Gunner shook his head when Sebastian told him to lighten up for the hundredth time. He sighed overdramatically, “Why can’t you just love me for who I am?”
He went back to scanning the crowd for Anna. Unlike the others, he hadn’t seen what she was wearing. Apparently it was impractical but half the things people were wearing were impractical. When Sebastian spoke about seeing THAT, Gunner looked at him. A moment later, he followed his friends gaze and his eyes landed on Anna, “Holy shit…”
However, unlike Sebastian, he wasn’t referring to his best friend’s dance moves. Needless to say, he hadn’t really noticed his friend under her practical clothing.
Gunner found himself staring when Sebastian asked if he was planning on dancing. He cleared his throat before he snorted at the comment, “No way. Besides, I thought Serena was your dance partner.”
Anna rejoined the group shortly after. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, “Hey.”
She punched his shoulder and he laughed, rubbing it despite the lack of pain, “I thought pretty girls don’t punch.”
~
Serena saw the dampened look on Sebastian’s face after mentioning Anya. She still had not clue who the girl was, but it was clear that she had meant a lot to Sebastian. However, with her comment, he seemed to bounce right back, which made her smile. He hugged her again, causing her to laugh. Terribly touching, normally she might pull away from someone that close but Sebastian already knew her secret. There wasn’t much else to hide.
She looked out to the dancing Moroi and Dhampirs and nodded, “It does look like someone is going to hurt themselves.”
It seemed a moment after Sebastian, she spotted Niya and Anna walking toward the mass of people as joining in the dance. She thought nothing of it, as she didn’t know either girl too well, but it seemed that it was uncommon for Anna. Sebastian was freaking out besides her, asking if anyone knew that Anna could dance. She grinned when he asked her and shook her head, “No, I did not.”
She looked between the two boys as Sebastian asked if Gunner was going to dance. She looked at the male Dhampir and smiled, he didn’t seem the type to be here. Sebastian’s reaction and Gunner’s demeanor told her that she was seeing a phenomenon.
She didn’t get a chance to retort anything to Gunner’s comment before Anna returned and greeted everyone once more. She nodded her head, “Ciao.”
Gunner looked at Anna as she warned him not to drink the punch and rose an eyebrow, “A lightweight? I bet I could out drink you.”
Serena’s eyes widened, that was not something she had expected. Not with how serious Gunner was but it seemed he was just as serious about this challenge.
~
Basil felt the hands touch her sides but thought nothing of it until they started to tickle her. She squealed and pulled away from Gabby’s hands, giggling, “Not cool!”
She brushed her hair out of her face when Anna and Niya approached them. Rae stopped his dancing, a little confused. Basil grinned, “Hey, I just invited you. But I’m glad you came!” She waved to Niya, while she spoke.
She laughed a little when Anna complained about her feet, “For a person who plans to stand on their feet all day, you’ve barely handled a half hour in those heels. I’m a little shocked.”
When she warned her not to drink too much, she shook her head, “Don’t worry about me. I’m not your ward, right now. Just… be prepared with tomato juice tomorrow,” she teased.
She turned back around to see Rae dancing with Gabby and turned to find someone else to dance with.
~
As Basil spoke to the Novices, Rae lost interest. He took Gabby’s hand and pulled her away from the others with a simple wave. He started to dance with her and grinned, “What was with tickling Basil? Jealous?”