Hamtaro adjusted his bow nervously. He and Oxnard were stood outside Bijou's house, waiting for the two girls to come out.
"Do you think they're almost ready?" He asked.
"I hope so." Replied Oxnard. "They wouldn't of left without us, would they?" Hamtaro looked at him.
"Of course they wouldn't!" He said, but not sounding totally convinced. Just then he saw movement on the windowsill above them. He pointed. "That'll be them now." Oxnard smiled.
"Good. Worrying over nothing, as usual." The two ham girls made their way down the tree carefully to the garden. Hamtaro gasped.
"Bijou, you look beautiful!" He exclaimed. She was wearing two blue silk ribbons in her hair, and had a dark blue gown on, which almost touched the floor. She blushed.
"Thank you, Hamtaro," she replied, shyly. "And I must say you are looking very smart, as well." Hamtaro smiled, and offered her his paw.
"Shall we go?" He asked her, smiling.
"Oui!" Bijou smiled back. The pair began to set off, and Oxnard moved towards Pepper.
"Wow." Was all he could manage. Pepper had picked out a red skirt that matched her neckerchief, and a pink silk blouse, over which she wore her neckerchief. She laughed.
"Come on, Oxi." She laughed. "Let's go dancing, shall we?" She took Oxnard's paw and the pair of them rushed off after Hamtaro and Bijou, who were disappearing down the road ahead.
……
The location chosen for the Ball was a large Oak tree, which had been hollowed out some time previously, and which led to a large underground hall underneath it. The outside of the tree had been decked out in ribbons, and in the glow of the sunset they seemed to sparkle. Bijou's eyes lit up.
"My!" She exclaimed. "It is wonderful!" Hamtaro stared at her.
"Yeah." He said, not taking his eyes off her. "It is." She looked back at him and smiled.
"Come along, Hamtaro. Let's go inside, shall we?" They walked towards the entrance, and spotted Sandy and Maxwell heading inside. "Hello, you two!" Called out Bijou. Sandy turned round.
"Hi Bijou!" She said. "Nice dress." Bijou looked at Sandy's sleeveless red dress and smiled.
"Yours is lovely as well!" She replied, and the two ham-girls launched into a deep conversation. Maxwell walked over to Hamtaro.
"Is your suit as uncomfortable as mine is?" He asked.
"Definitely." Sighed Hamtaro, adjusting his bow tie. "Who'd have thought getting dressed up would be so itchy?" Oxnard and Pepper wandered up behind them.
"Totally agree with you, Hamtaro." Said Oxnard, as Pepper went over to see the other ham girls. "Glad we don't have to do this all the time." He raised his voice. "Hadn't we better be going in? We're in the way a bit, standing in front of the door." Hamtaro glanced round, noticing quite a few couples waiting patiently for them to clear the entrance.
"Yeah, he's right, let's go inside, Bijou." Agreed Hamtaro. The group entered the large arch of the tree and went down the large staircase, into the dancehall. Pashmina was stood near the bottom, in a pink dress, looking frustrated.
"Those two are so annoying." She grumbled to Bijou as they approached.
"You mean Howdy and Dexter?" Asked Bijou. "What have they done now?" Pashmina pointed over at the refreshments table.
"They were fighting - again." She said. "About who would have their dance first." She sighed. "So they challenged each other to a drinking contest, only someone's spiked the punch!" She eyed Elder Ham suspiciously, who was walking past.
"Iced the French, you say?" He muttered, almost to himself. "What strange weather they have!" He continued, as he walked past.
"I just know it was him!" Said Pashmina. "He was over there a long time getting some punch for Auntie Viv." She pointed over to one of the tables around the edge of the dance floor, where Viv sat. She was trying not to laugh while Elder Ham had a conversation with the potted plant he'd just bumped into. Pashmina looked back at Howdy and Dexter, who were leaning against the table and wobbling slightly.
"Thatsh 14 Cups! Hic!" Exclaimed Dexter, proudly.
"Only fuur…furten?" Howdy retorted. "You'se can't handle yer fruit!" He added, before falling forward. Dexter looked triumphant.
"I win!" he shouted, drawing eyes in the room onto him. "I can too handle a…a little punchsh…" He said, before collapsing onto the table and upending the punch bowl on his head. Auntie Viv and Elder Ham, who'd made it back to his seat, collapsed on the floor in laughter.
"What am I going to do now?" moaned Pashmina. "I don't want to sit around watching other people dance all night!"
"I don't mind dancing with you." Said Stan, coming down the stairs. "You know, as a thank you for letting me towel off with your blanket the other day." He glanced at the stage, where Jingle and Sparkle were checking through the equipment. "I'm kind of stuck with no date either, you know?" Pashmina smiled at him.
"Alright then, I'll accept your offer!" She said. "It's got to be better sitting around watching those two make fools of themselves!" She pointed to the refreshments table, where Howdy had managed to stagger to his feet, and had begun to dance around Dexter, shouting "Victory!" at the top of his voice. A Hamster wearing a waiter's outfit was trying to get him to leave. Pashmina turned back to Stan. "In fact, let's go now. I don't want to get mixed up in that!" A bulky dark coloured Hamster had lifted Howdy up by his apron, and let Howdy dangle in the air while he swung his fists and hurled obscenities at the bouncer.
"No arguments here!" Replied Stan, and the pair headed onto the dance floor. Sandy smiled.
"Nice to know my brother can actually be normal once in a while!" She said.
"At least he gave up chasing after Sparkle." Maxwell laughed. "She seems quite taken with Jingle though." He said, pointing at the stage. Jingle was reading out of a little book, and Sparkle was hanging on every word. "I wonder what he's reading?"
"Maybe it's romantic poetry." Said Sandy.
"No, it's actually called '92 Rules of Self-Improvement to Make You a Better Ham." Said Boss, coming up behind them. The others looked at him. "Just trust me, I know." He was wearing a dark Dinner suit, with a rid bow tie around his neck.
"Wow, Boss! Where'd you get the nice suit?" Asked Oxnard.
"I've had this ages." Replied Boss. "Took quite a while to find, but I think it'll be worth it." He smiled. "Now, I would love to stay and chat, but I do believe I can see a few ham-girls who aren't dancing." He wandered off towards the dance floor, humming.
"He seems a lot happier!" Smiled Bijou.
"He does, doesn't he?" Hamtaro agreed. "Anyway, shall we dance, Bijou?" He asked.
"Oui, of course, Hamtaro. I thought you would never ask!" She smiled and took his hand, and the pair walked out onto the Dance Floor.
……
The evening moved on, and more and more hamsters had filled up the hall. Howdy and Dexter had been removed from the Ball, but Pashmina was actually enjoying herself too much to notice. She and Stan came over and sat down around the large table the Hams had taken. Hamtaro and Bijou had stopped for a rest, and Panda had finally managed to get a break from working on the electrics.
"Phew," he said, "I really needed this drink." He took a gulp of the fruit punch, which had been restocked and this time left free of alcohol. "I tell you, that Sparkle really like her special effects." Sparkles main performance had been filled with all sorts of flashy lights and pyrotechnics. "That was a total nightmare to set up."
"I thought her duet with Jingle was very good though." Said Bijou. Pashmina sat down as Stan went to get a couple of drinks.
"Yeah, that was nice." Said Pashmina. "She's a good singer." Pashmina glanced round at Stan. "You know, I almost didn't come tonight." She said. "What with all the nonsense with Howdy and Dexter. But I'm glad I did." She said, her face lighting up with happiness. "Stan's been somewhat normal tonight, instead of his usual show-off self. It's nice." Bijou giggled.
"It has certainly been a nice evening so far." She said. "And Hamtaro's dancing is not that bad, either." She laughed, and Pashmina joined in.
"Yeah, shame about when he fell over though," She said. Hamtaro spoke up.
"Hey, the firework scared me is all!" He protested, sending the two girls into another fit of giggles. He looked over at Panda. "Next time there's a dance, remember to tell me if there's going to be any loud explosions on stage." He said. "I thought it was a bomb or something." Panda laughed at him.
"If there's ever another dance, there's no way I'm helping run it." He chuckled. "There's far too much work involved, and I can never be sure I'll have enough time to get everything finished!" He added, pointing to an unused stage lamp in the corner. "All week it took me to fix that, and they go drop it when they're putting it up." He sighed. At that moment, the lights began to dim and the music slowed down.
"Oh!" Exclaimed Bijou. "The last dance, come along, Hamtaro!" The pair headed out onto the dance floor, followed by Stan and Pashmina. As the pair took up their position, the music slowed further, and the last dance began. Hamtaro had tried a quick glance around, trying to see any of the others, but quickly gave up. As they danced, Hamtaro stared at Bijou, still marvelling at how special she looked.
"Bijou?" He whispered, just audible over the music.
"Oui, Hamtaro?" She whispered back.
"Bijou, I really love you. More than anyone else in the world." She looked into his eyes and smiled.
"I have felt that way since I first saw you singing outside my window." She smiled. "I love you as well, Hamtaro." He felt his heart do a little somersault in his chest, and his eyes gazed at Bijou. As the music washed over the couple, they were oblivious to all that was around them, happy and content just to be together, at last.