The Colour of Snow

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Gabriel didn't know whether to be pleased he'd found a Yule Ball partner or not. On the one hand, showing up to the dance with Alana Finch at his side was highly preferable to showing up alone, but on the other, she just wasn't Saveli. The dark haired Slytherin sighed, smoothing down his curls and suit one last time before making his way down to the common room to wait. Saveli had already gone. He stood in the spot between the armchairs and the fireplace that they'd shared their last dance only a few weeks earlier, trying not to picture the face of the boy she was probably already dancing with down in the great hall. The whole thing was utterly absurd. Who found a partner to the Yule Ball two months in advance? If only he'd been a week or two earlier...

Gabriel shook his head, as if to rid it of the thoughts he'd rather have forgotten that evening. Of course, every glance in Saveli's direction would be a bitter reminder of it, but all he could do was look away and enjoy himself with Alana. Perhaps Saveli would even glance their way.

When Alana eventually emerged, the sight of her pulled Gabriel's lips into a smile. "Beautiful," he said, his tone and expression friendly rather than affectionate. They had mutually agreed to attend the dance as friends, and Gabriel desired nothing more than her company. Together they left the common room and descended the moving staircase down to the great hall. Soft music and an excitable chatter drifted through the partially open double doors. Gabriel led Alana inside, and with a smile leant towards her and said politely: "Would you like a drink, or are we going to dance?"

 

[Alana Finch]

Try as she might to make Gabriel interested in her, Alana knew that she stood no chance against the true object of Gabriel's affections. It wasn't that she even liked him like that, but it had bothered her for a bit that he hadn't shown any interest. When she'd finally learned of his crush, she understood. Alana felt like their friendship had developed as a result of his confession. She'd even opened up recently about the confusion that her letters with Chaos were causing. She'd fallen short of explaining that she was betrothed to him. It was too soon for that particular bombshell. Still, she enjoyed her friendship with Gabriel and had been happy to receive his invitation to the ball. Alana had been thinking of not going. She hadn't wanted to appear alone and risk running into Matthew or having to spend the evening with Havoc again. Gabriel was a great choice though. She knew that she would, at least, have fun.

Smiling at the compliment, Alana linked her arm with Gabriel's as they headed to the Great Hall. He was of great assistance as she headed up the steps, and they finally entered the Great Hall. It looked marvelous, and as she did every event, she found it hard to believe that this was the same place that she took her meals every day. As Gabriel posed the question to her, Alana thought for a second. "Dance." This time she took the lead, pulling Gabriel towards the dance floor with one hand, her other hand going up in the air as she moved it and her hips to the beat of the song. It was one of her favorites. "Please tell me you know this one, Gabriel. Otherwise, I might have to
re- think our friendship." She made the silly threat to their friendship at least twice a week, so she knew he wouldn't, certainly shouldn't, take it seriously. The smile on her face as she turned to face him, having found her spot, was also a good sign that she had no intentions of firing him as a friend. "Is she here yet?"

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

With his hand clasped in hers, Gabriel followed Alana out onto the dance floor, his reluctance lasting only as long as it took for his eyes to reach her hips. True, she wasn't Saveli, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate a beautiful body. At that thought, the dark Slytherin blushed, a rosy tinge approaching his angled cheeks. He still wasn't used to thinking of girls in that way. It was one of his many proclivities to look Saveli up and down in admiration, but the habit had only recently begun stirring emotions inside him when he did it. Coughing subtly to clear his throat, Gabriel laughed. "Of course I do," he lied easily, with no idea what the song was called or who it was by. But the rhythm seemed predictable enough, and so long as Alana didn't challenge him on his knowledge, he didn't think he would encounter any difficulty.

Unworried by her friendly threat, Gabriel smiled and closed the distance between them to dance. His hand was back in hers when his face fell. There was only one person Alana could be talking about. He glanced around briefly, unable to spot Saveli through the crowd of dancers, and then shrugged. "Why?" he asked curiously, stepping in time to the music. Then he grinned, lifting Alana's hand above her head to allow her to twirl beneath it. "Does she make you jealous?" He was only joking, as usual, although he quite enjoyed trying to wind her up as well. Fortunately, they had grown close enough as friends that Alana was likely used to his playful teasing by now.

 

[Alana Finch]

"Liar" Alana laughed at the Slytherin boy, the grin remaining on her face as he stepped in closer to dance with her. Gabriel was certainly attractive, so to be with him for the night, even as friends, made her happy. She knew that Chaos would find out about this since she knew Havoc or one of his lackeys was around. Alana didn't care what Chaos thought, but the idea of him being annoyed or even a little jealous pleased her immensely. Alana twirled under her own arm, smiling as her hair twirled around. When she finally faced Gabriel again, her free hand went to the lapel of his jacket, smoothing it down. "Nope. Not anymore" she winked as she left her hand on his chest. "Just curious."

Using Gabriel's hand to help her spin again, Alana's red eyes widened as she spotted the girl. "But I bet I can help you make her jealous...if you want me to" Alana stated with a small half shrug as she continued dancing. She wasn't going to point Saveli out to Gabriel, not wanting him to think he was right or bring more attention to her. She knew that he'd see soon enough. "You actually aren't a bad dancer, Gabriel."

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Gabriel laughed, not bothering to deny Alana's statement. Lying once was easy. Lying twice was pointless - especially to Alana. She was much too sharp for him. His gaze lowered to the hand on his lapel, and he smiled at her fussing over his appearance. Nobody had done that before. As Alana twirled again, Gabriel's eyebrows rose toward his hairline. "Oh?" he said, closing the gap between them as they danced. Whilst it couldn't be said that Gabriel had strong morals, he wasn't sure how he felt about using his friend simply for the purpose of making Saveli jealous. But she had offered, which could only have meant she was ready and willing. After a pause, Gabriel said: "How do you intend on doing that?" He knew nothing more of Alana's situation with Chaos than she'd told him, and quite frankly, he wasn't at all concerned by the reactions her scheme may have provoked. A little hostility had never deterred him before, and he didn't intend to start letting it now. Besides, if it made Saveli jealous... Gabriel grinned. "You're not so bad yourself, Miss Finch."

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana knew that he was at least intrigued by the idea at his response. She continued dancing, enjoying his company, as she could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally, he asked the question that she knew was coming. She took her time answering him, bowing her head, a small blush crossing her cheeks at his compliment of her dancing before she even answered him. She hadn’t thought far enough ahead to him actually accepting her offer, but she didn’t think it could be that hard to make a girl jealous. “Hmm…” Alana mused, considering what would make her jealous.

After a moment, she stopped dancing, grabbing his hand and moving them more towards the edge of the dance floor. Stopping abruptly, Alana turned and put her arms around his neck, the song a bit slower than the last one. “First, we have to make sure she actually sees you” Alana stated, spotting the girl talking to someone wearing a crown. “Then, we’ll go to phase two” Alana added, a smirk on her face. She was making this up as she went along.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

The dance so far had been much more fun than Saveli had ever imagined it being. Rather than the knowledge that she was going to be changing school, she'd now made another friend that she'd probably write, and perhaps even grow closer to. The slight smear on her pink colored lips spoke for that much. After Asking Nicodemus if he'd like them to get some air, she told him to hold on for a few moments and she'd grab them punch, as she wanted to say hello to her friend Gabriel, whom she had spotted across the crowd.

The blonde rushed from the spot where her date was to the punch table and then turned, watching through the crowds to find Gabriel, whom was with an attractive Slytherin woman from what Saveli could see, however it seemed they were rather deep in conversation, and thus Saveli waited for a moment so that she could interrupt at the perfect moment and tell him how much fun she was having - and tell Alana how lucky she was to be with her best friend.

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

As the song began to change, Gabriel followed Alana across to the edge of the floor, curiosity starting to get the better of him. Even if he'd had the moral decency to back out of this petty scheme now, he doubted he would have. He could guess roughly what she had in mind, and if his estimations were anywhere near correct, he'd have been insane to turn down such an opportunity. Alana was his friend, indeed, but she was also incredibly beautiful. Her hands rose around his neck, and he placed his own on her waist, making a keen effort to keep their bodies close together. He was dancing with fire, and he didn't care a bit.

Following Alana's gaze, Gabriel quickly spotted Saveli amongst the crowd. She was hard to miss. A moment later she turned, and, as if to purposely avoid acknowledging her presence, Gabriel looked back at his date. His smirk widened devilishly. "Well," he said, keeping his tone low so that there was no chance of anybody overhearing. "Phase one complete. Shall we proceed?"

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana nearly missed her cue, having lost Saveli for a few seconds. She knew she could count on Gabriel to not miss her, and as his smile widened and he spoke, Alana gazed up at him. Alana knew about Gabriel's crush on Saveli, but what she hadn't known was whether those feelings were returned. The speed at which she'd found them made him wonder. "Well, that happened a lot faster than I thought it would" she stated, her hands moving to fix a strand of his hair that had come out of place. She wanted Gabriel to look perfect for whenever Saveli worked up the nerve to come speak to them.

"Phase two" she stated, holding up two fingers as she moved her hand from his hair. Still dancing with him, Alana rose on her tiptoes to make it look like they were having an intimate conversation. She looked over at the girl briefly, raising her eyebrows, a smirk on her face before she turned her attention back to Gabriel. "I've just made eye contact with her, and she's totally watching us. Now we just wait. She'll come over. I guarantee it." Alana settled herself down, resting her head on his chest as they continued to dance, their bodies still pressed tightly together.

Out of Character:

If the godmod isn't ok, let me know and I'll change things.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveli had only turned away for a moment, having been caught off guard by Viv and telling her the news before even bothering to tell Gabriel. In all fairness with Saveli things were often a first come first serve as she didn't have many friends to tell about kisses and boys anyways. The blonde turned back around and watched for the two of the, and as much as she didn't want to break up their moment, when Alana moved to hold Gabriel close and dance with him, she figured it was now or never. Saveli approached. "Look at you two love birds!" She spoke playfully, catching sight of herself in her bracelet as she gave Gabriel a playful pat on the back. In heels she was nearly the same height as him and it felt sort of nice to see eye to eye without looking up.

"I'm so glad I said yes to this blind date!" Saveli said to Gabe more than to Alana. She then leaned in as if it was a huge secret and spoke quietly. "I've just gotten my first kiss." Then she leaned back away. "Isn't that exciting. And Alana?" Saveli questioned the name having only really seen the girl in class and in passing before. "You look amazing, red really brings out your eyes. You better treat my best friend right, okay?" She said before turning to see Nicci was already waiting for her by the door. "Better get back!" It was odd, Saveli hadn't been this happy in a while. Her friends were having fun and so was she. It was bittersweet, and Saveli thought that she'd miss this school more than anticipated.

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Had their moment of privacy been allowed to continue for a moment longer, Gabriel wondered if he might have forgotten the true purpose of his and Alana's actions. He was so absorbed in the moment that he did not notice Saveli approaching, and startled at the sound of her voice. His first instinct was to smile, and he did so until it began to dawn on him that their attempt to make her jealous had been utterly in vain. Far from envious, she even appeared to be pleased that Gabriel was having such a wonderful time with another girl. Irritated by this lack of response, the dark haired Slytherin was barely listening to anything Saveli had to say. It was only once she had flounced off again that her words reached his brain.

As if a switch had been flicked, Gabriel's entire disposition shifted into that of heavily suppressed fury. He excused himself from Alana's company, caring little about the discourteousness of abandoning his date on the dance floor when he himself had been insulted so unjustly, and left the great hall without so much as a backward glance. Whether or not Alana would follow, he neither knew nor cared, though he did not presume she would make the effort on his behalf. Nobody ever did. He continued down the entrance hall and out through the front doors, where he sat down on the stone steps and crossed his arms over his knees. "First kiss, huh," he muttered to the grass, or the trees, or whatever else cared enough to listen. This party was over.