Chapter 25 - Legible Responses? Please!

CASSIE'S P.O.V.

After I told Dan my story, he held me for a long, long time. We sat in silence, broken only by our shallow breathing. I felt so much better after getting my secret off my chest. Maybe it was the fact that Dan didn't reject me for who I am. "Dan." I said. He pulled back from our embrace and looked at me quizzically. "Yes?" he asked. "Why were you asking me about what I thought of you and Phil before?" I continued. He looked down, avoiding my gaze. Wait, was he blushing? "Umm, well I was just wondering if you thought we were good friends and all." He answered. "Speaking of friends and everything, there's something I want to tell you." My heart stopped for a second. For a moment, I thought that he was going to say the words I had been wanting him to say for so long now. "I… um… I was wondering if… well, you know… you'dheardabouttheannualmaskedballandifyouweregoin g?" Dan blurted out.

Well, that wasn't what I was hoping for. "Well, I haven't received an invite or anything, so currently, I guess not." The Annual YouTube Masked Ball (A/N Don't you just love how I keep inventing imaginary YouTube gatherings?) was a very prestigious event and you needed an invite to attend. Dan handed me a thick, creamy envelope. I tore it open to reveal my invite to the ball. "It was outside your door." He explained. "I also may have talked to Carrie and got her to sign you up to her Girls Group." It was traditional for friends of the same gender to form little cliques for the evening. Everyone in the clique would meet early to get ready and go to the ball together, in limo's provided by YouTube. Pretty cool, huh? Then at the ball, each clique would have a little corner where group members would congregate if they weren't mingling, eating or had been asked to dance. Clique members were supposed to look out for each other - this also helped stop cases of people getting completely drunk and doing things they would regret later. Yep, smart move YouTube.

My phone started to vibrate. "That'll be Carrie calling you now to organise stuff and yeah. So I guess I'd better be going." Dan said, getting up. "No, no you don't need to be going or anything. I don't want you to feel like I'm kicking you out." I told him in a rush. Dan grinned at me. "As much as I'd like to stay, Carrie will kill me if I stop you girls from doing your thing. I guess I'll see you on Sunday, yeah?" he asked as he walked to the door. We shared another hug before he left. I plonked down on the couch and answered Carrie's call.

"Me. You. Mall. 30 minutes. Be there." was all she said before hanging up. I guess I'm going shopping.

***HALF AN HOUR LATER, AT THE MALL***

I wandered the through the entrance of the mall aimlessly. Having come here only once before, and it being excessively large, I had no idea where I was supposed to be meeting Carrie and the others. Fortunately, they found me. After attacking each other with massive bear hugs, we started seriously shopping.

As stated previously (A/N In Chapter 10, just in case you forgot), shopping really isn't my thing, so I have no experience whatsoever. Consequently, I was actually quite nervous about what these girls were going to do. They dragged me into shop after shop, practically throwing dresses at me to try on. But I found a problem with every single one - either it would be the wrong shape, or colour, or cut, or showed to much cleavage etc. Luckily, the girls agreed with me and didn't question my choices. That's one of the many things I love about all my British friends - they trust me.

We slumped on a bench in front of a fountain. "I hate to put a downer on this, but it seems hopeless." Emma said, shaking her purple head. Zoe and Carrie agreed. I smiled at the weakly. "I guess it's just not meant to be. I can come in an old dress or something." I told them. They shook their heads vigoursly. "Not only is it tradition for us to buy a new dress," Carrie began, "but you need to dress to impress, girl." It was my turn to shake my head. "Really guys? It's not like anyone cares what I wear." I replied, looking at my feet. "You care." Emma butted in. "Don't you want to impress your crush?" she asked. I blushed profusely. "So you do have a crush!" Zoe crowed. "Who is it?" Carrie pushed to gently. "It doesn't matter currently. Cassie, people do care. You care, we care and I know the boys care. Not just in a friendly way, but one or two of them have developed crushes on you." she said teasingly. "Who?" I asked, legitimately confused. The girls just smiled knowingly at each other. "All in good time, Cass. All in good time." Carrie told me.

***ANOTHER HOUR LATER***

We were walking past yet another dress shop when I stopped. A dress had caught my eye. "Do you see…" I trailed off, pointing to it. The girls nodded in awe. I didn't even need to try it on to know that this dress was the one.

***SUNDAY AFTERNOON, AT CARRIE'S APARTMENT***

Us girls had been at Carrie's all day, doing our hair, makeup and having a good time. The other three had curled my hair so I had blonde ringlets at the front which progressed through to a gentle wave at the back. "You're so lucky your hair is blonde and brown!" Zoe complained jokingly. "It's a side affect of living Australia." I told her. "Along with your perfectly bronzed skin!" Emma added as she applied my makeup. She had made me look absolutely gorgeous and completely natural - I wish I had her skill.

They went out of Carrie's room while I slipped on my dress. Grabbing my shoes and mask, I followed them out. Knocking sounded on the front door. We all shared a look - it was time to go. We joked around all the way down stairs to the waiting limo. I guess I forgot to mention that Carrie has the penthouse apartment! The other three girls got into the limo like they do it every other day while I stopped in shock. The limo itself wasn't shocking, rather, the fact that I was going to a masked ball. So exciting!

***AT THE YOUTUBE CENTRE***

I gasped in awe. The YouTube Centre had been decorated, inside and out, in beautiful twinkling lights. Inside the main hall, lampposts had been placed along the edges of the room, each with the name a of group written on the side, and waiters in crisp white uniforms circulated with food and drink. In one corner was a string quartet, another held a bar and the third led to the dining hall. The fourth opened onto a grassy area with a candle lit bridge. Beautiful.

"You girls ready for your grand entrance?" Carrie whispered to us. We nodded, as music started to play. The double doors opened and Carrie started down the stairs, promptly followed by Emma and Zoe. I walked through the doors and hesitated at the top of the stairs for a second and scanned the hall. For what, I don't know. I descended the stairs and headed over to our group lamppost. Already, masked suitors were heading in our direction. Let the fun begin.

***MEANWHILE, DAN'S P.O.V.***

I stood near our group lamppost, shifting uncomfortably in my dress suit. Although it was a little too restricting for my liking, it did make me look pretty slick. "Hey," Phil said, nudging my ribs with his elbow, "the girls are about to enter." This caught my attention. The doors opened and many masked maidens descended onto the floor. I however was looking for one girl in particular. The last group started their descent. One, two, three… I counted. And then the fourth girl stepped onto the landing at the top of the stairwell. She was absolutely stunning. She was wearing a midnight-blue ball gown which was sprinkled with diamantes. Her hair was mostly loose and cascaded in waves down her back but her blonde ringlets were pinned back with a single diamanté clip. A matching mask sat flush against her tanned skin, highlighting her dark brown eyes. They were almost black, really.

The girl quickly scanned the hall - for what, I don't know. She glided down the steps, then over to the rest of her group. I'm not sure she realised, but she had caught the eye of almost every male here. Damn, that's going to make it hard to get a dance with her.

***CASSIE'S P.O.V. (AGAIN, APOLOGIES FOR THE SHIFTING OF VIEWPOINTS)***

Emma was the first to go. She had been asked by a guy dressed in a black suit with a red tie. Funny, it almost matched her short black dress with red lightning bolts. The couple glided off to the already busy dance floor. "I don't know about you, but I want to socialise." Zoe said before heading off towards the growing cluster of masked YouTubers by the bar. I turned to Carrie. "What do you want to do?" I asked her. She cocked her head to the side, thinking. "I reckon that we should just chill here for a bit - give the suitors a little bit of time to work up the courage to come ask us to dance." "Carrie, I have two left feet. I can't dance." I told her seriously. However, she thought I was very funny and began to laugh. Because that's what friends do.

Carrie glanced to our left and immediately sobered up. She nudged my ribcage gently. "Look left!" she whispered, jerking her head to indicate. I slid my eyes over. Two guys in dress suits were heading our way. "Is that PJ and Chris?" I whisper/asked her. She nodded in reply. We continued talking and pretended not to notice them. PJ cleared his throat, drawing our attention. "May we have this dance?" both the boys asked in unison. I looked to Carrie for guidance, as I had no idea what to do. "One minute." she told the boys before drawing me over to the side. "What the hell do I do?!" I quietly panicked. She smiled knowingly at me. "Relax Cass, it's just a dance." "Well why are we doing this?" I challenged, gesturing to us. She smiled again. "Oh, we're going to accept their offers. It's just fun to watch them squirm." I resisted the urge to playfully slap her shoulder, as she brushed past me to walk back to the boys. Not casting me a second glance, she offered her hand to Chris, who took it and led her to the floor. This meant that I was left with PJ. Great.

"So… are you going to dance with me or should I run away now and try regain what's left of my dignity?" PJ asked. "Sorry - I'm a socially awkward penguin who is coming to the ball for the first time. I have no idea what to do whatsoever, and was kind of looking to Car - my friend - for guidance." I apologised. He grinned at me and offered his hand. "I guess I'll have to show you then." I took his hand and we headed over to the floor. We took our positions for the waltz as the music began to play. "Now I apologise in advance for my two left me and lack of coordination." I warned him. This caused him to smile again. It's funny how much these British YouTubers like to smile. Smiling is good.

"Have you actually waltzed before?" PJ asked as we started to move around the floor. Thankfully he was leading, and the steps were starting to come back to me. "Eh, a little bit. I took a 9 week dance class when I was 13." I offered. "Well, you're pretty good for someone who hasn't danced since then." he told me. As we danced we chatted about anything and everything, from the psychological difference between ties and bowties - we both agree bowties are cool - to remarking how it's inappropriate to wear a dress which can be classed as a belt to a masked ball. Yes, that comment was directed at a group of girls who were grinding along to their iPods which were blasting Rihanna. Grrrr. "You know," PJ said, "you remind me of someone but I can't put my finger on who." I think he was expecting a legible response. He didn't receive one. I just laughed.

Authors Notes

Okay, that was the longest chapter yet. I hope you appreciate all the time, effort, pain and struggle I go though to post this, so enjoy!

Well, maybe all my pain and struggle is just getting all my work done so I can write, but you get the idea.

Also, somebody said that I was almost the 'Moffat of cliff hangers!' I'm a big fan of Moffat's screen plays - Sherlock and Doctor Who (especially Doctor Who), so THANK YOU LILLIAN. BIGGEST COMPLIMENT EVER! :D

I'll try update soon. BYE :D