When Everything Goes Wrong, You Make It Right (Tobias)

[Shizuko Hongo]

It was not often that she let her hair fall down to it’s normal length. In fact, she was surprised she had actually done something with it. Well, to be fair, that was because her roommate had nearly attacked her with a “flat iron” before focusing on getting her costume together. The blonde young woman puzzled over why Mutsumi would dye her brilliant red hair blue for just one night. The thought made her chuckle to herself a little bit; the people she had met were so strange at times, but she had an odd affection for them. She supposed it was akin to her affection for her brother. He was weird, but she loved him and would fight for him to the death. She wandered over to her worn, wooden closet and waited to hear the slam of a door before opening it. She pulled out a red dress and bit her lip as a small blush started to creep across her face. The dress was not too revealing, but she was still a little worried about wearing it. She idly wondered if Tobias would be at the event, which made her face flush more as she shook her head before flicking the lock on the door and changing into the dress. She slipped on a pair of black flats and a small black pendant with a red rose in the middle of it. The last thing she slipped on before she slipped out the door was her mask, which was a light gold color with a red faux flower above one of the eyes.

Shizuko tried to slip through the gymnasium doors unnoticed, but, of course, something had to happen as usual. She had just missed getting splashed with someone’s drink. She let out a squeak of surprise at the sight of someone tumbling and headed straight for an abandoned corner of the room. She breathed a sigh of relief; it was much safer where she was standing. She noticed other people wandering around and talking to each other, whether it was just for appearances or whether they were actually interested in the conversation would always be a mystery to her. She noticed a rather irritated-looking prefect leaning against the wall, arms crossed over the chest. She made a mental note to avoid contact with that particular prefect, especially due to the sour look that seemed to come from under the mask. She saw someone dart through the crowd and though her heard some yelling, which made her shrink back even further. After a few minutes of just standing, she sighed and ventured forward tentatively. There was nothing to be scared of; it was just a little social interaction, right? That might be the scariest part, she thought, looking around. It seemed that people were bonding over costumes or trying to guess who was who. She was not trying to guess anyone’s identity, though. After all, that was the fun of masquerades, right? The uncertainty would surely bother some people, but she kind of liked the mystery. With a resigned smile, she decided to wander over to the tables to see if there was anything of interest to eat or drink.

Sadly, the only thing that looked interesting was the green liquid that looked like a horrible attempt at the acidic blood of a fictional bug. Even then, though, it was not as intellectually interesting as it was disgustingly interesting. She grimaced a little before stepping away from the table. Of course, her timing was grossly inadequate, since she was nearly knocked over by a streak of blue. She let out another squeak and stumbled backward, catching herself on a table. She mumbled an apology to the wide-eyed pair of teens seated at the table. Her face was bright red as she walked away, headed toward the doors. There was no point in her being there. Every attempt she had made so far was met with some kind of rejection. She figured she would just give up while she was ahead. As she neared the doors, she bumped shoulders with someone who had been entering. She paused to bow and apologize to the young man.

“I-I’m s-so v-very s-sorry for w-walking i-into you… A-are you hurt?”

The young woman stood up straight to look him in the eyes and blinked rapidly. She was sure she had seen those eyes somewhere before… No, she could not be so silly! She shook her head a little; Tobias would not waste his time going to an event like this, and neither should she have. The blush on her cheeks grew more and she averted her eyes, trying to hide the embarrassment that was contained in brown hues. She bit her lower lip and rocked back and forth on her feet, unsure of what to say next. She hoped that he would take the liberty of forgiving her so that she could avoid making any more embarrassing displays that night. She secretly hoped that she was right and that she had indeed run into her friend, though she did not want to get her hopes up, either. She did not want to be disappointed after all, though she was not quite sure why she would have been if he was not there. That silly notion form before tried to worm it’s way into her head but she kept it at bay, telling it to go away.

Outfit and Mask

[Tobias Fordson]

        "I'm actually... gonna do this... Man, trying to have a social life is nerve-wracking."

        These audible thoughts were what plauged Tobias today. He customarily made sure he was prepared for any kind of Halloween event the school staff had planned, but a Masquerade Dance? This was ridiculous. The Meet and Greet event was bad enough for one life-time. He had the extreme relief that, due to the masquerade style, he'd be able to hide his features. Having started a week ahead of the date, he took the time in the crafts portion of the school to piece together a reasonable outfit of a purple karate gi and a stark white cloak and mantle, with pointed golden wire shoes. Arguably, the shoes were the toughest part of the outfit, due to the difficulty in shaping the wire just right, so he ended up just running the wire over a pair of sneakers he had. As for his mask, he decided to make a plaster fox motif mask, padded on the inside, that covered the top half of his face, save the two eyes and the nose mantle. He made sure to bore out and remove those areas so he could see clearly and so that the nose wouldn't stick out and impede him. This was one of the few times where he actually enjoyed these social holidays. He had the opportunity to actually be productive in a fashion that would be acceptable to everyone, meaning less glaring eyes or snide comments. He would have gone the extra step to make a golden hair wig, but the effort to do that would have put him behind schedule, so he decided against it.

        Taking the opportunity to don his outfit, he felt happy that the outfit came out exactly as planned. Donning the fox mask, he quietly and slipped out of his room and locked up the door. Mamoru hadn't been inside, and was probably already at the Masquerade, so maybe he would get to see him then. It was odd that, all this time, he had yet to actually meet his roommate, but he obviously was much more busy than Tobias was. There was a small tinge of wonder about whether Shizuko would be present, but he shook his head to banish the thought. It was surprising enough that he was going. More than likely, she wouldn't be present, as she probably had much better things to do. Deep down, though, he hoped she would be there. Taking a deep breath, he shoved open the doors and pushed inside the Gym.

        Almost instantly, he began to regret the action. The cacophony of mingling students was horrendous, just as he had foreseen. What made it worse was that he had intended to actually attempt conversing with people. The only thing he had to give him courage in this was his mask and outfit. Hardly anyone would be able to notice him afterwards, so no chance of any awkward encounters in the school afterwards. With bated breath, he slowly tried to slip around and find any possible conversations. It was then that he had found that most of the students here had already flocked to their own little cliques and were loathe to let "outsiders" in on their conversation. The most of the rest seemed intent on staying alone, specifically the Prefects in the room. It seemed his efforts were in vain, and so he decided to travel slowly towards the door. He didn't trust there to be anything edible, and it was obvious that his efforts were not going to be accepted here, so it was best to give up now. At the very least, he could pack up his outfit and hope for another event where it would be more acceptable.

        As he began to walk out, he had a glimmer of a thought go through him: What if Shizuko really was here? What if she went out of her way to come here, expecting him? It was a silly notion. He already figured she wouldn't bother with coming to this event in the first place. The thought nagged at him and, so, he spun around slowly and started to go back inside. At that moment, he collided into a young woman who was on her way out. Once again, he thought, he had been a klutz and ran into somebody. He began to wave his hand and see to the woman, hoping he had not caused her any harm, when she spoke to him. His eyes widened, easily displaying the hazel tint to them, as he picked up on the voice. It couldn't have been... it sounded just like her. Exactly like her. Was he being delusional? He had to make sure, so he looked over her carefully. She did have blonde hair, but it was completely straight, not curled up as usual. Her skin did have the same tone, but anyone could get that complexion. Then he spotted them; the chocolate colored spheres that were her eyes. There was no doubt in his mind: It really was Shizuko. She really had come to the Masquerade.

        As he realized this, he could also see she was starting to pull away slightly. Clearly she was uncomfortable at that moment, possibly attempting to leave. That notion slightly saddened him. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay at the dance, with him. The thought was crazy to him, but he couldn't shrug it off. She seemed to almost start to turn away when he reached out for her hand and, with a soft voice, almost a whisper, he called to her.

        "P-please... d-don't go... I-it's m-my f-fault we r-ran into e-each other. B-besides... I-I w-would... a-a-apprec-ciate it... i-if we cou-uld... da-... d-da-...."

        He was unable to speak anymore. His body was locked in an outright fear. Why had he asked that? What gave him the insane notion to even suggest such a thing? What if he was absolutely wrong and it wasn't her? He'd have just asked a stranger he knew nothing about to dance with him? He couldn't talk. He couldn't move. He couldn't even think clearly from the fright that plagued him. In the end, he just sat and waited, his hand still clutching the woman's hand.


Outfit
Mask

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko had not thought that the school would have been a huge proponent of social interaction. The more logical approach would have been to keep the students isolated from one another to break their spirits and prevent them from uniting. It would cause the extroverted students to wilt and the introverts to draw even more into themselves. Allowing “normal” social events to occur was careless on their part, since it promoted social cohesion and increased the possibility of a riot. Like-minded students could get together and destroy the event or even the island, if they were strong enough. Of course, that was what the prefects were for, but they seemed weary and worn out, burdened by loss and a thankless job that offered nothing but headaches. She wondered why the Battle Front had not made a strike sooner, though she supposed it was because they were still “licking their wounds” from the battle that had occurred a month or so before her arrival. She shook her head a little, trying to banish the thoughts floating around. She would try to act like a normal teenager and not an over analytical genius, but she had attempted the former before and it had still landed her here.

It was not so much the social interaction that scared her as it was the loud noises. The blonde young woman was a jumpy person and loud noises startled her easily. That, combined with her clumsiness and feelings of inferiority, gained from seeing the groups of people crowded around talking, caused her to slowly proceed toward the exit after her embarrassing display in front of the young couple at the table. She was not going to be accepted here either, no matter how hard she tried. She was not even sure why she had bothered in the first place. Still, she felt a slight disappointment in her heart. She wanted to have friends. She wanted to talk to people. She knew very well that she was her own worst enemy. She had the ability and potential to overcome her shyness and timidity. All she had to do was talk to someone. She also knew, though, that communication is a two way street. If there was no recipient, no communication could take place. Sure, she could just talk at someone for hours on end, but that did not mean they heard what she had said. With a resigned sigh, she walked toward the door with jumbled thoughts tumbling around in her head.

The first glance she had given to the masked figure she had bumped into was brief. She only wanted to apologize and leave. After a moment of looking at him, though, she was able to distinguish some familiar features. He had a very similar hair color to Tobias, though it looked a little different in the lighting. If he had not been wearing the fox mask, she probably would have been able to identify him immediately. The mask covered his face and made this impossible, however. All she had to identify him by was his hair color and, when his eyes widened, his eye color. There were a good amount of students at the school, though, so how could she tell how many people with brown hair and hazel eyes there were? No, she would not waste her time there. In fact, she was already thinking of an invention based on the young man’s mask. Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt something warm around her hand. She tried to yank it back gently before looking down at it and back up to the young man. The soft, stuttering voice that her ears picked up was as familiar as Mamoru’s voice by that point and she physically relaxed greatly when she confirmed it was Tobias. Maybe, she was not alone that night. And maybe, just maybe, they could help each other.

Even though he trailed off at the end of his sentence, she was able to deduce what he was trying to ask her. H-he wants to dance with me? she thought to herself, biting her lower lip lightly. She thought that it was very odd that he wanted to do so, but how could she be so rude as to refuse? She swallowed softly and shifted closer to him so that he could hear her voice over the music and chattering, praying he did not notice the red color crawling across her cheeks.

“I-I-I w-w-would l-l-love t-t-to…”

[Tobias Fordson]

        Craziness... pure and simple. That's how Tobias described his idea of joining the Masquerade Dance was. An introvert such as himself shouldn't try to socialize. It generally came across as awkward, stuttery, and overall embarrassing for him. The general consensus would laugh.. long and loud. Hence, Tobias almost always kept to himself. Sure, he had wanted to recover from his introverted self, but the process was painful and difficult to the point that the ends didn't seem to justify the means. His most meaning full conversation in recent days was with an unseen voice in his dream. That was, until Shizuko had showed up in his life. The moment she came in to his life, he felt different. He felt he could actually talk again... and not with crazy, dream-calming voices he thought could be harbingers of actual insanity. The entire reason he came to this event, were he to be completely honest with even himself, was hoping that Shizuko would actually come to the event. Of course, his rational side, the part of him that seemed to keep him from acting on his want to be social, almost convinced him that she wouldn't be there, but in the end, his wants won out and he pushed himself to go to the Dance.

        The complexity of the situation must have been far beyond what Tobias could understand. There was no logical step-by-step procedure that has two people of opposite genders, completely unknown to each other by normal standards, to go from running into each other, to blindly apologizing to the other, to the one asking the other to dance with them. However, a small flash of hope, odd as it would be for a situation like this, to fly through him at the sight of her relaxing to his voice. Did she recognize him? She had shown no other sign of her acknowledgement of his presence, but could that have really been an indicator? Maybe he was just grasping a phantoms, he thought. However, when the young woman not only kept a hold of his hand but also spoke up, he was taken aback slightly. Not only was he 100% sure it was Shizuko, but she actually accepted his request in such a kind manner. She... said she'd love to? What.... what does that even mean? These questions plagued Tobias, but he shook off the notion of their meaning, simply taking her away with naught but a shy gulp and nod towards the dance floor.

        The two slowly and nervously walked over, still holding hands, before reaching the area. He turned to her, then let out a small gasp and excused himself, walking swiftly to a nearby chair and removing the mantle of his outfit. He felt the excess weight and bulk would simply impede dancing, though he also needed a moment to relax and calm himself. His nerves were on fire it seemed, maybe his blood even. He felt that doubting part of himself creep back up, but the moment he look over his shoulder to her, it faded in an instant. He very shyly walked over and gave her a nod before quietly, almost as a whisper, spoke so she could hear him.

        "F-forgive me... o-or, I s-s-should say, g-gomen... I di-idn't want the m-mantle to h-h-hinder us."

        The words came off his tongue with a stressed tone. Obviously, his attempt to calm himself had failed, due to the sweat he could feel forming on his brow and under his remaining costume. He worked to keep it hidden, though, not showing his discomfort before he nodded and they proceeded to bump and jumble their hands, trying to get a firm hold on each other. After a good 2 minutes of doing so, they finally managed to get into a decent pose for the dance, perfectly timed as a slow-paced song was played at that moment. The two, nervously glancing to each other, began to tiptoe and shuffle about in a rough slow-dance. Every few steps, the two would invariably step or bump shoes, a quiet apology spoken every time, though Tobias always felt he was a fault. However, despite all the blunders that he perceived he was at fault for, he enjoyed this moment immensely. For every mishap they had, they seemed to exchange two smiles or giggles, even blushes.

        As the song started to come to a close, the two began to perform a final spin, almost finishing the song with no major troubles, when Tobias' shoe caught on the skirt of her dress, causing a cascade of jerks and twists that ended with the two falling to the floor. In an instant, he found himself on the floor, clutching the young woman in his arms as if he were shielding her from harm. It was sudden and confusing to him, and yet, it felt natural to him; protecting her was something that he wanted to do. All at once, the realization of what had happened forced the darkest blush possible on his features as he became absolutely speechless. While ensuring she was unharmed in doing so, Tobias rapidly separated from her, unable to untangle his shoe and simply pulling the object off. Now thoroughly embarrassed by the situation, he simply bowed his head multiple times to her as he rapidly spoke.

        "I'm s-s-s-sorry... s-s-so s-so s-sor-ry... P-p-please, f-f-forg-give m-me for t-thi-is... I-I-I-I'm so so so so s-s-s-sor-ry."

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko had no sure way of confirming that the young man she had run into was Tobias. She trusted her judgement and conclusions, though. She did not know of anyone else that spoke with the timidity and kindness that were contained in his voice, or at least, no one that was male. She knew for sure from what she had observed that many young men on campus adapted or, at the very least projected, a very secure and sometimes rude image of themselves. She was not entirely sure if the goal was to attract young women, assert authority, or a combination of both. Regardless, she was not really interested in that sort of thing. What she was interested in, was someone being genuinely himself or herself. She would have also preferred quiet friends, but she would honestly take what she could get. She was glad, though, that she had found at least one person who was being himself, regardless of how people regarded him. He was genuinely kind to her, he had helped her when she needed it most, and he had even allowed her the pleasure to help him cook. It occurred to her just then that she really did not know much about Tobias, other than his name. Maybe, just maybe, spending some time with him at this dance would fill this knowledge deficit. Of course, it was also to spend time with a friend who seemed to be in the same position. Maybe they would be able to make each other feel better about the situation. After all, he seemed quite uncomfortable as well.

She felt nervousness creep into her as he lead her a little closer to the dance floor. She prayed her brother was not anywhere in the crowd; she did not want the situation to be misconstrued. They were just two friends dancing. It was harmless, really. The lack of warmth around her hand made her look down, realizing that Tobias had left. She looked up and around, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Did she smell bad? Was her hair a mess and she did not know it? She was not entirely sure what she had done, but it seemed like she had scared him off. She let out a soft sigh and started to turn to leave again when she heard his sot voice from behind her. She turned around to see him, his cheeks slightly pink and his head tilted toward the floor for a brief moment before their eyes met. The instant those hazel eyes fell on her, she felt her heart start to race. What was this feeling that was darting through her veins and both scaring and delighting her at the same time? She nodded respectfully to his response, smiling a little to indicate that it was all right. She was thankful that she had waited. How silly she had been by assuming! She moved a little closer to him and fumbled around, trying to figure out how she should touch him. Was she supposed to hold his hand? Was she supposed to keep her distance and just put her hands on his shoulders? She was not familiar with the American custom of ‘slow-dancing’, and it clearly showed.

After finally figuring out what to do, the two started to dance. Well, sort of. Shizuko was not the most graceful of young women, so there was bound to be some bumping and tripping, but not to the extent it was happening. It seemed that she was apologizing every two seconds for stepping on his toe, going the wrong direction, or nearly smacking into his chest, though the last thing did not happen very often, and she was glad for that. What saved her from being totally embarrassed and showing it was the small smile on his face, despite their blunders. He seemed to be enjoying himself and she would be lying if she said that she was not doing the same, even if it was just a little bit. It was nice to be close to someone other than Mamoru. Of course, it was unusual to think something like that about someone of the opposite sex, but honestly, she did not care. She was happy for once, and she was interacting with people, so her brother would be proud. She could not stop herself from giggling and blushing when he did and smiling in spite of herself. She enjoyed the experience probably more than she should have, but honestly, she was beyond the point of caring. For once, she felt really happy and content and did not mind one bit. She thought that nothing could ruin that moment.

Of course, fate always had to prove her wrong. Just as the song ended and Tobias tried to twirl her to end their dance on a high note, his foot seemed to get caught in the skirt of her dress. She braced herself to hit the hard, gymnasium floor, but the impact never happened. She opened her brown eyes to see that she was, indeed, on the floor. What she did not understand, though, was what was so warm around her stomach. She looked down to see a pair of arms holding her and her eyes widened a little. Her eyes seemed to meet Tobias’s and, in that instant, he pulled himself away from her. She sat herself up, noticing the redness of his face and the embarrassment coming off of him in waves. She felt sympathy for young man; she did not want him to be so embarrassed, but he had been the one who tripped. He would surely laugh at her if she apologized for the length of her skirt. His stuttering apology made her let out a soft sigh and shift over to where he was sitting. She gently placed her hand over his, gently, as if to reassure him. She then leaned over a little to speak into his ear, since a loud song started to play and she was sure that he would not be able to hear her quavering voice over the booming speakers.

“I-I-It’s a-a-all r-r-right. I-I-It was an a-a-a-accident. L-L-Let’s g-g-get u-u-up and g-g-go s-s-s-somewhere e-e-else, o-o-okay?”

After situating her skirts, Shizuko stood up and offered her hand to Tobias with a soft smile. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest and wondered why it was doing that. Was there some kind of danger around her mind was not aware of? Her eyes shifted around to survey the area before meeting Tobias’s again. Her smile grew a little and her eyes took on a soft, kind twinkle to them. Of course, she was not aware of such changes, but she hoped the the young man would accept her offer so that they could sit at a table, away from other people, who seemed to be more interested in invading another person’s personal space than in actually dancing.

[Tobias Fordson]

        This had been the worst thing Tobias had done in a very long time. At least, that's what he told himself. Tobias was so embarrassed and regretful that his desire to curl up and shut the world away would have let him fit in a toaster oven. To him, everything he had done today was a mistake. He should have payed better attention to where he was walking. He shouldn't have asked to dance. When he did do that, he should have danced better. And now, he caused the two of them to collapse on the ground from his own clumsiness. He had made sure the young lady was ok and said his peace before hurriedly sitting down, his legs pulling in closer to his body. You're such an idiot, Tobias... A damn fool. What the hell made you think you could be social? You're not social. No one wants to be your friend. I should give up now and just go to my room. At least, when I'm alone, I'm not a **** up. It's all my fault. It's all my da-

        His own thoughts, as powerful as they felt to him, were cut off suddenly. What had caused it was a warm, smooth feeling wrapping over his hand. Upon glancing down, he recognized it as Shizuko's hand, covering his own with a gentle grip. His heart was racing with anxiousness. She wasn't angry at him? It made no sense. He had ruined the evening they had together; he had made such a wonderful moment together end up a disaster. And yet, she was not upset with him it seemed. As a much louder song started up, Tobias winced slightly. He would normally like the song, but the volume was a bit much, not to mention it didn't really fit the dance or it's theme. However, through the cacophony, he heard Shizuko's soft, meek voice stutter and stammer. She had leaned in closely so that she could be heard, and the proximity made his blush return. His heart skipped a beat when he first heard her before it resumed it's maddening pace. Unable to think straight with the flurry of emotions and thoughts rushing through him, he closed his eyes and tried to breathe normally for a moment. When they opened back up, a hand was held to him and he glanced back up to Shizuko. She had the most tender smile and a soft, comforting twinkle to her eyes. The weight in his heart seemed to lift at the sight and he felt his body move on its own to take her hand in his, though he made no effort to fight the action.

        Glancing about the room, Tobias could not find any place really free from distractions. Many of the tables were filled with other students and the loud sounds made concentrating hard for any amount of time. A though had crossed his mind, though: the gym had a small part just on the exterior that was relatively open and probably wasn't being used. He glanced lightly back to her and nodded for her to follow before gently guiding her through the crowds. God, he had hated having to brush by so many people, but he had wanted a quiet place for them to talk. After what seemed to be an eternity of walking, they finally made it to the outer portion, which was rather sparsely populated with a couple groups of students. Most of these were already working their way away from the location and, within moments, the two were alone. A single set of movable bleachers were nearby and he motioned for them to sit there, wandering to the seats quietly. All this time, Tobias held to her hand and anytime that it loosened from having to pull past the groups unwilling to move out of the way, he gripped at her slightly tighter.

        It was here that the two sat in silence. Neither seemed to want to break the silence with speech, simply enjoying their time holding hands, which was peculiar to Tobias. Holding a person's hand should not be this enjoyable. So, why was it so? In fact, every moment he glance to her, he felt as if the two of them were inching together. What craziness was going on? He could feel a fleeting, small thought pass through him, though he dismissed it. It was a silly to think they were more than just friends... they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary for friends, right? And yet, it bugged him that the closer he came to her, the warmer his heart felt. Then suddenly, he felt a small bump. It seemed that they had inched closer to the point that they were bumped together. A small gasp had escaped Tobias at the very moment it happened before he glanced over to Shizuko, their eyes locking together. At this point, the beating of his heart was so heavy, he could hear it throb in his ears; his stomach felt as if it began to twist internally; the thoughts in his mind grew fuzzy and distorted with time. If he wasn't diseased or infected with something, he didn't know what could cause this chain of conditions. All he knew was he wanted to feel this way, which was absolutely insane to him. However, he didn't have the strength to turn away from it, simply keeping his attention locked on her and being oblivious to the rest of the world.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko did not have the heart to be angry at Tobias. Why would she be mad at him to begin with? Tripping was a silly reason for one person to be mad at another, especially if said people were friends. There was no point for her to be upset or angry with him. She felt like he seemed to forget the fact that she was forever fumbling over her own feet. She hoped that she was not being too rude by wrapping her hand around his. Once again, she was invading his personal space. She saw the wince on his face and she assumed it was because of her contact, so she withdrew her hand. Her preoccupied mind was startled by a loud noise not even a moment later. She let out a squeak and clamped her hands over her ears. She hated loud noises, especially ones that she was “not prepared for”. She felt bad for once again leaning into Tobias’s personal space, but that was the only way the young man could hear her speak. As she shifted away a little after she was done speaking, she noticed the red on his cheeks. She wondered if his heart was thundering as much as hers was. She could feel it everywhere and, honestly she was not sure if she liked the feeling or hated it. On one hand, it made her feel more alive and connected to the world. On the other, though, it felt alien and unusual. She did not realize that he closed his eyes until he opened them again. She tilted her head a little; had they been closed the entire time? She briefly wondered if there was something wrong with him. Whatever condition seemed to have been affecting him seemed to fade after a minute or two and he took her hand, raising himself to his feet.

The blonde young woman stood waiting for the young man to make a decision. She too decided to survey the area from where she stood, but it seemed to come up fruitless. Nearly every table had a few people at it, and she was sure they would probably not be welcomed. After all, Shizuko and Tobias were not popular by any stretch of the imagination, but honestly, the young woman did not care. She just wanted to be able to have a conversation with her friend and not have to sit next to booming speakers, or a couple that was trying to eat each other’s faces. The mere notion of it made her wrinkle her nose, but she did not have much time to dwell on the thought because she felt a gentle pull on her hand. She allowed herself to be lead through the crowd, mumbling soft apologies to people that she bumped into. The blush on her face seemed to grow the longer their hands stayed twined, mainly because his hand seemed to tighten around hers. She noticed that the crowd seemed to thin the farther and farther they traveled, and she hoped that the relief she was feeling was not outwardly apparent. After some time of wandering, they came to a set of bleachers and managed to sit down without much trouble.

Shizuko was finding it hard to find the words to tell Tobias that it was awkward for him to still be holding her hand. She was not sure why, though. Maybe, she liked the warmth coming from his hand. Maybe she was subconsciously drawn to him because of his kindness. Maybe… She shook her head; no that was silly. Absolutely, positively silly. While she was meandering around in her own mind, she had unknowingly inched closer and closer to him until they bumped into each other. The soft gasp that came from Tobias pulled Shizuko out of her thoughts. Despite the masks on their faces, their eyes were still able to meet, and she could clearly see the surprise reflected in his hazel orbs. She had no abilities that allowed her to see his body function, but she was sure that he was quite nervous. Sure, she could not hear his heart, but she was sure it was beating as rapidly as her own. She was not sure why she felt that way. The feeling was alien and new, but, oddly enough, she could almost say that she liked it. She felt a warmth in her chest that she had never felt before and she could not help but giggle. She bit her lower lip as soon as the soft, melodious noise left her lips. She had not meant to do that either. Lord, she was a mess that night! She shifted a little to give her friend some space on the bleachers. She was not sure that he wanted to be right next to her. The thought was cut short when the part of the bleacher she was sitting on started to wobble a little. She let out a squeal as it dropped. Her hand tightened around his and she managed to pull herself up, though she was lopsided, so she ended up splayed across his lap instead of sitting beside him.

Her eyes widened and her face turned completely red. She was really on a roll to embarrass herself tonight, wasn’t she? She quickly sat herself on the bleacher level below them, not trusting the one they had been sitting on. She was not entirely sure if the accidental bending was due to their weight, or if it was a manufacturing defect. Whatever the issue was, it would certainly make a nice hunk of scrap metal that she could use for the invention she had just thought of. Of course, she would have to look into a few things before she even attempted to build what she was thinking about, but she was just glad to have an idea. She blinked a little, looking up at Tobias with a blush staining her cheeks as she nibbled the skin off her lips before speaking.

“G-g-g-g-gomen… I-I-I-I really h-h-h-h-haven’t b-b-b-been m-meaning to i-invade y-y-your p-personal s-space. A-are you a-at least h-h-having a g-good time? A-a-at the dance I mean! N-not at the s-school, n-necessarily…”

[Tobias Fordson]

        There was no way Tobias didn't consider himself a bumbling mess tonight. And yet, he couldn't say that the evening was horrible. In fact, quite the opposite, he was actually enjoying most of the night, which was quite unusual for someone who, not a month or two before, could hardly muster the courage to speak as is. Yet here he was, at a public dance for students of the school, a Halloween Masquerade dance at that, and he was actually dancing. Well, if you could call what he did earlier dancing. And, in his mind, deep down, he could not help but thank the young woman near him. She had been the one to preoccupy his mind time and time again whenever they talked. She was the one that he had secretly hoped would appear at the dance. And she was now the one who was sitting with him, relatively alone on a set of bleachers under the night sky, with only a small light nearby illuminating the area.

        This proximity to Shizuko was so foreign, so alien, that it felt unnatural to him. The warmth of her hand, sight of her face, and the sound of her breath was so disturbing in an oddly enjoyable way. Seriously, what was wrong with him? He had never acted anything like this before with his friends, or anyone for that matter. What would make her so different? Questions continued to arise time and time again until something broke his train of thought. A simple, light sound; The sound of her giggle. His ears took in the soft sound as if it were a symphony from the heavens or something similar, and the very sound brought warmth to his heart as he watched her bite her lips. He tried to come up with some way to describe it, but only one word came to mind: Cute. Why did he think she looked cute, though? Yet another question he couldn't answer.

        However, he felt his presence was probably disturbing her, due to him invading her personal space, and so he parted a bit from her. The sudden creaking of the bleachers, however, caused him to tense before looking around and both seeing and feeling the seat below Shizu begin to collapse. Again, his instincts caused him to tug away, trying to pull her up, but the combination of her and him pulling to pick her up imbalanced her, resulting in her splaying across his lap. What did he do? He literally yanked her into his lap. What the hell was wrong with him? He was to embarrassed to look at the situation, his cheeks flaring to a bright red. Again, in his mind, he had messed up royally. He literally wouldn't be surprised if she stormed off right the second. However, her words brought his head around. She had simply shifted down the bleachers a bit. Not at all what he expected, though this brought an unfounded wave of relief over him. Her stuttery voice, though quite pleasant regardless of her tone, confused him. She thought she was invading his personal space? How could she be so solemnly humble? It was obvious he was the one invading her space, wasn't it? At any matter, he stumbled a bit to bring himself down next to her, settling in, though he ended up being closer than expected. He responded in his own stuttery voice.

        N-n-n-no... i-i-i-it's fi-i-ine. I-i-it's re-re-really my f-f-fault. Ahh... Y-y-yeah. I-I-I've really enj-j-joyed my t-t-t-time with yo-ou... I m-m-mean... W-w-what I m-me-mean is...T-t-this da-dance h-h-has b-b-be-been i-i-int-t-terest-t-t-ting..."

        Now, he wasn't sure how to think, feel, act, speak, or possibly even breathe at this point. To him, his heart was running at a thousand beats per second to him, his entire body was at the same time frozen and burning up, and the world was almost a void, only showing her. Man, his mind felt so distorted, but it didn't feel bad, odd as that might sound. Oddly, despite even this latest blunder, he could still say this night was well worth the trouble. He looked straight into her eyes; those delectable chocolate globes that oddly gave him an idea for a candy in the future. Perhaps he could make a batch of them for her in the future, but that was for another day. With a shaky breath, he reached for her hand, gently gripping it and gliding his thumb over her skin as a smile pulled on his lips, the most genuine and warm smile he had ever given, before speaking in his timid voice again.

        I... m-must thank y-you. This... a-a-all of thi-is... really m-means the wo-orld to me. I c-can hon-nestly say... I owe s-such a f-f-fantast-tic night to y-you. A-and I hope I s-see you v-very so-soon afterwards."

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko had thought the night was going to be a disaster. She had been expecting to leave rather early, considering the fact that it was unlikely that anyone she knew would be there. After all, Tobias was an introvert like herself; surely, he would try to avoid the dance at all costs? And yet, she had bumped into him and had the most wonderful of dances that she ever had in her life. The very thought made her blush brightly; she should not be thinking such things, especially about her only friend. She could not help it, though. The way his hazel eyes lit up every time she saw him just made her heart soar and the small, shy smile he wore across his lips just made her blush. She wondered just what was wrong with her. Was she under some kind of magic spell? Was she in some kind of dream that also had input from her senses? Whatever it was, she was not entirely sure she wanted it to end. She was thankful that her friend was so kind and that he wanted to get away as much as she did. She was starting to feel suffocated in the crowded room, and she was grateful that they had ventured outside.

The white shapes in the sky dotted the veil of darkness, which was turned a dark blue by the glow of the moon. A light, island breeze brushed past them, making Shizuko shiver slightly. She had not been expecting to go outside, so she did not exactly have a sweater to wear over her dress. Despite the fact that the breeze gave her a slight chill, she was also decidedly warm, especially on the inside. Being so close to someone was both the best and most terrifying thing in the world, in her opinion. The giggle really had come out of nowhere, and seemed to startle Tobias a little. She was about to open her mouth to apologize when she noticed the small smile dancing across his lips. She felt her face heat up again, and her cheeks gained a pink color. What was wrong with her? There was something not right, but she could not put her finger on it. A deeper part of her honestly did not want to over-analyze the situation and just let it play out, but she knew herself better than that.

Shizuko was quite embarrassed by the fact that she had ended up laying across Tobias’s lap. Of course, she had to be so clumsy! She sighed a little, adjusting herself so as not to invade his personal space. She felt bad that she had encroached on his “space”. She felt so bad, in fact, that she actually apologized. Maybe it was partially on behalf of the bench, but she was not going to tell him that. She would sound crazy if she did so, and that was the last thing she wanted. Granted, he probably already thought she was a little off her rocker, what with her tendency to stare at random hunks of metal and snap her fingers when she thought of an idea. In all honesty, she wondered why they were still friends. She supposed that he was just that nice of a person. Most people were intimidated by her intelligence or silence, but he did not seem to be bothered by it. She was not sure if it was a sign of friendship, or something more. She shook her head a little. No, that thought was silly! There was no way… Her mind barely registered that, when he moved down, he was closer to her than before. His words made her blink, and she smiled sympathetically, shaking her head as she spoke in a stuttering tone.

“I-i-i-it’s o-o-okay. I-I-It’s really the b-bench’s f-fault. A-a-a-ah? I-I-I-I’ve e-e-e-enjoyed o-o-o-our t-time together a-a-as well. I-I-If y-you w-want the truth, I-I-I-I was really h-hoping to see you t-tonight…”

The moment the last sentence slipped from her lips, Shizuko’s chocolate eyes widened considerably and her blush grew. She started to worry her lower lip between her teeth, fearing that she had said something rather stupid. Had she really just admitted that? What had been going through her head? Why did she have the desire to tell him that? She was not entirely sure of the answer, but deep down, she did not regret anything she said. The moment they locked eyes, she could actually feel the blood pulsing through her limbs. Her heart was beating wildly and her mouth was slightly dry as the silence continued between them. A hand encasing hers made her curl her fingers reflexively, welcoming his gentle touch. His words made her blush and smile shyly. He was so warm, genuine, and sincere; how could she be so afraid of messing things up? She bit her lip lightly, a blush painting itself across the bridge of her nose and on her fair cheeks. She spoke softly and shakily, keeping her eyes locked with his as she did so.

“I-I-I-I should thank y-you for the l-lovely e-e-e-evening, T-Tobias-san. Y-You m-made this a w-w-wonderful e-e-e-experience f-for me. M-maybe I-I-I can show you m-my l-lab? I-I-I’m not r-really a party p-person, a-a-and it w-would g-give us some r-respite from the n-noise. W-what do you say?”

Shizuko slowly rose from her position on the bleachers, offering Tobias her hand. Her brown eyes glittered with hope and there was a genuine, reassuring smile on her lips. Of course, she would understand if he did not want to come with her, but she secretly hoped that he would.

[Tobias Fordson]

        This was one of the most surprising evenings to Tobias for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Tobias actually went to a social event. When he was younger, there weren't really any events that Tobias would have to go to, save for school meetings and so on, so the idea of going to an event for the opportunity to talk, dance, and other social conventions was so new, so foreign, that he didn't know how he could handle it. Secondly, He had spoken for more than a sentence or two the entire night to someone other than himself. This phenomena, however, had been occurring more and more due to "her". Shizuko had been an enigma to Tobias, not quite because of how she acted, but because of how he acted because of her. Nothing had ever change that in his life, though the revelation that he possessed powers was definitely an eye-opener. And lastly, but probably most importantly, was that, on top of everything else, he enjoyed how the evening went. This shocking concept was what practically drove Tobias mad. Again, he was never social, but could he actually enjoy talking to someone so much? Was any of this feeling real, or just some crazed illness taking hold? The biggest question to him, however: Did he actually care if he was ill with something at this point? That part is what disturbed him the most, but at the same time was becoming less and less of a concern.

        Truly what had been the best part of this night really was his time with Shizuko. Her golden locks, chocolate-brown eyes, fair skin, delightful voice, keen mind, and caring personality all combined to bring about, in Tobias' opinion, one of the most amazing people the world ever brought forth, even considering the characters in fairy tales, comic books, novels, and other such stories. He didn't lie when he told her that she made all of this night worthwhile to him. However, he could tell the night was coming to a close, the thought of which slightly saddened him. However, what she said right before standing up and offering her hand brightened his entire expression. A part of him wanted to hide it, but he was too happy to care. Instead, he nodded lightly to her and raised his hand to take hers, standing up to gaze straight into her eyes before speaking in a warm voice.

        "I-I.... would be h-hon-nored... I-i-it w-would mean mo-ore than the world t-to me. P-please... Lead t-the way."

        Once again, Tobias found himself walking hand-in-hand with Shizuko, quietly making their way out to the gym. At this point, the music had died back down to a softer song and quite a few of the people had left, but it was still obviously crowded somewhat. This didn't bother Tobias at all, though, as he was too busy walking along with Shizuko. Even when they two left the gym through it's entrance, the two still held hands as they traveled down the corridor, even gripping each other's hand tighter from the look of things.