Hello again, love. I'm starting to keep to my word now, aren't I? But yeah, I rush to the dance in this chapter, seeing as the real story starts here. Again, don't mind the mistakes, I didn't bother re-reading this either. There's the downside to me updating faster, more mistakes. But still, enjoy!

Masquerade

Chapter Eight

It was Monday, and Macy mostly kept to herself. Stella understood. Macy needed to be alone, and so Stella just stayed with the boys the whole day. And besides, Stella had dance committee to attend to.

After school, Macy walked home and hoped she wouldn't bump into Kevin or Nick. She happened to be seeing them walking more often. She was lucky, for Joe took the car to school, and the brothers drove home. The car passed by Macy, and she didn't seem to notice.

Once Macy got home, she changed into her pajamas already, knowing she wouldn't be going out. She went downstairs to have a quick snack. She brought a bag of chips and a glass of orange juice with her to the living room. She set the food and drink down on the coffee table and sat on the couch. She messily arranged her hair into a side ponytail. Then she reached for the TV remote, turning the television on. Macy checked the time; she realized her favorite show, Pretty Little Liars, was on.

"Wow," Macy commented, stuffing her mouth with potato chips. "This 'A' is starting to freak me out. I'm so glad this isn't happening to me."

When her show was done, she cleaned up after herself and headed up to her room. Her parents weren't home yet, so she decided to do some homework.

Macy started with her math homework, then her History. And then English. For her English homework, she had to write an article about the people or person who has inspired her, which was not in her family or related to her in any way. So of course she chose to write about JONAS. She focused on her article. It wasn't hard for her to write, since she writes JONAS articles everyday on her fan site. After finishing her paper, she read it over twice, correcting the errors she had made. It amazed her how much the boys impacted her life, and how inspiring they truly are. I mean, how many teen rock stars do you know actually go to a regular high school and be treated like normal people?

Macy smiled at her laptop, and hooked her printer up to her laptop. She fixed the paper's formatting before she printed it out. To be honest, this article was assigned last week and was due tomorrow, but she didn't know how to start it. Luckily, it all came to her, writing it then and there. Hopefully it doesn't show too much that she did it the night before it was due.

"Macy! Dinner!" Macy's Mom called from the dining room. She hadn't even noticed her parents got home.

The brunette put her article in a protector before putting it in her binder. She then went downstairs to eat.

After eating dinner, Macy made her way back up to her room, and decided to take another look at the dress Stella had made her. Macy made it clear to herself that she was attending the masquerade. That was it; she's made up her mind. She'd hate to admit it, but Frankie and Stella are right. The dress was perfect on her petite body. Stella Malone was a genius.

After looking at the dress and giving it some thought, Macy remembered about the matching mask. And as if on cue, Macy's smart phone vibrated. She'd received a text. She picked her phone up from her bedside table and went through the received text.

Remember how I gave you the dress the other day? Well, the mask is going well so far, and it'll probably be done by Friday night. So I'll just give it to you the day of the dance. –Stella.

"It's like she read my mind," Macy thought aloud. "It's freaky."

The week went by fairly quickly, and Macy didn't seem to mind. For once, she was actually somewhat excited for the dance. It was her first one since freshman year. It was Saturday, and Macy was rather eager for that night to arrive. She sat impatiently in her room, on her laptop. She kept glancing at the Stella original spread across her bed. Macy couldn't wait to see how the mask turned out.

Macy searched for hairstyles on the internet, trying to figure out what she's going to do to her hair for the masquerade. She already had one in mind, and she'd experimented with it the day before. She decided she was going to curl her hair completely. She usually only curled her hair loosely.

Next, Macy searched for make up tutorials. She decided she'd go with a more natural look, since her dress is eye catching enough. Besides, you won't really be able to see her face when the mask is covering it.

When it was 4:00 p.m. Macy started to get ready. First, she did her hair. She thoroughly brushed through her hair. Then she made a left part in her hair, and then applied anti-frizz serum. She heated up her half inch curling iron and once it was hot enough, she curled her hair completely. Applying hairspray was the finishing touch. Macy smiled in the mirror and put all her hair stuff away so she didn't have to deal with it later.

Macy began on the makeup. She first applied concealer all over her face to create a very pale, even look. Then she took copper colored eye shadow and applied it to her eyelids. Macy put silver eyeliner around her eye, just outside of the lashes. Then she put black eyeliner thick on her upper lid. She applied a very thin black line to half her lower lid above the lashes. She took a fair amount of blush and applied it to her cheeks, just below the cheekbone. For the finishing touch, she applied red-hued lip gloss. Macy once again smiled at herself in the mirror.

She realized it was already fifteen minutes until 5:00, so she hurried and put on her dress. She raided her closet until she found a pair of her red high heels. She put them on and walked to her full length mirror. She smiled at herself once again. She had very high expectations of this dance. Since she goes rarely, she wants to make the best of it, even if a certain rock star happened to be there.

-x-

Stella prepared herself and left her house early with her brother, so she could check up on the Lucas boys before she headed to Macy's house.

"How long are you going to be in there?" Stella's older brother, Trevor, asked.

"I'll probably only take ten minutes," Stella replied. "I just want to see how the boys look in their suits."

"Okay, I'll just stay in the car."

"Okay."

Stella got out of the car and carefully walked to the door of the Lucas home. She knocked impatiently.

The door opened seconds after. Frankie had opened it. He led her inside to reveal his three older brothers, fixing themselves up in their suits.

Stella sighed, "I am a genius."

"We know that!" Kevin, Joe and Nick agreed. Frankie nodded.

"Are you guys doing okay with the suits?" Stella questioned.

"Yup, perfect fit," The three said in perfect unison.

"Alright then, I'll see you guys at the dance," Stella reached for the door, but then swiftly turned around to face the boys again. "Oh, but before I forget, here are the masks." Stella handed each of them a clear bag with their names on it. "So yeah, bye."

Stella rushed out the door and climbed back into her brother's car. They proceeded to go to Macy's house. Macy was probably already waiting for the blonde.

When they arrived at her house, Stella put on her mask and adjusted it a bit.

"Trevor, are you coming with me? This might take a while," Stella stated.

"Alright, and besides, I haven't seen Macy in a while," Trevor answered. Sure, Macy was just at the Malone house the other weekend, but Trevor was on an overnight school trip to New York.

The two exited the car and walked to the door of the house. Stella knocked and they both waited. Macy answered the door soon after and let the siblings in.

"Wow, Macy, you look great. The dress my sister made definitely compliments you," Trevor commented before giving Macy a friendly hug.

"Thanks. Your sister is a genius. You don't look so bad yourself. Where are you going dressed around all fancy?" Macy replied.

"Well, I am driving you two to your masquerade, I should look this good," Trevor pointed out. "And after I drop you off I'm going to a dance myself." Even though Trevor was only two years older than Stella and Macy, he was a senior in high school, but did not attend Horace Mantis. He went to a different high school not too far from Horace Mantis.

"Wait, but you are returning to pick us up, right?" Stella made sure.

"Yes, don't worry about it," Trevor smiled. "I'm leaving the dance early so I could pick you up. I don't mind, honest. Don't worry about it; this isn't prom, so I have no issue of skipping the last half hour or so."

"You're the best big brother ever," Stella wrapped her arms around her older brother.

"Aw, sibling love!" Macy gushed.

"Okay, anyway," Stella's voice trailed off as soon as she parted the hug with Trevor. They all sat on the couch. "Macy, here's the mask. I just finished it this morning." She stretched out her arm with a bag on it, similar to the one she had given the Lucases.

"Stella, firstly, did you get any sleep last night?" Macy asked.

"Of course!" Stella retorted. "That's why I finished it this morning, duh."

"Okay then," Macy reached for the bag in Stella's hand. She carefully dug the mask out of the bag and gasped. "Oh my gosh, Stella, this is incredible!"

"I know right!" Stella squealed, evidently proud of herself. "I'm surprised with how it turned out as well! Put it on!"

Macy smiled and put on the mask carefully, making sure it didn't damage her hair. She turned to Stella and Trevor.

"Stand up," advised Trevor, "let's see the complete outfit."

Macy did what she was told. She stood up and walked in front of them.

"You look gorgeous, Macy," Stella complimented.

"Yup, you look beautiful," Trevor agreed. Macy didn't really think much of it when Trevor said that. Macy thought of him as the 'brother she's never had.'

"Oh my gosh, Macy, sweetie, you look incredible!" Macy's mom had walked in the room and hugged her daughter.

"Thank you, Mom," Macy thanked her mom after released from the hug. "Stella made the dress."

"Stella, you're incredible," Mrs. Misa complimented.

"Thank you, Mrs. Misa."

"Oh, and Trevor, I haven't seen you in a while, how are you doing?" Mrs. Misa noticed Trevor sitting beside Stella.

"I'm doing fine, thank you," Trevor smiled.

"Are you kids leaving now?" Mrs. Misa asked.

"The dance doesn't start until 6," Stella began, "but since I was on the dance committee, I have to make sure everything is in place."

"Okay, but before you go, can I take pictures? You all look stunning," Mrs. Misa offered.

The three nodded. Trevor and Stella stood next to Macy as Mrs. Misa got out Macy's SLR camera. She took a couple of shots of all three, even though Trevor isn't necessarily going to the same dance. Then some shots of Macy and Stella. Then Stella and Trevor. Then Trevor and Macy. And finally, Mrs. Misa took a couple of pictures of each of them solo. After the photo op, they were on their way to the dance.

Macy and Stella entered the school and made their way into the gymnasium. Macy complimented at how the gym looked. It looked mysterious, as masquerades were supposed to be. The lights weren't bright, to add to the mysterious effect. There were sparkling stars everywhere, and it seemed like you were out in the moonlight, despite the fact that was only almost 6:00 p.m. There were already teachers and other students on the dance committee. The teachers were setting up games the students can play and win prizes later on. The live band that the school hired was doing sound check on a stage the dance committee had built. The two offered to help out with trying out the games. But unfortunately, they didn't get any prizes.

When the girls were done trying the games, that's when people started to rush in. Lots of students went with groups, since no dates were required. The Lucas boys also entered the dance, but most of the people didn't really recognize them. Hm, maybe Stella's masks are way too good.

The dance began and the band started to play. Stella stuck with Macy most of the time, since they can't really tell who is who. They danced during a really fast and fun song.

"This is an awesome song!" Stella yelled at Macy, to which she replied with a nod.

Macy and Stella got tired at one point, and sat at a table and had some punch. They would try to talk to each other, but with the music playing really loud, they didn't bother trying harder.

-x-

"Forget Macy for now," Nick told Joe, before they entered back into the gym to dance. They had exited the gym and stood in the hall for a bit. Even though they were rock stars and were used to the loud music, they still got tired of it every now and then.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed. Joe had also told Kevin about his problem with Macy. "Just go out there and have fun."

"But I can't forget about Macy," Joe sighed. "I'd go dance with her, but I wouldn't be able to tell who she is. Stupid masquerade theme."

"Go dance with someone else," Nick suggested. "Anyone random will do. You won't even know who they are."

"And besides, Macy hates you anyway," Kevin said. Way to make Joe feel better.

"She hates me?" Joe panicked.

"Well, we're pretty sure she does since you're being mean to her," Nick pointed out.

"But I already told you why!" Joe retorted.

-x-

Stella whispered in Macy's ear, "I'm going to dance with someone, will you be okay here?"

"Yeah," Macy said in Stella's ear. That way, they wouldn't have to keep yelling at each other over the music. "I'll probably dance with someone, too. That is, if I find anyone or somebody asks."

"Alright, good luck."

Stella headed to the dance floor, searching for a partner to dance with.

Macy sighed and rested her chin on her hand, which was resting on the table she was sitting at. She started to regret attending the dance. She knew she should have just stayed home. She could have just had a movie marathon by herself. But no, she had to be stubborn and come to the dance.

"Want to dance?" A boy offered. Macy looked up at him, trying to figure out his identity.

"Pardon?" Macy almost yelled. She hadn't heard the boy quite clearly.

"Do you want to dance?" The boy repeated. Macy was sure he didn't know her identity either. But hey, she wanted to have fun.

Macy nodded, instead of wasting her breath. She stood up and followed the boy into the dance floor. She figured she wasn't going to waste her time with him, just trying to figure out who he was. And she figured he was thinking the same.

They danced and danced. Macy couldn't believe how great this turned out for her. By this time, she regrets regretting coming to this dance. Confusing.

Stella, who was dancing with someone, realized the eye-catching red dress on the dance floor. And she noticed the boy in a custom made suit. A smile appeared on her face.

K, like I said, the real story starts now. Excited? I know I am!

How was it? Leave a review please with your thoughts. I love hearing from you!

Remember: reviews = love.

-Trisha.