I've Got You, Under My Skin

As well as deep in the heart of me; Welcome Rea Adams and Will McKinley

Here is where the dance itself takes place. The dance is being held in the school gym, which has been decorated in the theme of the dance: Cosmic Space Adventure! Numerous chaperones are present, and there is nary a private space to be seen. Due to this, no private threads are allowed! This forum covers everything from the start of the dance to when students exit.
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Dannyrulx†
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I've Got You, Under My Skin

#1

Post by Dannyrulx† »

((Will McKinley Sadie Hawkins Start))

Will hated tailored suits. Don't get him wrong, they were nearly always very expensive, excellent quality and very stylish, but the downside was that, well, they were tailored. Designed specifically to fit your body type as and when they were ordered. The suit he was wearing, a gorgeous white three-piece that had been in mothballs for quite a while now, whilst an excellent cut, reminded him painfully of all the ways his body had grown and adjusted in the months since if had come out of the packaging. That was to say, it pinched in all the wrong places.  

He walked into the hall that the Sadie Hawkins was set in, and was struck by how small it was compared to what he was used to from his childhood. Then again, his childhood was one where a trip to the Albert Hall was considered suitable entertainment for a six year old, (spoiler alert, even for someone brought up to like classical music, it was stil incredibly dull)  so he wasn't exactly in a situation to judge.

Of course, neither was Rea, wherever she was. Unlike most dates, Rea was insistent on going by herself, although how much that was to allay her parents Will would never know. Will uncomfortably shifted in the suit, and a hand absentmindedly twisted one of his cufflinks this way and that.Calm down, he thought to himself; you're probably just a little early and she hasn't made it yet is all.  Or, at least, he hoped so. He would never forgive himself if something happened to that girl.
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#2

Post by Spinnentier† »

(((Rea Adams, Sadie Hawkins start)))

So. A dress. On her.

Who the hell even was Sadie Hawkins? Some famous woman in history, she guessed, kinda like that one they put on the bizarre paper notes they had here. Whoever she was, she was responsible for one of the few times Rea had worn a dress and makeup. "She cleans up nicely", people would say. The hell did that mean? And whatever happened to having natural beauty? Why couldn't she be attractive in a large coat, and long pants, and shoes that weren't at 45 bloody degrees?

But those were questions for later. Right now, she had the man of her dreams to go and stand around awkwardly with for the next few hours. Sure, the movies that came out of this country painted school dances as magical places where love blossomed, but she'd learnt from the few she'd been to that this was never the case. Well, at least not for her, anyway.

The dress she wore was a pale white, and plain. Kinda short, too. Either that was a side effect of her height, or its designer really wanted to show off her legs. Whatever the case, her butler at least thought she looked stunning.

She casually strolled up to Will, her date for the night, looked him in the eye, and simply smiled at him, raising an eyebrow while doing so.
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#3

Post by Dannyrulx† »

And there she was, smiling, with a single eyebrow raised. Will smiled back, his gaze trailing down her face, onto her snow-white dress, her legs and finally... "I never thought I'd see you wearing a pair of heels." She looked so uncomfortable in those it almost made him burst out laughing, and he was sure she'd see a faint smirk play across his lips. He took a few steps forward and gently kissed her on her forehead, before loosely picking up and holding her hand.

"We've got matching dress, what with me in white and you in white as well. Hell, at this point we might as well be snowmen." He paused, before adding "Well, snowman and woman. We share the same coloration at the very least..." He shifted uncomfortably, feeling stupidly awkward for wearing a bow tie with this suit. What if she realised? Then, he remembered; as much as he loved Rea, she could barley toast a piece of bread, let alone realise the different types of suit and how to properly accessorise them; he was in the clear.

He turned, still holding her hand, and looked out onto the gym. The theme was space-related, and the faculty (and presumably whatever student body had been 'in charge' of the event,) had done a fairly decent job of transforming it from where the students expelled sweat, fat and tears into something that wouldn't look out of place if a 1960's B-movie flick was filmed in the hall.

Will fished in his pocket to find the packet of gum stashed in there, knowing that his father would be mortified if he found out what the pockets were being used for. Popping a piece in his mouth, he listened to the opening bars of I've Got You Under My Skin play, and offered an arm to Rea. "Shall we?"
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#4

Post by Spinnentier† »

"I think we shall."

She took his arm and the pair strode into the gym. Or at least, what was once the gym. Now, it was more of a bizarre fever dream hallucinated by a planetarium's janitor. For whatever reason, the school (and everyone who had worked on this) had decided that the dance needed a theme. Why they thought this, she'd never know, but the end result of it was laughable. What was so romantic about space? The planets and stars everywhere made the place look ridiculous. Really killed the mood, which was only salvaged and kept alive by the man standing next to her.

Rea had no idea what she was supposed to do here. She could try dancing in them, but even without these heels that she saw Will smirking at earlier she still had no idea how to waltz, or slow dance, or whatever people were meant to do here. Really the entire thing was just a social formality counting down time until after the dance, where morning regrets and teenage pregnancies abound.

Sure, she liked Will, but did she really like him enough for that? Okay, fine, it was true that she did. In the time she'd known him, she'd fallen in love with Will, and at the risk of sounding as cliched as possible, she did want her first time to be special, to be with someone she loved.

But that was for later in the evening. For now though, all she had to focus on was not tripping over in the most uncomfortable shoes she'd ever worn. Oh, and the entire reason they were here in the first place.

"Will, do you have any idea how to dance?"
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#5

Post by Dannyrulx† »

"Stiffly, formally, and only practiced with cousins. Basically, I have about as much clue as a drunk sailor after a month on board a sub. That is to say, absolutely none at all..." He paused for a moment. " Still, the holding hands thing whilst gently swaying to the music seems to be simple enough, and should spare us embarrassment." He looked up. Most of the students had absolutely no clue what to make of the song, and he supposed that was understandable, most of the songs wouldn't have been old Sinatra croonings, but something from... Well, the last decade and a half at least he supposed.

To be frank, the Sadie Hawkins had made no sense to Will. Ok, bucking social conventions by the girl being the 'persuer,' so to speak, but this was 2015;  you were more likely to end up banging someone you'd had physical contact with for only a few hours than you would following the incredibly nonsensical and chaperoned affairs that had gone on only a century or so ago.  Carefully, Will shifted his collar, which was already feeling pretty choked as it was, and took Rea's two hands in his, almost causing them to vanish. "You know Rea, if you weren't so reedy, you might've been the first women to have ever, ever intimidated me when I was fully grown." He smiled. "Luckily you didn't, because that would have probably ended in a very different path that did not end in us standing at this bizarre dance."
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#6

Post by Spinnentier† »

And so as the song from several decades before her birth continued to play, Rea swayed gently in time with the music, her hands enveloped in Will's. She looked around her; the other student couples weren't faring any better. Awkward stumbling, constant blushing. At least she didn't stand out in the crowd.

Looking at her partner, she reflected on how lucky she was to have him. He was rich, even taller than her, handsome, and hunted for sport. Sure, that might be somewhat controversial back at the school, but to her it was a sign of showing that he could take care of himself. That, and the fact that he was minor nobility, and British nobility at that.

Sure, he was a little rough around the edges, but there was no one else she could imagine being with here tonight. Even in the incredibly oddly themed gym, the moment couldn't be ruined. Well, apart from the fact that she'd inevitably managed to trip over in her heels, and was now falling towards the floor.

So much for blending in with the crowd.
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#7

Post by Dannyrulx† »

Had this been a romance movie, Will would've swooped down and grabbed her, gracefully leaning over into that dance pose, before hauling her up. Real life, however, rarely went down like that, and Will ended up almost being pulled down himself, had he not quite literally dug in his heels and pulled the stumbling Rea up. It was clunky, and completely ingraceful, but it was far better than landing face-first onto wooden flooring, so there was always that.

There was a minor complication though, that being the ungodly ways his suit started to pinch. Had he been even slightly more vigorous in his pulling, he was entirely sure the suit would have just shredded itself into about five different peices. As it was, his arms, shoulders, crotch and chest all suffered one of the worst pinches he'd ever felt in his entire life.

"Rea. I'm pretty sure this suit is gonna tear if I have to do that again. Do you have some flats in your car or something? Because you really don't need heels to look good."
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#8

Post by Spinnentier† »

"Thanks," she smiled sheepishly, looking up at one of the few people taller than her. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Will."

She took a quick glance of her surrounds, checking to see if anyone was staring that the two. Fortunately for her, nobody seemed to have noticed her ineptness at the simple act of standing. Well, to be fair, she was wearing heels for the first time in her life. And these things were like stilts. Seriously, who wore these voluntarily? All they did was cause the wearer to stumble around like they were drunk. Sure, they added some height, but Rea pretty much had that covered. And apart from that, how did they make one more attractive?

Will, at least, had the same opinion on heels as Rea. According to him, she didn't need heels to look good. Which was really sweet of him, to be honest.

"I didn't really expect to change shoes while still at the dance. But I think I might have something in the car."

She paused, thinking back to her luckily averted fall.

"Could you, uh, steady me, just while I walk? You know, just put your arm around my back to make sure I don't have a repeat of earlier?"
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#9

Post by Dannyrulx† »

Will smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. Sure, it didn't offer as much... Stability as an arm around the shoulder, but arms around the shoulders were for friends in his opinion. Any lower, and he'd be straying into pervert territory (despite her being his girlfriend, social rules were weird like that,) but the waist was perfect.

He felt her shiver as they stepped out into the cold. One thing he'd noted with Kingsman, especially in the cooler parts of the years, was that the nights would be freezing cold. Combined with the light breeze and even he was feeling a little of the chill under the suit.

They walked past various parked cars, from little two-door hatchbacks and battered old fords to his uncle's Series 3 Dodge Challenger and... Was that an Impala? Who took an Impala to a school dance? I mean, it was a little hypocritical since he had driven a muscle car, but there you go.

It was as he was walking that he realised how dark it was out here. There were a few flashes of lights mostly from the occasional car headlight and such, but on the whole it was very dark. Concernedly, he turned to Rea. "You alright? With your... You know." He knew she didn't like talking about it in public. Thought she'd be bullied about it, which was understandable really. People could be dicks like that.
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#10

Post by Dannyrulx† »

Will smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. Sure, it didn't offer as much... Stability as an arm around the shoulder, but arms around the shoulders were for friends in his opinion. Any lower, and he'd be straying into pervert territory (despite her being his girlfriend, social rules were weird like that,) but the waist was perfect.

He felt her shiver as they stepped out into the cold. One thing he'd noted with Kingsman, especially in the cooler parts of the years, was that the nights would be freezing cold. Combined with the light breeze and even he was feeling a little of the chill under the suit.

They walked past various parked cars, from little two-door hatchbacks and battered old fords to his uncle's Series 3 Dodge Challenger and... Was that an Impala? Who took an Impala to a school dance? I mean, it was a little hypocritical since he had driven a muscle car, but there you go.

It was as he was waking that he realised how dark it was out here. There were a few flashes of lights, the occasional car light on and the like, but on the whole very dark. Concernedly, he turned to Rea. "You alright? With your... You know." He knew she didn't like talking about it in public. Thought she'd be bullied about it, which was understandable really.
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#11

Post by Spinnentier† »

Stepping out of the hall had been like pouring a bucket of ice over her head and then blindfolding herself. Outside was cold. Freezing cold. And dark. As in, horror movie setup dark. She began to shiver. Sure, everyone says that the desert at night more closely resembles a freezer than an oven, but you don't really believe them until you experience it yourself.

This was nothing like Queensland. Back there, the tropical nights were almost as warm as the day. Summer was at the end of the year, not the white, icy hell that is an American winter.

The overly short dress certainly didn't help with the cold, either.

But a small chance of minor hypothermia wasn't the biggest problem that she had to deal with right now.

No, that would be her crippling fear of the dark. Or "acute nyctophobia", as pedantic psychologists were so insistent on calling it.

"I should be fine I-um-" she gulped, clearing a lump in her throat. "Yes, I should be fine." Her voice was incredibly shaky, though from the cold or from the fear she couldn't tell. Even being an Australian girl, and from the sunny north at that, she suspected it wasn't the cold.

"Let's just keep walking." She rapidly scanned the area around her, eyes flitting from one shadow to the next.

"Just... Just don't leave me anywhere by myself, alright?" The last part of that sentence was a barely audible squeak.

Not that she'd expect Will, of all people, to just run off and abandon her. He'd been amazingly understanding with the whole "nyctophobia" thing when she told him, and hadn't told anyone else about it. He was really someone she could trust to protect and take care of her.
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#12

Post by Dannyrulx† »

Christ she was bad right now. Shivering from the cold and quite possibly shaking from the dark as well. He hugged her gently with one arm, the other inside his other suit pocket for his phone. As soon as he found it he flicked the flashlight option on and shone it in front of them. It wasn't much, but every little bit helped. "I'm not gonna up and abandon you Rea. You know that as well as I do."

Especially now. He genuinely loved Rea, more than was wise and definitely more than his cheating father had loved his mother, and although she was practically helpless in most aspects, this was the one thing he would never, encourage her to overcome. I mean, he did, but not in the same way as her inability to cook, for example.

Rea was a bit of a mess up there, but so what, lots of people were; kids as young as 10 on Ritalin, Prozac and Zoloft being tossed around like sweets, and he'd never really seen why that was something to be ashamed of. At the same time, he hated people making fun of people for mental disabilities, especially when they were being hypocritical bastards. He understood why Rea would be cautious though, and respected it.

To be honest, he felt as if he was her protector in the way. Sure, she had a relativley solid home life, and her faith was an amazing bouy for her, but her parents were busy people, and besides, no parents could protect you when they weren't there. He was always there. So he would always protect her.
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#13

Post by Spinnentier† »

She felt a little better after that. Didn't matter what happened, he could always be trusted to take care of her. Even now, in the the impossibly dark parking lot, he had his arm around her and had pulled out his phone's light for her.

Most guys probably wouldn't do that for her. But here he was, even though she reckoned he could pretty much have any girl in the school. He was tall, muscular, had a foreign accent, and was nearly as wealthy as herself. And yet instead of going for one of the generic, blond, super-popular beauty queens, he chose her, the reedy, snobby nerd, and one that dressed incredibly tomboyishly at that.

She pressed into him for warmth, and to reassure her subconscious that Will was still there. Of course, she already knew that he'd never leave her, but her mind certainly had other plans. Every shadow on the wall looked poised to jump at her. Every minuscule sound around her was made by something out to get her. She was wading through an ocean of darkness, of pitch black, save for the weak cone of light that was Will's phone.

A few tears rolled down her face. Even with Will right next to her, she didn't know how much of this she could take. She swiftly moved to wrap her arms around Will, embracing the only thing she could trust in the moment.
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#14

Post by Dannyrulx† »

"Which car did yo-" his sentence was cut off as Rea suddenly started to constrict him. Despite how weak she was, that girl had a hell of a grip, and said grip meant that he was taking in incredibly shallow breaths. He felt hot tears on his neck, and carefully put his phone away before hugging her back.

He moved slightly to the side of the pavement, an awkward feat with Rea wrapped around him, but manageable nontheless, and he freed one of his hands to gently stroke her head. The hair which had looked so strange on her when he had first lain eyes on it gently shifting under his fingers.

"You... Sure that you're alright there? We can go back inside if you'd like, or home, whichever you like." Whilst it might seem like a bit of a sacrifice, the dance wasn't really his cup of tea. The theme was awkward, the music a mess of different decades and the punch mediocre at best. Personally, he would prefer to head home, but Rea came first.
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#15

Post by Spinnentier† »

"I...I think we should just head home."

Right now, Rea wanted nothing more than to get out of the dark and cold. She just wanted to get to somewhere warm, and with light. Somewhere like her house. Or possibly Will's.

"That one. My car's that one over there." She pointed out a black Mercedes. "Keys are behind the front tire." Of course, having no pockets to speak of, she had to improvise on where she left the keys to the incredibly expensive car. One of the reasons she never wore dresses. Pockets were just too useful.

"So... did you want to drive?" Her voice was still shaky. She wasn't home just yet. Still had a few metres (or "yards", as they wanted to call them) between herself and the warm, heated car. But that thought gave her some relief. She was nearly out of the darkness.

"Come on. Let's just get into the car and go."
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