The Cholerics

There is a particular chill in Radbert's room this afternoon as he gets ready for his first date with Cachet. He seems rather anxious and was preparing hours before time. There is no sound coming from Rad's room. Only that of Rad's heavy breathing, which is partially due to the fact that he suffers from Sinusitis. Radbert glanced at his cellphone which sat at his night stand to the right of his bed. There were a great amount of music CDs and a stereo. On top of the stereo was a placard
with a poem entitled "Through My Eyes".

" What do you think Nate?" Radbert says with a smile while looking in the mirror. He is wearing a red long sleeve dress shirt with a black jacket on top.

" You will not make yourself look ridiculous for as long as I'm here. Put on the black shirt and tie. That is if you wish to charm her out of her pants." said Nate with a smile on his face.

" I do not plan on charming her out of her pants as you say. I just simply want to look good and enjoy this date. I'm rather nervous. Sometimes I don't know what to say." he said still looking in the mirror, and now removing his clothes to comply with Nate's wish.

Nate walks over to the nightstand and picks up a piece of paper.
"Clever things to say?" said with a surprised look on his face as he stared at the paper.

"I know this may not make sense to you but when I look in her eyes all my thoughts turn to nothing. All I could think of is her. So by having that piece of paper in my arsenal I could still be astonished by her beauty and say things I would normally say." Radbert now facing Nate.

" You do realize what you are doing, don't you? "Nate said with a cold smirk on his face.

"Yes, yes I know. I Have no time for your negativity. Either you help me or you leave me alone." said Radbert now tying his black tie.

"Very well then. Once it's all set and done you will come back to me and I will refer you back to this particular conversation. So remember the phrase... 'I told you so'" Says Nate as he walks out the door.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! What am I going to wear? This black dress is hideous! This red one makes me look like a whore! " Cachet to herself.

Cachet was pacing up and down her room right before she heard her cellphone ring. Which to her sounded very ominous, eerie, and it actually startled her out of her deepened thoughts. Cachet runs toward the phone and nearly trips over the side of her bed.

"H-Hello?"

"Hi" it is the voice of a very playful sounding man.

"Who is this?" she asked very puzzled.

"Nobody." The mysterious person laughed and hangs up.

The doorbell rings. There is no one there to answer it so she must go herself. She is very frightened due to the phone call she received. She slowly walked outside her room, into the living room which had a very small library of very rare books, an old leather chair next to a fireplace and smelled like cigars. Once she reached the door, she opened just a small inch to be able to see outside. She saw that Radbert stood there. She quickly slammed the door.

"Cachet? It's me Rad. Open the door." he yelled.

"I look hideous! I'm not done dressing!" she said through the door.

" I'll wait here, but I assure you there is no way you are coming out of that house not being a vision." he whispered through the door with his face placed against it.

" I'm not taking chances" she ran back to her room.

Cachet walked out wearing the black evening gown which she thought looked hideous. Rad could not take his eyes off of her. The gown was made of poliester with several types and designs of silk fabric combined into a stylish creation, irregular hem and flounces which gave it a tint of melancholy. Flouncing skirt with stiffening underdress and tied bodice with irregular vest. Her hair was in a bun behind her head while two seemingly careless bangs caressed the sides of her face. She was wearing a diamond necklace that seemed to be very expensive. Her shoes were black italian stiletto heels.

"You don't like it do you? I knew I should have worn the red one!" she said and stomped the ground once with her heel.

"No, no no. It's.... beautiful. That is an exquisite gown. I must say." he said with a smile on his face still staring at her.

" Stop it" she said playfully.

"I have no intention of stopping" he continued to stare.

She ran to greet him with a kiss on the cheek. He extended his arm in a formal matter and she clenched herself on his left side. They both walked to Rad's car, a black BMW . He opened her door and closed it behind her.

"What a gentleman." she said while inside his car.

While making his way around the back of the car, Rad caught a glimpse of Nate in the distance, and stopped. Nate gave a slight bow of his head in approval, and Rad smiled and got in the car.

" Where are you taking me?" Her face lit up as she said those words, and there was a very sincere smile on her face with as much enthusiasm as a kid about to open her Christmas present.

" We're going to a Ball." he said as he was pulling out of the parking spot.

"Ballroom dancing?" She said rather surprised.

"Yes, but I must warn you I am not the best dancer. " he laughed to himself, and kept his eyes on the road.

" I didn't think you'd be the kind of guy that would take a girl to such an elegant place for a first date." she said slightly worried while staring at her dress to almost as to see if it was appropriate enough for such elegant evening.

" It is wrong to assume ones character and preference based on physical appeal." his words came out as cold as the Russian winter.

" Oh, I know that but one can't help but do so. But I was happily mistaken." She smiled and turn her head towards him to see if his expression would change.

Radbert laughed.

" So what made you come to our school? Where did you use to go before?" asked Radbert.

" Well, my mother was having an extramarital affair, and my dad was upset so he took me and we moved out. That brought me to City of Veils and I then I signed up at Abide High. Which worked out for the best because I met you." she leaned over and kissed him on the side of his lips. He then turned his head and kissed her.

" I will be the death of us. I better control myself." she said smiling and stopped kissing him realizing that he was driving and could lose control.

There were a few minutes of silence. Cachet looked over to Radbert. His expression was not very pleasant, he seemed to be very upset.

"Are you alright?" she asked hoping for a reassurance that nothing was wrong.

"She is amazing."

"Very well then. We'll see."

"I'm sorry. Everything's alright. I was just thinking about something I have to do when I get home." he said while sporting an obviously fake smile.

"You had me worried for a second." she put her hand to her chest.

Driving through the city that night seemed like a complete new experience for the two. Although they had seen every inch of it, they were both enjoying it exponentially more in each other's presence. Each red light, or each stop sign was yet another chance for them to show their affection. As they approached their destination Rad grew increasingly more and more excited.

"We're almost there! This is going to be great I promise you. I've been taking dancing lessons. It's not something I am proud of, but I wanted this evening to be perfect. Just like I dreamed." he said very enthusiastically and filled with energy.

"Just like you dreamed?" she said puzzled as to what he meant.

"Well... it's a figure of speech." he hesitated in his response.

"Ah, I see." she smiled and turned her head and placed her head on the window.

"Here we are..." he said and quickly jumped out of the car, and handed the key to the valet parking.

Inside was a beautifully lit room, with very elegant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the room was a grand piano being played by a gentleman in a red suit and a very eccentric red laced top hat. He was singing a song that seem to have a very familiar melody to Radbert. There were tables around the room with a white cloth and red roses on top. There was a cellist, violin players, a drummer, a few trumpet players, a bass player, and flute players assembling their gear behind the piano player. Rad's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Wow, this is beautiful." Cachet said looking at Radbert and not really noticing the room.

"Yes, I know. It's... remarkable. I've heard wonders of this place but this is the first time I come here." he said still smiling and trying to catch every detail of the room.

"Whoa, you are loving it. Look at your face." she said holding Rad's hand very tightly and looking up at him.

"It's not just the place... It's also who I'm with." he smiled and looked over at her.

"Aww! She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Let's take a seat." she said while pulling on his arm.

"Alright then but..." Rad was interrupted by the Piano player as he addressed the people in attendance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... Welcome. The band is now ready, and this first song is for the young couple in the front. You're beautiful together. This song is called "For Once in my life"."

Radbert smiled and reached his hand out to Cachet. She eagerly extended her hand and stood up. As soon as that first key stroke of the piano was played, they were no longer in the room. Their eyes were fixated in each others. They canceled out everything else in the room. It was just the two of them and the music.

"I love you" they muttered, and Radbert put his arms around her and held her close. Her head rested on his chest. She smiled and could not think of a moment in time where she was happier.