Spark

25

Teenagers and young adults walked around a large room that was barely decorated. Some adults wearing SWORD issued uniforms stood at the perimeter with nonchalant faces. Music played and there was some punch in a bowl but it wasn't much. Whatever SWORD could scrounge up last minute to hopefully ease the innocence of its students before they became professional killers and weapon creators.

"This place is..." Tommy left it at that. He was wearing a suit that he had stolen from some guy who was around his size and body shape. Tommy's belt was tightened and he kept the jacket loose so it looked even better on him. He had even combed his wild hair to the side, revealing his dark brown eyes.

"At least there is free punch. Hopefully, someone spiked it already," Ava replied. She was a lot better dressed. Ava wore a v-neck black dress with short sleeves and long gloves. The dress trailed her hourglass form with two flaps in the front and back. Ava wore flats that Tommy assumed were better for fighting than high heels. He had noticed the gun attached to Ava's thigh and knife hidden in her glove.

"If not, I'll sneak to the kitchen and spike it myself," Tommy said with a smile. While it didn't look like much, this was technically Tommy's first dance ever. He wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. Tommy wanted to do everything normal kids did at dances.

"I'll drink to that," Ava laughed. Tommy stared at her for a second. She was beautiful. But Tommy felt guilty. He didn't know how he felt about Lisa, and they weren't a thing, but could he move on this quickly? Would Lisa care if she knew? Would Ava be upset if she knew the truth? Ava turned to face Tommy, smiling when she caught him staring. "Or dance to that. How about you and I take to the dance floor?"

"Y-yeah," Tommy said blushing as Ava pulled him to the other dancers. Tommy placed his hand on Ava's hip, and she grabbed his shoulder rather tightly. Tommy took a deep breath, and began swaying with the music that boomed around him.

In the corner, Billy watched his brother with a sigh. Billy was bored and nervous. Social events were never his style. Billy had avoided dances his entire life, but he came to this one because Tommy wanted a "wing man", and Luna promised Billy that it would be fun. Billy turned to Luna, who was hanging onto Lorna's arm.

Billy noticed early on how clingy Luna was. She was constantly hugging up on it, and Luna never hesitated to sit in someone's lap. Billy had only seen this with people Luna considered family, but then again, how often had Billy seen Luna with someone that wasn't family?

"Hello," Someone said beside Billy. The brown haired boy was about to awkwardly reply when he noticed the familiar blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Teddy stood smiling before Billy wearing a suit and tie. "Would you like to dance?"

"Teddy? Huh? Oh- wait- yes! Let's dance," Billy stuttered over his words as he took Teddy's hand. Billy threw a glance at Lorna and Luna, the former who shrugged and the latter who winked. Did Luna have something to do with this? How in the world could she have done that?

"You must be wondering what I'm doing here," Teddy said as they fell into a rhythm with the music. Billy watched his feet to make sure that he didn't trip or step on Teddy's foot. Billy knew that his dancing skills weren't even medicore. He had two left feet whenever he allowed his mind to wander.

"A little," Billy said as they spun in a half circle. Billy clutched Teddy's arms even tighter to keep his balance. Billy blushed bright red when he realized what had happened. Billy allowed his grip to lax as Teddy laughed.

"Wanda told me that there would be a dance. Apparently, Tommy was very excited about taking a girl to this dance. She told me that you would probably be lonesome if Tommy was busy, so I snuck in by impersonating a janitor," Teddy explained. "Perks of being a shapeshifter."