ღ Finding Cinderella-7 ღ
-Tristan-
I glanced at my watch for the twentieth time and sighed impatiently. Grey and I had been waiting for Clark outside the gym for almost a whole half hour, but no luck so far. He'd probably fallen asleep in the restroom or something.
Several people had stopped by to hang out and kill time, but I wasn't really up for socializing. I stayed on the side, leaning my back against the wall, faking laughter when someone cracked a joke. It didn't matter. These people didn't matter—they didn't stay long anyway. Fuck. I couldn't explain why I was feeling like crap tonight. Things just didn't seem right since the day Kylie had brought up the Erik issue again.
"Man, this may be an unpopular opinion, but formal parties are better than house parties," Grey muttered as he ogled at the girls when they passed by. He whistled. "Women are sexier when they wear dresses like this, showing a bit of skin. It's hot, you know? Enticing."
"Sounds like you need a forty-year-old sugar mom who works at the casino," I said monotonously. "So, have you checked on Clark? Where the hell is he?"
"The fuck should I know? I've called him many times, but all I get is his voicemail."
A sound crackled from inside the gym, echoing across the crowd and cutting off the music that had been blaring for ages. "Welcome to Broadway Heights' 23rd Valentine and Commemoration Ball!"
The speaker had to be the student body president, finally opening up the program. Wherever Clark was, he'd be arriving at the dance so late.
"Whatever," I said, stepping away from the wall. "Let's just go inside without him. The others might be missing us already."
As I started to walk toward the entrance, I saw Grey grabbing a blonde girl out of the crowd and wrapping his arm around her. Her name was Sylvia if I remembered correctly.
Suddenly, a random guy bounced in front of me from out of nowhere, making me jump back in surprise. He was grinning so wide I thought his cheeks would crack.
"Hey, good evening!" he greeted. "I'm Cupid, and—"
"Nope." I frowned. "You are Steven Davis."
He dramatically rolled his eyes as his shoulders dropped. "Wonderful, Hartford. You just ruined my act, thank you so much. Seriously, do you see these wings?" He pointed at his back. "I'm Cupid now. Duh."
What kind of spirit possessed him tonight?
Looking around, I noticed that several student council members wore the same bizarre get-up as his. Each of them was holding a colorful bunch of ribbons, and I wondered what they were for before turning back to Steven—I mean, Cupid. Whatever.
"What's going on?" I asked.
He easily returned his crazy smile. "Well, you have been chosen as one of the participants for the Fate Dance, which will be right after the King and Queen's performance!" he exclaimed and lifted five ribbons that were also in different colors and designs. "Please take a string."
Curious, I pulled a red one from the pile. Yeah, it looked more like a ribbon used for gift-wrapping than a string, but I would just suspend my disbelief and play along. The string had the length of an arm and the width of an inch, and I could see the words "The Heart" printed in gold letters between two golden heart patterns.
Dang. The council must have spent a fortune on these.
"Oh, you got The Heart string! Perfect! Don't lose it, 'kay?" Cupid said. "There's only one pair of strings that have the same words and color. Once the Fate Dance starts, make sure to find the girl with a string that matches yours. There are only going to be twenty-four chosen participants—twelve boys, twelve girls, so it won't be hard for you to find your partner later."
"What if I'm going to swap this with another string?"
"Uh-uh, you can't. Once you get a string, you're not allowed to exchange it with another. That's the rule. Besides, you'll ruin the spirit of the Fate Dance if you choose your partner yourself. Oh, and please tie it around your right wrist."
I shrugged and followed his instructions. Hmm, this actually seemed interesting. Now I wondered who was going to be that girl...
"Okay, that settles it. Good luck!" He winked and made a flamboyant wave as he left.
I was hardly able to contain a smirk as I walked around to find the rest of the senior class. It was more difficult than I thought, though. I could barely recognize anyone I knew since their typical jeans and T-shirts had been replaced by formal attire.
"Yo, T, where have you been?"
I turned toward the voice and saw Grey approaching. He slung his arms around my neck, and his eyes dropped on my hand.
"What's that ribbon for?"
"Ah, something I got from Steven. For the Fate dance, you know. Not sure what the hell that is really, but we'll just see later on."
"Gotta say, this year's committee has done an amazing job for this one," Grey commented, observing around. "Look at this place! Now this is what I call a good time."
I nodded. This event was looking way better than it had in the previous years. For one thing, the place seemed much brighter and more party-like, probably due to the unique theatrical lighting. On the wall of the stage were posted glittery red words that read: "BHHS 23rd Annual Valentine and Commemoration Ball." And the heart-shaped cutouts that the students had spent hours making were dangling from railings up above. To top it all off, red and white balloons were floating all over the place, along with matching flowers, giving the place a fairy-tale theme perfect for the Valentine Ball.
After a while, we found ourselves surrounded by friends and acquaintances again. I couldn't help eyeing the bare skin and curves of the girls and thinking back to what Grey had said earlier. I kind of had to agree with him; these girls sure looked enticing.
"Hey, I just noticed that you haven't got a girl tonight," Grey said, elbowing me. The music was drowning out all other sounds so he had to speak loudly. "Didn't you say you had a date?"
Great, he just reminded me of Kylie and that stupid goose chase in the city. Smoothing down the back of my suit, I tried to play it cool. "Nah, she... she said she wasn't feeling it. Guess she feels too old for parties like this."
Then Grey laughed. It wasn't a normal laugh. I could hear a snort in there, and a little saliva flew out of his mouth. He slapped my back and replied, "Oh shit. Man, don't tell me you're talking about Kylie Harris."
I scowled. "How the hell did you know it was her?"
"Dude, everyone knows that Kylie's the only girl in school who can resist you." He shook his head, still chuckling. "And I've always had this feeling that you have the hots for her."
I pushed him away. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"Dude, be honest with me," Grey began. He was still smiling, but the look in his eyes turned serious. "The reason why you tried asking her out wasn't only that you needed a human shield against Fiona tonight. You tried asking her out because you like her. With all this fighting and bantering with her, deep down inside you've always liked Kylie. Romantically."
"That's fucking nuts," I said. He just pushed my pissed-off button, and now my skin was starting to burn.
"Feisty girls are your type, T. You like the challenge. Almost all of your ex-girlfriends were like that. And Kylie? Oh boy. That girl is your greatest—"
My dry laughter cut him off. "Dude, dude, enough. I don't like Kylie, okay? That's crazy. If there's one thing I like about her, it's how easily she gets pissed. But I don't like her romantically. Again, that's crazy."
"What's so crazy about it, though?" Grey asked, lifting an eyebrow. "I mean, she's a girl. She looks fine, sometimes. Despite her mean and slightly crazy side, she deserves to be liked. Besides..." he added tentatively, "didn't you guys used to be friends?"
I wanted to punch him to make him shut up, but I was doing my best to keep my cool. Reacting strongly would make this interrogation even worse. Fuck. This was really the time where Clark should salvage the situation. Where was he when I needed him?
"I just don't like her, okay? Can we put an end to this already?" I snapped.
He lifted his palms in surrender. "All right, dude. Chill. Look, why don't we go around and find a date for you, yeah? Come on. A campus prince can't go dateless for this kind of occasion."
Grey pulled me to the side, and together we went to a booth surrounded by girls. They were giggling and talking so loudly I could even hear them:
"Seriously, I'm telling you. This dress is making me look hideous."
"Shut up. I'm even jealous of how good you look right now."
"By the way, you guys, have y'all seen Tristan Hartford yet?"
"Yes! I saw him outside a while ago, and he's so smoking hot."
"I totally agree! Even Grey Walter looks—"
"Oh my God."
One of them nudged the others when she saw us getting closer, and their jaws dropped in unison. They were, no doubt, mortified that we were not only standing in front of them but could have heard everything. If Kylie had been around, she would've freaked out, complaining about teenage girls these days.
As Grey explained my situation to them, I did a countdown in my head. When I came to zero, as expected, the girls squealed and began tugging at my arms like hungry wolves. Sighing, I slid into the round booth and tried on my best I-don't-give-a-fuck face.
"Ladies, please take care of T," Grey said, patting my shoulder. "He was really bored earlier so it's important that you make this night unforgettable for him. Later!"
Then, with a wink and a smile, he was off.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. That jackass! I thought he was going to support me here. Before I could curse at him further, I saw Sylvia glower at the girls around me, and I realized why he wasn't staying.
Turning back to the table, I examined my new company. Girl #1 on the other side was biting her nails. Girl #2 next to her was talking profusely, it's almost like she's rapping. Girl #3 was twirling her red hair endlessly around her finger. I spun my head to the left and almost leaped away as Girl #4 sputtered a laugh, spewing Coke out of her mouth.
Grey had to be shitting me. There was no way I was dating any of these girls.
And just to be clear, this wasn't because I liked Kylie. No way. (Fuck you, Grey!)
After introducing themselves to me (though it was useless since I didn't plan on memorizing all those names), they began to open up a new topic, thankfully not about us guys. I figured I could join in on their conversation, but as it progressed, the subject matter headed toward something no guy would want to deal with.
Good going, Tristan—now you're stuck with these weird chicks for the entire evening.
Finally, the principal stepped on the stage to give a speech to the student body, but nobody bothered to listen. While the speech went on, I tried to be interested in the blabbering females around me, but the longer I stayed there, the older I got, and I wondered if I would have a head full of gray hair before the night was over.
Why couldn't I find a single entertaining thing about this ball? If Kylie had been here, at least I would have had a good laugh.
(Again, I didn't like her romantically. I just wanted to make fun of her tonight.)
I twisted my torso around, hoping to see my friends, but instead of them, I spotted Fiona parading around. Shit. I quickly turned away, and the Coke girl (yeah, I'd call her that) on my left poked the dimple in my cheek. My jaw stiffened.
For fuck's sake, when would people stop doing that? It was literally the most annoying thing.
Coke girl must have seen my annoyance because she stopped giggling and shrunk in her seat. Great—now it looked like her humiliation was my fault.
"Tristan, can I ask you something?" Girl #3 spoke up, the flirty tone clear in her voice. This girl—what was her name again, Clara? Claudius?—was inching closer to me, practically sitting on my lap.
I tried to back away, but the other girls were pressed up against me like sardines, and I couldn't move.
"Uh, sure," I replied, trying to hide my uneasiness. "You can ask me anything."
Clara/Claudius grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well... do you think I look fat in this dress?"
I almost palmed my face. I really didn't need this joke tonight. Or any time of the day at all. I couldn't give an honest answer since I could only afford that with my mom or relatives.
Screw this. Let's beat around the bush then.
"No, no, of course not," I said, making a show of being interested in her shiny blue dress. "You actually look pretty cute!"
Clara/Claudius' eyes lit up and her smile grew wider, causing her friends to start nudging and teasing. Meanwhile, I was displaying a fake grin, but on the inside I was applauding myself. Nice save, T.
She was about to speak when we heard the emcee tap the microphone. "Thank you for that wonderful speech, Mr. Johnson," he announced. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's what you've all been waiting for. Let's welcome... the King and Queen of the night!"
The lights dimmed, and orchestral music flowed from the speakers. Everyone got up and began to crowd toward the center of the room, their buzzing getting louder by the second. I had no interest in seeing the King and Queen so I didn't move until two guys passed by, and I caught a bit of their conversation:
"Hey, did you see that girl? Who is she?"
"Yeah. Weird. I was expecting to see Lacey Harris as the rumors suggested, but we got a different one."
My brain slammed on the brakes, and I looked around in confusion. Did I hear them correctly? Was Lacey not the Queen? What was going on?
I excused myself from the girls' table, much to their displeasure, and wandered over to the tight crowd where everyone's conversations were all about the King and Queen. Now I really wanted to know more, but when I tried to squeeze into the mob, there was no space for me to enter.
I grew impatient.
"Move!" I shouted.
Startled, they turned to me and quickly cleared the way. I smiled to myself. Being popular really came in handy sometimes.
At last, I stepped forward from the crowd, searching for the root of all this commotion. Upon seeing a couple dancing briskly in the middle, I felt my muscles tense.
What the hell? How could that guy dare to show his face? What had he done to deserve the title of the King? This was horseshit.
My pissed-off meter was almost hitting the critical level, but when my attention shifted to his dance partner, the rage died down, and I found myself rooted in place, probably resembling a goldfish with its mouth hanging open.
Wow...
She was the loveliest girl I'd seen that night. There was a white mask covering half of her face, and it intrigued me even more. Her midnight black curls were waves flowing down to her curvy hips, and the white ball gown framed her thin figure perfectly, trailing across the floor as she gracefully turned around.
She was gazing at the King with such eagerness, red lips moving as she talked. People were muttering how perfect they looked together, and I clenched my fists at my side. That guy sure had a lot of luck, getting that kind of girl as a dance partner. I couldn't be blamed for being envious, especially when it came to someone like her.
Shortly after, the beautiful girl tore her gaze away from him to look at...
Me.
Her dark eyes, those strangely familiar eyes, widened the moment we made eye contact. Before I knew it, she had turned her head away, and I found myself completely awestruck, wondering what just happened.
My pulse hammered in my ears, and goosebumps had begun to spread all over my body. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed hard in my dry throat.
It was the first time I had ever felt this way. I'd seen so many girls before—hot girls, gorgeous girls—, but they'd never struck me like this, never given me this strange, nerve-wracking feeling. And as I watched the beautiful stranger taking smooth steps across the dance floor, one coherent thought formed in my mind:
I, Tristan Jon Hartford, was still lost in her eyes.