The Honorary Ball, Part II

[Stella]

"Hmmm... compensation?" she responded with a little grin as she laced her fingers with his. For just a split second she almost slipped into his lap to be closer to him but then decided agaisnt it. He'd probably freak out much like Zacke had.

"What do you think you can offer me?" Stella shot him a sexy smirk as she leaned back in her chair. Crossing her legs she waited for his response but then there were interrupted.

A man in a white suit ushered Brooke over to a table near by. Stella's grin widened as Brooke's head thudded down on the table. Hyne the poor girl was so drunk. Stella couldn't resist feeling just a bit too much glee over it.

[raydensharpola]

"I can offer you...my undivided devotion for as long as you need." He grinned. "That includes toilet--"

A thump at the other side of the table interrupted him. He looked up and saw the guy who got hit by Deo's shoe ushering Brooke into a vacant chair. She laid slumped on the table, almost in an unconscious state. He felt uneasy, only because a girl shouldn't make such a spectacle of herself in a social event like this.

He chanced a glance at Stella, and the glee on her face was evident.

Nope he definitely couldn't help Brooke without incurring some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe the white-suited guy would do that.

"See, that's why you shouldn't drink so much. What if you became like this?" He whispered to Stella, grinning a bit.

[Stella]

"I never drink too much, I always drink just enough" Stella said turning her gaze back to Rayden, her eyes sparkling under the ballroom lights. She shifted her position to lean on him a little so that her shoulder was pressing lightly agaisnt his. It was true, she hadn't been drunk enough to throw up since her cadet days.

"Besides if I ended up like this I'd have the sense to whisk myself away some where a bit more private before anyone even noticed." She glanced up into his eyes. The ball was still going on around them but it seemed like none of it even existed. Well except for Brooke laying on the table smelling really bad.

"But I bet before I even had a chance to do that you'd be taking care of me, wouldn't you?" she asked with another playful smirk.

[raydensharpola]

"Only if you'd listen to me. Not blaming me for being over-protective." Rayden rolled his eyes. "But I won't let you roll in your own barf. I'll be there before you even start being disoriented."

[Stella]

"Well I won't accuse you of being over protective if you aren't. I enjoy being taken care of but I don't like feeling trapped. I'm sure you can understand that" She grinned and gave him a little tickle a long the side.

"What about you Raydie? want me be all over protective of you? I can if you'd like" she smirked speaking in a soft joking tone.

[raydensharpola]

He almost half-rose in his seat at her tickle, keeping a frown deeply etched on his mouth. It was the most effective way to keep out from bursting into insane laughter. If he had a weakest spot among his weak spots for tickling, it had to be at the side.

"H--hey stop." He said, mouth wide open on the verge of launching into laughter. He grabbed her hand quickly holding it away from his side. "You naughty naughty girl." He smirked at her. "Is that how you're gonna be 'over-protective' of me? Hmm? If that's the way I would very much decline."

[Stella]

They seemed to be in constant flirt mode with each other. It was an easy kind of feeling between the two of them. She laughed as he squirmed from her tickling almost leaving his chair. He had such a nice smile but quickly ruined it by that deep frown he used to keep himself under control.

"Tsk you don't like it when I'm naughty?" she raised an eyebrow cutely as she leaned in closer to him.

"and no that's not me being over protective" she grinned, "that's how I get you to smile that gorgeous smile of yours for me."

[raydensharpola]

"Ohhhh I likeeee." He drawled languorously over his words. A simliarly naughty smirk twisted on his lips and a hand snaked out sliding between her back and the chair, and stayed put at her waist. "But I do want to be respectable you know. We've had enough spectacles this evening; I'm not surprised how the other tables have been gossiping about the notoriously dysfunctional Team Trinity." He rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't mind it myself but better keep disturbances to the minimum in case the Headmaster blows up and shoos all of us off to bed. With curfews. Not fun."

"That's how I get you to smile that gorgeous smile of yours for me." She said with a grin.

"You could've just asked, Babe. I'd smile for you any time of the day, no need to resort to such drastic measures." He smiled broadly in emphasis.

[Stella]

His smile made her heart positively soar in delight. Somehow he managed to stir up emotions in her that she thought were long dead. Maybe thats why she was so attracted to him. His hand on her waist felt so good and she fought the urge to snuggle up next to him right there.

"You're right, we certainly don't need another scene" she said smiling at him instead and letting her delicate hand come to rest on his knee.

"So since you've ended up as my date for the night after all" she grinned at him, "that means I better ask your permission before I ask another boy to dance"

[raydensharpola]

"Well alright." He said, his smile dimming by a little. "Just as long as you don't go too outrageously flirty on them, you can dance with as many guys you like." His smile broadened again. "I'd like to keep some of that special treatment for myself, if you don't mind."

[Stella]

"Special treatment? Do you mean dancing or me being outrageously flirty?" she asked with a playful smile in response to his. For a moment her heart had sunk when it looked like the smile was slipping off his face. Even though they were only getting to know each other she still didn't want him to be unhappy with her.

She gazed at him wondering just how jealous he would be if at all. Was he even the jealous type? Besides it was only a few guys from the team she wanted to dance with. She didn't have any designs on them anyway, the only person she had her eye on was him.

"You sure you wouldn't mind?" she asked softly feeling a bit unsure all of a sudden.

[stardust]

Holy crap *falls down chair* o.o major postage! *tries to throw her charries into the loop* XD
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Stardust was confused with Stella. She didn't know if the girl was mocking her, helping her, or was just bisexual. They were both girls and--

/You put malice on everything. You know you are when you grew up in some secluded area of the world./

But anyways, that wasn't the point. She was just going to deny that the cat wasn't Reese's---no matter how ridiculously obvious it was---and she got the wrong person. However, that didn't work out too well too when Reese blew up their cover and dragged her to the dancefloor. That was even before she could say anything.

"I dressed up in this nice suit just for you, you know," Reese said over his shoulder. "So don't be a brat," he teased. "I think you can spare me a dance."

So here she was, in the sea of swaying people with Reese in front. Her first was reaction was... Why am I a brat again?

"I'm not a brat," she replied. "For your information, I'm turning nineteen soon." She placed a hand on his shoulder, getting ready to dance. "How old are you anyway?" she asked dryly. She had never asked how old he was, but she felt they were about the same age. "And what are you going to do if Stella spills that we're behind that clawing incident. For all we know, Zacke might get you in trouble if he finds out."

[vanesse]

AHAHAHAHA DEO AND BROOKE XD
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Vanesse blinked several times. There was a random guy who asked her for a date and before she could agree, the girl who stole Deo for her date barfed on Deo's shoes, and then Deo chucked his shoe at them---hitting the random guy instead of her. She thanked Hyne so many times that it didn't hit her, or she might become depressed again like what happened when she drank the fishy poo fountain.

Surprisingly, the guy Deo hit attended to Brooke. Does he know her?

She watched them silently as he assisted the drunk girl to her table. She scratched her head.

/Hey Vanesse./ Paridge asked her.

What?

/Why are you just standing there?/

Huh?

As soon as he settled Brooke to the table, he passed by her again and gave her an apologetic look.

/Help the guy!/

Ehh...why?? Vanesse looked at Deo and Jaime as they make a scene. Of course, Lawric was gone now too. She bet her Paridge he already found a replacement for Jaime.

/Aren't you curious why he just suddenly want to associate with you lot?/ She turned her eyes back to the random guy. Now that was just her guardian force being paranoid.

Does that make him suspicious?

/I dunno. I just want you to follow him because he's getting some bread./

Oh you! Well, it was true that Deo never fed her and just bought her a million of drinks this whole night.

"Jax!" She patted Jax on his shoulder, taking advantage of the fact that Jaime was distracted. "You take care of Jaime, okay? Keep her...preoccupied." She winked at him. "Show him you're a better date than Lawric!" Then she slapped his back hard and waved.

"Hey wait up!" Vanesse caught up to the random guy, avoiding several bodies along the way. "Random guy!" She came up beside him. "You know where to get breads from here? I'll help you carry some."

[Hadrian D'arcell]

"That's just sick," Hadrian leaned back on some chair near the Trinity table and smirked at his screen. He was rewatching Brooke as she vomitted on Deo's shoes---all in slow motion. Deo's expression, the people around her, the guy who had Deo's shoe thrown at him, their faces were all too funny. He loved the way their mouths would get distorted every millisecond and would try to get away from the pink slosh. It was pretty nasty, but in a way, it was cool.

"Yo, check this out!" He felt there was someone near him so he grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him towards him.

Replaying it, he scooted the camcorder to show him the screen.

"Oh is that you, Blaze?" Hadrian looked at her. He seemed to always end up beside her when everyone goes their own merry way. Just like with the cat which he had no idea where it disappeared to. "I thought it was a guy. Anyway..." He grinned merrily. "Check this out." He hit play and the scene where Brooke had stuffs flying out of her mouth ran in slow motion. He chuckled, trying hard not to laugh out loud. If he laughed out loud, it would be too obvious, and the people at the Trin table, namely Brooke, might notice what he was up to.

"Cool, ain't it?"

[waterlily43]

"Deoooo you always attract the worst kind of attention." Jaime scrunched up her face. "Like Stinky Poo. And vomit. Do you have some chemistry in you that attracts stinky stuffs? Maybe it's cos you don't bathe enough." She heaved a sigh. "You better retrieve your shoe before it gets thrown into the recycle bin."

She turned away from the scene, a little helpless as to what she could do now. Lawric had gone off no doubt in search of his partner, and Van was nowhere to be found. Jax was standing there taking the whole scene in, and Jaime couldn't read his expression.

"Jax." She walked towards him, her body language a little awkward. She had dragged him out here and then got all involved in her own stuff not even mindful that he proably didn't feel appreciative of being left aside like that. "I'm going to get some invisible-looking drink...you wanna come along?" She asked, trying to smile but the smile turned out crooked and unnatural.

Somehow she didn't feel like keeping up the bubbly image now...it felt stupid especially since she knew that he knew what happened.

She sighed. "I'm sorry...I'm not exactly great company now."