Stepping off the city bus, Erik looked up at the sprawling campus of The Bartley Montessori School. He had never been here before, but he had passed it a time or two when he had still been job hunting. The bus stop was right outside the main gate from the looks of things, so he headed for the pedestrian gate. The parking lot was huge, but the well lit area was easy to navigate. It also helped that there was ample signage pointing the way to the building where the dance was being held.
As he got closer, the crowd of finely dressed students became obvious that he was in the right place. The sheer variety of finery would make Nikki jealous if she were here to see this. She loved fashion, but would often deny it because she knew that they never had the money to be picky about clothes. Just outside the well lit entrance to the building were several places that looked almost like checkpoints to him. Students were lining up in front of these and being examined by Epsilon officers from the looks of things.
As he was hesitating about approaching one of the tables, he got the faintest glimmer of rose in the edges of his vision. His alpha was getting excited at the sight of the color. Every time he saw this rose color, it meant that Liona was nearby. Turning in the direction of the source, he didn't have to wait long before he could make out the most beautiful girl in the world. His mate was dressed to the nines in the most elaborate dress he had ever seen. With her were her two best friends, also dressed up in beautiful dresses. Although their dresses were pretty, nothing compared to what Liona had on.
Allison had on a pale purple-bluish colored dress. It had faint yellow and cornflower blue accents. It was sitting just off of her shoulders with bell shaped 3/4 sleeves that ended in a lacey ruffle-like trim. The bodice, with a modest square neckline, flared into a full skirt that ended at her knees, mirroring the trim of the sleeves. It had forget-me-not flowers accenting the dress throughout.
Chloe, on the other hand, was obviously going as a butterfly. Her dress comprising a fitted bodice in the shape of a monarch butterfly with thin jet-black jeweled straps that sparkled in the light. The dress flared out into a full-length skirt that was flowy and patterned with more monarch butterflies. As she turned, she held out her arms and to his astonishment; it looked as if she grew wings. She had a cape that looked like the wings of the butterfly she was going as.
Not one of these dresses compared to Liona's, though. His beautiful mate was beyond stunning in a dress that was two different lengths, consisting of purple and teal colors that seemed like they couldn't make up their mind what color they wanted to be more. As she moved and turned her head, her partially upswept hair revealed a pair of earrings that sparkled like no other he had ever seen. He didn't know what kind of gem they were, but they were bluish and also shimmered and changed colors as the light hit them. The rest of her dress rose to her neck and ended in a purple gemstone at her throat that screamed elegant beauty.
Liona parked her car as close to the auxiliary gym as she could. After the dance was over, she didn't want to fight through the crowd of students with Erik. Parking next to her were Chloe and Alli in their cars. They headed for the gym, lively and bubbly as ever. The night had barely begun and already they were feeling that jubilant variety of pheromones that were nearly infectious. This was the beginning of their high school's end-of-year high that would carry them through finals and into graduation.
As she was chatting with her friends, she got the first whiff of minty pheromones that her omega immediately recognized as her mate. She turned her head and locked eyes with Erik. He was impressively handsome in a sage green suit. He wasn't wearing a tie, but on his lapel was a boutonniere consisting of a dark red Mr. Lincoln rose and a sprig of baby's breath wrapped with a teal ribbon. In his hands was a matching corsage, but wrapped in a purple ribbon tucked safely in a clear container.
"Erik!" Liona smiled as she broke away from her friends without so much as a goodbye, rushing over to Erik.
"Lia! You're absolutely breathtaking" Erik felt joy bubbling up from inside him as she rushed into his arms.
"Okay, you two lovebirds. Keep it PG or the chaperones are gonna get on your case," Allison called out before Liona could even get more than a brief hug in.
"Yeah, yeah!" Liona giggled at Chloe's kissy face expression, as she playfully mocked her and Erik.
"Here, Lia." Erik presented her with the corsage that his mother had painstakingly made with the help of their landlady and his sister.
"Wow! It's so pretty! But how did you afford this?!" Lia was concerned that he had spent way too much on a flower that would wilt after an evening.
"I didn't buy it; it was handmade. Our landlady let my mom cut a couple of her roses from her garden, while the ornamental flower was plucked right from our backyard, since we were told it was an invasive species. The ribbons come from Nikki, who salvaged them from some decorative boxes at her workplace. The container is a recycled food package that I washed out this morning." Erik quickly explained.
"Well, thank your landlady for me, because the roses are absolutely gorgeous!" Lia smiled as Erik tied her corsage on her wrist. The tantalizing feeling of his fingers brushing the underside of her wrist made her want to squirm with an unfamiliar but pleasant feeling.
"Let's go and get checked in, Er." Liona took Erik's hand in hers after he was done, tugging it gently toward one table where the Epsilon officers were. They were doing their checks for anyone exhibiting heat or rut pheromones and that they had their suppressants readily available.
At the checkpoint, Liona set her handbag on the table and rummaged in it for a moment before producing her suppressant and an emergency one as well. While she was doing this, the officer in front of her scanned her with a special sniffer device that detected pheromone levels. It beeped once, before it lit up green, indicating a passable level.
Erik watched what Lia did and fished in his suit pocket for the generic suppressant his mother had obtained from work for him. Holding his breath, he tried not to squirm under the scrutinizing eyes of the officer, who was scanning him. After what felt like forever, the device beeped once, before also lighting up green.
After the checkpoint, they headed for the doors of the building that were wide open in invitation. Just inside the doors, there was a kiosk that everyone in front of them was scanning their phones on before they entered the inner set of doors. Each time the inner doors opened, it coincided with the kiosk lighting up and making an approving sound. Erik was grateful for the newer phone he now had that could be used in such a manner for devices such as this. His old one was incompatible with most technology that read the screens.
As they drew closer to their turn to check in, the inner doors were opened, letting out the sound of upbeat music that was unfamiliar to Erik. Even though he didn't recognize it, the music was catchy with a beat that just begged to be danced to. When it was their turn, he readily scanned his phone before the doors opened wide to let them in.
Before they could enter the inner doors, there was a sound like an alarm and an alert blared out: "Invalid entry! Please proceed to the nearest…" Erik couldn't catch the last part of it before an angry exclamation sounded out behind them. "Stupid Lions! Figures, they give out bum tickets!"
Not sure what to make of the situation, Erik was just going to enter the building, but Lia was stopped dead in her tracks. He watched as she whirled around and confronted the person making a scene behind them.
"The only reason that machine is denying you entry is because you were stupid and probably bought a ticket that was scalped. Unlike some places, we don't allow that kind of shitty practice to happen here, so the machines will detect bad tickets. It has nothing to do with us being a Lion or not. Any place worth their merit doesn't allow it either!" With that, Liona whirled back around and pulled Erik to the doors, which opened for them without issue.