xp_logs | Prom: Julian & Doreen (Reply)

Julian and Doreen share a dance at the prom.

((OOC: Occurs before the Angel/Julian fight.))

As Esme hurried off to the bathroom, Julian took a seat and smirked as he watched people amble about the ballroom. Despite not being here with Angel, he'd been having a lot of fun with Esme and was glad they'd gotten the chance to get to know each other better. Floating a pitcher of water over to himself from the middle of the table, he poured a measure from the perspiring decanter into the punch glass he'd used earlier.

“That’s not your girlfriend,” a voice squeaked, Doreen having come up out of nowhere. She wasn’t fond of the Cuckoos so she was also rather confused, maybe she just hadn’t been nice enough to them or something.

Setting the glass down, Julian smiled at his squirrely friend, "You look marvelous, Dori." Kicking a seat out with his foot he motioned for her to have a seat. "And you're right, I'm not here with Angel- but unless there's been a development I'm unaware of, Johnny isn't your boyfriend either."

“Well… no he isn’t… but we both thought that you know, this would be fun. But I don’t have a boyfriend and he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Doreen said, sitting down. She felt… pretty tonight. Which didn’t happen that often. At best she thought she was ‘cute.’

"True enough," he smirked, "are you a little sweet on Snowy? I won't tell anyone." Julian hoped they'd sufficiently steered the conversation away from Esme, as he'd already explained the situation to a dozen different people in the last two hours.

“No, I’m not!” Doreen insisted, “I mean.. he’s nice and he’s fun to race against, but I don’t know. Just friends, you know?”

"And the two of you are having fun being here as 'Just friends?'"

“Yes,” Doreen said, twitching. She wasn’t going to get all flustered about it, because Johnny was just a friend, “I’ve never been to a dance before.”

"Glad you're having fun," he took another drink and smiled. Figuring he shouldn't totally ignore her question he continued, "I'm having a lot of fun too, with Esme, she's my friend and that's why we're here."

“…She’s not… mean to you?” Doreen whispered, like it was part of a big secret.

"She's combative, sure, but that's just who she is. Once you get her away from her sisters, Esme is really nice." He leaned forward slightly and put a hand on Doreen's knee, "I know you and she didn't get off on the best foot, but...maybe give her another chance?"

“Yeah…I mean, if I could tell them apart. They even smell alike. They scare me,” Doreen said.

"They scare you because you can't tell them apart?" Julian asked, with a confused edge to his voice. "That doesn't seem like you, Dori."

“No, not really. I mean…. People are supposed to smell different, even if they look alike. It’s freaky. They don’t really smell different at all. I mean, you have a smell. Johnny has a smell, all of the teachers have a smell… and… I mean, it doesn’t make sense does it?” Doreen admitted.

"They are quadruplets, maybe that has something to do with it," it was puzzling, but everything had an answer.

“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just because they’re together all the time. I like the smell of cake better. Cake is good,” Doreen said simply. “Maybe right now Esme smells different. But they remind me a lot of the girls back home too. I’m sure they’re nice sometimes. I mean, they have eachother.”

It took a moment of thought before Julian could reply with a simple, "Huh." Esme and her sisters were very much like the queen bee cults back in Beverly Hills. "Yeah, but they're not like Cassie and her group of harpies, Doreen. I mean, yeah, they can be kinda mean...but..." he was drawing a blank on what to say here. "Esme's different."

She supposed they must be. And in the end she supposed every school had to have its group of perfectly beautiful and popular blondes. And in the end the nerd girls always did get pushed aside. Cliques she knew very, very well after all. Doreen gave him a look at the last and then grinned evilly, “You like her don’t you?”

If he hadn't been so out of breath, Julian would have been blushing. "I'm with Angel, Dori, you know that. I do like Esme, but as a friend. Like you and Johnny."

“Uh-huh,” Doreen said loudly, like she suddenly knew the biggest secret there was, “I know you. You like her.” So she was taking a moment to be five. It was allowed.

"Doreen-" he said sharply, stopping the thought. A moment of silence and a sigh later, Julian stood up, extending a hand to Doreen. "Dance with me."

“Okay!” Doreen said, taking his hand with hers, as always careful for claws. Subject dropped.

Julian led her onto the dance floor as the next song started playing, a little slower paced with a swing beat. "Do you know how to swing?!" he tried to ask over the music.

“Kinda!” Doreen said, laughing, “There’s a lot of jumping involved, isn’t there?”

"Yeah! And with your balance...well, you're gunna love it, just follow my lead." He took her hands in his and started showing her the basic steps, hoping against all odds that his energetic friend would forget the subject they'd just been discussing.