He's So Tall and Handsome as Hell

[Laurels]

Alba's mouth slowly opened as she walked into the dance hall. What was once the gym was now what Alba imagined was the kind of party that would be held in a high school on Mars in the year 3000. Well, at least if they didn't have much money, that is. Regardless, Alba was still really excited to be here. It was her first major dance in high school, and she was ready to have a fun evening.

The preparations for the dance were handled somewhat smoothly. Alba found an inexpensive and cute burgundy colored dress that reached her knees, allowing her to really move along with the rhythm if she wanted. Plus, it was really fun to twirl in. Tonight was one of the rare times she wore her hair down, and her mom helped curl the ends and pinned a barrette in her hair. Her jewelry was also fairly cheap, but tasteful, with small earrings and a simple silver necklace that used to belong to her grandmother. She couldn't afford anything super expensive for tonight, but this was a good look for her based on how economical she managed to be.

Dinner was also cheap. She and Brendan went out to a local Mexican restaurant, one that wouldn't cost too much for the both of them. It had been a nice dinner out. She made sure to be careful as she ate, knowing it'd be death if she got any refried beans on her dress. Alba also wanted the dinner to be the start of a good talk with Brendan. She remembered how he asked if they were going as boyfriend and girlfriend tonight, and while it was too soon to say whether she wanted to date him or not, she wanted to at least see if tonight was the kind of time they'd have if they dated after the dance.

So, Alba walked in as the music changed to some dance song she didn't recognize. She let out a slight chuckle.

"Wow, I can't believe we're here," Alba said to Brendan. "Are you ready to have fun?"

[Primrosette]

Brendan couldn't believe that he was actually at the dance with Alba and he was feeling very excitable and giddy. It felt strange how all of his nervousness had disappeared in only a few seconds after the two of them had entered. The gym looked like it was out of this world and he thought that it was amazing. A couple of people were there who were either having a chat with each other or some of them were dancing. He had never felt this excited about anything before. He felt like a little kid who just walked into the biggest candy shop ever. But this was nothing like that. This was even better.

Brendan had chosen to wear a white suit with a white shirt and pants to match. The only thing that didn't match the rest of his clothes were the polished black shoes that his father had given to him. His dad had wore them when he went to the prom when he was younger with a girl named Angie. Brendan was unsure about wearing them at first but he wanted to make his dad happy about Brendan actually going to the dance with someone. Brendan had gelled his hair back, but it would remain curled at the bottom of his dark hair and he felt a bit strange about it. However, he really did want to impress Alba tonight. He was just glad that he didn't get any food strains on himself at that Mexican restaurant. It was strange how he wasn't clumsy with food but with everything else he was. The dinner had been nice. He and Alba talked a little about swimming and golf respectively. Talking about what sports they liked was a great way to know each other more and he was glad that they also had a laugh together. Laughter was an important thing to Brendan. Because if the person he was trying to impress didn't laugh.... Well, things would possibly only get worse.

Brendan glanced at Alba as she talked him and he couldn't help blush. Alba was looking very pretty and hot to him in her outfit. He never thought that he would be attracted to her so quickly. It wasn't just her looks that he loved about her. It was also her personality. She was really friendly, loud and funny. And he liked that in a girl. He liked people who were nice at heart. It felt a bit weird. But he was know for falling in love too easily. He wasn't sure if he was at the actual love stage yet but he really did like Alba a little. He really didn't want to screw up this night with her and he wanted to show Alba the time of her life. Heck, he would even do his terrible dancing for her just to make her smile and laugh.

Brendan smiled at Alba warmly and he nodded. "This feels like a dream. But a great dream with you, Alba." He was speaking a bit quietly and he wasn't sure if Alba could hear him properly. So he raised his voice a little and he was getting nervous again. "U-Um, yes! I am ready for some fun! ....What should we do?"  

[Laurels]

Alba continued to look around the dance hall. Brendan made some comment about this whole thing feeling like a dream. Alba nodded and giggled to herself.

"I hope it's the good kind of dream," she mentioned. "I mean, lately I've had weird dreams involving my teeth. Like, they'll be so brittle they fall out easily, or they break apart when I close my mouth. The weirdest one was me discovering that Chinese jewel smugglers embedded jewels in my teeth in order to sneak them over international borders. I still don't get why I'm having those kinds of dreams, but they make for interesting discussion."

Brendan then asked what they should do. Alba took a quick look around. They didn't really need a table, and it was too soon after dinner to run to the refreshment table. That left the open dance floor, with a Pharrell song playing in the background. Alba pointed over to the dance floor.

"I think we should dance for a bit, if that's okay with you," Alba said. "I'm not the best dancer, but I think I can keep in rhythm with the song."

[Primrosette]

Brendan raised an eyebrow as Alba was talking about her dreams and he couldn't help but laugh a little. Who knew that this amazing girl would have strange dreams. Especially about her teeth. What a strangely interesting conversation this was turning into. "W-Wow. Your dreams sure are awesome, creepy, scary and interesting. And in a good way too! I can't say that I ever had a weird dream myself." He was speaking to her honestly as he couldn't think of any dreams that he had that was out of this world. "Who knows? Maybe I will have one in the future and I'll tell you all about it."

Then Alba said that they should dance together. Brendan was nervous about being seen dancing in public. He was the clumsiest dancer and he was afraid that he would screw up. But he really did want to have fun with Alba. It was only a dance. And Alba even said that she wasn't good at dancing ever. So that calmed him down a bit. He had to try harder and not being afraid of taking risks. He has already made so many mistakes in the past. So what if he made another one? He could learn from it and try to do things better in the future.

Brendan smiled at Alba gently and he held out his hand to her. It was shaking a little and he was trying his best to ignore it. "S-Sure, I would love to dance with you. I should warn you that I'm not a good dancer myself." He was waiting for her to take his hand. "I hope you don't mind seeing me... um.... embarrass myself in front of you."

[Laurels]

Alba smiled and took Brendan's hand.

"Don't worry. If you're embarrassing yourself, I'll make a fool out of myself so we can be dorks together."

Alba pulled Brendan towards the dance floor, letting out a small cheer as they ran into the area. She let go of Brendan's hand and started to dance to the best of her abilities. This mostly meant keeping her feet planted in one spot, and awkwardly moving her hips side to side. Her arms were kept to her side, slightly bent at the elbows and moving in a somewhat circular motion. From what she could approximate, she was probably blending in with the dance crowd and wouldn't look like a total idiot dancing like this.

"Woo!" she shouted towards Brendan, trying to talk over the music. "I think I'm getting into it!"

[Primrosette]

Brendan didn't start dancing at first as he wanted to see what Alba would do. The way that she was dancing right then just looked really adorably dorky. Hah. She was right about looking like a dork and he felt relieved. He was less nervous about dancing with her. He let out a laugh at the way Alba was moving. This night was just getting better and better with her. He noticed that other people were dancing as well. Woah. Was that Noah? Brendan gaped for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to Alba.

"You look really great, Alba!" Brendan was trying to yell back to her but his voice was too quiet. "I'm going to join the dorky side now!"

Brendan was joking with a big fat grin on his face. He started to move his left foot to one side and then his right foot to the other side. He shouldn't worry about embarrassing himself. He was then swinging his head from side to side. It was no deal at all. His head was bobbing along to the music. Just as long he didn't trip over his own feet. The song didn't sound that bad to him. Too bad he didn't know what the name of it was. He started to move more actively and he started to smile more. He really was having a great time with Alba. The night was going good so far.

[Laurels]

Alba continued to dance in the same awkward manner she had before. Brendan had joined in and, like her, was committed to dancing without caring.

"Aw yeah!" she shouted once Brendan started going along with her. "Work it!"

Alba moved slightly closer to where Brendan was and continued to dance. She continued to sway along, letting her dress move and flow with her movement. She turned around and started dancing with Brendan to her back. It was the kind of dancing she thought was similar to those dance movies her mom liked. It was pretty fun, and she hoped it stayed like that for the rest of the evening.

[Primrosette]

Brendan watched as Alba moved closer to him and he was still continuing to focus on dancing. He had to try and not stumble into her. He didn't want that to happen again. He just needed to concentrate on what he was doing. Alba had turned around with her back really close to him and she was still moving her body side to side. He couldn't help but smile slightly. Everything was going perfectly well.

"I'm having a lot of....uh.... fun with you today, Alba." He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. Was he supposed to swing his arms? Maybe. He should give it a shot. It was a bit hard to with Alba in front of him. She was having fun so he wasn't going to stop her.

[Laurels]

"I am too!" Alba shouted. "Let's keep it up all night!"

Alba continued to dance with her back to Brendan. She moved her hands up to the side of her head, bending her elbows forward. She continued to dance the same as before, moving slightly closer to Brendan. She was starting to lose herself in the moment. Maybe it was the music, or maybe it was the impetus to dance like an idiot, but she really having fun.

"Let me know if you want to take a break anytime," Alba shouted to Brendan. "I can keep going for a while, but let me know when you want to sit down or whatever."

[Primrosette]

Brendan just watched the way that Alba was moving for a while. She was really into this. He laughed softly. He really did like her confidence and how she didn't care if other people would be looking at them. She was really amazing. Brendan continued to move with her. Wait, was she getting close to him? Brendan felt a little nervous but he was trying to ignore it. He didn't want to stumble backwards and bump into someone. It was ruin the dance so he stayed where he was and carried on doing his own dancing along with Alba.

"I-I'll be sure to tell you if I would like a break, Alba." Brendan was sweating slightly but he wanted to keep going for Alba. "I can keep going for a while. This is too fun to stop right now!"

[Laurels]

((Timeskip approved))

After a few rounds of dancing, Alba had led Brendan to a nearby table for a short break. Alba wasn't used to wearing heels, and it was starting to wear her out. If she had worn sneakers or roller blades, she probably would be handling this a lot better, but this was a new feeling. As the thought of roller skating around the dance floor entertained her, she slipped her feet out of her shoes and started rubbing her feet together under the table.

"Man, I'm beat," Alba said.

Alba took a sip of punch from the cup ahead of her. She made sure she and Brendan got some punch before they sat down.

"Hey, do you think this punch is powdered, or homemade?" she asked Brendan. "I usually only drink the powdered stuff, but I wonder if they shelled out extra bucks for real fruit and shit."

[Primrosette]

Brendan was sweating a little after all that dancing with Alba. He never felt that exhausted after going out on his jogs or when he was running on the track team. He was glad that he and Alba were taking a break now. His feet were killing him. But he did enjoy his time with Alba on the dance floor. He was happy to be sitting down at a table with Alba and he placed down his cup of punch on the table. He hadn't taken a sip from it yet. He never had punch before so he was a bit hesitant to taste it.

"T-That was a lot of fun, Alba. I really enjoyed dancing with you." He smiled at her across the table. "M-Maybe we can do more dancing together later on."

Brendan glanced down at his cup of punch as Alba starting talking about it. He wasn't quite sure what to say about it. "I....I'm not sure. I think it would be nice if it had some fruit in it." He was looking a bit thoughtful as he was thinking about it. "Um.... Although, I think it would be more of the powdered kind. I never had punch before so...."

Brendan picked the cup back up and he took a small sip from it. Hm. It tasted a bit sweet. Maybe there was some fruit in it afterall. He could have been wrong.  

[Laurels]

"Well, I guess I can't tell what kind of fruit punch is powdered and which is fresh," Alba said. "It doesn't matter. It's sweet, it's cold, and it's gonna make my tongue red, so it's all good with me."

Alba took another sip of punch.

"But man, I didn't think I'd be able to dance as much as I did tonight. I've got good stamina from roller derby, but I didn't think I could dance so long. It's kind of fun."

[Primrosette]

Brendan chuckled softly and he glanced around at everyone having a fun time. Having a red tongue sounded like it would be very funny to see. He could imagine having a good laugh about it with Alba. He looked back down at the punch cup in his hand and he put it back down on the table. Everything was going well so far. However he didn't know what he should say next. He wasn't that great at conversations. But at least he could try now.

"It would be pretty funny to have a red tongue. I have never been this happy to do dancing before. I wasn't that terrible at it, was I? I think I only slipped once but at least I didn't bump into someone else." He was joking about happily and he felt more relaxed and a bit more confident in Alba's presence. "I definitely need to do more things with you, Alba. We should do more fun things like this more often. You really.... made me feel less awkward and nervous out there on the floor."

Brendan turned his gaze away from the dance floor and he was now focused on some people leaning against one of the walls. Some were chatting to each other. Then Brendan was slightly surprised to see a familiar face. Was that...? Yes, he did recognize him. Maxim Kehlenbrink.... Brendan had been friends with Maxim for a few months now. They had both met at the library when Brendan had been looking for a book to read and he saw Maxim's head buried into a book. He was sure that it was a fanasty novel. He had been too nervous to talk to Maxim at first and then Maxim had noticed Brendan staring at him. Brendan had got really embarrassed and apologized for being very awkward. Then they started to talk about books somehow and they just kind of became friends.

Brendan really did like Maxim a lot. He was hoping that Maxim wouldn't become another one of his crushes in the future. Because Brendan didn't want to screw things with Alba. He wanted things to be perfect. He had to try not to get all weird in front of Maxim. Because he really wanted Maxim to come over and join him and Alba. Maybe the three of them could talk about book ideas. Not very romantic.

Brendan could see that Maxim was dressed up nicely. Why was he here? Brendan was curious as he was sure that dances were not Maxim's thing. Did Maxim have a date himself? Brendan couldn't see anyone with Maxim. Why would he come alone?

Brendan felt sorry for Maxim. He could see that Maxim was glancing in their direction. Brendan gave him a warm smile and he wave to him to come over to their table. He wasn't going to bother to shout as the music was too loud for Maxim to hear him. Brendan was never comfortable with yelling. He would be happy to have Maxim join the two of them.

[Rorick Skyve†]

Why had he even bothered coming here? It was all exactly as he had expected, nothing but lovesick couples prancing around the hall like they had no other worries in the world, music echoing that he was less than fond of and to top it all off, all the tables had been taken already. Sure, it would have been less than polite of him to take up an entire table only for himself, but he still preferred that to standing around all dressed up and with nowhere to go.

He sighed and buried his face in his hands for a moment. He should have ignored his godmother Joan's advice, should have ignored her urging him to take up this rare opportunity to go out and mingle with his schoolmates.

'You're still young, Maxim, too young to be sitting around at home each day. Believe me, you'll regret letting this chance pass.' What did she know? For all he could say, he regretted being at the damned dance more than anything else at this point. He had spotted only a handful of familiar faces, all busy with some other person they had brought along. Nothing to do for him. Not that the minded being alone, but he did mind being alone at a place he absolutely did not want to be at.

That stupid  conscience of mine...All because I wanted to do Joan a favor, make her feel proud. I sure hope she's enjoying herself at home, at least.

He looked around himself again, saw another pair passing him and screwed up his nose when he perceived the overly excessive amount of perfume the girl wore. Who was she trying to impress with that? Certainly not the guy she was with, he either had no sense of smell or he really wanted to get on her good side, no matter the hardship.

Maxim turned away and tried to think of something less negative, something that didn't encourage his grouchiness even further. There had to be something he could do with his time, something productive even. Reading was out of the question, he had no book with him and even if he had brought one, he couldn't have gotten through one single page, thanks to the blaring sounds of music and chatter.

As his eyes wandered around the room, scanning each and every nook and cranny for something worthwhile, he spotted another familiar face at one of the tables. Tall, short black hair, slightly bent nose. Yup - that was Brendan, no doubt. Nice enough guy, enjoyed reading almost as much as Maxim did. Certainly one of the people he'd be content to spend his time with, although it seemed that he, too, was already accompanied by a girl of his choosing. Bummer.

Maxim had already given up on finding someone to converse with, when he saw Brendan waving at him. So he had noticed him after all and even wanted him to come over, judging from his expression. The German was surprised that Brendan willingly let another boy join him while he was  already in the company of what seemed to be his date for the dance. Then again, Maxim wasn't really all too familiar with social matters and was all too happy to be disabused from his misconception. Smiling weakly, he waved back and trudged towards the other two.