Peaceful Punch (Shin)

So…that whole ‘keeping impatience off the list of emotions’ thing hadn’t worked out too well and before long Kealey had found herself fidgeting where she stood, right hand playing with the fingers of the left. The punch bowl was bound to be a popular place, though, and while she was there to have a good time, Kealey knew her other duties as well. They’d keep her occupied while she waited. The blond nodded to herself and went to work using a focus technique as old as her powers themselves.

One by one she focused on individual students, gauging their emotions and doing her best to sort out their intentions. She figured she’d be able to tell if anyone was up to no good, and possibly head off any problems before they occurred. Where there were teenagers, there was drama, add mutant powers to the mix and one didn’t need experience with kids to know there was a potential for trouble.

The crowd was quiet so far, most people simply arriving and greeting their dates, reacting to each other in the fancy clothes. Kealey smiled, they were all so cute, so insecure, so earnest in their reactions…self-consciousness melted into glowing pride each time a person received a positive review of their clothing choice. The blond noticed that there was a severe shortage of long dresses and worried her bottom lip slightly, wondering if she’d mistook the word “formal” on the fliers.

So focused was Kealey on the emotions of the students and her own worries about her dress, she didn’t notice Shin until he stopped right in front of her. Suddenly she empathized on a higher level with the other females in the room than she’d thought possible given her powers.

Shin was a snappy dresser, had been as long as Kealey had known him, and when he’d said he was going to surprise her tonight, Kealey had been eager to see what he had up his proverbial sleeve. He’d done well. He’d done very well.

He held out the flowered corsage and spoke and Kealey blushed scarlet right to the roots of her blond hair as relief flooded through her. If Shin thought she looked alright, she could deal with the rest.

”Thank you.” she said softly and earnestly, reaching out to take the corsage and quickly pin it in place before pulling herself together and giving Shin a quick once-over. He’d gotten the opportunity, even if it had been unintentional. Kealey intended to afford herself the same chance. She grinned.

”You look fantastic too. I might insist on you dressing up more often. You clean up even better than you dress down.” she said, eyes glinting as she teased.

The blond looked over the crowd one more time and nodded to her date, determined not to focus too much on all the emotions around her. At least for the time being.

”I guarded the punch diligently while I waited.” she said with a smile.

”I might have to see that to believe it.” Kealey said when Shin pointed out that he might have her beat in the disarray category at the moment as far as troom organization was concerned. It was a difficult thing to believe. When Kealey got distracted, she moved from one thing, to another, to another and the state of her room often reflected the hopping around. ”Rest assured that the time spent in the decision-making process was well worth it.”

Kealey watched as Shin looked around the room, happy because he was happy, and everyone else was happy, and because she was happy. It was one of those times where being an empath wasn’t so bad. Being surrounded by happy like this kind of made her feel like a little floaty and light-headed. Shin mentioned parachute pants and blond eyebrows nearly met hairline. ”You have parachute pants? she said, ”Might have to see that one to believe it too.”


Shin asked if she’d had a chance to dance yet, and Kealey shook her head, ”Nuh uh.” she said, reaching out to take Shin’s offered hand, ”I’ve never danced to a slow song before.”

”Hmmm, well, if anyone can pull them off, it’s you.” Kealey said with a smile when Shin admitted to owning a pair of silver parachute pants. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust his fashion sense, it was simply that the idea of anyone in parachute pants these days was a bit outlandish. Outlandish could be a good thing, she allowed, especially for Shin. He managed to pull of outfits that would simply look ridiculous on other people.

The blond grinned when Shin slipped up and shook her heat at his sheepish laugh and correction. ”Well, if they’re that bedazzling I’ll simply have to see them. In fact, I’m a little shocked you never mentioned them before.”

Shin led her to the dance floor, and Kealey followed, still awash in all the emotions of the room. There really were a lot of people there. At least for now, though, they were all fairly happy.

Dancing. Kealey had been surprised at how well she’d managed the fast stuff…slow, on the other hand was something new. Shin complimented her again and Kealey laughed and dropped her head to hide her once-again-pink cheeks. ”Only if you mean they’ll wonder who that outrageously clumsy looking blond in the strange long dress is.” she said.

So there they were, on the dance floor…ready to dance slow. How did that work again? Shin already had her hand, so Kealey stepped closer and draped her arm over his other shoulder. More blushing, this time it was her own embarrassment.

”So, how exactly did this work again?” she asked helplessly, hoping she’d done something right.