Chapter 4: The feeling of fireworks
Opening Theme:
Aviici – Wake Me Up
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
"Can we talk?"
That was Gray's text message. I didn't know how to react. I kept contemplating with myself whether I was going to reply or not. I ended up not replying because I was clueless as to what I should say or what could happen if I said yes or if I said no.
I went downstairs so I could eat breakfast. "What's for breakfast?" I asked Mom, who was in the library.
"There are some bacon and eggs on the table," Mom replied.
"Okay, thanks Mom!"
After getting some bacon and eggs, I went to the living room to eat instead of the dining room even though I knew Mom wouldn’t allow me. I just felt like eating like a slob today. I sat on the sofa, turned the TV on, and then assumed the worriless-couch-potato-eating-bacon-and-eggs position.
"And why are you eating there, missy?" Mom, now behind me, asked. I didn't see her come out of the library so I was surprised.
"Since when did you come out of the library?" I replied with a question.
"Just now," she replied. "Don't eat there, Cassy. You'll attract bugs."
"Mom, please!” I begged. “I fell like eating here. It's Saturday, anyway."
"Well, fine! But, you have to clean up after." She said, as she pointed her finger at me.
"I will! I will!" I promised. "What were you doing there in the library, anyway?"
"I was cleaning. What else would I do there?" Mom replied.
As I was eating my breakfast, I couldn't help but think about my weird dream. It was by far my weirdest, strangest dream. A rabbit in a vest with a pocket watch? A life size gingerbread house? A little red hooded girl? A giant tree? Three talking pigs? Seven dwarves and a prince?
Seven dwarves. It sounded familiar. Then it hit me.
"FAIRY TALES!" I exclaimed.
"Huh?! What?!” Mom was startled by my sudden reaction. “What’s wrong?”
"My dream, they were fairy tales," I explained. "That was why they were so familiar! Because they were fairy tales."
Mom didn't reply. Her expression changed from curios to concern. I didn't know why she had that expression so I didn't bother. I set my plate down and immediately went to our mini-library to get our one and only fairy tale book. It was beside my "Gray is the color of Snow" scrapbook.
I tried to pull the fairy tale book out but the books were packed too tight. When I was finally able to yank the book out, the scrapbook came out with it. I had no choice. I took both books to the living room.
I sat back on the sofa, set the scrapbook aside, and then opened the fairy tale book. I opened the book to the story of 'Hansel and Gretel'. There was an illustration of the gingerbread house. In front of the house were two children, a boy and a girl, who I assumed were Hansel and Gretel. They were eating parts of the house.
I turned the page to another story, 'The Little Red Riding Hood'. There was an illustration of a little girl wearing a red hood carrying a basket. The girl in the picture looked exactly like the girl in my dream. And it creeped me out.
I turned to another story, again, 'Jack and the Beanstalk' which showed an illustration of a house and a giant beanstalk behind the house. I turned again, 'The Three Little Pigs'. There was an illustration of three houses, a straw, a stick and a brick house. On the porch of each house stood a little pig; just like in my dream.
I didn’t notice that my mom was already standing behind the sofa, looking at the stories that I was searching for. "How long have you been standing there, Mom?" I asked her.
"Since you went out to the library. It's a saturday. I'm trying to clean the whole house but what you're doing is far more interesting than cleaning so I decided to stop and look," she replied.
“Why would this strike as interesting to Mom?” I thought. But, I let go of the idea as soon as it came to me. "So, the last story was with the seven dwarves," I murmured.
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” my mom said.
“Of course!” I exclaimed. I turned to another story, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'. There was an illustration of a glass coffin filled with flowers. Lying on the flowers was a lady, who I assumed was Snow White. Around the coffin, seven little dwarves were standing. Not too far from them, a prince on a horse was staring at the coffin.
"We share the same name but we don't share the same face," I muttered, trying to make a joke.
My mom was silent. She was looking at the illustration very intently. "That's because this illustration is wrong. Whoever drew this hasn't seen Snow White,” she said suddenly to my surprise.
I was confused by what my mom said. What did she mean by that? Hasn’t seen Snow White? How could the illustrator see Snow White? Snow White's not real, right? Although, what she said was very weird, I didn't let it bother me much. I figured maybe she was just joking even with a very serious expression.
Then, I remembered about the rabbit with the vest and the pocket watch. I browsed the whole book but I found no such story involving the rabbit. Instead, I found the story of 'Peter Pan'.
When I came across the story, there was an illustration showing a shadow with a flat and pointed hat and pointy shoes. The shadow was standing beside a window, hiding from Peter Pan. I read the beginning of the story. Apparently, the shadow belonged to Peter Pan and it was hiding from him.
"So, will I be able to see Peter Pan, too?" I mumbled.
I was going to ask Mom if she knew anything about a rabbit in a vest but when I turned, she was gone. I assumed, she went back to the kitchen or she went upstairs. How was I not able to notice her go? She was just behind me, after all. She has been appearing and disappearing without me noticing. What’s up with that?
Later in the day, Seven texted me the invitation for his birthday party. "His party is tonight but he sent the invitation just now. Wow, Seven. Wow!" I thought to myself, as I read the invitation.
The message read, "Hello! Seven Dylan Ward here! Today is my birthday. There will be a small gathering tonight at my dad's place. I'm asking you to please be there. It's just a casual masquerade party so NO NEED to be in your formal attires. Masks will be given out before you enter the place. Thank you! I'll be expecting you!"
"For a small gathering, I think a casual masquerade party seems too much," I thought to myself. "Oh well, it's not my party anyway. Casual, huh?"
Inspired by the little red riding hood, I decided I would wear a white shirt, a red hoodie, a pair of black skinny jeans and then red sneakers.
"See you later, Mom!" I bid Mom goodbye, as I walked down the stairs.
"Be careful out there," Mom warned, which stroke me as weird because I was just going to a casual party, nothing more.
"It's just a party, Mom. No need to worry," I reassured her.
"Just please, be careful. Watch out for anything that looks... bad or suspicious." Mom was really creeping me out, but I didn't let her weirdness bother me so much even though she has been weird all day. I just nodded, and then went out.
I went to Mr. Kirk's (Seven's dad) place an hour before the party officially started. I figured since there weren't anything to do at home, I might as well go to the party and help out.
Mr. Kirk is a really big person in the music industry. He's the producer to the stars so it wasn't really a surprise to see him owning a very big house. I mean, the house was three stories tall and it had a rooftop. I don't think a rooftop for a three story house was a very wise thing to have but Mr. Kirk has all the money, anyway. Why complain?
When I got to the house, I saw many birthday decorations and I haven't even been inside yet. It was colorful, it was full of lights and streamers. It was anything but a small gathering. "This looks way too big for a small gathering," I mumbled.
"Hey, Snow! You're early," Seven said, who was standing near the entrance to the house. He looked dashing in his semi-formal, semi-casual suit. He was formal from waist up, then casual from waist down. Who knew a tux and a pair of black sneakers would look good?
"There was nothing to do at home so I figured, why not go here early. I texted you, by the way," I told him.
"Really? I didn't know. My phone's upstairs so I don't really know if anyone texted me or not," he explained. "Come in, come in. Don't forget to take your mask."
"Oh, by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You look good tonight!"
"Thank you!! I had to look good. You look good too, by the way."
“Aww, thanks!”
Accompanied by Seven, we entered the house. He led me to where the masks were, which were so many. There were masks everywhere. Each mask had a different design and color. I picked a mask that matched my outfit: a half black, half white mask that had red accents.
"Seven, I thought your party was a small gathering? It doesn't look very small," I asked Seven, as we walked towards the backyard of the house where the party was going to be held.
"I thought so too," Seven revealed. "You know how Dad is such a big thing? Well, there's no such thing as a small gathering to him. I tried my best to make everything subtle but Dad always interfered."
"And this is the result?"
"Yes, this is the result. It was even going to be a formal event but I insisted it not to be."
"A masquerade ball?"
"Exactly. But we kept the masks, anyway, because those were already paid for."
If the front of the house was beautiful, the back was amazing. Their backyard had a big pool shaped like a kidney. The pool had a rock formation on one side which was also a waterfall. The pool was surrounded by tables and chairs. There was one empty area that I assumed was the dance floor. There was also a stage. All around were lights of different colors, streamers, the works. If I didn’t know this was Seven’s party, I would’ve thought this was a celebrity’s party or something.
"Wow, Seven," I said, admiring the intricacy of the backyard.
"I know."
"Did you invite Gray?" The words just came right of my mouth. I, myself, was surprised that I asked the question.
Seven didn't answer. He just looked at me with a 'sorry-but-i-did' face.
"it’s okay, Sev. It's your party. You control the guests," I told him with an ‘okay-i-can-handle-this’ face.
"I'm really sorry, Snow. I just thought, you didn’t want him here," he kept apologizing so I kept reassuring him that it was okay.
After about an hour, people started coming. Many were familiar to me but I didn't exactly know who they were so when they come up to me, I just nod and smile. I guess I wasn't really trying to remember who they were because my mind was preoccupied by the thought of a certain person coming.
"Hey, Snow, what's on your mind?" Seven asked, as we were standing near the buffet table looking at all the people.
I was about to answer when music started blaring. Well, music was already being played even before the party started but they suddenly increased the volume harshly. I could feel my ears vibrating but I guess, I was the only one bothered because everyone became hyper.
"What's happening?" I asked Seven. I was already shouting because of the really loud music.
"The party is about to start, Snow," he answered. "I have to go see my dad. Catch you later."
I wasn't even able to stop Seven. He just left me there, standing near the buffet table... alone.
Even though a party was going on, I felt very awkward. Yes, I knew many people (at least, I think I knew them) but mingling with them meant I had to talk and reminisce with them which my mind, currently, could not handle. But I have to admit, I was waiting for someone.
Some minutes later, Mr. Kirk went onstage to officially welcome everyone and to greet Seven. Then, Seven went onstage to thank everyone. Suddenly, a bunch of sexy girls went onstage, gathered around Seven and then danced. It was so bizarre. I couldn't tell if Seven was ecstatic or terrified.
After some minutes of Seven just awkwardly standing while dancers twirled around him, his dad officially kicked off the party. Everybody went crazy. Everybody was shouting, scream-singing, dancing, grinding, CRAZY!
"Hey," a familiar voice said behind me. Because of the loud music, I couldn't really decipher who he was but I knew he was familiar.
I turned around to see who the familiar voice belonged to but he was wearing a black mask lined with silver and gold. Of course, it was a masquerade party after all. "Hey," I greeted the masked man back. "I think I know you."
"Oh, you do, Snow. You know me very well," he revealed.
My mind was trying to remember who he was. I thought maybe he was Gray but it was impossible because the masked man was taller, his voice was deeper, more charismatic and his eyes, even in darkness I could see, was a different shade. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a white undershirt. He was also wearing black chinos and black sneakers. He looked good even with the mask on, maybe better.
"I can't seem to remember your name but your voice. I know I've heard it before," I told him.
"I'm saddened by the fact that you don't remember me. Perhaps this would make you remember."
All of a sudden, he knelt in front of me, grabbed my left hand, kissed it then said, "Summer Cassidy White, will you marry me?"
"What?! An indecent proposal?" I thought to myself. Who was the masked man? I still couldn't remember him.
"Now, do you remember?" He asked, still knelt down and holding my hand.
Out of impulse, I immediately retracted my hand from his hold. "I'm sorry but I still don't," I replied. "And how did you know who I am? I'm wearing a mask."
I couldn't really tell because of the mask but I think he was hurt or maybe disappointed by my response, by me pulling my hand and still not remembering him.
He stood up, removed his mask and introduced himself, "Jace Alexander Lee. I was your quote unquote husband during the school fair when we were in middle school. I am hurt by your not remembering who I am, Snow."
Now, I could get a better look at his face. He looked as good as he was in the mask. I guess being half American half Korean has its benefits aesthetic-wise.
Finally, I remembered who he was. We were almost a thing back in middle school. Our classmates, including Seven and Gray, would tease us because we were almost always paired together by our teachers. We were like the star crossed couple. However, when high school came, he had to change schools so our star crossed relationship ended.
"Jax!" I exclaimed. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to recognize you. You had a mask on."
"Yet, I was able to recognize you, Snow,” he said his face covered in disappointment.
"I'm really sorry. My memory has been very fuzzy, lately."
He put his elbow down on the buffet table and tried to look cool but the table was too low so he just looked a little pathetic. "So, how are you? It's been a while."
"I'm good, I think. You?"
"I'm great,” he replied as he stood up from his elbow-on-the-too-low-table pose and acquired a glass of chardonnay wine.
Remembering the wedding booth from the school fair, I suddenly blurted out, "Still head over heels for me, husband?" I was so shocked by what I said that the moment I said it, I immediately covered my mouth. Was I really that socially awkward that I blurt out crazy statements?
I could tell he was taken aback by the question because he choked on his drink. “W-what?”
"Hey, I was just joking. Are you okay?" I tried consoling him while stroking his back.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he reassured me while setting his drink down on the buffet table.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -”
"It’s okay, Snow,” he assured me. “About your question, I'm not saying yes but I'm not saying no, either/”
"What? What do you mean?"
He put his mask back on. "Secret," he said, then walked away with a smirk on his face.
“Hey! Come back here!” I called for him but he didn’t seem to hear me. I turned back around and faced the stage, still thinking of what Jax said. "What did he mean by that?!" I muttered.
"By what?" An all too familiar voice asked.
I knew who the voice belonged to - Gray. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should answer back or if I should turn around to see him or if I should just go. I've been waiting for him but now that he was there, I couldn't face him. I literally, theoretically, passive aggressively froze.
"Um, Snow. You never replied to my text," he said, referring to his "Can we talk?" message.
"You texted me? I didn't receive anything," I lied. He was still behind me and I was still not looking at him. I could feel beads of sweat trickling down my face.
"Is that so?" he said, his voice was fading, sad maybe. I could tell even with the blaring music.
"What did it say? The text." I kept pretending that I didn’t receive the message and I didn’t know why.
"I just want to know if we can talk."
I didn't respond. My heart was beating so fast. It seemed like everything just stopped, no music, no people but only the two of us. It was as if we were isolated. I closed my eyes for a moment and readied myself.
I could hear a muffled voice, "Snow? Hey, Snow! Earth to Snow!"
I opened my eyes and came back to my senses. "Seven! What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"What do you mean what am I doing here? I came back for you!”
"I'm sorry; I'm not myself right now."
"Why? What happened?"
"Well..." I was about to explain when I remembered that Gray was behind me, waiting for my answer. I turned around only to see no one. I tried to scan the whole place but he was nowhere to be found. "Where's Gray? He was here a minute ago," I told Seven.
"Gray? So that was the guy who was behind you. I didn't recognize him with the mask on," Seven replied.
"So, where is he? Where did he go?"
"I don't know. When he saw me coming, he walked away. I actually panicked when he walked away because I thought he did something bad to you."
"We were just... Ummm... Talking."
"Really? We? Or was he talking?"
"I said some things too, y'know."
"But then, you spaced out."
"Why are you interrogating me, Seven?!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. By the way, Jax told me that he was with you earlier."
"Yes, he was here. He's totally weird."
"You do know that he likes you, ever since middle school."
"No, he doesn't!"
"Oh, he does. You girls are just so clueless,” he blurted out. “I actually think you purposely dodge the feelings of men for you even though you know that they have feelings for you. You pretend like you don’t know anything to avoid confrontations or disappointments."
"Woah! Woah! Where did that come from?” I asked him, taken aback by what he said. “Anyway... Y'know what? This party is not for me. I think it’s too people-y and too loud! If it wasn't your birthday, I would've not gone. Is there any quiet place around here?" I knew I was being a bitch and I was too demanding but I felt out of place.
"It's Dad's fault. Anyway, here in the backyard, there is no such thing as a quiet place but maybe you can hang on the house's roof deck. It's pretty quiet up there."
"Really? But the music is blaring! I'm pretty sure it would still be loud up there."
"The speakers are facing away from the house. It would sound less loud up there. Plus, it has a great view of the whole property and parts of the city."
"Fine, let's go then." I finally gave in. I mean, I couldn't possible resist the offer of seeing the whole property in its... Um... Wholeness? "Let's take some selfies there," I told Seven, then laughed.
He led me in the house. We went up the numerous flights of stairs to the second floor, then third floor. We were about to go up one last set of stairs to the roof top when we heard his name being called out on the sound system.
"Seven? Where are you? Seven?" The voice, who I assumed was his dad, said over the speakers.
"Was that your dad?" I asked Seven. "Why is he calling you?"
"Oh shit, I forgot," he said.
"Forgot about what?"
"The cake."
"Then, we should go down. It's time to see your cake, Sev."
"No."
"What?! No?! But, it's your special day!"
"I mean, I'll go back there but you go on ahead to the roof top. I'll follow. I promise."
"What? What if I get caught?"
"You're my best friend, Snow. It's okay. And plus, you'll have a better view of me and my cake."
"You've got a point there. But, after your cake, you go straight here!"
"I promise."
I watched as Seven went down the stairs. I turned around and faced the last flight of stairs alone. I reached the door to the roof top and then opened it. The first thing that I saw was the sky. It was beautiful. Then, I went to the side of the rooftop where the backyard could be seen. I saw Seven with his dad and step mom beside a humongous cake.
I tried admiring the view a little more but when I looked behind me, on the other side of the rooftop was another person. I had a feeling who the person was.
At the back of my mind, I wanted to go to him but I was hesitating. I felt like I couldn't muster the courage to finally face him even though I didn't do anything wrong.
I tiptoed from where I was to the door which led downstairs. I was about three steps away from the door when he turned around and saw me in all of my pathetic glory. I was standing like a hunchback and my arms were crooked, my hands were in front of me. I looked like a tiptoeing velociraptor.
"Snow?" He said. I could see he was surprised to see me tiptoeing like an idiot.
I stood up straight, waved at him and smiled. "Hi," I greeted very awkwardly. "I should go." I stepped once, then another. "One more step and you're outta here, Snow," I thought.
"Snow, wait!" He said, stopping me. I backed up to see him because I was already covered by the staircase door. "Can we talk?" He asked.
I just realized we still had our masks on. That was when I noticed what he was wearing. He looked cool with his denim jacket, white undershirt, khaki pants and pale blue sneakers which matched his outfit perfectly. His mask was half black, half white with black and white feathers.
I removed my mask, and then he removed his. Emotions started rushing over me. I walked closer to him and hugged him. I knew he was shocked by what I did because he didn't hug me back. His hands or arms were just floating behind me as I hugged him tighter.
"I missed you, Gray," I told him. I couldn't take it anymore. I did miss him and I thought it was time to reconcile with him. Mom had already opened my eyes to the truth. I just had trouble accepting the fact.
Finally, he hugged me back. "I missed you too, Snow," he said.
Everything went to a standstill. It was as if time stopped. I could feel my heart and his heart beating faster and faster, their beats almost in sync. The feeling was very new to me but it felt so good, like seeing fireworks for the very first time. At first, you feel scared but as the show goes on, you get fascinated and fascinated and then happiness just rushes through you. That was the feeling.
I was the first to pull out from the hug. The moment I did, fireworks started flying. It was one of the best moments ever. We were just there on the rooftop, enjoying the view of the most spectacular fireworks ever.
I looked at him, he looked at me. Our eyes were locked for a good minute or two, fireworks still exploding beautiful colors above us. He pulled me in, I closed my eyes. I could tell we were both reaching in for a kiss.
"Am I interrupting something?" A voice said from the staircase entrance, the fireworks still flying.
Gray and I, still intertwined, our faces almost touching, opened our eyes in unison, then turned to see who the person was.
"Oh, no, nothing, Seven," I stammered. I looked at Gray. I could feel myself blushing. Then, Gray and I backed away from each other as fast as we could.
"Really?" Seven said, as the fireworks display ended. "Nothing?" He had an ‘i-caught-you’ expression on his face.
"Yeah, nothing." This time, Gray answered. "We were, um, just watching the fireworks."
"You do know, I don't believe the both of you," Seven pointed out, which wasn't really a shocker since Gray and I were already caught in the act. "You didn't even tell me you were here, Gray. Not to mention, you ran away from me earlier."
"Sorry about that, Seven. I was in a dark place. But, everything's okay now," Gray said, as he looked at me and smiled which, in turn, made me smile.
"I can see that. So, are you together?" Seven blurted out, which caught Gray and I off guard.
"Wha- what? N- no! What? Wha- what did y-you sa- say? We? To- together? Wha- what? N-no!" Gray and I were stammering. Our eyes shifted from looking at each other to looking at Seven, rapidly.
"You guys look so pathetic, right now. I caught you almost about to kiss each other, then you tell me nothing's going on," he said, and then laughed. He was hysterical.
"Why are you laughing?" I asked him.
"You don't have to deny it, Snow," he said.
Suddenly, this weird, loud, laugh echoed throughout the whole rooftop. The laugh was very... Ummm... Evil and witchy. Like the ones in cartoons and horror movies. But this laugh felt very terrifying. It sent chills down my spine. We didn't know where it was coming from. The three of us were surveying the area, trying to look for the source of the loud laugh but we couldn't find it.
I walked to the side of the rooftop where the backyard could be seen. I looked at the stage to see if someone was playing with the microphone but the stage was empty. That was when I noticed, the music was not playing anymore, the chatter of people stopped. I focused at the party area. Everybody wasn't moving. They weren't standing still. They were all in a mid-dance pose. As if time had really stopped. As in, literally, stopped.
I turned to Gray and Seven, who were in the middle of the rooftop, still trying to pin point where the laugh was coming from. "Guys, guys!" I grabbed their attention. "Listen pass the laugh. Just listen and tell me what you hear."
“What? What are you talking about?” Gray asked.
"N - nothing," Seven realized. His face was covered in shock and terror. "There's no music." Then, he ran towards me. I showed him what was happening. "No! No! No!" He kept saying.
I turned back to Gray but he was gone. He was just in the middle of the rooftop before Seven ran towards me. "Where's Gray?" I asked Seven.
"Right there," he replied, as he turned around and pointed to where Gray was, supposedly, standing. "Where is he?"
"Um, guys?" A voice echoed. It was Gray's voice.
"Gray? Where are you?!" I shouted.
Suddenly, the laugh stopped. Everything was quiet. Then, a black mass of air and I didn't know what kind of particles started circling and forming in the middle of the rooftop.
"He's with me!" A very dark female voice echoed.
The once black mass of air and particles started forming into a black-fiery tornado-like thing that I couldn't really explain. I could see something forming on the inside of the fiery tornado. The next thing I knew, a lady in black was standing in the middle of the rooftop.
She was wearing a black dress that seemed to burn by the bottom but the fire was blue. The woman had white skin, almost as white as mine. She wore gloves that had pointy fingers. Her jet black hair was tied into a bun. She was also wearing a black tiara that seemed to glisten in the moonlight. She looked royal, but evil and sinister. She looked... very familiar.
"It's nice to see you again, Snow."
Ending Theme:
Evanescence – Bleed(I Must Be Dreaming)
It's not what it seems
Not what you think
No, I must be dreaming
It's only in my mind
Not in real life
No, I must be dreaming
Next chapter: I fall to my doom
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