Love's Not A Competition

The suits and masks for the boys arrived the Saturday morning. Brittney asked me to give them to the boys since she was too busy dealing with everything else. I grabbed the three boxes and dropped Zeke’s off in our dorm room. I knocked on Eric’s door next and left the box with Katie since Eric wasn’t there. I walked upstairs to the third floor to where the third years slept. They all had single rooms since the teachers thought they needed privacy since their classes were hard and they had big exams to study for at the end of the year. I knocked on Aidan’s dorm room door and he answered. I handed him the box and he smiled at me.

“Thanks,” he said.
“What did you end up buying for Brittney?”
“I brought her some diamond earrings, perfume and a gold bracelet that she liked.”
“Awesome,” I said before walking away.

I walked back down the stairs and into my dorm room, not wanting to deal with Brittney when she was busy doing things. Zeke still wasn’t back and I opened the box that held my dress and mask. I walked into the bathroom and held up the mask to my face, thinking about tonight. The school year had gone past so quickly. We only had about a month left before we were all going back to our homes. I put the mask down, hugging myself. I was going to miss everyone, especially Zeke. But I knew I had to go home. I just thought about my mother all alone in our house and it made me sad. She needed me right now more than Zeke did.

I wiped my eyes when I heard the door open. I grabbed the mask and walked out of the bathroom, forcing a smile at Zeke. I put the mask back and sat at the desk. He gave me a weird look before walking into the bathroom, wanting to take a shower after his training. I did my homework while I waited, not wanting to have to rush to do it tomorrow. Zeke read a book on his bed when he came out of the bathroom. We stayed like this for a while, enjoying the relaxation before the party.

I took the box with my dress in it to Brittney’s room. We got ready together, doing each other’s hair and makeup. Brittney looked amazing in her dress and mask, like a true princess. I pulled her hair up into a messy bun and clipped it up with bobby pins. She zipped up my dress for me before I did my own makeup. I didn’t bother doing heavy eye makeup since my mask would cover it up anyway. I left my hair down and put clear gloss on my lips. I did apply some mascara because I felt naked without it. I wore purple high heels while Brittney wore simple black ones though you couldn’t see them under her dress. Katie was meeting us there since she had wanted to get ready with Jesse.

“Do you think they are serious?” I asked Brittney on the way to the car.
The boys had already left since Brittney had taken a long time putting on her makeup.
“Who’s serious?” she asked.
“Katie and Jesse, do you think they are serious?”
“Oh, I don’t know. She hasn’t really talked to me about it. She did tell me that they were making plans to meet up over summer but I’m not sure.”

I nodded and we got into the car that was waiting. I was glad Brittney wasn’t driving. The driver pulled up to the hotel where the party was being held. Her parents had hired out the ballroom for her. We got out of the car and walked into the hotel. When we reached the ballroom people immediately came up to Brittney, wishing her a happy birthday. I slipped away, not liking being surrounded by tones of people. I put the present I had brought her on the table that was piled high with gifts. It was her actual birthday on Monday but that didn’t matter. I couldn’t believe she was turning eighteen already. My birthday wasn’t until July. I used to hate having my birthday during the summer but now I didn’t mind so much. I wasn’t a big celebrator.

I spotted Zeke in a dark suit with a black mask and walked over to him. He smiled at me when I reached him. I rested a hand on his cheek before reached up and kissing him gently on the lips. He froze under my touch and I looked at him funny when I dropped my hand.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
He pushed up his mask and I gasped.
“Oh shit,” I said quickly. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were Zeke.”
“Jasmine, it’s okay,” Jesse said quietly.
“Please don’t tell anyone that just happened. Please?” I begged.
“I won’t, I promise.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before I made a big fool of myself?” I asked, smacking his arm.
“I didn’t know you were going to kiss me on the lips. I thought you were just giving me a friendly kiss on the cheek or something.”
“How embarrassing,” I mumbled.

He laughed lightly and I smacked his arm again before walking off, going to find the real Zeke. I made sure to push up his mask before I kissed Zeke once I had found him. He looked amazing in a black suit with a blue shirt. His mask was the same color blue as his shirt and it made his eyes stand out. I wrapped my arm around his waist and we went to go find the others.

“You look amazing,” he whispered in my ear as we walked.
“I have to admit, you clean up pretty nicely as well.”

He shoved me playfully while I smiled cheekily. We found Eric and Amy, his date. I had met her once before and she smiled kindly at me. Eric seemed happy with her and she was a nice person. We talked for a while before I went to go find Brittney. I had spotted her across the ballroom and was walking towards her when someone stepped across my path. It was hard to tell who it was with their mask on and the dim lighting. People pushed past me while the boy stared at me. He removed his mask and I stared at Zack, wondering what he wanted. He had made me nervous the first time I had met him. I remembered always catching him staring at me.

“Yes?” I asked, wanting to get this over with.
“You look really sexy tonight,” he whispered.
“Zack, seriously, you are younger than me and you are Brittney’s brother. Besides, I have a boyfriend.”
“That stuff doesn’t bother me. If I was your boyfriend, I wouldn’t let you out of my sights. I used to dream about you coming into my room, naked, when you used to stay over.”

I took a step back, feeling really uncomfortable. I felt an arm snake around my shoulder at the same time Brittney walked over. She hit Zack with her paper fan, causing him to glare at her. I looked at Zeke gratefully and didn’t even get a chance to blink before he kissed me deeply. I pulled back after a minute and glanced at Zack who was staring at us moodily. He walked away and I hit Zeke on the chest, happy but annoyed at his methods. Brittney dragged me onto the dance floor before Zeke could say anything to me.