Havin' a Ball

[dazz]

"So to quote you, 'Cheer the #@*! up already!'"

Ali let out a decidedly unfeminine snort. Bobby was good at this game, and to hear him say that was funny, even if she was stuck in a mood. The snort evolving into some real laughter, she really did feel a lot better.

Ali could have spent half the night thanking Bobby for every little quip and comment that cheered her up, even though it was obvious she was thankful for it. Saving them both from such a loop, Bobby switched the topic.

"How long do people have to hand out at these things anyway?"

Ali shrugged, thinking on it for a moment. She turned her head, looking around the room to see if anyone would even notice if they left. They really weren't a point of interest anymore. A much more prominent figure had joined the party.

"Well, I usually turn a lot of heads, but the King has arrived. I'm definitely not the big attention getter anymore."

Continuing her visual scan of the room, Ali's eyes were almost back to Bobby when her eyes lay upon something that wiped the grin right back off her face.

It was the shmuck again. Only noticing the face and the red-velvet robe, she didn't register that the outfits weren't quite the same.

"Hey!" Ali had been nice the first round, but this time she snapped at him. It took all her effort not to slap him in the face. "Ok, didn't I tell you off already? Are you thick?"

[Sam Guthrie]

"Katherine?" Samuel inquired, scanning the room himself, "Last I saw her she had commanded some Inferior to follow her...."

That disgusting waste of genetic material, Samuel certainly hoped that he would get what was coming to him. After all, Katherine nearly choked, and it had been entirely that scum's fault.

"The Inferior, by the way, needs to be disciplined, he nearly prevented me from coming to Katherine's aide while she was choking...." Samuel continued, "I'd be more than happy to handle it, if it would please you..."

The violent glint in his eye suggested that he would indeed.

[Panthera]

Sam stood there in the silence of the hallway watching, observing. The king had most definitely made his grand entrance. She was in no hurry to meet him or even thank him for a lovely evening. All she got out of the night was a missing servant, a drunken sideshow, midnight mass, and a pound heavier from the delicious brownie she ate earlier. No, this little feline needed to finally make her way out of there and quietly. Nick would surely want at least some of the information she had obtained and she was most curious about the object she found in the room behind her. It certainly had some kind of mysterious power to it.

A quick glance from side to side gave her the inclination that it was safe to leave without being seen. She had no coat to speak of, so slipping out the front door might be out of the question if the doorman was finally awake. Taking a few steps toward the foyer, she peaked around the corner and saw that the coast was clear. Maybe he had other things to attend to, maybe he was taken like the other servant. Sam wasn’t about to wait around and find out. The young mutant would go back to the hotel she had for the night and give intel to her father before retiring and heading back to the Savage Land in the morning.

Her steps maneuvered to the front door and with a whisk of the door, she was gone.

[Doug Ramsey]

Doug pivoted lightly on the balls of his feet, bringing the couple side by side. As much as it pained him to release her hand, the feel of her bare flesh against his still an electric tingle that he could not ignore, he did the gentlemanly thing to do and offered her his arm.

"Miss Tatiana, if you would do me the honor...?" Doug smirked, the glint of something conspiratorial in his eye. "Our Lord and King awaits some company that is not snivelling and grovelling at his feet."

[Tatiana]

Tatiana tried and failed not to let a grin cross her face. Doug had offered her his arm as an escourt, and of course she had accepted. "You know I would love to." She said sweetly as she lightly took his arm. The smirk on his face spoke volumes to her about his feelings towards the current person who was speaking to the king. Tati quite liked the mischevious quality in his voice.

"I will follow your lead." Tatiana said. She wondered slightly if it would appropriate to curtsy or just bow her head. She doubted very much if she could even dip down in this dress. More than slightly form fitting, her dress didn't allow for too much of that type of movement.

[madrox]

"Hey! Ok, didn't I tell you off already? Are you thick?"

Madrox was utterly perplexed. He had just gotten here...oh, right. That was Dazzler, an extremely famous and attractive girl. He had obviously already been here.

"Uhhh...whatever I said I didn't say? Does that work? How about I apologize for whatever I did, cause it was a different me." Jamie Prime was far more clumsy and non-sexy in his speech. "Do you get it? I wasn't here, another me was."

It was like trying to do a speech you didn't research. Jamie almost asked if he could start over and risk losing half a point on his score, but realized that his Sophomore year of high school had gone by long ago. He smiled weakly at Dazzler, half expecting a slap to come across his face any second.

[Bobby Drake]

For some reason Bobby hadn't even noticed another Jamie standing nearby. He was too focused on Dazz. But when she was turning around and asking someone if they were 'thick', he quickly put it together and looked over. The confused expression said that he was probably another multiple or maybe that it was the real guy.

Man.

And he was this close to talking Dazz into leaving.

"Uhhh...whatever I said I didn't say? Does that work? How about I apologize for whatever I did, cause it was a different me." This was a totally different approach, and Bobby suspected it probably was the real Jamie. His head was already starting to ache. "Do you get it? I wasn't here, another me was."

"I explained it," he said. "But dude, you better real the other me in. That dudes' either going home with a slap or the clap."

[Doug Ramsey]

Her arm slipped onto his, feeling to him as if it had been made exclusively for that, a natural feeling that he embraced wholeheartedly... for a few moments.

What the hell is happening to me...? I've met this girl less than twenty minutes ago, and yet I feel like I've known her for years! Doug chastised himself as they began to cross the busy floor on their journey to greet the King. I don't know whether to be overjoyed or frightened out of my gourd! If I wasn't using the anti-telepathic gear, I'd swear an empath muddled with my head.

The crowds at first seem to press in on them, forcing the Doug to walk much closer to her than he would have deemed proper at a formal Ball. Not that he was complaining about it, mind you. Her scent was a mix of appetizers, clean sweat, and a perfume he had never smelt before, but would willingly give his eyeteeth to smell again...and again... and again.

Her body with the sleek and tightly form fitting dress clinging to its shapely form was now driving him mad due to repeated contact as they waded through the throngs of partygoers. She was an assault on his senses, an endorphin laden rush that made his heart hammer and his brain race.

Tatiana makes me feel like I am on top of the world... but what if it turns out the same as Amara did? I don't know if I could do that again. Doug worried, the range of emotions crossing his face most likely to be attributed to the navigational challenge facing them. I don't know if Emma would do that again. I don't think I could push my luck so far a second time.

Doug stopped suddenly, the room about them a virtual sea of bodies. He turned to Tatiana, with a lost look of confusion and despair, and took one of her slender hands and placed it upon his chest, holding it there against his pounding heart. He leaned in close, his face inches from her, and looked deep into those... dammit... what color are they?! lovely eyes of hers.

"Tatiana..." the name rushed past his lips like a torrential downpour, "this is crazy. Its nuts. Can you feel my heart? I don't know you, but..." his eyes darted back and forth looking into her own, as if searching desperately for something, "I feel like we've known each other forever. I've never felt like this... not so fast. Not so..." He seemed out of breath, his nostrils flaring with each breath, as his lungs tried to keep pace with his heart, his hands now trembling over her own, his face slowly coming closer and closer to those tempting and sweet lips. "Have I gone crazy? Is this real? Do you feel as lost and found at the same time as much as I do...?"

[Tatiana]

Tatiana was enjoying their little stroll across the dance floor. More for the increasing closeness to Doug than anything else. He was looking very handsome in his formal wear. She had never seen him so close before. She had occaisonally seen him in the course of her job, and always thought he was cute, but now she knew he was even more than that.

She was surprised when they paused amid the partygoers, seemingly lost in the crowd. Tati turned to look at Doug, and ask him what was wrong, when he took her hand and placed in on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding, almost as hers was. He looked very nervous, and was asking her if she could feel his heart, and if she felt as he did. Words could simply not describe what she was feeling. She tried to think of something clever to say, and failed.

"I can. You haven't. I hope so. And I do." Tatiana was staring back into his eyes, trying to answer all his questions, while trying to understand how she could feel like this. She tried to think of a reason to hesitate, but not one could come to her mind. "I never thought when I came to work this party tonight, that I would meet someone, you, and fall like this. I'll admit it is a little scary, but I think I am getting to like the feeling. I hope you are as well." She said, wondering if he would kiss her, now that they were so close. Somehow, all the other people in the room had disappeared, and it seemed as if they were all alone. Maybe later, she thought, they really could be all alone. And really get to know each other better.

[Magneto]

"I'd be more than happy to handle it, if it would please you..."

"I assure you, Commander", Magneto replied with a raised eyebrow, "that I am quite capable of handling such a matter on my own." Powerfully, regally he stepped into the crowd which parted before him just as his cloak flowed behind.

For only a moment, he paused and looked back. "I think your attention to trivia might explain the delays in your handling of your duties", Magneto said meaningfully. Commander Guthrie was not the only one who heard the exchange.

"Now I must find my daughter", Magneto said as he continued through the crowd. There was an implication in the air that added "because you seem to be unable" that Magneto did not actually say.

[dazz]

"Uhhh...whatever I said I didn't say? Does that work? How about I apologize for whatever I did, cause it was a different me. Do you get it? I wasn't here, another me was."[/i]

That rushed apology and that awkward little 'please-don't-hit-me' smile made Ali's hand drop harmlessly to her side. She didn't have to beat the guy at the moment, but she was still quite leery of him. His other him was still a tool, so that made him one by proxy.

"I explained it, but dude, you better reel the other me in. That dude's either going home with a slap or the clap."

Ali was still glaring at the flustered camera man, but she couldn't not laugh at that. She tried really hard, but in the end her angry face lost all its effect when she snorted.

"Bobby's right, you know. You're lucky I didn't give you one. The slap, I mean." That sounded really REALLY bad... "You're over there bothering the blonde girl with the shades. Better hustle or Tabitha's gonna hurt you."

[angel]

Something seemed to change in Jean. Her smile stood firm, but he noticed something hiding behind her eyes. Some kind of emotion that was very subtle. Guilt... maybe?

“You know Scott.” Jean chuckled lightly. “I’m not certain he could relax long enough to dance. It requires a sort of ‘looseness’ that he simply might not be capable of.”

"Perhaps you could get more flow from dancing with a broom," Warren joked.

"You seem flustered," Warren added more serious. "This is an opportune moment to let one's cares free. What place is more suitable than in a ball inside a castle. Fairy tales dream of moments like this which we are living. You make Cinderella green with envy and Snow White pale to be here in your stead. Take every advantage available of such moments for they are seldom."

[meltdown]

"Oh I am quite serious, and might I say...I've never seen a set of eyes quite so...defined, and serious. Has someone made you angry? I'd like to think I know how to make that all go away. Hmmmm?"

Truth be told, Tabitha was a little upset. She had been totally brushed off by Commander Guthrie. He could definately use some lessons in how to treat a lady. She almost felt bad for feeling that way. She shouldn't care how a warhawk like Guthrie treated her. That should be the last thing on her mind. All she wanted was respect.

"I'm giving you thirty seconds," Tabitha replied curtly.

She regretted it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. These types of guys were like stray puppies. If you give them the smallest tidbit of attention they'll be following you home and humping your leg.

Might as well. He could be fun, she thought a bit uncharacteristicly.

[Sam Guthrie]

Ouch.

With his master's back turned to him, Samuel's head fell downwards, his face reddened with frustration.

It was times like this that he wished he really was as perfect as he believed he was, then maybe he'd finally be able to prove to his lord that he was worth his rank.

"I live to please you my lord..." Samuel said softly,knowing full well that The King had long left his presence, "Your will be done."

He raised his head, trying hard to banish the shameful weakness from his face, and looked back over the crowd. There was Douglas, with a pretty girl on his arm.

He was allowed to partake in the festivities, he was allowed to enjoy himself. That spoiled little....brat had been given the entire world on a platter, and hadn't earned a scrap of it.

And for Samuel Guthrie, a man who had suffered and toiled long and hard to get to where he was, this was the ultimate insult.

His shaking, tightly clenched fist was a testament to that.

And for Douglas to be favored so, from doing nothing at all....it hurt. And although his cold, stone features refused to show it, Samuel was truly upset. And he didn't handle being wounded, even emotionally, well.

There was going to be hell to pay at the barracks when they returned, whether Magnus granted him a second chance or not.

He nearly jogged through the crowd, in effort to return to his lord's side. He barely was able to reach him before the crowd blocked him off completely.

"My lord, forgive my carelessness," Samuel said, averting his eyes lest they offended his lord, "Please allow me to redeem myself, I'll have my men sweep the area to find her, I'll see to it personally that she is found and safe."

His head stayed low, his eyes closed. He wanted to be Magnus's favorite, he wanted his master's approval so...desperatly...

Please....give me a chance to be what you expect of me...

[Doug Ramsey]

"I can. You haven't. I hope so. And I do." Tatiana fired off a rapid succession of answers to his questions, and it took Doug a second to place which answer went with which question, and by the time the poor lad's brain caught up with her, she opened her mouth and flooded his brain with more of her sweet sounding voice. "I never thought when I came to work this party tonight, that I would meet someone, you, and fall like this. I'll admit it is a little scary, but I think I am getting to like the feeling. I hope you are as well."

He felt her hand shifting on his chest, fingers moving and gliding slightly over his breastbone, not pushing him away, but as if to reassure him that she was there, and not going to disappear. His heart wrestled within his chest attempting to leap into her hand, it felt, its pounding was so hard and furious.

He was going to say something. An affirmation to her declaration of feeling, perhaps, but his mouth couldn't form any words.

She was so close. Inches from him. The universe itself wasn't much bigger. The crowds pressing against them, dissolved into nothingness, sounds becoming muted and colors fading into abstract smears of dwindling light. All that he could see and hear and smell and feel was before him, radiant and pure and here.

Her dark, lusterous hair cascading over smooth ivory shoulders with the hint of an apple aroma. Rosy cheeks that were even more flushed than before, when they had first met. Eyelids purpling from being engorged in her heightened state of arousal and attraction to him, dialated pupils, black as night, framed in a blue-green ring perched on glistening orbs of white reflecting his very image from deep within back at him. Lips, crimson and soft and inviting and...drawing him in...

Spiralling downward, an irresistable pull... and from the edge of the cliff of this irrational and emotional madness, he released his grip, willingly, and fell, no longer able to fight it any more.

In his fall, he reached his hand out, finding her face, touching the subject of this madness consuming him. Again, his fingers traced upwards over her cheek, pulling a stray hair or two with them out of his way, as they continued to caress over the edge of her ear, tickling against her earlobe as his hand slid into place, cradling her head and tilting it ever so slightly back, bringing those sweet, irresistable lips ever so closer...to break his fall with gentle embrace.

He could taste her breath now, as his face closed the distance, his own lips anticipating the coming meeting with those luscious pink treasures awaiting him. His own eyelids became heavy, not wanting to lose sight of her, and at the same time, knowing that losing vision of her would only increase the sensory perception of the kiss, a most agreeable trade-off. It seemed forever, this slow motion fall towards her, time stretching out to torment him, taunting him with the need, the burning desire, to release this fiery emotion within.

Just a little further... to cross the gap, the draw of the lips so strong, so powerful. He could feel the moisture of her own skin, radiating vapor from the heat that was rising within, trapped by this tiny universe of them both, with no place else to...

And then the universe shifted. Expanded.

Doug's eyes flew wide open.

From feeling like they were the only two in the ballroom... suddenly, that became the reality. The crowd that had been surrounding them moved and shifted, flowing like receding waters behind a flood, moving around them as if they were standing stones in a river.

Only one thing in the Universe could have interrupted this moment...

"T-the King..." Doug whispered to her quickly, nearly horrified, his head snapping upwards and away. "Y-y-your Majesty!" His hand moved from her head, to cradle her back, a gesture that he was not abandoning her, as he bent low in a bow of respect, the Monarch of Magnetism nearly on top of them in his stride across the room seeking his daughter.