Step One, You Say "We Need to Talk."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded, glad to hear that her sister was happy for her. They were both happy for each other and... and Elsa felt like they actually meant it. Many siblings might be spiteful about those sort of comments, or possibly want to ruin the happiness. Doubtless Alexis felt something like that. But Elsa meant it when she talked to Erika, and she knew that Erika meant it in turn.

"Well, if you need me to cover, let me know," Elsa said, nodding. "I'll probably end up doing the announcements again, what with being 'student council president' and all. I've certainly been doing the work for it," which so far had consisted of setting up nominations and working at getting decorations. Elsa let out a slight sigh at that, tossing her head slightly, letting the curls bounce about along her back.

The question had her sigh turning into a serious expression. "I'm not entirely sure. She's been acting... odd lately. There's been talk about her heading back, and I'm still not sure what that organization of hers is really up to. I've been trying to figure them out but, well," she gave Erika a slightly rueful look. "I'm also trying to do this thing where I live a normal person's like. Like I'm worried about how Felix hasn't technically asked me to prom yet."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"I'll keep that in mind," Erika chuckled. "We'll see. I'll be sure to let you know though." Erika smiled a little at that. "I think getting away might be nice too, even though we just came from Mexico." Still, it would be nice to get away some, just with Drew. Their trip to Los Angeles had been far from relaxing to say the least, and they didn't get a whole lot of alone time with the stresses of real life and school crowding them.

With narrowed eyes, Erika sighed. Shaking her head, she didn't really know if she had any good advice for that. "Have you tried asking her upfront?" she tried, tossing her sister a glance. "And if she wants to go back, then..." Erika shrugged. "In the end, it's her decision to make and I don't think putting her in a position where she has to choose is the best way to go about it, you know?" As for the comments about Felix, Erika figured she'd be of more help.

After all, she'd known Felix for years. They were best friends for a reason.

"Have you told him how you feel? Because if you haven't, I think he's trying to give you space. Not to overwhelm you, you know?" Erika looked out over the mall then. "You can be a little intimidating and forward at times, so maybe, since you haven't been, he thinks you're not ready?"

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded, again glad that Erika took the offer for what it was. She had to smile at the thought of getting away again. Was that part of the problem though? Their near constant desire to get away from here, to be somewhere else? To be somewhere... "other"? "Didn't you take off last year around this time?" Elsa wondered aloud, tilting her head slightly. "It's probably a good idea: they'll probably do the dating auction with all the prom court again."

And that had just gone swimmingly last year. Elsa could still recall... well, hadn't she been up for that? Hadn't Felix been there? Roxana had been too, now that she thought about it. So much history hovering around them, waiting in the wings to be called upon. As it did to some degree at Erika's comment. Elsa had to nod, though she was tempted to remind her sister that Roxana was probably Elsa's closest friend here. Either Roxana or, well, Ellen.

Yes, best not to mention that.

"So you're saying I should be more blunt with people?" Elsa asked, unable to keep the humor out of her voice. "I suppose that what I should do is just go out and buy a dress and then ask him to prom instead. That ought to get the message across." The thought amused Elsa, and she smiled at it, looking around for a moment. 'You know... we do seem to be in a mall..." she looked over at Erika, her expression almost challenging. "And we're not far from downtown, where there are even better dress shops..."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Yeah, we did," Erika spoke softly, a warm, almost shy smile forming on her lips. To think that it had almost been a year already. It was around this time that SPECTRE had... Shaking the thought away, Erika's gaze darkened slightly. She figured that one good thing that had came out of that, was her relationship with Drew. Which had also been part of why the two of them had slipped away around prom.

Luckily, her sister offered more than enough distractions. "Isn't that better than sitting around, wondering?" she asked, quirking her brow. She wasn't going to pretend to understand the whole ordeal with Elsa and Felix, as she figured it was better if she stayed as far away from it as she could. It was still a touchy subject for Elsa, she figured, and Erika could hardly blame her. With the history and all. "Mmmm," Erika nodded. "Might as well," she added with a chuckle. "Besides, it's not like you can ever have enough dresses."

Though, Erika was tempted to offer to make her sister a dress instead, but she figured that could wait for another time.

"Alright, let's go shopping."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

The warmth in Erika's smile drew a near matching smile out of Elsa herself. She nodded, glad that she remembered, and again glad that her sister had such warmth. It again made her remember the dating auction, and when Felix had been there. Which in turn made her recall Franck's comments that there had definitely been something developing last year, something real, something between the two of them.

There were distractions to consider, which obviously ended up focusing on dresses. "You have to wear something new for public occasions," Elsa insisted. She tossed her hair and gave her sister an arch look that would be eerily familiar. "You have to make a statement, and that means that you never are seen in the same ensemble twice."

Which was, of course, something that their mother had said far too often. Elsa let out a slight chuckle at that, moving away. She thought she caught something: a look, a thought, and she paused, looking her sister dead on. She pointed. "You're thinking about making us dresses," she said flatly. Her smile spread at that. "So does that mean we should be looking for fabric or...?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Shooting her sister a sharp glance at the words, Erika's eyes rolled. "Please," was all she offered. That was one of many things Erika wouldn't agree with her mother on. Heck, if Erika cared if she wore the same dress twice, or didn't end up looking like some kind of preppy Hollywood wife. Their mother's way of viewing certain things was exactly what had made her oldest daughters turn against her to begin with. Everyone save for Alexis couldn't stand "Mommy Bellefonte", and that for good reason.

Shifting, Erika stopped at her sister's words. At first, they were met with a blank expression, but then Erika's smile mirrored her sister's. "Yeah, I was," she admitted a little sheepishly. She was however glad that Elsa actually seemed to like the idea. Nodding a little tentatively, Erika's lips pursed. "Yeah," she repeated.

"There's a really nice shop down a few blocks from here," Erika said and gestured with her hand. "They have everything I'd need too, as well as a huge set of various different fabrics and colors to choose from." She tossed her sister a smile at that as she moved down the staircase leading to the first floor of the mall.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa raised her brow and smirked as Erika confessed. "Wow, it's like I'm psychic or something," she deadpanned, her expression settling into one of raised brows. Not that Elsa actually needed to use her power on her sister to figure out what Erika was thinking. It also didn't help that sometimes she just sort of picked up Erika's thoughts anyway. That happened when there was that strong of a genetic connection.

A nice shop a few blocks down, one that Erika knew almost immediately and knew would have precisely what they needed. Elsa nodded at that, gesturing. "Well, you'll have to lead on then. I'm afraid that I'm not quite as up to date on my local fabric shops."

Soon enough Elsa was moving, following her sister at a good clip, good enough to end up matching her. Elsa strolled with some confidence, and knew that a few people were giving them second and sometimes third looks. That happened any time the twins went out in public: they were identical twins who happened to be fairly attractive, after all. And it didn't hurt that they now wore their hair fairly identically, and that both had regained some of that confidence and swagger.

Elsa might have enjoyed it and preened a little bit.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Yes, amazing isn't it?" Erika replied in the same fashion as her sister and even mimicked her expression. Her eyebrows then bounced as she smiled sheepishly. Not that Erika was particularly afraid of her sister picking up any of her thoughts anyways. If anything, years of being around that kind of power - you kind of learned to evade it. It surely helped that Erika had used her secondary power a lot more lately too - not that she ever felt the need to hide her thoughts away from Elsa, but it was still nice to have in the back of her hand.

Quirking her brow, Erika tossed her sister a glance before rolling her eyes. The fact that her sister seemed to enjoy the attention was... Well, she figured it was better to simply let that thought roll out of her head before it could even manifest.

Opening the door to one of the fabric shops, Erika walked inside and greeted the familiar face of the old lady behind the desk. There was no need for "can I help you"'s, as Erika pretty much knew the shop inside and out. "What kind of color would you like?" she asked as she tossed her sister a glance. "I'm going for red, I think," she mused as she looked over to the various red fabric rolls hanging on one of the shelves. "Red, yellow and blue are the most complimentary colors for our skin tone, but if you want to be safe, there's also white and black." And every shade in between, such as lighter and darker.

It did help that Erika knew exactly what kind of dress she wanted to make for herself.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, Elsa was starting to enjoy the attention a little more. She liked having people look at her, knowing that they desired her on some level. She'd spent so many years in Erika's shadow that it was kind of nice to have people looking at her and going "that one's hot." More and more she was growing into that, stepping into her body as much as her personality.

Though she certainly wasn't going to bring that up, not when they had a mission: get fabric. instead she dutifully followed along behind Erika, pausing for a moment as Erika entered the shop. "Aren't you supposed to be the expert?" She replied back, her voice slightly teasing. "Well, it's prom, so we should probably avoid black and white. Besides, we'll need something for the wedding..." she trailed off, looking to the different rolls of fabric.

She had to raise her brows. "You can really do something with yellow?" she had to ask. It just sounded like such a... bright color, that Elsa couldn't even picture herself in it. She hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly asking: "What do you think Felix would like?" Erika was one of his best friends, after all. Didn't stop Elsa from giving her a "don't start" look after the question though.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Opening her mouth to speak, Erika's brows quickly furrowed as she turned her head to look at her sister. "The wedding?" Who was getting married? The last thing Erika had heard, the only ones getting engaged or anywhere near married was Beau and Liz, and she doubted that would happen anytime soon. Erika's own marriage was long gone and ended. And Elsa didn't exactly strike her as the type who would get married, least of all with Felix. Not now, anyways. Erika was the reckless one who made plenty of rash movements and decisions.

And it wasn't like she and Drew was getting married either.

But alas, Elsa did have a point. Black and white wasn't prom colors. At least, not traditionally so. "I can," she replied with a confident smile. It was a gorgeous color, especially when paired with their olive toned features. Chuckling softly at the next question, Erika pursed her lips in sheer amusement. "Well.." Looking over at the various colored fabrics. "I'm sure he'd love you in anything -- or nothing." She tossed her sister a playful glance at that, before focusing back onto the fabrics. "Knowing Felix, he's probably going to go for a black suit..." Most guys did, anyways. Felix was a pretty down to earth guy too...

Reaching for a fabric, Erika held it up against her sister's face. "You know what, come to think of it, you should definitely get the red one." After all, Elsa was the one with the fierce personality, and they did look absolutely stunning in red.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Wedding? Oh, right that wasn't... Elsa shook her head. "Sorry, so much time, my head's still a little," she waved the comment off. Elsa licked her lips. So much had happened in such a short period of time that it sometimes left her feeling like she was still catching up. Suddenly all that talk about how being an older teenager could be confusing made a whole lot more sense to Elsa than she'd originally figured. Though she thought she picked up something on Beau and Liz's wedding, though she hadn't heard much from them of late.

At least Elsa's point still stood: black and white really didn't suit prom all that well. The confident smile lifted Elsa's spirits a little further, and they lifted further still at Erika's reassuring comment. "I do think nothing would be quite scandalous, and I'm not sure I could get him to match," though there was something somewhat appealing in that image. Elsa definitely didn't want to dwell on it though: the last thing she needed was her sister thinking about Felix nude.

And yes, a black suit was likely. most guys went for that. Elsa was about to comment when she found a bit of fabric pushed against her. "Red?" she said, looking down and then up, with a brow quirked. "So is this because I'm so fiercely passionate or because you want to have me dressed like a harlot?" She shook her head, letting the curls bounce before pulling her lips together in what she thought was a fine coquettish pose.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Chuckling, Erika nodded; she supposed she could understand that. A lot of things had happened over just a short amount of time, so it was easy to get a little confused about it all. It wasn't long ago since Erika had been engaged to be wed. What, a few months? Half a year? And then she'd eloped, and then she'd gotten back with Drew; she seriously needed to write all this shit down. There was so much, constantly. She really wished life would offer them all a break soon, though, Erika somehow doubted that would happen.

"Fair enough," Erika replied. She agreed, at least partially, but it wasn't something Erika really wanted to know, nor think about. Whatever Felix and Elsa did was none of her concern, and she'd like to keep it that way. Of course, if the two of them ever had any issues, she'd more than happily listen, but there was certain things Erika didn't need, nor want to know. The amount and aggressiveness of their sex life was one of those things.

"Red does not make you look like a harlot," Erika said, rolling her eyes as she lowered her hand. "Alright, since you clearly don't like my suggestions--" she smirked at that. "--pick a color for yourself." Putting the piece of fabric back where it belonged, Erika's eye line moved back to the rows of various colors. Maybe she should have picked something... different for herself. Black and gold would look good. Especially as Erika hardly cared what was fitting for prom. It wasn't like she actually wanted to be there.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Despite herself, Elsa read a few of Erika's stray thoughts. She might have picked them up even if she hadn't quite literally been psychic, but that was a hypothetical that wasn't to be. "I do want you to be kept abreast of what happens there," she said, looking over at her sister, "between me and Felix. Obviously not details, since that makes you squeamish, but, well, broad strokes."

They'd moved on to fabric now, with Elsa looking over the options with a critical eye. There did seem to be a fair mixture here, and she had little doubt that her sister would pick something good. Of course, that didn't mean that Erika wouldn't offer some teasing jabs before doing so, and Elsa couldn't really say she didn't deserve it. She raised her brows and smirked slightly.

"Well, perhaps a dark red? Almost wine?" she said, looking around. "I believe that looks fairly good with our coloration, and it doesn't quite scream lady of the evening," Elsa walked the lines, running her hands through the fabric. "And do you have any ideas as to the material?" she looked back at Erika. "You are the expert: I'm just thoroughly selective."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Well..." Erika began, tossing her sister a glance. "It's not that I don't want to know-- I mean, I have no interest in your sex life. At all. But I think I haven't quite gotten used to the idea of you shagging my best friend." Erika smirked at that. It was just one of those things she hadn't quite expected happening, and well, here they were. Surprise motherfuckers. It would kind of be like Elsa shagging Liz and that was just all kinds of wrong.

Thank God Erika hadn't shagged Felix first. Jesus.

Nodding at the suggestion, Erika followed suit. "Well, it is your dress. Whatever color you want, you'll get." Running the tips of her fingers over a few more of the fabrics, Erika pursed her lips. "As for material, I thinking cotton is the best option. Silk gets too clammy and denim doesn't breathe very well." She could always order the fabrics online, that was always an option. They had a lot more there than what they had here.

Flannel was a no; flannel was always a no. Fleece would be too warm, wool was another no. Lace... Maybe for the details. Leather? Hell no. Linen wasn't too bad though-

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa had to smile as Erika stumbled through talking about the sex thing. She was oh so tempted to ask if thinking about Felix shagging her twin sister was just making Erika's head spin or something. There was a smirk there, and Elsa could definitely understand some of what Erika was thinking, not least of all because she picked up a name that had her letting out a little laugh. "I think Beau would kill me," she said dryly, flicking her fingers.

"I'll just keep you abreast of everything but the specific details. I'll just have to post those to the internet," she had to smile a bit at that, before getting distracted by dress discussions again. Yes, it was Elsa's dress, but she was allowing Erika to dress her this time. Elsa had a passing interest in fashion, enough to know certain things.

"Oh, I was definitely thinking of wine colored denim," Elsa replied. She gestured up and down. "And just covered in zippers," she sorted through the cotton fabrics, looking for one that stood out to her. She pulled one out, holding it up to her. "I think this one works," she held an arm out, comparing it to her skin tone, tilting it slightly to better catch the light.