Enhanced Night: No Church In The Wild (Open)

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

As Erika stepped out of her dorm room, dressed up in her newest masquerade creation, she ran her hands down the smooth dress, straightening the few frills she could see and placed the matching mask on her face. The mask ran from the middle of her forehead to the middle of her nose and covered everything underneath except her eyes. The mask's colors matched the dress' along with a few golden touches along the rim.

With a sigh, she took a few steady steps towards the gymnasium, looking forward for one night of anonymity, promising herself to make the best out of the night without revealing her identity to anyone. To make sure, she had even bought a new dress, so even Ellen wouldn't know which mask hid her face.

It would be nice to spend a night in somebody else's shoes for a change, and this night was perfect for just that.

Once she entered the gymnasium, Erika stopped in the doorway, nervously fidgeting with one of the loose frills on her dress, taking a quick glance around; It seemed like everyone was wearing masks, and for once in her life, she wasn't sure where to go, who to talk to or what to do. A rush of loneliness struck her, but she quickly waved the emotion away as she took a deep breath before entering the room.

Tonight she was going to let all her troubles go. Nothing mattered tonight. She was going to have fun, laugh and make lots of memories. For once, she could sit back, relax and not having to worry about the last name she always seemed to trying her best to uphold.

With her eyes on the dancefloor, Erika walked further into the room, wondering just what the night would bring.

[Everett King]

Technically this whole event had been invented to allow not only the students, but the teachers to kick back and have a bit of a breather. Of course as a teacher, there were certain aspects of his profession that he had to maintain. His lack of dancing skills made the decision easy; and instead of arriving that night with the intention of carelessly letting his flowing locks dance in the breeze, Everett situated himself against the wall to watch.

Dressed in an (uncomfortable), white, (unfashionable) suit, he probably didn't blend in as much as he would have hoped. He had a blank white mask covering three quarters of his face, straight down the left side and arching over to the right to cover his eye. Only the bottom half of his right face was actually visibly, and half his mouth was twisted into a smirk.

He was situated by the door, silently watching the comings and goings, fingers tapping absently against his leg. He soon realized his mistake. He had failed to calculate how boring it was, to just watch. Unfortunately, his boredom would not improve his dancing capabilities any, and he knew it. But he couldn't just stay there. He had to pick a target.

Being exceptionally picky, Ever watched as males and females off all kinds wandered in and stumbled out. Finally he picked his target, a thought in a frilled long dress, detailed and simple at the same time. Like the beautiful stalker he was, Everett detatched from the wall and followed her lazily as the stranger walked towards the dancefloor. Inwardly he winced at the very sight of it. Outwardly, he smiled and leaned forward, over her shoulder.

"Evening."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Her eyes flickering over the dance floor, she watched the many couples with a dull mine, allowing herself to a yawn before rolling her eyes. If there was anything Erika had never appreciated about these kind of 'parties' it was the hopeless grinding. Sure, maybe it was a lot of fun being out there, actually doing it, but standing from here it looked ridiculous. Was that really how people looked all the time?

Jumping slightly at the sudden voice over her shoulder, Erika quickly collected herself and turned to face whoever had interrupted her inner quarrel, eyes drifting over the tasteless white suit, ''Bonsoir,'' she said calmly as a simper played on her lips. The fact that the Bellefonte girl spoke French fluently surely helped in a situation where she wanted to keep her identity somewhat hidden.

Though, it did make her feel somewhat curious as to who hid behind all the masks, and her stubborn nature voiced at the back of her mind, telling her to go on a rampage, pulling them all off. Though, that would be crazy and she didn't want to ruin the fun for everyone - so she pushed the thought away, turning her attention back to the very much tasteless (She couldn't point that out enough) individual before her, ''And to whom do I owe the pleasure?,'' Fully expecting some lame-ass comment, Erika pushed away the snicker and replaced it with a softer smile.

Well, this could be fun. Maybe.

[Everett King]

Unfortunately for him, while Ever could whip up a French meal in moments, their language was a foreign as every other. Still he could understand enough. His eyes flickered from her to the dancing then back, smiling slightly. "What keeps you standing alone, flicka?" he murmured quietly.

Didn't all girls like to dance, or something stupid like that? He had been certain it was a gender rule that all girls had to at least know how. It made him grateful to be male.

Paranoia. It turned idiots into even bigger idiots.

Ack. Ever shifted his shoulders restlessly. There were very good reasons why he dind't wear suits. He did not like them. Not one bit. With a slight growl he shrugged out of the white jacket, leaving just the blinding white pants and a loose black shift.
Fashion sense was nonexistent.

His fingers itched to roll up his sleeves, but, well that would just give up his meager disguise entirely. For a short while, Everett enjoyed being something he was not. He grinned and cocked his head. "What's in a name? Wear it like a coat, turn it, burn it, cast it aside and borrow another." It was a quote that seemed appropriate. Face settling, Everett half-bowed. "I will not withhold my name from a lady, if you truly wish to know I will tell you. I can't help but think it would ruin the night though, no?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Something about his voice had her listening extra carefully. There was something familiar about the way he spoke, though Erika couldn't quite put her finger on it. Though, that was the entire idea with this dance, right? To conceal identities. So she brushed the curiousity off and instead she decided it was better to not dwell on it and rather focusing on having fun.

Besides, she deserved to have a little fun. Without Ellen. For once. Then again, if Ellen did come close, she'd probably pick her up from miles away. They had known each other their entire lives after all. But whatever. Fun. She was going to have fun. And not worry. At all.

Watching as he pulled off that horrible jacket, Erika simply gave him a sideways smile and looked away. It was truly horrible and as much as that made her sound like a snob, she did appreciate a good sense of fashion - even if it was her own biased opinion of it.

Oh, right. She was going to have fun. Complaining about little details wasn't fun. Well, it could be.. But whatever. Smile. Be happy. Yadda, yadda.

Turning her head towards him again as he spoke, Erika nodded slowly in agreement, ''Fair enough,'' she said with a chuckle and folded her hands, intertwining her fingertips, ''Just this once, I'll let it slip,'' she grinned, ''Since you're so well mannered,'' she pointed out with her lips pursed. Well, since she didn't have much better to do - and this person seemed to be good enough of a company, Erika offered her arm, ''Drink or dance?,''

Besides, he wouldn't have approached her out of everyone if he didn't have any intentions of spending time with her - whether or not that meant talking or dancing, right? Right. See, she could be positive too. Wonderful.

[Everett King]

Running a hand through his hair loosely, Ever sighed. Unlike some others, he had no lurking curiosity to know what was behind the masks of the surrounding company. It was selfish on him to think it, but he was grateful at the security that hiding granted.

It seemed like a bit of a waste though. He'd never been big on dancing, so what was he doing here? He was fairly certain the point of a dance, was to dance. That made sense didn't it? He couldn't ask his partner to dance with him though, not out or fear for embarrassing himself, but because he didn't want to subject her to it.
Ok seriously, he couldn't be that bad.

Tipping an imaginary hat in her direction, Ever smirked. "Well mannered, is it? I am grateful for the compliment, flicka." he purred. "And grateful as well that you choose to let this slide."

Chuckling, he took the offered arm, wrapping her hand in his gently. His hand had callouses from cooking, perhaps it wasn't great to be so open. "Drink. Definitely drink." he interjected hurriedly, not even pausing to consider what it was that she had wanted. Even though he wasn't going to change his mind, he winced. "Ah, I'm not a very experienced dancer."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Another grin appeared on her lips and the brunette offered him a slight nod, as if she was confirming the compliment before her eyes drifted away again. Somehow, even with the mask she felt like a black sheep in the middle of a herd full with white ones. Silly, she knew, but one could never be too sure about what was lurking in the shadows, ''It's my pleasure, my liege,'' she mused back with a chuckle, curtsying in front of him.

Letting out an involuntary laugh at his request, Erika directed them towards the punch tables with a amused smirk, ''Drink it is,'' Even if Erika had spent most her life dancing, in which case it was mostly ballett, grinding didn't exactly seem all that... Tempting. Especially since that seemed to be all the dancing the people on the dance floor could actually do. Sheesh, she could almost smell the testosterone and the juices filling the air, ''Ah,'' she let out with a nod, giving the dance floor another glance, ''I don't think you're missing out on much,''

Arriving at the punch tables, Erika leaned over, smelling the bowls. This probably looked incredible strange, but hey, thinking about the setting she was in, she preferred not to get drunk. She knew for a fact that someone, somewhere had or would juice the punch. They always did. It was a classic.

''Alcohol, or non-alcohol?,'' she asked as she reached a cup out for him, leaning over to smell the second bowl, ''There's always that one idiot who thinks it's hilarious to spice the juice up,'' she said silently before standing up again, pointing to the first bowl, ''That's clear - or just very, very weak,''

[Everett King]

The curtsy looked familiar. "My liege?" he echoed with a laugh. That was certainly new, but perhaps he wouldn't mind being royalty for a night. It was so incredibly absurd, but he could live with that. On the other hand, he'd never known what made royals so great anyway.

At least she was understanding enough when it came to his excuses. Besides that, it gave the impression that she was above the rest of the horny monkeys on the dance floor, which was simply refreshing. He was too old for grinding.
Bad age perception at its finest

"I don't know," he sighed in a joking manner. "I'm sure you have some awesome dance moves." All in all there was only one style of dance he could actually declare himself adequate at, and it certainly wasn't grinding, or anything even slightly modern. Honestly, in this current era, what ball-owning man wanted to admit that he knew ballroom dancing? Especially in a room filled with mechanical grinders. It was ewwy.

Nose twitching, he bent over the drinks. "Non thanks, alcohol ruins the taste buds," he informed her quite logically. Or perhaps it was just a chefs logic. But he stayed away from the crap anyway. It was a relief to see that she was also choosing not to take any. He was still cautious as he ladled himself a serving, holding the cup in two hands. "Again I find myself thanking you, dear." he chuckled, shaking his head in mock despair. "You'll soon grow tired of it, or me, I fear."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

''Polite manners is met with the same in return. It's just a little more sappy coming from a female,'' she said and winked at him, though she wasn't sure if he'd be able to see it through the mask, which in turn, was exactly what she had wanted to begin with; Being anonymous.

Looking up at him, Erika pursed her lips with a slow nod and sighed, ''That depends on what is defined as 'awesome','' she laughed, ''Apparently my idea is different than theirs,'' she said with a quick nod towards the dance floor. It just looked so silly. Why would people even do such things? Maybe they were intent on making huge fools out of themselves. Or perhaps, Erika had simply grown out of that kind of thing.

Ever since the ordeal with Ellen, she had changed. She didn't know when or how, at one point she just had. Things that used to be fun wasn't anymore and things she used to be so clear about became hazy and unclear.

Offering him a smile, she nodded silently and poured the non-alcoholic beverages into the cup, raising her eyebrow at his statement, ''How so?,'' she asked as she reached for her cup, lifting it to her lips as her eyes once again wandered across the room, ''You can't possibly think of yourself so lowly,'' she pointed out with a strict tone before smiling again, ''If it makes you feel any better, I think you're far better company than...,'' nodding towards the floor filled with ready-to-go teenagers, she chuckled, ''Whatever that is,''

[Everett King]

"Sappy? I don't believe that." he replied with a laugh, taking a quick sip of the drink before placing it down. It was sweeter than he ad expected, not that it was bad. Unfortunately, he'd never been a fan of sweet things. That included fruit.

Everett hooked his thumbs back into his pants, a habit of his that couldn't be escaped. 'Well of course. You have class, don't you dear?" he asked, though he was only half joking. By the fact that she wasn't hopelessly humping his leg like a dog already he had to assume she had some level of taste. Because seriously, had she seen his suit? Even he had to admit it was terrible.

Perhaps he didn't act like it, but Everett thought pitifully low of himself. He couldn't call it low-self esteem, he had boundless levels of confidence. It was just with absolute certainty that he knew of his lower status, it was a fact that he lived by, and so it did not impede (or did not seem to) on his life. Perhaps it made more of an impact than he cared to realize.

"Sometimes it's healthy to keep your expectations low," he defended himself, crossing his arms. "But I can admit that I am better than they are. I have self-control." Of that, he could be proud of.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

''Fair enough,'' she laughed and shook hear towards the growing horde of bouncing rabbits, ''Then again, looking at what my competition is, I don't think striking gold is all that hard,'' she laughed again. She wonder how many of those girls would graduate without getting pregnant. It just looked so... Ugh, she really couldn't point it out enough, it was that bad.

Erika watched him as he spoke, nodding slowly before crossing her arms over her chest, ''I mean, I understand what you're trying to say, but doesn't the constant low expectations eventually lead to people giving up before trying? If you walk around thinking nothing good will come out of anything, won't you eventually miss out on something that could have been epic?'' She knew that all too well herself, but it couldn't be helped. Or at least, that was what she told herself.

It was far better than sitting around moping over what could have been.

''But hey, whatever rocks your boat. If you want to be a party pooper, who am I to stop ya,'' she said with a smirk.