to a midnight show tonight;; {MASQUERADE}

[faden]

"I thought I loved you,
And I did,
I assumed you loved me
but you didn't
Please Correct me if mistaken"
+----------+

God just look at her, in a blue dress that complimented her skin tone just so and the way she held herself. Her shoulders in a certain way so specific it was impossible to describe. It was with pride AND humility, kindness AND fierce strength. And despite he was still angry and hurt, he still knew that this girl was amazing and she had no idea just how amazing she was, which of course to many made her a prime catch. She was a sweet girl, he knew that but he knew one thing for sure, she would not have let Luke get close enough to kiss her if she hadn't been drunk. what was he going to say to her? He's sorry for over-reacting and what not? Sure that's great. That's a great lie. He still didn't think he was over-reacting but he just wanted to hold her hand in the hallway again and have people say that they were great together, instead of everyone looking at him like he was not only a freak, but an idiot for letting Emilia get away with fooling around with Luke behind his back. Okay, he knew Emilia and look hadn't gotten anywhere on the same planet as that but the rumors spanned from Luke slipping her something in her drink to She and luke having sex in the coat room as Faden searched a crowded bar for her. Lord, people who idiots, not helpful in any situation.

"Hey...Yeah...We should talk. We need to talk."

Faden nodded and too notice to that small smile that played onto her lips as he neared her. But she seemed a bit awkward. Which was of course of so natural seeing the situation they were in. But as they stood there for a moment, their eyes not quite meeting but still focused on eachother, his gaze noticed a small book charm around her neck. He watched the charm for a moment. It was a charm he gave to her, the night of the cotillion. And it made a small smile form on his lips to see it hanging from a chain around her neck. He glanced down at the ground for a moment before lifting his eyes to her's pausing only momentarily on the charm on the way up. "I'm-... I don't kn-" He began repeatedly a few times, the magnitude of the noise inside the ballroom was too loud from him to speak properly without feeling as though he was constantly getting interrupted.

"Should we maybe...Go outside?"

"most definitely, it's kind of hard to breath in here, let alone speak." he agreed gesturing towards the main exit. He stepped out into the front entrance of the magnificent estate and then opened the door to the outside for her. He stepped out after she had. They were on a patio/balcony thing, faden didnt know the real term, but it outlooked these magnificent gardens. If they hadn't come here tonight lie this, if him and Emilia had been their average rather cheesy but cute couple selves, this would be one of the most romantic moments of him life but instead he was here feeling not only the chill of the wind but the chill of fear that he couldn't make it work. There she was as gorgeous as ever and he needed to tell her about the pictures and confront her about Luke. "I'm sorry I avoided you." he said plainly, awkwardly putting his hands into his pockets. He didn't know what to say now that it was the moment to say it. He had speech after speech worked out in his mind. Some of them were an angry Faden, others a hurt Faden, other's and calm and collected Faden. He had gone over them repeatedly in his head, his movements, his body language, his key points, his tone, and yet now that the moment was here, he was silent. He was tongue tied. He didn't know what he should say or do to fix it. He knew she didn't care as much about Luke as she did about faden, but didn't someone once say "things said and done while drunk have been thought out beforehand?" Was it possible part of her really did have feelings for Luke still?

"And..." He said softly, not knowing where to go, "A-and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the pictures, I should have told you about them." Come one faden, explain it to her, after all those pictures were the things that drove her to drink in the first place "I was just embarrassed by them, since they're not really my thing. I needed the money, foster mother was fired from her second job so I took them up on their offer, promising myself I wouldn't tell anyone. Except Laura knew but that was it." True he had told Laura, but she was his best friend, and yeah Emilia was his girlfriend but he just wasn't used to being a Boyfriend enough to let himself be embarrassed around Emilia. "I would never... EVER have shot those for Amanda. I've spoken to her maybe three times in my entire life and none of them has ever made me as happy as just one glance from you." not to mention there was no way Amanda would ever really have touched Faden, he was a poor foster freak after all.

((hope you dont mind me GMing her to follow him out))

[Anne Lévesque]

anne lévesque

[/b]
and it's you and me and all of the people & i
don't know why i can't keep my eyes off of you
decemeber 31, 06 - janurary 1, 2007 ; evening
_____________________________________[/font][/center]

Sure, Anne did feel a bit guilty, only a bit. And there was no way she could possibly explain or reason to Oscar that she believed this was the best for them. But it was. You see, this was Anne's theory on the subject. If everyone knew, not only would it completely crush Anne's reputation, status and intimidating stanza, but Oscar would be in danger. Welcoming Oscar Lyon into her life, the life of high society elite was something of dangerous. Scandal Star would be on the look out for him as well, people would gossip about him and her. She didn't want that. People had always talked about her before, but being as protective over Oscar as she was, she didn't want him to go through it either. Not to mention, if girls found that Oscar Lyon could be considered hott, Anne didn't want any competition with the Valkyrie sluts of California. Oh no, that was definitely not something she wanted.

But when Oscar asked if she had lost her memory and forgotten she was not Mr. Princeton, she tried to ignore it. But she felt like a dejavu of Homecoming again, making him less of something and hiding him. That terrible feeling which started this whole Oscar/Anne drama. "No, no no. I'll explain it to you later. Let's uh.. let's go dance, yeah?" Anne said, trying to change the subject and avoid anybody she knew so that this wouldn't happen again. She didn't want Oscar second guessing, even though he should. But as Anne was about to take his hand to the dance floor, she heard him say some words that she had feared for, well, a long time. Anne had always wondered if he would, there had to be a time, but now? Why not at the Strip or something? The entire SCHOOL was here. Even student teachers, like her ex boyfriend Zack Holtz.

Anne angrily marched after him, prepared to tackle him if he attempted to do something.. stupid. But just as she was reaching out to grab him by the collar of his tuxedo, someone walked in front of her. Before she knew it, Oscar was standing on a table. "What is he doing.." Anne said quietly, shaking with paranoia as she tried to blend in with the crowd, as if she didn't know him and wondering who the drunk loon was. She heard several people whisper those exact thoughts. However, the clanking of his flute was heard within a good couple feet, as Anne wished she could sink lower and lower to the floor. Oscar Lyon was sooo dead. She subtly covered her mouth as he took off his mask, announced his name and from the back Tad, Chad or one of the water polo guys yell something cruel. Where was a BBAD girl for support?

"Uh, yess, comic nerd I am. But, what you don't know is that I am dating someone."

The room was now frozen for Anne. He did NOT just say that. What was he doing? Was this necessary? Apparently for him, because he was now looking straight at Anne. A couple of people caught this as they stared at the people around Anne or even at her. The question was, who was the girl that was actually dating Oscar? Hah, only Anne, Ashley, James, Oscar, Luke, Kelsey and Daphne knew that answer. Wow, more people than Anne thought. "This someone likes to hide that we are dating because she has this fear of what people will think. But, I don't want to be this big secret anymore." Anne bowed her head down, trying to open her mouth and say something, but nothing came out. Shocked wasn't even a word she could say. He had nailed her right on the dot, he knew her intentions, every single one. And what did he plan on doing? Oh no, Anne now pieced it together. She wanted to run away, but her legs wouldn't move. Or maybe it was because her dress was to tight to run in.

And then he did it. While people murmurred in confusion, Oscar Lyon outstretched his hand to her. People all turned their heads to Anne, gasping and wondering if this was just some kind of a New Years skit or prank. "Anne Lévesque. You either accept us being together now, or you'll lose me forever." Oscar said, in front of the whole crowd. In front of everybody. Pressure built up inside of Anne, as she stared at the hand. The thought of showing everyone that public display of her love interest was frightening. Extremely. But losing Oscar forever? She had worked so hard on getting him. She bitched away Jessica Holland and Haley Summers. She kissed him at Homecoming. He saved her on the beach. She prevailed her love to him at Las Vegas. She felt heartbreak when he rejected her, only to correct his mistake at the Newspaper Meeting. From Cotillion, to falling in an open grave with him, to just being at her house with subtle kisses. She knew that if she indeed did lose Oscar Lyon forever, she'd lose herself as well.

Without saying another word, Anne took off her mask, walked over to him, people standing back with surprised faces. Whispers arose while Anne's whole body shook with exhilaration. It was definitely one of the most scariest things, yet she wouldn't be doing it without Oscar Lyon pushing her to. She took his hand, as she had to step on a chair first before standing on the table with him. Wow, no joke. It was scary up there, not to mention there were so many people. It looked like a Van Halen concert from up here. All eyes were on them, as Anne stood quietly next to Oscar. He was her man. She knew it. And with this realization, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. A few gasps erupted again, a few 'awws' were heard. And as the song 'I'm Yours' burst through the speakers, Anne had never felt better.

The countdown began, as people seemed to forget the scene and searched for their kisses. Yet, time stood still for Anne and Oscar, for they continued to share their spotlight kiss on the table from 2006 to 2007. Happy new year, Anne and Oscar. You finally made it.

[/size][/font]

[krueger]

Emilia Demtra
the world revives, colors renew
but I know blue,
only blue, lonely blue,
without you

As they stood there for a few minutes, Emilia watched as he saw the charm that was hanging around her neck. As a small smile lit his face, she couldn't help but smile slightly as well, although he wasn't looking at her face anymore. It seemed like the whole room lit up with that smile. Her heart lifted as well, from the slight stupor it had been in since their fight. Suddenly, she felt like everything was going to be okay between them, although she wasn't really sure why. This was a big road block for them, and she was pretty sure that it would take quite a bit of talking out. Not that she was objecting to that, because it was all that she'd been craving for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it had seemed that, until now, Faden hadn't wanted to talk.

As he seemed to struggle with his words after his momentary shock about the charm, and until he accepted her suggestion to go inside, she didn't hear a word that he had said. Nodding in agreement, Emilia followed him outside to the garden, smiling slightly as he held the door open. Going over to the railing, she leaned on it for a moment, watching as the sea on the beach that was visible rolled over the shore, then trailing her gaze across the lit garden itself. It really was a beautiful sight, although she thought that Paolo, as nice as he was, might take it for granted sometime. After all, living here with all these nice things for a long time would start to let these things get just...Normal. But to Emilia, who only came over a couple times to have out with Paolo, this was an amazing sight. And it only got better every time she saw it.

"I'm sorry I avoided you."

His apology came from behind her, and she turned slowly, leaning back on the railing and opening her mouth to tell him that he didn't need to apologize. She had realized that this was all a big misunderstanding. But he continued forward after a minute, telling her that he hadn't taken those pictures for Amanda; that he had needed the money because his foster mom had been fired from her second job, and he was embarrassed by it. Suddenly, Emilia felt like dirt. She had fallen for Amanda's trap, even for an hour or two, without just talking to Faden about it first. If this had all been cleared up first, none of this would have happened. As he finished, Emilia closed her eyes, trying to come up with what she was going to say.

Sure, she had planned speeches out in front of the mirror. But after what he had just told her, she couldn't say some of the things she had been planning to. She had been a little upset at the fact that Faden had hid the pictures from her, even after the Amanda factor had worn off. But now... She couldn't really blame him for being embarrased. Things like that were not something he would usually do. It just wasn't a Faden-type thing. Man, no wonder she felt like dirt. Going drinking after that kind of thing was a really bad idea. Besides, Luke goes partying almost every night, and she knew that. So why would she have gone out and gotten drunk, even when she had seen Luke enter the bar? The whole thing seemed stupid on her part. But how did she tell him that without seeming like she was making excuses. Just tell him everything, she supposed.

Pushing herself off the railing, Emilia began to pace the balcony back and forth a few steps, her heels clicking softly. Getting frustrated with the ache in her feet after a few steps, she stopped and slid the shoes off, walking in her bare feet instead. This was hard enough without sore heels. Sucking in a slow breath, she threw a glance behind her back at Faden and chewed on the side of her cheek for a moment. Well, it was time.

"Eric...I know that you didn't take those pictures for Amanda. I don't know why I believed her when she said that." Sighing, she shook her head. "I feel really stupid for believing her now." She mumbled to herself, stopping and turning to look back at him again. Walking forward so that she was standing in front of him, she looked straight into his eyes and continued. This was the way it had to be for her, otherwise, she'd never feel like he thought she'd meant it. "I didn't want to kiss Luke, Eric. I have no interest in Luke at all. He hurt me in a literal and metaphorical sense, and I hate him. That's all there is to it." Biting her lip for a moment, she took in a slow breath and thought for another moment. "Luke is an ass hole. To him, I'm just the girl who got away. But never...NEVER will I be desperate enough to go to him." Pausing for a moment for emphasis, she dropped her eyes for a moment, but when she looked back up, it was with equal intensity. "Faden, I have no interest in anyone anymore. In anyone but you. I thought you knew that." Reaching out, she took both of his hands in hers. It felt right to her, but was it the same for him?

Glancing inside, she saw that she only had a couple minutes to midnight. For some reason now, standing here with him in the garden, spilling her heart out about their entire situation, it felt like the right time. But if she wanted to do this right, she only had two minutes. The beat of her heart quickened, but she pushed on, her gaze unwavering. "I haven't been interested in anyone for a long time now, Eric..." She started out, getting a little breathless with words. "Being like this, even if it only was for a week or so, killed me. And it took me a while to figure out why, but I finally know." It was time that he knew as well. Inside, the countdown was starting to begin. She could hear the voices of her classmates clearly from here, but she didn't want to be with them. All she wanted was to be here, with him.

Five... "So I guess what I'm trying to say is..." She took off her mask, playing with it in her fingers. Three... "What I mean is... Two... Oh god...What would he do if she said... "I love you, Eric Faden." One. As the last second ticked off the old year, she stood on tip toe and kissed him. Fireworks shot off in the distance, but to her ears, roaring with embarrassment, it seemed only like a quiet popping. Letting go of one of his hands, she pulled his mask up, keeping her lips on his for another moment before pulling away, putting her feet flat on the cold floor. Oh god...Oh god... How had that come out of her mouth? Knowing her face was beet red, Emilia turned away from him, tears of frustration at herself starting to brim. How could she be so stupid?! Now was not the time to say stuff like that. Putting her hands on the railing, she gripped it tightly, trying to get an equally good grip on her emotions. This could go one of two ways; either he forgave her and loved her in return, or he was still upset enough to walk away.

Right now, she wouldn't blame him for the second.

[adelinecostello]

adeline costello

[/b]
so everybody put your best suit or dress on let's
make believe that we're wealthy just this once
december thirty first, 2007 ; very late evening
______________________________________[/color][/font][/center]

So the New Years definitely wasn't going to be Adeline's Cinderella story. For while she had waited to meet her pen pal in the middle of the dance floor, she found him alright, despite everyone telling her he wouldn't be there. Then again, no one knew who he was.. until she saw his face. His name. For her surprise pen pal had turned out to be Talan Summitt. Julia's cousin. Julia Summitt was her best friend, and the idea that Talan was her pen pal? It was mind boggling. Yes, they knew each other, and to be quite honest, they never really enjoyed each other's company. Maybe if they got to know one another, but for some reason, they never clicked. So, with an awkward exit, Adeline left to the outside, only nodding and walking away before she did something stupid in front of her pen pal that knew her darkest secrets. And she knew his as well. She prayed he wouldn't tell anyone, simply prayed.

While outside, Adeline noticed Daphne Hayes, a very well respected girl at Valkyrie crying on a bench. Happy new years, either it's a fun time or not, never both. However, what was also strange was that some random kid came up to her and said that a mysterious man had been staring at her for the past couple of minutes. Creepy, that's all Adeline could think. With a swivel of her head, she tried to see whom this man was, but like a ghost, he simply wasn't there. Maybe the kids were playing a joke on her. She wouldn't be surprised. Despite that people seemed to compliment her new change, other kids still saw her for whom she was, and that only made her feel worse. They never forgot the dorky, bad luck crazed girl and even this new appearance couldn't change that.

So, slowly she went back inside, for the cold was chilling her bones with this thin purple dress. Where was Ben? Ben was her date after all, but after everything that had strangely happened in the past couple days, she felt she needed to tell him something. It was believed that they had feelings for each other when he asked her, but after the Jacob Willows encounter, Talan and now mysterious men finally giving her attention? It was obvious that Ben Demtra wasn't a love interest, and she felt she should tell him that immediately. So, for the next half hour, she went through crowd and crowd, trying to find Ben. That was on her agenda, sadly, for she couldn't stand leading someone on or having anything hovering over her shoulders which would equal into bad karma. And while walking around, she gasped at the action going on. Fights with her brother and Reed? Over Ashley Adams? Those boys were deranged.

So much scandal was occurring all around Adeline, and she felt so out of place. Yet, finally, she saw the familiar face she had been looking for. Ah, Ben. "Ben!" Adeline called, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Ben!" She called louder, finally approaching over to him while tapping him on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you about something.." Adeline said, trying to talk over the loud music. Yes, Ben Demtra was a gorgeous guy, but obviously, Adeline just wasn't feeling it. And she had the twist in her gut that he felt the same. "I just.. I just want to let you know that this.. this date thing we have, it's just friends, right?" Adeline asked, blushing a bit and accidentally having some arms of other students jab into her shoulder. Oh, so uncomfortable. "I don't want to lead you on or anything.." Adeline continued, quite vaguely. She never knew what to say when her mouth opened up, that was for sure.

[/font]

[Riley Turner]

riley
this may never start
we could fall apart
and not be your memory
____________________

"Me could be a lot of people..."

Typical Liz. He had only really gotten to know her for probably little over a month and he had already picked up on her teasing, sarcastic, comments. He knew he was being serious, she knew he was being serious, and he really hoped that the people she was talking with couldn't tell who he was because the last thing he needed was people going on and talking behind his back about something that wasn't going to be true. He waited as she handed off her glass to someone and started walking in front of him. Finally, after hours of searching for her, he finally did find her and he hoped it wasn't going to waste. Leave it to Riley Turner to get all dressed up and go into a total highschool party to locate someone just to talk to them.

He was staying in Valkyrie for awhile. The new semester was starting soon and he still had a couple more weeks left of student teaching to do before he would be done with that gig. Sure, now he had to observe around the school for a couple more weeks but after that - he was done. He still had to graduate and all that jazz, but the truth was - he didn't want to go back to Los Angeles. For some reason... he really felt like Valkyrie was his home. It changed a lot since he was there, but if he wasn't born in Ireland, he would feel that Valkyrie, California was his home. Plus, did he really want to go home as he was sitting on the sidelines slowly watching his family fall apart. He knew coming back might be a little difficult, but it really had gone downhill. He had his apartment with his best friend. He had a feeling he would be teaching at the academy one day. He would like to do something in English, but would probably apply to any teaching position available. Riley knew he would have to ease into it all, chances were he would have to sub for a teacher from time to time. The fact was, he didn't want to leave. UCLA was great, but maybe transferring to the college here at Valkyrie might not be a bad idea. That way he could stay intown but still finish his education.

"You beckoned?"

She faced him back in a secluded corner which, take your pick, because there were a lot of them in the mansion. He ruffeled the top of his hair. He knew she would act like this. Like she didn't know why the hell he wanted to talk to her at this very moment. Did she always have to act this clueless? "I really am hoping you know why I am here." he asked her as he rolled on the balls of his feet for a few bounces before starting a short, nervous, pace in the corner they were occupying. He tapped his chin a few times before he stopped pacing and stepped closer to Liz. "Why didn't you tell me, Liz? Why couldn't you tell me we had sex?" There he said it, after days of trying to get a hold of her, he was able to find her, and just flat out tell her what had been bugging him. "Why did I have to find out from my best friend?"

[/size][/font][/blockquote]

[Jordin Ames]

x
+---------+

It's not that she wasn't having a good time here, tonight. She had hung out with Parker a bit, always a plus. She had seen many people, spoken to them, laughed. She had some of the amazing champaign that was floating around on treys around the room. She had teased Laura a bit which is always fun. She had seen Faden go off with Emilia which was good, fixing things between them would be great. Plus, it might bug Amanda, god that was horrible Jordin. She shook the thought from her head. Jordin was completely over her little crush on Joey and yet for some reason, she was still tender on the subject. Wasn't she over it? She had to be. She... liked other people now and the only time she thought about him was when people brought him or Amanda up. So she didn't like him anymore, but perhaps she wasn't just quite over it. But Amanda had just protected her own, it made sense. Jordin shook her head slightly again and asked to excuse herself from the guy she was talking to. Most of them were just asking about Daphne and the other elite girls. Made sense. She took a glass of champaign and made her way through the crowd heading for the outside when she heard some people gasping. She glanced around to see Anne stepping up onto the table and kissing Oscar. Jordin smiled and turned away, good for her, she thought as she continued on her way.

Seems like the new year was already starting to take effect. Jordin was sure things were going to get better in 2007 for many. She wasn't quite sure about her 2007. She was so confused about so much. What was there to do?

But yeah, it's not that Jordin was not having a pleasant time. She was. But something was just missing from the night. Everyone seemed to be having these important moments tonight. Laura was having a nice, semi-drama free night which for Laura was an important life-changing moment. Faden had his Emilia drama to resolve. Amanda returning from running off. Anne and Oscar finally being official. Bella and Bailey connecting a bit, hope for the quad. yay. But Jordin? Jordin had spent the night chatting about relatively meaningless pathetic things with most of the people she spoke to wishing they were actually talking to Daphne or Bella or any of those girls. Parker was fun to talk to but it hadn't made her grin as much as it used to and Adrian wasn't even here. Maybe that was it, she missed Adrian. But she didn't even know what she had done to piss him off so what could she have done to fix it right? It just felt like, once again, the whole world was leaving her behind. Once again, the whole world decided it didn't want her to be a part of it. She was almost out of the crowd when she felt someone grab her arm and her name being called. She knew that voice. She stopped and turned around, the grip on her arm firm, but not painful at all.

She smiled at first knowing who it was, "Adria-" She began but stopped her smile fading slightly. She could smell the alcohol from here. "Geez, How much have you been drinking?" Jordin really isn't a picky on when it came to smoking and drinking. It's not like she had never been high or drunk, she had just never been one of those people who got drunk at every party and high once a day. But did it matter? She had never really cared if her friends were potheads and the two guys she's crushed on most recently, Parker and now, maybe adrian were complete stoners but what was she supposed to do? tell them to Change? It wasn't fair, besides until this very moment she had never cared. But right now, she couldn't tell whether Adrian was speaking to her because he wanted to say something or if it was he was drunk and forgot he was avoiding her.

[Dean Stillings]

x
"I Look over my shoulder
and there you are, waiting for me to turn around
And listen to your unheard song"
+--------+

So this wasn't the sort of thing Dean was good at, at all. He had never been the guy that people opened up to, he had never been that shoulder to lean on. Well, except once. He had been one of Laura's. But after he left and that structure fell he hadn't been the reliable one. Ever. People adored him and where ever he went there was always a place to stay. He could talk his way into a free five star meal if he really tried and yet when it came to making people feel better, something that required real human connection, his mind went semi-blank. And of course it all depends on the definition of real human connection. If human connection was a physical thing, believe me. Dean had connected with about as many humans as he had met, not literally but close. He had hooked up with multiple women or multiple races and multiple relationship statuses. Wives, Fiances, girlfriends, daughters of older friends and enemies, sisters of friends and enemies and mother's of friends and enemies a like. He had never had sex with a grandma though he saw that as an accomplishment. And still none of these women compared to the few girls he came back to see in Valkyrie. Aislinn and Amanda being some of them yes. And although they weren't a sexual relationship and the idea weirded him out out, Laura, his niece, was one rather uniquely spectacular girl as well. He could only hope the guys who are lucky enough to be chosen by them, knew how lucky they were.

And this, drop dead gorgeous girl next to him seemed to share that unique and spectacular quality to her. Even in this state of mind. Despite, her upset and uncomfortable body language towards him, as she glanced at the offered Handkerchief, there was something rather graceful about the small movements. He didn't take the handkerchief but remained still waiting for the smallest response. He briefly wondered if VA had a secret academy below the ground where they teach the girls to have this strange power over anyone they met. Even the girls he had no interest in he had interest in. Like Amanda and Aislinn, he had grown close to them and he had some romantic feelings for both of them but like Laura and many of the other girls he had met around here, to which he held absolutely no romantic feelings for they were still all so... different from the rest of the world's women. Must be something about California.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about."

Dean couldn't help but give a small smile. He bowed his head slightly and looked at the bench space between them. Pride. Luckily he saw that as a good thing, no, a great thing in a girl. So she wasn't going to open up to a complete stranger, who would? Well apart from him. Dean tended to find it easier to connect with a stranger because then there would be less repercussions and consequences when the truth was told. A stranger wouldn't get nearly as offended as someone you know, neither would they care nearly enough to attempt to intervene. He looked back up at her still holding out the handkerchief, he smiled slightly as he saw her reach over and grab ahold of the cloth. He sat up straight as he watched her turn away to whipe her eyes. "There you go, not so hard right?" He asked rhetorically as she turned back and crossed her arms over her chest. He was referring to letting your pride down enough to accept a kind hand but he knew as well as anyone the hardest thing in the world to do was put your pride aside.

"Ok, look. I don't know what you think you heard, but it doesn't have aaanything to do with why I am out here."

"Ah no of course not." He replied, rather quickly that time. She had to have known that saying that did nothing to convince him. Mainly because it made absolutely no sense. "When I overhear someone talking shit about me, I always run out of the room upset about something completely unrelated right after as well. Perfectly logical." Okay so maybe that was a bit harsh, but like previously stated. He was bad at being a shoulder to cry on. At he had kept his tone soft. He hadn't sounded frustrated or angry, or annoyed. He actually had still sounded concerned so hopefully his tone conveyed what his dumbass words refused to.

(( sorry it took so long))

[faden]

x
"Nothing will ever have such a profound effect on my life
As that one moment, that one instant, where all I heard
were three words from your lips"
+-------+

There, he had started the ball rolling and said a few good points and now all the boy could do was wait for her to respond. Continue the conversation, bounce the ball back, whatever. Those few moments of her silence was devastating. He glanced down at his own hands as he fiddled his thumbs a bit out of nervousness. He looked up again. He had a lot to tell her. He had a lot he both wanted and should tell her but in that moment he just wanted her to speak. It was so strange, though. The thought that Faden was having real romantic problems, or misunderstandings or whatever this was. Because that meant he had a real romance to begin with. A year ago, he was that loser who had crush after crush and he would claim things that weren't true in order to feel as he was in love and had this but he knew now, now that he had gotten to know this girl in front of him that all that was bullshit. Yes bullshit. for a boy who hardly ever curses there is no better word to describe it. He loved this girl. And although he didn't doubt she cared for him, he was almost one hundred percent sure she was no where close to falling in love with him. Who would be?

"Eric...I know that you didn't take those pictures for Amanda. I don't know why I believed her when she said that. I feel really stupid for believing her now."

He looked up at her and made sure to keep eye contact and god damn-it. He had wanted to be angry, he had. But he didn't want her to feel stupid or anything, he...he more just wanted her to know him well enough to know he would never do that sort of thing. He nodded slightly, "You aren't stupid Emilia, I mean I understand why you would believe it, I just... I don't know." He took a short break in the sentence to breath. He just what? he just wanted her to read minds? "I just hoped you knew me a bit better than that." He said softly. He didn't want her to think there had been a moment where he was close to thinking about Amanda like that. Although he had once thought he and Amanda had a chance of being friends. But that seemed forever ago now. It was long before he met emilia or anyone really. He knew Laura and Luke Summitt, luke having started mocking him already. Faden had gone to the CD store and he met Amanda there. It must have been the moment or something but they started talking and just talked about the music and had a decent conversation but then again, the next time he saw her she was among the queens of the school and being a complete bitch to everyone and pulling stunts like she had pulled with emilia and himself. What had changed from moment to moment? God only knew.

"I didn't want to kiss Luke, Eric. I have no interest in Luke at all. He hurt me in a literal and metaphorical sense, and I hate him. That's all there is to it. Luke is an ass hole. To him, I'm just the girl who got away. But never...NEVER will I be desperate enough to go to him."

That was great to hear. really it was but part of him was still so unconvinced. Maybe it was because of who he was in comparison to luke. Luke was this overly popular Jock and he was this charming guy who got girl after girl and faden was... well... he was faden. And he had always been told things done while drunk had been thought out beforehand. And he knew that she had pulled away from the kiss, when she realized it had happened but she let him get close enough to kiss her and I think that's what made him angry. He nodded, "I know that Emilia, I do, I guess what made me angry is that instead of coming to me, to talk about it you got drunk with Luke and let him close enough to kiss you, even if you did pull away." Faden didnt know what else to say. Nothing really made much sense. But maybe that was part of having someone close to you. "I haven't been interested in anyone for a long time now, Eric...Being like this, even if it only was for a week or so, killed me. And it took me a while to figure out why, but I finally know." Faden looked at her, confused. What was she talking about. He watched her as she stepped closer to him, a bit nervous. He looked up as the clock began to tick down towards the new year. His eyes followed her mask as she removed it from her eyes and futsted with it in her fingers. three. two.

"I love you, Eric Faden."

His eyes immediately moved from her hands to her eyes. Did she really just say what he heard her say? And before he could say anything the bell struck midnight and her lips found his. Half of him was too surprised to move and the other half melted into that kiss. He felt her remove his mask and although most of him was too shocked to kiss back physically, he didn't mind her lips on his one second. Those words were all he needed to hear from her to forgive and forget everything. But after a moment she pulled away. She turned away and put her hands on the railing. She looked scared, worried that she had made a mistake when in actuality she couldn't have done anything so perfectly. He walked over to her without thinking and gently grabbed her arm to turn her around and he kissed her. One hand cupping her cheek, tilting her head up as he leaned down to meet her. He kissed her and he kissed her like he hadn't kissed her before, as cliche' as it sounds. He held her there, his lips in a lip lock with her's for what seemed like forever before he finally pulled away slightly, he kept his hands on the side of her head gently and with his thumb gently wiped one of the tears away from her cheek, "I love you too Emilia Demtra."

[Elizabeth Hughes]

x
"Sing to me
Let me hear you say
you understand"
+--------+

Needless to say, Liz wasn't happy about this conversation. She was worried about for some reason. She had a pit in her stomach that weighed her down and caused a sore in her throat that she was pretty sure she was fine on keeping her awkwardness hidden, or at least she hoped she was. Should she act like she was embarrassed to have slept with him? I mean she wasn't but should she act like it? Or should she be flirtatious and tease him about it? Like it was no big deal? What the fuck did that mean "like" it was no big deal? It was no big deal. She watched his face as she replied nonchalantly. Not surprised but disappointed? Annoyed? oh who knew and who really cared at this point. She didn't know what to tell him, she hadn't gotten much of a warning that he had been told. Liz really only knew how to so three things, fight, fuck and then pretend nothing matters. Makes sense right. It's all she's ever had to do in the last - oh what - seventeen years of her life.

"I really am hoping you know why I am here."

"You mean it's not to check out the underage babes around here? Darn I had a bet going..." She replied quickly, without even thinking. She almost regretted saying it afterwards, almost. She wasn't the type to regret things she has already done and can't change. She kept her hands at her sides, swinging them slightly to get out any awkwardness in her body. She took a deep breath and glanced down at the ground before shrugging, "Sorry." She said, apologizing for the sarcasm, not quite sure if she meant it. "Why didn't you tell me, Liz? Why couldn't you tell me we had sex?" "Oh that..." She added softly. She nodded and clasped her hands together, nodding slightly. She shrugged, "Come on Riley, we both know you would have been awkward and obvious, I was saving your job by not telling you." She said simply with a small shrugg. Simple enough reason and believable. She took a deep breath and continued, " And don't beat yourself up about it, we're both hot and we were both drunk." She began, knowing he was probably cursing himself for sleeping with a student. She smirked slightly, "Although what's the phrase, thing done while drunk have been thought out before hand, and you were all over me, you sure you're not into me?" She added, walking forward to playfully touch the sleeve of his suit and completely kidding, she just liked to ruffle his feathers a bit.

"Why did I have to find out from my best friend?"

"My best friend, and because he has a big mouth and doesn't know when to keep it shut." She replied simply, stepping back and crossing her arms over her chest. That question wasn't a hard one at all. But whatever, she wasn't angry with Zack, he hadn't even known she had lied to Riley about it. She couldn't blame him. But she really was perfectly happy with lie and she had no idea why this was different. Okay so under these exact circumstances, she didn't have too much experience with this. She had slept with a teacher before, a few times actually. And she had had drunken hook ups before, not often, she tried to keep control of that. But never has it been a drunken hook up with a student teacher who happened to be the older brother of one of her closest friends and some one who's opinion she kind of respected, not that she would tell him that but still.