Celebrating

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Opening her mouth to comment, Erika stopped quickly as Elsa ordered her to drink. Rolling her eyes, the brunette sighed as she lifted the glass to her lips, only taking a small sip of it, but keeping it against her lips as she sighed. As long as Elsa was happy, that was the only thing that mattered in the end, she figured. After all, Elsa did deserve it, after everything - and who was better to offer said happiness than the number one good guy, Felix?

"At least mom's going to be proud," Erika offered with a faint smirk touching her lips. "You secured yourself a nice, RICH guy; she's going to be thrilled and teach you all about how to take advantage of that." Another roll of her eyes. With that, Erika took another small sip of the champagne before putting the glass down.

"Have you told anyone else yet? It's only a matter of time before Dirty Laundry finds out and start blowing it out of proportions, so you might want to consider talking to Felix by then before anything--" she sighed, shaking her head. "--I don't know, Elsa. You two should really talk. It's obvious that he's crazy about you." Erika smiled at that as she reached her hand out, giving Elsa's shoulder a playful bump. "And yes, YOU as in Elsa. And yes, I'm done now."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa let out a short laugh as Erika mentioned their mother. Surprisingly, that hadn't even come to her mind until now. But yes, their mother would be absolutely thrilled that at least one of her daughters had ended up "snagging" someone who happened to come from a rich family.

"Though it's entirely likely that he'll end up breaking off on his own and doing something that has nothing to do with the Nicholas fortune," Elsa pointed out, actually gesturing toward Erika as she said it. Her sister would realize and agree with that, most likely. After all, Felix wanted a career in radio. That was his passion, and it hardly had something that would match up with the fortune.

Elsa took another drink while her sister spoke. "Before you? I have some class. I imagine that Franck and Roxana will find out soon enough. I should probably mention it to Ellen as well..." Elsa trailed off there. As always, she wasn't sure how to handle the Banks girl around her sister. Their relationship had always been tenuous, after all, and Elsa imagined that marrying Everett hadn't made things easier.

And yes, she was going to (tactfully) ignore the bits about how Felix wanted her for her.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Good for him," Erika nodded. "No one should be forced to do something they don't want to. Not even by their parents." A little smile followed by a shrug as Erika looked back at Elsa. "And I hardly think it's surprising that I would support something like that," she laughed. No, Erika was probably the last person who ever would, in fact. She had always hated the idea of being some kind of rightful heir to a throne she didn't even want to begin with. That someone else also did a similar thing was nice, especially when that someone was so close to the both of them.

Nodding at Elsa's words, Erika's brows furrowed somewhat at the mention of Ellen; it was actually kind of amusing how Ellen had moved onto her sister. She figured the two of them were a better fit than what Elsa or Ellen had ever been. And Elsa was capable of taking care of herself, so Erika didn't have a whole lot to worry about.

And she was way past worrying about anything that had anything to do with Ellen Banks. She was a part of her past she never wanted to divulge into ever again. That much was certain.

Lifting the glass to her lips, Erika sighed. "Well, I wish the both of you--you and Felix, the best of luck."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded. "I actually agree with you there," she said, somewhat amused. "Moreso now than ever," yes, now that she'd started to realize that perhaps her path may be different than what her name had laid out for her. Though part of her did wonder if Felix's ambitions were too low... though who was to say that was the case? And what were Elsa's ambitions, really?

And was that even something they should be worrying about at their age?

Yes, they definitely had enough to worry about. It seemed almost as if Erika agreed with her, in her own way. Just focus on the good bits. Elsa saluted her sister with the drink, taking another swig before sitting it down. "I should probably stop for the moment," she said, tapping the rim of the glass, "wouldn't want a relapse," she smiled, then looked over at her sister, waiting.

"I'm sorry that I didn't go to you, back then," she said, jerking her head slightly. "I just... I didn't want to be myself, that's all," she looked down, trying to figure if there was really anything else to say there.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

With her brows somewhat furrowed, Erika chewed on the bottom of her lip as Elsa talked. She nodded a little before shrugging. "It's okay," she replied. "I've been in your position, remember? Going to the people that are closest to you isn't always the best option." Sometimes, you needed some time to cool off and blow off some steam, as well as maybe talk to someone who didn't know you as well as the people you held dear. Elsa had her own reasons, and Erika wouldn't hold that against her.

But she was right though; Elsa didn't need to drink more than she had to. Reaching for the bottle, Erika offered her sister a smirk. "Though, you're probably right." Her eyes moved to the bottle then, scanning over the label before shrugging.

"Besides, there's other ways to celebrate than drinking." She placed the bottle down on the floor next to her chair. "And if we keep this up, we'll be so drunk the neighbors is going to wonder about our sanity."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, Erika would understand. Elsa smiled, a tinge of sadness in the expression. This was that same, nonjudgmental understanding that she had essentially just extended to her sister, and the receiving of it reminded Elsa of why she needed to always be willing to give it. They needed one another just like this, willing to take the other on her terms.

Elsa looked to the bottle as Erika did, feeling another pang, as though she shouldn't have brought it to begin with. Well, it wasn't as though she intended on getting them sloppy drunk or anything, despite what Erika insisted. "Excuse you," she said as her sister finished, looking to Erika with raised brows, "I could drink most of that and only be a little drunk."

Though there was a bit of because I practically became an alcoholic in there too. Elsa knew how very, very close she'd been. For now, she simply gestured toward her sister. "But what, pray tell, did you have in mind?" she asked, smiling appreciatively, already eagerly anticipating whatever her twin suggested.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Doesn't mean you have to," Erika replied with a soft smile. She didn't doubt her sister's control, although her sister could be just as prideful as Erika could be. But there was no point int testing any boundaries. Elsa didn't have anything to prove to her sister, just as Erika didn't have anything to prove to Elsa. Their relationship had and hopefully would always rely entirely on no judgement and never ending support, no questions asked.

"Sounds to me like we need a nice day out. Shopping til our wallets run low and eat fine food until we burst." Grabbing her purse, Erika turned to look at her sister, giving her sister's outfit a quick glance. "But first, we need to do something about that," she said, gesturing at Elsa's clothes. Without waiting for a response, Erika grabbed her sister's wrist and started dragging her towards the bedroom.

Opening the door, Erika finally let go of Elsa's wrist. Making a beeline for her wardrobe, Erika opened the doors and started pulling out various dresses and outfits and threw them onto the bed along with shoes to match. "All of these will fit you." Obviously. "So go crazy."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa raised a brow at Erika's comment, very tempted to go "challenge accepted" and head for the bottle again. She just held off for a moment, waiting to see where Erika was going to go with this. She brought up shopping and eating fine food, which definitely did sound like something of a plan.

"Or maybe a day at a spa..." she mused aloud, smiling as she recalled the visit she took with Liz a few months ago. Save for the few trips during Spring Break... which had definitely been enjoyable...

Though now it seemed as though Erika was tugging on Elsa and complaining about her outfit ( a standard complaint). Elsa rose willingly enough, heading toward the bedroom, already figuring what was going to happen here. Sure enough, Elsa was standing in the door, looking as Erika pulled out various outfits. "I don't think I've worn your clothing since I was pretending to be you."

She looked around, admiring some of the clothing. Elsa did have fashion sense; she just never actually got to use it. "I thought we threw most of these away?" she raised a brow. "And should someone in a serious relationship be wearing clothing of this nature?" She was already reaching for a dress that she did remember being rather.. distracting.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Tossing her sister a sheepish smile, Erika shrugged. "Come on," she complained as she pointed at the dress in question. "I made that myself," she added with a pout. Turning back towards her wardrobe, Erika continued pulling out various dresses. Some that she'd made herself, and some that had been bought. She was actually rather proud of her talent with making clothes. Then again, she kind of had to be good at it, as she was studying this.

Once she figured she'd pulled out enough dresses, Erika turned towards Elsa with a broad smile. "So? Which do you fancy the most?" she asked, her gaze dropping to the heap of clothes now spread across the bed. Considering how they both looked exactly the same, finding something that fit wouldn't exactly be hard.

Heck, they even had roughly the same body shape too.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Erika folded her hands in her lap. She looked over the various clothes and sighed. OK, so maybe she had a little too much clothes for her own good.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"Really?" Elsa asked, raising her brows and running her hands along it. She hadn't realized that Erika had quite this much talent for dress-making. Then again, she supposed that she really should have known better. Erika always had an even better knack than her sister, and a talent for actually thinking outside the box.

She heard the question and looked away form the dress to her sister. "Oh, I get my first choice?" Elsa said teasingly. She moved away, looking through the various offerings. "You know," she said as she looked from garment to garment, "I think I can see your personal touches here... and yours look better. Of course," she raised her brows and smiled, "I'm probably biased. And you probably designed these to fit our body."

No reason to pretend that they didn't have essentially the same body. A few differences, mostly on the skin, what with Erika having endured some rougher physical torture and all. Elsa went back to the first dress, nodding. "I think I should wear an Erika Bellefonte original," she tossed her head as she looked back, grinning. "Don't you?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Really, really," Erika shrugged. She wasn't really surprised at Elsa's reaction. It wasn't like Erika had been flaunting her talent until just recently. In fact, for greater parts of her life, Elsa had been one of the few people that actually knew about her interest in art in general. She'd mostly kept her work hidden in boxes, because she saw little point in doing much about it, with her being doomed to be the headmistress and all. But now that wasn't the case anymore.

Looking over the various pieces of clothing again, a warm smile touched Erika's lips. "I'm glad," she chuckled. "Thank you." She was glad that Elsa actually liked them, but Erika already knew she had a talent for this, and she'd grown increasingly more confident with it all during the past few weeks. She nodded then as her fingers moved through the various fabrics of different shapes and colors. "Yeah," she said silently, her smile softening slightly.

"Oh, so it's not that bad after all, huh? Good thing I didn't throw it away," Erika laughed. "Let me find you a pair of shoes that match." With that, Erika rose to her feet again as she walked towards her wardrobe, pulling out a few shoe boxes and opening them. She pulled out a pair of thin heeled pumps and handed them over to Elsa. "These should fit the dress perfectly." She then nodded towards the jewelry box on the desk next to the door. "Accessories."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded at her sister's thanks. "It's deserved," she insisted. She looked over the outfits again. "If you were horrible at this, you know I'd be one of the first to tell you so." Because that was how Elsa showed her love, most of the time. Support the relationships, be realistic about things like this. Though sometimes Elsa did want to just outright tell her sister that she was doing something wrong with her relationships, that there was just something not working there. But at the same time, Elsa wanted Erika to be happy...

Shoes? Elsa had to brighten at that. "Oh, yes please," she said, moving to watch as Erika began pulling out shoes. She reached for the pair that Erika pulled, trying not to look too excited. She held them up to her feet, comparing them. "It's grossly unfair how good you are at finding shoes that work for us," she said, pouting slightly. "I always end up going too much one way or the other. Thank God for dance lessons."

Because standing on toe for an extended period of time almost felt good sometimes. Almost. It still also felt like someone was attempting to make it harder for Elsa to run away. she was already moving and collecting the bits, raising her brows as her sister dug through the accessories.

"Actually," she extended her neck and pulled out a simple crystal she was wearing around her neck. It was delicately done, just the stone wrapped in a simple chain. "I've already got enough, don't you think?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Laughing at that, Erika nodded. "Fair enough." No, she didn't doubt that Elsa would be honest. That was one of the things that kept her grounded. Without Elsa, Erika would have been freefloating somewhere far, far away around now, and probably having ran away from the school and her family a long time ago. She often considered Elsa as being her rock. It was nice, in a way. And it made her feel safer too, having someone who pulled you back when you needed it.

Erika grinned at her twin and let a chuckle fall from between her lips. "Years and years of practice," she replied with a shrug. "Besides, all the art lessons have gotten beat so hard into my head it even took its toll on my sense for fashion." Though, Erika did consider fashion to be a form of art, so when looking at it from her perspective, it did make sense. Besides, once upon a time, dressing nicely had been everything to her, so it went without saying that she'd pick up on a few tricks here and there. "Shoes are love, shoes are life," she mused.

Girls loved their shoes.

She tossed her sister' necklace a glance, then nodded. "No point in overdoing it. Simple is often the best way to go." Standing, Erika moved towards the heap of clothes again and started digging through it. Opting for a red, tight fitted dress with a black waistbelt, Erika reached for a pair of black ankle pumps with gold details. Because everyone knew that red and gold went perfectly together.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Fair indeed. Elsa just moved on, gathering up the bits and pieces of the ensemble. She nodded her agreement, knowing that the art lessons certainly had to help. "Not to mention being told to look fashionable since the tender age of six," Elsa drawled in addition, remembering all too well dealing with their mother. At least they both had more or less moved out from her influence. Though Elsa was not looking forward to the gloating if/when their mother found out that both her daughters were dating rich, eligible young men.

"Shoes are life," Elsa intoned in response, knowing the old chance. She worked on getting out of her current clothing, glad that Erika was fine with what she was already wearing. It had been a handmade gift from a friend, after all, and it amused Elsa to be essentially wearing what had been made for her by people who cared. Especially now, when she was celebrating her blossoming relationship and her own recovery over things.

Elsa dressed quickly enough: again, something she'd picked up from years of experience. She smoothed the dress down, tossed her hair, running her hands through it. "I'm still not used to these damn curls," she said, giving them a slightly harsh look. "I don't know how you put up with them for so many years," but Elsa did like that she looked more... released, more natural. It was her way of making a new statement, after all. So they stayed. Annoying as they were.

"Red and gold, hmm?" she said, looking over at her sister. "You're going to make everyone stare at us again."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Rolling her eyes, Erika simply nodded; ah yes, their mother and her fucked up view on how to raise kids. That was part of why the idea of having her own kids scared the living shit out of the brunette. She didn't want to end up being just like the woman who had raised her. That was something she didn't want to put her kids through. Despite her sometimes mothering Frank, Erika wasn't even sure if she was cut out for parenting. Then again, she was still young. She had plenty of time to learn, she figured.

And it clearly wasn't something she had to worry about now, thank heavens.

Following in her sister's footsteps, Erika too, got changed into her new get up. It was a good thing Erika wasn't at all shy about her body, and getting changed in front of her sister had never been an issue; they looked the same, after all. Once dressed though, Erika turned towards the mirror. Leaning forward, Erika combed her fingers through her hair and tossed her twin a playful glance. "Hair products, and a whole lot of patience," she grinned. No, Erika actually quite liked having curls. Once upon a time, she'd hated them, but now... It brought more life to their faces. More... Spunk.

"Good; we deserve the attention."

With that, Erika moved towards the door and held it open to her sister, bowing her head slightly. "Ladies first," she said, musing.