[THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED]
ღ Finding Cinderella-7 ღ
-Tristan-
I glanced at my watch for the twentieth time and sighed impatiently. Grey and I had been waiting for Clark outside the auditorium almost a whole half hour, but we'd had no luck, seeing as he hadn't appeared yet. He'd probably fallen asleep in the men's lavatory or something, but who really knew?
Several cliques had surrounded us as soon as we'd arrived, and they hadn't left us ever since. Still, I could only stuff my hands into my pockets and lean again st the wall, feeling totally not up for socializing.
Things just didn't seem right these days, ever since Kylie had ditched me and br ought up the whole Erik problem again; if I didn't know better, I would say I wa s actually worse off than I was before.
"Man, look at all these chicks," Grey muttered as his eyes kept on staring at th e girls who would pass in front of us. He whistled. "This is like one of the bes t things in parties like this."
"You mean; you show up here just to check out their booties," I said monotonousl y.
"But they're great, you know-especially those that give off a little bounce." He cracked up. "I mean, there's nothing more amazing than them!"
"It's about time you cut back a little, you horndog." I shook my head. "So... ha ve you checked on Clark yet? Where the hell is he, anyway?"
Looking at his phone, he said, "I've tried contacting him several times, but all I get is voicemail. I wonder what's happened to him."
Then a sound crackled from inside the auditorium, echoing across the crowd and c utting off the music that had been blaring for ages: "Welcome to Broadway Height s' 23rd Annual Valentine and Commemoration Ball!"
The speaker had to be the student body president, finally opening up the program . Wherever Clark was, he'd be arriving at the dance so late.
"Clark's probably lost," I said, scanning the crowd for his face before giving u p and adding, "C'mon, let's just go inside without him. He'll catch up later on. The others might be missing us already. "
As I started to walk towards the entrance, I saw Grey out of the corner of my ey e, grabbing a blonde girl out of the crowd and wrapping his arm around her. Her name was Sylvia, if I remembered correctly, and she was wearing a skimpy short r ed dress. If this ball had held a Least Dressed event, no doubt this girl would' ve won immediately.
They were going ahead of me when a guy bounced out from nowhere, making me jump back in surprise. He was grinning so wide I thought his face would break in half .
"Hi, good evening!" he greeted with such enthusiasm. "I am Cupid and-"
"Nope." I frowned. "You are Steven Davis."
He dramatically rolled his eyes as his shoulders collapsed. "Oh, wonderful, Hart ford. You just ruined my act, thank you so much. Seriously, do you see these win gs?" He pointed sharply at his back. "I'm a cupid now. Duh!"
What kind of spirit possessed him tonight?
I looked around, seeing a few people from the student council that had the same bizarre get-up as his. They were holding some strings of different colors, and I wondered what they served as, before turning back to Steven-I mean, Cupid. What ever.
"What's going on?" I asked, giving him a weird look.
He easily returned his smile. "Well, you have been chosen as one of the particip ants for the Fate Dance, which will be after the King and Queen's performance!" he exclaimed and lifted five strings that were also in different colors and desi gns. "Please take a string."
Curious, I pulled a red one out of the pile. It looked more like a ribbon used f or gift-wrapping than a string, but what the heck. It has the length of an arm a nd the width of an inch, and I could see the words "The Heart" printed in gold l etters between two golden heart patterns.
Wow, the student council must have spent a fortune on these...
"Oh, you got The Heart string! Perfect! Don't lose it, 'kay?" he said, "There's only one pair of strings with the same word and pattern. Once the Fate Dance sta rts, make sure to find the girl with a string that matches yours. There are only going to be twenty-four chosen participants-twelve boys, twelve girls, so it wo n't be hard for you to find your partner later."
"What if I'm going to swap this with another string?"
"Uh-uh, you can't. Once you get a string, you're not allowed to exchange it with another. Those are the rules. Besides, you'll ruin the spirit of the Fate Dance if you choose your partner yourself. Oh, and please tie it around your right wr ist."
I shrugged and began to do what he'd said. This looked like some pretty interest ing stuff. Now I wondered who's going to be that girl...
"Okay, that settles it. Good luck!" He winked and made a flamboyant wave as he l eft.
I was hardly able to contain a smirk as I roamed around to find the rest of the senior class. It was more difficult than I thought, though. I could barely recog nize anyone I knew, since their typical jeans and T-shirts had been replaced by formal attire.
"Yo, T, where have you been?"
I turned towards the voice and saw Grey approaching. He slung his arms around my neck, and his green eyes dropped on my hand.
"What's that ribbon for?" he asked.
"Ah, some stuff I got from Steven. You know, the she-man?" I snickered. "He said that this is for the Fate dance. I don't know what's gonna happen, but let's ju st see later on."
"This year's committee has finally managed to wind up something creative for the ball, yeah?" He scanned around, grinning. "Look at this place! Now this is what I call a good time."
I kinda agreed with him. This event was looking way better than it had in past y ears. For one thing, the place seemed much brighter and more party-like, probabl y due to the unique theatrical lighting. On the wall of the stage were pasted gl ittery red words, which read: "BHHS 23rd Annual Valentine and Commemoration Ball " and heart-shaped cutouts that students had spent hours making were dangling fr om railings up above. To top it all off, red and white balloons were floating al l over the place, along with matching flowers, giving the place a fairy-tale the me perfect for the Valentine Ball.
Walking towards the other seniors, we found ourselves surrounded by friends, and my eyes were trained on the bare backs and attractive curves of the girls. I co uldn't help thinking they looked especially appealing tonight. Now I'm turning l ike Grey...
"T, where's your date?" he asked, elbowing me and distracting me from my thought s; his voice was raised, seeing as the music was drowning out all other sound. " I thought you asked a girl."
I narrowed my eyes at him. Great, he just reminded me of Kylie. Smoothing down t he back of my suit, I said, "Nah, she turned me down. I guess she feels too old for parties like these or something."
Then Grey laughed, and it wasn't a normal laugh. I could hear a snort in there, and a little saliva flew out of his mouth, as he slapped my back and said, "Tris tan, don't tell me you're referring to Kylie Harris!" His laughter doubled. "No, shit."
"How the hell did you even know it was her?" I snapped at him.
"Bro, Kylie's the only girl in school who can treat you like that! Wow, you got some nerve, huh?"
I grimaced. "And I thought she was going to save for tonight from Fiona. Hell, n ow I need to keep my distance when the witch is around."
"Don't sweat it, man. Hey, it's not too late for you to find a date tonight. See these girls around? You can easily get any one you want. C'mon, let's go. After all; a campus prince can't go dateless at this kind of occasion."
Grey pulled me to the side, and together we headed towards a table surrounded by girls, who were giggling and talking so loudly even I could hear them:
"...I'm worried the boys will think I'm fat..."
"Seriously? Of course, you're not fat. Even I'm jealous of how good you look rig ht now."
"Oh, my gosh, speaking of boys, have you guys seen Tristan Hartford yet?"
"Yes! I saw him outside a while ago, and he's so smoking hot tonight."
"I totally agree! Even Grey Walter loo-"
"Hush, guys! Oh God, I think they heard us."
One of the girls nudged the others as she spotted us getting closer, and their f aces grew pale with a twinge of red, no doubt mortified that we were not only st anding in front of them, but could have heard everything. If Kylie had been arou nd, she definitely would've freaked out, calling them names and complaining abou t teenage girls these days.
As Grey explained to the girls that I didn't have a date, I could only shake my head. He sounded like he didn't give a crap about what we'd just heard. Then, as expected, the girls made uproar, tugging at my arms like this was a game of tug-of-war. I simply sighed and slid into the seat they were surrounding, trying to show I wasn't affected.
"Girls, please take care of T," Grey said, gesturing to me; "he seemed pretty bo red earlier, so you better make this night unforgettable for him. Ciao!"
Then, with a wink and a smile, he was gone.
I just stared after him, dumbfounded. That jackass! I'd thought he would hang ou t with these girls along with me, but as I glared at his back, I noticed Sylvia glowering at the girls around, and I realized why he wasn't staying.
Turning back to the table, I examined my new company. There was a girl on the ot her side biting her nails, listening to her friend, while another one was on my right, twirling her red hair endlessly around her finger. Then I swiveled my hea d to the left and almost jumped as another redhead sputtered out a laugh, Coke v isibly spewing from her mouth as she kept on snorting.
Jeez, what the heck was wrong with them?
Grey had to have meant this as a joke. There was no way I was dating these girls !
After introducing themselves to me (though it was useless, since I didn't plan o n memorizing all those names), they began to open up a new topic, thankfully not about us guys. I figured I could join in on their conversation, but as it progr essed, the subject matter headed towards something no guy would ever want to rel ate with.
Good going, Tristan-now you're stuck with these weird chicks for the entire even ing.
Finally, some of the school faculty appeared to give speeches to the student bod y, but nobody bothered to listen. While the speeches went on, I tried to be inte rested by the blabbering girls beside me, but the longer I stayed there, the old er I got, and I wondered if I would have a head full of gray hair before the nig ht was over.
Damn, why couldn't I find a single entertaining thing at this ball? If Kylie had been here, at least I would have had a good laugh.
I twisted around, hoping to see my friends, but instead of them, I saw Fiona par ading around. Shit. Quickly, I pulled my head back, and the dark-haired girl bes ide me poked the dimple in my cheek and giggled. My jaw clenched with irritation .
What was wrong with these people? Getting my cheek poked was literally the most annoying thing that could've happened to me, so I guess I shouldn't have been su rprised it was going on here.
Unfortunately, the girl must have seen my annoyance, because her face immediatel y fell with embarrassment. Great-now, it looked like her humiliation was my faul t.
But another girl distracted me on my other side, saying, "Tristan, can I ask you something?" The flirty tone was obvious in her voice, and I couldn't seem to re member her name-what was it, Clara, Claudius?-but she was already inching closer to me, practically sitting on my lap.
I tried to back away, not up for games at the moment, but other girls were press ed up against me like sardines, and I couldn't move.
"Uh, sure," I said, trying to hide my uneasiness. "You can ask me anything, cuti e."
Be nice, Tristan, just be nice...
The girl grinned, tucking a strand of straight, chestnut hair behind her ears an d asking, "Do you think I look fat in this dress?"
I almost face-palmed. Seriously, why do girls always ask weird questions about t heir looks, especially to guys? Why haven't they figured out we never have the r ight answer?
Sweat prickled at the back of my neck as I glanced away from her, trying to figu re out what she wanted to hear. I couldn't give the honest answer, since I could only afford that with my mom or relatives. Where the hell were Grey and Clark w hen I needed them, anyway?
I looked at her again, and this time, her smile tightened.
Oh, snap-it looked like I had no choice but to beat around the bush, giving a "s ensitive" answer.
"No, no, of course not!" I said nonchalantly, making a show of being interested in her shiny black cocktail dress. "You actually look pretty cute!"
The girl's eyes lit up with hope, and her smile grew wider, causing her friends to start nudging and teasing. Meanwhile, I was displaying a fake grin, but on th e inside, I was cheering myself on: Bravo, Tristan, you really are a genius!
I'd finally escaped from a woman's trap! And to think I hadn't believed I could do it.
The girl was about to speak up, but she stopped when we heard the emcee tapping on the microphone, saying, "Thank you for that wonderful speech, Mr. Johnson. An d now, this is what you've all been waiting for, let's welcome... the King and Q ueen of the night!"
The lights dimmed, and an orchestral music slowly arose from the speakers. Every one got up and began to crowd towards the center of the room, buzzing as if some one were performing a miracle for them. The King and Queen had just emerged, but since I had no interest in seeing them, I didn't move.
Then two guys passed behind me, and I caught a bit of their conversation:
"Whoa, did you look at that girl? Who is she?"
"Yeah, isn't it strange? I thought Lacey Harris was the Queen!"
In an instant, my brain was slamming on the brakes, and I was looking around in confusion. Had I heard them right? Was Lacey not the Queen? Because if she wasn' t, then who-
Growing curious, I excused myself from the girls' table, much to their displeasu re, and wandered over to the tight crowd, where everyone's conversations were al l focused on the King and Queen. Now I really wanted to know more, but when I tr ied to squeeze into the mob, there was no space for me to enter.
Finally, I grew impatient. Clearing my throat, I shouted at the people in front of me, "Move!"
Startled, they glanced at me with wide eyes and quickly cleared the way, which m ade me smile to myself. Being popular really came in handy sometimes. Nobody eve r wanted to mess with me.
At last, I came forward from the crowd, searching for the root of all this commo tion. My eyes eventually fell on a pair dancing briskly in the middle, but the m inute I saw them, my muscles tensed.
What the hell? How could that guy dare to show his face and be the chosen King o f the ball?
I started to get pissed at the sight of him, but when my gaze fell on his dance partner, the rage began to die down, and I found myself rooted in place, probabl y resembling a goldfish with its mouth hanging open.
Wow...
I couldn't find the right words to describe her.
She was the loveliest girl I'd seen that night. There was a white mask covering the half of her face, and it suddenly made me more intrigued. Her midnight black curls were like waves, flowing down to her curvy hips, and the white ball gown framed her thin figure perfectly, trailing across the floor as she gracefully tu rned around.
She was looking straight into the King's face, red lips moving as if she were ta lking earnestly to him. The others were muttering how perfect they looked togeth er, and I couldn't help but clench my fists at my sides. That guy sure had a lot of luck, getting that kind of girl as a dance partner. I couldn't be blamed for being jealous, especially when it came to someone like her.
Then the beautiful girl tore her gaze away from him, and for a brief second, she wasn't looking at him anymore, because instead, she was looking at...
Me.
Her dark eyes were staring into my own eyes, strangely familiar, and they widene d the moment we made eye contact. Before I knew it, she'd glanced away from me a gain, and I found myself completely awestruck, wondering what had just happened.
My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest, I swore the entire room could hear, and goose bumps had begun to spread over my body. Taking a deep breath, I swall owed hard, but stopped when it became uncomfortable. Crap, where did my saliva g o?
This was the first time I'd ever felt this way. I'd seen so many girls before-ho t girls, gorgeous girls, but they'd never struck me like this, never given me th is nerve-wracking feeling that I found so strange and new. And as I watched the beautiful stranger taking smooth steps across the dance floor, one coherent thou ght formed in my mind:
I, Tristan Jon Hartford, was still lost in her eyes.