Cinderfella

02: STROKE OF MIDNIGHT

"Leave me alone," Cindy grumbles, waving a hand at the bartender. "I'm having plenty of fun. Look," she says, gesturing to the long row of empty glasses in front of her, "I've had lots of liquid fun right there. My blood is 99% fun. I am positively oozing with it. And it's not my fault that it's been three hours and no Prince Charmings have asked me to dance yet -"

"Ooh!" Cindy's tirade is interrupted as her best friend waves frantically at someone in the crowd. "Hey! There's Eric! Ericcc," she calls, and then pouts. "He can't hear me." She tries again, twice more, before scowling somewhat adorably and climbing on top of the bar counter and whistling. "Hey, sexy boy!"

This time, Cindy spots a familiar black-haired man turn around. "Sweet cheeks," Ari sings, smiling lopsidedly as she, too, sees Eric weaving through the throngs of people toward her. She stumbles off the counter, throwing herself into her boyfriend's arms. Eric only sighs affectionately. "How many flutes of champagne have you had?"

Ari smiles woozily. "One? Two? Seven?" She giggles, and then sobers slightly. "Why? Was I not supposed to?"

Eric shakes his head gently, rolling his eyes comically at Cindy over his girlfriend's head. She's such a lightweight, he mouths to Cindy, before reassuring Ari. "It's okay. I haven't had anything to drink besides the lemonade. I'll drive us home."

"Yay!" Ari exclaims happily, before taking Eric's arm and leading him to the dance floor.

Cindy watches them go, feeling a slight twinge of envy at their so obviously delighted faces.

One hour (and a few drinks) later, Cindy decides that she may not have a prince for the night, but that doesn't mean she has to witness the disgusting sappiness happening all around her - on her birthday, no less. She heads out to the balcony - Elsa, with her amazing powers, had somehow managed to get a venue that is literally made of ice - and glares at the couple making out there until they leave. Cindy feels a slight twinge of guilt, but then pushes it away. She's not sober enough to care anymore, and takes a sip from her glass as if to prove a point.

Or at least she tries to take a drink, anyway, only to find her lips sipping at empty air as her cup is plucked right from her hands. "Hey!" She protests, spinning around to find a masked man holding her cup aloft in the air. Her eyes narrow at the sight, and she moves as if to grab it, only using her left hand to slap his face as he blocks her right one from the glass.

"Hey!" He's the one protesting now, cradling his right cheek under his mask, which, if the resounding smack was an indication, is most likely extremely red. Unfortunately, Cindy can't see, because Elsa's ice castle offers no lighting whatsoever. (But even more unfortunately, what she can see are his incredibly out-of-place Converse shoes.)

Cindy only holds out her hand for to the champagne. "Could you please hand me my best friend?"

Masked Man frowns. "Ari's in there -" He catches sight of Cindy's slightly exasperated look. "Oh. You want your alcohol." Instead of giving it to her, he merely pours the remainder into one of the potted plants beside them.

"NO!" Cindy cries, staring in horror at the now empty flute. It's the last straw in this horrible mess of a night. She whirls toward the man. "How could you?"

He looks taken aback. "Relax, it's just -"

"It is not just anything!" Cindy bursts out. Suddenly, she finds tears slipping down her cheek. Maybe it's the champagne talking, or maybe it's just all her pent-up sadness from all those twenty-odd less-than-six-hour relationships. "My girlfriend broke up with me after six hours, and that would've been fine but it seems like I can never make anything stick, and it's like I just bore everyone if I'm with them for more than two minutes, like for them I'm just some temporary thing and Cinderella has always helped me so I threw a ball, a goddamn ball, but even that's let me down and I have been sitting alone for the past four hours waiting for someone to ask me to dance and Ijustwanttofeellovedforonceinmylife!"

Cindy covers her face in her hands, for once not caring if anyone sees her crying. She feels the urge to apologise for her outburst, but pushes it down, because why would she be sorry for being human? She looks up slowly, expecting for the man to be staring or already gone, only to see him standing with his hand extended. "W-what?" She asks, still gasping slightly.

"Dance with me."

Cindy frowns, bewildered, and Masked Man sighs. "You've been waiting for someone to ask you to dance, right? I'm doing exactly that, aren't I?"

She takes his hand, still suspicious, even as he puts his arm around her waist and spins her around to the distant music playing from inside. "You poured my expensive champagne into a plant," she accuses, not really meaning it - she's feeling drained now, as she always does after she cries.

He dismisses the thought. "You were having too many. I helped you."

"You probably killed the plant."

"Maybe it likes champagne."

Cindy doesn't grace that with a reply, only resting her head against his shoulder. They sway back and forth for a while before she speaks up. "Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you doing this?" Cindy gestures down at his arm still wrapped around her waist as they shuffle back and forth. He shrugs. "It's your birthday. No one should be sad on their birthday. Especially someone like you, Cindy Lovelace."

"Do I know you?" She whispers, looking up at his eyes. She can't tell what colour they are in the dim light, but they seem to sparkle.

He laughs, gently. "Not really."

Cindy manages a wavering smile. "But I know everyone."

"No," he corrects, "you know who everyone is. But do you know who they are, really?"

"That was deep."

"I know. I might get that quoted and framed, one day."

She laughs. "But seriously," she says, "I want to know who you are."

Mystery Man (she likes the name better than Masked Man) just shakes his head. "Does it really matter right now?"

Cindy opens her mouth to say that yes, yes it did matter, only to find soft lips pressed against her own. She sighs gently against his mouth, returning the kiss.

They stay like that for a long time, lips brushing, still swaying to the music, when the clock chimes midnight, and her partner suddenly pulls away. "Oh, no," he mutters. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong?" Cindy starts to ask as he pulls himself away from her, straightening his jacket. Mystery Man looks at her, flustered. "Sorry. Sorry! I've got to go -"

And with that, he sprints inside the ballroom, leaving Cindy completely alone.

Again.

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dedicated to unalexeptable just because i've run out of people to dedicate things to and also because her story just got 15k+ wooo alex you go