Charlie groaned when she saw her reflection and turned to October. "Okay, so why do I have to wear a tie for this?"
October sighed and finished putting her black hair up into a bun. She was wearing a dress, a rarity, and had actually bothered with makeup and jewelry. Charlie had barely even recognized her leader. "It's my mother's party. We can't show up looking like we normally do. She'd throw a fit." October cast a sideways glance at Charlie, who was wearing slacks, a nice top, and a waistcoat. "You look… dashing, but it'd probably be better if you wore a dre—"
"Not gonna happen."
"I know, but it was worth a try."
Charlie straightened her black tie and licked her fingers before combing out her dirty blonde hair with them. "So, about this party. What's the occasion?" she asked.
"No occasion, Mother just wants to suck up to a few of the top fanfic writers and fanartists. Get in their good books. She thinks their alliances could be beneficial in the near future."
Charlie frowned. "Why?"
October leaned forward, placing her hands on the counter before her, closing her eyes and breathing out. She hadn't told anyone on her team about the conversation she and Monday had had, though her worry was becoming more and more obvious by the day. But no matter how many times he asked, Brandon hadn't been able to pry it out of her. There was no need to make them all worry when there wasn't even a problem yet. But then again…
She took a sharp breath in before saying, "Mother thinks another fandom war is about to break out. She says the fandoms are becoming too unstable and soon enough they'll be sending characters across… And then…"
"Then the shit hits the fan?"
October was about to correct Charlie's language, but instead sighed in defeat. "…Yeah."
Charlie looked worried. "Do you think she's right? Because if she is, we should be manning the boundaries, not going to some party…"
"…I don't know," she admitted. "I'm open to the possibility. Just keep your eyes and ears open for any word about it at the party, and don't cause trouble."
Victoria ran the straightening iron through her pale brown hair and looked at the calendar. It was early December, which meant she had about a month to stop the disaster from happening. No one here knew what was coming except for her. She envied them. They could relax and enjoy the party, while Victoria would be worrying about what was to come. She was determined to try and put a stop to it, but she wasn't sure if she could.
Victoria shook her head and stared down her reflection in the mirror.
"Don't think like that," she said to the identical girl in the glass. "You can do this. You've been training and planning for this night for the past three years. You've got this, alright?"
She nodded to herself.
Sighing, she rose to her feet and flattened out the skirt of the light blue cocktail dress she was wearing. Victoria grabbed the drawstring bag off the counter and stepped outside into the hall to meet Charlie. It had taken two weeks of begging for the intern to be allowed to come. Normally, she wouldn't have cared. Parties had never been Tori's thing. But this was too important to pass up.
"Hey, Tate," Charlie said, looking up as Victoria closed her dorm room door behind her. "You look fit to kill."
"Thanks," Victoria replied, trying to ignore how bad the statement sounded to her, given the circumstances. "Where's everyone else?"
"Uh, let's see… Gigi's currently with Brandon, who can't tie a tie to save his life, October's in her room, having a mental breakdown, but you didn't hear that from me, and Aphrodite's still getting ready in her room. God, getting her to just pick a dress and go is such a pain in the ass sometimes."
"I love you too, babe," Aphrodite droned, stepping out of the dorm she and Charlie shared. She was in a pretty pink dress and yellow jacket, her hair up in a somewhat messy bun.
Charlie whistled. "Hellooooooooo, Nurse!"
Aphrodite smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop. So, you two ready to go?"
Victoria nodded. "Thanks for letting me tag along."
Charlie smiled. "No problem, Tate. You probably need to mingle with the big names in the industry, anyway."
Gigi and Brandon came down the stairs, Brandon's tie still slightly uneven. "Where's the boss?" Gigi asked, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "We should get going soon. You know how Monday gets if anyone's a second late around here."
"I think she's still in her room," Aphrodite said, leaning against the wall. "She seemed pretty nervous about this earlier. Maybe we should go see if she's okay."
Gigi shook her head. "Not all of us. She'd get overwhelmed and kick us out. But maybe if just one of us went…"
Brandon bit his lip, and then sighed. "I'll go."
October had always liked to think of herself as a strong, stoic, unshakable young woman, far too confident to let something like a social gathering throw her off. But this was different. Her mother was running this social event. If October screwed this up… God, she didn't even want to think about it.
"Boss?" a voice said from outside. There was a light knocking on the door. "You in there?"
"It's open, Brandon," October called, not getting up from her bed.
He pushed the door open and stuck his head inside. "May I come in?" he asked politely. "Y'know. Lady's room and all."
October smiled weakly and gestured for him to enter. "Gentleman first, friend second."
"Always." He sat down next to her. "We're all ready to go."
"Good… good. I'll… be ready soon."
Brandon frowned. "You okay, boss?"
She sighed. "Don't call me that. We're alone."
"Oh… Sorry, bo—October." He rarely addressed his leader with anything else. "…You okay?"
She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "How should I know? This is pretty normal for me when my mom's around. I couldn't relax the entire time I was at the Academy, not with her as headmistress. It's just… Mother has really high standards, y'know? Really high. For everything. If I mess up… all Hell breaks loose."
Brandon sighed sympathetically and patted her on the back. "If you'd like, I could keep stealing you every time she tries to talk to you."
October smiled weakly. "You don't have to do that."
"I know I don't have to."
"…You're a good friend."
He smiled. "I try." Brandon stood up and offered October his hand. "Now, let's go pretend we're not socially awkward dorks for one night and make your mama proud."
The party was being held in a swanky dance hall in New York City, and two uninvited guests were in the hotel across the street preparing to go in and make an impression. The first girl combed out her blonde hair and said, "You sure I can't wear black lipstick to this?"
Her companion rolled her eyes. "Sorry, kid. Monday Maynard doesn't have time for that gothic bullshit."
The first girl huffed, but put on the pink lipstick instead. "What's the plan?"
"Find some high-ranking fanfic authors and fanartists and schmooze with them. Pass on any info we get to Missy or the Anonymous."
"Should I show the male ones my boobs?"
"If that's what it takes."
"Got it."
Jenny set down her mascara and looked at her reflection one last time. "Okay, Tara. Let's knock 'em dead."
Hey, everyone! Sorry for being so slow about writing, but you know how the holidays get! Speaking of which, you may want to keep your eyes open and keep a watch on my profile around Christmas. You may find an MSEA Christmas special being posted soon. Until then, check out my MSEA Polyvore (linked on my profile), and check out the formal outfits I posted for Tori, Charlie, October, Gigi, and Aphrodite. Why? Because I'm a huge attention whore, that's why.
~ Cookie VanDeKamp ~