The lights in the danger room flickered on as Sam entered the main floor where the action usually happened. Every so often there would be a time when the Danger room would be used for something other than danger, this would be one of those times. A smile touched the lips of the cyclopean leader as he looked around at the current decorations. The room it self no longer looked large, circular or gray instead it looked more like a gigantic school gymnasium, which he thought was more than appropriate for the occasion.

The occasion for the night would hopefully be the first of many but seeing as how everything that happened recently had stalled this evening’s plan for a few months he was now confident that things were ready to go. Streamers decorated the ceiling along with balloons and some white Christmas lights to help set the mood for the dance he had set up. Looking over to the catered table he nodded his head slightly to all the food that had arrived; there was Pizza, Subs, Chips and dip, Salad and of course punch what better way to celebrate for having the mansion still in one piece?

Okay so maybe it wasn’t all in one piece but they were currently fixing the hole in the wall that Tommy (thirteen year old boy with super strength) managed to put in the wall when he tossed the remote, or the girl’s bathroom that the water shifter (Megan) managed to destroy, but these were small compared to what the mansion had seen and with everyone (mostly everyone) doing so well in their schooling this term Sam couldn’t think of a better reason to hold a dance in everyone honor.

The preparations started approximately two months ago to the day, it started off with small announcements at first but then he instructed his students to pin up flyers and toss some invites under mansion residents doors anything they could do to make the turnout amazing and from what he heard this dance would have a turnout. All mansion residents were invited, students, adults and staff members. This was for everyone, after all this was every ones home that was still intact so everyone who called it home was invited.

Looking over to the DJ booth Sam smirked to the DJ he created and the DJ gave him the thumbs up and then started to play some dance music. Nodding his head slightly and adjusting his tie Sam looked over to the tables where a few other Danger Room butlers were walking around setting up the tables and the rest of the decorations. It was easy to get everything ready when you help didn’t have to sleep, or eat and could work in the dark.

Nodding his head slightly he unlocked the large metallic Danger Room doors to let whoever was showing up early to the dance in, a few kids entered with an excited look and smiled to Sam as they entered. Sam nodded his head and turned his attention to the God Room above the Danger room that looked large disco ball. ”God Room, Lock…” Sam commanded under his breath as he could hear a loud clicking signaling it locked and no one would be able to access it unless they were Sam or had a password that he had set up before he started planning for the dance. No chaos tonight, just a dance!

Looking back to circular clock above the entrance to the Sam nodded his head it was Seven o’clock on the dot and any minute now he expected the Staff and his team of X-Men to help chaperone for the dance. They could all still have fun this dance was after all for them as well it’s just they also needed to help keep an eye on things.

Watching a younger couple enter the ‘Gym’ Sam felt slightly weird not having a date for the dance, sure he could have brought his current girlfriend but, he wasn’t sure she would have as much fun with it as he would so he didn’t really invite her, not to mention that they weren’t going as strong as they were at the beginning of the relationship and he didn’t feel like arguing with her tonight.

“Hi professor!” a few kids said as they entered the ‘Gym’ and made a beeline for the food, ”We aren’t in class, it’s Sam!” Sam called out to the kids as he leaned up against the door by the entrance. Yeah, tonight was going to be awesome.

(OOC: Feel free to break off into smaller thread as needed, and seeing as this will hopefully be a crowded thread there won't be much of a posting order. Have fun and remember, it's a school function so school rules apply! Also to all those who are members of the mansion staff and the X-men you have orders to make sure everyone follows the rules, and once you have done that feel free to have some fun yourself!)

Kealey was already dressed for the dance. Needless to say, she was giddy. These were the things that she’d never been able to do while she was in school. The people, the emotions, it had all been too much. It probably wasn’t going to be easy tonight, especially when the party really started to rev up…but every bit of trouble would be worth it.

The mirror reflected her face, and as the blond meticulously pinned curls to the top of her head so they cascaded down she hoped for a similar reaction to the one she’d gotten the day of the Pokemon tournament. This was different though, this was a significant effort to look nice. A significant effort to look nice for a date. The final pin slipped into place and Kealey turned her head from side to side studying the effect the up-do had on the rest of the outfit.

The dress was simple, a blue that was too dark to be called ice, but too light to be periwinkle. The v-neck was low, but not too low to be classy at a dance involving lots of teenagers. The beading around the sleeves and at the bottom of the V sparkled gently in the light and the dress fell in simple lines down to the floor. It wasn’t an incredibly formal event, so Kealey wore silver flat sandals without even the slightest hint of a heel. They were sparkly though and had thin soles, so they’d be fancy enough for the dress.

Kealey glanced at the clock, it was time to go. Quickly she fastened the simple dangling faux-pearl earrings in her ears and checked the twin curls that framed her face just in front of her ears, giving a final sweep of her bangs she left the room, dress trailing slightly behind her as she walked.

The trip wasn’t long, and when Kealey made her way into the Danger Room, students were already filing inside. Sam was there, and Kealey nodded to him in greeting as she looked for Shin. He wasn’t there yet, but that was okay, over to a wall the blond moved settling back to watch while she waited for her date. The room had been decorated beautifully, and Kealey smiled as she looked at the lights, they’d make her dress sparkle even more. There was even a….wait staff milling around and making sure everything was perfect. What were the people at the dance already feeling? They were excited, thrilled actually, and Kealey grinned.

What was the empath feeling? Anxious, excited, and just the tiniest bit nervous. She glanced towards the door she’d just entered, trying to keep “impatient” off the list.

It was the first school dance Gawain had ever attended. Being home schooled and then not schooled at all came with certain disadvantages. Not like his life so far lacked dancig - quite the contrary - but a School Dance, with all the excitement and awkwardness and fancy clothes, it was new.

The school had been in a buzz for weeks, people asking people out and people sulking over not being asked out by the right person, or not being asked at all. It was drama all over.
The mirrorwalker watched it from the outside. There was only one person s/he would have been willing to take to the dance, but she was away at the moment, ad he was not even sure when she would return.

Because of that, and also because Sam, true to his reputation, found out out Gawain being arrested in no time... Gawain was on duty tonight. At least till midnight, that is; after that, it would be Maya who was on duty, and probably tuck in those who didn't get tucked in by someone else. Apparently Sam thought he/she could handle the responsibility of watching over the event. Great.

At least he was dressed nice. He was wearing black pants, white shirt and a vest. He was also wearing a tie and was busy planning on losing it a.s.a.p. for the simple reason that he hated wearing it. But Sam expected him to look decent, and so he did. Look decent.

After helping with setting up the place he disappeared to get dressed, and returned just in time to see the first students starting to arrive. He walked up to Sam with a grin ad saluted him.

"Sir Gawain of Orkney reportin' for duty, sir."

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod

A green blur raced around her room, picking up this, tossing that. She couldn't find a heel! A HEEL! Alex would skin her alive... for sure. She dropped to her knees, and lowered herself down to peek under her bed. "Aha! I have found you!" She spotted the shy shoe hiding just under the ruffles from her bed skirt. She snatched it up and deposited it next to its sister, then turned back to the real problem.

Her dress. Oh god...

She still hadn't devised a way to work around the fact that it only covered to mid thigh... Much too much skin... The Greek winced, tapping her fingers on crossed arms, and shifted on her feet. She honestly didn't even feel up for a dance. Her head was pounding, and the only reason she had been able to crawl out of bed was a handful of extra strength aspirins. Orange eyes peered out from behind her glasses, glancing towards the mirror she had dragged out of storage. The girl she saw was thin... wraith like, and looked sickly. She could see dark circles under her eyes, as well as the paleness that had seeped into her skin. While she didn't really know how that was possible when one had her shade of skin, she chose to ignore that perplexity, and returned to digging though her drawer. She had to have stockings somewhere... didn't she?

She could recall going to the store recently... after having to buy a hat to cover up the unsightly lumps she had found on her head. She would need to see another doctor soon... before she started sprouting arms and such. Shaking her head, she stood and snatched up the evil dress, wandering into the bathroom for a quick shower, and a change. After a few minutes she emerged, smelling like lilac and decked out in the dress Alex had picked out for her. She had to admit that aside from the ungodly amount of skin showing, it was quite comfortable on her slim frame. Andrea modeled for herself for a moment, turning this way and that like a normal girl would, and smiled. Her friend had been right about it, that was for sure.

Turning, she eyed the heels on her bed, and ruffled her hair. She wasn't an expert when it came to styling and such, and thus she just left it hanging in all of its thick, wiggling glory. Snatching up her coat, she tucked her new small purse into her pocket. The shoes would go on at the last moment... she did want to have working, fully functional feet by the end of the night. With one last look, and a smile at herself in the mirror, she turned and slipped out into the hall, slipping her door shut behind her. She padded her way quickly to where she remembered the Danger room to be, and shifted along with the small crowd that had gathered around until she made it inside. The shadows that surrounded the dance floor beckoned straight away, and she made haste into slipping her shoes on before she was spotted without them by a certain pair of blue eyes.

With death heels in place, she was able to hide alongside the wall and marvel at what the danger room looked like now. White lights, streamers. It was a sight to see for sure. She glanced away, down to her watch, and blinked. Saph would show up soon... hopefully. They hadn't agreed on a time, really, but she was more than willing to wait. He had promised her something extra special, and she was eager to find out what it was. "I hope piggy won't try to eat my socks again..." She muttered, realizing far to late that her clothes were scattered around all over her floor, and the pig had been lazing happily on her bed.

Twyla Ashby was back and in her opinion: better than ever. For the past several weeks she’d been at a dace camp run by one of her grandmother’s many friends. The camp had been open to girls of all genetic make-up and her grandmother Kliensmith had signed Twyla up as the only openly mutant counselor willing to. The camp had been in South Carolina and after weeks of intense daily workouts and lots of time outside the young woman was much more tone than she’d been since arriving at the Mansion and she’d burned and peeled and now had a very healthy tan. Also, she’d gotten her blond and highlights touched up. Twyla felt good and she looked good and she knew it--it was nice to be back to her ‘typical’ dance self again and this showed in her smile and the way that she walked.

Yes, Twyla was back, and it was good to be back. No matter how fun it was to work with the girls of all ages and to meet new people there were plenty of others that she missed--one mirrorwalking gendershifter in particular had been in her thoughts more than any other. It would be good to see the Morris kid again--especially since she hadn’t told her girl/boyfriend that she would be arriving home that particular day. Life was more fun with surprises, at least good surprises. Your girlfriend coming home unannounced was a good surprise...hopefully. Apparently she’d come back on the right day, based on the flyers advertising a school wide dance that were plastered up in the girls hall--not that you needed the flyers to tell you that something exciting was going on, all the girls were in different states of crazy as they primped and borrowed clothes and giggled. A dance? Twyla had looked down at the shopping bags next to her duffel on the bed. She could go to a dance.

An hour after she arrived at the Mansion Twyla Ashby had showered, done her hair, carefully applied a little bit of make up, and picked out a dress from the pile of new clothes that Grandma Blanch had insisted on buying her (not that the young woman minded free shopping being forced on her). When she stepped out of her room Twyla was wearing a black dress, no jewelry, and( in typical Twyla fashion) a new pair of black and silver Nikes. Her hair was tousled in beach waves that a girl at camp had taught her and her make up was just a little bit of highlight and mascara for her eyes and some shiny lip gloss. She felt pretty, now all she had to do was find the party.

It wasn’t hard to follow the growing crowd down to the Danger Room and once she got inside the large space she giggled a bit to herself--it was decked out just like your typical high school gym and it was very fitting for a school dance. Dress, check. Dance, check. Now all I have to do is find my...dance partner. A smile crept across her lips when she found Gawain standing near Sam, she had’t seen either of them since she left for the camp. A deep breath and the girl relaxed her muscles and her hold on her powers, letting them cover her, before carefully weaving her way over to her boyfriend. Is he all dressed up? A bigger smile messed with the lines of camouflage on her face as she got closer. When she was directly behind the boy she dropped her powers and slid her arms up his shoulders so that she could place her hands over his eyes. In the gruffest and lowest voice she could manage she asked: “Guess who?” Twyla was very proud of herself, she managed not to giggle.

Aleksandr couldn't remember ever having been to a dance. He'd gone to clubs and such a handful of times before he had traveled to the United States, but nothing so subdued and organized as the school dance that the X-Men's leader had set up. At least, that's who he thought had set it up. He knew about the X-Men, as they weren't shy about advertising their home being paired with the school at the Mansion. He hoped he was correct in thinking their Leader was the person he believed it to be. There was a lot of information to absorb about his new home since arriving, and as such he'd understandably made some mistakes in recalling such information at times.

He'd nabbed one of the fliers that had been pasted all over the Mansion advertising the school function a good time in advance. It had since been sitting on the dresser of the room he'd claimed for himself, allowing him to review the information again at any time he wanted. Several times he'd double-checked to make sure it wasn't strictly open to students and faculty, since he was neither. But apparently, he wasn't the only person that was just a resident in the building, and his kind was also allowed to attend. He was trying to maintain a good impression for those he was still getting used to living with, and accidentally crashing a school dance would likely have ruined those efforts.

Then there was the issue of dressing appropriately for it. Unfortunately, with a tail in place of legs there weren't a whole lot of options left open to him that didn't look a little strange. Even just a bow tie seemed out of place to him. As such, he decided to remain comfortable instead of worrying about a dress code and go about business as usual. Naked. Not that his nudity had the same issues as his bipedal counterparts had. His mutation had insured that his scaly self was naturally modest in that sense. Besides, why cover up such gorgeous scales with bits and pieces of fabric, anyway?

Heading down toward the Danger Room, which the flier had designated as the place where the dance was being hosted, he waited off to the side away from the giddy younger individuals until the crowd gathering and entering through the doorway had thinned a bit. One disadvantage to being the owner of a magnificent tail such as his was the problem of it being trampled or tipped over by unobservant passerbys. Teenagers too preoccupied with the prospect of getting inside the Danger Room, readjusting their outfits, finding their dates, and catching up on the latest gossip were prime examples of the kind of people that would end up in an unfortunate situation with his tail.

Once he was sure he had enough room to pass he made his way through the large doorway and into the room where the kids and some older looking individuals were mingling. It wasn't exactly what he'd expected from a place called the Danger Room. It was more welcoming and tamer than he'd thought it might be, though it had been dressed up for the occasion, so perhaps it lived up to its name a little more at other times.

Being still relatively new he didn't really know anyone currently in attendance, though he recognized the faces of a few from around the Mansion. And seeing that these people were largely dancing or moving around, most of them without paying much mind to their surroundings once they'd found someone to speak with, there were twice as many feet and legs that could potentially have a run-in with his long tail. And so he quietly moved off to one side of the room and simply observed for the time being, his serpentine appendage coiling neatly beneath him. Maybe if things calmed down a little or something he'd venture a little further into the room.

There was a reason Fade didn't go to High School. It wasn't because she didn't know how to read at all back then. It wasn't because she didn't have a permanent address. It wasn't because she didn't have any guardians...well, maybe it was mostly all of those things, but tonight, it was because she hated dances. The whole concept of putting on a pretty dress and dancing with the man of your dreams, losing yourself in his arms and the calm serenity of the room, moving your body with the beats of the songs, it was gross. Deep down inside though, Fade had always wished she had a moment like that, yet never expected it. Especially not tonight, she would have to be dressed nicely. Not too terribly nice that she couldn't chase down some pranking kids, but enough to get the point across that she wouldn't show up in jeans and a t-shirt.

The dreaded dress was purple and it draped down from the gold fit belt between her waist and chest, which made it slightly more comfortable. Her make up was done, but wasn't overdone, just subtle colors and some mascara, she wasn't going all out on this, why would she? Heels would have worked perfectly, but due to the threat that she would have to change her shoes quickly, she decided not to go with heels and instead wore purple and gold flats that had little shoe ties at the tip to keep them tight.

She looked down at at her watch, which she planned on taking off, but when she removed it, the bright tan line nearly blinded her. It was 7:10, it started at 7 and knowing Sam, it was started on time. Taking one last look in the mirror, she frowned and turned invisible. It wasn't her intention to capture anyone's attention and she hated when people saw her looking nice, she was too laid back. She could hear the Danger Room well before reaching it. At first, when she heard the Danger Room was the scene of the event, she was excited, she loved spending time in the Danger Room and getting into and out of, well, danger. The second she saw what the Danger Room had become, she dropped the excitement of the location.

It looked like something from Sixteen Candles. Since she'd never been to an actual school dance, she'd heard people spiked the fruit punch all the time and ran off behind curtains to hook up. It was time to scout that out first. Sam was the first person she saw, though she was still invisible, she would get back to him. First, she went to the Fruit Punch and grabbed a glass. One of the glasses suddenly disappeared and a bit of Punch rose in the air before disappearing. No one really seemed to notice, except one guy who looked a little preoccupied with his dancing girlfriend. He looked for a moment, spun her, and continued on with his business.

Lightly sipping it, Fade swished it around in her mouth and gulped it down. Nope, no alcohol, not yet. It was good punch though, she would just have to finish the glass now. Walking back across the dancefloor, she phased through anyone that danced too close to them. Some would shiver a little while others continued as if nothing happened. On her trip back, her eyes darted around the room, but she didn't see anything bad. All until she hit one couple, who were grinding upon eachother in ways they didn't really do in the movies. She could understand some grinding, kids thought it was the best way to dance, but they were taking that level a bit further. Standing beside them, she suddenly turned visible, but only her currently green eyes. "You could dance more appropriately," she said, raising an invisible eyebrow to make her visible eye become bigger than the left eye. The boy breathed out quickly and jumped a little.

While he regained his posture, well, his independent posture, the girl began coming up with excuses, "my mutation keeps me extremely cold, he was just trying to warm me up," she studdered. "Keep the excuses, Sandra, I know you're a porportion manipulator, has nothing to do with heat, keep your distance," Fade warned. Some people didn't realize she saw a lot more than people believed. Being invisible had taught her the names and tendencies of some of the students, not because she was invisible and would stalk them, but because she'd climb up ceilings and hardly anyone looked up there in the first place. Simple stress relievers because intel gathering when groups of students walked in and talked about their crushes. Fade hardly even remained there, she usually just phased to the next floor.

When she had separated the two, she turned her eyes invisible again and stood next to Sam. One part of her urged her to see how long she could stand there without him noticing her, but that game got old rather quick sometimes. "Don't say anything about the dress or I'm turning invisible again," she said as her body appeared next to the X-Men Leader. While her eyes were glued on the couple to see if they got the message, her head was leaning Sam's way to let him know she was in fact, addressing him.

It was as if a monsoon had hit his room, and flooded it with outfits. There was a gray shirt washed across the bed, beside a pair of black slacks, a jacket, and balled black socks. On the other side, a sky blue vest lay half-open like a rolling wave, white work shirt folded in a neat square on top. Ties were folded into neat triangles in the center of one clothes drawer, amid one or two bow ties. One hung over the drawer's edge precariously. Amid it all was Shin, like a sailor stranded at sea. He had his hands on the sides of his head, brow furrowed, indecisive. There was just so much he could wear. What exactly would he decide on? He'd told Kealey he'd surprise her, and surprising Kealey with a fashionable outfit was paramount tonight.

Five minutes later, he decided on something. He straightened the white shirt's collar, and admired himself in the mirror. He wore the shirt under a sky blue button-up vest, with black slacks. Black skate shoes went with it all.

One final glance at the mirror determined satisfaction, and one short walk later, he was at the Danger Room.

He nodded to Sam on the way in, casually slipping past dancing students. His triangle eyes skimmed faces blurred by motion, darting from student to student, and ... Shin nearly staggered. It was all so hectic, so busy. The kind of light and motion that could cause seizures, wasn't it?! He shook his head, and dropped his focus to feet.

Bump, bump, bumpity bump. He found Kealey, several collisions later. His eyes rose, from sandals to dress to face, and he smiled. Shin extended a white rose corsage. "You look amazing."

((Continued in Peaceful Punch.))

Locke had negative intentions of going to the dance. Heck, he didn't even go to elementary school sock hops or the skating party that they turned the gym into. For one thing he could not dance. It wasn't that he had no rhythm, the Californian just did not know how to dance. Not unless you counted the chicken dance, hokee pokee, and the various Wiggles dances that he picked up having seen those videos so many times with his little brother and sister. Which wasn't exactly the sort of dances you want to be caught doing around your peers when you're old enough to learn to drive. Oh yeah, the Dorothy the Dinosaur dance would go over real well. No thank you, Locke was going to stay in his room where he wouldn't have to face social criticism. There was homework that he could get a jump start on, the dreaded science and math to try and struggle to understand.

While the boys his age did their grooming, some singing off key in the shower, others sniffing to see what clothes didn’t smell too awful, Locke was putting his laundry away. As both the males and females began to trickle down to the Danger Room, the Californian was making his bed. Unfortunately by avoiding the big dance Locke was also slowly loosing his defense against the silence that he was so afraid of. He tried turning the volume up on his laptop. It helped, a little.

This was stupid, what could he even wear to the dance? Locke stood up from his desk and paced about his room, feeling the carpet beneath his feet. He might have a pair of dress slacks that Kendra had sent, but those weren't worn enough for him to be sure if they were there or not. The only tie that Locke owned as a clip on one from when he graduated from the sixth grade. No, he was not going to go to.... Locke did something he rarely did, the swearword punctuated by the relative quiet of his room. Since he didn't have fancy dress clothes, Locke grabbed a pair of his jeans that still had the knees in good condition and a freshly ironed plaid shirt. For lack of an undershirt that didn't look like something a lumberjack would wear he settled for his Oregon Trail t-shirt.


Just hang out here long enough that your head will still be buzzing then you can go back to your room and go back.[/i] Locke told himself heading first for where the snacks were and then immediately for the wall. This was terribly uncomfortable for the teen who more often then not wished he could be invisible, but the food was the kind his stomach wanted and the noise was what he needed. Besides he liked feeling the vibrations in his chest from music that played too loud. Locke scooched over closer to a speaker.

White dress. Blue headband. Lacy shoulder wrap. She'd had it all picked out weeks ago.

It was a good thing, too, because she was way too excited to even think about what she should wear today. It was her fifteenth birthday and the mansion was throwing a dance. Technically the party wasn't for her, but it was on her birthday so she figured it was alright to pretend, at least until midnight.

She couldn't even eat supper she was so nervous and she practically skipped down the stairs once the appointed hour was upon them. She couldn't wait to see who came and what they were wearing, and then find someone, or a dozen someones in a row, with whom she could dance.

The doorway to the danger room was open and many students were already inside, chatting, dancing, drinking punch.

The little illusionist was a bit disappointed that Sam hadn't gotten a bit more creative with the background. Colored lights were pretty, of course, but why hang them up in a school gymnasium when they could have had hung them on Paris or a medieval castle or something a little more exotic. This was the danger room, after all, the possibilities were endless.

Though, it did feel a little nostalgic. Maybe Sam was trying to make something up to the people that had never been to a real high school dance before. Katrina certainly hadn't.

People were rather... paired up. For some reason it hadn't occurred to her that this would be that kind of event. With dates and everything.

Suddenly she felt a little lonely. Where were all of her friends? Calley, Koga, Fausto, Carrick?

There was Gawain, who she kind of knew from a certain Christmas adventure, but he was busy having his eyes covered by his pink haired girlfriend. There was Shin with the librarian, watching the punch bowl very carefully. There was... someone standing by himself near the speakers. He looked just as out of place as she felt, so she went to go stand next to him.

“Hi,” she smiled sweetly and rocked back and forth from her toes to her heels and back again. “Some dance, huh?”

It was crowded, dark, and there was a good amount of noise assaulting her from every direction. Not a place one such as herself ever liked to be caught alone. She glanced around once more for a familiar face, or perhaps a distinct hobble run... and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when no Saph made himself present. Licking rather dry lips, she searched for and found where the drinks were held. Across from her, though the mod of bodies. She flinched... just a little.

It was far to crowded off in the shadows, where the shy, uncomfortable, and sleepy were lurking... She spotted a break in bodies through the dance floor, and glanced around quickly. Andrea had yet to see Alex, so... What would a short, shoeless walk over to the punch hurt? Stooping quickly, she slipped out of the modern torture devices, tucked them back against the wall behind her, and strode out onto the dance floor with as much courage as she could muster.

Shoulders back, chin held high. Her target was in her sight, and she would not fai- Oh.... there were people standing around it... She paused, for only a moment, and the music shifted. The space she had wandered into was quickly flooded as more people joined in on the festivities. She quickly lost sight of the drink table, and the snack table... and the way she had come for that matter, and maneuvered around her way towards the opposite wall. Getting there was a test though... She dodged, twitched, and flinched her way past people, trying desperately not to bump into people, get stepped on, or get sucked into dancing on her hurried way back out of the middle of the room. She failed, horribly, at avoiding a dance. As she was just about to side step around a couple doing something kin to swing dancing, she turned and came face to face with a cheerful looking brown haired boy, who snatched up her hands lightly and did some sort of a little shimmy with his feet.

She blinked at him, confused, while he danced with her unresponsive arms, and then flushed a deep brown. "Um... sorry... but I'm not feeling very well..." She mumbled quietly. He blinked back, and raised a hand to his ear. "What?" "I said I am not feeling very well... I do not wish to-" He shook his head, his eyes conveying his confusion, and continued to flail her arms about gently like she was a marionette. "I can't hear you, speak up!" With a sigh, Andrea mustered up the strength to pull her hands from his, and smiled apologetically. One little wave cut off their odd dance, and she darted out from the crowd to take shelter by the wall once more. Of course... now she was shoeless, and still thirsty.

Amber hadn't even been to a school dance before, or any other dance for that matter, so when she heard that the Mansion was putting one on, she was naturally excited. It didn't matter, apparently, that she had only been a student for a couple of weeks (she had been sure to ask one of her teachers just to make sure), everyone was apparently invited. At her orphanage, there had been one dance but she had neglected to go to that one. There hadn't seemed much point given that she really didn't fit in well there and if no one really liked her anyway, going would only lead to ridicule and when compared to being constantly picked on, the book she had been reading at the time had seemed the much superior option.

There hadn't been a lot of time for picking out a dress, but when Amber had told Abyss about the dance he had been happy to give her a couple hundred dollars in dress money and, with an affectionate pat on the head, had sent her on her way. The real problem was the fact that during the summer it was light out for pretty much the entire day, making actually going outside to shop a next to impossible feat. Luckily that's where the internet came in and, after a great deal of midnight web surfing finally managed to find the perfect dress that also happened to be willing to do a rush delivery. As the days ticked by, the dance approached and the dress refused to appear, Amber began to worry but, one day before the big day, she finally received her package in the mail and it was everything she had hoped it would be.

Amber so rarely got the opportunity to wear dresses or even show her face off, that she was excited by the mere prospect of dressing up pretty, let alone the larger activity of the dance itself. She put a thin layer of makeup on but was alarmed when even a small amount of eye shadow made her look a little like a walking skull, with her extremely pale skin. Unfortunately, by that time it was getting late and she had no chance to remove it and start over so, walking skull it was apparently. She also wore a velvet choker with a pentacle dangling from in and two silver pentacle earings. Her goal was to stand out from all the other girls at the dance and (hopefully) have Kai actually like her. Even with that goal in mind, however, she was comfortable showing too much skin, so her dress was, perhaps, a little more conservative than most.

Amber didn't even have to take the bus to the Mansion this time around, having somehow managed to convince Abyss to let her have a limo instead. Well, it hadn't exactly been hard to convince him that she needed a limo, but still there was just something about riding in a limo that was psychologically satisfying. She felt like a princess, all dressed up and riding to the Mansion in style like she was. Everything was going to be so beautiful and perfect, she could see it all now. She would a glide in there and the room would look at her and appreciate just how beautiful she was. Somehow she would lose all her usual social awkwardness and replace it was a new and unique grace. Then Kai would find her and they would be beautiful together and everyone would be jealous of their perfection.

Of course, that wasn't exactly how things turned out and, in truth, Amber hadn't really expected them to turn out that way anyway. It was just a pipe dream, an entertaining fantasy, but it was a good fantasy she had to admit. Exiting the limo, she waved at the driver and made her way to the dance, walking with as much grace as she could manage. She didn't even think she did too bad in the grace department. Unfortunately, as soon as she entered the dance room, that's where things went downhill. Far from losing her usual social awkwardness, it seemed to multiply and she found herself standing by a wall watching everyone, hoping for Kai to appear. She didn't really know how to dance and she didn't really know many people yet, and no one well. She tried to remind herself why she had decided to come in the first place.

Ker-unch. Locke chewed the potato chip slowly as a petite blonde approached him. He thought that being against the wall and near a speaker would be a good way to keep to himself, but he had made a wrong judgment. Aw nertz, she was coming over and unless he wanted to look like a jerk Locke was going to have to let that happen. So much for being a wallflower. The girl was almost a foot shorter then him and sort of had a baby face, so she wasn’t as intimidating as Henrietta or Kealey. In fact looking at her Locke thought that this was the kind of young lady he wouldn’t mind Mai growing up to be. The dress was rather conservative, and there was just a sort of optimistic nature that came from the girl. Cute really.

“I guess,” Locke half mumbled, but he spoke up as he continued, remembering that he was standing next to a speaker that was playing music fairly loudly, “It was too quiet upstairs, and you can’t pass on punch and chips. You?” There. He’d done it. Locke had said something to a girl without sounding like a total dweeb, and he didn’t say that he was here to dance.

It had been a few minutes since the dance officially started and more and more people entered the ‘Gym’ some might not know why he would pick a school gymnasium but he thought it was good to give the kids a feeling that they were normal and a normal school dance was what he was trying to give them, even if they were all far from normal simple memories like this were things he remembered fondly, even if the last school dance he went to was a mission for a stalking then kidnapping back when he was working for T.A.T. the dance part of the mission was probably one of his favorite parts.

Familiar and unfamiliar faces entered and walked past some spotted him and others didn’t those who waved or said something he gave them a warm smile and a nod those who didn’t he just let them pass without much of a greeting. Kealey came and went and she was one of the few that got a smile and a nod in return. Gawain was the next on the list who he had seen an hour or so before the event. ”Looking sharp, Gawain!” Sam said with a smile. It was hard to stay mad with Gawain even if he got Sam into a heap of trouble with the police and the higher ups he was working with.

It didn’t really matter who Sam was, the law was the law and when one escapes from prison it doesn’t reflect well for those who are associated with Gawain and when Sam claimed full responsibility for his student it painted another target on the back of his head from those that already didn’t like him in the Police Department. A majority of the service was still sore that Sam got to the ranking he was at so quickly without much job experience, but that was one of the many perks of being head of a team of mutants that were cutting down the death rate of the NYPD.

When Sam decided to get Gawain off the hook he had also agreed to not only keep a better eye on him but bring him around for patrol seeing as one day when Gawain decided to become more mature he too would have to help the police instead of giving them more trouble. Gawain was after all one of the newer members of the X-Men!

Scratching his eye patch slightly Sam tilted his head back to the dance floor, ”So I trust you got here without getting into much trouble?” Sam asked as he placed one of his hands in his pocket as his eye fixed on a floating glass of punch. He smiled slightly and looked back to Gawain. ”Well your duty is to help keep an eye on things for me, one eye makes it a bit difficult to see everything.” Sam said with a small laugh as he scratched the side of his eye patch.

One of the few perks of losing his eye was the additional power that had come with it; by using his mutation Sam could lower the air temperature around him and with a little concentration he could pick out anybody around him without even looking at them. It was his super sense that even made him able to see in absolute darkness if they had a heat signature he could find them. However he didn’t need his heat seeking sense to know who was who when a pair of hands and a deeper voice appeared next to him behind Gawain covering his eyes.

A smile and a slight nod to one of his female students and one of the newer additions to the team of the X-men, ”You need to be a bit more aware of your surroundings Gawain,” Sam said with a wide smirk, ”Especially if you have a girlfriend who can appear out of nowhere.” nodding his head to Twyla he smiled, ”How are ya?” he paused for a second trying to remember why he hadn’t seen Twyla in a while, ”Dance camp good?” he asked while shifting his attention back to Gawain, ”Here I thought you were dateless tonight makes it a lot harder for me to keep you running all over the place…” Sam said with a smile.

The smile was genuine and he was in a fantastically positive mood so he decided to make things easier for Gawain, ”Your off the hook tonight for being my gopher, but still keep your eyes open for any trouble and have some fun!” he nodded to Twyla ”If he gives you any trouble throw him around a bit got it?”

Turning his attention to a redhead who also decided to make herself visible near him he smirked after he faked a jump, ”Now why would you want to disappear? It looks good on you Jenny!” Sam said feeling like he was eating his own words from earlier when he told Gawain to keep an eye on his surroundings. ”Really, you look beautiful tonight!” he shifted his right eye towards Gawain for a second, then looked back to Jenny and smiled, ”So beautiful in fact I think I want you to have my first dance of the evening!” he lifted his hand in her direction and smiled, ”So what do you say? Care to dance?”

A huge smile spread out on Gawain'd face as his vision was blocked by warm hands, and he heard a voice that - even comically deepened like that - still sounded all too familiar. He reached out to touch her wrists, and pulled the hands from his face before he looked at her over his shoulder.
Twyla was back.
The evening ahead of them just got hell of a lot brighter.

He didn't really pay attention to what Sam was saying from that point on; once the camouflage was dropped, he was too busy staring at his girlfriend. But he hummed and nodded none the less, letting Sam know he was listening (which he was not) and yeah, sure, he would keep an eye on the other students and make sure nothing disturbs the fun.
Meaning: anyone who interferes with his fun tonight will be dead, or as good as.

>>"... off the hook..."

"Thanks Sam" he nodded with a smirk, taking a moment to actually look at his mentor before his attention turned elsewhere. Once they were left to themselves, Gawain pulled his girlfriend into a hug.

"Welcome home, Bubblegum" he smiled against her hair "Missed you."

She missed a lot too. Missed more than he was going to confess anytime soon, and missed some he was really glad she hadn't been there to witness. Some, she would find out sooner or later.

Hopefully not tonight.