“Of course I’m going to mock you, you’re making it easy. Besides, that’s better than me carrying you home and you throwing up all over my shoes, right?” She stuck her tongue out right back. Twyla didn’t really know how the boy held his alcohol, but she threw out an example from one of the memories from her oldest sister’s wedding where one of her cousins ruined her bridesmaids dress with a bottle of Jack Daniels and some champagne.

“Let’s go with a lot more training and maybe a new power for me.” Maybe an active power would be more help in a fight than one that only afforded her a good excuse to hide? Twyla watched as Gawain struggled with not taking a drink from the girly glass. She smirked. “Just drink it, no one’s gonna say anything. Well, I might, but I don’t count.” Twyla was glad to hear that Maya/Gawain wasn’t going anywhere very soon. It was nice to have people she could talk and hang out with at the Mansion.

“I think the Mansion’s the best place for me right now. At least til I get my school stuff all caught up. I totally missed a year, so I’ve got some studying to do. After that” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends on how things with the X’s goes. If I get in I’ll stay around New York for college and if not...” Another shrug. Things would work out how they wanted to. Twyla had long-ish term goals, like becoming and X-man, and she had long term goals that involved a nice house and a family and her path was headed for the closest things to those goals as she could get.

Feeling like the party mood was slowly ebbing away from her (and feeling much better after her mini-melancholic episode) Twyla nudged the boy’s stool with her foot, sending it spinning. “I hold me sugar well, if you hadn’t noticed.” She giggled, pushing on the stool again.

>>“Of course I’m going to mock you, you’re making it easy. Besides, that’s better than me carrying you home and you throwing up all over my shoes, right?”

Gawain rolled his eyes. Like he would ever throw up on a lady. Duh. Especially if that lady was Twyla. Really not cool. He wondered if she spoke from experience. He also wondered who that idiot could had been...

>>“Just drink it, no one’s gonna say anything. Well, I might, but I don’t count.”

"Yes ya do. Ya count a lot." he just put it out there before reaching for his drink and taking a good long sip. He didn't really want to pursue that. It just slipped out. Kinda.
He listened to Bubblegum's plans about school and the X-men. She really had a lot of plans. Good for her. In the past three years all of his was 'find Mom'. It was still on top of the list. But at least now there was a list...
Gawain smiled.
"Looks like they would be living under the same roof for a while."

He almost spilled his drink when Twyla spun his stool around. Thank goodness he had good balance. Putting his drink down, he did the second spin by himself, then stopped Bubblegum with a hand on her knee.

>>“I hold me sugar well, if you hadn’t noticed.”

"Good" he grinned "I hope you've drunk enough, because now..." he said hopping of the stool and stepping closer "we dance."
And with that, he pulled her back towards the dance floor.

The next time the bartender came their way, all he saw was two empty stools and two half glasses of Cinderella.

“Uh-oh, then I’ll hold back my comments.” Twyla locked her lips with an imaginary key as Gawain finally drank some more of his virgin drink. For a moment she pondered the meaning behind the words but then she decided it was a normal friend comment, they were friends after all. “It’s really not that bad. You just kinda look a little metrosexual is all, own it.” She ‘locked’ her lips again so that he could at least half enjoy his drink.

The spin did its job well and pulled them both back to the party. Gawain allowed himself to spin a few times and then stopped the pushing by putting a hand on her knee. Her bare knee that happened to feel strangely warm even after his hand had gone. Dancing was back on the menu apparently and Twyla’s mind went back to their last dance together as Twyla and Gawain. She remembered the random weird thoughts she’d had and focused on ignoring them as well as the weird butterflies that had suddenly started flying about in her stomach. Sudden nerves made her body tingle. “I don’t know if I’ve--" But it was too late, she was being pulled away from the bar.

This is Maya. She reminded herself as she was led back onto the dance floor. Maya. Maya. Maya. Maya. They look different, but they’re the same person. The same person that just happens to look like a boy and smell nice and be kinda–be Maya. SO TOTALLY MAYA.

Dancing with a guy was a totally different dynamic than dancing with another girl. This Twyla knew from her limited experience. She tried with all her might to ignore this and get into the pattern of movements that she’d gotten comfortable in with Maya. Her smile was slightly hesitant, but Twyla didn’t notice, she was trying to keep it on her face until she got herself in order.

>>“It’s really not that bad. You just kinda look a little metrosexual is all, own it.”

Ouch. Gawain winced at the comment. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, Twyla was not exactly making things easier for him. Being used to switching between boy and girl all his life, he kept forgetting how strange it must be for others.
Life was so much easier when peope thought I was twins.

At least Bubblegum didn't resist him when he pulled her back to the dance floor. Her smile was a little less bright than before, oh that's right she's dancin' with a guy now, but at least she didn't refuse to dance. That's a start.
All right, so dancing with her was a bit different now. Mainly because being Gawain was a good excuse for not keeping a polite distance out of awkwardness. They'd done this before. No big deal. The wedding had been a different kind of setting and a different kind of dancing, but still. Gawain just hoped she wouldn't shy away when he sneaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer with his palm against the small of her back.

Good move, genius.
And now what?...

He picked up the rhythm as he'd done before, and moved together with her, trying hard to keep the dance decent. Had it been any other random girl, his hands would have been all over her by now, but heck this was Twyla. Dangerously close.
Geez, kid, ya worry she'd shy away, and ya are the one to act like a belle at her first dance. Duh.

He smiled at Bubblegum. With all the weird thoughts and god she smells good she was still his best friend, and dancing was still fun.

Now where did all the friggin' butterflies come from?...

Oh man. Twyla tried to hide her surprise when Gawain’s arm wrapped itself around her waist so his hand could find a place in the curve of her lower back. Well this was interesting. Twyla had never done anything but slow dancing and ‘nice’ dancing with boys. She didn’t really have any guy friends back home so she really didn’t know if this was normal behavior or not. All she knew was that she’d only ever danced this close with her good (girl) friends and that had been on those rare occasions where all of them were in the ‘who-cares-about-personal-space’ mood. Not that what she was currently doing was objectionable, but it was weird and unfamiliar.

It’s just Maya...-ish, chill. The girl tried to remind herself of the unique circumstances and her mind got the picture but somehow the message got lost in translation on the way through her body, which was screaming: “Um, I think you’re confused. We’re definitely touching a boy here!” Hence the hesitant way Twyla was moving. Several pressing question presented themselves rather quickly:
1. How close was too close?
2. Why was she so nervous, this was Maya, just not the female version.
3. What the heck was she supposed to do with her arms?

To answer these question brown eyes stole a glance at the couples around the pair. The forms of dancing varied from arms length to so close and intense that Twyla couldn’t watch because she got embarrassed. When she looked back to her partner he was smiling. She smiled back and this time it was a normal smile. In that moment she decided to just ignore the awkward nerves and go with it. Arms covered in glitter from a silver dress made their way onto the shoulders of a teenage boy and rested there–hands not quite, but close to being around the boy’s neck. Her moves started to line up with his and pretty soon Twyla was twisting her hips in and out, close and then away, like the girl with green dreads was doing not to far from where she and Gawain were dancing.

“So I’m gonna say this is club dancing?” She asked Gawain, a slightly shaky smirk playing across her lips. This was fun, all the off-putting thoughts about her partner aside. Twyla could get used to this. Maybe. She’d have to find a way to detach her mind from the...interesting suggestions her body was giving her.

Twyla seemed to hesitate for a few minutes, an Gawain all but held his breath, waiting to see if she'd say 'it's getting late' or something of the sort and bail. But she didn't. Instead she lifted her arms to his shoulders, and smiled, and
Whoa whoa WHOA. Hips.
Gawain's smile turned into something more devilish.
I knew she'd get the hang of it.
His free hand traveled down to rest on her hip. She was a dancer, after all, she had good rythm, not to mention moves that had a certain effect on Gawain's mind, and who would blaim a teenage boy for that.
He could see her glance around at the other couples. Well, you gotta start somewhere...

>>“So I’m gonna say this is club dancing?”

The knight chuckled, and leaned in closer so she could hear his answer over the music. "Yeah, it is. Or at least it begins here."
His palm traveled up highed on her back, nudging her to lean against it if she wanted to. "Loosen up, Bubblegum, I'm not gonna drop you."
Or at least keep doin' what you're doin'...

He looked around again, and turning back to her he caught Twyla's gaze as it wandered from one dancer to the other. He grinned.
"'tis okay to cheat off the others." he said, keeping the rhythm of the dance with her "They do the same." he shrugged "Or they're just starin' at you."

He couldn't blame them either. Do stare, people. I'm dancing with the hottest girl in the club.

Gawain’s other hand made it’s way onto her hip and Twyla had to concentrate on her feet so that she didn’t miss a beat. It was distracting, being so close to someone. Not to mention warm–although the heat could probably be attributed to nerves as well, or the fact that it seemed like whenever his hands touched her Twyla was hyper aware of it. Was that all nerves? Was it just because she was nervous? In any case, the girl was very aware of herself and the way her moves were fitting into his. She looked up at Gawain to gauge his reaction and his smile had turned into something mischievous that she couldn’t quite read but it made something in her stomach twirl about.

If this was the beginning Twyla wasn’t sure is she’d get past Chapter 1 of ‘Dancing in a Club for Dummies’. Then again, once she got into it things got easier...until of course one of the warm spots that were his hands moved up her spine in a way that tugged her closer. “How much looser am I supposed to be?” Twyla raised an eyebrow and giggled before giving into the pull of his hand and letting the pair get closer. It would be easier to talk over the music this way even if the fact that there were a lot more accidental bumps and brushes at this proximity that sent the girl’s stomach jumping every few seconds. She wasn’t nearly as nervous at this point, what was up with her?

“Good, because I need a cheat sheet.” She smiled again. “And when they look at us they’re thinking ‘why is that boy dancing with such an awkward girl?’” Not as awkward as before though, that was for certain. Once she caught onto their cadence it was easy to move with Gawain–in a way it was like talking...not that Twyla ever said anything aloud that came near to what her hips and shoulders were saying as she swayed and shimmied next to the boy.

>>“How much looser am I supposed to be?”

Gawain grinned and his hand slid down her sides again. She was just inches away from him. There was no force on Earth that could have fished his mind out of the gutter now. Even though it was a strangely new kind of gutter. It's wasn't dirty at all. What. The. Heck.

>>“Good, because I need a cheat sheet. And when they look at us they’re thinking ‘why is that boy dancing with such an awkward girl?"

Gawain chuckled and lowered his lips to her ear to speak "Nah, they're thinkin' 'how did that guy pick up the hottest girl in the club'?" he chuckled as he pulled back to look at her "Either that, or they're just wondering when ya're gonna kick my ass like ya did to the other guy."

I'm wondering about that too.
Better enjoy it while it lasts. New Years Eve was famous for being special, and also, one-time. Right.

Letting her go and stepping back, he twirled her around by the hand with a mischievous grin, and then again, before he pulled her back, flush against him, one palm supporting her shoulders as he bent her back slightly, and the other placing her arm back around his neck.
Talk about 'close'.
Gawain grinned as he looked down at her. He could feel her breath.
Nervous yet?

The warmth was spreading from the places his hands were traveling on her sides through her entire back and then up to her neck and down to her legs. She felt something akin to embarrassment with the sudden flush of heat. This was weird. Twyla was certainly not used to anything like this. This was a strange feeling and the girl wasn’t sure if it was unpleasant or just good in a way that she didn’t want to acknowledge.

Twyla rolled her eyes at ‘hottest girl in the club’. Uh-huh, riiiiight. It was a nice thing to say though, so she didn’t tell him what was going through her mind. This was easy to do because in the moment she had also been focused on the goose bumps that rippled on her neck when he spoke so close to her ear that she could feel his breath there. He moved a bit farther back and Twyla focused again on what he was saying. “I’m gonna say that’s gonna be later, considering what flattery does.” Another eye roll coupled with a giggle, although this one was at her own comment. She really wasn’t’ planning on kicking Gawain’s ass and considering he was sober she probably couldn’t–so far the only thing in jujitsu that she was totally comfortable with was falling and that didn’t do very good offensively.

Suddenly, the world went out of focus and Twyla was dizzy. Remembering the feeling from the first time they’d danced, the girl was more prepared for the second spin and she fully enjoyed it. It ended much closer than it had began. At this point Twyla was flush up against Gawain. The warm feeling intensified and her heartbeat (which had been slightly elevated before) began to pound in double time, mimicking the beat of the fast song the DJ was playing. The butterflies in her stomach that had tamed down were going wild and her breath was coming in short, fast bursts. She looked up into his grinning face and blinked a few times, the all too familiar blush creeping across her cheeks. This was new. And very close. And very ho–confusing. “Um...” Escaped her lips in a breathy rush as she tried to find their rhythm again.

>>“I’m gonna say that’s gonna be later, considering what flattery does.”

Uh-huh. Flattery. Because that was the only reason she hasn't bailed yet. Right. Gawain grinned down at the girl he was currently holding in his arms. She was hot. Also, flushed. That was either because of the dancing, or because something else, and the possibility of 'something else' seemed to be a nice breeding ground fore more butterflies of th internal kind.

His next move had an even better effect on her. She twirled around - all right, so she expected that one from their last dance - then came back, and if she was flushed before, now she was positively burning. Gawain wondered if the color on her cheeks had something to do with her chameleon abilities... or was it just him. Probably just him.
And so he kissed her.

Because...?
Because somewhere deep down he knew the more she sees about Maya the weirder things will get. Because he was not entirely sure how long the New Year Eve sugar rush will last. Because he knew he only had the one chance to get it right. Because he was scared within inches of his life of doing it.
And also because Bubblegum was warm, and sweet, and smelled like fruits, and heck she was driving his crazy, and she had pink highlights in her hair, and she was wearing a dress that glittered.
Because.

He kissed her. He. Kissed. Her. And not on the cheek mind you, or the forehead or the hand, or in the air behind her ears like some people kissed hello. No, this was a square on, undeniable kiss that couldn’t be waved away on some friendly pretense. Not that the kiss wasn’t friendly, it just didn’t seem like the kind that a friend gave to another friend.

Now this was interesting.

Twyla Ashby had been kissed before. Not often or enough for a statistic, but it had happened. These sparse kisses were apparently insufficient in preparing her for what she assumed was a real kiss. It felt weird. And good. And a million other things that the girl didn’t have a name for. The butterflies surged and in that moment she might have even kissed him back, the surge of strange feelings egging her on. Most thoughts were swept aside and her body did the thinking for a change. In all of the everything Twyla’s hands tightened their hold, pulling her even closer to him and her power began to act up, masking her legs with the colors of the club.

And then the overly logical part of her brain that had a tendency to stay on (even through power surges like this one) reminded her of one not so simple fact: Gawain and Maya were the same person. Things came crashing back to reality, and fast.

Twyla was the first to pull away from the kiss and unlike in the movies she’d watched, her eyes weren’t star crossed or shimmery. No, her brown eyes were alert and filled with equal parts of confusion, panic, and exhilaration. She untangled herself from the boy, bit her lip, and said: “I have to pee.” Twyla turned away from the boy before she could see his reaction, and headed for the ladies room. As she walked away her legs were still matching the pictures in the club, a sneak peek at the inner turmoil that was raging inside a young mind.

... and then you go splat.

For a moment, it wasn't real. Not real was good, because reality had nothing to do with the kiss to begin with, so as long as it stayed out of it, they would be just fine. Gawain's heart jumped when he felt her pulling him closer, and his arm tightened around her waist, the other hand on its way to the back of her neck. Maybe...

... maybe not.

Her eyes were wide with panic. This is how the paveent looks like when you are on your way towards it from the top of a skyscraper. Gawain's heart sank as she pulled away, and walked off the dance floor.
Of course not.

THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!

He could see - or, more precisely, couldn't see - as her powers worked their way up her legs. She must have been truly scared. Of him.
F***.

Gawain felt like kicking himself into next week as he walked over to the bar and sat down, not even looking or caring to see whoever else was around him.
There was going to be Talk. Probably not anytime soon; first, Twyla will come back, and then they will go home (home? who am I kidding?), because staying in the club now was several kinds of pointless, and then there's gonna be awkward silences, and then, sometime later, there's going to be Talk. And it's going to be even more awkward, and he's gonna explain his "powers" (yeah, right) all over again, and then they will agree on this being a very bad idea, blame it on the sugar rush, and do all the 'just friends' crap.
And the worst part is: Gawain couldn't blame her. She was the reasonable one.
She also tasted like fruits.
Gawain folded his arms over his chest and bit his lip.

Friggin' awesome way to start the new year.

The problem with being a girl and using the bathroom excuse was that ladies rooms always had a ten million foot line coming out of them. The one at this club was no different–but Twyla had to get in there. So she did the politist thing she could think of and used her powers to sneak in behind a woman in a purple mini dress. She was of course found out as soon as she sidled up to one of the sinks and dropped her camouflage. Maybe it was the look on her face, but when Twyla turned at the angry ladies they stopped their yelling and mumbled behind her back. Mumbling she could deal with–she needed this sink for more than fixing her makeup, she needed to think.

Deep breaths were taken as Twyla looked at her slightly disheveled reflection. There were two spots of color high on her cheeks that matched the color of her kiss stung lips. Her blonde curls had frazzled out a bit and her glittery eye makeup was all over her temples and cheeks.Girl, you’re a mess. A few splashes of cold water took care of the flush of her cheeks and a damp paper towel helped remove some of the wayward glitter. Twyla did these things methodically, focusing on them and her breathing with her full attention. Everything would make sense if she just did this first.

Or not, that was an option too.

After a few minutes, it seemed that staring at her reflection wasn’t going to give her the answers. So Twyla tried to slowly make sense of everything–aloud. “So, what I know: Maya and Gawain and the same person, she/he just gender shifts. I also know that I am friends with this person and I was before going to this club.” Lists were something that Twyla Ashby had always made, she had a list of books she wanted to read before she died, a list of goals to reach before she hit thirty, and now she was making a list in the hopes that it would help her categorize her thoughts. “What I think I know is: that there is some weird chemistry thing going on between Gawain and I and that we just totally had a moment.” A hand went up and touched her too red lips. “What I would like to know is: why he kissed me, why I kissed him back and what I’m supposed to do about it.” There, even if things inside her body were still a bit on the swirly side her mind had a mission to find out the unknowns and solidify the possibilities.

She fingered through her hair, without asking herself why, and left the bathroom in search of her dance partner. Twyla walked back to where she thought they had been dancing before and Gawain wasn’t there, she couldn’t see him anywhere on the dance floor and then by some miracle she saw someone who looked particularly like her target hugging himself at the bar. “Hey cutie,--” She paused when she got to the boy. “I can’t say it.” She giggled a little and smiled, but the smile was hesitant as if she was walking up to an injured animal. “Mind if I sit?” When had she gotten so formal? Sometime between a kiss and returning from the bathroom Twyla supposed.

Somewhere between sitting down at the bar and Twyla's return there was a moment when Gawain seriously considered walking the heck out of this whole mess and never looking back. It was a brief moment, and not an easy one - bailing had always worked before.
Yeah, right. There was a lot of 'never before's and 'always before's in said mess. That's why it was called a mess. Otherwise it could have been a date.

He couldn't just leave. Sir Gawain was born and raised a knight (and a lady, oh hell don't go there now), and he couldn't just leave Bubblegum here with all the creeps and drunk people. She'd never forgive him. She probably won't forgive him anyway, but he didn't want to add 'being a jerk' to his long list of sins.
So he waited.

>>“Hey cutie... I can’t say it.”
Also, she had a great talent for making him melt inside. You can't really just sit feeling sorry for yourself when someone has a laugh like that.

>>“Mind if I sit?”
"Um... sure." he nodded. He was actually surprised that she came back. He wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't. But here she was, smiling none the less, and to his annoyance he was the one to turn red in the cheeks "You all right?..."

Permission to sit: granted. Twyla’s cheeks had been surprisingly bare of her typical blush in the face of weird until she saw Gawain’s blush. She could feel it then, the heat that meant her cheeks were about to pink. She sat before she answered his question. Actually, she sat, adjusted her dress, crossed her ankles under her stool and then proceeded to answer his question. “Yeah.” she looked anywhere but at the boy as she said this, trying to recollect her thoughts that had been clearer in the harsh light of the grimy club bathroom.

“Yeah.” She said with a stronger tone. What she wanted to do was place a comforting hand on his shoulder or something of that nature, but common sense told her that was a bad plan. Instead, Twyla sat back, careful that her knees didn’t bump his. Turning on her stool so she could face Gawain she added: “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m good. Are you/I] all right?”Sure Twyla was a little bit shaken, and a lot confused, but it’s not like Gawain was some random jerk who’d kissed her out of the blue. He wasn’t a jerk at all, they were friends. And it hadn’t been totally out of the blue, if Twyla was being honest. Dancing like that was sure to mean something eventually. This was a totally messed up situation but it didn’t make her want to cry or anything of that nature, so she was ‘good’ still. She just wanted answers and for things to make sense.

The look on her face was still hesitant and she was nervous, but the blush had subsided. Twyla attributed that to the fact that she was set in what she was doing. She had a plan and that made her feel in control–even if that control was just an illusion.