[open] GOD HELP ME.

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

If she'd had her way, she'd have been in a tux. No problems with crossdressing did this girl have. She, in fact, did own a suit. And she would have worn it. But no.

She'd gotten the fact she was wearing a dress in a package and a video emailed to her. And this is how a bit of it went.
"How about this one, grandadda?" Rico has asked, tugging on a green dress, amoung blue ones.

"Yeah!" The older of the two boys - ten but very small for his age, added in.

"Does she look good in green?"

"I bet!" Both said at once.
And that was how Isabella - who typically did not wear dresses for anything, ended up in a green dress, with a short black jacket shut, which made up for the fact the thing was low cut and contrary to popular joking, she couldn't fill it out. Which was fine by her, she just made alterations. In fact, it was more than fine by her. She knew people might ask her to dance just to have said they danced, but she was not dancing. Under any circumstances.

Well, no. There was one circumstance and only one. And there, she would dance. Isabella owed soemone a dance. One dance. That. Was. It. And woe to the person who tried to change that. Joan of Arc had a stubbron streak, and well...she was notable for prefering mens clothes. At least where it had been requied or needed. She was good with dresses. But in this life, she had had a choice, and she typically chose pants. Isabella gave a last look at herself in the mirror in her dorm. Her hair was not yet touching her shoulders, meaning that it was too short to do much with. She could have pulled it into a bun, but her burns (depsite getting them in early September) weren't healed enough for that. They had gone form banagded and nasty to unbandaged and nasty to still not that greatest looking, but she could wear this dress. No doubt her grandfather was trying to give her "confidence" or whatever after the burns - the old man meant well, but she had plenty of confidence without needing a fairygrandfather. All that being said and done, she couldn't bear to offened him, even if the night would be hell. At least the floor-length dress meant that she got away with less fancy shoes than she otherwise would have needed.

Isabella put on the black jacket that she purchased to cover the damn thing - at the the upper area, since the it was one of those short jackets, and buttoned it shut. After a quick peek to see both Talia and Kimaya were gone, she picked up her skirts and got out of there. At least growing up in medival wartimes meant she knew how to book it in a dress. She snuck out of the girls dormitories, using the walkway from the third floor to aviod the snow on the ground, and headed down the side staircase to the gym. Get the idea she was embarassed? But she owed a certain boy a dance for nixing going with him entirely after almost agreeing, and she'd given her word. She did not back out from that, even if it meant she was a tomboy in a dress.

She paid five dollars for her entrnace - it was a good cuase, and did her best to blend in, despite being in a bright green dress. Well, grandad got his wish. His only granddaughter was at the ball. Unfortuntly, there were lot of candles as well as LEDs a the ball. All of them were safely out of reach of an aronist but Isa didn't like the firey addition one bit anyways.

Isabella found herself an out-of-the-way place to sit, and proceeded to watch the people dancing, and listen to the music, until someone tapped her on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

----------
words| 675
tagged| open!
notes| Isa's dress and the jacket.

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Most fourteen year old boys would not be entirely thrilled with dressing up. Most fourteen year old boys would rather laze around in jeans and a t-shirt even at a formal dance, rather than spend the time that it took to pull on a tux and tie a tie.

Oliver was not most fourteen year old boys.

He finished tying up his green tie (colored so because of the impending holiday), then turned around and headed for his bunk. Atop his bed sat a black bowler hat, to which Oliver lifted and placed upon his head. Oliver, oddly enough, almost felt more comfortable in this fashion out in public than he did in jeans and a t-shirt. While blue jeans were around during his first life, they did not have the widespread popularity that they did in the 21st century. He was used to them by now, but he felt more comfortable in the fashions that he was used to from his old life - and any excuse to feel more comfortable in this life he would take. As Oliver left his dorm, he looked as though he had indeed stepped out of the 19th or perhaps early 20th century, more due to the hat more than anything else.

He intended to meet Lenita at the dance at some point. He had not seen Lenita around much since the return to Riverdale, owing mostly to exams. Now that exams were over, he was hoping that he could spend more time with her. He also needed to give her the gift he bought for her at some point. Being only fourteen, he did not have much spare money, and thus could not afford to purchase anything too expensive. Thus, he had to settle for something relatively small. He'd bought her a set of silver earrings from a local drug store, in the shape of moons, and a necklace with a small airplane-shaped charm at the end.

He carried these in a small box in his pocket, just in case he decided to exchange gifts with her at the dance. If not, then he would settle for another time within the next few days. Perhaps it would be best not to open the gifts in front of everyone in the school anyway, but he could not help but think that maybe the jewelry would compliment whatever she chose to wear that much more.

As he entered the gymnasium, however, his face fell slightly as he realized that his girlfriend was not present at the ball yet. Had he been with someone else...Jackson or Justice, perhaps, or Wilbur, he might have made a jesting comment about girls always being fashionably late. However, he was not with any of his guy friends (or brother), and the person closest by that he recognized certainly would not be pleased with such a comment. Besides, he was a little more preoccupied with the fact that said female was wearing a dress. He tapped Isabella Avadore on the shoulder, then took a seat next to her.

"The dress looks nice. I'm surprised you didn't just take a few pictures in it and then change into a suit." She was at the dance now, however, so he figured that there was no turning back. He looked out toward the dance floor, having no real desire to dance either. He enjoyed having a good time, but he hated the idea of possibly making a fool of himself in front of a large crowd. He always had been that way. He was outgoing and even a bit of a prankster around those that he knew well (in this case, most of the RSOR), but those outside of it? He was afraid of even making one slip-up.

"Have you seen Lenita around anywhere? I have my Christmas present for her." With this, he recalled something that Isabella had told him the night before. "Didn't you say you owed someone a dance?" Oliver was anxious just to find out who that someone was.

Word count: 686
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: I feel like this kinda fails. ._.

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

The dress was nice, but oh, she felt so uncomfortable in it. She'd spent almost all of her past life in a dress, but none so fine and not in a situation where she didn't wear dresses. Isabella liked the currently clothing better than the dress code in her time. Given she'd been executed on the rules of said dress code, this was rather unsurprising. However, it would make the reactions of her friends all the more surprised, and Isabella didn't like that very much.

However, if she could save France, she could wear a dress, however awkward, for three-odd hours. She kept her eyes out for anyone she knew, but all the same, when the tap came to her shoulder, she jumped and looked over at the boy who had come to sit beside her. "Oliver." She said with a nod. "You look nice tonight." He seemed quite as ease, but given the dress of his past life, she wasn't surprised. He was surprised about her attire. "It felt like cheating, I guess. He did go through all the trouble of finding this dress." She offered with a small laugh. "Besides, if all the pictures were just in my dorm I think my parents would know what I did." She added. If she got talking, this awkwardness might vanish. She dearly hoped so.

Oliver asked if she had seen Lenita around, and Isabella shook her head. "That I have not. I have yet to see anyone, I got here a little before you did." She was half-tempted to ask why he wouldn't meet her outside the girls dorms or something, but figured she would avoid prodding him about his girl, lest he bring up...

Oh, too late for that, he brought up the dance she owed. "I do owe someone a dance, however, I don't see him yet." Joan of Arc owed a dance to Charles Darwin. Yeah, that was gonna be interesting. She didn't know how that would go over. She knew he wouldn't brag about it, but everyone else? Yeah, well, even Joan could be self-conscious sometimes. This was one of those times. "I have no doubts he'll call it in, though, so you'll see who it is eventually, ganglylimbs." She assured him, knowing that was probably what he wanted to know most of all, then he would become obsessed with the why, which under no circumstances was she divulging.

"That is, of course, if you're not preoccupied with your girlfriend...pray tell, why didn't you just meet her outside the dormitories? Or are you shy?" It wasn't much of a barb, but it was something away from the dancing she would be doing tonight.

--------------
words| 527
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
notes| n/a

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver did not mind the dress code of either time, but the fact remained that he'd spent far more time dressed in the garb of the late 19th and early 20th centuries than he had the late 20th and early 21st. Therefore, he would jump at a chance to dress the way that he used to, as it was a rare sight to see nowadays. Neither men nor women dressed the way they used to, unless it was for some special occasion. Oliver had done a decent job of blending in to the modern world (with the exception of incidences when he was a child, which were only to be expected), but any chance to let that guard down and take a step back in time he would take.

The freshman could not help but grin slightly when he saw that he'd made Isabella jump. After all the times that she'd made him jump, he relished at getting some hint of revenge. Of course, she'd have her revenge on this, and the cycle would continue, but that was just the way their relationship worked. They had a friendly rivalry of sorts, and though it could get annoying at times, it was for the most part fun to partake in. He smiled as Isabella complemented his attire. He figured that she was only doing it return his compliment, but it was appreciate nonetheless. "Thanks."[/color]

Oliver shrugged. "I guess I could see that."[/color] Isabella did not seem like the type of girl to take the easy way out anyway. If she was, then would she have led armies in France up against the English? He didn't really think so. Still, she also did not seem like the type of girl to wear a dress if she didn't have to. Yay for conflicting interests?

The corners of Oliver's mouth dropped just slightly upon hearing that Lenita had yet to show. He stuffed his right hand into the corresponding pocket to make certain that her gifts were still present within. They were, thankfully. He was not too worried, however, as he figured that he would come across Lenita at some point.

"So it is a him."[/color] Oliver teased. He'd figured as much, of course, plus Isabella had all but given it away the night before. He had no choice but to sit it out, however - Bugging Joan of Arc for more details would, if anything, only make her clam up that much more. He knew that from experience, and so did one Bonnie Parker.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, depending on what way one looked at it, Oliver found distraction in the form of Isa's next question. A question that caused Oliver to turn a light shade of pink. He supposed he could have stopped outside of her dorms. He wouldn't mind seeing her...it was her roommates that he was worried about. So the answer? Yes, he was indeed shy, especially given his choice of fashion. He personally loved his attire, and felt at ease within it, but the last thing he wanted was for some normal, especially one who happened to share a room with his girlfriend, to comment on how he looked.

"I suppose I could have met her there. Oh well, too late to go back now."[/color] Oliver shrugged, smiling weakly. He wanted to change the subject to something else, something that did not make him feel quite so uncomfortable. He contented himself instead with scanning the dance floor to see who was present...and to see who Isabella did not owe a dance to. After all, she'd mentioned that the boy she owed a dance to had yet to show. He turned his attention back to Isa with a small grin. "So, you planning on taking pictures here too? Otherwise, there really was no point in wearing that dress...other than to impress the boy you owe the dance to, of course."[/color]

Word count: 684
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: I dunno.

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella couldn't help the fact she jumped. It would be a long time before she'd feel comfortable in a freaking ball gown. The only times she wore finery like this in her past life was when she embarked on her mission, and then it had been all mens garb. This was her first time around when it came to ladies formalwear and she didn't feel at home in it, shorts under the dress or not. However, she wasn't going to just let her grandad down, and the rest of her family. Which was tedious, but it was one night. She just had to keep reminding herself. It was one night and they let her take her tux everywhere else, after all. It could be much worse. She could have ended up with a corset or something pink and fluffy as opposed to satin and lime green. Lime green was a standout, but not as much as something pink and fluffy.

"They'd suspect it of me. They know I'm a suit sort of girl. So, here I am. May as well prove it all." With two brothers, it probably disappointed her mother some that her daughter turned out like she did, though she had never out and out voiced it. Isa did have female cousins that were all to happy to play dress up in her place while she went out and played soccer.

While the corners of Oliver's mouth twitched down, Isa's couldn't help but twitch up ever so slightly. Awww. He was sad she wasn't here yet. Cute. Amusing and cute. His hand went into his pocket and she giggled outright at that. "Awwwww," She teased, inable to help herself,"Don't you worry, I'm sure your date is comingggg." The saint couldn't keep the rather devilish grin off her face, but it was all in fun, and Oliver knew it, so no worries there. Maybe it came from the fact that Isa was closer to his older sister, but she teased him as though she may as well be a sibling of his. He would probably get her back at some point another, and knew it was no big deal (or at least she fervently hoped so, or she'd feel awful for it) and that was simply how their friendship worked.

And that was proven in his next words. She snorted at his attempt to tease, but smiled anyways. "Of course it's a he, silly. Chess is not who I owe a dance to." Isabella knew full well the junior girl liked her to some extent, and that was damn awkward when one factored in the fact Isa didn't lean that way. Not even remotely, but she wasn't sure what to tell Chess...who she just saw enter, pink hair in curls, and then vanish into the crowd again.

"It should have occurred to you. It'd be easier, you know. That way neither of you would have to carry a present, because these dresses don't have pockets, and I don't know, maybe she can but storing that in one's bust seems a tall order." Contrary to popular jokes, Isa was quite flat-chested, and as for the past life, she was thoroughly average. Not her fault people took artistic license, she couldn't do anything about it! Oliver's teasing went on, and she only looked bemused, despite her first instinct to get on the defensive. "I have full intention of taking pictures. At the very least the time-stamp on each picture will prove it, if the whole gym doesn't or if I end up not taking one in here. " She might find more people as Isabella might not get the chance. But the time stamp was solid, logical proof if she didn't. "As for impressing anyone, I have no intention at all. I never have." Blarg. Why on Earth would she want ti impress Darwin? Really? Honestly? There was no point to that!

-------------
words| 721
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
notes| BOOBIES!

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver shrugged. "I'm sure there will be someone with a camera here..."[/color] He'd opted not to bring his cell phone or camera, because really, why would he need them at the ball? Besides, there wasn't much room left in his pockets after he placed Lenita's presents within. At least, not without his pockets looking strangely full.

He expected the teasing from Isa, but that did not prevent the fact that was a tad annoyed with it. However, it was the way that he and Joan played the game. "I'm sure she is too."[/color] Oliver responded in a firm voice, as if to say okay, let's drop the subject. The way that Isa and Oliver behaved around each other could be likened to the way that a brother and sister might get along. Oliver attributed this to the fact that she was friends with his older sister. That and it just seemed to be a part of her personality, like a love of tinkering was a part of his. He wouldn't expect anything less.

Oliver shrugged at her response to his inquiry about the dance. "Well, you never know. With the way that she looks at you..."[/color] Like Isa, Oliver noted Chess entering at this moment, wearing a rather nice blue dress and disappearing into the rest of the crowd. He had to admit that it was interesting to see all of his schoolmates, especially from the RSOR, in their formals.

Then again, after the wax museum in London, it wasn't as though Joan of Arc in a dress shocked him that much. It was perfectly normal when compared to that adventure, as far as he was concerned. Yet he missed it. In an odd way, he almost felt more at home in that body than his current one. Almost.

"What's done is done. Least we know better for next time."[/color] He glanced back toward the door, glimpsing a few more students walking in, but no sign of Lenita as of yet. He turned his attention back to the saint who had a penchant for grinning devilishly. Her comment about busts resulted in a snort of amusement from him. "Would depend on the size of the gift, I would presume."[/color] He decided not to voice the second part of his comment, and the size of the girl, for risk of a slap from Isa.

"Good thinking. I'd suggest taking more than one, in case they don't turn out though."[/color] Oliver offered a bit of advice, then proceeded to add a bit more. "Though really, if they don't turn out, we could always fiddle around with them on the computer. If you have a digital camera, that is."[/color] Wouldn't work so well with a disposable camera. He supposed that she could scan the images that way, but that compromised a bit of the quality as well.

Oliver shrugged at Isa's final assertion, as if to convey the message if you say so. "So, any hints as to who this man of mystery is?"[/color] She wasn't letting up on him about Lenita, and thus he wasn't going to let up on her about the boy who asked her to dance. Of course, the true culprit was one of the farthest guesses from his mind. He could hardly expect that his awkward roommate would be the one to accomplish the impossible, and get Joan of Arc to dance with him.


Word count: 614
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: I had fun with the little italics comments, can you tell? XD

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

The awkwardness of the dress was fading for not, thanks to the fact she wore them more than she wore pants in her past life, but morso to the fact she had something to take her mind off of it. Namely, teasing Oliver about his date. It was a way of making for any teasing she might get after she endured the da-dandy dance she owed Darwin, if they weren't...surprised or something. Isabella did not often dance and more than one of the boys at school just wanted to make her dance solely because it was some sort of...trophy? The thought made her sick.

"She'll come." Isabella said, noting his tone and taking it for a victory at that. She closed the subject however. No need to kill what was already dead. Kind of. literally, with the subject of Lenita, given she was dead in a way, but then so were they all.

Would that mean their principal was a zombie?

"Yeah, well, Chess had better just stop." It wasn't a threat, Chess was a nice girl, it was just really, really weird. Isabella found it weird if a guy thought she was pretty, never mind when a girl did. "Imagine if some boy a grade above you started doing that." It was a funny image, but it was an accurate analogy. Isa leaned back a bit against the wall, tugging her jacket a little, to keep the tiny thing where it was. The gown exposing a lot of her shoulders should she take the jacket off, something that dresses in her past life never, ever, EVER did.

Isabella watched as Oliver looked back again, and shook her head. He was so worried, it seemed; or came off as such to her. It was doubtful the girl wouldn't show, he had nothing at all to worry about. "She'll come." Joan's tone was not so much teasing as reassuring this time. "These dresses aren't always the easiest to move in, give her some time." His attention turned back to her next words, and she nodded. "Even so, it can be uncomfortable." She'd had to store some RSOR keys away once, and given the sheer number of keys the leaders had to keep track of and store in pairs of individually (that way, if someone did get a key, it wouldn't open a door, just a single lock, maybe two) and she'd run out of places that day. It had felt very odd. Maybe it was just because she wasn't in the habit or something. But fishing them out hadn't exactly been the funnest thing, just on embarrassment factor. Isa knew they were leaving out one other factor, and it was good he had the wisdom not to mention it.

As for his advice, he could have given her less of mention there, but she only smiled. "What, do you think I grew up on some faraway farm?" Was her response, and she grinned. The answer, of course, was yes, but very few would know that. "I know how to do that if I have to." She wouldn't want to, but it wouldn't be lying either. Just like she wasn't lying when she said she had no intention to impress anyone for any reason, let alone that boy. Maybe she was being exceptionally vehement, but if you looked at it objectively, a saint dealing with Darwin was akin to oil and water trying to mix. "No clues, Oliver. Not the one. Well. Maybe one. He's in RSOR." Even she could do that math; forty percent of the school, roughly, was RSOR. Half of those, roughly, would be male - though if she was going to be dead honest, pun intended, there had always tended to be more male incarnates than females - so that left twenty percent of the school. Eighty percent were cut out right there, not too bad a hint for a girl known to say nothing more than she wanted to say, no matter what the situation.

--------------
words| 737
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
notes| Guess what. antwats

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver nodded as Isabella assured him that Lenita would come. He was fairly certain that she would, and figured that she was probably only being held up by her annoying, nosy sister. Either that or her other roommate, who happened to be one Marilyn Monroe, had decided to give her a makeover or something. He didn't know Mirabelle that well, so he didn't know if that was even something she took an interest in or not, he was simply grasping at straws at this point.

Content with the subject change, Oliver took off his bowler hat and began to spin it in his hands. "She'll get the hint eventually. Besides, she seems to be spending time with Errol at the moment."[/color] Oliver nodded in the direction that Chess had gone in, where, indeed, Errol and Chess were talking. His attention immediately shot back to Isa as she turned his teasing back on him...per usual. He raised an eyebrow at the thought of that. Being that he mostly only knew sophomore reincarnates, the mental images of Cillian and Chaz came into his head, and he actually burst into laughter. The mental image was so unbelievable that after the briefest period of feeling weirded out, Oliver could find nothing else to do but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"They don't make dresses like they used to."[/color] Oliver noted in agreement, his tone neutral to reflect his feelings toward the matter. In all honesty, he did feel neutral about it. He was male, and had no plans to be wearing a dress at any time in the near future. Hopefully not ever, but college was coming in a few years...

Ahem.

The irony of Isa's statement was of course not lost on Oliver, and he returned a smile. "Well, you never know...I don't talk to you much about your life in Spain before you moved here."[/color] Though both of them knew that she was referring to her life in France - as in, literal life that passed by - this was the best way they could allude to it without causing too many strange glances. Oliver shrugged as Isa asserted that she would be able to do it if the time called for it.

Oliver looked toward the door, this time looking not only for Lenita but for any sign of anyone else that he might know. "Will hasn't showed up yet, and neither has Cindy..."[/color] Oliver didn't even bother to correct the slip-up he made with his brother's name. That would only serve to make it more suspicious on the off chance that anyone was eavesdropping, and besides, it was only a casual mention. Oliver could be talking about anyone. The thought of this made Oliver grin slightly as he placed his hat back on his head.

Oliver frowned contemplatively as Isa tossed him a hint. The boy to whom she owed a dance was in RSOR. That actually helped a tad more than Isa even expected, as not only did it narrow the odds down to about 20% of the school, but also likely narrowed out those within the RSOR who would have other dates. He did not see Iskander dancing with Isabella, for example, when he had Jennah to dance with. He wondered if the two of them would even show up to this dance, considering Jennah was with child. Obviously he could count himself out of that as well, and he highly doubted that Will/Nate would have convinced Isa to dance with him and not let Oliver know. Carter was out as well, as he had Talia. As a matter of fact, though, as Oliver thought about it, he found it hard to think of any RSOR members who could possibly have found a way to convince Isabella to dance with him. This was going to be hard.

Oh well, he would see soon enough who the mystery man was. "Well, I know it's not Iskander and Carter, at least?"[/color] He mused in a small voice and a contemplative look. Who within RSOR could Joan of Arc possibly owe a dance to?

Word count: 716
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: Ayuppers.