Duncan and I woke up early to double check that everything was ready and set up and get some last minute decor done. We wanted everything ready by 5:30 p.m. which gave us plenty of time to make sure everything was in order. Mom watched my nervous antics casually, before sending me out into the garden to relax for a while. Duncan and I sat in the grass, eventually Sophie joined us, and listed the names of any plant that Duncan pointed out. At some point I chilled out enough to go back inside and we spent our day relatively normally until about 5:15, when Duncan grabbed his outfit and mask and we went into the studio for any minor readjustments. His suit was brown, and matched his hair. He also brought a vest and a small top-hat that was more for style than for actually being used as a hat, and a simple white mask. I gave him a little dark red rose to pin to the lapel of the suit.

I put on my outfit first. It starts at the bottom with dark grey, knee high boots, with a row of gold buttons from top to bottom. There were off-white pants tucked into the boots, they were high-rise, with more gold buttons along each side. I had some blue and black trimmed ruffles that hung off the back-left side of the pants, with flowy fabric that hung to my shins beneath it. Then the coat, which I turned into more of an overshirt and tucked into the pants; it was blue and had three-quarter sleeves. The coat also had decorative shoulder pads, one with gold chains attached to the collar. I also had an old, blue military hat, with the flowers, and more flowy fabric hanging off the end. My mask was white with a few black and gold details in the mix.

“You don’t mind if I change in here do you?” He was already taking off his shirt as he said that. I laughed.

“By all means, go ahead. It’s up to you.” I said as he turned his back toward me. He was wearing a new binder, it was black. No longer the old stained white one he wore for ages. I silently appreciated it, the white one desperately needed to be retired. We both finished getting dressed, and gave each other our absolutely necessary wolf-whistles and check-outs before we tied on our masks. We went back upstairs, and saw that the people my parents hired had arrived and were doing their part before the time for the party to start, which was 6:00. I actually felt much more calm, behind the mask. Not that I was afraid of social situations, it was just easier to have that sense of anonymity. Time between 5:30 and 6:00 passed quickly as the hired workers and guests started arriving. All sorts of different people walked through the door, sometimes one lone person, or even a whole family. I had many people approach me to compliment my attire, as I did to others as well. I got tired, eventually. Duncan and I sat on the couch in the living room when there were fewer people hanging around there, and read together. Duncan was much less fond of socialization, I was happy to take a break with him for a while.

“Hey…” A rather deep voice made itself known. Duncan and I both looked up from our books.

“Hi.” I said, and Duncan waved. The man in front of us was wearing a mostly purple suit, and a black mask. He had dark skin, and dark eyes. He looked young, anywhere between my age, and my older sister’s age. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment.

“Is this seat taken?” He gestured to the chair beside the couch, just to my right.

“No go ahead.” I nodded. He sat down.

“Not big on parties?” He asked quietly, trying to make conversation.

“I like them okay, but him?” I gestured to Duncan, who was reading again. “Not so much.”

“Ah…” He said, quiet for a moment. I could clearly see he wanted to talk, but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. I humored him.

“My names Owen, and who are you?”

“Ah, I’m Liam. Nice to meet you.” He relaxed slightly. I nodded.

“What brings you to the party, Liam?” I asked, trying to get him to talk more.

“My dad does.” He sighed, and smiled a bit “wanted me to get out of the house for a little while.” he said it like a joke. I snickered.

“Relatable.” I said with a smile. Liam smiled more, then looked at the book in my hands.

“What are you reading?” He asked.

“Oh this? It’s called ‘Blue Heron Red’. About a girl in the victorian times, and her life and adventures and what-not.” I held up the book, showing the cover of an insignia with a blue heron on it, the insignia was turning red at the bottom. It was supposed to be symbolic.

“Sounds neat. What’s happening in it so far?” He asked, curious. I sighed.

“Well, the main character’s friend basically just confessed her love for her but she doesn’t think she’s being genuine, and now she’s running from the situation, and it’s all just a mess.” I explained, frustration evident in my tone.

“The girl is in love with the other girl?”

“Oh, yea it surprised me at first too but I think they’d be happy together. They have a lot of chemistry.” I clarified, hesitantly. I watched for any reaction on his face.

“Oh cool!” He beamed. It was an innocent smile, I could see he didn’t dislike it, and he didn’t get weird about it either. Which I appreciated. He opened his mouth to keep talking, but a tall bald man walked in. With a thick black moustache under his grey mask.

“Liam my boy, there you are!” the man said a little loudly. Duncan’s attention was once again drawn away from the book. “I’ve been looking all over for you, come, I want you to meet our hosts.” Then the man turned to me, he’s been smiling this whole time.

“And who might you be? The tall man looked between me and Duncan, who shrunk back slightly.

“I’m Owen L. Lancaster, this is my friend, Duncan. And you are?” I stood and extended my hand as I spoke, this man seemed like the kind of guy who you might want to be on his good side.

“Oh! I beg your pardon, I didn’t realise you were Roland’s son. I’m Murphy Hanson, please, call me Murphy.” He shook my hand with a firm grip. I could see Liam watching the interaction from the side, looking both awkward and startled.

“It’s alright, it’s good to meet you Murphy.” It felt weird using his first name, and I nearly hesitated before I said it. “I won't keep you anymore, if you wanted to go ahead and find my parents.” I took a step back, giving them more space to move if they were going to leave.

“Actually, if you could help me find them that would be great. I admit I have a bit of trouble navigating your lovely home.” Murphy requested, and I could practically see both Duncan and Liam deflate. Not wanting to offend or anything, I nodded. I made eye contact with Duncan, who took the hint and stood up. He walked alongside me while I started walking out the door.

“Where did you see them last?” I asked.

“One of the living-spaces toward the back of the house, heading toward the patio I believe.” He responded quickly, before moving onto questions of his own. “So Owen, how old are you?”

“17.” I answered, a little confused.

“Oh? Well, Liam here just turned 18, himself.” He told me. Unsure of what to do with this information, I just nodded for a moment, then said ‘cool’.

We reached my parents after he continued on, asking more awkward questions. I stuck around for a bit during the introductions that followed, then Duncan and I quietly walked away when we saw an opportunity. I thought we got away unnoticed, but I looked over my shoulder as we went through the doorway, and locked eyes with Liam. The man quickly looked away, after getting caught staring. He said nothing though and I continued on with Duncan through the house.

“Wanna go get food?” I asked as I watched one of the hired men walk by, carrying a tray with glasses of champagne on top. Duncan’s response was immediate.

“Yes. Please.” and then we were walking towards the dining room. There were a lot of people in here, including Paisley and her friends, who each had a glass of sparkling juice in their hands (at least I assume it was). We managed to swipe some snacks from the table, then we hung around my sister and her group. After a few minutes of socializing with them, Liam approached again. I didn’t notice until my sister looked up at him, with her award-winning smile still on her face.

“Hello, I like your suit! It’s a nice color.” She said. Liam looked down at himself and I could see his cheeks darkening slightly.

“Thank you. That’s a nice dress you got there too.” He said in response, with a smile. He was suddenly much less awkward than before, and I felt a little frustrated for some reason. I brushed it off as he turned to me.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?” I furrowed my eyebrows at his request, but nodded. I turned to Duncan, to tell him I’d be back, but when I looked at him he was… Flirting? Oh wow okay, he was absolutely flirting with one of Paisley’s friends. The girl was short, and she had a cute bob-cut and soft brown eyes beneath her lilac mask. She seemed to be responding to Duncan as well, giggling with him, not taking her eyes away. I lifted an eyebrow, and left him to it. I turned back to Liam.

“Somewhere with less people, yea?” I asked, and he nodded shortly after. I gestured for him to follow me, and we went for a short walk into the garden where there were much less guests. We passed Sophie while she played with the other young guests and the dog.

“This okay?” I asked when we were in a more quiet area, still in sight of most of the people though. I seemed to interrupt his train of thought.

“Oh, yea.” He said. He seemed tense again, so I started walking, it seemed like he felt more comfortable moving around the garden; I wanted him to get whatever he wanted to say out, already.

“I mostly just wanted to apologize,” he started, following closely. “For my dad, if he said anything that weirded you out or something.” He added.

“I mean, dads are weird, so it’s fine I guess. I won’t lie it was a little awkward.” I laughed, a tad humorlessly. We were nearing the stone pathways now, but we didn’t stop. Liam laughed too.

“I mean, you’re not wrong.” He sighed, “He gets excited sometimes when he sees me socializing. Which is weird, because it’s not like I don’t have friends or anything.” he paused, like he was thinking. We were by the old fountain now, he took a seat on its rim and I sat down next to him.

“Do you just not get out much or something? My parents can get super pushy about me going out if I spend too much time inside.” I contributed to the conversation.

“Erm, in a manner of speaking, yea.” he sounded like he was going to say more, but seemingly got frustrated about something. “Can I take the mask off for now? It’s a little uncomfortable. I don’t wanna break any ‘masquerade rules’ or anything...” He said the last part in a weird voice, and I laughed.

“It’s fine with me.” I permitted, and he smiled. He reached up and removed the offending material. Feeling weird being the only one with a mask, I untied my own as well. I readjusted my hat after, but while I did so I glanced over to see Liam staring at me.

“What?” I asked him. He flinched slightly, and casually looked away again. Facing forward now. He had kind of a sharp, handsome, alert face. He also had what looked like a diamond stud beneath his eye.

“Is that a piercing on your cheekbone?” I asked suddenly. He looked back over, surprised. I leaned back quickly after I realised I had been leaning closer to get a better look.

“Yea, it is.” His hand came up and he touched it briefly. “Why?”

“Just never seen one there before, it’s cool, I like it.” I told him honestly. He smiled then. A real smile. Teeth and everything as he said thank you. It hit me right then and there. My heart skipped a beat and everything, this guy was way too handsome. I took a deep breath and smiled back.

“Can I have your number?” he asked suddenly, and it shocked me. I must’ve made a face, because he was suddenly talking again. “I just- you seem cool, I wanna be able to keep in touch after tonight… is that okay?” I blinked at him for a moment. Then started moving again.

“Yeah, right. Yeah.” I said as I reached into my coat for my phone. We traded devices while we put our contact information in. When he gave me my phone back I saw he set his contact as ‘LI AM I AM’ I laughed, and he gave a light chuckle back. I got a text from Duncan as I was thinking of what to say next. I turned to Liam.

“Duncan’s asking where I am. I should head back inside.” I said as I grabbed my mask and began tying it back. Liam followed me up a few feet, until I caught his attention. “Liam, you might wanna put your mask back on. We don’t wanna break the ‘masquerade rules’.” I warned jokingly as he hastily retrieved his mask. He had a grin on his face when he turned back around.

We started walking back to the castle, talking along the way. He was really cool actually, once he got over his initial nervousness. We found Duncan waiting by the door as we got closer, I think he was watching, but I couldn’t see too well from that far away without my glasses. When we got close he spoke.

“Hey… What were you guys talking about?” He asked us. I wasn’t sure if Liam wanted me to keep the topic private, so I tried to come up with something vague. Before I could open my mouth, however, Liam spoke.

“I was just apologizing about my dad being awkward.” He spoke truthfully, after looking around to make sure the man wasn’t present.

“Yep. It was really weird.” Duncan said bluntly. I shook my head. Liam nodded along, then looked somewhere in the distance.

“I think my mom is looking for me, maybe we’ll catch up later?” He asked, then started slowly walking away.

“Sure thing.” And with that, Liam made a finger-guns motion with his hands and left. I watched him leave the room with an older looking woman.

“Hmm…” Duncan said, watching as well.

“What?” I turned to my friend.

“What were you really talking about?” He asked, tone sly.

“You heard him, he literally just apologized for his dad being awkward.” I told him, as we began walking further into the house.

“And after that?” He urged.

“I- I don’t know what you want from me. We just talked about parents being weird for the most part. We talked a bit about ourselves as we got up here but nothing significant.” I was genuinely confused.

“Alright, alright.” He gave up for now. We found ourselves in the main hall by the stairs, there were a lot of people scattered throughout it for some reason.

“What about you?” I nudged him, “That girl, you were giving her goo-goo eyes.”

“Ah, Lacey. She’s pretty, I actually see her back home all the time but never had the confidence to talk to her.” He lifted a finger to his face. “Mask helps a lot with that. It’s obvious who everyone is, but it still helps, thinking no one can actually see the face you’re making.”

“And how did it go? She seemed into it.” I wondered. Duncan grinned.

“Got her phone number.” He seemed so pleased with himself. I smiled for him, I was tempted to tell him I got Liam’s number as well. He kept talking though, and I let him go on, until I saw Liam walk into the room. He was with Paisley. I saw them talking but I couldn’t hear what about, and Liam’s head was turned away, so I couldn’t try to piece whatever he was saying with his mouth. They stopped walking, and faced each other. I saw Paisley make the face she always makes when she asks for clarification. Her head tilted forward, eyes open, and eyebrows raised; he must’ve asked something or said something unexpected. Suddenly she slowly grinned, then laughed. He brought his hand to the back of his neck, shoulders raised. He was flustered. I could feel myself becoming annoyed. Then she held out her hand, and he hurriedly grabbed his phone. She was putting her number in his phone. She chuckled a bit longer, and patted his arm as she walked past, and she left the room. I quickly looked away, frustrated. Duncan noticed the change, and watched me stew for a moment. I didn’t think I was making a face, but he reached forward and grabbed my wrists to get my attention.

“You okay man? We can go somewhere else if you need to.” He asked. I took a deep breath, and pulled my hands back.

“Yea, I’m fine, just a little tired I think.” I said, he made a face like he didn’t believe me, but didn’t ask anymore. I looked back over to where Liam was, he turned, and we locked eyes again. I quickly looked away, I was the one caught staring this time. I could see him starting to walk over, and I looked to Duncan. I was about to ask him to come up with an excuse to leave, when I stopped. ‘Why am I running away?’ I thought. I wasn’t upset with this guy, but the impulse to turn tail and run was so strong for a second. I took a few more deep breaths, and turned to greet him as he arrived.

“Hello again.” I said politely, he smiled.

“Hello.” He turned to Duncan, “Sorry, I think I’ve forgotten your name?”

“Duncan, hey.” He nodded to the taller teen.

“I’m Liam, nice to officially meet you.” He said in response, and Duncan nodded. He turned back to me. “My family is going to be leaving soon, I thought I’d drop by one more time to say goodbye.”

“Oh okay, I hope you enjoyed yourself.” I smiled gently.

“I did, thank you.” He looked me directly in the eye when he said that, I had to remind myself to stand my ground, I didn’t turn away until he did. Why was this so intense?

“Well, I have to go now. Bye!” He was still smiling, and he stepped backwards, then added “I’ll text you later!” then he turned and left the room. Duncan and I were quiet for a while. Guests slowly began making their way out of the house, till eventually the last family was leaving, and Sophie was waving to them from the doorway. It wasn’t until later when Duncan made a sudden realization.

“Wait, he has your phone number?” His head shot up from the journal, startling me. I laughed at him for a bit, and he stayed convinced the rest of his time with us that I lied about what we talked about that evening.