“Okay, I kinda regret being Belle now.” Jessica says, as she stares at herself in the mirror. Today’s the Halloween Party and they had the day off from school. They started preparing themselves right after lunch, because the party’s starting by 6 in the evening. “You’re lucky that you don’t need to do major adjustments for your character, Yoong! I have to deal with these heels for the whole night!”

Yoona just stares at her friend who’s currently throwing tantrums and tries to prevent herself from laughing. Jessica sometimes makes rash decision that she does not know what the consequences are, and Yoona’s gotten used to being the hero who saves Jessica from the dilemma. “You can just wear these flats you know.”

She holds the glittery flats and Jessica swears that she can no longer ask for a better best friend. “Thank you once again, Yoong! I loooooove you!” Jessica squeals in delight as she takes the flats from Yoona and hugs her tightly for a short while. Yoona makes a disgusted face, earning a chuckle from the latter.

“We’d better not be late this time, Sica. I bet they’re already in the venue knowing how time-conscious Joonmyeon is.” Yoona says, and Jessica finishes just in time. She then stands up and proceeds to their living room.

“My my, Jessica! You look stunning!” Mrs. Im stands up and looks at the two of them. Yoona crosses her arms in front of her chest and proceeds to give her dad a hug while glaring at her mom. Mrs. Im laughs at her childish antics, and playfully pinches Yoona’s cheeks. “And my Yoona looks gorgeous like the usual!”

The people in the living room chuckles after Mrs. Im’s remarks. Mr. and Mrs. Jung are also there, as Jessica insisted that she wanted to prepare alongside her best friend and knowing that the two are quite inseparable, they agreed and told her that they’re going to drop by the Im’s house before the party and take them to the venue.

“Alright, let’s commemorate this wonderful night by taking a picture!” Mrs. Im says as she calls one of their maids to take a photo of them. They all did a formal one, before doing a wacky pose. The parents also posed with their daughters, and they didn’t forget to take a shot of the two.

“We’ll be going now, Eun Sung and Hyun Bin!” Mrs. Jung bids her farewell to the couple as she gives a friendly hug to Yoona’s mother. “Driver Kim says that he’ll be fetching the two later, and as for Yoona’s request, she’s going to spend the night in our house.” She happily says, and laughs lightly as she sees her daughter clinging to her best friend like there’s no tomorrow.

The four of them then goes out of the house and proceeds to go to Hotel Sapphire where the party is going to be held. Mr. and Mrs. Jung made sure that the two of them are reminded of the rules they set up for them to ensure their safety. Jessica insists that they’ll behave well, and Yoona seconds the motion.

“Alright, Mom and Dad. It’s not even the school ball and you’re this paranoid already!” Jessica says, as she rolls her eyes. Her parents just shrugged and kissed the duo’s cheeks before entering the car once again.

“Behave well, okay? And don’t forget to enjoy the night, ladies!” Mr. Jung gives a thumbs up to the two, before telling the driver that they should go. Jessica and Yoona watched the car roll away before going inside the hotel.

They are ushered to the grand hall and the two of them are in awe after seeing the interior. It isn’t the typical horror-themed Halloween Party, but it seems to be magical. There are pastel-colored balloons floating in the ceiling, the tables are adorned with silver and white mantel with a vase of carnations in the middle, the dance floor is embellished with a carpet that looks like a flower bed, and of course, the big chocolate fountain that is located in the middle of the room with various delicacies around it caught Yoona’s attention.

“The zombies do look out of place in here. I’m kinda glad I dressed as a fairytale character.” It is the only thing that Jessica can say, and she giggles alongside Yoona. “And I’m really thankful that you look pretty normal for this theme, Yoong.” Their student council may have announced the theme or not, and maybe the students who dressed up as creepy characters may have missed the note or simply didn’t care about the dress code but she just shrugs it off.

Afterall, this night is supposed to be for all them to have fun.

“Look at our witches!” Yoona exclaims, laughing as they approach their friends who are engrossed in their conversation. “And a vampire. Didn’t get the note that we’re in Alice’s wonderland?” She jokes, earning some glare from the mentioned characters.

Seohyun pouts, as she looks around. “This happened last year too. And the past few years actually. We all dressed up as Disney Princess characters for all the parties and we didn’t know that they’re having spooky-themed ones!” She says in frustration. “I was assuming that it will be a scary venue okay!”

All of them laughs at their idiocy and decides to push the matter aside. “Well, it’s just the venue so there’s no need to be sad okay?” Victoria cheers the others up, and like the usual, her words are effective. “And besides, Seobaby, we can always scare these people off!” She points at the couples who are having their quality time, and the two of them had a bright idea.

“Be right back!” Seohyun says as she gets pulled by Victoria and they roam around, getting in between of the couples. The gang just sighs at their playfulness and soon laughs.

“They’re lucky that they’re quite unrecognizable due to heavy make-up and the dim lighting.” Shin Hye says, as she looks at her friends. “So, what are we gonna do now? Two of our friends just missed the opening the ceremony and we can’t just simply sit here while watching the others rave!” Right after her statement, all of them stands up and proceeds to go to the dance floor.

They made a big circle and started to dance. It is not a hidden fact that all of them have what it takes so when Work by Rihanna suddenly plays, they take turns on who’s going to hit the floor.

“Work it, Bae!” They all scream loudly as they watch the petite lady give her all as she dance to impress the people. She might look so calm and modest but when she hits the dance floor with the right music, everyone can say that she owns it.

“Baekhyun, you sure look mesmerized!” Yoona teases Baekhyun who’s clapping his hands excitedly. The said boy turns to her and gives her an awkward grin. “Oh my gosh, this is so not happening!” She laughs loudly and Baekhyun joins her.

Joonmyeon turns to the duo and grins widely. “Let’s not forget our best dancer, Im Yoona!” It seems like their little game is being taken seriously by everyone as Yoona notices that most of the people on the dance floor watches them in amusement. She starts to dance and just like Irene, she earns a loud clap from the audience.

As she returns to the circle, she feels an arm sling around her shoulders. “Nice going there, Ms. Im.” Yoona recognized the deep, husky voice and turns to see Kris. “I temporarily dyed my hair to ginger so I can be the perfect match for you!”

Yoona then notices the changed color of his hair and chuckles. “You didn’t have to go to that extent!” She grins widely as she tiptoes to pinch his nose, before turning to see Jongin dance before their very eyes. It seems like everybody wants to join them, so she lets out an amused grin as she watches her schoolmates dance.

Yixing is on the side facing Yoona and her friends, and he can clearly see the close proximity of the two. He scrunches his nose as he turns to look for Seohyun. Once he spots her and meets her eyes, he shoots her a smile, before turning to the dancer who took the stage.

“Aren’t you going to hit the floor, Mr. Dancer?” Joongki nudges his friend, who’s intensely studying the dancer. Then an idea pops in his mind. He rolls his sleeves and walks towards the dance floor, earning a loud squeal from his fangirls.

Being distracted from the cheers of the crowd, Yoona then watches as Jonghyun retreats from the dance floor, and her eyes widened upon seeing Yixing standing proudly in the middle. She didn’t know it if it’s just her imagination or not, but she swears she saw him glance to her direction before giving her a challenging smile.

He looks handsome as , but Yoona feels like something terrible is coming her way.

Before she can even excuse herself to go back to their table, her arm is pulled by someone and before she knew it, she’s in the middle of the dance floor with her schoolmates watching her and her companion with Sorry by Justin Bieber playing in the speakers.

“I challenge you, Im Yoona.” She feels him breathe on her neck for a brief second and she tries not to crumble in front of her schoolmates. She turns around to face him and gives a lazy smile before moving to the beat.

Yixing knows that right after her very first move, he is smitten. What the hell are you doing to me, Im Yoona?

*

“Your dance with Yixing awhile ago was incredible.” Jongsuk says as he chuckles. “Didn’t expect that you two would be a thing when everyone knows he’s under Seohyun’s spell. What did you exactly do, Im Yoona?” He teases her, earning a soft punch on his arm by the girl.

“It’s just a dance, Suk. Not really a big deal.” The two of them becomes silent right after her remark as they listen to the slow song that is played at the moment. Jongsuk, her childhood friend and old crush, takes her very first dance for the evening and she can never be more than thankful. “It’s been awhile, Suk.”

“Yeah.” He says, and they soon become silent once again. Things might have gotten awkward right after he steals her first kiss on the forehead after her first day in high school, but none of them talked about it anymore to not widen the gap. “Alright, I’m letting you go. There’s this big dragon who’s been throwing us cautious looks eversince I dance with you.”

She chuckles lightly as Jongsuk kisses the back of her hand, before handing her to Kris. “Were you two a thing or something?” Kris immediately says right after they get into position, with Yoona’s hands on the back of his neck and his’ on the side of her waist.

Yoona cracks a smile. “He is my childhood friend.” She then pauses. “And my old crush.” Yoona looks like she didn’t want to talk about it anymore so Kris lets it slide, as they talk about other things.

“Why haven’t you had any boyfriend yet?” He asks out of curiousity, and Yoona just shrugs. “Come on, you can explain it to me. You seem like the girl who guys are always after for so it’s really impossible for someone like you to be single for a very long time!”

Yoona just stares at him, before grinning. “Well, maybe having one hasn’t really entered my mind until you asked why I haven’t had any boyfriend yet.” She chuckles. “Books and my friends are the ones who are giving me joy right now so I guess they’re more than enough.” Kris nods, and lets her continue speaking. “And besides, I think I still can get a boyfriend even if I finish high school. You don’t have to rush to find the one because it takes time.”

Yoona smiles widely, and Kris sees the sparkle in her eyes. The woman in front of him is gorgeous in many ways and her outlook in finding love is simple yet assuring. Maybe she’s one of the girls who doesn’t want to be heartbroken more than once and it amuses him that she isn’t like most of their schoolmates who would date anyone just to show it off to everyone.

“May I have a dance with her?” Their interaction is shortened by someone who is nervously looking at the both of them. Recognizing who it is, Yoona immediately turns her face and sees Yixing. Kris gives her a look on whether she’ll approve or not, and she just nods. It’s a night for all of them, and maybe she can give Yixing a shot.

She looks around to see if Seohyun is out of their sight, and she hears Yixing chuckle. “What?”

“Seohyun is currently dancing with Jimin and I made sure that they’re far enough so we won’t be seen.” He gives her a reassuring smile, and Yoona fixes herself as they move to the slow beat. “Anyway, I had fun at our little dance awhile ago. I’m so sorry that it was a bit sudden, though.”

“I really wanted to punch you right in the face because I don’t really do freestyle!” She exclaims, earning a laugh from Yixing. “You’re really lucky that I improved a lot because of Victoria. Anyway, you were great out there too!”

Being praised by Yoona is one thing he didn’t expect to hear right at that moment. He obviously senses the hate vibes she is always sending off to him but the very idea of them being friends is quite possible right now. “Thanks.”

There is a silence before Yoona decides to speak. “I know you might think that I have attitude problems but I just want everything to be clear.” She clears as Yixing watches her intently. “It’s just that, I didn’t want to come in between of you and Seohyun. Truth is, we almost had a fight because of it but we’re fine now, really.” She immediately says as she notices that change in the expression of Yixing.

“She likes you a lot, I and my friends can tell that. I hope that you will take good care of her because she’s a really nice girl and she deserves all the best in the world.” She wants to sound so happy for the both of them but deep inside, she feels her heart sink for awhile after saying those words

Yoona gives him a reassuring smile as they continue to dance in silence for Yixing does not know what to say. She finally gave her blessings for him and Seohyun and he feels happy, of course. Something feels so out of place but he doesn’t dig into it and returns her kind smile. “But… we can still be friends right?”

“Yeah, friends.”

Yoona laughs softly, as she gazes into Yixing’s deep brown eyes. Then a thought sinks into her.

I never thought deep brown eyes can look as beautiful as those – wait what!?