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Jackie looked at Nicholas's hand with slight shock, her once scowling face again set into a look of absolute horror at his suggestion “I...I...Well.....t...that is to say I...”
Gulping nervously Jackie glanced at the male now fastened to her side like velcro, the slight anger she held towards him vanishing as she noticed the pleading look he was sending her, he was only trying to help (…..again...).

Straightening to her full hight Jackie sent her mother a forced smile
“.....T-Thats right Mr. Sharpe d-did ask me to dance....I just...” narrowing her gaze back on Valen aggressive female bristled with anger before lacing her fingers firmly between Nicholas's, her voice growing slightly stronger in defiance of his comment about her social awkward demeanour
“I just wanted to wait until the floor cleared a little more....and now it is!” even to her the excuse sounded weak but she couldn't back out now. For some reason this entire situation felt like a challenge. Turning back to address Nicholas, Jackie's face dropped into a stoic stare as the two men seemed to exchange friendly banter about the garlic coated food. For the first time in her life Jackie found herself wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

Eyeing valen with a final venomous glare (her face once again red from embarrassment) jackie nudged her male partner in the ribs, causing him excuse themselves from the group. Just as they passed the darker haired vampire human Jackie tilted her head to the side, her voice only just passing a whisper “you pass one comment about anything that happened in the hall way and i'll break your stupid face”.

Passing Valen completely , Jackie deemed the distance safely out of ear shot (of the two human counterparts at least) before rounding on the white haired male, her voice coming out in a low aggravated hiss as they stepped onto the floor “ok 1- what made you think that was a good idea? 2 – please tell me that you can lead because I sure as hell can't! And 3 – pray this song doesn't end because if I have to dance with that b******d i'm coming after you”

Oblivious, as always, to her daughters discomfort Maria laughed and patted Valens shoulder
“you seem like a very clever young gentleman!, yes occasions where Jackie is in such a public domain are rare” the older woman sighed and shook her head, a rue-full smile crossing her face as she glanced over to her daughter, who was currently looking as if she were fit to kill her poor dance partner “sometimes I worry she spends a little to much time out of social interaction....”.
Barry snorted from behind his wife, his large moustache bristling as he clapped valen on his free shoulder, drawing the younger mans attention towards him, as his wife watched the dance floor with a dream like expression. Unlike his doting wife Barry seemed very guarded about what he told people about his daughter and changed the subject in an instant “How did you come to be here then son, a man of your age has surly achieved something note worthy to be able to attend such a function”

(( *-*...did that even make sense? -rereads the post- x-x gah why are my posts so schizophrenic Y-Y. anyway sorry about keeping you waiting guys ^^; ehehe I hope the post isn't to horrible -tw

itchtwitch- ))

(( I Can't tell wether your being sarcastic or not ^^;....))

Jackie's sighed and shook her head, as Nicholas took the lead, (something she was secretly thankful for, though she would never admit it). Tentativly she slid her hands into possession and copied his movements, her body still slightly ridged at the contact.

"My parents can be dense, mum is more of a romantic so his charming nature would have won her over....my dad is a business man so his approval will only be given to people he deems worthy business minded men..." chancing a look over her shoulder Jackie moaned in defeat when she saw her father clap Valen on the shoulder and buried her face into Nick's chest, watching the scene play out was almost physically painful. "I don't know when they plan on leaving but if its with him I will take my chances at sleeping in a trash can tonight because I don't think my temper would last much longer" Her voice rose from his chest as she pulled her face back and looked up at him, and eyebrow raised slightly
"....also why are you so tall......." the change of conversation was almost jarring but it was also a question that played on her mind.

(( will post again after you when i get home >.< ))

((sorry it took so long *_* I didn’t expect to be ambushed when I got in the door. ^^; ah sorry sorry I have trouble when people write telling if they are being sarcastic or not >.<))

Laughing Jackie looked down at Nicholas’s shoes, her eyebrows raised “I’m wearing heels and I still only come up to your chest…” as if to prove her point Jackie lightly placed her forehead back against his chest for a few seconds before looking up at him “defiantly not the shoes”.
At the mention of her parents Jackie grimace and nodded her head stiffly “Sadly they seem to think it’s alright to invite random strangers from party’s home….it's mainly mum but I haven't gotten around to training it out of her yet”
Flushing she spared a withering glance at the trio before turning back to Nicholas, distrust evident in her features.
As much as she had relaxed around him Jackie hadn’t fully let down her guard
“…why would you do that for me, you don’t know me, I could be a mass murdering lunatic for all you know…”

Jackie’s face was stoic for a moment as she let Nicholas’s words sink in, her hand gradually tightening around his wrist, her face switching from distrust into panic as she eyed the man now stood in-between her mother and father.
Gulping the young woman looked back at Nicholas, her body posture turning as rigid as a board, her body pulling closer to the man dancing with her in some vain form of comfort.
“H-he wouldn’t stay the night, if dad was interested in him they would be discussing business and mum would only want to invite him for a coffee” glancing up at one of the many wall mounted clocks around the room Jackie let out a soft puff of breath “…besides, I don’t think we’ll be leaving for another few hours so that’s plenty of time…..maybe he’ll find someone else to harass by then..who knows...m..maybe his boyfriend will come and pick him up or something....” the light humour of Jackies sentance sounded almost forced as she looked back up at the white haired male, her hand still clampped like a vice around his wrist as the continued dancing "..a..and you never did tell me about the book club that you ran..."

((o-o i really couldn't thiknk what to write @_@))

Sighing in relief Jackie’s grip on the poor man’s wrist lessened, allowing Nicholas’s hand to regain its regular circulation once more, her eyebrows almost vanishing into her hairline as the white-ett male took to the subject change of the book club like a duck to a pond.
As his ramblings came to an end Jackie couldn’t help but laugh “Nehi, so it’s a book club that’s more than a book club and its hosted at your family mansion?” letting out a low, playful whistle Jackie grinned, her verbal tick sliding neatly back into place as the conversation to, what was in Jackie’s opinion, a comfortable turn.

Normally the large the house the larger the estate it sat on and normally with a large estate there came the promise of a large garden, which – if nicks high spirited rambling was anything to go by- where exquisite, something Jackie couldn’t quite pass up a chance to see.
Pulling one of her hands away Jackie tapped her chin in mock thought as she supposedly ‘considered’ his offer. The fact that she was sold on the idea the moment the male had mentioned a garden was beyond the point.
To an outsider the pare must have looked quite the site on the dance floor, the flashes of emotion and constant conversation change between the two must have made them look overly animated as they swayed with only a slight interest in the reason why they were on the dance floor in the first place.

A large childlike grin seemed to find its way onto her face as she placed her hand back in its original position “ok then, I’ll attend you’re not a book, book club if ~”
Jerking her head in Valens direction “if we can find one of these supposed worse than my parents, which I resent by the way, to peek his interest. If we can find a match for creepy hall lurker then I’ll join your book club……and…..maybe live in your garden if it meets my standards” The challenge was nowhere near serious, Jackie had intended to become a part of the book club the moment she was offered, the wager about Valen was mainly to see just how willing to push her buttons he was.
That and maybe her parents may stop playing his game (even if they were unwittingly doing so)

((the text is only so small so it doesn't look like a stupidly long post -tried her hardest with it and now has killed her brain- also this is my last post ^^; sorry again i have work at 6 so i shouldn't really be on now.......If Zerix comes on and has nothing to post he can take over the parents if he wants or...i don't know what ever you guys think of, anyway night night razz ))

((Not a lot to be honest. Oh except THE WHOLE PLACE BLEW UP! And everyone's somewhere completely different now.
... Lol, no that didn't happen. Barely anything. I remember this:
1 -Jacqueline went outside the party for a breather.
- Valen found Jacqueline.
- Nicholas found Valen and Jacqueline
- Valen went away
- Nicholas and Jacqueline went back to party
- Valen reappeared, accompanied by Jacqueline's Parents
- Nicholas and Jacqueline are dancing...
2 -Also Marie and Kael are totally hooking up somewhere in your manor right now.
That stuff happened. It's not actually many pages, you should go read up on the stuff.))

((I can only tell you to go read at this point, I don't have all the details xD))


Nicholas felt comforted when her grip loosened, happy with the thought that he may just have relaxed her, even if only slightly. He sniggered between his lips and nodded. That was pretty much it. "Oh, don't forget the ice cream. You gotta have snacks." Nick said with a grin now on his face. As long as anyone did not get an unhealthy piece of 'food' from Anastasie's little experiments, one would be perfectly fine.

His deep purple eyes were fixed on her brightly lit face while she appeared to be considering his offer. He waited patiently, moving as smoothly as ever with her on the dance floor. It seemed likely she might accept, if she really hated the idea she would not appear so pleased after all. That of course delighted him more. It would be nice having her company at the clan home.

Nicholas' eyebrows rose in interest when Jackie added a condition to her joining. 'This ought to be good.' He prepared himself. And when she finished, he could not help but laugh. "It's a deal." Nick agreed enthusiastically.

Nicholas took Jackie's hands in his and smiled widely at her. "Come on, let's go see who we can find. Watch the master at work." He figured he rather keep her along than just send her back.
Nick directed her away from the dance floor and they slowly made their way around the hall. It did not take long for them to get noticed of course, people had seen Nicholas dancing with a young lady, what other excuse did they need to come ask questions?


The first person to stop them was of course the most swift footed one. It was a strapping young man, a little overly dressed and two drinks in his hands. He had short dark hair and greeted them with a quick bow of his head. "Heyy, Nick. Who's the lass?"

"Mr Johnson." Nicholas replied with a nod. It was Mr Johnson Junior, a rather spoiled child that inherited certain large sums from his parents, and with little understanding of .. well, much of anything, especially people. His struck outs with the many rich girls were well known and rumors claimed he would end up marrying a donkey.
"This is young Miss O'Conner. I am showing her around this nice estate." Nicholas explained and the man really did not know the name, or was too focused staring at Jackie. Nick rolled his eyes and poked the man on his shoulder. When he had Johnson's attention, he flashed his eyes at the direction of Mr and Mrs O'Conner, who still had their young male companion alongside them. "Mr Paendragon has been keeping company to the O'Conners this evening." It did not need a further explanation. They both knew why a single man went to talk to the parents of a young woman at such occasions.
Johnson quickly figured he had competition here, for some reason thinking Jackie would ever even glance at him, some random person. The man nodded and briskly walked off to the direction of the O'Conners.

"I'm sorry about him, but I don't think he'll bother you any further tonight." Nicholas said to Jacqueline with an apologetic smile. He did not mean to use her presence as leverage to push these people onto Valen.

When Nicholas would have continued walking farther, they were approached by an elderly woman. She wore a dress that must have gone out of style in the Victorian era and smelled strongly of perfumes... or cats. He never really could tell. The old bitty was the type to gossip, get all the information out and then there were of course... her countless nieces and grand daughters. Nick shivered at the thought. She tried to push those bratty kids onto any available gentleman she came across. And she did not take no for an answer.

Nicholas lifted up a hand and apologized. "I'm sorry Miss Bouquet, I'm a little busy showing young Miss O'Conner around the party. If you would wait just a moment, I'm sure Mr and Mrs O'Conner will be free of Mr Paendragon's and the Johnson boy's attention." All these titles, all this fancy talk - These people were easy to manipulate as long as you phrased everything correctly.

The old woman smiled toothily and waved her hand at the air. "Oh I just wanted to see how you were doing Nicholas, my boy. Miss O'Conner." She spoke with a surprisingly high pitched voice, her words caked in false pleasantries. Her excuses were as bad as ever of course. Nicholas kept a brave face as she continued. "I did just remember though, I had something to tell Margaret concerning Wayan's excellent buffet." The woman turned and revealed behind her a young girl, in her later teen years, and began pushing her along as they walked off.

"See, what happens now is she's going to tell her friend that two eligible men are talking to your parents, and they'll think it's because these men have some kind of chance at marrying into the O'Conner family. Fat chance, I know. You'd probably beat those guys to a pulp. Those old ladies will also think that it's important that Paendragon and Johnson marry into their blood instead." Nicholas explained to Jackie. "Are you keeping up? I hope you don't think bad of me for this."

~

Oh it was true of course, the results spoke for themselves. Shortly after their meeting, Johnson appeared as if out of nowhere by the side of Mr O'Conner and grinned widely. "Hullo there. O'Conners, good sir." He greeted them happily and offered his hand to shake with Valen. "Excuse me but who you are? I don't believe I've seen you here before, are you with the service staff?" The human was unkindly brutal in his attempts at defaming his competition. "I am Matthew Johnson, Junior, heir to the Johnson estate and retail business." He bragged, making sure to remind the O'Conners about his wealth.


it was shortly after that when the two elderly women approached the now group of four, making it a six. Both ladies were holding their hands on the shoulders of younger women, presenting them on purpose as eligible woman. The girls wore quite ridiculous fake grins and overexcited expressions. Johnson had fallen for it before, but apparently even he had standards when it came to the families of these old crones.

"Good evening Barry, Maria." Margaret, one of the aged women greeted the two. They then turned to look at Valen with suspicious interest. "And who is this young man? Don't tell me you're keeping him all to yourself." She spoke rather quickly and never did not stop grinning.
With a nudge, the younger women were released from the grips of their grannies and they closed in on Valen Paendragon.

Interrupting whatever Johnson was talking to Valen about, they introduced themselves as Merelyn and Josephina. Both giggled excessively and kept looking the vampire over, like some quality piece of meat.


((I'm sorry! I had to introduce a lot of characters here O: It could be worse! Sorry Zerix xD but hey, Valen's practically famous now!))