Alice sighed, fingering her brown curls. Although, today - more correctly, tonight - they weren't brown. They were a lighter brown, almost blond even. And now her hair had "miraculously" grown three inches longer, although it wasn't at all a miracle since Alice was a shapeshifter through and through. She looked down into the puddle to the left, searching her reflection for any flaws. Whenever she was frustrated or angry she would find herself trying to be perfect at something - and this time it was obviously her appearance. Sighing with disgust at herself, Alice turned back to the right, waiting for her friend to arrive. She was feeling bad enough today; she just needed to release some of the tension. And Zephy was the best person for that, surely.

Alice whistled low on her breath, watching as two cats above her jumped from one roof to the other. Now that was not a usual sight. She looked once more down at her reflection in the puddle. God, she had to stop doing that. Well, while she was at it, she could admit to herself that she didn't look hath bad. Her light blond hair complemented her warm, brown eyes, and her facial features went well with her sleek, silver dress and two-inch heels. She had two silver signet rings on each hand, partly because they were gifts from those she loved. Otherwise, she wouldn't wear them. She wasn't one to generally show off her wealth, although everyone knew that she was pretty rich. Well, the hell with that.

'God, when is she going to get here?' Alice thought, staring at her watch with great intensity, as if just by staring at it it could conjure up Zepfidhy and transport here. Okay, so maybe she was overreacting. And a bit too fidgety. It wasn't that she was nervous, though, it was only that she couldn't wait for Zeph to arrive. Even though they were roommates, they were always in an out. Truthfully, they didn't see much of each other these days. An outing like this would do good for both of them, especially Alice. Although, by looking at the overly-cheerful, seemingly innocent girl, everybody had gotten the idea that she never partied. Or some people did, at least. Which was quite weird, since Alice did like partying. It was a fun way to just get down and dance; release all the stress bottled up.

Alice fidgeted with her hair, making sure it looked perfect. An old habit of hers, when she was holding something in that she wanted to talk about. And Zeph was already a whole eight minutes late. 'Okay, okay. Stop overreacting. She'll be here,' Alice told herself, standing still by the entrance to the club. Or, a few feet away. The entrance was full with people in line, trying to get in. Alice could recognize at least hath of them, and hath of those hath were not eighteen. Well, neither was she or Zephy. But it didn't matter. As long as they got in, everything would be fine. Alice settled in against the wall, awaiting Zeph's arrival. In the distance, she heard roars of engines and clanks of heels, the screeching of wild cats and the swiping of credit cards as they were taken out of their owner's wallet.

[[ Dude, it's "half," not "hath." :P ]]

“Is everyone okay?” Zephyriah asked, stepping out of her car.

She had just witnessed what looked to be a horrendous automobile accident, as two cars just in front of her colliding violently, sending one car flipping, and another veering off to wrap around a tree. She immediately slammed on the brakes, her car screeched to a halt as she pulled over to the side. Taking out her phone, her nervous fingers dialed 911. A few frantic gasps later, and Zephyriah had tossed her Nokia back into her bag, taking a few breaths as a one of the drivers emerged from his vehicle, shaken but apparently unharmed. Zephyriah heaved a few tense breaths, before she mustered the courage to leave her car.

This was not her ideal start to her Friday night. When Allie had asked her to go clubbing with her, Zephyriah had agreed, because she felt that she needed some time off from her busy schedule, nocuous college applications, and whirlwind extracurriculars—all of them seeming to look towards her for guidance and leadership. It was enough to overwhelm the girl. Not only would some time off to unwind at a club be good for her, it would also be a good chance to catch up with Allie, her roommate. They were close friends, but their recent and conflicting schedules barely allowed any time to talk to each other.

“We’re not seriously hurt,” the other driver said from inside his car. His door was completely smashed in, and he had difficulty crawling out of the shattered window. Zephyriah saw streaks of blood run down the man’s clothing, but they seemed to be, or at least she hoped, superficial lacerations.

“Thank goodness,” she managed to say. The other man turned her eye at her, and Zephyriah saw his eyes widen slightly at what must have been an unusual appearance. As soon as he noticed that she was wearing makeup while in a fashionable periwinkle mini-dress and Christian Louboutin heels and had just stepped out of a car better suited for a formula one racer than a high school student, there went any chance at normalcy. Zephyriah stood there for a few minutes, eying the scene awkwardly.

In the distance she could hear the sirens of a police car and the clank of tow trucks, and Zephyriah flashed both of them a nod before she returned to her car. She waited a few minutes while they cleared the wreckage from the street, and then a few minutes more for the road to clear out. A few, sparse cars passed her while she sat in her car, replaying the vicious collision a few times in her head, still gladly shocked that no one was seriously injured in the wreckage—who knew, maybe they were Aura Academy alumni and had the ability to survive such impacts with relative ease.

Finally heaving a sigh and reigniting the car and shifting it into gear, Adelphie drove the car the few minutes to the club, moving her distinctive black vehicle into one of the open parking slots. She scanned her eyes for a minute, trying to spot Allie, or anyone that could have been her. The girl shapeshifted around enough that it was tough to keep a track of her, but Zephyriah was good with faces, and she was one of the few people who could usually pick her out of a crowd even if she did happen to change it up. There was just something about her that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, but always made her distinctive enough to notice.

After spotting the girl, standing alone near the entrance of the club, she popped up the door to her car and stepped out, carefully placing the keys in her purse. She draped her mink jacket around her shivering frame, and clenched and opened her fingers a few times to restore warmth to them. Still a bit pale, Zephyriah looked at her appearance in the mirror. She looked a bit windswept, and perhaps a tad stirred, but—in her estimation at least—certainly not bad, definitely good enough to get into the club. Turning towards the entrance, she walked the steps towards her roommate. She was late, and she knew it, and with her power, she had seen how distressed Allie appeared over it.

“Sorry about that,” she spoke before reaching her. The clattering of her heels followed her voice, and Zephyriah soon strode up to her. She flashed Allie an innocent glance before she smiled, almost sadly, “Shall we go in?”

[ ooc ; i know. i make that mistake all the time, lol. x) ps. sorry this post is so short. ]

Alice saw the approaching figure of none other than Zeph in the background. She straightened up, awaiting Zeph's arrival. When she did arrive, Allie could feel her body relax. Zeph was like her drug, almost, but not in the sexual way. She was like a drug in the friend way, because whenever Allie needed to just hang back and relax and release the stress, Zeph was always there. She smiled, her tension now disappearing behind a mask of pleasure. She overlooked Zeph, sighing. Zeph always appeared beautiful and more mature than she; not that she was jealous or anything. At times, it just seemed that when Alice really tried to be appearing good, Zeph didn't even need to try to show effort. Truthfully, she looked good in everything and anything. Allie looked at herself once more in the nearby puddle. The water stirred, but she could still see her reflection clearly. Compared to Zeph's, she was sure it was not all that well. Placing a hand on her forehead, she looked at the entrance to the club. It was even more crowded than before, and a group of people from Aura were arguing with the person up front.

Alice sighed, looking at Zeph, and then glancing back at the puddle. "I don't think my outfit's appropriate for tonight," She said, smiling mischievously. In the blink of an eye, when no one was looking, Alice transformed her appearance. Her clothes instantly changed. Instead of her previous outfit, she now had the plumeria pleated shift dress from Bebe on, the spaghetti straps adjusted to her height, black leggings underneath the almost too-short dress. Her feet quietly slipped into a pair of black cate leather bootie from Bebe, the heels clanking loudly on the pavement. Her left wrist was now adorned with a black watch, also from Bebe, it's name too long for her to remember. (It was actually this: Circle Icon Swarovski Rhinestone Bangle Watch.) She smiled, her hair darkening to a dark brown, almost black. Her eyes took on a shade of deep blue. Her teeth were completely white and straight, a rare thing of people from this century. She slipped a compact mirror from her purse, which was clad and black and silver, and checked her reflection. She ruffled her hair, and it instantly gained bounce and shine unlike other hair. She once more checked her reflection before setting her mirror back in her purse.

Flashing Zeph and apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. You look beautiful, and I'm no comparison to you, even with all this." She laughed; a cheerful, high laugh, ringing in the silent night. Slinging her arm into Zeph's arm, she pointed towards the entrance to the club. "Now, how are we going to get in?" She inquired, looking mischievous in every which way. "Should we use wits, beauty, or both? Haha. Or maybe we should just use our slyness. I feel like being sly tonight." Already, with Zeph's presence, Alice was feeling much better. She could feel herself being more cheerful and outgoing again. She flashed a smile, and tugged at Zeph. "Come on, after you," She said, her voice as low as a whisper, mingling with the many sounds of the night.

A strange mixture of relief and contentment overcame her as she realized that Allie must have overlooked or disregarded the tinge of melancholy in her voice. Zephyriah must have done the same, since as soon as her roommate acknowledged her, she realized that any of the previous shock and disillusionment went out the door—she was there to party and have a good time, and she sure wasn’t going to let one little accident spoil her fun. Besides, as both of them claimed, they were perfectly all right after the accident.

Her stoic countenance softened as soon as she Allie acknowledged her. A smile casually materialized on her face, and she flashed her a friendly nod. She noticed Allie’s eyes scanning her up and down, before she returned to what must have been her reflection in the puddle. Zephyriah arched a slender eyebrow, curious about her actions. It seemed like she was comparing herself to her, which was both flattering and a bit disconcerting at the same time. It indicated to her that Allie likely considered her appearance aesthetically appealing, but it would also indicate that she was trying to one up her.

Before she could raise any concern, she noticed her friend change her appearance into what—at least to Zephyriah—made her look like a Bebe pinup girl. She had to admit though, that she looked good. Her doubts, though, were confirmed as soon as she brought up her appearance, especially in comparison to Zephyriah’s own. She opened her mouth to speak and squash any thoughts about a comparison between the two, but she barely managed to open her lips before she figured that she didn’t want to accuse anything of the sort. Besides, Zephyriah didn’t think she looked that good anyway, at least not on this particular night.

Instead of calming her friend’s doubts, she could barely manage a “Thank you,” before going mum again. It was a little uncharacteristic of Adelphie to be so quiet, but she figured that it was a rather uncharacteristic night. It had been a while since the two of them had a real girls’ night out. Besides, she wasn’t in the best of spirits this evening, and the week had worn her down, she figured that she would save her energy for dancing, and hope that it wouldn’t be like last time where some unpleasant pervert decided to try to grope her.

After Allie looped her arm through hers, she gave Allie a little tug on her elbow with her own. Mischief was appealing, but she did not want to have to deal with the bouncer in case they couldn’t get in. Nor did she feel in the mood to flash the guy a fake smile and act provocative enough for him to let them in. She replied softly, “Or we could be smart and go through the conveniently unguarded back door.”

Alice grinned slyly to herself; none of her motives showing on her face. Sure, she was the innocent, peppy little queen of Aura. But at night... at clubs... when she was feeling bad - well, let's just say she wasn't so innocent anymore. Perhaps her power had gone to her head, literally. Because at times it seemed like two completely different people resided in Alice - which, of course, wasn't true - one person the peppy, all-loving, seemingly innocent girl of Aura Academy, and the other person the sly, mischievous, deceptive, beautiful, forceful, and stubborn girl. At times, the other face of attitude showed itself in the daylight - which is way some people called Alice mischievous... "at times". Obviously, they were referring to how she loved to use her power to sometimes tease people, and secretly, she took advantage of her power a lot of times... Yes, the perfect little miss Alice had taken liberty of her power all too often. She had used it to her advantage too many times - and perhaps it was her secret wish of perfection that stopped her from telling the world about her sickly obsession. But, she wasn't exactly obsessed with using her power... it was just at times, whenever she could, whenever she had to, she would use it to her advantage. Whether it was to get back at someone, to get some alone time, to make friends to someone... any excuse would do, basically. Was that really a sick habit? Perhaps.

Alice took two strides forward, her height enhanced as the result of the transformation and the Bebe heels that she was wearing. She did not smile; in fact, her face did not show any emotion. Just... emptiness. Well, perhaps not emptiness, but a feeling of it. Like there was something hidden beyond the depths that only so many could reach. Alice knew that what was going on in her mind was not exactly the best or most innocent thoughts - but it was a Friday night, it was around 7:00 PM, dark, and they were at a club. She was here with Zeph, who was mature and beautiful enough to take care of any situation that fell out of hand... right? Plus, they were at a club, as said before. And what were you supposed to do at a club? Party, dance, drink, make out, and other unsaid things. Of course, in the depths of the existence of clubs were drug dealings, sex, unwanted pregnancies, and murderers waiting in the shadows to get you. But, hey, that was any street in New York; any street in Manhattan. It was any street in the world; at night, that is. People lurking, stalkers following, poverty ruling the streets. In this frame of mind, Alice was convinced that the world would not last long like this, yet at the same time she enjoyed the taste of it. She liked to play with it, tug at the edge of it; back and forth; back and forth. Like tug-o-war, you played until one side won. But what if you could win, but never did... on purpose? That was called playful... well, for lack of a better word, playing. And that was exactly what Alice was doing.

A ring came from her bag, which was hanging loosely at her side. She unclasped it and reached for the vibrating white Blueberry Pearl, pulling it out and pressing the talk button. Alice put the phone to her ear; sound pulsing loudly through her eardrums. She could faintly hear the person speaking, like a distant person over the wave. She just nodded silently, as if the person could see her and understand. Understand the overwhelming feeling that, well... overwhelmed her at the current moment. She smiled into the phone, pleasuring the feeling, weaving it to go through her and around her. Suddenly, someone called her name. She instantly woke up, looking back to where Zeph was. No, it was not Zeph that had called her. She looked down at her hand, finally realizing that the screaming was coming from the phone. She stared at it, dumbfounded as if she had not known how it had gotten there. Pressing it to her ear, she heard the sound of her own name vibrate through her ears.

"Nai?" Alice asked dumbly into the speaker.

A buzzing, almost infuriated noise escaped the phone. Alice kept on speaking, her words going form whispered to normal, and back to whispered.

"Ochi, megalos enas." "Ti!? Pos see can aftos symbaino? "Ochi pia, megalos enas. Eycharisto eseis."

Alice shut the phone, her breath still in the cold night air. She turned around, motioning for Zeph to follow. "So where is this secret entrance of yours?" She asked, all the warmth and relief from earlier gone. But the slyness, unfortunately, had not escaped. In the depths of her mind, another her was watching... ready to come out and do the unthinkable... Ah, there was a guard. Perhaps she could get in the sly way? Charm her way in? Unthinkable! Alice Black, charming a guard in his early 20s, to get into the club! But unthinkable was what she was going for. She was not herself any longer, she was someone else. She was still in the same body, still the same Alice... but at night, anything was possible. That's why everybody always bewared the night. Even her.

Alice walked forward, indecisive. Should she - the sly way, or the hidden way, with Zeph? It seemed it was too late to decide, because at that moment her thoughts were interrupted. The guard from moments earlier approached, his eyes a bit hazed - perhaps from an alcohol. 'A guard drunk on duty?' Alice though, smiling to herself. So typical. She could definitely take advantage of this.