A/N. Okay, I know this is an off pairing, and I'm taking a chance with it, but please please please don't flame me for it! I definitely will accept constructive criticism, so if my first chapter is awful, please tell me how I can improve. I'm not too sure how in character everyone is, so please let me know what you think.
BTW, this is a little AU, because Zoey never left for Covington.
So without further adieu, here's the first chapter.
Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda, I don't anything except the plot and all that good stuff. Or the song, which is by Boys Like Girls.
"Grown up." She just turned sixteen.
Stuck in the moment. Dead at the scene.
And it's on tonight.
This is the life that you wanted, right?
"Guys! Don't leave me alone!" I cried, exasperated. Zoey and Lola had dragged me along to this dance in the first place, and now they were going to leave me? C'mon Quinn, come to the dance, they had said. Yeah, it'll be fun.
Yeah, sure. What you mean is, it'll be fun for you. You guys like dances. You live for them. I, on the other hand, am not so good with these things. I don't have the vest coordination, and no one ever really asks me to dance. And Mark wasn't even here! Shouldn't girls bring their boyfriends to dances? I could just tell something bad was going to happen.
I was standing there, in the middle of a crowded dance floor, without a dance partner, while Zoey and Lola left me for Michael and Chase, respectively. Lola and Michael had officially become a couple the week before, after a month of what both of them had thought was unrequited love for each other, and it was only a matter of time for Zoey and Chase. Logan was around somewhere, probably chatting up three girls at once. Logan had been acting a little odd lately, and I didn't know what to make of it. I was all alone, without my Mark. I had tried to talk him into it, but he said he would rather stay in his dorm and play videogames. I swear, sometimes that boy drives me crazy. But that's why I love him!
Oh, sorry. I'm straying from the topic at hand, aren't I? Well, let's get back to my point.
I was basically coerced into going to the Masquerade dance by Zoey and Lola. They had decided that I needed to get out more, even though I expressly stated that I had no desire to go to the dance. In an act of blackmail, they made a long-distance phone call to Seattle to ask my mom to convince me to go. Either they had forgotten how crazy my mom was, or they really didn't care, but right away she made me talk to her and informed me that unless I wanted to send her to an early grave, I would go to the dance and look for my Prince Charming.
My mom is so melodramatic.
Why won't she realize Mark and I are mean to be together? Sure, he's a little...erm...ordinary, but that's okay. I like ordinary! There's nothing wrong with that.
"But Quinn, baby, you don't deserve ordinary. You're too special," she'd always say.
Just because she and my dad had a fairytale romance doesn't mean I have to. Have one, I mean.
But I digress. Yet again. I'm sorry; this can't be too fun for you.
My mom grew overexcited at the prospect of me going to a school dance, so she volunteered to make costumes for all of the girls.
"I'm so excited for you girls!" she had exclaimed. Later, when we were alone, my mom brought up the topic of my prince.
"Quinn, this could be your chance to find someone brilliant!" she said. "Instead of just that boy."
"That boy is named Mark, Mom. And I like him a lot. Why don't you just accept it?"
"Because, Quinn, he's not a good choice for you. You don't balance each other out. Your auras don't match. It won't work in the long run, believe me."
Ugh. Why do I even try reasoning with my mother?
My mom had this plan that one day I'll go to a dance and from across the room, I'll lock eyes with some dude and we'll fall hopelessly in love, Ever After style. Yeah. Like that's ever going to happen.
Well, my mom's a dressmaker, so she made Lola, Zoey and me costumes. Zoey was Guinevere, and she looked really elegant in an eleventh-century dress with an empire dress and gold trim. Zoey loved her dress so much; she kept saying she was going to wear it to prom. Lola was a lioness, and my mom really took it to a whole new level. Remember The Lion King? Not the movie, but the musical? My mom saw the show, and emulated Nala's costume, by using African-style prints and a bodice that resembled a corset. Lola added patterned leggings as a nice though. In short, she looked fierce.
My dress was actually a lot nicer than I had expected it to be. My mom couldn't let go of the Ever After fantasy, so she made me a dragonfly/angel thing, like Danielle. I was wearing a shimmery green dress, with a layer of black mesh material. The dress hit my knees. It had green beads concentrated at the top, and the beads spread out towards the bottom. My mom had made translucent "wings," which were large enough to recognize, but small enough to dance in. The dress was beautiful, but it was also a tad awkward, and I had never worn something like this. I also wore a simple white mask over my eyes, to go with the whole masquerade theme. Lola was wearing a lion mask, and Zoey was wearing a gold mask similar to mine.
I stood in the center of the dance floor just a second longer, to see Lola, Michael, Zoey and Chase dancing. Slowly, I made my way over to the snack table when I saw the last person I would expect to be standing alone.
Logan Reese was looking unsure of himself.
I was about to go up and say hi when he noticed me. His whole demeanor changed, and he greeted me with a smile.
"Hey. Before you say anything, I have to know: which guy here is the luckiest guy in the room?"
Luckiest guy... what? Oh, who was my date.
"I actually don't have a date," I replied, watching his pleasant expression turn to one of shock.
"You seriously don't have date?" he asked incredulously. Wait, didn't he realize I was Quinn? It suddenly dawned on me he genuinely thought I was some other girl. I was just about to correct him when the scientist in me figured it would be intriguing to see how long it would take Logan to figure out it was me. Besides, he wasn't being mean, and I kind of wanted to see how he treated the other girls on campus.
"No, I seriously don't. I asked one guys, but he said no," I said, beginning my experiment.
"How could he have turned you down?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
"He said he didn't do dances," I said, thinking of Mark and his videogames.
"I don't really do dances either, but if it meant I'd be going with someone as hott—I mean pretty—as you, I'd go in a second." I fought the urge to laugh. I know for a fact he wouldn't say this to me in real life. "But, that suck for him, because I'm the one with the girl." As cheesy as it was, his earnestness made me smile. I hadn't often seen Logan be kind, so it was nice to see the hidden side of him.
"Wow. I've never gone to a school dance before," I admitted aloud, as I took in the decorations and the dj, and all the students dancing. Logan glanced over.
"You haven't?"
"Nah. Dances aren't really my scene."
"Yeah. I know what you mean. The last dance I went to ended up getting me injured." I giggled, remembering Zoey and Nicole's recollection of Dana stepping on Logan's foot.
"Hey! It's not funny!" exclaimed playfully. Geez. This was a totally new side of Logan!
"Actually, I'd have to say it is," I retorted, teasingly. "At least you aren't wearing wings. What are you supposed to be, anyway?"
"A secret agent...note the glasses...Hey...your dress is the same color as my tie. Weird."
Growing more comfortable with each other, we chatted about school and such for another twenty minutes. I was really genuinely surprised at how charming he could be. I had never really seen him like this, and I liked it. Then, a slow song came on.
"They're playing 'This I Promise You?' No way," I said, half laughing.
"Yeah. They've got such great song choice." Logan paused for a moment. "Would you, er, like to dance? With me?"
"Well..." Would it technically be cheating on Mark if I only danced with Logan?
"C'mon. We've been talking for a while. I'm not going to kill you... Besides, you should dance with me. It's courteous," he said, trying to persuade me. I'll admit it; the fact that he was trying so hard was really appealing.
"Well, okay. One song," I agreed, and he led me out to the dance floor. Before I continue, let me tell you one thing. I've only ever danced with Mark once. Why? Because he is horrible at it. It was one of the most awkward experiences I've ever had. He had no rhythm, he stepped on my toes, and his hands were clammy.
But with Logan... Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the song, it could have even been the fact that I was wearing a costume, I'm not sure. With Logan, dancing felt effortless. He obviously knew what he was doing. With one hand holding mine and the other on my waist, he led me around the floor with more grace than I would have ever thought possible. When I danced with Mark, I made him stop right away, but I never wanted the song to end now.
"You're a great..." I was about to say dancer, but Logan cut me off.
"Shh..." he murmured, leaning closer, still moving to the rhythm. "I only have one dance with you. I want it to last."
Whoa. Rewind and FREEZE. He said that? Oh my gosh, he really just implied he likes me! I had to say something. This was getting dangerously close to romantic. Although I suppose from a scientific standpoint, it was quite interesting.
I looked up at him, and I saw so many emotions on his face, including anxiety, regret, and determination. I wanted to analyze every single one, but I stopped when I could feel his breath close to my face. His face came in, closer and closer until his mouth finally made contact with my own.
An explosion of feeling in my lip went off. I tried to figure out what it was, but eventually I gave in to the kiss and gave up trying to analyze it. My mind went completely blank, and for a moment all I knew was the sensation of the kiss. Then, I suppose the adrenaline kicked in, and I could feel the kiss deepening from a light gentle one to a more passionate one. His arms held me a little tighter, and I hands found their way to his face. I took in the feeling of my fingers brushing across his cheeks, moving to the back of his neck, playing with his hair. For all the gel he uses, his hair still felt incredibly soft.
I'd heard of chemistry between two people, but this...this was like chemistry on crack. This was everything I had ever imagined a kiss would be like, except better, because it was real. This should have been my first kiss, not my clumsy, forced kiss outside the lounge at three o'clock in the morning after helping my friend win a stupid radio with Mark...
Suddenly, everything came rushing back. I was at a schools dance, wearing a mask that had somehow come undone, most likely the result of the makeout session I had just had with someone who was not my boyfriend.
Oh God. What have I done?
I pulled away and fixed my mask as quickly as I could. However, the strap broke, forcing me to hold it up with one hand.
"I'm so sorry. I have to leave," I said as I started to back away.
"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, confused. All of the emotions I had seen before were back. No, this wasn't fair to either guy. I'd just betrayed both of them.
"I'm so sorry, I am. I can't stay."
"Will you at least give me your name?" he asked, reaching out and taking hold of my wrist.
"Danielle." I blurted out the first thing to come to mind. I pulled my wrist out of his grasp and left him there, in the middle of the dance floor. I ran out of the room, throwing off my stupid mask, running all the way to my dorm, cheeks flushing in shame.
Later that night, I lied in my bed, crying from shame, guilt, confusion, but mostly from my inability to erase the memory of that kiss from my mind.
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I woke up the next morning determined to put the previous night's event behind me. I got out of bed early, picked out a crisp, clean, outfit consisting of a nice black skirt and a button down white shirt. I showered and dressed before either Lola or Zoey woke.
"Good morning, girlies!" I chirped as Lola and Zoey began to rise out of bed.
"Quinn, how can you be up so early? The dance ended so late," Zoey said groggily, pushing off her sheets and getting out of bed.
"I went back here early last night," I replied hesitantly.
"Why? Did something bad happen?" Lola asked, concerned.
"Nah. I just ... got bored after you guys ditched me to be with your men," I said. They at least had the grace to look sheepish.
"Sorry," they replied in unison.
"Well, I hope they were worth it," I said.
"Oh, believe me, it was, especially for Zoey. I mean, you'll never..." Whatever Lola was about to say was cut short by an ominous look from Zoey.
"Okay, okay. You don't have to tell me. I'll get it out of you eventually."
I read a magazine while I waited for my roommates to finish getting ready so we could all go down to breakfast together. They took forever, but I knew I couldn't go down there by myself.
Our guys (and when I say that I mean our friends) were waiting for us at a table they'd snagged. We walked over, and I could hear snippets of their conversation.
"I'm telling you, Danielle was the perfect girl!" Logan was saying.
Oh, God. He couldn't possibly be talking about...
"She is too real! I've got her mask to prove it."
I think I'm going to be sick.
Do you, do you wanna lose it all?
'Cause this is more than just a dance hall drug
You can't wait to fall in love