JP {BoyxBoy}

Cinderella

"It's alright Joseph, you got this."

My older brother Nash says to me while he ties my white bow tie which completes my fitted navy suit.

"I just can't believe this day came so fast!"

I exclaim as I look in the mirror and fix myself. "And it will be over just as fast as it started so be sure to enjoy every minute." Nash says and he brushes the invisible dust off my shoulder while trying to hide a single tear.

"Let's get going."

He says and we head out the door. It was time for the Monarchy's winter prom which was thrown every year by the royal family of Bridgeport Island. This year was also the first time it would be turned into a charity event. The masquerade themed ball is being hosted by the Grayson family to raise money for the Bridgeport Children's Miracle Network.

I was invited as an honored guest since I had survived stage four cancer and I gained my strength back going while going into remission after only four months thanks to the device they implanted in me.

The creator of the Project Kaleb device asked to be anonymous so I don't know who to thank but I am glad to be alive and finally have my entire life ahead of me.

As we arrive at the Ai No Shiro palace I put on my golden mask. It's plain compared to the others but I'm not from a family of wealth like the people whose mask are more elaborately decorated. It was just my brother and I living in a studio apartment in the lower downtown Bridgeport which is the most dangerous district to live in. But with the hospital bills still coming in, we couldn't afford much else.

"Alright, here you are Prince Joseph."

Nash jokes and he looks back at me.

"I will be here to pick you up at midnight and then it's back to the garage." He continues and I nod while exiting our beat up Mustang.

The sun was just setting against the back of the palace and I feel its light shine over me as I enter the palace. The guard checks my ticket at the door and smiles.

"Please, enjoy the ball sir," he says as I enter the grand ballroom which looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.

It was gorgeous. As I descended the staircase into the main ballroom I took in my surroundings. Everything was gilded in gold and there were two floors. The top floor was more like a balcony for the older people to watch as younger people swirled on the dance floor to a grand orchestra seated in the corner. Girls wore the most elaborate hooped dresses in hopes of finding a rich husband while the men wore fitted tuxedos in all the colors of the rainbow. The masks people wore were mostly to cover the upper face and colored to match their outfit.

Many had feathers, sequins, glitter, and swirls but there was one who stood out to me as I got to the second to last step.

He was wearing a dark blue mask with a strange symbol on the side engraved in the cheek of the mask. The symbol was so faint you almost couldn't see it unless you really looked. But it was still plain like my own mask so I assumed he might be from the poorer side of downtown Bridgeport too.

He's dressed in a simple light gray suit with a pocket square to match the color of his mask and a thin blue tie. He was on the scrawny side but held himself up with such confidence that it wasn't very noticeable.

I looked back up to his mask and realized he was watching me too.

I stand off to the side but no girls ask me to dance. I was grateful because I didn't go that way but disappointed that no one showed interest in me. I tried to find the man in light gray once again but he was gone.

Finally, after a half hour, I spotted him once again standing straight across from me, leaning against the same pillar on the opposite side of the ballroom dance floor.

We make eye contact and he waves at me. Confused I wave back.

He points at me, then at himself, then at the ballroom floor and shrugs. I was confused so I just stayed still. He then begins to make another hand gesture that was all over the place and I still didn't understand.

He points to me again and begins to turn in circles pretending to hold someone while dancing in place then looks at me again. Is he asking me to dance?

I shake my head profusely and cross my arms into an "x".

But instead of giving up and focusing his attention elsewhere he ignores my request and begins to walk across the floor, continuing to look straight at me. I continue shaking my head and try to walk away but he only walks faster and catches up to me grabbing my arm.

At his touch, I feel myself go numb and turn to him.