Not Pleased to Be Here

[Gracen Worth]

When Gracen arrived to the yule ball, he realized the ordeal of it all was not what it was cracked up to be, and he would rather find himself anywhere else. Putting on an ill-fitting suit, combing his hair for a moment, and wading his way around in new shoes that he was sure would give him blisters by morning certainly sounded better in his head throughout the week as he overheard students in his year and the six years above him gush over what they would wear and who they were attending with. They definitely made the yule ball sound more interesting than what it truly was which was the regular old great hall but decorated for the holidays, for a change. Gracen did not know what he was thinking when he decided attending to see what the fuss was about would be a better way to spend his evening than his plan to enjoy the solitude of an empty dormitory and catch up on sleep.

Sighing, the boy rubbed an eye as he stepped further into the hall, wanting desperately to find something to prove that the small effort he made wasn't a complete waste of his time. He walked over to where the snacks were, grabbing a handful of whatever was inside the bowl closest to him before heading to a corner of the room and watching the festivities unfold from afar. As he observed everyone else have a fun time around him he slowly began to eat the food he picked up, humming in realization to himself when he noticed what he grabbed was a handful of chocolate. At least the food of all things wasn't disappointing. Gracen continued eating and watching the other students around him, making a plan in his mind to leave as soon as he was sure the night was a lost cause.
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[Abian Hunter]

Abian had had no idea there would be events like this at Hogwarts when he'd gotten his letter. No reason to think they would have an actual ball, as if being in a castle wasn't strange enough. He was very excited, though, and had dressed up in his nicest clothes so he wouldn't stand out too much. The Hufflepuff stared in amazement as he entered the great hall, his mouth dropping open slightly. He wasn't sure why it was all winter-y, but quickly decided he liked it. He was eager to see what the night would bring, especially once he noticed the snack table.

He headed over to the table, eager to see more magical snacks he could marvel at. So far, he had enjoyed the chocolate frogs the most. The way they hopped around was hilarious, though he made sure to never eat them in front of his toad Angus. He didn't want his buddy to think he might eat him too. As he looked around at the candy, he spotted a boy nearby who he recognized from flying class as well as History of Magic. That class was so boring that Abian had spent a lot of his time looking around, so he was pretty familiar with the Slytherins. "Hey." He said with a grin. "Isn't the snow pretty awesome? Too bad it disappears, I think a snowball fight in the middle of the dance would be a lot of fun."

 

[Uno Bear]

An actual ball. Uno had heard about them before, and seen them on TV. To be having a ball in a castle seemed almost like a Disney movie. She had heard people talking about it, and how beautiful the Hall was going to be, so she knew she'd have to dress accordingly. Of course, she had never been to a ball before, and she didn't have any money, or other way of getting a dress, so Uno had to write to her mother. She hadn't yet, only to her sister once or twice, but she was sure that once her mother heard that she was going to an actual ball, she'd send her something appropriate. And appropriate it was! Wearing it, Uno felt like a princess. It was a big poofy gown, and she was sure that, though the others would be wearing suits and gowns as well, she would be the prettiest princess there. Uno had also talked up the event to her friend, Phineas, and so was planning on meeting him there.
Upon entering the Hall, however, Uno found that not everyone was in gowns. Yes, the girls were in dresses, but that was it- dresses, not gowns. Uno felt her cheeks go red. Why did her mother send her such a huge and crazy dress? Now she looked like an idiot. Unfortunately, she had said she was going to meet Shark-boy, so she couldn't leave; besides, she was just going to have to own it. Not able to see her best yet, Uno looked around for a familiar face, spotting Abian talking to another boy who she recognized, but didn't really know. "Too bad New Zealand is the opposite of everything and decides to make Christmas a hot affair." The young Slytherin said with a grin, grabbing a chocolate frog.

 

[Phineas Ellis]

The evening had only just started, but Phineas was already having a great time. He'd eaten more sweets than he ever would have been allowed to at home (and stuffed a few in his pockets for later), busted out some moves on the dance floor, and even had a nice chat with a couple of his professors. The only thing that could have improved the situation would be Uno - and he'd just spotted her. She must have only just arrived, because in her gi-freaking-normous gown, she was pretty difficult to miss. "UNO!" Finn yelled, jumping and waving until the crowd parted enough to let him through to greet her. "I know, right?" he said as he finally reached her, catching the tail of her sentence. He glanced around at the students she was talking to, smiling. "I haaate summer, I wanna go home, like, RN. Dude, that dress is huuuge. You could fit, like, at least three people under there." Digging around in his pocket, he produced a handful of wrapped toffees. "Anyone want a sweet?"

 

[Gracen Worth]

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<COLOR color="#000">Gracen's plan to mind his own business and blend into the background of the festivities so he could people watch was quickly foiled when another boy approached him. He was familiar from classes although not enough that Gracen could recall his name but this was the standard for most others in his year, not needing to know meant he didn't and bothering to learn someone's name would mean he cared enough to know anyway which couldn't be further from the truth. The boy commenting on the snow instead of introducing himself in so many words was almost a relief since it meant Gracen didn't need to go out of his way to feign interest. He nodded simply at the words, then responded with a "yeah" out of politeness, to show he was listening and that he agreed but didn't bother with anything else. Gracen placed another piece of chocolate in his mouth and began to chew after he spoke, expecting the other boy to leave eventually but when two others from his year that even shared his house arrived he realized it was too hopeful of a thought and he was definitely in over his head.

Not wanting to be rude Gracen listened as the other slytherins spoke, looking between them in acknowledgement. He agreed, summer was bad and the dress the girl apparently named 'Uno' was wearing did look ridiculous and could fit three people underneath it, but other than nodding his head he didn't know how to respond. He didn't see a point to talking when he had nothing to add until the other slytherin boy produced a handful of what looked like toffee from his pocket, offering them to the group. Gracen responded with a quick "yes, please," after he swallowed the chocolate in his mouth, then reached with his free hand to pick one of the toffees. Food was the easiest thing to capture his interest with and he was pleased for the opportunity to try something else, no matter how awkwardly he fumbled attempting to remove the wrapper when his other hand was occupied with holding pieces of chocolate.​

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[Abian Hunter]

Abian looked up as someone else joined them, and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the girl's dress. It was HUGE. After the initial shock of the dress settled a little, he realized he knew that girl. It was Uno, the girl from the lake. He scoffed slightly at her words. "Hey, that's what you get if you go to school in New Zealand." He pointed out with a slight grin. He had grown up here, so Christmas in summer was normal for him. "It's better this way, you can be outside and have a long fun Christmas day rather than huddling inside." He looked over to see another boy who seemed to know Uno. Abian grinned at him and waved. "How can you hate summer?" He asked, genuinely baffled. "It's the best season because you can be outside all the time and eat lots and lots of ice cream." Then he realized he wasn't sure if the boy would know who he was. He didn't know his name either. "I'm Abian, by the way." He said quickly. He took a toffee from the boy and gave him a smile, before he looked at the first boy again. He seemed pretty quiet, and Abian didn't want him to be left out. "What do you think about summer?" He asked him curiously. "Also, what's your name?"

 

[Uno Bear]

Uno's eyes lit up as Finn joined their group, glad that he was able to find her; not exactly that she was hard to miss in the monstrosity of a dress she was wearing. Uno nodded, finding herself agreeing with Abian's statement about being able to having a long Christmas. Though she wasn't the biggest winter fan, there did seem to be something magical about having a 'white Christmas'. On hearing Finn's comment about her dress, the Slytherin girl lightly punched his arm in pretend offence. "I look amazing and you know it." She replied, though her cheeks were a slight tinge of red. Uno wasn't going to let SharkBoy know that she was embarrassed of her dress. Uno took a toffee from Phineas, grinning at him as a thanks, stuffing it in her mouth. "Mmmm- and your name?" She asked the first boy, with a mouth full of toffee.

 

[Gracen Worth]

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<COLOR color="#000">Gracen was pleased fumbling awkwardly with the toffee wrapper allowed him to continue to listen quietly to what the group was saying. The boy that introduced himself as Abian and the two others that joined gradually became more interesting to observe despite Gracen's initial instinct to leave when he was spoken to. Though Gracen's excuse to stay quiet was broken as he was asked his name, and he looked from the toffee in his hand and between the other students stunned for a moment. "I'm Gracen Worth." He introduced, giving up on unwrapping the toffee for the moment and placing it in his pocket. "Ice cream is great but winter is an excuse for hot chocolates, which is better." He commented before quickly adding the remaining chocolate he picked up earlier to his mouth and eating it, realizing it had started to melt in his hand while he was distracted with everyone else. As he chewed quietly and swallowed the sweets he felt content with the situation he was in. Surprisingly talking with a group of his peers was freeing to him rather than scary, regardless he had only added a few words, and in that moment he wondered why he didn't try to socialize more often.​

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