Arriving at the party, Tally was excited to see that she and Shay were getting stared at a lot. She smiled and let her eyes slide over the crowd. There were, as Peris predicted, loads of golden masks around them. Tally was pleased to see that her and her friends were standing out.
Other pretties kept coming up to the four of them, complimenting their outfits, masks, and once they were close enough, their eyes as well.
Shay saw some of her friends and made her way over to them to say hello. Peris, Tally and Zane made their way to the nearest butler drone, and picked up flutes of champagne. Tally could see Fausto and Ho over in the corner, and she smiled, excited that more of her friends got into the bash as well.
"Peris, let's go say hi to Fausto and Ho-la!" She said as she waved to their friends. She pulled on his wrist and made her way through the crowd, dragging him behind her, laughing at his weak protests.
"Ouch, Tally-wa." He said, rubbing his wrist teasingly once they came to a stop in front of their friends. "You've got such a strong grip!" He said with a wink.
She laughed and turned to Ho and Fausto.
"Tally! Your eyes are so pretty-making," Ho said after they hugged hello.
"Thanks, Ho-la! Peris just got them too," She said with a smile. She turned to hug Fausto and let him see her eyes as well.
"They change with our moods!" Peris exclaimed happily.
"Bubbly," Fausto said with a grin. "Oh!" He said suddenly, noticing Zane standing behind Tally. "I'm Fausto," he said with another grin, extending his hand.
"Zane," he said politely as they shook hands.
"How do you know Tally and Peris?" Fausto asked curiously.
"I just met them today, actually." Zane said with a small laugh. "At the surge floor. My friend, Shay," he said, pointing Shay out from across the room. She was dancing with her friends, an empty champagne flute in her hand. "She just got an eye surge, too. I met Tally-wa waiting for her in the lobby." He finished with a smile.
"The rest was history!" Peris said happily.
Ho and Zane shook hands, and then they talked about everyone's outfits and whose was the best. Tally blushed when they unanimously agreed that she and Shay looked the bubbliest.
"I'm going to go get more champagne," Zane said after a slight lull in the conversation. "Anyone care to join me?"
"I'll go with you, Zane-la." Tally said with a smile. "Everyone else is such slow drinkers," she teased.
"Only in the beginning, Tally-wa." Ho said with a wink. She laughed and waved him off. She and Zane turned and went to find a butler drone, but kept coming across ones returning to the kitchen to refill their flutes.
After the third empty drone, Tally groaned. "It's like they want this bash to be bogus," she pouted.
"Wait, one's going to the balcony right now!" Zane exclaimed. He grabbed Tally's hand and led her through the crowd as he followed the drone. She laughed as he sped up the closer they got to the drone.
They finally caught up to it, just before it reached the balcony. Tally's eyes lit up in delight as she saw the last two flutes available. She and Zane took them happily, and drained half of their glasses easily.
Tally turned to face the city and smiled at the view. New Prettyville was probably the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.
"I don't think I could ever get tired of this view," she said, voicing her thoughts.
"It is very pretty-making, isn't it?" Zane asked, moving closer to Tally. She was extremely hyperaware of this movement, but did nothing to put distance between herself and Zane.
"Zane-la," she said in a tone that was warning him to not try anything.
"Tally-wa," he said in the same tone, a glimmer in his eye.
"I'm serious, Zane. I saw the look Shay-la gave me after you kept smiling at me. Very unhappy-making." Tally said, still unaware of the exact state of her friendship with Shay.
"Shay doesn't have a claim on me, Tally." Zane said, stepping closer to Tally again.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her brow furrowed.
"We're not together. She wants us to be, but I've told her time and time again that I only see her as a friend." He shrugged.
"Oh." Was all Tally could get out. She was too focused on keeping her emotions in check. Suddenly, she was cursing her new eye surge. As pretty-making as it was, it had its disadvantages, she realized.
"What are you thinking, Tally-wa?" Zane asked, now standing almost immediately next to Tally.
She wasn't sure what she was thinking at that moment, so she sipped her champagne to avoid answering the question.
She thought about the information she'd just received. Yes, Tally was attracted to Zane. It wasn't just because he was pretty, either. Around Zane she felt…happy. Yes, Peris made her happy, but not in the same way. Shay was obviously attracted to Zane, too. And she had a much longer relationship with him than Tally. It didn't seem fair to swoop in and take him away from her. But, Zane said that he told Shay that he didn't want anything other than friendship with her. Was it really unfair of Tally to give him what he wanted?
"Tally?" Zane asked. She had been silent for a few minutes, she realized. She drained the rest of her champagne, and shot him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Zane-la. I was thinking," she said quietly. He nodded.
"I thought so." He said. "What about?"
"You," She responded immediately. His face broke into the biggest grin Tally had ever seen and she blushed.
"And…?" He asked, dragged out the 'a,' sounding like an impatient littlie. Now it was Tally's turn to grin.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the door to the balcony burst open and a drunk Shay and Peris stumbled over to Tally and Zane. Fausto and Ho were right behind them, laughing at something they'd just witnessed.
"Tally-wa!" Shay exclaimed. "Here you are!" She continued with a smile. "And Zane-la's here too! How happy-making!" Tally chuckled at her friend's actions. She was relieved that she didn't have to answer Zane just yet.
"Let's go dance, Zane-la!" Shay said, oblivious to the fact that he was still staring at Tally. He was upset that they'd been interrupted.
"Tally-wa," Ho cooed. "Who's the slow drinker now?" He asked with a grin.
"Still you, Ho-la." She said with a teasing grin, completely willing to step away from the conversation she and Zane had almost had. "I bet you've only had two glasses of champagne tonight."
"Four!" He exclaimed. "I'm bubbly enough to prove it," he laughed. Tally covered her mouth to hide her laughter, but failed.
"Okay, Ho-la. You're winning now. We'll see who's winning in an hour." She said with a grin.
"Obviously it's going to be me," Fausto cut in. Shay laughed.
"You're on, Fausto." She smiled. "I'm so going to win."
"Well we'd better get going," Tally said. "To be the least slow drinker, we need more champagne." She said with a laugh.
They all began to make their way inside, but Zane stopped Tally. "We're going to finish that talk later, Tally-wa." He quietly said. Then he grinned and spoke louder. "I'm so going to win, Shay-la!" He teased his friend ahead of them.
"You wish!" Could be heard from somewhere in the house. Tally smiled and tried to ignore Zane for the moment. She just wanted to have a bubbly time at Valentino.
The six friends spent the rest of the night trying to out-drink one another without getting sick. It wasn't until a few hours later that they'd started to show signs of slowing down.
"Okay, I'm starting to feel kind of bogus," Fausto said as they sat down on a couch in the middle of the main party room.
"I know how you feel," Tally mumbled. "I think it's time to go home."
Shay, who was still pretty bubbly, came into the conversation. "Sleepover!" She squealed.
Ho was the second bubbliest out of all of them, and he quickly agreed. "We can go to my room if you want. I can turn the whole floor into a bed," he grinned.
"Ooh, how bubbly!" Shay chirped.
"Any bed sounds good to me," Peris muttered. Zane and Tally nodded in agreement and the six friends made their way to the door to leave the bash.
Zane stayed towards the back of the group and caught Tally's forearm, keeping her next to him. She gave him a questioning glance and he smiled gently.
"I didn't want to walk alone with all of your friends," he admitted. Tally smiled.
"They're your friends now, too, Zane-la."
"I know, but I just don't feel as comfortable around them as I do when I'm with you."
Tally blushed again. She knew what he meant; she felt more comfortable around Zane than even her own friends. For the second time that night, she tried to shrug off the feeling.
For the second time that night, she failed.