GALA EVENT MAIN THREAD

[gabriella sofia davies]

haven't you heard, i'm supergirl
you don't wanna mess with me

Sat in the middle of her bed, surrounded by magazine clippings and torn pages, Gabby was mulling over whether or not she was going to attend the event tonight. When it came down to it, she knew she'd have to attend. Ari was winning an award after all and Gabby wanted to be there to show support and all that other sisterly stuff. There would also be plenty of cool Quidditch players and band members to gawk at and possibly harass for signatures so she couldn't just not go. But.. There was a but and that but was butthead-Felix. Within the space of a week the Gala Event being held by the ministry had gone from being something that Gabby had been looking forward to, to something she was beginning to reconsider attending. And it was all because of Felix Wood being the stupid butthead that he was. The fact that she was harboring some very confusing feelings towards her best friend.. or.. whatever it was they were now, may have factored into it a little too. But the main point was that he was a stupid butthead. A huge one.

With an annoyed grumble, Gabby reached over and picked up a clipping she'd discarded earlier. It was another of Ari, in fact they were all of Ari. Gabby had collected them during the months her sister had been M.I.A. Okay, so maybe it was a little sad but Gabby was a nerd like that. The clipping was a bewitched picture of her sister diving for a quaffle, pulling off a dangerous and wild stunt in the process. Gabby loved this one because it screamed Ari; crazy and wild. For a second she couldn't help but wonder if she'd have to do this for Felix too; collect pictures and interviews just so she knew how he was doing. What if they never made up? What if she never resolved her freaky feelings and ended up some weirdo stalker who collects his clippings from magazines?

With a disturbed shiver, Gabby shook her head and began to carefully scoop up the clippings into a neat and organized pile. Felix was not going to ruin her night. Just because they weren't talking, which of course was all his fault, didn't mean she had to hide out from him. Gabriella Sophia Davies was a confident and independent woman who did not need men. At all. Yes. She was going to go to this event and have some fun. Placing the clippings back into the top drawer besides her bed, Gabby scrambled from her bed and hurried off to shower and get ready. The event didn't start for another two hours but she had two dresses to choose from yet and was sure that, that would take some time, so it was best to start getting ready early.

One hour and twenty five minutes passed before Gabby stood dressed and ready for the Gala. It hadn't taken her long to decide which dress to wear, especially after she accidentally tore a sleeve on the other dress, effectively ruling it out of the running. Brushing her side fringe from her eyes, Gabby checked her face over in her table mirror before she stood up right and nodded her head to herself. "Ok. Make-up ok, check. Dress, check. Heels, check. Clutch, check. Wand, check. Alright." After listing everything off on her fingers and receiving some sideways glances from her roommates, Gabby made her way from her room to head over to The Gala.

The Gala was large, Gabby could tell as much when she stepped through the large wooden doors that opened up into the room the event was being held in. Already she'd spotted a number of familiar faces, most of them celebrities. She had yet to spot her sister though and figured that she'd be off gallivanting around with her cool celeb friends. Okay, so now she felt a bit like a loser. Twiddling her thumbs together, standing off to the side besides a wall, Gabby jumped and immediately pressed her hand to her chest when a waiter popped up besides her. "Champagne, madame?" Eying the contents on the tray with uncertainty, Gabby asked if they had any orange juice and when the waiter stared at her as if she was some sort of idiot, she took that as a no. "Ugh. Fine." Taking a glass of champagne, Gabby lifted into the air after the waiter as he began to head off. "Nice talking to you." she called after him before grumbling and taking a sip from her drink.

notes;; gabbyyy
words;; 763
tagged;; everyoneee
outfit;; Here
lyrics;; Supergirl - Hilary Duff

[megan lynn aldridge]

If you just realize what I just realized,
Then we'd be perfect for each other

[/i][/right]

The whole weird vibe that Megan was getting from Hallie wasn't at all what she needed. She already was worried enough about things as it was, so she didn't particularly want to throw in the added worry of something being wrong with Hallie. Whatever it was would obviously have to wait, since Megan just didn't have the capacity to deal with it at the moment. As much as she did care about Hallie and all, she just didn't have it in her to deal with it right now. Besides, knowing Hallie, there was a pretty damn good chance that it was likely just nothing. The girl did tend to get worked up over nothing a lot of the time and it would probably pass over soon enough. Giving Hallie a bit of a shrug, Megan just let it go. If Hallie insisted that there was nothing to worry about, than Megan wasn't going to push the subject. Later, perhaps, when she wasn't all jittery, she might question it further, but not for now. Now, she had more important things to deal with.

Although she quite had to agree that she looked absolutely stunning, Megan didn't know if that was quite good enough. Peyton had a lot higher standards than most people Megan hung around with when it came to fashion and sometimes, stunning wasn't perfect and obviously, Megan had to be perfect. However, Hallie had a point. It was just Peyton. "Yeah, yeah you're right. It's just Peyton, no big deal," Megan replied with a bit of a shrug, though it was quite obvious that she wasn't entirely in agreement with what she was saying. If Megan knew that, however, was unlikely. She'd much rather stick to believing that it was, in fact, just Peyton, however much it seemed like it was anything but that. After a moment of silence, Megan's attention flicked back up to Hallie, giving her another shrug. "You can leave whenever you want, you know. It's not like you're required to be here," Megan pointed out. Admittedly, it was said more with the intention to keep Hallie from being in public with Braden than with the intention of being sympathetic, but the thought was still there. Sort of.

Even though Megan didn't want to worry with Hallie and her issues, the quick way with which Hallie knocked back the champagne was slightly worrying. Hallie wasn't exactly the type to go hardcore, especially not at important things like this, so Megan was slightly tempted to say something about it. "Drinks are fine, or whatever," Megan shrugged, deciding that if Hallie wanted to go and get drunk on champagne, than that was fine with her. She lightly grasped the glass Hallie had given her, not particularly interested in drinking it. Even if it might calm her nerves a bit, she didn't exactly want to spend the evening drunk and typically, if Megan had one, it just kept going. "I'm going to have to pass on this one, Hal. Sorry," she said with an apologetic shrug. Though, it didn't seem like Hallie would really have a problem with that and would probably just drink that one herself too. Whatever, she probably just wanted to loosen up for the gala and not be such a stick in the mud. Good for Hallie.

At that point, getting the party started sounded like just the sort of thing Megan was up for. She wasn't drunk, which was probably good for such a classy sort of event, but that didn't mean she couldn't go have some fun with the night. Of course, it wasn't like there was going to be any really music to dance to or anything, but there most definitely would be plenty of young, wealthy, attractive men and women to flirt with. Which, obviously, was exactly what Hallie and Megan needed. That is, until Peyton came. Not having been paying a damn bit of attention to what else was going on around her, Megan hadn't seen Peyton walking over towards them and it kind of took her by a bit of surprise when she suddenly saw Peyton in front of her. For a moment, she had a rather unsure expression on her face, but seeing Peyton quickly turned it into a hint of a smile.

Before she said anything, Megan stood there for a moment to let Peyton look her over and then hopefully give her approval. It was only a few seconds at most, but it felt like much, much longer. She gave a slightly relieved look when Peyton voiced her approval, but it wasn't so much what she said that made Megan slide back into a more at ease stance, but more so what she didn't say. Honestly, Megan felt, at times, like she knew Peyton better than she even knew herself, since she just kind of always knew with Peyton. Even if she didn't always say everything, she knew exactly what Peyton wanted to say most of the time. It was simply just an understood sort of language between the two that had come from all the time they spent together and what not.

Tilting her head to the side a bit as she looked at Peyton, Megan let a grin slide onto her face. It wasn't often that she actually looked particularly happy when around other people, but sometimes Peyton just did that to her. Giving Peyton the once over, though she hardly needed to, Megan gave a slight nod of approval. "Ah, you...too. You look, well, you know, good," Megan replied, clearly very articulate with what she was trying to say. "We should go do things," she added, having quite forgotten that Hallie was even there. She didn't really mean to forget about Hallie, but it wasn't like she could help it, especially when Peyton was looking like that. So, obviously if Hallie was upset with her for it, it wasn't really her fault, it was Peyton's.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;; sss'cute
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 1005
lyrics;; Realize- Colbie Callait
outfit;; One. and Two. and Three.

[jordan alexander king]

It's just something that I've done
Never meant to cause you worry

[/i][/right]

Although Jordan knew that Lily had special ins with the joke shop because it was a family business, he didn't exactly realize that they would be given all of the new things that no one else even had access too as of yet. Definitely, that would help make the night just that much more exciting. Whatever happened, there was no doubt that everyone in the gala would be infinitely impressed with the efforts that they put forth and all of the things they had would just help make that all possible. Rummaging through the things as Lily presented the basket to him, a sly grin slipped onto his face as he started to plan things out in his head. Jordan was very methodical when if came to making plans for causing all sorts of trouble. He had to work out where everything that he had would be used and how it would interact with the next step of the plan, just to ensure that everything was used to it's best potential. Perhaps he put a tad more thought into these things than he should have, but at least he knew that it would work perfectly every time, as he rarely left any opportunity for errors.

Once they had apparated to the Ministry, Jordan followed Lily's orders and dug his wallet back out from his pocket to give her. Obviously, that was the safest place to leave all of their things, though he hardly thought there was much of a chance that anyone actually said anything to Lily about it. Even if she was carrying around piles of dungbombs, he didn't think that there was a chance they'd bother to stop her. She was like royalty around here and that was quickly apparent even as they just apparated. There were a number of people already starting their whispers about seeing her and questioning who the kid with her was and everything. He could feel all of the attention quickly shift towards them, which wasn't at all something Jordan was quite used to. He didn't exactly mind it, but it was definitely something that would take some getting used to if he were to do it ever again. He was okay with attention, but it was pretty much to the point at the moment where all eyes were on them.

If he had thought that it was bad at first, the attention swarmed even more when they started to walk into the event. The red carpet was a bit intimidating, for sure, especially for Jordan who had never even seen an event like this. Not to mention, he wasn't just watching the people walk the red carpet, he was being towed across it as a ton of different people took their pictures and asked questions and such. A few addressed him, asking who he was and if he was dating Lily, but generally the attention was mostly focused on getting Lily to pose and answer questions and all of that. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable experience of Jordan's life, but he did his best to keep a cheerful appearance up and smile for whichever cameras were flashing in his face. However, he breathed an audible sigh of relief when Lily motioned for him to start leaving and heading over to do something else. As much fun as it was to be all over the papers and such, he most definitely was ready to get away from all the journalists and photographers for at least a little while.

Unfortunately for Jordan, they were simply heading over to another reporter at the edge of the carpet. Not exactly what he was hoping for, but at least it seemed like Lily knew this one pretty well and likely would handle all of the talking and whatever. Jordan sort of moved a bit off to the side, not wanting to be too close to the interview, just in case. The more he could avoid the reporters, the better he would feel. Besides, Lily had a handle on it, right? She'd been through it many times before and odds were she had answered just about all the questions that any of them could ask of her. At the question Rita asked, a slight frown appeared on Jordan's face. Even he knew that the question had been asked many times before, probably by the same reporters every time that Lily was at some event. He was quite tempted to just pull Lily away and make up some sort of excuse as to why they had to hurry away, but it seemed like Lily was doing just fine handling it and quickly subdued the lady that she was speaking with.

This time when they moved away, Lily was actually taking him somewhere that there wasn't full of reporters, which was a relief. "Aha, no worries, it's all good. I guess it's one of those things that have to be done," Jordan said with a bit of a shrug. It wasn't quite his favorite thing that he'd ever done, but he figured that it was just the prelude to the actual fun and now that they had finished off with the red carpet, it was time for the actual fun to begin. At least, that was the plan anyways. It seemed, however, that Lily had other plans. Other plans that included meeting her parents. While Jordan wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of meeting the Potters, it was a bit intimidating, not to mention a bit weird. He didn't know what Lily intended, exactly, by introducing him to her parents, but he couldn't exactly get away from that. He trailed along behind Lily, slipping around the people that were in the way until they had reached the Potters. He hung back slightly, letting Lily say her hellos before he stepped forward a tad bit closer. Clearing his throat a bit as Lily introduced him, Jordan gave a bit of a wave. "Aha, yeah, it's ah, really nice to meet you both," he said, holding his hand out to shake with both Harry and Ginny. He wasn't sure what else to say, especially after Lily mentioned that he was the guy she had been talking about. That definitely meant a lot and that wasn't something he wanted to get into, since that just made everything a bit awkward.

It didn't take all too long before they had finished with a bit of conversation, which Jordan was pretty glad about, which led to their leaving and entering into the main room for the gala. In there, Jordan saw quite a few more people that he knew. From his own house, there was AJ and the new girl, which he definitely wouldn't mind chatting to, but probably after Lily had finished off with him and found someone else to chat with or whatever. There were a few others from the school there as well, but Jordan wasn't going to go ditching Lily, since he had agreed to be there with her after all. "Yeah, sure. I could use some water or something simple," he agreed with a nod. He doubted that she was really intending for him to drink something non-alcoholic, but Jordan didn't want to be drunk or anything at his first Ministry event, especially when there were so many important people.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;; woah, long posstt.
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 1221
lyrics;; Can You Save Me- Power

[braden royce barbary]

And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one

[/i][/right]

As the evening of the gala approached, Braden honestly wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be going still. He had a ticket to go and Hallie hadn't really told him not to show up, but that certainly didn't mean that she wanted him there. Things had been, well, weird between the two of them and he hadn't even heard from her in a week or so. He knew why, but he really didn't know what to do about it. Honestly, he'd thought that she was ready to take things a step further in their relationship, as she had been the one to suggest it and make plans and all of that. However, after the fact, well, it just hadn't been right between them and Braden couldn't help but feel as if it were partially his fault for not really making sure that Hallie was ready to take that step. It had meant a lot more to her than it had to him, what with it being her first time to have sex, so he really should have made sure.

The majority of the day, Braden had been going back and forth in his head on whether or not he was going to show up for the whole event. On one hand, he wanted to check in with Hallie and see if she was okay, or at least see if they were broken up or whatever. But, on the other hand, that was a lot of effort to put into a relationship that apparently wasn't even going to go anywhere anymore. Instead of getting ready or trying to talk to Hallie or whatever other things he could have done that would have been entirely more productive, Braden had sat down in his room on the couch in the living area and started to play Xbox. Not the best idea, perhaps, but it made him feel better and obviously that was important at the moment. Killing people in the video game was a good stress reliever and of course, that was something Braden needed at such an awfully stressful time. Well, he probably should have been a bit more stressed than he was, anyways.

When the time to head to the gala rolled around, Braden was still on his couch and still not dressed. His eyes flicked to the clock hanging on the wall in front of him and he bit his lip a bit as he thought it through again. He was going to just have to suck it up and go to the event and confront Hallie about what, exactly, they were going to do after all that had happened. Braden wasn't the kind of guy to really put all that much effort into his outfits, but this seemed like an important sort of night and he wanted to at least somewhat dress to impress Hallie. He kind of felt as if the whole thing was him trying to apologize to Hallie, which meant that he had to do his best to make sure he fit in there at the event. His typical dress, obviously, wouldn't work at all and Braden had to dig deep into his closet to find the one decent looking suit that he had. It had been awhile since he'd worn it, so it looked slightly small on him, but it was the best he could do with no time left and so he settled for wearing it.

As Braden left from the castle to apparate to the event, he was still a bit worried that Hallie wouldn't want him there at all. If that were the case, he would probably look even stupider than he already did and he would attempt to get out of the gala as quickly as was possible. Whatever happened, at least he was putting forth the effort and perhaps Hallie would see that and appreciate it. Maybe. Or she would freak out that he had come and cause some sort of ridiculous scene. Braden didn't like scenes. At all. Ah well, at least the potential reward was worth the risk. When he reached the entrance to Hogsmeade, Braden closed his eyes and seamlessly reappeared in front of the Ministry. Already, he felt out of place. Everyone there was much more dressed up than he was and looked way glitzier. Not to mention, they all looked at ease and it was obvious that they had done this before. Braden had not and he wasn't even sure where he was supposed to be going.

Not wanting to look completely out of place, Braden just kind of fell into place behind the rest of the crowd and started to follow them into the building. Obviously, following the crowd would probably bring him into the place where he was supposed to be and hopefully where Hallie was at. If she even came. He didn't even know if she was going to show up after all that had happened. That would suck. Giving the man at the door his guest voucher, he gave the guy a quick nod and slipped around a few people to get into the main room. All of the hustle and bustle was putting Braden more and more at odds with the situation and it was quite obvious that he was entirely uncomfortable with being there. He kind of just wanted to find Hallie, figure out what was going on and get out of there if that was what he needed to do. No reason to be uncomfortable for too long if she didn't even want him there.

It took a few minutes of looking around and trying to get away from the crowds for him to spot Hallie. She was, unfortunately, standing over to the side with Peyton and Megan. He knew that the two didn't like or approve of him, which would just make the moment even more embarrassing if Hallie was going to flip on him. Taking a deep breath, Braden walked over to where the three girls were standing, awkwardly stopping a bit away from them. "Uh. Hey, Hallie," he said, looking up at her with an unsure gaze. He tried to avoid eye contact with Peyton and Megan, not wanting to give them any more reason to try to eat him alive or whatever it was they did. If it were up to him, he'd ask Hallie to go somewhere else so they could talk, but the ball was in Hallie's court now and whatever happened would be her decision.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;;
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 1086
outfit;; here
lyrics;; Two Is Better Than One- BOYS LIKE GIRLS<3

[hallie beatrix cauldwell]

It just wasn’t worth it
Nothing could ever be so wrong

After downing many bubblies in a short amount of time, Hallie was very much aware of the sick feeling rising from her stomach. But deep down, she knew this wasn’t a result of alcohol, but much rather the fact that she lost her virginity, and she wasn’t ready. Looking at the champagne glass in her hand, Hallie realized that she couldn’t drink her problems away, a lesson she learnt quite well with Megan. She held onto the glass, but didn’t dare drink from it. Obviously she didn’t want to be the Cauldwell to screw up and get drunk at a Ministry event. The very thought would most definitely bring great embarrassment to her name and family. She perked up when Megan mentioned that there was no requirement on the length of time she spent here. Hallie almost considered splitting, taking a much needed nap in her bed. But there was the possibility that Braden was still going to show, and Hallie needed to see him. Not so much that she wanted to confront the issues between them, but because she wanted to see how she reacted when around him. If her heart started beating fast, then Hallie was still in love with him. That was the question she wanted answered the most.

In her own little world, Hallie didn’t quite hear Peyton sneak up on them, until her question brought Hallie back to the real world. Uhh, no. I’m just enjoying myself. But I’m done now. While it was true, she refused to drink anymore, Hallie didn’t let go of the champagne. Perhaps it was a security thing, for when Braden did decide to show. She stepped off to the side a bit, as it was clearly evident that she wasn’t wanted anymore. Admittedly, Hallie was a bit jealous of her sister and friend. While they didn’t say much, especially because they were both in denial about their feelings towards each other, Hallie could see that they were having a private conversation. It wasn’t so much what they were saying, but what they were telling each other privately through silent talks that made Hallie a tad upset. She didn’t have anyone to share her thoughts with anymore. At least, that’s what she believed, as she couldn’t exactly tell you what the relationship status between her and Braden was anymore.

The envious side of Hallie began to come out, especially when Megan announced that she wanted to do something, clearly leaving out Hallie. She stood there, unsure of what to do, because she didn’t exactly want to go hunt down other people she knew. Out of the corner of her eye, Hallie noticed someone coming their way, too far gone in her thoughts to notice who it was. However, the sound of his voice snapped her attention back to attention, as Hallie began to grow nervous. Everything seemed to cloud around her, as it seemed like it was just the two of them in the room. Unsure of how to respond for the moment, Hallie simply stared at the two other girls near them, trying to see how they would react to his presence. To be honest, all odds were working against them, as no one approved their relationship. Remembering that Hallie was supposedly attempting to make it seem like nothing was wrong between them, she quickly turned to address the boy. Braden. Hi! She gave him a smile, but it was nothing more than a facial expression that failed to show any emotion behind it.

Saying her goodbyes to Peyton and Megan, Hallie grabbed Braden’s arm, practically dragging him to the other side of the room. She wanted to make sure she was far enough away from the two girls, so they couldn’t overhear Hallie’s conversation. Deciding they were far enough for comfort, Hallie stopped and dropped her hand. She eyed the boy carefully, examining his choice of outfit. Under normal circumstances, Hallie would have been quite pleased. He looked good, and he was actually dressed appropriately. But Hallie couldn’t quite pay attention to those details, as she found another aspect of him quite disturbing. Normally, Hallie would experience a rapid heartbeat and a slightly jittery stomach when she was around Braden. The telltale signs of liking someone. But the feelings she experienced often was he was around were gone, like they never existed. Hallie could breathe easily, and she certainly didn’t get that feeling of trying to impress him. It was almost like she didn’t care anymore, as if it would be easier if he just left her.

A Ministry gala was certainly not an event to break up with someone, and Hallie most definitely didn’t want to deal with the issues she was facing at the moment. So instead of trying to deal with it, she simply left things as they were, slipping into her own little world once more. Where things were neither perfect with Braden, but where she had the ability to pretend like everything was right. Waiting a few moments to see if he would say anything, Hallie was quite disappointed that he had nothing to contribute that would start the conversation. Alright well, I’m glad you came. It was really thoughtful of you. Lie. That was the only thing she could hear screaming in her head. Unsure of where to go from there, Hallie thought it was safe to comment on his attire. You look good, by the way. More lies. It was quite pathetic, admittedly, as Hallie was at a loss for words. Unable to continue with the way things were going, and not wanting to bring up what happened between them, Hallie realized they were at a standstill. She felt awful, as she knew she was the reason he was standing before her. If she had stopped pestering him about going to the gala in the first place, neither of them would be in this awkward situation.

Searching her mind for something to talk about, Hallie felt herself becoming more reserved and distant. She just didn’t understand. It wasn’t like what happened what his fault. Braden had been good about doing anything sexual with Hallie. In fact, it was her who suggested the whole thing, all because of a stupid dream. Braden was really a victim here, because she had been blaming him the entire time, even though he asked her several times if she was sure about this. And it wasn’t even like the sex was bad. The thing that was bothering Hallie was the fact that she didn’t feel pure anymore. Quite honestly, she felt dirty, no better than her sisters. And while the situation in which Hallie lost her virginity was completely different from her sisters, in that she did it with someone she believed she loved, she still felt horrible. To be honest, it felt like Braden took a part of Hallie that she would never be able to get back.

Slowly allowing her glaze to travel up his body, Hallie finally looked into his eyes. Her own intensified with emotion, as tears welled up in the corners. Sighing, Hallie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat, Hallie shrugged, unable to think of anything that would make things between them better. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. It was quite pathetic, and even she knew that they had a lot more of discussing to do, if Hallie even wanted to clear things up between them. At this point, she was still undecided. However, it would be rude of her to ruin Braden’s night, especially when he dressed up nicely for the event. Wiping away the tear falling down her cheek, Hallie suggested finding their table for the night. It was the best excuse she had to distract herself from the situation at hand.

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;; ohh. so sad.
tagged;; people
words;;1305
outfit;; blue dress
lyrics;;pieces-sum 41

[peyton aleah cauldwell]

love is like a sin my love
for the ones that feel it the most

If Peyton was being perfectly honest, any worry she'd had over whether her sister was getting or drunk or not disappeared when she turned her full attention to Megan. The pull she felt from the female opposite her was strong and had Peyton wanting to take Megan somewhere a little more private so that she could show her just how much she appreciated how the other girl looked. Of course acting on that thought wouldn't do, especially not when they were attending the most important event of the year. Peyton couldn't deny the thrill of excitement the idea gave her though. It was enough to bring a subtle smile to her lips. Now that she thought about it, it was probably a good thing that Megan had decided to get ready at her home instead of at Hogwarts because Peyton knew that they would have been arriving to the Gala very late, if at all.

Brushing at a loose wave of hair that was tickling her cheek, Peyton smiled in response to Megan's comment and held her head high. Of course she knew that she looked good, she rarely ever looked bad or average, but it was nice to hear it coming from Megan. Especially when she said it so sincerely. When Megan suggested that they should go do something, Peyton couldn't have agreed more and she immediately looked to Hallie to give their excuses to leave. But then the caretaker arrived and the hint of a smile she'd had on her face was automatically replaced with a 'holier-than-thou' sneer. "Oh. It's the caretaker." her voice was flat, lifeless, completely disinterested. Peyton knew that Hallie was different from herself, Sydney and Peyton but honestly, what on earth did she see in the bloody caretaker? Sure, if you kind of squinted your eyes and cocked your head to the side, he wasn't too bad to look at. But personality wise.. well, Peyton thought he was on level with the likes of an ogre. Dumb.

Eying the male over once more with a look of disdain, Peyton turned her head away and took Megans arm. "Dance with me." Propping her half empty champagne glass onto a silver tray floating by, Peyton led Megan across the large room to an open space where another group of couples were dancing to the soft music playing through the air. Taking the lead, the brunette placed a hand on Megan's shoulder and the other on her hip and slowly began their dance. Peyton had originally wanted to go around the room, conversing and networking. But that meant showing Megan off to other people and whilst that was an appealing idea, Peyton wanted to be selfish and have a moment or two with the blonde alone.

"I really don't understand her infatuation with him." she muttered when she caught a glimpse of Hallie and the caretaker talking. "I suppose you do, though." Peyton gave Megan a glare that was both menacing and a little playful. Hallie had informed her of what had happened at the school's ball between Megan and the caretaker. Peyton hadn't been too thrilled with what she'd learned. At all. But Megan was the sort who'd sleep with anyone, no matter who they were. It wasn't something Peyton thought highly of. Sure she slept around too but at least she had taste. It annoyed her to no end that Megan was willing to give herself to pretty much anyone who showed the slightest bit of attention. Not that she cared if she slept around... not at all, she just didn't like who she chose to sleep around with was all.

notes;; yaay.
words;; not sureee.
tagged;; everybodyy
outfit;; clicky
lyrics;; Paradise Circus - Massive Attack

[megan lynn aldridge]

If you just realize what I just realized,
Then we'd be perfect for each other

[/i][/right]

As much as Megan cared about Hallie, that just wasn't enough to merit any attention on the other girl. Honestly, had Braden not come forward and said something, Megan probably wouldn't have even spared the girl another glance after Peyton had shown up. Looking up with an irritated glance when Braden came up and so rudely interrupted the moment, Megan resisted the urge to simply go off with a scathing commentary on the guy. At the very least, she knew that she wasn't supposed to do that in a place such as the gala, even though she rather wanted to. However, Megan knew that keeping up appearances at the gala was more important than tearing down the caretaker for a moment. There would be plenty of opportunity for that another time. Well, maybe. Perhaps they'd all get lucky and Hallie would finally come to her senses and just get rid of the thing for good. They didn't need something like that besmirching the good Cauldwell name, after all. Not that Megan was a part of it, but she felt close enough to being one to warrant having a say in the matter.

Settling for simple a disgusted huff when Hallie turned to leave with the guy, Megan instead turned her attention back to Peyton. Obviously, that was much more important than worrying about Hallie and her unfortunate choice in men. Besides, despite all of her attempts to get Hallie to see things their way, it wasn't like the girl was listening to anything that they had to say. "Au revoir, Hallie...caretaker," Megan said, flipping her hand in a small wave before turning to get away from the two and alone with Peyton. The last thing that she wanted to do with her evening was to see what went on between Hallie and Braden, since she was afraid that something might bring the two back into a good place. That obviously wouldn't make her evening perfect and so, she was going to simply avoid them and pretend like they didn't exist. though, that probably wouldn't be all that difficult, considering Peyton was there and typically that meant Megan was quite occupied.

Letting Peyton lead her away towards the dance floor, Megan couldn't help but have a rather superior look on her face. There were plenty of eyes on the two of them and that was exactly the way Megan liked it. Being the center of attention was great, but the best part of it all was that she had Peyton's full attention. Settling in when they stopped moving, Megan adjusted herself so she was holding Peyton lightly to dance with her. Megan wasn't exactly fond of the whole soft music, slow dancing thing on most occasions, but it gave her a reason to get closer to Peyton and that was never a bad thing. It wasn't really her kind of setting, but she felt a lot more at ease with Peyton there, since she knew Peyton wouldn't let her do something stupid that would reflect poorly on herself or her family name later in life.

Raising an eyebrow for a moment in confusion at what Peyton said, it quickly changed to a slight snarl when she realized what Peyton was referring to. She wasn't supposed to hear about that. "Ugh. I wasn't actually going to sleep with him. I was just mad at Hallie for continuously telling me that I'm in l-well, stupid shit. It's whatever, though. I was just drunk," Megan explained, her brows furrowing irritably. Of course, even though she hadn't intended to sleep with Braden at that point, it didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't ever. Even if she didn't approve of the guy for Hallie, that didn't mean that she didn't think he was aright to just have sex with. When it came to sex, Megan pretty much didn't have any standards. It meant nothing to her and she just slept with whoever was around. Not exactly the healthiest lifestyle, perhaps, but she didn't know how else to go about her life. It was just how she'd always been and Megan wasn't much of a fan of change.

Not wanting to continue on with that line of conversation, Megan decided that they were definitely due for a change of topic. "You know, I'm not wearing any underwear, just like you asked, mon amour," Megan whispered, leaning in closer to Peyton's ear with a sly grin on her face. She didn't want to talk about Hallie or Braden and especially not about her sex life at the moment, she wanted to just focus on the two of them right now. That was easier. Well, sort of. At least, Megan was pretty sure she'd rather deal with whatever conflicting feelings she was having, since it wasn't like Peyton knew about those. At least, Megan didn't think that she did. However, there was no telling with Peyton since she was ridiculously perceptive and probably knew every little thing Megan thought about.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;;<3
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 831
lyrics;; Realize- Colbie Callait
outfit;; One. and Two. and Three.

[braden royce barbary]

And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one

[/i][/right]

The longer he was at the gala, the more convinced Braden was that he needed to get out of there, no matter what was going on. As much as he wanted to make up with Hallie or at least see what was going on, he didn't want to be there any longer than he had to, especially not when he had Peyton and Megan there glaring him down and looking like they wanted him dead. Which, depending on what Hallie had told them, they very well could want exactly that. Fortunately for Braden, they didn't seem to be particularly interested in cutting him down at the moment and were caught up in their own little world. So, before they could really get any digs in on him, they were taking off to do their own thing and Hallie was taking his arm to take him somewhere else, probably to talk things over and see what was going on. At least, that was kind of what Braden was hoping. The faster they figured things out, the faster he could get out of there and just get back to his typical routines where he felt much more comfortable.

When they reached the side of the room, Braden moved a bit away from Hallie, not wanting to be particularly close to her at the moment, given the situation. Harley had advised him just to dump her and move on and not even worry about what had happened, but despite the advice Braden had showed up. Though, he wasn't going to be overly friendly when it came down to it, since Hallie had kind of been shit to him for quite some time as of late and he didn't appreciate it one bit. If she wanted to be a bitch about things, than fine, don't leave him hanging like she did. They needed to settle things now and get back to a normal sort of situation or end things so Braden could move on with his life. Just leaving him wondering what had happened wasn't fair and Braden fully intended to sort things out before he left that evening.

Settling back and crossing his arms in front of him, Braden waited, looking at Hallie expectantly. She was going to have to be the one to start talking, since Braden didn't intend to make things easy on her. She'd made it hard enough on him and he wasn't going to put any more effort than he absolutely needed to. "Yeah, so fuckin' thoughtful," Braden muttered irritably. He didn't want her stupid, half-assed compliments, he wanted answers. Clearly, Hallie wasn't really looking to say anything worth his listening to and Braden let out an irate grumble at her second compliment. If this was all she was going to give him while he was there, than he had absolutely wasted his time in coming there. Perhaps he should have just listened to Harley and been through with Hallie long before now, but for whatever reason, he couldn't just leave it with such a loose end. It just didn't feel right and Braden wanted things to feel right with this.

As the conversation tapered down and Hallie stopped talking, Braden was about ready to just up and leave. He didn't want to deal with whatever stupid shit she was making up in her mind, since obviously there was no way that this was all his fault. For once, Braden had done everything right and if Hallie didn't appreciate that effort than fuck her. He deserved better than some stuck up, rich, bitch that was just going to use him and dump him on a whim. "Well, great. If you figure out what the hell you want to say, than you can come to me,"" Braden replied in a scathing tone. He'd never been harsh with Hallie before, but he wasn't going to be treated like shit and then just turn around and treat her like she was some sort of princess. If she was going to be like that, than he was going to treat her the exact same way as she was treating him.

Done with the conversation and past the point of caring what her problems with him were, Braden adjusted his suit and turned to leave. He hadn't intended to do something like that, just leaving Hallie standing there like he was, but it didn't seem, in his mind, that he had any other options. Clearly not pleased with the way things were going, Braden left from the room where the gala was being held and headed out to the curb of the Ministry building. Unbuttoning the stupid suit, Braden took it off and held the jacket on his arm, unloosening his tie as well. If Hallie wasn't there to care what he wore, than he sure as hell didn't care. The only reason that he'd dressed up at all was because there was still a chance that he might fix things up with Hallie, but that apparently wasn't the case.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;; poor bray <3
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 836
outfit;; here
lyrics;; Two Is Better Than One- BOYS LIKE GIRLS<3

[hallie beatrix cauldwell]

It just wasn’t worth it
Nothing could ever be so wrong

It was hard for Hallie to pretend everything was okay when she was walking towards the other side of the room with Braden in tow. It seemed like the little world she built up over the last week was beginning to crumble in on her, leaving Hallie in the wake of its destruction, unsure of what to do. The distance between the two of them only became increasingly evident as Braden refused to close the gap between them when Hallie decided they were far enough away. Biting at her lip and playing with her earring, a sure sign Hallie was upset, the girl tried to form the words in her heart the right way. But she settled on two simple compliments, clearly not sitting with Braden the right way. She heard him mutter a curse under his breath, slightly taken back by his language. Braden hadn’t directed that kind of language towards her since the first time they met.

In all this time, Hallie only selfishly thought about herself, and how badly she felt inside. While she never once thought that Braden was the cause of her problems, Hallie didn’t exactly take the time to clarify the situation with him. In fact, she pretty much had his sister do it for her, so she wouldn’t have to deal with it, even though she knew she’d eventually have to. But even after all of that, Hallie never once thought about how Braden must be feeling throughout the entire week. Putting herself in his shoes for a moment, Hallie realized that she would be tremendously confused, as none of this was Braden’s fault. He did nothing wrong, as it was entirely Hallie’s decision to engage in sex, and he shouldn’t be treated the way he was. Admittedly, Hallie couldn’t accept the fact that she was the reason she felt so dirty. And so, in a weird twisted way, Hallie thought the only way to forget about her problems was to forget about her boyfriend, and pretend as if her relationship never even existed.

The fingers on her left hand reach over to the one finger on her right. But when they got there, all she felt was skin. The absence of the cool metal on her ring finger was enough to completely destroy Hallie on the inside. It was almost as if she didn’t know who she was anymore. To avoid his stare, Hallie looked down. Braden….I.…You’re…. It’s just…. There was so much that Hallie wanted to say, and it was all at the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t know where to start, nor did she know if her efforts would even be worth it. A very big part of Hallie wanted to just set things straight, and continue on like nothing ever happened, and everything was okay between them. However, there was a very small part of Hallie that was questioning the point. Maybe she would get over this feeling eventually, but for right now, the girl was broken. And it seemed like no one understood that. So what was the point of continuing on her relationship with Braden, if she was simply going to be putting on a face, without actually feeling any emotion? That wasn’t right for her, and especially not fair for Braden. Hallie shouldn’t be stringing him along, while she figured out what to do.

The answer Hallie was looking for finally became clear to her. She was unable to get her words out before Braden started yelling at her to make up her mind. Everything she was about to say slipped away, as Hallie felt like she was personally being attacked. Standing there with her mouth open, Hallie didn’t know what else to do. In that moment, she got a weird sense of déjà vu, as she experienced this feeling of loneliness once before, at another Ministry event nonetheless. Hallie watched as Braden turned to walk away, realizing that things did not go the way she wanted. She had every intention of clearing things, and if not getting back together with him, then at least telling her side of the story. But Hallie was unable to break through the wall she built around herself, and was unable to satisfy his wishes.

The manner in which Braden simply left things as is released a flood of different emotions crashing around in Hallie. She didn’t know whether to be confused, angry at his actions, understanding of why he did it, sad, relieved, questioning, or anything at all. Looking around for help, Hallie saw Peyton and Megan still too engrossed in each other to be paying any attention. Not that it mattered anyway. Her sisters would probably just congratulate her on getting rid of her loser of a boyfriend. Unsure of what to do, Hallie simply stood off to the side of the room, and watched Braden slip out of the front doors. If anyone were to look at Hallie at that moment, they could clearly tell something was wrong with the girl. Usually with a smile on her face, Hallie had a permanent frown etched into her emotions, even when she tried smiling. And the gleam that was always present in her eyes was lost, leaving her eyes a dull blue.

Torn between her two options, Hallie believed it was best to just let him go. The damage had been done, as she didn’t at least attempt to make things right. She had a prime opportunity and she let it slip away. And while she wasn’t exactly thrilled about how things took a turn for the worse, at least they both understood that things weren’t going to work out. But sometimes, silence was often worse than words. All she could hear in the back of her head was go after him. In a split second, Hallie decided it was best to explain the situation to him. Running across the room, the only thing Hallie could hear was the clack of the heels. It was as if everyone in the room didn’t exist, and the only thing she could focus on was getting to that door.

Pushing past all of the people still coming in, Hallie finally made it to the front door. She heard the doorman saying something about her coat, but Hallie didn’t need it. While it was a bit chilly outside, she didn’t feeling cold. In fact, she didn’t feel anything. All she wanted was to catch Braden before he apparated back to the castle. Catching sight of the boy near the curb, Hallie called out in an attempt to grab his attention before he left. Braden, wait! Speed walking towards him so he wouldn’t leave before she got the chance to explain, Hallie made her way over to him. Braden wait. I’m sorry. I have….it wasn’t…. Hallie sighed, attempting to get her thoughts in order. I don’t know what Harley told you. I don’t know if she told you what I said, but I wouldn’t doubt it. Looking up at the stars, Hallie gathered all her strength to continue on with her explanation. To be perfectly honest, this was the most she had spoken in the last week. Don’t think for a moment that any of this was your fault. Because it wasn’t, it’s not. She nodded her head, glad to finally be telling the truth.

Stopping for a moment, Hallie wondered if she should tell him now, or wait until they were both calm. But it was clear to everyone around them, including herself, that Braden and Hallie would never be right together. Maybe it was Megan and Peyton’s attitude having an influence upon Hallie, but the future she envisioned for them didn’t seem possible anymore. Hallie started off slowly, because she didn’t know he’d react. She was dying on the inside, but her face simply showed a frown, and nothing more. Listen Braden. I love you, so much. I do. But something happened to me. I can’t explain it. And this can’t….I can’t… As much as she was doing well with her little speech, Hallie still couldn’t get the words out. Taking one last breath in , Hallie looked her boyfriend straight in the eye. Hearing her voice shake with emotion, although her eyes were still a dull blue, Hallie simply said what she needed to. We’re through. She nodded her head, to show that she was being sincere.

With nothing more to say or do, Hallie shrugged her shoulders. Every ounce of her body wanted to make things right with Braden, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being dirty. At this point, Hallie believed that she would experience this feeling with any guy, regardless if it was Braden or not. Moving in to give him a goodbye hug, Hallie was suddenly very hesitant to make any contact with him. Believing that would be last straw for him, Hallie stopped. This isn’t how I imagined the end. She gave him the quickest hug imaginable, and stepped back. Goodbye Braden. Leaving it at that, Hallie walked back into the hall where the Ministry event was. Unable to comprehend what just happened, as she was certain she and Braden were no longer an item, Hallie sat down at her assigned table. But looking to her right, Hallie saw the empty seat that was supposed to be filled by Braden. Maintaining her composure, as if nothing within the last five minutes happened, Hallie couldn’t help but be aware of the ever growing feeling of the emptiness within her.

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;; mehh
tagged;; people
words;;1584
outfit;; blue dress
lyrics;;pieces-sum 41

[braden royce barbary]

And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one

[/i][/right]

Standing there on the curbside, Braden wasn't sure why he was even still there. He probably should have just apparated away and gotten as far from the place as he could, but for whatever reason he hadn't left yer. Perhaps a part of him was kind of hoping that Hallie would run out and tell him that it was all a stupid joke and that everything was fine, but he knew that wasn't the case. Clearly, Halie had some serious issues that she was working through and it was in Braden's best interest to get out of there before something stupid happened and he got caught up in it all. He didn't need any drama in his life, it just wasn't his thing, and that was all that could possibly come of sticking around Hallie for much longer. He just wished that he had seen that sooner and gotten out of the mess of a relationship before things had gotten as far as they had.

Shaking his head in an irritated manner, Braden moved over to apparate away, pausing when he heard Hallie's voice calling his name out. A large part of him wanted to just apparate away anyways, but he wasn't going to be that guy. He was going to deal with the situation like a man and be fine with it all, even if he wasn't. Turning around to face Hallie, his face revealed nothing at all, it was just the same as usual. It was rather difficult, however, to keep from letting an irritated flash of annoyance cross his face as Hallie spoke. If she was going to do this, than she should at least have the decency to tell him straight up what was going on. He didn't have the patience to sit there and listen to her blubber on about nothing and act like she was some sort of victim through all of this. She wasn't. If anything, whatever her issues were inside her head were the cause of everything that was happening and the sooner she realized that, the better off everyone would be.

At the very least, she admitted that it wasn't his fault. Though, Braden couldn't help but feel that it was, especially with the way that she had been treating him. Really, he wouldn't have been surprised if the whole ordeal was simply because she had decided to start listening to her sisters and ditch him because he wasn't some sort of rich, important family. He had no intentions of really saying anything to her at the moment, simply because he had nothing left to say. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of things and if Hallie had anything left to say, he'd listen, but that was it. He wasn't going to stick around and make things worse for himself by giving himself some sort of sick hope that things would go back to normal, especially when it was painfully obvious that they probably never would.

It was even worse when Hallie prattled on about how she loved him. That just wasn't right. If she loved him, than this bullshit wouldn't be happening, so clearly that was a bunch of lies and he really didn't care to listen to it. At all. At the very least, she was finally willing to admit that they were through, even if Braden had kind of already figured that one out a while back. When she moved to give him a hug, Braden visibly tensed up and backed away. That was just taking it too far. She could talk all she wanted to, but she definitely couldn't act like she still cared about him. Hallie was much more of a little bitch than he'd originally assumed if she was playing that shit up and trying to mess with his feelings like that. Giving her a nod as she sad goodbye, Braden moved as far back as he could from her, not wanting her to do anything else that would just mess with his head and drive him crazy.

Watching for no more than a moment as Hallie walked away, Braden turned away and started to walk down the street. Just walking through all the hustle and bustle helped keep his mind straight, since he had to pay attention to everything around him more than on his inner thoughts. Whatever had happened with Hallie, that was over and done with, in the past and completely not his problem anymore. Of course, it was a lot easier to say such things than it was to actually carry through with it. Though he was trying to put forth the appearance that he didn't care one bit, of course he did. He didn't know if he had loved Hallie, but he had definitely felt something for her that he didn't feel for anyone else and that was something he would have to recover from. With beer, pizza, COD and perhaps Harley. Yeah, that would be a way cooler night than the stupid gala ever could have been.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]


notes;;
tags;; uhm, everyone.
words;; 842
outfit;; here
lyrics;; Two Is Better Than One- BOYS LIKE GIRLS<3