Chapter 1
(Kat's POV)
As I made my way up the walkway, I heard the pounding sound of overplayed pop music. I held up my dress so the hem wouldn't touch the dirty cement and walked to the front door.
I rang the doorbell, but didn't exactly know why. With the sound of the music and the vibrating of the house, I doubted that anyone would hear me.
As I waited, I looked up at the sky and realized that it was about to rain. Although it was nighttime, the clouds told a clear story.
I tapped my foot impatiently and stood at the door, but realized that there was no point. I rolled my eyes and twisted the door handle, opening the door to a rambunctious teenage party.
There were a large amount of people, fifty to sixty, in the house. There was some people I recognized, but there was more people that I probably had never seen. But I wouldn't know because all of them had masks on.
I stepped inside and sighed. Although parties are my favorite things, I hated parties where all you saw was couples. But I took a deep breath, sucking it up and remembering that I was attending this party for my best friend.
"Kat," I heard an angry yet familiar voice call out from behind me. "That better be you."
I turned around, spotting a short blonde who was storming towards me. I put on my best smile and shrugged, letting go of my dress so that it finally touched the floor.
"Happy birthday!" I exclaimed to Carlee, my best friend.
She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. She looked like a mother who was going to scold her child for staying out too late. I expected it though.
"You are almost a whole hour late!" She shouted over the loud music. "You were supposed to be here to help me set up!"
"I'm sorry, I got caught in some important last minute things." I apologized. But knowing her, she wouldn't stay put with my answer.
"Oh really?" She said, clearly not believing me, "and by any chance, were those things more important than your best friend's birthday party?"
So she was upset, it was as clear as ice, but I knew she couldn't hold a grudge against me for too long. Especially when there was a crowd to please.
"So," I smiled weakly at her, "are we just going to stand here all day or are we going to party?"
She stared at me, then sighed. Her stern face was replaced with smooth features as she smiled.
"Your dress is perfect," she told me, completely forgetting about the whole thing. "And your mask matches exactly with it."
"Why thank you," I messily curtsied to her, making her giggle. "And you look like a queen."
She grinned, then curtsied back, clearly more collectively. Then she extended her arm, and I took it before we started walking through the crowd, examining the room.
Today was Carlee's nineteenth birthday party. She was celebrating it by throwing a masquerade ball at her house, which clearly wasn't big enough. But she didn't seem to mind, so neither did I.
Her motto was 'No Mask, No Service' and surprisingly, everyone showed up in a mask. She and I had been planning this for an entire year, and it should be perfect; for her sake.
I put on my best smile and roamed the room, trying to recognize the people. People who hadn't seen me before were examining me, trying to figure out who I was. Some people stared at me longer than needed, but I instinctively ignored them.
Carlee led me through the crowd, passing a smile to people who said happy birthday to her. She stopped to talk to a group of people who had pulled her into conversation. And I, having my arm looped into hers, couldn't escape. It was pretty awkward because they were all engaged in a conversation topic that I had no clue about, so I just looked around the room some more.
When the conversation died down, I remembered that I had a present for Carlee. I reached in my hand purse and took out a golden colored box that was wrapped in a red ribbon.
"Carlee?"
She turned to me, "yeah?"
I extended the box towards her, "before I forget."
She looked at the box, then unlinked her arm from mine. She took it from my hands and opened it, looking as a child on Christmas morning.
Inside was a pure gold necklace with her name written as a chain in cursive. She gasped, running her finger over it before looking up at me.
"You didn't."
I smiled, "I did."
She shut the box and threw her arms around me, squealing. I laughed, hugging her back. She had wanted a golden necklace with her name for the longest time, and I knew the right time to give it to her.
It was expensive, but I knew people. I got it made from a different country and it wasn't half as much as it would've cost here. Which I was very thankful for.
Once she pulled away, she opened her mouth to say something else but we were disturbed when someone next to us said, "look at them!"
We turned around and spotted a dancing couple in the center of the room. I didn't recognize either of them, but they were probably both professional dancers of some sort. There was a crowd around them, and Carlee and I walked towards it to get a better look.
The DJ, some kid we both knew in high school, played a fast song. The girl and the boy who were dancing were stunning. Their bodies moved together quickly and smoothly, almost perfectly.
After a while, they slowly danced their way out of the center and back into the crowd while another couple took their place and started dancing. But definitely not as well.
Carlee and I were both clapping and whistling in enjoyment when a boy walked up to Carlee, extending his hands towards her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked Carlee, flashing his perfectly aligned teeth to her. I tried hard to recognize him, but couldn't. He had brown hair scattered at the top of his head, and I noticed his blue eyes peering through the mask.
Carlee just seemed to stare at him until I elbowed her and nodded, signaling her to make a move. She grinned at me, then turned back to him and took his hand. The both of them moved to the center of the circle to take their turn at dancing. Their bodies began to move to the beat, as if they already knew what to do.
I was cheering for Carlee, surprised that she was dancing well. When I realized that I might be asked to dance by some anonymous guy, I slowly made my way out of the crowd.
If one thing was for sure, I couldn't dance to save my life.
The entire population of Carlee's house was a part of the crowd. I dusted myself off and stood straight, knowing I would be in trouble by Carlee for not "enjoying myself" but I did not want to dance.
My eyes wandered around for a place to go until I realized that the kitchen was probably my safest bet. I walked inside the large kitchen and hopped onto the counter, being able to see the back of everyone's head from my view.
Once inside, I realized that I was not the first person to have this idea.
To my far right, I spotted a tall boy, leaning against the counter and staring at the crowd. I squinted, trying to figure out who he was.
He looked my age, if not, a year older. His dark hair was positioned at the top of his head. He had his arms crossed over his chest, his back pressed against the counter. He was wearing a dark button up shirt, his sleeves pulled above his elbows. Fortunately, I could see at least half of his arms, revealing a sleeve of tattoos. He had on a black and silver mask but I barely noticed that because of how distracting his strong jaw line was.
I know that if I had seen him before, I wouldn't have forgotten him. Carlee did have a lot of friends I didn't know about, but if she had never told me about this one, I'd be pissed.
But still, if he was this gorgeous, I wondered why he was standing in the kitchen. Alone.
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I hoped you liked the first chapter!(: I will be updating soon. I know it was short.
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(EDIT: IF YALL CAME HERE AFTER READING DALLIANCE, INHALE/EXHALE EXPECTING TO READ SOME TOP TIER WRITING, YALL WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. I WROTE THIS WHEN I WAS 14. ITS DEFINITELY STEPS DOWN FROM MY OTHER BOOKS)