After I passed the flashing lights which was blurring my vision, I could finally make out who it was. The girl in the sliver dress was Celeste. I was still a few meters away from her, so she hasn't seen me. Yet. She was wearing a beautiful silvery long dress, with lots of sequins and sashes. It was very fancy, yet didn't make her seem too prissy or spoiled. Instead, it showed her curves and slim figure. These were some things that I had never noticed about her when we'd been friends, but I suppose that I'd been too young and naive. I'll admit it, she looked sexy in it. She had on a matching mask as well, which had the same design as the dress. Her hair was tied up exquisitely with a matching bow, and she also had a glittering diamond necklace which of course, matched her dress. 

She looked like an angel sent down from heaven. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the sight of her. It reminded me so much of the old times... But also made me hate myself for having these thoughts. I needed to stop dwelling on the past and get my head out of the cloud or else I was going to end up being used and thrown away again. It felt an endless cycle that I couldn't get out of. Sometimes I even dreamt about her. Just the thought of her felt like a stab to my heart. Why haven't I healed even after all this time? Or did meeting up with Celeste reopen the wound?

I noticed that she was talking to someone next to her, a girl dressed in a white sparkly gown. This might sound like a typical toddler's Halloween costume, but it was more than that. It wasn't too sparkly to the point where it would seem too sparkly, yet had the perfect amount. It wasn't as long as Celeste's, as it only went below her knees, but she also had white mesh pants on. She had on a pair of white high heels studded with jewels, and her mask was intricately designed to match her dress yet not look the exact same. I've seen her around campus a few times, hanging out with Celeste and the other boys. I think I recall her name being Veronica.

Neither of them had noticed me yet, and were still talking to each other nonchalantly. They weren't acting like the other girls, gossiping and whispering to each other excitedly, yet almost seemed bored. I suppose that they've been around long enough to experience this already and found it a bore now. I couldn't make out what they were saying, and honestly couldn't care less. I suddenly felt cold. Why was I here? I couldn't care less about Celeste. But as I was about to leave, her eyes flickered towards me, and I saw a sign of recognition flash through them. Just that bit of eye contact left my heart racing for some reason, yet I wasn't sure if it was out of fear, or... something else that I couldn't identify.

She'd been talking to her friend and seeing me made her pause, which made her friend look over to see what she was looking at. These people must be really sharp. She only looked away for a second, yet her friend had detected it and decided it worthy to worry about. Shit. What should I do now that she'd caught me? If I ran away, I would seem like a coward, wouldn't I? But staying was the only other option and it was absolutely not considerable. So then, what was I to do? Celeste had turned back to her friend, and was evidently making an excuse. She seemed indifferent and cool. Was she just hiding her true feelings or did she really not care?

After all these years, I knew that she often hid her emotions and was highly skilled at doing so. I'd been able to tell when she'd been hiding her feelings back then, but it seemed that she really had changed after all these years. She had finally perfected her poker face. Her sharp jawline glinted in the light, and I noticed that her emerald eyes were subtly fixated on me. Why was she watching me? Her friend didn't seem to care anymore though. I felt butterflies in my stomach, and also a sinking feeling in my gut. I looked away and checked my watch. It was only 6:13 pm. 

What was I going to do? My mind seemed to turned into mush, and I couldn't think straight. It must've been the alcohol... but I barely even drank that much. My eyes darted back to Celestes', and found that she was still intently staring at me. It wasn't unlike the way she looked at me during band, yet her eyes seemed hard and glazed. Had she been drinking? Her face wasn't flushed and from what I could tell by lip-reading, she wasn't talking with a slur either. In fact, she seemed as though she knew just was she was doing, as though I was just another pawn on her board. I started to get anxious and worried, thinking that maybe she was scheming against me.

Then I stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and realized how stupid I was being. She's just here like all the other people from this school, and trying to enjoy their life. I was probably being self entitled to think that every part of her life included me. She probably has loads of lovers, be it boy or girl. And why should I care about her? We had absolutely nothing left. If she doesn't care, why should I? I felt determined to show her that I too, could move on and forget about her. I was going to have the best time of my life at this ball to convey the fact that I didn't care anymore, just like her. Except I wasn't going to be a wall plant like her. I actually knew how to dance waltzes and such. Now all I needed to do was find a partner.

I walked off, aware that she was still watching me. To hell with her. My being wasn't dependent on her. After drinking some punch and eating some deserts, I felt refreshed and ready to have some fun. I already had a potential candidate in mind. There was a girl who was in 3 of my classes and she was really sweet and funny. I knew that she didn't have a date as well, and that all her friends had dates so she was stuck in the same situation as me. Her name was Olivia, and she was very pretty too. She had ginger hair that was shoulder length, freckles, and bright blue eyes that always lit up when you were around her, giving the impression that she was always overjoyed to see you (yes, I know she sounds like a Weasley).

She was the one that I would partner up with for group projects, and had lots of hobbies such as sewing, coding, and reading. She was very smart, being the daughter of a famous software engineer, and also very handy. She's very outgoing when she's with someone familiar, but easily gets shy around strangers. I once overheard her telling a friend that she had a crush on me, but I'd never been sure if I felt the same. She never confessed to me either, so we stayed good friends. However, I always got a tingly feeling when I was around her, and strongly cared about what she thought of me. I never understood how she would fall for someone like me, and how.

Sometimes when I talked to her, she would listen intently with her eyes softly fixated on me, as though she was savoring the fact that I was there and talking to her. I would see a hint of desire mixed in the attentiveness and softness, but never showed any sign that I knew. I always got a warm feeling in my chest whenever she smiled at me, which was at least once daily. She was the light in my life, brightening up every day. I knew every small habit she had, and small details about her that she confided to me, that her parents didn't even know. The more I thought about her, the more I decided that she was perfect. I was debating whether I should ask her out as a friend or as a date, when I finally found her.

She was standing by a table and drinking punch, trying to ignore some guy that I'd never seen before, who was evidently hitting on her. Her expression made it clear that she wasn't interested, but he didn't seem to be able to take a hint. I immediately labeled him as a entitled narcissist, the type of men who thought all girls worshipped them. This scene seemed like a typical stereotype, yet was one the rare few to be accurate. I felt my blood boil. Why wasn't anyone helping her? I rapidly made my way over to stop him. When Olivia saw me she quickly ran up to me, hiding behind my back. The stupid dude, dressed in a fancy tuxedo which I saw for a few thousand at the suit shop, was still trying to coax her into going with him.

And so, I gave the idiot a piece of my mind and shooed him off. After a long time of relentless arguing, he finally went off to stalk some other girl. He didn't leave before spewing a few venomous threats though, which left Olivia trembling behind me. I was mad enough to beat him up at that point. How could he target a poor helpless sweet girl like Olivia?! She sensed that I was going to go after him, and stopped my by taking my hand. She looked nervous and grateful at the same time.