Story: YN goes to their first masquerade ball, and they meet some people.
(i added some optional background ambience with this one because it's pretty long haha)
(also YN and co are older in this one, young adult age)
thanks for 200k <3
~~~
You had no idea what you were getting into. You were just... there.
The party was busy. There were tons of people in fancy dresses and suits, spinning around the floor and chattering amongst themselves. It was a rather busy environment, a little bit too busy for your liking, but you decided to put up with it none-the-less. Besides, you bought an entirely new outfit, and not to be dramatic, you thought you looked sexy as shit. A brand new (favourite colour) suit and tie/gown, with a mask in a matching colour resting on your face? More expensive than you thought. Not really knowing what to do, you made your way to the side of the room to get a drink.
After you poured yourself a glass, you decided to take a seat by the wall, watching over everybody. And, somebody took a seat next to you. Looking over, you saw a blonde boy, wearing a mix between a suit and a dress, coloured dark green. His mask was adorned with colourful flowers, and you could barely see his light blue eyes. But, it was clear he was on the verge of tears. His energy was scrambled, and he was rhythmically bouncing his foot up and down, scrolling through his phone. Worrying for him slightly, you reached into your pocket (a/n: because even if you're wearing a dress you get pockets; you deserve it) to pull out a tissue.
Pulling on his sleeve made him startle, but he looked over. Glancing to his phone, he was typing out a text asking somebody to pick him up. Handing over the tissue, you decided to ask him a question. "Hey, are you alright?"
"O-oh, yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, gently taking the tissue from your hand. As he was pulling the mask off to wipe away his tears, you saw his freckled cheeks were rosy with a mix of overwhelm and embarrassment. "Thank you."
"What's wrong? People don't normally cry when they're fine."
"Oh, it's just... people everywhere. It's busy, and noisy, a-and stressful-"
"Hey, hey," you said quietly, taking off your own mask as he started to cry harder. "Hey, I know the host. He won't mind if you go outside, if you want."
"Who even are you?"
"I'm YN. What's your name?"
"B-Basil."
"Nice to meet you, Basil. Mind if I touch you?" When he signalled he was alright with it, you took his hand gently, drawing small circles on the back with your thumb. He just stared at you. "I've heard about you from the host. He says you like gardening, right?"
"Y-yeah, that's me," he chuckled a little, flustered from the touch.
"I've the garden out there's beautiful."
You didn't look away from the dance floor as you held his hand, meaning you had no clue that, blushing softly, Basil smiled a little. Looking at you made his heart race, making him unable to peel his eyes off of you as he responded. "Yeah. Beautiful."
"Hey!" you yelled, making him gasp a little with surprise, anxious that he was almost caught staring. "How about I give you my number and if you need someone to talk to, a ride home, stuff like that, you can just call or text and we can hang out?"
"R-really?"
"Of course!"
He gave you his phone and you punched in your digits before returning it. "W-wow... Cool, I'll see you later then."
"Have fun!"
And, with a small wave, Basil wandered off.
Sighing a little, you slumped in your chair. You thought that you should probably dance with someone. Luckily for you, somebody interrupted your thoughts.
"Pardon me, YN?" A beautiful woman, with lovely black hair tied into a braided bun, a white gown and a white mask to match, and a gorgeous, warm smile approached you, holding out a gloved hand. "May I have a dance with you?"
"Mari! Of course you can. But, wouldn't it be bad for your knee?"
"Maybe, but I've been practising so my chance of collapsing is much lower now." After taking up her offer, she dragged you to the floor. Wrapping an arm around your waist and gripping your hand gently with her free one, you started to gently move back and forth. Her black eyes pierced through the white of her mask as she looked at you. "I really didn't think you'd show up."
"Well, of course. I mean, it's a special occasion, after all," you scoffed. "I should say the same for you. You shouldn't be wearing heels and dancing. Your leg won't be able to handle it."
"I'd never miss such an important event! Besides, although I'm dancing, I'm not wearing heels."
She motioned for you to look down, and you saw that she was wearing a scuffed pair of sneakers, the same ones she wore most of the time. They completely clashed with her outfit, but the length of her gown completely disguised them from view. You raised your eyebrows.
"Mari!!"
Laughing a little, she placed a hand on your chin, pulling you to look at her. "Aw, you're so cute when you try and be reprimanding and mean. Besides, considering I'm normally helping with the music, I need a little bit of fun. My cane's by the piano, so if anything happens, I'll be prepared."
"Still, you shouldn't be pushing yourself."
"Only one way to get better. Oh- I should be getting back."
As the song slowly came to a close, she leaned in and placed a small kiss on your cheek, leaving a dark lipstick mark and making you blush deeply. Looking over your shoulder, she started to laugh.
"What? W-what's so funny?"
"Someone's a little jealous. I'll leave you two to it!" Smiling a little before waving and leaving you be, she wandered off.
Looking over to where she was referring to, a dark-haired boy stood watching, slowly making his way over to you. Sunny was wearing a black mask with red accents that covered half of his face that perfectly matched his tie. He had taken off his suit jacket a while ago due to the room's heat, but he was holding the red rose that was in his pocket, twirling it around in his fingers because he picked the thorns off.
Coming up to you, he stood over you ominously, his face straight as ever. No matter how much he stayed indoors in the dark, not eating well and having an unhealthy sleep schedule, he was still ominously tall. Pausing for a moment, he pulled a fresh tissue from his pocket, licking the corner and rubbing the lipstick stain off of your cheek.
"Hello to you too."
"That colour doesn't suit you," he murmured. "Which is funny, because you always look gorgeous."
"O-oh!" You were taken aback by the compliment. And, he gently brushed your hair off of your face to place the rose behind your ear.
"Yn, c-can I... dance with you?"
"It would be my pleasure." Pulling you in protectively, he attempted to move with you, but he was stiff. It was rather obvious that he had no clue what he was doing, and his flushed face and odd breathing patterns made it even more obvious that he was utterly terrified. "You good there?"
"I-I'm fine, I just... haven't done this before."
"You just wanted to upstage Mari, didn't you?"
"...No..."
"Oh, c'mere, you dork. You're lucky I have no clue what I'm doing either. Relax a bit."
Not knowing who was leading who in the dance, you both waddled back and forth in an attempt to pass off as dancing well. "It's not that I don't know what I'm doing, I know that, I'm just nervous doing it with you."
"You can ballroom dance?"
"A bit. Hero taught me and a couple others before tonight." He laughed a little bit recalling a memory of the 'class' he took. "You're a much calmer partner than Kel."
"Of course I am," you smiled. After a pause, you decided to ask the other question that was on your mind. "Why are you nervous to dance with me?"
"I-I mean... I didn't want to mess up in front of you."
"Why would you be scared to mess up with me? You know I won't judge."
"I guess it's because I want to i-impress you."
"I'm flattered," you mumbled. "But, you impress me enough."
His face went red as he hid behind his half mask. "YN..."
The song abruptly finished, making him look to the stage. "What is it?"
"I've got to go. Mari and I are playing that song we did at the recital, upon the host's request."
"Alright. We'll finish this later?"
He smiled slightly. "Of course."
As he disappeared back into the crowd, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. "Boo." Jumping with surprise, you saw a girl standing behind you. Her pink dyed hair was in a half-up-half-down style with a rose gold ribbon to tie it, and she was wearing a black tuxedo. She had a bright pink backpack over her shoulder, and she was wearing a rose gold mask to cover her face. Slapping a hand over your mouth, she hissed at you.
"Mmph-"
"Shh! You're gonna get me caught."
"What are you doing?" you asked the mystery girl quietly.
"Basil invited me. The host wasn't the keenest on me coming, but I'm late to meet with him. But, I can't go to a party without causing a little bit of chaos."
"Who even are you?"
"Name's Aubrey. I'm a 'friend' of the host and his friends."
"What does 'friend' mean exactly?" you asked, getting more frustrated.
"It means that we get on well but we're still not close, either than Basil and I, geez. You're kinda slow, aren't you, bonbon?"
"Bonbon?"
"It fits. You seem too sweet for me to handle, and I don't know your name," she sighed. "Now come on, dance with me. I need a way to get to that Orange Joe bowl."
"I'm not your bonbon."
"Whatever, bonbon." She pulled you in, snaking an arm around your waist and making you both dance. Seeing your surprise made her laugh a little under her breath. "You really don't like me, huh?"
"I mean-" With no warning, she pulled you into a dip before pulling you back up. "You doing shit like this doesn't help your case."
"Aw, you sound mad."
"Well, I'm not the most interested in somebody who I just met forcing me into a dance."
"It's endearing in a way though, isn't it? I mean, like an enemies to lovers kinda thing."
"Geez."
"That wasn't a no, bonbon," she responded with a small snort.
Twirling around to the table by the wall, you both parted. She took the bag off of her shoulder, opening it and pulling out a full bottle of champagne.
"What are you doing?"
"Making this party a lot more fun," she laughed, popping out the cork and pouring the bottle's contents into the bowl of Orange Joe. You were going to stop her, but your words got stuck in your throat. "There we go."
"You're not the greatest influence on Basil, you know?"
"I know. But hey, he makes me a better me if we spend too much time together. Speaking of which, where is he?"
"Outside in the garden, last I checked."
"Thanks, bonbon."
"YN."
"YN, eh? Cute. Oh, by the way..."
Grabbing your wrist oddly gently, she pinned you to the wall next to you both, leaning over you and looking in your eyes.
"W-wha-"
"Don't tell the host, alright? If you do, I'll know. Maybe I'll see you next time, bonbon."
"YN."
"Right... YN." Letting you go, she saluted to you and slunk away and down the hall.
"Well, mark me down as frustrated and attracted," you muttered to yourself before wandering back over to the snack table. Nothing shoving your face hole with a multitude of small pies the size of your eyeball to make you a little less confused.
As you got to the table, you looked to the side when there was a disturbance. There was Kel, wearing a poorly done tie, no suit jacket, and a pair of basketball shoes rather than anything all that nice. His mask was plain and orange, and he had his hair tied into a small ponytail. He was filling a plate of food as high as possible, and he had an empty cup which he intended to fill with Orange Joe.
"I wouldn't drink that if I were you, it was spiked."
"Oh! YN! Thamfk yew!!"
"Swallow your mouthful, you dork," you laughed, to which he nodded and swallowed deeply.
"You made it!"
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it!"
"You look... wow!" His face went red as he looked you up and down.
"You look wow too, but I think we mean in different ways," you responded, gesturing to his messy outfit. "Why are you wearing your basketball shoes? This is a masquerade ball themed party."
"Dress shoes are so uncomfyyyyy," he whined.
"Well, I can't blame you. Mari's wearing sneakers too."
"She is?"
"Yeah." Pausing a little more, you clicked your tongue. "Put your plate down, I'm gonna fix your tie."
"Aw, but I'm hungry!"
"It won't kill you, now c'mere."
He reluctantly put his plate down, letting you retie his very wrinkled bright orange tie. He blushed a little at your close proximity, scratching the back of his neck and looking away. "I-I like your mask."
"Oh, thank you!"
"But, you look a lot nicer with it off, heh."
You blushed, giggling at his joke. "So you think I look nice?"
"Well yeah, obviously. Who doesn't?"
"I dunno, maybe some people have been staring me down from across the room," you sighed, finishing off his tie.
"If they were staring it'd be because you look so hot," he spoke without thinking. After a second of realisation, he started to blush profusely. "I-I mean, uh, you're not- I'm not saying you're not hot, I mean, you're gorgeous- I-"
"I get what you mean," you laughed at him. Luckily, he laughed it off too.
He paused a second, then with a sigh and some aggressive bouncing on the spot, he made eye contact again. "Hey, d'you wanna go outside with me? I'll show you how to shoot a hoop or something?"
"Sorry," somebody interrupted. "But they promised me that I'd get a dance."
"Oh goodie, it's my little brother."
"Hey, just because you're taller doesn't mean you can start calling me that," a disgruntled Hero said from behind you. He was wearing a blue tuxedo with gold details, and an intricate gold mask. He placed another blue flower in your hair.
"Fiiiine, you two can go off. I'll be outside, 'kay? I'll save you a profiterole or two." Although Kel's face was hiding an ocean of disappointment, he smiled and ran off. "Don't wait up!"
"Now, may I have this dance?" Hero asked as soon as he left. Chuckling, you took his hand.
"Finally time to meet with Mr Host. You sure know how to throw a party."
As you both swayed back and forth, he did that normal, flirtatious Hero smile. "I know."
"It's one hell of a birthday party, so thank you."
"Did I go overboard at all?"
"Of course you did," you joked. "But, that's just you."
"Had any good interactions today?"
"I met a few of your other friends."
"And?" he asked, nervous to hear your thoughts.
"They're cool. I'm excited to hang out with everybody."
"That's good."
"Also, I think you should throw out the Orange Joe."
"Why?"
"No reason," you replied. "Gut instinct."
As you both spun around the floor, you thought back to everybody you'd seen today. Basil, Mari, Sunny, Aubrey, Kel, Hero. All unique in their own way. All oddly nice to you. All pretty cute. It was a good birthday present, getting to meet them all.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Hero asked, placing a hand on your cheek.
"Sorry, I just zoned out for a bit."
"Your eyes look lovely when you're thinking. They always have this curious sparkle mixed inbetween rounds of colour."
"You flatter me."
"You're somebody who deserves to be flattered." Blushing a little, he placed a gentle kiss to the back of your hand. "So, you've had a good night?"
"Yes, I have."
well bois, we made it! 200,000 reads!
i cannot express how thankful i am to have you all here supporting and reading my content! i have no clue how i managed to make it this far. i just started writing because my mother writes children's books, and now (just in time for christmas, may i add), i've gained more readers and a wider audience than i could have ever imagined. you all brighten my life with your kind and funny words, and i hope you're all doing well. honestly, i'm at a loss for what to say to you all. this is so mad!! well, i guess i'll just keep it brief this time: thank you. thank you for all you do, and thank you for making this year quite a lot less miserable.
that's all for now! catch ya on the flip side, trash gremlins!
- trashbag
(the aubrey wig has also been ordered-)