Highmauve: Homecoming

Noelle's Dorm

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

5:00 PM

Noelle looked at herself in her thin, full-lengthed mirror, her eyes wide. She didn’t recognize herself at all- The crimson dress was vintage inspired. Thick red straps for sleeves that plunged down right beneath her shoulder blades. A sweetheart styled neckline leads to an A-line bodice that gave Noelle the illusion of a slight curve into her hips. The dress petered out into a full, pleated skirt that rested right above her knees. Black ballet flats completed the look, while her hair was in large loose curls. Her bone straight hair had volume for once, and it rounded out her thin face. Around her neck is a thin gold chain with a small golden 16 point sun charm the size of a watermelon seed.

Her makeup was simple as well- a faint red lipstick, a little blush, a swipe of mascara. And contacts. She decided to wear her contacts tonight with advice from her mother. The dress was her mother’s as well, sent from Maine with a care package of books and baked goods. The brownies and cookies were on her desk in a neat little box.

Despite her ragged tiredness, Noelle was surprised how… pretty she looked. She wore feminine clothes all of the time. Her black skirts with blouses and tights were practical and professional. But this dress was far beyond anything she wore to be pretty.

Glenn was laying on her bed, sleeping. He had been able to be out and about much more often since Tamara had gone home with Mono. She was expected to be gone for at least another two weeks. The black cat purred loudly as Noelle sat next to him, stroking it gently. She chewed her lip as she thought about the evening. She wasn’t looking forward to it.

To be fair, part of her was. She wanted to see Tobi and Agnes and Winter and possibly have fun dancing and chatting throughout the night. But she didn’t want to see Evan. She didn’t want to kiss him again. She didn’t want to see him.

She picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Tobi:

Hey

And another:

Are you at the dance already?

Tobi had been in and out of contact with her the past couple of days after that migraine that started at the library. She had taken him back to his dorm and stayed with him for a little while, trying to help with the sensitivity to sound and light. She also had texted him and visited him (briefly) with some of her mother’s famous cookies and a get well soon card. She still blamed herself for what had happen

Tobi’s Dorm
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
5:00 PM

“If you try’n bring that hairbrush any closer, I will scream.” Tobi holds a hand out at his sister.

She’s standing a couple feet away, hairbrush raised and at the ready. She’d come to his dorm dressed to the nines in a sweeping strapless gown and deadly sharp heels. Her dark navy gown flickers each time she moves in the light, sparkling like starlight. Long delicate earrings drip from her earlobes and end just above her muscular back and shoulders. She looks both dangerous and elegant and the hairbrush she holds in her hand poses a true threat. At least to the man in front of her.

“I swear t’god Tobi.” She huffs.

Tobi just glares at her. The fire in his eyes is at odds with the soft twangy music from his laptop. He’s dressed in the suit she had brought him: a dark navy, almost black suit that had been fitted just to him. The lines of the suit accentuate the broadness of his shoulders, his height, and his muscular frame. She’d even brought him a tie, a silver one that made his bright eyes seem even brighter. Agnes sighs and puts the hairbrush down next to his laptop.

“At least fix your tie. And take off your glasses, you ain’t gon’ be readin’ nothing tonight.” She snatches the frames off his face and folds them with a snap of her wrist. Tobi blinks as his eyes adjust. She looks him up and down, evaluating her handiwork. There’s a moment of silence as she runs a critical eye over every aspect of his outfit. “Passable.” She finally nods.

Tobi rolls his eyes. “Gee thanks.” He sees his phone light up on his bed and goes to answer it, but his sister snatches it first. She coos as she reads the contact name. Tobi smacks it out of her hand and pushes her away so he can answer his phone in peace.  

“Go pack tha’ up.” He points at the half-gone mason jar on the shelf without looking up from his phone. “If I make it through this night withou’ dyin’, I deserve a night of gettin’ boozed in the woods.” His fingers tap at the screen.

"Lord almighty, Ma always sends you the good shit..." he hears Agnes mutter quietly behind him.


about to leave.

murder me, agnes refuses to

Noelle almosts leaps up when her phone rings. She opens the messages and audibly laughs. She was excited to see Tobi- she had tried for the past week imagining him in a suit to no avail. She was also excited to see Agnes.

Well, excited and terrified. She was afraid that Tobi had told her about everything, and Noelle prayed that Agnew wouldn't think ill of her.

Noelle lays back on her bed, typing out a message-

That bad?

She thinks for a moment and begins typing when there is a knock at her door. She finishes the message-

What's the damage?

Noelle looks at herself in the mirror one last time. She carefully adjusted a misplaced curl and wipes away an invisible smudge on her cheek. She took a deep breath and went to the door. Here we go.

On the other side, Evan was wearing a dark grey suit with a black shirt and a crimson tie. Behind his back, he holds a dozen roses and a small bracelet box. Once Noelle opens the door, he gives her a winning smile and a kiss on the cheek. Noelle stays still. 'One more night' she reminds herself 'Just one more night, and you don't need to worry about it.' Noelle gave a small, plastic smile as she receives the roses. She places them on her desk and looks back at him.

"Hey, Babe." Evan smiled "I got you something else." He opens the box- it's a golden daisy chain. Noelle blinked as he lifted her wrist and put on the bracelet. She felt numb. "Thank you, Evan. It's pretty."

"Alright, let's go." Evan leads her out the door and out of the building in confidence. Noelle's face is stoic and calm. Just one more night.

I'm in a suit, noelle. a suit

He hits send and turns back to his sister. She's pinning him with a sly smile, a knowing shine in her eyes. "So. Noelle, huh?"

"Shut it." Tobi growls. Agnes refuses to.

"I'm jus' sayin', heart by  th' name, that's pretty serious. Sounds about kin to a crush." She very nearly purrs. Tobi fixes her in his own glare.

"I swear t' heaven above, I ain't sharin' that less you drop it." his eyes flick to where he knows she hid the mason jar in her purse and back to her eyes. She pauses, considering, weighing the worth of teasing her brother about a crush against getting trashed in the forest on her Ma's moonshine. In the end, she shrugs and lets it be, but not without one last comment.

"I jus' think it's cute." a pause. "She like you?" Tobi drops his glare, makes his way to the door shaking his head.

"I 'unno, Ness." another pause, heavy this time. "She got'a boy." Agnes makes a conciliatory noise in her throat.

There are no words after that, their conversation devolving into glances and subtle expressions. It's a language they've honed after years of living separate halves of the same life. Agnes adjusts her dress, Tobi pulls on the cuffs of his jacket, and they bump fists as they walk out his dorm room together. Side by side, they're a powerful sight, almost unearthly. They make their way down the stairs and towards the dance at their own easy pace, talking about small things during the walk.

Noelle walks with Evan, her hand in his. Her fingers aren't wrapped around his, in fact, her hand was limp. Let's get this over with...

Her phone buzzes and she takes it out of her small black clutch. She stifles a laugh and quickly types

I bet it looks great :-)

"Who you texting?"

Noelle puts her phone away "Nobody. I was checking the time." Evan rolls his eyes and squeezes her hand "I know it was Tobi, Babe. Listen, I know he's your friend. And that's great. But I don't really think he's good for you. People see you with him, and then they see me with you. And that can be killer to my rep."

Noelle bites her lip as they walked through the door of the cafeteria that she met Evan at. The room had been decorated for the dance, but it was hard to see the theme with the low lights, fog machine, and the large groups of people. Her pale skin in the low light contrasted her dress dramatically. Instinctively, she leans close to Evan, but he's already engaging in a conversation a few feet away with some frat boys and a couple of attractive girls. Noelle sighed. This was going to be awful. She pulls out her phone and sends Tobi a desperate:

Where are you?

She looked up, and Evan was already gone. She's the only one without a group- she stands out like a sore thumb. 'Great. This is great. I hate it.'

Tobi can see the cafeteria from here, hears the pounding base of the music inside. He hates the noise, hates the crowds, hates the low lights and the closed space. It's so much nicer out here where they are. The air is soft and still, the night air crisp and dark, the stars bright and brilliant. He shoots a look at his sister, one last plea. She shakes her head in response.

'I drove six hours for this, I've earned it. her expression seems to say.

Tobi rolls his eyes and flexes his shoulders to crack his back. The fabric of the suit moves effortlessly with him. His phone buzzes once in his pocket and he pulls it out to answer right before they hit the front doors of the cafeteria.

be in in a second, he types out before sliding the phone back in his pocket. He steels himself as Agnes's pushes open the doors.

It opens on a crowd of people and a dark lit, foggy room. He can see the silhouettes of some of the decorations, knows what they look like only because he had a hand in making them. Step by step, the twins enter the room at each other's side with their shoulders back and their posture proud. With their wild grace, sharp eyes, and size, the pair attracts some definite attention. Tobi's eyes scan the room but with the darkness, he can't make out any familiar faces.

Especially the one face he wants to see.

Noelle reads the text, and her heart sings. At least she had the potential of fun tonight. She fixes her hair and smoothes out her skirt. She turns around and sees them

Her jaw drops.

Broad shouldered and utterly masculine, she watched Tobi make his way across the room. The color of his suit (Navy? Maybe?) with the combination of his grey tie made him seem even more powerful than usual. And even though his hair lay like a frizzy halo, she loved it. It was perfect. She felt the heat in her face, and she quickly closed her mouth. She knew other people were staring, and for good reason. Noelle felt faint, and also inadequate. How could she possibly stand next to him at any time tonight?

Agnes looked fantastic as well. Noelle admired her style and flair- she obviously knew what looked great on her. The dress was perfect for her build and height. She sparkled.

She stands, frozen, staring at Tobi. Her heart patters in her chest and her mouth felt dry.

Tobi makes his way through the crowd, searching the room as Agnes follows him. The crowd parts easily for the pair, but Tobi doesn't seem to notice. He's halfway through the room when he finally spots who he's looking for. He catches her eye and wow. His heart does a tiny little stutter step in time with the flip of his stomach.

She's gorgeous.

She's always gorgeous, his brain reminds him, and he knows, god he knows that. But he hasn't ever seen her all done up and in that fancy of a dress, and he's honestly left a little speechless. Anything he would've wanted to say to her, anything clever, leaves him in a rush and he's left looking just a little dumb.

Agnes watches all this and smiles wryly. 'He got it bad.' she thinks before giving him a little shove forward. "Go," she says quiet and warm. "I'll go find the punch."

He looks back at her, nods, and strides forward towards Noelle. His mind turns over scenarios, things to say, and all of them come up just a little inadequate. What's he supposed to say to her? What do you say to a girl like that? The beat of his nervous heart hits in time to his shoes against the polished floor. He's getting close, he has to say something.

"Fancy seein' you here." he drawls as he comes within earshot of her.

'like to see what that lipstick looks like up close.' he adds silently.

Oh shit.

He's coming this way.

Noelle tried her best not to stare like a deer in headlights, although she is failing. She looks at the floor, then around herself, making sure Evan wasn't nearby, because there was no way she could promise him nothing would happen with Tobi. Because hot damn he looked great. Oh God, he's getting closer. She looks at him, the pulse of the music matching the heavy heartbeat in her ears.

She could have swooned when he spoke. Instead, she gave him a smile. "Could say the same to you. Didn't know you if you were gonna make it. Tobi, you look amazing."

Her eyes glitter, and she finds herself staring at his lips. 'Stop it.' She reminds herself. Now wasn't the time to focus on that. But how couldn't she? Ugh... She notices a couple girls staring at Tobi, and she feels a twinge of jealousy. And maybe possessiveness.

They were now almost nose to nose. Had Noelle been inching herself closer? She felt a pull to him, stronger than ever. Like there was a string connecting them to each other. 'Oh god, listen to me.' She stares into his eyes, which seem full of life.

"I been tellin' you for weeks I gotta be here." his lips tilt up in a subtle smile, the lines around his eyes crinkling just the slightest amount.

And there it is. She's still the same girl, the one who he feels such an ease with, the one who's let him talk about his own issues, who's shared her own with him. She's the same girl who's face lights up when she's excited, who needs a little encouragement to be confident but has a spine of steel when it comes to things she believes in. She's smart, kind, and gentle but also a sassy shit when she wants to be. She's the same girl he's been slowly falling in love with ever since she ran into him that warm fall day.

His nervousness melts away all at once, replaced with something much warmer, much more pleasant in his chest. "Still might not make it." he teases. "This night might yet kill me."

He looks her up and down, taking in the details of her appearance now that he's up close. "You do too. Look real nice." he says soft. They're in each other's space now, all he would have to do to close the gap is lean just a little bit forward, tilt his head just a little bit.

Oh god, he's so close. And that smile. That god damned smile. She felt flush as she looked into his eyes. She smiles genuinely back at him. This night wasn't going to kill him- it was getting better each second. Then, he compliments her. She melts

She starts to memorize every freckle, every line, every detail. The way his lips quirk up with that really subtle smile, the crinkle of his eyes. The admiration and desire in his cool eyes. She'd only known him a month and this was the most sure she had been about anything. She never wanted to forget this moment. She started to lean in, her lips parting.

"Can I cut in?"

Noelle was about to punch Evan in the throat. The warmth in her body turned to a cold and distant numbness, starting in her chest and going to her fingers. She steps away from Tobi and stares at the other boy. Evan was wearing a smarmy smile, and he smelled of... something. It was definitely alcohol, but it was something that was so fruity, it made Noelle's teeth hurt. He'd obviously went off with some friends, did a couple shots, and now thought he could get a little lucky. Without another word, he takes Noelle's hand and leads her to the dance floor. Noelle gives an apologetic look to Tobi that silently said 'I'll catch up later, I promise.'

Tobi backs up, annoyed at the smaller man. He tracks Noelle as she disappears into the throng of dancers, holding onto the promise she made as she was dragged away. There'd be that chance later. He huffs out an annoyed breath, more to calm his shaky heart than anything else. She'd been so close, they'd been so close; a second later and he'd have known what her lips would have tasted like, have his own stained with her red lipstick. And boy, that thought does nothing to calm his beating heart.

This dance was going to kill him, plain and simple.

He watches through the crowd as Evan tries his best to dance with an uninterested Noelle. Maybe later he'd get his own chance, take her out on the floor for something slow and easy. Hopefully she'd enjoy it a bit more than whatever Evan was trying to do and the chaotic mosh pit of dancers. He smiled, slow and sweet, ducking his head to hide it. Gosh, slow dancing with Noelle. Ain't that a thought.

"Kiss ya girl?" a voice behind him startles him out of his thoughts. Agnes is there at his side, holding two cups of punch and a small plate of snacks for the two of them. Tobi shakes his head.

"Nah," he says as he grabs a couple cubes of cheese from the plate. There's an ease to his answer though, and a quiet confidence. Agnes catches it and smiles. She knows her brother. He isn't one to leave things half finished.

8:30 PM

Noelle sits at a table away from everyone, clearly annoyed. She has a small book of poetry that she took out from her purse. Evan had ditched her almost immediately after their first dance. Throughout the night, Noelle had tried to inch to Tobi, but anytime she got close, Evan had swerved out of his way to introduce her to someone or try and dance with her. She hated it. She was a trophy to him. And now, Noelle could see him dancing with a slew of girls. He was getting extremely close to them. Closer than he had ever been physical with her. She was fine with it, a distraction from everything else.

He had gotten sloppier throughout the night as well. The sent of booze clung to him and only got stronger with each encounter. He would slur his words a little bit, and try to touch her or kiss her. She was able to back away from most of the advances, but he had been lucky. He had kissed her, trying to shove his tongue down her throat, which Noelle pushed him away. When he tried to advance his touch upwards from her waist, she pushed him away. But that stupid grin of his accompanied his being the whole time. This was a joke to him.

She sat with her book, legs crossed. She wasn't even reading it. God, she wanted Tobi to spot her and make his way over. She should have kissed him earlier. She would have if Evan hadn't stepped in. She glanced back at the blonde boy in the crowd. He was flirting and moving like he wasn't dating someone, which was tragically hilarious to Noelle. She had hoped that he had gotten her message. She's not interested.

It had been an hour or two since he had seen Noelle. He had cycled between sitting with Ness in the corner and eating snacks to sitting with Ness in the corner and making fun of people to sitting with Ness in the corner and ignoring the stares they were very obviously getting. So far he had managed to avoid one of the people he had set out to, though he had seen her flitting through the crowd with a singular purpose in mind. He looked back to Ness, only to find that she had gotten up for either more snacks or a pretty girl. He sighed and leaned back into his chair.

He wished he could find his pretty girl.

The music changed then to something slow. An exodus of the dance floor followed. Slow dances, he guessed. Maybe he could find Noelle and finally get that dance with her... Wait. He recognizes this song. A slow creeping dread crawls up his spine as he looks around him. She can't have found him, he'd been so careful.

"Tobias Maynard." a voice purrs next to him. He turns his head slowly and there standing next to him is the leader of the dance team and head of the dance club, Georgia Rodriguez.

"You owe me a dance."

Noelle heard the song and frowned. It's an old jazz standard. Something that her Dad would have turned on and twirled her around the living room with. It made her heartache. Which was stupid. That part of her life- the innocent child who didn't care what she looked like- that was gone. Long gone. She sighed, placing her head on her hand, looking at her book. She suddenly realized that Evan might be scouting her out. Ugh, that was the last thing she wanted. She looked up, trying to scope him out. Found him. He was dancing with a pretty redhead. She rolled her eyes and sipped the punch she'd gotten earlier.

Well, if he was allowed to slow dance with anyone, she was going to look for Tobi and just do it. Evan had no high ground, especially with the face of a pretty girl on his shoulder.

She looks around for Tobi, and finally finds him. She stands, grabbing her cup of punch, and began to make her way towards him. He was near across the room, but she didn't care. But then, she saw someone start talking to him. Leaning close. Tobi's subtle but readable body language.

Something growled in her chest. Tobi was uncomfortable. He had swooped in and saved the day for her on so many occasions. Time for her to return the favor.

Noelle takes a deep breath and struts over, giving her best smile. Once she gets close, she devises her plan. She flashes Tobi a winning smile "Oh my God! Tobi, I haven't seen you in fore-" She breaks off, pretending to trip, spilling her drink all of Georgia. After regaining her fake balance Noelle gasps, convincingly "Oh my God. I am SO sorry."

She couldn't believe that she did something so bold. The adrenaline pumped through her body. She felt invincible.

Tobi sees her coming from across the room. When she trips and spills her drink over Georgia, he chuffs out a small incredulous laugh. 'Well, I'll be.' he thinks. That smart little cuss.

Georgia lets out a small shriek and heads for the bathroom. A gaggle of girls follow after her, lured by their leader's shrieks. Tobi watches them leave before turning his attention back towards Noelle. She's standing there looking of so proud of herself, and to be honest, it's pretty cute. She's downright triumphant in her red dress and empty cup, her confidence infectious. He decides to just see where this takes him. He did promise her a slow dance, and at least he knows the steps to this one. He stands from his chair to meet her.

"Ma' hero." he says with a bow of his head. "How will I e'er make it up to you?" he takes her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"A promised dance, maybe?" He says soft and low.

Noelle flashes him a radiant smile as the other girl runs to the bathroom. She did feel a little bad about ruining her dress, but the way that Tobi looked at her made everything better. She made the right choice. Also, she loved his laugh. She didn't hear it often, but it brought so much light in her chest.

When their hands meet, she puts the cup down, and takes his other hand, squeezing ever so slightly. She leans close to him, giving a small smile. Staring into his eyes, her smile softens "I would be honored." Without thinking, she leans in, giving him a peck on the cheek, before leading him out to the dance floor. The two of them tower a full head above most of the student body, and they were getting a couple stares. But she didn't care.

She had never slow danced with anyone besides her father and her little sister. She wasn't terrible, but she's hesitant to start. She is unsure how.

His brain sparks and fizzles as her lips meet his cheek, tiny fireflies flicking on and off in his mind. Whatever he had been thinking fades as he’d drawn in fully to the present moment, her in front of him. She’s got gorgeous eyes, warm and a deep earthy brown, and when she smiles at him, he feels like he’s got the whole sun rising in his chest, warm and bright.

He lets her lead him to the dance floor. Dancers around them part as they make their way. Tobi spots Ness in the crowd; she throws him a thumbs-up which he returns. He and Noelle weave through the dancing couples. Well, he says dancing. It’s more of a soft sway, the vast majority of them trying to slow dance but not knowing quite how. He supposes it’s the thought that counts.

They settle into a space not already taken by the other dancers, a little out of the way with plenty of space to move around. He catches her hesitation. She’s looks unsure of how to start, maybe even a little nervous about dancing. He remembers her telling him that she didn’t have a whole lot of experience with it. Well, she’s gotten them this far, he figures he can take care of the rest.  

He closes the distance between them with a sure step and an easy confidence. This close, he can count the freckles splashed across her cheeks, feel the thud of her heart against his chest. Her dress sways as her moves her into an relaxed stance, making a soft ‘swish’ against itself. One steady hand guides hers up to his shoulder before moving to settle at the small of her back while the other takes her remaining hand in a gentle hold.

The lights above them sparkle and catch in her jewelry, her eyes. It’s so easy to get caught in them, he thinks with a soft, fond smile just for her.

“I’ll lead, if tha’s alright with you.”

She felt as if she was floating. A certain light-headedness hit her, making everything feel ethereal and dreamlike. The low lighting didn't seem so dark anymore. With Tobi right there next to her, she felt like she could do anything.

And then he wasn't next to her. He was in front of her, guiding her hands to their proper place. The space between them was so small now, but Noelle felt that any empty space between them was too much. The way that Tobi looked at her, looked into her, made her core feel like jelly. She had seen him without glasses many times before tonight, but his eyes had never seemed so bright and clear. She could see that inherent fondness he seemed to have for her- the thing that allowed her to cry into his shoulder about some stupid boy, or vent her frustration, or sit in comfortable silence. He smiled, and she felt the warmth and appreciation he had for her.

A breath got caught on her throat, and then she said softly "Of course."

She could pretend that they were the only people at the dance with their remote place on the dance floor. God, she wanted to kiss him so bad.

Winter was floating around the dance floor. She had made tons of aquaintances in her short time here at Highmauve and she was doing her best to talk to each and every one of them. She was wearing a silver dress which flared out at her waist with a sweetheart neckline and three-quarter sleeves because unfortunately, the girls wouldn't stay in play without some sort of straps keeping her dress up. She was enjoying herself for once since she had decided to attend a dance solo. First time in a while too. She smiled at all her classmates, snacking on the various snacks and desserts.

Then she spotted him. The cute boy from the lunchroom a couple weeks ago. Evan! She knew that him and Noelle were dating sort of. Noelle hardly had time after class to hang out anymore since she started dating him. Which was fine... up to a point. She had noticed that she was getting more and more tired during classes which seemed odd for a bookworm like Noelle. She knew that something was up but she wasn't sure what. Now she knew. Evan was all over some of the cheerleaders, getting grabby among other things. Her lip curled. It was disgusting to watch. Especially since he was supposed to be exclusive with Noelle.

Speaking of which... She looked around for Noelle. She hoped that she knew what was going on! Being so short, he was hard to see over people. She sighed and left the dance floor to try and get a better look. She spotted Tobi. Maybe he would know where... then he turned around and Noelle was in his arms looking... quite comfortable. More comfortable than she had ever looked with Evan that she's seen. She smiled to herself. Perfect. She supposed that it took an asshole boyfriend to get them to realize who was the right one all along. She smiled to herself as she stopped walking, ending up next to Agnes. "Aren't they adorable?" She cooed to herself as she pulled out her phone to take a picture of them. She was sure that they would appreciate it later.

He nods at her and eases the two of them into the music. Nothing too intense, nothing to fast, just a gentle slow dance that he hoped Noelle would enjoy. He leads her with an easy grace, lending her a confidence that she might not have while dancing. The skirt of her dress swishes and sways with each movement and her curls bounce against her back, the very ends of them brushing against Tobi's hand on her back.

"An you said you couldn' dance." Tobi says as he leads her into a twirl and back into his arms. He's hyper-aware of the line of her body against his, of her dress underneath his palm on her back.

-------------------------

Agnes is watching her brother and Noelle dance near the snack table. She's happy for him, gald he's finally got his head out of his ass, even if he hasn't quite yet realized that the girl looked at him like he's the goddamn stars and moon all rolled into one. It takes her a minute to notice the smaller girl that walks up next to her. She's cute, she thinks as she pops another cube of cheese into her mouth, looking over at her out of the corner of her eye. It's a moment before she realizes the girl is watching her brother and Noelle dance, talking to herself softly. She flips her phone out to take a picture and oh shit, why didn't Agnes think of that?

"Sure are." she responds and looks down at Winter. "Takin' pictures?"

Winter grinned to herself as she snapped a couple of pictures. "I know! Simply adorable. I just had to take pictures to show them later." She then paused as she realized that some one had spoken to her and she had replied back out of habit. She looked at the strange girl and gave her an inquiring look. SHe looked her up and down, thinking that she looking familiar.... and cute but that was a thought for later since she was sure that she had seen this girl before and Winter had a pretty good memory when it came to people. Then it dawned on her. "You have to be Tobias's sister. You guys look exactly alike." She said as she stuck her phone into her bra once since she was done taking pictures. "I'm Winter. Tobias and Noelle and I have a class together." She stuck out her hand to shake Agnes's with a brilliant grin on her face.

"I'm just glad that it all is going to probably work out with them. Turns out that Evan is a complete asshole. Wish I had known that earlier. I just hope that Noelle knows that so she can dump that bastard."

Noelle grins at him, her voice stronger now "Well, I have an excellent person leading me. I have no idea why you were nervous about this dance. You look great, you're dancing great, and-" She pauses for dramatic effect, but it soon turns awkward as she accidentally nudges her foot against his. She didn't step on it, but nudge it enough that it turned the perfect moment of confidence into an embarrassing mishap. Noelle tries to take it in stride "Sorry. My mom used to say I had 'duck-feet'. You can add that to the list of nicknames- string bean, toothpick-"

Now she pauses with success "Or darlin'. That one has been my favorite lately." She lets him spin her, the skirt of her dress fanning out beautifully.

"Thank you." The gratitude in her voice is apparent, and there is a gentle squeeze on his shoulder "You make this place bearable for me." She's unsure what she is referring to. It was all encompassing- the dance, the school, perhaps life.

She had to admit, he was a proficient dancer. She wondered where he learned how to be so graceful and gentlemanly. Her eyes flick to a flash of light, and she spies Winter and Agnes, and her grip tightens. It's the only thing that shows her discomfort of being watched.

"God I hope so, brother's kind of an idiot." Agnes reaches out to shake Winter's. "Agnes, by th'way, the better twin. Which one of 'em this Evan kid?" She looks out over the crowd , barely having to strain to see above most of the crowd. "Tobi's mentioned a boy, ain't ever given me a name."

She finds that she likes this Winter. Girl's got spunk, opinions, things to say and no hesitation to say them. With Tobi preoccupied with Noelle, Winter's starting to seem like a viable option two for company. She also seems just a touch catty, and Agnes loves to gossip. She smiles down at the girl, wide and sharp before turning her gaze back towards the pair out on the dance floor. She catches a glance of her brother twirling Noelle; the boy's smiling like he's swallowed the sun.

"You gotta sen' me those pictures."

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Out on the floor, Tobi smiles. "Well then, darlin'," he drawls low, drawing out the syllables. "I'll say it more often, jus' for you." He sways the two of them through their space as the song starts to fade.

She's thanking him,though he's not sure for what. If anything, he should be the one thanking her. She's helped him so much, helped him with his claustrophobia, given him someone to talk to, someone to relate to and lean on in times of trouble. "Ain't no thing." he shakes his head with a small smile. "It's only right, you comin' along and into my life. Plus," he pauses "You're a pretty enjoyable dance partner. You're makin' my night bearable, that's for sure." He rolls his eyes, but his eyes are still warm. "Thought this night was gonna be one hell of a bust."

He feels the squeeze on his shoulder, and turns the two of them so he's the one facing Winter and his sister. He sees the phone, sees Agnes's sly grin. He glares at her without a lot of heat, more like he's just annoyed.

She didn't want the song to end. This perfect pocket of the night was going to be over soon, and she wasn't looking forward to meeting up with Evan. Maybe she would go home early and meet up with Tobi to help clean up.

For the first time, the melting she felt inside her heart was visible on her face. She knew that her eyes were now shining with so much light, so much happiness, so much love. Her smile was between delighted and unbelieving. This man was doing all sort of things to her- she had never felt this way. The giddiness and boldness combined into a dangerous combination. Tobi had better watch out before she did something stupid.

It's not stupid. She reminded herself. Not with a boy like that.

When he calls her by his pet name, she almost did it then. But she held off. She knew she would feel it.

She listens to his own gratitude, looking down at the floor, and back up to him. Her face was flushed, but she didn't care. He had him wrapped around his little finger- She would have done anything to make him feel safe and happy. But that wasn't the moment yet either.

It was when he turned her away from the others. When he understood her non-verbal language and protected her from something that was causing her stress. Her love bubbled over, and she leaned forward, tilting her head slightly, closing her eyes and placed her lips on his own. He tastes exactly as she would have thought. Hints of pine and coffee. He tasted like a light night, staring out at the window, curled up in a blanket. Like being the last one up at a bonfire, no longer having to share its warmth with anyone. It starts off small and sweet but it extends into something much more. Her lips curve into a slight smile, as she lets go of every reservation and fear. This was right and where she was supposed to be. And that was the most sure she had been about anything.