*Chapter 25*
"Tessa, your pacing is freaking me out," Penny complained in a whined, strained voice. She sat at the vanity in her bathroom, the natural lighting made it easy for her to do her hair and makeup.
"I'm sorry, I'm so nervous," She stressed as she walked back and forth.
Her one arm was crossed across her center, while the other was rested using her elbow. She held her chin in her hand and idly gazed about the room, she bit her lip in an anxious way. She felt her mother's dress hit the back of her lower calves as she paced; it was ilk to the touch and flowed about. It was the perfect dress to dance in. She hoped she would make Selka proud, though deep down, she knew she was being selfish. She inwardly cursed herself for adding more stress onto the pile.
"Why are you nervous?" Penny beamed a curious smile towards her, "Nervous to dance with Selka?"
"Yeah," Tessa chirped in an annoyed snap.
"What if Selka doesn't show?" Penny inquired lightly, though she held onto a curious, charming smile.
"Doesn't show?" Tessa beamed and stopped her pacing to gaze at her cousin, "He's SELKA. He wouldn't NOT show up to something this important."
"Playing devil's advocate," Penny said in a sly way with a shrug as she gently fiddled with her hair. She wore a pretty, sparkly light pink dress with cream accents.
"That'd be fantastic if Selka didn't show," Tessa grumbled to herself as she furrowed her eyebrows in dismay. She straightened out her dress, which she had been wearing for hours now.
"Why? Then all of Zane's hard work would be in vain," Penny said in a sad tone, though she side eyed Tessa slightly with a cunning smile.
"Yeah, I'll repay him later," Tessa muttered to herself, yet again, as she looked out Penny's large bedroom window and to the night time city scape of Starkrem, far off in the distance.
"What's that, now?" Penny said through a knowing giggle as she looked over her shoulder, her cheeks could not become wider with glee.
"Hey guys, Tammy, Emery and Zane are here," Oliver said in a nonchalant tone as he moseyed into Penny's room. He gestured for them to follow with a small smile, "C'mon, they're waiting in the Great Hall."
"Zane's with them?" Tessa barked in a loud whisper, though she furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance, towards herself, and shook her head lightly, "I-I mean, yeah I'm ready. Dunno about this one, though."
"I'm ready, I'm ready," Penny argued lightly as she stumbled to get her flats on. She straightened out her dress accordingly and shut her light off, though she furrowed her eyebrows and looked down to Tessa's feet, "You don't have shoes?"
"Shoes," Tessa repeated in a dull way as the three stepped out of Penny's now dark room, "Have I EVER worn shoes, Penny? My feet weren't programmed for shoes! Oliver's not wearing shoes either!"
"Sorry I forgot," Penny giggled lightly as she lulled her arm over Oliver's shoulder, albeit with a struggle because of the small amount of height he had over her, "Looking sharp, Olly."
"Thanks," Oliver chuckled as he gently hugged his arm around the back of her waist.
He was dressed in a casual, dark grey dress shirt, black over coat and a dark green tie. He looked tidied and sharp, becoming and strong. Penny smiled up at him before she eagerly peered down their new hallway and into the peeks of the Great Hall; she was excited to see what Emery thought of Oliver's sharp look, though she felt more excited to see Zane's reaction to Tessa. She knew Tessa never wore girly outfits, let alone dresses.
"Your dress is really pretty," Penny chimed in a tone she hoped would carry down the hall and reach everyone who was out in the Great Hall. She smiled towards her cousin in a loving way, though she had to wonder why it wasn't much of a struggle to get Tessa to wear it. She cocked an eyebrow and continued on towards Tessa, "Did you have to force yourself to wear it?"
"Believe it or not, Pens, I'm comfortable," Tessa chuckled as she rolled her eyes, she tucked her long hair behind her right ear, which also boasted a pretty, white flower to match her mother's gorgeous, shimmery dress.
"Probably because you're shoeless," Penny mumbled as she looked down to her flats, "I wish I could pull off no shoes."
"There you guys are," Tammy laughed softly as the three emerged into the Great Hall from their new hallway; Tammy was dressed in a pretty, red number. Her sharp, choppy hair looked perfect. She crossed her arms lightly and felt a genuine smile brave her face as she caught sight of Tessa. She furrowed her eyebrows in delightful confusion and couldn't unglue her eyes from the sight she thought she'd never see; her baby, tomboy of a cousin in a beautiful dress, looking as flawless as ever. Tammy shook her head with a baffled smile and gently took Tessa's hand as she neared, "Holy smokes, Tess, I didn't even recognize you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm changing back into my sweats after this dance," Tessa said in a bashful voice as she looked down and to the side a little.
"I've never seen you wear anything like this," Emery said in a sweet tone as she delicately touched one of the sheer ruffles that attached to the spaghetti strap on her shoulder; she gave Tessa and Penny a genuinely surprised, loving smile, "You two look wonderful."
"Thank you," Penny giggled as she scrunched her shoulders, though she looked away with a sigh and a girly smile, "But I wear dresses all the time. I think Tessa sorta steals the night, this time."
"I'm full of surprises," Tessa said, though she felt her heart jump as she finally caught eyes with Zane.
She felt her heart jump even harder with the fact that he was practically lost in a gaze in her eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows in an almost delighted surprise as she felt her shoulders un-scrunch. His usual, choppy black hair was tidy in his usual faux-hawk form. His chin scrufflies and usual goatee was clean and trimmed. He wore a dashing, cream dress shirt, a dark grey tuxedo coat and a bright blue bow tie that made his eyes practically sing about his bold, yet tender, personality loud and clear. His hands were casually rested in his coat pockets, though he looked anything but bored. His eyebrows were raised in a lightly dazed surprise, though he finally shook his head a little and gave Tessa a loving smile, as if to convey everything he wish he could; the two spoke a silent language, as if revealing the inevitable would ruin everything. He knew a smile was all it took to tell her just exactly what he thought. She gazed back at him in a knowing, thankful way, as if to assure him that, indeed, unveiling the obvious would mess up their fragile, humble beginning.
"How did you manage to get Tessa into that dress?" Tammy hissed to Penny as the two girls linked arms, they all began to mosey towards the castle's front doors. Tammy gently glanced back and over her shoulder, she was thankful the two pairs began to converse with each other in a distracted way.
"I didn't!" Penny whispered as everyone gently filed out of the castle, though Tammy and Penny kept their distance. Penny gazed far off into the Sugar Rush night and heaved a small giggle, "I think the dress was her idea. She's not all tomboy, y'know. She has her girly moments."
"I guess you're just around her more than I," Tammy said softly as she looked down to their feet as they head for Sugar Rush's exit, which was a bit of a walk away, "I just can't imagine her ever comfortably wearing a dress like that. I mean, damn, she looks good, but does SHE know that?"
"I think on some level, she does," Penny giggled, "She's been wearing that dress all day long."
"Shut up," Tammy blurted out quietly in surprise with a stifled giggle, "She totally knows she looks awesome."
"Just trying to remain humble, I guess," Penny beamed with a shrug, "She doesn't deserve a lick of it, though."
"What?" Tammy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, though Penny gave her a worried look.
"Yeah, I'm not supposed to talk about it," Penny said in a dull tone.
"Well, now you HAVE to talk about it," Tammy urged in annoyance as she gestured her arm outwards.
"No, I promised Tessa I wouldn't," Penny said in a saddened way, which caused Tammy to give her a dull, annoyed look. Penny rolled her eyes before she let her brilliant eyes pierce Tammy's with confidence, "I won't HAVE to tell you anything, after tonight."
"What do you mean by that?" Tammy beamed in confusion, Penny playfully pat Tammy's arm, which was linked in hers.
"Ohhh, you'll see," Penny said through a long laugh of a sigh.
"Tessa, this is the fifth time you've fiddled with your hair," Zane laughed as he gently hooked her lower arm in his hand and delicately brought it away from her sudden, anxious habit.
"User, I know," Tessa hissed in a low tone as she glanced at Zane.
The six friends finally approached the tall, looming stoops and doors of Game Central Station Academy; it was all lit up for the night, every single gamer and self-programed being hung around the outside and filed inside, where the ball was supposedly taking place. Tessa eagerly stood on her tip toes a few times, in hopes to get a good glimpse into the Academy, where everyone was pouring into. The whole place was lively, shining and glorious. Every single girl was dolled up, as was every guy as dashing as ever. Tessa knew she had to be on the lookout for Selka, and she had to wonder if he even had a date to this event. She figured he wouldn't have asked for a dance if he already had a date prior. She furrowed her eyebrows gently and continued to try to peer over the backs of her friends' heads, her eager hands immediately reached for the deep curls of her hair, though Zane's tender hand stopped her again.
"Tessa Schweetz, your hair looks great, just relax!" Zane whispered loudly as he gently held her wrist and hand to his chest in such a way to where he hoped he'd convince her to calm down.
"I-I'm sorry," Tessa heaved a small, nervous laugh and almost frowned in Zane's direction, though somehow she didn't really want to pull away from his grip; she did, however, so not to seem to weird. She looked about and straightened her dress, "I'm just nervous."
"Why are you nervous?" Zane gave her his whole attention, though Tessa shot him a dull look as he finally rolled his eyes with a wide smile, "Tessa, you're going to have ONE dance with Selka. It's not like you have to hang out with him the whole night. You can do whatever you want."
"I know," Tessa grumbled, "I-I just want to impress him."
"Doesn't everybody," Zane grumbled with an annoyed, sigh of a breath. He cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in dull annoyance, "Nonetheless, you'll be just fine. When he asks you to dance just... Go out there, and do everything you HAVE been doing. You'll nail it, just like usual."
"I'd be nowhere without your help," Tessa said sweetly as she finally locked her eyes on Zane's, though her nervousness got the better of her and she tore her eyes away. She peered about everyone; they all finally began to file into the Academy.
"Don't mention it," Zane smiled bashfully and looked down and to the side, though a pang of sorrow hit his chest.
Tessa softy glanced at Zane in a fit of stomach twisting discomfort. She bit her bottom lip and felt that nagging dilemma hit her head on, she furrowed her eyebrows in dismay, though the second her eyes caught sight of the beautiful Academy before her, she dropped all of her worries.
Where the Academy's massive library was, lay a sprawling dance floor. All the tables and bookshelves had been taken out, and it was replaced with nothing but sprawling, golden tile and lovely people for the entirety of it. Tessa smiled a small smile as everyone filed into the echoing lobby. Self-programmed gamers and enthusiasts alike all hung around with lively energy, everyone's mouths moved with exciting things to say. Everyone had a group, friend or date they belonged to. Tessa gawked about the massively sprawling place, her future home, during Arcade hours anyhow.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Penny suddenly interrupted as she grappled for Tessa's arm, which startled her out of her sensitive, jumbled thoughts.
"It is!" Tessa tried to remain cool, she peered around as if she was on Penny's hyperactive wavelength. Penny tightened the grip on Tessa's arm and jumped up and down slightly. She gasped and looked at Tessa in a knowing way.
"You think we'll find older boys to dance with?" Penny wondered with an eager smirk; Tess furrowed her eyebrows in a delightfully annoyed way, though her heart jolted as she glanced at Zane. He was standing and chatting casually with Tammy and Oliver, his hands were comfortably in his pants pockets.
"Well," Tessa gently rolled her eyes before she peered into Penny's excitable ones, "I already accomplished that part. Can't say I'm too excited about it, though."
"You're not excited to dance with Selka?" Penny wondered with a gentle frown, though she felt her lips curl into a curious smile.
"I might feel better if I hang out with him prior," Tessa worried as her eyes scanned the large area down below the glass of the lobby.
The noise from far below was prominent, and the two gaping, curled stoops that led down to the ballroom floor were beckoning, albeit littered with student galore.
"Did you want to go find him?" Penny said in a sincere tone as she gently took hold of both of Tessa's hands; their little bubble of tenderness shrank to a size that only the two of them could exist in.
"Not really," Tessa worried as she glanced at Zane. She tried not to seem too obvious, but she could tell that Penny had caught on to her heart's silent cry
"You want to dance with Zane, don't you," Penny said quietly, her kind eyes gazed into Tessa's without a single hint of teasing, but they were coated with all the sincerity in Arcade; Tessa exhaled a gentle sigh and knew she would eventually be caught up in these silent web of lies she tried so hard to convince herself were true.
"Yeah," Tessa said through a breath as she looked down, though she was surprised to hear Penny lightly giggle and look over her shoulder.
"Why don't you?" Penny hissed with an excited smile as she peered back at her cousin; Tessa couldn't help but let a smile sprawl her face, though it sunk after a few seconds.
"I doubt he'd want to dance with me anyways," Tessa heaved a half hearted laugh and gazed at the back of Zane's head, "He's been dancing with me all week and then some. I'd be tired of me, by now, if I were him."
"I so highly doubt that," Penny said in a dull tone.
"If I get a little bit of time to hang out with Selka before we dance, I'll feel a bit more confident, I think," Tessa said in a dull tone, as if this chore of earning her self worth, for her first day at Academy, was still a plan engraved in her coding.
"Are you going to go find him right now?" Penny wondered in a sad tone, "We just got here. The final dance won't be for awhile, surely."
"No, I won't go now," Tessa assured as her eyes got lost in the beautiful, dark stone walls and glossy chandeliers above the ballroom floor, which were eye level with the people in the lobby that overlooked everything, like an atrium.
"Maybe we'll just casually bump into him," Penny suggested with a girly shrug and a twinkle in her eye. The curl to her dark, golden hair was near perfect atop her head.
"I hope so," Tessa said as she looked down and to the side, "At the same time, I'm hoping he decided not to show."
"Wouldn't that be something," Penny shook her head lightly, "The popular kid, too cool for school... Typical!"