"Apparently, they either didn't recognize me, or they just didn't care because I came in on a respectable 'gentleman's' arm."
"Wow, next time I want to go there, I'll have to try that. Think Jian will pass as a 'respectable gentleman?'" They giggled. "So where have you been hiding that hunk?"
"Hunk? But that's just Angel."
"Are you kidding me?! He's a total babe-o-rama!" Kat turned red. She thought about Angel from the point of view of someone who thought she was a guy, and had to admit that that guy would be pretty cute, but she knew the truth. Mitch continued. "Come on, you can't tell me you guys aren't dating. You'd make such a cute couple!"
Kat was about to clear up the confusion, when at that moment, Isaac Jones came over and started to talk to Mitch, who introduced him to Kat and sent her messages about how she really didn't want to talk to him at the moment. Kat was going to rescue her, but a second later Jian returned with drinks. He had brought back one for each of the twins and had managed to balance one for himself as well.
"Here you go, Mitch." He handed her one.
"Kat, I brought you one too." He took the opportunity to grab Kat's arm and pulled her away from her sister.
"Hey! Jian, what are you doing?"
"I thought you weren't interested in dating?"
"Say what?!
"You said�."
Jian-wa, I'm very sorry but I'm not really interested in hooking up with anyone at this time. I'm sorry, but I just moved here and I don't want to start a serious relationship right away. But I'd still love to be friends with you. Is that ok?
"You've got to be kidding. Jian, read my lips. You have nothing to be jealous of."
He still looked upset.
"Jian-wa." She took his hand in hers. "We are best friends. My sister is your date for the evening," she reminded him. And then giving him the benefit of the doubt, "It's really sweet of you to be worried about me, but I'm a big girl. You of all people should know that I can handle myself if trouble comes. And it won't. Ok?" She grinned at him hopefully.
"Gosh, I'm sorry Kat. I- I wasn't really jealous, I was just upset because I thought maybe in your attempt to reject me gently, you might not have been entirely truthful�." Jian trailed off. Kat assumed it was because she probably looked a little ticked off.
*Oh, Jian, you should have taken the way out I offered you.* Being accused of lying was worse than if Jian had just been a little jealous.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Angel had watched Kat and Jian talking. Kat didn't look very happy. In fact, she looked like she was trying very hard to stay calm. Suddenly, something Jian had said had made her really upset. She stormed off, putting her untouched drink down on the nearest table and came over to Angel.
"Kat, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing's wrong! I just�. Boys are dumb! Come on."
Angel didn't know what to say, but she let Kat drag her to a different part of room. She considered saying something, but she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know what Jian had said to tick her off and didn't have the slightest clue what she could do to make it better.
But one look at Kat told Angel that she was really upset. And Angel wanted to help.
"Are you ok, Kat?"
"I'll be fine, he just upset me."
But she didn't look like she was going to be fine! She was obviously trying hard not to cry, and Angel would do anything to make her smile instead. Angel briefly glared over at Jian, but quickly centered her attention back on Kat. "Oh, Kitten, please don't cry," she said as a single tear fell. She caught it at the cheek and suavely wiped it away, wishing that it would erase Kat's sadness with it.
With this, Kat seemed to recover. She wiped her eyes and predicted quietly, "I bet I look horrible now."
"No, you could never look horrible."
"But my face must be all red."
"I already told you. Red looks great on you." Finally, she had gotten a smile.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After thinking about it for awhile, Gaby had finally figured out where he had seen Angel before. Or at least why he looked familiar. *Naturally, he must be Amara's son.* (Although he had figured this out because she looked so much like her mother, the fact that Angel could possibly be a girl had escaped him.)
The mystery seemingly solved, he concentrated on the next lucky female to hit on.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Despite Angel's objections to the contrary, Kat was certain that she had ruined her make-up. She decided it would be worth it to make a trip to the washroom and check it out. Angel offered to escort her there, but Kat was already feeling a little better. Besides, since it was obvious that Angel was not going to actually offer constructive criticism, there was no reason for her not to stay and enjoy the dance while Kat ran to the bathroom.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Angel sighed as she gazed around the room. Kat had told her to hang out and enjoy the dance while she ran to the bathroom, but really, at the moment there wasn't anything to do, or anyone she really wanted to dance with.
She leaned against a wall and scanned the crowd looking for any familiar faces. She saw some of the members of the pole vault team hanging out by the punch, some with dates, some without. Random people with whom she had class were scattered among the crowd. She saw Rita dancing with Tom, a brunette from their Advanced English class.
She sighed again and looked around for Kat. She hoped she'd come back soon. At least when she was around, things seemed to be more interesting. Angel wondered if she should just go check on her.
She started in the direction of the bathroom, when suddenly a voice behind her said, "Hey, baby! What does it take to get a dance with such a hot woman?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Joe had seen her earlier in the dance, but he had lost sight of her later on when someone had pulled her out of his view. He thought this tall blond in the tux was very beautiful, and she surely had to be a challenge. But not too hard for him, obviously.
Naturally, he had known instantly that she was female, although he could see how less knowledgeable people might be confused.
He continued to hit on her, using his natural charm to win her over.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Angel was quite amused that this guy kept hitting on her. At least he knew that she was a girl from the get-go and didn't seem to be intimidated by her tux. Still, he seemed awfully arrogant. Not really someone she'd want to hook up with. Frankly, she'd rather dance with Kat.
And speaking of Kat� "Joe, what are you doing?!"
She turned to see Kat standing there, hands on her hips, looking angrily at the guy Angel had been talking to.
"Whoa, this is Joe?" It explained so much. Angel tried hard to keep from laughing.
