THORNE

He leaned against the back wall by the entryway as he watched Kai dance with the girl who looked like Cinderella.

Thank the stars.

Thorne had been trying to hook Kai up with someone for the last year. Kai desperately needed a happy distraction from his life. A cute girl was the perfect place to start. Thorne was surprised to see Kai looking quite enthralled by someone he didn't know, though. Frankly, he'd been expecting Kai to hold out for Cinder.

Yeah, okay. It had all been a set up. Not that he'd ever tell anyone. But who could blame him? Kai would never have agreed to go on a blind date. That guy just took everything way too seriously.

After only ten minutes of talking to Cinder last week at the garage, Thorne had already begun plotting how to introduce her to Kai. Physically, Cinder was Kai's type through and through, though admittedly she could use a little freshening up and maybe even some new clothes. No big deal, though. Completely fixable. She also had the kind of personality that Kai would consider a breath of fresh air, and a sarcastic edge that echoed Kai's to boot.

The situation had been a bit tricky to maneuver, if he were honest, but he was glad that he hadn't underestimated how much he knew his best friend. He'd seen the way Kai had looked at her in his kitchen—he was definitely into her. He probably didn't even know it himself yet. Well, no surprise there. Thorne was the expert in the area of romance, not Kai. Good thing, too. Lately, Kai was just hopeless.

If it were anyone else, he'd probably be a little pissed that Kai had tried to flirt with the girl Thorne was supposed to be into right in front of him—and in his own house nonetheless. But it was almost better this way. Let Kai think that he'd come up with the idea himself. It wasn't like Thorne could ever convince him of anything useful these days anyway. Except now he was dancing with the pretty stranger Thorne had suggested, so apparently something had clicked. Well, good for him. Maybe Kai wasn't thinking about Cinder as much as he'd expected. Thorne prayed that Kai would enjoy himself and at least get her number, if not more.

Kai had been too boring throughout the evening to venture into the other dance rooms, preferring the ballroom music room. Aka the Dance With Your Parents Room. Now that Kai had found his own little Cinderella, no doubt he would be staying there. Thorne knew that his own scene was more along the lines of techno rave or club, though, and since he didn't have to babysit Kai anymore, he headed in that direction. As soon as he entered another room and felt the bass vibrating down through his core, he let out an exhilarated sigh. He loved this scene. It was mysterious, dark, and you could be whoever you wanted. No boundaries, no rules. Just the way he preferred to live his life.

Tonight, he was going to party. And it was going to be a great night. He weaved his way through the crowd to get a feel for the space. As the music pounded, the strobe lights made everything move just a little more than usual, and Thorne wondered briefly if he were perhaps a bit more buzzed than he'd thought.

It was obvious that this room had attracted the younger crowd. He saw a lot of sweaty bodies and a whole lot of grinding. And then some. Thorne chuckled to himself. Rich people. They were so uptight. But give them an open bar and some disguises, and these people let their wild sides come out. Good thing he could handle a little wild. They wouldn't even know what hit them.

Thorne caught a few ladies look him up and down with desire as he passed them. He knew he looked good, but it still confirmed his decision to not wear a costume. His mask coupled with the fedora gave him a naughty debonair look, and it was quite fitting for his intentions for the night. Women liked mystery, and he could give them mystery. It was all in good fun.

The DJ changed songs and to Thorne's delight, it was a crowd favorite. He knew this song could get anyone going. He strategically made his way to the middle of the dance floor and caught the beat almost instantly. Rolling up his sleeves, he began laying out his moves, starting slow and building up to the more entertaining ones. He knew just how to milk it into a bit of a show as people came near him to watch. Thorne threw in some freestyle here and there, and even launched himself on the ground to throw in a spin or two. Breakdancing wasn't his strongest area, but he wanted to keep the crowds riled up. They had already formed a circle around him and were cheering him on. He loved the way it stroked his ego—every time.

Thorne paused dramatically as the song came to the bridge and began to unbutton his shirt to the tempo. He heard a few gasps of appreciation as he revealed the white beater that he'd worn purposely for this occasion. It showed off just enough. Thorne pulled off his fedora and threw it casually at a girl nearby. She looked like she would faint, and he smirked with delight. Things were definitely going as planned.

He was about to go down on the ground again when a petite girl moved her way into the circle and in front of him. He wouldn't have thought anything of it initially, as he was used to girls coming out to dance with him—in fact, he expected it—except that this girl had added a little something to her appearance. Or a whole lot of something. The girl had hair that went past her knees, and the strobe light was making it seem a whole lot wilder than it probably already was. He was so caught off by the sight of it that he nearly missed a beat. But she dipped in front of him and grinned a little wickedly, and in an instant, he was back in the moment.

She matched his moves and kept inching her way closer. The crowd began to join them, the circle over. Thorne was impressed to see that this girl was keeping up with him, despite her hair going all over the place. As they danced, he tried to study her through the flashing lights. Hair aside, she was definitely attractive.

Cute face—check.
Tantalizing outfit—check.
Pretty good dance moves—check.
A bit of a devilish smile—check.

When another song had gone by, she came closer, and he could hear her singing along to the music. She began dancing as if she were in a music video or on a stage. It was endearing and sexy at the same time. Yeah, even with a mask and too much hair—this girl definitely had his attention.

It was his turn to close the remaining gap between them. Before long, they were pressed up against each other. She had turned around and pushed her back into his stomach. She was so short that she barely went up to his collarbone. Still, he managed to slide his hand around her waist and pull her closer. Heat radiated off their bodies. Her hips matched his hips and they swayed together. Now that she was so close, he could see that she actually had blonde hair, and it was covered in slightly darker dirty blonde hair extensions that never seemed to end. He bent down to whisper in her ear. "Nice hair, babe."

She turned her head ever so slightly so that his lips brushed her hair. "They call me Rapunzel," she said, and ran her finger along Thorne's chin. Ah. Thorne loved a good role play. And with her crazy hair, she certainly looked the part.

"Rapunzel, huh?"

"That's right."

"Aw," he replied, "are you trapped in a tower? Do you need Prince Charming to come rescue you?"

As he said it, Thorne slightly regretted not dressing like a prince the way Kai had, so that he could look the part a bit more. But whatever. He was good-looking enough to be a prince anyway, without the costume. And "charming" might as well be his middle name.

"Maybe I need a rascal thief instead, who has different intentions than a prince."

Thorne practically moaned into her hair and slid his other hand onto her hip. Oh, he was going to like this girl. Rapunzel, however, pulled away and turned to face him. Then she gave him a seductive look that Thorne was all too happy to fall for, and she began to back away, never taking her eyes off of him. He followed her, slowly, rhythmically, as if they were just continuing their previous dance. But this wasn't a dance. This was a game.

And it was his favorite game.

He caught up with her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the center of the dance floor. Soon, they were dancing their way to one of the more secluded corners of the room. She pushed him against the wall.

"My name is Rapunzel and a scary witch has locked me away," she purred, widening her eyes with intentional innocence. Thorne was immediately intrigued.

But then he had a thought. "Wait...you're at least 18 aren't you?"

He saw blue eyes roll beneath the mask. "I'm twenty-three."

And that was all it took. Thorne spun them around so she was against the wall and went in for a hungry kiss. She tasted like alcohol and he wondered how much of his own drinks were influencing the flavor. He licked her lips for the go-ahead to enter, and soon they were doing a little bit of a game he liked to call francais. As much as he was enjoying it, he realized quickly that her short height was a disadvantage and his neck was getting stiff from bending down. His mask kept scraping against hers in this position too. He reached one hand down and found her thigh. Thorne felt her shake a little. He grabbed it more firmly and lifted her up against the wall so her face was at his level. There. That was better.

She nipped his ear. Oh spades, this girl was hott. They resumed kissing. Her extensions were wrapping all over him and driving him crazy, but he liked making out with her too much to care. After awhile, they stumbled over to a side booth and fell onto one of the couches, him landing on top of her. He leaned over her and she gave him a bit of a woozy smile.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"Well then," he said as he moved down to kiss her collarbone, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." He lavished her neck and collarbone with kisses that were slower than their previous rhythm. When he looked up to see if she was enjoying it, he was surprised to see that her eyes were closed. But not in the "I love this, Thorne" way that he was used to—instead, she looked like she was sleeping.

Wait.

Had he just put her to sleep?

"Rapunzel?" he asked, cupping her face. She didn't respond. He tried kissing her cheeks. Nothing.

"Aces," he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He looked around for a few minutes, racking his brain for ideas of what to do now. It wasn't right to just leave her like this. He spotted a half-empty glass of water. That might do the trick, he thought. He considered pouring it over her, but felt like that was a pretty mean thing to do, even though she was passed out. Instead, he poured the water out on his hand instead and grabbed an ice cube. Hesitantly, he traced her lips with it, hoping the sudden cold would wake her up. Little drops of condensation formed wherever the ice cube made impact. Amused, he began to connect the freckles on her cheeks. After a few moments, her eyelashes fluttered open.

"Wha-what are you doing?" she asked, as Thorne chuckled to himself.

"See what happens when you drink too much? The big bad thief will take advantage of your vulnerability." He couldn't resist poking her little nose with the ice cube. She swatted him away, but as she put her hand back down he saw her eyelids beginning to droop again.

"Oh no you don't." Thorne encircled her waist and pulled her into a sitting position. "You need to stay awake." He lifted her to her feet, his arms still tight around her. "C'mon, let's get you back to your tower, Rapunzel."

She kind of slumped against him as he guided her through the crowd again and out towards the exit. When he got out into the hallway, he saw a couple of people stare at them, probably remembering him from his earlier performance. But some of them murmured to each other and looked at them with disgust. He glanced down at the girl and noted her half-closed eyelids, loopy smile, and the way she sort of disappeared beneath her hair. Great. Here he was trying to help, and they probably thought he had drugged her or something.

When they finally reached the lobby, he looked her over and realized that her outfit was a bit too skimpy to likely have a cell phone hidden somewhere. He put his face right in front of her and held her cheeks so she would focus on him. "Do you have someone you can call?" he asked her. "A friend? Someone who can take you home or come pick you up?"

She squinted at him as if trying to think. "No." She closed her eyes again.

After calling Kai, Kesley, and Scarlet several times with no success, he wasn't sure to do. He certainly wasn't ready to go home and thus would not be accompanying her anywhere. This was a bit of a hiccup in his night, yes, but once he returned to the party he was sure that he would still want to stay until morning. Should he call a cab for her? No, that wasn't a great idea. What if the cabbie took advantage of a cute but very drunk girl? It was unlikely, but the thought of it made his stomach turn sour. He finally saw Nainsi's number, and dialed it, feeling incredibly guilty. It was already past 1:00 A.M. He hoped that her affection for him would extend into forgiveness for a wake-up call.

Luckily, she answered after a few rings. "Nainsi? Hi, this is Thorne. I'm really sorry to bother you—"

"Master Thorne? Are you okay? Are you in trouble again?"

Of course she would think that. "No, I'm fine. I'm so sorry about waking you up, but I have a friend who really needs help getting home and Kai's not answering his phone, and I have no idea where the others are, so—"

"Do you want me to call Torin?"

"Torin, or anyone who would be available at this hour."

"Are you at the Masquerade?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll have someone come within the next half hour."

"Thank you, Nainsi, you're amazing. You know how much I love you."

She yawned. "I know, my dear. Now you be safe."

"I will. Thanks again."

Thorne sat the girl down on a lobby couch near the concierge because he doubted that he could keep her standing for more than a few minutes, let alone another half hour. He also refused to wait outside in the cold. Speaking of, he realized that she probably had to have a coat of some sort too. She had much less clothing on than him, after all. "Hey, Rapunzel. Do you have a coat ticket?"

She shrugged after a minute. "I don't remember."

Thorne laid her down gently on the couch and hoped she would remain there while he went up to the concierge. "See that girl?" he asked, pointing to Rapunzel. The concierge barely glanced at her. "She doesn't remember where her ticket is, and she's a little drunk, so could you see if you remember which one is hers? Probably hard to forget a girl with hair like that, eh?" He winked.

The concierge looked bored. "No ticket, no coat."

"Oh c'mon, man." He pulled out a fifty dollar bill. "Just this once?"

"I said, no ticket, no coat."

Ugh. "Well can I at least have my own coat?"

"Do you have a ticket?"

"Obviously." He reached in his pocket and grabbed the little slip. A few moments later, the concierge returned from the back with his coat.

"Can I have a scrap of paper and a pen?" asked Thorne.

The concierge eyed him, bored again, and reached in his desk more slowly than Thorne would have liked before pulling out what he needed.

"I'll need that pen back," the concierge told him firmly as he extended it gingerly towards Thorne.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch."

He scribbled on the paper. Rapunzel, this coat belongs to your thief. Please call me so I can get it back. Then he left his number.

He dropped the pen on the counter without even looking at the concierge again, and returned to Rapunzel, who luckily had stayed put. He laid his coat—with the note safely tucked in the pocket—over her and then sat down and checked his watch. 1:17 A.M.

He rested his elbow on the armrest and closed his eyes briefly, wondering how he had been so "lucky" to get into this situation. The dance at least had been fun while it lasted. So had the brief make out session. He still thought the hair was pretty strange, though. Who would even think of coming up with an outfit like that? In fact, under the strobe lights, she could almost pass for something out of a horror movie. If it weren't for her smile and sexy outfit, he probably wouldn't have given her a chance. Well, she did have good moves too. That had helped a lot.

Thorne felt a hand slide under his shirt and touch his bare skin, trailing along his abs. She giggled. "You're so sexy." She giggled again.

"Trust me, I'm aware," he replied, but he was already pulling her hand away. He enjoyed many things, but a barely-conscious girl trying to feel him up was not one of them.

"Can we kiss again?"

He laughed. "No."

She pouted, and he tucked a strand of her crazy extensions behind her ear. "Trust me, you would regret it tomorrow."

"But you're so...sexy."

If only she knew how much he had reciprocated the feeling only a half hour ago. Thorne sighed, and leaned his head back against the couch. He held her hand still on the couch, just in case she got the idea to touch him again.

After what seemed like forever, Torin pulled up to the entrance, and Thorne lifted Rapunzel to her feet. He draped the coat around her shoulders so it wouldn't fall down, and led her over to the car. Torin eyed him suspiciously, though Thorne could tell he was trying to restrain himself.

"Hey, Torin. This is—uh, Rapunzel."

Torin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know."

Torin didn't say anything, instead moving to hold open the door.

Thorne helped the girl slide into the backseat of the car, making sure she didn't hit her head. When she was all settled, he made sure he had her attention. "Rapunzel, this is Torin. He's going to get you home safely. Just tell him where you live, okay?"

She clutched his arm. "I love you."

He smirked. "Of course you do. We are obviously soulmates."

Thorne forced her to let go of his arm and closed the door. Torin was still looking at him in that oh-so-Torin way.

"She's drunk, just make sure she gets home alright." He gave Torin the fifty bucks the concierge hadn't accepted.

"That's not necessary, Sir," said Torin.

"Still, take it for your trouble. And thanks."

He didn't wait for them to drive away. The temperature was too cold to bear, so he hurried back to the lobby. Thorne collected himself for a minute and then started in the direction of the dance rooms. It was time to get back to the party. After all, he wasn't going to be in his twenties forever and the night was still oh so young.