"-And that's it..." Rella mumbled sadly.
Barb sipped her drink.
"So... he really never came to the lab again?" she asked.
"That's right, he didn't even speak to me again. He barely acknowledges me now, even though we're teammates," Rella answered.
"Oh yeah, that makes sense," Barb stated calmly.
"How could you say that?!"
"Well..." Barb began, "You led him on, rejected him, spread rumors about him, and didn't even give him a sincere apology afterward."
Rella slumped in her chair, then gulped her drink down.
"Did you need to be so harsh?" she muttered.
"I'm not being harsh. I'm just stating facts," Barb replied.
"But when you say it like that, I sound awful," Rella mumbled.
"... You haven't sincerely apologized to him even once. If you truly want to make amends, you should start there," Barb noted.
Rella pouted and said,
"Yeah, but he's in a committed relationship now."
Barb crossed the room and flicked Rella's forehead.
"OW?!" she shrieked.
"That doesn't matter... You should apologize because you were wrong, not because you have something to gain from it," Barb chastened.
Rella rubbed the pain from her forehead.
"... I guess you're right."
"Do it quickly. I don't want unresolved tension affecting the team," Barb added before sitting back down.
"Oh, so that's what you actually care about!" Rella accused with a smirk.
"Obviously," Barb replied in a dry tone.
Rella pondered over Barb's words after leaving, and quietly panicked inside while trying to envision how she could apologize to him.
Each mental scenario ended with him refusing to forgive her.
The next afternoon, everyone agreed to meet up in the rec room after lunch. Even Panther joined in without complaint.
Upon entering, Fenix pressed a button. All the arcade machines folded away into the walls, and the gaming table in the middle of the room lowered into the floor.
The lights started to dim.
"What's going on?" Mirror mumbled shakily.
"I just wanted to show you guys this feature," Fenix answered.
"Oh! Is this a dance floor?!" Mirror stated excitedly. He nodded and pressed another button. Music started blasting into the room.
"Come on, Caster, let's dance!" Mirror exclaimed, grabbing Caster's hand and pulling him along.
"... If you don't know how to dance... I can help you," Fenix whispered to Aura. She smirked at him and said,
"I know how to dance," she replied. She then shuffled onto the floor alone, gliding gracefully across the floor in sync with the rhythm playing over the speakers.
"Wow... she's amazing..." Shade mumbled. Then he gasped and covered his mouth, glancing at Fenix to gauge his reaction.
Fenix hadn't heard him, though; his eyes were locked on Aura as if he was mesmerized.
It was as if he forgot anyone else existed.
"Do you want to dance too?" Veil asked Flow. Flow squealed and replied,
"Yes!"
Her reaction made him laugh.
When they danced together, it was like watching professionals on stage.
Flow was shocked that she was effortlessly pulling off movements she'd never attempted before. As he pulled her in close, the tension between them could be felt by everyone in the room.
"... How am I... How are we doing this?" she whispered.
"I've had a few formal dance classes growing up," Veil admitted.
"... Wow... you've done everything," she retorted, keeping her eyes fixed on his and struggling to stay relaxed so she wouldn't ruin their dancing.
"... My family didn't believe in rest," he replied calmly while lifting her into the air. Flow giggled.
"Do you want to dance?" Shade whispered to Cantarella.
"What about me?!" Panther interjected. Shade frowned and said,
"I know you don't."
Cantarella laughed awkwardly,
"You two should be dance partners. Don't bother with an old lady like me,"
Panther frowned.
"Old?... You look so young, though. I thought you were my age," she noted. Cantarella waved her off dismissively.
"You heard her, dance with me!" Panther declared. Shade sighed and extended his hand,
"Fine... if you want to."
Panther gripped his hand tightly and dragged him away.
"... Aren't you going to dance?" Cantarella asked Vision, who was sitting near her on the sidelines.
"I don't have a partner, and I don't want to," he answered coolly.
"Fair enough," she replied.
It was around that time that Fenix broke from his trance and stepped forward to join Aura.
"I'm very impressed," he murmured.
Aura gave him a proud smile, then placed her hands on his shoulders. They moved like fighters, anticipating the other's every move. Every step was timed perfectly.
Aura was overloaded with adrenaline and excitement.
Fenix drew her close by the waist, holding her in place as he whispered,
"You're so beautiful... I really wish we were alone right now."
Her face flushed, then he leaned in to kiss her, multiple times in the middle of the dance floor.
Panther had her hands on Shade's shoulders, swaying with the music. She looked up at him expectantly, but he was looking around, watching everyone else in the room.
"If you don't want to dance with me, you could have just said so!" she spat.
He turned to her, confused, and raised his eyebrows.
"I could?"
Panther frowned, then stomped on his foot. As Shade was hopping around from the pain, she stormed out.
"What did I do this time? Why is everyone always hitting me?" Shade grumbled.
He glanced around the room again.
At some point, Fenix quietly guided Aura toward the hallway without anyone noticing.
Flow and Veil were huddled into the darkest corner of the room for reasons he couldn't quite understand, locked in a tight embrace.
Only Mirror and Caster were still energetically dancing with one another.
He walked over to where Vision and Cantarella were sitting.
"My dance partner ran off..." he mumbled.
"That's too bad," Cantarella replied coolly.
"Pretty much everyone else has stopped dancing, too. They only lasted twenty minutes..." Vision remarked, his eyes following Veil and Flow, who were now sneaking off alone.
"I need a drink," Shade groaned. Then he palmed his face and plopped into the chair beside Cantarella.
"Hmm... I can make you a drink if you wish," she offered.
He glanced at her and frowned before saying,
"Before that, when was the last time you washed your hands?"
Cantarella huffed.
"I washed my hands right before coming here!" she stated defensively.
"So... almost half an hour ago? And you have to dip your finger in my drink to turn it into alcohol, right?" he asked, with his gaze drifting down to her nails.
"Do you want a drink or not?" she hissed.
Shade shrugged and said,
"Yeah, your nails look clean, so mix me up something."
Cantarella muttered to herself while stomping over to the bar. She poured him a glass of club soda, then lightly pressed her finger tip onto the surface of the liquid.
After a second, it was done, so she returned and offered him the drink. When he reached for it, she retracted it.
"What do you say when someone does a favor for you?" Cantarella asked teasingly.
Shade frowned, and his mouth twitched.
There was a short pause before he grumpily said,
"Thank you."
The corners of her lips curled upward as she finally surrendered the glass.
"Would you mind making me one too?" Vision began, "Something sour..."
Cantarella nodded and walked away to fulfill his request.
Mirror was panting, with her hands on Caster's shoulders.
He had his hands on her waist, looking down at her fondly.
"... What? Where did everyone go?" she muttered, confused as she glanced around the room.
"They must be spending the rest of their off day elsewhere," he noted.
Mirror puffed out her cheeks.
"I can see that..." she snapped.
Caster chuckled lightly before leaning in to give her a gentle kiss.
"Caster..." she mumbled as he pulled away.
"Yeah?"
While speaking, he began guiding her across the dance floor once again, and she matched his pace.
"... Do you want to sneak away too?"
As soon as her question hit his ears, his movements paused, and she slammed into him.
"Ow..." Mirror muttered.
She gazed up at Caster, who still seemed deep in thought, then he lifted her and threw her over his shoulder as he replied,
"... I suppose I do."
Mirror squirmed a little from being surprised, but he kept a firm hold on her as he carried her back to his room.
Cantarella, Shade, and Vision sat with their drinks, watching the last couple leave.
"They didn't last long either," Shade noted.
"... I miss Clair..." Vision mumbled against the rim of his glass before chugging down the contents in one gulp.
Once he finished his drink, he stood up and unsteadily paced the halls on the way back to his room.
He pulled out the LoveNote.
There was a barrage of messages from Clair, as usual.
Vision skimmed over them, then he wrote,
"I wish you could be here with me."
Feeling dizzy from the alcohol, he slumped across the desk with his eyes fixed on the LoveNote, waiting for her response.
Back on the Island, Clair noticed her LoveNote glowing from the new message immediately.
She rushed over to read it.
Her face got hot, so she reread his sentence multiple times to be sure she didn't misread or imagine it.
"... How am I supposed to reply to that?!" she screamed.