CHARISMA - Strange Companion |Sequel| {PLL}

MASKED

The famous masquerade ball for New Years Eve drew the entire population of the town to the city hall at the center of Rosewood. It was always twenties themed and dressing up for it was a must. It had been snowing for days and the entire park in front of the city hall was covered in white. Later, when everyone would gather outside to watch the fireworks, all the lights that were now reflected by the snow would be turned off. Half an hour of complete darkness in every single building around the area, just fireworks and sparklers. It was Alisha's favorite event of the year, except for the 4th of July, of course. She was wearing a silver dress that was sequined all over. Her hair was tied together in a low bun, with a classic water wave and a feathery headband. The mask she had gone for was plain and still left a lot of her face visible. It had a filigree pattern and went well with her headband. Alisha was waiting outside the city hall for Spencer, Aria and Hanna to show up. They hadn't seen each other since their Christmas dinner and she was anxious to meet them. After all she had been causing a scene and she was majorly embarrassed by herself. Ever since she had been trying to understand what went wrong with her that night. Usually she was very good at keeping it together, she's had a lot of practice recently. But something about that evening had triggered her. She heard Hanna's laugh in the distance and looked around to see if she could spot her in the crowd. And there she was, wearing a beautiful maxi dress in gold, sparkling along with the snow. She was accompanied by Caleb, Spencer and Toby.

"Hey, where's Aria?" she asked, as soon as they were close enough to hear her.

"She's running late", Spencer said. "There must be a lot of traffic on the way from Lancaster."

"She told us to go inside, though." Hanna was already pushing Caleb towards the entrance. 20ies jazz music was blasting from inside and more and more people were streaming into the building.

"Guys, wait a minute." Alisha bit her lower lip as they all turned around to look at her. "I just wanted to apologise for the other day. I-"

"Aww, stop it." Toby quickly put an arm around her shoulder and smiled at her. "We've all been there. The holidays aren't easy, especially if you recently lost a loved one."

"Uhm, yeah." Although that wasn't exactly what had caused her bad mood, Alisha was glad that Toby had brought up a plausible excuse for her. She put on a smile and let the others drag her inside.

There were still a few hours left until midnight, but the ball was as enchanting as always. Alisha wasn't sure if Anya was going to be there. For some reason she still got very nervous whenever they attended the same event, even if Anya was wearing her wig and they both had masks to cover their faces.

Toby and Caleb, the only ones in the group who were old enough to drink legally went to the bar to get a drink for the others. Meanwhile Aria had joined them and the girls headed for the dancefloor. Everytime she had the chance to dance, Alisha realized how much she actually missed being a cheerleader. It had always been her way to release energy and clear her head. But now, with the depth of winter going on outside, not even running was an option. So she definitely took the chance to dance it all out that night.

The ice cold drinks the boys got for them were a welcome refreshment. Gin and tonic was tonights choice of beverage and it actually didn't taste too bad. The bittersweet taste was followed by a warm feeling emerging in Alisha's chest, and she soon felt the alcohol getting to her head. One drink turned into two and they decided to get back on the dancefloor. She should have been happy, being surrounded by her friends, getting to dress up so nicely and having a good time. But something was dulling her mood, again. Alisha's body was moving almost automatically to the music that was playing, and after a few songs she felt the exhaustion kick in. A little dizzy from all the gin she gave her friends a sign that she'd be taking a break and made her way off the dancefloor. The stools by the bar were almost empty, since most people still had enough energy to dance or hop from small talk to small talk. The bartender asked if Alisha wanted anything but she politely denied the offer. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the messenger. Opening her chat with Dylan she read through the messages they had sent each other before the Christmas dinner. He had asked her if there was any kind of dress code and Alisha's reply was: Just wear the most embarrassing jumper you own. A smile flashed across her face and she sighed. She had been thinking about him a lot today. Wondering how he must feel, alone at the lakehouse. He must miss Colin, of course. Just as much as she missed Wilden, maybe even more. But she didn't know what to say. If there even was anything to say in a situation like this.