Oh the cleverness of me

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“Really?” Gina laughed as she floated up from the roof for a moment so that she was laying in the air before landing closer to him. “Well I have a very hard time imagining you in monkey suits all the time.” Another laugh escaped as she sat up and thought for a moment. “You wanted to play pranks…wanna spike the punch bowl?” GoGo wiggled her brows under the mask. She was bored and wanted to cause some shenanigans. Vivian was nowhere to be seen so she hadn’t been able to conspire with her partner in crime. “What do you think? Wanna team up? We haven’t done pranks together since Parents’ Week.”

 “Yeah, I wouldn’t have been able to either if dad hadn’t insisted,” he laughed. “Ties and blazers every day, and I looked fantastic, thank you.” When pranks were brought up, Peter grinned. “I did bring something for that,” he replied with a smile, reaching into his pocket. “Gets you drunk and messes with your mouth later. Made it myself.” With that, he passed the little flask over to GoGo. “The honor is yours.”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“You’re very welcome, FlyBoy.” Grinning she flicked the ashes from the tip of her cigarette before taking another drag. “Yeah. I guess that’s why we have all the teachers? I don’t even know.” Shaking her head, she turned to lay on her side, careful with her hose on the roof. “I like it. Sometimes I wish I had your imagination, little brother. I feel like life would be so much easier to escape if I did.” Finishing her cig off, she put it out and flicked it off the roof. “So you’re used to suits? Why is that? I can’t imagine you being in suits and tuxes.” Imaging a formal Peter was …difficult. She was used to silly and playful Pan. 

 “I think the teachers are mostly there to disapprove if there’s any dirty dancing or...something,” said Peter with a shrug, staring up at the sky. It was pretty out here. “Heh, no you don’t. It’s not always as fun as I make it seem,” he replied, stretching. That was true. Peter had real problems with getting yelled at, or getting too invested in his own imagination. It limited his friends and made him awkward when he had to explain. “Oh, have I not told you? I was in private school for a very long time. Lots of formal stuff there.”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

Gina laughed. “Good to have you back, little brother.” Inhaling deeply she looked at the stars in the sky. “So fucking hot. I was sweating my ass off. And my dress is tiny,” she said in a strained voice before exhaling a pale plume of smoke. “I feel bad for the girls wearing full dresses, and all you guys in suits. That has gotta freaking suck.” Turning her head to look at him again, GoGo grinned. “Why are you using that voice? Why pretend to be someone else?” It was a strange thing to do, but then again, Peter was always surprising Gina. 

 “Ah, thank you,” the boy laughed, stretching out and loosening his tie a bit to cool down. “It wasn’t too bad for me, but I’m sort of used to suits,” he said, watching her turn into a dragon again. “I just hope nobody passes out or anything, that would really suck...” Peter made a face when she asked why he’d been using a voice. “I dunno...I guess...It was just a game, I think...See if people liked him better or something. I dunno.” The boy shrugged. He really didn’t know why he did most of the things he did, but now it sort of felt...silly. He’d have to get over that, though, he wasn’t gonna be a grownup about it.

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“Cecil?” Gina tilted her head and laughed. “Well, it’s close. His last name is Houck and he can have hooks for hands.” Laughing, she grabbed her bestie’s hand and tugged at it. “Come on. How about the best spot? To the roof? I miss your voice, FlyBoy. Let’s go somewhere safe! Race you!” GoGo knew he would win. He was better at flying and she was in a very short dress. But she laughed and released his hand, taking off for the nearest exit. As she hit the cold night air, she took in a deep breath and started for the roof. Laying on the rough surface, she fiddled with the spiked clutch purse and pulled her pack of cigarettes out and a lighter, popping a death stick between her red lips and lit it before returning the items to her purse. Sighing, she took a drag and turned to look at Pan. “Want some dragon time?”

 “Yeah. Have you heard of Welcome to Night Vale? That guy. He’s got the best voice,” explained Peter with another shrug. “And exactly. Plus he’s a douche, so that puts him even closer to it.” He chuckled as she grabbed his hand and nodded at the suggestion of the roof. The two practically raced outside, and in no time, Peter was on the roof, hoping that nobody would notice just who he was. When he was up there, he lay back, staring at the sky. “Nah, I’m good,” he said, finally able to use his normal voice. “I’m just gonna lay here a while...God, it was hot in there, now that I think about it!”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“You sound funny.” GoGo laughed and shook her head. “Well I’m sorry he’s such a grump to you. He doesn’t seem to like it when his students are idiotic or have attitude.” While Gina was not an idiot, she had some bite to her. She seemed to be the only one that got away with being snarky back at the teacher in question. “Why do you call him the Captain? I mean…he’s the rowing team coach but…why?” Gina knew her bestie had a childlike nature, she was just curious how childlike that nature truly was. The song changed and GoGo wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I hate this band. Can we go outside? I need some dragon time,” the brunette said, referencing when she had smoked in her car and asked him not to slay her.

 “Yeah, kiddie words with the Cecil voice don’t sound any little bit of normal,” he agreed with a nod. “And it’s okay. Most adults are super grumps with me. They don’t like me all that much as a rule.” There was a shrug. It was true, all of the grownups he’d met didn’t like him that much, or if they did, it was in a way he didn’t like. “Oh, it’s cause...Well, I’ve got a place in my head, and there’s a pirate captain with a hook for a hand. And he hates me. So I figure he’s the real life Captain Hook,” he explained. “Kinda lame. And yeah, I need to get away from people and get back to my normal voice so I don’t die.”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

Gina laughed and then quickly blushed. “I don’t, but thank you.” Shaking her head, she envied him his lack of parental contact. “No! Not Houck. He’s … odd. I don’t think so.” A shiver went through her at the thought. No. She had seen him and immediately disliked him. It made her glad that her mutation was not considered physical. “Wait…you annoy Gallagher? Why?” Her face flushed as she talked about him. The two had …a strange way of interacting lately. Chewing her lower lip she tried to bring herself from her thoughts of the less-liked teacher. “Yeah…are you going to restrain me if I tell you it’s Gallagher?”

 “Goddamn right not Houck, he’s bleh,” grumbled Peter, the words he was using contrasting with his choice of using Cecil’s voice. The things he did for fun... “Well, he seemed to be angry that I didn’t go to his class, even though he’s one of the mutation teachers and I don’t need practice, which is very obvious. And so he came into my dorm and got grumpy with me when I was sleepy.” When she said that her crush was Gallagher, he swore his eyebrows decided to go say hi to his hairline. “Uh...Well...I’unno. Guess not. I mean he doesn’t like me...But it’s not the Captain...”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“No, little brother, don’t wipe it off. Pan would never walk around all proud to have a girl’s lipstick on his face. Aren’t you trying to pose as someone else?” Grinning, she laid a sloppy kiss on his other cheek. “There. I did a kiss test. I had the smudge-free lipstick but I didn’t think I would be kissing anyone and this one is shinier.” Laughing she shook her head. “I’ve been …I broke another phone. My dad’s been bugging me more. I’ve been getting drunk and making new friends. And I may have developed a crush on a teacher. What about you?”

 “Fiiiiiine,” he mumbled, managing to keep from sounding like a displeased little brother as he usually did, though he did roll his eyes when she kissed his other cheek. It was gross, but he supposed she had a point about it helping his disguise. “Well you go, look good,” he chuckled. “Aw, gross, dads. I’m lucky mine isn’t in this country and won’t pay the fee to call me here,” he said with a small grin. “New friends are good! And...Which teacher? Cause if it’s the one who can do the hook hand thing, I’ll have to restrain you until you come back to your senses. Uh...annoyed two teachers, actually! Houck a lot and Gallagher at least a little. Nothing else fun though.”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“Very handsome. I’m surprised he’s not beating girls away with sticks.” GoGo bit back her laugh. She had figured it out alright. While his change in dialect and manner was impressive, that childlike behavior and pride had given him away. “I am. Very smart. But I think you’re just too good for me to ever discover the truth,” she purred, batting her eyelashes. She decided to have some fun with him since he wanted to try and trick her. Gina was so not attracted to Pan, she only saw him as a brother, but she loved playing pretend. Besides, she hadn’t had time to tell her best friend about the very un-liked man that she had somehow come to like. “Alright, another dance it is.” Laughing, she wrapped her arms around his neck as she moved to the beat. Trying not to give the game away, she brought her face very close to his so that the tip of their noses was a hair’s breadth away. “Busted, FlyBoy!” she said as her face broke out into a grin and she planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek just beneath his mask. “You’re sneaky, little brother. Didn’t know you had it in you.” Her red lipstick was very apparent on his cheek as she loosened her arms to get some distance between them. 

 Peter didn’t stop himself from giggling that time. Aw, GoGo knew and she was messing with him right back, but it was too funny for him to take it seriously. She was teasing him right back as they danced before she kissed him on the cheek. “Shhhh, GoGo Boots!” he whispered in his normal voice, looking around. “Don’t give it away, I’ve got other people to mess with too,” he chuckled, wiping at his face and sliding back into using the deeper voice. Awww, he had lipstick on him. Gross. “Maybe do a kiss test next time so I don’t look like the dance’s manwhore,” he chuckled, managing to wipe it all off. “So. How’ve you beeeeeen?”

Masquerade || Houck & Pan

Skylar glowered at the figure in front of him. Irritated he had gotten in his way “Frankly you’re not my type,and secondly I’m not here for anything. I’m simply trying to get past you.” he tried to place the voice but it didn’t sound like anyone he knew. He decided to give up trying and waited for a response or at least for the person in front of him to move

 Peter let out a single ‘hah’ at the sudden extreme rejection. At least he’d found Gallagher. “No, I’d say I am the opposite of your type for sure,” he replied with a grin before over-dramatically sliding out of the man’s way with a stupid bow. “There you are, your highness, enjoy your ability to walk without one less peasant in your way,” he said sarcastically.

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

His reaction…Very suspicious. “You think so?” Laughing, she shook her head. Perhaps she should just play along. Had her friend forgotten her intellect? This is the same girl that graduated high school at 14. She would have finished earlier but family drama delayed her for two years. “Yes. Though I will be very sad if he’s getting up to shenanigans without me.” His compliment made her face flush beneath her mask. “Alright, keep your secrets. It’s just unfair that you know who I am but I don’t know who you are.” Though she had a sneaking suspicion who it was beneath that mask. As the song changed to a faster beat she raised her eyebrows. “Care for another dance?”

 Oh damn, she was probably onto him. Fuck, that’s what he got for forgetting she was way smarter than him...Oh well, when this game was over, he could start a new one and have someone to play with. That would be just as fun as messing with her. “Oh, yes. Handsome too,” he said with a wink. “And I’m sure he won’t pull off everything without his best friend. Just a small thing or two, knowing that boy.” Peter grinned, not even caring at this point. He’d gotten her for at least a whole dance, that was enough for him. “You’re smart, you’ll get it soon enough, I know.” Oh, and now it was actual dancing music! For flailing! Aghhh, it was gonna give him away even more if he started flailing. “Yes. If you don’t mind me being a little more subtle than I might usually be.”

Masquerade || Houck & Pan

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

“Y-Yeah,” GoGo said as she let the mysterious stranger lead her to the dance floor and begin dancing. Her feet not touching the floor made things a lot easier. “I was looking for my…I guess I would call him my best friend but, I haven’t seen him.” Frowning for a moment, her eyes did one last sweep. Then she turned her attention back to her current dance partner and smiled at him. “I’m sure he will. FlyBoy hasn’t let me down so far.” Chuckling she followed the other’s lead. “No, you’re fine. Though I do have to admit I’m a little surprised that you asked me.” Gina had long ago come to terms with her looks and her style, as well as the way people responded to it. It didn’t mean that she was confident in her own skin. Even her mask hadn’t helped that much. “Not going to tell me who you are, are you?” she asked as she lifted a brow beneath her mask. 

 “FlyBoy? Would that happen to be that...Pan fellow? Good choice in friends, miss,” he said with a smirk, unable to stop himself from giving himself a compliment. Ah, he was such a little shit, why was he doing this? Oh, right, humor. “I’m sure he’ll make some sort of entrance. Or try to trick you, he is rather like that,” he chuckled, even his laugh deepened so he wouldn’t give it up just yet. “He may be busy sabotaging someone, who knows...” He raised an eyebrow when she said that she was surprised that he’d asked. His sister shouldn’t be surprised when handsome ‘strangers’ asked her to dance! “Ah, don’t be. I’ve seen you around. You’re different, but that isn’t bad,” he assured, grinning. “And...I think I will at some point, but it’s a surprise for now.”

Masquerade! || GoGo & Pan

Gina had been looking everywhere for her friends Rufus, Vivian, T, even FlyBoy. But she hadn’t had much luck. Fidgeting with the short red dress, she looked around again. Her newly dyed red-streaked hair fell over her shoulder as she turned to face the boy who had spoken. “Oh…um, sure.” Her chocolate eyes looked him over. The voice was throwing her, she hadn’t interacted with anyone that sounded like that and his appearance wasn’t helping. His appearance could belong to so many. Groaning internally at the mystery of the boy, she held out one hand. Her arms were encased in black satin opera-length gloves. Hiding her arms was a habit she’d had for years, formal attire wouldn’t break it. “Lead the way, o mysterious one.” Grinning she kept ticking down the list of students in her head, trying to put a name to the masked stranger. No, poor GoGo didn’t recognize her little brother, FlyBoy. Her eyes kept sweeping the room for him before looking back to him.