Somewhere in the days leading up to the masquerade ball, Jazmine had come up with the bright idea to meet Gabriel at the dance without seeing him beforehand. The idea was that it could be a game of sorts for the couple, to see who could spot who first in the sea of veiled faces. At least, that's what Jazmine had told Gabriel. The truth was, she was anxious and she didn't want him to see her like that. the dance was supposed to be a night of fun, something new and exciting for the lake.. but the entire week leading up to it, Jazmine had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The idea of Leon and Sebastian being there with their devilish faces disguised left her feeling queasy. She couldn't let them have that kind of control over her, no. She needed to suck it up and let loose, she needed to have fun.
Her first instinct had been to find some kind of cover, something more than a mask to hide behind. She wanted something to cover her arms where you could still see white scars spelling out the words 'wrath' and 'pride' carved into her skin if the lighting was right. Nobody would notice, not really.. except for Jazmine, and maybe her attackers. She couldn't let them win. She needed to be brave. She fought a battle with herself, and she won. She finally found the perfect dress, sleeveless and all, and a gold, laser-cut mask to go with it. She found a pair of shoes and even painted her nails for the occasion, and decided that she was as good as she was going to get. Maybe she'd look okay. Looking at herself in the mirror, she didn't recognize the reflection staring back at her. She didn't just look okay. She looked... beautiful.
She couldn't look, couldn't believe that was her own reflection. She left her dormitory and headed to the dance, arms wrapped around herself in a defensive manner. Maybe this hadn't been a great idea after all. All she wanted was gabriel by her side. He always made her feel better, feel safer. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. She repeated the mantra in her head a few times before finally finding the courage to make her way into the dance, descending down the staircase into the mass of people. She tried to search the crowd for familiar faces, but that proved to be a lost cause.. until her eyes landed on him, her guardian angel, standing there on the floor in all of his winged glory. He took her breath away. After staring, only for a moment, the ghost of a smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she cut through the crowd towards her boyfriend. "Found you."
