Contagious Chemistry by Sian Webster (books under 200 pages TXT) 📖

by midnight.”
“I love your Mum,” Emily laughed.
“She made the dress and everything,” I said, pulling at the silky blue material, the petticoat underneath rustling. “I didn’t pay a cent for my costume. She had the mask in the attic. Said it was vintage or something.”
“As long as when it’s midnight you don’t suddenly turn into a servant girl.” Emily joked.
“Well, by midnight, my hair will probably be a total mess.” I smirked. “That good enough for you?”
“I can cope with that.” She laughed, pulling into a car parking spot next to the school hall.
“Well then,” I announced, “let the fun begin.”
Emily squealed with excitement and hopped out of the car. I quickly followed suit. I knew that some time that night I’d probably lose her in the crowd but I didn’t want to lose her straight away because then I’d walk in looking like a loner in a big fancy ball gown.
I walked through the doors of the school hall and nearly gasped in shock. The place had been transformed beyond recognition – from an indoor basketball court to a beautiful venue for the Halloween Masquerade Ball it was hosting. Lengths of Brightly coloured silks draped from the roof in arcs, hiding the usual wooden rafters and creating an Aladdin’s-Cave-like illusion. Lights flickered through the cloth, casting eerie shadows across the hall, giving it an even bigger sense of mystery. The large room was filled with people, some dancing, some standing off to the side, some taking advantage of the all-you-can-eat free buffet, and others were standing in the middle of the dance floor just happily conversing with one another.
Not only was the hall transformed beyond recognition, but the people occupying the space were too. Some of the girls wore dresses that I’d hate to know the price of, others wore very little at all, and some were dressed simply like Emily. All the guys wore the randomest costumes I had ever seen. I was pretty sure I spotted Spider-Man somewhere in the crowd. Everyone was wearing a mask of some sort, whether it covered half their face or all of it. All in all, I couldn’t recall having seen anything as beautiful or as mesmerising as the scene unfolding in front of me at that very moment.
“I really don’t wanna be here,” I moaned to Emily. “I don’t know which one’s Alex.”
“Why does that matter? You don’t know which one’s Jeremy either.” Emily pointed out.
“I don’t know which one’s Alex, meaning I don’t know who to run away from.” I told her.
She laughed. “Come on, we need to get you a drink.”
“Emily, this is a school dance. Meaning no alcohol.” I reminded her.
“Chill out,” She sighed, “I never implied anything about alcohol. I just said we need to get you a drink to get away from the door because we look like idiots.”
“I don’t wanna go in, there’s enough people staring at me already.” I complained.
“Well aren’t you a little social butterfly?” Emily said sarcastically. “Come on!”
“Please?” I asked.
“Nope.” She said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me away from the door. As she lead me deeper into the dance floor, more people turned to stare as I walked past. I thought about covering my face, then I remembered that I had a mask on so no one knew who I was anyway. Still, I looked down at the floor to hide my already hidden face, a blonde curl falling out of place, and followed Emily away.
“Don’t hide, silly,” She chided. “Head up, shoulders back. A princess doesn’t slouch.”
“This one does.” I mumbled.
“Oh, stop being such a killjoy,” She complained.
“I really hate not knowing who anyone is.” I sighed. “What if I kiss someone I think is Jeremy and it turns out to be Alex?”
“Or even worse,” Emily laughed, “what happens if you kiss someone you think is Alex and it turns out to be Jeremy?”
I groaned. “Please don’t wish that on me! Jeremy thinks I hate Alex!”
“So does everyone else,” She pointed out. “Does this mean you don’t?”
“No. Well, yes. I mean…” I groaned again. “I don’t know!”
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Emily asked sceptically.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “He kissed me again.”
Her eyes widened. “When?”
“After school, the day he got off the bus at our stop.” I told her.
“Two days ago? He kissed you again two days ago and you didn’t tell me until now?” She exclaimed.
I clamped my hand down on her mouth. People had started staring again, and that time it wasn’t because of what I was wearing. “Keep your voice down!”
She pulled my hand off her face. “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. Meet me at the square, 10am.”
“Why, where are you going now?” I asked her.
“I just found James, so I’ll see you later.” She smiled to herself before making her way through the crowd of dancers and leaving me alone.
I sighed, moving off to the side of the hall and leaning against the wall. It was going to be a long night. Song after song played, my eyes following Emily and James as they danced. I hoped she’d invite me over to dance with them too, but she probably thought I’d run off with my own Prince Charming already.
“A girl dressed like that shouldn’t be hiding herself away in the corner if you ask me.” Someone said.
I looked up and saw a boy dressed in what I guessed to be a Prince Charming costume. I smiled slightly to myself. We matched. It wasn’t Jeremy or Alex; this boy had spiky blonde hair. A plain black mask covered his eyes. I couldn’t make out if they were grey or blue because of the school’s cheap strobe lights bouncing off every reflective surface of the room.
“I don’t usually come to these things.” I told him. “I usually stay clear of things that involve any type of social contact.”
He laughed. “You’d think if you wanted to be ignored, you’d come as something a little less conspicuous than Cinderella. Like a bumble bee for instance.” He pointed over to Emily.
“That sassy little bumble bee just happens to be my best friend,” I laughed. “But my costume was my Mum’s idea of a joke because I have to be home by midnight.”
“Do you dance?” He asked me.
“Not usually, but I suppose I could make an exception for Prince Charming.” I joked.
He bowed dramatically and held his hand out. “Then, may I have this dance?”
“Of course you may!” I laughed, taking his hand and letting him drag me into the middle of the dance floor.
“Here’s a slow one for all you couples out there!” The DJ called over the loud-speaker.
I laughed. “You have impeccable timing.”
“So it seems,” Prince Charming winked.
I closed my eyes and smiled as Terrible Things by Mayday Parade started playing. “And apparently this DJ has impeccable music taste.”
Prince Charming smiled. “You listen to Mayday Parade?”
“They’re one of my favourite bands!” I replied.
“Well, then you also have impeccable music taste,” He smirked.
“So do you, it seems.” I smiled back as we swayed to the music. We were quiet for a while. I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced.
“You know something?” I asked him.
“I know a lot of things,” Prince Charming joked. “Though I’m not quite sure if I know what you’re referring to.”
I smiled and shook my head. “When I came here tonight, I hated the fact that you didn’t know who anyone is.” I said. “Now I’m kind of glad. If everyone had known who I was, I wouldn’t be dancing with you right now because I have two guys that happen to be head over heels in love with me.”
“Is that your way of telling me I have competition?” He asked.
I shook my head again. “It’s my way of saying I’m glad I met you here tonight. Even though I don’t know your name.”
“I’m glad I met you here tonight too, Cinderella.” He smiled.
I placed my hand on his cheek and looked into his grey eyes. “Who are you?”
He closed his eyes and smiled, leaning into my hand.
He opened his mouth to say something when our principal started speaking over the music. “Hello everyone, it’s everyone’s favourite time of night! It’s time to announce our Halloween Masquerade King and Queen!”
Everyone in the hall cheered.
“Oh how wonderful.” I said sarcastically.
“How ‘bout we just laugh at the winners,” Prince Charming smirked.
“Sounds good to me,” I laughed.
“Tonight’s King and Queen are…” The principal paused, opening the envelope. “…Cinderella and Prince Charming!”
I cursed.
“Did he just say what I think he said?” Prince Charming asked. People were turning around and giving us death stares because we weren’t already up on the stage accepting our awards.
“Yep.” I said, popping the “p”.
“So much for avoiding social contact,” He joked, taking my hand and dragging me through the crowd of people to the stage. “It’s almost like you’re a magnet for unwanted attention.”
“Tell me about it,”
When we got up on stage, the Principal gave us our crowns (they were cheap and plastic – I didn’t see the point when you could get one for a dollar from a dollar shop). We didn’t know if he wanted us to make a speech or not, so we kind of just ran back down to the dance floor, trying to avoid as much social contact as possible.
We ran all the way to the very back corner of the hall before stopping to catch our breath. Though, catching your breath is quite hard when you’re too busy laughing. We leaned against the back wall, gasping for breath, but eventually we both ended up slipping don the wall and sitting on the floor. It was only when I had got my breath back enough so the room wasn’t spinning that I realised how close we were.
I gave Prince Charming a little smile and looked down, my fringe hiding my face. He put his finger under my chin and made me look had him. He brushed my cheek softly with his hand and leant his forehead against mine.
“Tonight,” He said, his eyes closed, “has been one of the best nights of my life.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. I didn’t bother saying anything; I just closed the space between us and kissed him softly. I sighed as I realised that even with my Prince Charming, there was no spark like there was with Alex.
I sat back, and noticed something in the corner of my eye. Alex.
“I’m sorry,” I told Prince Charming, “but I really have to go.”
Not waiting around for his reply, I started running over to Alex when I noticed something else. A boy that was obviously Jeremy, in his cute little Prince Phillip costume (I seemed to have picked the wrong Prince), kissing a girl that was quite obviously Casey. It suddenly made sense why Alex was standing on his own. When I turned around to look for Alex again, he was walking out of the hall. I followed him, leaving enough space between us to make it look like I wasn’t. For all anyone knew, I could simply be getting some air.
I followed Alex out of the