I then passed in front of her to enter the room first, discovering a bizarre scene.
"Oh my God, Lexy, what's wrong with your head?" I exploded in uncontrolled laughter once the shock passed.
She had put on an inflatable sumo costume. You could barely see her feet. As for her arms, they seemed tiny. Why was she imposing this ridiculous outfit on herself?
"Go ahead, laugh. I'm original, unlike you. I will not be forgotten any time soon," she added as she approached Marie Antoinette, who was threatening.
Asarys could not help but answer her.
"Don't count on me to get you through all the doors tonight. What about poor Lucas? Have you thought about it? Are you planning to roll together instead of dancing?"
My stomach hurt from so much laughing. Victoria had hidden next to the door to stifle her amusement.
"You are so funny, Asarys. You could have chosen Marilyn Monroe, just to loosen up a little," Lexy protested against her friend's provocations.
"Stop!" I shouted.
I addressed Victoria, raising my hands to heaven.
"These girls are unbearable."
I put our bags on Lexy's bed and took out our clothes. It was time to get ready. I put on my cabaret woman's costume from the 1940s in the presence of everyone. The clothing involved nothing more than a very short, black dress, with many fringes, accompanied by gloves of the same color, while Victoria wore a Dracula costume.
"Let's take a picture!" Asarys said, her smartphone in her hands.
"Wait, we have to put on makeup first," I protested.
Lexy pointed us to the bathroom.
"Hum!" Victoria winced at her reflection in the glass.
"You are beautiful, I assure you, really thinking so."
It was a pity that this beautiful young girl did not accept herself. Victoria was becoming more and more graceful, elegant, and natural. Her shyness kept her from others. It hurt my heart to see her like that. She was the little sister I so would have wished to have.
"How about I put makeup on you?" I proposed, passing my hand through her hair.
"Yes, why not," she replied, not believing it too much and shrugging.
I wanted to do everything to make her big, sad eyes glow again, so I got busy with the task.
"Zoe Reyes, Victoria Mattew, you guys are beautiful!" Lexy exclaimed as we returned.
"I love it," added Asarys. "Come on, now the picture. We're going to be late!"
Lexy came between us. Her imposing sumo costume made it difficult to take the picture, which made us laugh a lot more. It was an unforgettable memory of that Halloween evening.
"Fortunately we have the Escalade. Without that, I don't know how Lexy would have managed to get into a normal sized car," said Victoria, amused, as the four of us were walking towards the car.
Lexy wasn't walking, she was swinging from right to left so she could move around.
"You better roll. You'd go faster." Asarys couldn't stop from making fun.
"Leave me alone! Go and be guillotined," Lexy grumbled, almost out of breath.
"Are they always like that?" Victoria whispered to me.
"I warned you they were crazy."
In front of the Escalade, I handed the keys to Victoria to let her drive. This SUV was really too big for me. I was relieved to be able to sit in the passenger seat.
We crossed Downtown. The city was lit from all sides and, in the streets, the crowd flocked out to celebrate Halloween. I looked out the window at people in their suits with a slight smile on my face. Everything seemed so unreal to me at that moment. I couldn't help but envy them.
Beyonce in the background took us on a beautiful drive. However, Faïz, never far from my thoughts, came back to torture my mind. A new ball suddenly formed in my stomach. I was eager to find him again, aware that I was like a young teenager in front of her first love, which for me was really true. Why had I not avoided it from the beginning, as my conscience had asked me to? I knew that a part of me was suspicious of him, but the beauty of his face and his special look prevented me from turning away from this man. In the rearview mirror, I noticed Asarys was staring at me in a way I didn't recognize, her penetrating gaze trying to pierce the secrets I was hiding.
"Look! The view of The Griffith is beautiful from here," Lexy exclaimed.
Her intervention turned me away from Asarys for a few seconds. When I laid my eyes on her again, my friend had regained a cheerful look, like she usually had. I blamed it on the city's lights, which must have been reflected intensely on her face. I could not explain it any other way.
"Ray will be there?" I asked her with curiosity.
Victoria turned down the volume of the music.
"Yes," she replied with a grin that spoke volumes. "Victoria, you'll have to drive me to my sorority. I have to leave my things there."
"Oh no! No! We agreed that we would all arrive together to the ball," Lexy replied.
"But I'll join you right away."
"Wouldn't you rather come with us?"
"It's all right, girls... Ray is picking me up. We need to get to know each other," she justified herself, embarrassed.
"Marie Antoinette is a hell of a bitch," Lexy said, falsely outraged at her.
Asarys took out her fan, shook it in front of her face, and added,
"A nice lady doesn't talk about these things."
The attention remained on her until the end of our journey. She dodged, as well as she could, all spikes and allegations against her.
Victoria made a U-turn in front of the Asarys's sorority in order to leave as soon as possible. Asarys got out of the vehicle, relieved to leave us, and ran away into the Alphas Mu house. This building was only fifty meters from the university, but the surrounding area was so poorly lit that we could hardly distinguish it.
In the university parking lot, they were already waiting for the three of us. Lucas, the sheriff. Baudoin, the pirate. And David... David's outfit didn't mean anything to me. Maybe a termite killer? His brown suit and the vacuum cleaner on his back were unrecognizable.
"Where is the funny lady?" asked David, referring to Asarys.
"She'll be here," Victoria replied as she got out of the Escalade.
"Charming, charming, charming," Baudoin addressed her, while staring at her from top to bottom.
"I'd be careful if I were you, man. Her brother looks tough," David warned him.
The music reached us as far as the parking lot, which forced me to take a few dance steps while Lexy was busy getting out of the SUV.
"What is this bullshit?" cried Lucas in an astonished tone as he discovered her.
Not letting herself be taken aback by her boyfriend's attitude, she replied without blinking,
"The bitches will think twice before they come near you! A sheriff and a sumo, that's an unlikely couple."
Lexy rushed with open arms towards Lucas and hit him slightly. He immediately lost his balance and almost collapsed to the ground.
"Stay away from me tonight! You're a public danger. And you two? How could you let her do it?" he accused Victoria and me.
"As if what we say could have any impact. Your girlfriend is out of control," I told him.
Victoria put her arm through mine and we all walked together towards the entrance, where the celebration was in full swing. Lucas was in a hurry, followed by Lexy, who never intended to let go of him.
Inside the room, I quickly realized that it would not be easy to find Faïz in all this rush. To make things worse, the costumes, makeup, and masks made the task almost impossible. The disappointment quickly won me over, thinking that I might not see him all evening. It was then that my attention turned to the splendid decorations of the place. The team in charge of the mission had not skimped on resources. Large glass vases held roses of different colors throughout the room. Wisteria covered the ceiling in different places, among balloons and white ribbons. The fresh and intoxicating smell of this arrangement also made for a glamorous visual effect. Mir
rors had been placed all around us, which enlarged the place. Of course, it was Halloween, so you couldn't escape the silver webs, spiders, and grinning pumpkins. However, it did not spoil the aesthetics of the place.
"You seem to like it," Victoria remarked.
"Are you kidding me? It's more than that. It's beautiful! The dark and bluish light effects were a great idea."
Victoria seemed happy with the effect this first ball had on me, proud to show me American traditions. I finally discovered something other than weariness and sadness in his eyes. Her vampire king costume seemed to have a positive effect on her.
"BOO!"
Marie Antoinette had just arrived behind us. Finally, she had made it. As she turned me around, she threw a handful of confetti in my face. Ray, very close to her, smiled at me with his row of perfectly aligned teeth and greeted me.
"How are you, Zoe? You look very beautiful tonight."
"I'm fine."
He wore a knight's outfit that I found quite in tune with his personality. Now that he was here, I was hoping he could help me find my date.
"Have you seen Faïz?"
"Yeah…Uh…He is still on the terrace upstairs..."
His embarrassed look didn't indicate anything good.
"With Rachelle," he finally confessed.
"Not for long," fumed Asarys. I'm going to drag him by the skin of his butt and bring him back to his date.
Distressed, I glanced at Victoria, refusing to let her hear this conversation. Fortunately, Baudoin had already monopolized her by taking her to a buffet near the entrance. That was when Lucas reappeared without Lexy.
"Well, are you going to stand there all night? It's not every day you can let go."
"Uh, Lucas, what did you do with our friend?" Asarys asked.
"Sumo? You're kidding! Her costume is so successful that she's signing autographs. I took the opportunity to lose her."
Suddenly, music by Sean Paul set the ball in motion. We moved onto the dance floor and started dancing. I tried as best as I could to drive Faïz and Rachelle out of my mind, refusing to imagine them together on the terrace, one against the other. The jealousy I felt at that moment made me grind my teeth.
"You could have dressed up as Esmeralda. You would have been perfect in that role," Lucas said to me while dancing.
That was what he had called me since the first day we met. I was used to it now.
"Instead, you preferred to play Morticia," he continued, pretending to be disappointed.
"Lucas, I am a cabaret dancer from the 1940s!" I exclaimed, looking up to heaven, "not a character from the Addam's family."
"Ah... Yes… Now that you mention it..."
"Shut up!"
He laughed as he added,
"Look, there are worse than you."
He nodded at David.
"He had to invent a new character. Well... Maybe it's just an outfit of a crazy hacker."
I couldn't help but laugh, and it felt good. Fortunately, my friends were there.
The celebration was at its height. I managed to get a glass of Coca-Cola served at the buffet, but I had to fight hard to get there. Some of my friends were on the dance floor and others were sitting, talking. For a moment, Asarys had joined her sorority at a table. The Alpha Mus seemed to be in a very lively conversation.
I scanned the room in search of Lexy. I hadn't seen her since we'd entered. I then began to imagine her lying on the ground, in a place with little room, completely blocked by her costume with the impossibility of being able to get up on her own. Suddenly, my eyes found Faïz, who was contemplating me from a little further away. He was leaning against a decorative pillar at the top of the stairs opposite me. Rachelle was obviously not with him. I decided to go and join him, not taking my eyes off him for fear of losing track of him. He understood that he had to stay there waiting for me. I tried to stay calm and my hands became sweaty. My legs carried me with difficulty. How beautiful he was! I took care to keep the vision of this beautiful dark man in a corner of my memory, because I knew that tomorrow everything could change. After several interminable seconds, I finally reached him.
"Good evening," I whispered without being able to speak louder.
The sound of my voice was drowned in the deafening music. Faïz had to read my lips.
"Good evening, Zoe."
He looked at me for a short while and then came a little closer to me so that I could hear him.
"You are very beautiful," he whispered to me in a charming voice.
I was on a cloud and decided to take advantage of Faïz's good mood to get what I wanted most this evening.
"You promised me a dance, remember?"
He grimaced.
"I'm afraid not everyone likes it, Zoe."
I guessed who he was referring to.
"They will recover. People quickly forget."
Faïz sighed, preferring to look away, unable to support my gaze.
"Forgetting is not so easy," he admitted, almost vulnerable.
I didn't understand what he was getting at. It was then that I finally noticed his outfit: a black tuxedo and a white shirt that suited him perfectly. I was not surprised he wasn't in disguise. It was not his style at all. However, he was very classy tonight, with his hair still more or less messy. I struggled against my desire to run a hand through it.
"Faïz, it's a costume ball! Why didn't you dress up like everyone else?"
"But I am in disguise!"
Her smile dazzled me at that moment.
"No! Explain it to me?"
"I am Gatsby the magnificent," he answered, amused by his own words.
The features of his face were so pleasant that I couldn't help but look at him. Suddenly, he took his seriousness back, feeling things slipping away from him. A voice deep inside me begged him to kiss me. His worried pout reappeared. Damn! I started praying for a little help and someone up there seemed to have heard me. The music stopped and a deep voice at the microphone was heard. We turned our eyes towards it.
"Gentlemen, we ask you to invite your date, designated during the draw, to dance the next slow dance. Thank you for respecting this tradition and for taking your place on the track."
"I'm gonna have to spend a few more minutes with you, Reyes. It's always the same problem," said Faïz, breathing deeply, obviously bothered by the idea.
"That's fine with me."
He then reached out his hand to me. One part of me hesitated to take it. Was he playing with my feelings? I kept hoping for something that would probably never happen. Faïz was loyal to Rachelle and had his principles. I looked down at the crowd for a second. That was when I saw Lexy, easily recognizable in her suit. I was relieved to see her again among us. Her dance partner, whose first name had flown out of my head, had joined her on the dance floor. A small redhead with an unattractive physique and an unattractive gait stood by his side. My friend must have been happy to have come dressed like that. The distance between those two would be maximum. I turned around to Faïz, my hand slipping into his, and a small electric shock surprised me. The heavy atmosphere between us was palpable. He wrapped my hand as gently as possible, as if he was afraid to break it. It was warm and soft. This contact was enough to make me lose my footing. Hand in hand, we went down to join the other couples already there.
The music began. I recognized from the first notes a track by Fetty Wap, remixed into a soft rhythmic melody. The track escaped me. This artist, better known in the hip-hop world, had made a successful exception on this song. When I found myself in front of Faïz, I saw Rachelle arrive behind him with a quick step. Her eyes seemed to come out of their sockets so much they were imbued with fury.
Asarys, at my side, felt that something was wrong. She followed my gaze and immediately understood. Not planning to let her spoil my moment, she went to meet her and instinctively blocked her way, leaving her no chance of getting to us. Rachelle wanted to force the way, but Lucas, Baudoin, and Lexy immediately came to the rescue. My friend
's sumo costume was very dissuasive at the time. Rachelle accepted her defeat and sent me a look full of hatred.
Faïz, not having seen anything of this scene, took me by the waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I decided to ignore his girlfriend and get closer to him. His body froze, embarrassed by this carnal proximity. There was no more space between the two of us. I laid my head in the hollow of his neck. His smell intoxicated me. I knew that part of him struggled at that time, but I let myself be carried away by the music and forgot what was going on around us. We were alone, he and I. Nothing mattered anymore.
I closed my eyes to enjoy this moment. In his arms, time seemed suspended. As the seconds went by, I felt his body relax. Faïz lowered his weapons. His breathing became more intense, while his embrace tightened around my hips. Between us, there had always been two weights and two measures. We were constantly moving from one extreme to the other, from war to peace. I had always had a knack for deciphering people, but he was still a mystery to me. You had to admit it, he was impenetrable. What was he thinking about right now?
I hesitated to lift my head to look at him, for fear of ruining this moment when it was mine. The song was coming to an end and I was aware that it would be impossible for me to keep the moment. Without thinking, I put my lips against his neck and a slight shiver ran through him.
"Zoe, stop it," he whispered to me in a tortured tone.
"I… I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," I said sincerely.
Faïz moved his face back from mine to look me in the face.
"Please, stay away from me! I'm not the man for you."
His words were not addressed to me. He was, rather, trying to convince himself, because if I knew one thing well, it was that the eyes do not lie. The slow song ended. Faïz suddenly backed away. His slight smile faded, as if reality had suddenly caught up with him. I could not hide my annoyance. I had the feeling that my whole body was screaming from the inside. His heavy look pierced me. I wanted to confront him with his feelings, but my words got stuck in my throat. It was then he turned and found Rachelle standing a little further away from us. She, on the edge of tears, turned on her heels and walked with a furious step towards the exit.
DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend Page 10