Two For the Show

(Sorry this one's so late! Thank you for your patience!)

At the beginning of the week, students were already working towards their next exam. Everyone was back to studying now that the party seemed to be over—however after class, an unusual announcement came over the intercom and rang throughout the entire castle from their headmaster.

"On Saturday, the academy will be closing. No students will be permitted to leave campus. We will be hosting a party starting at six o'clock p.m. and will carry on until midnight. Hope you all enjoy!"

While the other students in the classroom expressed their excitement with hollers and high-fives, Katy and Rachele looked at each other. The ginger spoke without moving her lips much. "Closing the school?"

"How much you want to bet…" Katy dipped her chin and subtly looked about them at everyone else who seemed to be the least concerned with that part of the announcement.

Rachele leaned closer. "They could be here already. And that's why Lord Death isn't letting anyone leave campus."

Her best friend nodded with her jaw clenched, her eyes still scanning the room. She finally looked to their instructor, Sid, who was busying himself with erasing a part of the white board he had written on, not turning around or telling anyone to quiet down. "You're right."

(Page Break)

By the time Saturday had come, hardly any of the students questioned why they were getting a party nearly two weeks after midterm exams. Some figured it to be a late reward for studying hard, others considered it to be a small break for having jumped back on the homework train. But there was a particular group who knew it to be a pacifier. Each dressed in their finest threads, they took a table in the vast ballroom/dining room with refreshments. Christian craned his neck out from his red necktie to see who had taken the dance floor. Katy and Tim sat next to each other, both clad in black. William and Odette sat beside them. She was wearing an olive green dress with her hair pinned up and loose curls hiding her barrette. He wore a black suit with a white tie. Nikki stole subtle glances from across the table, secretly hoping her shimmering light blue gown might encourage him to do the same. Rachele giggled at Kian while she pointed out how naked he looked without his snakebite studs in his lip or his nose stud or his eyebrow ring. It was hard for them all to talk over the loud music about what they were all sure was the reason for this party, so little was actually said about it at the table. For the most part the group joined in with everyone else's ignorant bliss that this was a party and they were supposed to have fun. Christian eyed Odette for a while, waiting for his chance. As soon as the first slow song came on, he stood from his chair and approached hers and held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

She smiled up at him. "Sure!" She took his hand and stood with him. The blonde happily lead her to the dance floor, suppressing the tickling in his tummy due to her hand in his and simply turned it into a bigger smile on his face.

Katy leaned closer to Tim. "I'm not so sure Odette is catching all of Christian's outlandishly obvious hints for what he intends them to be."

William answered before Tim did. "She doesn't."

Tim put his elbows on the table. "She's really that clueless?"

The other young man leaned back and crossed his arms. "I don't think that she's clueless. I think she thinks he's just flirting like he does with every other girl. She takes advantage of it but she doesn't have the slightest idea that he actually wants to be with her. Maybe tonight he'll have the balls to make a move."

Nikki's jaw clenched as she sat next to her brother's empty chair. Her heart rate began a steady incline as conviction tugged at the bottom of her stomach.

"Let's go spy," Katy slapped her hand to Tim's thigh.

He jolted in surprise. "Spy on them?" He sighed but stood and straightened his black jacket all the same. Katy eagerly took his arm and walked to the dance floor with him to position themselves within close proximity of Odette and Christian.

Now Nikki looked at the mostly empty table, sitting with William, Rachele and Kian. But Rachele and Kian were in their own world at the other end of the table. She might as well be alone with him. She swallowed and looked to him. "Do you like to dance?"

When his face turned on her she felt a flare in her chest that made her wish she hadn't addressed him. He shrugged. "I don't think of it one way or the other."

It was too late now. She already engaged. Diverting to chitchat at this point would be just as ridiculous, so why not? "Would… you wanna go dance? With…"

He raised his eyebrows. "With you?"

Nikki felt her cheeks flush and she looked away. "It's stupid, you're right."

"No, no. I'll dance with you." He started to stand up from his chair.

She looked at him with wide blue eyes. "R-really?"

"Yeah, sure." He straightened his black jacket and started towards the dance floor.

She watched him pass behind her chair, wondering if he would turn back around and say that he was just kidding. But he didn't so she shakily stood and followed, minding her footing in her high heels. Though the music vibrated her chest, she wasn't sure it was entirely the music's fault. She joined him in an open space on the floor and faced him. She raised her arms to place her hands on his shoulders. Nikki felt her skin tingle when his hands went to her waist. They started to sway to the slow beat and she kept her mouth tightly shut. She wasn't certain of where to look so she just looked through his chest, disguising her eyes in such a way that maybe it looked like she were admiring his suit. She'd been in his presence a thousand times and it never made her more nervous than it did right now. Perhaps because they were alone. And they were standing so close. And they were touching each other. She jumped a little when he spoke.

"Sorry, I'm probably no good at this."

Nikki huffed a laugh. "There's nothing to be good at. You shift your weight from side to side. You're doing great."

He nodded and looked down at his feet. "I haven't danced since Odette and I became partners. I still managed to step on her feet somehow so, I would be careful if I were you."

The brunette giggled a little too loud and quickly shut herself up by pursing her lips.

William looked down his nose at her. "So, I'm going out tonight. Did you and Tim have plans to do the same?"

"Go out?" She blinked.

"Yeah. Look around. Investigate. See what's got Grim all in a tizzy."

"I'm sure Tim won't want to go." She looked over her shoulder at her meister dancing with his girlfriend. "They kinda seem like they're just going to relax." Nikki looked back to him. "You don't want to relax tonight?"

He tilted his chin down a little to see her better. "I've been told that I don't know how to relax. So no. I suppose not."

She allowed a grin. "Sounds like fun to me. When are you going?"

"Like. When we're done dancing."

Nikki looked over her other shoulder where her brother was still dancing with William's meister. "Are you going to tell Odette?"

He blinked. "Why would I?"

Nikki opened her mouth to respond with something to the effect of how it would be polite to let her know where he was going and what he was doing, remembering that William wasn't always honestly aware of such things. But if he told Odette, she might want to come. And if Odette came with them, Nikki definitely wouldn't work up the courage to even speak to him. If it was just the two of them she would be forced to interact with him, thereby increasing her chances of him noticing her as more than just a group partner. She licked her lips and opened her mouth again. "May I come with you?"

William glanced around briefly. "Should you tell Tim or Christian?"

"They're not my babysitters." Her grin remained, perhaps slier now though. Just then the music stopped and changed to a bouncy up-beat song that involved an entire group dance using the same moves. As excited teens all hurried into a lined position on the dance floor, William and Nikki discreetly snuck away to the balcony.

The older one peered over the railing. "All the doors are locked. Even if we left the ballroom there wouldn't be an easier way out." He looked back to her. "But me and heights don't always get along."

Nikki walked the edge of the balcony in thought, mindfully scanning over any possible route down before she spotted one of the tall arches that supported ivy vines some feet below the balcony. "We can jump down onto that and climb down the rest of the way."

He followed her gaze. "Hm. Good eye." With another glance over his shoulder to ensure they were unnoticed, William hopped on the railing and turned around, gauging the distance between him and the arch. He looked back at her. "One for the money." He let go and dropped onto the top of the sturdy stone arch and looked back up at her to wave her down.

Nikki grinned and climbed over. "Two for the show." She jumped down next to him and together they descended to the ground and went around the side of the castle to his motorcycle.