White had been told time and time again that this event would be big, just never exactly how big.
"We still have 100 people that have yet to rsvp," Cress practically growled while he and White were sweeping the floor a week ago.
"So how many people have rspv-ed?" White said innocently. Cress blinked a few times and then burst into a fit of laughter.
"It's not rs-p-v! It is rs-v-p! Repondez s'il vous plait!" Cress continued to laugh. White turned a deep shade of crimson and grumbled while she gripped the old broom in her hands tightly. Cress mercilessly teased her the entire day over it, so she decided that she would never bring up the question to him again.
About 5 days ago, White had decided to ask Cillian about the event.
"How much food are we going to have to make for the party?" White questioned Cillian casually while she made the café's signature pepper omlette during a lunch shift. Cillian looked like he had seen a ghost for a moment.
"Please don't worry yourself about it too much, White. I'm trying my best not to worry about it, myself," Cillian said with a shudder while he took the teabags out of two cups of tea for one of his tables.
Then, there was a couple days ago. White awoke in the morning to find the brothers directing a few gurduurs hauling large boxes of food into the kitchen. White yawned and walked up to Chili, who had a clipboard in hand.
"What's going on? It's 6 in the morning," White said in a daze. She put her forehead on Chili's shoulder sleepily and he laughed at her lack of enthusiasm.
"Our shipment of food for the party came in this morning! We even needed help moving all of the stuff into our kitchen for once," Chili said excitedly.
"Mmm," White murmured. She got up from Chili's shoulder and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Chili laughed.
"Just go back to bed, White. I'll come and wake you up in an hour," Chili said while squeezing her into a hug.
The brothers would tell her that the party was going to be-
"Large. Very large."
"The biggest we've ever had."
"Enormus!"
Somehow, they did not prepare her fully for the massive amount of people that were attending. They put White in charge of taking tickets and charging the entry fee in the lobby because they assumed that it was the best way for the guests to greet her instead of their guests pulling her around in the ballroom from person to person and conversation to conversation.
It was White's worst nightmare. Over 300 obnoxious people showed up and they all wanted to chat with her about nothing while she stood trapped behind the host desk by the cash register.
Snivy sat by White's feet hidden behind the desk to make sure she was ok. White was briefly able to greet her own invited guests, but did not have much time to talk to them, as the line to get in was enormous. After White waved goodbye to a couple dressed in sparkling gold and silver outfits, she turned to greet the next guest. Two women in deep blue and emerald green dresses trotted up to her and handed her their tickets and payment. White had also been amazed by the dresses and suits that people had worn to the party that night. These women had their hair curled and twisted up like beedril hives on top of their heads with blue swellow and wingull feathers sticking out of it. The woman in the blue dress also wore giant plastic beautifly styled wings and the woman in green wore dustox styled wings on her back. White took a moment to marvel at their outfits (which really looked like a taxidermist's nightmare) and smiled.
"You both look so…lovely," White said with a small bow as she accepted their money and tickets. After two weeks of working in the café she had a certain amount of patience for the ridiculous people that it attracted. The two women giggled and flushed out their fans at the same time.
"The same to you," the woman with the dustox wings said with a nod.
"A new dress from the brand Articuno Pretty, I presume? Young people have been into their dresses for the past few years," the woman with the beautifly wings said as she fanned herself. White forced a smile.
"Yes ma'am. It was a gift," White felt a little rushed to cut the small talk as it was 6:26 already and the doors were to be shut at 6:30.
"What a generous gift!" Dustox lady exclaimed.
"Truly," Beautifly lady agreed. Before they could continue their small talk White interrupted.
"Yes! Well! Food and drinks are right inside! We hope that you enjoy the festivities!" White said quickly, motioning her hands to the inside of the ballroom. There weren't too many people left in line behind them, and White was very eager to get the party started. The two ladies didn't quite take the hint and continued to talk in front of the entrance where White was stationed.
"Do you own any Articuno Pretty dresses? You need to wear short petticoats to get the cupcake fluff look," the beautifly lady said to the dustox lady. White began to tap her feet impatiently.
"No, I do not. Wearing petticoats in Castellia would be a horror. The heat alone is reason enough to not wear them," the dustox lady said primly. White did what she ended up having to do for all of the guests: faking the start of the show.
"I think I hear the fire dancer's act beginning. I certainly hope you ladies don't miss it," White said putting on her best fake worried face. The two ladies nearly fell out and skipped through the entrance quickly.
White watched them go into the dining room and sighed. She looked at her next set of guests and was instantly a little more intrigued. A man wearing a masquerade mask and a black tailcoat with two ladies on each arm stopped a few feet in front of White. One of the women with long pink hair had a short yet puffy dress on similar to White's except solid black with white accessories. The other woman had long wavy golden blonde hair and also wore a white dress like White's but with black accessories. The pink haired woman unlinked her arm from the man's, and handed White 3 tickets and payment for entry.
"Thank you very much," White said quietly after taking the tickets. The pink haired woman's light eyes bore into White, staring at her like radiant spotlights in the dark. Her lips curved into a sweet smile and White found herself holding her breath nervously.
"Dia. Come and look at this girl," the pink haired woman said. The blonde apparently named "Dia" came up to look closely at White too. She inspected her for a moment with her strange light eyes as well, and then turned to her counterpart with a smile.
"My goodness. She is uncommonly pretty, is she not Thea?" Dia said conversationally.
"My thoughts exactly," the woman in the black dress, apparently named "Thea", agreed.
White's eyebrows shot up, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other while looking at the ground. Somehow, hearing these women compliment her felt genuine and warm. She looked at the women again. How could they call her uncommonly pretty? They both looked like absolute angels. Their outfits were beautiful, each accessorized perfectly. Their makeup was flawless, and it highlighted their creamy complexions and shining bright eyes. They even had matching opposite black and white masquerade masks that they could hold up to their faces. White felt inferior just being in their presence. She was just some girl, really. These women…
"You both look like goddesses," White said seriously, "Total goddesses. You are both lovely."
The women giggled lightly. Even their laughter was like pleasant music. They gave each other a long sly yet satisfied glance, and looked back to their escort.
"My lord. Perhaps she would like to hear your opinion?" Dia said with a smile.
"Yes. What was it you were saying about Miss White as we were walking up, again? Something about radient beauty, I believe?" Thea asked him playfully. White's eyes focused on the man with long light green hair behind them. She tilted her head to the side and then blinked a few times in disbelief. White felt a gasp catch in her throat as their escort broke eye contact with her hastily. The women linked arms around the man, who was now looking very stiff, and forcefully walked him up to White. The two women unlinked their arms from his and took two steps backwards. They were both grinning like persians at one another. The man behind the mask sighed and began to lower the object covering his face. He lowered it just enough for White to see two very exasperated green eyes. He had been exposed.
"N-!" before White could raise her voice too loud, he swiftly cupped his hand over her mouth. He looked a little frightened by her exclamation and White looked up at him equally confused.
"I-I'm sorry White. We are here in secret. I hope you can understand…" N said quietly to White.
"Mmrg Mmmrgmg!" White tried to say desperately behind his palm. Feeling her lips move against his hand made him shudder slightly. He took his hand away from her mouth and set his masquerade mask back on to properly cover the top of his face.
"I hope I was not too forward. I am sorry I had to touch you in that way," he said, obviously incredibly embarrassed by his actions.
"Ah-no. It's fine. You just surprised me, that's all," White said. She felt giddy enough to faint. N came! He actually came! She looked him up and down.
"Your outfit looks great. You wear it really well," White said sincerely, trying to break the ice. N shook his head and motioned to White.
"White you…you look," he tried to begin and White smiled bashfully.
"I look?" she repeated him, a game they seemed to play quite often.
"Truthfully, you look stunning," he said quickly. White inhaled, and looked down at her dress.
"It suits you," he said quietly. White looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Something this dressy suits me?" she said skeptically.
"Absolutely," N responded without skipping a beat. White bit her bottom lip and smiled.
"Thanks." She said quietly as well. Before he could say anything else, Thea and Dia tapped N on each of his shoulders.
"My lord, Miss White has many other guests to greet," The pink haired woman said. She raised her masquerade mask to her face and gave White a small curtsy.
"Ah! Right. I am sorry; if you'll excuse us," N said apologetically to White, who shook her head and told the group to enjoy themselves. The pink haired woman and N left to explore the ballroom, but the blonde stayed behind to speak with White for a moment.
"I am truly sorry that N did not respond to your special invitation. The truth is that my sister Anthea and I received separate invitations, and we decided to respond through those. I hope that you can forgive us," Dia said to White.
"Oh! That's fine, I guess," White said with a small frown. She had been told formal invitations were only sent out to personal friends of the gym leaders and some of Unova's famous citizens; who were these women and how did they know N? The blonde sensed White's confusion and responded to it.
"The truth is, Miss White, is that it would be troublesome if N was found to be here tonight. You could say that his family is somewhat influential. I'm not at liberty to tell you specifics, but just know that he took a great risk to come here."
The blonde smiled as she observed White watching N and Anthea disappear into the crowd. White turned her head quickly to look at the woman.
"Really?" she said while raising an eyebrow. N became more interesting by the minute.
"Mmm, but I don't think anything could keep him away from his new friend. You are just as charming as he described," and with that, the blonde gave White a curtsy and left her speechless.
White greeted the remaining guests in a daze. N told his two lady friends that she was charming? The idea made White smile. N's family was influential in some way? Who were those two women, anyway? N said that he had never been around girls his age before. Surely those two women couldn't be too much older than White, could they? White rolled over everything in her mind as she shut the doors to the entrance of the café. She returned Snivy to his pokeball and decided to make her way into the ballroom.
What was once the café with tables, chairs, and large ornate rugs had been turned into an open ballroom with chairs flushed to the sides and guests chatting lively in the open area. There were many small appetizers being munched down by the hungry guests. White even noticed that the boys made pettifours with small chess piece designs on them. Many people greeted White and she made sure to nod and acknowledge each one of them. Cillian managed to find White wandering amongst the crowd and pulled her to a back door that lead to a backstage area. Chili and Cress were already there.
"Are you ready for the opening?" Cress asked her seriously.
"Um…what are we opening?" White said while tilting her head to the side.
"We're going to go out there together, introduce you to everyone, tell them who you will be battling, and you just have to say a few words. Easypeasy," Chili said with a big grin. White looked from butler to butler uneasily.
"None of you told me I had to speak in front of those people!" White said with her voice at a higher octave than normal. Cillian went up to a door leading to the stage in the little room and opened it to check on the crowd from behind the curtain.
"It's no different than what you've been doing at the café every day. Just thank them for coming to see you. Tell them obvious boring things people want to know," Cress said with a roll of his eyes.
"Just imagine everyone naked. Then it's funny!" Chili said while giving White a suggestive shove with his elbow. He started laughing and White paled.
"butbut…" White tried to protest but Cillian rushed back into the room.
"We're running late. We need to go out now," Cillian said nervously from the doorway. Cress flipped his hair and grinned.
"Let's get this show on the road. Fire dancers are ready on the other side. The musicians will be on 45 minutes after that. After an hour and a half of music, then we will do the battle, got it?"
"Yes." Cillian and Chili said in unison. White groaned.
"I think I'm going to be sick," she said shakily as Cress and Cillian began to prepare the lights and the curtain. Chili practically had to pick White up and drop her on the dim stage.
"You'll be ok," Chili said quietly, "I've got faith in you!"
"I'm scared," White said quickly. She gripped Chili's hand suddenly with her damp and shaking palms.
"It's not "scared" time! It's showtime!" Chili said happily as the crimson curtain began to rise, bathing the amber stage in golden light. The ballroom erupted into a mass of applause louder than any thunderstorm that Zapdos could whip up. White gulped as she looked at all of the faces. Cress stood next to her, and patted her shoulder. He leaned over and said into her ear.
"Smile! You look as unaware as a bidoof!"
White's eyebrows shot up, and she broke into a sideways smile as Cress chuckled a little on her behalf. White shook her head and looked out to the crowd. She was able to spot Bianca, Cheren, her mother, Fennel, and Juniper fairly quickly. White gave them a quick wave and Bianca bounced up and down from the attention. White's eyes swept the room for N, but her attention diverted to Cress as he began his address to the guests.
"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Striaton Gym!" Cress said with enthusiasm. The crowd began to applaud again, but Cress held up a hand to silence them.
"We have a challenger here at our establishment this evening. As you all are aware, each trainer that steps into our gym is immediately at a disadvantage. If White wishes to earn a badge tonight, she will need to defeat Chili, our fire type trainer!"
Again, there was a thunderous applause. Cillian, who was to the other side of Cress, spoke next.
"Before their exhibition match, please enjoy the entertainment for tonight. Food and drinks are available in the back corners, and we will have two acts on stage. The Inferno Fire Dancers of Nacrene City are here to join us tonight, as well as The Levanny String Quartet from Castelia."
Cillian looked to White and Chili. White felt like her smile was about to crack off but Chili continued where Cillian left off.
"We're going to give you a hot battle that you'll never forget," Chili turned to White and asked her, "Are you feeling up to it, White?"
White managed to keep her smiled pinned to her face. She tried to push the idea that there were a few hundred people listening to her every word.
"Yes!" she said as determinedly as she could.
Chili shook his head.
"Pft! That was weak! A challenger like this will be a cake walk for pansear and I!"
The crowed began to murmur. White's head jerked to look at Chili, who folded his arms confidently as if he was challenging her right then and there. He of all people should know that White wasn't the type to get riled up by something so simple. Was this a trick? Was he trying to get a reaction out of her to please the crowd? As White's mind was spinning like a spinda, Cress spoke up.
"To tell you the truth, my money is on White."
"What?!" Chili exclaimed. Cress had his signature smug smile on his face. He flipped his hair.
"You heard me. I think that White has this battle. Because the challenger always has the crowd on their side!" Cress said quickly. The crowd took the cue and went nuts clapping and yelling. White looked down at all of their smiling and excited faces as they hollered for her. She took a deep breath and addressed them.
"Snivy can I will win for all of you that came out tonight!" she said boldly to the crowd. She waved as the crowd went crazy again to cheer her on. The gym leaders also waved to the crowd and then ushered White off the stage and back into the side room. The curtain shut again before the first act.
"I'm sorry. If I did poorly out there. I'm sorry," White said looking from Cillian to Chili. Cress was in a side room on the other end of the stage preparing the fire dancers.
"You did well for being unprepared," Cillian said reassuringly.
White, Cress, and Chili watched the fire dancing performance from the side of the stage. Cillian stayed in the back room where the Levanny String Quartet had just gathered. After the intense finale from the Inferno Fire Dancers, Cress went out to introduce the musicians. Chili elbowed White.
"If you wanna go out there and find your friends, you're welcome to go. I bet they could give you some tips about fighting for your first gym badge," he said quietly. White agreed with Chili and made her way back to the ballroom as the symphonic music began to play. As she started to scan around the ballroom, people began to approach her faster than she anticipated.
"Hello Miss White!" one especially portly man in a purple suit said to her while she was looking around.
"How do you do," White said quickly with a short curtsy and began to walk away but a girl her age in a short sequined dress stopped her.
"Since you're fighting Chili does that mean you picked the grass type?" she asked with her red lips grinning from ear to ear.
"Um, yes. Snivy is my first pokemon," White said with a nod to the girl.
"Miss White how have you found your time at Striaton? I maintain a shop a few stores down from the Trio café-"
"Oh! Miss White is over here! Henry! Come and say hello to Miss White!"
"Are you excited about your big match?"
"Miss White!"
"It's Miss White!"
People began to spiral around her and White found it difficult to keep up with each person that attempted to address her. Just as she began to feel overwhelming anxiety from the people closing in, a man in a masquerade mask appeared before her and bowed. He held out his hand to her.
"Pardon me, but may I have this dance?"
N! she thought and complete relief washed over her as she put her hand into his.
/chapter 13 end/
I have seriously been listening to too much Taylor Swift just to get inspiration for this chapter and the next. I'm sure it shows! Haha! I know she is definitely an aquired taste. I'm not a big fan of country music (I know she is more "pop"), but I can't help loving her.
Do any of you like to listen to music when you write or read? What are some of your fave musicians to listen to? This entire story is actually based on an Eisley song!
Sorry my updates have been sparse; Being a grown-up is hard work, as I'm sure you all know! Yes, I am alive and still writing when I get the chance!