Dance the Night Away

"Mike! You're being ridiculous!"
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"No, it's not a date. I wanna go to the dance, so me and Levi are going as friends cause you can't go."
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"Because you're mortal, dumbass."
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"Yes that's exactly what he is. And not just my friend, he's my BEST friend!"
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"I can't believe you're jealous of Levi! Mike you know I lo-"
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"Fine! Be that way then!" with another angry shriek, Rose slammed her phone shut. Rose plopped down on her bed and crossed her arms. How could Michael be so stupid? Levi did not have feelings for her. If he did, he would have said something by now. ...Wouldn't he?
Rose bit her lip as she thought back to their childhood. When they were kids, Rose had a huge crush on Levi. She thought he was the greatest thing that ever walked the planet. Hell, she still thinks that. He's her best friend. He was always there for her, just like she was always there for him. But Mike did something Levi didn't do, and wouldn't do. He asked her out and told her he liked her. Rose sighed and finished curling her hair. "He doesn't like me anyway... Besides, I'm over that. It's been years, and everyone has childhood crushes," she mumbled, telling herself more than she was telling anyone. Her dress was orange, with hints of scarlet, peach and gold. It had a sweetheart neckline with silver gems bedazzling the top. She had her hair done up in a bun with a white flower pin holding it neatly in place. She wore jewelry that matched the dress in color, consisting of golds, oranges, and reds. Her makeup was subtle, just some brown and gold eyeshadow, mascara and eyeliner, and peach lipstick. Rose wasn't big on make-up, nor was she all that good at applying it professionally. Her heels were tall, and she knew she'd be taking them off not even half-way through the night. With a nod of her head, Rose grabbed her handbag and stepped out into the courtyard, where she and Levi planned to meet.

Rose checked her phone while she stood outside, realizing just how cold it was. She loved the snow, but not while she was in a dress and heels. "A coat might have been a good idea, Rose..." she mumbled to herself. When she saw her blank screen, she knew that Michael had yet to realize just how stupid he was being. With an annoyed huff, she shut her phone off and put it away. If he was going to be that way, then she was going to forget about him for the night and have a good time with her best friend. When she heard her name being called by a familiar voice, Rose couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. She saw Levi waving to her and she smiled, waving back. When she noticed him gag at the couple, Rose couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from her throat.
The daughter of Hemera shuffled over to her date for the evening. When she saw that they matched, Rose's smile widened. "Hey! You got a vest to match!" she said, involuntarily reaching out and running her fingers gently along his vest covered chest. Rose bit her lip to try and stop her smile from growing even more. "You're such an Aphrodite boy sometimes," she teased. As a gust of wind rolled past, Rose shivered. "We should hurry up and get inside! It's freezing!" she said, slipping her hand into his free one.

Rose blushed at his compliment and looked down shyly, hoping to hide her blush. Her brown eyes flickered up to him when he spoke again, and then to the corsage. "Levi, thank you so much! It's beautiful!" she said. Rose looked from the corsage to him and then back to the now gently glowing corsage on her wrist. With a widened smile, Rose placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Let's go to the dance," she said. She laced her fingers back in his and huddled close to him as she continued towards the dance hall.
As she entered, her face lit up. People were dancing, chatting, nibbling on food, and just having a good time. Rose looked excitedly at Levi. "This is gonna be so much fun!" she said. Now that Rose was inside, she no longer needed his coat. "Here, let me help you get this back on," she said with a smile. Rose walked behind him and slipped the coat over his shoulders, flattening out the fabric when she was done. She then walked back in front of him and made quick work redoing his buttons as he had them before. "There, good as new!" she said with a happy grin. She paused a moment, simply admiring her friend in his nicely tailored suit. "Gods you should wear that suit more often. Nicely tailored suits are like catnip for women. ...They're woman-nip," she mused. After she finished her admiration, Rose took Levi's hand and led him to the dance floor. "Let's go!"

Rose tried to surpress her laughter at Levi's dancing. After a bit of watching him dance, she couldn't hold in her laughter anymore. However, as she started to laugh, she also started to dance like an idiot (as if she wasn't already) Rose was not the most coordinated person, and dancing, as a klutz in tall heels was just an issue for her.
Rose swung her arms and body about to the rhythm of the song. However, when the song changed to a slow one suddenly, she was left dancing like an idiot for a few second too long, which gained her a few snickers and rude glances. Rose stuck her tongue out at everyone and then turned to Levi with a shy smile. "So..." she said, rubbing the back of her neck. Rose wasn't entirely sure if he'd be willing to slow dance. He'd been a great friend, hell the perfect one, for the entire evening. But maybe slow dancing was pushing him a bit? Deciding to take a leap of faith, Rose placed one hand in Levi's and then used her free hand to place his free hand on her waist before draping her hand gently on his shoulder. She swayed gently to the music, allowing Levi to lead the dance. Rose looked up at Levi with a small, happy smile. "Thank you for taking me to this, Levi," she murmured, her voice gentle despite their loud environment.

Rose chuckled at his comment and nodded her head. "Yes, sir. No sap here, sir," she said. As they continued to dance, Rose was extremely aware of how awful she must look right now. She could feel the sheen of sweat on her skin from dancing, and she knew by now her hair had fallen out of place and her makeup was completely smudged. When Levi said her name, she looked up at him and tilted her head, but his sentence was cut off by a loud pop song. She winced at the sudden change in music. "What kind of drugs is this DJ on? Holy crap," she muttered. Rose sighed and looked up at Levi. "I'm gonna go get a drink, fix my hair, that sort of thing," she said over the music. Before she left, she gave their intertwined hands a gentle squeeze. She felt suddenly cold not being so close to Levi, not having her hand in his, as if something vital to her life was missing. Well, Levi was vital to her life, but she hadn't felt this way in a few years. Shaking her head, Rose scurried off to the bathroom. There were quite a few girls in there, all chatting it up and fixing their makeup. Rose winced when she saw herself in the mirror.
After she was finished fixing her hair and makeup, Rose decided to check her phone. It had been off the entire night, so it gave Michael plenty of time to realize just how stupid he was being and apologize. When she turned on her phone and looked at her text messages, what she read brought tears to her eyes. Cruel, hurtful words from Michael, calling her names and telling her how worthless she was to him. A knot wrenched in her stomach, and Rose suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. She ran out of the bathroom, on the verge of ruining her newly redone makeup, and ran outside. She was greeted by strikingly frigid air, but she thanked it for numbing he to quickly. Now away from crowds, the tears spilled over her eyelids and on to her cheeks. Rose wrapped her arms around her frame, shaking from crying and shivering from the bitter cold.

Rose was vaguely aware of Levi arriving at her side. She heard him ramble on about his peach vest, and she couldn't help the sad chuckle that escaped her lips. "N-No Levi... You're...you're perfect. You've d-done absolute-lutely n-nothing wrong," she stuttered, both from her crying and from the cold. When Rose saw Levi pick up the phone and saw the dark look cross his face, she choked back more tears. She'd seen him this angry before. She didn't want Levi to be angry. She wasn't scared of him, no. She was never scared of Levi. "Levi don't be angry. You deserve to never have to be angry or sad again for the rest of your life," she said, gently reaching a hand out to touch his cheek, but stopping mid-way and letting it drop to her side again.
Rose fixed her eyes on the ground. "We got in a fight before the dance... He was jealous that I was going with you. At the time I told him he was being stupid, but..." her voice trailed off and she said. "When we were kids I had a...a bit of a thing for you. More than a thing, really. You were, still are, everything to me. I kind of forced those dreams of us..you know, together, away because...well it was impossible. Levi Wayland, the son of Aphrodite that every girl at camp would have in an instant. And then there's me, Rose Harkner... Mike was the first guy that asked me out... He liked me and I..." she seemed to be rambling at this point, simply pushed over the edge to spilling her guts by the harsh words Mike said to her. "I went along with it, I guess. We had fun sometimes. We had good times...but he was right to call me those things. There's always someone in a relationship that loves the other more. He cared about me more than I cared about him. You don't know how many times I blew him off to spend time with you. I've been telling myself for years that it was because you were my best friend. Because you were there for me when no one else was..." her voice trailed off and she dared herself to look up at him for the first time this entire ramble. "In the end...I think you'll always have my heart..." Realizing everything she'd just spilled, Rose's heart broke. She'd just ruined their friendship because she was emotional. She'd just lost her best friend, the person that meant the world to her. This brought fresh tears to her eyes, but she forced them back. Knowing how kind Levi was, he'd pity her for her tears and for how pathetic she'd been. She didn't want him doing something because he felt bad for her. Rose looked away from him and pushed herself to her feet. She'd removed her heels at this point and was standing barefoot of the frigid ground. Her feet were completely numb, but she didn't care.

Rose was taken aback by Levi's anger. Her eyes widened and she blinked in surprise at him. His words were not harsh, but they certainly weren't what she was expecting to hear. As what he was saying started to register in her brain, her expression changed from a shocked one, to a happy smirk. However, as his speech went on, her eyes softened and she smiled sweetly. She simply watched Levi as he continued to spurt out his mutual feelings. When he finished, she opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced his lips on hers. She sucked in a surprised breath through her nose, but returned the kiss without hesitation. He tasted vaguely like alcohol, and she figured the punch must have been spiked. With the Dionysus kids and the Hermes kids at one dance, it was no surprise, really. Rose took all the anger and passion from his kiss, knowing that she'd definitely just thrown him for a curve. One of Rose's hands cupped his face, and she sweetly caressed his cheek. Her other hand wound around his neck and her fingers played with the hair at the base of his neck.
Rose looked up at him when their kiss ended. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour. Her eyes were glazed over with dried up tears and still a hint of desire in her widened pupils. She could feel that her lips were swollen and her hair was mussed up from the intensity of the kiss, but she had no problem with it. Rose's brown eyes flickered up to Levi to see a medley of emotions behind his eyes. She'd always been able to read him like a book, even when they were kids. Well, not with the things that mattered the most, his feelings for her. But everything else she knew right away. Rose placed a hand on either side of Levi's face and gently eased him to face forward so their eyes locked. She could see confusion, anger, happiness. She could see them all swirling in his irises. Her thumb caressed a tear track from earlier and she gave him a reassuring smile. "I love you too, Levi Charles Wayland. Every little part of you, too," she said, poking him gently in the stomach. "So don't you think you a second that you're not enough for me or that I'm wrong to love you... Because I've never been more right in my entire life."