The music shook the car with driving bass beats that caused vibrations even through the dark leather upholstery.

Suzy sat stiffly in the back of the limo and in her stomach so she wouldn't rip her dress. Despite her better judgment, she had followed Baekhyun out the back door of the ballroom. It wasn't until she found herself sitting in the back of this limousine with a very suspicious crew, that she really began to worry.

This probably was the stupidest decision she had ever made.  Why did she agree to Baekhyun's "after party" at the first place? 

When he had agreed to her one hour and a half bargain, Suzy couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as she followed Baekhyun to the back door.  For the first time in her life, Bae Suzy, was going to break the rules. 

But now she was questioning her state of mind.  She was now sitting across Baekhyun, who had a blond girl in a little black cocktail dress hanging onto his arm.  

She was looking at Suzy up and down, from the bottom of her blue silk gown to her white gloved hands folded tightly in her lap.

"Baekhyun, I don't understand why you brought her along." The girl's voice revealed an obvious distaste at Suzy's presence.

Suzy gave a practiced look of boredom, but felt herself trying to sink farther into her seat. Baekhyun looked up from where he had been fishing a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket. He glanced at the blond next to him and then to Suzy. 

"You don't have to worry about her. She's practically my sister." The blond pouted prettily and held out a glass so Baekhyun could fill it with champagne. 

Suzy recognized the other girl sitting across from her, Naeun, a daughter of one of the less established families named. They were roughly the same age and had both attended social gatherings as children. Hyeri was a member of one of the families Suzy's mother referred to as "commoners." According to her mother, she was unfit company for a member of the Bae family, and therefore an unacceptable playmate for little Suzy.

Now, Suzy was the one who felt unacceptable.

Naeun looked like a fun loving party-girl. She fit into the setting perfectly in tight jeans and a sparkly shirt that displayed a flat midriff. The boy sitting next to her looked equally stylish even though he appeared to be very young. He had spiky red hair and his lower lip was pierced with a silver loop. Suzy's eyes widened as she noticed the loop had a silver chain going through it and connected to another loop pierced through the top of his ear.

In order to stop herself from staring, Suzy looked down and absentmindedly straightened the layers of blue silk that covered her legs. She felt incredibly out of place and made sure to cover the vulnerable feeling with a haughty air. Why hadn't Baekhyun told her she should change clothes? She was obviously far too dressed up for wherever they were going. At least the other two person in the car were polite enough not to comment about her being there.

"Suzy, here take this." Surprised that somebody was speaking to her, she glanced up to notice Baekhyun holding out a glass of champagne expectantly. She gave him her best admonishing look. "You know I don't drink, Baekhyun." 

The boy with the lip piercing folded his arms. "She's not gonna say anything about where we're going is she?" Everyone in the car stopped what they were doing and stared at her, all concerned that she would ruin their night of fun. "Nah, Tao, she's cool." Baekhyun said as he downed the glass of champagne in his hand. 

"She can keep a secret. Can't you, Suzy?"

"Of course I can." Even though this was not her normal setting, Suzy wasn't about to let Baekhyun show her up. If nothing else, she was determined to save face, no matter how uncomfortable or shocked she felt. 

The boy, who she now knew was named Tao, shrugged nonchalantly and bent his head to nuzzle Naeun's neck.

Suzy didn't want to draw any more unwanted attention to herself, so she sat back and looked out the dark window, wishing she could disappear. People like this could never understand her. She simply hadn't been raised like them. While other children had been playing in playgrounds, she had been inside studying French. While other girls had been going to school dances with boyfriends, she had been attending social dinners, practicing etiquette and taking lessons in politics from her grandfather.  Suzy became a woman before she ever had the chance to become a child. It was possibly why she had been immediately attracted to Jongin. Just like her, he understood. And that made him care. Well, that's what she wanted to believe.

Suzy looked at her reflection on the glass of the dark car window. Pale cheeks and tired eyes set over a bored face. Her mother was right, she should be wearing more make-up than this. She should really try to make her mother happy since she was obviously so disappointed in her. She made a mental note to follow her mother's advice and watch what she ate for the next few weeks.

The sound of the car door opening, abruptly brought her out of her thoughts. Suzy picked her purse up off the seat next to her and lifted her skirt so it wouldn't get dirty as she stepped out of the car. Hyeri and Tao walked arm in arm. Baekhyun and the blond walked not far behind them. Suzy followed them all alone.

They were in the middle of town, yet the streets looked deserted, with only soft street lights to reveal the empty road. It had rained earlier that night and Suzy took special care to watch for mud puddles as she followed the couples.

When they turned down a dark alley she hesitated. "Where is it exactly that we're going?" Baekhyun paused. "It's just around the corner." Suzy stood perfectly still, unsure of what to do. This didn't seem like a very good idea. They all stopped and and turned to look back at her. The blond looked at her with disgust, Tao with disinterest, and Hyeri had a look of none other than pity. Baekhyun took off his suit jacket and swung it over his shoulder. 

"Hey guys, why don't you go ahead of me? We'll catch up in a minute."

Suzy couldn't take it anymore. She punched him in the arm as hard as she could. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You're disgusting."

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a prude."

"Oh," Suzy dramatically gasped at the insult. "I'm not a prude and I don't have anything to prove to you. I'm leaving." 

She turned swiftly and began walking away. Ignoring Baekhyun as he ran after her trying to cut her off. 

"C'mon Suzy, you promised you'd come out for an hour and a half. It hasn't even been twenty minutes yet."

She kept walking. "What are you going to do? Walk home?" he persisted. Still, she ignored him. 

"I know. You're scared aren't you?"

That stopped her. 

"I may be disgusted and disappointed in you. But I am certainly not scared."

"Yes you are. You're scared that nobody will like you."

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm..." She stopped before she repeated herself then let out a sigh.

 "This is childish, isn't it?" Baekhyun smiled a bit. "Yeah, but we haven't fought since we were kids. I kinda like getting the old Suzy back."

"Yes, but we're too old for this now." Somebody had to be the adult here. 

"Absolutely, so are you coming with me or not?" Suzy sighed in defeat, his taunts worked and now she had to prove to him that nothing so ridiculous could scare her. 

"Yes, but only for a little while."

"Yeah I got it, an hour and a half. Just like you promised." He seemed determined to remind her. As she reluctantly walked with him towards the back alley, Suzy started to worry about what would happen once they got wherever it was they were going.

Suzy paused when they reached their destination. It wasn't through the dark alley, it was in the dark alley. They stood in front of what appeared to be an abandoned door, except there was loud music coming from behind it and a large angry bouncer smoking a cigarette in front of it. Baekhyun spoke to the bouncer as if he'd known him for years, he motioned back towards Suzy announcing that she was with him. Apparently this was all it took to get them inside, because before she could react, Suzy found herself standing inside the most lively, crowded, and somewhat sweaty, dance club she had ever seen.

The high ceilings and wooden floors gave off the impression that this was an abandoned warehouse. There was a large dance floor with so many people dancing she could hardly make out their moves. Techno music blared so loud it practically shook the floor. There was a bar that went all the way across the room. Behind it, display shelves of liquor covered the walls almost to the ceiling while bartenders and dishwashers busied themselves with serving drinks to customers. Most people were wearing black or dark clothes. It must have been what was in fashion for people like this. The club was lit with black light, making every light colored piece of cloth stand out in contrast to the dark surroundings. She ignored the people who stared at her, knowing that her long blue dress stood out like a sore thumb. 

"C'mon we're headed through this way." Baekhyun had to yell over the crowds and the music.

"Baekhyun, what is this place?"

She called back at him, as he took her by the wrist and weaved through the sea of people. They had cleared through the most crowded area and walking towards several booths in the back. It was a little quieter back here and Suzy was thankful she wouldn't have to scream in order to be heard. 

"This is where you kiss your mom's shiny goodbye.  Come on join us." Suzy glanced at the booth. It was apparently where they were heading, because there sat Tao, Naeun, and the blond who was as yet unnamed. They seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere and they each had shot glass.  Baekhyun offers her a glass of tequila.  

'Suzy you don't drink.  Your mom will kill you if she finds this out. You're nothing.  You have an ugly pale complexion.  You look ugly in blue. Wipe those tears. Tie your dress tighter.  The calories are showing. Don't you dare disappoint me. You're not just any girl, you're Bae Suzy. Why did we have to bring her.  She's not going to complain is she. Worthless. Fat. Rude. Proud. I don't love you. You're not her. ' 

Voices.  She could hear disembodied voices.  Calling to reach the other side. They end up as screeches, no clear voice or real cry. 

She looks at the shot glass Baekhyun was holding. She took it and gulped the liquor  as it undulates down , burning a little more at each swallow like lighting a match with wet fingers.  She realize that in this moment that she didn't care what those voices meant and their consequences. She was too busy sequestering her existence with alcohol that those voices had long faded against the blaring bass. 

Calling her out of place, pathetic, and helpless was an understatement to what she was feeling at this very second.  The alcohol down left little to no room for breathing.  She needed to breath. 

"I need to go."

"Suzy, I thought you said you would stay for awhile." He pouted.

"No, I mean...yes. I'll stay. Just...where's the ladies room?"

"Oh, there's the dirty public one on the other side of the room. Or there's the private VIP one around the corner there."

Suzy walked in the direction Baekhyun had pointed towards the VIP restroom. When she rounded the corner, another bouncer stood in front of the bathroom door. Suzy gave him a look that said 'I dare you to try and stop me.' He must have gotten the message, because he opened the door for her and she quickly stepped in and closed the latch, locking herself inside. The comforting silence engulfed her and the breeze from a small window cooled her heated skin.

This was crazy. 

Absolutely insane. 

She couldn't believe she found herself here. She lifted her hand to cover her face in utter confusion. Why was it that everyone here could be so carefree? How could they enjoy themselves so frivolously? Why was she the only one trapped in a suffocating cage of backwards morality? Her mind asked a million more questions as she stepped in front of a full length mirror. She looked ridiculous in her bleu gown, like a little girl playing dress up for a costume party. No wonder people had starred and Naeun had given her those looks of pity. Normally, Suzy was used to being admired for her feminine delicacy, but here she just looked pathetic.

Enough! She wasn't the type to mope and feel sorry for herself. No matter how much pressure her mother applied or how many times her heart was broken, she always kept her feet on the ground and pressed onward. If she wanted to have fun and wanted people to like her, then, by God, she was going to accomplish it.

Without a second thought, she ripped off her white gloves and reached into her purse, digging for any usable tool. When her hand closed around a nail file, she couldn't help but smile. Trust her well-bread feminine preparation to come in handy now.  With one quick strike, she stuck the file clear through the skirt of her dress and began slicing it through the silk fabric. It wasn't exactly the best tool for the job, but somehow she had managed. Within seconds, she had cut along a seam, ruining a two-thousand dollar ball gown, just to transform it into a short cocktail dress. All it took was a few carefully removed extra strands of thread, and she was sure nobody would notice that this wasn't the dress's original purpose. 

With an experienced eye, she assessed herself in the mirror. It was much better but something was still wrong. The hair dresser had spent two hours putting her hair into a perfect up-do, but it only took Suzy a few seconds to take it down. Raven hair fell to her waist. Because of the curls that had been pressed created with hot rollers, her hair had extra waves and buoyancy, as if she had styled it this way on purpose. Then, as an afterthought, she took off her necklace and wrapped it around her ankle. 

Now, she was prepared to have fun.