𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐: 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
The two reentered the ballroom downstairs, hand in hand, elegance surrounding them. All of a sudden, Alaina was aware of everyone's gazes on her. Eyes turned towards the stairway as they descended the stairs. It was becoming a habit for Alaina to end up in these situations, but it wasn't getting any easier having the attention of the entire room on her. Watchful and judgmental eyes. The weight of their gazes was getting to her and she paused on the way down. The people plotting against her were increasing with every step she took. Victoria put a hand on the small of her back, giving her a comforting smile and nodding for her to go on. Her smile was so bright and warm, instilling confidence in Alaina once more.
Brendan tapped Damon's shoulder, nodding him towards the stairs. He turned, eyes widening in surprise as his sights set on Alaina. Sure, he'd seen her dressed up before, but not like this. She looked dazzling, polished but cute, and most importantly, like herself. His mouth opened, and that was it. It stayed open. He quickly snapped his mouth closed and cleared his throat, Cordie and Brendan chuckled. Chris sat on the side, he too, looked quite surprised at Alaina's appearance, it was just hard to tell. Alaina's eyes fell upon the V4, hesitantly smiling at the group.
Victoria smiled heartily at Alaina one last time and walked over to Chris, who stood as she neared him. "It's not very gentlemanly to leave a beautiful girl standing by herself," she told him before giving him a slight push towards Alaina.
"No, that's okay," Alaina objected, of course, her denial wouldn't be taken as an answer.
Chris walked up to Alaina and calmly held out his hand. "That looks good on you," he spoke simply.
Alaina looked down at the dress, shyly taking his hand. "The dress? Expensive dresses can make anyone look good," she answered modestly, nervously glancing down at her feet.
"No, that smile," he corrected, catching Alaina by surprise as she peered up, "it looks good on you."
Her cheeks turned pink, the warmth in her chest swelled. "You think so?" she stammered with a laugh. "Well, smiling could do you a little good, too." She responded with her first thought, looking back at Chris to check if it was wrong for her to say so, but his dimples cleared her doubts.
Damon watched the exchange from afar, gritting his teeth. He'd given her all of this. A pretty dress with nice shoes, on top of it, he'd given her expensive jewels to wear upon her neck and hired stylists to do her hair and makeup. He'd offered her this and so much more, and she hastily declined, rejecting it without a second thought.
"Wow, Victoria's eye for fashion is impressive. Alaina looks the same, but different somehow," Cordie commented, trying to put her finger on what it was.
"Maybe I'll take Alaina as my date to my next exhibition," Brendan teased. Damon clenched his fists, storming off angrily.
Chris guided Alaina to the dance floor, placing his hands on her hips. The two fell into the rhythm of the music, swaying together. "You know, it was cool of you to step in back there," Alaina began, creating small talk. She needed to keep her mind off of the lack of distance between them and the attentive greens locked on her gaze. "Although I had it covered, I've dealt with those three enough," she added defensively, earning a chuckle from Chris.