All characters and anything else related to the Twilight saga belong to Stephenie Meyer. In shorter words, I don't own anything.
This is just a one-shot for now, but if it there's a lot of positive reviews, then I'll continue it as a new story. All human, slight OOC, AU. Pure fluff fluff fluff.
Summary: Bella, Alice, and Rosalie all attend a private boarding school for girls named the Kentwood Preparatory School for Girls in Seattle. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper go to the male counterpart, Hamilton Preparatory School for Boys..just a couple miles down the road. The annual masquerade ball is coming, and guess who's invited? That's right, all your favorite Twilight characters. Bella is offered a dance by Edward, and she's intrigued. They're all hiding their insecurities behind a mask, so what has Bella got to lose? Especially when he's such a good kisser.
Masqueraded
Isabella Swan
January 19th
7:00 AM - Dorm Room
"Alice, no. The answer is no," I said, distracted. I was at the moment straightening my tie before our announcements for the morning, but Alice was as always, persistent.
"Please Bella? Come on, last year we didn't go because you weren't confident enough to hang around the older girls, but enough is enough! This year, you have to go to the Masquerade Ball!" whined Alice. She jutted out her bottom lip, only a little bit, barely noticeable. Her eyes widened, giving her the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. I sighed. She was too good at playing hurt.
"I'll think about it, alright? But we better be off to morning announcements. Headmistress Cullen will be expecting us. I don't want to get in trouble again for being late." I remembered the ten minute lecture on timeliness that Miss Irena gave the two of us for missing the first five minutes of announcements. Alice did too, and reluctantly, she nodded and off we went.
There was a cool breeze around campus, extremely chilly for an late January. It's the darn uniforms that they had forced onto us. Who wears short pleated navy skirts in the middle of winter? I wonder if the headmistress wanted us to freeze to death before exams were taken. The blazer I had on was hardly any help, especially since I was wearing a short sleeved oxford shirt underneath.
Even with the uniforms, I was still plain and boring if anyone glanced my way. Despite the fact that they were supposed to create 'equality' amongst the student body, everyone stood out and had a sort of 'school girl' charm. Everyone besides me that is.
Take Mary Alice Brandon for example, or Alice as she's known. Alice is my best friend, and she carried off the uniform well. She was pixie like, with her lithe body. Her short, spiky hair and rose red lips made her a modern day Snow White. So not fair. There's also Rosalie Hale, snow queen extraordinaire. She was friends with Alice as well, and sometimes greeted me if we were passing by. She was definitely the most beautiful girl on the campus by far. Her golden blond hair curved to the middle of the back. She was statuesque, model-like, with violet colored eyes. It was almost sinister how her violet eyes made her even more desirable. She'd easily be on the front page of every magazine in the world if she was discovered. Rumors were that she had been offered, but gracefully declined so she could continue her studies.
On the other hand, there's me, Isabella Swan. I had mud colored hair, and mud colored eyes. My skin was clear, it could even be considered pretty if it wasn't the same shade of pale as the whites of my eyes. I wasn't short, but I wasn't tall either. I suppose I wasn't ugly either, but surely not pretty like Alice or Rosalie. I was just...average, for lack of better words. Nothing special, nor interesting. Like a rock on the sidewalk. Sometimes, every once in a while someone who is walking by may notice it, but most of the time it's ignored. Same with me.
Announcements at Kentwood Prep for Girls usually took a small part of the morning. Everyday, before breakfast began, the entire student body (a total of around two hundred girls, ranging from grades ninth to twelfth) assembled in the auditorium. Alice and I found a few seats nearing the back of the room, and sat with our other friend, Angela Webber. She was a quiet girl, but her sweetness made up for her shyness. She was a lot like me in some ways, and that's why we got along so well.
"What do you suppose the announcements will be about this morning?" asked Angela, curiously.
"Probably the same thing it's been all week. Talk of the Masquerade Ball," I groaned. It seems like everyone in our school was excited for the event. I couldn't blame them though, the ball was the one time of the year when the boys from Hamilton Prep for Boys are allowed to socialize with the girls. We had free time on the weekends to hang out too, but most of the time, we used it to study and work on our extracurriculars. After all, Kentwood was known for it's difficult subjects and coursework. But hey, it's all worth it when we get to go to any college of our choosing.
"Good morning girls!" Headmistress Cullen greeted. She was very pretty for a headmistress. She had caramel hair, and a slender body. She was also married to Carlisle Cullen, the headmaster of the boys' school. I've never spoken more than two or three words to her, but she seems like a mother figure, and she didn't have an intimidating stance like some of the other teachers around here.
"Good morning headmistress!"
"As you all know, the Masquerade Ball is tomorrow night. There are a lot of preparations to be done to be ready for it. As such, all classes for today and tomorrow will be canceled."
A loud cheering could be heard echoing in the large room. Alice, who had always had sensitive ears was clutching her ears in agony. Poor Alice. Even with my normal hearing the cheering was starting to ache. I can only imagine how much worse it was for Alice.
Headmistress Cullen cut the roar of noise before Alice was permanently deafened. "Enough. In their place, your classes have been replaced with lessons. There are different lessons and courses to be taken. There are ballroom dancing skills, manners and proper dining workshop, the fashion committee, etc. Proceed to your normal teachers and they'll tell you which room you've been assigned to. Don't forget, there's a 12:00 curfew. Anyone caught not in bed by that time will face serious consequences. Now, let's have breakfast, shall we?"
Alice and Angela were deep in conversation when we were finishing up our toast with eggs.
"This is so exciting! We're going to have a blast. I mean, a night of romance and dancing. With boys! How much better can this get?" said Alice cheerfully.
"Alice, I'd have to disagree. This is a night of wearing too high heels with too long dresses with a insanely high possibility of tripping on said dress or taking part of some other humiliation," I complained. Normally I wouldn't be this grumpy, and I was sort of excited at the chance of meeting Prince Charming, but, I wasn't a dancer. I couldn't dance. I shouldn't dance. I shouldn't even be allowed to walk. I had enough trouble maneuvering on a flat, stable surface; dancing would just be a nightmare.
"Bella, please! You never have any fun. Every time I invite you for a night on the town with Rosalie, you always say no. It's all about your studies, but you're extremely intelligent already! You're never going to meet anyone that makes you weak in the knees if you stay cooped up in our dorm. One night won't kill you," Alice reasoned. Angela watched the both of us as we bickered, with a flicker of amusement in her eyes. People at neighboring tables were stifling their laughter. There's a reason why; they already knew that Alice was going to win this battle. Like she always does.
"Fine. I'll go. But on one condition."
"What is it?" Angela and her asked in unison.
"You won't have any part in matching me up with anyone. I'll find someone on my own who is willing to dance with me, if anyone is willing at all. All I want is one night of letting loose, no strings or ties. Including a relationship."
Edward Masen
January 19th
12:13 PM - Cafeteria
Emmett McCarty, Jasper Hale, and I were sitting at a round table in the cafeteria. It was lunch time and the room was buzzing with laughter and chatter. I was about to take a bite out of my chicken salad when Emmett interrupted me.
"So Eddie, you going to be going to the ball thing? The one hosted at the girls' school?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of food. I winced, that was a habit that got on my nerves. His curly dark hair and large muscular body reminded me of one of those men on the paper towel covers. The ones wearing plaid shirts and carrying an axe.
I scowled. "I don't know, maybe. And it's Edward, Emmett. I don't go around calling you Emmy do I?" If he wasn't my best friend, and if I hadn't known him for four years, it would've irritated me more when he called me that stupid nickname.
To tell you the truth, I was deliberating whether or not I should go. But my friends have all been on my back about getting out there and meeting girls. It's not that I don't want to meet anybody; actually that didn't seem too bad. But this is called a masquerade ball for a reason. We're all hiding out identities, who we really are. It's pretty ridiculous. All it is is a night to pretend to be someone else.
"Come on Edward. You have to go! Think of all the chicks there that are waiting for us," argued Jasper. He was my other best friend at this school, lean and tall. Last year he was only 5'6, and over the summer he had an ridiculous growth spurt, towering at six foot three. He had a sister too, Rosalie who went to our sister school.
"Yeah! Come on dude, the girls will be all over you."
"Yeah, what Emmy said. You're not bad looking of a guy, but don't go curtsying to me anytime soon," Jazz laughed.
I thought about it for a minute. My two best friends stared at me in anticipation.
"Fine. I'll go," I muttered, defeated.
Isabella Swan
January 19th
2:35 pm - Dance Workshop
Ballroom dancing is clearly a creation of the devil. Who is stupid enough to think that this would be a good idea?
"Remember, you must always let your partner lead. Careful not to step on your partners' feet," our instructor Tanya informed us. She gave a knowing look my way. Tanya was our Physical Education teacher and she knew what she was talking about. She'd seen me trip on the track more times than I can count.
It's been a grueling hour and a half, but we only had fifteen minutes left. Fifteen minutes left of torture. I began counting down the seconds.
"Isabella!" I jumped in shock.
"Would you care to demonstrate?" Tanya asked. I shook my head in defiance. No, no, no way! Tanya knew that I'd be the worst example, and yet she still chose me. I swear these teachers are out to get me.
"Get up, you silly girl. Up, up, up!" Obviously I wasn't going to win this battle, so I gave up and stood in front of Tanya. I need to learn how everyone seems to be able to walk all over me. How did Alice do it so easily?
"Yes miss?"
"Put your left hand on my shoulder, and then put your right hand in mine." I followed her instructions. This wasn't too bad.
"Music, please, Kellie!" Kellie Jameson, who was in my class turned on the stereo to play the music. It was a slow, smooth melody.
Tanya began moving without giving me a notice, and I stumbled on the first few steps. "Balance, dear! Keep up, keep up!"
It was all a blur. Finally it was over, and I only managed to trip twice through the whole ordeal. Considering my balance problems, this is a record for me. Our last class of the day was over, and we were to go to the costume department to receive our dresses for the ball.
"Bella! There you are, I was trying to find you." I turned around to see Alice, who had already took off her blazer and loosened her tie, even though it couldn't have been more than forty degrees outside Fahrenheit.
We walked side by side together, me shivering and furiously rubbing my arms for heat. When we finally entered the costume department, the warm air of the building rose my body temperature instantly. I thanked heavens that we had indoor heating. It was my savior from hypothermia. There were girls already inside, trying on clothes in the dressing room. Their uniforms were mixed together on the floor, and squeals of finding the right dress were everywhere.
Alice was fierce. I could tell you that. She was sneaky and did whatever it took in search for the right dress. One girl was crying when Alice had ripped the dress from her hands, only to have it discarded on the floor minutes later. I told her to calm down, or else I'd be rethinking my choice of going to the..thing. Afterward, she was a bit more polite, but only a bit. There was still a lot of pushing and growling.
"Hey Bells?" she asked while shuffling through the many hangers.
"Yeah?" I wasn't really paying attention.. I could care less about wearing a pretty dress and getting made up. Unlike the other girls around me who were already planning on how to do their hair or who they wanted to ask them to dance. If Alice wasn't one of them, I'd call them pathetic.
"I..uh..I sort of invited Rosalie to hang out with us," she blurted out. If I hadn't been paying attention, I would've missed what she said. She blurted it out so fast in a panic that the words were strung together and I had to decipher what it is she wanted.
I had nothing on Rosalie; she and I got along fairly well. We didn't hate each other, but we weren't exactly best friends either. She was a year above me, and was popular. Therefore we didn't 'mingle' and 'hung out' very often - if at all.
"Uhm, alright Alice. That's fine."
"It's just, she's my friend and she's fabulous at doing makeup - hers is impeccable and she offered me help. So, I wanted to give you a heads up," Alice chattered nervously. I rolled my eyes.
"Al! It's okay, really. I don't mind. Honestly." She scrutinized my expression, but I knew that she wouldn't find anything there. I was telling the truth.
She nodded and then slid under the clothes rack. A couple of girls screamed when they saw her tiny legs sticking out, but the she yelled out triumphantly, "I found it! I found it Bells! I found the perfect dress!" She dragged out a gorgeous dress, that other girls eyed enviously. Alice had a tight grip on it though, and growled whenever anyone came close enough to steal it away. The younger ones had fear in their eyes, and stayed out of the way. Alice was a frightening little thing.
When she came up to me, she was all smiles. I was ashamed to say that I was one of those envious girls. The dress took my breath away, and even though I was no expert on clothes and fashion, this was easily the nicest dress here. It was a surprise that no one besides Alice had spotted it quite yet. More surprise came when she shoved the dress in my hands.
"Here you go Bells. Isn't it lovely? I knew it had to be yours when I found it in between the hangers. Shame that no one else found it first."
"Mine? Oh Al, I can't. This is..too much." She scoffed, and pushed me towards the dressing room.
"In you go! Now get dressed," she commanded, and pulled the curtain so that no one could see me undress.
"But what about your dress?" I hollered back.
"I already found mine today during free period! I knew that I'd have no chance of finding yours and mine with all these girls here, so I thought ahead!" Figures. Alice was always thinking five steps ahead of everyone else.
On the bright side, my dress didn't have those torturous corsets like on some of the other dresses. Or the intricate lacing on the back. Nope, mine was a simple zipper on the back, and bam! I was done. Alice knows me so well. I tentatively pulled back the curtain, and saw Alice with a wide grin. I stepped out of the dressing room, and saw some girls glare at me. I wanted to shout out, "Hey! Alice picked out the dress, not me!" but I didn't. I kept my mouth shut and waited for Alice's critique.
"Bella, it was like this dress was designed for you. It's perfect, and it's so..you! I love it. You have to get this dress!" she urged.
"Are you sure it's not too..fancy?"
"Of course not. It's perfect, not too much. And it matches your personality. See, I told you you could look amazing!"
I giggled. Which never happened often. All this madness must be getting to my brain. "Right, well I'm going to undress and get back into my uniform. Now that we have our dresses, let's go out to eat okay? I'm starving."
Just on cue, my stomach began rumbling noisily. It attracted grimaces from girls all around me. I blushed red before Alice and I erupted into laughter.
Edward Masen
January 19th
9:49 PM - Dorm Room
"Yo, Edward. What are you thinking about? You're spacing out on me."
I blinked and then faintly remembered that I was in my dorm room with my roommate Logan. "Sorry, could you say that again?"
"I asked for the sixth time, if you wanted to take a look at the Kentwood girls. See what they have to offer," repeated Logan. He was flipping through last year's yearbook, occasionally stopping on a page, and then turned to the next one.
"First of all, you sound like they're the latest mp3 player that just came out and you're looking through the catalog to see which one has the most gigabytes. They're girls, Log, not material items. Second, we're all wearing masks, so how are you planning to find the girl you want to dance with? And third, how did you even get your hands on that?"
He threw a pillow in response, his way of telling me to shut up. "A, I'm just trying to find Ms. Right. No harm in doing a little research. They listed the likes of each girl too, which is helpful. B, if you were paying attention in the dance workshop this afternoon, you would know that they're all required to wear a dance card that contains their names. But you weren't, as always. And C, that's for me to know, and for you to find out," he grinned cheekily.
I rolled myself off the small twin bed and grabbed the book out of his hands. I sat down in an armchair and began to flip through.
"Knew I could persuade you. Now let's see who's a winner."
I skipped all the way to the Sophomore section, and read through the names. There were pretty girls everywhere, that was clear. But what interested me most were the hobbies. Most of the girls listed "shopping" under theirs, or "singing", which were fine, but I wanted a girl that was different. Then I saw her.
She was stunning, but not like the common type of stunning. She was the kind that made you look twice at her features, commit each one to your memory. She had long brown hair, and in the right light, you could see a few red streaks. Her eyes were big, and chocolate brown. Her lashes were naturally long, and she had full, rosy lips. In her picture she was biting them nervously, like debating on whether she wanted to go through with it or not.
I looked for her name. Isabella Swan. It suited her, no other name would be fitting enough for her. Her likes included reading Jane Austen novels, listening to bands such as Linkin Park, The Fray, or Kate Voegele, and cooking for other people. I immediately liked her.
"So, who are you interested in?" asked Logan over my shoulder. I pointed to the girl after Jessica Stanley.
"Swan? Good choice. She's not bad," he laughed. I glared at him and he took the hint.
"I'm surprised that you didn't go for the obvious choice."
"The obvious choice?" I raised my eyebrow, and he took the book back, and turned back two pages. He stabbed his finger to a blond girl, with a perfect smile. Rosalie Hale. Of course.
"You mean Jasper's sister? She's...attractive, to say the least. But I don't know," I mumbled.
"Dude, she's gorgeous. And she loves fixing up cars, playing baseball, and driving fast. It's like God answered my prayers and sent me her!" I snickered as Logan danced around the room, shouting "Hallelujah!"
"Before you get hitched to her Logan, there's just one..minuscule problem," I choked out while I was laughing.
"Yeah?"
"She's Jasper's sister," I explained reasonably.
"Crap. I forgot about that. Hey, do you think Jazz'll hook me up with her?"
This is going to be one interesting ball. Especially when I meet this Isabella girl.
Isabella Swan
January 20th
9:02 AM - Dorm Room
"Alice, I don't want to be rude, or inhospitable, but when is Rosalie getting here? Her dorm is only a floor above ours, and the dance has already begun!"
She laughed her tinkling laugh and dismissed my whining with a wave of her hand. "There's a reason why it's called being fashionably late. Don't worry, no one worth your time will show up this early. So chill, alright? I think I hear Rose on her way now."
As if she was psychic, there was a knock on our door two seconds later. She opened the door, and in walked Rosalie, with her dress hung over her arm.
"Hey Al! Bella." She gave me a small smile, which I politely returned. "Hello, Rosalie. Shower's free if you want to use it."
"Call me Rose," she said. She grinned, and I relaxed. She was trying to make an effort, so I started to too.
"Let's get busy!" Alice had a curling iron in one hand, and a brush in another. I cringed, this was going to be a long night.
There was a lot of things being done for a couple hours worth of partying. There was waxing, shaving, plucking, trimming, curling, crimping, and I lost count of what was done after that.
"Done! You're a regular modern day Cinderella, Bella! You're Cinderbella!" Alice giggled. She twisted me around, and I could feel my dress twirling around with me.
I paused to take a look in the mirror, and my jaw dropped. My hair was loosely curled, and pinned up into an updo. There were a few stray pieces that framed my heart shaped face. My makeup was simple, courtesy of Rosalie, just a little bit of mascara and lip gloss. And my dress fit perfectly on me, like it did yesterday when I tried it on yesterday.
It was a very simple white strapless ball gown, with a beaded bust and floor length bubble style skirt. It was a Cinderella type dress, and I felt amazing wearing it. Even Rosalie couldn't take away my confidence.
Though Rosalie didn't do a number on my self esteem, it didn't mean that she didn't look absolutely radiant. Her normally wavy hair was straightened, and ended above her waist. She was wearing a purple gown with small beads on the bust and on the skirt. She was also wearing a beaded necklace as well.
Alice looked spectacular as well. She was in an light blue dress, with the dress partially layered with an aqua colored skirt. It was very Alice-like.
"You guys look great too," I gushed. For the first time since I agreed to going to the Masquerade Ball, I was actually excited. Thrilled, even. Maybe the night won't turn out to be a disaster.
"Now for the masks! This wouldn't be a masquerade, if we didn't have some brilliant masks to cover us with." Alice handed Rosalie and I our masks. I had a white and silver mask with white trimmings and a ribbon tie. Alice tied mine on securely, and put on her mask. Hers was a blue eye mask with a silver trim and blue ostrich feathers. Rosalie's was the only one with a gold stick, and was purple and gold.
"Wait, before we go, let me set your cell phone alarms. We don't want to get caught or anything." I handed Alice my Razr and she set it for me. I clipped it onto the strap of my heels.
"There. At exactly 11:55 PM, the alarm will ring, giving us each five minutes to get back to our dorms before Headmistress Cullen punish us for being late to curfew."
"Ready for the gala, darlings?" I drawled exaggeratedly.
Edward Masen
January 20th
11:18 PM - Ballroom
I sighed. The night was so far, mind numbingly dull. I've had offers all night, but none were the girl I was waiting for. They were not Isabella. I almost wanted to kill Emmett for dragging me along, and making me wear this ridiculous mask. The doors to the ballroom opened, and in walked in three girls. There was a tiny pixie girl, a blond girl who I assumed was Rosalie because Jasper looked like he was having a stroke from watching all the guys drool at her, and a brunette that was eying the exit with extreme concentration. That must be Isabella. I was almost certain it was.
There was a soft voice that interrupted me from staring at the beautiful girl any longer. "Excuse me, but would you like to dance?" I looked down to see a cute redhead with freckles biting her lip nervously. Maybe I should dance with her, I'd been so quick to reject all those other girls, and if Isabella didn't accept my request to dance, then the evening would have been a waste. I might as well make the most of it.
"Sure, I'd love to." I bowed down, and took her hand in mine. The string quartet was playing a lively number, which was in my favor, because I didn't want to cuddle up to this girl, even though she was quite sweet. She just wasn't the girl I'm looking for, and I wasn't her prince.
When we moved around the room, I saw the brunette eyeing me curiously. She was amused, and there was questioning in her eyes. Like she was trying to figure out a piece of puzzle. I was so entranced by her that I didn't notice that the song had been over. I thanked the girl and walked towards the brunette.
Isabella Swan
January 20th
11:24 PM - Ballroom
"Look Bella! There's the cute guy that was staring at you earlier. He's coming towards you now," whispered Alice. She tilted her head in the direction the boy was coming from. Indeed, she was right. The guy that had taken my breath away when I saw him was almost near me. He had messy hair in the unusual color of bronze. His emerald green eyes could be seen across the dance floor, and his crooked grin was heart stopping. But no matter how gorgeous he was, I couldn't have any romantic entanglements. This was supposed to be a one time thing only; I didn't want a relationship.
"Alice, give me your dance card!" I whispered back.
"What? Why?"
"Because I said I wanted no ties. I don't want him to find out my real name, because what if he wants to see me again after tonight? I just want a night of fun, Al. Please?" She stared at me incredulous, but gave in. She untied the ribbon on her wrist that was laced to her dance card, and traded with mine. The exchange took less than ten seconds, and I doubt anyone would have seen it.
My heart caught in my throat when I saw that the boy was right in front of me.
"Would the beautiful young lady in front of me grant me the pleasure of dancing with me?"
Edward Masen
January 20th
11:26 PM - Ballroom
There she was. She was right in my grasp, and I wasn't about to let her say no. Of course if she did, it would be a major disappointment, but if I could prevent it, I'll do everything in my power. I turned on my dazzling charm, and bowed in front of her.
"Would the beautiful young lady in front of me grant me the pleasure of dancing with me?" She blushed a vivid red, which was visible, even under the mask.
Her friend nudged her in the ribs, and that's when she gasped. "Oh! Of course. I'd love to dance with you." She smiled brightly and took my hand.
The quartet started playing a new song when we were on the dance floor. Clair De Lune by Debussy. It was the song that I wanted to dance along with her. The girl I was dancing with was far from graceful, but I enjoyed every minute with her. I wanted to know what else she liked, her hobbies, what her pet peeves were.
"So, dear Miss, may I ask you your name?" I didn't want to frighten her away by telling her I already knew that she was Isabella.
She gave me a coy smile and there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Mary Alice, but you can call me Al." I stared at her in disbelief. Alice? It couldn't be true! The girl in the picture's name is Isabella, not Alice. I stole a peek at her dance card, and there it was in bold print, Mary Alice Brandon. I sighed. Alright, so this isn't the girl I wanted to meet, but that's okay. Maybe I'll see her later on - if she came at all.
As I lead her around the room, she leaned closer to me, close enough that I smelled her pleasant fragrance. A very floral scent, freesia maybe? "Now that you asked me a question, can I ask you one too?" Alice whispered into my ear. I shivered from the warm breeze. She giggled so quietly that I wasn't sure she wanted me to hear.
"Of course."
"What is your name, kind sir?"
"Edward, Edward Masen." She was quiet for a minute, thinking about what she should say next. "I have some place I want to show you," she blew in my ear again. I locked eyes with her, confusion in mine, anticipation in hers. She grabbed my hands in hers, and the contact made my skin tingle. Like it was on fire, a shock that was so surprising.
Then, we were outside, and she was leading me to a white gazebo, with all kinds of different flowers twisting along the rails.
She sat down on the bench and gestured me to do the same. "So? What do you think?"
"I think that maybe you're about to burst into song like in the The Sound of Music," I said conversationally, unable to keep the grin from spreading across my face. She laughed and lightly hit me on the arm.
"No, seriously, this place is amazing. Kind of like you." It was corny, cheesy, and cliche. The three c's to total humiliation. But apparently, she didn't think so and kissed me on the cheek. I was never the one to blush, so when she did that, my face probably had a pink tinge on it by now. The spot where her soft lips touched was on fire, like when our hands were joined. It was an exhilarating feeling, something I'd never experienced before ever in my life.
"Can I ask you some questions then?" she said timidly. I nodded. "As long as I can too."
"Well, Mr. Masen, what brought you here to this lovely night? You don't look like that type that go to balls and fancy occasions - no offense intended."
I laughed. "No offense taken. My friends had somehow dragged me along to scope out the girls at your school. I didn't want to agree to it at first, but my friends had persuaded me."
"Your friends sound like my friends. They wanted me to go out, since I don't go out much."
"Why?"
"I've never thought much about fun and spending the night outside of my room, to be honest. I'd much prefer reading a good book or working on my studies. In my opinion, a much better way to spend my time, then to, as my friends like to call it 'boy hunt'. God, when I say it out loud, it sounds like some sort of masochistic sport."
I chuckled. "I'm a little like you in a way. I play some sports too, baseball and basketball mainly, but other than that I don't have much of a social life." Did I just admit that to her? I mentally scorned myself. It was too easy talking with her.
"Oh really?" She paused to arch one of her eyebrows, "No dates then?"
"There haven't been any girls that caught my interest until tonight," I replied simply. She blushed under my gaze, which was very sweet.
"So, Mr. Masen, I have just one more question for you," she announced during the comfortable silence we had lapsed into.
"Anything for you Ms. Brandon." It was weird calling her that, when in my heart I knew her real name should be Isabella Swan.
"Do you regret meeting me tonight?" It was a completely honest question, and there was doubt in her eyes, like this was far too good to be true. Too good to be real. I had a hard time believing it myself.
"Never," I said softly. Even though she wasn't the girl I was searching for, I wouldn't trade this night for anything in the world. She leaned in closer, and I kissed her. At first, my lips were just grazing hers, but then I deepened it, and there were feelings that I never felt before overwhelming me. There was heat, passion, there was lust, caring, friendship, everything that never occurred to me before this girl. Our lips moved together in perfect sync, like they were made for each other only. She wrapped her arms around my head, pulling me closer to her than any other time this night. Eventually we had to break away for air. The kiss left us both gasping for air, and our cheeks flushed.
"That was..wow." Wow was an understatement, but it was all I could utter out coherently without sounding like a babbling idiot.
"Edward, I-" Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud beeping sound coming from her shoe. Silently she cursed and pulled out a white Razr. She flashed me the time and sighed in an exasperated way.
"Curfew. It's been great evening. Thank you, Mr. Masen," she grinned.
She was leaving the gazebo and I called her name before she left me completely. "Wait! Will I ever see you again?" I may have a hint of desperation in my voice, but if this beautiful girl that sent electric shocks to my brain every time we touch was going to leave, I needed to know that I'd see her again.
"Only if fate destined us to meet again!" she yelled back, before hurrying away.
a/n: Aww! Hehe. Reminds me of Cinderella. Which the story is loosely based on, but not so much. If you like it, I may turn this one-shot into a story, but who knows -shrugs-. Pictures of the uniforms and gowns are on my profile. I have Edward's, Jasper's, and Emmett's masks on there too, even though I didn't talk a lot about theirs.
Why didn't Bella give Edward her real name?
Because she doesn't want a relationship right now, and if she did give him her real name, then Edward might try to find her. She doesn't want any romantic entanglements.
Read and review (: !
