invisible

[Samuel Phillips]

Small and quaint are two words Samuel would use to describe his art gallery. It wasn't much, but it was his whole world, and tonight he dressed the place up to look everything but small and quaint. Tonight was the night he was holding his first art show, the most important night of his career thus far, the part-veela spent months preparing himself for the next few hours, yet he still felt unprepared as the first guest arrived, and lost for words as he forced himself to make small talk in an effort to impress the other guests while they arrived. It somehow felt like the make or break moment of his career, like any small mistake now would make the work leading up to this pointless. Though this was far from true. Most of all he felt everything needed to be perfect, that he needed to be perfect. Making half-hearted compliments with a hollow smile hardly passed as perfect, though it was the best he could do. It was all he could do. He just hoped it would work. Within all the stress of being perfect, Samuel was happy that Batman and James weren't here to embarrass him, and there was alcohol for him to hide behind, champagne to be exact. For as long as he could remember, he had sucked at handling pressure, in fact he couldn't handle pressure at all, or expectations. Alcohol was an exception to that; why else did people call the stuff liquid confidence? Champagne was just something to help weaken his nerves, and ignore the pressure on his shoulders so everything could run smoothly.

Months ago when he decided he was ready for an art show, he never expected it to come along so quickly. But now here he was, in the moment. It was surreal having to experience everything in real time, of course he had gone through tonight in his head several times already but actually being in this moment just felt, bizarre. Somehow it didn't feel real. Maybe it was just the champagne kicking in, or the stress. He forced himself to spend the next hour or so mingling, making more small talk with strangers, it was getting boring asking the same standard questions over but the champagne was helping. It wouldn't help forever, though. Formal occasions like these got so boring after a while, the fact he was hosting didn't change a thing no matter how much he hoped it would. He didn't know anybody here, so seeing a familiar face in among his guests tonight would have been comforting, comforting in the sense he would know he wasn't the only one under thirty. But as his eyes scanned the crowd he was reminded once more that Batman and James weren't with him. Was he really the only young person here? He hoped he didn't stick out of the crowd as much as he thought due to this; it would just make the pressure to be perfect worse. He swallowed hard, trying to reassure himself he had nothing to worry about. All he needed to do was pretend like he wasn't paranoid of what everyone thought of him while he ventured off to get himself another glass of champagne.

Samuel was proud of himself that he decided to keep the glasses of champagne on a table, it gave him the excuse to leave talking to somebody he didn't want to. It was ingenious really, though he didn't think it was so ingenious when he collided with somebody while turning to leave the table. Of course he would slip up sooner or later, it was just his luck. Though by the look of things it wasn't a major slip up, since alcohol hadn't been spilt, and nobody else seemed to notice. He was just worrying too much again. With a sigh of relief, Samuel flashed the girl an apologetic smile before hurrying away. He didn't want to embarrass himself further by standing there awkwardly trying to apologize when a smile would suffice. Though he did feel guilty about leaving so quickly since it was rather rude even by his standards. He knew eventually he would find her again and apologize properly though, because of how rude he'd been and his conscience prodding him to go back. The apology would just have to wait until he got his head together first. Samuel savoured a sip of his champagne, deciding how he should get his head together; he really had no idea at this point. He did know that needed to stop worrying too much, it was really weighing him down.

ooc: so i fail​

 

[Amara Austin]

Amara Austin nervous tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and mentally prepared herself to go back out into the crowd. Amara had been to hundreds of fashion shows with her father before. This time though, it felt different from all the other times. Perhaps it was because everything was different for Amara now. After Graduation, she had packed her bags and moved all the way to France to pursue a possible career in the fashion industry. Sadly, it was a lot harder than she had ever expected it to be. No one believed in her. They all saw her as this naive little blonde who had no place in the world just yet. The people in France were pretty rude too. Well the people that Amara tried to associate herself with anyways. "I refuse to give up just yet, though. There has to be a reason, Paris was calling out to me." Amara knew there was a reason for her being here; she just needed to stumble upon it. "I need some coffee." Amara huffed as she adjusted her dress and rejoined the art show. Looking at all this beautiful art made her green with envy. If only she had talent in the area, this would be the perfect career path for her. Amara spotted her father across the room and paused. Did she really want to return to his side just yet? What Amara would really like, was to meet the creator of all this artwork. Apparently he was rather young. Amara admired that. This person clearly had the talent it took to make it in this world, a talent that Amara so clearly lacked. Amara’s blue eyes scanned a table with drinks on it across the room. Perfect. It was the perfect excuse for her to keep away from her father and admire more of the art she had yet to get a good look at. However, it seemed like Paris wasn't finished humiliating her just yet.

Just as Amara approached the table, a larger body collided into her. "Crap. Sorry!" Amara felt like an idiot. Especially when she was able to get a good look at the stranger she had collided with. He was cute. Really cute. She hoped it wasn't going to yell at her, especially if he spoke French. Not only would Amara not be able to understand him, but she also didn't want to have a spat with the one cute guy she had encountered in France. For a brief moment, Amara wished her best friend Severin was here. He would know exactly how to handle the situation. Instead of an apology, or an insult, or even a laugh, she received an apologetic smile from the guy, a freaking smile! Was Amara so plain and interesting, that she didn't even deserve an insult? Amara turned and watched the boy retreat into the crowd. "I hate France." Amara muttered under her breath as she started towards her dad. Amara wanted to get a good look at that boy again, but she couldn't see him anywhere. That was kind of depressing. "Someone ran into me again." Amara told her father as she stood next to him. He seemed amused by her statement but at the same time he also looked distracted. He was really into the art. Not that Amara could blame him. She wished she could take some of it home and hang it on her wall. Amara wanted to ask her dad if he knew who the artist was. But he looked so distracted that she figured she was better off not asking him anything. Instead she turned away and lurked back into the crowd. Maybe she would get lucky and run into either the artist, some cute boy, or the guy that had slammed into her earlier.

Out of Character:

I apologize if my post is in any way, shape, or form…awful.

​

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Being knocked around by everybody else in the crowd was bad enough, but Samuel had also had an alcohol-enhanced guilt rising in his chest. That girl could have been important, and he could have just ruined part of his career by bumping into her. Not to mention he had just made a fool of himself in front of everybody. Samuel's guilt would have worsened as he over dramatized things once more, though it seemed the crowd hadn't noticed him at all. They were more interested in his art than him as an individual. Why hadn't he noticed this earlier? Probably all the champagne and worry. Adding alcohol to an already panicked mind was never a good mix. Samuel cringed inwardly for not realizing this before reaching for his first glass of champagne. This wasn't the first time he made a stupid decision thanks to anxiety, and it wouldn't be his last. Regardless of how much he had drank, the part-veela needed to find the girl and apologize. Otherwise his conscience would never shut up. He ran his hand through his hair as he scanned the crowd, hoping to get a glimpse of her again. He didn't remember much about her appearance, though he remembered her pink attire. The colour imprinted on his mind as he scanned the crowd another time. Nope, there was no sign of her at all. Had she left? With Samuel's luck it was probably true, but that didn't stop him from searching. Tonight was too important to let any minute go to waste. Samuel knew if he continued to just look, it would be a waste of time. So he had given up, choosing instead to look for her on foot. It would be quicker that way. Batman would have told him that looking for the girl at all was a waste of his time, and he should focus on the night. But as usual Samuel's conscience begged to differ.

He strode to one end of the gallery, still no sign of her. Though Samuel was glad he decided to take a minimalist route with the decor. Otherwise the place would have looked too frilly. Definitely not the kind of look he wanted for himself. What was he doing? He needed to be thinking about finding that girl, not how fond he was of the decorating, or lack thereof. Shaking his head, Samuel turned before making his way to the other end of the gallery, mindful not to bump into anybody else on the way. She could be anywhere around him, at any distance. If only he could see through the other people in the crowd. Attention wavering once more, he lost his balance and bumped into someone. Someone wearing a pink dress. An awkward pause settled in the air as Samuel struggled to say something, anything. For the second time tonight, he was caught off guard. "Hey." Was all the part-veela could manage before noticing what the girl looked like. To say she was stunning would be the understatement of the century, though Samuel couldn't find any other word to describe her. There weren't any in his vocabulary. "Sorry about before, that was pretty rude on my part." He continued. Phew, now he didn't need to scramble for words. But that didn't stop the situation being any less awkward. He felt unusually vulnerable in front of somebody so indescribably flawless, but despite that he still wanted to introduce himself. It was the least he could do. "I'm Samuel, and you are?" He queried, a small smile tickling onto his mouth. Unsure of what to do next, Samuel nervously rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. He probably looked messy, unkempt, he sure felt that way. Tonight wasn't going as seamlessly well as he hoped, though at least he had finally apologized to the girl. He no longer needed to stress about that. Now he had everything else to worry about. ​

 

[Amara Austin]

Amara was starting to figure this was why she never went to parties like this. She felt like nothing more than a bug beneath their shoes. Was this her future? To constantly feel like she was beneath everyone even though she kicked and scratched to attempt and break the surface. Amara thought back to James for a moment and frowned. Finally she had the guts to break it off with him. He had feelings for someone else. That was already a big red light in Amara’s mind. The last thing she would ever want to do is keep someone from being able to be with the person they truly cared about. Plus James didn’t seem to care about her one bit. He didn’t go out of his way to do anything special for her when she did nothing but bend over backwards for him. Amara found her dad again and tugged on his sleeve. "I’m going to head outside for a bit of air." She wasn’t sure why she was telling her dad where she was going, Paris was her home now. Amara had an apartment a few blocks from here actually. It was probably her subconscious secretly wishing that someone would notice if she disappeared for awhile or not. Amara noticed that her father was paying attention and sighed. Without another word she turned away to exit. There was still no sign of that boy she had run into earlier. Then again, he barely noticed her either. He apologized and got away as soon as possible. Amara felt like this was a really poor start to her new life in Paris. All in all, she needed to get herself together and make her life as wonder as she had hoped it would be. Playing the pity party game was getting extremely old, even to her.

Amara could already see the door on the other side of the room. But fate was driven on keeping her away from her goal of leaving for the night. Again, someone felt it was necessary to collide with someone. Amara stared up at the owner of the body she collided with and nearly gasped. It was that boy again! The one who had run into her earlier! Amara had been looking for him! But of course, now that she had actually found him, she had no idea what she was going to say. Amara was so transfixed with the boy, that she barely noticed him muttering a greeting to her. "Teehee, Hi." Amara didn’t know why she giggled like she just did, even if it sounded lame as well. Perhaps it was just her nerves acting up or something. He even formally apologized to her about running into her. If only she could slap herself for being so lame, though. Amara wished she had more practice talking to boys. "It’s okay, I’m kind of used to it. Plus it’s not like you meant to….I think." Amara drawled off, a small smile gracing her lips the entire time. He was so attractive. He looked like one of those guys you would see in a magazine. His name was Samuel. How fitting for him. Realization hit Amara and she blinked in shock. Wasn’t the young man who made all this exquisite art, named Samuel? "Wait, you must be the artist, then! Oh my god this is so cool! I’ve never spoken to a real artist before! Oh-my name is Amara by the way!" Amara felt like she was talking too much, but she was excited. When she was around people like Samuel, she got really nervous and started to make completely no sense. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind. ​

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Samuel was shocked to hear this complete stranger knew who he was. In a room full of people who couldn't care less, it felt unreal that one person took the liberty in learning his name. He wondered if she learnt his name because she wanted to, or if she was merely observant. With his luck it was probably the latter. Regardless he still felt exposed around her. A sheepish grin spread onto his features after he realized he'd almost zoned out again. Paying attention was obviously too much to ask tonight. But now he needed to focus, especially when he wanted so badly to learn more about this girl. First however, he needed to draw attention away from himself. The last thing Samuel needed was everybody else noticing how panicked he was. It was embarrassing and not to mention pathetic that he was so anxious over something so small. But could he really be blamed? Of course he could, the anxiety was entirely his fault. "That's not important." Samuel replied, loosening his tie a little. Being the artist was important, and he knew it. Though he never considered himself a real artist like this girl said he was, what did that even mean? At this point all he wanted was to avoid embarrassing himself more. Was it hot in here? He felt the sudden need to go outside for some fresh air. But it was probably just the alcohol talking. He wasn't drunk, only borderline tipsy. He was always responsible with drinks, even if he was anxious to begin with. But he always knew drinking was a bad idea. Though somehow he felt more drunk than he truly was, he hoped he didn't look like it. "So, you're obviously not from France." He abruptly changed the subject. Her accent sounded American, but in the past he'd got things like this completely wrong. "What brought you here?" It was a general question, but hopefully one that would keep her from asking questions about his art for a while.

Samuel momentarily glanced out the window, glad to see it wasn't raining. Could he really go outside? He would look irresponsible, though of course nobody would notice if he left for say, half an hour. His instincts urged him to go. He'd be better off getting some fresh air, and sobering up a little before retreating back inside. Before he left however he needed to be polite and ask Amara if she wished to join him, though he didn't think she would be interested. By the sounds of it, she only wanted to look at his art. "So, uh." He paused, glancing outside a second time. "I'm going to go outside for some fresh air, I don't know about you but it feels kind of crowded in here." He continued. "Would you like to join me?" The question hung in the air, Samuel waited for an answer before flashing Amara a wide smile and making his way outside. Tonight was neither humid nor chilly, but rather a comfortable medium between both extremes. Samuel instantly felt clearer, calmer. Though he could still feel a hint of anxiety left in his gut. At least now he could talk to Amara without worrying so much about everything else. He would love to hear her giggle again too, it was awfully cute. Samuel leant back against a nearby wall, gaze moving back to her. She looked even more gorgeous now they were outside, was that even possible? He tried to refrain from looking at her more, in case she thought he was creepy. "Amara's a really perfect name by the way." He said, soon realizing how stupid he sounded. Perfect? Really? Out of all the words he could have used to describe her name, he had to use that one. Samuel winced with embarrassment; he really should keep his mouth shut. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered to talk at all, if he always sounded so awkward. ​

 

[Amara Austin]

Amara could see that this poor guy was nervous about something. Likely it wasn't over her either because Amara was about as harmless as a butterfly. Sure she might be upset that she had been bumped into twice, but it wasn't like it was she would actually do anything about it. Amara may have a sassy side to her, but she would never use her anger on someone that didn't deserve it. When the Samuel pointed out that she was obviously not from France, Amara flushed and dropped her head in shame. Was it that obvious that she was a foreigner? Amara was trying to hard to blend in with the locals but it wasn't fairing out as she had planned. "I didn't think it was that obvious that I wasn't from around here." This guy pretty much figured it out within seconds Amara could barely imagine how long it would take others. Although she was curious as to how he figured it out quickly, she was afraid to ask in case he pointed something out that she really didn't want to know, like how atrocious her accent was. Luckily Samuel kept the conversation going by asking what brought her here. "Well if you mean here specifically it's because my dad likes to collect art, and he invited me to come along because he knows I like art. But if you're talking about France in general....well I left home to pursue a career in fashion designing." Amara kind of hoped he would't ask her how her career was going either, because then she'd just be further embarrassing herself in front of this boy. Why was it that things never happened the way they did in movies? Why couldn't Amara be flawless and perfect when meeting really cute boys instead of just being her typical self?

Amara turned her head to look at Samuel as he started to formulate another question. This one was a bit different compared to the two he had previously asked her though. This time he wanted to know if she would join him outside for a breath of fresh air. Amara had to find from doing a little dance of happiness. It was't like a date or anything fancy, but a boy was willing to waste his time talking to her. "I was actually thinking about doing that earlier and then I-oh um..yes. I'd love to join you!" Amara was once again about to give this poor boy her life story but luckily stopped herself before she started to ramble too much. Amara followed after Samuel and settled herself against a wall. Samuel commented Amara once more saying that her name was perfect. "My name is perfect? You know....you don't have to compliment me anymore. I won't beat you up for running into me. Twice." Amara admitted with the smallest hint of a smile to show that she was joking around. Amara couldn't deny that she had taken a liking to the fact that someone was paying attention to her for more than two seconds. She honestly liked his name though, it was kind of suave and fancy sounding to her. Then again, Amara didn't really know what fancy really was. "I don't know about you, but I could really use a cup of coffee right now." Amara hadn't had a cup of coffee all day because her father disapproved of the stuff, but he wasn't around right now so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Amara had yet to find one of those cute little French coffee shops she had been dying to find, but perhaps Samuel knew of one. Even if he hated coffee, he could possibly point her in the right direction. ​