ღ Finding Cinderella- 9 ღ
-Tristan-
I finally found the girl I was searching for. And as she spun around to face me, I just stood there like a statue with my hands trembling halfway from her shoulder.
Wow, she's even more beautiful up close, I thought, swallowing down my anxiety.
Weird. I had never been like this before. Flirting and attracting girls were just so easy for me, but now I could barely give her a smile.
Should I even smile? No! Don't smile! There might be something stuck in between your teeth.
I snapped my mouth shut.
Okay, T, stay cool and don't say anything that will make you look stupid.
Sucking in my breath, I began, "Hey, uh, I noticed that we're holding the same strings—the Heart." I lifted up my right wrist. "That means I'm your dance partner for this event. And in case you haven't noticed, the dance is that way."
Her mouth fell open, but she shut it quickly and looked away. I rubbed at the back of my neck, unable to resist the uneasiness between us.
I peeled my eyes away from her to scan the area and noticed that most of the participants had already found their partners and were settled with them in the middle. Some gentle acoustic love song had begun playing. The five-minute search was almost over, and my progress with this masked girl was barely inching forward.
She just stood there, hands hugging her waist, expression indescribable. I didn't expect this girl could be hard to get, but good thing I'd never been the type of guy who would give up so easily.
Bending slightly, I lifted my right hand to her and offered my best smile. After all, I was the unbeatable "prince" of this campus. I should keep up and play along with the title.
"So, my princess," I said in my politest manner, "may I have this dance?"
At last, she looked back at me, meeting my gaze which once again astounded me. Wow. Even though the mask and the harsh lighting around us covered her face, still she was growing more and more gorgeous every second. Her long dark lashes fluttered a couple of times like she was surprised by my approach. I always knew girls loved gentlemen so I was going to show her one.
"Please?" I asked. I remained in my bent over position, patiently waiting. I watched as her facial expression changed to one of consideration.
At last, she lifted her right hand and pressed it on mine. There was a sudden jolt of electricity at the first contact, and I beamed in triumph. I'm lucky to get this beautiful girl tonight, I thought as I led her in front.
She finally fell for my charm.
-Kylie-
I never realized how insane I could be until I found myself standing in front of him.
I didn't want to dance with him.
I didn't want to dance with anybody. And even if I did, it seriously wouldn't be him. He'd be the last person in the universe who I would dance with.
However, seeing his strange aura and courteous approach, I found myself going along with him. It was as if there was a strong magnetic pull in his actions that kept me drawn to him. Genuine, courteous gestures were something I had never seen of him until now. He always had a cheeky attitude that never failed to aggravate me every single day, but where was it gone now?
Is this... is this really Tristan?
My heart didn't stop its erratic beating as we glided effortlessly across the dance floor. I felt even worse when I observed that some of the girls around us were glaring at me as if my dancing with this jerk was a crime. But seriously, what I just did felt like a crime.
I was dancing with my mortal enemy, for Pete's sake!
His arms tightened around my waist, and I stiffened for a second. I couldn't believe this was happening. I looked up with eyes of rage and saw the cocky little smirk on his face.
I really wanted to scratch that smirk off.
With his mischievous smile that showed off his dimples and his black hair in a mess, he certainly looked like a demon prince in a black suit—minus the pitchfork, though. That's why most girls claimed that they would die just to have a chance to dance with him, to touch his hand, to smell his shampoo, and even to count his eyelashes. But then again, he's Tristan Hartford, the guy who could always attract girls by his charms.
Yeah, right.
I gave him a smirk back. For this moment, I decided that I wasn't going to act as myself. This guy seemed not to recognize me, and that was a good thing.
Okay, Kylie, don't show any emotions. Don't show how badly you need to take a pee. Seriously. Just act like you're a wall or something—
"Oh," I muttered as I felt his shoe trapping the bottom of my gown.
Tristan snapped his head up, a look of mortification coming over his face. I quickly bit my tongue, preventing myself from making any noise that would easily reveal my identity. I dreaded having another person to know my secret—especially this person.
He lifted his shoe off and mumbled, "Sorry."
My eyebrows rose in surprise. It had been a long time since I saw him feel any sort of remorse, and it was giving me a... weird feeling.
I nodded at his apology and tentatively went along with his steps. It was my fault, anyway. His little steps were all fine, but it was just a little difficult to follow at first. Especially when my feet were not in the mood to go along with his.
Two small slides, a spin, and another slide... Ah, I got it. Huh, he probably worked this out for himself.
For a moment, I let my eyes wander about the area. Erik was dancing with Veronica Sullivan, who was wearing a flashy black dress. Among the people in the audience was Fiona Ryder with her arms crossed over her chest. With her dark brown hair coiffed above her head and her sparkly red dress, this girl stood out from the crowd. I would have described her as pretty if only she wasn't looking at me like she was about to murder me.
I sighed. Since when did occasions like this become torture sessions?
Tristan cleared his throat, and I turned to him. His mouth opened, closed, and then opened again. I tried my best not to laugh. It was funny to see how he was struggling for words.
"So, uh, I guess I haven't introduced myself to you yet," he said, "I'm Tristan Hartford. I'm sure you've already heard about me."
How could I have not? You're, like, the douchebag of the century!
"What's your name?" he added.
Upon hearing that, I became completely aghast. I bit my lip and looked down, shaking my head a little.
"Okay... we'll leave it blank for now then," he said with a chuckle. "Say, do you wanna hang out after this? Get some drinks, take a walk, and maybe get to know each other?"
I shook my head again.
"Oh... it's cool. You'll be with your friends the whole night, right?" he said in a low, dissatisfied tone. But it quickly changed into something lively when he supplied, "But I'm thinking, what if you and your friends would join us? It would be fun."
I purposely stepped on his shoe.
"Ow," he hissed then forced a grin. "I... I'll take that as a no." Then he went silent. His gaze was fixed on me for a moment, and then it moved away. He was puffing quite heavily as if he had bronchitis or something.
Was it just me or was I seeing Tristan getting nervous? The overflowing confidence that he had always maintained had seemed to disappear tonight.
"Anyway, do you have any interest, like sports or anything?" Great, he's talking to me again. "Well, I like sports, especially basketball and soccer. But I'm not really into playing them since I'm more into academic stuff, like Math."
Should I say wow or something?
I tried not to make an eye-roll when he laughed. Yeah, he could be an idiot at times, but Tristan actually had a brain full of numbers and arithmetical crap. He could boast about himself and his Math prowess, whatever. He was lucky he got his brains from his dad. Ugh, now he was reminding me of how I barely hang on to a C in Calculus.
"So, uh..." he trailed off, licking his lower lip, and added cheerfully, "Tell me what sports you're interested in. Maybe we have the same interests! C'mon, don't be shy."
Wrestling, T. Wrestling. I absolutely love that sport and I even follow the moves on TV. I can try them with you if you ask me another darn question.
I shook my head for the third time, groaning silently.
"Ah, sorry. My bad. Of course, you don't like sports. You women are mostly into stuff like shopping," he muttered.
He must be feeling disappointed now since he was the only one holding down this conversation with himself the entire time. Naturally, I couldn't talk and let him discover who I was. I didn't want to send myself to my own deathbed this early.
"Listen. I've been wondering about this for a while now, but... why are you wearing a mask?" he asked hesitantly after a moment. "You're the only one who around has that on. Why don't you take them off?"
I held my breath.
"Please? I want to see your face," he pleaded in a whisper. When I shook my head for the hundredth time, he said, "Why? Are you shy? No, don't be. Never mind what other people would think, okay? Just show me who you are. Only me." He smiled. "I know there's a great beauty behind that mask. It would be a shame if you keep on hiding it."
What a classic Tristan move: always using his oh-so-charming words to trick girls like this! I curled my lips into a snarl to show how sickened I was because of the thought.
"You really don't want to, huh?" Quiet laughter escaped his lips. "I can't believe I met a mysterious, beautiful, and tough girl such as you tonight."
We stopped moving while the other participants continued to circle the dance floor. I flinched when Tristan slowly lifted my chin with his finger and said, "And you, my lady, have heightened my interest to know you better."
Goosebumps filled my body, and my breathing came out rapidly. I suddenly got the funniest feeling in the pit of my stomach. The beats of my heart started to speed up then it got stronger, louder until it was the only sound I could hear. What the hell was this? Why was I getting this alien feeling?
Dammit! I should've left already. I wanted to move. I wanted to break away from his hold. But my feet were glued to the floor and my arms were stuck to my sides.
Tristan's breath felt so warm on my face, and I realized that he was getting much closer, our noses almost bumping. My cheeks heated up even more. I tried to stop him, but all I could do was make gasps with my parched throat.
Closer...
Closer...
No, no. Stop. This can't be happening. Don't you dare Tristan! I swear I'm going to knock you so hard you'll be scarred for life if you—
A sudden gush escaped between my legs. I jerked away. Tristan then straightened his back, his mouth hanging open in shock.
Uh-oh.
Had I actually wet myself? I was having these weird sensations all over, and my stomach had been dancing the entire time so maybe I was having a sickness like diarrhea or worse. Yeah, that's it!
I pressed my palms on Tristan's chest and pushed him away. His face immediately switched to a bewildered expression as I took a step back.
I wasn't even sorry for him.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why did you—hey, wait! Don't leave—"
Too late. I had already pulled up my dress and was sprinting with speed through the crowd.
In case of emergency: run like hell.