Masquerade

Chapter Nine

Stella excused herself from her partner, and made her way to Nick and Kevin, who were currently sitting at a table. She sat at the table with them, and just had to tell her what she saw.

"You will never guess what just happened," Stella announced.

"Joe's dancing with some girl and is forgetting about Macy," Kevin casually answered. Joe had eventually told him as well about all this Macy drama.

"What are you talking about?" Stella replied, confused. "That is Macy!"

"No way!" Nick's eyes widened as he looked in the direction of the dancing couple. "She looks amazing."

"I know!" Stella agreed.

"Well this isn't going to help Joe with his problem, is it?" Kevin stated.

"No, not at all," Nick answered. "But Stella, does he know it's Macy?"

"I doubt it," Stella shrugged. "He probably only asked her to dance because she was the only available girl who wasn't on the dance floor. Well, that's my theory, anyway."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Kevin questioned.

A smirk crept on Stella's face and reckoned, "Oh, absolutely nothing."

"Why?" The two brothers asked.

"Joe told us to back off from this, it's his problem. Let him deal with it," Stella replied. "And maybe you guys should also go out and dance. There are some girls that just came in, probably finished taking a break or something. Go have fun." She didn't wait for a reply; she got up and searched for the boy she had been dancing with before.

"Oh, that girl looks about my age," Nick's eyes lit up.

"Her friend looks like mine!" Kevin chimed in.

The two got up and approached the girls at the door and asked them to dance. Fortunately, they said yes. The two couples hit up the dance floor and danced with the remainder of the slow, peaceful song. Actually, these two couples ended up dancing for the remainder of the dance.

-x-

Macy was having the time of her life. She hadn't realized how much fun she could have at some silly school dance. She was so free, so careless. So careless, that she didn't even care who she was dancing with. Maybe it was for the best. They talked as they danced freely. They talked about their favorite type of music all the way to what animal they'd like to be. They got to know each other, but they weren't expecting to meet again in the future. Maybe they do already know each other, just passing by in the halls and all that.

The slow song ended and a fast, upbeat song started. She and her partner separated from each other, dancing all crazy. Macy laughed at her partner's insane dance moves. But somehow, those dance moves seemed so familiar. It almost reminded her of Joe. No, Macy, that's not Joe, and you shouldn't be thinking about him. She smiled as they danced underneath the dim lights and the spinning disco ball.

Nothing was going ruin her night.

"You're an incredible dancer," Macy joked loudly, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear each other with just their regular voices.

"Why, thank you," the boy yelled back.

Macy probably could have recognized the boy's voice, but with the music blasting, she was surprised she even made the words out. Least to say, she just read his lips.

Another slow song blasted in the gym and the two got into position.

"Thanks for keeping me company," Macy replied. She was lucky this boy could also read lips because she was talking normally.

"No problem," The boy answered. He was talking normally, too, now. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"Me? Beautiful?" Macy scoffed. "Please, if you knew who I really was…"

"Then tell me who you are, take off the mask," The boy suggested.

"No, thanks."

"Okay fine, since I don't know who you are, and you don't know me, I guess I can trust you with something really personal."

"Okay, but why the sudden honesty?"

"It's just something that's been on my mind lately and I can't stop thinking about it—her."

"Ooh, I get it," Macy smiled. "You like a girl."

"Yes, I do," He chuckled softly. "But I'm an idiot."

"Why are you an idiot, stranger?"

"Truth is, anonymous, I thought what I was doing was smart. But it's stupid. I'm pushing the girl away, just 'cause I know I fall too fast and I might break her heart too quickly. Now I don't know what to do. I feel I chose the wrong decision."

"Can't you just fix it?" Macy was really interested in this topic, but much to her dismay, the song ended. She was surprised when the band played another slow song. Maybe it's that time of the night. They play a couple of slow songs in a row and then the rest will all be upbeat and crazy. And then the dance ends. "Get closer to her again."

"She already thinks I'm a jerk, so what's the point? I think I should just move on."

"But if you really like this girl, you should go for it."

"But like I said, I fall too fast. Tomorrow, I might be over her for good."

"You don't know that. If you're willing to go back to her, she will probably be willing to give you a second chance. Not like you're dating or anything."

"Maybe you're right. But right here, right now, I think I'm over her."

"Oh, don't tell me you like me now."

"What if I do?"

"You don't know me."

"But I know your personality. You're the type of girl that I like. I feel that I like you better than the other girl I was talking about. You remind me of her, but way better."

"You'll realize you don't like me, and you like the other girl. Believe me, I know, because like I said, you don't know me."

"Then tell me who you are," He insisted. "I want to know."

"Get this in your thick skull: you don't like me, you like her."

All Macy was saying was true. She just got to know this boy tonight, and she doesn't even have a crush on him. But why did he suddenly develop one on her? Right when he was talking about liking some other chick.

The boy sighed, "I'm sorry for taking things way too fast. You don't know me either, so I kind of get what you're saying. But forget this; I don't want to end the night badly with you. If you remember this night or not, I still want to make a good impression. It doesn't matter to me if we talk again in the future, knowing who we both are."

Macy nodded and the two continued to dance for the rest of the night.

-x-

"I can't believe the dance is over already," Macy pouted as she and Stella got into Trevor's car.

"I know," Stella agreed. "You had fun, didn't you?"

"Yes!" Macy confessed. "I can't believe I've been missing out on dances like these."

Trevor looked at the rearview mirror and smiled at his passengers before turning on the engine and driving in the direction of Macy's home.

"The guy that I danced with is amazing," Macy gushed.

"Really? Ya don't say," Stella smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do say," Macy nodded. "He told me not to tell anyone something but since we both don't know who he is and you're my trustworthy best friend, I guess I could tell you."

"Alright. What about?"

"He explained to me how he liked this girl but he was pushing her away, because he knows he falls hard way too fast. And then suddenly, he told me he liked me. I was like, whoa, that's kind awkward. I insisted he didn't like me, and so that conversation ended."

If you only knew, Macy, Stella thought.

"Oh, really? You're probably right, though, that he doesn't like you. No offence, Macy, but you know how some guys are. They like a new girl every week. You just have to find the one who will be with you no matter what. Even if it's just for a few months."

"None taken," Macy smiled. "And I know."

-x-

Once the Lucas brothers got back to their firehouse, Joe has been acting rather nice. Well, yes, he only started being a jerk like a week ago, but the people around him already got used to that, and were surprised to see how nice he was acting once again.

"If Joe only knew," Nick sighed. Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Uh, what's up with Joe?" Frankie approached his brothers at Nick's area of the room.

"I don't know," Kevin shrugged. The two didn't know that Frankie knew what was going on with Joe and his 'problem.'

Frankie retorted, "You guys are no help." He marched over to Joe, who was lying in his bed, still in his suit.

"Joe, what's going on?" Frankie asked.

"Going on with what?" Joe sat up.

"You're acting like yourself again," Frankie stared.

"Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I guess… But seriously, what happened?"

"Brother, I think I'm over Macy," Joe stated. Frankie kept to his word and actually asked Joe about everything a few days ago.

"What? Why?"

"I met a girl on the dance floor tonight. She was graceful, flawless, and beautiful in every way," Joe stared into space. He was really in a good mood.

"Do you even know who she is?"

"No, but I'm determined to find out!"

"What was she wearing?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I just want to know."

"If you have to know, this lovely lady was in a red flow dress that looked like it was custom made and designed especially for her. It hugged her curves in all the right places. She was gorgeous."

"How tall was she?"

"Well, she probably reaches up to my chin, but since she was wearing heels, she was probably as tall as Stella."

"Alright then," Frankie said with a smile on his face. He knew exactly who his mystery girl was. And he was excited about it. He couldn't wait until he talked to Macy again. She needed to know. Frankie went to his room, Joe not noticing, still probably stunned by that girl he was with.

-x-

The next day, Frankie got his parents to drop him off at Stella's house. Frankie and Stella were planning to go to Macy's. You could say that Frankie was closer to the girls than the other three brothers were. It's all thanks to Joe.

"I'm telling Macy that it was Joe," Frankie announced right when Stella opened the door to the visitor.

"What? You can't!" protested Stella, letting the boy in. They walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Why not?"

"Because this isn't our problem," Stella began. "This is Joe's problem, and I'm sure Macy's fine with not knowing who her partner was last night. And first of all, how did you know about this?"

"Joe was acting like himself again, and in love," Frankie replied.

"In love?" Stella repeated.

"Yes. He explained to me how he met some girl on the dance floor. I asked him to describe what she was wearing for me, and it's exactly what Macy wore."

"Alright. But still. You can't tell Macy. You can't tell Joe either. Let them figure it out for themselves. Besides, we don't know how Joe would react if he found out it was her. He'd probably be in love twice as much. So Frankie, just keep your mouth shut, please."

"Fine, I will. But how can I help it? I personally think Joe and Macy would look good together," Frankie stated.

"So do I," agreed Stella.

"You're not jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Don't you like Joe?"

"Frankie, we're just friends. We both know we had feelings for each other. But hey, we've both moved on. Besides, I can't really imagine myself dating my best friend. And trust me, even though I've known Joe longer, Macy has a massive crush and you know, she knows everything about him."

"Did I tell you that Joe liked Macy ever since they met?"

"No, but he did tell me that himself when I talked to him on the phone the other time."

"Yeah, so apparently, Joe isn't falling too fast."

"True, he's liked her for a long time; he's just finally realizing he really likes her."