Winter Formal, Neptune High School

[argyle_princess]

Even before they reach the dance, in the dressed up Neptune High School Gym, they can hear it, a jumble of voices and laughter over something that passes for music.

(The band, it must be confessed, is really nothing all that impressive. The lyrics, if they were intelligible, would be quite forgettable. The music is, however, basically danceable.)

This year's theme, whatever it is, seems to have called for a great deal of pale blue and silver streamers and balloons, though only so much can be done to disguise the fact that the room is really intended more for basketball than dancing. But the Winter Formal Committee has tried. And what the room looks like doesn't matter nearly as much as who wore what and who showed up with whom. It's hard to get quality gossip out of crepe paper.

Comments

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"One of my father's friends is Hannah's roommate's uncle, when she was in school in Vermont." His tone very carefully civil, though he does allow a faint smile to cross his lips. "We met when they were in Montpelier, and I was immediately taken in by Hannah's beauty, charm and brilliance."

Wellard pauses and raises an eyebrow, looking down over Amber's dress, then back up to her.
Comparison made, Amber loses.
"Then, when I was to be out this way to look at colleges, she was gracious enough to invite me to the dance here."

[argyle_princess]

Speaking of Hannah . . .

"Coke okay?" she asks, returning from the quest for non-spiked drinks.

And then, as an after thought, "Oh, hey, Amber."

[argyle_princess]

Amber doesn't like being considered an after thought by a girl in her class any more than she enjoys meeting with resistance from a teenage boy.

"Hey Hannah," she replies with a smile that is pretty much the antithesis of friendly.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"Coke is fine." Wellard nods, giving Hannah a faint smile, then glances sideways at Amber.

"And now that my date has returned, if you would excuse us?"

[argyle_princess]

"Nice seeing you, Amber, it's just we have an anywhere else to be," says Hannah, and leaves Amber to try to sort that out on her own.

"I am so sorry about that," she says to Henry, ten yards later. "Was she awful?"

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"I've known lesser people with better manners and intentions." He rolls his eyes, then gives Hannah a reassuring smile.

"I'm alright, though I think I would have run out of polite things to say if you hadn't shown up."

[argyle_princess]

"That's Amber," says Hannah. "She's . . . we used to be friends."

A long time ago.

"Anyway, I'm happy to rescue you from her."

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard glances back at Amber, then looks at Hannah.

"She asked how we met- I told her the story we came up with about Montpelier." He gives her a faint smile, reaching up to brush her cheek with his fingertips.

"I also told her on how I was quite taken in by your beauty, charm and brilliance- and that was not a story."

[argyle_princess]

She smiles a little, and turns her head slightly, to kiss the ends of his fingers.

"Taken in, huh?" she asks, quietly.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

His cheeks flush faintly, and Wellard nods.

"Something rather like that, yes." Quietly.

[argyle_princess]

"Now I'm sorry I don't remember more about Montpelier," she says. "Is there anything else I should know about it?"

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard blinks, then laughs quietly. "Now I'm quite struck by the idea of seeing if there is a way we could go there, honestly."

[argyle_princess]

"To Montpelier? There's not a lot there, Henry. We might have more fun making it up. We'll say it was a sunny day in April, and just kind of starting to get warm."

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"And, various relatives and aquaintences were there, and you had some free time from school, so a meeting was arranged. A day off, some time in the city..." He grins a bit at Hannah.

"'Shore leave', so to say."

[argyle_princess]

"Shore leave. Not actually the term they used at Our Lady of the Maple Syrup, but we'll go with it," she says, amused.

"You wore a brown sweater that matched your eyes."

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

He blushes slightly, even as they manuever around a large group people watching the dance floor.

"Ah. You wore something... lovely, like you always do. And we both thoroughly thought we were going to be bored out of our wits with these people our relatives were meeting up with."

[argyle_princess]

It was probably something pink, figment of their imaginations or not.

"And instead we were pleasantly surprised," she says. "In Montpelier, of all places."

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

And/or argyle.

He grins. "Given that there's nothing to do in Montpelier, or even the whole of Vermont." Wellard can be quite good at this, when he is enjoying the situation.

[argyle_princess]

Yes, he can.

"Except, of course, to enjoy the company you meet. Without, you know, outside distractions."

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

He laughs quietly. "Yes, there is that. Which is probably why we were able to talk for ages about all sorts of subjects, and then exchange information to be able to write to one another."

[argyle_princess]

"It was a good day, meeting you," she says, and she's not really talking about a hypothetical day in April in Montpelier any more.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"And meeting you as well." Wellard smiles, raising Hannah's hand up to brush his lips over the back of it.

[argyle_princess]

It's not exactly a typical sort of gesture for a Neptune High School dance.

Rather British.

Pretty chivalrous.

Very Henry.

There's a moment, and then a very slow smile.

"Dance with me?" she says, not quite the way she said it earlier. It's an invitation this time.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

He smiles faintly, and with a nod, Wellard leads Hannah out to the midst of the dance floor.

"You only need to ask."

And he has no doubts that she will, now or in the future.