𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ

     he supposes he deserves that from her, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt him any less. “i mean, i think everything’s fine,” he responds before doing what he’s told and wrapping his arms around her again. “i was just worried about you.”

     rafa is somewhat shocked at her response. “did you really expect me to.. bring someone?” the alcohol’s making him barely hold onto the filter, and he looks over at her with an eyebrow raised. he had been willing to volunteer for a backup date in case someone needed one, but he wouldn’t have genuinely enjoyed going with anyone else. 

Ah, he couldn’t say he hated the way their little nicknames sounded– he just hated that they had aged so poorly, and well, they were low key about to die with the strike of midnight. Which made sense, considering she was looking just like Cinderella that night. “No surprise I look good, but you have to admit I kind of went all out on originality,” he chuckled. He liked that people didn’t expect what he would show up on. Would next time be a dress? Only time knew. “You look like… a princess. Which I’m sure you intended to.” He laughed. 

     he smiles at her reply, and usually he’s a bit better than that at taking compliments. rafa lets out a laugh at her words, wishing caden mentally the best of luck even if he doesn’t know the whole situation between them. rafa shakes his head, a small laugh coming from his lips. “i didn’t bring one,” he answers her with a shrug. 

“Oh man, same. I used to suck at prepping food for myself back at Georgetown.” With her packed schedule, Harper usually got back to her place late, by the time not wanting to make anything. And it wasn’t like she could trust her roommates to cook, hell, she barely trusted them in general ever since they started living together. “Let’s go drink and then dance, yeah?” 

     he’s been ignoring the slight ache in his chest every time he’s looked over at vg since she’s walked into the ballroom. rafa hates how it feels like they’re at the beginning of everything as if they hadn’t gone through anything they actually have and they’re strangers once again. maybe it’s the effects of the whiskey finally hitting him or just the fact that he’s tired of avoiding her ( not to mention the conversation he had with harper ), but when she looks over at him and looks away, he decides to just say fuck it, she is leaving tomorrow. he makes his way over to her, being all too aware of how his heart rate is raising as he gets closer. “you look beautiful,” he says as soon as he’s standing right next to her, and it’s not like he’s surprised that she looks like a princess. 

     he feels instantly relaxed as she wraps her own arms around him, even if it’s just for a moment. but then she’s not and he finds himself already missing it. he clears his throat, and he almost apologizes but remembers that she is probably tired of hearing the word sorry come out of his mouth. “yeah, yeah. everything’s fine,” he says, taking a small step back from her. “i know, but i just wanted to come make sure. it’s kinda crazy out there,” rafa presses his lips together, hating how awkward it felt between the two of them. 

     yikes. so maybe that isn’t the reaction he had thought he was going to get, but grace is still in front of him ( with an expression that makes him feel like it’s hard to breathe ) so he might still have a chance. he sighs, and he struggles to find the words to say how he’s feeling. it’s not like he’s ever been told that it is actually okay to express emotions and what to do with them. growing up, his father just told him to ignore it all, so that’s what he’s used to. “i just⎯⎯ i didn’t want to do something you didn’t want me to,” his voice is uncharacteristically quiet as he looks at her. his gaze drops down to her lips once again just for a moment before looking back up at her. 

he knew this moment would come, and he honestly wished it wouldn’t. they would all leave, and that would be it. to each their own. they could ay to keep in touch, but jai had never been quite good at that. so, for their own good, this had to happen. he kissed cyrus’ cheek– he knew this would come as well, and walked over to the center of the floor where he just slid next to grace and smiled. “please tell me you saved a dance for me.” || @vgdemy​

Regine laughed, cocking an eyebrow at the girl. “Well, at least you’re confident.” she said; it was endearing. “I can’t imagine they waltz the entire time to pop music. Though, it’d be a sight.” Rei covered her face with one hand before laughing, “I hate to admit this, I really do. But I took classical dance lessons as a kid. So, I guess it is a rich person thing.” she said, humble about the fact that she came from money.

Looking at her and the dance moves, Dana nodded and let out a low whistle. “Damn I didn’t know you could move like that” they teased and giggled softly. 

“I think I’m too old to have a good answer for you, but, ah, trust me– money doesn’t equal class around these parts. But, I mean, they did all learn ballroom, so at least there’s that.”

“Okay, you’re doing it all wrong. That’s not how you dance at a fancy party. Let this master show you how it’s done.” Stepping in front of Grace, he took a deep breath before dancing… if you wanted to call it that.