The Masquerade (2 page)

"Guess what I have?"

Hayley swung her bare legs over the bench. I visualized her plaid miniskirt rising further up her thighs because the freshman boys at the lunch table next to us were already staring in her direction. I put down my
peanut-butter sandwich and gazed at her with interest. She waited impatiently for us to comply, tapping the heels of her stilettos against the concrete.

"Zac Efron's boxers?" I suggested. Shiloh
snickered and elbowed me in the ribs. I returned the gesture by nudging her with my arm. I turned my attention back to Hayley, an innocent smile on my face. Her violet eyes glared at me sternly, the serious expression foreign to her face. It was immensely difficult for her to remain serious about anything.

"If I had his boxers, I wouldn't be here right now."

I picked up my sandwich, "Good point," and took a bite. I closed my eyes savoring the flavor of the creamy peanut butter in my
mouth.

"What is this fabulous thing now in your possession?" I smiled at Shiloh. The way she spoke was another aspect I loved about her. She was different. We all were.

Adam slid into the bench beside her before she had the
chance to respond. Hayley grimaced when he plopped his lunch tray onto the picnic table. "That's scary," he commented, nudged his shoulder in her direction, his eyebrows raised.

Her eyes slit to the side, the only acknowledgement she gave to his presence. "I thought I smelled something gross."

"I'm surprised you smell anything over your disease." He leaned closer to her. "I can smell the Herpes from here,
babe."

She rolled her eyes and fixed her gaze on us. "I have four concert tickets to see The Masquerade tonight."

The breath caught in my throat when the beautiful words
rolled off her tongue. The three of us stared at her with wide, hopeful eyes. I prayed she wasn't joking; she had a tendency to pull one on us for fun. When she smiled at our expressions, I found the light of her enthusiasm in her eyes,
and I knew she wasn't messing around.

"Seriously?" I asked, a grin slowly spreading on my face.

"Not usually, no." She smirked, "But right now, yes." She turned to Adam, who looked just as happy as I felt.
"No, Adam, I'm not pulling your dick."

I exhaled, feeling the excitement settle in the pit of my stomach. I leaned back, the bend of my legs tightened on the edge of the bench to keep me from falling. The image of my back smacking against the concrete
couldn't disturb me, nothing would. I was too happy to form words. I was going to see one of my favorite bands with my three best friends. We'd been to numerous concerts before, but never one for The Masquerade. The tickets were
usually sold out within the first hour of their release. Three unsuccessful years of attempts yielded only heatbreak. The night of a band's performance and you're stuck at home, knowing exactly what you're missing, is a fate worse than
death.

Adam and I jumped onto our seats, standing above the crowd of students eating outside. People turned and stared with open mouths, some full of food. Shiloh and Hayley looked up expectantly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention
please!" I shouted, grinning.

"We have tickets to see The Masquerade tonight!" Adam yelled and jumped up. When he landed, his feet hit the wooden seat and the
entire bench, along with Hayley, shook. She shot him a glare and shoved him off the seat. He stumbled when he landed on the ground, but leaned forward to bow anyway.

"Who?" Someone shouted in response.

Another voice, belonging to a catty cheerleader, nearly
split the air with its high pitch. "Seriously, no one cares."

Hayley recognized the girl and flipped her the bird. Shiloh shot across the table and grabbed her hand to restrain her middle finger before
an administrator caught her. Our school wasn't very strict, but because we lived in the south, they had absolutely no tolerance for vulgarity.

When I realized I was still standing on top of the bench, a
pair of familiar eyes met mine. The joy, erupting inside of me, ceased. The smile fell from my face as I stared at my ex-boyfriend across the patio. He sat with his group of friends, the friends that were the very reason that tore us apart. Realizing Eli's was distracted from their conversation, two of them
looked over their shoulders and stared at me with narrowed eyes. I ignored them and focused on Eli, his brown eyes held my gaze with a force I used to think was sexy. I swallowed hard and pried my eyes away from his, before I bent down
and sat in my seat. I adjusted my posture, one elbow on the table to avoid any more collisions with his eyes.

His stare still gave me butterflies, but now there was a shard of ice in my chest to accompany the jitters. He chose his side, the
friends
who were notorious for getting into trouble with the police. Despite how much I cared for him, it wasn't enough. I faced that inevitable truth the week before school started. To save myself from more heartbreak, I broke it off. I didn't
realize I would feel pain every time I saw him, knowing he was no longer mine and I his. He changed, but my feelings for him never did.

Hayley's voice snapped me out of my trance. "I hate
that bitch."

"She probably feels the same about you."

I looked at Hayley who was feigning surprise in response to Shiloh's statement. Her hand touched her chest dramatically. "Why, on
Earth, would she hate me?"

"Isn't that Marcie Asher?" Adam asked, looking at the girl who Hayley politely displayed her middle finger to. With her hair coiffed in an obnoxious bow and a painted on cheerleader suit, she looked over
her shoulder, her eyes, like daggers at our table. Adam turned back to Hayley with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you slept with her boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend and no," Hayley corrected. She
paused, "I slept with her best friend's boyfriend."

"Good Lord," Shiloh mumbled.

Adam's attention turned in the direction of Eli's table. He looked at me and back at their table. "Ella," he said slowly.

"I know." I groaned and wished he would drop it.

He stared at me with scrutinizing eyes. "Want me to take care of them for you?"

I shook my head, pressing my lips together to hide my smile.
The thought of Adam trying to stand up to one of Eli's buddies was not a pretty picture. His skinny '5'7' form was no match to any of them who stood taller than six feet, including Eli. Adam tried to master the tough guy look once but
when you have a Justin Bieber haircut it's a little hard to pull off. He'd sported that hairstyle for as long as I could remember. It used to be cute, until that lousy singer became famous and it turned into a bad trademark. The
entire school nicknamed him 'Bieber' even after that thing we call a pop star cut his hair.

"So, where should we prepare for this extravagant event?" Shiloh asked to bring back the initial subject that had us worked up to begin with.

Hayley shrugged. "Whoever's house has the most bras, make-up, and tampons." She turned to our friend with a smile. "Adam?"

He frowned at her. "Go away. No one likes you."

I raised my arm and waved it around like a child desperately trying to get the teacher's attention. Shiloh turned in her seat and called on me to play along. "Yes, you there. Blonde girl with the random purple highlight in your hair."

"My house!" I said, feeling myself turn back to the bubbly girl I was at heart. Eli's dark scowl faded into the back of my mind...but stayed there.

"Sour gummy worms?" Hayley asked, eyeing me with
scrutiny.

"Duh."

"Ella's house it is." She said blatantly before she took a handful of fries from Adam's plate and shoved them into her mouth. He shot her a look filled with malice.

Shiloh's skeptical eyes moved to Hayley. "What did you have to do to get those tickets?"

"More like
who
," Adam scoffed.

Hayley snickered and, as if on cue, the lunch table behind
ours burst into hysterics. I leaned up and peered over Hayley's shoulder to find her stoner friends pointing to her and nodding. My eyes moved back to Hayley. A knowing smile pressed her lips.

"Are those idiots the same ones that gave you the
tickets?" Shiloh snuck a peek at them as well. Hayley smirked and began to sing the chorus of "Everybody Loves Me" from OneRepublic. Adam winced as though he smelled something horrible and held up his hand.

"Just stop, stop!"

She cut herself off to glare at him. I grinned at my three friends, sinking into the glorious excitement of the events to come tonight. The thought of being in a crowded room, shoved up against random strangers with
the same passion for music, waiting impatiently for the final band to perform was exhilarating. Nothing could disrupt my moments of pure bliss, not even Eli and his incessant issues.

One of the first students to exit the building after school,
I was on the sidewalk across the street, before I heard the laughter of students celebrating the Friday afternoon. Adam had to stay after school to speak with a teacher about his project grade, which meant waiting for him,
taking the bus, or walking home. I wasn't one of the privileged juniors to own a car so I depended on Adam for transportation, but I liked walking.

We lived in a small town where everything was within close proximity. My school was less than five minutes from my house. When I walked, it took longer, but I loved the time alone to think. It allowed me to venture into my personal demons and the memories I kept locked inside. My life wasn't perfect, but there was nothing I could do to change it, so I lived
optimistically.

A few minutes passed before a car slowed beside me. The glare of the metal cast from the sunlight caught my attention. Squinting, I turned in the direction of the car that was rolling slowly to match my pace. My
breath caught in my throat when the baby blue 1967 Mustang came into view. It was a known fact around town that if you saw Vlad, Eli's friend, you were to stay close to your parents or run to the nearest building and stay there.
Although I'd never actually seen Vlad hurt anyone the way his friends did.

The passenger window rolled down. "Ella," Davey said coolly, leaning forward. I noticed his curly brown hair had grown since the last time I saw him.

"Davey," I responded and gave a small nod to Vlad in the driver's seat. His head turned in my direction briefly before he adjusted his stare to the windshield in front of him. He hadn't changed at all. He still wore the black aviator sunglasses that I'd never seen him without. His
black hair was cut to his jawline and the after five shadow was always present. Both guys appeared to be older than seniors, which attracted the girls at our school who were looking for the mysterious bad boys they thought they could
change.

"Need a lift?" Davey asked, a mocking smile in his features. I bit back a scowl in response to his lame attempt to get me in the car.

"I'm fine." I told him firmly and continued to
walk down the sidewalk. I felt something twist in my stomach when I noticed from the corner of my eye that Vlad's car lurched forward to follow me.

"What are you doing later?"

I shot him a dirty look. "Not you."

"We'll see." A shudder ripped throughout my body. Ignoring the chill, I turned to see a bemused expression on Davey's face. I stopped walking. The car halted when I turned to face it directly, my arms
folded.

"What do you want?"

"You." His sharp eyes moved over my silhouette. I stepped back on impulse. He laughed and nodded to me, "I like that
skirt." His eyes moved down my bare legs and I instantly regretted choosing a skirt over skinny jeans. Vlad's head turned to the side, a frown creased in his features as he stared at Davey.

My throat prickled as I swallowed. "What do you really
want?"

His eyes darkened. "Leave Eli alone. He doesn't need any distractions."

"First of all, I haven't said more than two words to him since August. Second, if he has any problems or distractions, I suggest you
look in the mirror to find them. Third," I paused, "Don't tell me what to do."

Vlad muttered something to Davey who turned to listen. The car slowly began to pull off the road. Davey turned back to me, his eyes
narrowed. "Be careful walking the streets alone." There was something in his voice that shot more chills down my spine. I shivered and in response, rubbed the sides of my arms as if I were cold. I couldn't show him I was
afraid. He'd love that.

I glared at him. "Is that a threat?"

He shook his head. "Just a warning." His infamously wicked grin returned to his face. "Bye, Ella Baby."

The car pulled into the road, the engine revved as it sped down the street. I watched it disappear around the corner before I continued to walk. The goose bumps still covered my arms while the confusion wavered around
me. I couldn't stop wondering if there was actually a point to our conversation or if he was he just trying to scare me. I picked up the pace at the thought, determined to get home safely.

"Wanna hear a joke?"

I laughed, pulled the front door further open, and stepped
to the side so my two best friends could walk in. "Sure."

"Your face." Hayley said while she entered and headed straight for the kitchen. Shiloh and I exchanged eye rolls and followed
her down the hallway that led directly to the large kitchen.

Hayley stopped in the doorway. Her gaze fixated on my mother, who was bent over, halfway inside the oven. Hearing our conversation, she carefully pulled herself out to greet my guests although they practically
lived with us. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun. A few smudges of soot were smeared on her face. She was wearing a white shirt; pink Victoria's Secret sweatpants, and yellow Playtex gloves that were pulled up to her elbows.

"So what is the plan for tonight, ladies?"

"A concert with the most desired band in the world performing." Shiloh exclaimed, smiling.

My mom nodded. "The usual. Who's driving?"

"Adam," I answered quickly. My mom loved Adam to death. In eighth grade, she caught the two of us off guard, during an intense battle of Mortal Combat, and suggested we start dating. Our reactions were
pretending to vomit on each other's shoes. She never mentioned it again, especially when he began to lust after my best friend.

My mom's eyes lit at the mention of his name. I knew if I
mentioned him there was no way she could decline the evening's plans. "Well then, I guess you can go." What I imagined to be a mock of heartbreak suddenly crossed her expression. "What am I going to do without you tonight?"

I wasn't sure how to answer at first. She worked nights at the County General Hospital twenty minutes away from our home. She was the head nurse so she usually didn't get many nights off. It was just my mom and I, so I usually tried to be home on her nights off. It was crucial to our small family
that we spent as much time together as possible. Of course, tonight had to be her night off.

She sensed my distress immediately. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm kidding, El. Have fun."

I laughed and stepped forward to kiss my mom's cheek, the side that wasn't smeared with soot. "Not as much fun as you will have here with Max." Max was our one hundred and fifty pound St. Bernard. He pretty
much lived in our house as if he were a human being. I looked over my shoulder and found him on the couch in our living room, lying on his back, his legs stretched to reach each end of the couch. After ten years, it still amazed me how he could sleep in that position.

I chuckled and turned back to my mom. "We'll be upstairs getting ready." I began to push Hayley and Shiloh to the staircase. Hayley stopped and turned to my mother.

"What were you doing?" She asked, motioning to the
oven. It was then when I noticed the fire extinguisher and the phone book lying on the floor by the oven.

"Trying to fix the oven," my mom frowned and looked over her shoulder. "Something broke it."

"Maybe it's the neighbors," I suggested. "You know they're always getting stuck in there."

She threw her hands up. "That would explain the smell." My mom and I exchanged smirks while my friends stood in the
doorway with blank expressions.

"My best friend," Shiloh began, "Is a cannibal."

They both turned to look at each other. Hayley wiggled her
eyebrows. "Yummy," their voices chimed together at the same time.

I laughed and walked behind them upstairs. We gushed about what we were going to wear and how we were going to do our hair, like normal
girls. In the end we would wear basic band t-shirts and throw our hair up into ponytails, except for Hayley whose hair always had to be down and perfect, despite the sweaty and hectic conditions.

"So," Hayley said when she strode into my room.
"Who has dibs on who?"

Our eyes flicked to the large poster above my desk. It was a picture of the five members of The Masquerade posing for a photo shoot. Before we went to a concert each of us picked out one member of the band performing to
crush on the entire night. If we were lucky enough to get to the front of the stage, we would try to get their attention, whether it was making hearts out of our hands or flashing them. I never came close to exposing myself, but Haley
mastered the technique. Sometimes, we managed to get backstage to hang out with the band thanks to Haley's flashing expertise.

"Hmm," Shiloh said thoughtfully, staring at the poster, her eyes examining each band member carefully. The similarity in the
group was remarkable. Their hair was wild and black, their faces pale and eyes penetrating. "I think PJ is perfect for you."

PJ, the drummer, stood on the far left side, his hands in
the pockets of his jeans; he was shirtless and from what I recalled from their interviews and magazine spreads, he never wore a shirt. Not that he needed one because his chest was nicely chiseled for display.

I nodded in agreement. "You both like to take your
clothes off."

She shrugged. "I get things done."

I moved over to my desk and pulled open the bottom drawer to the stash of my favorite poisons. I shoved aside the bags of chocolate covered
pretzels and retrieved three packages of sour gummy worms. I tossed a bag to each of them and kept one for myself.

"Yes!" Shiloh raved, while she tore her bag open with her teeth. "I will love you forever."

Hayley plopped a few red and yellow creatures into her mouth. She frowned, her stare moved from Shiloh to me. "I won't love you forever," she said dryly, after swallowing. "So you can forget that
shit."

I laughed and fell back onto my bed. The bag rested on my stomach while my fingers rummaged through the opening to pick out the pink and blue candies. I flicked the remaining sugar crystals on my fingers into
Hayley's hair while her back was turned. She continued to gaze at the poster while I slyly made her hair sticky with sugar. Shiloh smirked at me.

"Shiloh," Hayley turned and I dropped my hands with an innocent smile. "You still have to pick one of these gorgeous men
to stalk."

My eyes caught the lead guitarist who stood between PJ and the other guitarist, Max. The mischievous smile that gazed into the camera was mesmerizing. "I think Cam would be perfect for you."

"The loud and obnoxious one?" Shiloh stated without committing.

"The impeccable guitarist with killer riffs!" I corrected with a smile, leaning up on my elbows.

"Probably great in bed." Hayley added and smiled at the dirty look she received from Shiloh.

"Is it impossible for you to go through ten minutes without making a sexual reference?"

"Pretty much," Hayley smiled at her. "So it's settled, Cam is yours for the evening." She grabbed her black leather purse and pulled out her pink, skull and cross bones, cosmetic bag, bulging from all of the makeup she managed to pack inside. "Ella, I'm doing your
makeup. Get over it."

I chuckled, "Only on a special occasion like this."

Everyone knew how much I hated wearing makeup. I was always
running late for school for to one reason or another. I didn't have time in the morning to apply eyeliner or eye shadow. Besides applying, I also found the makeup removal process too long and ridiculous to hassle with. I normally stuck to mascara and cut out the other junk.

"There isn't much of a point to it, either. We're going to sweat it off during the show." Shiloh said, coming to my defense.

I sat up as Hayley stood in front of me, with a stick of
black eyeliner. "Don't go crazy."

"I swear all over that sexy body of yours." She mocked, holding my chin with her hand to keep me still. I closed my eyes and felt the soft pressure run over each of my lids. I knew she wasn't going
overboard, but she was planning on having some fun. She didn't get to do my makeup often.

"Oh, we forgot about you, Ella." Shiloh said when I felt Hayley apply a powdery substance to my closed lids. A frown creased on
my face. The spongy brush pulled away from my skin so I could open my eyes.

"What?"

She motioned to my poster. "You still have to pick one."

"Right," my gaze flickered over to the band. I
only thought of the band as a whole. I never singled out any of the members to crush on. My heart was always saved for the guitarist from Parkway Drive. When I saw them live as a sophomore, I knew I would never be the same. Luke came on
stage, with his guitar in hand and proceeded to electrify the crowd with his mad shredding skills. The girls at our school crushed on fictional characters or movie stars. I was a sucker for hardcore guitarists

"We know you're saving yourself for Luke Kilpatrick." Hayley pointed to the poster above my bed that displayed the five members of Parkway Drive. "But get over it." I pretended to scowl, but I was ready to cave. It wouldn't be fun if I didn't play the game.

"What about Ben?"

I looked at Shiloh and then to the Masquerade poster above my desk. The lead singer stood in the middle, his arm leaned on the bass player's shoulder. His gaze burned into the camera, I sympathized with the
photographer who probably needed a break after shooting them.

In the photo, he wore his famous black leather jacket. I remembered reading somewhere that it was his good luck charm and he never left
anywhere without it. Girls on Internet fan bases would brag that they had his leather jacket because he had thrown it into the crowd at the end of the show. They didn't seem to realize, they were one of hundreds. Most likely none of
them had the real jacket. They had replicas of the original that he tossed away to make obsessive female fans feel special. It was clever. It kept them wanting more.

"Ben will definitely rock your world." Hayley
agreed.

I smiled at the poster. "He is pretty attractive."

"They all are, love."

"Okay," my eyes were on Ben's face when a small smile touched my lips. "I'll take Ben."

"Take him and make Eli jealous." Hayley muttered darkly.

Shiloh took off her sneaker and pitched it at her. Wide eyed, Hayley ducked quickly, and leaned back up to scowl. Shiloh's eyes
narrowed. "Did you not hear me this morning? No more ex-boyfriend talk."

I moved to the corner of my room and picked up the black Vans sneaker and tossed it back to Shiloh. "I appreciate your concern, but
it doesn't bother me to talk about him. We're done. I can't keep avoiding him in conversation."

Shiloh crossed her arms and turned to Hayley. "Do you smell that?" She stuck her nose in the air, inhaled, and nodded. "Smells like bullshit."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious!"

"So if Eli suddenly came to the door and promised he would treat you like a princess for the rest of your life, you wouldn't take
him back?" Hayley arched an eyebrow.

I swallowed. "I didn't say I stopped caring about him."

"You still love him."

"I'm seventeen. I don't even know what that is."

"Sure."

Hayley and I exchanged glares while Shiloh exhaled loudly. "It's just not good to mention him. He's not going to change, El. I know you are secretly hoping he will and that someday you'll end up in each others
arms again, but life doesn't work like that."

I looked down, feeling my chest tighten. They knew me too well. I hadn't thought about finding someone else. It was always Eli, even when
we were kids. He was my knight in shining armor. Then he changed and I broke up with him, but I always assumed there was a light at the end of our darkness. I knew he still cared about me, and I, him. I continued to hope that we would end up together again.

"I know." I finally mumbled. Shiloh's arms were suddenly wrapped around me. I hugged her back, my eyes closed. "Why do you always have to be right?" I asked when we pulled away.

"Because she's mother fucking Einstein, that's
why." Laughing, I turned to Hayley. She smiled in response. Her smile was open, it was her version of a hug, and I accepted it graciously. "No more dick head crap." She clapped her hands together. "We have to get
ready for the best night of our lives!"

I grabbed Hayley's makeup bag and tossed it to her. "Come at me, bro."

She rolled her eyes, but managed to laugh at my comedic attempt. I sat down on my bed and allowed her to continue painting my face
while Shiloh cranked up the music on my stereo, blasting a song from The Masquerade's latest album. It was a moment of energetic bliss, our pre-concert jitters bubbling in our veins, while we prepared for the night I would remember
for the rest of my life.