ALL THAT GLITTERS...

21.

A sigh escaped my lips the moment the cold air hit my face.

There was a full moon tonight, half its face hiding behind the clouds. There was a garden below us, lit up by hundreds of fairy lights, so peaceful.

"It had nothing to do with you."

I could feel his gaze on my face as he spoke. I didn't dare look at him lest my face gave me away. Then again it probably had because he wouldn't have gotten me out of there if it hadn't.

"She looked so repulsed by me." I said with a humourless laugh.

God. Jacksontown had been such a bubble for me. I was popular and everyone seemed to like me but here, everything was so different, these wealthy people didn't look twice at people like us.

"You're not very good at reading people." Seth said as he moved closer to where I was standing. I looked up at him and found his blue eyes already looking down at me.

"Coming here was a bad idea. Just look at me and look at all of you." I said defeated, my eyes looking anywhere but him.

"Don't." The firmness in his voice surprised me. I didn't say anything, just stood there and stared the sky.

"Dance with me."

"We too far from the music."

I pointed out with a smile and was surprised to see him smile down at me, it was a rare sight to behold.

"Hmmm." That was all he said and held out his hand for me.

There was so much I didn't know about Seth Blackwell but today he had shown me a glimpse. I wanted to see more, see what he was like under that stone expression on his beautiful face.

I didn't know whether there would be another chance like this, another chance to be this close to him, to see some sort of emotion on his face.

I slowly stretched my hand and placed it in his. We moved closer to each other, one hand snaked around my waist and the other held my hand. My free hand moved to rest on his chest since I could have placed it on his shoulder but I didn't want to stretch my hand too far on his tall form.

We swayed silently to the music that we could barely hear, and each time our bodies moved closer and till there was no space between us. I was weirdly comfortable being so intimately close to him. There was a serene calmness in the pit of my stomach but my heart still drummed loud enough for my ears to hear.

"You look beautiful tonight." He murmured softly against my hair.

"Thank you."

He pulled away slightly to look at me. My knees almost buckled, his face wasn't something I would ever get used to. He scanned my face silently before speaking.

"I like your hair up like this. When it's not hiding your bea-your face."

There was no stopping the blush that crept up my face. I knew then that Juan was right, Seth was the one who had sent that package.

"Thank you for the hairpiece and the earrings. I will return them to you after the ball."

I knew that whatever the Blackwells bought would be worth thousands of dollars, it felt so wrong to hold on to something so expensive.

"You're sillier than I thought. What would I do with them?"

A small smile played on his lips as he looked intently into my eyes, I knew I wouldn't argue any further.

Nothing more was said, we went back to slow dancing. I don't know long we were out there, I didn't care, it was the most peaceful I had been in the past three months. I begrudgingly pulled away when Seth said it was time to go, the music had long quieted down, I didn't want to leave yet.

We moved downstairs to where the event seemed to still be going on, very few people were moving out. Seth didn't speak to anyone on our way out, his face had morphed back into that cold emotionless expression of his.

"Oomph-"

"I am so sorry." She didn't look sorry at all for spilling all the contents of her glass on my dress.

I couldn't believe how cliché it was. A tall dark-haired girl was standing right in front with the fakest look of concern on her face, her breast threatening to spill out of her tight red dress.

How she could even breathe in it was beyond me.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." I told her but she obviously wasn't listening, her eyes were on Seth, practically undressing him with her eyes.

"Seth, right? Mina. We used to attend the same music class many years ago, remember?" She looked like wanted to eat him up then and there.

"Yes, Mina. We happen to be in a hurry, see you." Seth said dismissively and grabbed my hand.

"Ok. I will just ask Selene for your number or she can give you mine."

She called after us but Seth and I were already out the door. Desperate much?

"Seth? Lisa?"

A frustrated sigh escaped Seth's lips before he turned to attend to his mother and sister.

I stood a little further from them with my arms wrapped around myself, it was a bit chilly outside. I spotted Colton standing with a man far off in a corner, Colton was speaking animatedly with his hands all over. But that wasn't what had me shifting uncomfortably in my spot. The man who looked like an older version of Colton was looking in my direction, specifically me.

I averted my eyes to look at something else but I could still feel the man's eyes on me. It wasn't like a creepy perverted look you would expect from a man but rather a blank stare or maybe I was just imagining things.

I was exhausted, my dress was ruined and I really wanted to crawl under the sheets and sleep, I didn't need this.

"You guys are leaving? Can't I go with Lisa?" I heard Selene ask.

"No, drop it, Selene." Her brother snapped. My eyes moved in their direction, Selene was upset and Seth stood glaring at his mother

"We will talk about this later." The words were obviously directed at Victoria but she didn't seem phased.

Later on, we tucked in Seth's car speeding down the road back to the hotel. We hadn't said a word to each other, the tension was thick in the car. I wanted to say something.

"Don't be upset with your mother on my behalf. I'm sure she didn't know..." I trailed off. I wasn't sure whether I believed my own words but how could she know? It didn't make sense.
Seth let out a harsh humourless laugh.

"You don't know my mother. She knew what she was doing, she had it planned to the last detail."

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