Gwen was barely through her first glass of the nasty wine when she was confronted by a teenager who could have passed for a young woman in her twenties if it wasn’t for the baby face. The passing sorrow for the girl couldn’t be helped as Gwen knew full well that the girl would soon garner more attention than she may want in the future. Well...then again, maybe the girl was the type who thrived off such attention. Attention had been something Gwen had enjoyed before her first serious boyfriend.
“Oh, um. No. I’ve been to things like this before.” She responded a bit of hesitation. The girl’s confidence was a tad bit intimidating to the woman who was unsure if she should even be there. “Just a few personal things. Nothing important.” She waved it off with a subtle hand gesture as she turned her attention to the man that the other ginger was chatting about.
“You know him?” She questioned and then turned her attention back to the girl. It was then, she realized, that this other red-head looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Am I right in thinking that’s Mathias White?”
A small smile lit her face as she turned her attention to the man and lifted her drink for another sip. “I think you might be right. We may all be looking for a new trainer soon.” lowering the glass she turned her attention back to her companion. “You frequent Mathias’s gym, right?”
She shifted, peering after the running, spinning child and her tulle skirt, Jada's own dress a dark navy, backless and shimmering, not at all so fluffy, and much easier to maneuver in than a 6 year old in a princessey ball gown.
Helloooo beautiful, someone said, and it took the model a moment to realize that the blonde man who had approached was talking to her. Bright purple eyes flickered over him, taking in blonde hair, blue eyes and a swagger. Bless his heart.
"I'm fine." she said as she gave him a saccharine-sweet smile, holding out her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr...?"
"So what if I am," Rhona countered playfully. In truth, she was a teenty bit envious of his flowers. Rhona only had a ripped skirt and clawed shoes to show for her sphere, and the shoes were sometimes painful if she wasn't careful. Flowers wouldn't snag her tights and cut her legs.
As they danced, Rhona's uncertainty was eased slightly by Jason's confidence. In time, her steps grew less hesitant and she was able to look up from her own feet to focus on her student and what he was saying to her. A doctor? That certainly was an admirable calling, but if Rhona was being honest, the guitar wielding youth she had met and brought into her family hadn't struck her as very high society. Then again, if there was one thing Rhona should have been painfully aware of, it was that nothing was ever as it seemed. People had lives beyond what they showed, and no one would ever peg Sailor Acubens as a gardener who basically lived in a green house.
"It's not so much a garden," Rhona confessed, "as it is a communal plot and a ton of pots at home. But someday when I can afford my own home I would like to subsistence farm. I like knowing where my food is coming from, and besides that, having greenery all around is soothing. There's no science to back this up, but I firmly believe that surrounding yourself with living things promotes your own growth." It had for Rhona, after all. Before even most of her furniture, Rhona had purchased enough greenery to fill the bay window bench in her living room. And while that may have been a bit frivolous, especially since money at that time was so hard to come by, Rhona would not have been able to make a home without that garden.
"Plus it feels good to grow something, tend it it while it's still young and then be able to harvest it's fruits. You've seen something through from start to finish. That's very rewarding."
She heard his voice before she saw him and the familiar warmth, even through the shyness, brought a light flush to her face accompanied by a gentle smile. "Fritz!" She turned on her heel towards the sound of his voice, leaning in to brush a chaste kiss to his cheek before settling back on her heels to actually look at him.
"Oh." Her lips had parted in soft surprise, eyes wide and bright as they drifted over her friend. Fritz St James generally looked rather well put together, even when frazzled. He presented himself, usually, with neatly pressed slacks and an assortment of sweaters that always looked so comfortable that she'd been tempted on more than one occasion to ask about borrowing one. He always had that air of a finely polished gentleman and now... Now?
Now was no different, except for the fact that it was completely different.
Cordelia's hand moved without thinking, fingers ghosting up to almost, but not quite, brush against his lapel. Her fingers twinged, drawing back reflexively before she could actually touch him, remembering that it was Fritz and...
Lucien's pass had come with a plus one and, in the name of getting out and about, Arin had taken his friend up on the offer to tag along. He was beginning to regret it, if he were being entirely honest. Suits and ties and fancy things like this just weren't his thing and he couldn't ever remember them being so.
Well, no. That wasn't entirely true. At one point, when he was younger, he could remember enjoying a night in a crowded room, but he hadn't been alone then. "You're not exactly alone now," he muttered beneath his breath, snagging a champagne flute from a passing tray. He brought it up to his lips as he looked around, keeping an eye out for familiar faces-- or features, really. A camera flash could also be a telltale sign of where one could find Lucien Carden.
Somewhere in the crowd that night there were others he knew as well, although he didn't know it yet. What did he know? He knew rather well right now that champagne was not something that he was a fan of, nose wrinkling and lips curling into a dissatisfied face as he forced himself to swallow anyways. Now he had to find somewhere to dump the glass... Or he had to simply suck it up and finish it while playing the part of someone who was sophisticated to be standing around sipping champagne while wearing a suit. A fancy suit.
Hell. How had he let himself get talked into this?
Upon arrival at the Gala, Chailee spent little time with her father and mother before slipping away in search of her own entertainment. Thankfully her parents had loosened the leash on her and didn’t question when their 16 year old daughter wandered away. Another perk of her near 17 years of age was having her mother have zero say in what she wore. Of course the teen was still modestly dressed when compared to others at the Gala, but the low backline and short skirt felt daring for her. With a pair of mint strappy heels, she felt outright gorgeous even if some would probably pin her as adorable or cute. Especially with her curly cotton-candy hair pinned in in cascading ringlets down her back.
All that mattered was how she felt and she was excited and ready to mingle with people.
Soft green eyes looked for someone she may know. Perhaps a fellow student from Meadowview or someone she had encountered around Destiny City? A very hasty look though turned up no one she recognized. At least, not with everyone as dressed up as they were.
Tapping her chin she pondered what to do with herself. There were already people mingling and mixing and she wasn’t quite ready to just shove herself into an already established group. Perhaps there were others around like herself that were wanting to meet other people, like herself? The thing was finding them.
A Waiter walked past with a multitude of glasses. There was a variety of drinks on the tray but Chailee grabbed one of the water goblets. Taking a drink she began her search for someone to chat up. After all, tonight was perfect for meeting new people and making friends!
Mercy smiled. "I do, and yes, that would be him, though I have to admit that it's a bit of a shock to see him in a suit, he really doesn't seem the type to own one, but I guess that's why they tell you not to judge books by their covers." She nodded her head to Gwen, taking another sip of her water and letting out a small "hmmm," sound.
"I don't know the other woman - but he seems friendly with her, but not overly so... At least yet. I'm surprised his girlfriend isn't here, she's the brains to his brawn after all." She added with a small grin. She'd only really seen Imara in passing, but the way Mathias spoke to her, and acted around her - it wasn't difficult to figure out who wore the proverbial pants in their relationship. So unless Mathias was a dirty cheater - and she was really hesitant to think that - then this might be something else.
"Yeah, my friend's his cousin. She helped me set up some one-on-one lessons with him. I've been out for a few weeks due to a back injury..." She said, though as she did her face seemed to fall from the more cheery demeanor she'd had earlier. "You've seen the new security around the gym right? The cameras and stuff? That was because me and a few of my friends got... attacked... Well... more like taken hostage really..." She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and took a deep breath. "Why am I telling you this - it's not important... Just... I guess sorry if you've been inconvenienced by the new security system - he means well."
She looked up then, pausing for a moment as she tilted her head, squinting her eyes a bit to see if she was 100% sure she was seeing who she thought she saw. She hadn't spoken to Chay in ages... But at the same time, she wasn't about to leave Gwen to just quell her suspicions, that would be rude.
Galas were more Chris’s thing than Michael’s, but seeing as his brother’s energy fluctuated so quickly these days, it was probably best that he and Paris stayed home that evening. Galas were also definitely his mother’s thing, but she was blessedly out of town, so at least while he and Caspian were there, they wouldn’t be smothered to death. At least not too much.
“You look great,” Michael reminded Caspian for approximately the third time since they’d walked in the door. Michael’s suit was black and sleek, offset by a lighter blue tie. Although his hair was brushed back and styled for the night, he hadn’t shaved completely, leaving a little more than scruff over the lower half of his face. His nails were midnight blue — a similar color to Caspian’s suit.
He could tell his fiance was feeling anxious and reached up to gently tug his hand away from the tie he was fussing with, giving his hand a small squeeze as he took a step to stand in front of him.
“Everyone would notice if you fell into the buffet. Don’t do that, but drinks sound good,” he said with a small grin as he lifted his hands to straighten Caspian’s tie for him.
”Can you please not,” Peter chirped in slight annoyance from behind Michael and Caspian, giving them a somewhat harassed look. Peter was there on his own free will, believe it or not. He heard Michael was going and figured it was something to do.
He didn’t, however, go there to watch his brother be all gooey eyed with Peter’s soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Peter knew his suit of light grey-blue and pink floral tie made him stand out, but at least he wasn’t getting all mushy and gross like they were. He actually hoped he would run into people he might know, but so far he hadn’t seen anyone.
Instead, he caught a glimpse of a girl there who seemed to be around his age. In a cute pink dress and a goblet of water.
“Don’t tell me your date left you by yourself,” Peter didn’t even bother saying goodbye to his brother and brother’s fiance as he approached the girl with a smile, his hands casually in the pockets of his pants. “Do - “ he started, and then his smile faltered as he stared, suddenly realizing that he knew this girl.
“Chailee??” he nearly sputtered, figuring he should have at least recognized her hair, because who else wore their hair like she did? “Oh… hey, uh… you look… nice,” he less than gracefully stuttered out, feeling stupid for not recognizing her right away.
Gwen watched as Mathias continued his conversation with the lady he was with. “Hm, I think you’re right. He’s just being friendly.” She responded. “He doesn’t seem to be flirting one bit with her, and plus, I didn’t get the vibe that he was the cheating sort.” Then again, Gwen’s instincts with that haven’t really been the most reliable.
“But I wonder why his girlfriend isn’t along. I mean, I haven’t seen her much at the gym, but the few times I’ve seen her it’s pretty obvious they’re an item. Hm…” Perhaps the woman had other engagements.
And then the conversation turned to something a bit heavier and Gwen’s full attention shifted to Mercy. “That was you? I had heard about it. I am so sorry you had to go through something like that.” Of course Gwen had heard the news and instantly she had thought perhaps the Negaverse had a hand in the whole ordeal, but it wasn’t completely out of the possibility that it had been a group of thugs. “It’s not really an inconvenience to be safer.” She said, trying to soothe the girl of any worries she may have. “I actually find it sort of endearing to have one of the guys walk me to my car each day.”
“Oh, by the way, I am Gweneth Malley.” She said with a smile.
It appeared that there were very few her age at the Gala. That caused the teen to pout slightly against her glass goblet which lay perched against her lips during her search. Chailee’s light pink lipstick left a small mark on the glass but it was barely detectable when she finally lowered the goblet. She’d been so absorbed in looking at room and those in it that she had completely missed the arrivals of two of the Gallo boys, though she would have only recognized one.
In fact, when Peter walked up to her, Chailee was a bit surprised by the smooth greeting and then the stuttered halt. In fact, she stared at him for a moment as he stuttered his way through an apology and greeting before a smile lit up her face and she giggled at him. “Peter! I am so glad you’re here!” She practically bounced on her toes, nearly spilling some of the water in her goblet. That little mishap helped calm the girl down. The last thing she wanted was to get anything, even water, on her new dress.
“You clean up nicely!” She teased him with a grin, a hand going to his lapel to see if the flower there was real or not. She hadn’t even paused to think that such a motion could be considered rude or maybe even intimate to some. “I almost didn’t recognize you.” She winked. “So don’t feel bad. After all, it’s not every day we all get to see each other dressed up.”
Chailee wasn’t about to state it unless in a joking manner, but Peter definitely cut a very good figure in the gray suit and pink floral tie. He pulled it off very well with his confidence.
Why was her heart beating a bit harder? This was Peter, after all. Sure, he was super nice to her, and cute and…
Who was she kidding. It was, Peter[/]. Sweet, kind, friendly and cute Peter. Who wouldn’t crush on him?
“Um, so...uh... did you come here by yourself?” Oh great, now she was stuttering.
A gala...that's what this was. He didn't know why he had come, this wasn't his sort of thing. He wasn't some rich person or nearly as cultured as the word gala indicated everyone attending would be. In fact the only reason he had come, and played dress up, was because he felt just a bit entitled to attending this event as he was stuck donating blood due to his teacher. He might as well enjoy one aspect of this hospital opening, because there was nothing to enjoy about being stuck with a needle and having blood drawn.
The money for proper clothing, something he thought would fit in, had come from what little he'd been saving from work and his wallet was feeling the loss. But at least he looked good? A simple black suit jacket, shirt and pants, with a dark green splash of color thanks to a silk bow about the collar of the shirt. It was dark, nearly black in color, but easy to tell up close that it was in fact green in color. The girl at the store had suggested the dark green silk that went about his neck and tied into a neat little bow at his throat, he didn't see the reason for it honestly.
He wasn't looking to attract attention, something she hadn't seemed to understand, he was here to enjoy himself, eat, and watch people from some place in a corner at a table. He didn't want to play social butterfly - it wasn't his thing.
(Word count: 255)
(Open for interactions.)
Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 1:33 am
Isaac Harrison - black suit with a titanium vest and light blue tie
“Hey,” Isaac returned from the buffet table with two flutes of cider in hand. “I feel as if congratulations are in order.” He offered Julie one of the drinks with a sincere smile as he caught that perplexed questioning look on her face. “It looks like all your hard work paid off.” He clarified while gesturing towards the growing crowd with his now free hand.
Even as he spoke more couples and small groups entered through the main entrance; most men, not all, dressed in the typical suit and tie, all pretty much the same but in different sizes. There to compliment their partners outfit in some way shape or form.
Several women disbursed through the crowd wore rather beautiful dresses that were in a range between simple and elegancy to over the top fancy, and likely very expensive. While a few chose to don something a bit revealing, as if this was a red carpet event, with low necklines or backs that celebrities would often wear which left little to the imagination, Isaac found that he greatly gravitated more towards the dress Julie had picked out. Simple, elegant, and did not deter from her natural beauty.
“To you,” he held his glass out in a private toast.
It was unknown what she was doing here on her own, but Kalani was here, and wouldn't miss the gala for all the world. A place full of rich people in fancy dress? Heck yes, she'd be right on top of that. Frankly, Kalani couldn't remember who the invite had originally been for; she had a lot of cousins on her father's side, most of whom she didn't really care for, but who were convenient for things like this. All it had taken was a bit of negotiating (or, rather, a lot of begging and harassing), and Kalani had gotten herself a way in.
The large tulle train of her dress was not the most convenient for moving around in, but one must suffer at times for the sake of fashion, Kalani had once declared. It didn't matter to her that she seemed to be one of the youngest present- so as long as she could blend in with the crowd, and act like she belonged there- and thus, the dress was an absolute must, paired with some jewelry, to hopefully make her look the part she was playing.
If she could pull this off successfully, hopefully nobody would question what she was doing here without adult supervision, or how she came upon an invite... though Kalani was generally a smooth talker who could talk her way out of situations, admittedly.
To be completely and utterly honest about it, Benji really didn't want to be here at this gala surrounded by all these goddamn rich people. He could think of atleast thirty different things he'd rather be doing right now and only three of them grew into the more morbid territory. If he included a bunch of other potential things he'd rather be doing than being here, and was allowed to mention that morbidness of it all, then he was sure he could complain about things going into the hundreds. There was no way in hell his mother was going to let him stay home tonight, though, swearing that she was doing this all for him and his tendency to come home messed up more and more often these days.
Maybe she figured she'd be getting into the know with the staff at the new hospital, trying to secure a place on the 'emergency nurse' list so she could be there in an instant, as she had when he was last hospitalized. Or maybe she just wanted to have another set of eyes watching him, ready to report in the instant that he showed his ugly mug in their facilities. Either way, she dragged him here, forcing him into the nicests clothes he had and fixing his hair so that the eyepatch was more hidden than not. With a final glare and a threat that she would make him regret the day he was born if he acted a fool, they set out to this damned gala.
And here he was now, scowling deeply as he sat down at a table alone while his family mingled among the other guests. How could people be so damned charismatic and charming all the time? Here he was looking like someone dressed a monkey in a suit and called it high fashion. All he knew right now was that he felt exhausted after donating blood, more so than he had ever been, but still wasn't allowed to just go on home.
For a brief moment, his eyes lit up as they scanned the crowd for something entertaining to go and see. There was Peter... And damn did he look nice today, all made up and bright and sunny... And the floral tie just made him seem all the more welcoming to the point where Benji nearly stood to go greet him, finding the courage to maybe even ask him to dance, as his friend, of course. But no, of course he wouldn't have been spotted... Not when there was some girl standing around looking lovely and bright in her own right. Nothing like the one-eyed little gremlin who couldn't even manage a proper smile these days.
And maybe it was a little creepy when he thought about it later, but he watched them for a moment, and saw how nice they looked together... Stammering around their words and just... They looked good together, for sure.
This was stupid. This was SO ******** stupid. Benji was already exhausted and miserable feeling for just being here, so why did he have to go and make things worse by trigging those stupid squishy feelings he had felt for the other ever since they spent the night in the hospital together. That was weeks ago... And Peter had made it plenty clear about how he felt about things not too long ago too, so what was even the point of this damned internal struggle he was going though...?
After a few more minutes of whining and sulking to himself, he sighed, and tore his eye away to scan what else was going on, and something stood out. A little fluffy looking child on the floor, looking around excitedly as if this was her first big party. Maybe it was? Interacting with kids did seem to come easier than anyone else his own age or older so maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to go and talk to her. Little kids were less likely to judge too badly about how awful he looked or how his face couldn't seem to relax much. But for her sake, he wanted to atleast smile a little.
"Hello there..." He said softly, giving the adults around her a little smile and a nod. Maybe he wasn't quite a prince, given the eye patch and all, but he could pretend to be charming, atleast. "I'm Benji... Are you looking for something to do? If, uh... If you liked, I wouldn't mind accompanying you for a while, if your guardian doesn't mind for a bit."
Part of Benji really wished he could come off as that charming young man with that way with children that made adults trust him, but it was hard. He was a punk of a kid thrown in a suit, with a mouth like a sailor and and face that matched. But they couldn't say he wasn't trying. In the end, he supposed it was up to the little girl whether or not he was worthy of her time.... If not, eh, ah well... He could always shove his face full of food and then claim being sick before running out.
Nischal hadn't remembered donating to the construction of the hospital, but he wouldn't have put it past himself to have done so. He was always generous when it came to his money, wanting to help people more than serve himself, so the likelihood of him having randomly written a ten thousand dollar donation check wasn't incredibly infeasible. An invitation was received in thanks, and with nothing else truly on his plate at the time, what was wrong with arriving to mingle the night away
Then again, it truly would have been easier if he had come with someone he knew... There was Ian, he supposed, but there was a bit of thought that his friend wouldn't have really enjoyed being here, given all the people and their fanciness... Honestly, Nischal wasn't too sure if he enjoyed being here either. Sure, he was generally pretty charismatic and easy to talk to, but he was still young, in that odd age group that didn't really fit in with the adults, but too old to stand by with the younger folk... So, he would just have to try his best.
A particular wallflower caught his eye, one who had been sitting alone not too far away, and he smiled just a little bit. He seemed to be the kind of person he would get along with, at first glance, and Nischal hoped that would be the case.
"Good evening," he greeted, a charming smile on his already generally pleasant features. "Would you mind if I sat here with you for a while? I wanted to say that your suit is very handsome on you in it's green subtleness. Where did you come across it?"
She gave an amused smirk in the direction of the slick looking gentleman in a suit as he gestured in her direction, but her attention fell towards Isaac as her date offered her the flute.
"I can't take all the credit - I'm simply a pawn in the big scheme of things," was the humble response she returned with, all the while eyeing her redheaded companion on her other side. Andrew Collins was already schmoozing his way around others and Jules would have to keep an eye out for all the vacant rooms throughout the building, on the off chance that her General managed to convince one or two people to join him there. No sense in having to re-tidy the rooms up, not when they'd come this far with their plans.
Sipping the cider, she did her best to ignore the nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. This was her first and probably only classy event that she'd get to attend - she wasn't going to let anyone muck it up, not now.
Glancing to her side, she noticed another young girl in need of having an enjoyable evening socializing. "Aurora, darling, you don't need to sit around us old folks - don't you want to go out and dance or mingle?"
Oh god, she was already sounding like her own mother.
She was only there because Julianne had requested her assistance with some of the finer details of the affair. Standing beside the lovely woman in the dress she'd insisted on purchasing for the teenager when she admitted she would have no place at a fancy event like this felt foreign and a little uncomfortable. Aurora had never owned anything half as nice as this, often resorting to shopping at thrift stores when she had spare money because her Pops worked hard to provide but it was hard to make ends meets sometimes.
Once again, her luxuries were provided to her by someone else and not of her own means.
Sometimes, Rory felt ashamed of that, but Jules had seemed excited to take her dress shopping and help pick something that matched her eyes and didn't clash with her hair. Besides, they agreed it was partial payment for her assistance with the cat the older woman had adopted after her visit to the humane society when Rory was volunteering. The teen knew that Jules agreed just to state the feelings of guilt that rose, but it was compromise and she wasn't really in a position where she could have afforded to find something nice enough for the gala on her own.
Despite the way her gaze lingered on the handsome redhead, she didn't bother to approach him, watching as people flocked to him immediately.
She didn't blame them, for all his unpredictability, the man was like a magnet and they were all pieces of shrapnel drawn his way. Instead, she kept close to the woman who seemed to mother her at times, a foreign feeling she didn't know how to respond to and only looked up when her name - her full name instead of the more commonly used nickname - was said.
"Huh?" Her head snapped up, loose curly waves jostled by the sudden movement as she shifted her weight in the heels they'd gotten to go with the dress. One hand played with the silver chained necklace that hung from her neck; on it were the seashells that Bob had gifted her with for valentine's. It didn't match exactly, but it was close enough and she wouldn't let Jules buy her anything else.
Really, the outfit had been enough.
"Oh, I don't know..." She trailed off, jade-eyed gaze sweeping across the dance floor. Most of the people in attendance were older than her and those that looked like they might be her age looked occupied by someone else. Unlike Jules and their general, Rory didn't have a date of any kind. That, at least, wasn't abnormal.
If she kept her expectations low, there was less to disappoint her.
She felt out of place enough as it were, attending because she'd been asked and someone had supplied her with the means. Girls like her didn't belong in fancy charity galas like this and yet, here she was. There was a tiny sigh that escaped her, Rory doing her best to stand a little taller when she looked up at her companion. "Okay, I'll take a walk around." She offered, just in case there was adult business that needed discussing or attending and she needed to be absent for it.
Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked away.
Normally there was just no way that Mi-Hi would have been able to attend a gala like this, however her father had participated in a work raffle for charity and had won a ticket to the gala as his prize–
A ticket that he had given to her, because as he put it the gala was a once in a lifetime thing for people like them and she should take the chance to go out and enjoy herself.
She had opted for one of her fusion hanboks, in white and gold with the matching little bag because she looked pretty in it, but had left the upper jacket part at home.
And the gala was glamorous - much more glamorous than anything than Mi-Hi had been to before.
She kept away from the large table that had been set up towards the left of the room, instead opting to step towards the buffet table as she held onto the raffle ticket that she had been given.
Maybe she would dance a little later - because Mi-Hi was pretty sure that dancing was a gala thing - and as long as she wasn't dead centre on the dance floor then perhaps it wouldn't matter if she danced on her own due to lack of a partner.
