< Anastasia's Dress
(Theo's P.O.V)
The day went by in a blur. Honestly, it was no shocker considering I couldn't help thinking about the ball the entire day. Everytime I did think about it, I could feel beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead.
I was having mixed emotions about it. Ashton was in an extremely good mood which was annoying because we still had no idea how to get past the security. I, on the other hand, couldn't get Anastasia's little wave out of my head. And then there was the lingering doom of getting caught by Xavier Rossett . . . actually, I was pretty sure that everybody in that mansion was going to be equally unwelcoming.
"Hey!" I snapped at Ashton when he kicked me from under the table, and sent a sharp glare his way.
"Earth to, Theo? You haven't even touched your food." Mom frowned. My eyes trailed back to the plate of my untouched dinner that sat at the table. I hadn't even picked up my fork yet.
"Uh . . . I was just thinking about something I read a little while ago. Sorry," I breathed out a lie. It was the only excuse I could come up with and for that I received an eye roll from Ashton. I narrowed my eyes at him and he mouthed a ‘hurry' at me.
I tried to eat as fast as I could while my mother looked at me with a screwed up expression and I mumbled a 'hungry'.
After dinner, we quickly wished our 'good nights' to Mom and made a beeline for our rooms.
After ten minutes or so, just as expected, Ashton sneaked into my bedroom.
"Why is it so dark?" he whispered and turned on his phone's flashlight, waving it to look around the room properly as if he was looking for some kind of monster. The thought of Ashton screaming like a little child made me snicker quietly.
"Well we can't turn on the lights can we? Mom could see them and would then question us," I replied. I squinted my eyes to realise that he was already dressed. As usual, he was looking charming in a traditional, completely black tux, his hair for once combed back neatly instead of running in every possible direction. "Why are you already in a tux?" I pointed out questioningly.
"Well, I texted Ivory and Liam and they'll be waiting outside so we're kinda supposed to get dressed and meet them so we can think of how to get past security."
I gave him a droll stare before getting off the bed and then hastily got dressed in a classic navy blue tux with a maroon tie. I debated whether to keep my hair in their usual style or to, same as Ashton, comb them back in a neat manner. I ran a hand through my dark hair that had started growing again . . . even though I had just gotten a haircut last week.
"We're going for the classy attire," Ashton said helpfully when he noticed my conflict.
I nodded and combed my hair back, stepping back to take a final look at myself. Ashton came to stand next to me and lazily hung an arm on my neck.
"Ya know, all the girls should swoon over us today. Look at this! We're irresistible!"
"You know what's not irresistible? You being a narcissist." I gave him a bored stare.
"I'm not always a narcissist. Like when I admit that I'd switch my blue eyes with your onyx ones, I'm not being a narcissist."
"Not always a narcissist," I mocked him.
He smirked at me and then suddenly started kissing my cheek. "Aww look at you my precious baby brother . . . you gonna mock me huh?"
"Ashton, get off!" I pushed at him and made a disgusted expression. "Okay, get off, get off, whatever this weird argument is you win. Just get off!"
"Always do. No surprise there. Come on, Ivory will chew me alive if we keep her standing."
We both sneaked out from my window and landed not so gracefully on the grass. Just for a second, I thought that I had broken one of my limbs. Both of us groaned in pain at the contact. I got up and brushed off the dirt from my jacket and Ashton, as quietly as he could, pulled the gates open so we could get out.
Liam and Ivory were already waiting for us. Liam was looking fancy in a maroon tux which really brought out his chocolate brown eyes but he, unlike us, had not bothered to set his dark blond hair down and was as usual falling over his eyes. Ivory was dressed in a forest green off-shoulder gown that completely matched the green in her eyes, her hair elegantly tied into a braid that fell on her left shoulder. She too looked like some sort of Hollywood model who had stepped right out of a Gala magazine. But what caught my attention was, that her hair was a dark shade of brown now.
"Did you dye your hair?" I pointed at her braid.
"Well no, I'm naturally a brunette," she said sarcastically. "Duh, I dyed it. I'm tired of people continuously asking 'Are you twins? Are you twins?' This ought to shut them up for a while."
"Dying your hair doesn't make you look less like twins," Ashton tsked. "Masks?"
Ivory rolled her eyes but handed us the masks that we were supposed to wear anyway. "So . . . what's the plan?"
"Yes, Ashton, what's your oh so flawless plan?" Liam questioned, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey! Why are you looking at me? In the end, we all agreed to this so I'm not the only one who's supposed to come up with it!" He raised his arms defensively.
"Well, the whole point of masks dumbo! Just pretend to be someone all prestigious and swoop in." Ivory started walking off.
"Wait, we're going to walk there?!" I asked, not moving an inch, fixed in place.
"The mansion is like . . . ten minutes away. What do you want us to do? Fly?" Ashton asked sarcastically, pulling at me as we started walking.
To be completely honest, I was having second thoughts as soon as we stepped in front of the Rossett Mansion with its gate wide open. A line of fancy, super-duper rich people stood there. I couldn't help but admire the beautiful green garden that surrounded the mansion. But alongside the feeling of amazement, was also the nagging feeling of doom. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I was pretty sure that this wasn't going to end well.
The mansion stood right in front of me, covered in bright lights and decorations hanging down from it, light jazz music echoing from inside. It was rather catchy too.
Ivory intertwined our arms in a flirty way as Ashton and Liam led the way. Once I crossed the gates, my senses were blinded by the same scent of roses that I had noticed on Anastasia, only now multiplied several times. My eyes trailed over to the enormous garden, and just as expected, I could see multiple types of Roses spread all across the garden.
So it wasn't just a perfume, she must naturally smell like that.
Ivory gently pulled me out from my thoughts and we walked into the oh so grand hall. Dude. If you hadn't figured it out by now, the Rossetts were stinking rich. The hall was covered in beautiful white roses and golden lighting. People greeted each other, smiling and chatting lightly. I tried my best to keep my gaze away from anyone and instead decided to study the fancy tables that were set up all around, leaving space for, I supposed, dancing.
"There's no way in hell they make all this money from some stupid flower business," Ashton commented in a hushed tone, getting an approving nod from myself and the others.
"Getting in was surprisingly easy. So what do we do now?" Liam asked.
Looking at all these people, something in my gut told me that getting in wasn't the problem, it was getting out that was going to be a problem. I let my eyes trail all over the house. People were scattered everywhere, some were in the hall, some were disappearing to the balcony upstairs, and some were just casually touring the mansion.
"I was right about the drop-dead-gorgeous part and I dare you to fight me on that," Ashton spoke and I followed his gaze. My heart stopped when I saw what he was looking at. Or rather who he was looking at.
She was wearing a lacy mask but I could still recognise her. Anastasia Rossett, sporting a blood-red full-sleeved satin gown, her rich black hair pulled up in a classy bun. That was it. While the dress hugged her tiny waist perfectly, it didn't reveal a single inch of her skin inappropriately, she looked . . . stunning. More than that she looked elegant, she looked like a queen. Ashton was right and nobody could fight him on that.
For a second her eyes met mine. They stayed there, looking straight at me, then they didn't anymore. For that mini second, I thought she knew who I was or at least that I didn't belong here. But she continued her conversation with the person next to her.
"I'm gonna fill my stomach," both Ivory and Liam muttered at the same time.
"I'm gonna give myself a tour." Ashton dashed off before I could pull him back.
"Hey! Come back!" I seethed but he was already a good distance away.
I scrambled after him, trying to navigate my way through the crowd without knocking into someone. When I got past, Ashton had already disappeared and the hallway stood empty with an occasional pair of people strolling through.
Not good. I gritted my teeth grimly. How the fuck am I supposed to find him here?
This was gonna be a long, long night . . . and I was damn sure not a good one.
🥀
Let's fall in love for the night
And forget in the mornin'
Play me a song that you like
You can bet I'll know every line
–Let's Fall in Love for the Night
(Finneas)
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(WORD COUNT: 1660)
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER:
What are the three things you look for in a book?