Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

40. In the Candlelight.

ACE.

I stared at the shimmering red dress in complete disgust. The high-heeled shoes and spread of makeup on Frankie's dresser didn't help, either. It looked amazing, true, but also highly intimidating.

"This is ridiculous," I groaned, "It's all a setup. There's no real democracy here. The Council will pick whoever they want to be the Alpha. Our votes don't matter."

I was still refusing to get dressed up for the 'ball' that night. We had at least an hour before we had to be there, and I just didn't see the point. Why wear makeup and unserviceable clothing when everyone knows what you look like, anyway? It just seemed shallow to me. Plus, I had no idea what 'primer' even was. Frankie, however, had insisted I come along and we get ready together, something about Tyler telling her to give me a chance... She seemed to be enjoying herself.

"You don't know that," Frankie said, adding thick black eyeliner over her eyes, "Maybe they're just trying to give us a chance. Maybe they actually want to know what we think."

"Yeah," I scoffed, "Maybe."

She picked up two dresses, one dusty pink and the other a lavender purple. "What do you think?" she asked, "Help me out here - I'm trying to be nice."

I smirked, wringing out my hair that was still damp from the shower I'd just had. I tilted my head at the dresses.

"Definitely that one," I said, pointing to the dusty pink, "The lavender looks bad."

Frankie smiled and continued piling on her makeup, leaving her 'dusty rose' dress sitting draped over a chair. I sat on her bed, cringing at the whole scene. Cringing, only until I was verbally objecting.
That verbal objection came in the form of me screaming bloody murder as Frankie chased me with a hair curler.

I could only wonder if the boys went through this much fuss.

...

JOSH.

"I'm not saying I would," Dallas explained, "But like... I would."

I laughed at him and continued fixing my turquoise tie. Ace had picked it out for me, telling me it would bring out my eyes. Dallas agreed whole-heartedly.

"Dallas, you sound extremely gay right now," Sebastian pointed out, stepping from the lounge in suit pants and a pale blue shirt.

Dallas laughed, gelling back his messy ringlets and buttoning up his dark purple shirt. "Everyone's a little gay," he scoffed.

"Equal rights!" Tyler yelled from the bathroom, only to walk out grinning like an idiot. He'd opted for a classic tuxedo, and looked like a penguin.

"Dude, that jacket is way too formal," Andy said from his place on the couch. He'd taken the least time out of all of us, wearing a dark grey shirt with a blue bowtie that matched his hair.

"Hey, this is stylish, okay?" Tyler defended himself, spiking up his short blond hair. My hair had once been a similar colour but was looking a bit darker now that it was longer. Dallas suggested I tie it up in a man-bun. I kindly refused.

"At least you don't have hair like mine," I complained, struggling to keep it out of my face.

"Bro. Problem solved," Dallas laughed, slapping a pile of gel in my hair. I tensed up as the cold goo dripped down my neck.

"That. Was. Not. Cool," I hissed, flicking it off. I combed back the rest of it and was surprised to find that it actually did work.

"Okay, you all look very pretty," Andy said sarcastically, "Now let's go."