according to plan. [open]

[Madeline Parker]

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[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/hv7b6s.jpg] Dateless but not put out, Madeline Parker had settled herself into one of the less crowded corners of the room. She was sitting alone at a table, a glass of punch resting between her hands as she surveyed the rest of the great hall, face hidden behind a catlike black mask. Actually, her whole ensemble was black. Her black dress was simple and fell to her knees, a black flower on the side of her waist matching the one pinned in her hair (which was styled in a simple but elegant updo). Her heels were three inches, black, and strappy, and the small clutch she had placed in her lap was black velvet. Even her jewelry was set in black, making a striking contrast against the pearls in the necklace, bracelet, and earrings. How she looked, however, was the least of her concerns. She had strategically placed herself in a chair draped in shadows, one that had a good advantage of the rest of the room. This was a bit ironic considering she normally liked to be the center of attention. But, she would have time to better enjoy the party later. As much as she liked getting dressed up, she currently had something planned that would be far more memorable than all of the dresses and masks and flirting. If the inhabitants of Silas were expecting the ball to go off without a hitch, they were sorely mistaken. Maddie had been causing trouble at the school for as long as she had attended it, and despite being in her college years now today would be no exception. She had been planning for the Masquerade for weeks, even going so far as to get herself put on the decoration committee. She had spent a good deal of time hanging streamers and lights simply so she could ensure everything would be prefect for her "little" prank. Needless to say, everything looked beautiful and most of the student body seemed awed as they entered. That's what Maddie was doing at the moment: watching people enter. She had been down here since before the ball started under the pretense of making some last minute decorative adjustments. In truth, she was putting the finishing touches on her plan to make sure it would go off without issue. She had set the whole thing up on her own, refusing to tell even Dominic any details about it beyond the fact that she was planning something. Speaking of which, she had yet to see her young lackey enter. Or maybe she'd missed him while her eyes had swept over the ceiling, checking for any hints that her prank was prematurely visible. Either way, she knew he would be attending because he didn't want to miss what she had in store. He would show up eventually, and once he did she would be able to put the entire plan into action. She made not have told him what she was planning, but she did have a use for him in all this. In the meantime, however, she would continue to sit and people watch. It was no where near close to the time she wanted to kick things off. No, that would wait until well into the party when most people were here and everyone was having too much fun to really suspect anything unexpected could possibly happen. So Madeline stared out at the crowd, a subtle, conniving smile playing on her lips. So long as no one came up to her and managed to piss her off, the evening would be most spectacular.

[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/hv7b6s.jpg] tagged: open | words: 592 | outfit: [click!]

[dom]

“Goodbye ladies!!” Nic was beaming as he strolled away from a group of pretty girls he had been flirting with. Daaaannnggg Nic ya got yo game on tonigghttt!! After hanging around Parker and Dimitri for a while, the teen decided to branch out and see what the rest of the ball had in store for him. Surprisingly he was enjoying himself and was thankful that Maddie had brought the subject up the other day. Speaking of which, where was she? He was supposed to be looking for her. Ah crap, Maddie’s going to destroy me if she finds out I forgot about her and spent all this time messing around.

By now the ball was in full swing –the dance floor was crowded with students and most of the tables were already occupied by groups of students. Sighing, Nic made himself invisible; it would be much easier to find Maddie when he could get close to people without drawing attention to himself. For the next several minutes Nic found himself approaching every blonde, that was about Maddie’s height, his eyes fell upon. I doubt I’d find her on the dance floor, or with a large group of people. The teen grew frustrated, he was wasting valuable flirting time trying to find a needle in a haystack. This just HAD to be a masquerade ball…

After about ten more minutes of weaving through the sea of people in the Great Hall, he spotted a dark and lone figure in a quiet corner. I walked by that spot three times already! UGH! Nic didn’t have to look further to determine if it was Maddie or not, he could already tell. As he approached, Nic made himself visible again, his frustration hidden behind his plain black mask. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he saw what Maddie was wearing, “Awww we match,” he said playfully as he pulled a chair out across from her and plopped down.

He waited in silence for Maddie to lay out the plan, or at least tell him to do something. Occasionally he would find himself checking her out, but would avert his gaze before she noticed, at least he hoped he did. Nic silently cursed himself for sitting across from her, I can’t see her legs from here! The boy discovered his affinity for a pretty pair of legs this night. At least her dress is short, there shall be plenty of time for ogling later Nic, just don’t get caught. Nic realized that he had grown thirsty after all the socializing and searching and decided to offer Maddie some punch. “I think I want some punch. Should I get you a cup?”

[Madeline Parker]

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[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/hv7b6s.jpg] If the girl was at all surprised by the literal appearance of a boy, she did not show it. In fact, the only move she made to acknowledge his presence was a roll of her eyes. His little remake had failed to amuse her. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment though, so that didn't exactly help. Maddie had been running through a series of calculations in her head when Nic chose to show up. Unwilling to divert her attention from her master plan, it was several long minutes before she so much as acknowledged him. She needed to be sure everything was perfect. If it wasn't, well... The last thing she wanted was for this prank to go horrible wrong. At the offer of punch (which she was only half listening to) she slid her empty cup towards him in acceptance. A few more minutes of solitude were exactly what she needed. Nic's short absence allowed her to finish her calculations, and once he returned she finally turned to look at him. She took the offered punch with a polite thanks, a more devious smile playing on her lips now. It was time to let the boy in on his role in her master plan, even if she was still resolved to not tell him what would be happening. Maddie sipped her punch, her free hand bringing her clutch from her lap and onto the table now. Once she set down the cup, she opened the black velvet purse and pulled out a small remote. Expectantly she waited for the questions that Nic never seemed capable of holding in. Then she beckoned for him to lean forward so she could explain exactly what she needed him to do. "This," she indicated the remote in her hand, sliding it across the table so that it would now be in the boy's possession. "Is your sole responsibility tonight. Don't lose it. And under no circumstances are you to press the power button on it until you get my signal. Understood?" All business and no nonsense, she was getting straight to the point. She would let no stupid mistakes ruin her beautifully laid plans tonight; there would be hell to pay if they did.

[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/hv7b6s.jpg] tagged: nic | words: 369 | outfit: [click!] notes: forgive the brief bit of powerplay

[dom]

Nic sat in utter silence when the girl didn’t respond to his comment. She seemed to be concentrating on something so Nic sat and waited patiently, that was, until his thirst got the best of him. When Maddie half-hearted pushed her empty cup towards him, Nic quickly got to his feet and took the cup before disappearing into the sea of people. He took his time making his way to the table with punch and snacks and even stopped to complement a girl who looked particularly ravishing. After pouring punch into Maddie’s cup and pouring some for himself, Nic moved down the table and filled another empty cup with various munchies. Once he was all set, the boy grabbed a few napkins and braved the crowd, juggling two cups of punch and a cup filled with snacks.

He sighed with relief when he made it to lonely table without so much as spilling a drop of punch. Once Maddie took her cup, Nic laid out the napkins he brought and dumped the cup of snacks out. “Lemon bars, cookies, and brownies.” He eyed the sweets with delight as he pushed them to the middle of the table for Maddie to reach before taking his seat once again and helping himself to a lemon bar. Nic’s mouth was stuffed with a lemon bar when Maddie pulled out a remote, but that didn’t stop him from asking the first question that came to mind. “Wahfff idd-” He smiled a mouth full of bright yellow as he realized his mouth was too full to talk. He quickly swallowed and took a gulp of punch to wash it down before getting back to his question.

“What is that?” He carefully took the item in his hand when the older teen passed it to him, listening intently to his instructions as he turned it around in his hands. Nic noticed the button that Maddie warned him not to push until told to. “Alright I got it. I won’t let you down.” Nic slid it into the front pocket of his tuxedo, just above his chest. It would be highly unlikely for it to fall out or for someone to pick it off his person. But by now, the young teen was insanely curious about what the button did and he worked hard to restrain himself from asking. You’ll know before the end of the night, you’ll see when Maddie tells you to push it. Nic tried to distract himself by munching on a cookie.