It. Was. Beautiful!

Phoebe couldn't be happier about how the Great Hall turned out. Definitely not as elaborate of a celebration as the Halloween Ball had been, but everything was just so----sophisticated! Really, the prefects all needed to be rewarded for their fine jobs; she should definitely steal Gavin away for a dance, ooh--maybe someone could even take their picture for a yearbook of sorts!

She laughed loudly and smiled widely up at the Headmaster, who complimented her (and the prefects, she supposed!) on the lovely atmosphere. After the rough time this year (this decade!) started off with, it was certainly nice to have an evening of calm and relaxation. Phoebe couldn't find one thing to be worried about, except she was totally paying attention to the food and drinks and the decorations and the music and why was that chair out of place---

Gabriel did not want to be here. He hated this holiday, he had no need for this holiday, and it was only to make appearances for his superiors to be here. He didn't even know how long he should stay, or who he should talk to---maybe the Editor in Chief would be good, to know that he had shown up in support--this was terrible.

He'd been in quite a horrid mood for weeks now, and Valentine's was simply not helping it in any case. Gabriel was excellent, excellent at putting on a good face for those around him (especially those he didn't want noticing his true demeanor), but the pink and the red and the hearts and the smiles, no. It simply reminded him that there were people who were happy in the world with their lives and families and---mostly their families. Bloody---families.

"Excuse me," he muttered, eyes locked onto the exit, as he believed he had made enough of an appearance.

Who: Elliot Alderton and Elsie Branstone
What: Blind V-day date shenanigans, of course
Where: ~Fancy Italian restaurant
When: Tonight!
BUTTTT read this one, because it's way better.

( Hopefully this would all go as smoothly as it did in his head, because things RARELY did. )