Seira

Hearing somebody call me by my fake name out loud is like hearing somebody call me by my online username in real life.

It's very uncomfortable.

However, the sentiment is replaced by the inability to think as I gazed my eyes on him for the first time tonight.

No doubt, it's the egomaniac delinquent, wearing a tailored suit and a gold full face mask with an intricate design and embedded jewels just like the mask everyone is wearing.

"How do you know I'm Marylyn?" I asked.

His eyes crinkled through the mask, "Nobody can ignore that blue hair."

"I could have been someone else," I rolled my eyes.

"I never expected to see you wearing a dress any more than I did with you learning how to drive."

I squeezed his arm in a death grip, "I never expected you to look like a normal human being any more than I did with you learning any manners."

He chuckled, "Jokes aside, you actually look decent in your dress."

If looks could kill, he'd have perished on the spot.

"You really know how to throw a compliment do you?"

"What did you want me to say then?"

He's right. What did I want him to say?

"I-I nothing. Stop trying to put words in my mouth!"

He laughed and he leaned in close to my ears, "Alright, I think you look beauti-no, ravishing tonight."

His comment sent uncomfortable chills down my body, like the one you get when cold air suddenly blew down your neck.

"And I think you still look like a decent human being tonight," I whispered in his ear.

Apparently, my reply amused him and he started to snicker and I had to dig my nails on his shoulder to shut him up.

"You're the only thing remarkable in this gala, everything and everyone is sooo boring," he admitted which shocked me because if I remember correctly, remarkable is another synonym for the word amazing and I earned him a grin.

"Likewise, and I'd like to escape this hellhole too. So if you have any plans, do it now before we switch partners," I urged him.

He fell silent and I thought that was the end of the conversation but when he twirled my body to guide me to the next partner, he didn't let go and instead squeezed us out the outer circle.

We danced past couples in the direction of the door and when we finally reached it, we sprinted down the hallway with my hand on his.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as we found ourselves ascending stairs.

"I don't know," he replied without faltering on his steps.

As much as I would like to know, I embraced my adventurous side and threw all of my reservations out of the way. To hell with it, I need an escape even if it's only a night.

We stopped at a door and when he opened it, it revealed the moon.

Our running brought us at the top of the building overlooking the busy streets at night illuminated by city lights and moonlight.

Together, we watched the vehicles pass by and admired the beauty of the moon. But no matter how whimsical the night is, it feels hard to open a conversation due to the ongoing mood.

"What do you wanna do now?" he asked.

I hesitated to tell him what I think but I answered him anyways, "To be honest, I think it's more awkward now."

"For once, I actually agree with you."

I groaned, "And we ran all those stairs, my legs are shaking. Why didn't we take the elevator?"

Mario guffawed and wheezed like there was no tomorrow, "I don't know what came over me to drag you upstairs. God, you're whining like a three year old."

"And you sound like a dying donkey."

"At least I only sound like one, you run like one," he jokingly replied and let loose a few snickers as he tried not to laugh.

I glared at him until he stopped laughing.

Clearing his throat, he untied his tie and looked at me, "Want to go out of here?"

Without thinking, I groaned out loud remembering all the stairs we'd taken to get here.

"Fine, but this time we're using the elevator."

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I changed into a black T-shirt I rolled inside the pocket of my shorts underneath my dress and Mario somehow changed into an ankle shorts, a v-necked white shirt, his classic face mask, shades, and black cap.

Brilliant, who taught this kid with disguises? It's super suspicious!

"You should have worn your golden face mask. It should not have been more suspicious than what you're wearing!" I snapped at him.

He ignored me and tossed a food personnel uniform at my face.

"Where did you find this?" I wiggled the garment at his face.

"Stop messing around or somebody will hear us you idiot! I found it in a room somewhere."

I snorted, "You mean 'stole'?"

He rolled his eyes and we escaped through the kitchen entrance and slowly walked away from the venue and into a quieter street where we dumped our disguises in a public restroom.

Mario found an open arcade and we were about to play another game when I remembered, "Hey, we have to be back before 10 or else they'll be looking for us."

I won a minion plushie and gave it to Mario. He tried to give it back but I stomped on his foot and left him for a game of basketball.

We tried almost everything and now we're trying our luck on a slot machine.

As I pushed the handle down, Mario got a text message and his eyes went wide.

"It's 20 minutes past 10," he said and the slot machine stopped to three mismatched blocks into which the mechanical voice said, 'Sorry, you're out of luck!'

We sprinted out the door and we've taken a short cut through the alleys.

"Do you know where we're going this time?" I called out to him, while trying to catch my breath.

"I've been through alleys all my life! Shit, we're in freaking deep shit!" he yelled over his shoulder.

I struggled to keep up with him and from the running we did up the stairs earlier, my legs couldn't take the strain anymore and I lagged behind him.

And to make things worse, I accidentally stumbled on an uneven surface of the road.

My knees and hands collided with the rugged cement and slowly I inspected the damage.

Mario looked back and saw me on the ground, "Shit! Are you okay? Can you walk?"

I rolled my eyes through the small tinge of pain I felt on the scrapes I have on my hands and knees.

"I don't look okay. Duh."

He started to walk towards me and as I inspected my wounds, a loud cluttering caught my attention and my instinct forced me to find the source which unfortunately comes from the poorly lit blind alley on my right side.

A woman with her face torn off lay on the ground with her hand desperately banging the dumpster in hopes for salvation when it's regrettably crushed by the man standing before her.

He stabbed the woman's hand that forced her to scream in pain and as he pulled the knife out without remorse he snapped her neck and turned his attention towards me.

Run.