Chapter 1

This is not my scene. This is not my scene.

I dragged myself across the ballroom floor, feeling nauseated and all ready to bolt through the thick, wooden door that was looming behind me.

My eyes were swarmed with a sea of people; dressed in glittered gowns and expensive tux. Their faces were concealed with decorated masks, revealing nothing but their eyes.

Eyes. Aren't they the windows to one soul?

I sighed.

Here I am,the daughter of a drunken father and an abusive mother, dressed in a modest yet sophisticated turquoise long gown with black, strappy sandals and a matching mask; feeling a little out of space.

No, not little. Really. Out. Of. Space.

'Belle! Belle! Belle?!' Someone was tugging my arm. Too painfully. I turned my head to the sound of the voice, only realizing it was my sister, Tasha, who looked like she was going to eat me up with her big, brown eyes.

'What?!' I answered exasperatedly. I was sweating already.

'Weren't you listening to what I said?' She was angry, I could tell.

'Sorry, what was it again?' My eyes were scanning the crowd, slow music filled my ears, the lights above me were dimmed real low and I knew something was about to happen.

'Belle, what is wrong with you? You have been so quiet throughout the journey and you seem to be lost right now. Snap out of it!' Tasha was mad. It will be only a matter of seconds before she screamed the rafters down.

'I'm sorry, okay? This is so wrong. To be here. Look at us! We don't belong here. We are like aliens. Seriously. Look at them. So pish and posh, with all the riches in the world.. What do WE have? Horrible parents, at that, living through paychecks every month!' I hissed. I could have sworn people were looking at us. I have always been a hands-person whenever I talk.

'Sssh. What are you saying? You were the one who brought us here. You were the one who accepted the invitation! Now deal with it!' I do love my sister, who looked real pretty right now. She has done up her hair in a braided bun, silvered-colored mask concealed her face and a beautiful, almost ethereal white gown that ends at the ankles.

My sister, Natasha Wyn Williams, is my rock. My savior. My everthing. She is my world. She is my mother and my father. I am nothing without her. We went through a lot of pain through the last years of our teenage years; struggling with college and our finances.

We are no closer than being rich but we are happy with what we have accomplished so far. Our parents were long gone from our lives.

My father, James Williams, was a raging alcoholic. He gambled all half his life with alcohol and brought nothing but misery to us. My mother, Jessie Lo-Williams, was abusive. She started using physical threats ever since we could talk. I always thought that was a way for her to reach out to us. When we got older, we knew she needed help.

A warm and masculine hand touched my shoulder and made me snapped out of reverie.
I turned and gasped.

In all honesty, he looked exactly like the Abercombie and Fitch male models; tall and brooding, strong-squared jaw that held a pretty face. Oh lord. The eyes. Blue eyes as clear as the ocean.

'Welcome', was all the mystery man said with a deep timbre voice.

'Why thank you, my sister Isabelle and I are glad to be here. This is an amazing ball. So you are?' Tasha was already one step ahead of me, as usual. She is so sleek, like that.

'I'm Leon,' This hunk of a man, Leon and Tasha shook hands while I stood there quietly hoping the world could swallow me whole. I don't even know if I could make through the night without feeling nervous.

I'm a wreck.

'Isabelle! Belle, belle!' My sister hissed and motioned me to shake hands with Leon.

'Er, Hi!' Leon had his hand ready for me to grasp it and I ever so slowly met, clasped my hand in his.

A wave of electricity passed through my whole body. So warm and sizzling hot. Our hands lingered for a moment too long and my eyes looked up at him.

He was staring. At our hands. Could it be he felt it too? I don't even know him. He is only another Leon of another few hundreds in this world.

How special could this Leon be?

Mustering up a bit of courage, God knows where I hid it, I muttered, 'You can let my hand go now, Leon.'

Leon abruptly let my hand go and shoved his hand into the pocket of his black dress pants.

'You are Isabelle?' That voice. It makes me all gooey inside.

'Yes. I'm Isabelle. You can call me Belle for short. So you know about this ball? It's called Love Parade. I wondered why is it called so?' I'm blabbering. I only do this when I'm nervous.

Before Leon could answer, Tasha told us that she was going to get some food over at the buffet table. If you must know, Tasha is a food lover. She eats almost everything that is edible and not a pound of fat is located on her lithe figure.

'See you guys in a bit!' Tasha whisked away and she gave me a flirty wink.

I'm going to strangle her neck later. She knows how I am around men.

'What do YOU think, Isabelle?' He gazed into my eyes. Those blue set of eyes into my hazel ones.

'I don't... Know. We were all invited blindly. I was curious myself. I haven't been to any type of ball or formal events. It's not my thing, you see. It's like I'm living in another world. I could never belong in this... fairytale wonderland, or whatever you call it', I couldn't look at him. I focused my attention to the dance floor.

'So... You came here because you were curious?' Leon leaned too closely to me and for once, I felt cornered and bothered.

'Yeah, you can say that. Anyway, where are you from? You go to UWP? What is your major?' I inquired since I didn't know what else we could talk about.

Where the hell was my sister?!

Leon took my elbow and gestured me towards one of the seats at the back of the room. There you go. I'm feeling dizzy with a need that I couldn't understand.

'I have been living in Waverly all my life. This is my home. I did not go to UWP. I was homeschooled but graduated with honors majoring in science engineering.' Leon spoke calmly.

'Oh. That's why I haven't heard you in campus before. I moved to Waverly about a year back. So everything is still new to me. I like it here, Waverly, I mean. It is so peaceful and the people here are so friendly.' I smiled, remembering how the people came by to our house giving us pies to welcome to us in town.

Then it had became a once a week gathering; a cook-out, BBQ, picnic, poker game, a game of chess, charade and even badminton. The old folks joined too. Tasha and I always look forward to our Friday gathering.

'Glad to hear that. I take it that you go to UWP? How is it there?' Leon has become comfortable in the mahogany chair that is decorated in red and gold. His shoulders seem to relax and for once I felt the same.

'Tasha and I enrolled ourselves in UWP from the university transfer back in our hometown. It was our last year but things got heated up at home, so we decided to head north to have a brand new start. UWP is welcoming in the sense that it is full with approachable lecturers. I don't feel intimidated, y'know. It's right where I belonged', I made it a point to assured myself. It has become a habit of mine, to have a positive outlook when it comes to studies.

Leon seem to be a good listener. The way he hummed and nodded through the conversations were pretty impressive. It was a decent gesture, like a form of respect. Some men can be jerks. They only want to get laid.

'Great to hear that. What major are you in?'

'I'm in psychology.' I grinned.

He smiled. Oh gosh. Even with the mask on, I could already tell he'll be so dead-on handsome.

'You're into psyching people, then?' He chuckled. That is the most sweetest sound I have ever heard!

I laughed. 'Of course not, eh well, not really. It's like I want to study people. I want to understand them. I want to know what made them tick. I want to help people who have trouble with their behaviors.... Be it alcoholic, abusive, mentally challenged... I want to work with them and eventually make the right choice for them to be better.'

I had a reason for choosing psychology. Living in a broken family made me the girl I am today. Being in University of Waverly Paege is a blessing.

'Wow, I'm impressed. For such a beautiful girl like you, you have a lot of willpower and determination.' Leon was complimenting me! I felt cherished. Other than my sister and lecturers, receiving compliments are rare in my books.

I blushed again. I hope the mask concealed the redness of my cheeks.

'Thank you,' I mumbled softly.

I could feel the smell of his perfume; a wood-musky scent that screams sexuality.

Without a word, Leon stood up and held out his hand, 'Come dance with me, Isabelle.'

How could I not say no? This was, after all, my first dance. I didn't know what made me feel so bold, what I know is that Leon made me comfortable.

"You're in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I'm with you
So close to feeling alive...."

The soothing voice of Jon McLauglin filled the ballroom. It was fitting to what I was experiencing right now.

The flex of his broad shoulders against my tapered fingers, the possessive touch he had on my waist, and the brush of my breasts against his chest made me zing in ways that words cannot be expressed.

I tilted my head back ever so slightly, only to catch him looking at me questioningly.

I whispered, 'What?'

'You.'

'Me? What's wrong with me?'

He was giving that killer smile again.

'I'm drawn to you, Isabelle.'

I gasped. Is he for real? 'How is that so? We've only met not less than an hour, Leon.'

'I know that, but I want to get to know you. There's something about you... I can't say really, but I am serious.' Well, he looked like it. His lips were set in a grim line and his face was tensed.

'Ahh. Ummm, I'm not entirely sure how to go about this, Leon.' I gripped my fingers on his shoulders a little too hard that made him winced.

'Sorry,' I mumbled, clearly embarrassed by the impulsive act, I shifted my gaze on the floor.

Leon took the opportunity to stop dancing, grasped my chin towards him and stared into my eyes.

'Isabelle, I apologize if I am too straight-forward or blunt.. But I want to consider what I've just asked. Will you?'

'I... I.. Have to find my sister....' I dislodged myself from Leon and before I could tell him why, I was running away.

But I managed to hear his last words, 'I'll be looking for you, Isabelle. You may be running, but we'll meet again soon. Very soon.'

I stopped. With a low voice but loud enough for him to hear, I said, 'How sure are you, Leon? You don't even know me.'

I frantically left the dance floor, as the last line of the song went...

"So close
And still so far......."