Yule Ball

[Rhiannon Mackenzie]

The Yule Ball this year came unsurprisingly late because of the set back of the school year. That and Rhiannon Mackenzie with all of her other duties had plum forgot to delegate the duties to a dance committee like she usually did.

However, the prefects and head boy/girl all banded together and the ballroom looked great after they were finished. The Great Hall was charmed for snow and fake snow that sparkled when treaded upon covered the stone floors of the dance hall. Refreshments were on the table next to the wall along with smaller round tables scattered around the ballroom for students and teachers alike to sit and rest their feet when they were through dancing.

A giant tree was set over in the corner of the room and almost reached the ceiling. It was decorated with red, blue, green, silver and gold ornaments with red ribbon draped down the entire tree. A glittering white star stood at the top. Presents were set under the tree that students were able to take as a gift bag by the end of the night. Each present was something completely different though small.

'The Yule Ball this year is indeed much later than previous years but I'm sure you all are just happy that our tradition is taking place! Remember to have a good time! Drink and be merry!'

It wasn't the best speech Rhi's ever made but it would have to do in the little time she gave herself to prepare for the dance. She walked through the ballroom, greeting students and teachers in a bright teal dress draped over her slender frame.

[Valentina Way]

After several attempts to change her hair, she realized she just wanted it to be down...and green. She had already put on a massive amount of make up and also her dress. Now she was standing in front of a full length mirror in the Slytherin dorm.

She'd picked a silver silk evening gown that was flowy on the bottom. She also wore matching silver shoes that had little sparkling jewels on them.

"Damn I'm hot." She said to herself as she posed in front of the mirror. Then she realized that it was probably time to leave and meet her date, Loki.

Though they were only going as friends, she was still nervous. But it probably had more to do with the fact that it was her first Yule Ball than the fact that she was going with Loki.

She walked out of the girls dorms and then out the Slytherin common rooms to wait for her date, where they had agreed to meet.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki waited anxiously outside the Slytherin common room for Val. It was the first time he waited outside the Slytherin house for his date. Slytherins who stepped out before Val gave him a curious look as if they wanted to ask why one of their own was going with the likes of Loki Seivert, a Hufflepuff. Loki automatically thought his house was the best but he wasn't caught up in the house snobbery that some were very much into. People were people, no matter what house they were in.

Loki watched as the door opened and stepping out into the hallway was date. Her dress was slate and her hair was still green though it was rumored that Val was going to dye it black for the dance. She walked confidently with her head held high. Val knew she looked gorgeous and Loki valiantly agreed. She did cleaned up well and he smiled boyishly at her. He wore a black suit with a black shirt and silk tie. He normally liked to wear more color but he thought he would go for a sleeker look. That and Eva picked it out for him.

'Wow.. you look very nice.' He stated and then presented her a single tulip that was dyed green to match Val's hair.

'I don't know if you are a flowers kind of girl, but I figured I would give it a shot.'

[Angel C. Starr]

Patiently Angel waited for her date to meet her just outside of the Gryffindor Tower. She wasn't nervous because she had a massive crush on her date, she just worried another person would react badly to her going with Raven. Eva hadn't been pleased, even asking her to go with someone else.

She respected Eva, and might have done it but it was a little late to find another date. Plus she liked Raven, at least as a friend, in addition to that he was an attractive man. Nor did she have the nerve to cancel the date.

Dressed in an icy blue ball gown there was an over layer of shiny lace. There was a corset design on the sides, around her waist with buttoned adornments. Her shoulders were left bare without an straps and around the bust there was beading that gave the dress more sparkle. Around her neck was a crystal necklace of star shaped snowflakes.

She looked beautiful, her hair of curls held atop her head except for a few stray pieces and a white rose in her hair. Still she wasn't that beautiful for her date. Oh yes she cared what Raven thought, but she wanted to be beautiful for Loki.

Oh God...what if Loki felt about Raven the same way Eva did? She couldn't decided if that was a good or bad thing.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

Morganna was already in the ballroom waiting for Thom, where they had agreed to meet. She was wearing a sparkly white dress that cut off at the calves, and her hair was up in a side pony tail, the ends wavy for the night. Walking over to the drinks table she poured herself some punch and wondered vaguely if anyone would be spiking the punch tonight. Her and Val were the regular punch spikers at these sort of events but she was having a night off. She didn't want to ruin the christmasy atmosphere. She looked around at the falling snow, it was pretty and she felt it made the night feel more romantic than valentine's ever was. Valentines just seemed like an excuse for heartache. Heading over to the chairs she started singing, but only softly so no on could hear, along to the christmas songs that were playing.

[Thom Seivert]

Now Thom had privately debated whether he should go to a dress shop and pick out a dress for the evening. He had no idea why he had such a fascination with female clothing- maybe it was the rise he got out of people when they laid eyes on him wearing it.

However, he opted not too. He was sure that Morganna would not want to be around him the entire night... and though he would get a reaction out of the entire dance, he was sure he would end up dancing alone.

His suit or what he had on was fairly traditional. He wore dark gray slacks with a matching vest. He had on a white button down shirt with a red tie and on his feet he wore spectator shoes. Now, for the past few weeks Thom had been keeping his now shaved head under a beanie but tonight there was no green beanie. He sported a red buzz cut and Thom practically strutted into the ballroom.

He spotted Morganna walking over to one of the tables and made his way over to her.

'Hey!' Thom threw his arms around Morganna from behind. 'Guess who!'

[Valentina Way]

As Val walked out the door she could already see her date's bright red hair standing near. She gave him a smile as she walked over to him like she was the hottest thing on the planet.

"Thank you!" She said in response to Loki's compliment. "You are looking quite nice yourself!"

She found it quite interesting that Loki had brought her a flower and wondered if it was a Yule Ball tradition. Was she supposed to give him something too? She decided not to say anything to seem dumb.

"Well, I wasn't, but now I am!" It impressed her that he had dyed the tulip green for her. But it also brought back memories. This had happened once before when Mason had gave her a rose painted green on their 'first date'. Of course it ended in disaster (as a date), since Death showed up to tell Val how he felt about her the first time.

Val's smile faded for a second as she thought about Death. She's been pretty good at not thinking about him now... but she still dreams about him from time to time. Only to wake up in disapointment that he wasn't really back...

She shook away her thoughts and looked back at Loki.

"Ok, let's do this thing!" She said with a smile.

[Sadie Magnas]

Sadie had exited the Gryffindor house alone. She never built the nerv to ask Mason... plus she fell asleep as she waited for him. Oh well, no sense in wasting a good dress. Once stepping out, she saw Angel in her beautiful blue dress.

Sadie was about to say hi and tell Angel that she looked great, when her bodygaurd beat her to it.

"Miss Starr... I do believe your last name does not do you justice. Shame, Goddess would be much more fitting." Raven grinned in a flirtatious manner. He reached for her hand and place a kiss on it like any gentleman would. Was it strange that a younger girl asked him to a school function?... Not really, or to him at least. He was wearing the normal black slacks, matching jacket and a button down white shirt, only he had his top buttons undone, showing a bit of his chest off.

Surprisingly Raven didn't even seem to notice Sadie was standing there. "Shall we be off?"

Sadie just gave a quick smile to Angel, "Hey, you look great." she said before Raven wisked her away to the dance. Sadie was wearing a dark forest green satin dress. It was short and flaired out in pretty ruffles that were outlined in black. It was a halter styled top and tied in a black bow on the back of her neck. Sadie's hair was in tight curls that gave it the look that it was shorter. On her arms were black lace fingerless gloves. Her black pumps clacked on the floor as she made her way to the ballroom.

[Angel C. Starr]

"Oh Raven, you are such a flirt. I know I'm cute but I'd be going a little far to say 'goddess'." Angel said, a blush still appearing on her cheeks.

He really was handsome, and she was happy to have a date who could match her attractively. Heading off to the ballroom she gave Sadie a smile before heading off. She really wondered what was going on in the girl's head when she saw Angel with Raven, after all he was her bodyguard.

"I'm happy you accepted my invite, I'd figured you wouldn't be interested in a silly school dance."

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir wandered into the Ballroom looking about for sustenance preferably a mug of tea; It seemed unlikely they never did have mugs of tea because of sophisticates or something. He was wearing his tailed jacket, the top hat and monocle that usually came with his jacket had been punched through by a drunk somewhere sometime. He wore a white shirt, which was white white, not a single stain on it he'd bought it especially. The only reason it was clean was because he'd handed it to Morgs to look after pre-ball. He'd even got some posh shiny boot's, well they were shoes really but Drachir won't wear shoes, so he'd asked them to rename them so he could wear them.

His hair had managed to grow about two inch's, from the Slytherin common room incident. He'd thought to at least brush it but he'd used his brush as hand rake, dirt in hair wasn't particularly the height of fashion. All in All Drachir had gone to great effort and done very well with his appearance considering he'd done it all by himself.

His pride of herbology sat in his top pocket, the perfect rose continually morphed in shape color and smell. The search had been rendered a failure, he approached Thom and Morgs.

"Hey guys, you've both scrubbed up quite well any idea when the food and drink is?"

[Mason Brown]

Mason fiddled with his bowtie attempting to make it lay straight. Every added touch made it slope down at one side and become further off-center. He sucked at the last minute pruning. He shrugged his shoulders and gave up on the tie. No-one would notice a lop-sided bowtie, they would be too busy looking at his creamy white suit to look at it.

He looked at himself once more in the reflection of the mirror. He avoided making eye contact with himself. He wasn't proud that he chickened out of asking a girl to the Yule Ball. He was tempted to ask Eva Seivert and he very almost did but he really didn't want to be rejected, which he was fairly sure would happen.

He was going to ask Sadie, in fact he half-expected her to ask him...but nothing happened. They met in the corridors a few times and there were several opportunities when she could have asked, but she never did. They just stood there awkwardly...perhaps she liked someone else.

Mason sighed. He also expected Thayet to ask him out, even if it was motivated by her enjoyment at making him uncomfortably shy which he was whenever she was flirting with him. But there was no Owl invites at all, but Mason wasn't going to let that deter him from going to the Ball, especially after hiring the white tuxedo on a non-returnable deposit, expecting to get at least one date.

Still if he was going to go out to the ball date-less, he was sure enough going to make sure he looked good doing it. He winked at his reflection as he broke out into a smile and headed out the Hufflepuff dormitories towards the Great Hall.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

Morganna smiled warmly as Thom threw his arms round her, a happy fuzzy feeling inside, that was for once not alcohol.

"Hmm....well I'm guessing, what with it being Christmas and the letter I sent to you asking to be my date, you must be SANTA!" She said giggling.

"...and you better be dressed smartly or I'm disowning you for the night mister." She said as she turned around with a grin, unaware of how close he'd been to wearing a dress. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss.

"You look dashingly handsome."She said before she turned with a smile to Drachir and gave him a christmas hug.

"Merry Christmas Drachir! I think the food and drink is just a pick as you go buffet." She said indicating the tables laden with all sorts of snacks and drinks.

[Thom Seivert]

'Well, I could run with that.' Thom laughed as she spun around and kissed him. He gave her a devious smile when she commented that she was going to disown him if he wasn't dressed appropriately but he didn't uncover his previous pondering on his attire.

He looked to see Drachir all decked out and Thom gave him a broad smile. He did clean up rather well and he knew that Eva would be over joyed that Drachir was presentable.

'Yeah, the buffet is over there.' He pointed and looked around to see people filing in for the dance.

[Sadie Magnas]

"Your right, I'm not interested in some silly little school function," he spoke cooly, "But I am interested in the girl." Now Raven figured Angel was at least 18... 17 tops... Either way he honestly didn't care, and it's not like he was worried about pissing people off, he stole things on a regular bassis and got into fights. He stopped caring about what people thought a long time ago. Raven happily escorted Angel into the Ballroom.

Sadie followed a ways behind Raven and Angel before she entered the ball. Most of the time when she went alone, she just sat around... She didn't want to sit around this time. Here she was looking great... but there was no one there to notice the time she took in getting ready. Maybe she should just turn around and go back up stairs. Seeing Thom and Morgs sucking face wasn't helping her want to stay and enjoy the party either.

So Sadie opened the door to walk out. Once again she didn't pay attention and smacked herself right into someone else.

"Oh- I'm sorry!" She tripped and almost fell on the floor.

[Eva Seivert]

Eva was really bummed that no one asked her to the dance. It was the first time since her and Marcus broke up that she was going alone and Eva was too shy to ask anyone.

However, Eva always knew how to make an entrance and if she didn't arrive at the dance with a date, she sure was going to find one there. In the past Eva wore crazy dresses that made her stand out but always wore flat shoes to be the same height as Marcus.

Not this time. Eva wore a little black dress that was a halter top and a white ribbon underneath her bust. It formed to her body and ended a 5 inches above her knee. On her feet were black heels that made her almost as tall as her brother. Eva walked in from the Ravenclaw tower with smile on her face and the first person she spotted was Morgs and her brother Thom.

She waved and turned to get a drink but then ran directly into Sadie.

'Ah!' She laughed and steadied her and her friend. 'Love the dress! Who are you here with?' Eva secretly hoped that Sadie didn't have a date so Eva wouldn't be the only loser at the dance without one, but she never knew with Sadie.

[Sadie Magnas]

Sadie laughed as well. The two of them really were perfect for being best friends. Both seemed to be graceful when they were working or doing what they felt passionate about... catch them when they are at school and suddenly they forgot how to walk.

"I love your dress too!" Sadie smiled. Though her smile fell and she blushed a bit when Eva asked who she was here with. "Um... actually I'm here with just myself... I couldn't build the nerve to ask Mason... and I kinda fell asleep waiting for him so I could ask him... But that's ok, you don't need a date to have fun!" Says the girl who was just thinking about skipping out on the party.

"Are you here with Drachir?"

[Mason Brown]

Mason smiled as he saw Eva and Sadie collide. Not because he enjoyed seeing the two girls he had crushes on walk into each other, but because it reminded him how cute Sadie could be in her clutzy way. They were talking amongst themselves but Mason couldn't hear what they were saying. Assuming that it was fine to walk over, Mason began to head over to greet them.

"Hello Ladies." He smiled at them both as he approached.

They both looked absolutely stunning, so much so that he regretted not having the courage to ask one of them out even moreso now. He would have been proud to have either girl on his arm as he walked into the Great Hall.

He looked at Eva's dress which looked amazing and he admired the effort she had made in her ensemble. It was no coincedence that the girl was a model, considering her impeccable dress-sense.

"You look really really nice, Eva" Mason said, moving his eyes back up after soaking up the dress. Then he remembered Sadie was there also. "Oh...You too, Sadie. I mean, I love the color. Green is a favourite of mine..." Mason trailed off as his mind flashed to Valentina.

"...I like your hair too." Mason said in an attempt to block out thoughts of Ms Way.

[Eva Seivert]

'No, I'm here on my own too. Drachir didn't ask me and I didn't have the nerve to ask him.' Eva's eyes widened as what this meant for the both of them. Eva never really thought about going with another person as a friend.

'We should totally be dates for the night!' Eva exclaimed a bit too loudly and people raised an eyebrow at the girls who were talking really close to each other. Eva's intentions were that they just hang out the entire night so they wouldn't have to suffer being the third wheel. Then she noticed Mason come into the circle of the pair and Eva smiled at him.

'Oh thanks Mason. You look nice too.' She looked to Sadie. 'So how about it? You wanna be my date?' She giggled.

[Sadie Magnas]

There was a tiny tiny twinge of jealousy when Mason complimented Eva... and then seemed to remember Sadie was there. Still she tried not to show it, and just nodded and smiled. It always seemed to be about Eva... But Sadie needed to be happy for her friend, after what happened with Marcus.

"Thanks. You look good too." Did Mason hear Sadie say how she wanted to ask Mason to the ball? If he did then he clearly wouldn't have said yes either way. She did turn her head from side to side to let her curls bounce, "You do? I was thinking of keeping it like this, I like the bounce." She smiled, trying to forget her original thoughts.

Looking back to Eva she thought for a moment. They both didn't have dates and they were best friends... why not? Who better to have a good time with?

"I would love to be your date Miss. Seivert!"

[Mason Brown]

Mason smiled as he heard both girls compliment him. He was glad that they said that. His smile broadened as he watched Sadie talk about her hair. Instead of looking at her hair, he kept looking at her eyes until she looked at his, at which point suddenly Mason's shoes became the most interesting thing in the room and he stared down at them.

Then, he heard Sadie agree to be Eva's date and he looked up at them quickly, losing interest in his shiny black shoes.

"Oh, you guys are going together..." Mason said awkwardly. He was making small-talk but it was just adding fuel to the ball of regret that grew in his stomach. "I was going to..." Mason stopped his sentence and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to admit he was going to ask her out now that she did have a date. He didn't want to cause issues.

[Loki Seivert]

'Thats a relief.' Loki laughed as Val took the rose and he extended his arm towards her. Loki thought Val looked absolutely gorgeous and he wanted to show her off to the entire ball that yes, Loki did have the hottest girl at school.

They entered the ballroom together and it wasn't hard to miss a full head of bright red hair that stood easily a foot taller than the average person at Hogwarts. Val also stood out due to her green hair and the pair of them looked very Christmas-like without even trying.

The first group of people Loki and Val ran into was Eva, Sadie and Mason. 'Geez, Eva. Way to be a giant.' Loki commented as he noticed his younger sister wearing heels that almost brought her to Loki's height.

'Merry Christmas everyone!' Loki announced jovially.

[Valentina Way]

Valentina entered the ballroom with Loki as if she owned the place. Partly because she felt like the hottest person in the room, but also because she was there with the most popular guy at school.

If there was a Yule Ball King and Queen, she would not at all be surprised to win. She laughed at the thought and realized she had watched way too many muggle movies and shows over the extended summer break.

When she snapped back in to reality she realized they were now talking to Eva, Sadie, and... Mason.

Though the initial anger had faded, she still felt a passionate hatred towards the guy.

"Oh my goodness you guys look absolutely fabulous!" She said to Eva and Sadie, completely ignoring Mason. Not even giving him a single glance.

[Mason Brown]

"Hey Loki" Mason glanced at Valentina who didn't even look in his direction. She obviously knew he was there but was making a concerted effort to not look at him.

"So, Sadie, as we were saying..." Mason said loudly enough that Val could hear, in fact, people outside the ballroom probably heard. "...I think you look absolutely amazing in that dress. It suits you so well...I wish I'd asked you to be my date." Mason didn't care about being embarassed anymore, he just wanted to show Valentina how much he was over her. He wanted her to know that she wasn't even a blip on his radar.

"Looks like Eva beat me to it, though." Mason nodded towards Eva with a smile. "Serves me right for being a slowcoach. Still, I guess we can still dance together..."

[Loki Seivert]

'Hey Mason!' Loki grinned, completely oblivious that he and Val were not on speaking terms. He looked over at Sadie when Mason was complimenting her and Loki nodded. He agreed that Sadie looked very pretty and then shrugged his shoulders when he mentioned that Mason was slow in asking Sadie.

'I guess thats what you get for not asking a pretty girl fast enough.' Loki laughed and looked at Val. 'You thirsty? Want to get something to drink?'

[Angel C. Starr]

"Now you've just proven yourself to be a flirt." Angel told Raven with a smile. The truth was she loved getting compliments, but now she was hardly fishing for them.

She didn't want to have any delusions that her date thought of her as any more than that. In fact he'd hardly proven that he thought of her as more than a girl, always acting gentlemanly to her.

"Never the less, I'm grateful that you accepted. I mean why go to a dance if you won't have an attractive date?"

Entering the ballroom she took a second to fully take in the room. It was quite beautiful and her friends were all around. The Yule Ball was her favorite dance, yes she would have liked to be here with Loki but she was going to make the best of the situation. She looked hott, she had a hott date and she was going to dance the night away.

[Valentina Way]

Valentina almost scoffed when she heard Mason yelling about how he wanted to ask Sadie to be his date. It was so obvious what he was trying to do and she really couldn't even believe she had used to think that she might've liked him.

Still continuing to not look over at Mason, Val looked at Eva and Sadie and then to Loki and gave him a smile.

"Yeah, I am, actually." She lied, she definitely had just drank a full cup of water when she was getting ready for the ball. She did not want to be standing around wasting her time listening to Mason's BS any longer.

On the way to the drinks, Val spotted Morganna at the drinks table with Thom. Standing near them was Drachir.

"Look who it is!" Val said with a smile, "You are lookin' fine, hot mama!"

Then she looked over at Thom.

"And I don't mean you. Though you do look very nice also."

[Nicole Dawson]

((I'm posting as if me and Lucas were going to the ball together. I'm sort of god modding, but if he doesn't like it I'll change it. Just kinda wanted to make up for not posting on here in a bit.))

Nicole walked into the ballroom with her boyfriend by her side. They both looked amazing, with Lucas in his dashing tux, and Nicole in her strapless satin red mermaid style dress, full of dazzling rhinestones which glistened when the light reflected on it. Her hair was up in loose barrel curls. Above all, they looked really good together.

Running a little late, Nicole was a pain to get herself ready. Everything had to be perfect to her. Hoping that Lucas wasn't at all irritated, Nicole walked into the room, her arm linked with his. With a bright smile on her face, she looked to see everyones amazing looks.

"It's okay guys... the party just arrived!" She said loudly giving a smirk as she and Lucas made their way inside.

[Lucas Montgomery]

((OOC: I'm ok with the intro she gave. I've been slacking in posts so this was a kick in the rear to get back at it *grin*))

Lucas glided down the hallway with Nicole. She looked stunning and found it hard to keep his eyes off of her. Nicole had taken her time to get ready, but the end result was well worth it. A beautiful christmas present all wrapped up for him. Now opening his present was another story...

When they entered the ballroom, Lucas returned his focus to everyone else and kept a cool smile on his face. He was happy to go to a dance with a date. Last year he did go to the rave that was held, but he had no date. Sadie was sort of his date, but they weren't official at the time. Plus he vaguely remembered getting plastered because the punch was spiked. Mental note: No punch tonight.

He walked past a few of his friends and gave them a mock Sean Connery accent. "Montgomery. Lucas Montgomery."

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir hugged Morgs back and was about to make his way over to the location of the food but then of course Eva showed up.

"Thanks guys merry Christmas to yerselvs."

Vals words rang about his ears, he didn't absorb any of her of speech as the essence of beauty stepped in; he stood his eyes transfixed upon Eva's being, it seemed odd that she didn't have a date grappled to her arm.

"Hey Val your looking pretty damm brilliant yerself, uh scuse me for a min I gotta um well."

He pointed in several direction's one of which then eventually landed upon Eva's rough area fr presence. A surge of jealously wrapped about him within Mason's obvious motion's, Drachir intended to march over then whisk Eva from her feet. Instead he flipped back into reality, wandled over and milled about the background.

"Hey your looking as beautiful as ever Evie, how comes there's no man abouts your arm?"

"Beautiful as ever" was bit an understatement in Drachirs eyes he constantly had to quash his own thoughts as to not embarrass himself.

[Eva Seivert]

Eva smiled brightly as Drachir approached the group as Eva hope he would.

'Oh thanks. You look nice yourself.' She gestured to how he looked and smiled again at him. She furrowed her brow when he mentioned why she didn't have a man on her arm. She wanted to open her mouth and ask why he didn't ask her to the dance but Eva could have very easily done the same.

'Oh, no one asked me.' Eva shrugged her shoulders but then looked around him. 'Where is your date?'

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir was still astounded at the fact that Eva hadn't found a a date.

"Well there was this one girl, but you know me unorganized gutless etc."

He could hear his father in his ear's telling him that a chance's don't come often and secound chances even less so, Drachir took a deep breath offered his arm to Eva and spoke with a slight whimper.

"Well it seems a ball isn't a ball unless all the Seivert's have date's the crown jewel of which being the most important. Evie would you be my date you know as friends."

[Eva Seivert]

'Well Sadie is my date now but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we danced for a few songs.' Eva nervously grinned, hoping that a female date wouldn't threw Drachir off. Eva just said it because her and Sadie came alone and what better way to spend the night than with your best friend?

'Besides, I think Mason wants a dance with Sadie.' She had no clue that Mason had a thing for Eva as well but all she could concentrate on was Drachir. She hoped that Drachir would stick around for the night.

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir raised an eyebrow, Eva had a date and now Drachir was the second; he considered things for a moment, was there something about Eva he didn't know?.He came to realize that he couldn't back out now, she was offering a few dances an everything, which was a slight more than he expected and who knows maybe between Drachir and Sadie they may pull off a good evening; but then again Drachir did have a tendency of buggering things up.

"Well I can't say I've ever shared a date before, an I can be the jealous type sometimes."

The perfect rose warped through a number of pattern's, he took it out of its pocket, gazed at it for a moment; then it did something very odd it selected it's colour and shape. It turned into a Predominantly white rose with a small black center and smaller black petals at it's base, he sighed, it was stupid, but at least he would know what it meant, he carefully placed it behind Eva's ear.

"Not that you need it or anything, it's just well pretty things should go on pretty people."

[Eva Seivert]

Eva's grin went from ear to ear as Drachir planted the rose behind her left ear. She lightly touched it and she giggled.

'Its perfect.' Eva breathed and realized what Drachir said about sharing dates.

Oh, Sadie and I are friends, Drachir. We just decided to stick together because we didn't want to be the only two girls at the Yule Ball without a date.' Eva used terms such as dates and girlfriends very loosely and though she's kissed Angel while drunk, Eva was straight.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

Morganna smiled as more of her friends started pouring into the ballroom. She loved this time of year, it was definitely her favourite, she thought as she looked around at all the sparkly decorations which she had been roped into helping with. Not that she minded of course. She looked back at her friends, the tensions, both romantic and angry, quite obvious to her, even from a distance. She hoped this wasn't going to be a repeat performance of.....well every single drama filled dance the school ever had. Maybe for once everyone could just be happy and dance. She smiled as Drachir went over to Eva and gave her a rose.

"Aww look your sister has an admirer....well one of many, but she seems to like this one." She smiled soppily, leaning her head to one side. Then laughed at Val as she called her a hot mama, then told Thom she didn't mean him.

"Well I must say you are looking good too! And I'm glad to see you kept you green hair, its very in keeping with Christmas theme when you stand together." She said with a grin as she indicated to Loki. She looked over his shoulder to see if she could see Angel or Holly, or Death for that matter, and hoped that there would be no more jealous rivalry fights this year.

[Angel C. Starr]

One thing she had not considered was that being dates with Raven meant spending time alone with him. Now the idea of the wasn't terrifying nor did it upset her. It just struck her as odd, she couldn't recall actually spending time alone with him.

In fact she knew little about him and something left her feeling that he didn't want her to know.

"Well Mr. ...well Raven I don't know your surname...unless it is Raven and in that case I don't know your 'christian name' as some call it."

Angel rambled on talking, laughing at her own ponderings.

"What I was getting at, would you care to dance?"

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir smirked a little he'd been distracted by Eva for a while but Lucas's James bond quote clicked in. He would have to respond to that later right now he had far more pressing matter's to attend to. He straightened his face once again, Drachir wasn't much of a dancer in fact he wasn't to keen on the concept at all.

"I can't say I'd imagine doing the same I know Mason came without a date an all but you know I think he's just not my type. How long do you think it will be till either Thom or Loki give me the if you hurt her I will kill you lecture? can't be to long now. I know were not proper date's an all but they must be thinking about it already."

He pretended to look at the watch he didn't have, the dance floor was empty for the time being but as sure as egg's were egg's he'd be on there in due time.

[Eva Seivert]

Eva furrowed her brow at Drachir's joke about Thom and Loki coming over and threatening Drachir if he hurt her. She touched the flower on her ear and it turned a light purple.

She looked over at her brothers who seemed to be engrossed in their own dates to even notice that Eva was talking to Drachir. She bit her lip and looked over at Drachir. 'Well, you could only hurt me if...' Eva trailed off, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to say she liked him and him rejecting her.

'Never mind. I'm sure they won't mind. They look too occupied with their own dates to notice us.'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina laughed at Drachir's odd behavior before he ran off to Eva. She thought it was funny that she initially had heard from Loki that Drachir had the biggest crush on Eva a while ago... and when dress shopping with the girls, Eva had said she kind of wanted Drachir to ask her to the Ball.

Val laughed when Morgs commented that her and Loki looked very Christmasy standing together.

"Wow that's pretty amazing! I didn't even notice!" Val said leaning her head closer to Loki to make it even more noticiable. She was glad she had sprayed her favorite perfume in the air and walked about under it so that her hair smelled more flowery than usual. Because for a slight second, while leaning in, she felt a little attracted to Loki. Was she just feeling lonely? She didn't think about it before pulling herself away.

"I guess I didn't notice since I don't see my own hair, I only see his bright red hair." She added and looked else where hoping no one could tell what she felt a few seconds before.

[Loki Seivert]

'Yeah, we kind of do.' Loki contorted his face into mock repulsion with a grin as he leaned down to mesh their hair together. He caught a whiff of the perfume Val was wearing and Loki had to admit that she smelled rather nice.

Almost like Holly.

Loki's eyes went wide for a half a second when he thought this. Shamefully Loki hadn't thought about his ex-girlfriend since classes have started, Quidditch and the Yule Ball. He smiled again trying to repress his surprise as he looked at the dance floor.

'No one is dancing. We should change that. Come on Val.' He instructed and with the pull of her hand, he moved onto the dance floor. It was a fast pace song and after twirling her around, he started to dance with her.

[Sadie Magnas]

"Sure Doll, can you keep up with me?" he grinned at her. Taking Angel's hand he led her to the dance floor. He was supposed to keep a watchful eye on Sadie, but he was going to enjoy himself. Wrapping an arm around her he started to dance with her, nothing ranchy, he was probably the oldest date there and he didn't want to get thrown out.

Mean while, Sadie was blushing at the compliments that Mason was giving her, even if he was only saying them to make Val jealous. Soon Sadie's 'date' was gone, dancing with Drachir, which left her alone with Mason. She smiled at him.

"I seem to be free to dance with now... if you want to."

[Death]

Death opened the doors of the Great Hall so that they both swung out dramatically leaving him standing in the doorway looking dashing in a black suit and shirt. He posed, his hands at the lapels of his jacket and a fixed grin on his face. He'd decided to leave off the tie and left the top three buttons of his shirt undone. Well, perhaps 'decided' was a bit of a strong word considering the real reason was that after fighting with it for an hour Death had eventually come to the conclusion that he didn't know how to tie a tie.

For a moment as he stood there he hoped no one had been behind the doors as they flew open, then he walked confidently into the room.

He'd thought about asking Angel to the dance, he'd thought about asking Val to the dance, heck, he'd even considered asking Loki but for some reason Death hadn't asked anyone. Yet he had still decided to go, for some reason.

He spotted Val first, her green hair stood out even in the dim lights of the hall. Death almost raised an arm to wave, but settled for wandering around the room instead. If Val wanted to talk, he'd let her make the first move. He hadn't seen Angel yet.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Not long after Death arrived at the party the doors opened again and a black haired girl in a tangerine coloured ball gown walked into the room. Her curls were pinned up loosely at the back of her head and freshly picked tiger lily's adorned it, her favourite flower.

Holly Midnight hadn't asked anyone to the dance either, if she'd had gone with anyone she'd wanted it to be Loki but it was so hard to talk to him alone these days and somehow she felt she didn't have a right to ask him. But at least she was still at the ball, they didn't have to go together, as long as they were in the same place, she was happy.

Crossing the room she went to get a drink and wondered if it'd been spiked yet. Val and Morgs were usually quick off the mark.

[Angel C. Starr]

Moving onto the dance floor Angel couldn't stop herself from feeling a little giddy. Raven did make her feel like a school girl, being he was older than her though she doubted it was by much. Dancing with him was different.

The last man she had danced with was Loki and while dancing with him was amazing for her it was rare that her mind wasn't consumed with thoughts of him. The same could be said of Death. With Raven it was just dancing, nervous dancing with someone new.

"Believe me, I can keep up. I've had dancing lessons since I was five like any respectable heiress."

[Kel Henderson]

Kel had finally made it to the hall; he had spent a good two hours trying his best to get his cloths in order along with his hair. He wore very simple muggle clothing that they would wear to any ball. His jacket and pants were the same color of lightly faded black with slight blue pin striping, but mostly one could not tell unless very, very closely looking; plus it was dark. His jacket and pants were a little baggy in that they did not fit him well. They had been tailored to fit him if he were to grow and inch or two, thanks to his mother, and had a slight odor of pine, all thanks to his pine wood trunk. His shirt was a light blue button down oxford that did fit him well, being bought from a store. And he wore a tie that was printed with mild blue and silver horizontal stripping all down the length of the tie, and was tied in a half Windsor style. His shoes were black and looked like they had been buffed recently.

Kel had no one to walk in with so he did not try to make a show of it. Coming in the main door he looked around the room at all the pretty dresses and well dressed men. His stomach was rumbling from hunger, in all of his excitement for the ball he had forgotten to eat and had worked very hard on his appearance. His black hair was short and spiked forward slightly; Kel was still worried about his cowlick on the back part of his head where he could almost tell that he had some hair standing at the wrong angle.

Walking into the room a little farther his eye saw where the food table was and his feet took him there while he looked for a good spot to sit by himself while he ate. The best spot was a notch by the wall where he would have to stand, but that was fine by him. Picking out some of the fruit and some sweets and grabbing himself a refreshment he stood and watched all of the people in the hall. His heart raced a little, it always did when ever he was in an area with a large group of people. A little voice inside of his head told him to go out on the dance floor and ask on of the pretty girl to dance. He thought about how he would walk over and being very suave, he would sweep them off their feet and they would be giddy over him. Reality kick back in and he realized that he was daydreaming again, looking over the floor again he watched the movements of the groups.

[Valentina Way]

Valentina laughed and danced along to the fast paced song with Loki. It was only the start of the night, and Val was already enjoying herself. She didn't even hear the door burst open since she was paying attention to the beat of the music. By the time the song ended, she was thirsty.

"Let's have another drink, shall we? Since we didn't actually drink anything but chat the first time?" She laughed.

She started walking back towards the refreshments when out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted someone. It was one of those times where it took a few seconds for her head to process who it was, so she took a few more steps before completely stopping. She turned her head slowly as if she was afraid that if she turned her head too fast... the person she thought she saw would disappear.

But no. He was really there.

She was completely frozen on the spot.

"It's Death." She finally said, not to Loki, or any one in particular. But almost saying it as if saying it would make it even more true.

"I'm going to go... say... hi..." Val trailed off as she started to make her way over to Death. But she soon stopped and turned back to look at Loki. She didn't mean to ditch her date.

"I'll be back soon! Meet you at the drinks table." She smiled at him.

Making her way over, Val ran her fingers through her hair in attempt to look even prettier. When she finally got there, she just stood in front of him.

"Hi." She smiled at him. She wanted to force a kiss on him right there, but she decided to be a little more subtle and tried to stay cool.

[Death]

All of a sudden a lime coloured whirlwind walked up infront of him and stopped, standing there, as evergreen as a christmas tree and, just like a tree, she seemed rooted to the ground.

Death looked her up and down and smiled slowly. Valentina was bedecked in a shiny silvery dress made of some draping material that clung to every curve of her body like shimmering liquid. Mercury, it reminded him of mercury. She looked stunning and she took his breath away. What could he say to such a creature? Thankfully for Death he had eons to decide and eventually widened his grin.

'I thought lemons were supposed to be yellow,' he said.

[Thom Seivert]

'You want to dance?' He asked Morganna after surveying the room. There were many beautiful girls in the room but Thom had to force himself to stay put where she was. He had too. Or else, everyone was going to hex the bejesus out of him if he didn't.

It wasn't that Thom didn't like Morganna, he did. He just had a wandering eye. It was like he couldn't help himself.

'You know I'm not the best.' He grinned at her and took her out on the dance floor.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki tilted his head as he watched Val leave him to talk to Death. Loki had heard a few things about Val liking Death but it wasn't like Loki had a thing for Val. Or at least, he didn't think he did. She was very attractive and a very funny girl and for a brief moment he thought maybe he did have a thing for her.

Then he turned to get something to drink when he bumped into someone.

'Oh, Sorry.' Loki apologized and there standing before him was Holly. Now thinking about her only minutes before, Loki was pleasantly surprised in seeing her. The possibility of liking Val went out of his mind as he stood face to face with Holly.

'Hi love.' He let slip out and Loki realized what he just uttered to Holly. He shook his head.

'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.' Loki apologized but somehow he knew that Holly wouldn't mind.

[Bear Nayet]

Finally the music died down and then the muffling of a microphone could be heard. Bear was dressed in navy slacks with a green shirt and blue and green tie. He grinned at everyone as he had his acoustic guitar in his hand.

'Hi everyone. Everyone knows I'm the Headboy at Hogwarts but for those who don't know me, I'm Bear.' He waved gently to everyone and strums his guitar.

'I've been asked by the Headmistress to play a few songs for you tonight. Normally I have my band with me but tonight its a solo night. Hope you all enjoy.' Slowly Bear started to play and sing into the microphone. Normally it was Mallory singing when Bear played but it was now made clear that Bear had a pleasant voice even if it wasn't trained.

((OOC: So, I'm not a song writer, but think of his songs as Howie Day or John Mayer or some other artist that sings and plays guitar. lol))

[Valentina Way]

Valentina had the silliest smile on her face as Death looked her up and down. She'd forgotten how much she missed him. That handsome devil.

She was still smiling when Death made a comment about lemons.

At first, Val looked confused and had no idea why he was talking about lemons. But after a while, she realized that he was saying that she was standing around like a lost lemon.

For a second she almost wanted to say, 'Oh yeah? Can a lemon do this?' and start kissing him madly. But... she didn't think it would be appropriate.

"Well, can a lemon do this?" She said suddenly, even to her own surprise. WHAT?! Val, I just said that would NOT be appropriate! She yelled at herself in her head.

So now she was stuck. She couldn't just take back what she just said. What to do? What to do?! She took a step closer to him and leaned in to give him a kiss... but got too nervous and changed course at the last moment, ending with giving him an awkward hug. She rolled her eyes at what a dumb move that was.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

"Jeeez I thought you'd never ask!" Morganna rolled her eyes then laughed merrily. As she took his hand and walked to the floor with him. Doing a twirl she giggled looking down at her dress, she was like a magpie when it came to shiny things and she was admiring the way the sequins were glittering in the lighting of the dance. Snapping out of it she grinned at Thom, almost an insane looking grin but not quite.

"You're the best to me. At everything." Her cheeks twinged red but she kept on smiling as she swayed to the music. She was more used to showing emotion and affection now, but there was still an element of embarrassment for her to express feelings. Maybe it was the fear of being open to him, open to having her heart smashed when the inevitable next girl reared her ugly head. She had a niggling feeling as though she was on borrowed time. She squeezed him tightly for a moment before letting him go and laughing it off as she twirled again. She had to stop with the soppiness, he was going to start think she had gone mad. Maybe she could pretend like her and Val had spiked the drinks.

"Bear sings nice..." She commented with a glance to the stage.

[Thom Seivert]

Thom watched Morganna with appreciation as they began to dance and then she looked up to him and told him that he was the best to her. He then grinned rather stupidly like she did a few moments before. Though the temptation to sleep around was rather great, Thom rather liked the stability of a relationship. Morgs actually liked him for him... instead of just liking him for the certain thing he could do.

He hugged her back and laughed with her as they started to dance again. He looked over at Bear and nodded. He was happy that his band mate had something single to do for the night. Thom didn't care either way. He was the drummer, that was it.

'Yeah, he's pretty good. Mallory sings better though.' Thom commented, not realizing that what he said could have been taken differently.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

Morganna's smile fell a centimetre or so, but didn't disappear altogether. The sound of Mallory's name from Thom made the happy feeling inside her deflate like she didn't have a tight enough hold on an untied ballon.

It was just an innocent passing comment though right? He didn't have Mallory in his head all the time right? She hitched the smile back up her face, though she wasn't grinning so much any more. She was slowly starting to detest Mallory, which made her angry. She always tried to see good in people despite their flaws, but when it came to Mallory she was being blinded by a thickening green mist as jealously gripped hold of her. She switched the subject quickly to stop herself becoming irrationally moody.

"So what are you planning for Christmas? I was thinking of organising some caroling. What do you think?"

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir watched Bear for a moment, well not Bear the object that he held it was beautifull, he had all the intentions to rip it from him pick up a slide and let it warble.

"I'm sure thay'd have the best intentions an all I know I'd do the same if my sister had a date even if she is older ne who may I have this dance bon swa."

He had no idea what Bon swa meant in fact in all likelihood he had just made it up, either way they seemed to be the right thing to say.

[Kel Henderson]

Looking around the ball room he saw all the couples together, then he saw the green haired one walking up to what looked like Death, realizing after a second that was the one that he saw in the hall. Everything in the ball room was going well, Bear was singing a song that Kel did not really care for but it was good none the less, the people in the room were having a good time. Every one seemed to be enjoying themselves, but something seemed wrong to him, something off. Aside from Death being in the school, why would the shepherd of souls be here, Kel saw him. Raven was there, Kel did not know his name but he knew his face. He was the one that held Lucas over the edge of the roof top. He was currently with Angel, when they separated that is when he would approach this man.

Kel might be small but one thing is for sure, with everyone in the ball room that man would not try anything with so many witnesses. He would confront him about picking on the students in the school. At the very least he would be embarrassed and maybe leave Lucas alone.

[Thom Seivert]

Thom didn't notice subtleties so he didn't catch on Morg's displeasure of him mentioning her closest rival. He nodded his head when she asked him what he was doing for Christmas and that she was organizing some caroling.

'Well, nothing really. Thought I would just go home after school lets out. Caroling sounds fun though. How many people are you asking?'

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly looked up at him, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him in a suit so the sight was fresh and new. He looked so handsome and his hair seemed brighter, everything about him appeared to be glowing with life and his eyes were sparkling.

Before she could speak he'd called her 'love' and that stopped her in her tracks. All of sudden she wished she'd made more of an effort with her dress and her hair and her makeup, nothing seemed good enough. But enough of that, what was she supposed to say to that??

Holly tucked a curl behind her ear and decided to pretend as though she hadn't heard. He was probably mentallyy kicking himself, though every fibre of her being was praying that he wasn't.

'Hey Loki,' she said 'How're you? It feels like we haven't talked in ages. I like your outfit by the way, you look great-'

She stopped abruptly in realisation that she was babbling, and blushed in the dim light.

[Death]

Death raised his eyebrows.

'Can a lemon try and kiss me then change their mind at the last second? No, I don't think they can,' he said, releasing her from her awkward hug and grinning slyly.

'For one thing lemons don't have lips let alone minds.'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina could feel her face turn bright red with embarrassment. She was hoping it wasn't that obvious what she had attempted and failed in doing, but it was apparent that it was.

She crossed her arms. It was this kind of sarcastic comment that she found both irritating and irresistible. This only resulted in one thing. It was almost like he had just dared her to do it, and she wanted to.

She grinned and took a step back toward him, but this time successfully giving him a kiss. Just a short one, but enjoyable nonetheless. Then she stepped back and looked away like she didn't care.

"So, haven't seen you around in a while...been busy?"

[Loki Seivert]

Holly hadn't acknowledged Loki's slip up and for a half second there, he thought that maybe he thought it and not said it. However, deep down inside, Loki knew that he said it outloud and he was pretty sure that Holly heard it.

He grinned when she mentioned how nice he looked. 'Oh this? Eva dressed me. Apparently I can't dress myself and I'll be damned if I listened to my brother.' He laughed and looked over at her. Holly looked as beautiful as ever.

'You look amazing.' Loki replied dreamingly and again he was cursing himself. What was up with him?! He was successful in not thinking about Holly but somehow now that she was infront of him he was losing his mind over her. He thought he was over her- was he really?

'Who did you come with tonight?' He asked simply but he was really wondering who was on her arm tonight and whether or not he could beat them into a bloody pulp regardless of the fact Loki had a date of his own.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly smiled at the compliment, he seemed to have no control over his tongue tonight but she didn't mind.

'I didn't come with anyone, I've been...well... I suppose I just didn't ask anyone... and no one asked me...'

Her eyes searched his face for an answer to the question burning in her heart. Had he brought someone to the ball? Holly tried to keep the words down and lock them away at the bottom of her chest, she pushed them, squashed them but they were made of a substance lighter than air and couldn't he held by mere force alone and there was no willpower there, she wanted to know.

'Are you here with Angel?'

[Lucas Montgomery]

Lucas watched and listened as his friends engaged in conversation. All of the girls look exquisite and made sure to keep his eyes on Nicole most of the night. And how could he not with her looking gorgeous. He leaned in close and gave her a soft kiss on the ear.

"Would you care to dance?" Lucas whispered in her ear. He was looking forward to having Nicole in his arms for the night.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki was rather relieved that he didn't have to say yes to the question Holly asked him. He felt bad that Holly came alone but then again, he hadn't talked to her to solve that problem.

'Nah. I took Val. I figured since it was her first ball I would help her out by easing the pressure of finding a date. That and I thought she was funny.' Loki answered but it didn't explain why he took Val. Already rumors were starting to fly about the pair but Loki brushed them off as usual. It wasn't like he had a thing for the Slytherin girl.

'But I lost her. She went to say hi to Douche-, I mean, Death.' Loki grinned wickedly and took a drink of his punch. It didn't taste like it was spiked but it would be by the end of the night.

'I think she's coming over soon?' Loki wasn't bothered by the fact he lost his date. He found Holly to talk too and he was happy that he did.

[Mason Brown]

"I seem to be free to dance with now... if you want to." Sadie asked him.

"Sure I do." Mason said, extending his arm for her to take hold of, so he could lead her onto the dancefloor.

He caught sight of Death and felt his teeth grind. Just when Mason thought that he was out of the way, he wanders back into the school like he never left.

"Please tell me that you don't have a thing for that guy..." Mason nodded at Sadie and gestured towards Death.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

"Oh whoever really, thinking of handing them out to everyone because I expect a limited number will be able to come because of family commitments, so the more that know the better." She said with a smile and a thought. She'd make sure she'd forget to hand one to Mallory. Then she felt bad for thinking this. Maybe Mallory would like to see her friends Christmas too and it would be horrible not to be invited to something all your friends were going to. Not feeling like any more dancing due to the small deflation of the happiness, she stopped and indicated the punch table.

"Shall I get some drinks? I promise me and Val haven't spiked them yet....though I'm sure you'd prefer it that way." She said with a smile.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

'Oh, Val?' echoed Holly. That had taken her by surprise, not that it should be so startling that Loki would choose to take the pretty Slytherin. She'd just expected it to be Angel after all, the two spent so much time together. The only reason Loki would have for not taking her would be for... it was diplomacy, a diplomatic decision. He hadn't wanted to hurt either of them.

She laughed, as he mentioned Death, to disguise her surprise.

'Death's besotted with her though he'd never tell anyone,' she announced 'And I think she might feel the same way, not that I can say for sure, I don't know Val exceptionally well. What do you make of it?'

[Loki Seivert]

'I don't know how anyone could have a crush on that guy.' Loki commented with a grin but then looked over at the pair. He hadn't caught the kiss. Loki had said much more horrible things about him in the past but after everything happened last semester, he was more than willing to put it past him. He still didn't like Death, but he didn't hate him either.

'Maybe she has a thing for him. She hasn't really talked to me about it but we just met each other a few weeks ago. So, I have no idea.' Loki grinned and took a sip of the punch again.

'Death has good taste in women, if I say so myself.' He grinned deviously and finished off his glass. He looked at the dance floor again and looked back at Holly. It was a fast paced song, enough to get Loki's blood pumping.

'So, Val ditched me on the dance floor. Do you want to dance with me?'

[Cian O'Riordan]

Cian walked into the ball slowly, his head down and his hands in his pockets. Social gatherings weren't his favourite, but nagging letters from his mother with emotional manipulation in the form of words such as 'your father would be so disappointed to see you socially deprived' and 'your father really treasured his friends, more than gold!'. He rolled his eyes at the thought of his last letter from home, littered with phrases like these because she knew a ball was coming up. His mother really knew how to push his buttons.

So there he was skulking in the corner in his best wear; which consisted of a smart white suit and black shirt and a red tie for Gryffindor, not that he was particularly house pride though. He watched all the couples twirling around the dance floor smiles across their faces and he crossed his arms grumpily as he turned to leave. Then something green caught his eyes. It was grassy, as he liked to call her in his head, flirting with that strange and shady character, she looked so pretty tonight. He stopped and changed his mind about leaving. Heading over to the punch table he poured a glass and sniffed at it suspiciously. After drinking the spiked punch last party he did not want to be caught out again, it seemed innocent enough so he drank it down.

[Trall Sho'chira]

Lucy stepped into the room, Trall absolutely detested the Yule Ball and therefore Lucy loved it, dateless but still she was there. Her hair was lightly brushed, but still scruffy, she had s simple dark silver dress slung over her shoulder's the laced back hung loosely. The dress hung a few inches from the ground swishing against the floor and occasionally giving site to bare feet.

She slunk against the walls absorbing the sound of the Ball, the continuous chatter, Bear's voice lulling in the background; she was in paradise and beamed with happiness.

[Kel Henderson]

"No one’s done anything to it yet, I’ve been standing by it for a while.” Kel said to his fellow Gryffindor student. He had finished his fruit and sweets by then and was just standing in the notch of the wall holding his almost empty refreshment. “Plus I think the teachers might have put a spell on the bowl just in case. If not there are at least three people that are willing to try to spike it before the night is out.” He said nonchalantly. “I’m Kel by the way; Kellder Henderson, but you can just call me Kel.”

Walking over he refilled his refreshment and picked up a couple of new fruit pieces. “It looks like many of the Gryffindors don’t have dates tonight, except Ms. Starr. Though her choice in men is lacking, to say the least.” He looked over at Cian he asked “Sorry, I’m being rude, I never asked for your name before I started rambling. You are?”

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly could feel her cheeks colouring when he devilishly remarked that Death had good taste in woman - the celestial being had one admitted having feelings for her, but then, Holly factored, he had also loved Angel.

Mentally she kicked herself for thinking about it so much, this wasn't the way she wanted to behave when she was around him, but the feelings were so intense that it was difficult to force her mind into considering anything else. It had been so much easier when they were together, she hadn't needed to think, she had known he'd loved her - just known it, in a way she couldn't describe. Now her conversations with Loki was filled with questions and time spent analysing things he said, trying to piece the puzzle, to work him out. He had gone from being someone she knew inside out, to a complete enigma as unfathomable as a closed book and it was going to take time to learn how to read him again.

When he asked her to dance, she swept a curtsey in jest, despite the fast music.

'But of course, good sir,' she said with a flutter of eyelashes and offered him her hand.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki set his drink down on the table and bowed to her like a gentleman and took her hand whilst leading her onto the dance floor. It has been a while since they've danced together. In fact, almost a year. However, as he turned to face her it almost seemed like it was yesterday they last danced.

He stepped in closer to her, smelling the shampoo she used and the tigerlilly in her hair. Before he knew it, his heart was practically thumping out his chest as he started to move with her.

'You having a good time?' It was a lame question he knew but it was one to start a conversation.

[Death]

After being momentarily startled as he was practically pounced upon and kissed Death managed to regain his cool, all in a matter of milliseconds. He let Val end the encounter and create the distance between the two again, the tingling feeling of the kiss still prickling his lips. He twisted them up into a smile.

'Sweet,' he commented with a raise of his eyebrows, the grin widened to show two rows of white teeth 'And I thought lemons were supposed to be bitter...'

[Holly Q. Midnight]

'Wonderful,' she said and flashed him her widest smile while doing her best to not make an idiot of herself as she danced away to the music. Holly was not the best of dancers, with ballroom and slow dances she managed fine, but the quicker numbers with regular club like music she struggled to know what to do with herself and couldn't ever quite let go of some mad thought that everyone would be looking at her, she always held something back. At least with a waltz she knew where to put her arms. And Loki was so good at it! Holly didn't want to embarrass him by behaving like an idiot. She had settled for a sort of half dancing the sort that was essentially shifting around from one foot to the other in the same space and didn't require too much arm movement. She moved herself around with gusto, determined to keep up with him and hoping she didn't look too ridiculous.

'I hope Val doesn't mind that I'm stealing you for a dance. Are you having a good time too?'

It only seemed right to echo the question.

[Valentina Way]

"Well, then. That's why I said I wasn't one." Val said still looking away and pretending she didn't care.

"And don't get too excited, that's just how I've been greeting people these days." Val said with a smile.

She had completely forgotten about meeting her date at the drinks until she noticed Loki on the dance floor dancing with Holly. She felt a little bad for ditching him, but it seemed like he was having fun...

Val never did figure out Death and Loki's history, so she didn't think twice before commenting on the pair on the dance floor.

"Looks like my date is having fun." She said. However, though she didn't know Death and Loki didn't used to get along, she did feel the need to explain something.

"But of course we only came as friends." She added quickly.

She turned back to look at Death. Him in his black suit...and that grin on his face. She wouldn't even be able to describe how attractive she found him at the moment if she tried.

[Loki Seivert]

'Val left me, if you remember. I'm sure we'll catch each other for a dance later. I'm not too worried about it.' Loki shrugged his shoulders as he continued to dance. Though Holly always thought herself not a good dancer, Loki thought she did well with keeping up with him. Loki liked the way she moved.

'Of course I'm having a good time. No one is starting a fight with me and random girls haven't tried to kiss me yet. I'm pretty happy!' Loki laughed and grabbed her hands. He twirled her around and with one movement, he dipped her.

He brought her back up and now they were standing as close as ever. As if on cue, Bear started to sing a ballad and Loki had to make a choice. Either step off the dance floor and leave Holly, or dance with her. He felt his hand still around her waist and before he knew it, he was slow dancing with her.

Well, that choice was made rather easily. 'So, uh Holly, would you like to dance?' He joked and he smiled at her.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly's arms were around Loki's neck and she smiled up at him.

'Had we stopped?'

She started to laugh but let it fade as they swayed to the music, Bear was a good singer and the song was soft and melodic. They hadn't been this close, touching even, since that day... the day she had died again and woke up in his arms. He'd been stroking her hair. In an attempt to remove this image from her mind she let her head rest against his chest but it was a bad move. From there Holly could hear his heart beating, rather quickly and suddenly it was all too much.

She pulled herself away slightly and kept her eyes lowered so he wouldn't see the tears that had started to accumulate in the corners of her eyes.

For half an hour back in the summer, she had been alive. Heat beat, blood flowing, breath taking life and then it had gone again. It had all happened so fast that she hadn't had the chance to appreciate it, to do things with it. She chided herself mentally, of course there hadn't been time. It had happened in the middle of a battle, all of a sudden. There had been no time to prepare and it wasn't a wasted opportunity because the only thing she had been meant to do with her newfound life was give it up, and that she had done. She couldn't blame herself forever.

[Death]

Death followed Val's gaze over to where Holly and Loki were dancing together out on the floor. It looked rather odd to see them so close again after all the time they'd been apart, it didn't bother him however, not like it did when Loki was with Angel. He recalled their reunion in his mind, replayed every detail perfectly like a movie and then instantly dispelled it. It made him squirm to even touch the surface of his consciousness.

'You're here with him?'

Death raised an eyebrow, even if Val declared it was just as friends, he was jealous. Loki had stolen two women he loved and Death was going to make sure he didn't get a third.

'Would you like to dance?' he asked, his thoughts dipping into Val's for an instant pick me up and ego boost. She wanted him. He grinned. That was more like it.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki grinned as they continued to dance. Holly laid her head against his chest and Loki felt his heart skip a beat. He thought he had put everything behind him but now with Holly back in his arms, he was feeling giddy again.

He hadn't touched her since...

since the night the Red Robes attacked. Loki vividly remembered that night like it was yesterday where Holly had to die again. He shuddered to himself but tried not to let it show in his body. He looked down at Holly and found her looking down at her feet.

'Is everything ok?' He asked. Though Holly didn't think she was a good dancer, she never looked at her feet self-consciously.

[Valentina Way]

It was a relief Death had asked her for a dance, because Val was starting to sense that he was not too excited about her having a date. Little did she know, he was even less excited that her date was Loki.

"Well..." She looked over at the dance floor as if she was actually contemplating it.

"Why not?" She said with a slight smile. It was almost too difficult to hide her enthusiasm at this point.

It was only after she arrived on the dance floor that she'd noticed Bear was the one singing and playing the music. Another thing she noticed was that he was playing a slow song. She looked over at Death waiting for him to make the first move.

[Sadie Magnas]

Sadie started to smile as her and Mason were making their way to the dance floor. She didn't even seem to notice that she was smiling. However she did notice the giddy feeling she was starting to feel.

"Tell me you don't have a thing for that guy..."

"Huh?" Sadie turned her head to where Mason was directing his frustration. It was Death... Well Sadie thought Death was very sexy, but she didn't have a crush on him... well she didn't think she did anymore. "...I... actually haven't thought of Death since the last time I had seen him... which was a while ago." It was an honest answer.

Mason must have not liked Death. Reason why she couldn't tell... but it could have to do with Val, or maybe Angel since Death and Angel went out together at some point.

"So how do you like your classes this year?" Sadie tried to change the subject.

[Mason Brown]

"...I... actually haven't thought of Death since the last time I had seen him... which was a while ago." Mason smiled when he heard Sadie say that. He caught a glimpse of her smiling and looked away sheepishly. Did she like him? Was she being just friendly? He couldn't tell anymore. Valentina had done a number on his radar. He really couldn't work out any 'signals' anymore.

""So how do you like your classes this year?" Mason looked back at her when she said this. He didn't know exactly what to say to that without sounding dull.

"They're going pretty good." Mason took her other hand and began to dance in time with the music, feeling only slightly self-conscious at the fact he couldn't dance for toffee and here he was dancing with a Russian Ballerina.

"So, you like my dancing?" Mason asked as he narrowly avoided stepping on her toes. "I guess I could do with some tuiton..." He said hoping that his obvious hint would not go unnoticed.

[Death]

Death didn't hesitate and put his arms around Val's waist, pulling her close to him and starting to sway on the spot to the music. It was almost too easy, any second he expected Val to run off with someone else, or disappear, or go off him. The thoughts ran through Death's head and he was glad Val couldn't read his mind. Externally he kept his smug countenance.

Locking his hands together behind her back he looked at her, she really was striking and all of a sudden he felt old. She was barely an amoeba in age compared to him and he realised he didn't actually know how old she was.

'Val,' he asked 'When's your birthday?'

[Trall Sho'chira]

Lucy wanted to get closer to the music so she began the precarious journey across the dancefloor guided only by her ears.

The shuffling of feet and chattering between couple's made Lucy further ecstatic with joy, she eventually made her way to the stage. She hitched herself onto the stage quietly sat beaming and swaying gently to the muisic.

[Valentina Way]

Valentina placed her arms around Death's neck and started to move with the music. Being so close to him brought a smile to her face. She looked in to his eyes and wondered what was going on inside that head. This was too unfair, he could read her thoughts, but she had no idea about hers. What does the Keeper of the Void and Crosser of Souls think about?

When she felt like she might've been just staring at him, she looked away and looked at the other couples on the dance floor. She looked over at Loki and Holly dancing. She never got the chance to thank Holly for that night she used her body for the artificial soul and saved everyone's life. She also never told her that she'd seen her soul before...sitting by the dead tree near the cliff in the Void.

Her attention shifted back when Death asked her a question.

"October 10th." She said with a smile, unaware that Death was actually wondering how old she was. She'd never even thought of their age difference before. To her, Death was ageless.

"Why? Are you buying me a present?" She asked jokingly.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly turned her face upwards, her eyes glistening with tears, one escaped and rolled down her cheek before she could stop it and with every blink fell more.

'Sorry,' she said with a laugh, unhooking an arm so she could carfefuly wipe her eyes free of the salty water. 'No, nothings wrong I was just thinking...'

She stopped for a moment, torn over whether or not to tell him the truth.

'Do you really want to know?'

[Alexis Caplan]

Lexi stood quietly in the corner watching her boyfriend on the stage. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, standing on the sidelines. But she still was deeply in love with Bear and it could be seen in her eyes as she watched him sing, a small smile creeping up her lips as she sipped on her punch.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki stopped dancing and looked down at Holly with concern. At first she laughed it off as she wiped her tears from her face but then she asked if he really wanted to know.

What was he going to say? Keep her issues and problems to herself, please? Of course not and Loki nodded affirmatively.

'Holly. Of course I want to know whats wrong. I know we've... had problems but I'll always be there for you, you know that.' Loki breathed as he put his hot hand on her shoulder. He still remembered that she was cool to the touch.

[Angel C. Starr]

Dancing with Raven she got picture out of the corner of her eye of Loki and Holly dancing. Angel shouldn't have let it affect her but it was hard to forget that you love someone. Someone who seemed to forget all about you. For a moment she pondered if 'dying' made him stop liking her.

Oh that was a silly thought to have, but it didn't aid her at all to see Valentina and Death dancing as well. Looking up at Raven she tried to keep a smile on her face but failed.

"Raven...am I pretty?" She questioned him, typically a question like that would have made her blush. Not now that her confidence was shattered. This had not been a good year for her.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

'I was thinking about that night when I drank the poison... as I was dying I watched you and you were fighting that... that thing which looked like Oryn and all I could think about was how you must have fought just like that when you were trapped in your own head and I'm sorry I never... I don't know... accepted that, before...'

Holly looked up at him.

'I really am sorry.'

[Death]

'Well I may have been going to but you've ruined the suprise now,' said Death with a wink 'So I'm not sure if I should.'

He stopped to think.

'And it wouldn't have exactly been "buy" as such, since I don't actually have any money. I'd most probably have made you something... like... a cake!... even though I loathe the stuff myself.'

Death pulled her a little closer 'And how many candles would I be putting on it?'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina laughed at the thought of Death baking her a cake.

"I wouldn't think you'd know how to bake a cake..." She said with a smile.

Then he pulled her closer to him. Her heart was beating so fast at this point. It was strange, she'd never felt this strongly about anyone before.

She moved one of her hands from behind his neck and pushed a strand of hair behind her ears. But at the same time, she placed her head on his chest, which is what she really had intended to do. She wasn't used to being open about her feelings and motives, so she hoped that fixing her hair would be distracting enough.

"Well, when it's October 10th, that would be seventeen candles." She answered him, now wondering why he wanted to know. But she didn't think too far because she was too excited to just be in his arms.

[Sadie Magnas]

Raven dipped Angel with a charming smile on his face. "Doll, you know you look goregest, and your beauty is only enhanced tonight." Pulling her back up he twirled her around before bringing her back into his arms. Raven was used to wooing women and didn't see Angel as anyone different. Might not have been the best way to go around doing things and certainly not with a highschool student.

Meanwhile Sadie was smiling with Mason as they danced. "Your doing fine, just your a little stiff. Try to just relax and kind of flow with the motion of the music." In all honesty, Sadie had no idea what to tell him to improve. She was enjoying the attention.

[Angel C. Starr]

Maybe it was foolish to take one boy's interest in her, or lack there of, so personally but it was hard for her not to. For some reason no matter how confident she felt Loki could shatter without even trying.

"I thought I knew that..." Angel whispered as Raven dipped her, when she came back up she examined her date. She was attracted to him but that was all, if only she could have all these stupid feelings for someone interested in her.

Suddenly remorse snapped into her, this was a dance and she was supposed to be having fun. Pulling a smile on her face she continued to dance with her date. To make the best of the situation was something she had to learn.

"Thanks for coming with me, this probably isn't the type of date you go on. And I'm sure most girls you go out with don't need you to reassure them that they're beautiful."

[Loki Seivert]

What Holly had said brought a damper on the night of music, dancing, drinking and fun. Loki withdrew his hand from her shoulder but it wasn't in a mean or malicious way. It was shocking to him that she would bring it up now. However, they hadn't talked about what happened since it occurred over a year ago.

'Its ok.' Loki said quietly, unsure of what was the right thing to say to her at this moment. So much had happened over this past year, Loki had experienced what others would never experience in their lives but standing there before Holly brought back all those angst-ridden emotions he still carried with him. He remembered those angry, hurt and resentful feelings towards her refusal to move on, or even believe that he tried everything in his power to stop it.

'I thought you would never forgive me. You avoided me for so long.' Loki said quietly and looked down at his feet. 'I was trying to move on from you, Holz. I thought we were over for good.'

Now the next question was at the tip of his tongue. However, Loki was unsure if he was going to ask her. Was he confident in his own feelings towards Holly still that they would get back together? They didn't even talk on a regular basis- how were they going to rebuild a relationship that has been in shambles for so long? He looked up to meet Holly's eyes and decided to ask another question.

'What does this mean?'

[Holly Q. Midnight]

After all this time, there it was. The conversation they should have had a year ago was now being played out in the middle of a crowded ballroom with music blaring loudly and people all around them having a good time. She let go of him almost feeling that if she touched him he might shatter into a thousand pieces. Shutting out all the noise was easy and Holly focussed on the boy in front of her, the boy she had hurt. She felt ill and dizzy, like she wanted to run away and throw up but she held her ground, she'd waited this long to talk to him and she couldn't let the chance just slip away now. it was now or never so she took the plunge.

'I've wanted to,' she said, her eyes turning aquamarine and slowly dipping into blue then back out again as Holly tried to keep back her emotions. 'I've wanted to talk to you but I felt stuck. Wherever you were it was like Angel was glued to you and I haven't felt like I was able to get you by yourself at all since you've been back. I know it's a poor excuse but it's just been how I've felt, the truth.'

She took a deep breath out of habit and forced the panicky feelings down finally spitting out the sentence she had been rehearsing in her head for months. Forcing herself to meet his gaze she spoke.

'I still love you. I always will and as for what this means... well, I don't know. Somehow I don't feel I have any right to tell you, or even to ask you to do anything. I treated you really badly and now,' she swallowed, making herself carry on. 'I just want you to be happy, whoever you're happiest with or whatever you're happiest doing. I'll understand. I gave up any say I had in your life a long time ago.'

She shut her mouth and quelled any uprising thoughts commanding her to change her mind. This was it, decision made. She just had to wait for Loki now. She stood still, trying to stop herself shaking from fear of what he might say. Whatever it was, she was going to have to accept it.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki just simply stared at Holly, his eyes getting wider as she continued to speak, explaining why she avoided Loki all this time.

'It is a poor excuse.' Loki stated as a matter of fact. The Loki before the capture would have just took Holly's excuse as fact and leave it as such, but the newer Loki didn't take things at face value anymore. However, Angel and Loki were together majority of the time and though it was a poor excuse for Holly to use, he knew it to be true.

Angel... Loki looked up to see Angel and Raven having a very good time dancing on the dance floor around 10 feet away from them. He remembered distinctly the conversation they had the first week he was back at school by the Shrieking Shack where his grave was. She had confessed her feelings for him but up until now Loki didn't know where he stood with her. Angel was Loki's best friend. He cried into her arms countless times and they were always there for each other. Loki thought they were two peas in a pod, two buds, two mates that were there for each other through thick and thin.

He furrowed his brow. It made sense that he would naturally be with Angel because they just went together. However as he looked back at Holly, he knew that he couldn't just be with Angel because they went well together.

'You have treated me very badly, Holly.' Loki nodded at her own accusations. 'And you know, you are right. You've gave up any say in my life a long time ago.' Loki paused as he looked away again, trying incredibly hard not to shed a tear. Boys didn't cry in public.

'But I love you.' He said as he turned back to look into Holly's eyes. 'Its simply not fair to be with someone just because one get along well with the other. Getting along well isn't a good reason to date someone else. Believe me, Holly.. I've tried so very hard to leave you behind. I've tried countless times to imagine a day not loving you, hating you, missing you or thinking about you. I simply can't do it. I love you, HQ. I never stopped.'

He took her hand and held it in his own. With his other hand, he slipped it around her waist and pulled her in. Bear had stopped singing and the DJ had took over the music. It was a fast paced song but Loki started to slow dance with Holly.

'Lets just dance, ok?' He asked quietly as he held her close to him.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Throughout the conversation Holly watched him, forcing herself to look at him while he spoke to her even though a lot of what he was saying was bashing her heart. He was right about her treating him badly, after all, she'd said so herself but to hear him echo it back to her was harder to take. Light headed she stood, frozen to the spot and took it all.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, racing as she struggled not to cry. Then he said the words she'd been longing to hear. He told her he loved her and he called her HQ. Holly's mind wrapped around the words, implanting them into her memory incase she never heard them again, holding them tight and letting them ring in her ears. He'd really said it. Her hand tingled from where he was holding it in his own. She could feel the rough callouses from all the years spent gripping a broom handle.

There was music, she noticed, and Loki's other hand snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him, so close. The band had started again and a loud cheer rose around the room as the students picked up the pace. He asked her to dance and she looked up at him, flashing him a watery smile and nodding assent before burying her head against his chest. She didn't trust herself to speak without completely dissolving, if she spoke would everything fracture? She was glad he was holding onto her so tightly, she felt as though she might float away. Holly closed her eyes and felt the movement of his chest as his lungs filled with air and then emptied again.

Her cheek was damp from leaning against a shirt soaked with tears and makeup though she wasn't sure when she'd started crying. Holly looked up at him, used her free hand to wipe her eyes clear then coiled it round his neck, stroking the back of his head, letting her fingers run through his red hair.

[Loki Seivert]

It was as if time stood still. Nothing else mattered to either one of them anymore. Sure there were still things they needed to talk and work through. Loki and Holly couldn't just go back to where they were before they broke up and the chaos ensued between them for a year and a half. No, they were going to have to start over from scratch and build up their relationship again.

It wasn't going to be an easy task, Loki knew but he didn't want to dwell on it now. Right now, they were going to be in their own world and just dance with each other. Loki felt her hand reach up and her fingers ran through his hair softly. He looked down at her with a smile but said nothing, for there was nothing to say.

[Kel Henderson]

Clearly not getting a response from Cian, Kel thought that either he was not heard or that he was being ignored. Fine by him, he retracted his hand and went back to the corner to watch everyone in the room. Still he kept an eye trained on his point of interest of the night, the man dancing with Angel. They had not gotten drinks for a while and he thought by now they would have. Kel planed on waiting for them to approach the bar, when he would ask the man if he could have a word with him. But tonight, he had a gut feeling that things would not go the way that he wanted. Either he would not get a chance to speak with the guy, or he would and there would be trouble. While thinking about all that could happen Kel reached up with his right hand and tapped the left breast of his jacket. He felt a lump in where he had just touched; his wand had not fallen out or been lost.

Kel noticed Trall up by the stage, she seemed happy. The last time that he saw her was in the library where they where caught by the Librarian for being loud. She seemed different, maybe because she was near music or a lot of people; but still she seemed strange to Kel. As he scanned the room again, he saw familiar red hair, he had a funny name that was the same as a Norris God, what was it? Kel sat there trying to remember; when it came to him he pounded his right fist into his left hand, Loki that was it. Loki had been nice to Kel even though he had vomited all over his shoes and another girl. He seemed like an okay guy, Kel continued to scan the room.

[Death]

So she was sixteen? He was dancing with a sixteen year old? He'd let a sixteen year old kiss him?? The thoughts flew through his head as he held onto Val still swaying to the music.

'Seventeen candles...' he said 'That's positively ancient.'

He was glad when the songs changed and a faster paced one came on. Grabbing Val's hand he twirled her outwards and pulled her back in again, dancing a kind of fifties jive to the music. For once, he was glad he'd watched all those episodes of 'Strictly Come Dancing'

He was also glad when he spotted Loki and Holly still slow dancing despite the change of pace. Twirling Val again, he nodded at the two.

'What'd'ya make of that?'

[Thom Seivert]

'What?! You haven't spiked the drinks yet?' Thom exclaimed with a laugh and then nodded. 'Sure. I'll come with you though I do enjoy your spiked drinks.'

He put his arm around her as they walked over to the table to get themselves something to drink. Thom did have nothing to spike it with and pulled it out of his vest for Morgs to see.

'Want a bit?' He asked her, not explaining what it was.

[Valentina Way]

Having no idea what Death was thinking about, Valentina smiled and danced along with the change of the music. Though secretly, she was a little disappointed that the fast paced music gave her no excuse to hold Death tightly.

Then Death directed her attention to Loki and Holly still slow dancing. Under normal circumstances, her reaction would be to roll her eyes and make a comment about how sappy that is. But she wasn't feeling that way today. It was probably the sweetest thing she'd ever seen in real life.

Did this mean that Loki and Holly were back together? Though she didn't know the complete history of Loki and Holly, she did know that they had dated before... She turned around to see where Angel was, wondering what she thought of the situation.

Then she turned back to Death.

"That's so...cute." She pushed the last word out. A little afraid of showing her emotions. What was wrong with her and expressing her emotions?

"What do you think of that?" Val asked him back.

[Death]

'Cute?' said Death with a smile as he held Val in his arms and dipped her before twirling her out again. His body was practically on autopilot, the dancing just seemed to happen. He was amused, he'd never heard Val use words like 'cute' before. He'd asumed her vocabulary was lacking in positive cutesy adjectives.

'What do I think?' he said 'Well, I think if it makes them happy then it's a good thing. Holly and Loki have always been a bit unpredictable in my opinion. You just have to look at them to tell that they love each other, but it's taken them so long to admit it to themselves because they're both so...'

He couldn't think of the word for it.

'Holly didn't know how to talk to Loki and Loki thought Holly didn't like him because she wasn't talking to him. Neither of them was getting anywhere. I wish-'

Death stopped short. That was enough, best not to let his guard down completely.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

'Dya wanna go get a drink?' asked Holly as they swayed. It was strange doing this again, being allowed to touch him, hold him, ask him questions. Strange but nice. They knew each other so well and yet, right now, they were complete strangers. Both had changed so much since they were last together, they were going to have to get to know each other all over again. Holly smiled broadly as she thought of all that was to come.

[Eva Seivert]

Eva simply nodded at Drachir and took his hand. They got onto the dance floor and it was a fast paced song for now Bear had stopped singing.

'I'm not a really good dancer.' Eva blushed and she started to dance awkwardly. She hoped a slow dance would come on soon so she wouldn't have to dance this badly.

[Loki Seivert]

'Sure.' Loki whispered but he didn't want to move from their position. He pulled himself away from her, took her hand and led her towards the drink table. He waved to Thom and Morganna as they went past them but didn't stop to talk.

Loki reached for a cup when they finally reached the table and poured Holly a drink. It felt strange to perform a simple task with Holly again. Its been so long since he'd done anything with her but now that he's actually in the act its like he never stopped. Like they never stopped being together.

He handed it off to her and poured himself his own. He looked to a few table and chairs and pointed to them. 'Want to go and sit down for a bit?' He asked her and took a sip of his drink.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

Morganna looked up at what Thom was holding out to her she couldn't tell what it was but it didn't even occur to her not to trust him.

"Sure, what is it?" She said reaching out for i regardless of what it was.

She spotted Loki waving to them and she waved back with a cheery smile, only then noticing he was with Holly.

"Heeey...look your brother's with Holly, aww I hope they are back together they make a sweet couple."

[Drachir Nedra-Elxa]

Drachir chuckled slightly re-leaved at Eva's statement, he wasn't particularly keen on dancing in the least. The only time he ever danced was at home at the céilidh and even then it wasn't so much as dancing, as drunkenly jumping around with the sound of fiddle's, organs and a lot of wooting in the back ground.

"Great I don't really like dancing anyway I was only doing it cos you know I thought it was the done thing, like all the dressing up an wot not. Let's grab a drink and do some socializing."

He took Eva's hand and began to make his way to the punch bowl.

[Valentina Way]

Valentina felt stupid as Death repeated the word 'cute.' She was hoping he hadn't caught it.

She nodded as Death commented on what he thought about Loki and Holly. But then he stopped abruptly and didn't finish his thought.

Val squinted her eyes as she tried to read his expression. What did he wish!?

She was still dancing and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what he wished. What if it was something she didn't want to hear. She knew there was some sort of history between him and Holly... what if... he wished Holly felt that way about him? Why else would he suddenly decide not to tell her? Did he not trust her?

She started to feel a discomfort in her chest as she worried. So she finally spoke.

"What...do you wish?" She asked with a soft smile. "You can tell me..."

[Cian O'Riordan]

((Sorry Kel I forgot to reply 'cause I was busy))

Cian looked up a little shocked, people never talked to him, and he usually preferred it that way. He looked at the kid, he didn't recognise him, as he never paid attention to people. He gathered he must be a Gryffindor though when he mentioned their house.

"Cian." He said simply, where most people would have also replied with something along the lines of 'nice to meet you', 5 years of near solitude had left him without the ability or wish to chit chat. He watched as Kel turned and was surveying the room and the people. He did the same thing, his eyes darting away from Val whenever he spotted her still dancing with that guy. He didn't know why he liked her, why he wanted to go and steal her away for a dance.

He didn't need people. That was his resolve, and it angered him slightly to find himself drawn to her.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

'Good idea,' said Holly. She took his hand and led him over to one of the free tables. She placed her cup down on the tabletop and pulled out one of the chairs to sit down. It was difficult to sit in a ballgown, the skirts tended to make the space a lot more constricting, like sitting on a pile of cushions.

'I love these outfits,' she said 'But sometimes I wish they weren't so poofy, you're lucky you can wear a suit.'

Holly chewed her lip a little sheepishly.

'I'm sorry I got make up on your shirt.'

[Death]

Death grinned wryly.

'You don't want to know,' he insisted 'It's a bit sappy...'

But as he looked down at the green haired girl, worry stretched across her features he knew it wasn't fair to keep quiet.

'I just want to have what they have... you know? I know they've had problems but it just seems so easy to be alive. There's so many rules that come with being me.'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina exhaled with relief when she heard that Death was not confessing he still had feelings for Holly or anything like it. For a few seconds she just looked in to his eyes, a bit surprised that he was willing to tell her this kind of information. But then, it sunk in what he had really said, and it....well, was sappy. Val wasn't used to this kind of thing. It almost made her uncomfortable.

But at the same time, all she wanted to do... was be the girl that would be in that kind of relationship with Death. Who didn't want to be with such an amazing being? And she looked over at Holly and Loki... who didn't want to have that kind of relationship?

Val only nodded at first, unsure what to respond. This was all pretty new to her. She'd never dated any immortal beings before.

"Well, I don't see why you can't have what they have..." She said looking at him. But not his eyes. All of a sudden she felt shy and was just looking at his chest.

[Death]

'Because it never works,' replied Death, holding her back a little so he could see her face. 'I mean, look what happened with me and Angel. I got too busy with work and everything went wrong and it's still a disaster zone even now. I just don't think... it just doesn't seem like a commitment I'm ever going to be able to make to anyone, no matter how much I'd like to. I don't want... I don't want to hurt anyone else.'

He shifted on the spot as he held onto her. Death really liked Val, she made him laugh, she was beautiful and she aggravated him to distraction. She was an enigma wrapped in green hair and a silvery dress and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to find out what was underneath...

But he couldn't. He liked her too much to risk hurting her in the future.

There was something else niggling in the back of his mind... Death liked a challenge. Perhaps it had just been fun when Val was with Mason... was he really that callous? Better safe than sorry.

[Thom Seivert]

'Lets just say we are going to have a crazy night.' Thom responded to her toothily and poured it into her punch and then spiked his own. He nodded to his brother and only narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw who Loki was with.

However, Thom learned his lesson to not be involved in his brother's affairs. As long as Loki was happy, Thom was happy.

'Yeah they do.' He looked at Morganna and leaned in to nibble on her ear. 'But we make a sweeter couple.' He straightened up and gulped the cup of spiked punch.

[Morganna Alectophysis]

"Crazy is always good in my books." Morgan replied with a grin. She took a swig and raised her eyebrows.

"Wooowey! That is strong, and that's something coming from a welsh girl, we Welsh being renowned for our drinking abilities....though sadly nothing else." She giggled as she continued to sip at the spiked drink. She watched him as he narrowed his eyes at Holly. She knew that he'd had difficulty getting on with her in the past and was glad he didn't say anything about it as she was a friend.

"That tickles." She said as she giggled again when he nibbled her ear, already feeling tipsy from one cup. She grinned as she spotted Death and Val too, maybe this was a night for romance instead of drama after all.

[Valentina Way]

Val's eyes widened as Death held her back a little to see her face. Then he brought up his past relationship with Angel.

Though she acted like there's nothing wrong between her and that girl... the truth was she would never feel the same way about her as before the lake side incident.

"Well, that's because Angel is fickle. Not because you can't make a commitment." Val suddenly said without thinking. It was surprising to even herself. She'd never realized that's what she thought of the girl.

Val stared at Death hoping he wouldn't be mad at her for what she just said. After all, who knew if he still had feelings for that whore or not. Val didn't like this. She seemed to be questioning his feelings every 2 seconds.

As a preventive measure, she moved his arms away from holding her. In case he was mad at her for saying that and left her standing there. This way, it would seem like she didn't need him first. It was a way to save face.

[Death]

Val pulled away from him and, for once, Death didn't probe her mind to find out what she was thinking. He thought he knew, she was agreeing with him and stepping back, taking herself out of harms way. He didn't blame her.

'Angel is...' said Death, catching sight of his ex girlfriend being twirled around the dancefloor by that creep Raven, Sadie's guardian. 'Confused about a lot of things... but I know I didn't help the situation.'

He ran a hand through his hair not knowing what to say next. He coughed and took a deep breath.

'I do like you Valentina.'

Death forced the words out over his teeth. They felt like treacle, sticky and powerful. He didn't want to say it, to admit his feelings, especially in public was a hard thing for the proud man to do. He half expected her to laugh in his face. The second line was easier.

'But you'd be better off without me.'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina felt a tingling sensation inside as Death admited to liking her. He even called her full first name, not just by 'Val'. So she felt he must've meant it.

But this elation only lasted a few seconds and soon she wished she never felt it. It was like she was at the top of the world and then someone pushed her off of a cliff.

She stared at Death motionless for a full minute. Motionless and with a blank expression. Soon she started blinking in attempt to not cry and then looked away. Why?! Why was he doing this to her?! And why did she let herself like him so much? It was exactly this kind of thing she was trying to avoid... this kind of pain in her chest.

She turned back to look at Death straight in the eyes. She was so willing to try to make this work. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care, she would risk it. She didn't even care if he wasn't committed to her. She was willing to only see him once a year, as long as she could say that she was his.

A bunch of rambling thoughts like these were running in her head, but she could only say one thing.

"Well, that's interesting." She said looking away from him. She was not one to beg. If he wasn't willing to even try... she didn't want to be willing to try either.

"I can't say I feel the same way about you. So maybe I would be better off without you." She said as she took a step back. She wanted to just walk away, but she couldn't do it.

[Kel Henderson]

Kel had his fill of looking around the room and decided to go and get some more snacks and something to drink. On his way over to the table he noticed that there was a couple on the floor that was no longer dancing, instead it looked more like they were having a discussion. One that looked to be going very badly from his view, the green haired girl had a somewhat of a grimace on her face and the guy in black, looked well, creepy.

Kel hoped this night would not end in some couple breaking up or fighting at the ball. He had a dark secret that he kept from everyone; Kel liked chick flicks and romance stories. Not the ones that were overly sexual, but the ones of unrequited love, and of misinterpreted affections. He always liked to see people win out in the end, but it always tore him up when people fought with each other. He had a habit of sympathizing with every situation and placing himself in someone’s shoes that were apart of the story. Right now he was in the creepy mans shoe and was imagining that he had just tried wining the girl over only to be rejected. A part of his stomach ached to fix it but then again he was just an on looker.

Shambling over to the table he picked up a drink and some food, sitting down at a table and played more in his head the story that was unfolding in front of him with his own twist. Kel was a pathetic hopeless romantic deep down but as long as no one figured it out he could continue to play his little fantasies.

[Death]

Death was taken aback... she didn't like him?

'Oh,' he said blankly 'Oh... well that's ok then. I didn't want to, didn't want for you to...'

Death paused and put his hands on his hips as he was struck by something.

'Hang on a second. If you don't like me then why did you kiss me?'

[Valentina Way]

Valentina stared at Death as he questioned her on kissing him... why did she have to be so attracted to him?

"Because..." She couldn't think of anything to say. She didn't know what kind of lie she could come up with and what was the point? At any point in time, Death could just read her thoughts...

She looked around at the other couples dancing around them. They were all smiling and happily dancing and talking to each other.

"Because I could." She said finally looking back at him. At least it wasn't a lie.

She wanted to walk off but it felt like her feet were glued to the dancefloor. She'd do anything for a drink right now. WHY did Morgs and she decide to not spike the punch tonight??

[Loki Seivert]

'I think I would rather look funny if I wore a ball gown. You look much better than I do. I should just stick with the suit.' He winked at her and then looked down at the makeup stain. He shrugged and brushed it off.

'Its alright. Its just a black shirt. No one will know the difference.' Loki grinned at her and grabbed her hand again. He bounced it back and forth on her knees and leaned back in his chair. He looked out on the dance floor and saw Val and Death talking. They looked serious and Loki gestured to Holly.

'What do you think they are talking about now?' He questioned her. Val was his date and they just ditched each other within the first 5 minutes of the dance.

[Holly Q. Midnight]

Holly squeezed Loki's hand and smiled. She tried to picture him in a dress but found it all too easy because of the many times she had witnessed Thom cross dressing. Her lips curved up into a smile as Thom in a tutu arabesqued around her head.

The mention of Death and Val was a welcome distraction and the black haired girl swivelled her head to witness the couple, standing slightly apart and looking at each other like no one else was in the room. It was as if they were frozen in time.

'I don't know,' replied Holly, her thumb idly stroking the his fingers 'But whatever it is, it looks pretty serious. Do you think there might be something between those two?'

[Death]

'Because you... could...' Death echoed, not taking his eyes off her. It would be so easy just to open up her mind and fish around inside, to learn everything he needed to know, to read her inside out and be in no doubt of how she felt about him... but for some reason, he kept away.

'Is that all?' he said, taking a slow breath in preparation for her answer.

[Valentina Way]

Val looked away from Death. She felt like if she looked into his eyes, he'd easily be able to tell what she was really feeling and thinking. Of course in truth, she knew that he could do it either way. But at this moment, she couldn't think that much. She was about to lie and say, 'yes'...but instead...

"What... do you want from me?" She asked without answering his question. She wasn't able to lie to him. She also couldn't understand why he had to like her in the first place, and then take it all away. She was doing fine with being that queen Mason adored for so long.

[Loki Seivert]

Loki looked on as the pair continued to talk but Loki didn't want to eves drop on their conversation. He turned back to Holly and shrugged his shoulders.

'As Hogwarts turn... I didn't realize that Val and Death were friends, though she did ask him about him. I had to refrain myself..' He looked at Holly devilishly. She knew as well as anyone the drama of Loki and Death. Loki wanted to mention it looked like they were more than friends but he stopped himself. What was going on with Val and Death didn't involve him.. yet.

[Death]

'Uh...'

It wasn't really a question he could answer and they were going round in circles he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to shout 'yeah it's all going to work out fine!' scoop her up into his arms and stay like that forever. Well, maybe not forever but you get the general idea. But he couldn't do it, what if everything went wrong and Val got hurt like Angel had gotten hurt? Could he live with himself if that happened?

'I'm sorry,' he said simply and, taking a deep breath, he disappeared, sad eyes watching Val as he faded away.

[Valentina Way]

All Val could feel at this point, was throwing up. The shock that he would just leave her standing alone on the dance floor by herself.. she'd never felt such a pain in her chest as now.

But in contrast to what she actually felt inside... she kept a cool composure. It was almost impossible to keep the tears from pouring out of her eyes... but she was too talented at hiding her feelings.

She looked around to see if anyone in particular had just witnessed the scene. One couple dancing near her was looking at her. She was sure that no one heard the conversation she and Death had, but just by the looks of it, they probably suspected it didn't go well.

Val smiled at them and took a step back to see what the girl was wearing.

"Hey, cute dress!" She said sincerely, as she made her exit off the dance floor.

All she wanted was a drink right now, but there were no spiked drinks tonight. Damn Morgs and her own decision on that. She was also not about to leave the dance, that would be too obvious that she was hurt.

She looked around and caught sight of Thom and Morganna, so she made her way over.

"Having fun, my two loves?" She said with a grin. "Morgs, why didn't we spike the punch tonight?" She said, as she looked away so that no one could see there was a sadness in her eyes.

"Thom, please tell me you have a flask full of whatever I don't even care what."