Supposedly she was supposed to be arriving with Helene, Alyssa, and Gigi, but they weren’t here yet… or at least he didn’t think they were. Arthur didn’t need to stand on his toes as his eyes scanned the crowd, looking out for a girl with long blonde hair. Little did he know there was one with long black hair scoping him out as well.

Terrance decided to retreat to the punch bowl. A coupe had just walked away and his eyes looked back and forth around. After making sure the coast was clear, he extracted his flask from his pocket and poured out the rest of the alcohol into the bowl. He began to stir it when he got a pat on the back from a strong hand. Terrance jumped, assuming he had been caught. But it was just a fellow classmate. “Thanks for that! I thought this was going to be boring. Get a few of these going around and it should make for an interesting night.” The two seemed to grin maliciously, pouring a fresh cup and clinking glasses as a toast. “Good luck on your own hunt tonight.”

“And to you!” The stranger smiled and sauntered off, enjoying his fruit punch and vodka drink. Terrance took his own big drink, his eyes scanning the crowd for who would be his first target. Alexander was already out on the dance floor, chit chatting with a few girls who had conglomerated there. Though Alexander fully had intentions on finding Gigi, he couldn’t help himself but play a little cat string theory. That is- make himself seem so readily available that girls wanted him. But instead, left them out to dry. It was mean, but not nearly as mean as Terrance’s hit it and quit it ploy. “And I said to him- That isn’t trash!! That’s my dog!” Whatever lame joke that had been executed seemed to go off without a hitch, as the girls and even a few guys around him erupted into laughter. Alexander, being the cheery upbeat guy that he was, loved to see other people happy and having a good time as well. It was the best way to distract him from his own hauntings. Another 4 hours until midnight. Another 4 hours til his 18th birthday. Alexander took a sip of his own drink, tasting the hint of alcohol. Oh, tonight was going to be fun.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Sticking out like a sore thum
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... No on
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Where is Eva?"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ Alyssa's House -> School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Alyssa, Gigi, and Helene [Friends], Arthur [Boyfriend]
FEELING ⤑ A little on the adventurous side.}

Humming to herself, Helene was practically dancing around Alyssa's bedroom, securing several golden pins onto Eva's hair. Normally Eva didn't mind being Helene's doll, though as she watched the redhead, she could tell something was wrong. Ever since the beach, she had been acting strange. It was hard to pin down why, as technically, she was still cheery, cheeky, and overall mischievous, but there was just something off. Of course, anytime Eva tried to inquire, Helene managed to turn the conversation around, so she was defeated each time. She should have been glad because it wasn't Alyssa; when the two had seen each other, Helene immediately apologized, and Alyssa accepted. The only hint she had was that it had something to do with Terrance. In public she acted rather cordial with him, but if his name was mentioned when he wasn't around, she just went quiet.

Of course, everyone was more concerned about Eva's own issues, and she had her own hidden feelings. No, that wasn't right. She had gotten numerous phone calls and condolences since her mother died, but she just didn't feel anything. She wasn't sad or upset, she just was. Granted, the amount of paperwork that ensued as well as inheriting most of Evelyn's assets was stressful, but all Eva could think about was Dr. Galen's news and Arthur. Truly, he was a godsend in this time, and she didn't know what she would do without him. Except, anytime they were apart, she found herself getting increasingly nervous. Ironic, considering just the other day she thought she was getting too attached to him. Still, she enjoyed him more than ever, and ever since he found out she was pregnant, there was this subtle change in their relationship. Well, not entirely subtle, that's what babies did, right? For the moment, she was keeping it quiet from Marshall and...everyone, actually. Lord knows that she had enough on her plate, and even though she figured it'd eventually become obvious, for now she could just enjoy it privately with Arthur. There was a little guilt keeping it from her friends, but she knew they wouldn't hold it against her.

Alyssa walked into her room, watching Helene with a frown on her face. "We'd like to go sometime this century, Hel," She chided her, completing her own outfit, and Eva thought the peacock theme fit her well. She was a little surprised to see her with her hair down, though that was mostly because Alyssa nearly always had her hair up.

Helene rolled her eyes, though she handed Eva her mask. "Rome wasn't built in a day, you know," She huffed as she patted Eva's shoulder, signaling she was done, and she beckoned Gigi to take a seat next. "Besides, we finally got Gigi to wear a dress, it's a special occasion!"

Gigi raised an eyebrow at her. "You always dress me up," She pointed out as Helene brushed her hair over her shoulders, pinning some of it over her ear.

"Oh, sue me, I have fun with it!" Helene giggled, though as she glanced at the time, she realized the girls had a point. "Well, I'll leave you as is, the fact that you look so cute already will do nicely~" She said, and she began to strip down.

Shaking her head, Gigi stood up, though not before looking in the mirror. As she put her mask on, she looked herself up and down. It wasn't much, really, though she did like the idea of wearing a mask. It wasn't really for the mystery, though, she just liked that she got a chance to properly hide from everyone. Then again, considering her black hair and dark eyes, would Alexander recognize her? Ugh, there she goes again, not having been able to get him off her mind since that movie night. It was entirely unnerving and bizarre, though she didn't dare bring it up to anyone. She wondered if she was coming down with something, she hated this weird feeling that she couldn't quite shake. Speaking of weird, however, their entire group had this sort of awkwardness around them that she was picking up. Her eyes landed on Eva, who was pretty nonchalant considering her mother had just died. Then there was Alyssa, who had dropped her feud with Helene--not resolved, just plain dropped. And finally, there was the Queen of Drama herself, Helene. As she shimmied herself into her dress, Gigi eyed the cut on her neck. Gigi wanted to chalk up her weird behavior to the attack the other day, but there was more to it. What it was, who knew, but everyone was acting off, herself included. There was little time to properly think on it, however, as Alyssa ushered them into her car, and the ride was relatively quiet. Helene kept humming, scooping up her hair into a tight bun at the top of her head, but no one else said anything.

Once they arrived, Eva looked around, surprised that there were so many people there. It was really nice to see people get along, though, so she felt herself getting a little excited. Alyssa leaned in close, motioning towards something. "He made himself so obvious," She grinned, and the two spotted Arthur rather easily. "Anyway, I'm going to try to find Jacob, so have fun, okay?" She said, and before Eva could say anything, Alyssa walked into the crowd. Eva had assumed they were going to stick together, but as she watched Helene give her a wink and also begin to mingle, she figured that thought went out the window. Gigi stayed at her side, though she was looking around, too. "Looking for Alexander?" She asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"What makes you ask that?" Gigi asked, genuinely curious.

"You seem happier lately, I just thought that maybe you two were getting close."

Was that it? Gigi was stumped at Eva's answer, though she didn't get a chance to ask her to elaborate as Eva darted off in Arthur's direction. Great. Pushing past people as they got too close, Gigi felt like a lost kid at the mall as she looked around, though as she heard a group of girls laugh, she spotted someone she thought was Alexander with a small group of girls. No, that couldn't be him, he was only interested in her. Except, she was pretty sure it was him. Sort of. Not that she cared, he could do as he pleased. Right? Right. Right...

Helene's eyes scanned the area, though she was a little disappointed by the crowd. Despite the masks, it was easy for her to differentiate the freshboys from the men, and the men were so few and far between. Or rather, the ones she either knew could give her a good time or hadn't explored yet were numbered. For just a moment, she wondered if Terrance was around, though that was a dumb thought. He was probably in the closet with his new hookup already. Clicking her tongue, she decided she needed a drink first, and approached the table. She took a cup from the punch bowl, though as she drank it, she realized that she shouldn't have just ditched her friends. Downing her first cup, she placed it down and looked around again, wondering what to do. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't know what to do with herself. Bringing her cup to her lips, she let out a sigh, though at least she felt a little better now.

Meanwhile Eva approached Arthur, practically beaming as she tapped his shoulder. "Hey there, handsome," She greeted him cheerfully, though she peered at his mask. "Interesting choice, though I feel like you're more of a knight than a joker."

[QueenOfWands]

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ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Terrance’s eyes continued to scan the room, taking the occasional sip from his drink. His eyes bounced from girl to girl. Too short, too tall, to flat chested, too flat assed. None of them were appealing, were all the girls at this school really that unattractive? Of course not, there were plenty of rocking hot babes that Terrance has seen prancing around the school... however, it didn’t seem like anyone were here. Or at least none of them within eyeshot of Terrance. That was at least until a girl in a dark blue dress, short in the front, and trailing in the back approached the punch bowl. She took a huge drink then went in for another one. She seemed unphased by the alcohol that Terrance had added, and he raised an eyebrow. Looks like the heavens were smiling in his favor. A girl that not only seemed to know how to hold her alcohol, but one that looked like she was looking for a fun time. She had the perfect curves too, her hair pulled up into a bun. Terrance smiled in an alluring way and moved a little close to the mystery girl. He spoke low, almost barely above a whisper.

“Well, aren’t you just the belle of the ball?” He placed his hand gently on the girl’s elbow, turning her around to face him. As she turned, her ran his finger tips just barely over the skin of her arms as he retracted his grip. He held onto his charming grin, his eyes traveling over her body, looking her up and down. Absolutely stunning. “Tell me, how did I get so lucky as to find the presence of such an enchanting woman here tonight?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexander continued socializing with some of the girls around. Sure, quite a few of them were cute. But he could easily tell none of them were his Gigi. Either too tall, or too big. Since Alexander was more on the shrimpy side compared to his friends, it was easy for him to distinguish how much bigger other girls were compared to himself. Gigi was petite, and with a nice bust. Unlike any of these girls around. “You’re so funny. Do you want to dance?” Alexander grinned brightly, what anyone would immediately take as a yes. But Alexander just shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m actually waiting for someone right now.” Some of the girls seemed to pout. It was extremely unlike Alexander not to turn on his charm with the ladies, much like Terrance. And they seemed to be noticing this shift in his personality as well. “Oooh. Come on! They aren’t here yet. You can dance with them when they get here. Just dance with me for now!” the girl wrapped her arms around his arm, trying to pull him to the dance floor. “No! I was talking with him first. Come dance with me first!” Alexander began to laugh nervously. The old Alexander would be enjoying having two girls fight over having him dance, but the present Alexander was just trying to break away. “L-Ladies, please! I’d like to have my arms at the end of the night. I’m really just waiting for someone.” But Alexander wasn’t much stronger than the girls, as he struggled to break from their iron grips. Damn, how were they so strong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur felt a slight bit of relief when he saw Eva walking towards him, and he gave her a small smile. She looked so elegant in her light blue dress, like royalty. She pointed out his mask and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Jacob found it ironic since he said I’m not very funny… You look amazing, Eva.” He stepped forward, putting his hand around her waist. It was pretty obvious who the two were, as the long blonde hair on both of them was distinguishable from almost everyone on campus. Arthur always felt like he was walking on air when he was in Eva’s presence, and tonight was no exception. He had felt nervous earlier, being surrounded by so many strangers, but once Eva arrived it felt like no one was there but them. He played with the side of her dress, leaning down to playfully murmur in her ear. “I will look better tonight put back away in the closet.” He smiled a little more at the thought itching in his mind. How was she so irresistible?

On the other side of the gymnasium, Isabelle stood with her little click following on each side of her, as they whispered back and forth some kind of gossip. “Looks like they’re still together, Isabelle… I don’t think your plan to break them up went well.” Isabelle turned her head, looking at her friend with sharp eyes. “The night is young, my little minion. I have a plan to make Arthur mine for the night.” Isabelle grinned maliciously, she held on to her clutch purse, squeezing it tighter the longer she looked at Eva and Arthur.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Head over heels
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."My love..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ Alyssa's House -> School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend]
FEELING ⤑ Like having fun!}

Helene nearly jumped in place as she was addressed, having been completely lost in her thoughts. The guy definitely knew how to talk to her, his touch giving her chills. Perfect, just the distraction she needed for tonight. He had a great smile, though something about it looked familiar to her. Had they met before? His mask covered him up well, though she figured it was probably just someone she knew. She watched his eyes for a moment, the familiarity feeling nice, and she figured she had nothing to lose. At least she wasn't getting any bad vibes from him, and God knew she needed something good considering how shitty her week was. "You have good taste," Helene admitted, taking a step closer to him, though she figured she'd have him try just a little harder. She really hadn't flirted since Isaac, and before that Terrance--no, fuck, of course he'd pop into her head. "I don't know, I'm thinking maybe I'm the lucky one. You look like you know exactly what you want, unlike the rest of these boys..." Her hand trailed down his suit, her eyes following before flickering up to his.

---

Despite knowing that this was supposed to be a cordial event, Gigi found herself using every ounce of her skills to determine whether or not the guy was Alexander. Her observational skills were on point, and she actually managed to differentiate Alyssa in the crowd, giggling to herself as she looked for Jacob. Wracking her memory to remember Alexander's measurements, Gigi studied him rather intensely, though she did carefully maneuver around the crowd to get a closer look. For some reason, she felt a little annoyed at how the other girls were pawing at him. Not that it should have been too surprising; supposedly Alexander had been a womanizer way back when according to Alyssa. But what, were all his declarations of his supposed love to her just a farce? She was beyond annoyed now, more determined to scope him out and possibly strangle him. Worst case scenario she could probably get away with it considering she was likely unrecognizable unless you actually looked. Of course, things took a turn towards the unexpected as suddenly the girls started pulling him in opposite directions.

Something seemed to click in her mind, and rather than continue to observe, Gigi found herself pushing around to get behind him. Yeah, the height and stature definitely matched, and once she got close enough, those beautiful eyes of his gave it away. Okay, now that her target was in place, now she needed to get rid of the other baggage. Using non-lethal methods, of course. Changing course slightly, she popped up behind one of the girls, grabbing a stranger's cup and pouring just a little on her exposed back, earning her a shriek. Once that girl went down, she moved quickly, her foot hooking the other girl's heels and effectively tripping her. As the girls released him, Gigi reached for his collar and pulled him into the crowd, effectively making him disappear while the commotion happened. "Here I thought you could handle a pair of high school girls," She couldn't help but shake her head at him as she eyed him carefully.

---

Her pink cheeks clashed a bit with her dress, though she loved seeing Arthur so happy. The idea of sneaking away came to the forefront, though she figured it was probably better to enjoy themselves a little bit before that. Eva bit her lower lip as she looked up at Arthur, completely at ease now that she was with him. She had nothing to worry about, tonight was going to be fun. Even all the dark thoughts at the back of her head were muted by the music, though if she was honest, just getting to be around him again was all she wanted. No need to be nervous when they were together. "Wanna dance?" She asked him, taking both his hands in hers and giving him an eager look.

[QueenOfWands]

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ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Terrance purred slightly in the back of his throat. Oh yeah, this was definitely going where he wanted it to. He smiled slightly, watching as her eyes seemed to size him up as well, and he could feel her soft touch trace down his arm. Not only did Terrance know exactly what he wanted, but he was prepared to hop on any and all instincts to forget about Helene- God, he really needed to get her name out of his head. Erase it, forget it. She was in his past, a conquered mission. It was time for him to move on to his next victim. Something was absolutely enthralling about her. He hadn’t felt so excited and connected to someone since Helene- NO! He really had to stop thinking about her. But he couldn’t deny how much this girl seemed to pull him in like she had. And he was living for it.

He took one of her hands and led her to the dance floor, placing his hand on her back and pulling her hips and chest tightly to his. It was almost like their bodies fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, and Terrance grinned down at the new young woman in his arms. “Well, such a lady like yourself deserves to be treated like royalty. Don’t you agree? Let’s dance a bit at first, and then we can see what trouble we can get into hm?” He rubbed her back gently, and finally resting his hand just above where her back curved. She really had an amazing figure. It almost seemed too good to be true. “I must be dreaming, Enchantress. I just hope I don’t wake too soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as Alexander thought he was about to be torn limb from limb, he noticed some of the girls around him dropping like flies, either tripping up or running to the bathroom to clean up their now soiled dresses. Just as swiftly, he felt a force on his collar yanking him away. His eyes scanned his captor and saw the petite figure that he couldn’t mistake. “Gigi! You’re finally here-! GAH!” She pulled so roughly on his collar he almost felt like he was going to choke. Alexander was no stranger to her aggression, but even this seemed kind of out of character of her. Handle himself around a pair of high school girls? Well, he probably handled himself better than Terrance would have. Where as Terrance would probably be locking lip publicly with these girls, Alexander was trying to politely tell them he was waiting on Gigi. It wasn’t his fault that they were being persistent right?

When it seemed Gigi finally released his collar, he took in a deep breath, fixing his tie and vest. “Gigi… you look stunning.” Alexander’s eyes softened as they glanced all over Gigi. It was out of place for her to be so dressed up, but he loved how she looked, no matter how she dressed. And he imagined he would only love her more if she wasn’t dressed. But he was in for the long game with Gigi, a nice change of pace from the girls that used to throw themselves at him. “Wow, you found me really fast. Do I stick out as much as Arthur does?” Probably not, but he tried to lighten the mood with Gigi. Much like when Eva arrived for the first time on campus with Arthur on her side, the same whispers and murmurs seemed to spread around the room. Plenty of people recognized the cheery Alexander. But who was that little girl yanking him around like that? Did Alexander have a girlfriend now? The buzz of gossip was spreading pretty quickly, and Alexander was more focused on Gigi to really notice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur wasn’t sure if he should admit to Eva that he had no idea how to dance. He was probably really good at swaying back and forth on his feet but, he wasn’t about to tell Eva no. He nodded and was pulled out onto the dance floor with Eva. Slow songs had been playing for a while, and his eyes scanned around to see where everyone was. He could see Jacob hanging around a few guys, obviously exchanging some goods and money among them. It seemed Alyssa hadn’t found him yet, and he was going to make her have to look hard it seemed, as he stood in a crowd of similar height and build classmates. Though if she saw what he was up to, no doubt she would instantly know who he was. Terrance was dancing with some mystery girl, and Arthur had been discovered by Gigi. It was odd how so many things seemed to fall into place, and they completely fall apart in the next instance. Perhaps he could just have some stability in this moment with Eva. They began to dance, and as Arthur predicted, he rocked around like a solid plank of wood, no flow and no looseness. Perhaps he should have practiced the day before… but perhaps it wouldn’t have made a different anyways. Instead he tried to focus on being gentle while holding Eva. Should he be gentler considering their recent news? Or did it not matter how tightly he held her to him? “Are you feeling alright? If you need to sit down or need a drink, let me know.”

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Head over heels
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."My love..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend]
FEELING ⤑ Like having fun!}

Ding ding ding! The hunt was on. But as he took her hand in his, there was this feeling that grabbed at her unexpectedly. A spark? Helene should have been relieved, but it was the strangest feeling to have. It almost felt completely right and that scared the ever living hell out of her. So what, she was just going to go all gaga-eyed for every guy going forward? No, she was just sentimental over Terrance, that's all. She needed to get him out of her system and Mr. Macho over here in her system. Or just in her. Whichever came first. Or whoever. With that in mind she let him lead her to the floor, smiling at his suggestion to dance first. So he wanted to work for it? Well, all he needed to do was keep it up, now.

It was hard to admit his hands kept throwing her back to a few days past, and she couldn't help but remember how Terrance had held her when she confessed her history to him. She wasn't going to last much longer at this rate, already feeling herself slipping back. As he pulled her to him, she placed her arms on his shoulders, watching him for a moment. The mask covered his face nicely, though she could tell he was gorgeous. Was it too slutty to want to jump him already? Then again, she never gave a damn about what people said anyway, so once the song finished, she leaned in close, almost like she was going to kiss him, though she hung back ever so slightly. "Let me make your dreams come true, then," She smiled mischievously, giving him a rather sultry look.

---

Alexander's compliment was genuinely flattering, and Gigi placed her hands behind her back, diverting her gaze momentarily. Shit, that made her feel amazing. She didn't usually care how she looked, and it was common knowledge to know she always came to school rather disheveled, though she went out of her way to look nice. Or rather, she let Helene work her magic with little protest. So the fact that he noticed actually made her feel good. It was addicting always trying to get his attention, and seeing him with those girls triggered something in her. As he asked if he stuck out, she opened her mouth to respond but realized she couldn't admit that she was tracking him down. That would be weird. And weird him out. Right?

Clearing her throat, she tried to think on her toes. "Thank you. But no, I was just walking by and saw you were in need of my assistance," She outright lied, looking away. "But I'm...glad I found you..." She murmured as that strange feeling in her chest came to her once again. She felt like she was being watched, and as she looked to the source, it took her a second to realize she was being talked about. Right, Alexander was actually fairly popular, so people were probably wondering who the hell she was. She rolled her eyes, not really bothered, though she looked up at Alexander. "You look really nice. I almost didn't recognize you, but that grin of yours is unmistakable."

---

Eva couldn't stop smiling, though whether it was from enjoying herself or watching Arthur clunk around, who knew. Honestly, she was surprised he let her drag him along, but she really just wanted to enjoy him. She almost wanted to tease him, but considering he was clearly uncomfortable and danced with her anyway, it'd be mean to do so. As he asked how she felt, she stared at him for a moment, her smile faltering slightly as she looked at him. While she appreciated that he was always looking out for her, she couldn't quite get rid of the guilt she had. He should be enjoying himself, or at least relaxing a little bit. In the back of her mind she wondered if he felt obligated to be with her, and she had to quickly stomp it out. It wasn't fair for her to keep doubting him. "You don't have to worry about me tonight," She told him, perking up slightly, her hands playing with his hair. "We're here to have fun. Together."

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

A shiver ran up Terrance’s spine as she whispered so seductively. She was just as ready as he was to get down to business. What had he done to get so lucky. When the song had ended, and another one began to que up, he took her hand, guiding her out to the edge of the gymnasium to a few double doors. Terrance passed by Jacob, shooting him a quick thumb up and wiggly eyebrows. Jacob simply shook his head. It didn’t matter how many hook ups Terrance was going to have, Jacob wasn’t convinced it would solve any of his friend’s problems. Sneaking through the double doors and into the empty hall way, the sound of laughter, music, and chatter seemed to fade to nothing as the doors closed, leaving them in the darkness of the halls and lockers. Terrance knew a few good spots to hook up, but let’s get real. The excitement of doing it practically in the open, possibly getting caught, it was thrilling. Pulling his mystery girl to the side, Terrance pressed her back up against the wall, instantly attacking her neck and pinning her to the wall. Each kiss he placed seemed to squeak out a little moan from her.

When he closed his eyes though, all he saw was Helene pinned under him, and her squirming playfully like she would. It was impossible to keep her out of his head… would it matter if he thought about her at this moment? While he was ravaging another girl. Probably not, this was just a normal hook up as always. It may hurt her feelings if he continued thinking of Helene, but he didn’t care. He moved his fingers up to her hair, playing with the little locks that could have fallen out of her hair. He bit his lip at one point, having to fight back the temptation to moan out Helene’s name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was glad to find him? That only seemed to brighten up Alexander’s face more. And she recognized him for his unmistakable grin? If Alexander didn’t know better, he would think that Gigi was giving compliments to flirt with him. His eyes turned sultry, and his grin didn’t waiver. Though he didn’t know if Gigi could be charmed easily, he couldn’t help but to try and make some move. The next song was preparing to play, and Alexander quickly wrapped his hand around her small waist, pulling her tightly to him. “Would you care to dance then, min vackra blomma?” His free hand lifted to her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. He wasn’t really going to give her a chance to answer, as he swept her away with the flow of the music. A few people continued to watch, still pondering who that random girl was that danced with Alexander. This had to be a dream. If this was real, Alexander had to brace himself for the oncoming rejection. Would she slap him, or push him away? He wasn’t sure. But he was taking a risk he didn’t mind making.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t have to worry… If only that were true. Arthur had seen Eva hurt too much over the past week to not worry about her, physically and emotionally. Arthur still felt sick over how Eva had to be reacting to her mother’s death. Yet… he still hadn’t gotten a full reaction from her. Of course she passed out from the news but… that was it. Wasn’t it normal for people to mourn for a few days, if not months over a dead relative? Especially a mother? The change in song allowed for Arthur to come back into focus. No point in allowing those thoughts plague his mind.

“M-M-May I interrupt this dance?” A voice came from behind Arthur, and he turned his head. It couldn’t be more obvious from the wavering voice and silver hair that it was none other than Matthew Williams. Arthur’s eyes sharpened, glaring at him as he pulled Eva closer to him. He wasn’t just going to let some random guy pull Eva away… Unless she wanted to dance with him? As much as he didn’t want to let go of her, it wasn’t his position to dictate what she did. To a lot of people, just one dance was harmless. But Arthur still didn’t like the idea of being separated from her. His eyes moved towards Eva, with a questioning look. Did she want to dance with him? It kind of hurt, but supposedly he was a friend of Eva as well? Would it be mean if she rejected him, and would she even be able to say no out of her kindness?

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Head over heels
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Matthew
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Ugh, this guy..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend], Matthew [Friend]
FEELING ⤑ Giddy.}

Helene was surprised at how daring this guy was, though for some reason she felt things were happening too fast. Yeah, that made all the sense in the world considering she was the one that was egging him on. There was no controlling her physical reactions as he managed to get every single one of her spots. It was actually super impressive considering he was a complete stranger, and even as she tried to stay quiet, his lips seemed to draw her moans out of her. He was amazing, his touch felt amazing, she should have told him to take her right then and there, but as he continued, the little voice in her head grew louder and louder, telling her that she needed to stop. Why did they have to stop? She was due a good time, wasn't she? It wasn't bad to have fun. She could do whatever the hell she wanted. But it was like with every second passing by this doubt kept growing, gnawing at her, and even though she kept trying to keep it down, it was welling up. That is, until the guy managed to get her right at her collarbone, and she couldn't control her mouth as she practically sang his name: "Terrance...!" What the actual fuck? Just saying his name was like someone had thrown cold water at her, and she had to stop. This was wrong. She was wrong.

Opening her eyes, she realized what she did, and she let out a groan, shaking her head as she put her hands on his chest, signaling him to stop. "I'm--I can't do this," She said, throwing her head back in frustration. Why? Why was he stuck in her head? Why couldn't she get rid of him? Why?! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say his name I just--I can't get him out of my head..." She apologized, her voice cracking slightly, and she realized she was crying. There was no fighting it even if she had found the perfect replacement. Her fingers fumbled with the ribbon keeping her mask on, though considering she didn't want to ruin it with her crying, she had to take it off. Pulling off her mask, she hastily wiped her tears away, looking down guiltily. "I didn't mean to lead you on, I swear, I thought this was what I wanted." She tried to explain herself, but if history told her anything, she was in for some anger on his part, especially since she was literally throwing herself at him.

---

What was with that look in his eyes that suddenly made her nervous? No, she wasn't nervous, but it sure felt like it. Still, that was one look Gigi had never seen on him before, and it threw her completely for a loop. Where was the goofy idiot that chased her around and who was this suave guy? As he asked her to dance, she raised an eyebrow at him, wondering where all this confidence was coming from. Of course, she didn't even get to reply as he brought her to him, causing her to stumble slightly over her heels due to the unexpected movement. Still, it was rather easy for her to keep up. Not that she was a great dancer, she knew a little, but Alexander was a great guide, having her move the way he wanted her to. "Where did you learn how to dance like this?" She ended up asking him as she followed his lead. Though all things considered, she shouldn't have been too surprised. What did surprise her was how much she was enjoying herself.

---

Eva turned to see Matthew ask her to dance, though she was surprised when Arthur pulled her closer to him. Looking up at him, she noticed his look, and she was left unsure. For some reason the day at the beach popped up in her head when he had thrown the shirt over her. Did he not have any faith in her? Now there was a thought that actually bothered her. No, there had to be something more to it. They trusted one another, so it couldn't be that. Was he jealous of Matthew? What an entertaining thought that was. They were just friends, and honestly there wasn't a guy alive that came even close to Arthur in her mind. Not physically or emotionally. But if she agreed, would he get mad? She genuinely didn't see a reason to say no considering she had known him for some time. It was also obvious that he was nervous--it must have taken him a lot of courage to ask, and she'd feel bad saying no.

"Just one," She told Matthew as she really didn't want to stay away from her boyfriend for too long, then looked up at Arthur. "I'll be right back, just watch me," She teased him lightly before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Terrance was taken aback slightly when the girl cried out his name, he was shocked. How did she know who he was and he had no idea who this goddess was. But then she started acting strange, pushing him away and shaking her head. Did he do something wrong? Had he moved to fast? Perhaps he said Helene’s name and hadn’t realized it, which brought a bright red to his cheeks, full of embarrassment. He was still confused as she fumbled with her mask and pulled it off, wiping away her tears. Of course, there was no one else in the entire universe who could have felt so perfect in his arms than Helene, and he felt sick in his stomach, but she had said something odd earlier. “I didn’t mean to say his name I just—I can’t get him out of my head…” So she didn’t know who he was. And she couldn’t get him out of her head? Was she feeling guilty where things had left off? Did she miss him? His usually astute mind was failing him at the moment, and he wasn’t sure how to take this all in.

His mind was trying to think clearly, but his heart was screaming to keep kissing her. It was as if his heart knew something that his mind didn’t, which logically didn’t make much sense to Terrance. But, inebriated by drinks, and once again intoxicated by the beauty that was Helene, he decided to act first and think later. He reached behind his head and untied the silk ribbons of his mask, pulling them down to fully reveal his face, and shoot her his signature charming smile. “It seems to me that fate isn’t ready for us to part ways… And it seems you aren’t ready either, huh Helene?” He wrapped his arms around Helene again, as to not let her slip away. He had already let her go once, he wasn’t ready to do it a second time. “Being honest… I’m not ready to let you go either.” He moved his hands up her body, gently holding on to both sides of her face, and pulling her into a strong, passionate kiss. For some reason, the world felt right again to Terrance. It was as if any stress on his shoulders were slipping away…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And the way to a woman’s heart is on the dance floor. Though I understand that may not be your style.” Alexander spoke smoothly as he whisked Gigi around on the dance floor. He could tell she was inexperienced, but it wasn’t a big deal to him. He could take the lead when any woman lacked in dancing. He mainly got into dancing because he saw the romantic potential of it, and it rarely didn’t work to swoon some of the girls on campus. In fact, a few people from the sidelines were watching Alexander’s deliberate, precise, and quick movements around the floor. He spoke smoothly, watching Gigi with his newly attained sultry eyes. “We don’t have to continue dancing if you don’t want to. I just want an excuse to keep you in my arms as long as possible…” He grinned slyly before putting his hands on her waist and picking her up in the air, doing a quick spin, and placing her back on her feet, and keeping her close to his chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur had to stand back and watch patiently as Matthew moved out onto the dance floor with Eva. He kept a close eye on him, as to make sure his hands weren’t going anywhere they shouldn’t. But Matthew just took one of her hands, and kept his hand pressed high against her back. Arthur still didn’t really enjoy the sight of another man’s hands on her. Finding an empty table and chairs, Arthur sat down, simply watching the two friends dance. Matthew was finally getting a chance to be so close to Eva, and he felt as if his entire body was trembling, and that his heart was going to leap up through his throat. He had no idea what force gave him the strength and bravery to interrupt the two dancing. In fact, he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t collapsed from fainting yet. But here they were, still standing and dancing blissfully, or at least Matthew was. “Your performance the other night was excellent, Eva. Our instructor said that results of our performances should be in on Monday. Whether or not we have been invited to attend their Universities.” Matthew spun slightly, whisking Eva with him more into the dance floor. He primarily wanted to get out of the view of Arthur, as he could feel those cold, hard eyes piercing his soul. How could Eva be attracted to such an evil monster. He tried to distract himself from Arthur’s glare. “Was there any place you particularly had in mind of going? The Musical Arts program at NYU, I’ve heard, is stellar to every other place in the US.” Matthew danced Eva all the way to the punch table and stopped not only to let Eva catch her breath, but for him to catch his as well. He needed something to drink, and with that he poured two cups of punch, one for himself, and handing the other to Eva. “To us, hopefully getting accepted to our dream schools.”

Arthur’s body and head craned left and right as he worked hard to keep a focus on Eva’s presence on the dance floor, then soon resting at the two standing at the drinks table. But his focus was soon distracted by his friend Jacob pulling up a chair beside him and flicking through a few bills of cash. Arthur raised an eyebrow looking at it and Jacob tucked the money into his suit. “Hey, I gotta keep working, even in my spare time. I still have to make up for what I borrowed from my father. And I like to have the extra money to treat my girl right.” Arthur nodded a little, and raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which, where is Alyssa? She hasn’t found you yet?” Jacob sighed and shook his head.

“Guess I’m just too good at hiding. Guess I’ll have to be the hunter now.” Jacob took a quick drink of the punch on the table, flinching a little from the taste. “Oh god. I think Terrance spiked the punch.” Jacob coughed, before getting to his feet. Arthur stared at the cup for a second, and his neck whipped around. Eva! Arthur rose from his seat quickly, almost toppling over the table, and hurried over to the drinks table. She can’t have alcohol!! “Eva!”

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Panicked
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Jacob
✖✖ I am Thinking..."!!!"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend], Matthew [Friend]
FEELING ⤑ Uncertain.}

As he slid off his mask and flashed that gorgeous smile of his, Helene thought she was going to pass out. It was Terrance. Mr. Macho was Terrance. Actually, that made a lot sense, he was too smooth and no one else could have hit her spot like that unintentionally. Of course, it had been so long since she had seen him in action considering they usually just went straight to it, but this had to be more than a coincidence. Guilt took over as she realized she had just admitted to him that she couldn't stop thinking about him. Her first instinct was to get away, but he knew her too well, already making sure she wouldn't run. She looked right into his eyes as he spoke, her own eyes widening as he admitted he wasn't ready to let her go. Overwhelmed with emotion, as he kissed her that warm feeling returned in her chest and drove away the emptiness that had been there. Her hands pulled on his suit, bringing him as close to her as he could get. Yeah, she missed him, there was no way she could deny it, not emotionally or physically. But the little voice in her head said that maybe he misunderstood. She didn't just want him physically anymore.

So when they parted, she looked right at him, her cheeks slightly pink as she decided that she needed to be honest. "Terrance...I'm in love with you." She admitted quietly, searching his face for a reaction.

---

No, there was no way to her heart; she threw it away a long time ago. Or at least, that was what Gigi had told herself numerous times. Her job required her to quiet any sort of emotion lest it cloud her judgement. She needed to be a machine, executing her orders without having doubt or hesitation. It was easier if she was being honest to herself, never having to stress about anything unnecessary. She never worried about her looks or boys or grades like her classmates, just going along with her orders. All she had to do was follow and not have to think. It wasn't her job to think. Even now she was doing just that, following Alexander's lead as he flawlessly lead her this way and that, letting him do as he pleased. Still, Alexander was good at making her think. She thought it wasn't a good idea to let him get close, warding him away every chance she got. She thought that she wasn't going to let him get through to her no matter how hard he tried. She really thought his gestures were wasted on her.

Well, that was what she wanted to think.

Gigi felt dizzy as Alexander lifted her up, but she was pretty sure it wasn't because of the spin. Was she having a heart attack? Quickened heart rate, breathlessness, aforementioned dizziness. There wasn't any pain, but it was the most bizarre experience. Her chest felt tight as he held her close, so maybe something was happening. Palpitations? Was this anxiety? Logic wasn't giving her any answers. Her brain didn't give her any answers, either. That hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be was quietly whispering that she should keep dancing. Because...who knows. Except when she looked up at Alexander it was like her heart went into overdrive and every single one of her symptoms slammed her like a bull in a china shop.

Gigi found it exceedingly difficult to keep looking at Alexander as her face turned red, and she politely squirmed out of his grip. "U-Um...Bathroom. I'll--I'll be right right back," She excused herself rather lamely, avoiding eye contact as she turned away and headed for the ladies' room. Maybe she really was having a heart attack. As she pushed the door open, she realized how much her hands were shaking. Luckily for her, Alyssa was fixing her mask in the mirror, and she approached her. "I think I need to go to the hospital," She said, wringing her hands.

The brunette looked up at Gigi, looking her up and down. "Uh...what makes you say that?"

"I'm about to have a heart attack," She stated. Alyssa broke into laughter, and Gigi looked at her, confused. "What?"

"You're not feeling any of those symptoms now, right?" Alyssa asked. When Gigi shook her head, she grinned. "I'm going to assume you've never liked anyone before so this is all new to you, isn't it?"

"I like plenty of people," She replied. "You and Helene and Eva are probably the best examples."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at her, though she chose to check her hair in the mirror. "You're really dense, Gi. I'm not talking platonically, I'm talking romantically. Alexander raided your heart with a Flan-flavored Trojan Horse and he's conquered you whether you realize it or not," She elaborated, turning back to Gigi. "I was watching you two for a bit, and despite not cracking a single smile, that look in your eyes was so soft I thought you were going to melt away in his arms. Hell, I'm surprised you're here and not with him." Romantically? What? No, that couldn't be it. Except, Alyssa was usually very blunt and upfront, so it wasn't like she was lying. But how could this have happened? She had batted Alexander's advances for so long. As if reading her mind, Alyssa laughed again. "It was only a matter of time."

"How did you know?" Gigi found herself asking.

Just as she finished, she turned back to Gigi, hooking her arm up with hers and leading her out of the bathroom. "Let me ask you: if you really did find him annoying, why didn't you ever just block his number?" She asked her. "You blocked Anthony, James, and Henry's numbers when they messaged you. But you never did block Alex's. Just saying. My advice is to go find him and turn your brain off for a bit. Now, if you don't mind, my boyfriend is doing exceptionally well in hiding and he's going to try to find me, so I need to hide." She patted Gigi's arm as she released her, and Alyssa disappeared into the crowd, leaving Gigi to her thoughts. She gave Alyssa's words some consideration, but she wasn't sure if she could really believe her. And yet, as she did stop thinking and just moved, she caught herself trying to look for Alexander, moving through the crowd again.

---

Eva smiled at Matthew's compliment, knowing it was coming from a genuine place. So the results of her labor were coming Monday? Admittedly her mind had been in other places, and she couldn't help but mentally berate herself for forgetting. Now that she thought about it, her life really was a mess right now. Once he mentioned NYU, she lit up slightly. That was one of her options, though her smile faltered slightly as she remembered her pregnancy. There was so much going on that she was unfocused on the future she had planned out for herself. But she would have to change, wouldn't she? Maybe somewhere local? Would she be able to handle school and a baby? What if she got into NYU, would Arthur be willing to go with her? Suddenly her previous excitement seemed to get drowned out by the music as she realized she had no idea what her future looked like. It was something she used to use to escape her reality, to escape her mother, but...now what?

She snapped out of her thoughts as Matthew handed her a drink, toasting to their schools. She nodded politely, bringing the cup to her lips, though she couldn't drink it. Dream school was likely the best she could hope for--in her dreams, not in reality. As Arthur called her name, she lowered the cup, frowning at him. He was certainly in a hurry. "Arthur, what is it?" She asked, confused.

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Terrance… I’m in love with you. Those words echoed in Terrane’s ear drums, and bounced around in his brain. The words that he had been dying to hear, without knowing exactly what it was. But those words were enough to cement everything for Terrance. “I love you too, Helene… I have for a long time now.” It felt as if the weight of the universe was off his shoulders, letting those simple words escape his lips. It was really that simple, that easy! But sometimes life isn’t that simple. But rather than ponder on the consequences, as was Terrance’s normal MO, he decided to, for once, focus on the moment. And on Helene… his lover. His eyes softened, and he scooped her up, and pinned her back against the wall beside the locker and began to kiss her fiercely, his hands exploring ever little bit of her body that he had already known. They had to be destined for one another, there was no exception. She was perfect for him in every way, and he wasn’t about to let her go. Terrance took a deep breath between kisses, looking into Helene’s eyes, looking rather serious. “I promise… I’ll never let any harm come to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as Alexander informed her that the no longer needed to be dancing, Gigi suddenly broke away to go to the ‘bathroom’, right in the middle of a song. He couldn’t be surprised, it was the reaction he was fully prepared to expect. He watched her run away and disappear into the crowd, and his smile twitched slightly, before lowering to a frown. His eyes were no longer beaming their bright caramel gold, and were now a dull, light brown. Did he really think that a dance would woo over Gigi? She probably hated dancing! It was obvious to Alexander that she didn’t know how, so perhaps she hadn’t enjoyed it. Perhaps, he caused her to run off, he wasn’t surprised. But it hurt. It hurt really bad in Alexander’s chest. Why did he have to want something that he couldn’t have, want something that wasn’t his. Perhaps it was in his thieving nature to try and take things for himself that he had no right too. Since quite a few people had been watching the smooth dancing skills of Alexander, murmurs began to spread around about the mystery girl suddenly abandoning him, like Cinderella at midnight…. Midnight? Alexander lifted his hand, looking at his watch. 11:30… 30 more minutes until his birthday… Another 30 minutes until disappointment… Another 30 minutes until the continuation of no family, no love, nothing.

He felt a knife twisting in his chest, and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t go flying off the handle, not in public. He had to keep his composure. But it didn’t stop a single tear from leaving the corner of his eyes, and sliding slowly down his cheek. Why did no one love him? “Alex. Would you mind finishing this dance with me?” A small voice spoke up. He turned his head to one of the smiling, masked girls from earlier, who was rocking back and forth on her toes and heels. He had to pretend that everything was alright, pretend that he was fine. Although he already had a mask on his face, he wore another one beneath it, a mask of the flesh. He pulled the best half smile he could, but it didn’t change anything. “Sure… Seems like my dance has come to an end…” He turned his attention to the new girl, taking one of her hands and placing his other one high on her back, not closer to her hips as he had with Gigi. They began to dance, but it was nothing in comparison to the way that he had spun around with Gigi. He really had to keep his mind off her, to distract himself from her. He couldn’t even look down at the girl he danced with, who was beaming smiles at the fact she was dancing with Alexander right now. His eyes stayed looked over her head, staring off into the horizon that wasn’t there. If he weren’t in public, his body would just crumble into a heap on the floor. He didn’t want to be here, around all these people… he felt sick. And he felt like an idiot for trying to woo Gigi.

Stupid…

Jacob happened to be walking by the women’s restroom, just missing Alyssa by a few milliseconds. Jacob looked at the petite girl who walked out, almost instantly recognizing her as Gigi. Primarily because he had seen her dancing with Alexander, and there was no one that could make him light up as much as he did than Gigi… But if Gigi was here now, then… “Where is Alex?” Jacob asked relatively frantically. Checking his phone, he saw it was just half an hour until midnight. Half an hour until Alexander’s birthday. As they steadily moved closer and closer to the day, Alex was at higher risk of fluctuating mood swings. Jacob placed a hand on Gigi’s shoulder, looking at her concerned. “Listen. Find Alexander and get him away from the party. He doesn’t need to be surrounded by so many people right now… I need to find Terrance. And where the hell is Alyssa??” Jacob stormed back into the sea of people, his head bobbing above the crowd and frantically turning left and right looking for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur charged the drink stand, arm outstretched. Matthew could see his life flash before his eyes. Oh no, Arthur was going to punch him in the face. Matthew quickly lifted his arms, in a feeble attempt to block. But instead of feeling blunt pain, he suddenly felt his arms and chest get wet and cold. Moving his arms, he just witnessed the end of Arthur’s outstretched arm slapping the cup out of Eva’s hand. The punch then splashing onto Matthew’s clothes. Arthur took Eva’s hand, panting from his sudden sprint across the gymnasium before leaning down to murmur in Eva’s ear. “Terrance… spiked… punch” He got out between each breath, taking in one long, deep breath to try and calm his racing heart. She hadn’t taken a sip, which was relieving. But would one sip have made a difference? Would that have affected the baby that much? Sure, everyone preached about not drinking when pregnant. But how much harm could one sip have been?

“Wh-What the he-hell is your problem, Ar-Arthur!!” Matthew’s voice snapped through the air, redirecting Arthur’s concerned gaze from Eva, to his stern attention at Matthew. What was he yelling about? “Is that really how you treat women?? Just slap them on the hand for no reason! You don’t deserve her!” As soon as the words left Matthew’s lips, he instantly regretted him. Why the hell had he said all that? Where did all these feelings come from?? Arthur stood up a bit straighter, glaring down at Matthew. Was Matthew claiming that Arthur was abusive towards Eva? Something in Arthur seemed to snap at the accusation. It was as far from the truth as it could be. Arthur wanted nothing more in the entire universe than Eva’s safety. And in Arthur’s eyes now, Matthew was a direct threat to that. So, this guy wanted to be a knight in shinning armor to Eva. Save her from the evil King that dictated over her? A humored chuckle rolled around in Arthur’s throat. He lifted one of his fists to his hand, cracking each knuckle in rapid succession. “Do you want to take this outside?” Even such a small threat like that seemed to rush the color from Matthew’s face, as Arthur just maliciously grinned. He’d been wanting to punch this guy’s face in for quite some time now.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Pissed, on the edge of snapping
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Give me one good reason not to..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend], Matthew [Friend]
FEELING ⤑ Alarmed.}

He felt the same. He had felt the same for a long time. Helene was in disbelief, almost waiting for the punchline to kick in, but it never came. He was serious, and she suddenly felt so relieved to know he felt the same. Terrance loved her. And she loved him. Somehow that little addition put a new fire in his kisses and his touch, and all she knew was that she wanted him bad. But then he reminded her that her fantasies belonged in her mind for a reason: “I promise… I’ll never let any harm come to you.” This was the first time she had seen him so serious. Her bliss was put on pause for just a moment as she froze up, her hand flying to her neck. No harm? The other night's events came flocking back, and she felt herself losing her nerve. It was a sobering thought, though it was weird, she hadn't been drinking, so she wasn't sure why it affected her like that. She wanted to believe him, but her fear took a hold of her again. "Terrance, I..." Was it wrong to want to forget about all that just for right now? Just for this moment? They could talk about it later, right? Rather than continue that thought, she kissed him, returning his passion the best she could. There was always later.

---

What did Jacob mean 'where was Alex'? She was confused by his urgency but nodded, watching him get back into the crowd. Was it like what happened on the beach? She never did find out what had caused the sudden mood shift. But if that was what Jacob was referring to, then she needed to get Alexander away from the crowd. Damn, she shouldn't have left him alone, how could she be so stupid? Gigi had no disregard for anyone who stood in her way, literally shoving people aside and leaving a trail of disgruntled students as she went back to where she thought she left Alexander. Sure enough there he was, and she froze upon seeing his eyes. The same eyes that were usually so full of life, the ones that had made her heart race looked so empty and dead that she almost thought she had the wrong guy for a moment. Yeah, something was definitely wrong. As she got closer, she realized he was still dancing with someone else. While her focus was Alexander, her eyes sharpened on the girl he was with who she recognized as one of the previous girls that she had gotten rid of. Hmph, tripping her to make her stumble wasn't enough, she should have snapped her heel.

Making a beeline to Alexander and ignoring the many people that she either walked through or pushed aside, she only stopped until she was in front of Alexander and his new partner, placing a hand on the girl's shoulders and interrupting them. While the girl's attempt at a glare was quite cute, Gigi reminded herself that Alexander was delicate, so she had to push down all thoughts of maiming and violence and try to resolve this diplomatically. "Alexander, let's go," She told him, taking his arm.

"Excuse me? Can't you see you're in the way?" She snapped back, clinging onto Alexander and inadvertently drawing more attention to them.

"I need him right now," Gigi stated.

Of course, the girl wasn't about to budge just because of Gigi. "He's dancing with ME now," The girl snapped, obviously peeved that Gigi would have the audacity to interrupt them. "Run along, Sluterella, he's done with you."

The little patience that she had in order not to look like a complete bitch in front of Alexander evaporated with that insult. Gigi determined that civility was no longer necessary in this situation, though she had to ignore her first instinct which was to immediately get violent. It was a good thing she came unarmed, though she briefly considered running to her car to grab her gun. "I don't care," Gigi stated bluntly, feeling annoyed. "He's my date. Mine, so either remove yourself from him or I'll remove you. Either way is fine with me. Your choice."

The girl hesitated, but Gigi wasn't willing to wait any longer as she yanked Alexander away from her, throwing her a rather frightening look so she wouldn't get any ideas of trying to take him from her again. Without realizing it, she lowered her hand and interlocked her fingers with his, holding onto him tightly as she guided him through the crowd of people. Her free hand reached into her dress pocket, deciding to send Alyssa a text. Tell Jacob I have Alexander.

---

Alyssa was enjoying herself a little too much. Sure, it would've been good to find Ajcob, but for some reason their little game of cat and mouse made her giddy, throwing her back to a simpler time when she was a kid. Honestly, she wasn't a big fan of drinking and smoking, she loved playing games and dancing. Maybe it was her upbringing that deterred her from the usual vices of a teenager, or maybe it was just personal preference. Either way, she managed to blend herself with a proper crowd, though as she looked around, she swore she spotted Jacob. He hadn't seen her yet--or maybe he hadn't recognized her. Feeling mischevious, she sauntered over, making sure she was as sneaky as possible. Just as she was about to reach out to him, however, her phone beeped, ruining the surprise. Rolling her eyes, she scanned her phone, seeing a weird text from Gigi. She was with Alexander? Well she was glad she took her advice, at least. "Gigi said to tell you she has Alexander," She relayed the message faithfully, thought she was confused. "Is something up with him again?"

---

Smacking the drink out of her hand was just a little overboard. The blonde let out a gasp as she saw it spill on poor Matthew. As she reached for a napkin, Arthur took her hand, quietly letting her know the punch was spiked. With what? It took her a second to put the pieces together, though when she did, she mouthed 'thank you' to him. That could've been bad if she had too much of it. Still, Matthew had suffered the consequences, and she wanted to apologize on his behalf, but Matthew promptly exploded. Eva was actually startled by Matthew's yell, never having heard him raise his voice in such a way. Moreso when he shouted that Arthur didn't deserve her. Considering everything that had happened lately, it was the other way around in her mind, but she was just shocked to hear Matthew talk like that. Still, she wasn't sure what surprised her more, Matthew's outburst or Arthur wanting to get into a fight. This was the first time she had seen ill-intent on his face, and for a second it actually scared her.

"Arthur, please, it doesn't have to come to that," She told him, greatly concerned, though she put her hand on his arm to calm him down as she looked at Matthew. "Matthew, I promise Arthur's never laid a hand on me, I don't know why you would think that," Eva tried to assure him, though she drew a blank when she was trying to think of why Arthur would act the way he did without revealing she was pregnant. "I just forgot I can't have anything sugary, my doctor wants me to watch my blood sugar because of my anemia." Did that even make any sense? Eva was never good at lying or thinking of things on the spot...

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Alexander felt numb from head to toe, as he swayed around on the dance floor. Life just wasn’t fair to him, it seemed. He felt like no matter how hard he tried, he would never win the love he so desperately needed. His numbness remained as he was whisked away by Gigi, not paying much attention to their spat. But why had Gigi come back for him? Her date? She really put a lot of emphasis on that as well. It did cheer up Alexander a bit, but he was still confused. It couldn’t be jealousy, because for starters, she didn’t like him. And for seconds, she would have no need to be jealous, as he felt fully dedicated towards her. He felt her fingers interlock with his, and holding him tightly as she drug him out of the crowd of people. He watched her with dull eyes, as they slowly traced down her arm to the interlocking fingers. He should be enjoying this, yet he really couldn’t. There must be some kind of emergency that is Causing Gigi to pull him away like this. Was Helene in danger? He vaguely remembered the conversation at the Patrone’s household about a Bastien guy trying to attack Helene. And Gigi was her hired protector. But what would she need Alexander’s help for? She would have been better off looking for Arthur or Terrance. Speaking of Terrance… as the two exited the gymnasium, the first thing they saw was the conglomeration of their two bodies pressed together against the wall.

Terrance really didn’t pay much mind to the sound of the opening of the door, still focused on kissing and fully enjoying Helene’s presence. Terrance just assumed it was another couple trying to sneak away from the masquerade to have their own fun. “This hallway is taken, move along!” He muttered out between kisses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hearing Alyssa’s phone beeping and her voice behind him, caused Jacob to spin around, grinning widely. “Found you!” He playfully called out, wrapping his arms around Alyssa to spin her in the air. But upon mentioning Alexander he became slightly serious. Oh yeah, he had to make sure his friend was doing alright… Though from what he could see, Alexaner was no longer on the dance floor, and neither was Terrance. Jacob was only able to conclude this due to the severe lack of collections of girls around any singular guy. But, so long as Gigi had Alexander, they should be fine for now. “Yeah… you know how Alexander can get on his birthday… and in fact in 15 more minutes he will be 18.” Jacob put Alyssa down, resting his hands on her hips and letting out a long sigh. “How come we can’t have normal friends and normal lives?” He shot her a playful glance. He was only partly serious, as he loved his family’s occupation, he sure would love his life more if it could just be so much more simple and easy with Helene. “Come on, I gotta find him and make sure he is doing alright.” Jacob pulled Alyssa through the party, heading towards the double doors that led out of the dance floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Matthew watched Eva with sad eyes. His only conclusion: Stockholm Syndrome. Because there was no chance in hell that Eva could be protecting this guy. It seemed that the small amount of alcohol that had been spiked into the drink was enough to give Matthew some courage to stick up to Arthur, and he just shook his head. Matthew could see that Eva was surprised by Arthur sudden shift in demeanor and used it to his advantage. “Eva, you don’t have to lie anymore! He is borderline abusive just the way he is normally. You can’t tell me that him slapping your drink from you was so innocent! I can see in your eyes you’re scared of him! He is a monster!” Monster, huh. Arthur scowled. Matthew wasn’t wrong about that, but he was wrong about the reason. Arthur was a monster for a different reason, not because he was abusive towards Eva. And he wasn’t! He was completely different from his normal self when he was with Eva. Guess no one seemed to notice that. But how could they when they were always alone together? Arthur felt Eva’s soft hand on his arm. Eva couldn’t be afraid of Arthur, he did everything in his power to keep her safe and away from harm. If there was anyone in this world she should be able to trust, it should be him.

Besides, you know, lying to her. A small voice whispered in the back of Arthur’s mind. Now, that wasn’t fair, of course he couldn’t tell her the truth about that. He felt bad for lying, but it couldn’t come out who he was to her. “You don’t deserve her!” Matthew shouted again, and Arthur’s eyes locked on his target. Arthur pulled his arm from Eva, stepping close to Matthew and shoving him back against the wall. Matthew still glared at Arthur, when he grabbed his collar and picked him up to be eye level. “Stay away from Eva.” Arthur hissed through clenched teeth, from that height, Arthur just let go of his collar, and turned his back to Matthew, wrapping an arm around Eva and pulling her away.

“That was quite out of character of you, Matthew…” A voice whispered, helping Matthew to his feet. Matthew, feeling embarrassed by the threat pulled his arm away abruptly from Isabelle. “What do you want?” He didn’t know Isabelle that well, besides her reputation as the library’s spider. A small grin grew on Isabelle’s face as she glanced to the side, watching Arthur march away with Eva in tow.

“A mutual partnership… I believe that Eva has something I want… and Arthur has something you want…”

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Angry
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."That asshole..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend],
FEELING ⤑ Worried and confused.}

As Gigi pulled Alexander to the hallway, she stopped as she spotted Terrance and Helene, unfortunately noticing the way they were on top of one another, though she quietly thanked the heavens that at the very least they were somehow still dressed. The way Terrance was going about it, however, made it clear that Helene's dress was definitely something he wanted to get rid of. Shaking her head in clear disapproval, she let out a rather shrill, quick whistle to catch their attention. Helene's eyes narrowed at them initially, though they became wide as she realized who it was, her face flushed as she repeatedly patted Terrance's shoulder to get him to stop. "Terrance--It's Alexander and Gigi--" She hastily tried to alert him, unable to hide her embarrassment at getting caught by Gigi of all people, who didn't look like she wanted to put up with any of their shit.

As Alyssa and Jacob pushed the doors open, Alyssa let out a small laugh, grinning at Helene's expression. "Geez, you two couldn't resist the temptation, huh?" She teased Helene, who threw her a scowl as she tried to fix her messy hair. "At least now you'll stop moping around, though I recommend not picking a main hallway to get it on."

"Shut up!" Helene huffed, surprising Alyssa slightly. She usually took it in stride, so Alyssa studied her face carefully, trying to see why her face was so red right now.

"Enough," Gigi cut their conversation short, though she made sure she had a tight hold on Alexander so he wouldn't slip away. Of course, the two girls took notice, looking at one another before looking at Gigi and Alexander. Alyssa threw her a thumbs up, and Gigi scowled at her as well. "I think it's time we left, don't you?"

---

How could Matthew say that about Arthur? Why wouldn't he believe her? Borderline abusive...is that how things looked? Admittedly Eva never really paid others much attention when she was with Arthur, but he never so much as raised his voice at her, so she didn't understand where Matthew was coming from. Before she could reply to his accusation, Arthur beat her to it as he pulled away from her. Why was Arthur so angry? Matthew was harmless, he wouldn't do anything! Eva didn't understand Arthur, although he ended the conversation abruptly as he pulled her away from Matthew, her chance at reconciliation gone as he led her away. She looked up at Arthur, disappointed, though she could tell he was still angry. But she wasn't exactly happy with his actions, either. "You didn't have to go that far, it was just a misunderstanding," She tried to tell him.

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
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█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Arthur was relatively disgruntled, but the farther he brought Eva away from Matthew, the better he began to feel. That was until Eva seemed to argue back with him. She saw it as a misunderstanding, while Arthur saw it as a threat. He was aware that jealousy was lingering in the air enough from Terrance and Alexander, and he didn’t want to get mixed up in it with Eva. She seemed upset with his actions which left him a bit confused as well. He didn’t think Eva would be upset. Why did she care what that guy thought? “I don’t trust him…” Arthur stated, keeping Eva close to him. Perhaps she just always saw the goodness in people, while he always saw their malicious intent. Glancing around, he could see that all of their friends had disappeared. Put looking at his watch he could see what the most likely reason was. “It is getting late… perhaps we should go home for the night.” Looking up again, Arthur could see Matthew once again, standing next to a dark haired girl. She seemed familiar, but Arthur simply brushed it off as just another classmate he recognized but didn’t know the name of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it seemed like almost all the gang was here now, as Terrance whipped away his attention from Helene, and even Jacob came bursting through the door with Alyssa. Now all they needed for this mess of a party were Arthur and Eva. Alexander sighed, averting his eyes away. Jacob approached Alexander, placing a reassuring hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Another day, another year, huh Alexander?” Terrance faced palmed at Jacob’s attempt at consoling, as if reminding him another year had passed since his parents abandoned him was any good of an idea. “Look, Alexander. You keep moping around like this. What will it take to cheer you up?” Terrance huffed rather impatiently. While Jacob was more willing to listen out for his friend, and make sure that he was mentally alright, Terrance was getting fed up with Alexander’s mood swings.

Alexander just shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m fine… I don’t know… I think I just need some fresh air.” Alexander concluded. While he didn’t feel like he was falling into a black hole, as he usually did, he still felt a little on the lower side. He couldn’t turn his head to look at Gigi anymore, though. If he looked at her it would probably just make him feel worse. Jacob looked at Terrance, and then nodded towards Alexander. “Maybe we all need some fresh air right now.” Terrance scoffed keeping one of his arms around Helene’s waists as Jacob led Alexander towards the main entrance doors.

“Yeah… sure” Terrance was obviously displeased with his alone time being interrupted with Helene. They had only just started talking and interacting again. He wasn’t ready to stop- it had been too long.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Angry
✖✖ I am At... Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."That asshole..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend],
FEELING ⤑ Worried and confused.}

Going home sounded like a good idea. She hoped Arthur didn't think he was off the hook, though. Something about his actions really disturbed her, and his justification was flimsy at best. As far as she knew, Arthur didn't know Matthew. So what in the world would give him the idea that he was untrustworthy? Matthew was a nice guy, and the poor thing was always getting picked on. She honestly thought the two could be friends, or at least just get along, right? As much as Eva wanted to wait until they left, however, she felt that it bothered her too much. They needed to discuss it now. "You don't trust him?" She repeated his words, but she didn't seem to buy it. "That can't possibly be it, Arthur. You're acting like he had already done something to you, but I've known Matthew for a while and he's been nothing but kind. I don't know where he's getting the idea that you're abusive, but that show of force didn't really help things if I'm being completely honest." It was putting it lightly, actually, considering Arthur's actions had shaken her. "You keep having these bursts of anger and it really scares me, Arthur. I hate it when you're angry. It makes me feel like...like I did something wrong." She put her hand on his, looking up at him again as they approached the double doors. "Did I do or say something to make you not trust me?"

---

Alyssa crossed her arms, watching the trio of guys interact. Poor Alexander was bummed out, though she found it weird that he wasn't over the moon that Gigi was holding hands with him. Guess there was nothing that could get him out of his funk, huh? It was too bad, she was so sure that if she nudged Gigi enough towards him, she'd get Gigi to admit she reciprocated some sort of feeling for him. Maybe not to the same extremity as Alexander had for her, of course, but no one was going to convince her that Gigi didn't at least have a crush on Alexander--even if she had yet to realize it herself. One thing did catch her slightly off guard, though; Terrance seemed rather impatient all of a sudden, probably irritated that he and Helene got interrupted. Which was dumb considering all they did was shag.

Gigi, on the other hand, had multiple thoughts running through her head. Alexander was upset again, and no one was going to convince her it wasn't her fault. Was it because she left him alone? It had to be. She was so absorbed in trying to figure Alexander out that she didn't notice ALyssa next to her. Approaching Gigi, who watched Alexander with a rather forlorn face, Alyssa carefully placed her hand on her arm. That seemed to snap Gigi out of her thoughts for a moment, though rather than look back at Alyssa, Gigi went to catch up with Jacob and Alexander. The night air was actually pretty reliving, though she didn't stop, running in front of the pair of boys to stop them from going forward. "I'm sorry," She blurted out to Alexander, nervously rubbing her arm. "Don't be upset--I mean, I didn't leave to avoid you, it's not what you think." What was she even saying?

Helene decided to stay with Terrance, not really paying attention to anything and more focused on his arm around her. She could tell he was annoyed, though she didn't comment on it. She did lean towards his ear, thinking she could make him feel better as she whispered, "We should pick up where we left off at your place. We need to celebrate."

[QueenOfWands]

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█
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█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

Arthur’s angry face continued to soften looking at Eva as they stepped out into the night, from the ball. But Eva didn’t seem ready to completely leave, as she heaved all her thoughts off her chest. Sure, she had known him for so long, that made sense. What also made sense was that in the course of getting to know him, he developed feelings for her, and was becoming jealous of their relationship. Eva claimed that his forceful stunt didn’t help in disclaiming Matthew’s accusations of abuse. But Arthur only really knew how to deal with issues violently or with threats. Besides, Matthew was a coward, shake him up a bit and he should back off for a while. Eva was getting so upset, but it wasn’t like he beat up Matthew, as much as his body was telling him he should have. He just shook him up, no big deal. But Eva thought it had more to do with than trust, and that she was the problem. Arthur rubbed the back of his neck thinking on it for a while. No, Eva did nothing wrong. She was perfect in so many ways… it was just that she was significantly more trusting of others than Arthur ever was. Not only that, but now she was scared of him too? For shaking up a guy a bit. If that scared her, then she would be petrified if she knew anything else about Arthur and his work.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, Eva.” In fact, Arthur felt like it was mostly his own fault. He was very protective of Eva recently, but this was mainly due to the fact that she seemed to get hurt every time they were separated. He had seen Eva crying too many times to feel comfortable with. “I’m just looking out for you, Eva. Do you not trust me and my actions?” Arthur looked down at her hand, as she laid her palm on his. He gently squeezed her hand, his eyes not wanting to pull away from that image. He felt guilty for making her feel afraid, she should never be afraid of him, because every action and decision he made was in order to protect Eva. But perhaps this was a good thing too… because now she would be getting a chance to see his truer colors. If she could accept him like this, then perhaps there was still a sliver of a chance she could accept who he really was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pair stopped abruptly when Gigi stepped in front of them, suddenly apologizing. Jacob looked relatively surprised by Gigi’s sudden outburst. He hadn’t really noticed before how their relationship had been changing. Sure, Alexander was still head over heels for Gigi, but for some odd reason, Gigi wasn’t distancing herself from him like she usually wood. This action of hers came as a complete surprise, and Jacob glanced towards Alexander, watching for a reaction. Alex pulled the lock of his eyes on the horizon down the Gigi, listening to her apology. She claimed it wasn’t what he thought. But he pulled on a small smile, his eyes softening slightly. “Ah… min vackra blomma. You don’t have to lie to me. I’m sorry for pulling you around on the dance floor earlier. It obviously wasn’t something you enjoyed. Perhaps… I can make it up to you? We can go get ice cream?” Alexander’s eyes lit up slightly more at the prospect of making amends. He felt guilty, probably for embarrassing Gigi in front of her friends and classmates. It didn’t matter that she didn’t return feelings for him. He had to keep his head up and continue the good fight- for love! “There is a good place not too far of a walk from here… and considering Arthur was our ride, maybe we should put our legs to some good use…”

Jacob, as if suddenly remembering that there was a 4th friend involved in this, looked around, seeing Arthur and Eva standing at a different exit. “Oi. They’re right over there. ARTHUR! EVA!” They obviously heard him calling, but Arthur didn’t seem to want to turn his head away from Eva. Were they having a serious conversation? Jacob wondered for a second before turning to Alyssa. “I have a question for you. Has Eva had a past relationship?” To anyone else that wouldn’t seem like a big deal. But perhaps to Arthur that would seem to matter.

Terrance, standing now quite some distance from his friends, grinned at Helene’s little prospect. But cursed under his breath for having decided to ride with Arthur rather than take his own car. But Terrance seemed to agree with Helene, it was taking too much of his own effort to hold back his feelings and actions much longer. “You wouldn’t happen to have a get away vehicle, would you?” Terrance smiled playfully towards Helene.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Concerned
✖✖ I am At... the outside of the Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."She doesn't have to be afraid of me..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ School
TIME ⤑ Evening
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend]
FEELING ⤑ In love~}

Of course Eva trusted in Arthur. It'd be stupid to think otherwise and outright disrespectful of their relationship if she didn't trust him. There were too many times he had helped her, too many instances where he was basically her knight in shining armor coming in to save the day. But a knight wouldn't have handled the situation the way Arthur did, a knight would have talked it out, or at the very least apologize for spilling her drink all over Matthew. But maybe that was her problem: she idealized Arthur way too much. Yes, he was incredibly kindhearted and held a soft spot for her, but he wasn't perfect. And it was clear as day that regardless of what he said or his intentions, he had anger issues. Severe anger issues, considering they came out in explosive bits and often resolved in something getting destroyed. This wasn't the first or second time he resorted to his outbursts, and other times he ended up hurting himself. He didn't realize how afraid she got anytime he got mad.

Eva still had her doubts, but as he squeezed her hand, her worried expression seemed to melt away. His anger wouldn't get fixed in a day. Maybe they could work on it together? She wasn't going to just forget about it, but for now, there wasn't a point in arguing it any further. "Of course I do, I trust you more than anyone," Eva replied, gently placing a kiss on his hand. "I love you, Arthur." She told him sweetly, giving him a small smile.

Alexander really thought he had to make it up to her? If she wasn't already guilty, Gigi definitely felt it now. Still, maybe it was actually for the best as he suggested going somewhere to get ice cream with her. The prospect of getting sweets was already enticing enough, though she felt her heart go into overdrive again. Her eyes briefly flickered to Alyssa, who was nodding enthusiastically, motioning for her to agree. Gigi's head nodded slightly, though she looked back at Alexander, clearing her throat slightly. "That sounds nice..." She admitted quietly, that odd feeling in her chest again. Geez, what the hell was Alexander doing to her to make her feel like this? She timidly held her hand out, waiting for him to take it. "Let's go."

The brunette grinned as she watched Gigi and Alexander, though gave Jacob her attention as he asked about Eva. Honestly, Alyssa didn't know too much about Eva's dating history. She knew the girl was asked out once in a while, but she used to be so focused on Arthur she wouldn't really budge for anyone. Of course, there was that one guy they talked about very briefly that day, right? "She mentioned an ex-boyfriend the other day, but I think that was at her last school. Think his name was...Julius?" Alyssa said slowly, trying to remember the conversation. "Helene told me once that she thinks the reason Eva liked Arthur so much at first was because Arthur resembled her ex. When I brought it up to her, though, she really didn't want to talk about it. I think it ended really badly since she mentioned he dumped her." Yeah, that sounded right. Honestly, Alyssa wasn't surprised Eva had a previous relationship, though she wondered why Jacob wanted to know. "Why do you ask?"

Helene away from Terrance for a moment, a dilemma of conscience on her. Considering they had carpooled, technically yes, Helene had her keys in her pocket. However, if she went with Terrance, it would likely leave the rest to have to squeeze into the other car that the guys came in. Should she really ditch her friends? No, that was wrong. However, considering Terrance was just as eager as she was to get away, the temptation to just get in her car and go to his place was just too much. Oh well, it wasn't the first time she had left them behind, so they wouldn't mind, right? Placing a kiss on Terrance's cheek, she pulled out her keys, jingling them lightly to show him she had her car. "If we run, I think we can get far enough so they can't catch us," She grinned mischievously, raising her eyebrows at Terrance.

[QueenOfWands]

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█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█║▌│█│║▌║││█

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＢＥＨＩＮＤ ＢＬＵＥ ＥＹＥＳ

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

ＴＯ ＴＥＬＬＩＮＧ ＯＮＬＹ ＬＩＥＳ

╔════════════╬ＡＲＴＨＵＲ ＺＡＶＩＥＲ ＭＹＬＥＳ╬════════════╗

It felt reassuring to Arthur when Eva said she loved him, but at the same time it still seemed as if Eva was bothered by his actions. Taking in a deep breath, Arthur just wrapped his arms around Eva and gave her a tight hug, to try and reassure her. Jacob raised an eyebrow towards Alyssa’s statement. Well, it was one things that she had a previous boyfriend, but another that Arthur apparently resembled Julius. There was only a particular set of guys who walked around with long, blonde hair, and that could say a lot for who, or where, this Julius guy came from. Did Arthur have cousins? Jacob shook his head, he had no idea how far Arthur’s family tree stretched, but those pondering thoughts were best unassessed. “Just curious. Arthur is the protective type it seems. I’m just wondering how he would react to that. He isn’t emotional to us, but I know he is very passionate about Eva.” Jacob held his hands up to his mouth, as to better project his voice. “Earth to Arthur! We are getting ice cream! Let’s goooooooo!” Arthur was snapped back to reality and looked to Jacob. Arthur himself was not a very big fan of sweets, but perhaps that would be something to cheer Eva up, taking her hand in his, they began to walk with the group.

Terrance’s eyes watched the keys jingle in Helene’s hand. No doubt in Terrance’s mind did that mean Helene was about to leave her friends here to run home for a little shacking up. Something exactly Terrance would do to his friends as well. “God, I love you.” He smiled wickedly, and the two quickly took off towards the parking lot, in their best attempt to move fast and not get caught, straight for Helene’s car. Alexander didn’t miss a beat and saw the two take off towards the car. Were those two seeing each other again, then? No doubt they were running off to have their own little fun. It had been a long time since Alexander had hooked up with any girls, he suddenly realized from that. Not that it really bothered him, at this point it brought him more joy to chase after Gigi, than to sleep with a new girl every night. But if he could sleep with Gigi one night… Alexander shook his head as to dismiss the thought. Oh, bad Alexander! He playfully smacked his own cheek to clear his thoughts. He had to stay hopeful, but not that hopeful, Alexander chuckled slightly to himself, the caramel of is eyes beginning to glow again in the moonlight. “I hope you have another ride, Gigi… it seems yours is about to haul out of here in a hurry.” Alexander nodded towards the parking lot, where Terrance and Helene were just starting to climb into her car.

╚══════╬ "We Swedes are used to the cold... I just don't want you to freeze beside me." ╬══════╝

ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＴＨＥＹ ＡＲＥＮ'Ｔ ＡＳ ＥＭＰＴＹ

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＭＹ ＬＯＶＥ ＩＳ ＶＥＮＧＥＡＮＣＥ

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Neutral
✖✖ I am At... the outside of the Masquerade Dance
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue dress suit and joker mask.

[Hero]

_{LOCATION ⤑ Augustine Funeral Home
TIME ⤑ Late Afternoon
INTERACTING WITH ⤑ Arthur [Boyfriend], Marshall [Stepfather]
FEELING ⤑ Relatively neutral.}

'Passionate' was definitely accurate, though 'possessive' was the word that popped into Alyssa's head at first. She didn't know why, but somehow she felt if Arthur knew about a past boyfriend, he'd probably react badly. Then again, with the way Eva clung onto him, Arthur had nothing to worry about. She shrugged it off, although at Alexander's warning, she spotted Helene and Terrance, the redhead laughing. Well, someone was feeling better, after watching Helene mope around it was good to see her cheerful again. Except, the realization hit her, and Alyssa scowled at the pair. Gigi watched them with a mild amusement, though she said nothing. It looked like Helene had thrown caution to the wind. She just hoped she wouldn't come to regret it. "It's alright. I can always walk," She told Alexander.

---

A low buzzing noise disturbed Gigi's sleep, although it didn't usually take much for the light sleeper to wake. She may have had a little too much fun last night; all that sugar had kept her up longer than she thought. Getting out of bed to see what it was, however, was an entirely different story. Determining where it was coming from, she realized it wasn't her cellphone as she initially assumed. Forcing herself out of bed, she dragged herself to her dresser, pulling the second drawer open. After digging through some of her clothes, she pulled out the beeper. She had honestly forgotten she had it, though the fact that she was getting that and nothing on her cellphone seemed to catch her attention through her sleepiness. She had no idea what the code meant, though it couldn't be good news. Picking up her earpiece, she placed it as she dialed a number on her cellphone, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Good morning!" Jun's much too cheery voice rang through.

"Is there an update I should know about?" She croaked, clearing her throat before going further. "I got a...010 on my pager."

"Pager? You still have that?" He seemed more interested in the actual device than the message. "Hmm...010...I think it means something's changed? God, I can't remember, those dinosaur devices were way too specific. Although I haven't gotten anything, so it might be from upstairs. I'll go ahead and transfer you."

The calming elevator music nearly put Gigi back to sleep as she sat back down on her bed, though she was spared having to wait too long. "I'm glad you've received my message," A very quiet, stern voice was now on the other line. "My name is Kota, I'll be your temporary intelligence officer until further notice. As of this moment, your outstanding contract is currently suspended. Your orders are to standby while negotiations are fulfilled."

This was news to her. Her only contract at the moment was bodyguarding Helene, but she often took side jobs all the time. If it was being negotiated, someone else must have wanted her for another job. Still, it wasn't the first time people had asked for her, so why did it result in a suspension? Her tired mind couldn't find an answer, so there was no point in asking. "I have a previous engagement with my current charge. It would be noticed if I didn't attend," She said.

"That's alright. However, while on standby you have no obligations to protect Helene Carbone. Should anything occur, you are not held responsible," That much seemed to wake Gigi up completely. He may as well have stated that something was going to happen. "Negotiations will continue as per our standard procedures, so an update should come later on."

"Do my employers know this?" Gigi asked.

"Yes, but as you know I am not at liberty to say who is negotiating nor can I answer any further questions," Gigi had to bite her tongue. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

Once the call ended, Gigi tossed her earpiece onto her nightstand, her mind racing as she checked her cellphone. So Evan knew her contract was suspended, but she didn't get any messages from him? There was something about all this that didn't sit well with her. She was tempted to call Evan, but maybe staying ignorant would work in her favor. There were a few possible routes this situation could take and she didn't like any of them. But as always, she was a professional, and so she decided she would simply wait for the next order. At least that was what she told herself as she decided to get ready.

---

"I'm sorry for your loss."

How many times had Eva heard this? She thought she had heard it plenty during the week, but now that the funeral itself had arrived, it seemed to be the first thing out of people's mouth when they approached her. Of course, that was the normal thing to say. They were sorry that she had lost her mother, they were sorry that she had to go through something most people wouldn't wish on anyone. But as they spoke to her, Eva felt like they shouldn't be sorry. It was an odd sensation, watching pity and genuine sympathy in their eyes that she knew she didn't deserve. Of course, she accepted their wishes, giving them a kind smile as thanks, but the entire experience was just bizarre. Should she admit that she wasn't as sad as everyone assumed she was? She should be. She wasn't happy her mother was gone, but she wasn't upset. Truthfully, she felt completely empty since she was given the news and had no idea what to think. Maybe she was just in shock, but if she looked deep enough, she knew how she felt and didn't want to admit it. So rather than confront it Eva just kept pushing it further and further. But seeing Marshall and his grief had brought that feeling back to the surface, and Eva realized what it was.

The crowd was thinning towards the end of the session, though Eva just wanted to leave. It was hard to see Marshall so upset, and her own mixed feelings weren't helping things. A majority of the attendees had been Evelyn's coworkers, most of which lamented the loss of such a strong figure in the company, but even as they spoke to Eva she could tell there was some semblance of satisfaction and resentment. Even at work her mother managed to rub people the wrong way, it seemed. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked to see Marshall. He was considerably calmer now, though he looked broken. Eva didn't understand how her mother could have gotten such a dedicated man. "How are you holding up?" He asked her. Even with Evelyn gone, he still cared about her.

She was fine. Or at least, she thought she was. "I'm okay. It's almost over, She shrugged slightly, watching a few people leave.

"I'm glad," His response made her feel guilty, though she was positive he didn't mean to. "This might not be a good time, but...I thought you should know that I'm selling the house. I don't think I can manage without your mom there. I'll probably go back to Hillsdale with my brother."

Of course not. She didn't blame him, since she had anything important already with her at Arthur's house, her desire to return lessened significantly. It was actually a little relieving to know she wouldn't have to go back. "Thanks for letting me know," She replied. "I kind of saw it coming if I'm being honest. I don't really blame you, either. But...I'll miss you."

He smiled, probably the first genuine smile he had given all day. "I'm just a phone call away," He assured her, patting her head.

Eva looked away absentmindedly, her eyes falling on a brown haired man. He stood in front of the casket holding a folder, but didn't speak to anyone. Looking at the back of his head, Eva felt that she recognized him. Could it be...? Excusing herself from Marshall, she quietly approached the man, though he seemed to have noticed her, turning just as Eva reached out for him. She retracted her hand nervously, her eyes wide as she looked at the man she knew as Brett. "...Dad?" It came out without her thinking, holding a slight longing she had held back for a long time.

He stared at her for a moment, though his expression was unreadable. He wasn't happy to see her, though he didn't seem angry either. For a split second Eva found herself disappointed, still wishing for his affection. "It's been a while, Eve," He finally replied, turning towards her. "You look surprised to see me."

"I didn't think you'd come," She admitted quietly. "How have you been?"

"Do you really want to know, or are you asking as a courtesy?" His question was rather sharp. She couldn't help but wince slightly. His expression softened slightly, and he ended up looking away from her. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"Yeah, I do. You didn't do anything wrong, Eve. None of what happened was your fault. You didn't pick your parents, you didn't decide who your real father was," Brett sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You were just a little girl who wanted her dad. But when the truth came out...I wasn't strong enough to do what was right. If I'm being honest, I still can't."

She didn't know what to think of his confession, but it made her feel worse. He blamed himself, she blamed herself, and the actual culprit was no longer around, leaving them in pieces. The damage was done. As much as Eva wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to ask for another attempt at repairing their relationship. Even now, she could tell he had trouble looking at her. He probably only saw her birth father's face, a constant reminder of Evelyn's betrayal. "If I'm being honest...I really, really hated her for driving you away," Eva said. "It was...it was hell after you left."

He nodded in understanding, and after a moment of silence fell between them, he handed her the folder he had. "This won't make up for me disappearing on you, but...you deserve to know. She never did tell you about your birth father, did she?" He asked, watching Eva's eyes widen as he spoke. "I figured as much. I can't really tell you where he is, he's always moving from one place to the next. But who knows..." He looked at the casket one more time, and then patted Eva's shoulder. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." She nodded, watching as he walked out. Turning her attention to the folders, the first thing she noticed was a really old document. Legal papers? It was faded, though she quickly realized what it was as she read 'Evangeline Iris Salvador' in a little box. Was this her birth certificate? But the one she had in Arthur's house read 'Evangeline Donna Esperanza', this one had a completely different middle and last name. She looked down, reading her mother's name with her maiden name, and stopped as she read 'Victor Liam Salvador'. That was her birth father's name? Closing the folder, she held it to her chest. Now that she had a name, would she find him? But the revelation just seemed to pile onto her problems, and she felt sick.

Eva nearly screamed as Marshall placed his hand on her arm, so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't seen him approach her. "You look really pale, are you feeling okay?" He asked her, concerned.

"I'm fine," She lied, trying to ignore the urge to throw up.

Luckily Marshall wasn't convinced. "Have Arthur take you somewhere you can lie down, you look like you're about to faint," He insisted.