InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "smile for the camera"

Caleb Mortimer || Cerberus (akoniton) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2012-11-30 22:22:00

Entry tags:

cerberus, pheme

Who: Cerberus, Charon (at the beginning), and Pheme
When: Friday Night
Where: School
What: Sadie Hawkins Dance, first french kiss :3
Status: Complete

Xander's leg bounced up and down at what seemed like 50 miles a second as he sat in the car. Pheme had said this was what a 'date-date' was, so he was super nervous. His hands fidgited with the small plastic container that held a delicate blood red flower on a black ribbon. Like any of his clothes even his suit was black on black, the lapel a soft black satin.

Looking at Charon, he wondered if having a driver really did impress people. Would others at the dance have one? Was it not normal to have one? He adored Charon, the man had never given him a reason not to, but would Pheme? Would she like any of them? He didn't know how the other Greeks viewed any of the Underworld. He had nevered needed to care.

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gossipgal
2012-12-01 06:49 pm UTC (link)

Roxy had already been looking forward to the dance more than she had let on. Cerberus had given her no reason to assume he would back out, and after their failed movie attempt she was certain they would have fun. Now that the day of the dance was actually here, she found herself staring out the window looking for a car that matched Xander's description of the one she'd be getting picked up in.

When they finally pulled up out front, Pheme took a moment to check her dress, hair, and makeup in the mirror before running outside. Now that meeting members of his 'family' was becoming a reality she could feel the nervousness setting in. As far as she remembered most people back then weren't exactly fond of her; she was a known troublemaker and spread peoples' secrets whether they liked it or not; so she could only hope that those who were important to Cerberus recognized that she'd changed over the centuries.

Approaching the car, she smiled slightly as she got in. "Hi, I was starting to worry you changed your mind," she said by way of greeting, wondering if she should introduce herself to his driver or not. She'd never been in this situation before and had no idea what protocol to follow.

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akoniton
2012-12-07 02:01 am UTC (link)

The school had lights decorating the front entrance to the gym where the dance was being held and a banner announcing it. Xander was confused why they needed a sign that stated 'Sadie Hawkins Dance' as if those going would not realize.

A lot of people from his classes were surprised by the fact that he was even there let alone with someone. He wasn't the most social person. Holding onto Pheme's hand like a had found out one should do with a date, he walked them into the building. Xander was unsure he liked this tradition.

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gossipgal
2012-12-07 05:07 am UTC (link)

Unlike Xander, Roxanne couldn't hide her delight at seeing the lights and decorations. She thought it was cute how the school felt the need to remind them repeatedly where the dance was. It was like they knew that most people coming probably didn't care, but were trying to make it seem festive anyway.

They were getting some looks, but she was used to that and just let them roll off of her like water off a ducks back. When Cerberus took her hand Pheme was surprised, but she didn't say anything as she linked her fingers with his. Roxanne walked beside him proudly, smirking as they made their entrance. "Looks like there's lots of people here, you gonna be alright?"

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akoniton
2012-12-08 03:05 am UTC (link)

The expression of uncertainty on his face was all too apparent. Persephone had taught him to dance, the best she could, but what was the point of it? Stand amidst a hundred other people swaying to the sounds of music? Xander's heart beat a mile a minute, but in a different way than it had when he first touched her hand. It couldn't help that he fell asleep to most slow songs, the other two personalities saw it as a curse they had to pay for for some reason. There always had to be a way around a beast and music was his. So he didn't know if he could even stand more than one slow song of a dance with her.

"Um..." He paused looking around. The three personalities arguing over the situation, making judgments on the other kids. School was hard enough to deal with for him that the new information presented to him at the dance made him slightly uncomfortable. But he had wanted to go, so he was determined to keep to the date-date. "Yes." He lied, smiling shyly at her.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 03:37 am UTC (link)

There was no guesswork involved in trying to read what might be going through his mind, the anxiety clear as crystal. Roxy's mind was already churning out ideas to help them get out of there after enough time had passed that neither could say they hadn't tried to make the most of the evening. Besides, they always played lame slow songs at dances that people made out to anyway, which annoyed her because she never had anyone to make out with before now, and for all she knew their kissing session was a one-time thing he never wanted to repeat again. It was all so confusing!

He lied to her. And over something as trivial as whether or not he was going to be able to handle being at a dance, too. The urge to call him out on it was coming on strong, but she kept her mouth shut as she started heading towards an empty table. He was obviously lying to spare her reasons, but it still hurt. "Okay, good. Did you want to dance, or get some punch or something?" They always had refreshments at these things.

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akoniton
2012-12-08 03:52 am UTC (link)

He saw a slight change in her face as he lied, one he didn't like nor understood. Did she not want him to be able to handle a dance? She had been so excited over it- and truthfully so had he- and she looked so pretty in her dress that he didn't want to ruin it. He had failed. Xander kicked himself, he knew he had failed. He messed everything up. The violent personality told him to shut up and man up so they could eat something tastey tonight. His eyes looked over in the direction of the refreshments. It was hard to see through the people, but he could smell the fruit punch and snacks that had been set out. The food smelled bland.

Following her lead, he looked toward the dance floor. Several couples were dancing very close to each other, their hands all over each other until a chaperon stopped them, and a few small circles of friends stood amongst the couples dancing in similar manners to the faster song. He leaned closer to her. "Persephone only taught me to slow dance..." He whispered like it was a secret.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 04:31 am UTC (link)

She was doing her best to hide how weirdly bothered she was with his innocent fib, forcing herself to pretend she wasn't trying to understand what about him of all people lying to her made it feel so wrong. Roxy took a deep breath and glanced up at Xander, really looking him over now that she had a chance to. He looked nice, and it occurred to her that he put in a lot of effort just to be here tonight with her. Recognizing that, she couldn't stay cranky with him even if she wanted to. She'd just have to remember to ask him about it later.

Waiting for him to make a decision on what they should do, she started swaying a little to the music. She didn't care if she looked silly, she liked the song and was going to dance. Only knowing how to slow dance didn't seem like a problem to her, but she pat him on the shoulder to try and comfort him anyway. "That's fine, we can just wait for one of those songs then. Besides, everyone knows slow dancing is harder anyway."

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akoniton
2012-12-08 04:47 am UTC (link)

He worried his lip, watching her shift to the music. Xander hadn't known there was more to dances than slow dancing, no one told him that. They had told him so many other things that his head hurt. He got her the flower for her wrist, the ride to the place, he looked cleaned up like he was suppose to in case he has to go with Hades somewhere, and everything but learn what ever it was that they were doing while the chaperons looked away. "We can dance now... if you want... I'll try to learn fast."

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 05:01 am UTC (link)

She surreptitiously watched him, wishing he would calm down and relax. Roxy would have never invited him to be her date had she known he'd get so freaked out over doing all those things other people their apparent age considered 'normal', especially not when they could have easily made other plans. Too late now, so the only thing she could do was make the most of this and get him to as well. "Sure, we can try. I'm not all that good at it either, I just kinda go out there and shimmy a lot." She would have fit in well in the 60's, as her style was more go-go than club kid.

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akoniton
2012-12-08 05:24 am UTC (link)

Xander wasn't a normal teenager, except his eating habits. He smiled suddenly, looking down at the ground. "I would like to see you 'shimmy'," he laughed. There was something about her movements he had always been attracted to. He didn't fully understand it, none of them did, but when she walked down the hall he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her smile made him want to smile also. So he wanted her smile.

A kid he talked to every now and then walked up to them with two cups of punch. "oooh, look the X man bagged himself a date." The kid said as he approached nodding at her in satisfaction. His brooklyn accent made it hard for Xander to understand him sometimes, but he liked him either way. He didn't judge Xander like the others.

"Here, X... drink this. You too." He handed them both a cup. The fruit punch smelled less like punch and more like rubbing alcohol.
"What's in this?" Xander asked innocently, putting the cup up to his mouth.
"Oh, you know, fruit... punch... sprite to make it bubbly... and a little kick from yours truly. You too love birds have fun now, and come see me if you want more." He walked away before seeing if they would drink or not.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 05:51 am UTC (link)

Roxy didn't consider herself a normal teenager either. For one thing, she liked to use bigger words and spell correctly. "Oh really now?" she said, turning her back to him and giving a little wiggle. "You like that?" She was laughing now, please to see him smiling and hear him laughing. He face lit up in a way that gave her butterflies in her stomach, and that feeling reminded her of how it felt to kiss him.

She stopped 'dancing' as she saw someone approaching, an older kid who she knew of by reputation and nothing more. Her eyebrows raised when he stopped to talk to her and Xander, inwardly snerking at his nickname for her date. Since Xander seemed less tense around him Roxy forced herself out of her typically judgmental stance as she observed their interaction.

Taking the cup, she brought it up to her lips before the kid could even finish explaining what was in it. Roxy could smell cheap booze a mile away from the years she spent in the south, and though her tolerance wasn't the greatest due to her shortness she gulped down the drink anyway. "Holy shit, that'll put hair on your chest!" Her eyes were watering, and her sinuses hurt, but if she knew anything about alcohol it was that it made people have fun. Until they started puking, at least.

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akoniton
2012-12-08 06:05 am UTC (link)

He laughed again, his head titling to the side to watch her wiggle before they were interrupted. She was smiling and laughing instead of looking at him strangely, that was all that mattered.

Xander watched as Roxy chugged down the drink without blinking. He would have just sipped it to taste it, but she seemed to think it was fine, so he would trust her. Drinking down the punch in one gulp, he started to cough loudly. He heard laughing in his head from the calculating personality. Of course he knew what was going to happen. "That did feel like a kick," he said in between coughs. Warmth flooded through his veins and swooshed around in his stomach. It felt strange feeling warm, since he was always warm to begin with.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 06:25 am UTC (link)

She swiped at her eyes, careful not to muss up her makeup as she wiped away the tears that had already formed. Catching her breath, she offered a thumbs up in the direction the other kid went, nodding. "I think that was supposed to be vodka in the punch, but it might just be moonshine."

Roxy was aware that nobody called it moonshine anymore, but she didn't care. It sounded better that rotgut. When Xander started coughing she moved closer, rubbing his back. "Was that your first time drinking? 'Cause if so I'm sorry, that was not a good drink right there. They got their mixing ratios all wrong." Not that she knew a lot about all that, or even drank often. She just knew that a good drink wasn't supposed to taste like it had anything in it. "You still wanna dance, or did you wanna do something else?"

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akoniton
2012-12-08 06:47 am UTC (link)

The warmth only spread faster when she rubbed his back. "I never did drinking... before." He eventually caught his breath, but his coughing fit caught the attention of one of the teachers. "Everything alright here?" They asked softly. The teacher had been one that sat in on his interview when he 'transferred' to the school, his 'unique' situation with his personality disorder got him sympathy from some but suspicion from others. She was a nice one. "Um... It's ok. Thank you," he replied.

Looking over at Roxy, he smiled through the pain. His head feeling light, like it was in water. "We can dance still." He nodded, holding his head after he did so. It was a bad idea to nod. It only increased the watery feeling. Xander laughed though at the odd feeling. He had never drank before and his body had absolutely no tolerance.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 07:14 am UTC (link)

Once it seemed his coughing was under control she pulled her hand back. "I used to drink with the church ladies back when I lived in Louisiana, but that was a while ago," she murmured quietly as the teacher approached. From the womans' reaction she hadn't heard what Roxy had said, which was good since adults who weren't like them had a tendency to react badly to hearing a fifteen year old talk about getting drunk. "He's fine, just had some punch go down the wrong pipe," she said by way of explanation, waiting for the teacher to wander off again.

Smiling back at Xander, she studied his face. She wasn't sure how the alcohol would affect him, and that concerned her. "We can find a place near the people making out over in that dark area, that way people won't be watching us," Roxy pointed out before noticing that he was holding his head. "You sure you're okay, don't have a headache or anything?" Was he already tipsy?

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akoniton
2012-12-08 07:31 am UTC (link)

The teacher patted him on the back also, nodded to Roxy's explanation and wandered off without any further questions. She didn't see Xander as the kind of student to participate in drinking or anything frowned upon. Plus there was a couple making out in the middle of the dance floor while a light passed over them.

Xander blinked at her, holding back a smirk. "You want to make out?" He asked, misunderstanding her comment. Looking over at the corner she gestured to, he tilted his head to the side like a confused dog. The outlines of people in the darkness could be seen, but he didn't want to be like them. Kissing wasn't something he would do so publicly, it felt strange. Also his 'sister' had mentioned kissing with the tongue, which he found out was called french kissing for some reason, from what he found on the internet didn't seem like something that others should watch. "My head... spins." He laughed again. Everything felt warm and fuzzy in his stomach.

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gossipgal
2012-12-08 08:13 am UTC (link)

His response had her a little baffled until it struck her that Xander must have misunderstood what she was saying. Sure, Roxy totally wanted to make out with Xander, but not anywhere they might get caught by a teacher and made an example of. That wouldn't be cool at all. Not only that, but if his head was spinning than he was probably drunk, and she didn't want to take advantage of him.

Roxy shook her head, an amused glint in her eyes. "No, I was saying we could dance over there, not make out. Why would we make out at school, that's like combining something awesome with something terrible." How could he not know that? There was also the fact that other people would feel like they could watch and comment, and there was no part of Roxanne Vavra that wanted to be someones' unwilling entertainment. "Your head's spinning? Uh-oh, that means you're a lightweight." She thought for a moment. "You don't feel like you're gonna vomit, do you?" If she ran into the kid who gave them the spiked punch again tonight she might have to punch him in the nose if Xander barfed on her awesome dress.

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akoniton
2012-12-10 03:28 am UTC (link)

"Oh..." He looked down, embarrassed. If his cheeks hadn't already started to become red from the cheap alcohol he would have blushed at his misunderstanding. "I... didn't know." Xander was trying his hardest not to say sorry all the time, but he really wanted to. His teenaged mind didn't think it would be so bad; well the making out at school thing, not the making out in public thing. He wouldn't want people to watch.

"Lightweight?" He asked, not understanding that term. "No... Why would I feel like that?" Alcohol and the effects associated with it would never be something he would know until he experienced it. He grasped her hand tighter with a smile. The spinning wasn't so bad and feeling warm inside was not something he normally experienced except when she kissed him, so that wasn't bad at all. "So... dancing, yes?"

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gossipgal
2012-12-10 04:58 am UTC (link)

When she saw the way he looked down, Roxy gently placed her hand on his shoulder again. "Hey now, I ain't saying I don't wanna make out with you, I just don't wanna do it here, where people can see and say stupid stuff..." Which might sound like a strange thing for the goddess who lived to be all up in everyones' business to say, but like any good hypocrite Roxy didn't like when other people were all up in her business. Both she and Xander already got enough crap from their fellow students for being different; she refused to accidentally make things worse for him.

"Yeah, it just means you have like no tolerance to drugs or alcohol." She often forgot that he hadn't been a human-type for as long as she had. "And sometimes when people drink and can't handle it they hurl, but it's good that you don't have to." She stopped speaking for a moment when she felt his grip on her hand again, smiling as she nodded at his question. "Yes, dancing. We should do that. Since, y'know, we're at a dance."

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akoniton
2012-12-11 02:29 am UTC (link)

"Oh... so there was alcohol in that? Because it smelled like Formaldehyde. Did you know that Formaldehyde is not just used as an embalming fluid, but as a disinfecting agent because it kills bacteria.... I think that drink would too if he poured it on it... or the sugar would counteract that... I don't know... My head feels fuzzy now." That was likely the most words he had ever strung together since ever. He really didn't handle his alcohol well.

Still he lead them out further to the dance floor away from the tables. He waited to see how she danced, looking at others around them to see what they were doing also. He really didn't understand it.

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gossipgal
2012-12-11 02:52 am UTC (link)

For a good few seconds Roxy just stared at Xander, blinking. She didn't even realize he was capable of saying that much in one breath, and nearly said something about it but chose not to. Instead, she just smiled at him in the vaguely infuriating manner adults sometimes did when you said something you thought was brilliant but they were just too stunned to do anything other than humor you, and lightly patted his back again. "That sounds real interesting, I definitely didn't know that." Not that it factored into the 'things she needed to know' category, but whatever.

It didn't take long for her to find the beat of the song and to start dancing, uncaring of whoever else might be watching. There was one only person here whose opinion she was concerned with, and even if he laughed at her crazy antics at least they'd be laughing together.

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akoniton
2012-12-11 06:55 am UTC (link)

The tone of her smile was lost on him. The others in his head were bickering now on what the drink actually tasted like. Xander was unsure if they were actually affected by the drink or not. Fuck if any of them were really sure about it. The calculating one couldn't completely be sure. The present wasn't exactly his jurisdiction. It was Xander's and he was obviously drunk so there was no telling. The others' personalities didn't change with the alcohol.

How could she not know about Formaldehyde? Didn't everyone know about it? "Hades is a coroner..." He mumbled. Another moment of his alcohol, Xander always referred to Hades by his public human name and never by his real name, but things blurred now. The violent personality wanted to show her just what the embalming fluid was like, not on her surprisingly but on someone else. Like the cheerleader and football player making out in the corner.

A smile pulled on his lips as he watched her dance. Xander could watch her move forever, even in the odd manner that she did to the music. He wasn't moving much, swaying mostly, and that might not have been entirely his version of dancing, but the lack of tolerance to the drink. Mostly he watched her dance. Reaching out he put his hands on her hips. He liked her hips and just wanted to feel them really.

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gossipgal
2012-12-11 12:38 pm UTC (link)

If he had asked her about it she'd have insisted that the tone of her smile meant nothing. Roxy was many things, but she wasn't so stupid as to tell him that she honestly couldn't care less about disinfectants and all that when they were there to dance. And Roxy's natural inclination would have been to crack a joke as well, which wouldn't have gone over all that well either.

Deep down she probably did know about formaldehyde, yet again it wasn't important to her. "That makes sense, for him," she responded, aware of the slip but certain nobody else heard him. Roxy had slipped up like that before as well, but saying 'Frigg' usually had people thinking she was frustrated and not talking about someone. Lucky, that.

Pleased to see him smiling again, Roxy continued to do her wiggling-shimmy-flaily move mostly in time to the music, surprised -- but not in a bad way -- when his hands made contact with her hips. "That's a good idea, now you can follow my lead!" And people around them were touching while they danced, so it helped them blend in as well. He was so smart, picking up on that!

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akoniton
2012-12-12 02:57 am UTC (link)

Xander simply laughed at her comment. That wasn't why he put his hands there, but it was a better idea than his wants, so he went with it. Also doing something with his hands helped keep the violent one in check who was itching to shift into a dog form and run around attacking people. He insisted that those Xander viewed as his friends were not so and that alcohol trick was proof of that. The calculating one insisted that was just what kids did and it the kid had no way of knowing Xander had no tolerance.

Glancing at a couple close by dancing, they were far closer than Xander and Roxy, so Xander pulled her closer into him, following her moves as much as he could. "They all dance so close..." He whispered innocently, having her so close still made him nervous, but it made him feel good at the same time. The song mixed into a slow song. The DJ wasn't the best at mixing so the initial change over confused Xander and hurt his delicate ears. He tried to pull back, since Persephone taught him more proper dancing than being up close and personal, but part of him didn't want to move out of her space.

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gossipgal
2012-12-12 03:38 am UTC (link)

Roxy wasn't sure why he was laughing this time but she wasn't going to question it. His hands felt nice on her hips, sending a jolt of warmth through her that stirred up sensations she had only read about in books. Looking up to meet his eyes, Roxy was glad that it was on the darker side in the gym since she was pretty sure her cheeks matched her dress by now, and she wasn't sure if that was because of him or the alcohol, but either way Roxy liked it.

Squeaking softly when he pulled her closer, Roxy stumbled at Xander's unexpected action, blinking in confusion. "I think it's 'cause they're dancing like they wanna do it," she explained, shrugging. She'd heard people talking about it before, how some people equated dancing with having sex, and she'd thought that was a silly comparison. Until now. Seeing it in action made things a lot clearer. Reluctant to let him go when he tried to pull back, Roxy loosened her grip on him so he could if that's what he really wanted to do.