we wear the mask - ricky

[misfit]

Jeremiah wasn't looking forward to this night at all. It was the annual Kostine Academy Masquerade Ball, or something like that, and because he was a Kostine, he was forced to attend. His mother thought that all of her children were popular and had social lives. However, Jeremiah was a sad excuse for a Kostine as far as the popularity went. Talent, yes, he superseded that requirement but he just lacked the social skills that his other four siblings possessed. It was rather sad really. Why? Because he's dyslexic and can't communicate worth a hill of beans. Hell, beans could communicate with people than he could. At least beans made people happy at one point or another. Damn he was pathetic. Pulling on his suit jacket, he decided to suck it up and get his appearance over with. He wouldn't stay the whole night, but he at least had to make an appearance. That would appease his parents. He hated being so socially awkward, it literally killed him sometimes.

Closing his watch around his wrist, he looked around his room for a moment and tried to figure out if he had everything he needed. Miah reached down to adjust his shoes and sighed heavily. Did he really have to do this? Yes. Yes he did. Pocketing his phone and his keys, he headed towards the door and just as he was about to close himself out, he suddenly came to a stop. His mask! Oh shit, he couldn't forget that. The masks were the whole point of this dance. With a long-suffering sigh, he headed back into his room as he pushed the door open and rooted around for the mask that his brother had dropped off a few hours before. Thankfully Billy had listened to him when he had asked for something black and discrete. Billy, his oldest brother, understood his need to blend into the background. Most of the time anyway. Other times, he was just like their mother.

Grabbing the mask, he stepped into his bathroom and looked in the mirror. Shaking his head, he forced himself to bring the mask up to his face and secure it around his head. Once it was tied, he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed once more. Time to go do this, he thought to himself as he smirked at his reflection sarcastically. Shutting off the light, he headed out of his bathroom and then out of his room and headed down the hall towards the ballroom. Yes, Kostine Academy had a ballroom. Big deal. Jeremiah wasn't amused nor impressed. Heading into the ballroom, he realized that he wasn't the first one there. Thank God. His siblings were already there, he could see Brooke and Billy flitting about the room and greeting their guests. Miah wasn't into that, he never would be. He was too socially awkward for that. Why couldn't he be more like Billy? Growling to himself, he headed over to the bar and ordered himself a Dr. Pepper before stepping into the shadows in the far corner. He nodded to Brooke to let her know he was here, and then made no more movements other than to bring his drink to his lips. Ah, refreshing.

OUTFIT

[ericka]

HERE I AM BEFORE YOU, AM I ALL
YOU WANT ME TO BE AND MORE?

[/color][/center]

Ericka didn't really know if she was excited about the masquerade or dreading it. She was always a social being, though she wasn't social enough that she liked large crowds. Parties were fun though, she always managed to have a good time by the end of the night even if she went into the scenario dreading it. Apparently they had a masquerade every year, but Ericka was still skeptical about it. Did people actually wear masks to these things? As silly as the thought was, it was a question that burned at her. Perhaps since it was a school party they did. Ricky knew that if she was invited to a masquerade back in New Zealand she wouldn't go in wearing the mask, she'd bring it and make sure that everybody else was wearing one before she put it on. That kind of gave it away, but it was a valid concern; she didn't want to be the only one with a mask. She was self conscious enough in dresses even though she loved dressing up for things like this.

Ericka wasn't really good at being graceful; she had always been one of the guys who just happened to be a girl. She wasn't exactly tall, so she wore heels although they didn't really give her much height. She wasn't good at walking in heels, and this she knew for sure. She went from being 5' 3" to 5' 4.5". It wasn't much of a difference, and people would probably wear heels that would put them at 5' 8". That was what girls had a tendency to do. Ricky couldn't, and wouldn't put herself through that. Ricky had sat curling her hair for approximately an hour and a half because it was so thick; her brown locks fell delicately around her shoulders. She had her roommate zip up the beautfiul purple dress she wore; it complimented her figure nicely. Now she slid on her heels and fastened them; the gold heels and purple dress looked nice. She stood before her mirror and reluctantly removed her father's dogtags from around her neck and replaced them with a golden necklace that had some silver in it to tie in with the silver design at the hip of her dress. There was only one more thing she had to do before she began her slow descent to the ballroom: the mask. It was held in place by a thin, clear elastic band, that - thanks to the curls - didn't make her hair look odd.

She couldn't help, but to admire the girl in the mirror. She knew if her mother had been around, she would've said something like, 'now why isn't that girl always there?' Ricky's mother was dead, and when she was alive she was barely around - still, she wasn't a fan of the way Ricky chose other things (like sports and comfort) over dressing in skirts and nicer shirts. Honestly, in that moment, Ricky wondered the same thing. When she lifted her eyes and met her own gaze, she knew that would be a slow process and she was okay with that. She wasn't a complete tomboy, but she wasn't exactly girly either. Tonight though, she could play the part. After all, masks were supposed to hide who you were.

Finally arriving in the grand ballroom that was nicely decorated, she was ever so thankful that she wasn't the first to arrive. She was greeted by Brooke Madison. It wasn't exactly a secret that Brooke was a Kostine - after all, she had an identical twin, she just never referred to herself as Brooke Kostine, so Ricky didn't either. The greeting was a quiet one consisting of a small wave and smile; Brooke had never really been outgoing (except for now when she figured she had to be at least a little bit). Another boy was greeting people as well. He must've been another Kostine. It wasn't that Ricky didn't like them, but the whole greeting thing - really? Ricky wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew that Brooke was a nice girl just continuing to be friendly. It just bothered her how the Kostine's thought they had to be perfect and flaunt how they were the owners of the school by presenting themselves at the events like they were the hosts. Sure, technically they were, but that bothered Ericka no matter how nice they were. They were students too, not superior to anyone else. Ricky just couldn't stand it when anybody felt as though they were superior and expressed it. The Kostine's were nice though. Brooke's nice, she thought in order to relieve herself from unecessary annoyance.

Her heels made a soft clicking sound, as did everyone elses, as she crossed the floor to the bar. She stood beside a boy wearing a black and silver mas and looking dashing in a suit. Everyone looked great! There were some dresses that Ricky was in love with - most were worn by girls who had the handsome escorts even though only half of their face was seen. That was part of the fun in this; the mystery excited Ricky. She lifted the Raspberry Lime Rickey (her favourite because of the 'Ricky' part) to her glossed lips. It definately hit the spot each time. Giving the boy beside her a smile, she offered a friendly, "Hello." She wasn't sure if names were meant to be given out at these masquerade things because there goes the mystery, right?

HERE IS THE OUTFIT. (:

[misfit]

Okay, so maybe Miah could handle this. He thought about that for a moment with a wry grin and actually felt a bit of confidence flood his system. He could actually hide in the corner of the ballroom, sip his drink, and then leave after a few minutes. He would actually survive this night! Or...so he thought. His attention was riveted on a young girl who entered the ballroom just moments after he had taken his place in the shadows. She was wearing a purple dress and the jewelry sparkled beneath the lights that twinkled around them. She was beautiful. It didn't matter that he couldn't see her face right now. Focus Miah, he told himself with an almost absent shake of his head. He couldn't let himself get distracted or he would lose his window of escape. Taking another sip of his drink, he forced himself to look away from her before noticing that she had disappeared in the ever growing crowd. He turned his attention back to his brother and sister who were playing up the Kostine name, just for tonight of course. They never liked to reveal their name on a regular basis, unlike his second eldest brother who used the name as a pass for anything he did in life. Jeremiah grunted to himself before taking another sip of his drink. And when he did...

...he almost choked on it. He heard a voice speak up near him and it startled him, knowing that it could only be directed at him. No, he wasn't being conceited because he was the only person around that anyone could talk to. Besides the bartender, and even though he was wearing a mask, he didn't seem too friendly. Setting his drink down on the bar, he turned his baby blue gaze on the girl before him. He then recognized the dress and he felt his vocal cords seize up. Aw, fuck. Just great. He thought to himself with a mental grunt. I'm screwed. But then it registered, she had only used one word. Hello. He could do that. Just one word. "Hey." he said, testing the word and himself. Sometimes he had problems speaking, especially when it came to long phrases. But, thankfully, he only had to utter one word. For now at least. Oh God, he hoped he didn't have to say anything more.

And yet, he wanted to. He wanted to talk to this girl but he was afraid. Oh so afraid. Because Jeremiah always made a fool of himself and he was afraid of humiliating himself in front of her. He only felt a little bit better because he had on a mask but, unfortunately, his eyes were pretty unforgettable. He was the only Kostine to have them. Some rare gene in the bloodline. Crap. Coughing softly, he cleared his throat, "Enjoying the party?" he asked a bit stupidly. Damn, he needed more confidence.

OUTFIT

[ericka]

HERE I AM BEFORE YOU, AM I ALL
YOU WANT ME TO BE AND MORE?

[/color][/center]

Ericka wasn't always a fan of the beginning of parties. In fact, there were only so many parts of parties that she actually liked. She had skipped the meal part of the party because she wasn't really hungry and didn't want to just sit there. Ericka didn't like the beginning of parties because that was the awkward stage when people were starting to dance, but not really so there was a lot of standing around - especially during a masquerade when you only knew who your roommate was because of their outfit. A masquerade sort of forced people to be social, though Ricky already was social in every day life, she had to be even more social (which really wasn't that bad). Sometimes this meant she had to pick out a stranger and hope for the best. Maybe by luck she would run into somebody she knew throughout the party and they could have a good time. Until then the pattern when like this: awkward stage, small talk, dancing with a stranger (which could get awkward), getting to know that stranger hopefully, and then leaving. By the end of the night Ricky usually was glad it was over; she normally wasn't a big partier. No, she would enjoy herself. She'd make herself enjoy herself.

And this boy, she'd make him enjoy himself as well even if he already was. She didn't want him to just leave because then she'd be left alone, but she didn't want to force him to stay and torture him or something. Did she know this boy? Ericka was friends with a lot of boys, most of whom would be able to pick out her voice or her bright blue eyes. Then again, masks could change a lot of things. She looked at this boy's eyes. They were stunning. Ricky couldn't find the words to describe them, but against the dark mask they stood out even more and she loved it. She couldn't decide if they appeared familiar or not. No, they weren't; she would've remember those eyes. Ricky would always remember those eyes. She had never seen anything like them. The icy blue didn't give his character a cold persona like most did, in fact, they drew her towards him because they were soft contrary to the color. There was a difference in hers and his. While hers were a bright and catching blue, his were quietly captivating. Ricky wanted to know the story behind them.

A silence hung between them, and Ricky too a sip of her drink, her eyes surveying the room. She wanted to say something, she was just thinking of something to say. As she lowered her glass and turned back to him, she went to ask a simple question, but he beat her to it. In fact, she was going to ask him the same question! He just saved her the trouble. "Yeah, I guess, I am," she shrugged. "They really dressed this place up well and the band's great." The ballroom was always beautiful, as was the castle as a whole, but with the decorations they added it was beyond what she could've imagined. The band was also a nice touch. Ricky liked live music and understood that all band's needed a break so the fact that they had a DJ ready for those breaks made the party even better.

The party had only just begin for Ericka so she really couldn't say she was enjoying herself much yet, but perhaps this boy had been here longer than she. "What about you?" she returned the question, "Are you having the time of your life yet?" Ericka was genuinely curious about how others felt about masquerades. She wanted this first masquerade to be a great time. She knew it probably wouldn't be the time of her life, but she knew it would be fun.

HERE IS THE OUTFIT. (:

[misfit]

Jeremiah knew that the girl was studying his eyes because her gaze was caught up in his own and as he stared back at her, he realized that her eyes were a beautiful blue as well. They were stunning to him and very beautiful. It caused his heart to speed up a bit and he hoped that she couldn't hear it. He knew that was impossible but his nerves overrode his logic for the time being. He greeted her when she did him and then asked her if she was enjoying the party. He watched her take a sip of her drink as he took a sip of his own. She set hers down and answered him, saying that she guessed that she was. Jeremiah felt a little bit better, knowing that at least one person was enjoying his family's party. He wondered if she knew that he was a Kostine and, with the way she was treating him, he suspected not.

See, there were different levels of people in this place when it came to his family name. Some who didn't care. Some who did but said nothing. Some who did and hated all of the Kostines out of spite or jealousy. And there were others who stupidly had no idea that their name was actually connected to the school. She commented on the room itself, saying that they dressed it up beautifully and that the band was great. Jeremiah nodded his agreement and took another sip of his drink before he heard her speak up and ask about him, if he was enjoying the party. Miah thought it over for a moment and then looked at her. "You could say that." he said, relieved that he still hadn't botched up his words. Things were going okay, thank God. When he was able to get a handle on his nerves, things usually went smoothly for the most part. After a moment, she broke the silence between them, asking if he was having the time of his life yet.

Jeremiah could see the grin on her face as she asked this and it made one of his own boyish ones break out across his features. "Not quite yet." he commented as he shoved his free hand into the pocket of his dress pants. "But I have a feeling I will." he said in a subtle compliment towards her. Okay, so maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad. Miah took another sip of his drink and forced himself to set it down. Building up his courage, he made himself ask, "Would you like to dance?" Oh God, please let me survive this, he thought with an inward grimace.

OUTFIT

[ericka]

HERE I AM BEFORE YOU, AM I ALL
YOU WANT ME TO BE AND MORE?

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Ericka caught the tiny compliment and she smiled. It really wasn't much of anything, but it made a light blush tint her cheeks. Ricky was easily charmed, but it took a certain something - or someone - to get her to blush. She couldn't even see half of this guys face, but she already saw something there. He was charming and cute which she could already tell just by standing beside him. He wasn't over confident, she could see that much, but that was part of the charm. She could very well be confident enough for the both of them, so it was nice that there was a balance between them. Most of the boys she hung around with were confident and cocky so while they were exciting and all, it was nice to tone it down a little - not to mention she was a little shy in this moment. That was something else that was uncommon for her, and probably part of the reason it was so easy for her to blush. This shyness came from his subtle charm. That was the only word she could use to describe this power he seemed to have.

Ricky wasn't the most graceful in such situations. She didn't know the right words to say to make herself come off like the girls in the movies. In the movies the girls always played up the innocent or sexy one who knew exactly what to do and say to get on the boy's arm. That was definately not Ricky. She had never had a boyfriend and was definately better suited for the best friend - not the girlfriend role. She'd love for that to be different, but she didn't want to actually change herself. She was who she was, and if somebody liked that, more power to them. Maybe this boy would be the one to like her; that would be lovely. The first step to that would probably be either talking a little bit more, dancing or doing something.

When he asked her to dance she smiled and nodded. "Funny," she said, "I was just about to ask you the same thing." Now, a lot of people would probably just give a smile and a simple yes, but that wasn't exactly what Ericka did. Nah, she spoke what came to her mind first, and truth be told, she was planning on asking him to dance. The song was a pretty one; it was an old song called Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray. She wondered who had requested it because it wasn't a popular song, she knew that much. As it began she realized that the instrumentals were beautiful and the woman's voice was pretty as well; Ericka would remember this song. She'd take the time to learn the lyrics at some point because she felt like there would be a reason to remember it.

HERE IS THE OUTFIT. (:

[misfit]

Jeremiah hadn't expected her to say yes, much less say that she had been thinking exactly the same thing. "Great minds think alike." he told her with a small, shy grin as he held his hand out to her. When she took it, he strode over to the dance floor. He realized that it was a slow song but he figured that it was better than nothing, the two of them just couldn't stand there awkwardly the whole night. And, he suspected, his siblings would get a good kick out of seeing their little brother actually have fun at one of their parties. With a girl no less. They had been as supportive as they could about him not having a girlfriend but he knew that they really wanted him to try a relationship again because they knew he was lonely. They also said that he needed to be more social because the more social he was, the less people would notice his awkwardness or his learning disorder. Billy said that the more he practiced, the less he would notice his own failings. Yeah. Right.

With a mental shake, he focused on the song for a heartbeat. It was Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray. Jeremiah wasn't usually one for love songs or anything like that but this one was actually pretty good. Something he would have to remember in order to woo his future girlfriend. If he ever got one. Miah placed his hand on her side and extended their other hands (the one he had been holding as they walked out onto the dance floor) and readied himself to lead her in a slow waltz-like dance. He was surprised that his hands weren't shaking from his nerves but he was damn grateful for it. He really didn't want to mess up in front of her. He didn't care if he had a mask on or not. This was personal and, if he never saw her again, he wanted her to have the best night of her life. As much he could help it anyway.

Yeah, Jeremiah was going to remain anonymous for as long as he could. He didn't want his name or his reputation was a social outcast to dampen things where they were. He was actually feeling confident and...happy for once in his life. It was an addicting feeling and he forced himself to focus on the girl in his arms as they moved to the music slowly. Definitely the best part of his night thus far.

OUTFIT

[ericka]

HERE I AM BEFORE YOU, AM I ALL
YOU WANT ME TO BE AND MORE?

[/color][/center]

She couldn't help but grin when he did. She loved to say that; great minds think alike. A boy that she lived with at a past foster home absolutely hated when she said that. He said that it made her sound like she was more concerned with herself and how she had a great mind, rather than how he too had a great mind. Ricky never liked that boy; he had know flexible bone in his body and wasn't willing to deal with anything beyond fact. It was so frustrating! Here was a boy though, who knew very well that it was quite alright to say and it wasn't really meant to be much of any snide remark. In fact, it was definately a double compliment - a compliment to the giver and a compliment to the reciever. That was the best kind of compliment becase it wasn't difficult to accept. Ricky was never good at accepting compliments.

She took his hand gently and was lead out to the dance floor. "I should warn you," she told him, "I'm a horrible dancer." She blushed slightly as they started a waltz-like dance. That was her favourite kind. The kind of dancing when you would just stand and sway? Nah, that wasn't any fun and there was nothing cute about it. That kind of dancing was like, 'stand with me and make out to the music,' which was just a weird sort of logic. Why not just get a room? After all, it'd save a lot of couples on the dance floor the torture of watching. But slow dancing like this, it made her smile. She loved watching people, especially the old couple (it just made her heart melt) slow dance like this. Though in the moment she kind of wished they were just swaying. She had no idea what she was doing.

It was easy enough though, and it sort of distracted her from the fact that she was dancing with a stranger (which she didn't mind too much right now). She looked down a little, trying to figure out the footwork. The only way she could learn how to dance or dance at all, was if somebody had taught her choreography. This had no choreography to it. Just step, sway, step, step, angle a little bit, turn a little bit, step, step, sway, sway. "I"m sorry," she told him with a little nervous giggle and a bright blush. "I'm not very good at this." There it was again, she had stepped on him twice and now was focusing on watching her feet. For now she was alright with it because it spared her from looking up at him. She could feel his gaze on her, and was thankful she wasn't meeting it. The faltering steps were embarressing enough. She didn't need to see him see her embaressed - even though she knew had. She was alright with being embarressed as long as she didn't have to see the faces of those witnessing it.

It was wonderful nevertheless. She eventually began getting the hang of it. The patterns weren't as difficult as she innitially thought they were. Slowly but sure she had caught on and was gliding with the music, the little waltz that didn't move very much, but moved enough. She was thankful they weren't the really impressive dance couple who flew across the room ever so gracefully. Ricky wouldn't be able to do that, not gracefully anyway. Ericka now didn't have to watch her feet anymore. She had looked up and locked gazes with him. She gave him a little smile. Making eye contact made Ericka nervous though - with anybody. She couldn't look someone in the eyes while she was talking to them, and especially with this boy. She made him nervous in a good way. Ericka had the little butterflies. She was a freshman, dancing with a boy who was charming and seemed nice enough, who wouldn't have the butterflies in her position? She was daring herself to keep his gaze, but she couldn't. Ericka was a coward when it came to things like that. She looked around the room, and then let her gaze fall back on the boy before her.

HERE IS THE OUTFIT. (:

[misfit]

Okay, so the girl's smile was dazzling. Jeremiah was ensnared in it and he was surprised. He usually didn't get caught up in trivial things like that, he never allowed himself to for fear of rejection if he ever developed feelings for whoever owned the smile. Which had happened once before. He hated it. The feeling was downright awful and it was something that you never truly lived down. But, he didn't know this girl and probably would never see her after tonight. And, even if he did, he would never even know because they were masked and his identity, as well as her own, were concealed and they were anonymous. As he took her to the dance floor, she issued him a warning. She was a horrible dancer. Yeah, like he believed that. Miah was more of a show me kind of person sometimes and, as they started to dance, he didn't believe her for a second. She was doing great, even though the dance they were doing was fairly simple in and of itself.

They continued to move for a few more moments before she apologized, saying that she wasn't very good at the dancing. She had stepped on him twice but Miah hadn't minded. He knew that she had to be as nervous as he was with this whole thing, so he'd let it slide. She continued to look at her feet now, as if self-conscious about every step she was taking. He knew that she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of him again. Of course, she would have no reason to be if she knew who he was. "Nonsense." he said, finding his voice once more. "You're doing just fine." he confirmed, grinning a bit to emphasize his delight in this simple action. This was the first time that Jeremiah hadn't had to worry about how he acted or what he said. No one but his siblings would know it was him. Miah didn't have many friends around here but, he guessed, if he played his cards right tonight, he could have one more. If, of course, he decided to reveal his identity. That was the biggest question of all, would he?

Jeremiah continued to lead her through the steps and when she met his gaze again, finally looking away from her feet, he gave her a warm smile of encouragement. "See?" he said, "It's not so bad." He trained his eyes on hers for a few moments more as they moved over the dance floor. Jeremiah was feeling great right now. Relieved even. As they twirled slightly, he caught his brother's eye and the guy nodded almost imperceptibly. His older brother was proud of him. That made him feel even better than he had been just a minute before. With an inward sigh of relief, he let his attention fall back on the girl before him. "You know..." he started out, "I thought this night was going to suck." he said with a small shrug. "But, I can see that I was wrong." Jeremiah grinned once more.

OUTFIT

[ericka]

HERE I AM BEFORE YOU, AM I ALL
YOU WANT ME TO BE AND MORE?

[/color][/center]

Ericka had to admit, although his encouragement was something anyone would say, it did make her feel a little better about her shaky steps. She was naturally a bad dancer. If you turned on the radio and told her to dance, she'd look like a fool. If you told her what to do then turned on the radio and told her to dance, she would pull it off looking like a pro. That wasn't the case, and she wondered if she would be able to dance with anybody else. Truth be told, she hadn't actually been asked to dance before. Well, she had, but by people she was already really close with because neither of them wanted to be off to the side. It was a joking kind of dance, and in those moments Ericka didn't have to be good at dancing because they both wouldn't be very good and that was partly intentional. So, the thought in question was could Ericka actually pull off a slow dance if she stopped thinking and just let go?

The answer was yes. As she was more comfortable (though part of that was because, as mentioned, she was catching on to the patterns) she was able to go through the motions so naturally. Ericka was all smiles now, and she kind of felt stupid - like she shouldn't be so happy to be dancing with a complete stranger and looking at him with eyes that danced with joy. In that respect, she was self conscious, but definately more comfortable... If that was even possible. His words about how he thought the night was going to go just made her blush a little. Why was it so easy for him to make her blush? Thinking this made Ricky somewhat embarressed which deepened her blush. God, she just needed to stop thinking so much. She was looking into everything like it would save her life, though she didn't need much saving.

"Really?" she grinned, "Well, then I'm honored to prove you wrong." As she lifted her hand off of his shoulder so that she could tuck a curl behind her ear she added, "I wasn't too sure of it myself, to be honest, but now I am. I wouldn't change it." When she rested it back on his shoulder, since that was the style, she felt very... at ease, with the whole thing. Such a little flirt she was, though this was also a change because she wasn't usually one to intentionally flirt. Lead someone on? Maybe, but never intentionally and rarely did she flirt and mean it. So this was a step forward and she didn't want it to be a regret. She did want to get everyone's attention, though, as a couple on the dance floor. Now, if this were a movie, which she often imagined life as sometimes, the spotlight would flash on them and WHOOSH! They'd be amazing dancers - even though Ricky didn't really want to have to be one to dance that dance - and it would end in a standstill moment then suddenly... The clock would strike twelve and Ricky would run off leaving a shoe behind. Wait, that was already a fairytale and there were too many movies based on it so Ericka would just have to make it different somehow. A masquerade was a perfect setting for just that story.

HERE IS THE OUTFIT. (: SORRY FOR THE WAIT.