Hey! Here's the next chapter! Thanxz for all of your reviews!

Disclaimer- I know this isn't a disclaimer or anything, but I was just wondering... how did YOU stumble across this website? Was it through a friend? Another website? Cause you gotta admit, this place is a little like Toyland: once you cross its border's you'll never want to go home again. Or something like that. But anywayz, I was looking researching the stars of Life With Derek for the game "Six Steps" in English class, and someone had posted a story on IMBD with a link to this website and I checked it out and the rest is pretty much history.

"How do I look?" Riley slowly turned around in circle on the other side of the pink diner counter. I tried to keep my focus on my sad reflection in the cleaned counter, but Riley made sure she got my attention by leaning against the counter and straightening her fuzzy bunny ears over her platinum blonde part. "It's a shame you can't come to the dance." Riley put on the best fake pout that she could without smudging pink lip gloss against her chin. She suddenly snapped out of her depressed state and shrugged. "But hey, somebody's gotta do the dirty work around here, and help is so hard to find these days..." she slapped on her biggest grin and all I could do was wring out the pink rag in my hands, pretending that it was her perfectly perfumed neck.

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Raine appeared from the kitchen pinching her soft pink tights out of her butt crack. I bit my lip to keep back my laughter. They thought that I was going to be standing behind a countertop all night, serving a huge crowd of nobody. But I was patiently waiting for ten o' clock, when Raine, Riley, and Reno would most definitely be out the door, and Sharpay and Taylor would be sneaking in. "Have fun!" Raine said. And it almost sounded sincere.

"Yeah, have fun locking up." Reno whisked by, tossing the restaurant keys onto the counter. "I need you to finish wiping down the counters, and could you pretty please drain the grease out of the fryers?" But Riley and Raine were tugging at their Botoxed mother so they could hit the road and have the time of their lives. "That shouldn't take so much time. Maybe... a few hours?" I glanced to the watch on my arm. It was already 9:56. "Be home by midnight!" Reno called as she was pulled out of the diner doors. I cracked my first smile all night. They were gone.

A sudden tapping on the wide front window caught my attention. Both Taylor and Sharpay were on the other side, their noses pressed against the glass, wearing bigger grins than Riley had. Sharpay held up a white box in victory as they came through the front doors. "How mission impossible is this?" she asked, placing the box gently on a booth table and opened it. The white dress inside looked even better, now that it was purchased and not under artificial light. I sucked in a breath. Was I really going to go through with this? Break my curfew and probably the bond of trust Reno had signed me to? Yes. Because Reno was a bitch. I felt something light hit the top of my head. "How fairy god mother am I?" Sharpay twirled, showing off the pink glittery skirt that surrounded her. In her right hand, she gripped a pink wand, topped with a star. She tapped me lightly on the head once more. "Even though I'm supposed to be The Good Witch..."

"We have approximately twenty minutes before this dance starts. Twenty-nine if we want to be fashionably late." Taylor explained. I looked to my watch, just to confirm her information. "And what is this?" Taylor grabbed my wrist, inspecting the digital watch on my arm. She grimaced. "It's not even a girl's watch." I picked up the white box and headed to the kitchen, peeling off my old skin for the night and getting ready to live in a fairytale world. Even if it was only for a few hours.

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After poking my eyeballs out with contact lenses, trying on the dress four times because it wouldn't fall on my body correctly, and twisting and pulling at my hair, I was finally prepared to go to this dance. But I wasn't ready. Well, that was a shame, because the loud music playing on the other side of the red curtain that separated the entryway to the partyroom was almost teasing me. I nervously ran my hands down the torso of the dress, and each smooth piece of lace that touched my fingers was a reminder that I had asked for this. "You ready, Kelsi?" Taylor asked me. I adjusted the beaded mask on my face once more and Taylor ran her eyes over me. "Hate the man watch. Hate the white Keds. But besides that, you look great."

I took in a shaky breath, wondering why I was getting so worked up. Maybe because it was my entrance and I was going to appear in front of all of my peers wearing sneakers? I double-checked that my watch was set to go off at 11:30 to make a quick getaway. "Don't worry." Taylor gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "I've got your back." And with that, I was suddenly ready. She pushed me forward, and I was surprised to fee myself take an extra step in confidence.

"Alright, let's do this..." I glanced, over my shoulder, but Taylor was already gone. I was doing this on my own... I pushed the red curtain aside and my feet felt firm steps beneath them. I thought it was going to be easy, that I would casually go down the steps and disappear into the crowds, but the spotlight that fell on me made it difficult. From what I could see, thanks to the blinding lights, some people had frozen, and I could tell that they were looking at me. The loud music that had seeped through the curtains had been lowered, and I could even hear a few murmurs spread through the crowd. I hadn't realized that my feet were still moving.

I was only two steps away... two steps away from mixing in with the crowd, like I always did...

And suddenly, I felt my right Ked twist around my white skirt that surrounded me. I lost my balance and slid down the rest of the way, letting out a small squeal. I could hear gasps as the carpet burned the backs of my legs, and the spotlight followed me the entire time. Great. Just as I was about to jump up and make a run for the curtains, (Thanks to the Keds) a hand extended from the crowd. "Hey," I could hear a familiar voice, but I could only see his outline. "Need help?"

I couldn't believe that in all of that, making a fool of myself and ending up in a pile of lace, beads, and beautiful pattern, that I wasn't beling laughed at. His warm hand wrapped around mine and he pulled me from the marble floor. I immediately leaned towards his chest for support and felt the soft texture of velvet against my skin. "Now that I've saved your social life, do you think that you can repay me with a dance?" he asked. I laughed, not even knowing who I was laughing with, but the voice sounded so familiar...

Before I knew it, I was pulled to the center of the dance floor just as You Raise Me Up blared over the sound system. Some of the boy's features became clearer. "I... uh..." I began, not really knowing where to go next. "Thanks for helping me..." I trailed off, feeling his hands move to the waist of my dress. I could see a smile, somewhere in the dim lighting, but I couldn't place it. I shyly looked away, noticing that it was 10:45. Where were Taylor and Sharpay? And Taylor had said 'she had my back'. Suddenly, a neon green light from the strobe lights above flashed across the boy's face, giving way to two cobalt blue eyes and that same sincere smile. Hold on... was I dancing with...

"Troy!" Another dark figure appeared. "We never finished our deal." she whined. Obviously, my klutziness had interrupted something important. I began to back away, still stuck on the fact that I had danced with Troy Bolton. He turned to me, never finishing his conversation with the girl behind him.

"I think I'm going to head outside." I said, shrugging. "You know, get some fresh air..." I was proud that I hadn't given in to wearing spiky high heels, because maneuvering through the crowd was easy in sneakers. I hastily made my way up the stairs, making sure that each foot was firmly on the carpet before taking another. It wasn't until I was on the last step that I realized that Troy was right behind me.

"I'll go with you." This time, his thousand watt smile was visible, and even more blinding than the spotlights that had fallen on us. I shyly made my way into the lobby of the hotel the dance was hosted in, still not believing all of the attention Troy was putting on me. But if he ever found out who I really was, I could've kissed that fairytail goodbye.

I looked back to my watch once my eyes had adjusted to the normal lighting of the light fixtures overhead. 11:09. "I swear I've seen you somewhere before..." Troy followed me as I stood in the middle of the spacious, empty lobby. Loud music could still be heard.

"Well, I'm not about to go and ruin the element of surprise." I smiled, surprised that after all of the time we had spent during the production of Twinkle Towne, I still wasn't that familiar to him. But he still got points for trying. I looked down to my reflection in the detailed marble floor, and I actually looked excited. Happy. I was suddenly dancing with him again. But I couldn't help but to look over his shoulder, back to the party, wondering how my friends had disappeared. If Taylor could have seen me then, she would have died.

Every minute felt like an hour. Every tiny little step we took across the floor felt like we lifted from the ground. And I found it unbelievable that it was all real. He never pushed on the curiosity of who I was. It was almost as if it was better that way. The night became great. I had accomplished the impossible mission. And I knew that once the night was over, I could turn back into pumpkin and actually be okay with that...

Suddenly, my right arm, wrapped around Troy's neck, beeped furiously. It was 11:30 and a few wasted seconds. My plan had to snap into action immediately, otherwise, Reno would discover that I wasn't at home or at the diner. "I've got to go..." I started placing space between us.

"Wait..." his voice cracked as he stepped closer to me. Even over the high-pitched beeping, I could hear him gulp. "I want to know..." he started. "Who's behind the mask?" One hand was wrapped around mine, and the other was slowly making its way towards the elastic of the beaded mask on my face. What was I supposed to do? I felt his thumb under the stretchy elastic and I panicked. His touch felt so nice... No! I couldn't ruin it the night that I had imagined to be so perfect by letting him see that it was me. Just Kelsi. Nobody really significant. I tore away from him, heading back towards the red curtains. I had to round up Taylor and Sharpay myself.

It was 11:33 and I was losing time quickly. I batted my way through the endless maze of red velvet and just as the spotlights fell on me, a polite applause went through the crowd. Taylor and Sharpay were on their way up the steps. "You won!" Taylor hugged me happily, even though I had no clue what she was talking about.

"We have to get out of here!" I said close to her ear. "I can't be late!" Not even acknowledging the fact that I 'had won', I threw the curtains apart once more just to slam into Troy on the other side. I couldn't see him. Not now. "I'm really sorry, Troy..." I shouted over the noise. "But I've really got to get going."

"You know who I am?" But I couldn't stop. I could already see myself bursting through my front doors to see Reno impatiently waiting for me. To punish me for breaking curfew. "Wait! Please..." he called after me as I rushed into the lobby, thanking myself once more for wearing Keds. As my head bobbed up and down, the glittery clip that held my hair together began to slide away from my 'do. It could be heard clearly as it clattered against the marble floor and my hair hung loosely around my shoulders.

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"This is so screwy! How did I not win the costume contest?" Riley fumed as she stepped through the front door at midnight. By then, I was reliving the night's events on the living room couch. When she saw me, she smiled. "Oh, well, at least I wasn't rotting away here all night." she shrugged and tossed her bunny ears onto the couch. "What's so funny?" she snapped at me, noticing that I had giggled.

"Nothing." Was all I could say. The smile just made me feel the tiniest bit better...

That was officially the longest chapter I have written, but it's totally the ANTICIPATED moment, right? Leave a review!