I was highly annoyed today. My parents insisted on throwing me a birthday party, even though I stated I didn't want one. Tamsin joined them in their stubbornness, so here I was preparing for a party I truly wanted to escape from. I desperately needed a break from pretending everything was fine. I heard a knock on the door and muttered a "come in."

"How are you doing?" Gem slowly opened the door.

"Better if I wasn't being forced to go downstairs." I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. Gem gulped since it was her job to fetch me. "I'll be down soon."

"Let me assist you." She moved to style my hair.

I didn't fight her since I was having trouble styling it. Gem settled on doing a fishtail braid. We sat in silence as she expertly braided my hair. Gem's fingers delicately twisted my hair to perfection. I couldn't help but to smile at the finished product.

"Ready?" She meekly asked.

"I don't think I have much of a choice." Gem gave me a small smile, confirming my answer.

If I'm going to be honest, my family has allowed me to skip 2 hours of the party so far. I fashioned my mask onto my face. It covered the top half of my face. Unlike Gem's, mine was green while hers was pink. I know I'm trying to get over my feelings for Nicola, but I subconsciously chose her favorite color for my mask.

Gemma and I walked arm in arm. We descended the stairs to see the ground floor packed. The party was conducted in a formal/casual manner. The children of our business partners were present, but that was the extent of our professionalism. Most of the guests were from other prominent families.

The DJ stopped to announce my entrance. I rolled my eyes at Gemma who giggled. The guests loudly cheered as we walked to the ground floor. I had to plaster on a fake smile as I greeted them. Ugh! So tiring! Thankfully, Gem was by my side the entire time.

Eric approached me with a kiss. I forced myself to smile into the kiss. He pulled back to reveal an expensive necklace. I smiled and turned around so that he could fasten it onto me. I saw Gemma glare as his fingers brushed the base of my neck.

"I love it." I smiled and kissed him. Gemma scoffed at my actions, resulting in Eric glaring at her.

"This party is amazing! You have the acrobats from Cirque Du Soleil as well as tigers on display!" His arm moved around my waist.

"Tamsin and my mother are quite extra." I chuckled. "All they told me was that it was a masquerade party."

"How do you like my mask?" The black beak was a bit much, but it was alright.

"C-cool." I averted my eyes. "I'm thirsty..."

"Of course. I'll be right back!" Thankfully, he got the hint.

I turned to Gem, but noticed her eyes were searching the crowd. Originally, I thought she was looking for Chico, but she merely waved to him when their eyes met. She was searching the crowd for someone else. Who though?

"Gem." She turned to me. "Who are you searching for?"

She was about to respond, but I detected someone's presence next to me. I thought it was Eric, so I turned with a smile. My smile dropped when I saw a girl with dark brown hair wearing a blue mask. What is she doing here?

"We need to talk, Alicia."