He waited until he heard the door close and her footsteps fade before he proceeded to change clothes. He wore one of the more casual suits from his wardrobe seeing as he doubted too many people from school would dress up much-if they showed up at all. As a rule, it tended to be better to over dress rather than under dress, but at the same time the last thing Horatio wanted was to look like a pretentious rich kid. The only thing he couldn't help was how damn fine he looked in a suit, though that probably had something to do with the exceptional tailoring and quality material as much as it did with his own dashing good looks.

Once dressed he made his way through the hall and to the large ball-room area where nearly all the guests had by now gathered. It was a classic large room with a grand staircase entrance that likely resided in every little girl's dreams, from the glittering chandelier in the ceiling to the plush carpet that cascaded down the stairs and to the polished hardwood of the main room.

As soon as Mrs. Aetis, Horatio's mother, spotted him, she took a few steps up the stairs and clinked her glass of champagne for everyone's attention. "Ladies and Gentlemen" she spoke once everyone had quieted down. Her own attire was both stunning and perhaps just slightly too young for her but she filled in the sequined navy dress quite nicely all the same. "The guest of honor has arrived," she turned to look at Horatio as he made his way down the stairs, "My dear son, Horatio Aetis"

People clapped and Horatio, contrary to his usual attitude greeted the room with a wide smile, "Thank you all for coming, my apologies for my delay but I couldn't decide between the red tie or blue one. Do tell me, did I make the right choice?" he pointed to his tie, which was definitely black. A few people laughed at his little blind joke-those that knew him well enough were happy to giggle at it while anyone else might just feel awkward at the jest to his blindness. Something that he secretly enjoyed doing to others. "Oh come now, tell me I'm not speaking to an empty room. Though it wouldn't be the first time-this is the right hall, isn't it mother?" that bit of encouragement prodded the rest to relax and there was more laughter this time.

With his little greeting aside Horatio finished counting the stairs down to the main level and soon found himself being escorted into the crowd. He certainly knew how to be charming if it really came to it, he would smile and joke and greet new people with enthusiasm but none of it was more than just skin deep. He would have much rather spent the evening by himself and his irritation and boredom was relevant in his eyes-fortunately no one really knew how to read blind eyes, so they tended to ignore the signs and focus on his smile instead.