The Ball
(Friday, 16th of Dancing Fool Moon, 2021)
The day of the dance arrived.
The dining room looked completely different from how it normally did. The room now looked like an elegant ballroom straight out of a story book. There were chandeliers dangling overhead, creating the shimmering atmosphere in the ballroom. Jack was just entering the room, wearing a simple dress suit since the outfit from Hinode probably would have made Mifu uncomfortable. His suit was pretty simple, with dress shoes, pants, coat, and a shirt. Jack decided to ditch a tie and unbutton the two top buttons. Meanwhile, Simo was wearing a full dress uniform with medals on his chest, a thin cloth to cover his nose and mouth, and a military hat. Jack and Simo walked through the ballroom to see there were actually musicians on a makeshift stage in the middle of the ballroom, filling the room with music. Jack was suddenly stopped by something pulling on his ankle. Jack looked at the ground to see Jojo wearing a bow tie rather proudly.
"Yes Jojo, you look very nice." Jack complimented the badger as your eyes landed on Zane, who was wearing a bright blue suit while nervously looking around. "Simo, Jojo, I'm gonna go say 'hi' to my friend, stay out of trouble."
"Alright, see you around." Simo gave a small salute before walking off at the same time as Jack, leaving Jojo completely unattended.
Jack weaved through the crowd of people that were watching the dance floor, trying his best to avoid being pushed onto the floor. Jack glanced at the dance floor and saw that most of the people currently dancing were Jack's upperclassmen, who Jack never have or met. There was one couple in particular who stood out to Jack, and that couple was none other than Medea and Bruce. Bruce was wearing a dress suit while Medea wore a fancy lavender colored dress paired with black gloves that reached her upper arm. Medea seemed to be guiding the much taller Bruce along the dance floor. Jack arrived at the table Zane was standing beside, and saw that TJ was with him. TJ's suit was more simple, just being a white dress shirt, black vest, dress shoes, black pants, and a belt.
"(Y/N), help me convince Zane to hurry up and ask Galahad for a dance already." TJ requested while Zane had his hands covering his face.
"I can't ask Galahad out while wearing this!" Zane gestured to his suit, which looked regular if it weren't for the fact that both his coat and dress pants were a baby blue color. "I look like a crayon!"
"Oh Zane, you always looked like a crayon." You put your arm around Zane's shoulder. "The suit actually makes you look LESS like a crayon than usual.
"Thanks, Dipfuck." Zane sweatdropped while Nico and Rico appeared, wearing just regular t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. The only somewhat fancy thing about the two is that their shirts resembled tuxedos. "Oh great, Dumb and Dumber arrived."
"Sup guys?" Nico greeted the group while Rico began drinking some alcohol from a glass mug.
"Nico, help us convince Zane that he needs to dance with Galahad right now." You ordered the orange haired boy. "We all know head over heels for Galahad, and I don't want him to regret not dancing with him sooner?"
"But what if someone takes a picture and my parents see it?" Zane was concerned. "Like I'm still in the closet?"
"You're attending Sanctuary mother fucken Academy my dude, if they have a problem with you dating a dude, then they better shut up!" Rico drunkenly balanced himself on his brother whilst pointing his mug at Zane.
"Besides, it's not like Damini and Eve are even bothering hiding." You pointed at the dance floor, where Damini and Eve were dancing with one another.
While Medea and Bruce danced a slow yet elegant waltz, Damini and Eve were in the middle of a passionate tango. Damini was wearing a sunflower yellow dress that reminded you of a toga, while Eve actually wore a suit with a lab coat over it. A sunflower decorated Damini's hair while Eve's was done in a ponytail. Damini had her hands on Eve's hips as she held the scientist up into the air before spinning.
"How long have they been together?" Zane wondered out loud whilst removing the hands from his face, and you weren't sure to be honest.
"I'm guessing before the school year even started." You shrugged. "Point is, fucken doooo iiiiiiiiiiit."
"Nooo." Zane whined as a set of footsteps was headed your way. You turned your head to see Hassan walking towards you guys wearing white robes of Atitihad fashion, while Galahad walked beside him, slightly red. "Oh no, here he comes, quick, hide me!"
"No, too bad." You, Nico, Rico, and TJ stepped away from Zane, allowing him to stand out and be easily spotted by Galahad and Hassan.
"Fuck you guys." Zane scowled before Galahad suddenly walked up to the hacker.
"Hey Zane, how are you enjoying the dance so far?" Galahad greeted Zane, and you noticed how Galahad's ears had a hint of pink on them.
"I-I am, a-are y-you?" Zane's blush took up his entire face and ears, turning those parts a bright crimson color and you could have sworn you saw steam come out of his ears.
"Yeah, I'm enjoying the dance too." Galahad was avoiding eye contact with Zane. "Hey, I was wondering if you would like to dance with m-?"
"Yes." Zane answered without so much as a blink of hesitation or time wasted.
Zane offered his hand out to the paladin, and Galahad took the hacker's hand as they entered the dance floor. Galahad led Zane on the floor, and while Galahad's small blush intensified a slight amount, you thought Zane was gonna collapse. Despite this, you saw that both parties were smiling. On the dance floor, Galahad grabbed both of Zane's hands, and began dancing. The two simply swayed together with the music, and over time, Zane and Galahad's neutral embarrassment and shyness. Their blushes only disappeared until the two were simply smiling together as they danced. You saw sparkles surrounding them, and it was a cute scene watching Zane and Galahad dance with one another, not caring about the world around them.
"Well, this is cute, but it reminds me of how painfully single I am." You began to walk away. "I'm headed up to the tower to hide for a bit."
"Oh hey, speaking of the tower, did you hear about the rumor?" TJ asked you. "Apparently if you go up to the tower with someone, your fates will be shared for life."
"Cool, lucky for me, I'm going up to the tower alone." You walked towards the side exit of the hall room. "I'll see you guys at the end of the party. Or tomorrow. Or never. Depends on how I'm feeling."
"Oi, don't drop out of the academy just yet, I'm still training to kick your ass one day." Hassan shouted as you exited the building, and you responded by giving sarcastic jazz hands.
You left the party behind and walked through the exit, hearing the music grow fainter and fainter as you left the ball room, and you came across the entrance to the massive bell tower that looked over Sanctuary's walls. You pushed the doors to see they were already open and unlocked. You entered the tower to see a flight of stairs ascending the dark tower, leading up to the clock tower.
"I wonder who I'll meet?"
Jack painstakingly walked up the stairs to the tower and away from the dance, hopefully to get some peace and quiet. Jack tugged at his tie to loosen it, since it was making it harder for Jack to breathe, just as the rest of the fancy suit made it harder to move. His dress shoes clicked against the stone ground while biting into the back of his heels at the same time. Jack reached the top of Sanctuary's tallest tower to enter the highest floor of the tower. Jack entered the inside of the clock tower, so see that in the darkened room, the massive clocks acted as windows to allow anyone inside to peer outside. Inside the clock tower, it was like a balcony, with the advanced machinery dancing above like a ball 5 meters overhead. Underneath this duet of movements was one of the most surprisingly beautiful people Jack has ever known.
Alice.
Despite her tomboyish demeanor, she was the most beautiful person in anyone's eyes tonight. Alice's sleek dress had shoulder straps and the skirt reached to her ankles, allowing Jack see her black tights paired with shiny black heels. Alice's dress had parts of it that glistened, making people believe she took a piece of the night sky and wore it. Alice's long black hair was tied into a long braid, draped over her shoulder. The black eyeliner and lipstick on her face was more noticeable compared to usual, especially since they only enhanced her natural beauty. Skull earrings dangled from her ears, and Jack noticed how her fingernails were painted black, with all her fingers except her thumbs having a letter on them. When Alice noticed Jack, her expression went from expressionless to excited and happy.
"Hey Alice, I never did take you for the kind to wear heels." Jack looked at the ground, noticing how it was spotless without even a bolt or nail on the ground. "Don't they hurt your feet?"
"And I never took you for the kind of guy to wear a suit or tie, but I guess we were both surprised this evening." Alice smiled, and they both laughed at each other's commentary. "So what's up, what brought you here?"
"Too many people." Jack sat down on a nearby bench, and Alice sat down beside Jack to watch the clock in front of the two of you tick. "What about you? Heels aren't exactly stair friendly, you know."
"I know, but I wanted to come up here and watch the sunset." Alice looked through the massive clock and out onto the horizon. "I know that as a goth, I'm supposed to like the night, but sunsets will always be my favorite part of the day. It's like the sky always tries to create a masterpiece in the sky, and it always succeeds."
"Man, I didn't know you liked sunsets so much." Jack's eyes followed Alice's eyes, and looked out into the distance towards the glistening horizon.
"You and I used to watch sunsets together all the time, in a purely platonic way, not in a romantic way!" Alice was sweating and Jack could see a blush on her face as she looked away from the man. "We'd watch it from your Aunt's place since she lived on a hill, and it always decorates the town in the most beautiful colors ever."
"Why did we stop?" Jack asked the girl, who stopped blushing and had her hands firmly planted on the edge of the bench seat on either side of her.
"The accident, it rendered you unconscious for a while, and I was scared you would hate me when you woke up..." Alice looked down, and Jack suddenly covered Alice's hand with his own.
"Alice, I may not remember anything, but I can tell I would never hate you." Jack reassured the girl before his face suddenly grew warm too. "In a purely platonic way, I mean."
"Thank you for not hating me in a platonic way." Alice smiled while scooting herself over to sit closer to Jack. "Hey look, the sun is starting to set!"
As Alice watched the sun dip over the Horizon, Jack's eyes were pulled not towards the sun, but to Alice. Alice's expression seemingly glowed while watching the sunset, her eyes went wide with wonder, and her smile reached ear to ear. Despite her dark make-up, dress, and hair, she was shining brighter than the sun ever could.
"Isn't this beautiful, Jack?" Alice's eyes were focused on the sunset, but Jack's were focused on her.
"Ah, uh, yep..." Jack was captivated by Alice's beautiful face, so much so that he almost forgot the sun was setting.
For the rest of the sunset, Jack's eyes were focused on Alice until the sun finally faded out of view and the world slowly began turning to dark. With the sunlight, Alice's bright smile faded, but a small smile still remained. Alice closed her eyes, and leaned on Jack's shoulder, all whilst his hand covered hers. Jack noticed Alice shiver slightly. The man took off his coat and draped it around Alice's shoulders to keep her warm. Alice's smile grew slightly more, with the two of of them watching the darkness slowly take over the sky, holding each other's hand.
"Hey, in your eyes, how many sunsets would you compare me to?" Alice asked a somewhat odd question, but one that you thought about for a moment before coming up with an answer.
"Beats me, all I know for certain is that sunsets don't have shit on you." Jack answered honestly, and Alice giggled beautifully. "What? Did you expect me to say: 'Comparing you to sun sets would never do you justice'? We're already being as cheesy as humanly possible, we don't need to be even cheesier."
"I'm not sure what you would have expected, but all I knew for certain is that you would have meant every word you say." Alice leaned into Jack's shoulder. "That's how you've always been, even before the accident, and what I admire about you."
"If that's the case, then I'll always remain honest, even if it kills me." Jack promised to the girl. "For example, I thought you looked way better than the sun set earlier."
"So you admit it!" Alice shouted, then the embarrassment from being so cheesy set in for both of them, yet neither of them moved from that bench that night.