Dash|26|M: Athens

Hearing Athens words Dash unfurled himself slightly, looking to the blonde with saddened eyes. "I'm so sorry. I just... my last relationship didnt end well. And Im so scared." He could see that Athens showed no sign of trying to hurt him, but hed learned long ago that no one could be trusted. Even those he thought loved him.

Slowly getting out of his protected position he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. Why did he have to be like this? What was wrong with him? Why did he have to be so damaged and broken that he couldnt last two seconds without breaking down? Tilting his head back, he felt the comforting thunk as it hit the wall, the sensation steadying him just enough for him to regulate his breathing back to normal.

As he inhaled and exhaled he could feel the tears starting to trickle down his cheeks and he gave in, silently shaking as he cried. He was scared. He was hurt. He wanted nothing more than to hide from the world . But he couldn't. He had to take care of Jay. No matter how many times Jay pushed him away, Dash came back. Its like there was some sort of contract he'd signed when Jay was born.

Searching Athens' eyes and facial expression, Dash felt safe and he opened up. The abuse and mistreatment he and Jay had experienced at the hands of his father. The toxic relationship with Isaac he'd somehow managed to escape after five years. Everything. Dash was an open book, opening his soul for Athens to read.

"Please. Trust me when I say that none of this reaction is your fault. You've been so kind and considerate and you're like nobody Ive ever met. These are my demons." Unclenching his hands, he winced as his nails were removed from the fleshy palm of his hand. He'd drawn blood with how tightly he'd squeezed them together. "Ow."

Heather Proudstorm | 20 | Eventing | Espresso Silhouette "Mystery" | School Horse: WO Descendants Of Khan "Khan" | M: Jackson, Open

-Heather gave a shy smile to Jackson, blushing a small tad bit- "Thanks, you look absolutely handsome." -She compliments him back. Feeling her hand being taken by his as she felt herself go forward when the young woman was pulled towards him, placing her right hand on his chest softly to catch herself. Heather would shyly look up at Jackson when he spoke, feeling his hand caressing her face as she began to blush then she felt his lips come in contact with her cheek which made her blush a bit more but she saw that he was blushing too-

-Taking note that his arm is now wrapped around her's, being guided to the car. She gave him a polite thank you when he held the door open for her as she got in, watching the door close as he goes to the driver's side once the young woman got herself situated as she had bulked herself up. She turned her head to look at him, a smile tugged at her red lips when he asked her this- "Totally." -She then shyly looked away to look out the window as they left the centre, now heading to the gala. Heather shyly started to play with her hair, seeing in the reflection of the car window of Jackson admiring her, she wasn't sure why but she didn't want to accidently ruin anything-

Somebody come bug him <3

Laurence | Sam, Open

Laurence gave an almost surprised look in her direction as she quickly departed, feeling a tinge of guilt somewhere deep down, but remaining calm and composed as always. "Take your time," he said in an icy tone, watching her leave. For several weeks, he'd been watching her struggle in her lessons with Tim and Katrina, and the urge to make an arrangement with Kholo to coach her himself continued to bubble and burst at the seams. Every time he spent time with her, he felt the need to mentor her, to increase their relationship. Maybe it was a frustration at their lack of partnership, she and the two trainers, or maybe it was to force a professionalism, a boundary, between he and Sam. Either way, he longingly watched her leave before unintentionally joining a swarm of debutantes, the girls fawning over him as he icily rejected their advances, that placid demeanor unchanging as he drank another glass of whatever was offered to him. He glanced to Katrina, who was dancing with Tim, almost pleading for her to rescue him from the immature girls who hadn't the least of how to act in a situation like this.

Emily/Katrina | Asher, Tim (combined because I don't have time lol)

Emily slung her arms around Asher's neck, smiling brightly as they swayed to the music. Every once in a while she glanced in almost a resentful manner towards Tim and Katrina, her boiling anger towards him now turning into hollow regret and resentment about what could have been. Asher was sweet, handsome, charming, and she didn't have such a terrible past with him, though she was extremely hesitant to let this last longer than tonight. She wouldn't have to face Asher tomorrow, but she would have to face Tim.

"Will you excuse me for a second? I just need to take care of something."

"Whatever you need," he replied, smiling thoughtfully. "I'll be here."

...

Katrina gave a quiet smirk, then said gently, "you don't know me like you think."

As they casually talked, watching the thick areas of the party, she locked eyes with Laurence.

"Poor guy looks smothered by girls. I wonder where Samantha went."

A little while later, she said, "so tell me about you. I feel like we've worked together for a long time and all I know about you is your work ethic and your coaching style."

Dajana/Kierstan | Kat/Cam

Dajana watched Cam guide her around the room with ease, his natural gusto creating a spectacle her shyness would have preferred not to be apart of, but was oddly comforted by his excessive enthusiasm. Friend-making was something she was good at, and that was something she could do all day. Dancing? A whole different story.

Although, she had to admit that dancing was one of the first ways she felt connected to the world since leaving Montenegro. There were no verbs, no adjectives, no weird phrases she had to muster up the confidence to attempt. It was just two bodies moving halfway synchronously, no words, just mischevious smiles. She was grateful to have someone here as a close friend, and to not be alone somewhere, wondering how to befriend people she could hardly communicate with.

...

Kierstan had felt a woman's stare on his back for nearly half-an-hour, but had decided to experiment, to see how long it would take her to say something. Checking his watch eloquently, he glanced up to where the partygoers were all congregating, and without looking at or drawing attention to the woman behind him, he said wistfully, "parties not your thing either?"

Bekkah/Floyd | Open

"Dude, you actually look freaking hot tonight. You go homegirl," Floyd's teasing, lopsided grin brightened the darkness outside of the residential building, the lights cut for the night because they were "too distracting" and "drew too much attention away from the party and mood lighting."

Bekkah's incredulous grin was unable to be stifled, her arms crossed, wild crimps of thick brown hair falling over them. Her dress was a beautiful and unique lavender color, the silk fabric hung from thin straps on her slender arms, the entirety of the dress hugging her body like a second skin. The slit down the front showed her long, slender legs, the dress causing a certain attention to be drawn to her, a popularity that wasn't there normally.

"Shut up, and let's go, idiot, before I change my mind."

"Do you think you're gonna find a man tonight?"

"I'm trying to hard not to slap you right now."

"I know," he replied, causing them both to laugh. As they entered the dancefloor, each wearing their farm's grey, seafoam, and lavender colors in one form or another, Bekkah looped her arm in Floyd's, offering her best attempt at a non-aggressive glare at each person who stared at them while Floyd stopped to greet each one like the socialite he was, only causing Bekkah's annoyance to increase. It would be a long night, she already knew.

Sandra Proudstorm | 18 | Show Jumping | Moonstone River "Silver" | School Horse: WO Legends Rise "Legend" | M: Open

-Sandra stood by herself as she leaned against the wall, her pretty blue belle eyes focused on the door as she was waiting for someone to come since she had checked her phone a few minutes ago, knowing that her older sister was coming to the gala with the charming looking cowboy dude. The young ebony haired woman looked back down at her phone again, letting herself get distracted by a picture of a dark bay stallion that's the same exact breed of Heather's old gelding that passed away more than an hour ago which Sandra knew that her older sister is probably never gonna get over her faithful companion's death since the horse meant so much to the brunette. The stud in the photo wasn't the same height as Prince but he's quite tall from what she could tell from the photo-

Kathleho Mahlope | 22 | Kierstan

Kat scoffed lightly, only slightly embarrassed at being caught staring at his back. "Sure, I'm just loving all the people," she replied dryly, only a hint of sarcasm entering her voice. "It's my favourite thing." Now the coolness was clear, her words practically dripping with a sardonic flavour.

"Rich coming from you," she shot back mildly. "You seem to be enjoying yourself. Pretty wall, hmm?" She glanced boredly at him for a moment, before focusing her dark gaze on the floor in front of her again. "The main difference between you and me, though. Is that I'm fine being here. You are clearly not." Her sharp German accent was doming through a little clearer than usual, a sign of either anger or annoyance. Or, occasionally, enjoyment.

Standing up straighter with a resigned sigh, a very conscious sneer covered her face with practised ease. She stared irritably at a lovesick couple on the dance floor. Resisting a groan as the man kissed his partner, the tall German pointed them out to Kierstan.

"See," she spat. "They are friends, close friends. Then the man decides, oh no! I want to date her. He kisses her, she runs off, everything falls apart and they can't stand the ground the other has walked on. End of the most typical rom-com romance." She rolled her eyes as the two partners ran away in opposite directions, clearly somewhat tear-streaked. "What'd I say," she murmured, annoyed at the stereotypical lovers.

Kholo Mzi | 33 | Sandra

Kholo finally untangled herself from an awkward conversation with another overly dressed woman, murmuring an excuse as to why the farm wasn't for sale, and that no, she couldn't send her daughter here for daycare. She grabbed a simple glass of water as she left, breathing a soft sigh of relief. The next time she planned something like this, she would definitely think of the consequences.

Leaning against the wall, she swallowed down the water in one gulp, placing it down on a table with a hard thwack. "Long evening, huh?" she asked a rather fatigued-looking girl kindly, quickly recognising her to be Sandra, Heather's sister. "Never been able to enjoy large groups, don't really know why."