Chapter 19
The most important, and possibly most profitable, part of any dance is the photos. No self-respecting prom or ball can do without the ubiquitous, smiling photographer standing in the corner to take pictures of teenagers and their dates in their party finery.
Party pictures are a call back to a well dressed period of innocence and fun, recalling the formal moments rather than the ones drenched in the sweat of the party grind. They are especially popular with parents and friends, as a means to vicariously relive their youth through them. In a sense, everyone wants to remember themselves as the person in the tuxedo or dress, as the prince or princess that the picture suggests. Long after the events, emotions, and declarations of love of the evening are lost to memory, photos persist, warping the remembrances of all those who hold them dear.
As such, the line to the photographer was out the door. The black-haired girl in front of Kevin chuckled dryly then whispered into the ear of her date. The guy shook his head, his long hair swaying back and forth in the dim light. "I'm guessing at least an hour in line...maybe more."
Kevin squeezed his eyes shut in unmistakable annoyance before gazing silently at the ceiling, wondering why he had ever agreed to come on this date.
--------------------
Ami stood back from the two, watching them from several steps behind. She winced as Kevin took to staring at the ceiling rather than conversing with Minako. Minako, for her part, seemed to be more interested in her mirror than anything else.
For some reason, that easy chemistry which they had exhibited so effortlessly before had somehow vanished, replaced by an awkward and uncomfortable dynamic.
"Ami-chan?" The voice of her date, Ryo Urawa, came easily to her ear. A concerned hand touched her back.
"Hmm?"
A slight wryness filled his voice. "I sensed some anxiety from you. Might I be of some small assistance?"
Ami reached back to hold his hand tightly in hers. "Nothing of importance, Ryo."
The brown haired boy's eyes flicked to the couple which she had been staring at. "It's those two, isn't it?"
The girl chuckled softly. "I keep on forgetting that inconvenient habit you have of seeing what I'm thinking. Have you been taking mind reading lessons?"
A short laugh. "It is difficult to avoid hearing when someone is shouting right next to you. But since I have already heard, would you care to share?"
Ami nodded towards Kevin and Minako. "It's those two."
"I think that they're a pretty cute couple. What seems to be the matter?"
She shrugged. "They were set up by Usagi. She rushed it a bit too much. They aren't even more than friends right now."
Ryo shrugged. "She wanted the best for them. I can't blame her for that."
"But I can blame her for rushing the first normal friendship Minako has ever had. I just don't see this working out well." Ami looked surprised for a moment then turned to him. "You can see the future. What's going to happen with them?"
He looked vaguely annoyed. "I can't really turn it on and off you know."
"Can you try?" Ami smiled winningly. "Pretty please?"
"Look it's not quite that simple. It's not like flipping a light switch. The visions...they come without my intervention or desires..." His voice trailed off slowly. Ryo's face took on an unnatural calm and for five eternal seconds nothing happened. Suddenly, his eyes bugged out and he expelled the breath trapped in his lungs in a sudden whoosh.
Concerned. "What? What did you see?"
He winced. "Do you really want to know the answer to that question?"
Ami rarely swore, but this time, the situation begged it. "Shimatta."
--------------------
The lights made him sweat. Kevin tugged at his collar uncomfortably, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his forehead. The photographer who had placed them there was nowhere to be seen.
Minako basked in the warmth. "Mmmm, now this I like."
Kevin groused irritably. "Yeah, yeah. I'm so happy for you."
She turned to him and straightened his tie before adjusting the silk square in his breast pocket. "But you look so dashing!"
"Right, yet somehow I feel very far from it." Kevin wiped his forehead and neck again, then tucked it into his pocket.
"So suave. You're causing me to tremble all over." Minako settled comfortably in his arms.
Kevin affected a charming smile and said through clenched teeth. "Now you're just making fun of me."
"As always, you are the perceptive one."
The photographer snapped a picture of the two, before inspecting it digitally, then waving them off in favor of the next couple. A Sinatra tune came from the live band playing in the ballroom, bringing a smile to his face.
Kevin extended his hand to Minako, accompanied by a shy smile. "Care to dance?"
--------------------
The St. Simon Charity Ball was a time-honored event held by a local hospital to benefit their Children's Heart Institute. As such, it was a tremendously admirable occasion, where the collective philanthropy of a community was able to creating an outpouring of generosity large enough to fund the expensive treatments for congenital heart defects.
It was also the defining formal event of the year, classy enough for parents not to worry about their kids attending, fun enough for the kids to actually want to go. It was better than most school dances, which could command neither the attendance, nor the classiness necessary for such an event.
The ball itself was held in one of the larger convention centers of Tokyo, decked out with a formal ballroom. The décor of the room itself harked back to 18th century France, an opulent Rococo style with intricate gold leaf ornamentation trailing up ivory colored walls. Sides of the room melded into the great domed ceiling from which suspended a three tiered chandelier that reflected the lights of the room in brilliant confections of violets, reds, and golds.
As the band finished their piece, the couples underneath the sparkling lights stopped dancing to applaud. The lead singer bowed gracefully then motioned for the bandleader to come up and say a few words.
Minako beamed at Kevin, then slipped her arm through his. It was a beautiful ballroom, as stately as she could have dreamed. The music was a little raucous for her, as she would have preferred a waltz or something suitably more elegant, but she took that in stride. The waltz was a bit too romantic, given the circumstances, and she didn't really trust herself to act responsibly.
Her smile sagged a bit. It was still there, that tiny knot of lost pain wrapped about her heart. Minako had once convinced herself that she had forgotten him, that those memories had no power over her any longer. But they persisted in a most inconvenient manner, no matter how she deluded herself.
Kevin's fingers slipped through hers and squeezed reassuringly. She smiled up in uncomfortable thanks, and they walked towards their waiting group of friends.
--------------------
Usagi tittered with excitement. "Holding hands. See!"
Rei chuckled dryly. "Is this the project that she's been all excited about lately? I thought it was something school related. My mistake."
Makoto punched her lightly in the ribs. "Be nice. Usagi has worked very hard to get those two together. Besides, you should know all about the troubles that Minako has had with boyfriends."
"All the troubles she's had? What about all the ones I've had? You didn't set me up with someone, and I was forced to go with this idiot!"
The long-haired singer, Yuuichirou, grabbed his heart in mock agony. "You wound me, Rei-chan. Your dagger hath stabbed me deep in the heart, wounding me fatally. I shed this mortal coil for a better existence. Remember me when I am gone..."
Rei pushed him back on the shoulder. "Oh, bite me."
With smooth and almost naïve earnestness. "Where?"
The priestess's mouth dropped open slightly, unable to form coherent words for a full minute. Her date simply beamed.
Kevin and Minako finally came close enough to exchange pleasantries and minor introductions.
Suddenly, the band struck up a fast tune, beckoning all around to come and dance again. The pair looked at each other quickly, before heading out to the floor without a word.
Usagi and Makoto exchanged a significant look before badgering their dates into dancing as well.
--------------------
There was an artless grace to her movements, something akin to a drunk ballerina as she wove unsteadily on the dance floor to the beat of the music. She drew closer into her date's embrace, then suddenly withdrew, betraying neither rhyme nor reason with her haphazard movements.
Kevin mused silently about that as he struggled simply to keep up with her. It was clear that neither her mind nor her body was truly into the dance, that she was simply going through the motions. Her behavior, her very essence, was just so different than when he interacted with her from day to day. It was very curious.
He supposed that she could just be feeling a general malaise. Tired all of a sudden, whether from the hectic moments of picture taking or long hours of sitting in the limousine. Or maybe she didn't really want to dance all that much.
Kevin gave that explanation no more credence than he did the flat earth theory. From what he understood of Minako, she was an extrovert in the broadest sense of the term. She loved big events, large groups of people. She thrived in such environments, playing off the preconceptions of prejudices of the crowd to her tremendous advantage. He was convinced that she drew her energy from them. Which made her actions strange to say the least.
Curious indeed.
--------------------
"Let's dance!"
The soldier raised an eyebrow with studious ease. "I'm not sure that would be such a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Well, Her Majesty looks angry enough to destroy me with her thoughts. I think it might not be intelligent for me to move out to a place where she can make good on those glares."
Venus laughed cheerfully. "Not if you're dancing with me, she won't. Can't risk the collateral damage."
"Thank you, milady, but no thank you."
She languidly tapped her fingers on the table. "I can order you to dance with me, you know."
"And I, in retaliation, can drag my feet and pout."
The princess grabbed his hand underneath the table and squeezed. "Come on, none of the others will dance with me."
"And why do you think that is, princess?"
"Oh, be quiet!"
The soldier allowed himself a modest grin before standing up to brush some stray crumbs from his uniform. "As you wish, princess. But perhaps we can carry on this edict of silence on the dance floor instead?"
Venus grinned and allowed herself to be drawn from her seat and led into the fray of couples at the center of the room.
--------------------
In the most unfortunate of coincidences, the next song in the set was a sultry love song in the vein of Sinatra or Martin.
Without a word, Minako grabbed Kevin's hands, wrapping them about her waist. She lifted her hands to his shoulders, then finally condescended to look into his eyes.
She was taken aback by the coldness in them. There was an analytical beast in those eyes; a carefully contemplative and shockingly calculating mind churning away at problems unseen. For the first time since she had known him, Minako was frightened. Any person who could so easily subordinate emotion and sentiment to rational thought was someone to be wary of.
Then suddenly, as if he had just noticed she was looking at him, Kevin's eyes began to take on the warmth and concern that she had always known.
He spoke softly. "Is something the matter?"
Minako was surprised by the question. "No, nothing. Just a little shaken, is all."
"I see." His tone indicated that he wasn't convinced.
"Look, just forget it." There was a distinct edge to her voice, a clear sign that her claws were unsheathed and that she wouldn't hesitate to verbally rend him limb from limb if it came to it.
Kevin wasn't even fazed. "As you wish."
"Just hold me, okay?"
He obliged her that, and they endured an uncomfortable silence for a couple of moments, each unwilling to break the tension that had fallen over their conversation. It was three terribly long minutes before Kevin spoke.
"I hear the gardens are quite pretty at night. Would you care to see them?"
With evident relief, she nodded and smiled.
--------------------
True to Kevin's promise, the gardens were quite pretty in the evening. The flowers were very nice: yellows poppies, pale violet orchids, and blood red rhododendrons organized into long, curving flower beds about a crystal clear reflecting pool. The paths themselves wandered uncertainly through the flora, only to end abruptly in private niches, surrounded by high, sculpted hedges.
Yet, the darkness lent a palpable menace to the place. Something seemed amiss at night. The vibrant colors of the flowers were muted in the half light, enlivened only by the occasional sparkle from the ballroom behind them.
It would have all been quite frightening had Kevin not heard the sounds of other couples discovering the pleasures of the garden before them.
Given different circumstances, he might have even thought it amusing.
They were still holding hands, but stood as far away from each other as they could, neither one willing to break the uncomfortable silence between them. Kevin half smiled in the dim light.
"Minako-chan, I have a question."
--------------------
She froze for a moment, before choking down the bile that had suddenly found itself in her throat. Minako let go of Kevin's hand and hugged herself quickly. "Go ahead."
He scratched his head and paused for a moment. "I don't know if there's any easy way to say this."
Minako felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt a deep dread welling up inside of her, something that she could neither quantify nor explain.
The evening had been roundly terrible, with every chance they had at a decent, enlightening conversation defeated by uncomfortable silence. She hated that feeling, the expectation that something had to happen.
And now, he was going to proclaim his love for her. And she was afraid that she might accept it.
"Are we supposed to be falling in love?"
Minako, surprised by the question, stole a glance at Kevin through the darkness. An impish grin tugged at the edge of his lips. And in an instant, all the tension left her.
She sighed with relief. "You've felt it too, huh?"
Kevin chuckled quietly and said in a low voice. "What I've felt is this expectation, never mind where it came from, for us to fall in love. For me to sweep you off your feet in some grand pointlessly romantic gesture."
Minako laughed loudly, then clapped her hands over her mouth in chagrin. She flushed with embarrassment, then hugged him tightly. "This all does seem pretty contrived, doesn't it? I've been standing here for the past five minutes, dreading what you were going to say."
"Cookie cutter romances are better left for the story books. They seem to be so much messier in real life."
"I suppose I should say that Usagi had a pretty big hand in this. She was the one pressuring me to ask you out."
He replied in his usual, dour tone. "Figures. She seemed like the type to have a romantic heart."
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so glad that this didn't work out. I'm not ready for any relationship. All I've wanted is a friend."
Kevin laughed. "In that respect, we are in complete agreement, my friend."