Forever And Never

Despite the fact that I'd been trying to watch the calendar carefully, October 5th come before I knew it was it was finally time for the Yearly Ball. I'd gone through the school day in a daze, hardly even paying attention to people when they asked what I was doing this weekend or anything like that. My mind was focused on the ball and when the final bell to end seventh period rang I looked around in disbelief as the class poured from the room into the hallway, not even realizing that they day was already finished. I grabbed my purse and folder from my desk and stood, shaking myself free from the stupor as I stood and left the classroom to meet Raven at my car so that we could go to the apartment to get ready.
Ramsey and Maribelle were already there when we arrived, both sitting at the table drinking coffee and talking lightly. We greeted them briefly then Raven grabbed my arm and pulled me into my bedroom, eager to try on the dress she'd picked out for herself a few weeks ago. It was white and knee length, and though it wasn't a gown type like mine it was still formal enough for her to wear. My dress was a green color which fell to the floor in a mass of ruffles and fabric. I'd picked it from Maribelle's large collection of dresses at her house, immediately liking the color and design of it.
Soon Maribelle joined us and after convincing Raven to put on her dress on last so it wouldn't get dirty, the three of us crowded into the small bathroom to prepare. She curled my hair carefully with a curling iron as I did Raven's make up for her, making sure that she looked perfect for the event. We must've spend at least an hour prepping in the bathroom, excluding Ramsey who only needed to put on his suit before he was finished.
Finally it was time to change into our formal clothes and Raven and I quickly helped each other into our dresses, laughing as I tried not to trip over the ruffles of my dress. Maribelle changed in the bathroom and Ramsey in the Blood Room, and after each of us were dressed we met in the living room.
"You haven't given them their pins yet, have you?" Maribelle asked Ramsey as she ran a few fingers through Raven's hair, making sure that it didn't look messy from changing. Ramsey shook his head as a reply and walked back to the Blood Room quickly before returning with an envelope in hand. I watched as he dumped the contents of the envelope into his hand, pouring seven small round pins of different colors. He walked over to Raven and I and handed each of us a gold colored pin, then gave Maribelle a Navy blue pin and a maroon pin, keeping a maroon one for him.
"These were made to represent the different groups that your part of; since I'm a trainer I have the Navy Blue pin, and since I'm an employee at Branch Wood I have the maroon one," Maribelle explained as she pinned the two she had to her dress then walked over to pin Ravens to her. "And since both of you are in the Youth Group, you have gold pins."
"You'll see all the male members of Branch Wood wearing a colored tie that represents his group as well; since I'm a trainer I have a navy blue tie, "Ramsey explained as he leaned against the wall, twirling his tie around his finger. I pinned the golden button to my dress carefully, then once it seemed that everyone was ready Maribelle gave the okay and we were off to Ramsey's car and to Branch Wood.
Though I expected the mansion to be decorated special for the Yearly Ball, I'd had no idea that they were going as far as they did. As the four of us made our way to the front doors which had been propped open, I looked to see that the dark red carpet which had once covered the main room was gone and had been replaced by a fancy brown milky marble floor, which ran the whole length of the room. The U shaped desk to the right of the entrance had been removed as well and when I looked to the ceiling I could see that it was now replaced with a roof of glass, exposing the stars and the moon above the institute. The room was dimply lit, the columns supporting the balcony of the second floor and the railing of the large balcony covered in green ivy infused with white flowers and soft yellow lights. There were paper lanterns handing from every low surface, and long tables of food stretched on either side of the room behind the row of columns. Round tables with white table clothes were set up all around the sides of the main room, and small overstuffed couches were against the walls. The doors to the eating area looked like they had been taken off, revealing a wide walkway into the large room which seemed to be about the same thing as the main area except there were more tables and food.
The most noticeable thing about the whole scene was the wide space in the center of the area before us which had to be the dance floor, and furthermore the massive amount of couples which danced together on the space to the orchestra in the corner. There had to be a hundred people dancing, and there were even more on the side lines socializing and in the other room eating. Branch Wood was more packed then it usually was, containing what I thought to be at least six hundred people.
I must have stood in awe at the entrance of the mansion for the better part of a minute, taking in all of the people and the decorations and the beauty of it all. While still watching the people dancing to the ballroom music filling the air, Raven grabbed my arm excitedly and said, "I see Ira and Michael, let's go talk to them" before dragging me towards the left of the dancing and behind all the spectators on the sidelines watching them. I stumbled after her, nearly tripping over my heels, as we made our way through the people.
We reached the two members of the Youth group standing near the left staircase leading to the upstairs balcony after politely pushing though the people talking or eating and talked lightly, each of us conveying our stories of how we'd gotten ready for the event or anything we could find to talk about. Only after we'd been talking for a few minutes about how the carpet which was normally on the ground was always taken up to reveal the marble floor, I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder and I turned my head to see who it was, discovering Léonce standing behind me with a smile.
"Oh hello," I chirped happily as I turned fully to talk to him, trying to not be awkward now that I was at this fancy, high-class event where everyone seemed to proper and perfect. "Ah Nicolette, vous semblez étourdissants..." He murmured as he took my left hand and spun me around to inspect my apparel, smiling as he watched me. I laughed as I tried to turn with the same speed as his hand, wanting to appear as graceful as I could, especially to the man who'd tried to help me be less clumsy.
Apparently he liked what he saw, and once I was fully turned and standing in my original spot he bent down slightly and kissed my hand murmuring more words in French. I couldn't suppress my giggling because of how uncommon it had been for a guy to do that when I was human, but I guess courting a girl in the 1700's was quite different from now.
Once he was straightened back up and was looking me in the eyes he asked, "Would you like to dance?" his smile calm and friendly, but cunning at the same time. My stomach ached at the thought of being so close to him and how uncomfortable he made me feel sometimes, but I nodded with an enthusiastic smile, and he took my hand and led me to the dance floor away from Raven, Michael, and Ira who watched us. I glanced back at them with a smile and they laughed and waved to me, giving me encouragement.
I was thankful for my dancing training with Léonce a little over a week ago, for I would've been completely lost without having had dancing experience prior to the ball. Once we reached a desired location towards the center of the dance floor around other couples who were already dancing, he snaked an arm around me and we started to dance the Waltz, soon falling into a mirroring pattern the other pairs around us. Had I not spent two hours learning the dance with him beforehand, I wouldn't have had the slightest idea of what to do.
"You have improved from when I began teaching you," He commented with a grin, his icy blue eyes staring into mine as we dancing to the orchestra's music. I'd vaguely noticed it during the training when we'd practiced and been this close, but now I noticed it was nearly impossible to break away from his powerful gaze. He held a tremendous amount of power, I could feel it in his strong arms and shoulders and see it in his eyes. I felt weak in comparison to him despite the fact that we were both vampires.
"With your help," I giggled lightly in an attempt to remain as proper as I could. He laughed as well, not even opening his mouth, and continued to look right into my eyes with an almost menacing expression. It made me feel uneasy and awkward, but I continued to dance normally and meet his gaze, knowing that I couldn't tell him to stop staring at me or anything like that without offending him.
The music the orchestra played lasted for a few minutes, and everyone twirled along with the slow music until the ending of the song approached and eventually faded of and everyone stopped dancing and stepped away laughing and talking to one another. Small groups formed in the dance floor and socialized, while others walked to the side lines where the tables of food and drinks and other people waiting to congregate. The members of the orchestra set their instruments down and walked away for a break, leaving the crowd with time so talk and socialize while they were gone.
Everyone seemed to move away and continue once the music ended except me and Léonce, who remained with his hand on my hip and my hand in his. His eyes remained on me as always, and after we stood there in silence for a few seconds I took my hand from his awkwardly with a laugh. He smiled and slid his arm around my waist instead of taking it back, and said: "Such a difference from when I first met you."
We stood for a few seconds before Ramsey and Maribelle made their way towards us from the other side of the dance floor, both of them smiling at me as they reached Léonce and me. I'd watched as Raven drug me away to talk to Ira and Michael and seen the two of them disappear into the crowd on the opposite direction of the room, and only now did I see them again. After scanning the room for a second and finally I spotted Raven on the other side of the dance floor still socializing with the members of the Youth group, laughing about something. I decided not to bother her and to let her have her fun, knowing we could talk anytime during the night when we weren't dancing with anybody.
"That was great," I heard Maribelle beam as they stood next to Léonce and I, looking like she was fighting the urge to hug me and show how proud she was that I could dance with such grace. I thanked her with a polite grin, noticing nonchalantly that Ramsey had his hand on the small of her back and was standing particularly close to her. I shifted my eyes away quickly, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that I'd noticed it.
"You really have gotten better," He commented with a genuine smile, then looked to Léonce and nodded acknowledging his presence. Léonce smiled to him in return, and I watched Ramsey's eyes slip down and look for a moment at his arm still around my waist, then look back up towards us once Léonce spoke.
"She's improved tremendously; She's a great learner," he complimented as he looked to me with a grin, explaining just how much my dancing skills had improved. I grinned in response, happy that I had managed to impress him even though I still doubted the fact that I was capable of possessing any useful amount of grace.
Ramsey looked him in the eyes and with a nod replied, "Yes, she's one of my best students." His statement sounded almost cold, and I could've sworn I'd heard unnecessary weight on the word 'my.' As his words left his mouth, I felt a sudden wave of tension fill the air around us as Ramsey and Léonce looked straight into the others eyes. I didn't understand the sudden awkward feeling, and stood silently choosing not to make a sound and follow the quiet amongst the group.
Eventually after a few seconds of silence, I felt Léonce squirm next to me and when I glanced over saw that he had broken the eye contact with Ramsey and was looking around the room awkwardly. "Oh, it looks like the orchestra is about to start up soon, and I see a girl who I promised a dance to," Léonce laughed and looked at everyone, then I felt his arm slip from my waist and find its way back to his side. He took a step away from me and turned to meet my eyes saying, "Promise me a dance later?"
"Yea, sure" I replied casually, ignoring any trail of elegance I may have been subject to follow. He laughed a little, then turned to Ramsey and Maribelle and said his goodbye before walking away into the crowds of people around us on the dance floor. I smiled at Raven as she joined the three of us, standing next to me just as Ramsey was saying, "Oh what do you know the orchestra is about to start," his voice filled with sarcasm.
Raven have me a wicked smile and clutched my arm as the orchestra of four men began to play first notes of the new rhythm that people were already beginning to pair up to dance to. Both of us watched as Ramsey turned to Maribelle and asked, "May I have this dance?" He put his left arm out for her to hold onto and she took it with a giggle, then they both turned and walked back into the crowd of people finding partners to dance with quickly. I watched them go only for a second until raven spun me around to look at her, squealing as quietly as she could saying: "Oh my god, Léonce was all over you!" She bounced up and down excitedly as she clung to my left arm, causing people to look at us.
"Really? No, he wasn't," I replied as I looked past her and noticed that everyone around us was starting to dance and we remained the only people on the dance floor standing like idiots. I felt stupid as I took her wrist and drug her to the right side of the dance floor, squeezing past the groups of people talking and watching the dancers as I made my way to the area with all the small round tables.
Once seated on the white, metal chairs with Raven to my left, furthest from the dance floor, I looked back at the dancers and watched them as they twirled and spun to the music being played. I'd wanted to admire them more, watching as they held one another, but after only a few seconds of silence Raven spoke: "You and Léonce are great together."
"What!?" I replied suddenly as I turned around and looked at her, shocked that she would even think that I was interested in him. He wasn't bad looking or anything like that, but he was completely different from the type of guys that I liked. She's already questioned me at the orientation a week ago, and I'd insisted there was nothing there. "Oh C'mon!" she rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Everybody can see the chemistry between you and him, even Ira and Michael said so!"
"There's no chemistry!" I protested further, becoming annoyed with the fact that she had assumed that I liked him and that we were perfect together. The Ball had just started and already I had to convince her I didn't have interest in him. "I don't like him that way," I tried to explain, only to have Raven look at me and ask: "What don't you like about him?"
"He's over 200 years old!" I tried to ration as I recalled her telling me that, looking at her for some sort of understanding while what I received in return was only a strange expression in my direction. She raised an eyebrow at me quietly, and I could hear the music behind us slow suddenly and could only imagine the romance happening on the dance floor as the couples twirled in sync with the orchestra. "Technically, he's only 34 years old. He's just been that old for 213 years." When I scowled to myself and looked away we were quiet for a few seconds before she finished, "There isn't anything holding you back other than your own inhibitions."
"So you would date someone who's 200 years older than you?" I questioned, turning back and looking at her thinking that if I could put her on the spot then maybe she would stop being so harsh about this. She thought about my question for a second, putting her index finger to her lips and pondering a while before answering: "Yea, if he wasn't ugly."
I couldn't keep myself from laughing at her reply despite the fact that my plan had backfired. She giggled at her words as well, and we sat laughing to ourselves as the music ended behind us. Regardless of how hard I'd fought, I couldn't think of a good reason to sabotage the possibility Léonce and I having some kind of relationship. It was only me that was trying to prevent it, I was just afraid to get close to another person. I didn't know if Raven saw this or not, but she didn't mention it. "You should at least give it a try," She finally spoke again, returning to the subject we'd been discussing. "We're here to have a good time, and that's all it is for right now. Just have fun tonight and then see what happens from there." She grinned at me and I returned it gratefully, hardly believing that a fourteen year old girl could be so wise at times.