Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 0:44:43 GMT -5
all I want is the taste that your lips allow
Exhaling slowly, Vera placed her hand on her dorm room’s door handle. She’d waited until all the girls had gone; clearing the space and allowing for Vera to just take a moment and gather her frayed nerves. Her skin felt like it was stretched too tightly over her body. Her eyes felt too big for her head. Everything ached. She knew it was all mental. Her body’s way of trying to protect itself. She should just stay in bed. Stay in her dorm, curl up with her pillow, and watch the sky through the small window. It had been an exhausting couple of weeks. Who would blame her?
Rhett.
She closed her eyes and ground her teeth. Bastard.
Feeling her lungs begin to burn, she sucked in a deep breath and then opened the door before she could chicken out. She was going to find Malachai, she was going to confess to him the reasons behind her stupid behavior for the past couple of months and just hope that whatever gods were stuffing their faces with popcorn up there that they took enough pity on her to make sure she wasn’t too badly embarrassed.
Stepping down the stairs to the Corvus common room, Vera lifted the intricate skull mask up and over her face; tying the ribbons at the back of her chignon so that all that was unobstructed was the fullness of her lower lip and point of her chin. The white, lace-like pattern of the skull mask matching the pure white gown she wore. Elsa had picked it out; nearly cried when she had. The woman was acting strangely lately, and Vera blamed it on Professor Alexander. She was all… twirly. And desperate to be involved in Vera’s life. Alex’s too, but he was far more open with her. And after Rhett tried to kill himself, well. Elsa had offered to pull Vera out of school for a while. Let her recover from the shock of finding her boyfriend like that.
Vera still hadn’t explained that she and Rhett were never actually dating.
She hadn’t told anyone.
Tonight she would, but only the one person who she needed to know the most.
Unlike so many of the other girls in the school, Vera’s steps were not pronounced with the telltale click-clacking of heels against the hard floors. Her sneakers allowed for a much sneakier step. Though she didn’t plan on sneaking up on anyone tonight. She just hoped she recognized Malachai enough to confess her heart to the right person. A little birdie had spied on him for her and told her what to expect for the ball. She had smiled when she heard. Cat lover, for sure. No wonder he had loved her sweater so much.
She hoped he had received the gift she’d left him on his pillow. The sweater was larger than her own, though the pattern was just as ridiculous. Cats, sunglasses and tacos to wear along side her cats, galaxies and pizza. She’d panicked after she’d done it. What if he thought it was stupid? It was too late now. She’d thought about leaving a note, but every time she wrote something down she hated it. She crumpled it up and tossed it in the bin. Besides, he’d have to know it was from her.
Making her way down the hall toward the ballroom, Vera could feel her heart beating against the cage of her chest like it was trying to escape right through her sternum. Her hand lifted up to press against the sensation of it; steeling herself to step into the crowded ballroom. She could hear the music, hear the chatter, and she nearly panicked. The only thing that kept her from going backwards was Rhett’s voice in her mind, telling her that it was going to be okay. After she’d realized he and Kam had already made up when she tried to make the deal with him, she’d started making up tons of excuses to back out.
Just tell him… everything will be okay….just tell him…
Vera wished she could just peek ahead in her life in a few years to see if any of it was worth it. One quick glimpse. Maybe of a farmhouse kitchen looking over rolling pastures and mountain ranges. Soft gold light filtering through the sheer curtains and illuminating a pair of glacial blue eyes looking at her from around the corner as he came in through the mudroom; kicking off his boots as the dog came chasing in after him. His laugh as she chastised him for dirtying up her freshly cleaned room, and him flicking his wand to clean the place up before he came over to kiss her cheek and caress her belly…
Shaking her head, Vera forced herself in. She had to get her mind out of the clouds.
Ocean-eyes surveyed the room quickly, panic setting in as she stood near the door. A familiar voice in her ear startled her. She turned to see Elsa standing there, smiling proudly as her hands went up to grasp Vera by the shoulders. She shook her head, laughing and then reached up and tapped her nail on the jewel at the center of Vera’s forehead.
’You look absolutely stunning, my dear.’
Vera laughed softly; unable to help her nerves as she looked around.
”Where is Professor Alexander?”
Elsa grinned and nodded toward the other wall where his back was to them; gathering a few drinks for the pair of them. Vera smiled and then looked back up at her aunt and lifted her hands up to squeeze her arms.
”And Alex?”
”He and Jazzy haven’t arrived yet, I don’t believe… Where is your boyfriend?”
Vera winced, not sure how to answer that question.
”Uh, well… it’s complicated. We’re kind of not together.”
Elsa rose her eyebrow, giving her niece a curious look under the black lace she wore across her face.
”I’ll have you explain later. Go on and join your friends.”
With a small smile and a quick kiss to her aunt’s cheek, Vera turned and moved along the edge of the dance floor to where the punch and a few snacks were laid out for the students. She nodded to Waya as she passed him, grabbing a cup of the punch quickly and taking a drink to help wet her nervously dry mouth. Now… to find that cat mask and tail…
Moving to a place with a bit better of a vantage point, Vera started looking out over the crowd with a purpose. Most of the bodies in the room had been here for a while; the balcony open and with a spattering of students trying to cool off in the winter air. She didn’t see Malachai out there, so he was either here in the ballroom under one of these masks, or he was still in the dorm. Which… would suck because she would have much rather found him there in private.
