“H-hi, Ivy, um. N-nice to meet you...” Max mumbles, and ducks his head in a nod, then blushes and looks away. Waves to Raven, who’s walking up. 

“Nice to meet you, too!” Ivy bubbles. I smile and call out to Raven.

“Hi!” Then, to Ivy, “This is Raven, Max’s, uh...”

“Cousin.” I fill in with a small smile. I continue walking toward them, and then stop when I arrive. “Hello Nymph, Ivy.” I say with a small inclination of my head. I glance at Max who is acting rather strange, shuffleing from one foot too the other, and tugging on his shirt nervously. I furrow my brow. 

It’s not like him too act that way, but, I suppose, this is the first time he’s really gone too a ball with someone. He’s probably just nervous. I, Of all people, would understand. I give him a encouraging smile, and he forces a smile. I sigh. Poor Max. I wish their was something I could do too help, but I can’t think of anything. 

Oh my goodness I'm so sorry, I forgot all about this! I'm such a horrible RPer *wails* 

~Storm

Wren leads us across the dance floor, hesitantly at first, then she begins to loosen up and fly with the music. I can't keep the smile from my lips. Every single time she turns us, her hair flutters about her face and her eyes seem to light up. Her dress swooshes around her legs, occasionally brushing against mine. I move to the music, my hand resting on her back, pure joy floating around us. 
Then she slips. I'm not exactly sure how it happens, but she stumbles and she's falling towards the dance floor.
I react quickly, reaching out and grabbing her around the waist. "Hey," I say, pulling her up, trying to hold her steady as a few people skirt around us to avoid collision. "Are you okay?"
She winces, and I feel my heart stutter. "My-My ankle. I think I twisted it."
"Here hold on." I say, glancing around. I see Devin and Key on the other side of the room, near them are a few chairs. "Here let's get off the dance floor. We can sit-" I take her arm and start to lead her toward the chairs, but she stumbles as she tries to put weight onto her ankle. 
"Here," I say, without thinking. "I'll carry you." 
She looks up at me, surprised, then lets my slip my arms beneath her knees and shoulders and lift her up. She isn't particularly heavy, and I carry her quickly towards the chairs across the room, extremely aware of the warmth of her skin beneath my hands. 
"Key!" I say, as I near my twin sister. I'm not sure where Devin went, but she's not with him anymore, and I'm surprised to see that she looks extremely lonely. Usually she's bouncing around at a party like this...I wonder why she's so depressed.
I don't waste time thinking about it, but gently set Wren down in one of the soft armchairs near the refreshment tables.
Key comes hurrying forward, a frown creasing her forehead. "What happened?" she asks, kneeling down beside Wren.
"She twisted her ankle." I say, wringing my hands and hovering over Wren. Her eyes are closed and she looks like she is trying not to wince. "What can we do to help her? Does it hurt bad, Wren? Can I get you anything? I-" 
"Oh shut up, Storm." Key snaps harshly. 
I'm taken aback by her sharp response and do as she bids me. She's leaning over Wrens ankle, examining it carefully. I can't decide if she snapped at me because I was being a pest or because she's in a bad mood. Either one is equally possible. 
"It isn't a break." Key says, leaning back and looking up into Wren's face. "Storm, go over to the coat closet and get the scarf I wore in here. I'll wrap it up in that. It will help support it." 
"Since when do you know first aid?" I can't help myself from snapping back. 
Key turns annoyed eyes towards me. "Since you go marching off on a Super-Mega-Road-Trip for six months." 
I wince and go and do as she asks. I didn't know Key had a tender bone in her body, let alone knew first aid. She's changed since I left on the road trip. It makes me wonder how much Wren has changed too. 
I get the scarf quickly, and pause on my way back. Devin is standing by the refreshment table, looking longingly towards Nymph. I thought they were a couple? Well goodness' knows what might have changed with them while I was gone. I decide to approach the staring statue and tell him about Wren. "Hey, Devin?" 
He turns to look at me and nods, not looking particularly excited to see a random skinny kid with a girl's bright pink scarf in his hand. Whatever. "It's Wren - she hurt herself." 

~Key

I watch as Devin turns and walks away from me. I'm not sure why I feel so disappointed to have him leave. It wasn't like he was my date or anything, but it was nice to dance... I push the thought aside, looking around at all the happy couples hanging out together. Everyone seems to have someone, even the people who didn't come with a date seem to be hanging out or dancing. It makes me strangely sad to see them all so happy. I want to be like them, to hang so easily and carefree around one another. What am I thinking? I ask myself scornfully. I'm like THE definition of carefree...than why do I feel so...blue? 
I don't have time to think about it, because Storm comes hurrying over towards me, Wren held in his arms, yelling my name. 
"What happened?" I ask, stepping forward quickly. 
 "She twisted her ankle." Storm replies in a rush, looking like a nervous mother hen. "What can we do to help her? Does it hurt bad, Wren? Can I get you anything? I-" 
"Oh shut up!" I snap at my twin, feeling immediately bad for my harsh tone. What is wrong with me tonight?! I push away my strange emotions and turn my attention back to Wren. "It isn't a break." I tell her, trying and failing to sound gentle. "Storm, go over to the coat closet and get the scarf I wore in here. I'll wrap it up in that. It will help support it." I add, gesturing towards the ankle which is already starting to swell.
"Since when do you know first aid?" Storm asks, a sharp tone to his voice. 
I grimace, partly because I'm sorry for snapping at him and partly because I'm annoyed at him for snapping back. "Since you go marching off on a Super-Mega-Road-Trip for six months." I inform him, anger rising in my chest. I don't bother to watch his reaction, but turn back towards Wren. What does he know about me? He's been gone for months and ever since he came home he's been obsessing over Wren. He hasn't so much as asked me what I've been up to - It's just been 'Wren this, Wren that, oh Wren!' I curse myself for being such a meany. I understand his love for her, she's a wonderful girl and I ship them with all my heart...I just wish he would remember to be my brother. 

Ack! I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry about ignoring this! I feel so bad, I clicked on it so many times but then just thought it was dead and didn't post...

Yeah, them being frinds is cool with me if you don't want to ship 'em! 

Dewy~

"I guess you want to leave now," he blurts out. I feel so bad, because he must think that this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Last ball my date feel into a hole and died and we never found out why the hole was there because the thread died. I don't say any of this, of course- I've embarrassed him enough with my weird sappy sincereness. Why did I even say those dumb things, anyways? I'm so awful.

"I don't want to leave, Lock," I tell him gently. He blushes again, resembling a fire truck.

"Maybe we could, um... go outside?" I offer awkwardly. 

"S-sure." he accepts. we walk outside side by side, doing that awkward thing where we haunch down and stare at the ground, then glance quickly up at the other for no reason, then look back down and hope the other didn't see us looking at them. we catch each other's eyes once and by some sort of silent agreement look down immediatly and not speak about it. 

there's a balcony overlooking a cliff, its unknown depths hidden behind a curtain of black drawn around it.  The sky looks like a giant threw a black blanket over the sky, and the stars are little holes, tiny gaps exposing the Heavens above. We lean forward, elbows on the cold marble surface, chins in our hands. Lock fidgets a little.

"I'm sorry this was such a disaster," He spits out. It all came out in one word- imsorrythiswischadisaster. I want to say one of those weird sappy things again, but then I remind myself that if I was in his place I would be doing the same thing. 

"It's really alright," I say. He stays silent, looks down into the black void. Probably wondering if I mean it of if I'm just being nice. Or what happens in his book next. Both are somewhat relevant, I suppose- or according to Soren, at least. Because "Books are ALWAYS valid!" as she shouted when Sage asked why she was talking about books when Midnight was playing piano. 

I want to tell Lock he's kind. Or that I actually liked tonight. Or that I like his hair. But I'm too afriad of embarassing him again that I bite my lip and stand, staring into oblivion, wondering why I'm so cowardly. I can't even pick up a pencil rolling forlornly on the ground collecting dust because I'm so worried it's someone's favorite pencil and they're so sad without that puny, genaric number 2 orange pencil stuck under the row of lockers, lost. 

~~~~~~~ 

@Silver, don’t worry about it. I forgot for awhile as well, and I’m sure I will again. ;)

Wren~

Storm hurries off to get Key’s scarf, and I take a few deep breaths, trying not to think about the pain. It isn’t that bad, it only throbs a bit when I’m sitting, but I know I won’t be able to walk on it. Worse than the pain is the stinging embarrassment in the pit of my stomach. Of all the things to happen at a ball...Gosh, what’s wrong with me? I’m usually not so clumsy...

Key is still kneeling beside me, but now she’s staring across the room at nothing. She seems lost in thought. I remember the way she and Storm snapped at each other. There’s obviously tension between them, something I don’t want to be in the middle of. I suddenly have the feeling I’m intruding on some private, family ordeal of theirs, something that isn’t my business, that I’m not a part of.

I see Storm coming back towards us, and Devin trailing behind him. I stare at my foot, not wanting to look either in the eye. Storm hands Key the scarf and sinks down in the chair beside me. He keeps wringing his hands now and then, and he looks so concerned, and I can’t help but think that he’s adorable when he worries. I flinch a little as Key starts to wrap my ankle, but then I try to relax. Devin stands in front of me, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He looks slightly worried, but I can tell he’s trying not to show it.

“Is it real bad?” He asks.

I try to shrug nonchalantly, but wince as Key tweaks a more sensitive spot. “Well, I can’t really walk, but it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad.” Glancing at Storm, not quite able to meet his gaze, I mumble, “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what happened. I’m so clumsy...way to ruin the night, huh?” I try to force a laugh, but it comes out as more of a bitter scoff.

Devin~

I’m in the middle of scarfing down a very large piece of chocolate-something-or-other and (hopefully) inconspicuously watching Nymph and her companions out of the corner of my eye, when Storm walks past.

“Hey, Devin?” I look up, slightly confused as to why he’s holding a hot pink scarf in one hand, but not very interested. “It’s Wren—she hurt herself.” Now I’m interested. 

“Wait, what?” I say, my mouth still full, followed Storm as he walks away. “Is she okay?”

“I’m not sure, she twisted her ankle.”

I follow him farther down the room to where Wren and Key are, near a cluster of chairs. Wren’s sitting, but she doesn’t look like she’s in too much pain, so I relax a little. Storm hands key the scarf, and she begins to wrap Wren’s ankle with it. Oh, that’s what it was for.

I swallow the rest of my mouthful of chocolate and ask, “Is it real bad?”

Wren shrugs and winces. “Well, I can’t really walk, but it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad.” can tell she’s trying to look tough in front of Storm. Then she adds, “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what happened. I’m so clumsy...way to ruin the night, huh?” She tries to laugh, but it’s obviously fake.

I feel a twinge of sympathy for her, knowing how embarrassed she must be. She was pretty nervous about screwing something up during dancing.

Mariel - As I dance with Far, I realise that I don't have to try so hard to be someone else all the time. Maybe, just for tonight, I can let myself have a good time. My tight muscles relax and I smile warmly at Far. 

"You know, this is actually fun." I say, and I mean it. 

"I know." Smiles Far. "You won't be too bad at this - with practice of course." 

"Thanks for teaching me." I say. I feel like I've been dancing with Far for my whole life, and I never want to stop. Our feet glide across the dance floor in unison and I start to feel like I might actually fit in with the other AEs. 

Beryl - It seems that my partner isn't coming, but I'm determined to have a good time. Who needs dates anyway? I walk over to the drinks table to see an AE standing alone. I can't see there face but who cares? Strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet, right? I tap them on the shoulder and straighten up. "Hey." I say as they turn around. 

******

Sorry for the short posts I didn't know what to say. Oh, and Coquelicot isn't coming. Maybe she will come to an AE ball. One day... 

Cap~

I notice Wren sitting on a chair with her leg propped up, and it looks like she's hurt her ankle. I watch, interested, but when Storm runs off to go get something, I decide this may be more serious than it seems. Immediately, six wings sprout from my back and I glide down to the other AEs. Key is tending to Wren's ankle as best she can, but she won't be able to do much. Already Wren's ankle is starting to swell and turn blue. She looks up at me.

"Did a pretty good job on it, didn't you?" I say, smiling. "Here. This'll prevent more swelling." Ice appears in my hand just as Storm runs back with a scarf in his hands. He looks at me weirdly, but allows me to take the scarf from him and wrap the ice in it, simultaneously wrapping Wren's ankle. Key supervises, and nitpicks on the size of the ice.

"Does it really have to be that much ice?" She points at the two-by-two-by-two-inch block. "I mean it's not even covering all of her ankle - it's kinda just there."

"Hmm, you're right." Key looks surprised at my concurrence; I guess she's been having a bad day so far. Storm is busy with his girlfriend, making sure she's alright. More ice generates in my hand, and I tuck it under the scarf. "Storm, support Wren's foot for a second, please. Lift her leg up just past the underside of her knee. But first, get a blanket. Wren might want it." After spreading a promptly-gotten blanket over Wren's legs and lap, Storm lifts Wren's bad leg up. Swiftly, I flip a chair around and cushion the ledge of the backrest with a few napkins. "Now prop her ankle on the napkins." Storm complies. Wren winces slightly, but relaxes. Key pokes my shoulder.

"Where'd you learn all that?" I smile.

"I was looking at some of Rogue's memory files and I found one of Rogue's friend slipping and spraining their ankle really badly. The ice helped prevent more swelling, like I said, and the elevation got excess blood away from the damaged area." Key nods thoughtfully.

~~

True story. My friend actually did sprain their ankle really badly. They were lucky they didn't break it. Also, the treatment is true, too. And it worked. The doctor said my friend's brace would be able to come off a good while earlier than usual because the ankle was treated.

Sorry for being gone so long! 

~Lock

We stand in silence, each staring in a different direction. The silence stretches on between us, crackling with anxious energy. Dewy must be seriously mad at me right now. I mean, who takes their date to a ball and then lets them fall into a pile of pie? And then freak out on top of that. 
I take a deep breath, willing my buzzing thoughts to slow to a gentle pulse. I close my eyes and let the cool breeze wash over my face. I think the ballroom is magically giving off some sort of heat that seems to float out into the night. Or perhaps it's just everyone's excited energy dancing off the walls of the confined space. I don't know. I just know I need to do something about this mess. 
I turn to Dewy, gathering my courage to speak and trying not to make the whole thing worse than it is. "I hope you aren't too mad at me." I say, then grimace. Too mad? That makes it sound like I'm accusing her of being angry. Or that I'm angry. "That's not what I meant." I add, feeling my cheeks warm at the mess I'm making of all this. "No, that sounds wrong...What I mean is..." I swallow, pushing away my anxiety and focusing on the words that I need to say. "I hope you enjoyed tonight at least a little. I'm sorry it got all messed up, but besides that I had some fun. I hope you did too. Or at least...at least that you didn't have a bad time..." I trail off, feeling like stupid and hoping that I didn't just ruin things more. 

~Storm

I kneel next to Wren, feeling hopelessly helpless. "You didn't ruin the night at all." I reach out and gently pull her chin up so she's looking at me. "It was an accident, that's all. I shouldn't have made you lead, it-"
"It wasn't your fault," her voice is insistent and pushes my guilt away like a firm hand parting water.
I feel myself smiling, even though there isn't anything to smile about, even though I'm still worried that Wren is in pain. I lean down and rest my forehead against her's, feeling calm, peaceful even. "We can still enjoy tonight, can't we?" I ask, offering her a smile. 

~Key

Wren and Storm are once again completely obsorbed in one another. Cap is hovering over Wren, one eye on her ankle, the other on her romantic moment with my brother. It makes me want to climb the walls and scream. He looks so happy, leaning over her like that. I turn away, feeling a sob rising in my chest. What is with me tonight?! I should feel happy that my brother is happy. But I can't find it in myself to be happy. I'm lost and alone and filled with this horrible sadness that I can't explain. I couldn't even help Wren properly, Cap came over and completely took charge of the situation.
It isn't that I'm blaming Cap. She was right to. I didn't know what I was doing, and she clearly had experience with this. Even Storm - frantic Storm - seemed more relaxed in her presence. She knew exactly what to do and I didn't. That doesn't make me stupid or useless. I remind myself, but somehow my positive thoughts hold no meaning. I feel like the whole world is tumbling down and no one sees a silent girl, slipping out of the ballroom into the night. 
The further I walk away from the building the colder the air seems to get. I began shivering as I walk, rubbing my arms as I walk, goosebumps decorating my flesh in strange, unmapable patterns. 
I walk until I can't hold the tears in any longer, then I press my palm against the bark of an old oak and cry, unable to hold my feelings silently any longer.