Cissnei sat in the break room with her eyes closed, rubbing her temples wearily. "Tired?" She opened them and smiled as Zack entered the room too. "A little." Zack slid into the chair across from her. "I got sent here to tell you that the Turks and SOLDIER have agreed that as a way to make more money, they're holding a karaoke/banquet night in the ballroom on Friday." Cissnei coughed out a hard, mocking laugh. "Singing in tuxes and dresses in a giant ballroom? What idiot thought up that idea?" Zack grinned. "It was me." Cissnei's head snapped up. "...What?" The cocky SOLDIER stood up and walked around the table to stand behind her. "Oh yeah." He clapped his hands on her shoulders and leaned his head in beside hers. "Because I know how much you love dresses and singing." Cissnei tensed, rejecting the idea. "I won't go." Zack laughed, standing up again. "Did I mention that attendance is mandatory?" Cissnei looked up irritably. She opened her mouth to say something but then composed herself, reverting back to a distant Turk. She turned her mouth up into a hard smile. "Great," she said coolly. "I'll see you on Friday." Zack chuckled and walked away, replying, "Wear something sexy."
Cissnei never cared much for fashion. She always had to wear the sharp suits and black gloves, which weren't exactly runway hits. A quick trip to the dress store with Elena didn't change her fashion sense. Since everyone had to have a date, Elena called Reno, who said sure while inside he was bouncing up and down like a school girl. Cissnei grit her teeth and asked Zack, who laughed smugly and said yes. Elena and Cissnei helped each other get ready, picking out shoes, doing up their hair, and putting on makeup (which Cissnei thought was stupid). Cissnei turned around in front of the mirror, observing her dress. "I look ridiculous." Elena smiled. "No you don't. You look beautiful." Cissnei crossed her arms and Elena put them back to her sides. "Stop that." Cissnei smiled slightly. "Nervous habit." They walked out of the dressing room to meet their dates.
The two spiky-haired guys were laughing with each other, so the girls noticed their outfits first. Reno had refused to take off his flight goggles, so his hair was still unkempt. He wore normal black tuxedo with the exception of a slate-gray bow tie. Zack, on the other hand, was a bit more fancy. His hair was combed through, but was still bouncy and perfectly messy. His tuxedo was dark like a raven but with hints of blue, matching his hair. Long tails hung at the end of his jacket, but he looked too attractive to be a penguin. Polished gold buttons shined on his jacket, standing out against the midnight blue. His silk bow tie glowed a rich golden color. The two colors should not have been mixed, but somehow they worked together.
Then the guys caught a sight of their dates. Reno's mouth stretched into a stupid grin as he saw Elena in a sparkling white dress with glimmering beads sewed throughout it. Her pale skin complimented the radiant long dress.
But Reno's reaction was nothing compared to Zack's. He flat-out gaped as his mind sparked out, trying to remember his own name. Cissnei's dark blood-red backless dress ran down to her ankles, but had a long slit up to her right knee. It was plain, with no beads, but coquettish and flirty. Her hair was curled at the ends but was otherwise not fancy. She had a red choker and long arm bands on her forearms that played to her more tomboyish side. She smiled wickedly at the sight of Zack's expression. Oh, this is going to be fun...
In the ballroom, it'd been just as Cissnei had expected. A bunch of stick-in-the-muds standing around with wine glasses listening to idiots sing I Feel Pretty and Africa. Zack nudged Cissnei and winked at her. "How's about we get this party started, huh?" She stared at him for a few seconds before she finally got what he was trying to say. "Oh no. Oh no no. Zack, you know I don't sing." Zack chuckled and said, "You're voice is a lot better than mine. Yours could make the dead start partying." Cissnei fought the blush trying to engulf her face and covered up by saying, "It's true. Your voice would probably make the dead dig deeper into their graves." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned that silly grin of his. Then he turned her to look directly into those bright emerald eyes of his. "Come on, Cissnei...do it for me?" He said these words with such an intensity that took her breath away. Recovering herself, she crossed her arms and said, "Alright. I don't see what I could sing to make these people start dancing." Zack tilted his head slightly and replied oddly suggestively, "I'm sure you'll think of something."
Cissnei walked up on the stage and felt the lights blare down on her face. Nausea and vertigo swept through her head. But she turned to the band anyway and said the name of the first song that came to her head. They smiled and the drummer started a dance beat.
"You change your mind,
Like a girl changes clothes.
Yeah, you PMS like a bitch,
I would know.
"You over think,
Always speak cryptically.
I should know that you're no good for me."
A few people turned their heads toward Cissnei as the upbeat rhythm and her voice filled the ball room.
"'Cause you're hot and you're cold,
You're yes then you're no,
You're in and you're out,
You're up and you're down.
"You're wrong when it's right,
It's black and it's white,
We fight, we break up,
We kiss, we make up."
"You, you don't really wanna stay, no
You, but you don't really wanna go, oh."
The addition of the rest of the band accompanying her voice got a few people swaying from side to side. Zack began to nod, approval shining in his eyes and in the grin that refused to leave his mouth.
"We used to be just like twins, so in sync,
The same energy now's a dead battery.
Used to laugh 'bout nothing,
Now you're plain boring.
I should know that you're not gonna change."
Cissnei really loved this. Despite her closed off demeanor, she liked having the spot-light on her for once.
"'Cause you're hot and you're cold,
You're yes then you're no,
You're in and you're out,
You're up and you're down.
"You're wrong when it's right,
It's black and it's white,
We fight, we break up,
We kiss, we make up."
"You, you don't really wanna stay, no,
You, but you don't really wanna go, oh."
As Cissnei began to scream the bridge into the microphone, Zack laughed in bliss and clapped his hands together as more and more people started to dance. Elena dragged Reno onto the empty dance floor and Cissnei watched as others joined them.
"Someone call the doctor!
Got a case of the love bipolar.
Staccato roller coaster,
Can't get off this ride!
...You change your mind,
Like a girl changed clothes..."
By the final chorus, just about everyone was dancing in one way or another. Zack stood in the back, watching Cissnei with deep interest.
"'Cause you're hot and you're cold,
You're yes then you're no,
You're in and you're out,
You're up and you're down.
"You're wrong when it's right,
It's black and it's white,
We fight, we break up,
We kiss, we make up.
"'Cause you're hot and you're cold,
You're yes then you're no,
You're in and you're out,
You're up and you're down.
"You're wrong when it's right,
It's black and it's white,
We fight, we break up,
We kiss, we make up."
"You, you don't really wanna stay, no
You, but you don't really wanna go, oh."
"'Cause you're hot and you're cold,
You're yes then you're no,
You're in and you're out,
You're up and you're down."
As the final note hung in the air, the usually mild Turk received thunderous applause. She bowed, flustered, before exiting the stage to meet the perky SOLDIER in the back. She pointed at him and prodded his chest. "YOU owe me."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders affectionately and led her out of the booming ballroom. "I'll remember that next time we go to a black tie karaoke banquet." Cissnei detached herself from him and turned to face him, mischief in her eyes. "Oh, admit it. You so wanted me up there." Zack scoffed and good-naturedly pushed her towards her room and waving goodbye before walking away.
...Yeah, I did.