United: New Haven

XIII. Consequences

Lena stared at the brown-haired boy, taken by surprise.
"If... if you want to, of course?" Jace asked.

Lena looked from him, to Max, somewhat bewildered.
"Go on," Max whispered, "Not every day a cute boy asks you to dance!"
Lena looked at him, unsure, before turning back to Jace.
"Fine," she said.
Jace then offered his hand to her, and after a moment of hesitation, Lena took it.
The two moved away from Max, who watched them go with a big smile.
He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around.
"Hey," Dai smiled, "I think I remember you from homeroom. Max, right?"
Max smiled shyly, "Yeah... and you're Dai."
"Yep," Dai said, and he looked over at Kai and Judith dancing a few feet away, "Slow dances, huh?"
"Yeah..." Max twiddled his thumbs.
Dai then looked back at the brown-haired boy.
"Do you... need someone to dance with?" Dai ventured.
"Well, I'd like to," Max admitted, "Better than standing off to the side, right?"
Dai looked from him, to Lena and Jace walking through the crowd,
"Okay then."

"Why do you want to dance with me?" Lena was asking as they came to a stop, awkwardly resting her hands on his shoulders.
Jace placed his hands on her hips, and the two started stepping back and forth.

"Really, I just wanted to let you know that I... really am sorry for what happened a couple days ago," he muttered, "My friend just gave me an idea, and I went with it."
"Well, this 'friend' sounds like a идиот," Lena grumbled.
Jace chuckled, "Yeah... you're not the first person to tell me that."
He then looked closely at Lena, who was perturbed by this.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Sorry," he said, "It's just... I've been wanting to tell you for a little while that... you have really pretty hair."
Lena blushed, very surprised by this.
Jace was blushing too, chuckling awkwardly.
"Sorry if that came off as creepy..." he uttered, "I just th-"
"No!" Lena interrupted, "It's... it's fine. Thank you."
Lena then examined his face, trying to find something to compliment him on, when she and he locked eyes.
"You have... nice eyes," she said.
Jace looked away, growing flustered, "Thanks."

The two chuckled as the slow song progressed, not noticing Janice watching them from the bonfire. She stomped over to them and shoved them apart.
"What are you doing?!" she shouted at Jace.
Jace was taken aback, "Janice, I-"
"You were supposed to dance with me!" Janice continued, "You're my boyfriend! I'm the one who loves you, not...not...!"
She stammered, pointing an accusatory finger at Lena.
"Her!" she shouted.
Gifted around them started turning to see what the commotion was about.

Lena looked around, not liking the unexpected attention.
Dai and Max looked at her, as well as Luke and Aria, for they were close by.
She turned to Jace, "You never told me you had a girlfriend..."
"Wait- no, I-" Jace stammered, starting to buckle under the anxiety.
"No?" Janice exclaimed, "What do you mean, no?"
Jace didn't answer, he just looked at both girls, at a loss for words.
"You and I are having a long talk," Janice ordered, and she grabbed Jace's hand and started dragging him away from the party.
Lena watched them go. She couldn't help feeling concerned for Jace.

Aria and Luke hurried over to her.
"Lena! You okay?" Aria asked.
"Yeah," Luke added, "That was crazy."
"I'm good," Lena said, "I'm just... worried for him."
"Yeah, she seems like a piece of work," Aria scoffed.
"Whoa, Aria," Luke teased, "Feisty, all of a sudden?"
"Well, she's clearly annoying," Aria retorted, "And don't call me feisty."
Luke chuckled, softly punching her arm.

Dai and Max had stopped dancing by now too, and were just as appalled.
"That girl has issues," Dai muttered.
"Mm," Max agreed.
Kai and Raina then came over, joining them.
"Wow," Kai said, "What was that about?"
"I'm sure Lena will provide details later," Dai replied, "For now, let's-"