A Winter Ball

                                    

                                          
It's been a few days since we found out that Dowling is dead. I've had to pretend that I know nothing about it, which is hard. We moved Dowling's body to somewhere safe. If I know anything about magic, it's that there's definitely some healing magic or something.
                          
"You ready?" I hear Sky's soft voice.
"Yup.." I call back. I grab my phone, stuffing it into my jeans pocket, and step out into the hallway, where I see Sky waiting for me. Rosalind has introduced a Christmas ball, which, I will admit, does make her seem less suspicious, so score 1 Rosalind. Me and Sky were appointed to go down to the east wing and get the boxes of decorations that are down there. 
                          
As we're walking, Sky tries to slip his hand into mine. It's normal for us, as we're such good friends, and I hold onto it for a minute, but then I let go and drop my arm. It's a fragile time right now, and I'm not looking to catch feelings for my best friend.
Sky gives me a puzzled look, we always hold hands, but I smile at him in reassurance, which seems to satisfy him. 
                          
We reach east wing and look around for the boxes, me to the left, Sky to the right. 
"Hey, Boo, come over here!" Sky calls. (The nickname Boo originated from my dressing up as a ghost every Halloween). I head over to where Sky's voice was, and see him bent over a box.
"Found the decorations?" I ask. He shakes his head and hands me two files. 
Headmistress Dowling.
Headmistress Rosalind.
"The headmistress files? Are there any more?" I inquire, as I flick through the files.
"Yeh, looks like there could be about 100 years worth of files, all in the different headmistresses. I thought we could use them for information," Sky says. I nod, and stuff them into Sky's bag. We carry the boxes, with my magic, of course, as there's like 50 boxes.
                          
"Ah good, you found them!" Stella cries, when she sees us wander into the hall. I smile at her, warmly and she returns it briefly, before busying herself with opening boxes. She directs us towards the balcony and tells us to decorate it.
"You should do it, I have terrible taste." I moan.
"Oh stop complaining, we'll do it together," Sky chuckles, nudging me with his elbow. 
I start stringing red snowflake lights from the left, and Sky does the same from the right. As we reach the middle, our hands touch, and I feel a spark of connection. I turn my head and my eyes meet his, as he was already looking at me. I get lost in his deep blue eyes and for a moment, I think to myself, what if things were different, what if we weren't best friend? Would I have a shot? 
I push those thoughts out of my mind, and turn my head away, making my way down the stairs. Sky shrugs and follows after me.
                          
"Right, make your way over here people! Good job decorating! Now go back to your dorms! You have 2 hours to get ready before the ball begins!" Stella announces. After she's finished, she grabs my arm and starts to drag me out, to our dorm supposedly. I wave quickly to Sky, then turn and follow Stella.
                          
When I get to the dorm, it's chaos. Terra's crying about eyeliner again, Musa's trying to help Terra and keeps looking longingly at her headphones, Aisha's drying herself in the bathroom, and Bloom is just leaning against a wall, looking solemnly at her phone. 
"Get it together people! We're all ready, so let's help YN get ready!" Stella shouts. 
"Oh no, that's fine, I'll just wear something from my closet." I reply, but Stella shakes her head, aggressively, I might add. Eventually, I give in.
                          
Stella drags me into her room. She's showing me multiple dresses, and asking me what I think of them. I've given up replying though, as she doesn't seem to take in my input anyway. This gives me time to study the others. Bloom has bright red lips, her hairs in a beehive type half up half down that's hard to describe (but it suits her), her dress is strapless and reaches the floor, the colour is like holly berries at their ripest peak. Stella has her hair in a fishtail braid, slung over her shoulder, her makeup is light, but not invisible. Her dress reaches her knees and hugs tight to her body, illuminating all her curves. The dress itself is silver with puffy princess sleeves. Aisha is going sort of simple. Her blue makeup really accentuates her facial features and her eyes. Her dress is turquoise and flows around her ankles. Terra has a knee-length, green dress and some simple mascara. She gave up on the eyeliner and her hair floats around her face. Musa has a pink dress, that also clings to her body, the lace at the top showing her collar bones. She has her usual buns and eyeliner. Every girl wears a matching coloured pair of heels.
"Perfect!" Stella cries. She tells me to close her eyes and I feel the girls pulling me, getting me ready. 
                          
About 1 hour later, I'm told to open my eyes. I flutter them open and look at the mirror in front of me. The dress I'm wearing is similar to Stella's. It hugs my body, and goes to my knees. It's purple, with black lace tights, and strapless.  My shoes are black flats. My hair is in Dutch braids, which are flung over either shoulder. My face has no makeup, as I never wear it anyway. Tears fill my eyes. I've never looked so beautiful...
Stella pulls me into a hug, and Terra takes a group photo of us.
                          
As we're walking down the hallways, I look to my left at Bloom. She's still looking at her phone.
"Expecting something?" I ask.
"Sky never asked me to the dance..." she sighs.
I place my hand on her back, "if I know Sky, he's not really a dancer, maybe he isn't going?" 
I'm trying to cheer her up, but I don't think it's worked, however she still smiles at me and thanks me for trying. I can't help but feel jealous.
                          
When we arrive at the hall, everything is decorated and all the lights lit up. People are scattered all over the hall, some dancing, some drinking punch, some chatting, some wrapping gifts. Me and the girls part ways, as they're all looking for people possibly. However, Terra sticks with me as we go to wrap gifts. We talk as we wrap, having a great time and laughing a lot.
I leave my gifts under the tree and wish Terra a good night, before heading out.
                          
I check to see that nobody's watching, before wandering outside and out the barrier. I discard my dress so that I'm only in the tights, some shorts and a tank top I had underneath the dress. I make my way down to a river and sit down at the waters edge. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. 
"Hey, why are you out here?" I know, from his warm tone, that it's Sky talking. He sits down next to me and takes my hands in his. He lifts my chin and tilts my head toward him. 
"I'm not a dancer." I snap, a little too harshly, before pulling away from him.
"Hey.... Did I do something wrong, Boo?" Sky asks, concerned. I take a deep breath before turning back to him.
"No, of course not, you'd never... I just don't want to feel like this..." I reply.
"Like what, YN..?" Sky sighs.
"Like... this..." I mumble. 
                          
I put my hands on the back of his neck and pull him into me. His chest against mine sends butterflies to my stomach. His arms fold around my body and his heart beat syncs with mine. We stare into each other's eyes.
"Wow... that's a strong feeling..." Sky says, "How long have you felt like this?" I laugh a little, surprised he is so calm. I mean, I basically just forced myself onto him.
"A little while now, we don't have to do anything, I just couldn't hold it in anymore... I had to tell someone, and I mean, you are my best friend..." I mutter, quickly. He cuts me off by leaning in. His lips reach mine, and they're soft. The kiss is warm, everything I've ever dreamed of. It's gentle, he's going slow so I'm comfortable. I pull away and smile at him.
"Let's talk tomorrow?" I ask. He nods, and I run back inside, before the girls send out a search party.
                          
Word count-1468
Wow, things got real fast. How's Bloom and Stella gonna react? Stay tuned!