F.E.A.R.

Life Is A Ball part 2

He looked down to find her looking up. He found her utterly bold and he graced her with a charming smile. She smiled back as he lead her onto the dance floor and as the music flared to life they began to sway.

They were unsure and awkward at first, like spiders slipping around in an oil spill. It stayed that way for half of the dance when suddenly Drake leaned her back into a dip and when Nix came back up they were comfortable with each others limbs, not longer fumbling but anticipating every movement together. 

Marshall watched them move across the dance floor, like black swans gliding along the surface of a glass smooth lake.

He felt, what? Jealous?NO. He told himself, then Drake put his hand at the waist of Nix's lacey bodice and tucked a stray strand of fiery hair behind her ear and he knew the answer was really a yes.

"You okay?"

He looked down to his left and saw Artemis had turned to him with her gold clad eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine," He said, uncomfortable with her gaze so fully on him. He found himself unsettled by her knowing reptilian eyes.

"Please, you're practically green with all that jealousy." She smirked and pointed to her peacock green dress with one hand and the green patch of scaled that graced her left cheek with her other. "Trust me, I know green."

"Yes, you do." Marshall agreed with a laugh." I'm gonna go get some punch." He shouldered his way past Artemis gently, disappearing into the crowd. 

***

The dance floor was intimidating. At first, but then I was gliding through dancing couples with the most powerful Changeling in New York City, And they parted around us like the Red Sea. 

"Whoa!" I laughed as he spun me around to the sound of some classical crap. Drake smiled, dazzling me as a tiny tendril of blue white flame danced from one corner of his mouth to the other, traveling as fast as lightening along his bottom lip and disappearing almost as fast as it had appeared.

"You too?" I surprised myself by asking. " The summoning fire thing?" I clarified.

"Well, I am a dragon, aren't I?" He gave me a quizzical look, one I received from Foxx often enough to make me feel utterly stupid, but in this case I just felt like he thought my dumb question was kind of endearing.

"That's a good point." I said, feeling slightly abashed. He seemed to take the blush that fanned over my cheeks as a heat flush and at the end of the song he led me off the dance floor and had me wait at one of the lovely tables that had been set up off to the side while he went to get a us something to drink.

I watched his black suit fade into the crowd as Artemis and Jax wandered over to sit with me.

"Dancing with Drake?!" Artemis squeaked. "Are you kidding?"

Hey, I'm being politically polite, or whatever Ainsley called it."

"Well," She shrugged." It's none of my business, but I think maybe Marshall is jealous about it."

"Are you kidding me?" I growled, sure that my face was about to go up in smoke. " That asshole didn't ask me to be his date and now he's going to get pissy if I dance with someone else?"

Artemis didn't say anything, just stared over my shoulder with a look caught between shock and I'm- about- to- laugh- my- ass- off.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?" I asked just before I felt a firm hand wrap around my arm, I looked at it, gripping the crook of my elbow.

"This is a form of kidnapping." I whined as he pulled me to the dance floor. 

"Listen, I don't think I can dance to anymore of this classical bullsh-" I shut my mouth as the speakers started pumping a bass line that Mozart would cringe at.