:A Surreptitious Relationship: Chapter Eighteen

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"Hannah?"

            I turned around as I felt a tap on my shoulder. Some guy in a blue and white glitter mask was standing there, his eyes piercing into mine. After a moment I shook my head. "No, Holly."

            "Sorry," he apologized, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

            "No problem," I responded wearily. "You're not the only one looking for someone."

            It was true. The dance had been going for half an hour now, and I had yet to find anyone— not even Jeremy or Casey, and I knew what Casey was wearing. I sighed, moving towards the back of the gym, keeping an eye out for anyone that looked familiar. Masquerades really weren't the best choice for school dances if you didn't arrive with your friends. It was incredibly difficult to locate anyone. I grinded my teeth together in irritation. Tonight was supposed to be a fun night, but how could it be fun if I was alone the whole time?

             Much to my chagrin, the song blasting from the gigantic speakers at the front of the room changed from fast to slow. Couples began forming in the front of the room, making me feel more like an idiot. It was so depressing to stand out on a slow dance. My eyes wandered around the room again, looking at all the people not forming couples on the dance floor. To my surprise, there were quite a few— probably because no one could find their partners with these stupid masks...

            "Holly?"

            My eyes snapped to my left, where a person I didn't recognize (surprise there) was standing, holding out a small white card to me. I took in the girl, who was wearing green sequined dress and silver mask, and realized I actually didn't know her. However, the card was addressed to me.

            "Some guy told me to give this to you," she told me, pushing the envelope closer to me.

            I took it immediately, recognizing Chris's refined handwriting. "Thanks. Do you remember what the guy was wearing?"

            "I'm not supposed to tell you," she responded slowly, sounding unsure. "Sorry."

            "It's fine," I said dismissively, pulling a small piece of paper out of the envelope. On it was a short note:

            I can see you. Can you see me?

            I frowned, looking back up again. The girl in green was gone, giving me a clear view of the area around me. If Chris could see me, that meant he wasn't hidden behind anything or anyone. My eyes scanned the crowds, but I couldn't find anyone that resembled him in the slightest. I looked back down at the card in my hand. How did he know who I was?

            I blinked. Stupid question.

            "That little sneak," I muttered, glancing down at the bangles on my arm. "So that's why he gave them to me during school..."

            Ms. Elliot walked by, her face unmasked. A scowl crossed my face. As it turned out, chaperones weren't supposed to wear masks, nor were they allowed to dance with students. Luckily, or unluckily in my case, Chris and Jeremy had both decided to still wear the masks. Or at least Jeremy did. Chris was either wearing one or was awesome at spying on me without being caught.

            Suddenly my hand was yanked on and I found myself being dragged toward the dance floor. I glanced at the guy in front of me, my heart leaping into my throat. Disappointment washed through me when I stared at dirty blonde hair instead of Chris's umber hair. When the person turned around, I realized it was James. He placed his hands on my waist, a grin crossing his face. "Care to dance?"

            "A little late for that, huh?" I questioned, deciding to dance with him. It wasn't like Chris was trying too hard to dance with me and it beat standing along the wall alone.

            He shrugged. "I wasn't sure if it was you or not, so I decided to just take the lead so in case it wasn't you it wouldn't be as awkward."

            "How would that not have been awkward?"

            "I don't know," he responded, smiling sheepishly again. "That doesn't matter though, since it is you. Nice mask."

I grinned sheepishly. "It was kind of last minute. I couldn't find anything too exciting."

"At least it matches."

I made a face at the memory. At the store I'd gone to, it'd been the only one that matched. It was a plain, boring, silver-sequined one. It covered my entire face, besides the top of my forehead and my mouth. I'd wanted a red one, but I wasn't the early bird, so I didn't get the worm.

"I thought you had a date though," James commented, pulling me out of my reverie.

            I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why'd you think that?"

            He looked uncomfortable. "Um, Aaron."

            "And who did he say my date was?"

            "Er..."

            "James."

            "Mr. Ross," he muttered quietly, as if he was ashamed. "He told me after school today."

            My eyes widened. "What?"

            "I don't believe it!" James assured me, shaking his head. "It's just what he told me. He said you two were dating."

            I grit my teeth. "Did he now?"

            James nodded. "I don't know why he thinks that though. I wouldn't worry about it. It's quite obvious you're here alone."

            "Ah, thanks..."

            "Oops. Sorry. Didn't mean that offensively."

            I sighed. "It's fine. I'm not ashamed to admit I came alone." I didn't exactly have a choice...

            "I'll dance with you all night if you want," James offered with a sly look.

            "Thanks for the offer, but Lance will probably drag me away," I told him, smiling.

            James jerked his head to the right. "He's dancing with Lexi though."

            I turned my head in the direction he was looking and my gaze landed on Lexi in her purple dress and Lance, in a black tuxedo with a tie the same shade as her dress. For a brief moment my mind awed at how cute they were, but then I remembered Lexi was dating Willis and Lance probably didn't know. Still, they looked cute together. They were as close as possible to each other, swaying to the slow tempo of the music. Lexi was laughing about something while Lance looked pleased with himself.

            "Guess I won't be dancing with Lance then," I commented slowly, tearing my eyes away from them. It was making me feel depressed. Lance didn't deserve that...

            "Guess you're stuck with me."

            I forced a smile. As much as I didn't want to be stuck with him, I didn't want to be mean and say no. It was at moments such as this I wished Chris was a student instead of a teacher... Things would be so much easier.

            "Holly... You have something on your mask."

            I stared at him. "What?"

            He frowned, lifting a hand up to the top of my mask, producing a white envelope, much like the one I'd gotten earlier. I took it from him, dropping my arms in order to read it.

            Replacing me already?

            I crumpled up the note immediately, twisting my body around. Only masses of couples entered my field of vision. I turned back to James, puffing out my cheeks. "Did you see who put that there?"

            He shook his head. "No. What'd it say?"

            "Umm, Casey needs me to come talk to her for a second," I made up quickly, trying to keep my face straight. "I'll find you in a little bit, okay?"

            "Sure," he replied, taking a step away from me. "I'm going to get a drink."

            "Okay."

            I slowly maneuvered myself through the dancing couples as I headed toward the far side of the gym. If Chris wasn't going to come to me, I was going to go up to every guy and find him. The first few guys I went up to were way too short to be him, and the next five guys were too fat. As I went through more and more high schoolers, I realized Chris had a very distinct build that no other guy at the school had, aside from Jeremy. Being in a gang really did have its advantages.

            Without warning, a hand grabbed onto my shoulder, causing me to jump. A person in a black and white mask laughed at my reaction. It took me a few moments to recognize Jeremy's bright green eyes.

            "What are you doing?" I demanded. "I thought you were keeping an eye on Casey!"

            "I am," he told me, pointing to our right. "She's dancing with Aaron right now."

            True to his words, I spotted Casey dancing with Aaron not even a few steps away. Annoyance spread through me at the sight. "Why didn't you stop them?"

            "I can't," Jeremy responded flatly, sounding just as disgruntled as I felt. "I'm a teacher."

            "But you don't look like one," I pointed out.

            He clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Dance with me."

            "What? Wait!" I cried as he yanked on my arm, pulling me to his chest. "I'm trying to find Chris!"

            "He can wait," Jeremy stated simply. "Keep me company."

            After a moment of grumbling I gave in to his pouting face and wrapped my arms around his neck. He grinned, placing his hands on my hips and pulling me even closer, if possible.

            "What are you doing?" I demanded, uncomfortable with our propinquity.

            He didn't reply. I pursed my lips, but didn't decide to question him. Hopefully if Chris was watching, he'd step in, and I'd find out what he was wearing. If this was his form of riling me up, it was working.

            Jeremy turned so now I was staring right at Casey and Aaron. To my surprise, when I focused, Aaron was staring right at me, smirking. Narrowing my eyes, I gave him a hard look before looking away. So what if he saw me dancing with Jeremy? He already incorrectly thought we were dating.

            The song ended in a blink of an eye and Jeremy dropped his arms, quickly glancing over my shoulder. The corners of his lips twitched up, as if he was resisting a smile. When I tried to turn to see what he was smiling at, he grabbed my shoulders, holding me still.

            "What?" I inquired.

            "Don't let Casey see your face."

            "Why...?"

            His eyes twinkled in amusement. "I'm just gauging her reaction."

            "You're teasing her aren't you?"

            "No!" he cried mockingly. "Why would you think that?"

            I rolled my eyes. "You're just like Chris. As a heads up, girls don't like teasing. It's really annoying. Especially when you wanted to dance with your boyfriend and he won't tell you where he is."

            "You angry?" Jeremy questioned, cocking an eyebrow. "And you know you love it when Chris teases you. You enjoy it just as much as he enjoys doing it. Oh wait, that can be taken in two ways."

            I flushed, scowling at him. "Lay off."

            "You're so cute," he sighed, grabbing my cheeks and squeezing them. "Little, innocent Holly with mature, experienced Chris."

            I slapped his hands away. "Sorry for not being a whore!"

            He chuckled. "I'm kidding, Holly. It's fine that you're a virgin. Most seniors are."

            "Just because I didn't lose my virginity at the age of sixteen—"

            "Fifteen," Jeremy told me proudly.

            I stared at him. "That's... gross."

            "My girlfriend was eighteen—"

            "I don't want to hear!" I cried, clapping my hands over my ears. Unfortunately it was too late. "Jeremy! Gah! That's disgusting."

            He smirked. "What can I say? I was a lady's man."

            "I'm going to find Chris."

            Jeremy quickly grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away. "Wait! He told me to give you this."

            A scowl crossed my face when I noticed the envelope in his hand. "When did he give you this?"

            "When you were searching for him by those other guys."

            "You had it the whole time?" I demanded.

            He nodded. "I thought it could wait."

            Ignoring Jeremy, I ripped open the card. Only five words were on it. Look under the punch bowl. Deciding not to say goodbye to Jeremy, I trudged over to the punch bowl and lifted it up. Another envelope was there. I sighed, picking it up. Was this some kind of game to amuse himself?

            Look on the poster in the hall.

            Guess so.

            As I expected, on the poster in the hall was another envelope. I looked around nervously, afraid a teacher was going to come yell at me. Students weren't allowed to me out in the halls during the dance. I had a heck of a time just escaping their hawk eyes while exiting the gym.

            Boy's bathroom. Over the paper towel dispenser.

            "Are you kidding me?" I muttered, going further down the hallway. "What is he thinking?"

            I peeked into the boy's room before entering to make sure it was empty. On the paper towel dispenser was an envelope, a key, and a rose. A smile crossed my face as I picked up the rose. That was unexpected. Next I picked up the key, and finally the note card.

            Go out the door. Down the hallway, and go to the first locked door on the right. The floor's wet, so don't slip.

            Rolling my eyes, I exited the bathroom, holding the flower and key to my chest, throwing out the note card as I went by the trashcan. I moved slowly, trailing my hand against the brick wall of the dead hallway. When I approached the first door, I tried it and found it open. Peeking in, I realized no one was in there. I continued on, going around the corner. From here I could hear the sound of the music from the gym, as these rooms were right behind it. As I closed in on the next door, my foot suddenly slipped out from under me. I cried out in surprise, grappling for the wall to keep myself stable. Fortunately for me, I was able to keep my balance.

            Red-faced, I grasped the door handle, finding it locked. I jammed the key in, feeling frustrated with Chris's notes. I wanted to see him, not his handwriting. Pushing open the door, I found myself in a pitch-black room. The music sounded louder now, but muffled like I was in the backroom of a club.

            "Wrong room?" I wondered out loud, my hand running across the wall closest to me for a light switch. I moved further into the room, trying to find it.

            Abruptly the door slammed shut behind me, cutting off all source of light. My heart leapt into my throat and I spun around, trying to see in front of me. To my dismay, I couldn't even see three inches.

            "Chris?" I whispered.

            There was no response. I couldn't even hear the sound of breathing. My eyes widened when I realized someone had either closed the door from the inside, or the outside. The sound of someone breathing not even a foot away from me gave me my answer.

            My heart nearly stopped beating when I felt a hand touch my cheek. "Mr. Heywood?" I tried again, feeling annoyed, trying to provoke a reaction. If he was playing a joke on me...

            "Try again."

            Before I could respond, I felt a pair of lips against mine. At first I tried to push him away, terrified at the thought of who it could be, but after a few moments I returned the kiss, wrapping my arms around the person. Just as I was about to deepen in, he pushed me away.

            "Do you randomly kiss strangers all the time?"

            I scowled at the darkness. "Chris, you're the only person I've ever really kissed. You think I wouldn't recognize your... technique?"

            A chuckle filled the room and a few seconds later light flooded it. I gasped in shock when my eyes landed on his face. He'd put his mask back on— his scary, long-nosed, bird mask. "What are you wearing?" I questioned, covering my mouth to stop from laughing.

            He pulled the mask down again, smiling in amusement. "Something to keep all the unwanted ladies away."

            "I'm sure it worked."

            "It did. But I probably should have danced with at least two people..."

            I smiled sheepishly. "Well you weren't around..."

            "Now I am," he responded, moving his head closer to mine again. "It was fun watching you try to find me."

            "Thanks for the rose," I said, ignoring his jibe.

            He gave me a light kiss. "No problem."

             "So why are we in the fitness?" I questioned, now taking in the treadmills and other fitness equipment.

            "So we can do this."

            He suddenly captured my lips with his, more roughly than I expected. Our lips mashed together painfully, making me wince. He became gentler when I started to protest, asking me for entrance into my mouth. I decided to refuse him at first, smirking as he quickly became impatient and nipped at my bottom lip. After allowing him access to my mouth, he quickly dominated me, not even giving me a chance to take the lead. I brought my hands up to his hair, running them through his soft mop. The idea he needed a haircut briefly popped into my head. I pulled away from the kiss a few seconds later, needing to breathe.

            "You know, you really get into the kiss more when we're at school," Chris commented thoughtfully.

            "I do?"

            "Does the idea of being caught give you a thrill?"

            I scoffed, ducking my head. "No."

            "Yes it does."

            "I don't want to be caught though," I told him, frowning. "Yeah, it gives me a thrill, but it also scares me."

            He smiled, ruffling my hair. "Don't worry. We won't get caught."

            "You don't know that for sure..."

            He lifted my head up again, kissing me softly. "No, I don't," he responded honestly, his eyes piercing into mine. "To be honest, I really think it's a bad idea to even be near you in school. With the way you act, it's obvious you're in love with me—"

            "Hey!"

            "—And I'm in love with you," he finished boldly.

            I blushed. "Oh."

            "However, I don't like that idea, so I'm not going to stay away from you or not kiss you in school. It's too hard to resist."

            "What if we're caught?"

            He gave me a smug look. "Don't worry about it."

            "What are you going to do?" I questioned warily.

            "I said don't worry about it."

            "You're going to do something stupid," I accused.

            He rolled his eyes. "Shut up—"

            "No!"

            "Kiss me," he demanded, holding my face still.

            "Mmph!" I cried, trying to talk through his kiss. I managed to push him away, much to his amusement. "Tell me."

            He sighed. "We don't have to worry about it. We won't get caught."

            "Chris... Please?" I begged, grabbing the edge of his suit jacket and tugging on it. "Tell me."

            "Fine. I'll say I made the first move."

            I blinked at him. "What? But that will get you fired."

            "And keep you safe."

           

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