i could follow you to the beginning [private]

Subject: i could follow you to the beginning [private] Tue Dec 10, 2013 3:11 am

ROBIN HAYES

WE CAN SWIM IN SILENCE. YOU CAN PULL ME UNDER.

Robin kept walking. She didn't know where to stop - her feet moved on their own, weaving her in and out of the crowd like a lost string. When she finally did stop, she found herself standing beside a long table filled with food and drinks.

Might as well.

She popped a cheesestick in her mouth, but it didn't do much good to the feeling that had nothing to do with hunger. Everything inside her had been pulled down the drain; every single organ - her stomach, her lungs, her heart - they all high-dived to the floor, which threatened to swallow her at every step. Robin thought it was a wonder how she still remained standing.

Come on, Red, pull yourself together. It's Christmas!

That was the thing. It was Christmas, and yet her heart was a stone sinking deep in dark murky waters.

Quit thinking like that, she firmly told herself. It's Christmas, Robin Hood. Lighten up. Enjoy yourself. Moping is not an option.

Robin looked up at the glistening snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, then down at the shiny floor that so resembled a skating rink. Christmas, huh? She had put on a dress for God's sake. She had washed all the dye out of her hair and made it as smooth and soft as possible. She put in a whole lot of effort, and she'll be damned if she let all of it go to waste. Damn right.

And so she put on a wide smile and did just that - she tried to enjoy the night. She talked, she made friends. She sampled the delicacies, scarfed down fruit pies like no tomorrow. She even went off to dance with a couple of guys who asked.

None of it lasted long though. Every time a slow song picked up and she waltzed into the dance floor with someone she hardly knew, Robin's mind always drifted elsewhere, her eyes seeing but not seeing, her smiles mechanical and - if you looked closely - forced. Rinse and repeat. The cycle seemed endless, almost a bore.

As the latest boy walked her back to the cheesesticks table, Robin wondered how much time had passed, and it took her a few moments to realize that the boy was talking to her. Mumbling about another dance, it sounded like. Smiling, Robin shook her head.

"I think I need a breather, but thanks for the offer, Paul."

"Peter."

"Um, Peter, yeah. I meant to say that, haha... I guess I'll see you around, then?"

He gave a somewhat stiff nod, and Robin was mentally bashing her head on the wall as he left.

With a heavy sigh, she gave herself a not-so-gentle tap on the forehead. "Screw dancing," she muttered to no one in particular, her voice hopefully too low to be heard. She picked up another cheesestick and bit half off. "I'll just live my life off cheesesticks. That doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"

495 WORDS; TAG: TEEHEE

I WILL DROWN UNTIL YOU CARE.

CODED BY SAPPHIRE

Eli was actually pretty... bored. And that was unusual, to be honest. Especially at a dance. There was plenty he could be doing, but he just wasn't. He could be dancing, with Hannah or with someone else (And Elijah wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to dance with beautiful girls.), he could be pigging out at the food tables, hell, he could be back at the cabin and taking advantage of the emptiness by practicing with his guitar for a while. But no, he'd decided- actually, decided wasn't right, since he'd sort of been abandoned by aforementioned Hannah- to wander aimlessly in the shadows of the dance hall, bored and unable to think of anything to do.

Goddammit, he'd gotten dressed up and everything for tonight. Okay... so he hadn't made much of an effort. A white shirt and a christmas themed tie (It had little santa hats and rudolf ears and christmas trees teehee), and a pair of worn jeans which he felt comfortable in. The he'd just thrown on a pair of sneakers and hoped no one was really that bothered by his messy hair and well, messy appearance in general. Maybe that had been his mistake. He hadn't made too much of an effort. Self consciously he used one hand to smooth his hair down, but he could tell it wasn't doing much good.

Well, if that's the problem, then looks like I won't be able to fix the problem tonight.

Kicking at some of the glitter piled on the ground, he watched as sparkling dots went flying and settled not too far from where they'd began. Damn, this was so uninteresting. Shouldn't dances be fun? Wasn't that their point? Well... since it was so boring... and since no one was gonna be at the cabin... maybe he should make the most of the emptiness?

Without hesitating, he walked off with new energy, heading straight for the cheese stick table. He didn't even like cheese sticks, but at least he could collect some food, head back into the snow and to the cabin and sit and watch a movie or something for the night. Cheese sticks offered him some sort of thing to eat if the nice stuff ran out. Plus, it was the nearest table.

But still. I dislike cheese sticks. Do I really need them?

Even with his doubts, he continued. He only stopped when he found his way blocked by a blonde, and rather than wait his turn like a gentleman, he walked around her, intending to go to the other side and stand beside her at the table, filling a napkin or something with food to bring back to the cabin.

But, well, Elijah's a guy. A very typical guy, truth be told. He couldn't help himself looking up as he stood beside her, to see if he knew her (And maybe check her out, not that he'd admit it.)

The thoughts that raced through his head basically went like this;

"Who is this hot girl and why do I not know her?"

"Wait..."

"There's only one person I know who would wear converse with a dress."

"Okay two including Hannah."

"Oh my Gods its-"

'Robin?!'

He was pretty sure that his mouth had been wide open there for a couple seconds, so he quickly rearranged his features to a wide (Yet slightly crooked) smile.

'You look amazing! A million dollars, truly,' he was definitely not good with compliments. But honestly, he was starstruck. He hadn't seen her look so much like a girl since... well, never. He hadn't even thought she owned a dress. It was understandable why he held out his hand and forgot all about cheese sticks.

'Would you care to dance? I mean, I've just found you, and it would be a shame if I didn't ask and then you got lost in the crowd. Then I'd never get the chance.'

WE CAN SWIM IN SILENCE
YOU CAN PULL ME UNDER
I WILL DROWN UNTIL YOU CARE

Cheesesticks weren't really so bad. Robin shoved countless of them in her mouth, one after another. Pigging out on cheesesticks, what a nice way to spend Christmas eve. Better than dancing with someone whose name you got wrong in the end, anyway. She absently stepped an inch to her side when someone went to join her and from the napkin in his hand, it looked to her like he was going to take some back to his cabin for a midnight snack. Not a bad idea... why didn't I think of that?

Her hand was already raised towards the pile of napkins when the guy spoke, and thank the gods she had already swallowed her last cheesestick. Robin let her hand drop back to the side, turning to face -drumroll please- Elijah Gray in his white shirt and Christmas-themed tie.

For a few seconds they both stared at each other, her wide eyes versus his wide mouth, but her expression didn't change even when Eli already smiled.

That smile...

It was amazing how one person's smile could make everything lighter, make the world a much more beautiful place. A simple gesture could do so much.

Robin flashed him one of her own smiles, even if deep inside she was trying to shoo away the butterflies fluttering inside her stomach.

"You look amazing! A million dollars, truly," he said.

Robin gave up on reining the butterflies in, letting them roam freely as her smile grew. Her heart, which spent the last few minutes swimming in the bottom of the ocean, shot right back up to her chest. Her blood also shot up to her cheeks, and Robin pretended to wipe something on the tip of her nose in an attempt to cover up.

"I try," she said with a short laugh. "Thanks."

Robin was still laughing softly. She was just so... happy. Such a simple reason, but that was all she was. In all honesty she would've jumped around and screamed if the circumstances were different but now, she just crammed everything into that barely audible laughter. A little part of her mind wondered about the rainbow-haired girl who was with Eli a few minutes ago, back when she was still pushing Jonathan and Ronnie together (because they were so both too shy to make a move, and a little nudge in the right direction wouldn't hurt teehee). The memory of it couldn't even put a damper on Robin's spirit. The nameless girl might have been his date, and Robin had definitely considered thinking of her as his girlfriend, but she wasn't around now and Eli was completely alone. With her.

When Elijah spoke again, Robin felt like she had hit the lottery jackpot.

"Would you care to dance? I mean, I've just found you, and it would be a shame if I didn't ask and then you got lost in the crowd. Then I'd never get the chance."

Forget cheesesticks. This was so much better.

Grinning widely, Robin did a little curtsy and took his hand. "I would love to dance."

And so they did. At that moment, it didn't matter to her if her feelings for him weren't mutual, if he considered her as just one of his friends, even when she saw him as something more. At that moment, Robin Hayes was dancing with Elijah Gray, and that was all that mattered. And for her, Christmas Eve had never been better.

coded by sapphire