Ren fixed his jacket one last time. Sua had good taste, but he wasn't sure if he looked good in this. He brushed his hair back then heard a honk. She must be here. Leaving a note for his mom he walked out the door and was a little surprised. "Wow, you really went all out." He smiled and walked over to her giving her a hug. Honestly he couldn't wait for this date, it would be nice to relax for a bit.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry…" She hugged him back. "I-I told them not to send one." She straightened his bow tie and opened the car door for him. "You look really good, though! I made a great choice didn't I?"
"Hm, well if you like it then that's all that counts." He smiled and moved a piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You look gorgeous Sua. And I'm supposed to open the door for you, but thank you." He got in feeling a little uncomfortable since he's never done anything like this before, but it was good for him to try new things. "Just one question, at this place, for some reason am I going to have to introduce myself at any point to someone?"
She shrugged. “You won’t have to. If you’re uncomfortable I can always do the talking.” Sua smiled nervously. This was a bit extreme. “Do you have that little case I gave you at the mall?”
"Oh yes, right here." He pulled it out to show her, even though he probably didn't need to do that. Ren couldn't help but look at her, she was just too beautiful and he didn't want to miss anything. Just the way she smiled and talked, it was all enchanting. "No, it would be rude if I didn't introduce myself. This is all just new to me."
“Well, if you think you can handle yourself.” She opened the case for him. Inside was a red and gold masquerade mask. “It’s pretty, isn't it. Now that we’re getting closer, I should probably tell you where we’re headed. It’s a masquerade ball for all the upper class fancy people.” She said that last part in a stuffy voice. “You actually won’t need to introduce yourself because nobody can know who anyone else is. That’s the fun part.” Sua took a slightly more dramatic black mask out of her clutch.
The first thought that ran across his mind when he heard where they were going, was that he was going to have to dance. "Yes, it is really beautiful." He put it on and looked at her. "What do you think? Can I pull off a mask?" Ren was now seriously starting to get nervous. People were definitely going to be able to tell that he didn't belong there. He moved his hair from under his mask and it fell over his right eye. "Sorry, maybe I should have got it cut before coming." Surprisingly Ren's hair grew out fast.
"No, it looks very hip and stylish. You can definitely pull it off." Ren's dark hair framed the mask and his vibrant eyes peeked out perfectly. "Frankly, I would bet money that you can pull off anything. I have some hair gel in my bag if you really need it." Sua's hair was naturally pretty curly so she always kept a tin of gel with her when her hair was styled because it had a habit of popping out.
"What do you think I should do, should I leave it or gel it back?" Sua had a little more experience when it came to style and rich people. "Whichever you think will look I will do." Sua always looked perfect, well at least to Ren, and it did frustrate him a bit. Sua was way too good for him. Ren sighed a bit, thinking about it made him a bit depressed.
"I really think you should keep it down. It makes you look very handsome." Sua felt bad in that moment. Ren looked so lost and frustrated she just wanted to give him some tea and cookies and watch old movies on the couch with him. "Anything else you want to know before we get there?" Sua tried to perk up to make him feel better.
"Um, do I have to hold my pinkie up when I drink?" Ren was half joking, but really did want to know the answer in case. He definitely didn't want to embarrass Sua. She probably had friends there and if she does maybe she talked about him, and he didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends. Ren started to tap his finger on his leg trying to calm himself. And he would most likely have to dance, which he knew nothing about.
"No, but that reminds me," She started. "Don't drink the punch. I thought it was fine last year and let's just say it's very spiked. And we are good underage teenagers so we're…" She paused again. "…good kids. Who don't break the law outside of the ring."
"Good kids, got it." Ren laughed, his smile was huge, he couldn't help it. Anytime he was with Sua he just felt happy. It was like everything in his life was finally going right. I should've looked up how to dance on YouTube or something. Ren hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself. It wouldn't be unlike him though. Ren was a weird guy, in the ring he was calm, cool and comfortable, anywhere else though he was a bundle of awkwardness.
There was a tap on the divider and it lowered to reveal the driver, who spoke with a heavy french accent. "We have arrived, Madame." The divider went back up and after a second the door opened and Sua and Ren stepped out onto the street. From the outside the hall looked something like a theater although it shined with a bit more magnificence. Up and down the street limos were lined up. Ladies in opulent dresses and men in boxy suits, all wearing masquerade mask, were getting out and heading up the stairs into the hall. "Oh, we should probably put our masks on." Sua put on her own and helped Ren get his on. "Are you ready?"
"I mean, no but, I'll be fine." He took a deep breath and stood up straight. Holding out his arm, he offered it to Sua. If he was her escort, then he was going to do it properly. Once the doors opened, Ren saw many people dancing and just chatting. And even though he couldn't see thir faces he could tell they were all beautiful. "Wow," Ren was enchanted by this surrounding. It was mu h difficult than anything he's ever been to.
"Yeah, it's very dramatic." She linked arms with him and they walked down a short staircase to the main floor. People were standing around chatting or eating food. A few couples slid across the dance floor but most were talking in small groups. Sua led Ren over to a small group near the punch. One woman was wearing a frilly pink dress and another was in a green slip. There was also a guy in a grey vest who was seemingly already tipsy. Sua grabbed the punch out of his hands. "Dominic, what the hell? We talked about this."
"Oh…" His voice was deep and sleepy. "Hey Sua. You look real great y'know. I was just getting a little thirsty so I got some punch over there, but I think It might have been spiked."
The girl in the pink dress was holding him up. "Sorry Sua. He got here before us." Sua sighed
"Anyway, everyone this is Ren," She gestured to him. "Ren this is Linny," She pointed to the girl in the pink dress. "Serena," She pointed to the girl in green. "And, uh…Dominic," Dominic did finger guns. They all wore masks that covered most of their faces.
Ren just awkwardly smiled and waved. I should've shook their hands. He looked close rat the other two girls then at Dominic. "You all look really nice." He said trying to make conversation. Ren didn't want to be awkward, especially since Sua went through all this work to get him in here. He was just glad he wasn't a horrible looking guy. He had nice muscles thanks to fighting, he had braces when he was younger, so his smile wasn't bad. His eyes were a bit dull, but other than that he though he was okay.
Linny did her best to pat Ren on the shoulder while still supporting Dominic. "Poor thing. You're a bit overwhelmed aren't you?"
"Aren't we all?" Serena mumbled.
"Hey, don't freak him out," Sua said with her arms crossed. "You're doing great Ren. It's always weird for everyone."
"She's not lyin' honey." Linny took a slider from the food table. "This dress is actually from target. Serena's the rich one."
"Yeah, yeah." Serena eyed her jewelry.
"Also," Linny continued. "You're probably the hottest guy here-"
"Linny!"
"What? That jaw. Those shoulders. You could drown in those eyes," She pointed out. Dominic winked at Ren.
Ren was stunned for a moment, but they seemed more chill than most people. He tried his best to hold back a laugh but failed. He couldn't help it, they were funny. "Well thank you for the compliment, but," Ren grabbed Sua's hand and pulled her close. "I'm wrapped around this girls finger." He smiled down at her and winked. He felt better being around people like this.
"Yes, you are." Sua brushed his cheek.
"Yeah, I could've guessed," Serena muttered.
"Hey," Linny interrupted. "Play nice. And for the love of god would you carry Dominic for a second. He's gotta lay off the potato chips." Serena smirked.
"You aren't wrong." Serena supported Dominic and Linny took the chance to grab some more snacks. "I mean he's not the only one."
"Hey!"
Sua didn't want to end up in the middle of an all-out war so she took her opening. "Ren, do you want to dance?"
"Oh, uh, sure." Ren's voice was a tad shaky. He had never had a proper dance. Not even at school, because before Sua showed up he was obsessed with another girl. Which is why he is taking it slow this time. He didn't want to ruin things. He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. He has seen many movies where there is dancing so he knew where to put his hands, but other than that he had no idea how to actually dance. "Sorry if I step on your feet." He smiled a little nervous.
“It’s okay. Here I’ll show you.” She put his hands around her waist and rested hers on his shoulders. “Now you just kinda…sway for a while.” Sua didn’t get flustered easily but her cheeks were getting hot. She tried to focus on his mask because she was afraid to get lost in his eyes and just stay there swaying all night.. She really wanted to kiss him but she couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t the proper setting.
Ren tried his best to follow along. But he couldn't quite focus on the dancing. Many people around him whispered, which made him a but uncomfortable. Just focus on Sua. He looked down at her and smiled. She was beautiful. "This isn't so bad… I guess." He didn't expect to sweat from just a little swaying, but there were also a lot of people in this one room. "So, how often do you come to these?"
Sua bit her lip. "Well…this event is annual. I've only been once before. There are a few others but this is the most…extravagant." It felt like too much. She'd rather be at home with him. "Speaking of which, wanna ditch and go back to my place. I'd definitely prefer pjs, popcorn, and old movies to this"
"I thought you'd never ask." Ren wrapped his arm around her back and scooped up her legs. If they were leaving early it might as well be with style. "Shall we my princess?" With a charming smile she carried her to the door with ease. She was light, extremely light. "What kind of popcorn will we be having? Because caramel is my favorite. And could we stop by my place so I can change?"