little miss perfect

beneath the mask

damn, it's been a minute. i apologise.

so if y'all forgot what's happening, basically, jaycee just finished her third year at hogwarts, so this chapter is set in the summer at the golden ball (at the zabini manor.)

it's the golden ball with a little twist.

*

"Cute mask, m'lady."

From where I was seated alone by the dance floor, on a chair draped in fine silk, I turned my head to see two boys approaching me, both of which were dressed up in spiffy black suits. Though, there faces were partially covered in masks, I instantly recognised them. The boy with clean, dark hair and skin sporting a poignant silver one with a jagged cut down the side of it, revealing half of his face, while the pale, chestnut brunette with fluffy hair, a adorned a bold red veil that simply covered his eyes.

The edge of my lips quirked upwards slightly upon my acknowledgement of Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini and I carefully stood up from where I was seated, tapping the edge of my elegant, black laced venetian mask playfully.

"Cute?" I questioned in a teasing tone, cocking my head ever so slightly. "That's not the look I was going for tonight, admittedly."

"Well no shit." Theodore muttered with a slight snort, glancing at my attire up and down. "I'm getting more of a disobedient teenage girl that's trying too hard to piss off her father type of vibe."

My jaw dropped in mock offence as I glanced down at my outfit. Similar to my mask, my dress was crafted of expensive black lace and chiffon. It was a high low cut, the skirt crafted of intricate lace (obviously there was an under layer), that at the front, was bunched up, reaching mid thigh, while it gradually elongated behind me to form a mermaid train. The bodice was crafted of mesh and lace, leaving part of the skin of my stomach exposed underneath the mesh and lace while my upper bodice was concealed in intricate embroidery.

It was unlike any dress I'd worn before, and certainly not something my father would deem appropriate for an event like this. Admittedly, Theo was right. I was trying to piss off my father. People would call my actions immature, which they were...

But after what information I'd accidentally acquired the following evening, I couldn't help but lash out.

I definitely wasn't going to boost Theo's ego by admitting that his words spoke the truth, though. I rolled my eyes from beneath my mask, knowing fully well he wouldn't even be able to tell. "What makes you think there's some ulterior motive behind my attire? Maybe I just want to stare at myself in this amazing dress whenever I happen to pass my reflection."

Theo guffawed lowly, clearly taken aback by my blunt confidence. "Merlins, you're starting to sound like Malfoy with that conceited tone of yours."

I furrowed my eyebrows in disgruntled manner in response to that comment. Over the past few weeks, I'd almost forgotten Draco Malfoy existed. "That's got to be the worst insult I've received in a while and that's saying something considering I was Hogwarts most popular punching bag for a chunk of our last year."

Theo snorted while Blaise smirked over at Theo with a teasing glint prominent in his unconcealed eye. "Theo, you're acting as if you don't check yourself out every morning."

The brunette gritted his teeth in embarrassment as a small tinge of pink formed on his cheeks. Blaise winked at me while I allowed my lips to curl into a cheeky grin. "Aww, don't be embarrassed Nott. There's nothing wrong with self love."