Ease

[Archie Renner]

Archie felt more comfortable than ever attending the yule ball that year. Not just mentally, but also physically because he was dressed in his normal, everyday clothes instead of an itchy suit that didn't fit him properly. It felt much better to wear normal clothes since he could move around much easier in skinny jeans rather than suit pants. That notion was specifically important as Archie grew accustomed to dancing at every yule ball despite not being 'good' at dancing in a typical fashion. A suit only made dancing more difficult and Archie was glad he could dress like his everyday self, knowing that he could do anything he wanted without restriction in the form of fancy clothing. The only thing different in his appearance that night, in fact, was that his hair, face and hands were cleaner than usual and his hair specially styled to be neater, rather than in his usual style that could be described as bed head mess.

That was why Archie's smile was wider than ever as he strode confidently from the wild patch and to the great hall, hand in hand with Orwell, his best friend and date for the night when the yule ball was due to begin. His confident strides didn't stop as he entered the festively decorated hall as he immediately made a beeline to the snacks table and picked up a piece of candy for himself while handing one to Orwell. He quickly put the piece of candy in his mouth, chewing it as he let out a pleased sounding hum before digging his hand into the bowl to retrieve a few more. It would be a lie for Archie to say he was anything other than hungry. He and Orwell spent the last few hours at the wild patch after all and that alone was enough to work up a big appetite. Luckily Archie was able to satiate his hunger with candy before he and Orwell danced the night away, making this yule ball another one to remember. No matter what, spending time with Orwell made anything perfect in Archie's mind and he was certain this yule ball would be as perfect as every previous yule ball they attended together.
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[Orwell Brocken]

Orwell was happy to be at the yuleball with Archie, he knew that he probably should've gone with Kayleigh since they were technically dating but he wanted to go with his best friend more than he wanted to attend with Kayleigh and after the purple haired boy had explained to her that he wanted to go with Archie, and that he would go with Archie she had seemed pretty understanding, so that for Orwell was it. He held Archie's hand as they entered the great hall, and he was very happy to be with Archie, that they had spent the day in the wild patch before getting ready for this ball. The boy was very glad that he didn't have to wear a suit, or be formal, he leaned into Archie as he stood with him at the food table, the boy let himself look around the hall, looking for people they both knew in the hall since he wasn't as hungry as Archie, a little peckish but not enough to do anything other than stand close at his best friend's side just watching he eat the food. While working in the garden's usually made him hungry this was one of the few times they hadn't, though it might've had something to do with the odd food he'd been eating from what he grew.

Orwell squeezed Archie's hand slightly, "Let's go dance Archie," he tugged the taller boy as he moved away from him, keeping a hold on his hand dragging the boy out to the dance, he just wanted to dance with him, just spend all this time with his best friend. It had been a good few months, he'd done pretty well in his exams, as he always did, and he had something to show Archie really soon, he couldn't wait to show him. The teen smiled at his friend, "I love you Archie," he told the boy as he started dancing, so happy about everything that had happened this semester, being with Kayleigh was great fun, he liked her, she was different from most people he knew and he couldn't wait to get to know her more as time went on but for now, it was just better to spend the time with Archie.
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[Archie Renner]

Archie shrugged when Orwell didn't take the piece of candy he offered. He instead ate it himself to save it from being wasted and intended to eat many more pieces of candy before Orwell suggested they dance and soon dragged him to the dance floor. In any other circumstance, Archie would have complained as he was the kind of person to get considerably grumpy when hungry. That night of course was different. It was the yule ball, one of the two times every year that Archie danced with his friend and although he was terrible at dancing he enjoyed it nonetheless. No matter how bad Archie was at keeping time to music, he would always have fun dancing and that was what mattered most.

So regardless of still being hungry, Archie allowed himself to be dragged to the dance floor and into a dance with his best friend, smiling when Orwell said he loved him. "I love you too." Archie responded almost instantly, feeling much happier than he did upon entering the hall simply because of the changed atmosphere and even more affection he was receiving from his best friend. It seemed that no matter how many times he and Orwell shared 'i love yous' it would never be enough. It warmed Archie's heart from the inside out every time he heard those words and that moment was no exception. He danced alongside Orwell, laughing and smiling until the song changed to something of a much slower pace. Archie then bowed in a mocking fashion toward Orwell, asking "May I have this dance?" and holding his hand towards his purple-haired friend.
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[Orwell Brocken]

Orwell easily leaned into Archie, enjoying the other boy's feeling against him, the familiarity of it was the best thing for Orwell. He couldn't help the little smile upon his face, nor the look of brotherly affection in his eyes, feeling instantly warmed by the words returned. He took that moment to glance around the hall, looking at all the different people and his gaze finally found through the crowd Kayleigh, and boy was Orwell floored, Kayleigh had always been beautiful in his mind, she had a wonderfully curious mind, an energetic spirit and the sort of laugh that made Orwell think her beautiful, but tonight she was also very physically beautiful, he would have to be sure to have at least one dance with her and tell her exactly what he thought of it. But he focused his attention away from her and back to Archie and noted the way he was dancing beside him.

At the bow and question Orwell just nodded taking the other boy's hand and allowing himself to lead out to the dance floor by him, all thoughts of his girlfriend drifted away as he began dancing with Archie, his mind taken over by the joyful blonde in front of him. He danced too, as badly as he had always done but with a happy expression on his face, he loved Archie, he loved studying and the wild patch, it was the most perfect place in his life. The teen was actively considering the future in his mind, and the only place he could do this was on the wild patch, the peace it brought him, even if he was with Archie was more than enough. The teen smiled at Archie as he danced, this night was always good fun and he remembered dragging Archie to it the year before, how good that had been. How far they'd both come since then, Orwell couldn't help the little expression on his face, the way he seemed happier and lighter than ever before.
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