ic Could've Danced All Night (IC)

[Gizmo]

Though more rattled than he cared to admit, Trevor consciously slowed his breathing as he moved through the crowd. By the time he'd made his way back across the dance floor, his immaculate composure had been regained in full, and even brightened noticeably when he caught sight of Erin again. One eyebrow quirked in curiosity when he saw their classmate. "James. Didn't think this was your kind of party. Could've carpooled." The dark haired youth offered the cups of punch to Erin and James.

[Cyroa]

It was like she ran him through. Or maybe caved his chest in. Or ripped his heart out. Or any one of a thousand things. No matter how he looked at it, he felt crushed. Still, he kept his face from showing any of that pain. She was happy and he wasn't going to ruin that. He just nodded at her with a half smile and looked at Trevor as he walked up. He shook his head, not accepting the drink. "I 'ported in. And I was just leaving actually. Enjoy your date you two. Take care and have fun," he said before whispering the spelling of concealment, letting him vanish from sight. He needed to be away from here. Anywhere but here. A moment later, though no one saw it, he was bathed in light and beam away.

[Electra]

Erin took the punch and sipped it automatically, looking with some concern at the place where James had just been. "He was acting a little strange," she told Trevor, though she seemed to be half speaking to herself. "I'll have to figure out what's going on with him later." Not that it was ever easy with James, who was very good at hiding what he didn't want others to see. With an effort, she refocused her attention on more pleasant matters and smiled at Trevor. "Thanks for the punch. Dancing's pretty good exercise."

[Gizmo]

Trevor shrugged lightly. James had seemed to run off in a hurry, but given his reputation as a prolific ladies man, the other young man assumed that his classmate had just been reluctant to intrude upon their evening. Guess I owe him one. Te punch in his cup untouched, he turned his attention back to Erin with a smile. "Probably good to get out of here, unless you'd like to, ah, stick around. 'Slow dance'," he added with a nod to the rest of the gala's guests, the gesture simultaneously wry and hesitant. He was a little worried about staying with Maeghan so nearby, but he wasn't about to be chased off, either.

[Electra]

"We can head out if you're ready," Erin replied. She wouldn't have minded dancing again, but there was definitely something to be said for quitting while she was ahead. She hadn't made a fool out of herself during dinner or dancing, and there'd been no supervillain attack, and all in all, things had really gone well. Staying any longer would just give something bad more of a chance to happen. But that was a stupid way to think, she reminded herself sternly. Alex and Dr. Marquez would both tell her that. There was no reason to expect that anything bad was going to happen just because she was feeling good. It was time to start being brave. "But I wouldn't mind dancing again," she added.

[Gizmo]

At that, Trevor's smile broadened once more. It wasn't the infused with the unleashed energy he'd shown during their earlier demonstration on the dance floor, but carried a greater warmth as the evening's other concerns melted away. The dark haired young man took Erin's hand and drew her in gently. "All you ever have to do is ask," he assured her.

[Electra]

They danced several more times, in fact, with no supervillain swooping in and no terrible faux pas messing everything up. Erin forgot, at least for a little while, her concerns about James and about most everything else, and just enjoyed being out with someone she liked, and dancing, and having Trevor's arms around her. It was nearly midnight before people began leaving in any numbers and the dance floor began thinning out. "I suppose we should think about heading out," Erin finally said, a little reluctantly. "Looks like things are going to wind down soon." She grinned at Trevor. "Although that does mean another ride in the car, so I can't feel too bad."

[Gizmo]

Trevor led the way out the hall, retrieving the keys to the long black vintage car when Pete pulled it around for them. Pausing for a moment as he opened the driver's side door, he instead tossed the keys to Erin and made his way around to the other side of the vehicle. "Didn't get much of a chance to drive before," he noted, settling into the passenger seat, apparently perfectly comfortable, just this once, with letting someone else do the driving.

[Electra]

Erin was absolutely not about to argue with that, sliding behind the wheel and kicking off the shoes that had started to chafe even at her invulnerable ankles. They drove along the bay for awhile, the cool night air filling the car and blowing through their hair. It was quiet, but there didn't seem to be much that needed to be said. Neither of them were really people who felt compelled to fill a silence with words. As they drove over the Pramas Bridge, Erin shot a glance up at the cables and smiled, remembering that crazy amazing motorcycle ride.

It wasn't until they were back in Bayview and nearing the school that she spoke up. "I had a really good time tonight. I'm glad you asked me to come."

[Gizmo]

"Me too," Trevor agreed with a small smile before hurriedly adding, "I mean, had a good time and glad I asked you, that is. Both." The lean teenager cleared his throat awkwardly at his uncharacteristic fluster, shifting in his seat to adopt an unconvincingly nonchalant posture. "Should do something like that again, sometime. Not necessarily a big party but, ah, something." Trevor reflected that there was a reason he wasn't the chatty type.

[Electra]

Erin pulled the car through the gate of the school and headed up the driveway towards the garage. "Well, there's always the prom that Alex is putting on next weekend," she suggested, just a little hesitantly. "Everybody's going to be there, it seems like, and we already have matching outfits... Plus, Alex is thinking there might be some problems if the Next Gen guys decide to throw their weight around, so I want to be there anyway, just in case. But it will probably be pretty nice anyway."

[Gizmo]

"Yeah? I -- yes, that's be, ah, nice." The lanky young man found himself in new territory. He'd gone on dates often enough, certainly, but second dates had been few and far between. His only long term relationship had been of a decidedly dysfunctional bent, besides. Part of him couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop. After a moment of silence he started, "So, ah..."

[Electra]

Erin looked at him sidelong as she parked the car in one of the open stalls in the garage. She wondered if she'd misinterpreted, and that "we should do something sometime" had actually meant "we should not do this ever again," and he'd just been too polite to come out and say it. If that was what he meant, he should've just come out and said it, she figured, even as she mentally reviewed the evening for clues that things had not gone as well as she'd thought. "If you're not going to be busy or anything," she added, offering him an out, albeit an ungraceful one. "I'm probably just going to go anyway, because it's Alex's party." She moved to unbuckle her seatbelt, which of course did not exist, and slid her shoes back on before climbing out of the car.

[Gizmo]

"I -- what?" Trevor scrambled out of the car after Erin, the movements snatched from the jaws of comedy only by the youth's practiced grace. "Definitely not busy. More like the opposite of busy. If I were busy, I'd get purposefully un-busied, because... yes." He gave the young woman a bleak look. "Erin, I don't... talk much, so, just to be clear, I had an amazing time tonight, and, well..." He ran a hand through the dark hair on the back of his head self-consciously before looking back up. "I, y'know... really like you. Ah, yeah. Yes. So." He coughed awkwardly and tried to compose his posture and expression with limited success.

[Electra]

Erin studied him silently for a minute, then smiled, some of the tension easing away. "I really like you too," she told him. "And I'd like to do this again. If we meet up, say, six on Saturday, we can go to the dance together?" she suggested. Oddly enough, seeing that he was uncomfortable for the sames reasons she was uncomfortable helped her feel better. Part of her worried that she was heading in a direction she probably wasn't ready for, given her history, but she ignored that. Just for tonight, she felt normal, and it felt good.

[Gizmo]

Trevor's thin lips fell into an open mouthed smile which, on the normally reserved teenager's face, looked positively goofy. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "The lounge again?" With the weekend's plans made, the pair began their walk from the garage back to the dormitories. Silent until they were nearly at the entrance, Trevor suddenly spoke up, "You tired, or...?"

[Electra]

"A little," Erin replied, looking over at him. "I tried to sleep last night, but didn't get a lot accomplished," she admitted with a half-smile. "I guess I had a lot on my mind." The night was clear and quiet, the noise of cars and the city muted behind the brick walls that lined the campus. The lights of Freedom City blotted out the stars, but the moon overhead and the lights of the buildings provided enough illumination to see by. "How about you?"

[Gizmo]

Trevor shrugged with slightly overstated nonchalance. "You know me; pretty wired on caffeine." The young man suspected he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night despite his efforts, though his coffee consumption had little to do with it. "Probably just work on The Machine a little bit. Reservoir sprung a leak last time I tested it, gotta clean it all out. Maybe work out a little." Stepping forward a pace, he pulled the door to the dormitory open for Erin. "Let you get some sleep, then."

[Electra]

"That sounds good. I'll see you in class, then." Erin hesitated for a moment, the two of them staring silently at each other, neither one making a move. Finally, impulsively, Erin leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the wonderful night," she told him, then escaped gracefully into the dim lights of the nighttime dormitory. She hadn't been lying about being tired, but she was already debating the merits of waking Alex up to talk.

[Gizmo]

Trevor stood silently for a long moment, still holding the door open. Gradually, tiny fumes of inky mist began to stream lazily through the back on his jacket, making the dark fabric look like it was evaporating slowly into the air. One side of his mouth turned upward while the rest opened slightly in an expression of content bemusement. "...hah," he managed aloud, before stepping into the dormitories and letting the door close behind him with a soft click.