Hiding Behind A Mask | ✔

C H A P T E R S I X T E E N (part 1)

I stand in front of the mirror as I gaze at myself.

I'm wearing a short, black sleeveless dress that just reaches a little above my knees. The dress is lace with a zipper at the back, which I had a lot of trouble trying to zip up, but eventually got it up without needing any help. I'm also wearing black, skinny heels that makes me look taller than my normal height and a purse with the single strap over my shoulder.

I never thought I would actually agree to go to some school event after all that happened to me, but here I am, staring at myself as if it's not me and someone else.

When I told my mom I'm going to Homecoming the day that Chance asked me to be his date, she stared at me with an unbelievable expression, but when she saw my serious face, she believed me and told me that she was taking me shopping that same day. She was so excited about it and as we ended up at the shopping mall, she threw so many dresses at me, I almost fell down. Trying on clothes later, I finally found the cute, more casual dress that isn't going to be so revealing like some of the dresses I'm going to see tonight.

I run a hand through my long, curly blonde hair that falls on my shoulders and down my back. I smile with a tilt of my head at my lips, at how red and plump they look. I move my gaze to my blue eyes to see how big and bright they are.

I finally stop staring at myself as I turn around to face everything else but my mirror. I hear a knock on the door and tell whoever it is to come in. My mom opens the door and steps in to see me standing in my room, now starting to get a bit nervous.

"You look so beautiful, hun!" she says, walking over to me in such a quick motion. She gives me a hug, of course, being careful not to mess anything up.

"Thank you," I say, wrapping my arms around her. Unlike her, I don't be careful. After all, I'm used to being a pro at not messing things up, especially my make-up and hairstyle.

The both of us let go of each other, her hands resting on my shoulders. "I can see how nervous you are," she tells me. "Just take a few breaths in and out."

I breathe in and out slowly, something she's taught me ever since I was a child.

The doorbell rings and my heartbeat speeds up, forgetting about the calming session I was having. My mom gives me a smile before leaving to go see who's at the door and I turn around to look at myself in the mirror again.

"Everything's going to go just fine tonight, Annie," I whisper to myself. "Just fine..."

"Annie! He's here!" I can't help but hear the sing-song tone in Mom's voice as she yells for me to get downstairs.

I take one last look at myself and inhale deeply before heading downstairs.

Slowly, I take one step at a time down the stairs. I keep telling myself everything's going to be okay, that there's nothing to be worried about, that nothing's going to get in the way of having fun tonight with Chance.

As I reach at the end of the stairs, I let my eyes slowly move up from my feet and gaze up at Chance, who's eyes scan me up and down while I do the same to him.

He looks handsome... cute... Both!

He's wearing a light grey-ish dress shirt and dark grey - almost black- dress pants. He's also wearing a black bow and suspenders, which makes me believe that maybe he was going for a nerdy look, but without the glasses. His hair is tousled in a flip way.

"You look amazing," Chance says, his hands behind his back as he stands next to my mom.

I smile at him. "Thank you," I say. "So do you."

Chance moves his hands from behind his back and holds out a red rose for me to take. "A rose for the lady," he says and I take the rose with a big, gleaming smile on my face.

"It's beautiful," I tell him, looking down at the rose in my hand. "I love it!"

My mom moves from standing next to him. "I need a picture of you both," she says with a short squeal, then pulls out her phone, "Go stand next to him, Annie."

I go and stand next to Chance. He moves a hand around my waist and I look up at him to find him already looking down at me. I lean in close to him, wrapping my arm around his waist, too.

"Say cheese," my mom says and we both say cheese without looking at the camera. I let go of Chance, blinking a few times as he lets go of me also.

"Well, you two should get going! Have fun!" she squeals and Chance and I leave the house together.

* * *

A/N:

Well, hello there! I know I said next update would be the last for this book, but I guess not. I mean, this is the last chapter but with two parts as you can see by the title of this chapter.

I separated this chapter because the word count was like way too long (3000+), which was crazy, so I was like: You know what? I'm gonna make this into two parts-- and so I did! :)

So get ready for part two because it's gonna be a long ride! *whispers* Not really!!

Thank you for reading this chap... part...! Leave a vote if you enjoyed reading it, and also leave your comment/s!

- Tanya <3