Let me just pretend for one more night

It had been so easy, worryingly so, to get herself admitted to the academy. She had explained about her abilities, why she wanted to go there, talked about her ambitions—that she had been to another school in South Africa, so she was allowed to skip two years, going straight into the third year after the summer holiday was over. Of course, she had taken some tests to see if she was qualified and passed every single one of them with ease.
Actually, she shouldn’t even be here at this party, but the headmaster had thought it to be a good opportunity for her to get to know some of those she would be attending class with.
Now, for someone that did what she did, she felt incredibly shy at this moment, standing in the corner looking at the people dancing, couples and friends—and suddenly she realised that she had no idea how to get friends anymore. Had she truly been this ruined by her relationship with River all these years? Maybe it was the fact that she had never made friends before, she had never put herself in a situation she was standing in right now, and suddenly she was struck with an urge to get the hell out.
But just as she was about to turn on her heel and get out, her eyes caught those of a young werewolf boy. It was like everything around them quieted down for a moment, and a small smile formed over her lips. She pushed her blond hair behind her ear, and instead of fleeing the scene, she decided this was as good of a chance as any. Walking toward him, she placed her glass on a table she passed—“Hi”, she said with a more confident smile than before; “I’m Evelyn”, she introduced herself, hoping that one still started conversations like that.

Going to the party had both been something Riley hadn’t wanted to go to… But he wanted to go. It was odd with the body dysphoria. He wanted this to be some kind of debut this was it, he had finally reached the goal he wished to reach. But the top operation had been arranged for the summer holiday, so people wouldn’t ask why he couldn’t lift things like any man could do, because they were so strong. He was certain that his siblings had thought it was somewhat scary, funny, and sad when he had been throwing around clothing that he didn’t think worked well enough, how he had shouted with his voice that was bopping up and down like a twelve-year-old. Even though he wasn’t really going to hang out with anyone, he still wished to be dressed up, just… Not formal, but not a complete everyday outfit. It was odd. Eventually, his mother had come to the rescue and helped with tightening the binder, cheered him up, and found a jacket that could help with how Riley felt people could see the binder or the fine flops of fat he constantly believed was popping out of the binder. Riley hadn’t even been that big busted before. He was just overly cautious.

He had been chatting with some friends, but as soon as they had seemed occupied with other company, he had acted as he had somewhere else to be. Now, he had just grabbed a glass of some of that non-alcoholic red beverage that had been served. He didn’t even get to study the room for a long time before he could see a girl coming toward him. He tried not to stare, and just act like he was studying the surroundings, but he could feel how his heart picked up speed. For some reason, talking to new people could be quite terrifying. As she presented herself, he made sure to look up at her with his hazel eyes “Hey, I’m Riley,” he greeted back pulling a wider smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in the school before,” he said with slightly furrowed brows. “Are you someone’s plus two, or?” he wondered with a trying smile. He tried his best not to get cautious about his voice.

She chuckled, bashfully pushing some of her blond hair behind her ear, her blue-green eyes removed from him in a fleeting moment. “Yeah, no, I’m starting next year” then she looked back and shrugged “so, don’t really know anyone, was about to make a run for it, because it just felt incredibly awkward, and well, though I’d at least make some effort before taking off—” her lips folded together as she realised just how she was talking. It was amazing how the same person could be so different, but it wouldn’t be the first time Lucille had taken the persona of someone else, and maybe this was just the person she would have been—had she been just as old as she looked at this given moment.
“You attend the Academy, I gathered since you said you hadn’t seen me around before” she gave him a more broad smile; “even though there are a lot of students, so—I could just have been one of many you haven’t seen before, right?” she took in a deep breath trying to steady her nerves “Sorry, apparently I talk a lot when I’m nervous” she whispered as a small apology, she wouldn’t even fault him for wanting to move on, after this disastrous attempt to make friends with someone.

She seemed shy in the way she responded. Something about the combination of her being shy and her seeking a conversation with him made him feel somewhat important, or at least interesting. It boosted the ego that had been staggering earlier. A nod of realization left him as she mentioned how she started next year. Impressive that she had even arrived if Riley were to say so. It could be overwhelming after all. She explained the situation she was in, and a soft wide smile spread on his lips. “Your effort is both impressive and appreciated,” he said with a warm smile. Being on a ‘distance’ helped with the panic he could get from the confusion about his own sexual attraction.
He nodded when she mentioned how she gathered that he was attending the academy. He wanted to reply and explain why he knew that he wouldn’t have seen her before, but then she apologized. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to be nervous, there’s only a chance of me biting you at a full moon,” he joked. “Sorry, that was a really, really bad joke” he laughed awkwardly. His voice also made sure that his sentence was jumpy with its pitches. “I uh, I’m quite certain that I would have noticed you attended the academy. I observe a lot and I wouldn’t be able to forget how you look,” the full sentence got to rest for a second or two before he realized what he had said. It made his eyes widen. “I mean, you’re quite recognizable and-” he stopped himself this time because he knew that he was going to fly off into another way to sweet comment about how her eyes were mesmerizing.

She snorted, making an unflattering noise as she tried to stop herself from sounding like a hog pushing its snout into the ground seeking food. It surprised her so much that she started laughing, which only made her snort even louder; her hands pressed over the bottom of her face to make herself stop, as a blazing red colour formed over her delicate porcelain skin.
Nodding a little, she slowly let her hands fall from her face; “thank you”, she said as she nervously pushed some of her blond hair behind her ear. “that is really sweet of you to say, and now you can add sounds like a pig when laughing to the whole mystique of who Evelyn is” even though it wasn’t the nicest compliment she could give to herself, a smile was still firmly on her lips—because even if she had just made a fool of herself, it seemed like Riley was just as prone to say things or do things that would end up making himself embarrassed. “I liked your bad joke”, she added a little after, her fingers moving from her hair to the fabric of her dress.

A short nervous laugh left him as she started to laugh of his bad joke. Her laugh was so true and unfiltered, that he was almost certain that his heart beat an extra time. He folded his lips nervously, laughing a little with her, also getting the sweet color on his cheeks, but more out of embarrassment than laughing.
His laugh however got more genuine, but short, as she mentioned how he could add sounding like a pig to reasons why he would recognize her. “Will do,” he laughed, honestly thinking her unfiltered laugh was quite cute.
She approved of his bad joke with made his smile curl up a little. “Oh, good,” he laughed, “I really didn’t wish to like threaten you or anything,” he said feeling somewhat confused about everything. He shook his head a little, looking down at his fine shoes, just for a moment, hoping it would help on the awkward things they had going for them, “So, you just- you just moved here?” he wondered, having to stop his sentence because of how his voice acted up. God, when he had been transitioning, he hadn't been thinking about how his voice was going to act up. Hopefully, it would be over after the summer holiday. He was trying to figure out why she attended the school now and hadn’t attended it earlier, because, she didn’t really look like a fifteen-year-old, but something closer to his own age. He was also curious about which year she was going to join; she could be one of those smart ones who skipped years. What classes was she going to have? The fact that she was going to join the school simply woke many interesting questions, especially now that she had sought his attention as the last chance to make friends – as in they might be friends in the new school year.

She shook her head “trust me, I’ve heard far worse, and that was just endearing”, she said with a shy smile, letting her eyes tilt down to her fingers picking at the seam of her dress; she looked up when he asked if she had just moved here—for a moment, she was trying to decide how to answer that, she really didn’t like the idea to lie to Riley, for some reason which she found odd. Especially given the fact that she was lying to him right now, she wasn’t showing him how she really looked—she would dare to think he wouldn’t be so nice if that had been the case.
"I moved here last year around winter time; my adoptive family decided to stay longer—they own the casino that opened around that time?” she said, trying to stay as close to the truth she could “, and then I thought I wanted to try to see if I could get some new friends, and I’m home-schooled, so I just wanted to try something new” she nodded, feeling okay with her small white lie, hoping there would never come a day where she needed to explain herself.
“lived here all your life?” she asked, giving him a bigger smile—“I guess you know all the best places to go, then? Maybe, maybe you could show me one day” she shrugged, folding her lips, feeling how her heart picked up speed–wait, what.

Endearing, super. He pulled a crooked smile. Maybe it was just how his shy smile looked like. He let her take her time with replying, even though he believed it was a simple question. He nodded, listening. She was adopted and they owned the casino that opened simultaneously as they moved here. He knew of it, even though he hadn’t been in it. He hadn’t really been the one to be interested in going there back then, and he still didn’t like the thought of gambling. She continued to explain how she wanted new friends, and how she was home-schooled. “Well, that does seem like a good reason to start here,” he told her, noticing how she was quite thoughtful. If she wished for friends in her own age range the Athena Academy was a great place to go.
His brows raised a little as she asked about him. God, why was he surprised that someone asked about him? He nodded, “Yeah. I have” he replied. It only made her continue to ask about the best places to go to. Was she asking for an academy tour or was this a date? The nervous sexuality questioning trans man started to feel how his nerves and hormones acted up, making him warmer. “Yeah, of course,” he replied, putting his hands into the pockets of his jacket, feeling how the clammy hands created friction between the fabric. “I can take you anywhere,” he raised his brows of himself, “I mean, I can show you the different places on the school ground and I can show you around town if you haven’t managed to see everything by yourself already,” he said and pulled a slightly nervous smile. God, he should man himself up. It was odd what had changed besides his gender. Maybe he should talk to each of his siblings about it.

Her smile grew, and a soft chuckle left her, and then she nodded. “I would like that”, she said as he spoke about how he could take her anywhere—feeling the heart creep back in her still rosy cheeks. She felt; free. It was such an odd feeling that spread in her chest as she stood here and talked with Riley—it was like she was her own person for the first time in her entire life; this wasn’t Lucille; this was Evelyn. She knew it was dangerous, but didn’t she deserve to be happy? Didn’t she deserve to explore the youth she had never had? That wasn’t that bad, was it?
“I would really love that, I haven’t seen all that much of the city, just around Aston, but I would love to go to Grounds of Lily someday” she looked back at the dancing people—“so, do you dance, or?” she wondered, before looking back at him finally letting go of the dress fabric to lift her hand and reach it toward him.

Riley smiled back as she announced that she would like for him to show her around. He nodded a little as she explained that she mostly had seen Aston and that she wished to see Grounds of Lily, it made a greater smile spread on his lips, “Grounds of Lily is also a great place. It’s very beautiful,” he said somewhat calm, even though his voice, like any other time, acted on its own.
He felt his heart stop for a moment as she looked back at the people who were dancing. He knew what she was going to ask him, and he truly just felt like turning around and fleeing. “I don’t re-” he saw how she reached towards him and shut his mouth. Before he knew of it, he had taken her hand.
Wait, how did a man dance?
He only really knew that women swung their hips and it looked hypnotizing, but what did men do? Bop their head to the music? The robot arm? The sprinkler? The Lasso? Shit, his hands were still clammy. He slowed down a little, which almost pulled them to a stop, “I don’t know how to dance,” he admitted. He didn’t wish to make a fool of himself in front of everyone at the school, nor their plus two’s.

She didn’t sense it at first. Maybe if she had just thought about it one more time, she would have known; she would have seen the signs. But she didn’t, and she would later think through this moment and find it absolutely horrifying that she had pulled him into a situation that he didn’t want nor liked.
No, it wasn’t until he suddenly stopped moving, and she turned around, raising a brow, the smile on her lips disappearing as quickly as it had formed. “Oh, oh” she whispered and suddenly realised how clammy his hand was and how he looked. A pang of guilt flushed through her, and she folded her lips, slowly letting go of his hand. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—” to make you do something you didn’t want “we can, uh, you could, show me some of the nice spots at the academy?” she tried to offer, ready for his rejection and see how he would walk away from her, and she in her foolishness of wanting to be a normal kid, maybe had ruined her chance for her first-ever friend.

He could see it on her. She was shocked and might even feel some kind of guilt. She let go of his hand, and he felt like he could almost feel how he left a wet handprint, or maybe he was imagining things. She even apologized. He didn’t even get to let his own sentence process before she suggested something else. His smile grew back, “I certainly can,” he replied this time offering her to hook her arm with his, hoping that the clammy feeling was going to disappear at some point. “And please, you don’t have to apologize,” he assured her, not wanting her to feel guilty. Not that he was specifically planning on it, but maybe he would let out some moves in private – maybe on the roof of the academy?
Riley did after all not have to think about how they could get somewhere, he would just teleport them to the spot, which was why he wouldn’t go anywhere before he was certain that she wasn’t having second thoughts.

She matched his smile and nodded “great, then let's do that then!” she agreed and then let out a small awkward laugh when he told her that she shouldn’t apologise “yeah, okay, but I’m still going to feel a little bad because I didn’t realise you didn’t want to” she chuckled, looking around the many people that were walking and dancing, then she walked with him outside—which, if she was being honest, might be the best thing they could have done. She closed her eyes and took in the fresh air, hearing some girls chuckling and laughing by the fountain before turning her gaze toward Riley “so, where are we going?” she wondered, as she was completely new at the academy, she had only seen what was from the front gate to the headmistress office, other than that, she hadn’t really done much else.
So, in this particular situation she was relying completely on his expertise.

She agreed to go watch things at the academy – almost leave the party, even though he was certain that the party was a little bit of everywhere at the academy. I didn’t realize you didn’t want to. Maybe it was just it because he didn’t mind the thought of dancing, but the number of eyes that may or may not be on him, the anxiety of making a fool of himself, or simply ending up scaring Evelyn away with some totally bad moves. Okay maybe he was overthinking. Riley wanted to say something, but it took a while because he had to make sure that he didn’t say something wrong. “It’s not like I don’t want to dance with you,” He already said something wrong – just roll with it, “I just don’t really,” he gestured to the dancing people, “Like the extra attention, so to say?” he said furrowing his brows a little. Was that a nice way to say that as of right now he was quite filled with social anxiety?
As she closed her eyes, he couldn’t help but smile. She looked like she needed some free time. His smile widened a little as she asked where they were going. “We can actually go anywhere we want,” he said, with the hit of a trickster showing in his smile. “I would recommend that we’re not going to Grounds of Lily right now, since it’s dark and all, but we can go everywhere,” he made sure that he had contact with her and the next moment they stood in the music classroom. “This is where we’re taught about music,” he introduced her to the room filled with various instruments. He slowly let go of her before he started walking towards the piano, “Do you play?” he wondered looking over his shoulders.

She nodded, giving him an understanding smile “it’s fine; maybe one day I’ll be able to show just how horrible a dancer I am,” she said with a big smile; even though she was shy, there was one thing she didn’t care about—what people might think when she was having fun, and just danced because she wanted too. But that could all wait for another day; she was sure this wouldn’t be the last party that the academy would be held for the students; if anything, it felt like the beginning of a new era for the school, and she hadn’t even gone here before.
“Anywhere?” she said with a cheeky smile, but then nodded when he told her that they shouldn’t be going Grounds of Lily “let's just stay here on the school grounds then”, she agreed and then—a gasp left her as they suddenly they were somewhere completely new, it took a moment before she realised that he had teleported them “oh that is a neat trick” she laughed joyfully and then nodded when he explained where they were, “yeah I play the piano” well, she played a little of everything. Still, the piano had always been what had spoken to her the most. "You?" she looked up at him with the hint of a smile over her lips.

Riley couldn’t help but pull a sweet smile as Evelyn spoke about how she might one day be able to show him her horrible skills in being a dancer. Well, then there was a thing they had in common.
“Anywhere,” he replied to her, assuring her that they could indeed go anywhere they liked, of course, if Riley had been at the place before, or could imagine it, it was much easier to get there, and Riley had no clue if he could travel between Dimensions. It seemed like some next-level thing that he might only be able to do when he was much older if that could even do it. He was glad that she agreed to stay on the school grounds.
Riley was used to some people getting confused and others getting seasick from teleportation, but it seemed like she had only been slightly confused and now curious. His brows raised as she mentioned that she actually played the piano. What were the odds? With a smile on his lips, he looked back at the piano keys, thinking for a moment before his eyes looked up so he showed how he was listening to her. “Actually, I play the guitar the most, but I believe that I can be a substitute in any Guard,” he informed laughing a little. Maybe it was a little to much to be a substitute in a Guard, but who knew?

Her eyes lit up as he explained that he could play almost every instrument in the Guard. That was quite impressive; a teasing smile formed over her lips; “so you have an ear for instruments? Any other hidden talents?” she cooed before turning around, hiding the reddish glint in her cheeks; really, what was she doing? Always trying to figure out how to embarrass herself or what?
She pushed back some of her blond hair and walked over to the grand piano standing in the middle of the room. Well, if she was already trying to embarrass herself, she could find better ways to do it. She opened the lit and sat on the small attached bench. “Do you have a favourite song?” she asked, turning her head to look at him while he answered. Then Evelyn turned and let her thumb glide over her bottom lip. With a soft exhale, she started playing what he had requested as if she had known in advance what he would ask of her.

He noticed how she seemed impressed. To him, the most important thing was simply to learn how to read nodes, and when you were able to read them, you just had to understand where the nodes were on each instrument… Okay, maybe it was just his brain that was able to manage such things quickly. “Yeah,” he laughed a little goofily with his voice teasing him a bit. “Or, talents and talents,” he mumbled with a small laugh, looking up at her and watching how she had turned around, for a moment he wondered why. “I like to sew, paint and craft,” he mumbled and scratched his head a little. “I make costumes and props and all,” he explained, “But I haven’t really done it the last year or so,” because I was busy transitioning. He didn’t wish to suggest that he could sing, because right now, nothing would be sounding good.

He watched her as she walked over to the piano. “Uh, I like Let it be by The Beatles,” he replied. Then, Evelyn started playing the song, which made him raise his brows. “See, it’s quite the talent also to know a song, just by the name,” he laughed a little. Now, the song he had as a favorite been a popular one, but still. Of course, he also really liked the song 'Whereever You Will Go', but he believed it might be a little too sad to announce being once of his favorite songs. He moved closer to her to watch. For a moment, he wondered if he should take over with one of his hands, just for the fun and to share it.

She let her fingers dance over the keys as she tried to remember what the name exactly was for what he had mentioned he did; she knew it was pretty popular in Japan, not that she had ever really been into that type of thing. Not because she didn’t find it interesting, but when you were the bodyguard of a man running something that could very well be seen as a mafia, well—then you didn’t really have hobbies, at least not those that most people had.
A soft chuckled escaped through her nose as he told her that it was a talent to know the song just from the name. “My father owns a casino, I’ve been playing quite a lot there, and well—The Beatles has that vibe that you want playing in the background while rick people lose their money”, she explained, almost downplaying she was able to remember the song from memory.
She looked up as he came closer, then moved on the bench so he was able to sit down beside her—if he wanted. “So those costumes and props, its cosplaying, right?” she wondered, looking toward him once more “like, it's really big in Japan or just Asia in general?” she wasn’t sure, but she felt like there was something in her mind that told her that she was correct in her statement.

He laughed a little as she explained how the song was one of those that could be played in the background. He could almost imagine that it would be one of those. The scenery even appeared for him. “I can imagine,” he replied with a short laugh.
When she moved around on the bench, giving him a spot to sit on, he didn’t hesitate. Odd, how it had just been on his mind. His eyes were fixated on her fingers, playing the keys. Hitting very note so correctly. He looked up at her as she asked about the hobby he had. “Yeah,” he replied shortly. “I actually think it’s spread quite a lot, like to America and some of Europe,” he said, pulling his eyes away from her fingers when he ended his sentence. “And what about you? Any other hidden talents?” he wondered, laughing a little, letting his eyes seek her fingers again. Playing.

She nodded when he explained that it had spread to other countries too. It had always been weirdly intriguing how people could transform themselves into someone else without having the powers she possessed, how one took on a persona from a character from a fantasy world. A soft giggle left her when he asked if she had any other hidden talents. Well, she knew how to defend herself, and she was pretty good at shooting, but all of these weren’t really something that she wanted to share because they weren’t ‘normal’ teenage things.
“Well, never play poker with me,” she chuckled before the song came to an end, and she moved her fingers; she turned and looked at Riley, instantly feeling the pull that made her stomach drop because of the tension that was forming around the two of them.
Now, it was a dangerous thing when your body did something before the brain had really processed it. This was one of those times when Evelyn leaned forward, placed a very soft and gentle kiss against Riley’s lips, and then moved away again.

Riley chuckled a little as she mentioned how he shouldn’t play poker with her, “I can promise you that,” he laughed, “I honestly know nothing about poker,” he laughed. When she finished the song and looked at him, he looked at her.
Then she leaned in. He didn’t even get to close his eyes before she pulled away again. What the hell just happened. His whole stomach stirred, and he fell out of breath for a moment, while he looked at her. He felt like time had stopped and that he stared at her forever. But it only took a short second before he let a hand find her cheek and pull her in for another gentle kiss, this time closing his eyes. It was odd, confusing, and nerve-wracking. He didn’t even know his sexuality, but maybe it didn’t really matter? Maybe, he just had to act on what felt right. More nervosity started to stir. Did he even know how to kiss? It wasn’t really like he had given more than a quick kiss on the cheeks for the family once in a while when he was younger. This was something else.

It only took a brief second for her to doubt herself. Like it expanded through an entire minute, maybe even an hour. But it couldn’t have been more than a minute before Riley let his hand find her cheek and leaned in to kiss her once more.
It was easily detectable that he wasn’t that skilled or well-versed in kissing. But she didn’t mind it. And wasn’t that what it was all about? The fact that you met someone, and then it just clicked. You didn’t need someone that knew exactly what they were doing; just that you were doing it with them was enough to make it extraordinary. She scootched closer, letting her own hand find his cheek, gently letting her thumb glide over his cheekbone before the tips of her fingers glided close to his hairline. She didn’t push it; she was much more comfortable taking things slowly either way—especially when she wasn’t completely honest with who she was. And even with that thought, one could argue that kissing him wasn’t really taking things at a normal pace. But sometimes. You just knew.

The doubt in him was massive, and it would be sad to say that it helped his performance. He started to pick up how she moved and tried to mirror what she was doing because she was clearly way better at kissing. Turning down the eagerness was also a factor since there was truly something about this, that he wished to experience more of. It freaked him out. She moved closer and started caressing his cheek. It lit a fire in his chest and his thoughts started spiraling. What if things suddenly got too heated? He hadn’t even watched porn before, he knew nothing about anything, and he didn’t really have anything dangling between his legs and would probably never have more than some odd prosthetic and-
A soft sigh left him as her fingers reached his hair. It made him very self-conscious, and he immediately started thinking about whether or not he would sound like the old Riley. It made him forget about everything that he was actually doing, just because he wanted to be certain that his sighs sounded manly. At least, he managed to let his free hand find her waist and pull her just a little closer.

Where he was so self-conscious about how he sounded and what he did, she didn’t realise any of it. She didn’t take notice of the fact that his voice might be a little lighter than it should have been at his age. Nor did she think about how his body might look; it had never been something she had thought about if she had to be honest; she always felt attracted to people and how they acted. Their soul, which she had gotten a more extensive understanding of after she had briefly been a succubus. Souls were such an intriguing and beautiful thing, far more complex than the looks of a body and its curves. Even if she, like anyone else, appreciated someone who looked good, smelled nice and clearly took care of themselves. Something that she found in Riley, besides knowing that the mind and soul he carried was the reason she had kissed him.
She pulled away softly with a slight chuckle leaving her; “I hope it’s okay I kissed you”, she whispered; just because he had kissed her didn’t mean it had been okay. Sometimes you did things even if your mind wasn’t in it.