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Crash hadn't been aware of the people staring at him as he'd shifted back, they'd blended into faceless props, as soon as he'd caught sight of Kathy. His face split into a wide grin at her comment, though he resisted the urge to touch the back of his neck, just. [color=red]"Heh, I'll admit it, err, wasn't my best move...it was meant to be a little more impressive than that"[/color] He admitted, his hand lifting up towards his neck though at the last minute he looped his finger into his necklace, running it along the string until it touched the triad before dropping his hand again. 

As a rule of thumb the red haired man wasn't the most perceptive individual around...unfortunately for Kathy, when he was around her this rule seemed to bend. [color=firebrick][i]'Was she just...No, I must have something on me, somewhere...did I scuff my trousers?'[/i][/color] Resisting the urge to look, he cleared his throat and glanced down at his own feet, a coy smile on his face [color=red]"Good"[/color] He responded, seeing as he couldn't see any damage to clothing, the shapeshifter came to the conclusion that Kathy had been checking him over for injury, rather than checking him out. It was the only rational explanation...right? 

With that 'rational' thought seated in his mind, rather than the realistic one, Crash felt a little more confident with his compliment after watching Kathy's reaction. With a chuckle of his own Crash looked down at Kathy's shoes again, moving over to the ballroom as she did [color=red]"You definitely made the right choice then"[/color] He grinned [color=firebrick][i]'...smooth...I'm so out of practice. A social party is a terrible idea...fate, I'll do whatever you want tomorrow just please let this go right tonight'[/i][/color] He was so busy worrying, that he almost didn't notice Kathy had stopped to look up at him. Suddenly feeling even more self conscious than before, Crash lifted his hand up to his neck and raised his eyebrow questioningly at her [color=red]"Everything...okay?"[/color] He asked, not entirely sure what it was she seemed conflicted about. Though he decided against reading too much into it as she gave him a simple answer and waited for him before heading into the ballroom.

Once inside, Crash felt a small wave of anxiety pass through him. There had been quite a few people outside but he'd barely noticed them once he'd caught sight of Kathy. Inside the ballroom was a different matter, there were a [i]lot[/i] of people in here, almost all of whom he didn't recognise and most probably hadn't met before. The last time he'd been around this many people had been just over six months ago...with this in mind, Crash subconsciously edged a little closer to Kathy, brushing his hand against hers as he lifted the hand furthest from her and tugged at the collar of his shirt before touching the patch covering his eye, drawing his fingers through his fringe in an attempt to hide it better. Taking a deep breath, the shapeshifter glanced down at Kathy and tried to smile but the corner of his visible eye was unnaturally tense. 

Looking back up at the dance floor, he lifted up onto his tip toes and caught sight of a few familiar faces. Ryuu and Criston were on the far side of the ballroom, across a sea of unfamiliar faces and next to the speakers. Unsure whether Kathy would have seen, Crash turned back to her and leant down so he could say [color=red]"Ryuu and Criston are on the far side, I can't see anyone else yet. But did you want to go over to them?"[/color] He asked, trying not to raise his voice too loud but conscious of the fact she might not be able to hear him. He'd hoped that they'd be able to talk a little more, but with so many people in the room, his confidence had plummeted quite spectacularly and being near other people he knew, seemed like a safe move. 

Torn between wanting to spend more time with Kathy...alone and his invented idea of 'safety' with the other Athalians, Crash ended up standing there like a lemon. In an attempt to explain himself, he bashfully added [color=red]"It's been a while since I've been...to a party"[/color]

[@Theobromine]