Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. I also(this bit is new) don't own the brilliantly funny ATFFS(Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging) series, although I did use a line from the books. I do, however, now own two pieces of Fanart! Thank you, Ginsing!! This is updated, and I'm sorry about the long wait!
Warnings: Teenagers, gambling, swearing, mentioning of slow songs, little to no plot. I had an idea for plot while rewriting this chapter, however. Does that count?
::
She'd never been given the chance
::
The music suddenly changed to one of a slower tempo, and the contorting masses of students on the dance floor groaned as one, then turned and headed in an unruly stream for the sides, minus, of course, those lucky few who had managed to snag a dance partner to flaunt.
Dozens of sweaty bodies in various outfits sat down on the cool metal of the bleachers, wondering why the fun had to come to an end so soon.
The red second hand of the large wall clock ticked away, quickly, but far too slow for the many sets of eyes that fixated on it, eventually drifting back down to watch the swaying bodies, their names forgotten as they swirled in publicly private dreams.
Their fantasies floated up to form an almost tangible cloud of romance, spreading, and hanging just below the high ceiling and condensing together to hang in a rose-tinted mist, ready to burst at any moment, showering some with rose petals, and drenching others with stinging torrents of despair.
For some reason, the barrage seemed to hit hardest on the edges, casting almost physical blows to the pupils seated on the sidelines.
Outside, however, offered a haven for the weather-beaten students. The cool of the night and of the swiftly flowing water from the fountain an oasis for the sweaty pupils flowing out of the doors to the gym.
Many teenagers had spent their entire nights out here, hidden from the pelting hail and sleet, laughing and taking it easy with their friends, free from both the worry and the exhilaration that dominated behind the open doors, a mere fifteen feet away.
For outside, video games and card games were pushed to the surface, hiding all more uncomfortable subjects beneath an open face. The tension inside was unbearable, but the laughing exterior that attracted so many to flock around the tables and benches out here was not much better. For beneath it's surface was the same interior as was openly displayed within the gym.
This free mingling of genders and cheerful joking was to most just a game, one that was not only set to every individual, but also more important to win than the smaller ones which pointless rules dictated them to pretend to be lost in.
However, this was a game not to all, but simply to most.
There were a few to whom the fantasy was reality, to whom the emulated freedom was true.
And betwixt a crowd of pretenders sat a young girl, one to whom this farce was real. It was still a game, but not of the same sort as the mental dramas those around her were absorbed in, for this was not a game she was forced into, but one of her own choosing.
And like all participants who had drawn a lucky hand, she was having the time of her life.
Kitchel smiled, grinning not only at the laughing faces around her, but at the cards she held in her hand before her shining face.
She placed one hand on the table, clenching it into a fist as she carefully watched the face of the girl across from her, green eyes scanning the other's expression as she placed her hand face down on the table top.
Her smirk widened.
That was one talent she had, she was incredibly good at telling when another was bluffing, was lying. This skill would explain the large number of items at her elbow, varying from small bills and loose change, to collectable cards and sticks of gum. She wasn't picky, whatever they wanted to bet with, she was willing to take.
After all, Kitchel always played to win.
And sure enough, a few minutes measured by loud jokes and elated giggles later, the tanned girl had added a few more items to her quickly growing stash.
"All right!" she exclaimed with a wide grin, pulling her prizes towards her and doing a brief inventory, "Who's up for another round?" Kitchel asked the students around her, meager winnings at best next to them, nothing compared to what that single teenaged girl had received.
As multiple people piped up with various degrees of uncertainty evident, a new voice spoke over the hubbub.
"Kitchel!
"Hm?" she twisted around in her seat, quickly spotting a slim girl with long black hair frantically waving to her, trying to get her attention.
"Oh, hey, Cesia!" Kitchel said, gathering her stuff and shoving it into a small black backpack as she stood up, deciding that she had played cards long enough for one night, and that a talk with her friend would be a welcome change of pace.
Even if you play to win, it does get rather boring after a while.
"What up?" Kitchel asked, squeezing through the crowd and managing to find a small space in which to stand next to the other girl.
"Feeling goth, are we?" she jokingly said, motioning at her friend's attire.
Cesia rolled her dark eyes.
"At least I dressed nicely for the dance. You're wearing the same clothes you wore to school today!
Kitchel glanced down at herself, taking in blue jean shorts, a cream baby-tee, and a pair of slightly elevated slippers.
"Your point?
Cesia laughed, giving the other a friendly shove.
"You know tonight is supposed to be special! A school dance! The last school dance of the year, as well. What are you doing hanging outside? Come on in," her tone slipped slightly, "Tintlett and I have barely seen you all night.
Kitchel rolled her eyes at the other, but relented.
"OK, don't sound so depressed, after all, we're gonna see each other plenty after this, you know. We still spending the night at Tint's?
Cesia nodded, then reached forward and grabbed her friend's hand tightly, pulling her towards the gaping doorway leading into the darkened building, fighting against the flow of the many pupils exiting; as all those who refused to stay inside during yet another sappy romantic song poured out into the night.
"Whoa, wait!" the brown haired girl said, digging her heels in, "Let me put my stuff down first, Cesia. I'll be in in a moment," seeing the skeptical look that was being given to her, she added, "I swear. Honest. I mean, why not? Just let me put this away," she said, gesturing towards her stuffed to overflowing bag.
The black clad teenager locked eyes with her for a moment, then released her arm, briefly informed her of where she and Tintlett were sitting, and joined two other acquaintances in boldly reentering the gym.
Kitchel sweatdropped.
"Sheesh...
With a shrug, she turned around, looking for a safe place to leave her belongings, preferably with someone she knew.
As she pushed past numerous students, a thought that had been nagging at her all night pushed it's way back into her mind.
"Qu'est-ce que le point?" she asked herself, speaking aloud, a bad habit she had gotten into recently, "It's a friggin' dance. Who cares? I don't.
Unbeknownst to her, a very similar phrase had been uttered by one of her close friends, not ten minutes prior.
There was, however, one large difference.
When spoken by one it was part of the game most played, a way to cover the hand they attempted to lay face up on the table.
When the other recited it, it wasn't due to the rules of the game.
It was the game.
And since fact and fantasy commonly overlap, since playing to win can also mean winning to loose, what other people saw in her as a well handled bluff was no more than the simple truth.
Her game had no rules.
Kitchel laughed to herself, seeing a group of boys edging each other on, trying to convince one of them to ask a tall brunette standing obliviously by the drinking fountain to dance.
"I don't like anyone. Well, I've had crushes, sure. But I've never actually fallen for someone," she mused to herself.
Her game had no rules.
No rules... But for one.
Always play to win.
"Oh, well, no worries, right?" she grinned, hoisting her bag into a more comfortable position on her back as she passed by a couple currently engaged in a blatant breaking of the school's PDA rules just outside the girl's bathrooms, "No tears, no pain.
And when one was playing to win...
"I don't care.
This was spoken truthfully, but then so was what she said next.
Kitchel paused in her walking, looking over her shoulder thoughtfully, not at the two liplocked teenagers, but at the young boy, red in the face, tentitivly holding his hand out to the girl at the water fountain.
Her voice softened.
"I wish I did.
...One was also playing to loose.
:::
Kat: ::agrees with what Thats, Rath, and Rune should do:: But, unfortunately, they are spazzes. Oh well, they'll get around to it... sometime... Say hi to Gil for me.
Brotree: Ooooh. Sorry for the torture. Gimme a few more chapters, here...
Tsume Yamagata: ::turns to stone and cracks into little itty-bitty pieces:: . . . Not fair. . . ;; ........Oh, well, at least I still have books to look forward to reading!
Lexzzz: Actually, I could have updated this story a few days ago. I just decided to wait a bit, you know... See if anyone else would review that last chapter. D
Charna: Urg, band camp tomorrow... I have to be at the airport at FIVE THIRTY in the morning! Whaa!::cries:: ...And how did we get on the topic of school books, anyway?? (And no, you are not assuming too much.)
Hououza: Tsume Yamagata did.::points at T.S. like a little kid getting someone else in trouble:: Thanks for the wishes and luck!
Ginsing: ACK!is crispy Not only have I been turned to stone, but I've been flamed! TT lol. And YES!!! SNOG WAR!!!!::high fives:: Thanks for the gifts!
Vuirneen: Oh, my goodness... It's Tetheus' spokeswoman... o.o Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad you like it! n-n And I realized that I have a very short non-AU posted, and am currently working on another one that is much longer. It would be done by now, but... I share a computor with my parents... And my dad deleated it... ÂÂ;
Ye-Won: Ok!! Continued!!
Harbinger Loki: Whoa, another famous person! o.o Yes, I know Thats' chapter was uber-short. Ginsing "flamed" me for it. n.n;; But, at risk of sounding like a random spaztic fangirl, I'M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!!! o I LOVE your stuff!! Plus, you wrote the first Thatchel I ever read. ::bows before Harbinger Loki shrine::
Lisa: Wow, mad reviewing spree that was... o.O; Quite thankful, yes I am...::bows before the smart one that is Lisa::
Warnings: Teenagers, gambling, swearing, mentioning of slow songs, little to no plot. I had an idea for plot while rewriting this chapter, however. Does that count?
::
She'd never been given the chance
::
The music suddenly changed to one of a slower tempo, and the contorting masses of students on the dance floor groaned as one, then turned and headed in an unruly stream for the sides, minus, of course, those lucky few who had managed to snag a dance partner to flaunt.
Dozens of sweaty bodies in various outfits sat down on the cool metal of the bleachers, wondering why the fun had to come to an end so soon.
The red second hand of the large wall clock ticked away, quickly, but far too slow for the many sets of eyes that fixated on it, eventually drifting back down to watch the swaying bodies, their names forgotten as they swirled in publicly private dreams.
Their fantasies floated up to form an almost tangible cloud of romance, spreading, and hanging just below the high ceiling and condensing together to hang in a rose-tinted mist, ready to burst at any moment, showering some with rose petals, and drenching others with stinging torrents of despair.
For some reason, the barrage seemed to hit hardest on the edges, casting almost physical blows to the pupils seated on the sidelines.
Outside, however, offered a haven for the weather-beaten students. The cool of the night and of the swiftly flowing water from the fountain an oasis for the sweaty pupils flowing out of the doors to the gym.
Many teenagers had spent their entire nights out here, hidden from the pelting hail and sleet, laughing and taking it easy with their friends, free from both the worry and the exhilaration that dominated behind the open doors, a mere fifteen feet away.
For outside, video games and card games were pushed to the surface, hiding all more uncomfortable subjects beneath an open face. The tension inside was unbearable, but the laughing exterior that attracted so many to flock around the tables and benches out here was not much better. For beneath it's surface was the same interior as was openly displayed within the gym.
This free mingling of genders and cheerful joking was to most just a game, one that was not only set to every individual, but also more important to win than the smaller ones which pointless rules dictated them to pretend to be lost in.
However, this was a game not to all, but simply to most.
There were a few to whom the fantasy was reality, to whom the emulated freedom was true.
And betwixt a crowd of pretenders sat a young girl, one to whom this farce was real. It was still a game, but not of the same sort as the mental dramas those around her were absorbed in, for this was not a game she was forced into, but one of her own choosing.
And like all participants who had drawn a lucky hand, she was having the time of her life.
Kitchel smiled, grinning not only at the laughing faces around her, but at the cards she held in her hand before her shining face.
She placed one hand on the table, clenching it into a fist as she carefully watched the face of the girl across from her, green eyes scanning the other's expression as she placed her hand face down on the table top.
Her smirk widened.
That was one talent she had, she was incredibly good at telling when another was bluffing, was lying. This skill would explain the large number of items at her elbow, varying from small bills and loose change, to collectable cards and sticks of gum. She wasn't picky, whatever they wanted to bet with, she was willing to take.
After all, Kitchel always played to win.
And sure enough, a few minutes measured by loud jokes and elated giggles later, the tanned girl had added a few more items to her quickly growing stash.
"All right!" she exclaimed with a wide grin, pulling her prizes towards her and doing a brief inventory, "Who's up for another round?" Kitchel asked the students around her, meager winnings at best next to them, nothing compared to what that single teenaged girl had received.
As multiple people piped up with various degrees of uncertainty evident, a new voice spoke over the hubbub.
"Kitchel!
"Hm?" she twisted around in her seat, quickly spotting a slim girl with long black hair frantically waving to her, trying to get her attention.
"Oh, hey, Cesia!" Kitchel said, gathering her stuff and shoving it into a small black backpack as she stood up, deciding that she had played cards long enough for one night, and that a talk with her friend would be a welcome change of pace.
Even if you play to win, it does get rather boring after a while.
"What up?" Kitchel asked, squeezing through the crowd and managing to find a small space in which to stand next to the other girl.
"Feeling goth, are we?" she jokingly said, motioning at her friend's attire.
Cesia rolled her dark eyes.
"At least I dressed nicely for the dance. You're wearing the same clothes you wore to school today!
Kitchel glanced down at herself, taking in blue jean shorts, a cream baby-tee, and a pair of slightly elevated slippers.
"Your point?
Cesia laughed, giving the other a friendly shove.
"You know tonight is supposed to be special! A school dance! The last school dance of the year, as well. What are you doing hanging outside? Come on in," her tone slipped slightly, "Tintlett and I have barely seen you all night.
Kitchel rolled her eyes at the other, but relented.
"OK, don't sound so depressed, after all, we're gonna see each other plenty after this, you know. We still spending the night at Tint's?
Cesia nodded, then reached forward and grabbed her friend's hand tightly, pulling her towards the gaping doorway leading into the darkened building, fighting against the flow of the many pupils exiting; as all those who refused to stay inside during yet another sappy romantic song poured out into the night.
"Whoa, wait!" the brown haired girl said, digging her heels in, "Let me put my stuff down first, Cesia. I'll be in in a moment," seeing the skeptical look that was being given to her, she added, "I swear. Honest. I mean, why not? Just let me put this away," she said, gesturing towards her stuffed to overflowing bag.
The black clad teenager locked eyes with her for a moment, then released her arm, briefly informed her of where she and Tintlett were sitting, and joined two other acquaintances in boldly reentering the gym.
Kitchel sweatdropped.
"Sheesh...
With a shrug, she turned around, looking for a safe place to leave her belongings, preferably with someone she knew.
As she pushed past numerous students, a thought that had been nagging at her all night pushed it's way back into her mind.
"Qu'est-ce que le point?" she asked herself, speaking aloud, a bad habit she had gotten into recently, "It's a friggin' dance. Who cares? I don't.
Unbeknownst to her, a very similar phrase had been uttered by one of her close friends, not ten minutes prior.
There was, however, one large difference.
When spoken by one it was part of the game most played, a way to cover the hand they attempted to lay face up on the table.
When the other recited it, it wasn't due to the rules of the game.
It was the game.
And since fact and fantasy commonly overlap, since playing to win can also mean winning to loose, what other people saw in her as a well handled bluff was no more than the simple truth.
Her game had no rules.
Kitchel laughed to herself, seeing a group of boys edging each other on, trying to convince one of them to ask a tall brunette standing obliviously by the drinking fountain to dance.
"I don't like anyone. Well, I've had crushes, sure. But I've never actually fallen for someone," she mused to herself.
Her game had no rules.
No rules... But for one.
Always play to win.
"Oh, well, no worries, right?" she grinned, hoisting her bag into a more comfortable position on her back as she passed by a couple currently engaged in a blatant breaking of the school's PDA rules just outside the girl's bathrooms, "No tears, no pain.
And when one was playing to win...
"I don't care.
This was spoken truthfully, but then so was what she said next.
Kitchel paused in her walking, looking over her shoulder thoughtfully, not at the two liplocked teenagers, but at the young boy, red in the face, tentitivly holding his hand out to the girl at the water fountain.
Her voice softened.
"I wish I did.
...One was also playing to loose.
:::
Kat: ::agrees with what Thats, Rath, and Rune should do:: But, unfortunately, they are spazzes. Oh well, they'll get around to it... sometime... Say hi to Gil for me.
Brotree: Ooooh. Sorry for the torture. Gimme a few more chapters, here...
Tsume Yamagata: ::turns to stone and cracks into little itty-bitty pieces:: . . . Not fair. . . ;; ........Oh, well, at least I still have books to look forward to reading!
Lexzzz: Actually, I could have updated this story a few days ago. I just decided to wait a bit, you know... See if anyone else would review that last chapter. D
Charna: Urg, band camp tomorrow... I have to be at the airport at FIVE THIRTY in the morning! Whaa!::cries:: ...And how did we get on the topic of school books, anyway?? (And no, you are not assuming too much.)
Hououza: Tsume Yamagata did.::points at T.S. like a little kid getting someone else in trouble:: Thanks for the wishes and luck!
Ginsing: ACK!is crispy Not only have I been turned to stone, but I've been flamed! TT lol. And YES!!! SNOG WAR!!!!::high fives:: Thanks for the gifts!
Vuirneen: Oh, my goodness... It's Tetheus' spokeswoman... o.o Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad you like it! n-n And I realized that I have a very short non-AU posted, and am currently working on another one that is much longer. It would be done by now, but... I share a computor with my parents... And my dad deleated it... ÂÂ;
Ye-Won: Ok!! Continued!!
Harbinger Loki: Whoa, another famous person! o.o Yes, I know Thats' chapter was uber-short. Ginsing "flamed" me for it. n.n;; But, at risk of sounding like a random spaztic fangirl, I'M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!!! o I LOVE your stuff!! Plus, you wrote the first Thatchel I ever read. ::bows before Harbinger Loki shrine::
Lisa: Wow, mad reviewing spree that was... o.O; Quite thankful, yes I am...::bows before the smart one that is Lisa::