Back to December

Adrian tossed his cup into the garbage, fixed his suit, and then his hair. Drawing a shaky breath, he thought about what he should do. He should march up to her and ask for her back. He should kiss her and create an aww worthy moment like on tv. But instead of doing that, he grabbed another cup of water.

Illia saw Luke dancIng with the other girls and her heart sank a bit. Had he gotten over her that quickly? She was still heart broken, but she had to keep up the strong appearance. After all, the break up was "mutual."

Luke finally made it to the table and sighed when all he saw was punch and water. A frown pulled at his lips, but he grabbed the glass of water and took a drink. He glanced at Adrian. "You alright?"

"I've had break downs in front of Kale...but that was normal for me," Meredith muttered to herself. "Well..." She wasn't good with advice. "Try again? Tell him you weren't feeling well, sorry for your behavior, and ask to start over."

Anna turned around, though and walked back over to Jarred. She held out the little heart. "I thought you might want this back."
Step one of getting over him?

Adrian turned to look at Luke with a half smile. "Yeah fine... Just some tension with the ex," he chuckled and set down his empty cup. He wondered if he looked like he was nervous or something.

Jarred stared at the heart in her hand. His heart broke and he shook his head. "No. I gave it to you. It's yours." He muttered and looked down at the ground, his face falling slightly.

Tara looked at her and bit her lip and gave a small nod. "Uh...alright.." She took a deep breath and went to go, then stopped. "Should I go now?"

Luke smiled and chuckled, "I know exactly how that is." He muttered and drank the last of the water in his glass, then refilled it. Perhaps if he drank enough he would have to go to the bathroom and she would leave while he was there.

"I..I don't want it if," Anna started but gulped. "If I can't have you." For once her guard was down and she was being honest.

Meredith nodded encouragingly and when Tara left she looked around for Kale. Even though she wasn't sure if she should talk to him, what had happened was embarrassing.

Tara made her way towards the refreshment table as casually as she could, though her heart was beating wildly, thundering in her ears. It was more nerv-racking than their first date. She pushed through a bunch of people and tripped slightly, landing on Adrian. "sorry!" she exclaimed turning a bright pink.

Kale was looking at the wall, trying to figure out what color it was painted. He was such a nerd.

Jarred looked up at her and gulped. What do you say to that? He searched her face and took a deep breath. He reached his hand out to her, and curled her fingers bac around it, and held her hand. What do you say? Any words that he had planned to say had totally fled his brain.

Adrian chuckled nervously, catching her and setting her back up. "S'no big deal," he shrugged. He hoped that he was just here to get a drink and not display that she was over him. He already figured that much.

"First banging your head on walls, now ... staring at them... you are so weird," Meredith said with a grin, amused, as she came up behind Kale.

Anna smiled slightly, looking at their hands, then looked up at him wonderingly. She didn't really care what had come over him, why he had taken her hand instead of speaking, all she was really thinking about was that she was touching him. Holding his hand after all these months.

Tara stared at him, her heart pounding wildly in her ears. Crap. Her script disapeared. She had, had a whole monologue planned out, now her mind was drawn a blank. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. After about three times of this and feeling like a fish out of water, she got ahold of herself...well...sorta anyway..and kissed him.

"Does that look like a plum purple? Or like an eggplant purple?" Kale asked, glancing at her slightly before returning his gaze back to the wall.

Jarred sat her beside him, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, still not sure what to say. Finally, he found four little words that he thought explained it all. "I still love you." He said quietly.

"Plum, definitely plum," Meredith decided, though she wasn't all that great with this kind of thing.

Anna bit her lip and looked down. She'd never before said she loved him, she'd been afraid to. So repeating back what he said wouldn't make any sense. She turned her head to whisper in his ear. "I love you, too."

Adrian stiffened a moment and his hand travelled to her back. He pulled back and looked at her with a confused, torn, hopeful expression. "W-what? Tara..." he trailed, the ghost of a smile in his eyes.

Jarred closed his eyes, letting out a relieved sigh as he leaned his head against hers. "You have no idea how hard it was to be in Australia without you."

Kale smiled and nodded. "I agree." He chuckled and turned to look at her. "To what occasion do I owe the pressance of an angel such as yourself?" He asked with a doofy smile.

Tara wrapped her arms around him, burrying her face in his chest, once again the tears flowing. "I'm so sorry, Adrian. I'm sorry."

Celia started edging towards the door. There was no way she was staying here. I mean, what if there parentS found out? Anyway she bet he'd forgotten her, she had definitely not forgotten him, the roses lingering on the edge of her thoughts.

"You have no idea how hard it was to be /here/ without /you/. But I thought you hated me, after what I said before you left, so I didn't think there was any hope," Anna said.

Meredith smiled and shrugged once. "I just came to talk, no special occasion. Well, I mean, we are at a Christmas party...anyway, I just wanted to talk since I ran off." She looked down at her dress. "I got the punch out."

Henry noticed Celia and a surprised smile spread across his lips. He wondered if he should go over to her, though he knew she'd be reluctant to talk to him.

Adrian rubbed her back, making comforting noises. "Sh, it's okay, Tara," he said softly. So... She wasn't over him? It made the ache in his chest soften a bit, though it wasn't gone completely.

Celia got stopped by a crowd of people in front of her and let out a word that would have ticked her father off. She couldn't help another look at Henry, then dropped her gaze. She was not going to talk to him.

Henry took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, then walked over to her. "Hello Celia." He smirked.

Jarred sighed. He had. He had hated her. Or more like, was mad at her beyond belief. "I don't hate you." He said as he held her. "We're just two very strong willed people."

Kale smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "Then talk we shall." He said and plopped down in an empty chair. "I see that," he said refuring to the comment about the stain. "I'm glad it didn't harm the dress, that would be a pitty."

Tara clung to him tightly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to run, I just got scared. I'm sorry."

"Come dance with me. We'll start over again and do things right," Adrian said, leading her into the middle of the room. He spun her once and the look up at the mistletoe high above. "Merry Christmas," he said with a smile and kissed her gently.

Oh no, that was her name. She panicked, her eyes darting to the door. "U-uh....H-hello Henry." She stammered. Wait a minute, she wasn't going to talk to him, that was the plan. What was she doing?

(WOOT! Somebody made use of the mistletoe xD)

"That's a understatement," Anna mumbled with a bitter little laugh.

Meredith sat carefully in a chair next to him. "Only because you said the colors clashed." She smirked.

"How are you?" Henry asked, tilting his head to show what looked like genuine interest. Maybe it was. Or maybe he'd just always liked the danger of their relationship.

She glanced at the door again. "I-I'm good." She managed nervously. Crud how did she get away now? "A-and you?"