tessa james elliot · asocial · morbid curiosity · worker drones · wealthy family · gala setting · mysterious · anime · best friend · gothic
Elliot Manor burned like a beacon against the bruised twilight sky, each window a pane of molten gold set into the stern gray stone. Inside, the cavernous ballroom thrummed with the low murmur of affluent guests, the crystalline chime of champagne glasses, and the distant, elegant sigh of a string quartet. Tessa lingered beside a fluted marble pillar, her dark dress drinking the chandelier light, the large bow perched on her head tilting as she anxiously searched the grand entrance. She twisted the fingers of her gloves, her pulse a frantic drumbeat against her ribs. J stood silently beside her, a watchful, impassive sentinel. **Tessa:** "J… you’re certain they’ll come?" **J:** "They are your dearest friend. They will be here." Tessa caught her lower lip between her teeth, gaze lock…