Clara fidgeted nervously with her glove. What if he hadn't really meant it? She hadn't talked to Charles since that Sunday except for a quick call or two, and he hadn't mentioned much about the Ball. What if it had been all a joke?

She calmed herself down and took a deep breath as she waited outside. The light, warm summer breeze waved over her bare arms. She was grateful Susan had talked her out of wearing a cardigan over her sky blue dress. It was actually Clara's, which was a bit surprising as Clara didn't wear many gowns or things like that. Susan had done the brunette's hair; it was put up in a fashionable  French twist. Clara had also let her housemate do her makeup. She wondered if it was too much.

Clara sighed again and examined the paved ground as other students walked past, laughing with their friends. She was about to just leave and study instead, when she saw two polished shoes appear next to hers. She looked up with a growing smile and met Charles Xavier's grin. He offered his elbow to her, and she slid her arm through.

"It's a lovely evening, isn't it?" he said.

"Quite," she nodded with her always-sweet smile. He helped her into a nearby car, and the two drove across the countryside to the May Ball.

~

The field was already crowded with people once they arrived. Charles and Clara walked, arm in arm, towards the big tent someone had set up. It was magical. The trees were lit with bright lightbulbs, students dressed in party wear danced under the stars, and there was even a bathtub filled with champagne bottles on ice. The area, usually used for croquet, had been completely transformed into a fairytale party from the 20's. The bar-staff were dressed in tuxedos and flapper dresses, and loud jazz was heard.

The pair drifted over by the drinks and watched the dancing from the side of the tent. A swing melody started playing, and the dancing became more crowded. Clara smiled.

"Should we dance, do you think?" she asked. Charles shook his head.

"Oh no, no. Happy to observe the phenomenon, but I can't possibly imagine participating," he said. Clara raised an eyebrow.

"I absolutely agree," she said. "I mean, who would want to dance?" Charles looked at her.

"No I'm quite serious," he replied. "I don't want to dance."

"Oh," she looked at the ground awkwardly. Charles cursed himself inside for ruining the moment with his dancing doubts. If he was with Raven, he'd be up for dancing but since he was with this new girl, Charles was slightly nervous. 

Suddenly, there was a loud gasp from the crowd and the two looked up to see a blue UV light turn on. More couples flocked to the dance floor. Clara gazed at the glowing dresses and shirts in awe.

"Do you see how the men's cuffs and shirt-fronts," Charles pointed out, trying to break the silence, "how they glow more than the dresses?" Clara nodded.

"Yes. Why's that?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"Tide," he responded with a triumphant grin. Clara's smile grew.

"The washing powder?" she said. He nodded.

"The fluorescence in the washing powder is caught by the UV light," said Charles. Clara pulled up her gloves.

"How do you know that?"

"Well," he started, "before I was in genetics, I wanted to do sciences with space. Things with stars and time and such." She nodded with interest. "One of the interesting things I learned was when stars are born and when they die, they emit UV radiation. So if we could see the night sky in ultraviolet light, almost all the stars would disappear," they both looked up at the night sky, "and all we'd see would be these spectacular births and deaths. And I reckon, it would look a little..." Charles turned his gaze to the dancing crowds with glowing clothing. Clara followed his eyes.

"Like that," she finished, breathless in wonder. Charles smiled to himself at the sight of the girl with twinkling eyes.

After a couple minutes, they heard loud explosions.

"Fireworks!" Clara exclaimed with joy. She pulled Charles to join the people by a stone bridge overlooking a small river that reflected the colours from the sky. The darkness was broken with bright reds, blues, and yellows that sparked towards the stars. "It's beautiful," she said, looking up. Charles nodded.

"Yes, it is," he agreed. He turned to look down at her and wondered if he should tell her how beautiful she was. "You know, you are...uh did you know, there's a carousel?" Charles mentally scolded himself again. She turned and grinned.

"Let's find it!" Clara pulled him again, and he laughed, letting himself be dragged towards the bright carnival ride.

The rest of the night they rode the carousel, and Clara loved every second of it. She rode on a fanciful horse with a painted saddle while Charles hugged her from behind. He tried scaring her, and she laughed, almost falling off. Charles thought she looked absolutely gorgeous when she was happy.

After the carousel, they walked around the fields more and stopped to get some champagne. Clara picked a flute of champagne and sipped some of it. They watched the couples dance more to the upbeat jazz.

"So why..." Charles said, getting his own drink. "Why...uh..." He tried to think of something to talk about. Clara sipped the drink.

"Why...?"

"Why medieval French poetry?" he asked. She smiled.

"I suppose I'd like to time travel," she responded, happily.

"And what particular time periods would you visit?" Charles said. She twirled around in her dress a bit and took his drink, pouring half of it into hers. He grinned at her.

"The Twenties is always fun," she shrugged.

"The roaring Twenties! Cheers!" he declared. They clinked their glasses and drank, both laughing. "So the 1920's," he continued. "A good time for poetry, wasn't it?" Clara nodded.

"Seek then / No learning / from Starry Men! / Who follow the Optic Way! / The Whirling Way of Stars that Pass," she recited. Charles mocked offense.

"Ouch," he said. She laughed.

"Was it a good time for science?" she asked. The two disposed their glasses and walked to the footbridge where they had watched the fireworks. Now, it was more quiet, the air full of the rustle of leaves and bubbling of water. Lights were strung up across wooden poles, still capturing the magic of the ball. Long boats with unused fireworks bobbed in the river.

"A smashing time actually," Charles nodded. "Spacetime was born!" Clara tilted her head.

"Spacetime...?"

"Space and Time finally got together," he smiled. "People always thought they were too dissimilar and couldn't possibly work out. But then along comes Einstein, the ultimate matchmaker and decided that space and time, not only had a future, but had been married all along!" She smiled.

"The perfect couple!" she said.

"Quite!" he laughed.

"How do you know so much about space if you're in genetics?" asked Clara. He shrugged.

"Well I used to be very, very intrigued at it. But then genetics and mutations seemed more interesting," he smiled. "More relatable, if you know what I mean." She nodded, and they both looked at the sparkling stars. "Well that's astonishing, isn't it?"

"Very," she smiled. "'In the beginning was the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form, and darkness...darkness was upon the face of the deep." She faced him and smiled. He smiled more and offered his hand.

"Would you dance with me?" he asked. Clara tried to conceal her wide grin and failed.

"Of course." She took his hand, and the pain began swaying to the slow jazz from afar. After a couple seconds, he tilted her head and leaned down to kiss her. Clara kissed him back. It made her cheeks glow, and her heart flutter. It was magical.

~

"Clara!" Stephen yelled. "I heard a knock at the door! Go get it! I think it's the mail!" Clara rolled her eyes and pushed herself out of her bed. She wrapped a bathrobe over her pajamas and carefully walked through a small mess of clothes.

Tying the belt around her waist, she ran over to the door and opened it, expecting the mailman. Instead, there was a small box. She picked it up and grinned at the printing, which read, "TIDE." She turned around and looked for Charles, but he was nowhere in sight. She looked back down at the box and saw a small note stuck on the side. She pulled it off and read the scribbled handwriting:

"Come to the pub with Raven and I at 12pm today? I would love to have you there. Thought you would appreciate the box of washing powder

Charles Xavier"

    Clara laughed and went back inside to get ready. Stephen poked her head out from the kitchen

    "What was it?" Susan asked, walking out from the kitchen also. The three stayed together because the two girls had been friends since secondary school, making Susan a close family friend. Stephen usually stayed at their house, even though he also often stayed at the Robinson household. Clara handed her the box. "Washing powder?" Clara nodded but then waved the note. Stephen shook her head with a smile.

"Is it from that Xavier person?" he laughed.

    "Yep!" Clara said with a grin. "I'm going out soon!"

    "Goodness, he is a smooth one," Susan said to herself as her roomate ran off to change and finish her weekend studies. Stephen nodded with a laugh.

    After a few hours, Clara ran out the door with Susan reminding her to use protection (this resulted in a few suspicious inquiries from Stephen, acting like the protective older brother he was). She was very excited to see Charles after their night at the ball, even though she was a little nervous too. Clara waved down a taxi, which took her to the pub where Raven and Charles had taken her to meet Jonathan. Once at the bustling place, she pushed her way through and caught sight of a certain brunette.

    "Hello," Clara said timidly as she reached their table. Raven, Jonathan, and Charles all looked up. Charles grinned widely, and Jonathan smiled. Raven nodded. Clara wondered why Raven seemed so antisocial compared to her brother.

    "Clara! So glad of you to join us," said Charles. He moved over, and she slid into the booth to sit next to him.

    "Charles didn't tell me we would be having a girl come have lunch with us. Especially such a beautiful one," he winked. "Nice to see you again, Clara." Charles gave him a glare, and Raven finally cracked.

    "You boys get so protective," she laughed. Clara blushed and straightened her skirt.

    "Raven, don't get jealous, dear," Charles patted the blonde's hand. Raven rolled her eyes. Clara gave a small smile to Raven.

    "Well, should we get some drinks?" Jonathan said, waving down a waiter.

"Yes! Lots!" Raven clapped. Charles shook his head.

"How about a few?" he suggested. Raven groaned.

"Ok, mother," said Raven, exaggerating the word. Charles facepalmed. Clara smiled to herself. She could get used to this.

A/N

aha this story has arisen again!

i hope that yall are reading LETTERS too cuz that story is going to end in like a few days ;-;

anywho i got inspo for clara once more and so i decided to write wooooo

also today sucked so this kinda made me a bit happier

byeeeeeee