This mysterious man took us to some nearby abandoned buildings and assured us everything was safe and we would be okay. I wasn't as sure, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. The houses looked creepy initially, but after you got into the place, you realized it was much more beautiful than on the outside. The mysterious man asked me to dance, and I said "yes."
Who wanted to let down a man you didn't know? Otherwise, something terrible could happen. However, the more I danced with him, the more I believed that this was fate and that this man was the true man for me. I was hoping that Lee was just a phase and that my mind was fresh and ready to fall in love. Was I pushing it too fast? How could I feel this way so soon?
After we danced, the man took me into a room, and I left the door open to keep me comfortable. For some reason, I felt that this man was different. I hoped this man was different. If it had turned sour, I had been through way too many wringers to make my way back into romance.
He started to speak so softly that it was hard to hear his words. "I know you are a little scared, but I want to show you. That you are like this house, nobody can see how fun you are. On the outside, you seem scary, unapproachable, and unknown. But seriously, do you know how amazing you are on the inside? You are like a geode where on the outside you are ugly, but on the inside, you are crystal-like and sparkly." He reached for my hand.
I thought he grabbed my hand to give it a high-five, but unfortunately, no. He took my hand as if it was going to be a high-five, then put his hand on mine and wrapped his thumb around my hand to hug it. I thought it was a little weird, but it was a cute kind of weird. You know, the type that stuck their tongue out at a video camera or made a pretty duck face while taking a photo. Yeah, that was cute and weird.
I always tried to push myself to talk to people more because I was a complete introvert, except when I was dating Lee. I didn't like talking to people because what if I told them I had Aquagenic Urticaria and they didn't like me anymore because they thought it was contagious, or if Neisha found out? That would be horrid. She would try to hurt me since she hated me and seriously didn't care if I lived or died. There were two types of people that I had learned about so far. People either wanted to hurt me or were afraid of me. Lee was one of the ones that tried to break me. Maybe not outwardly, as he obviously had to put on a good facade when he helped me with Troy, but inwardly he didn't care if he hurt me. I had decided that I would live my life and that I no longer needed a man.
When I dated my first somebody, it sucked because I felt almost incomplete after my first love. This was why so many people ended up marrying their first love. Then their first marriage was hard to let go of. They tried to fit circles in a square-only spot and kept pushing because they didn't want to fail at marriage. Nobody wanted to fail. Some people in their second marriage said it was so much better to get rid of the bad marriage, and they would never be afraid of divorce again. They didn't want to feel vulnerable. That's how I felt. I felt that my life was incomplete without a man. I didn't want to fall for this man because he seemed genuinely fantastic. He made me smile, and he spent all his time texting me. If I told you how much he texted me, you would think he was a stalker. Clearly a red flag, but I didn't really care.
Marissa was nowhere to be seen; I had started to wonder what had happened to her. I mean, usually, she was like an extra limb attached to me. she had been so secretive at that time. Did she find something out about Lee? Was she lying about something else to me? That was much worse than if she found out. I thought too much. Hey! I was a girl, and sometimes we overthought things. Well, actually? All the time, we thought about everything. I needed to find her.
I went through all the rooms in the creepy, mysterious house. I couldn't find her and didn't want anything to happen to her. Then I accidentally ran into her when I wandered to the bathroom because I needed to pee. She was singing karaoke and slowly dancing on the table, everybody continually cheering her on.
"I want to thank my best friend Kyrenia for everything she has done, so I invite her to sing a song with me." Marissa had been drinking, and I guess that was my new name or the best she could pronounce.
The crowd started cheering, "Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Kyrenia!" and just hearing the crowd chant me on made me feel like I was one of them. Most of them were completely drunk, but what did you expect at a mask party? The chanting continued, and I eventually gave in after about two minutes.
One of my favorite single-person songs started playing. At that moment, I was a singer in my own little world. I also knew everybody was mostly drunk. Even if I sucked, nobody would remember because they were all red-nosed. I got on the stage, and somehow while I was wearing my mask, the words poured out of my mouth, filled with emotion.
The mystery man came into the crowd and stuck out like a sore thumb. Even though he looked like everybody else, he made me spill tears from my eyes. He came by only when I was halfway through the song. I couldn't believe it; I started shaking and holding back tears because this song reminded me of Lee. When I was singing, I felt so emotional and didn't know what to do.
This whole time I was singing the song, my eyes caught the Mystery Man in the crowd, and I couldn't stop staring at his beautiful brown eyes. It just made my heart melt looking at him. I wish I knew who he was and why he had to keep it a secret.
After I sang with Marissa, singing backup vocals, we decided that we were going to wait for Mystery Man by the car. Just then, some people approached us and talked to us like we were part of the group.
"Hey, you guys sing well. Do you go to high school?" questioned the group of men. They looked at me, up and down my body. Checking me out.
"Yes, we do!" we implied, trying to fit into the crowd. Even though it was true, we wanted to fit in with everybody else.
"Are you talking about Aura Highschool?" They questioned. I knew that Aura high school was the school my mom taught at.
"Yes, we go there too!" Yes, we were not from the elite, but we got a chance to be remarkable once. We took it and ran with it. Once again, I wanted to fit in for a change, which wasn't different from how I truly felt.
"What are your names?" they asked Marissa and me. I couldn't think at that moment. I was trying to think, but my head was spinning.
"I'm Ky..." I stopped because I didn't want them to know who I indeed was. I stuttered. I had to spew out a name. Although, The voices seemed familiar, and I was afraid I knew them.
I blurted out, "Kyrenia, and this is..." The word vomit once again came out. I couldn't stop it, and I kept glancing around us.
"I'm Natalia," said Marissa. I had thought Marissa had said my name because she had been drinking. She was on her A game and protecting me once again. She knew what was going on all along!
"Great to meet you guys. I'm Neisha, and this is my friend, Leah." I wish I could have kicked her in the mouth because we all knew she had it coming.
"Oh, yea, we know who you are! You guys are like the popular girls!"
"Yes, we are!" They smiled. I wanted to wipe that smug look off their faces, but Natalia pulled me back and whispered in my ear that it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth them knowing our true identities.
"Aren't you dating Lee?" I questioned as I wondered about her response. I couldn't stop obsessing over him. By this time I should have moved on, but I couldn't.
"Why is it any of your business?" she snottily interrogated me.
"Oh, it's just that I saw you guys at school, and I was just wondering?" I was trying not to seem evident because she couldn't know.
"Oh...no, we aren't. We're just friends. I mean, I am dating his best friend!" I knew he was single now; maybe he wasn't a bad guy.
"Oh, ok. I understand, but Lee wouldn't be a bad idea" I winked at her, hoping for a wrong response. In that minute Marissa's words from one of the first days she had met me flashed back into my head "everybody has problems, and most problems will resurface in time."
"Most times I do it to make fun of a girl because I know she is obsessed with him," she replied. I was furious; she didn't like Lee; she just did it to mess with me. That hurt a lot.
Without seeming nosy, I said, "that Kylie girl, you do it to mess with her even though I'm sure Lee is a fine handsome man indeed."
"I mean, yeah, but I ain't about to cheat on my boyfriend." She was true; she wasn't evil; there must have been something that made her hate me, something that I did. I enjoyed spending time with her, even if it was a facade. In my time as Kyrenia, I realized that she didn't hate me and didn't make fun of me just because. Neisha felt insecure about herself, which is why she made fun of me. It was to make herself feel better about herself. At this time, I hadn't felt threatened by her but worried about what she would say to me next.