If I Ask You to Stay (A BTS Jin Fanfiction)

Chapter 39: Mistaken Identity

(Bella) 

On Saturday morning, I heard a knock at our front door. I debated whether I should go answer, but then I heard Cindy's voice. A few seconds later there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Bella, Namjoon sent your costume over. I'll leave it right outside, okay?"

"Okay," I grunted and rolled over in bed. Why had I agreed to go to this stupid dance? I wanted to go back to sleep, but I saw that it was already ten-thirty. I was curious as to what costume Namjoon had picked for me. I padded over to the door and picked up the rather large box. When I opened it, all I could say was, "Wow!"

It was the multi-paneled yellow dress that Belle wore in the 'Beauty and the Beast' cartoon. I read the note that was included: To the most beautiful Belle. I smiled. "Aww, Joonie." He was such a sweetheart. He must have spent a pretty penny on this outfit. In another lifetime, I might have fallen in love with him, but in this one, there was only one man who dominated my thoughts. My beautiful Bella. The note reminded me of Jin's words. I reached for the silver bracelet that was on my nightstand, hugged it to my chest, and let the tears flow down my cheeks. Jin!

I was still getting ready when Cindy knocked on my door and opened it a sliver. "Bellybell, I'm heading out a little early to meet up with the guys. We'll see you there." She closed the door before I could respond.

I put the dress on, but it hung limply and trailed on the floor. I rummaged in the box and saw that a petticoat was tightly wrapped at the bottom. When I removed the string, the stiff material sprang to life. Once on, it lifted the dress off the floor. I twirled around, liking the swishing sound it made. I did my best to imitate the character's hairstyle from the cartoon. I panicked when it came to the shoes, but I had a pair of gold, sparkly flats that I had worn with another costume, and thankfully, it went with this one, too.

I waited in the living room. Nine. Nine-fifteen. Nine-twenty-five. Where the hell was Namjoon? My phone buzzed with a text from Namjoon.

                                       Sorry. Had some minor technical problems. 

                                      Meet me at the dance at 10.

I sighed wondering what the technical problems were. I stuffed my phone in the flower-patterned wristlet Cindy had left on the table and headed out.

It was nine-fifty by the time I entered the student center. I squinted, trying to find my friends, but the darkness and rotating party lights made it difficult to see clearly. I assumed Namjoon was dressed up as the Beast, so it might not be too difficult to spot him. I walked into the crowd of dancing, laughing people. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Cindy, but by the time the lights stopped flashing in my face, she was gone.

There! I saw a tall, slim figure in an elegant royal costume with an elaborate furry Beast head mask standing off to the side, away from the crowd and the lights. I lifted my dress and hurried over to him.

"I'm here!" I announced. "Wow! I love your costume!"

The furry Beast head looked down at me for a few moments without saying a word, then looked back toward the crowd. "Hello." I could scarcely hear the muffled voice. "You...look extremely lovely."

I tugged on his arm and led him further away from the crowd, hoping to talk a bit. "You know, I've been thinking about a lot of things, and you were right. About me being stubborn and unfair and all that. I wish I could unsay so many things, but I can't. I only hope that I've learned something from all this, and that I can be a better person." I exhaled. "Do you know if...he will be here tonight?"

Furry Beast-Namjoon was uncharacteristically quiet. He brought up a furry-gloved hand to his head mask as if to remove it, but then he pulled it back into place. "Why do you want to know?"

I gulped. "Because I need to tell him something, and I need to tell him in person. I can't call or text like you advised. I want to see his eyes when I tell him because that's the only way I'll be able to tell if he feels the same about me. And if he doesn't, I will probably never fall in love again because I will never be able to forget him."

Furry Beast-Namjoon placed his furry glove gently on my shoulder. "Bella..."

"Bella!" I heard my name and turned around. Namjoon was walking toward me with his big, dimpled smile. He was wearing the red-shirted hunting costume that belonged to the character Gaston.

I gave out a little yelp and hopped away from the Furry Beast next to me. "Oh...I'm so sorry," I said. "I thought you were somebody else. I'm really sorry for bothering you." I tried to make a quick exit, but Namjoon blocked my path. I turned back to the Furry Beast as he removed the head mask, and I almost fell to the floor.

It was Jin!