Who would have guessed? Seth Arickle notoriously shy, and not into parties was well at a ball. It wasn’t a normal ball though it was a Masquerade Ball, so really he had a mask to hide behind, only problem is the mask wasn’t like a Halloween mask, where you could hide you whole face, it was small, and only big enough to cover your eye area, so people who knew you well would be able to recognize you, the people who knew you some maybe not. His mask was silver and black; there were two black areas one surrounding the eye hole, the other surrounding the silver area around the left eye hole. The other Silver area was surrounding the black area around the right eye area. His mask matched his tie which was silver and black swirls all the way down, and his undershirt was silver with a black overcoat. Luckily he didn’t overdress compared to other people at the ball, or maybe he underdressed, he didn’t really want to dwell on it. He moved farther into the party trying not to bump into people, it was hard considering how packed the gym was.

He successfully made his way over to where the drinks were while only bumping into a few dancing couples and one couple making out. He started to look at what everyone was doing, like always he noticed that the cliques were, for the most part, separated from each other. The Royals were together, as were the Uniques, and the clique he was supposedly in, the nobodies. He thought it would have been harder to notice them but surprisingly you could tell who was who by the way they were dressed.

He took a sip of the punch, and started to debate if he should leave or not. He was out of his element and he knew it, parties and school functions weren’t really his thing, he enjoyed them from time to time, but they weren’t his choice activities. Lately though he was going to them more often, maybe it was due to him being more outgoing lately. Plus being in band he did have to go to the sports games. More people were arriving, you could tell because the volume level rose.

He started moving towards the crowd, heading for the door. He was tired anyway, and he had studying to do tomorrow. He bumped into a guy wearing a red mask; the guy turned and stared at him, more glared, “Watch where you’re going.” The guy said a bit angry, Seth looked at him, not sure what to do really, all he could think of was sorry. “My bad dude wasn’t watching where I was going.” He said as he moved past the guy, people in crowded placed were a bit irritable. He was about half way to the exit when the speakers blared “Everyone partner up”. Seth sighed, perfect, he thought. He noticed a girl a few steps from her, he moved towards her and took a breath. “Hey, ummm you have a partner?” He asked, hoping it went better than he thought it would.

Alice walked into the gymnasium, her heels clanking lightly against the floor. Everyone was in a festive mood, and you could tell that almost everybody at Aura was attending the masquerade ball. Alice could almost feel the heat coming from hundreds of bodies, each grinding against another. She had been late, by only half an hour, but already the mood in the gym had gone from formal to party-like. Well, there wasn't much to say on that, because, simply, the masquerade ball was planned, organized, and run by students. The student council, to be exact, but that didn't matter. Sure, a few minutes here and there the people over the speakers might call a partner-up dance, but most of the times it was just freeform/get down on the floor type of dancing, which was definitely all right with all the other students of Aura. It was like a big get-together of sorts, although you could tell the diversity amongst the students. Festive occasion or not, you could easily spot the cliques amongst the crowds. But not all the cliques were certain, Alice herself could tell that some royals mingled with the nobodies and some of the rebels mingled with the uniques. You never were quiet sure about who was who at a masquerade ball. Which was why an occasion like this was so fun.

Alice could feel eyes on her, but she was accustomed to it by now. Being a majestic, and the queen none other, everybody always stared at her. And not all those stares were very friendly, in fact, a good deal of them contained hatred. But it didn't matter to her. Of course, she didn't care for people starring at her in general. She was not one of those attention-craving bitches that acted like she owned the world. Sure, some people thought she did, because in some ways she did, but she totally disagreed. A majestic or not, she was the same as any other average student at Aura. Except for the over-happiness and carefree type of behavior... but, hey, that was her, and she couldn't exactly change herself in one day just to please someone else. She wouldn't change herself ever, anyways, not for someone else, at least. Sighing, she slid through the crowd, the skirts of her dress swishing against other people's attires.

Alice smiled occasionally to people she knew; people who recognized her, even under the mask. For the masquerade ball, Alice had decided to wear a mask of gold and black. It only covered her upper face. The gold was more of a red, tinged with almost a copper-like color. The whole mask was black, but a thin border around the eyes was gold. From the border came numerous swirls, which were also gold. All together, the mask was a pretty little thing, but simple at the same time. The perfect match for Alice's dress, too. Alice looked down, shuffling the newly acquired dust off the skirts of her dress. Wait, that sounded like she was wearing a huge ball gown or something, but she wasn't. The dress she was wearing reached her knees, it being a shade of red, almost maroon, even. It was a strapless dress, and from the top down to the waist, through the middle, was a row of crystals. Yes, they were real and expensive. And they sure did shine, not that it mattered. The skirts of Alice's dress had many creases in them, and one or two underskirts just to fluff it up a bit. Since the dress was not long, it looked more like a party dress than a ball-gown dress, which was exactly what Alice had been intending. Faint golden swirls that shimmered because of the scarce light in the room spanned all of Alice's dress, making her attire look enchanting and somewhat other-worldly. She wore black boots, although the boots were on heels, giving the dress a somewhat elegant feel.

Alice's hair was a dark brown, her eyes a hazel. She smiled once more, following the gap created for her. Her skirts swished, the bracelets on her wrists and the single necklace around her neck seemed to jingle to the beat. Alice danced with a few boys, letting loose. It didn't matter if she was the innocent, happy-go-lucky Alice, because at the masquerade ball, she could be anyone she wanted to be. And then, suddenly it ended. The people on the speakers announced a partner-up dance, and students skittered about to their partners. Several crowded around her, asking. She ignored them, moving forward. Then, somebody else asked, and she was about to ignore him, too, ready to leave, but realized that she could not. She had to stay here and dance, because this was the one night she could escape from being Alice Black all together. Alice flashed a smile towards the guy's direction, and said, "Sure," to his invitation. The next dance was a formal one. She awaited his bow, which would start the dance. Soon after the bow she would step up, place her arms around him, and they would glide across the floor for a brief five or so minutes. Hm... this could be interesting.