"I just got off the phone with Axel. He said he's going to pick up a few things before he and the guys will be over to pick us up."
Larxene closed her phone by the time she reached the top of the stairs, her bare feet on the hard wood a clear indication that she wasn't ready for what was going down in less than an hour. She entered the bedroom nearest the stairs, which was not hers (it was far too elegant for her) and saw that her friends were still hard at work at the vanity.
"Sounds good, Larxene. Thanks for the update." Her friend Namine, who lived in the mansion they were currently in, was busy putting the final touches on her own hair and outfit. This had taken a better part of two hours to do and while she had been in a hurry the way she calmly put white flower pins in her hair showed no rush on her part. Her hair, waist length but tied in a tail down the back and bright blond. She was dressed in a strapless snow white dress with a skirt that was not only made of lilies but also went at an angle. Her also wore white high heeled sandals to complete her ensemble.
To Larxene that was not only too much white but she was also overwhelmed by how well made the outfit was. "Seriously, girl, how much did everything cost you?" Everyone knew that Namine was the richest girl in Twilight Town but yet didn't flaunt that fact. She was more simple and humble than most people would take credit for.
Standing up from her chair Namine finished putting a white rose hair pin in her blond locks, "I try not to think about it. Ruins my mood."
"Fair enough." Larxene shrugged her shoulders. In comparison to Namine she was far more simple. A yellow dress that had a short free flow skirt and black leggings but the dress looked like it had gone through a shredder. Technically Larxene saw the need for some 'improvements' before she would wear it. What she ended up doing wasted her a ton of munny and with a dress she doubted she would ever wear again. Unless Axel asked her to.
"They guys are not too far from getting here," said the taller blond with the antenna like strands of hair coming from her temples.
Namine pulled the top of her dress up a bit more. She wasn't busty like Larxene but she felt the need to make sure she was covered. "I'm ready for them. What about you?"
"This damn thing better be worth the trouble I went through tonight, otherwise I will hurt someone," answered Larxene.
The bathroom door opened and out stepped their last friend. Both girls saw her and had questionable looks. A girl in an ebony black dress that made her look like a porcelain doll stepped forward with her head down, too shy to look at her friends. The dress was strapless like Namine's and had a knee length free flow skirt with embedded flower designs in the cloth. Her arms were covered in black silk sleeves white her shoulders were bare. "Um..."
Namine tried to be friendly, "Nice dress, Xion."
"You look like you're going to a funeral instead of prom," said Larxene bluntly while crossing her arms.
Xion raised her head and with reddened cheeks made her complaint, "This wasn't the one I originally wanted!"
When the girls had gone to town for outfits for prom there had been a dress that Xion had ordered but it somehow got lost in transit and wouldn't be made until the day after prom. Namine paid for her next one, but at the same time that couldn't help Xion's frustration.
Not wanting to escalate the situation Namine took Xion by the hands and led her to her vanity. "Here, take a seat and I'll put some finishing touches on you before the guys get here."
Xion tried to object but was forced to sit down regardless. She saw herself in the mirror, a panicked and flustered teenager going to her first prom at her new school, and she became more upset. Her heart raced and she closed her eyes to try and calm herself down.
For Namine making sure Xion was ready was extremely easy, namely because she felt there was no need to add any cosmetics to her. She made only minor edits to her skin. Adding some glitter to her shoulders and cheeks as well as making sure her hair stayed out of her eyes. "You want him to see your eyes, that way he can never take his own off you."
Xion tried to open her eyes but was nervous as hell, "Think Riku will like me like this?"
"I don't think there's any doubt to begin with. I mean you are in a relationship after all," said Namine as she put a couple clips to hold Xion's hair back out of her eyes.
Larxene went and sat down on Namine's bed, which was fluffier than her own and fell back on the blankets. "Though how you got his attention is anyone's guess."
Namine didn't like her tone, "Larxene!"
Though to be honest, even Xion didn't know why Riku had chosen her as his girl. They had a conversation in an elevator and after that he had made the choice to call her his girlfriend. Xion, being the shy daisy she tended to be, had not been able to bring herself to object and as quickly as she had become the new kid in school she became the envy of all the single girls in the place as well. Riku was the outlaw in the male student body and they despised him, but he was a magnet to the girls for his bad boy attitude and cool demeanor.
What he saw in Xion was, to put it bluntly, a mystery to all.
"Roxas has been trying to figure it out but Riku has been avoiding the subject," said Namine as she stepped back to observe her handiwork on Xion. she liked what she saw.
"Roxas isn't very good at negotiations," said Larxene as she sat up on the bed. "Axel told me he lost a bet and had to be the one to drive us to the party. Didn't give me details but he talked himself into it."
Namine giggled, "That's Roxas for you."
"How'd you two get together in the first place?" asked Xion, wanting to be out of the spotlight.
Namine had the memories flow through her mind and she smiled, "He asked if I could be his Valentine and I said yes. After that, we hit it off and started dating."
"Much to the shock of shy boy slash lone pup Roxas," said Larxene, adding her two cents to the topic at hand.
"Well, people wondered if I had lost my mind." Namine went over to her dresser and went through the top drawer. "I can understand why they questioned me but I didn't care." She found the two things she had been looking for. One was a gift Roxas had given her on one of their first dates, a silver tiara and put it on her head. She had cherished the accessory like no other because it was from her boyfriend. The second item she got was far more intimate and she was going to wear it for Roxas. He didn't know about it and she intended to surprise him.
Larxene caught her putting it on and asked aloud, "The hell are you doing?"
The item in question was a very unthinkable item for Namine to put on. A black and white garter she put up under the skirt of her dress. The only thing on it was a small letter R, and it was easy to know who that was for. "This is for him."
Larxene rolled her eyes, "I'm not sure if you like to spoil him or play with him."
"A bit of both. He's fun when he's shy," said Namine with a smile.
Feeling like she was finally finished, Xion stood up and adjusted the black silk gloves on her hands, "I just hope nothing embarrassing happens to me..."
"Keep that up and something will," said Larxene as she got up from the bed and went over to Xion. She forced her to turn around.
This caught the girl by surprise, "W-What are you -"
"Hold still," Larxene did a few adjustments of her own to Xion, the biggest being nearly pulling her dress down past her chest.
"The hell Larxene!?"
"Hold still. I'm just making you more appealing, dimwit." The fact that it had been tied up in the back made what she had done easy. The top was barely covering her chest now, revealing enough skin to raise most guy's eyebrows. That was a habit of the sexy Larxene. Xion certainly didn't like it but it was too late to change it back, otherwise it might shift all night. Though she wasn't in league with the bustier Larxene, the last thing she wanted was to have guys notice her 'bounce' whenever she had to run for cover.
Larxene was happy with her handiwork. "There. Now he won't take his eyes off you for sure."
Xion wasn't happy at all, "That or my-gracious me!" She brought her arms up to cover her chest, her face redder than a tomato.
Larxene found her reaction humorous. Modesty wasn't a friend of hers and she didn't care, "Gimme a break, you don't have big enough boobs to worry about a malfunction so calm down."
"How can you be so casual about that?!"
"When you're me, certain things are easy," said the taller blond. "I need to get my heels on before the guys get here. See you downstairs in-" just then her cell phone went off. Taking a look at who was calling her Larxene answered it, "Yo, boy toy I was just about to call you." Her expression went to a devious smile. "You're pulling up now? Okay, we will be right out." She hung up and told them the news, "The guys are here."
Xion's heart began to beat a million miles an hour at what Riku would think of her.
"You do know that we won't all fit in the car, right Axel?" Roxas' asked his friend this as he fiddled with the black tie he wore. Unlike his other friends, his tuxedo was all black (befitting his personal wardrobe choice) and he was still not used to wearing such an outfit.
The spikey red head in the driver's seat nodded with a grin, "Duh, dude. That's why we're walking to the party."
Roxas opened the passenger door, "You sure that's a good idea?"
"We're only a few blocks from the school and the weather is good, so why not?" Responded Axel. This had been his plan all along, though he had been late in explaining that to his two friends. He got out of the car and closed the door behind him. He wasn't wearing a jacket and the sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up past his elbows. He wasn't planning on wearing a jacket either, and that wasn't for his own benefit, but for his little bumblebee. He knew she'd like it and thus ran with it.
Roxas wasn't as confident as his friend. "You're so sure of yourself..." Though he kept it to himself and tried to hide it, Roxas' apprehension for the date ahead was obvious just by looking at him. The way his hair was unkempt beyond its usual spikey shape as well as the sleepy look in his eyes (from staying up too long with worry the night before), were dead giveaways as to how nervous he was.
Thankfully Axel and Riku were there to keep his head on his shoulders, and he could count on them to do just that.
Speaking of Riku, Axel noted that the silver haired teen had yet to get out of the car. Was he getting cold feet? Nah, he thought as he turned to check through the window. He was still sitting in his seat and seemed calm. "You okay dude?"
Riku turned his head to Axel, "Yeah, I just want to wait until Xion gets out here."
The red head seemed genuinely surprised, "You got a surprise for her? That's a step beyond your usual way of handling her."
Though that seemed to be the case, Riku had to admit to his friend, "I don't have a surprise for her, I just don't want her to run away when she sees me."
Though they hadn't been dating long Riku had been able to figure out Xion even better than many believed. How they got together was well known, but how Riku felt about her was a mystery at best and he wasn't one to share his personal thoughts with anyone. Even Sora, newly married to his sweetheart Kairi and best friend to Riku, didn't know what went on in his mind.
And Axel didn't have time to ask either as he heard the front open. That was the cue to be presentable. "Heads up fellas, the ladies are here." The red head's eyes were wide as Larxene came strutting up to him. It took her only a handful of seconds to waltz from the front door, down the front steps, and into his arms. She topped it off by putting her arms around his neck and smothering him with a hot, passionate smooch.
As much as he appreciated that Axel had to get his breath back. "Shit, that was great bumblebee."
Larxene scoffed at her playful-and annoying-pet name her boyfriend had given her. "I'll give you more later if you do as I say, lover boy."
Axel shook his head, having seen her want to dominate their date he had disappoint her. "Not tonight. We need to behave ourselves, since we'll have kids around." His words were meant for Roxas, and the shorter blonde flipped him the finger in retaliation.
Larxene didn't care about what others thought and proceeded to lay another kiss on her man.
Just a few feet away, Axel's best friend Roxas had to deal with the impending arrival of his girlfriend. In her white dress and elegance Namine looked nothing short of a bride going down the aisle to the altar. In Roxas' mind she had a smile that would surpass any normal bride.
Namine made her way to Roxas and he ushered her around to the opposite side of the car. He did that so he could talk to her more privately.
The girl spun slowly in a circle for him, showing off her hard work of the last few hours. "What do you think, Roxas?"
At first he was at a loss for words, but eventually Roxas forced a few out. His face turned red and his intended words got lost on the route from his brain to his mouth. "I love you-um, shit I mean sorry!"
Namine giggled, knowing his intended words but preferred his gaffe. "You're sweet, and I love you too." She fixed the front of his suit. "I have a flower for you to have when we get to the school. Just before we go down the grand march."
Sighing at the thought, Roxas wasn't looking forward to that. "I'm not sure I can handle walking down an aisle in front of the entire school."
Knowing how he felt about crowds Namine put her hand to his cheek and spoke in a soothing tone, "I'll be right there beside you, Roxas. Don't worry."
He took a deep breath and nodded once. That was all the reassurance he needed.
Axel forced Larxene to sit on the hood of the car after he realized that there was someone missing. "Where'd our shy violet go?"
Larxene crossed her legs, "That's your nickname for her? Xion must have got cold feet."
Indeed, the girl wasn't in the doorway or even on the porch, which meant she had hung back while her two friends left to get with their dates. Yet as obvious as that was, Axel knew it wasn't his task to get the girl from her hiding place. He pounded the top of his car, "Yo, she's all yours, pal."
If his friends could have seen him they would have noted how Riku was smirking inside the car. He had expected Xion to shy away and unlike his friends, he knew how to deal with her. "Got it."
While the others watched the silver haired teen walked up to the doorway leading to the house and instantly noted that the door was open. Instead of walking in he stopped short of entering and leaned on the door frame. "You okay, Xion?"
A voice came from the dark house, so low it could have been considered a whisper. "I'm scarred, Riku." Xion answered "I don't know if I can do this…"
Negotiating time, thought Riku, not the slightest bit annoyed. He was used to Xion's ability to shy away from the slightest bit of discomfort on her part. "Well, we don't have to go down grand march if you don't want."
Xion gasped lightly, "Really?"
Riku shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not in the mood for crowds, to be honest. Our friends are enough for me…but I wouldn't mind just being alone with you."
The girl definitely liked that idea more than marching down in front of the eyes of the entire school body. "…think we could just be alone?"
"We can do whatever you want."
Breathing a sigh of relief Xion stepped out from the shadows and into the light as well as the full view of her boyfriend. His gaze went over her entire form and she defensively put her arms around her torso. "Please don't stare…"
"I'm just admiring how beautiful you look."
Xion turned her head away, "And…?"
"You are absolutely stunning."
She couldn't help but smile, albeit lightly, "Then…we better go."
Riku agreed and offered his arm for her. She took it without hesitation and held onto him like he was a life preserver. "Just, don't leave my side, okay?"
Riku's smile grew, "Never, my lady."
Giggling a little Xion appreciated him even more and walked with him to be with their friends.
And, long story short, he never let her alone the entire night. Just like he had promised.
