it’s been something like hell trying to keep himself from texting skylar a million times a day since they’d made out in his living room. more than once he’s had to thrust his phone into pip’s hands and tell her to hide it from him until the urge passes–or becomes tolerable, at least. because as prone as he is to ignoring social norms and–even more–ignoring what other people want in favor of what he wants, adrian has found within himself a previously unexplored capacity for something akin to maturity and even a half-decent measure of self-restraint. skylar is different than any of the other boys adrian’s ever lusted after, though, and a big part of it, he’s coming to realize, is that it isn’t just lust. maybe not even just infatuation. he’s got a crush, and a big one, and unlike so many others whom adrian has reeled in and then quickly pushed away with his tendency to flake out, he’s begun to realize he doesn’t want that to happen this time. he’s not quite sure what he does want to happen, either–just that he doesn’t want that. in any case, he’s managed only to text him once since then, what he considers to be perfectly reasonable. beyond reasonable, even. he deserves a fucking medal, he thinks, for the amount of self-discipline he’s exercised the last week. so when he sees skylar under the shimmery lights and vogue decor of carina bay’s neptune’s ball, he feels both nervous–nervous!–and jittery with excitement as he approaches him. “hey,” he chirrups modestly, sidling up to the much taller boy and giving him a light nudge with his shoulder. he looks phenomenal, is the thing. of course, he always looks phenomenal, but dressed up the way he is, adrian is absolutely sure skylar could pass for a model in an especially distinguished magazine of some sort. “no kids tonight, huh? i have to admit, i was kind of hoping to see leo all dressed up. you, um…you look really nice, though. i’m glad you came, i wasn’t sure i’d see you here.” ( @illuminction )
it feels the slightest bit irreverent, to have the same tuxedo on as his wedding day. while not quite the same as if he’d been the one in the dress, it had still felt like an outfit he’d only wear once. dressing it down meant opting out of the high necked button up shirt and instead going for a silky black number that practically didn’t button at all. he left the tuxedo jacket unbuttoned as well and hoped nobody would question him about his attire in any way. getting ready hadn’t been terrible and parting with the kids, while difficult, had gone smoothly thanks to their love for a night with bristol. but now that he’s here, looking at all the glitz and glamour, he feels entirely out of his league. that isn’t helped when he’s joined by adrian who is all sheer fiery red to skylar’s understated black ensemble. sky moves away at the little tap to his shoulder but it’s mostly so that he can stand back to take in and appreciate the details of the other’s outfit. it may not be a pink pvc skirt but it still radiates the same confident energy that intrigued sky in the first place. ( though it was the soft comfort of the oversized knit and the haze of weed that had been the final push skylar had needed to indulge that curiosity. ) “ hey, ” he replies a bit slowly, eyes drifting up from his outfit to adrian’s face. “ leo did dress up. he made sure to put on his prettiest snow white dress to see me out the door. ” sky tugs a bit uncomfortably at his sleeves, choosing to shift his gaze up onto the elaborate decorations just to avoid looking at adrian for too long. “ thanks. i mean, i did actually shower for this so it’s almost as if i have my life together. ” he laughs a bit dryly and lifts a hand to gesture to adrian’s getup. “ kind of pales in comparison to all of this but i’ll take ‘ nice, ’” his toes are angled inwards and he has to resist the urge to fidget, not wanting to scuff one of his only pairs of nice dress shoes. “ uh, yeah, guess it’s not really my scene but bristol offered to stay home and i think starla would kill me if i didn’t go to the ‘ ball ’ so here we are. ” it’s not as awkward as he thinks it could be which is why he’s able to meet adrian’s gaze and nod towards the bar. “ can i get you a drink? ”
