Dainty and Dauntless

Familiar:

A feeling that one has seen, lived, experienced and emotionally witnessed a present situation in the past. Your smile, those eyes, smooth skin spread across your body, the undeniable pull. I feel you, and I am drawn to you. I must know you from a beautiful past.

🦋🦋🦋

The room was already bustling with laughter, excitement from everyone who hoped to make tonight memorable. A lot was in store to keep everyone entertained and occupied for the rest of the evening, from beer and soda cans, board games, snacks, the poolside, photo booths and so much more. Convincing Natalie Simmons to attend what could be the final party of the year didn't have to be this hard as her friends were obliged to keep tabs on her and keep her moods up for the party every time of the day. They knew her quite too well and her default programming set to solitude over anything, and so they tried to keep her from opting for it. Natalie tried to be a darling to them and accepted the invitation because honestly she wanted to have a good time too. Parties weren't a favorite of hers but she did love to get a seat somewhere and watch people thrive through actions, speech and motion, a type of feeling that made her appreciate the diversity of humanity.

On arrival, Natalie raised her brows and smirked. The venue was a house outside the city, a cool looking place, thick shrubs went around the plot and met at a black gate. The front of the house had a nice patio and a pave way leading up to it, and a huge backyard with a pool. The gate was open for the guests to make their way in and into the house that was now filled with cheers. The room was filling up quick with students and Natalie could tell that most of them weren't from her university which did make her a bit nervous that they probably had nothing in common except that they all wanted to have a good time, and good time is different for everyone. Luckily, her friends agreed to stick around for a bit during chit chats and introductions. For Natalie, It was quite nice smiling and saying something funny to entertain a stranger, just as long as they had a minute or two to spare because that's how long she could hold them. Soon the hype to get to know each other seized and everyone was just taking in the company, Natalie decided to look around, for any peaceful spot around the house to accommodate her for a little while. This can be hard at a party but walking around wasn't a bad idea. She headed to the back and smiled at some people splashing in the pool, laughing out loud at some jokes they were telling to each other.
It looked beautiful in the night, the poolside, with the lights, the reflections off the water and the immense space available. The smell of chlorine in the wind was refreshing, filling her with a calmness to sit and watch the surrounding. Taking a seat by the pool side, she lay her head back and stared at the sky. Somehow she couldn't deny this was one of her favorite habits, she loved the night sky and smiled at the thought that it was there for her, waiting for her to watch it.

"Well, how have you been?," she started with a smile, addressing the night sky like it could answer back.
"Looking lovely by the way"
She then laughed when she imagined it blushing and waving off her compliment.

Solitude, the privacy and the thought of knowing you have a moment alone was satisfactory, and Natalie loved the moment, but something kept tapping on her to get her attention. She could feel a pair of eyes glued to her from a distance and mid way through a laugh she decided to give a quick glance to where she expected the distraction, and there were two familiar eyes, a familiar face and a character she never thought she would ever see again.

Ethan Valer!
Her heart beat with a brutal force at the sight of him and she felt her stomach twist. Disbelief was painted all over her as she searched her brain whether it was logical that she was seeing him at this very moment, here at this party. After staring at each other for almost a minute, her brain jammed and she looked away to the ground, no where in particular. Then she got up on her feet and began walking back inside, aiming to look more composed. When finally inside, she joined her friends who were getting ready to play cards and sat down on a couch, smiled at them and fell silent after, drifting away to her thoughts. She hoped he would keep a distance between them and have no intention of talking to her. The idea of the both of them talking was absurd, why would they want to catch up? She chuckled sarcastically and rolled her eyes but just as she turned in her seat, she heard someone join the group and introduce themselves to everyone then lastly, to her. Her throat got clogged when he waved at her and got a seat just close to her. She could smell his cologne, the smell of masculinity coupled with modernity, the effect it had on her was merciless. Swiftly she got up and excused herself to a corner where she tried to steady her breathing and bring her mind back from chaos. After all this time Ethan still made her run mildly wild. As she watched him, all the conclusions she made didn't seem to make sense of why Ethan was here at this time in this place and why he wanted her attention. It made her furious a bit pondering about it, he always knew when to screw with her. Natalie then noticed him stand up, smile kindly to the group, look her way and walk towards her.
She squinted her eyes and started chewing on her thumb as he took the last five steps to where she was standing. She didn't know what to say to him.