Imagine:
It's the night of the Masquerade Ball at the local teen rec center. You aren't keen on going, but your friends talked you into it. You're wearing a long, flowy white gown with a lacey white mask that covered your eyes. Your hair is half in a bun, half down and wavy. You look gorgeous.
When you reach the ball, your friends drag you in. They lose their grip a few times because of your long, silky, white gloves which go just over your elbow. Eventually, they get you inside.
"There's so many people," you say, staring out at the crowd of what seems like thousands.
"You'll be fine, Nerikka. Come on! Here, we'll go get some punch to start the night."
Your friend is pouring you a cup of red fruit punch when she's tapped on the shoulder. You shriek in horror as you watch the cup fall from her hand and onto the bottom of your beautiful dress.
"Nerikka, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't...don't worry about it. I'm just going to-"
"I can fix it," another one of your friends says, coming to your rescue. She takes you to the bathroom and whips out a small pair of scissors from her bag.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" She smiles and says "I'm fixing the problem. Just relax, you'll look amazing when I'm done."
She cuts off the bottom of the gown where the stain was. Your once floor-length gown had now been turned into a just-above-the-knee dress. Angrily, you sigh.
"Yeah, yeah...you hate your legs. You look amazing, Nerikka. Just go out there and have a good time!"
You storm out of the bathroom and sit on the bench where the people who didn't have dates sat. You're joined by your friends, who are quickly asked to dance. You lower your head in defeat and are about to go home after about fifteen minutes of sitting by yourself when a handsome stranger sits down next to you. You shyly smile as you think to yourself OMG he's really cute...
"Now how has a beautiful girl like you not been asked to dance yet?" You turn and see the handsome boy extending his hand to you and you smile.
"I guess I was just waiting for the right guy to ask me." You take his hand and he quickly pulls you into him, lifting you off the ground and sweeping you across the dance floor. Hours go by, and you have the best night of your entire life. As the last song ends, you're still in his arms. You never want him to let you go, but this night unfortunately has to end. You thank him for the dance and are about to walk away when he pulls you back. Before you even have time to think, his lips are on yours. The kiss made time go away. Everything around you was frozen. Eventually, you broke away from each other. Suddenly, he softly says "I know I don't know you, but I love you."
"WE HAVE TO GO," one of your friends says. You stare back at the beautiful boy you'd spent the evening with and you see him pout as your friends pull you away.
The next day, you reluctantly wake up from your dream about the amazing night you had when you hear your mom yell up to you, "Breakfast!" You're about to make your way downstairs when your phone begins vibrating furiously.
"NERIKKA, IM5 IS ON TV!!! GO GO GO!!!" You run as fast as you can down the stairs without risking falling and you turn on the television set.
"...here we are with boy band IM5! How are you guys? I heard you were at our local Masquerade last night?"
"Yeah," Dana replied. "We all had a great night, especially this guy." He points to Cole.
"Cole, you had a great night?" He smiled shyly and blushed.
"Yeah, there was this amazing girl I spent the entire evening with. I wish I would have gotten her name. She was so beautiful. She was in a white dress that cut off just above the knee, she had a lacey mask on and her hair was half in a bun and half down and wavy. She was a great dancer, good at keeping a conversation going and she's just...an amazing girl. I was hoping to keep it a secret, though. Thanks, Dana."
You're in shock as you realize who you were dancing with. You knew you'd recognized his voice. You knew his hair had looked familiar. Last night, you had danced with, talked to and been kissed by none other than Cole Alan Pendery.
