Behind Masks Part II: Dance With Me
When I touch you like this
And I hold you like that
It's so hard to believe but
It's all coming back to me
-It's All Coming Back to Me, Celine Dion
And Claire just didn't feel like staying for dessert. Instead, she had Jacques wrap it up, and had the sundae put in a Belgian waffle cone. Picking up the stained Heatherette dress and bag, she and Wesker left the restaurant, leaving the payment on the small silver tray that had their receipt. In the car, there was nothing but silence, until Wesker spoke first. "Dearheart…" he said, sounding almost apologetic if it not for the curl of rage in his voice. Claire was licking her ice cream, not minding him. She was terribly pissed off at what Excella did to her dress. After finishing up her ice cream quickly with a couple of brain freeze attacks, she turned to face Wesker, who smirked at the sight of a small chocolate stain marking the corner of her luscious rosy lips. He wiped it off with his thumb as they stopped in front of a dry cleaners' store.
"Dearheart, let's get that dress cleaned up here." he said, carrying the bag for Claire. "Okay, then. I hope it doesn't take too long though." she said. "I still have to fix my hair." Checking the wall clock, she merely nodded as Wesker handed the bag off to the guy in the counter and paid a hefty sum because of the designer dress. "Dearheart, we can get back to it in an hour." Wesker said. Claire simply nodded as they left. Their next stop was a beauty parlor apparently named and made by the famous Vidal Sassoon. "Vidal Sassoon parlor?" Claire asked incredulously. "Uh, what are we doing we here?" "Simple. We're getting your hair done here." Wesker answered as he sat by the lounge. "I want you to look as beautiful as possible for later." Claire forced a smile. Can I not do my own hair, she thought. This over-manipulating, red-eyed bastard's done it already! A blonde girl wearing the Vidal Sassoon salon uniform approached the two.
"Is there anything I may help with?" she asked with a well-rehearsed grin. "Well, just her, not me." Wesker said, gesturing to Claire. "You see, we are attending a masquerade later. Please make her beautiful." The attendant nodded, obviously quite smitten with Wesker's appearance. "Not a problem, sir. Hair is our passion here at Vidal Sassoon's." She escorted Claire towards the salon area.
-BSAA HQ-
It was one-fifteen in the afternoon, and everyone was already preparing to go to the La Vie Hotel for the party. Leon was dressed in a midnight blue coat and dress pants, the tails of the coat swishing behind him. To add some grace to him, Helena added a red cravat around his neck, which also had a communicator hidden in it. As members of the band playing for that occasion, Jill was wearing a long, body-tight backless beige dress with a slit on the skirt's left side, revealing much of her left leg, and her hair, dyed red, was tied up in a bun, while Chris wore a light blue button up long-sleeved shirt and simple black dress pants. Piers was in his photographer outfit: simple black collared polo and khaki pants and kicks, and his matching mesh sniper's scarf. HUNK wore a chef's outfit while Helena wore a waitress' outfit, consisting of a white polo underneath a black vest, sleeves rolled to the elbow, pencil skirt, and three-inch heels.
"Okay, looks like everything's in order." Jill said. "Ready to move?" "How are we supposed to get there anyway? I mean, we can't come in a BSAA Jeep, you know." Piers said. "That's arranged already." HUNK said, pointing to a white van with the words "Made For The Occasion" written on the doors. "That's the events team that made the masquerade possible." "HUNK, how'd you…?" Helena asked, but HUNK gave her a smirk for an answer.
"Alright, everyone." Leon said. "Let's get ready to party." "And a heck of a party it'll be." Chris added as they got on the van, HUNK taking the wheel. "We'll leave at one thirty." the mercenary said. "Also, in the box right at the back, you'll find your masquerade masks. Jill, Chris, best you rehearse your pieces once we get to the hotel." "Roger." Jill said. "Chris, don't go Dave Grohl on this one, 'kay?" "Alright, just this once." Chris answered. Unknown to most, Chris had a gift for playing the drums, despite not having any formal training for it. He was a widower in the eyes of the musicians. And a very talented one at that, whereas years of playing piano made Jill an excellent singer, being able to find the right tone and pitch by just a piano's tune Helena did the time check, and it was only one nineteen. "Eleven more minutes." she said. "Thank God it's no inferno in the van." "The AC's pretty strong, too." Piers said, wrapping the scarf around his neck. Finally, the clock on the dash hit one twenty, and HUNK revved the engine to life.
"Okay, people," the mercenary said. "Please fasten your seatbelts. Our destination is La Vie Hotel." Without another word, he drove off.
Claire's hair was being well attended to by the salon staff. After being washed with the trademark Vidal Sassoon haircare products, it was now being dried. "Wow miss, your hair's really soft." the beautician remarked, running a fine-toothed comb over Claire's red locks. "And the red hue…it's simply magnificent. Tell me, what style do you like?" The young Redfield was flipping through a hairstyle magazine, until she stopped on a certain image of a model whose hair was straightened, and the ends were tapered with soft, bouncy curls. "Can you do this?" she asked. The stylist took a quick glance, and beamed at her. "Not a problem, miss. Let's make your hair bounce and shine for later's event." Then the styling began.
Over at the lounge, Wesker was reading today's paper, and was slightly annoyed to find an article about Excella Gionne and her ingenuity in the world of philanthropy. Believe me, she's a tad dumber than Annette, he thought with an arrogant grin as he flipped over the pages to do a crossword puzzle. A much better way to pass the time than to read on about a clingy Italian. He could hear the blaring sound of the hair dryers and the snipping of scissors against locks of hair, which made him think of how beautiful Claire would be after the styling.
Comb.
Curl.
Snip.
Claire was already familiar with the mantra that was hairstyling, for her hairstyle only consisted of the "Comb, Curl, Snip" chant. At least I didn't get my hair cut all together, she thought as she picked up an OK! Magazine from the small rack beside her. God, how much longer do I have to read these cheesy showbiz magazines for? "Alright, miss, we're gonna put a bit of hairspray on your hair to make sure the curls stay in place until tomorrow." the stylist said as she took out a can of hairspray. She covered Claire's eyes with one hand and sprayed with the other for a few minutes, then took the can away. "Alright, we're almost done. I'm sure you 'll be the life of the party…" the stylist commented as she loosened the ties of Claire's styling smock. She took out her fine-toothed comb and made sure that the curls stayed in place, and finally, undid the smock. She handed the redhead a small, round mirror, and Claire was astonished at how beautiful she was.
"Is that…really me?" Claire asked, and the stylist laughed as she helped Claire out of her chair. "Definitely, dear. That's you, staring right back from the mirror. You look fabulous." the stylist answered as she accompanied her back to the lounge. Wesker was very intent on the crossword puzzle he was doing, he didn't realize that it was already fifteen minutes before two o'clock. "Sir," the stylist said. "Your lovely lady is all done." Pushing his shades up his nosebridge. Upon laying his eyes on Claire, he dropped the paper. "Dearheart…you're even more beautiful than I imagined…" he whispered. The soft curlsthat adorned the tips of her straight red locks, along with her pearl-white skin, gave Claire the vintage beauty look. Wordlessly, Wesker handed out his credit card to the stylist. "Charge the costs to my card, please." he said, regaining his composure. After a few minutes, the stylist returned his card, and the two were off to shop for masks.
"I never knew curling your hair would look brilliant on you." Wesker said, cruising down to the famous Le Masque House of Masks, the go=to mask boutique for any masquerade. "Oh…I just never really liked curling it…" Claire said, sheepishly. The tone of Wesker's compliment was not shrouded in contempt; it was laden in sincerity. Finally, they arrived at the mask shop, which was designed in Renaissance architecture. Masks were on the walls, on the tables, and hung from posts. A young man wearing a faded Nirvana shirt and some acid-washed jeans approached them. "Hi, welcome to the biggest mask boutique you'll see, Le Masque. What mask are you looking for?" "Anything that could be used for a masquerade." Wesker said. "Preferrably black and red." The young man disappeared behind some shelves, and later came back with an armful of masks. One of those took Claire's attention: a full-face Italian mask in red with intricate gold lines at the side. "I want this one." Claire said,showing the mask. "Anything for my dearheart." Wesker said as he picked out a black mask with red and orange feathers on the left side. "That'll be fifty three and seventy cents for everything." the young man said as Wesker handed him sixty dollars. After a few minutes, the young man returned with the change. "Thanks for buying at Le Masque, you have a wonderful day!" the man greeted as Wesker and Claire headed back to the dry clean to fetch the dress, and went straight home to prepare for the party.
-La Vie Hotel, Function Hall-
The BSAA operatives arrived just in time. The event organizer, a thin woman around thirty years, met them. "Just in the nick of time." she said, checking her watch and looking over her clipboard. "Okay, for the band members," she pointed to Jill and Chris. "The rehearsal's by the stage, and for the first hours, you'll be singing some ballads so I'm sure that's easy." Jill and Chris nodded as they headed off to the stage, while HUNK was told to head for the kitchen which was beside the hall, Helena accompanying him, while Piers was told to stay at by the red carpet so he could take pictures of the guests. Shortly, Excella Gionne came to the area. "Margo, is everything prepared?" she asked. The organizer nodded with a smile. "Everything's been taken care of, Miss Gionne. I'd suggest you prep up for later. You have to be the star of the show." The Italian smiled with pride as she went back to her hotel room. To make sure that everything went her way for the masquerade, Excella checked into the hotel. Albert's attention will be diverted to me once he sees me later, she thought to herself as she returned to her room.
In the function hall, Jill, Chris, and Piers were discussing about the mission. Leon, who just got back from the men's room, approached them. "Okay, so according to the seat plan I see," Piers said. "Wesker and Claire would be sitting with Excella Gionne right over there." He pointed to a large round table, one that was particularly larger than the others. "So Leon, you can sit at least a table away." "Got it." Leon said. "Might as well get me a room here." "Hey, don't forget your mask." Jill said, handing him a simple white mask. Leon nodded and headed off, leaving the three to their discussion. "We're on the stage, so we got a good view of 'em from there." Chris said. "I just hope Wesker doesn't try anything funny." "Same goes for you there." Piers said. "Captain, I suggest you reign it in when you see those two." "Of course, Piers." Chris said. "Wesker's gonna have his day soon anyway." "Alright, let's make a bang later." Jill said, and the three returned to their positions.
In the kitchen, HUNK was assigned to make the appetizers and the desserts, something he was highly skiled at doing, and since the cuisine was Italian, the mercenary had no problems whatsoever. Helena was assigned, as Jill said, to be the personal waitress of Wesker and Claire. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and checked herself in the mirror. Alright, ready to roll, she told herself as she took her place in the waiters' and waitresses' lounge.
At the penthouse, Claire and Wesker began prepping up for the party. Although it was three hours away, Wesker wanted to be sure that everything was in order. And he decided that he and Claire should get a room in the hotel to stay in for a sort of vacation. Packing the things they need, they locked the suite, and drove off to the hotel.
Claire was surprised at the size of the La Vie. She'd been in hotels in the city, yes, but none compared to the beauty and luxury of La Vie. They arrived at the hotel almost five minutes to three because of the sudden traffic jam, and checked into one of the luxury suites. The room they shared had a beautiful skyline view of the metro, and had that new room smell that Claire adored. "Dearheart, get ready by three thirty so we wouldn't rush." Wesker said. "Oh, and one more thing." He took out a jewel-laden choker from his coat pocket. "Here. Wear this later. And tell me if Excella decides to take it." Claire forced another smile, and took the necklace. Wow, he's spent a fortune on this, she thought as she placed it in the dresser drawer. But heck, as if I care about it. "Um, I'll just take a walk around. I've always wanted to see what a luxury five-star hotel has." Wesker laid his suit out on the bed right beside Claire's gown. "Alright, dearheart, but don't take long." he said as he pulled out a book. "And don't think of escaping. I'll catch you and be…rough, if you try." He smirked, and Claire slammed the door shut behind her, annoyed by what he said.
Bored to death in his room flicking across channels, Leon decided to take a walk for himself. He'd never been into a luxury hotel, so he wanted to know the prime locations are, most likely the pool, game room, and the bar. As he was walking along the corridor, he bumped into a red-haired woman wearing a black shirt and grey sweatpants. "Ow, watch where you're going!" she said. "Sorry, miss, that was my fault." Leon said. As the two looked at each other, there was awkward silence, until…
"Leon?"
"Claire?"
The two didn't know what to say. They were almost lovers back then, but after so many years, the feeling had run out. Now, staring into each other's eyes brought back warm memories. "Uh, hey…How are you doing? What brought you here?" Claire asked, looking around for any signs of Wesker possibly eavesdropping. "Err…there's a party I'm invited to." Leon said. "A masquerade ball." "Funny, I was invited to one as well." Claire answered. "With Wesker, of all people." "Then we'll see each other later." the former rookie cop said. "You see, the real reason I'm here is to monitor you, and rescue you from Wesker. I'm not the only one here." He dropped his voice so low that it was barely audible. "The BSAA are here. Jill and Chris are in the band, while Piers is the photographer. HUNK's a chef and Helena's going to be your personal waitress, but I need you to keep quiet on this." Claire beamed at the thought of her brother and the rest of the BSAA there. She was never abandoned. She could just hug Leon right then and there.
"Thanks a lot, Leon." She said. "And to everyone in the BSAA. I hope the plan's a success." "I hope so too, so we'll all do our best." Leon said. "As for me, I'll be among the guests, so dance with me later, okay?" He smiled, and Claire nodded. As he turned to leave, he said, "You should have curls more often" then returned to his room while Claire smiled at him as she headed towards the small botanical garden. The miniature garden was definitely a sight of relief for her, just like the garden at the penthouse, for it reminded her that there would always be hope in the midst of crisis. She checked her watch, and it was already a quarter to four, so she hurried back to the room she and Wesker were staying in. Damn, talking to Leon ate up a lot of time there, she thought. Once she got into the room, she noticed Wesker was asleep on the chair, book in hand. It made Claire chuckle. "I didn't know you could be bored with books…" she whispered.
She approached his sleeping figure and reached out to touch his glasses. With a mischievous grin, she tried to remove his glasses, but his hand caught her wrist. "Dearheart, you can simply ask me to take them off." he drawled, waking up from his nap. He checked the time, and it was exactly three-thirty. "Time to get dressed, dearheart." Wesker stood and began to change to the suit he would wear, whereas Claire took her gown and went inside the restroom to change.
Damn, party time already, she thought. But Leon's there… So is Chris, and Jill, and HUNK, and Piers, and Helena… Thank God I'm saved. As she slipped off her shirt and sweatpants, she carefully put the gown back on, but was having a hard time tying the corset at the back. With much chagrin, she got out of the bedroom, one hand holding up the gown while the other threw the clothes on the bed. Wesker was already finished dressing and was just combing his sleek blonde hair when he noticed Claire trying to tie the corset once more. "Perhaps I can help." He said as he strode over towards the redhead. Damn it, Claire thought. Of all the people who'd tie this damn thing, it had to be him. "Alright, because I was beginning to get pissed off at the dress." Claire said as Wesker stood behind her, his hands on the corset's bonds as he began to insert them through the loops in a criss-cross manner. The way that the dress accentuated his dearheart's beautiful body made him hot, real hot, but he didn't want to exhaust her and tear the beautiful dress as well.
After a few minutes, the gown was already secured onto Claire's body. "Dearheartm this is even better than the last dress you wore." Wesker said as he took out the masks they bought from their cases. Claire sat in front of the mirror as she took out the purse that had her make-up inside and began applying it on her face. Just a light pink blush on the cheeks, natural eyeshadow shade, not too much thick eyeliner, perfectly-arched eyebrows, and cherry red lips, Claire had outdone herself once more with the make-up that Wesker had given to her almost a week ago. She took a fine-toothed comb and began to gently run it across the soft, red locks that tapered into bouncing curls at the end. "All set, dearheart?" Wesker asked, plucking at his sleeves to make sure no creases were there. "Almost." Claire answered. The blonde Tyrant took out a leather case that contained another diamond necklace, this time made purely with Swarovski crystals and 18k white gold. He wore It around Claire's neck, and much to his surprise, she smiled at the sight of the lovely piece fo jewelry. Finally, Claire stood up and smoothed out the skirt of the gown to ensure no folds and creases were present.
In Wesker's eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and the only one who deserved to be his queen of the new world that he had planned for so long. He couldn't help himself already, and pulled Clare close to him in a tight embrace, taking in the smell of her hair, her skin, her everything. "You're so magnificent…" he whispered, sending chills down Claire's spine. She didn't want to retaliate yet because Wesker could be volatile, or in her own observation, bipolar. When he pulled away, he took her by the hand as they left the hotel room to proceed to the function hall. It was definitely party time.
-La Vie Hotel, Function Hall-
The TriCell masquerade began almost an hour earlier than its scheduled time. The reason was that Excella wanted to have some photo shoot sessions before the guests were seated, thus, Claire and Albert were at the function hall entrance by four in the afternoon. Photographers were flocking around Excella, as Claire saw, because of her outfit: a red Galliano gown that showed a lot of cleavage, her trademark bun, and five-inch heels that she could walk with grace and ease. But when Claire and Wesker stepped inside the room, all the camera lenses diverted from the Italian lady to the couple. Photographers stormed to get a picture of Claire because of her unique yet beautiful Heatherette gown, diamond necklace, and the Prada heels that she wore to the previous party, along with the purse. One photographer struck a chord in her as he smiled up and requested several shots. "Miss. Can I take at least two shots? It's only for the photo memorabilia that we'll be giving out later." the young photographer said, camera in hand. Claire was surprised at the familiar spiky brown hair and sharp hazel eyes that he had. She smiled, and posed for him, whereas Wesker was in forced conversation with Excella, who was purposefully taking the blonde away.
"Piers, is that you?" Claire whispered. "Shh, BSAA members are here." Piers answered, taking two snapshots of Claire. "Chris and Jill will be out later. Helena's your waitress, HUNK's in the kitchen."
"And Leon?"
"He'll be dancing with you tonight." Piers gestured over to the former rookie cop wearing the tailed suit and dress pants, complete with the crimson cravat around the neck. Ladies flocked to him as he merely stood and paid no attention to the mass of people. "So you're safe, Claire." the young ace said in a barely audible voice. "Just don't do anything that can endanger you. Be right back." He hurried into the mass of guests to take pictures so as not to appear suspicious, while Claire began looking for Wesker. And when she found him with Excella, she merely sighed. Well, at least they can relate to each other, she thought. Both of them are crazy psychopaths. A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Hey." She turned, and saw Leon standing there. So that he wouldn't appear recognizable, he brushed his hair up, revealing his full, seemingly ageless face. His thin lips were curved into a grin at the sight of the woman he once loved. She was terrific, and very beautiful. Yeah, now I get why Wesker's head over heels in love with her, he thought. "Remember your promise." Claire smiled, drawing an invisible cross over her left breast. "Yeah, cross my heart. I'll dance with you later." she answered. "Alright then. Gotta go to my table now." Leon said. "See ya." "See ya too." Claire answered. The master of ceremonies of the night, an elderly man who seemed to be one of TriCell's directors, called everyone to order. Claire was ushered by a red-haired waitress to her assigned table. The waitress was no other than Helena, who gave Claire a wink. "Hey, you're safe, okay?" the ex-USS agent whispered. "Go with the flow."
Claire nodded, then sat beside Wesker, who was mildly annoyed at Excella's incessant clinging. "Albert," Claire asked. "Are you…okay?" Wesker flinched a bit, then turned his gaze to Claire and gave her a warm smile. An actual smile that didn't say "You will obey me" and was full of happiness. Never did Claire see emotion pass over the ex-STARS captain's face. He would only express such strong feelings in her company alone. "I'm alright, dearheart." Wesker answered, taking out his mask and handing Claire's. "It is only a matter of noise that drives me rather annoyed…"
Hi peeps! Sorry it took so long to update. So this is the party part of the story, so it's gonna be a three-part chapter for Behind Masks. This is Part II, and Part III is in the works now. Sorry again that it's late because I had to work from 2 in the morning all the way to 11 in the morning, but come the following week, I'll be working from the afternoon all the way to the evening, so I can regularly update it. Thanks for being patient everyone.
OOH QUESTION PART: What do you think Wesker will do if he sees Leon dancing with Claire? And how bitchy do you think Excella will get here?