Masquerade

Nikki glanced at the invitation in her hands. The entire SP club had been invited to a halloween themed Masquerade. All club members had received their own invitation in their mail box last week. Nikki was wearing a golden mask and a dress that extended down to her mid-calf. She didn't want to dress up, but her mother insisted. She was standing at the door to the large cathedral where the dance was to take place. She entered, and it was clear that the SP club weren't the only people invited-- what looked like thousands littered the dance floor, all dawned in masks.

Nikki felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned, and shrieked. Oliver stood there wearing ripped up jeans, no shirt, and a Jason mask. She could recodnize him easily due to his hair.

"Uhm.. y-you're supposed to dress up..." Nikki pointed out. Oliver shrugged. Nikki looked out for other people, but soon saw a table specifically reserved for the SP club. She decided to lead Oliver there, and wait for others to arrive.

Vince grudgingly walked into a cathedral where this supposed ball was to take place. He wore a very Zorro looking outfit and mask. What was this thing all about anyway? He looked around semi-awkwardly for anybody from the SPC that he knew. He felt somebody jump onto his back and give him a hug.
"I'm glad to finally find somebody that I know here!" Alice yipped in his ear. Her mask was glittery and purple and her dress looked very gypsy-ish. Vince laughed, "Me too. Where is everybody else?"
Alice looked around and pointed dramatically at the SPC table, "There!" She said, trotting over to the table, "Hey everybody!" She cheered. She was a clear fan of masquerade.

"Hello!" Nikki said, waving at the new arrivals. Oliver said nothing and devoted himself to figuring out whether the center peice was made of real glass. Elizabeth, meanwhile, appeared from the dance floor, her blonde hair ruffled and curled to rest on her shoulders. Her dress was tight, highlighting her curves, and extended to her knees.

"Hello~" She said, flopping down into a seat.

"Are you all excited? Nikki asked, fiddling with the hem oof her dress.

Alice giggled, "I am!" She bounced up and down in her seat, fiddling with a flower she had grabbed from a vase. Her long black hair had been tied in a high pony tail and was held by a large and detailed red cuff.
Blair strutted into the ballroom. Her red hair, still a bit nappy, was in a half pony tail. She wore a dragon-esque mask, go figure, and a tight matching dress that was short in the front, but long in the back. She marched on over to the SPC table in her Chinese flats.
Vince found herself staring at her. She crossed her arms and smirked.
"Yes, even I can get all dressed up too."

Nikki smiled. "Hi Blair, glad you could come." she said, as a figure approached from the dance floor.

"Wow, you clean up really nice." Joey said from behind Blair, flashing her a grin. "You should save me a dance."

Joey was wearing a white button up with a tie, a black jacket, and a black mask. His mechanicxal arm was clearly visible, sinc ehe had skipped out on gloves. He then saw the other girls, and flamboyantly bowed to them. "Blair's not the only one who looks wonderful, I just noticed because the rest of you always look gorgous."

Nikki giggled. "Yeah, okay Joey." Elizabeth giggled, slightly dismayed that Blair had caught the attention of two guys before she had.

Blair flipped her hair. She had to admit that she did feel quite stunning. With a wink and a ruffle to Joey's hair, she sat down next to Vince.
Alice giggled at Joey's comment, "You clean up very well too."
Vincent smiled at Elizabeth, seeing her facial expression, "You look very beautiful." He said, his face turning a tint of pink.
Dominic entered the cathedral and immediately knew where to go. He grinned at Nikki, and then everybody else. He was dressed in a maroon tuxedo and wore a white velvet-like mask.

"Why, thank you." Joey said, fixing his hair after it was ruffled. "I borrowed Skiey's old suit from when he was younger. Maybe i'll be as tall as he was!" He grinned, excited at the idea. "Anyway, you should dance with me." Joey said, grabbing Alice's hand.

Elizabeth blinked, looking at Vince. "Ohh. Thank you." She said, smiling widely. "You look... fancy. I like it!" She commented.

Nikki smiled when she saw Dominic. "Dominic! I'm glad you could come tonight." She said, tucking hair behind her ear as her cheeks pinkened for an unknown reason. This display confused Oliver, so he tapped Blair's shoulder and asked, voice muffled by the mask, "Hey, are those two dating or something?" with a jerk towards Dominic and Nikki. His voice was quiet enough for the people in question not to hear.

Blair turned to Oliver, "You know..." She said, looking over at them, "I think they have a thing going on. There's no other reason why Dominic would come to so many of the meetings." She flipped her hair and turned to observe Dominic and Nikki.
Dominic grinned, "Of course I wouldn't miss an event such as this one." He said, sitting down next to Nikki and giving her a friendly hug.
Alice's face turned red. She giggled, "Okay! Sounds like fun!" She said, forgetting that she really had no idea how to ballroom dance.
Vince blushed, again. He scratched the back of his neck, "You really think so?" He asked with a smile., "I actually enjoy dances like these." His eyes trailed off a bit. He looked back at Elizabeth, "So, would you like to dance sometime tonight?"

"Really?" Oliver said, watching the two as well. He had thought they had something from the beginning of their first meeting. He then remembered the blonde who had been at the meeting as well. "What about the other boy? The cat one. Do you have something gloing on with him?" He asked, remembering that they had been talking amungst themselves during the meeting.

"I-I'm glad!" Nikki said, hugigng him back timidly.

Joey grinned and took her hand with his good arm, leading her to the dance floor. "Ballroom dancing sucks. I'm lucky Jane taught me how." He said to Alice. "You any good at dancing?" Joey was only good enough to ensure he would not be stepping on feet, but that was it.

"Yes I do!" Elizabeth said, happy at being asked to dance. "Sure, i'll have a dance with you. You're pretty cute." She said. ELizabeth had taught herself to dance well upon receiving her invitation.

--

Meanwhile, outside of the cathedral, stood Roman, tipping his head to the side as though he was debating entering or remaining outside. For once, he didn't seem to stand out in the crowd of well dressed people. His heels were still 3 inches more than most men were comfortable wearing, however. People ere still entering the building, and since Roman wanted to cause the most damage when he blew it up, he set to hiding himself in a bush, getting the autumn foliage mixed in with his blonde hair.

Blair was caught off guard by Oliver's question, even though she should have seen it coming. She laughed, "Kyle and I? We're like, best friends." She said, knowing that her truthful response was not very convincing.
Vince smiled, "Why, thank you." He said. He knew how to dance quite well. When he was young, his old school required that he knew and his step mom forced him to become very good at it.
Alice widened her eyes, "Well...I've never learned.." She said rather timidly. She smiled again, "But I'll just follow your steps. You can teach me!" She yipped.

--

She was dressed in a purple cocktail dress with a black mask. She wasn't exactly invited to this masquerade, but dressing up was fun anyway, right?
Walking down the pathway to the cathedral, Alexandria noticed a figure standing in front. She knew a wizard when she saw one, and this boy was definitely a wizard. With caution, she strolled up behind him. Her heeled shoes clicked with every step.
"And what might you be doing here?" Alexandria asked smoothly. Crossing her arms and giving the boy a suspicious smile.

Oliver blinked, although that was not visible behind his mask.

"I see. Best friends who flirt do happen, I suppose." He commented, leaning back in his seat.

"You're welcome! Do you prefer fast songs or slow songs?" Elizabeth asked, tucking hair behind her ear.

Joey snorted. "Riiight, okay. Let's just not step on each others feet, and we'll be good to go." He said.

--

Roman looked up as he was spoken to. He wasn;t used to people approaching him so he simply sat there a minute, processing what Alexndria had said, before he stood up and bowed, taking off his top hat. Although he looked kind of ridiculious with the leaves coering his head and shoulders, it was obviously a gentlemanly gesture.

"I thought it was obvious. I was deciding which spell to use to blow the building up. I am Roman, pleasure to meet you."

Blair snickered and poked Oliver's nose, "Of course! It's a lot of fun. You should try it sometime."
"I enjoy a fair share of both. How about you?" Vince asked.
Alice took a few seconds to compose herself. She listened to the rhythm of the music; that was one thing she knew she was good at, finding a rhythm. She put one hand on Joey's shoulder and the other in his hand. She was confident now.

Alexandria put a hand to her mouth, "And what spell is coming to your mind?" She asked, testing him, "My name is Alexandria Monroe." She cooed, limply putting her hand out, expecting him to kiss it. She was that type of girl.

Oliver rubbed where he had been poked. "No thanks." he said, not really wanting to get involved with any sort of girl at the moment.

Joey took her hand in his good hand and rested his other hand on her waist. He took the lead, although he was a little off beat, it wasn;t bad enough to stand out. And he was also avoiding stomping on Alice's feet, which he found good.

--

Roman blinked. "I don't name my spells." He said. "I just say them. Are you a witch? Or a guest?" He asked. he glanced at her hand and kissed it, used to displaying chivalrious behavior.

Blair stood up, "Very well." She said, prancing off to where the food was.
Dominic smiled at Nikki, "Would you like to dance?" He asked.
Alice moved with the rhythm. So far, everything was successful; no feet were being stepped on.

Alexandria placed one hand on her hip, "I'm a wizard." She said, understanding that technically she was a witch, but she did not like to be called that. No witch that she had ever met was decent at magic.
"My goal here is very much so like yours. If you're actually trying to blow up the place."

Oliver continued to loundge in his seat comfortably, looking extremely out of place.

Nikki blinked. "Oh, uhm, sure!" She said, offering a smile.

Joey continued to lead, finding himself getting used to the dance steps.

--

"Funny. I thought female wizards were called Witches." Roman shrugged, a grin forming on his face. His abnormally sharp teeth stood out on his lower lip. "Really? Well I want to blow it up." Roman said childishly, focusing his attention on the building and it's guests. "But if your goal is only like mine, what else do you want?" He asked, kneeling down in the grass again.

Dominic took her hand gently and lead her to the dance floor. He saw Alice and Joey dancing and gave a laugh, "There goes Joey with the younger girl again." He joked.

Alice smiled delightfully. She was proud for not screwing up and embarrassing herself. She could get used to this.


Alexandria smirked, "Yeah, don't call me a witch." She took a step towards the cathedral and observed, "There's a group of people in that building. They call themselves the SPC. Super power club, or something silly like that." She said, pretending not to know, "They all have their own magic abilities. Just a bunch of bratty teenagers. I'm here for them. I don't want to kill them; just torture."

Nikki looked over and smiled. "Well, he's always got a way with words... he's been hanging around Kyle way too much." She laughed.

Joey grinned. "Hey, you dance pretty well." He said.

--

"A club?" Roman asked. "With magic abilities? Do you think they like to battle?" he asked. "Oh, and how are you tourturing them? Exploding the bilding just makes them go 'poof'!" he demonstrated the action by closing his hands together and opening them as he said 'poof'.

Dominic laughed, "That is very true. Kyle even has Blair wrapped up in his charm."
Alice smiled brightly, "I am?" She exclaimed.
Blair came back to the table and sat next to Oliver again, now with a plate of what look like chicken and rice.
"So, quiet one." She said, picking at her food, "Tell me about yourself." Her goal was to get this kid to open up.

Alexandria blinked, "I don't know much about them. I've only run into them once." She looked off to the side and grimaced.
"I'm thinking of what I can do to ruin their night. I of course must lock them all in first. But I want to do more." She glanced at Roman, "Would you like to help me?"

Nikki laughed lightly. "You think so? I always thought those two would be cute.." Nikki said, moving to the beat.

"Yup! You're blowing me away!" Joey said, giving her a twirl.

Oliver adjusted his mask and turned his face in Blair's direction. A chaparone was giving him a dirty look since he was without shirt. Oliver took no notice.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, looking through his eyeholes at her food.

--

"Oh." Roman didn't think about it too much, and grinned wider when she offered him to join her. "Sounds fun, but I'm blowing the building up at midnight. You've till then to make their lives miserable." He laughed something devilish.

Dominic laughed, "Yeah? It's hard for me to think of 'Blair' and 'cute' going into the same sentence."
Alice blushed, "Well, I guess I do have a knack for rhythm and music." She said with a girlish giggle.
Blair looked at Oliver in the eye. She squinted and then asked, "So...what do you think of the SPC so far? The people in it?" She asked, as if she were interviewing him for a job.

Alexandria crossed her arms, "Midnight you say." She said, looking off into the sky, "Why do you even want to blow it up?" She asked.

Nikki shrugged. "Well... I think it's pretty cute, anyway." She said with a light smile. "It's obvious with how they treat each other... at least it's obvious to me..."

"You definably do." Joey said. "Even if we're a little off beat, what's it matter? Heh." He grinned.

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "What do I think? Pretty plain." He said honestly. He rested his elbow on the table, his chin in his palm. "The only reason I agreed to show up to the meetings was because of the governments insitance." He grumbled the last part.

Roman's smile widened, and he let out a bit of a laugh that sounded something along the lines of 'kekeke'. "I want to blow it up because the fire is beautiful." He responded, eyes widening in excitement at the very idea.

Dominic nodded, "I can definitely see some spark between them." He smiled, "I think everybody can see that.
Alice looked around, "A few others are off beat as well." She said, "But that's okay! I think it all looks so wonderful."
Blair raised her eyebrows, "So...what else do you do, besides the SPC?" She asked.

Alice nodded, "I see. Well, I will give you a head start." She raised her hand and uttered, "Odófragma". Quickly, but very quietly, the doors began to mold into the surrounding walls so it would be impossible to open them. She proudly crossed her arms, "There. Now nobody can get out."

Nikki smiled. "It's sweet, I think." She commented, twirling with the downbeat of the song. She didn't notice as Alexandria locked the doors.

Joey looked around. "Yeah, you're right. We obviously look the best though." He said, as the song seemed to grow a bit more upbeat.

Oliver shrugged. "Nothing. I get detentions. I've way too many suspensions under my belt to even think of any afternoon activities anyway." He said offhandedly.

--

The large clock at the top of the cathedral struck ten. Two hours. Roman watched as Alexandira muttered her spell. He didn't envy normal wizards too much, but having a spell to mold doors into walls would be cool.

"Wow, there's no doors! What kind of spell is that?" He said, but his excitement was short lived. He sat up straight and yelled something in thick russian, causing a tower atop the cathedral to explode. He hadn't blown up the building yet, after all, what was the fun if the people inside didn't know what was about to happen?

Dominic smiled, "I do too, actually. It certainly is an interesting match." He looked off towards Blair, "I wonder if anything will actually happen between the two."

Alice giggled, "You really think so?" She looked towards the blonde couple, "Dominic and Nikki look great too." She chirped.

Blair widened her eyes, suddenly very interested, "Ooooh! I get detentions too!" She exclaimed, "What'd you get 'em for?" She leaned forward.

Alexandria lifted her chin, "A very interesting man trained me. He knew very interesting things." She boasted, "I was taught my spells in Greek; a rare language used in black magic." She did a curtsy and within seconds, she disappeared.

Nikki shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe. I hope so, anyway." She replied. But just then she heard and felt a loud rumbling. The sound of something collapsing echoed throught the ball room. Although there was no visible damage, the music stopped, and most people were lookign up towards the roof. "What happened? Do you think that someone could be attacking us? Was this a trap?" Nikki asked Dominic, unconciously clutching his arm rather tightly.

Joey paused mid-step at the rumbling, eyes darting towards Nikki and Dominic. "Crap. Some villain might be after us. maybe it's the blonde girl from before." He said.

"Fighting." Oliver replied. He didn't know if braging about detentions was good. He hated every detention he got, mostly because it meant spending time with teachers. He did not appear shaken at all by the rumbling, rather he seemed very uninterested.

--

"Ohh. I take it he was interesting." Roman said, watching as Alexandria dissapeared. He sat on the grass, making himself comfortable as she did whatever it was she wanted to do.