Finding Beauty

Chapter 39

~The Beast~

The car door shuts behind me as I adjust my suit jacket. Belle climbs out and pulls her button jacket closer to her. It's chilly and the sun has gone down so that it no longer offers its warmth. Belle's slow steps meet mine in front of the car. She takes a deep breath and places her mask over her face.

"You ready?" she asks, kindly looking up at me. We had a brief conversation about how this is going to be the first time I'm at a normal public event as a normal person, not "The Beast". I told Belle how I was uneasy about it and she reassured me that was the least of my worries.

I shrug. "Ready as I'll ever be."

She loops her arm through mine and leads me away from the parking lot and towards the party. Shocked that she even thought about touching me, I stumble to match her speed. A man collecting tickets stands in front of a tall building. There's a sign next to him that reads "Secundocasu Masquerade Ball Being Held on 7th Floor."

Belle gives a charming smile and hands over our tickets. The man looks us over and accepts them with a bored expression. "7th floor. Enjoy."

Next thing I know, we are crammed into a large gold painted and red rugged elevator with a bunch of other people. If my mask slips or they look closely at me, they'll see I'm different. That I'm a beast. The thought makes me sweat. I'll have nowhere to escape and the police will find me. I'll be trapped and who knows what would become of me.

Suddenly, I'm grateful that Belle is holding onto me.

I watch the dial on the top of the elevator move impossibly slow until it dings and let's us off.

The ballroom is decorated beautifully. Lights and streamers are draped across the ceiling. Balloons rest in bunches in the corners of the giant ballroom. Paintings, all containing the same style, are hung on the walls distinguished from the dance floor and snack tables by red rope.

My dad was invited to many events like this after he saved those people during the shooting. I attended some of them and entertained myself by observing the people and their conversations. I learned that many of their smiles faded when others looked away, that half the words that came out of their mouths were meaningless, I learned that my family weren't the only people who played pretend.

But here I am with Belle, a girl who says what she means and means what she says, and I would love to spend the night with her. Sadly, the reason why we're here in the first place is because we were threatened to.

"I better go scope the area and try to find Tyler," I say becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, you should. I'll hang out. Let me know if you find anything." She starts to wander off.

"Wait, Belle!"

She looks back. "Yeah?"

"Uh...Maybe we can...um...maybe you can save me a dance?" I stutter. I mentally face palm myself.

Nice English, Gale.

She chuckles. "Sure. I would love to." With that, she disappears into the crowd. Trying to clear my brain, I take in the area.

Would Tyler be in the crowd trying to blend in? Or is he hiding somewhere secluded? I'll check the more empty places now that this place isn't so packed. Later it might be impossible to escape the crowd.

After a few minutes of searching, I find a storage looking room set apart from the main space. After looking left and right for anyone, I approach the door. Something clicks as I turn the knob and the door opens. I quickly enter and shut the door behind me. It's dark. My hands reach for a light switch. The light comes on revealing a plain and mostly empty space. There are fold- in tables and boxes filled with supplies. Nothing to see here.