Who: Sebastian & Jules When: Evening, Saturday, Jan 20 Where: The High School Status: Complete
Despite everything, Jules was having a good time at the dance. The gym was pretty, all decorated and covered in lights. Jasper seemed to be in a really good mood, and while Jules loved it, she was also wondering if it was genuine, or something else. Every now and then she swore she would stop worrying about it for one night, and then they would dance and have fun… and then the worry would surface all over again.
At some point Jasper headed off to use the bathroom so Jules sought out someone to pass the time with. When her gaze landed on Bash, Jules headed across the gym towards him. Just seeing his face reminded her of her talk with Phee… and everything that had happened after. But Jules was more concerned with Bash now, and maybe finding out how his mom was doing. Her hands hadn’t hurt once that night, so she was doing her best not to think about what they could do. Jules felt like if she thought about it, it would somehow wake her hands up and bad things would happen.
“Hey,” she said, smiling as she tugged on Bash’s sleeve. “Are you having fun?”
Sebastian had thought it would be weird taking Chloe to the dance, especially after coming out at the last one, but instead it just felt normal. He’d taken girls to dances before; the only difference was that he didn’t have to fake anything this time and that allowed for a kind of freedom that he’d never experienced. He wasn’t stressed about what might happen later because there was no expectation. If something happened, then great! It could be fun. But if not, that was fine too and Chloe knew what she was getting into. Doing shots in the car before entering the school had certainly helped loosen them both up and everything from then on had been warm and fuzzy and fun. At some point Chloe had wandered off to hang out with her friends for a bit, which was fine by him. It freed him up to hang out with his own friends, who’d just stepped away when Jules approached him. “Hey, yeah, it’s all good,” Bash smiled. “What about you? You look great. But you always look great. So maybe better than great. Fantastic. Fabulous.”
Jules laughed a little and looked down at her dress. "Thanks. You look good too! Great. Hot. Sexy. All of those things," she said with a grin. "I'm having fun. I wasn't sure if I would with everything, but it's nice to do something normal for a change, you know?" Jules looked around, searching for Phee and Greg, but she couldn't spot them in the crowd. "How are things, by the way? I feel like we haven't talked in a while." There was really no easy way to ask how he was feeling, or his mom. But if he was feeling a bit worn out the way Carson's friend was, then there might be some kind of connection there.
“Thanks,” Sebastian grinned back at Jules. It was always nice to be told he was hot, especially when he’d worked at it. He didn’t really have anyone to impress, but that didn’t matter. It was something normal when it came to dances and they were both grasping for something normal. “Things are good. I mean… most days. It just depends,” he said with a little sigh. Things felt good right now, but he knew that hadn’t been true for the rest of the week. “Wednesday was all kinds of fucked and I don’t know why, but Phee was feeling it too. So was-- so was another person like us. The rest of the week was okay, but some days I’m just exhausted. Mom’s been kind of manic lately and just talking to her wears me out.”
"Oh, that sucks." Jules frowned, trying to ignore the way her chest felt kind of cold. It sounded like Carson's friend. His friend who was involved with someone else who had been hurt in the fog. Jules chewed on her lower lip for a moment. She needed to ask Jasper about Amelia and his dad. Maybe later, after the dance, when they were alone and could talk talk. "I remember Phee said she had been kind of moody lately. Your mom, I mean. What was wrong with Wednesday?" Jules didn't want to tell Sebastian what she thought was going on, because that would really freak him out. She just wanted to know what was going on first, before she freaked everyone out.
“Just this horrible feeling of dread. Like a foreboding,” Bash said, nervously spinning the ring on his right hand. Just thinking about it stirred up some of the anxiety he’d felt that day, even if it felt like it was all for nothing. “I woke up with it and spent the day trying to escape it. Found out that evening that Phee had it too. Same with the other witch we spoke to. It was gone the next day, but I keep wondering what it was about, or what I could do. Which is nothing. I’m pretty useless when it comes to stuff like that. But, yeah. Just a really fuckin’ bad day, you know?” He didn’t think she’d felt it, but maybe Jules could relate. She’d had some weird shit happen to her too. “Everything okay with you?”
Jules frowned, but nodded. She hadn't felt any of that herself, though she felt like she was harboring a lot of anxiety these days anyway. But it was difficult not to think maybe that was connected to what was going on right now. It felt like every bad thing that was happening right now was because of what happened in the fog. "Well, I hope the rest of the week got better? At least you're both here tonight and having fun, right?" Jules had seen Phee with Greg, and they had looked pretty happy, so that was something. "I'm fine though. Just, you know... trying to figure things out. Nothing major though." It was a lie, but Jules didn't know how much to tell him. His mom was affected by all of this and Jules wasn't sure it was a good idea for her to know what Jules and the others knew. Eager to change the subject now, Jules glanced around. "Where's Chloe?"
While he didn’t quite understand it, Sebastian knew what Jules was going through scared the shit out of her and everyone who’d been there to witness it. He had the feeling that she wasn’t telling the whole truth, but knew from experience that sometimes you said you were fine because you really wanted it to be true. Or maybe it was. Maybe he was projecting his own issues onto her. He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t feel like the time and place to push. “It feels like we finally got a break,” Sebastian smiled, then gave a little look around, trying to put eyes on his date. “I think she’s… I dunno,” he laughed. “She can do her own thing, though. I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
Jules grinned. It was still weird that Bash came with a girl, but she supposed it was fun to come with a friend than not come at all. "For what it's worth, you look cute together. I mean, obviously not together like that, but... you know what I mean." Jules took a look around for Jasper, just in case he was searching for her. "Are you going to Ashton's party after?" If so they could hang out more. Maybe do a shot or something. Jules had a lot on her mind but she still fully planned on having fun, especially where alcohol was involved.
“I know what you mean,” Sebastian laughed. He wasn’t all that sure what he and Chloe were himself, but he knew they weren’t together, not like most of the other couples were. She was fun though and he needed that more than anything else at the moment. “I’ll for sure be there. Same with Greg and Phee. If you’re going, we should hang out more, if Jasper’s cool with that. Where’s he at?” He didn’t know Jasper any better than he had when Jules first came out as dating him, but he was always glad that he didn’t seem to be a jealous boyfriend when it came to her hanging out with him. He assumed that had something to do with him being gay, but he didn’t care so much about the why as that they could still do it.
"He went to the bathroom, but he might have stepped out for a cigarette too." Jules rubbed her forearms, still searching for his face in the crowd. "I don't think he'll mind doing anything, to be honest. He's been in a pretty good mood all night. He bought a new suit for this and everything." Jules smiled, because she clearly approved of that. She spotted Chloe across the room, laughing with a few of their friends, mostly boys. "You should have asked Logan to the dance," she said after a moment, only mostly teasing. "I bet he would look good in a suit too." Honestly, Jules had no idea if non-students were allowed to school dances, but it was fun to tease.
“He’d have been so fuckin’ hot,” Sebastian grinned. “I thought about it, but then I started worrying about it, and how I’m always the one reaching out to him, and if that bothered me, and why I cared, and I just thought… maybe it wasn’t a good idea.” He wasn’t supposed to be worrying about how things were with Logan because there wasn’t anything with Logan. And if he was wanting there to be? He was probably better to cut that off, whatever it was, because it was guaranteed to be one sided. After everything that had happened with Hunter, Bash at least wanted to be there with a friend and he couldn’t even say Logan was that. “He’d have been fun though.”
Logan would have been hot all dressed up. Jasper was. She just wanted to stare at him all night in his suit and tie. And she couldn't wait to see him in a tux for prom. Jules had no idea what was really going on with Bash and Logan, so she didn't know if Bash was the one always reaching out or not, but if Bash got bored with that, she understood the aversion to asking him to a dance. It didn't have to be any big thing. Just someone to hang with and have fun with. Jules had gone out with plenty of guys where fun was the sole purpose behind it. "Don't tell Jasper I said this, but Logan always seemed like the type of guy you had around for fun. And if you're looking for something else, then it's probably smart that you didn't ask him out."
“That’s kind of what I thought. It’s not that I’m looking, but sometimes… You know how it is,” Bash smiled. “You got lucky with Jasper.” He wasn’t even sure Logan would call him a friend, so the last thing he needed was to end up crushing on him. Feelings were only fun when they were returned and Sebastian wasn’t up for someone else telling him they weren’t into him. Not yet, at least. He didn’t really want to admit that he wanted something more because it seemed like an all around bad idea to pine for something that wasn’t a possibility. Logic said he just needed to have fun and forget about anything more. Other guys did it, why couldn’t he? “It’ll get better eventually. Things have just been rough lately and I felt like I needed something easy.”
Jules understood totally. Jasper was supposed to just be a fun hook up before she ditched him for someone she could actually date. And then things happened and now they were going on... what... eight months together? If she counted the summer before they were a thing, which she totally did even if he might not. "Easy is always the goal, until it turns into something not so easy. Having fun is only fun if everyone's on the same page." And Bash was her friend, so Jules didn't want to see him get hurt again, and she felt like Logan would do that. He was hot as hell, but not what Jules would call boyfriend material. But then, neither was Jasper. Jules smiled, not wanting to bring Bash down during a school dance. "Do you want to dance until Jasper comes back?"
Even if it wasn’t the happiest conversation topic, Bash was glad to have someone to talk to about it. It seemed like Jules understood and it was nice to have his decision validated. Maybe it was weird to get dating advice from his ex-girlfriend, but he felt like he and Jules were more than that. She was an actual friend, not just an ex. “Sure,” he smiled and offered her his arm before leading them towards the dance floor. He might not know where he stood with Logan, but he knew for certain that he and Jules were on the same page.