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"I'm sorry..." She closed her eyes for a moment, trusting him to guide her safely away from her parents after they gave their best wishes, opening them only upon being turned to face her friend, presumably out on the dance floor.

"Thank you... I should have given you more of a warning, I'm sorry..." She was fretting, overreacting at the very least, and he was... Smiling. He was smiling and for a moment she was sorely tempted to forget decor and punch him in the arm.

Instead she scowled for a moment, huffing softly before holding one hand up for him to take it if they were really going to dance, waiting until they were twirling along with the other dancers before adding on. "... It's not funny."

Oh, thank whoever was keeping an eye out for her. Feet stomping, near-tripping, and inappropriate grabbing through dance after dance. Jada was going insane. And her back was starting to kill her. She needed relief. Just a little. So when Audrey approached her, cutting in sweetly, she gave the vibrant young woman a beaming smile. "I was getting a little thirsty." she agreed easily, and gave the older man she'd been dancing with a curtsy, thanking him for the dance. The white-gloved arm slid through Audrey's own arm, and she moved with the injured girl towards the patio doors.

More people outside, faceless servers with small glasses of water and champagne. "Audrey, can I have my pill?" she asked, quietly. Waited for the other girl to dig in the bag, passing her the small white vicodin. Jada popped it into her mouth, grabbed one of the small cups of champagne, and tossed the pill back neatly. It wasn't obvious- no one was supposed to actually know she was in any sort of pain, after all. Only a mouthful, and then she passed the glass to one of the other servers who was collecting glasses. "Now, I need something to actually drink." She could have used water to swallow the pill, but frankly, she needed something a little stiffer. She could worry about her 'irresponsible behaviors' later.

She took a few deep breaths of the air, felt something brush against her back, turning. Must have been the server walking by on accident. She didn't see anyone else but Audrey. "I hate my mother." She confided to the bluenette in a low voice. "This is really a terrible 'party' so far. Oh, it is wonderful for her. I've had three gentlemen offer to escort me to the gardens later. Or to the opera. One of them asked me if they got more out of the charity date with me if they won with a higher bid." To be more precise, he'd leaned in to her and whispered in her ear, asking her if he got to... she shuddered. The alcohol had been thick on his breath, and she'd been glad when he got away. "Hopefully the servers have noticed he's completely sloshed. I've had my toes almost broken, and some of them-" she almost glared up at Audrey- "Keep asking me about you." Cute little Audrey, attracting the attention of the wealthy men that even Jada's mother wouldn't want to hook her up with. "I told them your husband is 6'4, and a linebacker." she told the bluenette.

Jada was getting tired. Not even an hour, and her eyes were dimming from the way she'd been passed around, person to person, dealing with everything from the appropriate to the inappropriate; after a night like last night, she wasn't sure she could handle much more of it until after the painkiller set in. "So, how are my rescuers holding up? Are you and Fallon doing alright?"

"It's not the dancing I dislike." She murmured softly as she placed her hand in his, waiting for just the right moment before they joined in on the current dance, easily catching the beat. Cordelia loved the dancing, every bit as much as she loved playing the piano. It was so easy to lose yourself in the music, the motions. So easy to forget.

Eventually she opened her eyes again, gazing up at her dance partner, her escort, her teammate... Her friend. She smiled, giving his hand a light squeeze. All in all, ball or no, parents or no, she was glad that he had agreed to come with her. It was nice getting a chance to take a break from the nightmares.

"I'm glad you agreed to come with me, Oddy. It's... It's nice being normal every now and then." A brief pause, her smile brightening. "... And you're really not all that bad of a dancer, either." As if there had ever been any doubt.

Audrey wasn't sure what shocked her more - the alcohol with the painkiller, the fact that Jada was apparently being auctioned to the highest bidder, or the fact that those skeevy rich old men were interested in her. Interested to the point to where her friend had been forced to make up a false husband who was eminently scary just to keep them at bay. Six four and a linebacker? Oh god that would be so awful! Shuddering at the thought alone, gold eyes were apologetic up towards the Chamberlyn princess. "I'm so sorry, I really don't like the attention, you know that!" Audrey really only wanted attention from a select list of people, and sadly she didn't get it from those she wanted most to pay attention to her. Like the boy who had not yet found her. Was she supposed to maybe set her hair on fire?

"But you listen to me, okay? We got like, a full table of people now! Fallon refuses to sit down, she's watching you like a hawk. Anyone tries anything you don't like, just try and get a signal off in her direction and someone will intervene. There's enough pretty faces and a few of your social caste who can drive off the damn vultures." It warmed her heart a bit, to realize that Jada wasn't as subservient to her mother as she'd been led to believe, and that some of her lovely backbone was showing. "You know me, I think you should always show some backbone. I think if your mother ever saw it, she'd be absolutely baffled." The idea tickled her pink, and the girl giggled.

Eyes narrowed as her mind rolled over again to the mention of a charity auction where the prize was time with one of her best friends. "Now, what's this about a charity date? Are you selling yourself for your mother's goals?!" This was delivered in a hushed whisper, because it was unbearably rude to argue in front of guests. Especially arguing with the debutante. But Audrey wasn't the sort of girl to lie down when something was bothering her, and spoke out when necessary. This was pretty damn important, in her book!

It certainly helped to had someone help count for her. Serah hadn't even known you were supposed to count for the waltz--- and she had stepped on his feet several times but it was okay. (She was reasonably sure that she was light enough for it not to be an incredibly painful encounter.)

"You've got some dancing experience on you, dont you? Impressive." Serah grinned at him, hand in his, other hand on his shoulder, mimicking the other females on the dance floor. Dancing-- much to her surprise-- was quite fun. Even if her partner was only ten. She wasn't quite sure what made ballroom conversation. Hm. Name. Check. Was there anything else on the list of ballroom topics besides dance and food?

Adira swept up a crystal flute full of sparkling juice. She knew it was non-alcoholic simply from the shape of the glass, and she was glad for the refreshment. "Thank you very much. Your own dress has such beautiful lace." It was only polite to compliment her as well, and Adira did truly like the dress. The little lace scallops where incredibly flattering, and part of Adira wanted to ask if she could touch it, wondering if it was vintage or not. However, asking to touch another woman's dress whom you did not know on a personal level was incredibly rude.

She took a controlled sip of her juice, enjoying the flavors. It was very similar to the juice that had been served at her own ball a year before, and the girl wondered if the Chamberlyn's had hired the same caterers.

"My father and Jada's father have been business partners for years. We grew up attending many of the same functions." She smiled, remembering the first debutante ball that they had both attended. Part of her wished she'd gone to Crystal and had the chance to make friends outside of her parents social circles, but dwelling on the past was of no help. She would certainly make new friends at Sovereign Heights, and perhaps even some of Jada's friends could become hers as well.

Adira glanced around, looking for the debutant. She saw her with Audrey a ways away, mingling through the crowd. Even though her original intention was to speak with Jada, she would come over eventually. In the meantime, Adira was going to get to know the heiress's friends.

Elzo winced as he saw the dead giveaway of blue hair breifly before it vanished into the crowd. He wanted to just do as he'd done at the club and hulk smash his way over. Reputation for his family name be damned! But..this was also Jada's little sister. Whate she said made Elzo's eyes all but 'bug out'. "That creeper did what?" Oh jesus, if Marlo knew...It was a good thing Marlo didn't know. He smiled. "Look, that sucks and all but, uh, listen I-" She was battering her eye lashes at him. <******** his life, he'd thought he'd left prepubescent girls in Italy along with those arranged dates. Karma was a b***h.Putting on his best forced smile, Elzo offered his arm. Teeth cleched as the Elder Xanis forced out the words. "Would you like to dance Miss Kayley?"
****

Marlo looked at Jada in the crowd. Then he looked at Zora. Then, he sighed. "You know, ladies don't ask for dances. They hint, but you never outright ask." His arm was held out. He didn't want to dance. At least not with the younger Chamberlyn girls.

He was still going to dance though, if he liked it or not.