Daniel waited at the airport terminal with barely controled impatience. The flight had been delayed 15 minutes due to something or other and it was hard to keep himself in check. He'd already paced up and down the area three times and it just got him strange looks from the others waiting for friends and loved ones to arrive. Jael said she was coming, but he'd never even talked to her on the phone or anything, just messages over the optnet. He wanted this so badly to work, but even if it didn't he'd never spent any time with another nova before, much less a hot teen nova who was going to a dance with him. He sighed. It was a shame that Jael already had a boyfriend, but it should still be fun just hanging out with her, and it meant there was no worrying about how things would turn out. He knew from the beginning that nothing was going to happen so he could just relax and enjoy the weekend. That was all good and stuff, but until he actually saw her step off the plane he wouldn't be able to chill.

After another 10 agnozing minutes the plane was on the ground and the passengers were disembarking. He stood where he could be seen and waited for Jael to exit the plane.

Jael settled into the cushions, pretending to be interested in the conversation going on around her. A group of Masters students from the Eller College of Management had spotted her when they boarded in Phoenix and had proceeded to surround her, chatting her up. Jael had not dissuaded them completely, but she did make her current relationship known. It hadn't stopped them; the moment the seat belt light had gone out, they'd moved close to her and started a game of cards.

She didn't welcome the constant jockeying against each other, or their attempts to impress her; she needed a distraction from the worry that she had. Her mother was due to call sometime soon, and Jael was hopeful that she could convince her mom not to talk to Shelly's mom. If not, then they had to do a bit of a run around. Honestly, even if her mother did figure out that she wasn't at Shelly's, she'd never expect her to be on a plane. She'd hunt all over Phoenix, first, and Jael would be back home before she looked further a field.

"Sure we can't convince you to go on to Miami?"

Mike's voice broke her out of her reverie. "I'm sorry, I'm expected in Texas. Otherwise, Spring Break in Miami beach would be divine." Jael smiled to take the sting out of her words, aware that her quantum-enhanced beauty was turning her polite refusals into maybes in their ears.

Abruptly, the loudspeaker came on, announcing their imminent arrival. A few of the more easily discouraged members of her crowd groaned and stood up, heading back to their seats. The rest had to be shooed back to their assigned seats by the stewardess. Jael settled back, and waited for the landing.



Jael straightened her dark blue skirt as she got off the plane, tugging the thin wool back into place. It was a little short, but Jael found a quiet pleasure in showing off her long legs, toned legs. They had been long when she was a baseline, too – long and skinny. Chicken legs had been the usual schoolyard taunt.

Her shirt was bit more sedate; the light silk allowed her to have long sleeves and not melt, while the lower hem of the shirt was well below her waistline, hiding her torso. It may have covered, but it clung to her shape in an all-too-alluring way.

The Eller students fell in around her as she grabbed her carry-on and started for the door of the plane. “Hey, Jael,” Mike said, his voice wheedling, “the guys discussed it… and we’d pay for your ticket, if you’d come with us.”

“Sorry, really,” Jael sighed, feeling an edge of annoyance creep up her spine. “My friend is waiting for me here.” She kept talking, rolling right over his next plea. “I can’t go to Miami Beach. And you need to stop pushing.”

There were good-natured grumbles, but the boys backed off, letting her be. Smiling, Jael waved goodbye to them and disembarked quickly, before they changed their mind.

She eased forward, murmuring apologies to those she jostled. The crowd gave way for her, and Jael stepped into an open space. She could feel eyes on her as she stepped forward; the price for unfettered passage was exposure. They had let her through, and now they stared, admiring her nova form. Their envy and esteem grated at her. This was the first time she’d been out in public, alone, without her parents to shield her from attention.

She was the third off, pushed ahead by stares. On the concourse, she began to scan the crowd, looking for a boy that matched Daniel’s description. Immediately, her eyes fell on the likeliest candidate. With a smile, she stepped forward. “Hi, are you Daniel?”

Daniel saw her and it was like a brick to the forehead. Man she had some long legs. His resolution not to hit on her was going to be really hard to remember. He swallowed hard then got control of himself as she noticed him and approached.

With a smile, she stepped forward. "Hi, are you Daniel?"

He smiled back at her, "Howdy. Welcome to Texas. How was your flight?" Listening, he lead her out of the airport and to the car. "I hope my driving doesn't scare you. I just got my driver's license a few months ago and my mother freaks out when she ride with me, but I haven't had any wrecks so I'm safe." He grinned and led the way to an old 69 mustang and opened the door for her. The car was a light blue, but had some visible rust and was obviously only part way through the restoration process. The seats were covered with towels pinned up to make them into seat covers. "Hope you don't mind the car. I love it, but it still has a lot of work left to be done before it'll be pimped out. Oh, I can put the top up if the wind bothers you. It's just so nice out today."

Once Jael was settled he turned the key and it started but it idled a bit roughly, showing that the engine was in about the same shape that the body was. He grinned again at the sound of the engine. "It's about 7:30 now and almost dark, what say we head straight for some food?"

"I was surrounded by Neanderthal boy-men," Jael said, but her grin said it hadn't been too bad. "They were entertaining, if a bit slobbery."

Her gray eyes were wide as she took in her surroundings, drinking in the visual information as they walked. At the car, she showed no hesitation, smoothing her skirt against her legs before she slid into the passenger seat.

"The car's fine, so long as it runs," Jael said, tilting her head as she took a closer look at the radio - or she appeared to look at the radio. Her eyes followed her host, moving with him as he walked around the car. She was curious about who he was, about what his game was. It could be as simple as he stated - an attempt to show a bitch the error of her ways. Or perhaps he wanted to truly hurt her.

Either way, Jael was ready.

"I like the wind," Jael said, as the car rumbled to life. She rested her head against the headrest, turning her head so that she could watch him drive. "I'm not going to fuss about my hair, not tonight. You're right. It is too nice."

The mention of food perked her up. "That'd be great! The airlines didn't serve food, and... well, you know how it can be." She blushed a little, the natural reaction of a girl talking about eating too much. "What kind of food were you thinking? I like just about anything, so long as it's not German."

Daniel smiled, "Well, I was thinking Italian." He grinned even wider, "Pizza that is." His own green eyes met Jael's gray, "I'm really glad you decided to come down. I think it will be fun no matter what happens with Alice."

The drive across town took nearly 45 minutes even with lite traffic. Even so it was early enough that there weren't many of the kids from school there yet. "Mario's. This is the place. It's a local thing, but they make really good pizza and they give deals to the kids from school to keep us coming here after the football season is over."

Being a little early they were able to order and find a good seat with their drinks and finally talk a little before others were likely to arrive. He showed Jael a picture of Alice and told her a little of the things he'd been through over the last three years. It wasn't a pretty story, and it was obvious that Daniel had been stupid to keep going back for more punishment. "Even before my eruption I knew I was being an idiot, but she isn't really an evil person, she's just so self absorbed that she either justifies how she treated me to herself or maybe she doesn't even give it a thought. It doesn't really matter either way, it was still a shitty thing to do. Then when she pulled that last straw, I was done with her. Even if I hadn't erupted that would have been it for me, but since I did erupt, it has given me the chance to feel better about the situation. No matter how this weekend goes, I'm not planning to be an asshole to her, but I do want her to know what a bitch she was to me all that time. I'd also like to leave it with her wanting me instead of the other way around. I really hope that doesn't make me as bad as her like some of those people were saying on the opnet."

Jael studied the picture, working on engraving it into her mind. The girl was pretty enough to make a boy be stupid over her, and Jael could see why Daniel had gotten drawn in as he had. She'd done some research on her own - without Alice's name, she couldn't do much there, but there were a few things about Daniel. She hadn't found anything that made her think he was lying, but she didn't have to be told that as a Nova, anything was possible.

"I don't think you are as bad as they're saying," Jael replied, pausing to sip her soda and make him wait for the rest of her statement. "We just have to be careful and fair, not vindictive. I think that if we do this right, she'll learn a valuable lesson." And if she didn't learn then Jael had a backup plan.

A group of teens came in the door, talking and laughing. They seemed to recognize Daniel, judging by their confused expressions. Smiling, Jael tucked the picture away and turned her attention on Daniel. “So,” she asked casually, switching her body language from ‘friend’ to ‘flirt’, “are those people you know? Over by the door. Am I on now, so to speak?”

The sudden shift of body language left Daniel momentarily speechless until his brain could catch up. After a second he looked over and noticed the new arrivals and waved to them. Turning back to Jael, "yeah, they are from school. That big guy is one of the jocks. He used to pick on me in elementary, but he grew up a bit and he's a good guy. We've been ok since junior high when he found out I took karate from the same instructor as his older brother. It was funny but suddenly people stopped messing with me and I never had to do anything at the time. Not that I was ever that great at it or anything, never even got to black belt before I quit, but I guess his older brother said something to him and then he talked to others and that was it. No one has messed with me since." He laughed quietly and enjoyed Jael's closeness. He'd been babbling. Great, Just be cool Daniel and maybe she won't think you are a complete loser. Looking at eyes like that he could forget Alice and that's for sure.

It took an effort, but he pulled his eyes away and looked over at the group of other kids and waved them over. "Ryan you and the rest pull up a table and join us. This is Jael she and I met over spring break last week." After introductions had been made and the others had ordered Daniel continued, "Jael doesn't have to be back to home until Sunday, so I invited her to the dance tomorrow." He got a fake smug grin on his face and added in a whisper to Ryan loud enough for the whole table to hear, "She's a senior!" He chuckled and leaned a little closer to Jael with a grin that said he was just playing it up.

This was going to be the hard part. People were sometimes hard for Jael to read and understand. Her ability to do so had increased since her eruption, but she still worked best in one-on-one situations. And her desire to refrain from lying impeded her further in these situations.

However, with enough cleverness, truth could say whatever you wanted it to say.

"Hi, guys," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

A couple of the guys had to put their tongues back in their mouths, but then they scrambled to move the tables together. A couple of guys hung back with most of the girls, and Jael wished that she had the ability to charm with a nudge of quantum.

After that, it became a blur of talking kids, all discussing things Jael didn't know about. She remained largely silent, adding something only sporadically, and managed to project an air of quiet confidence.

Eventually, the inevitable question arose: "Are you a nova, Jael?" The question came from one of the friendlier girls, Julie. She hadn't seemed too intimidated by Jael; her personality implied that she liked people too much to have negative impressions about them.

"Yep," Jael said, knowing that this was a moment she should capitalize on. Taking Daniel's arm, she lifted it and ducked under it, letting him curl around her shoulders. Settling against his side, she gave the abridged version of her story. "And then I erupted and stopped him."

"Wow..." Ryan said, leaning forward. "That's cool." The rest of the conversation shifted to being a nova, which put Jael firmly in the spotlight.

After about an hour of discussion on nova life, she decided that she'd given them enough. "Daniel, where am I staying tonight? I'm ready to go now, if you are."

Daniel nodded, "Sure, We've got a guest room at the house. I'll just pay the bill and we'll take off. See you guys at the dance tomorrow night."

A minute or two later they were out of the restraunt and in the car driving off. "Thanks. That was great back there! Those guys will think I'm the macdaddy of all times after this." He laughed and gunned the motor. A few minutes later Jael was introduced to Daniel's parents and shown to the spare bedroom. Daniel sighed after his mother left, "I think my mother will be patrolling the hallway outside my room tonight with a shotgun to make sure I stay put..." He laughed and smiled to show he was kidding. "My parents used to be really strict, but I think I must have done something during my eruption, or they are just freaked out by novas. Ever since then they pretty much let me do whatever I want. Of course, I've never given them any reasons to get upset so maybe they just decided to trust me or something." He shrugs.

"Anyway, I'm just across the hall if you need anything. Sleep as late as you want, we can hit IHOP in the morning whenever you're ready, then do some shopping." He felt some regret as he left the room. He was going to have a hell of a time getting to sleep knowing Jael was just across the hall. Time for a long cold shower.

"That's lucky for you. My parents got more strict after my eruption," Jael said. "Of course, it could have been because part of my eruption was an attack." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter why, because it still sucks. I shouldn't gab on, though. Night."

After he left, she lay awake for a while and listened to the house. When she was sure everyone else was asleep, she crept out of bed, easing through the quiet house. She didn't have anything malicious in mind, but she wanted to know her environment. Inhaling deeply, she took the oflatory measure of the house, picking through the scents like a weaver selecting threads.

After an hour, she was satisfied with both the house and possible escape routes. Smiling to herself, she crept back into her bed and fell asleep.

After a few short hours, she was awake. She took a quick shower and got dressed, then went to see if Daniel was awake yet. She was looking forward to shopping; Jimmy had never allowed her to dress him, and she was hoping Daniel would let her help him pick clothing for tonight.

The next morning after another cold shower Daniel was ready for some more food. The nova appetite was compounded by the fact that he was a teenage boy and hadn't had anything since that large pizza the night before. He was just finished dressing when the light knock at the door told him Jael was also ready to go. "One sec." A last sweep of his fingers through his hair and he was out the door. "Morning, I hope you don't mind, but I changed my mind about breakfast. How bout we do a breakfast buffet instead? I'm too hungry for IHOP, and they are so expensive to get filled up..." He grinned.

After a little small talk and a couple plate fulls of food, "So, I hope you don't mind, but I thought we'd go shopping. I learned a little about style after my eruption because I'd go hang out at the mall and watch what people wore and copied the cool ones. Seems to have worked, I've gotten more respect at school since then, but I'm smart enough to know that a girl is going to dress me better than I can do myself." He grinned. "That is if you don't mind." Seeing the look on Jael's face he grinned again. "Good."

Once they were both full, it was time for the mall.

Jael matched Daniel plate for plate at the buffet, knocking back as much food as the teenaged boy did. Perhaps the only difference was her tendency to grab a little less meat. Still, it was a comparible amount of food, one which had the day manager a little upset. After Daniel paid, Jael left a large tip, putting down a sizeable chunk of her allowance.

"Something that a lot of people don't know about me is that I like to sew and make clothing," Jael said. "The shirt was I was wearing yesterday was one I made. I often make gifts for people I know. So getting get to dress others is kind of my fun hobby. So this is extra fun."

At the mall, Jael took over, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the first possible store she saw. "So, I need to know a few things. What is your size, how much do you want to spend, and what kind of things do you want to wear?"

Daniel smiled, this would be great. Jael was the perfect person to give him a fashion makeover. Not that he dressed badly now, but he knew his sense of style was still a bit limited. "I've got about $700 saved up, and I'm willing to spend all of that. I also, thought it would be nice to buy you something to wear tonight if you want. Since I didn't have to pay for your plane ticket, it's the least I can do."

Jael's eyes grew large. "You want to buy me a dress? I'm... thank you." She'd never had a guy get her a dress before, or anything that cost more than twenty dollars. Jimmy was emminantly practical: "For the cost of a dozen carnations, I could have only gotten one rose!" That had been Valentines, last year. This year, at least, he'd gotten her a set of earrings from Wal-mart. That last wasn't his fault; his family never went anywhere, other than Wal-mart. He probably wasn't aware that other stores sold things he might want.

And I owe Revenant a thank you. It would have taken several hours to fly here from Phoenix, and that might have included a rest stop or two. Jael made a note to send him a private thank you note when she got home.

"Alright... here," Jael said, pulling Daniel toward a likely-looking store. "Let's start here. Say is it formal? Do you need a tux? Because that would mean getting my dress first, so that your tux colors match it."

Nah, it's not a formal, those don't come for another couple months. This is just some spring fling thing, or some such. Just dress fashionable to be cool, it's all good." He smiled at Jael, and noticed that the guys working in the store were starting to converge on them and the girls all looked a little green. He raised an eyebrow and nodded his head toward the approaching zombie horde. "You have to deal with that all the time? Makes me glad I haven't come out as a nova yet. Of course, I don't have your appeal either."

Jael blushed as she glanced away, every inch the blushing, bashful girl. "See, this is what happens when the media pushes unrealistic body image expectations on young girls - we erupt to match them," she chuckled, glancing up at him from under her lashes. "But thank you for the compliment." Her fingers tightened gently around his in a careful squeeze.

"Now, on to business," Jael said, drawing him to a rack. Her face sobered as she began to pick through shirts, selecting three and pushing them into his arms. "Go try these on. Let me see them when you've got them on." This was a process repeated for a couple of hours, as Jael found something for him to wear, he tried it on and she rejected it. Finally, she declared that she was pleased with a black vest and matching pants with a band collar shirt under it. The shirt was a dark green that didn't wash him out and highlighted his eyes, while the vests and pants blended together, slimming his nova-physique and making him look a little taller.

"And now for me," Jael said, taking him to another store. She spent a little longer there but tried on a lot more clothing. With Daniel, she'd had to go through a bit of trial and error; with herself, she already knew what to wear. Also, she didn't try them on for Daniel; when he asked, she just smiled mischievously and said, “You have to wait and see. Really, it’ll be better with my makeup and hair done. Trust me.”

Daniel nodded partly understanding. He'd been around girls shopping a couple times and he knew better than to try and get in their way or get them to do something they didn't want to. Besides as hot as Jael was she could wear a garbage sack and it would probably start a new fashion.

What he said aloud was, "It's a good thing I'm a nova or I'd be completely bushed after all this shopping. What say we get some more food then head back to the house to get ready? Five hours is a long time to go without a snack for me." He grinned. After all the shopping though Daniel thought he was getting an even better understanding of style. Along the way he'd been peppering Jael with questions about why this shirt worked and this one didn't, and even about the dresses she was picking out. He figured as a nova if he was going to be famous it was important that he look the part. There were entirely too many novas out there that just wasted their opportunities. Jael might be able to get away with wearing whatever she wanted with her gifts, but not many novas had her abilities, and he was sure that he didn't. At least he didn't yet, he was going to work on that.

Over a late lunch Daniel brought up another subject, "I really appreciate the help with shopping today. I think I've got a little better of an understanding on style, but will this same look work for me if I'm performing?" Seeing the look of questioning on her face he added, "Sorry, I'm thinking of starting a band soon. I usually score pretty high at competition in choir for solo stuff, and my teacher keeps trying to get me to try out for different singing gigs. I was thinking that with the basic talent I've got plus being a nova, I'd pretty much be an instant star. Maybe not a big time multiple platinum record kinda star, but I'm sure I'd have a good income from it anyway, and that life of travelling around kinda appeals to me."

Carver took a sip of her chocolate milk shake and shook her head. "Look, if you want a certain image... actually, let me start over," Jael sighed, shaking her cup to resettle the ice cream. "You need to decide which image you want first, then I can help dress you. Like say you want jazz, then that with some alterations would work. If you're going punk, then you want something completely different. So I ask you - what image do you want your band to have?"

"I guess that's a good question, and I really haven't thought much about the image. I really like Jim Morrison and the kind of singer he was, but I'm not looking to copy his look or music. No retro 60s outfits, thanks." He grins. "He was really about the music and didn't care what the audience thought. Or at least that's the way he came across. Of course that could have partly been the drugs, but I won't have that issue being a nova."

He dipped one of his fries into his own shake and ate it while he thought. "The real issue is that don't want to be a boy band if you know what I mean. I want to be a little bit dark, a little bit of a poet, but I don't want to be some emo doom and gloom type either."

"A little bit dark poet?" Jael asked with a smile. "You know that dark poets are the poster children for emo doom and gloom, right?" She pushed her last bite of hamburger into the ketchup and mustard that she had mixed together as she added, "So sensitive and a bit moody, but not emo and melodramatic."

Jael looked pensive and tapped her finger on her chin for a moment. "I'll have to think about that one. Oh hey!" She glanced at her watch. "When does the dance start?"

Looking at the clock on the wall he winced. "I guess we ought to head back to the house to get ready, it starts in about an hour, but we don't want to get there right when it opens anyway." He paid the bill and opened the car door for her again once they were outside. On the way he talked more of his plans to start a band and what he wanted to accomplish out of it. As they arrived back at the house, he finished with, "I don't know if it is something that can be learned or not, but I want to be improve my appearance and social skills. That would be a big help in the entertainment biz. Still, I'm not in a big hurry, I want to wait at least a little will before going public as a nova." He smiled and added, "I may not have a choice after tonight though. We'll just have to see how this goes."

*****

Two hours later they arrived at the dance fashionably late. It was being held in the gym at the school and was full of the typical school dance decorations; balloons, colorful streamers, and posters painted by the different organizations. It was also a little dark inside, but bright enough to easily see who was who and there were lights around the door so that the newcomers could check in and show their ID's. It also made a good spotlight for everyone to see Daniel and Jael as they walked in dressed to impress. The teacher at the table took Daniel's ID and wrote down the name of his guest.

Thanks to Jael's help, Daniel didn't look too outclassed standing next to the obvious nova. They did draw eyes though as they stood spotlighted in the doorway.

Jael paused in the doorway, scanning the room. It also gave people time to check her out; the blue outfit she was wearing emphasized the blue in her eyes, as did her makeup. Her blue shirt was so sheer that it needed the navy tank top under it. The skirt came to her knees and was made of a light material that bounced lightly with each step.

She was too busy weighing the people there to notice the attention they were getting; she was looking for Alice. That was the target, and she licked her lips as she saw the pretty girl across the room. Leaning over, she murmured to Daniel, "By the D.J. Maybe you should introduce me?"

She wanted to get Alice's measure, and perhaps get her scent as well. You never know when you were going to need to sniff someone out.

After he got his ID back and put it away he offered Jael his arm and led her into the room. As they walked forward he said quietly, "Are you sure you want to meet her right away? Shouldn't we mingle a little first or dance?" It quickly became apparent that this wouldn't be a problem since Ryan and a couple others from the restaurant the night before came walking to intercept them. "Hey Daniel, Jael, glad you guys made it. Just wanted to tell you, my parents offered to throw an after-party at my place for anyone who wants to come crash. Only rule is if you come you have to stay because of the curfew, unless your parents pick you up anyway. That's not a problem for you though since you have your own car. Anyway you guys are invited." It was pretty apparent that Ryan was hoping that Jael would come although he did his best to focus on Daniel and not stare too much. The other guys and girls with him were not all so circumspect. A couple of them were blatantly ogling her, and one of the girls had noticed this and didn't seem very happy about it.

Daniel grinned and said hello to everyone, but responded to Ryan with, "Well, we'll think about it, but Jael does have an early flight out in the morning so we may not be able to make it if we aren't allowed to leave."

No sooner did Ryan and his friends start to leave than another handful of people came over to talk. This time it was several of Daniel's actual friends. He introduced Jael around and pointed out to her than Steve was actually one of the guys he was wanting to start the band with. "Steve here is a musical prodigy, he can play 5 different instruments and has scored 1st divison every year since he started band in junior high." He smiled as Steve looked embarrassed by the praise.

It took another few minutes to get away from this group, but once they did he led Jael to meet Alice at last. He was pretty sure Alice had spotted them while he was talking to Ryan and his flock. Luckily the drinks table was next to the DJ booth too. Daniel felt better about having an excuse to go over there instead of looking like he was making a bee line straight to her.

Alice was wearing a nice green skirt and white blouse. Put a scarf around her neck and it would be very reminicent of something out of the 50s, but the cut and style were modern. It was hard to tell in the lighting, but Alice's hazel eyes would be set off by the skirt and her full lips were quick with a smile that was just a touch too practiced.

"Alice, this is Jael. Jael, Alice." Speaking to Jael, "Alice here has been a friend of mine for a long time." Turning to Alice, "Jael and I met over Spring Break last week and she doesn't have to be back home until tomorrow so she decided to fly back to Dallas to hang out this weekend." He smiled, but inside he was feeling the first tiny fraction of an ounce of satisfaction as he saw the look on Alice's face. There was definitely a little jealousy there. It might just be the territorial reaction of a she wolf to another wolf entering her domain, but he could see the stirrings of it in her eyes and the tightness to her smile. So that's the way it was... she should have anyone she wanted and dump him at a moments notice, but he wasn't allowed to put her aside for anyone else.

Definitely the first stirrings of satisfaction.

He looked at Jael again and smiled happily, "Would you like something to drink? Talking to Ryan and everyone else has made me pretty thirsty."

Jael nodded and smiled to everyone she saw, being the perfect, socially friendly nova. No one watching her could guess how heavily she was relying on Dr. Charles Sakolove's telepathic socialization. Every smile and pleasant statement was edited before it left her brain, twisted into the perfect camoflage.

The training faltered for a moment when she stood face-to-face to Alice. Even the knowledge that she couldn't kill her yet didn't stop the eager flare of desire in her eyes. It must have looked like she was itching for a fight with the other girl.

Still, her embedded socialization kicked in, and the moment passed. "Sure, something to drink would be great," she said, turning to her date and lightly touching his arm. "Thanks."

As he left the girls alone, Jael smiled and said, "Alice, it's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

Let the awkwardness begin.

The smile mask slipped into a real smile for the briefest of seconds, "You have? Good things I hope." It was plain to see that Alice's ego was just a bit relieved by the fact that Daniel had been talking about her to this new girl. Damn her for being so pretty. Just that fast the mask was back in place. "So, Daniel invited you to the dance? I guess you must have been pretty bored to agree to come to something like this. Being a nova and all, I'm surprised that Daniel could even catch your attention."

Jael went a little still at Alice's last words, tilting her head to one side. The smile became a twitch of her lips instead of a real smile. "What an awful thing to say about your friend," Jael murmured. "What about Daniel would stop me from noticing him?"

She didn't let the other girl answer before she stepped close to Alice. The other girl's heady perfume hit her nose but under that, Jael could smell her scent. Nodding a little, she added, "Where's your date, Alice? I'm sure that I'd love to meet him. Unless you decided to spare someone some boredom?"

Alice blanched at Jael's move and shrank back first fear then anger mixing with her smell. "My date is in the restroom, and I didn't mean that Daniel couldn't attract someone. It's just surprising that a Nova like you, who could have pretty much anyone, would pick a regular person like him to hang out with."

"Daniel and I met at the beach. Should I ignore a natural... attraction because he was a baseline?" Jael asked, a deceptively calm smile curving her lips. "I'm not like that, really," she added thinking of sweet, simple Jimmy.

"What year of school are you in, Alice?" Jael said, changing the subject abruptly to throw the other girl off. "Are you a junior like Daniel?"

Alice blinked trying to keep up with the rapid changes in conversation, she'd heard novas were tough to keep up with but this was not what she had expected. "Uh, I'm a junior, but Daniel is actually a sophomore. He's been a friend of mine since Junior High, he used to follow me around like a puppy dog, but he is really sweet."