The Lonely King | Ongoing [New Edition]

05 | The Winter Ball

"Never thought I'd live to see the day
When everybody's words got in the way!"

I TUGGED AT the short, midnight blue cocktail dress that Emily had lent me. Although we were about the same size, I was several inches taller than her, which meant the dress was a lot shorter than it was supposed to be. It fell just above mid-thigh, which was shorter than what I was usually comfortable with. Emily must've seen the discomfort on my face, because she quickly reassured me.

"You look fantastic!" Emily exclaimed, twirling me in a circle.

Giggling softly, I replied, "You don't look too bad yourself!"

And it was true. Emily wore a modest pastel pink lace dress that fell just above her knee, and she tied her hair up into a cute messy up-do. Her makeup was kept to a minimum, as usual, with the exception of mascara and a light coat of shiny pink gloss.

Aside from my dress, my hair that was usually put into a ponytail was let loose tonight. With the help of Emily and her trusty iron-curler, she managed to curl my pin-straight hair into big waves. My look was finished with a striking red lip that contrasted against my pale skin. I couldn't remember the last time I dressed up so nicely, and dare I say, I had a feeling that tonight will be a blast.

"Are you excited?" I asked Emily as she slathered on another layer of her lip gloss.

She blinked, pursing her lips, "I guess."

Sighing softly, she twisted the cap of the lip gloss tube shut, her shoulders falling.

"I'm just nervous, you know?" Emily said out loud, staring at her reflection.

"Don't think like that, Em. We're here to have fun tonight, regardless of whether Asher Dane will be in the vicinity or not," I declared. Emily sighed, but finally nodded and allowed a small smile to grace her features.

"Yeah, you're right," Emily smiled, looking a little happier than before. I looked at the wooden clock over the fireplace of Emily's dorm and frowned when I realized our dates were ten minutes late.

"They're supposed to pick us up here, right?" I asked. Emily absentmindedly nodded, while she eyed the numerous pairs of heels that sat neatly side by side on her floor-to-ceiling glass shoe closet. When I first saw the closet, I almost choked. I didn't have one in my room, so that meant she probably had someone custom-build this into her dorm.

"Go for the white pumps, fourth shelf," I suggested, and Emily immediately grinned. She grabbed the pair of heels and set it carefully on the ground. I looked at the heels, noticing the classic gold Chanel embossment on the sole of it, then back at the numerous heels stacked neatly together. Her entire collection must be worth a fortune, and all I had were a pair of beat-up sneakers and plain black heels from the sales section of my local departmental store.

Just as Emily began to slip on her heels, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," I said, and headed towards the front door. When I opened the door, I came face to face with Asher Dane himself. He wore a tailored black suit, with a white dress shirt and pale pink tie that matched Emily's dress. I raised my eyebrows and smiled slightly, although I was met with his usual grumpy scowl.

I glanced to his side where Logan stood tall and poised, a leggy brunette that looked extremely familiar hanging off his arm. He was dressed to the nines in a smart grey suit, and looked absolutely dashing with his hair combed back with hair gel.

Yuko stood on the other side of Asher in a navy blue suit. Beside him stood a slim, petite Asian girl with short, black hair. She looked younger than the boys, which surprised me. She was the only one who offered me a smile. I returned her smile, but it faltered when I realised a certain blonde that was missing.