Josh has never liked masks much.
He might be kind of shy, but he's never wanted to hide. It might sound boastful, but Josh has always been proud of who he's been, who he is, and who he's going to be.
So he's not enjoying his friend's masquerade ball-themed party very much.
Josh's mask is something he chose haphazardly from the party store, and is a blue-gray color that apparently nicely complements his bright pink hair. It covers only the top half of his face, and he's wearing a suit with a tie that matches it.
He's been standing in the corner, pretty much, sipping punch when some guy in a black and white skeletal mask that covers his face completely comes up to him.
"Hi," the guy says, and the first thing Josh notes is his voice. His slightly muffled, adorable voice. "All right?"
"Mm? Oh, yeah," Josh says. "I'm just not one for dancing, really."
"Really?" the guy asks. "It's easy. You just move your body to music. Do you like music?"
"Is that a question?" Josh finds himself asking.
The guy laughs. "All right." He holds out his hand. "Come dance with me, then."
"What?" Boys don't just come up and ask Josh for a dance. That's not a part of Josh's life.
"Come on," the guy insists, and Josh decides what the hell, and takes his hand.
"I don't normally get asked to dance," Josh tells the guy as they start to spin around the room.
"I don't normally ask guys to dance," the guy responds. "It's what I love about masks. I could be anybody."
"That's what I don't like about masks," Josh admits. "I like being me."
The guy chuckles. "I like hiding," he says softly. "I like being someone else. If I were me..." he looks Josh in the eye, and Josh sees brown eyes with obscenely long lashes peer at him, "I never would've asked a hot guy to dance with me."
"You don't know what I look like," Josh points out, feeling himself start to blush.
"I know enough," the guy points out. "Your mask barely covers your face."
Yup, Josh is definitely blushing now.
"This is why I love masks," the guy says. "I never would've said that without one."
They dance.
Josh is actually beginning to enjoy dancing. Skeleton Boy, as Josh has mentally dubbed him, is a good teacher. And he smells nice.
"Do you want to get something to drink?" Skeleton Boy asks after a while.
"Sure," Josh says.
Skeleton Boy has to lift up his mask slightly to drink, and Josh catches sight of very nice looking lips. He looks away before Skeleton Boy can see him staring.
"I don't want to spoil... this," Josh says, "so can I give you my number, and you can text me or something after tonight? If you'd like?"
"Sure," Skeleton Boy says, pulling out a pen from his jacket pocket and handing it to Josh, who jots down his number on a napkin. He hands back both the pen and the napkin with a nervous smile.
He can't tell if Skeleton Boy is smiling back behind the mask, but his eyes seem to be.
Josh holds out his hands, and the other takes them.
And they dance.
I can't quite tell whether I like this or not.
