The Third Annual Winter Formal

Louis and Pepper walked up to the grand hall doors. Pepper had a long, hot pink dress on with jewels, her hair was a prom type half up, half down style with a braid on the side. Louis looked very dashing in his light blue suit and pink tie. The siblings had no one in particular to go with, so they decided to go with each other and see what would happen. The two could hear the music playing inside and both suddenly got nervous. The looked at each other and gave a shrug. "Good luck." She said. "Same." Louis replied. Before Pepper walked into the hall, he grabbed her wrist. "You look great by the way." He smiled.

Jake had waited for this day for quite some time. About a week ago, the he had taken the time to go into town and bought a reasonable suit. It wasn't really any fun colors, but it looked good and was comfortable, that's all that mattered. Well, and if his date approved of it. He got a haircut, tidied himself up and was ready to see Jane. The tall student walked to the Grand Hall entrance and was surprised at how massive it was. He saw Louis and Pepper, but was to far away to say hello without looking like a dork. I'm supposed to meet her here, right? He looked around. People were already gathering. Hope I'm on time. He stood a little ways from the door, looking for her. I hope we win tonight. I mean, how cool would that be? He started to get excited.

ooc-will add Maria in when things get started. She gonna show up fashionably late.

Myles strolled up to the Grand Hall doors in what he considered "Formal Enough." An orange flannel shirt tucked into the cleanest, least faded jeans Myles had, his Two Revolver belt buckle polished, the engravings shining under any sort of light.  From his jeans down to his spit shined Laredo boots, and his brown cowboy hat, and his signature smile ready for the dance.  He opens the doors, smiling and looking around with his light blue eyes. He was obviously winging what he had, it being his first night at this school, he stood in awe at the spectacle of the dance area, his smile growing wider as he would step up to the free food, not picking anything and just grabbing himself a cup o' punch, noting to ask about the suspicious punch, before his stretched boots made loud clicks on the floor, moving to a table and settling his 6'2 self on top of the table, leaning back and crossing his legs over by the ankle breathing in a deep breath looking at the setup nodding in admiration.

A certain blond prefect had made his way down to the Grand Hall. Hastily, one might add. The cold northern winds were not something that anyone would want to linger in. Leo not being an exception. His only possible warmth was the white suit jacket that was fit neatly over his white long sleeve dress shirt. Leo had decided to just wear all white after seeing a swatch of Keirsta's dress. There was no way he was going to try to find the correct color tie and handkerchief to go with it. Besides, it goes with any dress, right? He wasn't really sure, but figured Keirsta knew what she was talking about.

Leo had not walked her down there, although he offered. It was on the grounds that she wanted to surprise him as she walked in, so he didn't argue. But, thankfully he was not the first to arrive. Louis and Pepper had gotten there before him. It seemed like everyone wanted to dress their best for the event. Everyone's hair was done. Even Leo's. Who had done his best attempt with trying to calm the spikes that was his hair. Well. Attempt was the key word. While it still looked a bit wild, he had made a noticeable difference to it.

"Hey guys." The he greeted, both hands slipped into the pockets of his pants. An enthusiastic smile graced his face. The blond was obviously excited.

---

Griffin had not been too far from the Autumn prefect when he arrived. This blond wore a blue vest and tie over a long white dress shirt. It looked freshly ironed, and the edges were crisp. A outfit of someone who knew what they were doing for sure.

Except he didn't. It had been a spur of the moment to ask Keira. Although, he was elated that she agreed. Unsure of where to meet her, Griffin stood just outside of the door. His outfit providing little protection to the cold winter air, and his hands clasped behind himself. An attempted to make himself look at least a bit more proper. To be fair, Griffin had no idea what the norm was for dates and formals. So he hoped that he delivered to her expectations. The thought of disappointing her made the blond a bit anxious. A particular cold gust of wind moved his hopes into; 'I hope she gets here soon...'

This was amazing.

She didn't use the word lightly. After all, she'd seen and done a lot of things, and it could be hard to impress her, but the school had really outdone themselves this time. Jane approached the hall with wide eyes, drinking in the white winter ambiance of the room. It was snowing indoors. Fluffy drifts fell down from the ceiling to collect in her hair, but without the cold breath of air you would expect. This was perfect. A genuine smile stretched across her face as she walked in.

Jane was in a strapless white dress that clung to her waist, layered and trimmed with frilly lace, short in the front and long in the back. She'd done up her hair for the occasion and had on matching jewelry, silver and diamonds. 'Glamorous' without being too over-the-top. It wasn't her usual style, but you only got one night like this during the whole year, right?

It didn't take long for her to find her date. She walked over with her dress flowing behind her.

---

---

This was fucking stupid.

Kayla paused just outside the doors with a frown etched across her face. For the past few weeks, since the Formal was announced, Beata Academy had been buzzing. Every year was the same, and every year the anticipation spread through the school like a disease. Glittery dresses and fancy suits. Everyone was dressed to leap out, so wasn't it ironic that she probably stuck out the most? Torn jeans and a faded gray jacket over an old t-shirt, with her usual ratty black baseball cap over her head. She hadn't bothered to dress up at all this year. Even if she had the money for the dress, she'd be dead before she showed up in one like the rest of these idiots.

She walked inside and cut across the middle of the room with her hands stuffed in her pockets and her eyes glued to the floor.

In the end, she was only really here for the food.

---

---

This was depressing.

It always was. Maybe it was a cycle. Last year hadn't been so bad with Jace, but the year before that she'd drank too much spiked punch and fallen on her face. Seeing Montare with a date when you were friendless and single would do that to you, so she didn't hold it against herself too much. But here she was again, in the same spot she was last year. The only difference was the color of her dress. It was a plain navy blue that fell down just below her knees, tied together with a white band around her waist. Simple. Boring. Her snowflake necklace was the thing that stood out most about her, but no one would even notice that. Her gift prevented anybody from really paying attention. Just this night, she think she preferred it that way.

Evelyn poured herself another glass of punch and downed it.

She knew better this year, but as long as she didn't fall on her face again, what harm could it do? That's why she was wearing flats this year instead of heels.

At least she could plan that far ahead.

Evelyn glanced up at the crowns on the pedestal, frowning. For the past two years straight, since this whole tradition started, Jace and Verona had crushed all the other competition for king and queen. With them out of the picture, maybe things would be a little more exciting this year. Right?

You had to find the positives where you could.

Myles scanned through the formally dressed small crowd, an eyebrow raised at the...yuppieness.  It was hundreds of dollars being poured into dresses and suits when that could be put into something productive, like extra alcohol or a gun range for the school or just a freaking weight room for the athletes.  He sipped the punch looking at the extravagant decor, and back at the crowd, noticing a very under dressed figure for the money suits going on around him.  Finally someone who didn't waste all of their money on superficiality.  With a small smirk he slid himself off the table, picking his hat up off of it and slipping it on.  He casually strolled his way to the Kayla's position, offering an off white smile and bright blue eyes
"You look about as well dressed as me, couldn't afford it or didn't want to spend it?"

She hadn't expected anybody to approach her. Maybe she'd get a few dirty looks here and there, but who would want to spoil their 'perfect night' by wasting time on her? Here, everyone had somebody else. Kayla stopped in her tracks and turned her head at the sound of his voice, electricity crackling in her hair. Cowboy hat, jeans, boots. That was a get-up she hadn't been expecting to see at a pretentious event like this. Did he get lost on his way to the rodeo? "It's a bit of both," she answered. At least she wasn't the only one here not dressed for the occasion. "You too?"

He shrugged, it seemed that she was either A.)In contempt with the thought of dressing up or the dance in general or B.) Was homeless and found them self in the dance.  Either way, Myles concluded it would probably be better company, at least because the rest of the place was full of people wearing monkey suits.  He raised an eyebrow at the electricity, a small smile on his lips.  Even if everything was weird it was quite the adventure to see all of the different powers that could be possessed.  He liked having a not so obvious gift thought, it was so much better to wow someone who wasn't expecting it. His small smile stayed as he said "I'm new here, but this is what I consider formal, bothering to shine my boots and belt buckle, I find this whole thing a bit ova-Yuppie-fest." He shrugged, holding his palms to the ceiling for a second, before letting his hands fall back to his.

Jake looking around, finally saw Jane as she walked towards him. At first, he didn't know what to say. She looked gorgeous. "Woah." He half whispered to himself. "You look amazing." The tall student said, holding out his hand for her to take. Jake, not usually being a "gentleman" found it somewhat awkward being around girls like this. But he tried his hardest to show Jane that he really cared.

One could say walking out in the winter weather with little clothing was stupid. Another could say it’d be stupid. Keirsta could say, Don’t ever fucking go outside in an open-top dress in this weather, ever.

How could she say such a thing? To put it simply, it was the exact situation she was in. She was running across campus in a dress, high heels, and with her hair done nicely. She was almost late, but even then, she’d still make it… Hopefully. She most likely would the door was right there… Yes! Warmth! She let out a sigh of relief as the warmth cascaded over her like a warm, fuzzy blanket, and she was so thankful for it.

Quickly pacing down the hall, she stopped about a few yards away to regain her breath and composure to make an entrance. Not for anyone in particular, just her boyfriend. A small sachet that matched her dress was also clutched in her hand, inside, something that would cause a lot of fun for later… More or less, to give everyone a good laugh. She was one of the students who had helped set up the entire Formal room, being a Prefect and all, and so while she already had pulled her little trick, she would do it again, just for good measure.

She was planning on extra-spiking the Punch.

Leaning up against the wall, Keirsta regained her breath after a few minutes before finally gathering up the correct composure to enter the Grand Hall. While the doors were propped open, it made things so much easier. There wasn’t as much of a crowd yet, heck only two or three students entering at a time, and so she could enter without worrying about her hair or anything being messed up. Speaking of which… She pulled out a small mirror from her little purse, and checked her complexion. Thank heavens, all is well. Beaming at how everything had stayed perfect, even after running like a mad woman across campus, Keirsta finally entered into the Hall.

It was definitely a breathtaking view. Even if she had helped set it up, she had never payed attention to the final product to prevent herself from being spoiled by its beauty. Which, she was breathless. Every little detail placed was near perfection, and it looked simply magnificent.

Shaking her head to clear her amazement, her next thought was to find Leo. Her eyes scanned the few students there at a fast pace to find him, before they finally settled on him being in about the center. She looked off to the site to see the tables sat up the exact way she had done so, and it made her even more hopeful that her trick was working. Once again clearing her thoughts, she took somewhat slow steps towards her boyfriend, and her hands were behind her back and folded.

Stopping once she was beside him, she smiled as she looked at him and the effort he had put into looking nice. ”You look magnificent, Leo.” She said to him, that small smile never fading as she was finally going to enjoy a night with her boyfriend whilst dancing.

Kayla snorted and leaned against the table. "Welcome to the circus," she muttered. This school was a quarantine zone for freaks and misfits. Everyone here had something 'wrong' with them, in one way or another. Maybe that's why people got so caught up in stupid events like this. It was a hint of normalcy they could cling to. She glanced up at the ceiling as a snowflake drifted and landed on her nose. If that was it, then why did they make it snow indoors? The easier answer was the most obvious one. Everyone was just stupid and superficial.

She sighed, glancing around the room for a familiar face, but couldn't spot anyone in the crowd that she cared about. Oh well. "Why are you at the formal then?" she asked. "If this is so much of a 'yuppie' fest."

If this guy could get anymore country...

---

---

Jane took his hand with a graceful smile. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He had to be patient, although the wait was killing him. Keirsta refused to let him see her until the formal. So that's why he got there before her. Leo stared up at the falling snowflakes that ended not too far above his head. With a acute interest he reached up and held his hand out. A single flake landed gently on his palm before melting instantly. The slight tinge of cold proved that it was in fact real snow. Lowering his hand, Leo slid them back into his pant pockets. Again the waiting. A movement out of the corner of his eye caught Leo's attention. As the prefect turned to look, his breath seemed to vanish from his lungs. She looked beautiful. If he was asked to describe how she looked, there would be no words he could use. Any he could come up with did not do Keirsta any justice.

A smile blossomed on his face, not a wide grin. But a soft, kind smile that he only had reserved for these kinds of moments. "Hey," He breathed. Clearing his throat, the smile disappeared into his brilliant smile. "You look stunning." Leo gently pecked her cheek before looking back over to the punch. "Would you like anything to drink?"

Keirsta's smile widened at Leo's comment, and she couldn't stop a slight blush from tinting her cheeks. Listening to Leo's offer, she took a step towards the punch bowl. "Here, let me get it." She said politely, but in the back of her mind, gears were churning.

Walking over to the punch bowl before Leo could say anything else, she pulled the flask out of her sachet. Before she poured it into the punch though, she got a cup of it, for Leo. This way he'd get the weaker punch, and hopefully not detect it and get on her case about it. Once she got the cup, she set it off to the side, and popped open the flask.

Dumping the heavy alcohol into the bowl, she wasted to time stirring the mixture before getting herself a cup. She wanted the heavy stuff... Being separated from the alcohol she loved and downed like soda had made her upset. So, she was doing something about it. It may not have been the best way, because everyone else was going to get drunk... But oh well. It would make the formal more enjoyable, right? Chuckling mischievously to herself, Keirsta started walking back, both cups in hand.

That's when she realized that she had forgotten which was which. Shit! She cursed to herself, sniffing both of them as a student blocked Leo's view of her to try and tell which one had more alcohol in it. Truth be told, they smelled the same. The alcohol couldn't be detected in either, but she was sure if someone drank it they'd know. She didn't want to risk it by taking a sip of both of them, though, so she decided to wing it and hope she would pass Leo the correct one.

Getting back to him, she put a smile back on her face and handed Leo a cup. Taking a sip of the one she had, she let out a satisfied 'ahh,' before wanting to mentally facepalm. While setting up Keirsta had tasted the semi-spiked punch, and this tasted exactly like it.

Shit, shit shit shit shit shit shit!

She had handed Leo the wrong cup, and she hoped to the high heavens that he wouldn't detect the alcohol contained within it until it was too late... But she was going to kill herself later for making that mistake.

Barry was feeling confident in his bitchin' outift while he was walking to the Grand Hall. He was excited to be meeting his date, Cassandra, at the Winter Formal. He entered the hall and looked around at the amazing decorations. The Autumn was shocked to see it snowing. He stepped away from the door and headed to the drinks table. He grabbed a cup and poured him some punch. He took a sip and a look of disgust ran across his face. "Eww. That tasted funky." he muttered to himself. He quickly tossed the cup into the nearest trash bin and decided to wait and look for Cass.

Louis walked in, seeing everyone start to find their dates. The blonde walked over to the punch bowl, but decided not to. Remember what happened to Azusa when he drank the punch at Futo's Birthday party? He walked over to the brownies insetad, grabbed a couple and sat down at a nearby table. It does look good though. He looked at the ceiling wondering how they pulled the snow off. It's pretty cool.

Pepper stood still at the entrance, wondering what to do. So far Jake, Leo, and some other people had dates and she probably looked like a total loser standing alone.

"Why thank you." He smiled. He was going to suggest they get some punch but knew something would be off. Unlike most of the student's here, he knew the punch was rigged, cause he was used to that type of thing. Back when he was a booze drunken and obsessed with parties, the punch was always spiked. Classic party. He thought to himself. "So what do you want to do?" He asked his date. It's always good to think of what the girl wants before yourself.