It Started With A Dance (Harry Styles x OC)

The Masquerade Ball

The shy, blonde girl danced around tables, taking orders and showcasing a mask of tireless enthusiasm. Another day, another boring day at work for minimum wage. That's how the saying goes right? She powers through by telling herself it's just for the summer so she can save up a bit before heading off to college. Even still, by the end of the day her feet ache and she wonders why she took the job to begin with as she wipes down the last of the tables just before closing.

"Willow!" That's why; her best friend Harper convinced her it would be fun to spend their last summer together waiting tables at a luxury hotel.

"Harper!" Willow smiles as she says her name, she was right about it being less miserable when they worked together.

"Aren't you excited? The masquerade ball is being held here tonight! There's gonna be so many celebrities, I can't wait to tell my parents about all of the famous people I meet tonight!"

Truthfully Willow wasn't delighted that she had to work overtime to hand out expensive snacks to entitled folks, "Harp, they'll be wearing masks, you won't be able to tell who they are, that's kind of the point."

"Oh right." She pouted as she said this, "I'm sure it will still make for a great story though."

Willow had to admit that Harper's enthusiasm was contagious. "Yeah it will, lets go get ready and meet back here at 8pm!"

Willow snuck in the back entrance of the Lord Montgomery hotel at the agreed upon time, making her way into the state of the art kitchen where the chefs were frantically preparing the night's appetizers, shouting directions and barely squeezing by each other with how quickly they were moving about. It was organized chaos. Suddenly she felt a hand grab hers and yank her to the side.

"You almost got run over, come on, let's go check out the ballroom before the guests arrive!" Harper continued to tug her hand, leading her through the kitchen, and managed to push open the double doors with her other hand. She was surprisingly strong for her small frame.

The ballroom looked remarkable. The already beautiful glossy parquet flooring and white walls complemented the white tablecloth covered tables. Space was left open at the furthest end of the ballroom for dancing later in the evening. The lighting the elaborate chandelier provided in the center of the room set the tone for the event, it was expected to be formal but inviting. They make their way through the room before being stopped by a middle aged lady wearing a pantsuit and a seemingly permanent scowl. "Ladies! It took me months to organize this event, I expect you two to be on your best behaviour when guests arrive in half an hour. I need you on coat check, one of your lazy coworkers called in sick." She announces glaring at Willow. "The night hasn't even started and I'm already short staffed." With that the organizer takes off in a hurry, perhaps to deal with more potential disasters.

"Great, I'm stuck on coat check," Willow frowns as she turns to Harper, knowing it's unlikely the two will see each other for most of the night now.

"At least you won't have to try to navigate the hectic kitchen again," she laughed. She had a point there.

Three hours in and Willow was bored out of her mind, no one had been to coat check for at least an hour and a half because at this point in the night everyone was already inside, enjoying the party. She briefly imagined what it would be like to be a guest at this party. What were the celebrities discussing without giving themselves away completely? Better yet, who was under the masks? Though she doubted she'd be able to figure out the identities of the rich and famous because she had not been unable to identify a single person earlier when checking coats. But more importantly, were the appetizers worth all the fuss in the kitchen? She was pulled from her thoughts by Harper, who was now standing directly in front of her, grinning widely.