Masquerade || Niall Horan

2 ♥ Rebellious Nature

“I think we have a problem,” I said to Ida as she changed into cuter shorts and a top that certainly went against dress code. I sat beneath the covers with my back against the pale white walls, thinking over the whole masquerade idea.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t have a gown. Or a mask.”

“We can go shopping for one,” she told me simply, as if this would be the easiest thing in the world.

“When? Your party is on Saturday.”

She gave me a look. “Did you listen to anything I told you today?”

“You want me to sneak out with you? I don’t know. Shouldn’t I wait a while before risking trouble?”

She smiled and shook her head slowly. “Oh, Alisha. You poor naïve soul. Life is no fun without a little trouble. What are you doing in bed? You should come with me tonight. Some kids are having a bonfire downtown. A bunch of kids from school will be there, and you’ll get to meet a ton of your classmates beforehand. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

I thought about it for a moment. Would it really be so bad? I mean, after all, Ida had apparently been up to this for years and had never gotten in severe trouble for it. What could really happen?

I sighed and threw the covers off me, getting up and sorting through my clothes for something to wear.

“That’s what I thought,” Ida said with a satisfied smile plastered across her face.

~*~*~*~

“You have to be quiet,” she explained. “If you can hear yourself breathing, you’re being too loud.”

I nodded and followed her lead as she opened up the door. The hallways were dark, and we had no source of light. Ida seemed used to the darkness, so I trusted she would lead us in the right direction.

To say this school is old would be an understatement. Therefore, the boarding houses are old. Old houses and creaky floorboards basically go hand in hand, but that wasn’t helping us very much at the moment. Ida seemed to know just where to step to avoid the noisy parts, but I appeared to be making every false move.

She gave me a look as if to say ‘Keep it down’, but I couldn’t help it. Thankfully, we made it downstairs safely. Every light was still off. No one was awoken by my creaking.

From there it was easy. The doors were left unlocked. The back door was apparently quietest, according to Ida, so we effortlessly slid it open and slipped outside into the warm summer air.

“Sorry about-“

Ida cupped a hand over my mouth to keep me from speaking anymore words. She gave me a wide eyed expression and nodded toward the tree line she had pointed out earlier. She began walking toward it, and I silently followed her lead. Once we reached the fence, she bent down to a gap that someone had probably cut open long ago. She ducked underneath and stood on the other side. I did the same and soon enough we were facing the road.

“You can talk now,” she told me.

“Sorry about the creaking. And the talking. I thought we were safe.”

“We’re not safe until we cross that fence.”

I nodded and followed her across the street. Hardly any cars were driving by surprisingly. It was painless at that point. We walked down the road until we could see buildings in the distance. It didn’t take us long at all, and soon enough we were walking through town with different stores everywhere we looked.

“Hold on,” Ida told me, pulling me by the arm into a small shop. I glanced around and saw never ending amounts of dresses. Short, long, revealing, modest, formal, casual. All types. All colors.

“We don’t have to get it now,” I said. “I don’t even have any money on me.”

“We’re already here,” she pointed out. “And you can pay me back. Oh, look at this one!”

Ida danced over and held up a pretty yet simple white mask. Feathers stuck out from the side. I liked it, no doubt, but the cost would be questionable.

Along with it, she found a beautiful dress to match. It was long and white with gems around the waist, and I loved it almost as much as I adored the mask. Ida shoved me into the dressing room with instructions to try it on, so I did. And it only made me fall that much more in love with it.

"You’re sure we should get it now?” I asked, just to make sure. She rolled her eyes and took the two items from me, dropping them onto the desk at checkout. She paid and shoved them into her bag.

“You’ll pay me later,” she said and shoved the receipt in my face. My eyes widened at the price. Lots of digits.

We left the store, and I had to rush to keep up with Ida. It didn’t take long for us to get there, and I could smell the burning wood from a block away. We approached without being noticed. It wasn’t until we got closer that I could see Jackson, Emma, and Taylor along with a bunch of other faces.

“Did you save me a drink?” Ida asked Emma. She only rolled her eyes.

“If you got here sooner, I wouldn’t have to.”

She tossed her a can of soda, and Ida smiled.

“Oh, this is Alisha,” she introduced me. “She’s new. Be nice to her.”

All the people huddled around the fire looked at me, and it honestly made me a bit uncomfortable. I gave a small wave and tucked my dark brown hair behind my ear. Soon enough, no one cared anymore. They all went back to talking and having fun. I stuck by Ida, but when she got wrapped up with someone else I was left to fend for myself.

I noticed Jackson and Taylor talking, so I decided to join them.

“I feel so out of place,” I admitted. Jackson smirked.

“You get used to it,” Taylor told me optimistically. “Trust me, once you start going to school with them its way more fun.”

I smiled and relaxed a bit. I was here to have fun. I was the new girl at this school. A fresh start. I could be whoever I wanted to be. At home I’m shy, but here I could be confident. I could be different.

By the end of the night, I was high off adrenaline. I was being rebellious by sneaking out, I’d just met a whole new group of people, I was actually excited for school to start, Ida’s party was in a few days, I had a brand new dress, a brand new mask, and on top of it all I had fun. Everything was great, and it was only day one.

AUTHORS NOTE

so Niall still isn't here yet. Oops. Bear with me young ones c: I promise you will be blown away. Maybe. I don't know. Thank you so much for reading! Next chapter will be better. Sorry this one is sort of slow. I'm not even sure what the purpose of it actually was so excuse the stupidity. I love you for reading my work<3 thanks again! x