Saint Joseph School

(This would have occurred two Saturdays ago, the night of the Big Party))

It was the second time the phone rang as he now paced back in forth in his room, dressed for a night out he suddenly didn't care for either way, just as long as she picked up. Did something happen? He started to let his mind wander, to start to fear for the w...

"Hello? Kat?" There was relief when she picked up; his legs gave way as he slumped back onto his bed. "How are you? What is going on? Are you...are you ready?"

The near silent wince in her reply was just enough for him to pick up, another headache. His eyed lifted to the mirror on the dresser, staring at his own reflection. It was a good idea to take Violet up on what she had suggested; the new suit fit him perfectly, it was form fitting, made material of a higher quality, and cut a sleek appearance that no matter how hard you tried you couldn't quite pull of in Icon. The black suit on black shirt, with silky white tie worked well for him, he smiled slightly, adjusting it, giving into vanity if only for a moment before being brought back to the conversation of the phone.

"I don't think I will be able to make it tonight, Dom, I'm... I'm really very sorry. Its just... It's a bad one."

He nodded into the phone before remembering to whisper, "Okay," his voice softened dramatically to just above a whisper as he spoke. "Do you want me to come over instead, we can watch..."


She cut him off, even the whisper was too much. "I just need to rest for a little, ho…hopefully I will make it to the party, I think I just need to rest now."

She repeated herself as he nodded again, nervous hands running along the length of his tie as if the silky texture would somehow comfort. "Okay Kat, get some rest, I will...call if you are feeling up to it later."

A finger touched the display, ending the call, as he let out a deep sigh, his shoulders falling forward as he looked down to his shoes, immaculately shined and ready for the evening. Pulling back the sleeve of his jacket, he revealed another Movado watch: silver rim on a black face, just two hands with no marks to determine hours or minutes. Dinner reservations in an hour the concert in two and a half.

Holding his phone in front of him he scrolled down through the numbers. "Campi di Toscana." The call was sent; hearing the voice on the other line, he broke into his first language.


"Sì, la prenotazione per Ferro a sette. Si scuse, si grazie."

The voice on the phone was polite despite the cancellation, though there was a slight hint of annoyance--it was a bit more upscale to better fit the theme of the evening.

Falling back on his bed, he brought his hands over his eyes. "Why do you do it?" the question asked several nights before echoed in his mind--along with the smile attached to the words. His hand slipped inside of his jacket producing two tickets, still perfectly pressed; his fingers idly slid one in front of the other. There was no real certainty Kat would even enjoy herself at such a venue. In truth there were possibly two others here at the school who he knew that might get some enjoyment out of. Only one of them had anything beyond looks to hold his attention however.

Propping up to reach the small stand by the bed, he grabbed his comm, sitting up straight checking it for activity. Maybe she wouldn't be on and he could just cancel everything. No trouble, no drama, just two tickets gone to waste, no such luck, there it was. He pinged her private channel, a response coming shortly afterward: "Yes?"

"Violet, it's Dominic. Do you have any plans for tonight, say nine o'clock?"

----------

Pulling up in front of the girls dorm to the parking area, he stepped out from his car, tracing a finger along one of the lines, checking his watch again, five minutes ahead of schedule. Two girls--he didn't know their names or faces, probably those who didn't patrol--gave him a look over, whispering to one another as they made their way inside. A smile quietly crept to his lips at the attention the suit and car brought him, and with that he was startled only slightly as she cleared her throat from behind him. He spun on a heel to face her, his mind catching up with his eyes as they widened at the sight before him. The expression said more then words, as his eyes started at her feet slowly raising up over her.

She wore a short, custom tailored cheongsam made from a slim column of black brocade with white lotus blossoms, the thin silk clinging with a hint of moisture. Even in Ghesquière for Balenciaga platforms and fierce, dark eyeshadow, she seemed small, wilting prettily in the evening heat.

In his mind so many words rushed to describe her, amazing seemed to be the first, though he unconsciously slipped into Italian. "Stupore," he spoke through a slightly tightened chest, and she giggled in that way she did, suggestively motioning him to stop, though he believed firmly she did enjoy the compliments--at least more then the usual mouth-agape search for words she would likely be used to receiving around the school.

"You look handsome, yourself, Dominic." She took notice of the new suit, giving a slight nod of approval.

"I have you to thank; I found one of those shops you mentioned. It's not a perfect fit, but much better than those I have found recently." He smiled, his hand running over the smooth fabric of the front of the suit, before he made his way around to the other side of the car.


"Thank you," she replied in a that warm, but neutral tone as she slipped into the car. When she was in, the door was shut as he made has way to the other side, sliding into the drivers seat.

The car started with a low hum, the dash illuminating as he wrapped a hand around wheel the other fluidly moving the shifter into reverse. It wasn't something you drove slow, and with that his arm reached back onto her seat, and the car swung around and with one motion came to a stop. A quick shift later, and the they found themselves being drawn back into the seat, applying just enough acceleration to keep the wheels from slipping on the surface of the road. The sensation seemed to cause her to smile as her fingers slowly curled as if she was holding tight to something, her eyes fixed out on the road as the newly illuminated street lights blurred and flashed by them.

It wasn't until they made it into Talos that the fun would really begin. It was a nice four lane around the outside of the island, taking the bridge across the bay into Skyway, where the road really opened up. His eyes darted over to her several times, maybe once catching a glimpse of excitement in her eyes. The rest seemed to be quiet amusement, though for all he knew it was just the image she was keeping up. He did well keep it inside him as well, as if that was half the fun of this little game.

There was one last look to her, as they pulled off the freeway, with just a bit of sadness in his expression. He had to ask himself if she would be the next thing he really went for? There was that spark--maybe it was just excitement after three quiet months with Kat. Thoughts wandered: memories of when they first met and started to spend time together painted a more pleasant picture. Now it was just this sense of quiet complacence, the adventure for the most part seemed over with her. Internally he convinced himself things would get better; another week and there would be changes. From the passenger seat she furrowed her brow, curious as to what may have caused the slight change of expression, cogs turned, forming her own ideas of what was going on.

Pulling up into the lot, it was a very different scene from what was normally viewed, at least in his life as of late. The lot was full or large sedans of all makes and models: Mercedes, Lexus, BMW--it wasn't the crowd of sports cars, no bright reds or vibrant yellows. As the car slowly rolled in, it managed to catch the eye of more then a few in the crowds. It wasn't the best, the fastest, or the most expensive by a wide margin, but it was a model you simply didn't see here in the States. Violet sat quietly, folding her fingers in her lap, her eyes casually scanning the crowd around them. She wore that pleasant neutral smile, never bothering to turn her attention to him.

The valet walked around, opening her door first. She slid out with that almost haunting grace she seemed to posses and smiled to the man, giving him a gesture of thanks before she stepped away. Dom exited the car shortly afterwards, handing him the keys as well a tip for the parking service. They continued to draw several looks, though it was more the youth of the two of them paired along with their attire. Looking to their faces, it seemed that the would be out of place, but as far as posture, attire, and presence, it seemed quite the contrary.

-----------

Once tickets were exchanged they were ushered to their seats, the crowd quietly murmuring to itself about whatever was interesting in the past week. Violet stood close by his side, perfectly in tune with his steps as they were seated. They were not the most exceptional seats, but they offered a pleasant view of the performance to come. The two of them sat quietly for a majority of the evening, the performance itself an enjoyable change of pace. Perhaps once he spotted her fingers moving with those of the violinist, though it could have been just an idle movement on her part. Regardless, he smiled warmly, turning his attention back in front of him.


-----------

"We have..." he brought his wrist up tugging at his sleeve, "about an hour and a half until the party; what do you say to walk?"

"That would be lovely" Violet looked over to him responding with that almost extreme sense of neutrality in her voice.

The two of them hadn't made it far from the concert hall, finding a small park not unlike Hutchinson. Dominic stopped a moment looking at the scene reflecting on the evening and where it was about to end. He had been here before--not this particular spot of ground, not even the same park; but, looking over to Violet, he recognized the situation well enough.

His mind flashed back to a vivid memory: sitting there on a bench with Kat the two of them talking about another evening they shared together. Mieri hadn't been around, so he had turned to at the time his best friend to come along for the evening. It was vague how the conversation arrived there, but the small Romanian girl tilter her head up and gave an almost bitter whisper "You can do better than her, Dom."

Thinking back, Kat had never admitted she was the one who was better, but it seemed implied in the statement. That was something he would always remember: the adventure of meeting, admitting he remembered from the event at the Olympics, becoming friends, and eventually starting to date after putting it off for a while. Things hadn't exactly gone perfectly from there, she was quiet, innocent, naive, she was different from rest. He found himself looking down past his hands into the grass, sitting on a strangely familiar bench, laughing for no reason.


"And just what is so funny?" Violet's voice brought him back to where he was, away from the memories.

"Nothing. I... This is all just so familiar. Sitting here, making friends. The next thing you know you are going to be telling me I can do better."


"You can do better, Dom." A small, mischievous smirk formed in the corner of Violets' mouth as she advanced her eyes in his direction.

"Oh don't even start!" he called back to her, a defiant look in his eyes.

She returned with a dismissive wave. "It's what you want to hear, isn't it?"

That statement struck him as he retreated back into himself, sitting there. Did he want to hear it? Was it what he needed to hear? It seemed to work well enough last time coming from Kat's lips. The weight of worry soon lifted as he rose to his feet.

"I think what I want to hear is that we can do this again some time soon. It was a nice change of pace."

With that she did smile, and it seemed very genuine. "I had a lovely evening. We should be heading back though, if we are to keep everything on schedule."


"Yeah we should. Big plans for tonight right?" Dominic stood, adjusting his tie, straightening the jacket idly.

His eyes drifted over one last time, a small smile forming. Much like she wasn't about to settle for anything less than perfection, he silently pledged the same.