Get this thing started!

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Just shortly before seven o'clock, Sera, all dressed and ready for the dance, headed down to the entrance of the Quirank common room to wait for Hendrix. She was a bit later than she had planned to be, allowing herself just a few extra minutes to get ready. She wanted to look her best, especially since she and Jenny were getting ready separately to surprise each other, or something. It was silly, especially since they had bought their dresses together, but she was still kind of excited about it.

The brunette hurried down through the halls, trying to make up for lost time, grateful she had decided to wear flats at the last minute. Normally she made it a point to scan the halls for trouble makers whenever she was out at night, but for once her prefect duties could wait. She didn't want to leave Hendrix waiting longer than she had to.

She had suggested they meet and pick up their dates together, mostly in case he was nervous, he wouldn't have to go it alone. Leaving him waiting if he was already anxious probably wasn't going to get things off to a good start.

She stopped, reaching the door to the Quirank common room, just slightly out of breath. She smoothed out her dressed, composing herself as she glanced around the room to see if her friend was already inside.

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Hendrix had been nervous, he had also been slightly early to the Quirank common room as was his typical way of doing things. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat briefly as he stood in the middle of the room waiting for his friend. Sera had a way of calming him down and he was sure she was full of good advice. He looked over at the door every time it opened to check for Sera.

He hadn't been waiting too terribly long when he did see his friend enter the room. He smiled warmly and greeted her with a wave. "Hey Ser," he said, approaching her. "You look really nice!"

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Looking up Sera spotted Hendrix, and waving back made her way across the room towards him. "Hey. Thanks. Sorry I'm late." She grinned bigger, taking in his compliment, and getting a good look at his outfit. He looked completely adorable but for his sake she'd try not to tease him too much about it.

"You look pretty handsome yourself." The brunette replied back, still smiling and trying to figure out how Hendrix was handling things. "I think Ella will think so too." She added with a big smile, glancing quickly at the screen of her phone to check the time. It was even later than she thought.

"Sorry again." She apologized for the second time, looking a bit guilty. "You weren't waiting too long, were you?"

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"Oh thanks," he blushed nervously. He knew that Ella had planned on wearing pink and did his best to match but he wasn't sure if what he had pulled together was good enough to be considered handsome but he kept his insecurities to himself. "You think she will?" he asked anxiously.

He reeled it back in quick though, his face turning redder. "Um... no, no. It's no problem, I wasn't waiting terribly long and some things you can't rush right?" he grinned.

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"Don't be silly. How could she not?" Sera encouraged him, immediately noticing the anxiousness in his voice. He shook her head grinning and nudged him in the arm gently. "Don't worry about it, just try to relax." She looked up, tilting her head back a bit to deliver a comforting smile. She wasn't short herself but he was still quite a bit taller.

"I guess that's true." Sera grinned back, continuing as normal and pretending like she didn't notice the redness of his cheeks. Still, she felt bad, she couldn't help but remember how much she had, actually, kind of, unnecessarily fussed over her hair getting ready. It really didn't even look all that different. "I still shouldn't have kept you waiting." She added again apologetically. "There's nothing worse for the nerves than waiting, right?" She smiled, flopping her bag down on the aim of a near by chair to dig through it.

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He laughed gently and offered her his arm as they headed for the door. "Well thanks," he said running his free hand through his hair. "You're right, just gotta relax," it was a little easier when someone was telling him to calm down.

Hendrix laughed again, nervously this time. "Yeah, yeah... I think I'm psyching myself out," he admitted. "I mean, it's just like any other time we hang out right? 'Cept I think she knows I like her. I mean... you've had to go through this with Jen right?"

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To say that a situation so full of people put Tatum on edge was an understatement. Tatum had been anxious for several days now, leading up to the actual night of homecoming. She kept trying not to think about Mack asking her to go with her, pushing the entire afternoon out of her mind as much as she could. She was glad to go with Sam, just as she had planned all along. That was what she was supposed to do, wasn't it? She wasn't really one for rocking the boat, never had been, despite encouragement.

It took a lot to shake her out of her stupid fears and worries, and no one had gotten through to her enough to change how homecoming would go. She had turned Mack down, even if she had wanted to say 'yes', even if she wanted to tell Sam everything, how things really were, how confused and upset she really felt. It wasn't a night to cause problems and start blurting out how wrong everything felt. She was nervous, and a little melancholy, but she could put on her best smile and just roll with whatever happened. It wouldn't be the first time.

She supposed that at least she was wearing a dress of her own choosing. Madeline always sent such embarrassing choices when she got the chance, but work had built up on her and she had never gotten around to picking out anything for the girls to wear. It was a small blessing, in Tatum's opinion.

She had arrived with Sam, but quickly separated herself for a few minutes while some of their friends said hello to him. She'd go back and find him soon but for the moment, the redhead just weaved through the crowd in front of her, head down and silent determination on her face. She felt incredibly relieved when she saw the familiar figure in front of her, and she stepped up behind her brother, grabbing the back of his shirt and tugging on it. "Wanna get high?" she asked simply, her voice slightly hushed in case any of the chaperones were around.

They could get away with a bit more in university, but even as a dealer and someone who smoked almost constantly, Tatum also lived in constant paranoia about getting busted. Even if it had never happened once in the last six years.

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Rath didn’t care much for the pomp and chaperones that surrounded the Homecoming Dance, and while he loved being around people, tonight he would have rather gone to an actual party. However, mostly everyone else he knew was here, so here he was. He’d dressed up in a nice pair of dark slacks, a white button up shirt, and a slick black tie. He felt like a proper, dapper gentleman, and the fact that he’d snuck in some vodka definitely would help the night.

He’d made a few rounds chatting with all the familiar faces, and a few people who had strayed off by themselves, if only because he couldn’t stand to see people all by themselves. Plus those sort of people were always interesting, or at least willing to talk after a few questions and jokes.

It didn’t take him long to get a bit bored of it all, and he’d been about to go check on his sisters when he felt a tug on his shirt. He wasn’t too surprised to see Tatum, but he was concerned to see her by herself. He knew Homecoming was even less of a picnic for her than it was for him, and he was worried about her. Having to deal with everything, and all by herself, was no doubt taxing. He didn’t approve of the way it made his sister so unhappy, so anything he could do to help, he would. Especially if it involved a bit of a smoke,

“Had enough of people already?” He teased her, though he gestured for her to lead the way. Sometimes Rath was sure she only smoked so much because of the stress of being closeted. “Though where’s Sam?” He asked curiously. He had yet to form an opinion on the man, but he did want to get to know the guy, especially if he was going to be hanging around Tatum a lot.

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"I-I was born sick of people," Tatum murmured back, cracking a weak smile and only withering a bit under the looks of the people Rath had been conversing with before she interrupted. Even if they were only curious glances, they made the smaller redhead's skin crawl. People staring was probably the worst thing ever, and her anxiety constantly reminded her just how much the average person spent staring at her. Breaking her concentration on that subject and deciding to play it cool, she began to head off as soon as Rath gestured for her to do so.

"Uhm, he's around. I left him with S-Shelby and them for a while, I told h-him I'd be back soon," she explained, hesitating for a moment as they came to a human blockade in the crowd. Head down, Tatum moved carefully around them, finally breaking to the edge of the dance floor. She felt better already without people dancing all around and bumping into her at every turn.

Once more taking a look for chaperones, she moved to the side exit of the hall, pushing open the double doors and letting them outside. It was a little bit of a crisp evening, and she suddenly wished she had brought a hoodie. "So you're like, going stag?" she asked, leading them further still to the edge of the woods. A few other girls were already gathered around smoking cigarettes.

"Dad is gonna wanna know why," she half-joked, putting the joint to her lips once they were clear. It was obvious how much Tatum had begun to relax once they were outside, mostly just the two of them. "Handsome old Quidpot player like yourself," she joked, always cracking a smile at their dad's favorite magical mispronounciation.

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When Tatum said she was born sick of people, Rath shot her a grin, glad that she seemed in good enough spirits to joke. He waved to the people he was talking to and followed his younger sister as she led the way through the crowd. It was a bit of a habit when Tatum hesitated before the crowd of people to go in front and try to make sure his sister had to deal with as little bumping as possible.

“He not a smoker?” He asked a bit curiously, wondering how Tatum could find a guy who didn’t partake in what had to be her favorite form of recreation. Still, he wasn’t going to complain about having some one on one time with his sister, who was inarguably his favorite person in the world, quirks and all.

He always found that it looked more suspicious to look for chaperones before heading out somewhere, so he just followed Tatum out. If you looked like you were going somewhere casually, most people didn’t question you. Though Tatum’s paranoia might also be the reason they’d never been caught.

The cool night air felt refreshing after being stuffed like sardines in that room, and he took a deep breath before following Tatum down towards the woods. “Yup. I spaced about the dance, and no one asked me. We don’t all have your legion of admirers, so don’t rub it in.” Rath joked, waving to the other girls already out for a smoke. Maybe he should ask one of them to be his date, but the thought was gone as soon as he had it. Too much work.

When Tatum mentioned dad, Rath groaned, plopping down on a sturdy looking log. He did laugh though at the familiar term that their father always got wrong. For a cop, sometimes it seemed like the silliest things could fly over his head. “I’ll tell him I’m thinking about becoming a priest. He can’t be mad at that right?” He asked, holding out his hand for a joint. “Though how are you holding up? I need clear the dance floor for you and your guy to be able to have that dance when you win that court thing?” He teased her. He had every faith his sister would win, mostly because he may or may not had tons of people vote for her.

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"No," Tatum replied, shaking her head. It struck most people as sort of weird that she and Sam were friends and bandmates, let alone dating, when you really thought about how much weed Tatum smoked. She was just glad she hadn't entirely smoked him out yet. "Sammy's as straight-edge as.. well, like the straight edge of something," she went on to explain, laughing weakly as she sat gingerly down next to her brother on the log. She carefully folded her legs. "I-It's all good though.. just means he takes care of me when I'm fucked up," she half-joked.

She rolled her eyes at his comment about admirers, resisting the urge to duck down as he waved at the girls a few paces away. He was always waving to someone, but she supposed that was just Rath. If she could have lived her next twenty years without waving to a single soul, she would have done it. "S-Shut up," she murmured, lighting up the joint and inhaling sharply, holding it before she exhaled and spoke again. "Nobody like, admires me.. how do I have a date and n-not you, mister popular?"

Tatum coughed loudly on a chest full of smoke when Rath suggested being a priest. "If you do that, I'll move into the nunnery," she replied, pausing for a second. "But did you know nunnery is a-actually another work for whore-house, and not even really a house for nuns? So maybe n-not."

When he reached for the joint, she gladly passed it along, though color drained from her face at the mention of the homecoming court. "W-Wait a second, like what does t-that mean? I don't-- I might n-not even stay to see who gets crowned. Stupid, r-right?" she shot back, rolling her eyes again and holding her chin in her hands as she watched Rath hit the joint. "T-Totally stupid," she decided, mostly in agreement with herself. She didn't even want to imagine going up on that stage in front of all of those people. It'd have to be a joke if she won, like Carrie or something.

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Rath laughed a bit at her explanation, deciding that the guy couldn’t be too bad if he’d take care of his tripping sister. “You know that’s definitely a good idea. I heard that there was some chick going around making money off of helping fucked up people get back to their dorms intact or some shit. Like a babysitting service for drunk people. It seemed like a good business idea, so you lucked out getting that for free.”

He settled his elbow on his knee, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, watching as Tatum took a long drag of her joint, smiling innocently when she told him to shut up. “Bullshit. The fact that you have a date and I don’t speaks enough about your admirers.” He teased, before shrugging. “Perhaps my horrible reputation proceeded me. And I haven’t met anyone interesting in a while.” Rath said. He wasn’t the type to make the first move, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been interested in someone enough to do so.

“That would explain all those sexy nun fantasies.” Rath said thoughtfully, tucking that tidbit away for later. “But you probably shouldn’t go to a nunnery. You can’t even go to church on Sunday, let alone every day.”

When Tatum handed him the joint, he took a long, grateful drag. “You should stay. It may be a bit stupid, but we can make fun of the people who win and take it way too seriously.” He offered, holding out the blunt to her.

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Dances were boring, as far as Rath was concerned. No one did anything crazy or interesting, and it was always a bunch of sober people trying to dance around. The music was always too loud to have any decent conversation, and mostly it was time that Rath could be at home sleeping or out doing something that was actually fun. Still, most of the people he knew would be here, and it didn’t hurt to have a night go by where he didn’t wake up with giant bruises or couldn’t remember what happened the night before, so here he was.

He’d dressed up in a nice pair of dark dress slacks, a white button up shirt, and a sleek black tie. At the very least, he was looking good and ready for a night to hang out with friends. Plus, he was a dancing fiend, and once they started playing acceptable music, he knew the night could turn around.

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No matter how lame school dances were, Sylvia always ended up going. She loved an excuse to dress up, plus spying on her sister and tattling on her next time they were at home was a lot easier at a dance. She was walking through the early dancers with a stony expression, her arms folded as she tried to find someone she might actually want to converse with. Spotting Rath, she sidled up to him and sighed loudly.

"Fuck this Taylor Swift shit" she grumbled, scuffing one of her heels along the floor sulkily.

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Rath glanced over at Sylvia when she slid up next to him, nodding at her in greeting. At her remark, he let out a laugh. He'd leave it to Sylvia to sum up his distaste for this sort of music by being as colorful as possible.

"My thoughts exactly. You think we could bribe the DJ into playing something people can actually dance to?"

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Sylvia cracked a smile and tugged on Rath's tie until it was perfectly straight. "When you're looking this sharp, you could bribe the DJ to do anything" she said smirking with only a hint of sarcasm.

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"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Rath asked with a grin, because Sylvia in her short bright dress stood out like a neon sign. "You'd probably have more luck than me. I know my manly charms are nigh irresistible, but the DJ is a guy."

He did pause and look around. "You solo too?" He asked, curiously. He had sort of spaced about this whole dance, and hadn't thought to ask anyone, but he figured girls usually cared for this shit more than he did.

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"Well, you can say it if you like" Sylvia laughed, smoothing down her hair. Peering over Rath's shoulder she saw that the DJ was indeed a dude. "I don't know man, you're pretty swagged out. Maybe you can turn him" she joked.

Sylvia never really had a date for dances. Perhaps she was intimidating, but she never even got asked. Not that she would say yes anyway. "Babysitting some douchebag for a whole night?" She made a face of distaste and left it at that. Looking around, it certainly didn't look like Rath had a date either. "So what happened. Did you get turned down?" she joked again.

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Ella had just got off a video call with her mom, which rather than alleviate her nerves, had only served to make her feel like her stomach was about to come up and out through her mouth. If things went wrong tonight her and Hendrix might not even be friends anymore and it didn't matter that she kind of wanted to kiss him and stuff, losing his friendship would be a disaster.

She fixed her hair for the millionth time as their was a knock at the door. She dithered for a couple of seconds before opening it slightly and peering round it. "Hi" she said shyly.

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"Wow," he said, his goofy smile right in place and his cheeks already reddening. "I mean... hi," he held out the flowers he had gotten for her, not as awkwardly as he had the last time he picked her flowers. "Compliments of the gardeneing club," he grinned.

"I also... um.. got you a corsage, I'm not even entirely sure I know what they are but my pap pap..." yes, Hendrix Turner had called his grandfather for advice about bringing a girl on a date. "Um, he said that it was tradition or something," he shrugged.

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"Shut up" Ella giggled, blushing and hiding behind her hair. She took the flowers and sniffed them before her eyes grew wide. "Wow! I've never had a corsage before" she yelled excitedly, sticking her wrist out for it to be put on. "My mom is wearing one in her prom photo with dad" she laughed. "Even though she's allergic. I'm not though, they is way cool" she chatted, admiring the corsage from all angles.

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"Okay," he said in a little voice when she told him to shut up, even if he knew she wasn't being serious. Carefully, he slipped the corsage over her wrist, his fingers just skimming the skin of her arm. "It's a good thing you're not allergic, I think I would feel like a terrible shit if you had been," he admitted with a little giggle.

He offered his arm to her, the way he had to Sera on the way up and took a deep breath. "Ready?"

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"As I'll ever be" she joked, hooking her arm through his. She had done it so many times before but it felt different this time. She never really noticed how tall he was until now and she smiled up at him.

"You're wearing my favourite colour" she noticed.

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He smiled down at her, something he had down a thousand times already but it was more important for some reason. He knew it was silly to be feeling that way but he couldn't help it if his heart skipped a beat on this particular night that she was hanging out with him, wearing a gorgeous dress, and going to a dance with him.

"Yeah! I thought, you know... matching, well not matching but I thought it might be a nice compliment," he blathered a bit. "I hope you like it," he said, his eyes big.

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