Abcde, (that obnoxious, and...PRETTY... Æ) introduces Grace to Coral and I. And what a relief she is from Abcde. Soon we're laughing and spinning about in circles. I tire quickly, and Coral seems to be growing weary too. Grace is still happily jumping around. Shaow instructed us to introduce her to someone different when we were done, so I look around for someone available. A-ha! I see Penny standing by herself. Where's Reese? Oh, never mind that, she'll love Grace. I say, "Hey Grace, want to meet someone a bit more...cheery?" Her eyes spark. "YES." I wink at Coral and steer Grace over to Penny. "Hey Pen! Meet Grace. She's an extrovert, just like you!" She's not buying it. "I'm Grace. What's your favorite type of cupcake?" This catches Penny's attention. "Chocolate marble. What's yours?" I leave Penny and Grace to their cupcake bonding and head back over to Coral. "Soo..." I say, blushing, what should we do now?"

AW hasn't responded in a kinda long time so I'm gonna abandon Reese XD and hold out for Sam and Cem's conversation to continue.  

• She asks what we should do. Oh no. Think Coral, think!! “Well...” I stall for time by pulling her back on the dance floor to a slightly fast, slightly slow dance. I glance around and notice a stairway. “What if we go explore? Maybe there’s a library!” •

»Abcde hasn’t said anything for a while, but I don’t mind. I just enjoy her company. I guide her over to a bench and point out constellations. She leans against me, and I put my arm around her. Her face is lit up by the moon, and she has a smile on her face.«

~Abcde~

Grace looks like she's having fun, and I am finally free from her again. Free to spend time with Shaow. We've been quiet for a while, just dancing together, when Shaow leads me over a bench and points up to the stars. And I have been officially infected by PygmyOwl, I can't even think about the word Stars without Javert's solo from Les Mis popping up in my head. I start to quietly hum the melody. Somehow, despite (or perhaps because of) the music flowing through my mind, I feel supremely happy. This is such a romantic moment. Shaow is leaning over beside me, pointing out constellations, and I can feel their warm breath against my cheek. My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I can feel a warm blush flooding across my cheeks.

~Grace~

Star and Coral were nice, but they really were a bit too wrapped up in each other to be really interesting conversational companions with me. So I am glad when Stargirl introduces me to her sister, Penny. I ask what her favorite kind of cupcake is (one of my favorite conversation starters) and she replies that she likes chocolate marble. Then she asks what I like. "That's a really hard question for me to answer, honestly. It depends on the day. Some days, I don't even like cupcakes at all. But right now. . ." I think. "I probably like spice cupcakes, still hot from the oven, sweet and spicy, with a cream cheese frosting. Mmmm. That sounds SO GOOD! Now I've gotten myself hungry." I giggle. "How are you doing? This party is so much fun, right?!"

---

A large banner above the music stage starts displaying the letters 'Open Mic Hour'. The stage is now free for anyone to perform upon.

--- 

Please please please post soon, I really want our AEs' conversations to continue!!! 

Thanks for the reminder, DoodleGirl!

Blaze~

“Um. Yes?” I said, like Jeremy was crazy. He laughed. “Let’s go!” Impulsively, I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the maze. We reached the middle without too many difficulties. Red-faced and breathless, we stopped for a minute. All of a sudden I realized, I realized I was still holding Jeremy’s hand.

I dropped it like a hot potato, turning even redder than before- which I didn’t know was even possible. “That WAS fun, you were right,” I said, to change the subject. Jeremy, who hadn’t seemed to notice my obvious embarrassment- or if he did, he was doing a GREAT job hiding it- nodded. “Look up.” 

I tilted my head, staring up at the sky. It was dark, and the sky was nearly black. Millions, it seemed, of stars glowed brightly, forming pictures and swirls and… “I think that each of those stars is a wish. I mean, I know that they’re technically big balls of gas, but I think that they also… I don’t know what I’m trying to say, actually,” I laugh, tearing my eyes away from the glittery expanse.

Jeremy laughs too. “Want to try to find a way out of here?” he asks. I nod halfheartedly. “The stars are beautiful,” I point out softly for no reason, and then I laugh again and follow Jeremy back into the maze.

Midnight~

I can still see Arrow’s sibling- who I think is Georgia- following us. I turn to Arrow, and open my mouth to say something. Then I notice Arrow’s face, which for some reason is bright red… oh. I blush furiously too. “Well, let’s go outside then,” I say, to change the subject. I push open the door- which is unnecessarily heavy- and walk into the night. 

It’s darker than I thought it would be, the stars are up and the moon is shining, the sun nowhere to be seen. “Wow…” I breathe, unable to help myself. Suddenly, a voice blares through the air. “ATTENTION ALL AEs!” “Alter-Egos, thank you very much,” an offended Abcde’s voice interrupts, followed by frantic shushing.

I smirk at Arrow, who grins back. The Host’s voice, a little miffed now, continues: “ATTENTION, ALL ALTER EGOS. THE STAGE IS NOW OPEN TO ANY WHO WOULD LIKE TO USE IT.” I make a face. “No way.” “Yeah, not happening,” Arrow agrees.

I’m noticing for the first time that we hadn’t exited out the main door, we are standing on a balcony. I lean on the railing and see how far from the ground we are. Unsurprisingly, the answer is 0 foot 0 inches. There’s a creak and I turn around to see Arrow opening a gate I of course hadn’t noticed. I smack my forehead with my palm. “Come on!” Arrow says, holding the gate open so it won’t creak shut again.

Kiwi~

Harper introduces herself as one of Quill’s. I’m pretty sure the other girl is Flora, because Flora has a sister named Fauna and they’re both DoodleGirl’s AEs. “Yes,I’m thsug argli dderr,” I agree. “Andth ankuu forno askin ifI’ma squir rrell. Ihate whenp eople dotha.” 

They laugh. “I can see how that would get annoying,” Harper says sympathetically. I nod vigorously. “I’m Flora, by the way. But Kiwi,” Flora says, grabbing a nearby lemon bar, “aren’t CAPTCHAs supposed to have AE chaperones?” Hmph. Give it to a responsible AE to point that out. “Weell… ya,but Igave miine tthhe slipp,” I explain cheerfully, fully expecting to be chided for mischievous behavior, but instead I get a laugh.

“Well, you don’t actually seem to be getting in trouble, but I would still stay out of the Host’s wa-” Flora starts. At that moment, the Host makes an announcement about the stage, but all I hear is Abcde interrupting. “SHHHH,” the four of us shush her hurriedly and the announcement goes on. Once the AE is out of earshot, I giggle.

“Well, I mean, she’s sort of right? Nicknames can be degrading?” Harper says. “Sorrt oofff,” I say dubiously. “I don’t know. But I don’t think nicknames are that degrading. It never bothers me when people say AE instead of alter ego,” Flora points out. I shrug. “Well, everyone has different opinions,” Harper says, grabbing a deserved cookie for her kindness. 

“Truee. Forex ample, Blaze doesn tcare inthe least about being neatt, bbuut Midni ghhtt think sit’ss themo stdeg radin gthin gyouu cando.” Flora laughs, and we continue chatting. 

Bean~

Archer breaks out dancing, and I join in, laughing at my own uncoordinated moves.

"That's cool!" I say as we dance. "I didn't know you were in a band, but I remember you saying you play guitar. I do too, maybe we can play together sometime." As I speak, a banner appears above the stage, saying 'Open Mic Hour'.

Archer looks at me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" 

Ace~

"Yeah, you might be right," I say. Our reminiscing has made me a little nostalgic, and comment on the fact.

Estrella nods. "I know what you mean."

We're quiet for a moment, then I ask, "What were you like when your CBer first created you? That might be a weird question, sorry. My CBer had no idea what she was doing. I think she made me and my sister Hailey out of the blue for some AE thread when she first joined. My only personality trait was that I liked surfing- I don't even know how to surf."

This gets a small laugh out of Estrella.

Harper~

As I'm drinking punch, a small animal lands in front of me. I smile hesitantly.

"Hello," she says. "Iaamm Kiiwi, Lumi's CAPTC HA. Who areu?"

I recognize her now, the cute sugar glider. "Oh- I, um, I'm Harper. Quill's AE."

"Nicee tomee tyouu, Harper!" she responds.

"Hello!" says another voice, and I look up to see a pretty blonde girl in a white dress stepping towards us. "Y-you're a sugar glider, right? I think my sister said something about you."

"Yes,I'm thsug argli dderr. Andth ankuu forno askin ifI'ma squir rrell. Ihate whenp eople dotha."

The other AE and I giggle. "I can see how that would get annoying," I say with a sympathetic smile. Kiwi nods.

"I'm Flora, by the way," the blonde AE says. "But Kiwi, aren't CAPTCHAs supposed to have an AE chaperone?" I remember the rule- Quill didn't let Basil come with us because she didn't trust us to chaperone her.

"Weell... ya,but I gave miine tthhe slipp," Kiwi explains. The Host of the ball makes an announcement, which Abcde interrupts, to much shushing. We discuss nicknames for a minute, and I grab a cookie while we chat. To my utmost surprise, I find myself having fun. It's almost easy to talk to Kiwi and Flora, and I feel relaxed around them.

"Truee. Forex ample, Blaze doesn tcare in the least about being neatt, bbuut Migni ghhtt think sit'ss themo stdeg radin gthin gyouu cando." Flora laughs, and I smile.

"I know what you mean. My brother Ace is very messy, and it drives me insane sometimes. He always leaves the library shelves unorganized."

"Do, um, do you like to read?" Flora asks me, and I nod.

"I do, I love books. We've got a really beautiful library, which is where I spend most of my time. What about you?"

~

(I'm not supposed to be here but sorry this is so late! Thanks for the reminder, DG!)

Starlight~
"We are pixies, and you?" The queen says.
"Alter Egos- theres a ball in that building. We, um..." Fauna trails off. She's bright pink. I realize Im blushing too and quickly say, "Ahh, well, we were going to have a picnic, um, do you mind if we sit here?" The pixie queen gives a sniff and floats gently to the ground.
"Well, I suppose you can. Theres a spot over there, darlings, you can go sit. We will be your light." The pixies form a glittering arrow pointing toward a small semi-circle of trees, which is  filled with lucious green grass and rose bushes. I hurry over, Fauna following. We sit down and watch the pixies take perches on branches and bushes, lighting up the area with their soft glow. Several of them have turned soft pink, and the rest are mostly shades of yellow. Fauna sets down the pie and we look at it awkwardly. Suddenly the queen pixie hovers over Fauna's shoulder and drops a small white square of fabric. Then she flies away, her light a dim sunset pink. Im puzzled, until Fauna lifts the cloth off her shoulder and shakes it. A wicker basket tumbles out and lands on the grass, which smoothly turns to a checkered blanket. Fauna looks at it with surprise and the cloth melts from her hand and dissapears. I carefully open the basket and lift off a napkin- inside is a collection of food, most of which happens to be glowing softly. The pixie queen's voice drifts toward us: "Darlings, eat proper food, that pie is made of nothing but imagination. Have some magic instead, and take this..." a short pixie is hurtled toward us, her light an alarmed red. She lands on the basket handle and fades into a dim orange. "Oh, well, I guess Im your lantern, the rest are going back to the Tree..." I nod and take a muffin oit of the basket. Its blueberry chocolate, my favorite. Fauna pulls out a slice of pizza piled high with assorted toppings. She looks shocked and I manage to not laugh. We munch on whatever food the basket gives us, and the pixie's light is fading from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple to pink and back to red...
This is delightful. 
Until Blaze and Jeremy burst out of a conceled entrance, laughing and flushed. They only notice us when the pixie's light flickers off and everything is plunged into darkness.
"Hello?" Blaze calls. I cant see her, but I can hear twigs crunching under her feet, and- owww, that was my toe!
"OhmygoshtheressomeonehereeepimsorryIdidntmeantosteponyou!" Jeremy squeaks. I reach out and feel for the pixie. She grabs onto my pinkie and slowly brightens, until the clearing is illuminated with a green light.
"Hello! Sorry, uh, we didnt expect anyone-" Fauna stutters. I hurridly throw the blanket into the basket and put back the napkin.
"Oh, uh, hi guys! Starlight and, um... Fauna, right?" Jeremy asks. I nod. 
"Did you come out of a maze? The bush looked like the entrance to the Labyrinth by the Big Tree and I sorta thought-" I stop talking and look down, bright red.
"Yeah, and there was the most wonderful view of the stars from the middle, you guys should see!" Blaze says excitedly. 
"Cool, we might check it out, um..." I glance at Fauna. She's running her fingers over the basket strap, and her hair is falling into her eyes, and she's so pretty-
"Are you guys okay?" Blaze asks. I whip my head up and blush.
"Y-Yeah! Totally fine, we're just fine, sorry!" I feel myself blushing harder and wish I could dig a hole and dissapear into it.
"Um, okay, well..." Jeremy trails off.
"I think we're going to head back now, d'ya wanna come with?" Fauna says. I stand up and grab the basket strap in the same place she does- the result is her hand over mine and a warm tingling down my spine. I try to figure out how to move my hand but just decide to go with it. Jeremy nods and so we all start walking, around the corner and through the walkway of pies. We reach the garden of roses and hurry over to the doors- music is no longer playing and I can hear sounds of panic from inside.
"What do you think is happening?" I ask. Fauna shrugs. We run inside and see the horror: a banner reading OPEN MIC HOUR. I turn to Fauna and she's smiling awkwardly.
"I--Theres no way Im singing. No way." She laughs and I blush for some reason. Fauna has a tinkling laugh, like water trickling over stones. Its nice. I spot my brother dancing awkwardly with Felix in the corner- or rather, they're just twirling around talking to Flora, Harper, and Kiwi the sugar glider. I take confidence from my brother and decide to just go for it- "Do you want to dance?"

~~~In the clearing, where the two AEs had recently been sitting, glowing pink words slowly fade out of sight. The lantern pixie reads them before the last trace of glittery font twinkles out of sight: I SHIP IT.~~~

Pine~ 
Im clutching Felix's hand, spinning him to the music while talking to Harper. She says something about libraries and Im about to tell her the exact number of books in our house (543,637) when the music grinds to a halt and a booming voice announces Open Mic Hour. I glance at Felix, who's staring at the microphone set up on the stage. He looks over at me and whispers, "Im glad we cant sing- theres no reason to go up there for us!" I laugh and let go of his hand, then grab the other and twirl around him messily. We end up tripping and tangled on the floor, laughing histarically while Flora looks on, concerned. 

~~~On the wrist of the tall boy, a ratty friendship braclet glows. The twin braclet on the short boy does the same. Small silver words wind between the strands on each braclet and dissapear before the boys can notice the letters spelling I SHIP IT.~~~

Archer-

"I am" Bean answers, and I grab my guitar and race up onto the stage with her. I start to play my one of favorite colony house songs, roll with the punches. I lean in to the mic and start singing. Bean grabs a guitar from the stage and plays along with me.

Jeremy-

I walk inside with Blaze, then hear Jeremy singing. I grin at Blaze and pull her towards the stage. I run up and sit at the piano, playing along. I see people dancing, and Blaze is dancing the hardest. I can't take my eyes off her, twirling and moving to the beat, she's a much better dancer than I am. 

By the way, where has Rayne gone? Blaine is still waiting for his answer.

Oh my goodness, Mahriel, I'm so sorry! I think I missed Blaine's comment or something, because I thought that Rayne was the one waiting for Blaine to answer something that he said or something of the sort.

~Rayne~

"Um. I'd love to dance?" I say. This girl seems really nice and all, but I don't think I would be able to just talk without having some sort of movement. Dancing gives me something to do with my hands and feet, and anyway, I like the song that's playing.

This girl, Blaine. She's really pretty. I don't know much about her, but I know she's a drummer in Archer's band. I wonder if she's going to play during Open Mic time.

We walk, rather awkwardly, onto the dance floor and join the other partners. I look into her eyes and blush slightly, although I try to hide it. They're so beautiful, such a bright green, the color of spring, with little gold flecks in them. She smiles a little, and I'm glad that at least she is having fun. I know I would never be able to enjoy myself with a strange person on a dance floor.

Then, she leans over to me and whispers a joke into my ear. And I laugh! Somehow, this girl has gotten me to laugh, when I didn't think I could even manage a smile.