Title: w h a t ' s { this } ?
Description: tag;;adelphie
Benjamin Garrow - December 17, 2007 03:50 AM (GMT)
Today was going to be a good day, Benjamin could feel it. He wasn't going to be a klutz, nor was he going to make a fool of himself. You see, Ben was going to go mask shopping with Zephy today. Who is Zephy you may ask? Only one of Benjamin's closest friends and secret crush. She didn't know that he had a crush on her though, or at least he didn't think so. He was pretty good at hiding his feelings. Now you would wonder why hide would he hide his feelings for the girl? Well, she was one of the most, if not the most, popular and beautiful girls that attended Aura Academy. And Benji...well...he wasn't. He was of average popularity and looks. Some times he thought that she was out of his league. But there was something that clicked between them when ever they were together. Zephyriah was one of the only people that Benji felt completely relaxed around, next to Gavin. There hardly was any awkwardness between them, and he felt like they could talk about anything.
Benji was feeling pretty good. He quickly got ready, throwing on a pair of casual jeans and an army green sweater. The sweater was a bit too big for him, but that made it all the more comfortable, besides it was winter and it didn't look too bad. x3. Ah well, it wasn't like his style mattered all that much to him. Ben just wore clothes that he liked and were comfortable in. Grabbing his jacket he headed out the door of his dorm and toward the parking garage. His jacket was styled similar to a World War II pilot's jacket. Rich brown leather with a pair of huge exterior patch pockets and slot hand warmer pockets plus two inside breast pockets. It also had a removable mouton shearling collar over regular leather collar. Though it really didn't look like much for a winter jacket it kept him very warm during the winter. It didn't take very long for the seventeen year-old to make it to the garage. He was a fast walker.
Unzipping his jacket slightly, Benjamin pulled his car keys out of the inside breast pocket. Handy thing that was. x3. He always kept his keys in there so that he wouldn't lose them. Some could say that Ben had a tendency of dropping//losing things. Striding to his 2007 Ford Mustang, Benjamin pressed the unlock button on his car remote and jumped in. Unfortunately for him, his parking spot was near the back of the garage. So being as careful as he possibly could, Ben backed out and began his trip in to town. It was a short trip yes, though that was mainly because Ben always drove fast, but he would have been late if he hadn't taken his car and walked.
Once Benji had arrived at the mall, then came the task of finding a parking spot. Cruising around the lot for a few moments, Benjamin scanned his surroundings looking for a place to park. The mall seemed to be pretty busy today. People were probably doing their Christmas shopping. Which would be another thing that Ben would have to do some time soon. Last Christmas he left things until last minute and hardly had time to get everything he needed. Sighing inwardly, that would be a mistake that he would not make again. Lucky for Benji, he found a parking spot fairly close to the huge mall. Turning his car off, Ben slipped out and pressed the lock button twice. Once he heard the 'beep' (which meant that the car's alarm was on) he headed into the mall.
They were going to meet at the food court. That was probably the easiest place to meet anyways. The mall was chock full of people, kids screaming and playing around, other teenagers laughing together in groups, old people complaining about kids today, mothers trying to gather up their children, you know the usual stuff. Benji slowly made his way through the people, he constantly let others pass him and cut across his walking path. If he hadn't he'd probably be bumping into a lot of random people, and that would just be rude. Ben only stopped once, to help a woman pick up the contents of her purse before anyone could kick them away. Yes he had a constant urge to help people that needed it. Besides, he didn't understand why no one else would do the same. It was just common courtesy.
Upon entering the food court, Benjamin found himself an empty two seater table and took his place there. Looking around, he didn't see Zephy hanging around, but that didn't mean that she wasn't already here. It was all good though. Ben's table was more so on the outskirts of the rest of them. So it would be easy to spot him sitting there all by himself. XD.
Zephyriah Beccaria - December 17, 2007 04:39 AM (GMT)
It was the fourth time that they had a masquerade ball. In fact, Zephyriah was part of the exiting senior class, the first class in the long and illustrious history of Aura Academy that would graduate as four-time attendees of the masked winter formal. And yet, it seemed, each and every time she would always forget her mask and have to buy a new one. Old, barely used masques hung in the room at her house, and she was sure that with enough coercion, she could get her mom to rush deliver them to her dorm room—but where was the fun in that?
As she mused about the masquerade ball, Zephyriah couldn’t help but notice that each of the four years of her attendance, she asked someone different to go mask shopping with her. This year, it was Benjamin Garrow, one of the boys in her year. She always had a soft spot for him, especially since he had been so genuine and nice, and it was always good to have someone who would be there regardless of any of the high school politics. After almost four years of those, Zephyriah was more than tired of them, but with a girl of her position, it was impossible to escape. Maybe if no one at the academy expected anything of her, she would have professed that she liked the boy, but her hesitation may have also been a fear of losing control of their relationship—as much as she loved the kid, she had to admit that she did occasionally boss him around.
Rummaging around her closet, she finally settled for her black, designer double-breasted trench coat, one that was probably too formal and form fitting for her own good. But she was motivated by the weather, especially as one a simple glance out of her window showed several light white snowflakes drifting down towards the iced-covered earth. Driving in that weather would be hell, but Zephyriah promised herself that she would keep the speed down, especially after news of her last speeding ticket reached her parents; they certainly were rather disappointed in her lack of self-discipline.
Wrapping the coat around her frame and tying the coatbelt around her waist, she reached for the keys on her nightstand, pocketing them before she grabbed her purse from her coat rack and headed out of her room. The slightest of a grin formed on her face as she thought about the possibilities of a lunch and shopping trip. She shopped with a lot of people since she had last asked Benji to go with her, and she missed his humor over her sometimes-garish clothing selection. She picked him because she was sure that he would check her whenever she had the inconvenient inclination to pick an over-the-top mask.
That was largely their relationship over the course of her correspondence with him. She was the flighty girl that would occasionally have her imagination and wardrobe choice go over the top, and he was always her grounding force that always had a sarcastic remark to ensure she didn’t get carried away. As much as Zephyriah usually had a classy, elegant fashion sense, she would occasionally get a bit too risqué (or go in the other direction) in her choices. It was thanks to Benjamin that she refrained from buying that five thousand full ball gown for last year’s Masquerade Ball—good thing too, or else she would have looked like a debutante that just stepped out of the Victorian era.
She was halfway to the mall when she thought about the Winter Formal again. She had received a few requests from boys to go with them, and had even heard from Simon regarding the possibility, but she had not given a definitive answer yet, and it was getting awfully close to the Ball. It would be a right disaster if she showed up completely dateless, and the prospect seemed like it was getting more and more likely. She anxiously switched the song on her car stereo before she turned—practically skidded—the last corner leading to the mall.
Popping open her doors after she found a parking spot, Zephyriah stepped out of her car, shivering as the cold gust hit her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Benjamin’s Mustang before she got out of her car. Reaching for her purse, she heard the familiar Keane tune from her phone. Fumbling for a moment, she reached for it, finding the picture of Benjamin Garrow next to his text message. She smiled briefly as she reached up to close her car door, tapping away at the keypad for her response as she entered the mall. Benjamin’s timing had been impeccable. Had he been any later, Zephyriah was sure that she would have gotten lost for a few hours in the stores. Pressing the send button on her phone, she walked through the automatic doors to the mall proper.
The bustle of hundreds of people swept over her, kids running about, couples holding hands as they strode side-by-side, parents leading their children. She was even nearly run over by an elderly man in an automated scooter, which led to her apologizing profusely over not watching where she was going. At last, the long and treacherous trip to the food court was completed, and Zephyriah walked up the steps towards the enormous plaza. She spotted brown-clad Benji alone at an isolated two-seater, with his back turned to her. She confidently, and rather jubilantly, strode the steps towards him, hugging him around the shoulders and turning to speak into his ear, “Did you miss me?”
Benjamin Garrow - December 18, 2007 11:45 AM (GMT)
Benjamin flipped out his cell phone as he sat there waiting. He sent Zeph a text, telling her where he was. It wasn't because he thought that she would need help finding him, not in the slightest. It was because he knew how easily side tracked she could get when it came to shopping. He didn't mind it though. Ben had grown to get used to it over the four years that he had known the girl. Her fashion sense was very classy most times, actually all the time. However there was an odd time here and there when she'd choose something highly...um...that made a very brave statement. Let's just say that most regular people wouldn't chose to buy something so extravagant. x3. Whenever Benji was around he would do the usual, which was give a sarcastic critique on whatever piece she wanted to buy and hope that she wouldn't waste her money. His phone vibrated only a few minutes after he had sent his message. Flipping it open he looked down at the little screen. There was a picture of her above her reply. She was quite quick at replying to his messages. He smiled and nodded inwardly after reading what she wrote.
The Masquerade Ball was what then came to mind, which would be understandable seeing as how he was going mask shopping with Zephyriah for it. Usually Benji didn't go to these sort of things, mainly because he never really had a date to them. x3. That was his own fault though. Benji could never muster up the courage to actually ask the person that he wanted to go with. He sighed. He could be rather pathetic some times. This year however he was going to do it, though there was a strong chance that he would be shot down, he was going to ask Zeph to the Ball. It was about time that he tried to convey his feelings toward her, seeing as how it was their last year at Aura together. Another sigh, okay it was time to stop thinking about that.
Slapping his phone closed after a long pause, Benji placed it back into his pocket. It wouldn't be long now until their lunch date began. Watching the people around him, Ben began to wander off in his thoughts once again. He wondered what sort of mask he was going to try and find. Probably something classy and manly, or something that coordinated with Zephy's. x3. If his plan worked out and Zeph accepted his offer to go to the ball with him. The last thing he would want to do was clash with or embarrass her in front of all their fellow peers. He'd be the laughing stock of the whole Academy (not that he already wasn't) and he was sure Zeph would disown him.
“Did you miss me?”
Benjamin almost jumped in surprise when Zeph wrapped her arms around his shoulders, almost. She did startle him though, which got his heart racing already. If Zephy was a master at anything, she was a master at getting Ben's heart beating. She probably didn't know it but there were certain times when it was just them, hanging out or talking about something, she gave him this 'look'. Benji didn't know how else to explain it, but every time she looked at him like that the possibility that she liked him to would always come to his mind, though only for a brief moment. Because, you see, these looks showed up suddenly and left in an instant. It was probably his own wishful thinking. Letting a grin form on his face he turned his head a tad to get a look at Zephyriah, "Of course I missed you, who wouldn't miss the most talented personality in all of Aura Academy?" He laughed lightly.
{Ooc: tell me if you want me to edit anything x3.}
Zephyriah Beccaria - December 18, 2007 11:50 PM (GMT)
With her arms still draped around him, she felt the body beneath them shudder ever so slightly before they eased from his neck. A mischievous grin flashed across her face, but the overeager appearance quickly faded—she certainly did not want to look like a giggling schoolgirl to Benjamin, as she doubted that he would appreciate it. She remained stationary when he turned to look at her, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked and she saw a grin flash on his face. She felt blood flow to her cheeks, but disguised it by tearing her glance away. She was never one that feared flirting, but she always did fear any genuine reaction to her girlish crushes.
The compliment that he paid her only deepened her blush, but it also gave her an out. A flighty grin passed her veneer, and she batted her eyelashes jokingly. Several people in the past have claimed that she was very talented, and she did have relative success in her endeavors, but she had never considered the title very suiting. Sure, she enjoyed thinking of herself as very capable, but she still felt the flush of the compliment wash over her senses. As much as she enjoyed good esteem, she still reacted poorly to receiving it. She was the one that always doled out the quips and compliments, and it always felt weird getting any in return, especially to her face, and doubly especially from Benjamin. Releasing her arms from around him, Zephyriah stepped back and strafed towards the chair opposite him.
“How flattering,” she said, trying to think of some deep wisecrack to say, but no words formed on her lips, and she just looked at him girlishly before glancing away, seemingly lost in introspection. She certainly had no idea how to respond to such a superlative; just as “omni”presence felt too absolute to her (She always felt that multipresent astral projection was the better term), the “most talented personality” at the entire Academy seemed to be too great an honor for her to accept without any hesitation, or considerable modesty.
Luckily, his light laugh indicated that he had not put too much thought into the statement, and Zephyriah was certainly glad. She would be more than happy to go up against any member of Aura Academy individually, and secretly hoped she was the most talented of all of them, but it still felt so pretentious, so coarse, to assume so. If Benjamin were joking, that would only mean that Zephyriah could tease about it too. She finally picked her glance from the floor and gazed back at him, the jumbled thoughts once again forming themselves into cogent thoughts. “But what could possibly make you think such blasphemy?” she mused aloud.
Hardly waiting for a response, she waved a finger to signal one of the employees to approach. She lightened ostensibly, asking Benji, “Ready to eat?”