Re: David, Allie, eventually Brandon
It was a little bit shameful to admit, but the deciding factor in David's appearance at this party had not been any kind of "need to be around people." Or, maybe it was a kind of being around people, but it wasn't people, so much as it was a desire to finally meet Allie in person. He'd had a couple short conversations with her, and he just... wanted to meet her. That in itself was strange enough for him, but he didn't think too much of it.
David's own jealousy was pushed back. He was pretty adept at that, to be honest. For the most part, he'd resigned himself to the knowledge that he was a loner. He had great friends, even if he'd mostly been caught in the pull of Elliot's friendships, but that was how things started, right? Meet one friend, meet all their friends and suddenly you have a circle of friends that you never would have known otherwise. Also, he'd met Allie via that circle of friends. That, in and of itself, was a win. And a big one. He turned to look at her.
She wasn't smiling quite the same as she had been before and David tilted his head in surprise. Had he known, had he had any indication that they were in the same boat; not alone but desperately lonely, he'd have told her that she wasn't alone. Made sure that she wasn't the only one who felt lonely in a crowded room. But he didn't. So he gave her a gentle half-smile in hopes of bringing that beautiful megawatt smile back to her face.
He wasn't sure if it was his attempt to get her to smile or something else entirely, but when she started smiling again, so did he. Most beautiful smile I've ever seen... he thought.
He nodded at her observation of people enjoying themselves. "They are," and David was sure it was more than just the alcohol. The ambiance was fun. And fun was something infectious; one person had a good time, then everyone started joining them. "I can't wait for the talent show," he told her, wondering if she'd be performing.
He was blushing. Great. He laughed at himself and lowered his eyes bashfully, glancing back up at her when she told him that he looked nice. "Thanks." She was sweet, that was for certain, because in their vicinity, he could pick out about twelve people she could say that to and be more honest. If he had any sort of skill with women, he'd come up with some line about being caught up in how great she looked, and looking good for being seen with her, but he didn't, so he didn't say anything. "I think the biggest effort on her part was getting me to let her choose for me, to be honest. I'm not a big dressing-up type of guy." Especially not anymore.
His smirk became a little less awkward when she poked him in the shoulder, but the shyness came right back when he looked up at her and she had her lip between her teeth. "I did, didn't I?" he said, feeling his cheeks heating up. "I don't think you have to worry about that. But I'll warn you right now that I'm not much of a dancer... last chance to change your mind."