Isaac, Zac and Miette
Zac tugged at his collar uncomfortably.
"I hate these things," he complained.
Isaac grinned.
"It's your own fault. You should stop growing."
"You're just jealous that I'm taller than you now."
"Please, I wouldn't be jealous of you if -"
"Boys, boy," Miette interupted. "You can't stop arguing for one night?"
"It's all in fun," Zac replied, still tugging at his collar.
Faith, Halliwells, Leo and Xander
Faith stood impatiently in the living room, waiting for Paige to finish her hair.
"Just one last flower." Paige was on her tip toes, trying to stick the flower in her hair.
Faith rolled her eyes, and looked over at Piper and Phoebe who were looking bored as well. Leo was standing by Piper, holding her bag, Xander was sitting next to Phoebe and Oz was fiddling with his tie.
Leroy, Tanya, Oliver, Tate and Hunter
"Wow..." Hunter breathed. "I never thought I'd ever actually be going to a YIRAAS event. Even if it's the ball, I'm still glad I'm here."
"Don't like dancing, huh?" Tanya smiled.
"Not one bit," Hunter grinned. "But I'll deal."
"I'll dance with you, if you want," Tate offered.
Oliver snorted.
"I'm sure you will."
"Hmm," Leroy said. "Well, I think we can trust you kids to behave yourselves."
"Good or bad behaviour?" Oliver asked cheekily.
"Good," Leroy replied pointedly.
"Aww, rats," he joked.
Secretly, he was glad. Oliver thought for sure due to their being on assignment that they wouldn't get to go, but because Taylor's next treatment was due, they decided to make a weekend of it and go to the ball.
Dawn, Clark, Jessica and Adam
Dawn was wide-eyed as she entered on Clark's arm. She was still weak, and had been ordered not to do muchg dancing, but she was alive, and that was what mattered, and Nyx had convinced Spike to let Dawn go when she realized that the girl really needed some fun.
"Clark, you look so handsome," Dawn said, as she kissed him.
"You are the most beautiful girl here, Dawnie. I'm so glad you came back to me, I don't think I can live without you."
"You were who I was fighting for, Baby. Now, before Spike goes and nutso on me, can we dance?"
"Absolutely." And they went out and waltzed for a tic, while Spike watched nearby. Now that Glory had already taken her once, Spike was more cautious and protective than ever.
---
Jess spun on Adam's arm. Diana wasn't very pleased, but Adam worked a bit of mojo on her, and she now found him slightly attractive. Adam could charm eyes off of a potato.
"I love you Baby," Adam whispered in Jess's ear. Her eyes widened.
"Do you really?"
"Absolutely, with all my heart."
"I love you two, Babe!" she kissed him.
Mouse
Mouse stepped out of the taxi she had caught to get to the Ball, and looked around nervously for Taylor. Her dress whispered against her ankles and she laced her fingers into the fur ruff of the coat. She was wearing what she'd bought that day when she went shopping with Faith. And she'd got the beautician to do her face in that slightly fey style; silver shimmer and pale foundation making her look otherwordly, hair studded through with small silver flowers.
I'll be watching from outside, ok?
Thanks, Faf. The wolf flowed out of the taxi and disappeared into the darkness. She smiled and walked up to the door, fumbling in her evening bag for her invite.
Dawn
"Look, Clark, It's Mouse. Let's go say hi," Dawn said, as she pulled her boyfriend over to her friend.
"How are you foing, hun?" Dawn asked, as she gave Mouse a hug.
Halliwells, Oz, Xander, Leo and Faith
Paige orbed Oz and Faith to the ball while Leo orbed Piper, Phoebe and Xander. They all met up outside. Piper and Leo remained holding hands and went inside. Xander, Phoebe, Paige and Oz all followed, while Faith looked around and saw Mouse.
She made her way over, her freshly curlled hair councing slightly.
"Hey Mouse."
Mouse
"Oh, got chased out of my apartment because an alien hunter shot my cat and nearly got me too. New place now. But I'm good..." Mouse smiled slightly and hugged Dawn back. "Now. I talked to Nyx, how are you feeling after what happened?"
"Hey, Faith!" Mouse smiled happily. "Who's all your friends? Dawn, you know them?"
Faith
"Ah, just Piper, Phoebe and Paige brought dates. Leo, Xander and Oz. You can probably meet them later."
Faith smoothed down the front of her dress, clutching the shall a little tighter around her shoulders. She gave a little shiver.
"Wanna go inside? You look awesome, by the way. Hey Dawnie!"
Dawn
Dawn was delighted when she saw Oz. She tried to run to him, when she realized how weak she still was.
"OZ!" she squealed, hugging him. "Why'd you leave Sunnydale. We still wanted you around you know," she pouted. "I missed you."
Oz
"Hey kiddo. Long story. I'm about to go inside, you wanna come?"
Oz took Paige's hand again, disentangling himself from her hug gently.
Dawn and Clark
"I know Xander and Oz, and I think I met the others in passing. Xander was Buffy's best friend," Dawn told Mouse. "And Oz used to date Willow. You know, before she realized she way gay. Oz, Xander, this is Clark Kent, my boyfriend." He shook their hands, and noticed the looks they both gave him. Suddenly, Dawn's hand went to her head.
"I'm sorry you guys, but I'm still pretty weak, and I feel; kinda dizzy right now. Clark, can we go sit down?" Dawn asked
"I'll do one better," Clark said, and he lifted her up and carried her over to some chairs.
Mouse
"Oz, Oz..." Mouse looked thoughtful for a moment, then brightened. "Oh! Nyx mentioned you, the werewolf with a band, right?" Faf, you wanna come over for a tic?
Mmm. Ok. Fafnir loped out of the darkness, and eyed Oz warily. Who the hell is that?
Oz. A werewolf.
I won't bite him if he doesn't hurt you. Fafnir crept forward to Mouse's side.
"This is Fafnir. He's Pack." She ruffled Fafnir's ears while he continued to give Oz the evil eye.
Faith
Oz nodded. "I'm learning to control the wolf. Inside?" Oz waved and left with Paige.
Faith smiled. "Ah, that's our Oz. Taciturn man."
Dawn
"Well, I'm weak, and I tire easily, and nobody wants to let me out of their sight, but otherwise, I'm fine. Having bad dreams regularly, though. Orpheus, not good stuff," Dawn shuddered at the memory. Clark held her closer.
Mouse
"Yeah, kinda getting that." Mouse smiled. "What say we follow him?"
I'll go gaurd.
Thank you, Pack. Fafnir padded off into the darkness.
Faith
Faith impatiently brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"You know, I'm gonna end up ripping this skirt so it's short by the end of the night."
She rolled her eyes and waited for Mouse so they could go inside together.
Mouse
Mouse giggled. "Yeah. I can see that happening." The two girls headed inside. "So, what say we go find our boys? If they're here yet, they might not be."
Room69 and Alyssa
Adam, Pete, Chris and Alyssa pulled up outside in their hired '54 Vintage Chev.
Chris hopped out and extended his hand for Alyssa and helped her out of the car.
Adam and Pete looked around for the girls they were meant to be meeting outside. Pete was meeting Alli while Adam was coming with his new girlfriend, Amy.
Alyssa tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and grinned at Chris. "I wonder how Noah and AJ are coming."
"Noah vaguely mentioned bikes. But that kid's never fully with it." Shris replied to Alyssa and grinned back at her.
Adam and Pete had spotted their dates and they had run off to meet them.
Faith
Faith rolled her eyes playfully.
"The Hansons? On time? Keep dreaming, girl!" She giggled and scanned the room.
"Pretty nice."
Taylor
Taylor stood by the bar, nervously tapping his fingers away, his other hand in his pocket.
Too many people. There were way too many people here.
Of course, he recognized alot of them.
"Taylor!"
Taylor's head shot up as he heard the call. He grinned.
"Hey Sheldon," he greeted, shaking his hand and he drew closer.
Sheldon patted his shoulder.
"Hey man. Heard from some of the locals about your little... predicament. You alright?"
"No hablaría algo de él en inglés."
Sheldon grinned.
"¿Pero el español es aceptable?"
Taylor looked around nervously.
"O forse italiano. Non penso chiunque qui parli italiano... ma so che alcuni fanno lo Spagnolo."
Sheldon chuckled.
"So what's on your mind?"
"Non ho idea dove cominciare. Lo ha avuto bisogno di di tradurre qualcosa e quando gli non direi che che cosa era ha minacciato di venire dopo voi."
"Io?"
"Sì. Allora ha minacciato di andare dopo la mia famiglia. Ma quello era quando ho girato suicidal."
Mouse
"Yeah." Mouse looked around, eyes wide. "Feeling suddenly very insecure and out of place."
Faith
"Whoa, Hansons are here. There's my boy. See ya soon Mousey."
Faith waved and headed off to where she saw Zac.
"Hey baby."
Noah and Alyssa
Noah and AJ pulled up on a dirtbike. Noah stopped the bike and hopped off, reaching for AJ's hand to help her off.
He whistled as he looked around, then spotted the rest of the band and their respective partners.
"Hey guys."
"Hi N-Bitch. Hey, AJ, you look rockin." Alyssa moved forward and hugged Noah then AJ.
Mouse
"See ya, Faith." Mouse looked around nervously, and then went to place her coat and bag in the cloakroom. When she came out, she spotted Taylor. She headed over with a smile that could've lit up the room. "Tay!"
AJ
"Yo, steady girl," AJ grinned, stumbling on her high heeled boots.
"Nice dress by the way, it rocks."
AJ was wearing long black pants underneath an 'angled' skirt with red fringing around the edge. The skirt was large and streaked with red, black and white metallic material, and the top mainly black and red. It had two straps over her shoulders that criss-crossed at the back, and she was wearing a black jacket over it with red fur at the cuffs.
She grinned at Noah and wrapped her arm around his elbow.
Taylor
Taylor's eyes scanned the room, hearing his name called. His eyes lit up at the sight of her.
"Excuse me," he nodded to Sheldon, before rushing over to her.
"Vous êtes beau, ange," he began with a smile that would make the teenies melt.
He put his hands on her waist and leant in to kiss her.
Mouse
Mouse kissed him sweetly, then drew her face abcl so she could talk. "Merci. Vous ne paraissez pas si mauvais vous, mon cher." She put her hands around his neck and smiled.
Room69, Alli, Alyssa
Alyssa grinned. She was wearing a dark red lacy corset, then a long black satin skirt, cut unevenly at the bottom with lace attached. She wore black lace up knee highs, and a studded collar around her neck. Her eyes were black as though she was on drugs, and she had dark red lipstick on.
"Thanks."
Noah grinned back at AJ and took her hand.
"Come on."
Adam and Amy, Pete and Alli had already gone in, so Noah, AJ and Chris and Lys all made their way in together.
Taylor
"Thanks," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her again.
After that... prolonged kiss in the middle of the floor, Taylor heard Sheldon chuckling.
"Oh, Mouse, you remember Sheldon, don't you?" he asked, putting an arm around her waist and taking her back over to the bar.
"Plaisir de vous revoir, doux," Sheldon grinned as he kissed the back of her hand.
Mouse
"Yeah, the guy at the door, right?" Mouse smiled. "Reminds me of a certain cat we love to hate. What with the handkissing and all."
AJ
AJ gulped at the sight of all the aliens. She'd never seen so many in her life.
Letting her mind wander the moment she was inside, she looked up at the roof thoughtfully. There was a nice crystal chandaleir up there...
Noah
Noah glanced over at AJ and gave her a reassuring smile. He kissed her cheek softly.
"Come on babe."
He led them over to the coat check and they deposited their stuff.
Taylor
"Devrions-nous être inquiétés?" Sheldon grinned at Taylor.
"Only if he shows up. I haven't seen him for ages," Taylor grinned, wrapping his arms around Mouse and resting his chin on her shoulder, swaying her.
He nuzzled her neck as Sheldon rolled his eyes.
"So, is Faith here?" Taylor asked, "I'm still yet to meet her."
AJ
When AJ put her coat down, she turned and flung her arms around Noah's neck.
She leant in as if to nuzzle his neck, then turned her head at the last second.
"What do you say we hit the roof later?" she grinned, "I have a thing for crystals."
Mouse
"Faith's here. She went looking for Zac." Mouse was purring, more or less. "Oh, and some more Sunnydale people. A guy called Oz is a wrewolf. Fafnir was seriously freaked."
Noah
"I'm not sure how everyone would take that."
Noah put his arms around AJ's waist and led her over to Chris and Alyssa.
Taylor
"I don't blame him. It's very confusing for the senses," Taylor raised his eyebrows.
"Hey, do you remember that werewolf in OKC?" Sheldon asked.
"Which one?"
"Uh... the one that hung around me alot."
"Which one?"
"Dude. Um... MetalHead. Jason."
"Oh, him. What about him?"
"Got himself killed th eother night."
"Oh," Taylor hesitated, a lump in his throat.
AJ
"Never know how many other gravity manipulators there are..." AJ grinned mischievously.
She smiled at Chris and Alyssa.
"So... what do we do all night? Just hang around?"
Noah, Alyssa and Chris
"Sit, dance, talk, walk, eat, drink. Possibilities are endless." Noah released his grip from around AJ's waist and moved to a seat.
Alyssa smiled happily. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but my aim to to start a skanking circle."
Chris snorted. "Yeah, you tried that last year, remember? Nothing."
"Well, I can try again. Kner." Alyssa playfully stuck her tongue out at Chris and turned to AJ and Noah. "You guys will skank with me, right?"
Noah shrugged. "I don't know, I had bruises on my shins for weeks after you and I skanked at the Fish."
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Wimp. I could've kicked you a lot harder. But I didn't. Coz I have skank-etiquette. What about you, AJ?"
AJ
"A skanking circle at a ball?" AJ raised her eyebrows, "I'm all out for weird stuff, but yeesh..."
She looked around, but mentally kicked herself. She knew there'd be no one she recognized.
"I'm gonna need to something soon though. I can't go a whole night without using the little magic," she grinned.
Chris, Noah and Alyssa
Noah nodded. "All in good time my pretty. Besides, if it's really boring, we can always go early and have a roof party at Smitdog's."
Chris looked up, hearing his name. "We can?"
Alyssa grinned. "Yeah, we can. Fun." She perched herself in his lap and looked around. "Rockin, Paige is here. Come on Chris, let's go say hi."
She dragged Chris off in the direction of Paige.
Noah turned to AJ. "Just us. Wanna go meet Paige? Or just wanna hang out?"
AJ
"If I meet too many people at once I'm gonna pass out," she said, snaking her arm around his back and leaning in to him.
"Sorry. Very anti-social childhood. Besides, there's no one here I know except you guys."
Noah
"Fair enough." Noah grinned. "This just means I get ya all to myself for now. Lyssa and Chris will most likely come back soon anyway. And no doubt Adz will want you to meet his latest girlfriend."
AJ
"I have no problem with you. I just hope she's nothing like those two other girls. Bella and what's-her-name."
She leant over and pecked his cheek.
"When's the food coming out?"
Noah
Noah frowned in thought. "I think Alli's here with Pete. She's not too bad. But I don't think Bella is coming... and Amy's not too bad. She's much like Alyssa. Just really, really loud. She's pretty fun."
Noah looked around. "I don't know, have to wait and see, me thinks."
AJ
"Food, food, food," AJ chanted, looking around, "food, glorious food."
She spotted Lys and Chris not far away, talking to a dark-haired girl.
"I'm guessing that's Paige," she nodded towards them.
Noah and Paige
Noah shook his head. "That's Phoebe, her sister. The one with reddish hair over there? That's Paige."
Noah waved as they looked over and Paige came over straight away.
"Hey Noah!"
Noah stood up and they hugged, her tiny body almost lost in the process. He looked at her dress, a light shimmery silver, one shouldered and a plit in the leg. "You look good."
"Well, I try. Hey, I'm Paige." Paige extended her hand out to AJ.
AJ
AJ nodded.
"Hey. I'm AJ," she replied nervously, shaking Paige's hand.
She didn't bother to get up.
"Are you alien too?" she grinned.
Paige and Noah
Paige smiled warmly at AJ.
"Yeps." She turned to Noah quickly. "Piper wants to talk to you about playing at P3. Can you handle the excitement? Oh yeah and Chris and I have bet money on a fight with you and Lys. Hope you don't mind, but I've bet that Lys will win."
Noah chuckled. "She probably would. Yeah, I'll grab Piper later and chat with her about that. We're all here so we can all decide tonight probably."
Paige sat down next to AJ. "So, I'm guessing you're an alien too?"
AJ
"Yep, pure bred," she grinned, leaning back with a yawn.
"What's your power? If you have one I mean. Mine's gravity, but I don't think I can demonstrate that here without getting in trouble."
Paige and Noah
Paige grinned. "Probably not the best idea. I can orb myself and things around, and I can heal a bit."
Noah laughed. "She's our vehicle at gigs."
"Shut it, you." Paige giggled.
AJ
"Hey, that's cool," AJ nodded.
"I'm from Australia by the way, hence not knowing alot of people here. My ah, my dad brought me here with him on business, and now he's flown off to Europe and left me in Noah's family's capabale hands."
She took Noah's hand and smiled at him.
irec Paige, Adam and Noah
Paige smiled again. "Aww, cool. Well, you should come by the club when... oh sorry, IF Room69 get their act together. I should get back to Oz. Nice meeting you. See ya!" Paige gave a wave and left, leaving Noah with AJ.
"Just you and me again, babe."
"Actually no. Hey AJ, Noah." Adam came over with a tall thin brunette. "This is Amy."
"Heya." Amy smiled.
AJ
AJ just smiled. Meeting new people. She hated it.
"Hey Amy. AJ," she extended her hand, "person to call if you wanna party on the roof."
She chuckled.
Amy
Amy smiled. "Hey, I'm the person to call if you want a lot of noise. I'm a hybrid without powers. It sucks, but hey."
AJ
"Well that's not so bad," AJ considered, "I'm sure alot of aliens wish they didn't have their power at some point."
She snuggled up to Noah again.
"Although gravity is pretty cool to have. Around alien company, that is."
Noah
Amy grinned and leaned on Adam slightly. "Yeah, sometimes it's cool to not have powers, but other times you really want them. But it's cool."
Noah laughed. "Well, Amy, I don't think you need anything else to make you stand out, you're loud enough."
Amy pretended to be offended. "That's... a very good point. So AJ, which part of Australia are you from? I went to Sydney once."
AJ
"Perth," she grinned, "West Oz. The most isolated city in the world."
She turned to Noah.
"I love telling people that, don't I? But anywayz... food. Stomach. Together. Now. Good thoughts."
She licked her lips.
Mouse
"And you could perhaps be just a little bit more callous about it, but I'm thinking not," Mouse said quietly, but with a thread of anger in her voice.
Room69, Alyssa and Amy
Noah rolled his eyes and affectionately patted her shoulder. "Patience, my pretty."
Alyssa and Chris came back over from talking to other people and Adam and Amy headed off to find Pete and Alli.
"Hey again." Chris sat down and Alyssa sat in his lap again.
"I'm hungry." Alyssa commented.
Taylor
"Sorry," Sheldon looked at her.
"Mouse is empathic," Taylor hugged her tighter, trying to change the subject a little.
"Like your mom?"
"Yeah, though not as experienced. And she has animal influence."
Taylor kissed her neck. Sheldon grinned.
"Animal influence huh?"
"It's more with animals than aliens. Or humans," Taylor quickly explained.
Mouse
"I get them, they get me." Mouse shrugged. "It's no big deal, more of a survival thing then anything else. Animals are smart. People are...complicated."
AJ
"Yeah! My sentiments exactly!" AJ exclaimed, standing up.
She looked around.
"Wanna come with me and see if we can find something? If I don't eat soon I'm gonna be sick."
Taylor and Ash G
"I'll second that," Sheldon raised his eyebrows.
"And I'll third it," Taylor grinned, swaying her to the music.
Sheldon ordered a drink.
"Too bad they don't serve kero to underage," he chuckled as he took a drink.
"That's probably a good thing," Taylor said.
"Hey Tay! Mouse!" they suddenly heard a call from behind them.
Taylor turned to see Ashley and Mindy making their way over. He grinned.
"Hey Ash."
"Hey Tay. Glad to see you alive," he shook his hand.
"Hey Mouse, how are you?" Mindy smiled and Ash hugged her.
Mouse
"I've been mostly good. Better now. And hey, new place. Have to come over and see it sometime." Mouse smiled. "How are you two doing?"
Taylor and Ash G
"Good as ever," Ashley grinned as Mindy gave him a peck on the cheek.
"I'm so happy you agreed to be a bridesmaid," Mindy took Mouse's hand in hers, "it's an honour. I hope you enjoy yourself on the day."
"Well I'll be enjoying myself, that's for sure," Taylor grinned.
"I'm sure you will," Sheldon downed the rest of his drink, then set the empty glass on the bar.
"I best be off. Lotsa chicks to check out."
And with that, he left.
"Doesn't he ever give up?" Ashley shook his head.
"Nope," Taylor replied, "he's worse than Zac ever was. Well, I don't know for sure. I'm not sure how many he's had going at the same time."
"That's so mean," Mindy frowned.
Taylor shrugged.
"Most fo them are sluts anyway. Probably cheating on him too," Ashley pointed out.
"That's no excuse."
Mouse
"He needs a good sharp lesson in morals. Maybe if I let Nyx loose on him..." Mouse msued. "Nah, too cruel. Nyx would probably kill him in the end." She giggled. "But seriously, the guy needs to wake up. One day, he's gonna find someone he could love. And they'll leave. And that's really just too sad."
Alyssa
Alyssa grinned. "Finally someone who agrees with me. Come on, if we don't find food, we can always wreck havoc somewhere!"
Alyssa grabbed AJ's hand and bounded off.
Taylor and Ash G
"Yeah, he just doesn't understand that," Taylor sighed.
"Actually, if you've been listening to the locals, apparently he does have his eyes on someone," Ashley grinned.
Taylor raised his eyebrows.
"Really?"
"Apparently."
"Since when do you talk to animals?"
"Since I started shape shifting. No, seriously. The local people. Locals aren't normally considered animals Taylor."
"Whoops," Taylor grinned.
Mindy waved her hand at him, and Ashley let her go.
"I'm going to find Ike and see if Miette came over for this. I'll see you later."
She gave her finace a kiss and headed off.
Mouse
"So what exactly do we do at these things? Cos, gotta tell ya, this is so far out of my realm of experience I'm very terrified." Mouse grinned, joking but only a little bit. What if she did something wrong...?
Faith
Faith came walking over, trying to be delicate in her high heels.
"Hey guys. I thought I better make a quick getaway from Zac coz Diana was watching us pretty closely."
Mouse
"Pffft." Mouse looked disgusted. "She's older then me, more trained, and I connect better with animals then people, and she still doesn't get it. Pffft. So, did Zac's eyes drop out of his head when he say you?"
AJuckled
"Hey, sounds cool!" AJ giggled, almost tripping over.
Well, the boots were new.
She looked around thoughtfully.
"Where the heck's the kitchen? Maybe we can just tell them to move their asses."
Faith
Faith grinned. "Maybe. I'm not going to say. Besides, we didn't get much of a hello seeing as Diana was there."
Alyssa
Alyssa shrugged.
"Let's try door number... one!"
She opened the door to hear a bunch of guys talking. And the trickling of water. She closed the door and collapsed in giggles.
"Well, I found the toilet!"
Taylor and Ash G
Taylor leant back a little, finally letting go of Mouse as he stretched his back.
Then he grinned at Faith.
"So... I'm guessing you're Faith, right?"
He took her hand and kissed it, giving her one of those melt-the- teenies smiles.
"I've heard quite a bit about you. Not bad, by the way. Good."
Ashley chuckled.
"Zac's girlfriend right?" he raised his eyebrows, offering his hand for her to shake, "I think we met at my engagement party."
Faith
Faith nodded.
"Yep, that would be me."
She grinned back at Taylor. "So you're Mouse's boy. And... I'm kinda nervous, what did you hear about me?"
Mouse
"Good stuff. Only good stuff from me," Mouse said. "Oh, and the fact that you changed my wardrobe. I got a new place, you should come over some time."
AJ
"Awww, we shoulda stayed in there. Might have been some cute guys."
She chuckled.
"Sorry. Natural. I have an excuse. FOOD!"
Alyssa
Lyssa shrugged as she led them down a corridor.
"I have no idea where we are."
Taylor and Ash G
Taylor hugged onto her again.
"And you still haven't flaunted your wardrobe for me," he grinned as he nuzzled her neck, "I saw it when I packed your bag at the apartment, but I haven't seen you wearing it."
"Of course that's just his way of saying he wants a perv."
Taylor glanced at Ashley.
"You realize you're saying this about my girlfriend."
"Same difference."
Taylor rolled his eyes and turned back to Faith.
"Thanks for helping her, by the way. When I wasn't here."
Faith and Noah
Faith grinned. "Ah that's right, that other guy. Too bad Mouse wouldn't let me kick his ass... when we thought it was you. Ok that sentence didn't make much sense. But hey, no problem, Mouse is a friend, I'd do anything for my friends."
She paused and looked wistfully over at Zac. "Damn he looks hot tonight."
Noah came wandering over. "Hey Taylor. Thought I saw you."
Mouse
"Fafnir wanted to rip out his throat. Nyx wanted to give him to her mother, and believe me, that is worse then it sounds. You were very much the persona non grata, Tay." Mouse smiled happily. "Like Pack, you know? I haven't had friends for a while. Anyway. Not talking about Christian. Hey, I'm Mouse. Or Jane." She grinned at the guy who'd came over.
AJ
"Well that makes two of us. I've never been here before."
AJ grabbed a nearby doorknob and opened it. Storage room. With a huff, she closed it again.
"Ok, the kitchen has to be around here somewhere."
Alyssa
Alyssa shrugged again.
"Eh, they'll probably bring the food out soon, we should maybe go back."
Taylor
"Well there'll be no ripping of throats as far as I'm concerned," Taylor raised his eyebrows, then grinned at Noah.
"Good to see you again man," he shook his hand, "how's Room69 coming along?"
Noah
"Hey, I'm Noah." Noah shook Mouse's hand and turned back to Taylor. "Well... we still suck, but I guess you could say we're getting better. How've ya been?"
AJ
AJ groaned.
"But I'm hungry now, not soon," she whined.
Then she growled.
"Bleck. Damn organizers. Consider the emptiness of their guest's stomachs why don't they?"
Then she took Alyssa's arm.
"Ok, let's go."
Alyssa
Lyssa giggled. "We did a Maccas run before we came here. And shared some nuggets."
Lyssa headed back out to the main ... place.
Taylor and Ash G
"Ok I guess," Taylor nodded.
"Apart from..." Ashley began.
"We don't need to publicize it, thanks Ash," Taylor said between his teeth.
"Sorry. Nevermind," he waved his hand at Noah.
"You rememebr Ash, don't you?" Taylor asked him.
Ashley chuckled.
"And this is my girlfriend, Jane. Better known as Mouse. Mouse, this is Noah. His band has opened for us a couple of times. He has a power called Creation."
Mouse
"Empath, better with animals then people." Mouse shook Noah's hand. "Alien, but I don't know what sort. Somehow, I think YIRAAS lost me when my parents were killed by the Spider. So you got a band? Cool. Love to hear it sometime. What type of music do you play?"
AJ
"Great, now my man's gone," AJ huffed playfully as she looked around.
"That'd be right. Girlfriend needs food, abandon her."
She chuckled.
Then she looked up to where a balcony looked over the main ballroom. She grinned at Lys.
"Wanna get a birds-eye view?"
Noah and Faith
Noah thought for a second. It hurt.
"Um... we're kinda... I don't know how really to describe it. I guess you'd classify it as punk? It's hard to explain. But we're gonna be playing at P3 soon. I made the executive decision. So you should come see us."
Faith grinned. "Ah, Piper roped you into that, did she?"
Alyssa
"Maybe later. I want to find Chris and Noah first."
Alyssa led the way to the ballroom. "Ah, Chris is with Pete. Noah's over there, with Taylor."
Taylor and Ash G
"I wish I knew more people than I did," Taylor sighed.
"You met Piper," Ashley said suddenly, "she was at the tournament. Rememebr? You sent that little bird to find me for her and her two sisters."
"Ash? That was ages ago. And in case you've forgotten I'm having trouble with my memory."
"You never told me that."
"Oops? I had to learn how to play harmonica all over again."
Mouse
"It'll come back. Minds heal slower then bodies." Mouse touched e ro Taylor's hand, curling her fingers around his. "Just let it be. And punk music is of the very good. What bands do you like?"
AJ
"Taylor who?" AJ looked around, trying to spot her boyfriend.
Then she saw Noah talking with a group of people, not recognizing Taylor at first.
"Hey, you wanna be with your man or come with me to mine?" she grinned.
Noah
"Um... bit of everything. One Dollar Short, Reel Big Fish, Linkin Park, Allister, Vandals, MxPx, stuff like that. Oh yeah, and Hanson of course." Noah grinned at Taylor then turned to Mouse again. "What about you?"
Alyssa
Lyssa smiled.
"Nah. I need my Chris. I'll catch up with ya later."
She gave a wave and headed off.
Taylor and Ash G
"Mouse has been kinda deprived of the musical world so far," Taylor nuzzled her neck, "but we're working on changing that."
"Room69 isn't so bad, Noah. They're alot better than you make them out to be," Ashley insisted.
Mouse
"Haven't been to many live performances. Usually cos I couldn't afford the cover charge, and the fact the emotions gave me a headache. But powers all under control now. Linkin are my favs at the moment, but after talking to this guy, Spike, I've been going for some older stuff. Sex Pistols, the Ramones, bands like that. They're good. Anarchy in the UK is seriously one of my new favourite songs ever." Mouse smiled. "I bet your band is good."
Noah
Noah smiled. "Um... well... I wouldn't say we're good." He spotted AJ coming over and he grabbed her hand. "Hey guys, this is my girlfriend, AJ."
AJ, Taylor and Ash G
AJ straight away gave him a kiss, then realized she might have come across as rude.
She chuckled as she pulled away, a hand around Noah's neck.
"Hey," she grinned at Mouse, then Ashley, then...
Her eyes widened.
"Nice to meet you," Taylor nodded.
"Yep," Ashley agreed, "we're meeting alot of people tonight aren't we Taylor?"
Taylor chuckled.
"Sure are. Although I'm sure I knew alot of them before."
They hadn't noticed that AJ froze.
Mouse
"Hey, AJ. Jane or Mouse. Pick a name." Mouse smiled. "Most people call me Mouse though." She noticed the girl's freaked out state, and grinned. "So, I'm an empath. Alien, hybrid, we have no idea. You?"
Noah and Faith
Noah wrapped his arm around AJ's waist and grinned at her. "AJ?"
Faith giggled and looked across the room at Zac again. "Aww, I miss my boy."
AJ, Taylor and Ash G
"Umm... gravity. I can change anyone or anything's gravity."
She couldn't help but grin as she avoided Taylor's gaze.
"Can be quite fun, can't it Noah? Especially when I don't have to clean up afterwards."
She chuckled, remembering the first night they got drunk.
"Well, nice to meet you AJ. But I best be heading off to find my own angel," Ashley grinned.
He leant forward an shook her hand.
"Ashley Greyson by the way. I'll no doubt see you around."
AJ froze again as he left. Ash Greyson? Holy crap.
"Gravity. Sounds interesting," Taylor nodded, pulling her out of her trance.
Mouse
Mouse could've snickered. Being an empath could be a great deal of fun. She smiled gently at AJ however. "Hey, I love what you're wearing. Where'd you get it?"
Noah and Faith
Noah grinned at AJ. "Yeah, well you didn't have to clean my walls."
Faith extended her hand to AJ.
"Hey, I'm Faith."
She looked at Mouse. "I may need you to distract Diana later this night."
Taylor and AJ
AJ shook Faith's hand, then grinned at Mouse.
"Um, custom made. I hate wearing dresses and skirts, so I had to fit pants into it somehow."
She chuckled.
"I think it came off kinda well."
"It did," Taylor raised his eyebrows, noticing her shivering a little.
Through his connection with Mouse, he smiled wryly knowing she was nervous because of him. If he didn't have his morals he probably would have laughed at her.
Mouse
"I can play interference. How much inteference would be good?" Mouse giggled. "Works well, your dress. I like. Who'd you get it done by? A friend?"
Faith
Faith grinned cheekily. "Enough so Zac and I can have at least one dance." Glancing at Mouse, she sighed. "And ok, there won't be any groping."
AJ and Taylor
"Noah made it," AJ leant back into him with a smile, "cos of his creation."
She looked up at him from an angle.
"Babe, I wanna party on the roof. Is there anywhere we can do it without being told off?"
"Party on the roof?" Taylor looked confused.
She looked up at him for a moment, nervous.
"Yeah. Gravity. Duh."
Mouse
"Sounds fun. Novel. And Faith? Grope Zac all you want. Just...don't make it so noticable." Mouse laughed. "I'll play distraction happily. You're my friend."
Faith and Noah
Faith gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, I won't make it too obvious... and hey, when have I ever made it obvious. Wait... on second thought, don't answer that. Oh and Taylor, Piper might ask you to come and play at P3 as well."
Noah removed his arm from around AJ's waist and reached for her hand instead. "Well we can't play on the same night as them, then everyone will see how much we suck."
Taylor
"You don't suck, Noah," Taylor shook his head with a grin, "just stop telling yourself that. So what if no scouts picked you up when you opened for us? Maybe no one was there."
He gave Mouse a peck on the cheek.
"But I don't think it'll be a problem Faith. I'm looking forward to seeing this place I've heard tell about."
Mouse
"Dancing is of the good. Faith took me dancing. Fun. And some punk sound would also be fo the good. Not that Hanson ain't good, but punk is more my style." She looked ather boyfriend, and smiled. "Sorry, Tay."
Faith and Noah
Faith coughed loudly. "You know, I don't think we should mention what you did when you were with me. Otherwise he might agree with your mom about me being a bad influence."
Noah chuckled. "Ok, we don't suck. We just don't rock. We don't even have roadies. Other bands have roadies."
Faith grinned cheekily. "Yeah, but other bands know more than three chords. Your professional bands can play up to, six, sometimes seven completely different chords."
Taylor and AJ
"We're getting there anyway," Taylor shrugged in relation to Mouse's comment, "slowly but surely. And from what I've heard about you two being together you might actually be good influences for each other."
He grinned.
"For instance, the leather wardrobe. And you don't need roadies unless you're doing a full scale tour."
AJ stood on her tip toes to kiss Noah from an angle.
"I could be a roadie," she said softly with a grin.
Mouse
"You just want to check out my ass in the leather pants I bought." Mouse looked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Tight. Blood red. I liked them. You probably will as well."
Faith and Noah
Faith grinned. "I'm still waiting to let Zac see me in the crotchless chaps with the spanky pants. But I'm not sure if it's the wisest idea."
"Yeah, you could be my roadie." Noah kissed AJ's nose.
"I could too... but I'd rather be Zac's." Faith widened her eyes to try and look more innocent. "Leather clothing rocks. It's so... binding. And easy to get off. Not that I would have experience in that area."
AJ and Taylor
"Stop it, you're gonna make me drool," Taylor grinned, "what? Zac had to get it from somewhere."
AJ grabbed Noah's neck and pulled him down for a prolonged kiss.
Mouse
"Leather is good. Smells like prey, you know? And now I've freaked everybody out completely, that's what my wolf says. And yes, actual wolf. Fafnir. He's outside. Gaurding." Mouse leant her head into Taylor's shoulder.
Faith
Faith grinned and gave an exaggerated moan.
"Ooh leather is good. So glad you agree with me."
Taylor and AJ
Taylor chuckled.
"Yeah, leather is good. Gets a bit hot in summer though."
He raised his eyebrows.
"And during photo shoots. Remind me not to wear leather pants to a photo shoot again."
"I remember that shoot," AJ said suddenly.
"Which one?" Taylor looked up, interested.
"Umm... a TTA one. You were wearing red leather pants and a denim jacket. Zac had cargos and a navy shirt, and Ike had a white T with a jacket over it. Sorry."
She blushed furiously.
"Yeah, that's the one I was talking about."
Mouse
"Mmm. Maybe you can get it out again. Leather sounds like it could be a good look." Mouse smiled.
Faith and Noah
"Yeah, the whole dominatrix look. We can all play Mistress of Pain." Faith stopped and scrunched her nose up. "Wow, even I was grossed out by that."
Noah grinned. "That was pretty yuck."
AJ and Taylor
"I wouldn't be calling Mouse a lesbian," Taylor grinned, waving away the girl joke.
"Am I the only one here not totally into leather?" AJ looked at Noah questioningly, "for me? Too uncomfortable. Then again, me also fussy bitch."
She giggled.
Mouse
"No, very much into guys." Mouse kissed the side of Taylor's face. "Very much into this guy in particular."
Faith and Noah
Faith grinned. "Yeah, Hanson guys are very good to be into. If only I was with mine at the moment."
Noah shrugged. "I'm not fazed on leather, I don't hate it though."
Taylor and AJ
Taylor chuckled.
"Well if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about my little brother's sex life. I've heard to many stories already."
He stood back a little so he could play with Mouse's hair.
"If only," AJ chuckled at what Faith said.
She hesitated when Taylor glanced at her.
"Sorry. My bad."
"I'm guessing you're into Hanson," Taylor smirked a little.
"Kinda. Kinda obvious that is."
Mouse
"After talking wioth Zac and Faith online, I can never look at chocolate in the same way again." Mouse heaved a sigh. "Chocolate is pure and good. It sure as Satan don't deserve what you two do to it. The poor innocently abused chocolate." She got an evil look. "By the way, did you ever get the collar for Zac?"
Faith
Faith coughed. "Well see Mousey, the thing about the chocolate, we were mostly playing. I mean, when we did use it, it just got us all sticky and we had to go have a spa together and then of course we couldn't stay in the spa all night so we had to go back to my room."
She grinned cheekily. "No, we didn't get the collar. I forgot, thanks for reminding me. Sorry Taylor, probably not wanting to hear about your little brother. But maybe little isn't the right word." She giggled.
Taylor and AJ
"Guys, I really don't need to hear this," Taylor shook his head, a disguested look on his face, "I mean seriously, come on..."
"I really don't need to hear it either," AJ agreed softly.
Taylor bent over to whisper in Mouse's ear.
"Pouvons-nous sortir d'ici satisfaisons-nous? Toutes ces personnes me rendent nerveux. Je n'ai pas été dehors long, vous savez."
Mouse
"Quoi que vous voulez, amour. Fafnir sera content pour nous voir, vous," Mouse mumured back. "J'aimerais partir de tous les gens pour un morceau. Mon empathie joue en haut."
Faith
Taylor and AJ
Taylor just smiled back, suddenly all nervous. He took Mouse's hand
in his.
"Will you accompany us outside?" he raised his eyebrows at the three
before them.
"Actually, I need food. Seriously," AJ cringed, "really really really
need food. Noah? Please help me find food?"
"I think they're going to bring it out soon," Taylor checked his
watch, "but you never know."
Mouse
"I know French cos I spent a while in New Orleans. Nice place."
Mouse smiled wistfully, remembering for a moment. "Food sounds good
too. What if we just head out for a bit, then come back?"
Faith
Faith nodded. "Yeah, I can't be inside for too long otherwise I get
too restless. And I know French coz I actually went to one of my
French classes in high school."
Taylor and AJ
"Well I know French just because I know French," Taylor grinned
smugly.
He began to pull Mouse along to get their cloaks, etc. It was getting
pretty cold outside.
AJ pulled Noah along behind them, grabbed her jacket, and soon they
were outside.
"Jeez it's cold," she shivered as the night air hit her, "and it
ain't even winter here, is it?"
"Nope," Taylor raised his eyebrows, "but we've had worse."
Mouse
Mouse put her hands in the pockets of her coat. "I've slept outside
in colder." She looked up at the stars. "Nice night, really."
Pack? Fafnir padded up, and stuck his muzzle into her side. She
patted him thouhtfully, still looking upwards. He howled, and after
a beat, Mouse joined him, singing to the night sky.
Faith and Noah
Faith pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "Yeah, I've
hunted in colder than this. But it's still a it temperature change
from inside."
Noah wrapped his arms around AJ, so that he was standing behind her.
He rested his head on her shoulder.
Taylor and AJ
"Having a good night Fafnir?" Taylor asked in wolf, "I didn't think
there'd be much worth hunting around these parts."
Then he noticed the look AJ was giving him.
"Tongue," he explained, "basically a gross between the geek that
knows all languages and Dr. Dolittle."
"Cool!"
Mouse
Some. Rats mostly. But my Mouse looks after me good. Fafnir
laughed.
"Um. I kinda bought him a sheep." Mouse made an ick face. "A live
one."
rry
And it was the best hunt ever. Thing was fat and stupid, and yum.
He sighed happily and licked Mouse's hand.
Faith and Noah
Faith shivered. "Yuck."
Noah closed his eyes for a second then pecked AJ softly on the
cheek.
AJ and Taylor
AJ shivered a little, then turned to look at him.
"Can we go back inside already? I'm seriously freezin' my ass off out
here," she bit her lip, bouncing a little.
"Well if you're from Australia you're probably not used to it,"
Taylor grinned.
AJ hesitated for a moment.
"Oh, the accent. Was wonderin' how you knew."
Then Taylor turned to Fafnir.
"Normally I'd give sympathy, but you know sheep. They don't really...
care that much. But I stand at the point that a lamb is going too
far."
Mouse
But, but, but small! Little! Defenceless. Fafnir cocked his had to
the side and stared up at Taylor with confusion. *Yummy*. Tender.
Mmhmm.
"I'm not buying you a lamb, Faf." Mouse shook her head. "The sheep
was bad enough. And I think it's exactly the virtues you extoll that
are the problem."
Ruin all my fun.
Noah and Faith
Noah nodded. "Yeah, come on, we'll go inside, it's kinda cold."
Faith shrugged. "Either way I'm cool... I wonder if your mom's
backed off Zac yet. Wanna do some distracting after dinner, Mousey?
Pwease?"
AJ and Taylor
AJ grabbed Noah and led him back inside.
Taylor screwed his face up.
"Faf', how would you like to be small, little and defenceless? Huh?
What if you were the lamb and something else was the wolf?"
Taylor shook his head finally.
"Nevermind. I have too much sympathy."
He took Mouse's hand again.
"If you get too cold you can always go inside. Don't think I'm
stopping you."
Mouse
I'm a *wolf*, it's what I do. Predator, right? Fafnir was a bit
irked, and trotted off into the shadows. Later, Pack.
"You're not stopping me." She smiled at him. "If I get too cold,
I'll tell you. It's nice to be out anyway."
Rachel, Jessica and Adam
Rachel and Tobias looked around as the came insicer. Tobias was human for
about two hours, but would have to morph in and out before the night was
over.
"Hey, look, there's Jess," Rachel said. "I haven't seen her in ages,
let's go say hi." Rachel went over and hugged her pal.
"How are you doing, hun?"
Rachel asked, concerned.
"I'm survivng, how about you?"
"The same. Oh, this is Tobias, by the way.
"Hi Tobias, this is Adam." The two guys shook hands.
"You," rachel said, "Are going to dance with me. Now." She pulled
Tobias out onto the dance floor.
Faith
"Well, I'll leave you guys alone." Faith gave a wink and a wave and
headed back inside to find Zac and try and find a way to talk to him
without Diana getting too annoyed.
Taylor
"To tell you the truth," Taylor began, leading her over to a bench
they could sit on, "I'm pretty cold too. I just had to get away from
everyone. There's way too many people here."
He sighed and fidgeted with the flowers in her hair.
"I know I've already said this, but you look beautiful tonight."P>rry
Mouse
"I think you look pretty good yourself. Tux looks good on you."
Mouse leant into his side. "Wasn't really expecting there to be that
many people. But Faith will call me when she needs me to run
interfernce for her. So I can stay out until then, and you can
decide when you feel up to facing all of them again."
Taylor
"Merci tellement beaucoup," Taylor kissed her forehead.
He closed his eyes, his arms wrapped around her.
"Je t'aime, vous sais cela?"
Mouse
"Oui, je sais. Je t'aime aussi." Mouse slid one arm around his
waist, and sighed happily. "Je ne pense pas que cela il y a beaucoup
que pourrait changer comment je me sens de vous. Nous serons beaux.
Je t'aime, mon sauveur, mon couer."
Taylor
"D'une manière de rond point, vous m'avez sauvé. Vous n'avez aucune
idée comme j'heureux suis maintenant que je vous ai. Avant vous ma
vie était une épave."
Taylor sighed, refusing to close his eyes. He just wanted to watch
her.
"Peut-être nous pourrions commencer à penser à l'action à long
terme. Si c'est correct avec vous..."
He mentally crossed his fingers.
Mouse
Mouse blinked. "Je ne sais pas ce que pour dire. Pourquoi aimerait-
quelqu'un que vous me voulez? Je garde vous attends de réveiller et
va. Et je pense que vous m'avez épargné. De ce que j'espère que vous
ne sait jamais. Vous faites m'a envie d'une personne, pas un des
Folk. Vous êtes mon âme." She still couldn't quite believe what he
had said. "Don't play games with me, please. I couldn't take it if
you said something like that, and then took it back."
Taylor
"Jane, vous êtes un empath, et je ne me cache pas de vous."
He ran the tips of his fingers down her neck, making her shiver.
"Peut-être nous pourrions trouver notre propre endroit. Je ne veux
pas compter sur les chats... Je veux juste consacrer la majeure
partie de mon temps à vous."
Mouse
"Peut-être nous pourrions trouver notre propre endroit. Je ne veux
pas compter sur les chats... Je veux juste consacrer la majeure
partie de mon temps à vous. Mais je vous fie. " Mouse looked up at
him through sooty eyelashes. "I think finding our own place could be
an idea."
Taylor
Taylor's eyes lit up.
"Merci ange."
He kissed her.
"Peut-être dans les jours à venir. Je devrais avoir sorti il y a des
âges de toute façon... juste aimables à inquiété d'Avie et de Jess."
Mouse
"There is always time." Mouse smiled. "Plenty of time to figure out
what we're doing. And you shouldn't worry about them, Jessi and
Avie. Getting better. I can feel it. Getting inked help Jessi...but
I think your mother would have severe hysterics if I suggested that
for Avie as a form of therapy." She giggled.
Taylor
"And I wouldn't blame her. She's only twelve."
He shifted a little under her weight.
"Avery's been spending a lot of time with me actually. She's probably
going to be bored stupid if I move out."
He kissed her cheek softly.
"But I might wait until the fuzzles are old enough. That way I can
leave Jade, Malory and Aricin there... rather than swapping places
all the time. Mac has dibs on Aricin now."
He chuckled.
"Xanthe and Mya are staying with me. As well as Flavian and Meena."
Mouse
"Sounds like the fuzzles have all been satisfactorily placed." Mouse
smiled. "Avery's a good kid. Like her. Reminds me of me, a bit.
Snarky, you know?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I really do like
your family. They're all so nice."
Taylor
"If only we could keep it that way," Taylor sighed.
"I know he doesn't like to admit it, but Dad's becoming a worried
wreck. He's stressing about us now, because he knows about the three
of us having suicide attempts, Zac being a father, Ike being hunted
more often than not, Zoe's habit of using her power in public."
He gulped a little.
"And he knows he can't be here for us because of all the stuff
happening with YIRAAS at the moment. I don't know most of it, and I'm
sure I don't want to. He's hardly home anymore, and he knows things
are heating up between mom and Jess. He's just worried. I mean I am
as well, but at least I can do something about it, you know?"
He chuckled.
"And here you are saying you babble alot. Listen to me going on," he
rolled his eyes.
Mouse
"I think it's sexy when you babble," Mouse said, smiling
slightly. "Actually...I think a lot of what you do is very sexy. I
can barely get away with cute, myself."
Taylor
Taylor blushed the usual bright red.
"Of course you can barely get away with cute. You're too far above
cute," he grinned as he ran his hands down her arms.
"You're even beyond beautiful. Up here," he tapped her head
softly, "that's even times ten."
Mouse
"Well, you havta say stuff like that. You love me." Mouse smiled
slowly. "Although, I was thinking, cos I'm probably staying here for
a very long time...about starting my schooling again. Might even get
to do high school this time round."
Taylor
"I don't have to say stuff like that if I don't believe it," Taylor
cocked his head a little so he could look her in the eyes.
He barely noticed people walking past.
"If you and my mother seemed to be on better terms I would ask her
for you. You might not have known, but she home-schooled the lot of
us. But... I don't want to put that on you if won't get on."
He leant down to kiss her again, then pulled away.
"But we shouldn't be talking about work on a night like this," he
grinned.
Mouse
"No. Tonight is not a night for work. Tonight is a night for
luuuuurveee," Mouse put all the teen nasal whine into it that she
could, giggling softly. "And if she would get off Zac and faith's
case I'd get on a lot better with your mother. We did before."
Taylor
"Well..." Taylor began, leaning back finally with a mischievous grin
playing on his lips.
"If it's only the Zac and Faith thing bothering you, we might be able
to fix that."
He grinned at her as he shuffled along so they were sitting side by
side, rather than her on his lap.
"If you're up to it," he raised his eyebrows, "but we'd have to get
Avie in on it too."
Mouse
"Oh, do you have a plan? Will it be devious?" Mouse grinned. "I like
devious. It's fun."
Taylor
Taylor just grinned.
"Well think about it. You're an empath, and Avie's a telepath. Little
bit of mind bending..."
Taylor used his hands for emphasis.
"...Maybe we could work something out. Just because mom's an
experienced empath, doesn't mean she can stop telepathy. If she even
knows about it."
Mouse
"Good plan. you know, I wasn't sure you could do devious...you look
like such a clean cut guy. Pleasantly surprised." Mouse kissed his
cheek. "A bit of evil can be fun. And this could make two people
very happy. Even more fun."
Taylor
"Looks can be decieving. You of all people should know," Taylor
chuckled, "I used to be... well, still am pretty sneaky I guess."
He scratched his neck awkwardly.
"But it's probably better you didn't know what I got up to. And trust
me, it'll make more than two people happy if you got on with mom."
Mouse
"I really, really want to." Mouse frowned sadly. "But...I just don't
get how she can not see what Zac and Faith have. And Faith's really
nice, you know?"
Taylor
"Mom's just over-protective after the whole thing with Julie. I'm
sure she would have preferred if I'd stayed in my room just so she
knew where I was 24/7."
He hesitated, scratching his nose.
"But with a bit of persuasion, I'm sure we can turn the tides.
Tides... damn. I need to go surfing," he ground his teeth.
Mouse
"Bit cold for that, isn't it?" Mouse teased slightly. "Hmm. Beach.
Haven't gone swimming for an age, seems like. But I can wait until
summer."
Taylor
"Well it's almost summer," Taylor considered, "but what i really need
to do, is get back out into the desert on the dirt bikes."
He rubbed his chin.
"Maybe I could con Zac and Ike into coming with me next week or
something."
Then he looked at her.
"Can you ride? I haven't seen you before. Although I guess you
haven't had much chance."
Mouse
"Wouldn't mind learning," Mouse said honestly. "I've always wanted
to learn how to ride. Although, don't mind hanging onto you while
you drive the thing..." she smiled.
Taylor
"That might be a bit dangerous," Taylor chuckled, "but I'll teach
you, no problem. It can be a heck of alot of fun."
"Mine!"
"Get lost."
"I saw it first!"
"What the...?" Taylor began, looking around.
He couldn't see anyone, so put it down to insects.
"Nevermind," he sighed, when Mouse gave him an odd look, "back to the
dirt bikes. Wanna come out next week?"
Mouse
"Sounds fun. What type of thing should I wear?" Mouse grinned.
Taylor
"Anything you don't mind getting dirty... leather probably isn't a
good idea," he grinned, thinking of what they could do.
Scratching his eyebrow, he chuckled.
"And pants are probably a good idea. Nothing tight. Just casual,
comfortable. Preferably old. There's alot of dirt in a desert you
know."
MOuse
"Believe me I know." Mouse rolled her eyes. "My sneakers are so
filled with dirt. I'll wear my walking and hunting stuff then.
Fafnir might come as well. Just for a run. He'll probably stay far,
far away from the bikes though." She smiled slightly.
Taylor
"And that's probably a good idea... I don't want to hit him or
anything."
He leant in to her and pulled her into his arms again.
"Things can get pretty crazy when you're having that much fun... but
it's cool. You don't mind me teaching you, do you?"
Mouse
"Nah. I *like* spending time with you, as hard as it may be to
believe. And learning to ride a bike sounds fun. Beats walking."
Mouse leaned her head against his shoulder. "What's it like?"
Taylor
"I think you're probably asking the wrong person," Taylor chuckled.
He considered it.
"A lot of people prefer them to cars... except when it's raining
y'know. But they're definately on my good side for the next few years
at least... possibly the rest of my life. I dread the next time I get
behind the wheel of a car."
He shuddered.
Mouse
"Yeah, Ike said something about a car chase." She ran her fingers
through his hair, sending soothing emotions to him. "But riding in
the rain could be fun. If you have a house to go to and get dry at
after. Rain can be fun." Mouse smiled.
Taylor
"Well, think about it..." Taylor began, straightening his back a
little.
"The first time I drive a car since I get into a head-on collision
with Steel, Avie and I end up being kidnapped. The first time after
that, I was in a life-or-death car chase."
He groaned a little.
"I never wanna drive again. Cars and I just don't seem to go
together."
Then the thought of Steel brought back an unnerving memory. Quickly,
he wiped the thought from his mind.
"And yeah, rain can be alot of fun."
Mouse
"So, cars are out. At least you still have your bike, right? And
that means you can still go places and stuff. And you don't have to
wait around forever for a taxi or a bus, and buses are bad cos ave
you seen some of the people who catch public transport? Kinda weird
and freakis, though I'm sure they're actually nice, and I'm
babbling. Again. So I'll stop." Mouse took a breath.
Taylor
"But you're cute when you babble," Taylor grinned, kissing her
forehead.
"Maybe once you learn to ride we could look into getting you a bike
of your own," he raised his eyebrows, "maybe with a side car for
Fafnir if you decide to go long distance."
Then he hesitated, realizing what he'd just said.
"Uh... even though that hopefully won't happen," he quickly added.
Mouse
"Come with me. I know you travel when you tour, but you probably
don't travel much for just fun." Mouse suggested. "I like
travelling, but having enough money so I can eat and do the sytuff I
want without stealing sounds like fun too. Maybe more, actually. I
could actually stay in hotel! That would be way cool."
Taylor
"Well we are actually... well, were actually planning a bit of an
acoustic tour around the states this year. Our fans are getting a bit
restless. You know, thinking we're just slacking because the album
isn't out yet. Maybe you'd like to join us on that tour?" he asked
hopefully.
"Well probably be spending most of our time on the tour bus. But it's
only acoustic, so I don't think everyone's going to go. Dad will, of
course. Mom might want to stay here with Jess, Mac and maybe Zoe. I
don't know," he shrugged, "it depends on who wants to go. We haven't
really asked yet, because it's not definate."
Mouse
"Sounds like it could be fun. If there's room for me, I'll go."
Mouse grinned, and pecked him on the cheek. "You're such a sweet
guy. Like really."
Taylor
"Well, I do my best," Taylor joked, "If there isn't room for you, I'm
going to try and make room."
He rubbed his stomach as he heard it growl.
"Hm... I think AJ may have had a point," he grinned, "want to go and
see if the food's out yet?"
Mouse
"Sounds like a plan." Mouse smiled back at him. "Food sounds like a
good idea." They headed back inside and Mouse deposited her coat in
the Cloakroom again.
Taylor
Taylor left his jacket in the cloakroom this time, leaving him in a
white shirt and black tie. Looking around, he soon spotted where they
were slowly bring out the buffet. He chuckled as he caught sight of
AJ standing as close as she could with a plate in her hand.
He turned to Mouse and put a hand around her waist.
"Shall we?" he indicated the buffet.
Mouse
"Yes." Mouse eyes went large. So much food still made her a bit
amazed. She'd spent most of her life scrounging in dumpsters and
stuff. This was close to what she'd thought heaven would be like, a
few months ago. "Food is definetly of the good, and she looks like
she has the right idea." She jerked her head in the direction of AJ.
Taylor and AJ
Taylor chuckled, sensing she was a bit overwhelmed.
He removed his hand from her waist and took her's, before leading her
over to the buffet.
"Looks like someone couldn't wait," he said softly, leaning over AJ's
shoulder.
She almost jumped out of her skin.
"N-no," she stuttered, grabbing the piece of chicken she'd dropped
onto the table and throwing it back onto her plate.
Taylor just grinned, getting himself and Mouse a plate, and handing
Mouse's to her.
Mouse
"Merci, mon cher. Ne pas effrayer la fille pauvre. La partir seul.
Si j'ai rencontré le Parc de Linkin, je serais probablement pire,"
Mouse scolded Taylor lightly, hoping AJ didn't speak French. "So,
let's eat." She started to get some food onto her plate.
Taylor and AJ
AJ turned her ears away as soon as she heard the French. Damn, if
only she understood.
She made her way along the buffet, trying to distance herself from
Taylor as best she could.
Taylor chuckled a little.
"Je suis simplement heureux elle n'est pas un screamer," he admitted
as he started gathering food, "vous ne pouvez pas me blâmer de
vouloir avoir un peu d'amusement avec elle."
Mouse
"Don't tease the teenies. It's not fitting with your image. Isn't
that Zac's job?" Mouse grinned. "Which reminds me. Interference when
Faith dances with Zac. Or maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should let
Diana see what I see when I look at the two of them."
Taylor
"Who cares if it's normally Zac's job?" Taylor grinned
mischievously, "don't forget looks can be decieving. Although I've
never dated a teenie."
He reached for the gravy.
"And I think Mom is a bit more occupied with Dad at the moment,"
Taylor nodded over to where the two were slow dancing together.
Mouse
"Awwww," Mouse cooed. "It's sweet. I wish you could feel what I feel
with them. I'm glad your dad can relax for a bit. He's been really,
really uber stressed lately."
Taylor
"Yeah I know," Taylor glanced at them again, not bothering to mention
that he could sort of feel it through the so-called 'connection'.
He chuckled at the thought.
Once they had their food, they headed over to one of the tables to
eat.
Oliver, Hunter and Zac
Oliver eyed Jess dancing with some guy he didn't recognise. Hunter noticed this.
"Admiring a hot chick? Or someone you know?" he asked.
"Someone I know," Oliver replied. "Her name's Jess. Gues I kinda like her."
"I can see why."
"Actually, I met her on the net first."
"Oh."
Oliver grinned and then noticed someone else.
"My sister Mi, is dating - and dancing - with Jess's oldest brother Ike," he said pointing.
"What's her name?"
"Who?"
"Your sister."
"Mi."
"No, your sister."
"Her name is Miette, but we call her 'Mi' for short," Oliver grinned. "Makes for lots of confuing conversations like this."
"Oh. I understand now," Hunter paused. "She's hot too."
"Argh, it's bad enough when I hear them talking about her like that. You don't even know her!"
Hunter just chuckled.
"Well, I think I'll ask Tate if she wants to dance."
"She probably will if you want her to."
"I know," Hunter grinned, and walked off.
Meanwhile Zac had walked over to Faith and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Care to dance?"
Faith
"Why I'd love to, baby." Faith hugged him. "You look hot."
She kissed him softly.
Zac
Zac kissed Faith back and lead her out on the dance floor.
"You know what I've decided? I've decided I do not care what Mom thinks any more about you. Because I don't want to hide my relationship with you from anyone any more. It's been driving me crazy and I love you too much."
Faith
Faith leaned her head against Zac's shoulder and kissed his neck.
"I don't wanna hide. This is my deal, this is me, take it or leave
it. And if your mom doesn't like that, well, we can work around it.
But I don't wanna not be with you, I love you too."
Zac, Isaac and Miette
"Good," Zac replied, holding her close.
They passed by Isaac and Miette then and Isaac gave them a dopey grin.
"Remember Zac, you don't want to hold each other so tight that you can't breathe," he teased.
Miette giggled.
Faith
Faith grinned, she moved so her mouth was on Zac's ear.
"I don't need to breathe when I'm with you."
She looked over at the other dancing couples and had a little giggle.
"You know, for years, I said I was never going to fall in love. Yet,
here I am."
Zac and Mackie
"Mmm..." Zac said, resting his head next to Faith's. "For years I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to fall in love with someone who would love me just as much back."
He was quiet then, just enjoying Faith's presence.
Meanwhile Mackie was watching all the people dancing. He screwed up his face and then decided that if all his older brothers were dancing with girls (even though they had girl germs), then he should dance with a girl too. He looked around and spotted another Dathrian his age named Lucy and walked over to her.'
"Hey Lucy," he said.
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna dance with me?"
Lucy wrinkled up her face, looked at all the people dancing (all thoses girls were so pretty, and the boys were so handsome), and then back at Mackie.
Well, she supposed he could pass for handsome. Maybe.
"OKay," she agreed.
Mackie smiled and took her hand like he had seen his brothers do, and pulled her onto the floor.
"Hey, be careful!"
"Sorry."
They 'danced' for a little while (slight problem with treading on each other's feet) when Mackie got a little exasperated.
"Okay you put your hands around my neck okay?" he instructed her.
"Why? People don't dance like that."
"Yeah they do. See?"
"Hmm... why?"
"I wanna show you something."
"Okay..."
Lucy put her arms around Mackie's neck and Mackie held Lucy tightly. Then he used his power of Flight to make them float in the air.
"Eek! What are you doing?"
"Now we won't tread on out toes any more," Mackie replied smugly.
"Oh."
Lucy looked around and then smiled.
"You're very smart."
"Thank you."
Isaac and Miette
Eventually, Isaac and Miette left the dance floor.
"Isaac?" said a voice.
Isaac turned.
"Yes? Oh, Vicky, hi. Mi, this is Vicky. Vicky, my girlfriend Miette."
"Just call me Mi," Miette smiled.
"Nice to meet you. England?"
"Yes," Vicky turned back to Isaac. "How's Taylor?"
"Oh, he's good. He's over there," Isaac pointed.
"Tanya filled me in."
Isaac nodded.
"I told you about what happened to Tay's mind right?" he asked Miette.
Miette nodded.
"Such a terrible thing," Vicky sighed.
"A mind is a terrible thing to waste?" Isaac suggested.
"That too," Vicky grinned. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Okay."
Vicky wandered off, then Miette spotted Mindy.
"Mindy!"
Mindy
"Mi!" Mindy waved.
She bounded over to her and hugged her, before quickly replacing the
skinny sky-blue strap of her dress onto her shoulder.
"I wasn't sure if you were coming for it," she smiled, "I was
planning on thanking you in person for accepting to be my maid of
honour."
Miette
Miette giggled.
"Really? I was going to thank you again for asking me!"
She gave Mindy a hug.
"Have you made many prepreations yet?"
Ash G and Mindy
"So far we're not even sure of the date," Mindy blushed a
little, "probably the beginning of next year. We've got a lot of
people to invite."
She giggled a little.
"But it's invite only. And we really don't want too many people. Ash
has put his foot down. What colour do you think would be good for the
bridesmaids?"
It was then that Ash came up behind her and grabbed her from behind.
"Ashley!" she exclaimed, hitting him after he'd scared her.
He just laughed.
"Hey Ike, Mi," he nodded to them.
Isaac and Miette
"Hey Ash," Isaac said.
"Hmm, I like so many colours," Miette said thoughtfully. "Yellow? Purple? Blue?"
Mouse
"Maybe Faith doesn't need me to play interference after all," Mouse
said, glancing at the dancefloor. Zac and Faith were very happily
ensconced in each other's arms, and Mouse sighed in
contentment. "You wouldn't believe how much being apart hurt the two
of them. Might've noticed Zac's total and utter funk for a week or
so, a while back." She forked some food into her mouth and ate for a
bit.
Taylor
"I couldn't really notice Zac that much, he hardly came and saw me.
Probably too overwhelmed with his lady troubles," Taylor smiled a
little, playing with his food.
"Ike and Avery were the ones I spent most time with. On a rare
occasion I saw Jess and Dad."
He watched most people as they danced, trying to decide when to ask
Mouse. Straight after eating... or wait til it settled? Hm...
Mouse
"He wrote a song for her, when they weren't together cos Faith went
on a Zac would be better off without me kick. He's a sweet guy. Must
run in the family." Mouse grinned at Taylor. "Cos, you are. And Ike
is. And your dad definetely is. And Mackie's shaping up the same
way. He is so cute! Awwww." She spotted Mackie dancing with some
other kid in the air. "That is really very sweet. Some one have a
camera?"
Taylor
Taylor blushed again and continued eating. But not fast enough to
make him sick. He was still only eating two meals a day.
"The YIRAAS normally have a photographer floating around somewhere.
He's probably in the back room doing portraits at the moment. Most
likely will come out later."
He finally put his utensils down and sat back a little, feeling full.
"Want to pay him a visit later?" he looked up hopefully.
Faith
Faith wrapped her arms tighter around Zac's neck and settled her
head back on his shoulders. She sighed in contentment.
"I don't know what it is about you, but when I'm with you, I feel
like I could take on the world. I love you so much, and I'm so glad
that we made it through everything."
She lifted her head and kissed him gently again.
"Wanna stay at my house tonight?"
Zac
Zac kissed her back.
"Only if you're there," he smiled.
Mouse
"Yeah. Have something to prove to me this isn't a dream." Mouse
looked around at the room. "Keep having this feeling of being in a
dream, and I'll wake up on the streets again. Nice dream though."
Faith and Paige
Faith grinned cheekily.
"You know, I was thinking we do a swap, you know? I stay at your
house and you stay at mine."
She poked her tongue out at him, then waved to Paige and Oz who were
dancing next to them.
"Aw, cute couple," Paige commented to Faith and Zac.
"You don't look so bad yourself," Faith replied.
Zac
Zac grinned at Paige, and then his eyes lit up.
"Hey, look, I think there's a cuter couple over there," he snickered, pointing
to Mackie and Lucy.
Xander and Phoebe
Xander extended his arm to Phoebe and helped her out of her seat.
"Come on, let's have a dance, everyone else is."
"Ok."
They walked onto the dancefloor and Phoebe moved her arms around his
neck. Xander smiled.
"I'm glad we worked this whole thing out."
"The friends thing?" Phoebe crinkled her eyebrows in confusion.
"Yeah, otherwise things would be really awkward now." Xander looked
around at the other dancing couples. Piper and Leo were getting
along really well from he could see, and so were Paige and Oz.
"Mmmhmm." Phoebe closed her eyes dreamily for a second, then opened
and looked at Faith and Zac. "Look at them, it's so sweet."
Xander nodded. "I've never seen her... you know, in a relationship
kinda deal."
"Neither. But I think that if anyone was the right guy for her, Zac
is. He has the energy and spirit to keep up with her, and I think he
gives her something to live for." Phoebe smiled as she watched
them. "I wish they hadn't had so many problems though."
"Ah, what doesn't kill them will only make them stronger."
Phoebe nodded her agreement and leant her head back on Xander's
shoulder.
Faith
Paige giggled. "Aww, adorable." She and Oz danced off.
Faith smiled at the sight of Mackie and Lucy. "Must run in the
family, all Hanson males are good looking."
Zac
Zac laughed.
"Aww, thanks."
After a couple of songs, Zac decided he was tired.
"Let's go eat," he suggested.
Taylor
"You know... I don't know how long I've been back for, but it must
almost be a month, and i keep thinking the same thing. That I'm gonna
wake up and be back with the Eye, and none of this ever happened.
Meena was never pregnant, Zac never found Faith, and Christian was
still fraternising with my girlfriend and getting my stalker
pregnant..."
He hesitated.
"Actually, that wouldn't be such a bad thing to not have happened.
Getting that girl pregnant I mean."
He rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry, I shouldn't be talking about this."
Noticing Mouse had finished her meal, he stood and held out his hand
to her.
"Want to visit the photographer now?"
Mindy and Ash G
Mindy hummed thoughtfully.
"Maybe some kind of sky blue then, like this?" she indicated down at
her dress.
Ashley screwed up his face, but she ignored him.
"I just want you to be ok with it, because I'm not going to be the
one wearing it... oh, did you hear that Mouse is a fourth
bridesmaid?" she smiled, "we added fourth members to the bridal party
when we discovered Taylor was still actually alive."
Miette and Isaac
Miette nodded.
"So I heard. Well, look, we can get the dresses made up in whatever colour you
want, and if we decide we don't like it, I can always change it in a snap."
On 'snap' she snapped her fingers and her hair switched from red with black
streaks to black with red streaks.
"Show off," Isaac teased.
Faith
Faith nodded her agreement.
"Thank god, my feet are gettng sore from standing."
She reached over and adjusted the straps of her shoes and followed
Zac off the dance floor and over to the food.
Zac
Zac rubbed his hands together gleefully.
"Food," he said.
He snatched up a couple of plates and handed one to Faith.
Mouse
"Yeah." Mouse took his hand and stood up. "I want a photo of you in
a tux, and me in this dress. Something to hold and look back on..."
Taylor
Taylor smiled and led her into the room where the photographer was
positioned.
They had to wait in line for a moment (it was only a short line),
before they made it to the front.
"So, what exactly do you want?" Taylor grinned, hugging
her, "anything specific?"
Ash G and Mindy
"Oh! I forgot!" Mindy slapped her forehead lightly, "of course, you
have Light."
Then a micheivous grin played on her lips.
"Maybe we could change halfway through the day or something."
"Don't go getting too many ideas," Ashley warned.
"Fuss pot."
Ashley spun her around, and they started slow-dancing together.
Miette and Isaac
"Aww, they look so sweet together," Miette said.
Isaac just grinned and squeezed her hand.
"C'mon, I want some dinner."
"Okay."
Piper and Leo
Piper and Leo waltzed round the dance floor gazing into each others
eyes lovingly.
"I feel like you've known me forever."
Leo smiled and his eyes crinkled up. "Well, I have been watching
over you since you came into your powers."
"Ok, so maybe you have known me forever." Piper smiled back at him.
Mouse
"Don't know, don't care. You decide. I want one of us together, at
the very least." Mouse smiled up at him. "So, one together. Do you
want one of me all by my lonesome? Wouldn't mind one of you by
yourself either. Stick it in my coat pocket, I could."
Taylor
"I think that if you want a picture of me we could find one without
me in a tux," he pointed out.
"Ready?" came the photographer.
Taylor nodded on their behalf, and pulled Mouse over to the back drop
and put his arms around her.
They got about three photos together, before Taylor insisted Mouse
get a few by herself.
Mouse
"Fine." Mouse couldn't help smiling though. He wanted pictures of
her. She got a few done and stepped down. "Dancing now?"
Taylor
"As my lady wishes," Taylor smiled, taking her hand and kissing it.
Then he led her back out onto the dance floor to join the many
couples dancing.
Mouse
Mouse sighed happily as a slow song segued on and they just swayed
together on the dancefloor. She'd be hard put to name a time when
she'd been happier. "This is nice..."
Dawn and Clark
Dawn watched Mackie and Lucy dance in the air. "That looks like fun," she said to Clark.
"Youre wish is my command." She put her arms around his neck, and they started slow dancing, and he raised them up about four feet off the ground.
"Mmmm, alien boyfriends are definitely the way to go." He kissed her nose.
"And don't you ever forget it."
Faith
Faith and Zac gathered up their food and went to sit down.
"Damn hair," Faith muttered as she brushed a curl out of her eyes
for the hundredth time that evening.
Zac and Oliver
Zac grinned and then noticed Oliver.
"Hey, Oli," he called.
Oliver wandered over.
"Hey Zac," Oliver replied. "And... Faith isn't it?"
Faith
Faith smiled. "Yep, the one and only."
She took a sip of her drink. "So... you would be Oli?"
Zac and Oliver
"Yep, that would be me," Oliver replied.
"I believe you have a birthday today," Zac grinned.
Oliver pointed to himself.
"Me? Yep! I'm seventeen."
"Cool. Happy birthday."
Faith
Faith giggled.
"Ah, I remember 17. Happy birthday Oli."
She reached over and held Zac's hand.
Zac and Oliver
"Really? I remember seventeen too," Zac grinned.
"Funny about that," Oliver replied.
"Very funny."
Faith
Faith stuck her tongue out at Zac.
"Smart ass. I'll get you for that later."
Zac and Oliver
"Please do," Zac replied with a cheeky grin.
Oliver chuckled.
Faith
Faith grinned. "Oh I will. I'll get you back all night, in fact."
She glanced over and saw Diana staring at them. She was tempted to
run, but then she remembered that she had nothing to be ashamed of.
Zac, Miette, Isaac and Oliver
"Hmm," said Oliver. "I think I'll take this as my cue to leave."
"See ya," Zac said before turning back to Faith. "Is that a promise?"
Oliver walked off, and saw his sister with Isaac at the buffet. Food. Good idea.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Miette replied. "Oh, I haven't had a chance to say happy birthday. So, happy brithday."
"Thanks."
"Happy birthday," Isaac grinned.
Oliver smiled.
Faith
Faith brought her other hand up and caressed Zac's face.
"Oh it's a promise, count on it."