Jace's POV
I was lost.
I knew that the minute I was stuck in the middle of the dance floor, hundreds of guys and girls swarming around me.
However, the only person I was looking for was a certain brown-haired girl with sassy comebacks.
There are about a million girls out here, I thought, slapping myself mentally. Just snap out of it.
Hence, I made up my mind to dance with the first girl I see, regardless of her looks, attitude, or well, anything.
After all, they were all juniors or seniors there.
As I looked around, my eyes fell on a girl you couldn't miss, especially since she was dressed in white. She was leaning on the table and popping chocolate-covered strawberries in her mouth, looking around like she was lost.
Her brown curls cascaded on her shoulders, highlighting the shape of her face and her lips were bright red, giving it an intimidating look. Her mask was holographic, coated with a layer of thin glitter.
She looked familiar, though I couldn't place her. It felt like a well-known person in disguise and since it was a Masquerade ball, it probably was.
Telling myself not to dwell too much on it, I slowly approached her, a small smile dancing on my lips.
She was looking at me out of the corner of her eye as if internally debating if she wanted to dance with me or not. Soon, she started walking forwards and gave me a hesitant smile when she was closer.
I moved towards her a little more and offered her my hand.
She eyed it for one long minute, hesitation obvious by her actions. Her hands were shaking slightly; her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Finally, after a lot of deliberation, she slipped her hand in mine.
We walked quietly towards the dance floor, neither of us saying a word. It was only when we were nearly at the center of the stage did I open my mouth to speak. "Do you want to dance . . . ?" My voice was rough and deep, owing to the fact that I was trying to disguise my own pre-puberty tone. I almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous it sounded.
"Sounds good," she said, giving me another small smile. She didn't seem shy, or nervous for that matter, anymore. There was an air of confidence in the way she walked, and her voice was soft and steady.
The second the slow song ended, I mentally prepared myself, determined not to embarrass myself as I had done on countless occasions. I could dance, I knew that, but I just needed to have a clear mind.
And then she started dancing.
She danced as if she didn't have a care in the world, and she didn't care what the people around her thought. She just danced, her gracefulness radiating off her smooth steps.
There was only one statement to describe that. She was good.
Out of my own accord, I started dancing too, a huge grin splattered across my face. I danced along with her, and for once, I managed to do it without embarrassing myself.
We danced for a good ten minutes before the second song ended when we both stopped, gasping for breath.
Before I could say a word, the Mystery Girl grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a bench, making me sit down next to her.
"You're good," she told me, her breath still coming out in fluttery exhales.
"I've had practice." I smiled dorkily and rubbed my neck, screaming internally at myself. Could you be more awkward? "You're good too," I said, to break the uncomfortable silence, my cheeks tingeing pink. I really meant it, though.
"I know, I'm just that talented."
I had to laugh at that, and tiny sweat beads formed on my neck. It's been a long time since I had met a girl who could speak for herself.
I raised an eyebrow at her challengingly, waiting for her to say more. She just had that kind of vibe radiating off her.
"Well, I'm way better than you," she said and I smiled with a certain amount of satisfaction. That was a kind of answer I was expecting.
Why? A tiny part of my brain asked me, loud enough to destroy my senses. Why am I getting the feeling of déjà vu?
"Well, then, let's take your talent to the next level." I pulled out my brand new iPhone and showed it to her, my eyes gleaming with mischief. "Choreograph your own steps for this song. I'll play it three times."
She nodded at once, her eyes set in a determined state. She didn't look like the kind of person who'd give up without a fight.
I proceeded to repeat the song thrice, observing her in the meantime. She was deep in thought, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She kept biting her lip as if she was nervous but didn't want to show it.
She was tapping her feet constantly and despite her confident air, her leg shook slightly.
At the end of the song, I raised her eyebrows at her and mouthed, "Ready?"
She nodded, immediately averting her eyes from mine. She inhaled deeply and exhaled fast, doing this a couple of times. Her eyes were closed, a pre-dance procedure, I presumed.
And then she began dancing.
That's when I knew -- she was not just good, but excellent. She was absolutely amazing, and she knew it.
Her hair bounced back and forth as she danced, her lips moving synchronizedly with the words of the song. She didn't waver even once; she didn't pause to take a breath.
When she stopped, I couldn't help but let out a low whistle in awe. I tried to hold back my huge grin in but I couldn't, and soon gave up trying.
"That was impressive," I said, meaning each and every word.
She curtseyed once before motioning me to sit on the bench again, her heels clicking on the floor.
We sat in silence, and at first, it was comfortable. But soon, the seconds stretched into long minutes to still, neither of us had said a word.
"This is nice," Mystery Girl commented sarcastically, placing a hand around her stomach. "Thank you for the wonderful conversation.
"Hey, in my defense, I don't even know you. It's hard to make conversation when your face is all covered up." I was quick to defend myself, so as to not sound dumb and incredibly stupid.
"But what if it wasn't?"
My eyes snapped up to meet hers which were, now that I could see them, dark brown. They had an air of daringness which I would never be able to muster. I rubbed the back of my neck again, goosebumps dotting my arms. "What do you mean?" I slowly asked.
"I think," she swallowed, "I'm ready to reveal my face."
Dun, dun, dun.
My eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that to happen so soon. I'd give it maybe an hour or two at most, but I wasn't complaining.
I needed to know who that girl was. She seemed to be an opportunity to finally, once and for all, get over my best friend.
That didn't mean I wasn't nervous.
My legs shook slightly as I stood up, and I did my best to cover it by stretching. My eyes flitted up to meet hers and I swallowed heavily. Slowly, I nodded. "I'm ready to see if it."
"On the count of three, yeah?" she asked, her voice a little shaky. I didn't respond.
One. What if it was somebody I knew? My cousin, my friend?
Two. What if it was actually a guy in disguise?
Three. And the mask went flying out of her hands revealing her face.
It was her. The one I wanted to get over, in vain. The one who I'd secretly been crushing on since fourth grade.
She was my best friend.
As I stared at her, I got a gut-wrenching knot in my stomach and was hit by a hard realization. Something which made me feel dizzy and want to burst out into a panic attack. Something which made my cheeks tinge red and my hair slick back with sweat.
I was falling for my best friend.
I was scared, and I wasn't thinking straight. All I thought was about how I never seemed to be able to get away from her.
And therefore, I ran away, reliving Cinderella all over again.
Nothing to say, except that I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter! The second part will be out soon -- Zach's POV!
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