Inspiration from the song, Calum Scott - Dancing On My Own
Lanox - Edel's home
After defeating Scar the demon general, the gang was invited to a party by Edel herself. The citizens of Lanox were invited as well turning a small party into a ball party.
Many of the residents wore formal clothing, men using dresses or tuxedos and woman wearing ball gowns, though it was completely optional to everyone.
Most of the males in the gang wore this clothing, Ain and Add being the only ones that decided against it. The woman, however, went full force on preparing themselves, minus Rose as she wasn't used to it.
They were more surprised though that Add even came to the event, since most of the time he wanted to spend time alone.
The brawler seemed out of the loop most of the time, looking at the horizon for quite some time. Always thinking something that the members couldn't pinpoint. He displayed with just his eyes something that resembled want, but then quickly shook them of the moment his thoughts were in place.
He was at the corner of the house resting his back on the nearby wall, every now and then drinking his beverage in moderation. The members thought it was something normal, as he didn't actually liked to talk that much.
As time passed, the citizens and the gang danced to the music that passed through the room. The tone always changed after some time, calming then energetic, then harmony and so on.
Some women tried to convince him to dance with him, but he refused them off either by being rude or scaring them away. He didn't want to dance against people that he didn't know, only with the Nasod Queen would make him dance but even then...
"..." He kept looking discretely as he saw her dancing with the Lord Knight. Every glance made him sip his drink a little bit.
"Hey, are you okay?" The Reckless Fist asked as he never saw the Lunatic Psyker being so conservative.
"Peachy." He replied sarcastically to him, to actually had more to it, his drink had this lingering taste of peach.
Raven grabbed two nearby chairs and told him to sit next to him, he reluctantly sat, but only because he was on his feet for nearly two hours.
The two were silent as Raven observed what Add was secretly looking at, he then noticed that he's been looking at the dancing pair, but not knowing for how long.
"You want to dance with her, don't you?" He asked, though his next response was unheard of.
"That muscle head is one lucky bastard." The Taker never heard those words coming out of his mouth. "She only has eyes to him."
"They've known each other for a while longer than you, not to mention that you've always proclaimed that you wanted her codes." He expected backtalk, but he only got silence.
"Raven. I'm trying very hard, but in the end, I can't make her look at me. Heck, I can't have a normal conversation with any of you without sounding like a jerk." He voiced out his negative points.
"What about now? You're talking to me just fine."
"That's because you're easy to talk to. I mean, you have more brains than the kids do, not to mention more experience with this stuff than I do."
"Hmm." He hummed an agreement, he's been at this game longer than the others have. "Then why are you in this corner, why not ask her to dance with you?"
"Because..." It was true, they were near the dance partners to ask her out. "I just can't dammit!"
"Do you want to dance alone? Is that it?" Raven tried to give him a push.
"...I don't mind. I'll dance on my own if I have to, because..." He looked at them and how her rare smiles always reached Elsword. " I'm not the guy she's taking home."
"...That's very mature of you, Add. But also the most painful thing to do." He replied to him as letting go an ember is truly hard.
"I have to accept it. She isn't going to look for me, I mean I can't blame her, I'm a shitty pick anyways." A sad expression crept on him. "Even if I was right in front of her, she wouldn't look at me."
The Taker just listened to him. Matters of the heart were something he was all too informed and experienced with.
"Heh, look at me, I'm being too negative for my liking. Go and dance with Rena, I'll be fine." He faked a smile while pointing towards the archer who was looking at them with a beautiful green gown dress, decorated with white feathers and gold rings to further emphasize beauty.
"You sure you'll be okay?" He asked while feeling for his team member.
"I'll stay here for a little longer, then I'll leave for the Inn. No use in staying in a place like this and still feel like crap, right?" He replied before continuing to watch the two dance.
"There are other people you can dance, you know?" He meant towards the other female members of their group. Elesis seemed to have an interest in him.
"Who said I knew how to dance anyways?" He replied back while giving a fake chuckle. To this Raven actually fell for it and retired from his corner. He knew the Tracer needed time to recover and him being there wouldn't help that much.
The music soon changed to a more slow tone and the lights dimmed down. This was meant for couples no less. He grabbed a strong drink and started to move between the people, passing the two dancing people that he's been watching all night.
When he finally reached the door that leads outside, he looked back to try and catch them on last time, only for them to be drowned in the sea of people dancing to the sound.
With a sigh, he lightly opened the door silently, so that nobody would know that he had left. Once he closed the door, he took a swing at his drink and started to make his way towards the Inn.
"Even with my all, she's still focused on that kid. Kek, so far away but still so near, she still couldn't see me. Life's a bitch." He mocked it by trying to sound tough, but eyes wanted to betray him.
He took another swing and continued on, the alcohol started to burn his throat, but it kept him from falling apart. Even if his stomach and head would feel horrible in the morning.
Once the music died down and the lights came back, the citizens had the feeling of love between the couples, even those that danced for the fun had a small spark.
Elsword and Eve looked at each other in the eyes, but then let go of each other.
"Insolent fool, you kept stepping on my feet." She said annoyed.
"Sorry. I'm not used to dancing." He replied back while scratching his head in embarrassment.
She rolled her eyes and noticed that something had changed in the room. She always felt eyes looking at her, but now they were gone. Looking around she noticed that a team member had left the room.
"Hey, I'm going to get something to drink. Want something?" Elsword asked her while pointing towards the table with pouch.
"I'm fine as I am." She replied back.
Once the Lord Knight left, she started to look around the ball room for the Lunatic Psyker. The Empress expected to find him sooner, with his current clothing choice, but nothing turned up.
She went up towards Raven, who was talking with Rena, actually it was Rena who kept talking while he just listened.
"Eve! I just can't get my eyes of how cute you look!" She quickly landed her eyes of the petite Empress, her gown being compromised of white, black, pink and gold. In hindsight it was just a small alteration from her normal outfit, but it caught the eye nonetheless.
"Have any of you seen Add anywhere? I want to inquire as to why he's been watching me all night." She questioned the two, Rena shook her head while Raven looked at her seriously.
"Leave him. Seeing you now, would only pain him." He replied looking away from the little Queen.
"Did I do something to hurt him?" She asked and she saw Rena looking at him curiously.
"Not directly. Just give him time. He's probably back at the Inn by now."
"He left? Why?" Rena asked him this time, but he simply gestured her to not go further.
This puzzled Eve more. She started to think of reasons as to why he was hurt by her, but found no recording in her database that said that.
The music started to sound again and Elsword found her after quenching his thirst.
"Want to dance again? I promise I won't step on you this time." He said with a small smile to her, now that he got a little gist of how dancing works.
"Request denied. I'm searching for Add." She informed before looking heading towards the door.
This made the Knight scratch his head before asking another team member if they wanted to dance with him.
Outside of the Edel's house
Following the footsteps of the mayor's house, she saw a figure from afar wobbling while grasping a cup. She started to follow the suspect and saw him rest his shoulder on a dead tree, before throwing the cup to the side, not caring if he littered the area or not.
As she closed the distance between the two she saw the familiar hairstyle of the brawler and deep purple color of his clothes.
"Add, what are you doing here? The party is inside Edel's house." She informed while she noticed the lack of response in his body. Was he inebriated?
"Why did you follow me?" He asked with his composure slouching. "Last time I checked, the muscle brain is back there." He mocked in his usual tone, still not facing her.
"Why did you leave?" She asked wanting to know. It took a while before he started to talk again.
"If only you didn't come for a few more minutes, I would've been fine. Kekeke." He dryly chuckled at the warm air. "But I guess I can't catch a break, can I?" He asked while finally turning at her.
He smiled to her while he let a few tears flow. She was surprised to see the Psyker crying, this being the first time she ever saw it.
"Hey, do me a favor. If that guy ever hurts you, just tell me and I'll make sure that he gets the message! Kekeke!" He said in his usual tone while laughing, but his sad expression completely countered his laughter.
"..." She remained in silence as she saw the man in front of her laughing his sorrow away.
"Go back to the party! Have fun! I'll keep dancing on my own, go dance with the guy you like!" He said while turning around and heading towards the inn.
"Are you really okay with this?" She asked. She knew that the Tracer had strong feeling for her, but to completely shut them off for her own happiness, was it truly okay for him?
"I'll be fine! Just fine!" He replied while continuing to wobble away. "Besides, I doesn't matter what I feel, it's what you feel that counts."
"Do you know what I feel?"
"More that I'll ever wanted to know!" He replied once more before using his right hand to guide himself in a nearby wall. "Have fun, my Queen!" He said cheerfully while moving away from her field of vision.
"...Thank you, Edward." She said sadly. She did love Elsword, but she didn't know who to chose. The person that loves her or the person that she loves. Now, it was a clear path for her, but it still didn't made the obvious choice easier.
For her happiness, someone had to be hurt, someone had to seal away his feelings. Someone had to kill a piece of himself to move on.
Edward Grenore accepted that he wouldn't get his Queen for himself.