HEALY

Instead of answering, Bryson just shrugged lightly, trying to hide the fact that he was actually incredibly curious and a little bit upset about the whole broccoli thing. Brushing all those worries aside, Bryson led her down the hallway towards the rec room, where the ball was happening. 

“Oh, ask you nicely?” He smirked, glancing at her as they walked. “How nicely?” Bryson added. The man chuckled at her question, and raised a brow back at her, leaning his face closer to hers. “What would you like from me?” He whispered in her ear. “Maybe something like this…” Bryson asked teasingly, grazing his teeth against her earlobe. “Or this…” He whispered once again, suddenly letting go of her arm and holding her hips, pulling her body to his. “Hmm… What about this?” Bryson slid one hand to her butt and gave it a light squeeze as his lips touched hers lightly. And then, without any sort of warning, he pulled back completely, taking her by the arm again, and resuming their walk to the ball. “Just tell me what you would like in return, Broccoli.”

“Very nicely,” Serena replied, naturally allowing her body to lean towards his as his face edged closer. “All viable options,” she said, a blush flushing her cheeks against her will. When he pulled away she continued to gravitate in his direction but stopped herself by wrapping her arm tightly around his as they continued towards the rec room. “Agree to never call me broccoli again and you won’t have to do anything else at all,” she answered, tossing her pony tail over her shoulder as she turned to dead in the eyes while she said it. “Though that isn’t to say that you shouldn’t wan’t to do anything else,” Serena added with a wink.

It wasn’t a long walk to the rec room but her body ached from malnourishment and exhaustion so she was desperate to get inside and drink some vodka. “Let’s go to the punch bowl,” she said, the sentence more of a demand than a suggestion. Serena unlinked her arm from Bryson’s to pour two cups of punch, thrusting one hand towards him so that he could take it as she snuck some vodka into her own cup with the other. 

Bryson smiled proudly at the corsage around her wrist, but his smile slowly faded as she spoke. He looked down at her in confusion and blinked a few times. Looking around for a moment, as if he was looking for a reason why she would not want to wear the broccoli, the man sighed quietly and shrugged. “Yeah, whatever.” He said, taking her hand again and pulling out the broccoli from the arrangement, tossing the vegetable onto her bed. “Guess I should do the same, huh?” Bryson mumbled as he did the same to the one on his suit. Breathing deeply, he watched as she linked arms with him and spoke, nodding at her request. He was sure his friends would have laughed at the broccoli. He thought it was hilarious, and he couldn’t understand why she refused to wear it. But he knew he couldn’t ruin the night. He had to take her to the ball, had to show Estelle that he had moved on from her, had to make her jealous.

Without wasting another second, Bryson pushed a smile onto his face and led the way to the room where the ball was being held. And although he looked like the old Bryson only a moment before, this smile had a little more malice, and the way he walked showed a little more determination. He was back to his present self, back to his addict personality, back to his pretentious persona. “I hope there’s some alcohol there.” The man said as they walked down the hallway.

"Sorry,” Serena said softly. She could see in Bryson’s face that he was hurt by her response but explaining herself would involve explaining an eating disorder that she couldn’t admit to having. For the time being he would have to be left in the dark. With her arm linked in his, any thoughts of inadequacy faded to a distant part of her mind as they headed confidently towards the ball room. 

“Well...” she started, in response to his comment about alcohol. “If you ask me nicely I may be able to supply you with a little bit of vodka,” Serena added with a wink, her silver dress flowing softly behind her as they wandered through the halls. Though she wasn’t one to win over men with bribes it certainly didn’t hinder her efforts to add a little incentive to the deal. “What would you be willing to trade?” she asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow at her companion for the evening.

As soon as she stood up, Bryson let his eyes take in every detail on her. She truly looked gorgeous, and there was no denying that. He took another quick moment to focus on her eyes as his smirk turned into a somewhat childish grin. “Give me your other hand.” He said, letting go of the hand he was holding and reaching for the other one. “I made you this.” Bryson added with a hint of pride, bringing his other hand forward and opening it to reveal the corsage he had put together. It was made of some broccoli arranged together, and tied with an IV tube. “I know it’s not like the ones you must have gotten in the past, but it’s the best I could get around here.” The boy added, tying the IV tube around her wrist. “And…” Bryson grinned as he pointed at the broccoli on his own suit. “Had to get myself one as well.” He chuckled, hoping that she would actually like what he had done.

Before he had fallen into his drug addiction, Bryson had always been known as the sweet popular jock. But not only had the drugs changed his interests, but he had developed a different attitude and behaviour around people. However, the bowtie, the broccoli, the smile he had on his face… Those were all traits of the old Bryson, a Bryson that was still weak compared to the hold cocaine had on him, but present nonetheless. Smiling at her with a little bit of malice again, the boy held out his arm for her to take and turned towards the door, standing by her side. “Shall we? The dance has already started.”

Serena could feel Bryson’s eyes making their path across her body, tracing the lines of her thin frame as she followed his order and held out her other hand. She highly doubted that the boy would have had time to get a corsage so she wasn’t sure what to expect - though she certainly didn’t expect a piece of broccoli attached to a length of IV tubing. Her instant reaction was to recoil from the food as if it were a personal insult but it dawned on her that there was no possible way Bryson could know why she was in Serenity as she hadn’t told him the full story. They hadn’t exactly had time to talk details. “If I wear the IV tube can we lose the broccoli?” Serena asked with a raised eyebrow and a curt smile. She was nothing if not blunt and there was no way she was going to give Lucy the satisfaction of seeing her parading around with food literally attached to her. “It is unique, I’ll give you that. Flowers make me sneeze anyway,” she added, making sure to maintain some semblance of manners as it seemed he had put in some effort. 

She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that the boy hadn’t outright complimented her on how she looked as her insecurities about appearance raged through her minds. Though truthfully this could more than likely be put down to her nerves about how the Snowball Court was going to turn out. “Lets go,” she said with a warm smile, linking her arm through his and urging him to lead the way.

Bryson’s smirk darkened lightly at her words, and he had to hold back the urge to press her to the wall and get another taste of her body. He didn’t know how this girl had managed to not only excite him like that, but also make him not think about Estelle when she was around. When he stepped back to look at dress, he truly thought she looked beautiful, but he didn’t want to waste too much time there. He knew he still had to go through his things and see what he could put together to actually look good next to her, to look like his old self. Bryson quickly took in the details on her dress, making a mental note to try and find a tie that would match it. And then he was already spinning her around to undress her.

-  a  f e w  h o u r s  l a t e r  -

He hadn’t spent a lot of time getting ready. To be entirely honest, Bryson had taken a pretty long nap in the afternoon. But now he was heading to Serena’s room, the ball had already started, and he was carrying what he called precious cargo. The boy didn’t bother knocking before entering; he had already slept with her and made out with her roommate, so it wasn’t like they had much to hide. As soon as he stepped inside, he let his eyes land on her, and the expression that settled on his face could only be described as a mixture of lust, appreciation, and… Desire. She looked beautiful! Bryson blinked a few times to focus on the present moment, pushing a smirk onto his face as he stepped closer. “That dress was definitely the right choice.” He said, holding his free hand out for her to take. “Come here. I’ve got something for you.”

Serena jumped slightly when the door opened without warning but she wasn’t truly all that shocked as it was the second time that day that Bryson had burst in unannounced. In all honestly she didn’t really care, he had seen everything that there was to see already. Plus he didn’t seem to be the type to care about boundaries or dignity so she may as well get used to it. As he stepped into her room and moved towards her she couldn’t help but take in the view. His suit was incredibly flattering and of course his face was just as attractive as usual but what really drew her eye was the fact that he had donned a bow-tie in a colour to match her dress. That definitely earned him some brownie points.

A pleasant smile formed on her soft, painted lips as the man commented on her choice of attire - though technically he was also involved in the decision making process. She reached out to gently take hold of his extended hand and used it to pull herself up as he spoke, intrigued to know what he had gotten her as she had pre-emptively assumed that he wasn’t the type of guy to bring a corsage. There was no doubt about the fact that she was pleasantly surprised by his bold actions up until that moment. Thankfully they had also managed to override the negative feelings she had about him not really asking her to be his date and simply telling her what she was to do. But who was she kidding? As long as she still maintained control in every other aspect of her life, she didn’t really mind a strong man ordering her around every once in a while - especially in the bedroom.

Bryson raised a brow at her words, a smirk taking shape on his lips. “And if I do…?” He mused, shrugging lightly, his eyes never leaving her figure. Serena was like his drug now. Whenever he thought about Estelle, he could come to her and just… Drown himself in her. And although they looked very different, the younger woman still looked beautiful. His smirk grew darker as she let the pink dress fall, and he watched as she picked up a silver gown, immediately interested in seeing what she would look like in it. It certainly would look well if Estelle wore it… No. He had to focus on her. He had a plan and he had to stick to that plan.

His eyes followed her every move as she put on the gown, and he almost felt like he was under a spell as the fabric draped around her, hugging her in all the right places, and leaving enough room for both sophistication and mystery. For a second, Bryson thought to himself that this was the kind of woman his parents would approve, the kind of woman someone like him was expected to be with. Not that he cared much about what his parents thought or what he was supposed to do, but it was still a nice thing to think about. Her words brought him back to reality and he stood up, slowly making his way to her. Bryson placed one of his hands on the small of her back and the other held the ziper. He carefully pulled it up before stepping back so that she could show him the dress. He wore a satisfied smug smile as he nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Then, without saying anything, he took a step towards her, placed both hands on her shoulders and spun her around. Once her back was facing him, he unzipped her and leaned his face towards her neck, hands sliding down to her waist as he pressed his front against her back. Bryson trailed light kisses up her neck, and once he got to her earlobe, he let out a light chuckle, letting his teeth tug at the lobe softly. “I’ll pick you up in a few hours.” He hummed, staying there for another moment, before suddenly stepping back, letting go of her. “Wear that one.” He added, walking towards the door and giving her one last glance. 

“I suppose I couldn’t hold it against you. Whereas my body on the other hand... I could definitely hold that against you,” Serena replied, flashing him a sly smile over her shoulder. Once her zipper was done up, she twirled herself around slowly, not just so Bryson could see everything but so she could see how the dress felt on compared to the others. Finally, after having spent hours struggling with her own reflection in the mirror, she found one that felt good; a feeling which was so surprising and unexpected that she never wanted to let it go. Before she could even gauge the man’s reaction she had already decided that it was the one. Her breath hitched in surprise as she was spun back around, reaching up to pull her hair over to one side as Bryson undid the zipper he had just done up. A content smile formed on Serena’s lips as his hands caressed her sides and his mouth pressed against the soft skin of her neck, followed by a low hum that escaped when his teeth connected with her ear. “I plan to,” she replied in response to his request, sighing softly and turning to face him as he stepped towards the door. “I guess I’ll see you then.”

-  a  f e w  h o u r s  l a t e r  -

Serena had spent every moment since Bryson had left getting ready for the dance. Thoughts of perfection clouded her mind like a fog so thick it could be cut with a knife. The hours ticked by as she did her nails, hair and make-up over and over again until they were just right then eventually, after a long and tiresome afternoon into the early evening, she was ready. Her nails were painted to perfection in a glistening silver polish, every last hair was sprayed into the correct place in a tasteful up-do and her make-up was done so perfectly it was as if she was ready for the red carpet. The dress flowed down over her porcelain skin like water on glass, accentuating every delicate part of her frail figure and the only thing left to do was to fasten her heels. Not wanting to waste any time, she quickly picked up the strapped silver shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling them on as she waited for her date to arrive. The evening was about to begin.