[IC] { it's gonna | be better }

[Genkai]

- - S a s h a & D e v o n -

Sasha smiled at Ami's comment. Dancing wasn't so bad. It could be worse. It could be with a boy. Somehow, she had it in her mind that dancing with a boy was difficult and something people would mock her for doing so. The girl just shrugged, "No noooo." She said, not sure how to handle such an unexpected compliment. She saw the boys struggling with how to blend in, let alone look okay with dancing with each other, or even near each other. Boys were weird. What was wrong with having fun with a friend?

"W-we can't keep dragging them along with us, they c-can't even dance!" She attempted to make a joke, though she wouldn't mind a date, if the guy was nice and someone she knew. Sasha found the idea wildly weird to dance with someone you barely knew. With any luck, they'd be able to continue to expand their social horizons and make other friends who they could hang out with. The whole point of high school was to mature and to figure out what you liked and didn't like.

While the girl wasn't comfortable with big social gathering, she wanted to try.

And so far, the world hadn't yet ended.

"So I was wondering...do you think Devon would ever-" She cut herself off when she caught said male staring at them. "I-I think we should maybe go sit back down, I don't feel right with us having all the fun." Sasha admitted. Devon and Garret seemed uncomfortable and she wished she could help. Would it be better if they danced with each other? Her and Devon or Garret? Amity with Garret or Devon? Or would that be even more weird. She wasn't sure and her light buzz was fading as she began to over-think things again.

"Don't worry about us." Devon smiled and ruffled his hair a little, not wanting to upset the girls. "Dancing just isn't my thing." You'd think it would be, but he wasn't feeling it. Maybe it was the outside pressure, he wasn't sure. He wanted to have a good time and it wasn't as though he was having a bad one per say, but Devon just felt uneasy for some reason. He looked from Sasha to Amity. "Maybe when a different song comes on..." He offered them. Sasha looked to Ami and then to Garret. "Lets get some more snacks. I'm thirsty." He said.

"Okay." Sasha nodded.

The boy turned and started to head back to the designated table but suddenly the lights and music turned off. Many people let out excited oooh's while a few girl's seemed to let out cries of distress. What was the big deal? He looked around and could barely make out the silhouettes of some teachers who seemed perplexed by the power outage. A few people seemed to be taking advantage of the darkness, they were upperclassmen, of course. It was announced that the power outage meant the dance had to end early. The boy found himself a bit relieved.

"Oh no, guess we have to go." Devon said and smirked.

"It's so early though...and we were just starting to have fun..."

"Um hmm...how about we go get some ice cream someplace?" Devon suggested.

[Fox of Spades]

Garret and Amity

The lights sputtered before dying out completely and the room was enveloped in darkness.

Like Devon, Garret found himself relieved and a part of him thanked the heavens for such a lucky break. The dance floor and everything, while not exactly that bad, was definitely awkward. The girls didn't sound as pleased though, so he made it a point to try and sound a little disappointed. "Ice cream castle is just a few blocks away," he offered before a teacher shone his flashlight at them. The boy shielded his eyes, blinded by the momentary brightness. "We could head there then call our parents to pick us up."

Amity was somewhat disappointed as well, but Ice cream castle sounded okay. "Man, Sasha's right, it's still eight, but I guess we can't do anything about that." They made their way to the parking lot. The night air was cool and the sky above was filled with silvery stars, it was a nice evening. "Sucks, that our first dance had to end so early, but there'll be more to come." Amity beamed.

Garret on the other hand flinched at the statement. He didn't look forward to that. "Uh, yeah. Yay?" He received a playful jab on the shoulder and a retort on being more sincere and enthusiastic, in response to this he ended up laughing.

"Well, if you guys were more excited about the science fair then maybe I'd take an interest in these kinds of things too." He scrunched up his nose, making a silly looking kind of expression. "So, ice cream castle is on fifth street, right?" He stared at the darkness ahead of them. The streetlights cast a warm glow on the streets, though in its own way it was a little eerie. "After you Devon," Garret stated with a chuckle. Amity noticed the hesitation on his face and soon the girl looked just like a devious imp.

"So Sasha, Gary." She placed a hand on each of their shoulders, the smile never leaving her face. "Have Devon and I told you about the ghost of fifth street?" She gave Devon a quick wink, hoping he would get it and play along a little.

Garret narrowed his eyes at his friends. Devon and Ami could be tricksters from time to time and he had already been tricked at least once, so he made it a point not to believe them all the time. "I think they'd put something like that in the news."

The girl behind him began rubbing her hands together, as if she were some comical villain. "Ohohohoho, you poor boy. They can't arrest ghosts." She hopped ahead then began walking backward so she could face them. Occasionally Ami would look behind her, just to make sure she didn't fall back or bump into anything. "They say that ten years ago a boy named Gerald Walters was killed in an alley on fifth street and that his murder was," she paused for added dramatic effect. "Very brutal. They didn't know Gerald, he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. They killed him so they could get into a super secret cult, Gerald was found chopped up in a body bag but his internal organs were gone." Amity was bluffing, she had always been good at tall tales. The girl hoped it would sound at least somewhat believable.

Gary turned to look at Sasha, his expression quizzical.

The four of them took a turn down the street and Ami, walked on ahead. "They say that the ghost of Gerald Walters still roams the streets and that he sometimes appears in the alley where he died. Sometimes, people hear screaming. They say it's Gerald, hoping that someone will be able to rescue him." She stopped in her tracks, spun around and leaned in close. "Sometimes they hear Gerald say things, do you know what he says?" When her friends shook their heads Amity leaned in even closer, expression gave. "He says YOU'RE NEXT!"

The last part was yelled out. Ami stared at them before laughing cheerily. "Whoo, you guys should have seen the look on your face. Ice cream castle should be on the next block." She tapped them both on the shoulders for being such good sports then walked alongside them. She had told Devon the same story when they walked home from the firework festival but he took it a lot better, it wasn't as much fun as this. "Devie didn't believe me at all when I told him about this, it wasn't as fun." She flashed the boy a thumbs up, not even noticing how she had let his little nickname slip. "So, do we turn left or right. Everything looks a little different after dark and all that."