HOMECOMING!

[brooke]

Brooke arrived at the dance hours early to help set up. The decorations were flawless; each balloon was strategically placed to give the perfect effect. There were streamers, props, and decorations, all professionally done. It had been nerve-wrecking, but now it was done. Now she got to change into her dress and enjoy her dance....

Her hair was pulled back, done in an up-do but only a loose one. There were a few strands hanging by the sides of her face in loose curls. The dress she had chosen was a simple one: a shorter black dress with a pink rose pattern. It looked good on her, and she had plenty of pin accessories. She wore a black necklace with a pink rose on it and matching pink rose earrings she had picked up from the Renaissance Faire. She had a few black bracelets, a ring or two, and had done her make-up to match as well. The final touch was a pink flower clip in her hair, near the top of the up-do. It was perfect.

She hated the fact that she couldn't arrive with Tadhg, but she had come early to set up. Such were the obligations of someone as socially active as herself.

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tadhg had shown up earlier than all the other guests to the homecoming dance, by a good ten minutes or so. He had a little box tucked under his arm as he looked around for Brooke. She was there setting up the dance beforehand: she was on the committee or something.

He thought he had done fairly well picking out his outfit for the evening. Being a guy, he didn't have to go as all out as Brooke would. . .with accessories and heels and the like. Since it was also the Homecoming dance and not prom he didn't want to waste money renting a tux, so he opted for a suit instead.

He had decked himself out in metro rocker chic. He wore a black blazer with white trimming over an emerald green t-shirt, a pair of slim fitting black dress pants, and white chucks. The chucks, of course, were newly purchased so they looked nice for the dance. His hair was styled in an artistically shaggy fashion and in his left ear he had two silver studs.

He grinned as he spotted his date and made his way over to her. She had gone all out with earrings and a necklace to match the dress she wore. She had put a clip in her hair which hung in tendrils around her face. Yeah, he was willing to bet he would be dancing with the hottest girl there tonight. God, she looked gorgeous.

"Hey there," he said, still smiling. "You look. . .amazing! I mean. . .wow. . .just wow."

He remembered the box under his arm with a sudden jerk and quickly held it out. Inside was a single red rose with a black ribbon tied 'round it. He wondered if it would seem to girlie of him, but his father had assured him that it was a good idea and not to worry.

[nathan]

Nathan came into the cafeteria by himself, looking around despondently as he did so. He hadn't wanted to go at all, but his mam and da had made him go. They thought it would be good for him to get out and hang out with kids his own age: good Christian kids who wouldn't be tainted by his. . ."notions". He mentally laughed at that. From what he'd seen so far, there were a great deal of fags at this school.

He hadn't gotten overly dressed up as this had been a last minute arrangement. He was wearing a tailored brown suit jacket and white button down shirt with a matching brown tie with black overlapping stripes. He also had on a pair of form fitting, straight legged dark jeans with dark brown dress shoes. His messy blond hair was as unmanageable as every, but in a good way.

He sighed slightly and sat down at an empty table, glancing at the decorations carelessly.

[vinnie]

Vinnie was wearing a very nice suit that was dressy but not too dressy and let's just leave it at that. He looked hot as usual.

After picking up Viola he headed over to his school. He hoped Viola wouldn't be too uncomfortable at a dance where she didn't know anyone besides her cousins. Vinnie didn't even know her that well, but he wanted to find a date that was comfortable around him and he was comfortable around her to it worked out. Any other girl would have been all gitty and annoying. Vinnie just didn't understand why most girls acted like that around him. Maybe he just smelled good or something. . .

"Well, um this is my school." said Vinnie awkwardly. He didn't really know what to say. He could help, but scan the room quickly for Faye, but no luck; she wasn't there yet. It would have mattered anyway; Vinnie would never try anything with Faye while he was at the dance with Viola. He spotted one of Viola's cousins, but he looked busy praising his girl friend, Brooke. "Would you like to get a table with your cousin after he's done talking to his girl friend?" Vinnie really didn't want to barge in between Tad and Brooke if they were having some kind of tender moment.

[Viola Hastings]

Viola walked into the cafeteria of the private school, a place she was gradually getting accustomed to. She was wearing the same black dress she'd worn to GW's Homecoming dance. She didn't have the money to go out and get herself a new dress for the new dance.

She looked around and spotted only a few people in the room as of now. Tad and his girlfriend were two such people. She smiled and shook her head at his tactics. A single red rose? He was a smooth operator. . .who had probably gotten tips from his gorgeous and unfortunately homosexual father.

"Yeah, we can just pick one a while and then invite him over to site with us. If we wait for him to stop talking we could be here forever," she said with a grin.

[vinnie]

"Ok." said Vinnie. He hoped that Viola would compare Tad's treatment of Brooke with his treatment of her. Was he supposed to give her rose? He did buy her a corsage. That's all he was supposed to do right? They did agree that they were going as friends so hopefully Viola didn't expecting anything from him as far as romantics. "So. . . where would you like to sit?" Vinnie thought it best to let Viola make all the decisions. Girls like to be in control, at least his sister did and she was probably his biggest female influence in his life.

[Viola Hastings]

Luckily for Vinnie, Viola was a very take-charge sort of girl. She shrugged carelessly at him, but walked over to table nearby and put her things down.

"This one works," she said. "I'm not really picky."

[marco]

Adamo showed up to the homecoming dance and didn't spot any of his friends immediately, so he sat at a table by himself. He was dressed in a black button down shirt, black pants, and a white tie that contrasted nicely. He had black dress shoes and a had let his medium length chocolate coloured hair hang down instead of sweeping it back into a ponytail.

He looked around at all the couples. . .all the straight couples. .. and grinned awkwardly to himself. He felt himself begin to fuss with his tie.

[brooke]

Brooke had to smile when she saw Tadhg. Even at the homecoming dance he couldn’t be completely dressed up, could he? No, he had that rocker air about him, in everything from his sparkling white chucks to his ruffled up hair. She had to keep herself from staring, though, because he did look that good. She loved the ‘stylishly messy’ hair, and the whole outfit… wow. She couldn’t imagine being there with anybody else, and counted herself among the lucky ones to be going with someone as fun as Tadhg. She was sure the night was going to be a blast!

"Hey there," God, he looked hot. She could only hope that he was thinking the same thing about her. She put a lot of effort into picking out her outfit for the night; almost as much as she had in the planning of the dance itself!

"You look. . .amazing! I mean. . .wow. . .just wow."

Brooke laughed a little, glad that she was wearing blush because at that particular statement she could feel her cheeks flush and her face get warm. Tad then pulled out a box he’d been holding, which contained a red rose with a black ribbon tied around it. It was probably the most thoughtful thing ever, and she had to force herself not to get overwhelmed by the whole situation.

“I… it’s beautiful,” she said, at a loss for words. “Thank you,” she thought to add, embracing Tad in a tight hug before pulling back and giving him a kiss. “And you look quite amazing yourself.”

((ooc- crap.))

[vinnie]

"Ok," said Vinnie, following Viola like an obedient puppy. He sat at the table and once again took a quick look around for Faye. No luck, she still wasn't there. So, now what? Was he supposed to ask Viola to dance? Even though it was a 'dance' Vinnie hadn't even realized he was probably going to have to dance. He really wasn't much of a dancer, but if Viola wanted to he really had no choice. Since there wasn't many people there it wasn't like he could blend in with the crowd if he had to dance. Maybe he could get away with just talking for now. "So, how's your friend Kyan doing?" he asked desperate for conversation rather than dancing.

[cynthia]

Cynthia hated dances, but had somehow been conned into coming to this one by her "friends". 'It's your senior year' they said. 'It won't be that bad', they repeated. She hated rap. She couldn't dance. This was going to be hell.

Except she had helped to set up for the dance with Brooke, because Cynthia volunteered for everything. And, of course, she couldn't put all of that time and effort into organizing a dance she wasn't even going to attend. No, she thought it would be best if she showed up, and if it sucked then she'd leave early. No big deal. Except she bought a really cool dress and everything, and she was determined to have some fun.

[Garrett Speelers]

Garrett walked into the cafeteria with Faye Prewitt. He'd borrowed Patrick's car and picked her up. His idea to go with Faye had been a last minute sort of arrangement, so he'd also borrowed an old suit from his brother: thank God he was just as tall as him.

He was wearing a black and grey striped suit with an off-white, button down shirt underneath it. He had opted against a tie. Taming his hair was not an option. The last time he had tried slicking it back, he looked like an Italian, child molester.

He had asked Faye strictly as a friend, mentioning something about getting heckled by his brothers and Audrey about his never doing anything with girls. Although, he did find Faye attractive, and probably liked her more than he was admitting to himself. In fact, he knew he liked her more than he was admitting to himself.

He glanced around at all the people present, but spotted only Vinnie and Cynthia that he really knew. And that girl from the football game and diner. She was pretty enough, but he'd sense that he wasn't her type.

"So do you want to sit anywhere in particular?" he asked Faye.

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tad grinned and pulled at the edges of his blazer. ((In a jokingly cocky way. . .you've seen it done before))

"I do what I can," he said jokingly. He spotted Viola and Vinnie arriving and pointed over at them. God that s so fucked up, he thought with the knowledge that Viola was friends with Vinnie in male form. "Hey that's my cousin. D'you want to sit with them?"

[vinnie]

Finally Vinnie spotted Faye. . . with Garrett. Even though him and Garrett were good friends he'd never mentioned his liking of Faye to him so that made her fair play, but it still pissed Vinnie off a bit. Probably because he was jealous that Garrett had the balls to ask out Faye and he didn't. He tried his best not to let it get to him, but he had to look at least a little visibly disappointed.

[Faye Prewett]

Everyone there looked so amazing. Suits, all the dresses, it was almost as intense as Prom, only not quite so much. She had gone for a simple pink dress that was just dark enough to look perfect on her somewhat pale complexion, but compliment her soft features as well. And it had straps, which were a must. Faye despised strapless dresses. She had on light pink shoes, lipstick, and light eyeshadow, everything complimenting her dress. It had taken her forever, and she was proud of it.

As she walked into the dance with Garrett, Faye couldn't hide the smile on her face. This was her last year in high school, and her last Homecoming dance. That was pretty big in her book. She spotted a few people she knew and waved, wondering if people would assume she was dating Garrett. He had made it clear when asking her that they were only there as friends, and though that was less than what Faye had hoped for it was better than nothing. Who knew, maybe he had his eyes on someone else. Who was she to judge? He'd asked her as friends, and she'd agreed, end of story.

"So do you want to sit anywhere in particular?"

"Nah, not really. You choose." Faye was friends with so many people that she was bound to know someone at any table Garrett chose to sit down at. Plus, he was the guy. Dances were always harder, socially, for the guy, so it was important for the guy to sit with people (usually other guys) he knew, so when the girls went for hour=long 'powder' breaks the guys weren't left all alone.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Of course Desmond would have loved to come to home coming with his boyfriend Josh, but that was just simply out of the question so he settled for Audrey instead. During a formal was the only time Desmond regretted being a boy; he loved brutally critiquing every girls dress, but part of him also long to be one of the girls wearing those dresses because he knew his dress would kick ass. The best he could do was make a dress for Audrey because she didn't want to wear her other one after wearing it to GW's dance with Ravi. She said the poor school 'tainted' her dress. Desmond didn't care what she had to say about GW's dance, he was just happy he got to design and make a dress for someone.

He was wearing one of his fathers old suits that Desmond fitted to his own size and added a few personal touches that his parents would never allow him to do to a brand new suit; he hand stitched details on the back and the fit was also a bit more emo than any suit you'd buy at the store. He was also wearing a bright pink tie, his green and black checkered Vans, and a black studded belt.

When Desmond entered the cafeteria with his newly blond friend, Audrey (Desmond did really miss the pink though), he was surprised to see quite a few of his friends there; Tad was with Brooke, Vinnie was with Viola who was actually more Vinnie's friend than his, and Garrett was there with Faye. That just left Cynthia by herself. Desmond decided he's hang out with Cynthia so he went over to her. "Hey, great job organizing this." he told her with a smile, "And I love your dress, it suits you personality very well. I always thought you looked the best in cool colors."

[Garrett Speelers]

"Uhh, okay," he said, casting around for a table to sit at.

He spotted Desmond, Audrey and Cynthia all at a table and decided that was probably their best bet. Although tit did mean putting up with Audrey. On the other hand they had Vinnie and Viola at the table over if Audrey got to be too much.

"How about with them?" he asked, pointing at Desmond and Audrey.

He glanced back over at Faye and grinned awkwardly, holding out his arm for her. that was what dates were supposed to do, right? He sucked at the whole wining and dining thing, but he was trying. He liked that Fay had worn heels: it closed the height gap between them a little. He rubbed a hand at the back of his neck and, assuming she took his arm, made his way over to the table.

"Hey, mind if we join you?" he asked.

[Viola Hastings]

"Oh he's doing all right," she said uncertainly. "He's got his hands full with a friend of his who's crashing at his house for a while."

She noticed two people come in: a guy who seemed vaguely familiar. Probably from the fusion of the two schools at the diner. He was cute, but perhaps to. . .brooding for her tastes. Although seeing as how she hadn't had a real boyfriend in a year, she shouldn't be too picky. He was there with that Faye girl. And she could tell Vinnie wasn't thrilled.

"So. . ." she said, but realized she wasn't supposed to know he was crushing on Faye. "You okay?"

[vinnie]

Vinnie realized he had to look distracted. "Wha? Oh, I'm fine." he assured her, "It's nothing, really." He really didn't want to get into his crush on Faye with Viola. It wasn't polite to talk about other girls when he was technically her date and he also didn't know her well enough to be discussing his personal life that deeply with her.

"So anyway," he began, trying to focus all his attention and energy on Viola, "Why is Kyan's friend crashing at his house?" he asked. He thought me might of heard something about all this from Ravi, Desmond cousin who tended to hang out with them sometimes because of his lack of friends, but Vinnie usually stopped paying attention to the kids whining after about three minutes. As nice as he was he couldn't understand how Desmond put up with the kid's constant blubbering.

[Viola Hastings]

She didn't really believe he was cool, but what could she do? She shrugged at his question.

"Some sort of drama happened," she explained. "All I know is that now his gay friend is living in the same roof. .. and probably has no idea what sort of trouble he's gotten himself into."

She laughed a little at this. Kyan was, if nothing else, persistently promiscuous. And now he had his sights set on Toby. . .who was crashing at Kyan's. . .something was bound to happen there.

[vinnie]

"I yeah, I think I heard about all that." said Vinnie, trying to hold back his annoyance at Ravi, "Desmond's cousin goes to GW, I think he came to the foot ball game with you." Vinnie reframed from saying how annoying he thought Ravi could get in case Viole was good friends with him. Then Vinnie remembered that Ravi didn't have friends, but it was probably better not to look like an asshole in front of Viola anyway. "Yeah, isn't the guy's name Toby or something?" Vinnie knew the guys name was Toby because Ravi said it 1, 223,356, times every time he saw him, he just wanted to keep the conversation going.

[Viola Hastings]

"Yeah, Ravi," she said. "I keep forgetting he and Desmond are related."

And this was true, although it should have stuck with her as she had learned that the same day everyone one learned she and Tad were related. This reminded her however of Ravi' s unhealthy obsession with the two boys, something she didn't want to get too far into as it was both odd and drawn out.

"Yeah his name is Toby," she said with a little sigh. Why was it all the hot guys were gay or more interested in being friends.

[brooke]

"I do what I can,"

Brooke looked up from the rose with a smile on her face. She just couldn't believe how sweet Tad was being! Of course, she hadn't expected for him to be rude or anything, but she certainly hadn't expected a rose. It was nice, especially after the stressful day she had organizing everything.

"Hey that's my cousin. D'you want to sit with them?"

Brooke nodded. She didn't have anyone in particular she wanted to sit with, so she didn't mind hanging with Tadhg's cousin and Vinnie.

"Sure!" she agreed, walking over with Tad. "I didn't know Viola was coming," she added. She didn't know her well, but she knew she went to George Washington. Brooke was always afraid that students from other schools would cause drama from rivalries, but she figured that it wasn't that big of a deal. Viola wasn't the type to start trouble.

"Hey you guys, mind if we join you?" she asked.

[vinnie]

"I keep forgetting he and Desmond are related."

"Well, they are so different it's easy to forget." said Vinnie. He was slightly thrown off by Viola sighing after she said Toby's name. He couldn't help but be a little bit jealous, but he couldn't really tell why. . . Before he had time to think about it Tad and Brooke came over to sit with them.

"Hey you guys, mind if we join you?"

"Oh, go right ahead." said Vinnie with a smile. He started to get up to pull out Brooke's seat for her then remembered she was with Tad. Then he also remembered he forgot to do it for Viola! He was so dumb some times. Now he felt like an asshole. He figured there was going to be plenty of opportunities to redeem himself over the course of the evening. "You look very nice, Brooke." he said politely. He didn't want Tad to think he was after Brooke so he left it at that.

[Tadhg Kelly]

"Yeah Vinnie invited her," Tad explained to Brooke as they made their way over.

Tad froze, mid-reach for the chair as Vinnie made as if he was going to get Brooke's chair. He stood there for an awkward second or two before Vinnie let the idea go and perhaps just shifted in his seat. Maybe he was being weird. . .he really did want to like Vinnie, for Vi's sake anyway. He got the chair for her.

He was being overly nice tonight. Not that he was ever an asshole. Tonight he was just. . .maybe he was trying to make up for the other night with his dad. Or maybe he was just tryign to show Brooke what a real boyfriend should be like. .. as compared to Blane.