Every day
People, in their own sweet way,
Like to add a coat of paint,
And be what they ain't!
That's how our little
Game is played,
Livin' like a masquerade
-'Façade', Jekyll and Hyde the musical
Chapter Twelve
Tonight was the Masquerade Ball. I was dressed in a floor length simple black dress with a corset top. It was simple, elegant and very beautiful. My mask was silver and matched my shoes and my handbag. It was a bit last minute, but I managed to put together a decent outfit.
My mum was ecstatic, running around the house and making sure I looked perfect. She even did my hair for me, which was loosely curled and tied in a sideways ponytail that cascaded over my shoulder.
"You look absolutely gorgeous," my mum exclaimed when I was done getting dressed.
Daniel showed up exactly on time, wearing a glamorous white tux with a matching mask. He looked regal and handsome. I could tell my mum was very happy to see him.
When we arrived at the dance, which was held in the school Hall, I found a variety of different outfits. Most of the girls were wearing one of three things. Some were wearing totally regal outfits that looked like they were from the Middle Ages. They looked gorgeous and totally overdressed. But this was a school for rich kids, and it's not like they couldn't afford to splurge on a beautiful dress. Other girls were dressed simply, much like me. They looked refined and elegant and some were totally unrecognisable. Lastly were the girls wearing skanky outfits. They had dresses that barely reached halfway down their thighs and tops with plunging necklines that showed way too much cleavage. These were the girls that were flaunting their assets at anyone who would look. I hoped that I had never been like them, even at my worst.
The boys weren't as varied. Most of them were wearing simple tuxedos. The more flamboyant ones were wearing more colourful suits. Some were hardly dressed up at all - I saw one guy wearing jeans and a jacket. I also swore I saw a couple of guys dressed up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with turtle shells and coloured masks over their eyes.
I couldn't help thinking that this Ball was simply a way to give people the opportunity to spend money and dress up.
Daniel led me to the dance floor where we remained awkwardly for a while. I'd never done this type of dancing – rigid and on beat – before and it was obvious that Daniel wasn't a very good leader. It became apparent that he'd been taking lessons, because I could hear him counting under his breath. But I persevered for his sake and just tried to take in my surroundings.
The Hall was beautifully decorated, with streamers hanging from the roof and balloons tied to every inanimate object. There was a large table to the side that held refreshments and band equipment was set up on stage. Now, they had classical music blasting from the sound system. But it was obvious that a live band was going to start playing soon and that it would be anything but classical. It was a tradition that any dances held at the school would be classical until the stroke of midnight, when the music became less 'tasteful'.
"I'm going to go and get a drink and maybe talk to Kendall. Do you want to come with me?" Daniel asked after more shuffling on the dance floor.
"I think I'll just go and sit down. Take your time," I told him, keeping the relief from my face. I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing this for my family. If being with Daniel made my mother happy, then so be it.
After wading through the sea of dancing couples, I found myself leaning against the far wall, taking deep breaths. This corset top was taking its toll on me and I realised that it wasn't just for decoration – it was actually restricting my breathing!
My breaths were getting shallow and my chest was heaving. I pushed off from the wall and struggled to get outside, where the air was cooler and a lot easier to breathe. Finally, I found a secluded spot and took a seat on a bench. It was cold against the palms of my hands and I hoped that I wasn't ruining my dress. But then I was standing up again when I saw a familiar figure approaching me.
"Alex?" I asked, clenching my dress in my hands nervously.
He kept walking until he was right in front of me, looking down with eyes filled with numerous emotions. My heart was beating a million miles a minute and I knew my hands were sweating. I didn't know what to do or say. I'd been ignoring Alex for days, hoping not to have this particular confrontation.
"What are you doing here?" I blurted.
"I'm with the band," he replied.
I thought back to the stage where a lonely drum kit was sitting with all the other equipment for the band. I swallowed, smoothing my hands over my dress and looking away from his haunted eyes. I didn't think I could stay with him for much longer without breaking down.
He was wearing a black tuxedo and looked so gorgeous that I knew every single girl in a hundred metre radius wouldn't be able to help but look at him tonight. His mask was white and stood in stark contrast to his suit and his stylishly messy dark hair.
"Why have you been ignoring me?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
I couldn't meet his eyes. Surely he'd see right through my façade and know that all I wanted was to be with him. But he wouldn't see that I also needed to be a good daughter. He wouldn't see that I need to do this for my mum. He would only see this as me being selfish, fake. I couldn't go through that with him.
"If this is your retarded way of letting me down easy, then just say so. I won't bother you anymore. You just have to say so," he said softly.
I tried to form the right words in my mouth. I tried to tell him that I didn't want to be his friend anymore, that I didn't want him to kiss me anymore. But it would have been the biggest lie I've ever told. So I stayed silent, struggling with what I should say to him.
His hands came up to caress my face and his gentle touch was nearly enough to send me flying into his arms. But I needed to stay strong for my mum. She wanted this of me. It was the only way I could atone for my previous sins regarding her.
"You look beautiful," he said, his breath brushing against my cheek. I could smell his scent now. It was enough to drive me crazy with want and doubt.
"But I don't like these," he said as his thumbs brushed over the dark circles under my eyes. In just a minute of being with me, he'd noticed what nobody else had. He'd noticed that I hadn't been able to sleep for the past few days. Without his sweet song to send me to sleep, I'd spent my nights lying awake, thinking about him and the way he made me feel.
His hands fell from my face and rested on my waist. This simple gesture is what made me almost start crying. I could feel the warmth of his hands seep through my dress, and I couldn't stand it anymore. So I pushed him away, aware that I was gasping for breath again.
"I can't do this!" I cried.
"Why not?" His voice was full of confusion and sorrow. He sounded heartbroken, and that fact would have made my heart break, if it wasn't already broken.
"Because I have to be the perfect daughter! Because I've already screwed everything else up that I can't screw this up as well! My mum wants me to do this, so I have to."
"Your mum doesn't want you to be with me?" Alex asked, stricken.
I couldn't manage words, so I just nodded my head.
"So what, you're just going to do what she says?" he demanded, anger now evident in his electric blue eyes.
"I have to," I whispered.
"No, you don't!"
"You don't understand! I already broke up her marriage. I have to make it up to her somehow."
He stayed silent for a moment, looking at me. He almost seemed sympathetic and understanding, but then he took a step away from me and looked away.
"Rose, you don't have to do that for your mum. If it's making you unhappy, then you shouldn't have to be with that jerk!"
"You mean Daniel? Who said I was unhappy with him?" I asked, while at the same time it broke my heart to say.
He laughed.
"What's so funny?" I demanded, suddenly feeling angry.
"You can't be serious! I can see the look on your face. I could see the strain you were going through when you danced with him! I'm not an idiot. I know you don't like him that way," he said.
"You saw that?" I asked in a small voice.
"It's not my fault I can't keep my eyes off of you."
I felt my cheeks burn at his comment.
"Tell me, when you kiss him, what do you feel? Do you feel like you're on fire? Do you feel like nothing else in the world matters? Because that's how I feel when I kiss you," he said, taking a step towards me again and wrapping his arm around my waist.
Before I could think, he leaned down to kiss me. I couldn't help but kiss him back, because seriously - how could I not? It was better than I remembered it. It was like everything good in the world all bundled up into one package. I held on to him, sure that if I let go then I'd never be able to do this again.
"Rose?" the shocked voice belonged to none other than Daniel. I broke away from Alex and looked over at him. He stood in the light, holding two drinks, with a hurt and angry expression.
Before I could open my mouth, Daniel was speaking again.
"What the hell do you think you're doing with my date, man?" he demanded, attention fixed on Alex.
"What does it look like?" Alex replied coolly, apparently not viewing Daniel as a threat.
"You've got some nerve!"
"Guys, stop it," I said loudly, trying to defuse the situation.
"Rose, I thought we came here together," Daniel said with a harsh look.
"We did," I answered softly. At this point in time I wasn't sure if Daniel and I had come as friends or more. I suppose I had been willing to be more than friends with him on account of my mum, but now I wasn't sure I could do that. It was obvious I didn't have feelings for him. But I also knew that being with Alex wasn't going to fix my family problems. I was confused, angry and slightly frustrated.
"How 'bout I just leave you guys to figure things out?" Alex asked with a look directed at me that plainly said 'I really don't want to leave you, but I will if that's what you want.'
"You think you can get away with kissing my date just like that? Well, you're wrong!" Daniel exclaimed. The next thing I knew, Daniel had punched Alex in the face. I saw Alex cringe in pain, but then he dodged Daniel's next punch. I let out a small shriek of surprise, perhaps a little delayed.
"I don't want any trouble, man," Alex said.
"You should have thought of that before you kissed her," Daniel replied, panting.
Daniel threw another punch, but Alex simply blocked it. That's when Alex started to fight back. He obviously wasn't going to take any crap from Daniel. Within moments Alex had taken over the fight, giving Daniel a punch in the nose that sent blood streaming down Daniel's face. Alex soon had Daniel on the ground while he stood over him. The whole time this was occurring I didn't know what to do. I tried breaking them up, but seriously; I just got pushed out of the way by Daniel.
"I'm sorry I had to do that," Alex said after a moment, while Daniel scrambled away from him with wounded pride. I wanted to go and make sure that Daniel was okay, but I couldn't bring myself to leave Alex yet.
"Are you all right?" I asked him when Daniel had left.
"I'm fine," he said, flexing his hand. I could see the start of a bruise forming across his knuckles.
"You know, you are both such idiots! You don't need to fight over me," I told him, once I knew I had nothing to be too concerned about.
"I don't believe that," he said simply.
I softened and he pulled me tightly against him. "Everything about you is amazing, which is why I'm not going to give up without a fight," he said sweetly.
"Oh man, I love you so much," I blurted out.
Then I ran away as quickly as I could without looking back. At first I couldn't believe I'd said that to him. Then I realised that it was true and my whole world became chaos. I couldn't love him. I had to stay away from him…for my mother.
Life is so complicated!
There's a face that we wear
In the cold light of day -
It's society's mask,
It's society's way,
And the truth is
That it's all a façade!
A/N: I just thought I'd add a few experts of a song that helped inspire the title of this story. I'm not sure how relevant it is to this chapter, but it's relevant to the overall story. It's called 'Facade' and it's from a musical, 'Jekyll and Hyde'.
