Panic (Regina)

[Hallie Monroe]

The idea of anything happening with Hallie and Kyle was probably the farthest thing from her mind. Not that she would have minded if it did. She liked Kyle and, on occasion, she had noticed that he was very cute. But she thought of him as a friend, and she thought that was how he thought of her, too. The idea that he would think of her as more than that had simply not crossed Hallie's mind.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be having much too good a time to be worrying about me," Hallie said. "I just hope I don't trip or something and knock poor Kyle down. I really don't know about these shoes you want me to wear. Don't you think maybe I should wear something that's not so... high?"

[Regina Curry]

"I could never have to much fun and forget about you! And I'm sure that if you go to fall, he'll catch you before you hit the ground." Regina smiled. "You'll do fine in those shoes Hals! You're not going to fall in them, I promise. Just pretend you're wearing just flat shoes and it'll be alright." It was the first time Regina ever decided to wear heels as well. "Besides, the heels on your shoes are not that high. I promise Hals, you'll do perfectly!"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie eyed the shoes doubtfully, then slowly shook her head. Regina had more confidence in her than she deserved. It really didn't take much for Hallie to trip, and when she did, she always looked like the most clumsy, ungraceful idiot. "Is there an anti-trip charm? I'm sure I'm going to fall... I even trip on flat surfaces while in bare feet!"

[Regina Curry]

Putting her hands on Hallie's shoulders, Regina looked her best friend in the eye. "You can't always think that you're going to fall. The more you think about it, the higher chance you will. Make sure when you step, you step with your heel first, then the rest of your foot. Just do that for me. Walk around the room a few times in your shoes and see how it works. Don't think about tripping either. If that doesn't really work, we'll try something else."

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was still doubtful, but since Regina had already managed to perform a miracle and make her look pretty, maybe there was a chance that she could be right about this, too. "OK," she said. "Maybe I'll just try the shoes now and walk around the room to practice not tripping."

She bit down on her bottom lip as she slipped the shoes on her feet. They actually had very tiny heels--the man in the shoe store had called it a "kitten heel." They were also vere comfortable. A normal person would have had no trouble with them. But Hallie was convinced that she was not normal.

As she walked around the room in the shoes, she murmured under her breath, "I will not trip, I will not trip, I will not trip..."

[Regina Curry]

"There you go. See, practice makes perfect." She smiled broadly. Regina was proud of Hallie for even trying to walk in those small heels. She had faith in her friend that she would be completely different tonight. Hallie wouldn't be the really shy girl who tried to hide her face all the time, or that was Regina was hoping for. Maybe this new look would give Hallie all the confidence she needed.

Watching her walk around the room for a few minutes, Regina slid on her own shoes. "See, its not that bad. You just shouldn't really murmur that under your breath though. Just focus on walking straight and your feet on the floor like you're doing now and you'll be perfect. I bet that you'll have just about everyone speechless!"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was still partially convinced that she was going to wake up from a dream to find that she was still her same old self, with the frizzy hair, thick glasses, and bad skin. But maybe, if it was just a dream, she should let herself enjoy it. Just accept the fact that she looked pretty, and that she wasn't clumsy and that maybe, just maybe a boy might actually like her.

She took a breath and smiled nervously. "I... I think I'm ready, Reg. Maybe we should head downstairs before I lose my nerve."

[Regina Curry]

"I think you are more than ready Hals." Regina noticed a tube of lip gloss sitting on her dresser. "Oh! One more thing." She quickly applied the gloss on Hallie's lips and then smiled. "Perfect. Now, let's go."

Regina pulled on her other shoe and looped her arm through Hallie's. "I think we should have a little more girl time after the dance if we're not too tired."

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was trying to take even breaths and careful steps. It was mainly when she rushed that she tripped. Maybe if she took her time and watched where she was going, she wouldn't trip. She also found that she could see better with the contacts than she could with glasses. The glasses were always smudged or smeared, and there was always a blind spot. That didn't happen with the contacts.

Even still, as they prepared to go down the stairs into the common room, Hallie's knees began to shake and she leaned against Regina slightly. What if she fell down the steps? She bit down on her lower lip and tasted the cherry flavor of the lip gloss.

[Regina Curry]

Regina was walking with Hallie slowly. She didn't want to trip either, however, her mind was elsewhere than walking. She was more concerned about dancing. The champions had to dance first, not to mention in front of everyone. What if she forgot the steps? What if she stumbled? What if she was completely stiff and it looked awkward? She was more nervous about that than just plain walking.

As they reached the steps, Regina's stomach started to tie into knots. It wasn't because she was nervous about the dance, but when they reached the bottom of the steps, Thane would probably be there. She squeezed Hallie's arm a little and didn't mind that her friend leaned into her. "Walking down steps is just like walking on a flat surface," Regina said trying to encourage Hallie.

[Hallie Monroe]

Breathe, Hallie, breathe, she thought to herself. Do you want to be a basket case all your life? You can do this.

Her movements were slow and deliberate, and she didn't trust herself to speak as she walked. If she could just make it down the stairs without falling, Hallie was sure she would be OK. She clung to Regina on one side, and the railing on the other. As they finally reached the last step, Hallie took a breath and turned to Regina. "Well, here goes... do you think Kyle will be impressed?"

[Regina Curry]

Hallie's steps were small, and Regina was patient. She was trying to take small steps herself. She didn't want to end up tripping either.

Pausing at the last step, Regina smiled. "Of course I do, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your best friend either. If I didn't know you and then saw you, I personally think I would fall over." She let out a small giggle. "You might knock him dead, who knows."

[Hallie Monroe]

Although Hallie was quite certain Kyle would be shocked at the sight of her, she highly doubted that his reaction would be that strong. "I hope not," she said, giggling nervously. "I don't have time to find another date at this late time."

She took a breath and squeezed Regina's hand, then stepped out from behind the staircase to look for Kyle.

[Regina Curry]

Regina started to laugh. She hoped that Thane would already be ready. Maybe they could get there early and she could have a few minutes to calm her nerves.

She squeezed Hallie's hand in return. "Good luck Hals," she whispered before Hallie stepped out from behind the staircase.

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle, like everyone else, was nervous. He had gotten enough nerve to ask Hallie to the dance, and now the time was here to actually go. He opted not to wear a tie. Even though he did know how to tie one, they always made him feel awkward.

Once he had his hair just right, Kyle left the boy's dorm and walked down to the common room to wait on Hallie. He was fiddling with his thumbs as he leaned against the wall while he waited for her.

He didn't have to wait for long because he noticed her step from the staircase. Kyle straightened up immediately and a smile spread across his face. "Hallie," he said in amazement. She really was beautiful, glasses or no glasses, bushy hair or straight hair. It didn't matter to him, but right now she looked, well Kyle was sure that he had sort of a dumb expression on his face. "You look amazing."

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie blushed deeply. No one had ever looked at her like that before. No one had ever told her that she was beautiful before, well, except Regina. But she was her best friend, so it hardly counted. But the look on Kyle's face was something that Hallie had never thought she'd see from anyone when they looked at her. It made her heart beat a little faster.

"Th-thank you," she said, biting her lip and tasting the cherry flavor of the lip gloss again. "You look good, too."

[Kyle Atkins]

"Thanks," he said in a casual like tone. His smile remained on his face, but it turned more into a goofy one. The blush on Hallie's cheeks made Kyle's face warm and he knew that he should compliment her more often, even if she thought she didn't look good.

A moment of slience passed between them, as Kyle tried to get his thoughts together so he wouldn't really sound like an idiot talking. He cleared his throat and offered Hallie his arm. "Ready to go?"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie wished she'd grabbed the tube of lip gloss and carried it with her. The way she kept biting down on her lower lip, it would be completely gone before the ball even began. She took a breath and glanced nervously at Regina. She didn't see Thane anywhere, but knowing him, he was probably looking for something.

"Um, Regina? Do you want us to wait?" she asked uncertainly.

[Regina Curry]

"You don't have to," said Regina. "Thane is probably looking for something. He should be down in a few minutes." She smiled at Hallie. "You can go ahead if you want to, honestly. If he doesn't come down in a few minutes, I'll just go up and help him find whatever it is he's looking for." She didn't mind if Hallie wanted to go ahead down. Regina didn't want to hold her up.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie bit her lip again. She was nervous about leaving Regina. Even though Kyle was her friend, too, she just... felt a little less nervous with Regina nearby. The two of them had a lot in common, and Hallie felt like Regina understood her.

"Are... you sure?" she asked doubtfully. "I mean, you're the champion, you shouldn't be up here waiting alone..."