There was no getting around it. Sonnet was going to hate me.

I ran my fingers over the crisp suit. They'd greased my hair back, making it slick. It wasn't the style I would've chosen for myself, but it worked. I had to give them that. I stood at the top of a staircase, a thin curtain dividing me from the ballroom.

The city was arriving. I could hear them, and the chatter, getting louder and louder with each minute. It'd be a well attended event. Sonnet pointed out that everyone would feel obligated to come. It was a way to support the government and to flaunt the gown you had imported from France or China or Spain or Madrid or Tokyo, or anywhere exotic really.
Sonnet's dress had come from the Netherlands, not that she seemed to care.

I hadn't seen any of the costumes they'd prepared for Sonnet. Maybe they wanted it that way, to get the standard, "she's so beautiful" or "how did I get so lucky" look. They'd have gotten that if she was wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt.

"Five minutes." Mr. McShane said matter of factly. I glanced at the clock. It was 5:55. I just needed to wait, patient. I looked over at Mr. McShane. His face was blank, unreadable.

I had one last chance to stop the whole ordeal. Not that my attempts earlier in the day had borne any fruit. I owed Sonnet one last try.

"What happens if something goes wrong?"

"It won't."

"Wouldn't that make you look bad?"

"We highest security possible. Everything is planned out by the second. We have a team for every aspect. The event will go perfectly."

"I'm not sure I want to do this."

Mr. McShane's hand was baring down on me, like he wanted to press me into the floor and be done with me.

"You will do this. Now is not the time for cold feet."

"I just... it doesn't feel right."

His eyes bored into me, as though he was imagining them carving a hole right through me.

"Everyone feels that way. I didn't feel right around my wife until three months in."

He had a wife. Of course, he did. He was the straightest man I'd ever seen. I didn't envy his wife, or his children.

"Really?"

"Really. Now there's three minutes until show time. You'll do wonderfully."

He lifted his hand off my shoulder. I took a deep breath. I wouldn't do wonderfully and the night wouldn't be perfect. I could see to that.

"To minutes until you go out." Came a woman's voice from behind us.

I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready.

Thirty seconds.

"Sonnet's here."

Twenty seconds.

I forced a smile on my face. It was coming out as a grimace. I tried to picture puppies with peanut butter on their noses. Sonnet smiling. Ted patting me on the back.

Ten seconds.

I forced the corners of my mouth to inch upward, forcing the smile to be more genuine. Sonnet was coming. That should've been enough.

Five seconds.

I wiped my hands on my suit. The curtain was slowly pulling open. The staff all parted, leaving me utterly alone.

Three seconds.

A spotlight hit me, making me squint.

Two seconds.

I took a tentative step forward,

One second. The curtain was the full way open. I could see Sonnet, her blue dress shimmering like the sea. I met her eyes. I felt faint.

A clock chimed 6:00 somewhere in the background. Chase let go of Sonnet's arm and she grabbed onto mine.

She leaned her head closer to mine.

"I can't walk in these shoes."

She was putting weight on me, like I was all that was keeping her from wobbling. The crowd below was dead silent. We turned, going up another, shorter flight of stairs.

She was beautiful, but I kept staring straight ahead. We made out way to a landing, a microphone waiting for us. Sonnet's hand slid away from my arm. They dropped to her side, lost in her brilliant dress.

I tried to make out a face I knew in the crowd, but it was hopeless. There were just too many of them. All I could see was Chase at the bottom of the stairs. That was a comfort for Sonnet, not me. I half expected to see my little sister there, mocking me. She'd make herself go cross eyed and talk in a low voice. I wanted to see her there, and to hate her in that kind of loving way. But she wasn't there. She was gone. They were all gone, and I was alone.

I opened my mouth, saying some words Mr. McShane had vetted. I talked about how much I loved Sonnet. That wasn't a lie. I talked about how much I loved the government. I wasn't sure about that one anymore. Respected seemed like the better word.

I paused, and Sonnet pressed close to me, delivering the rest of the speech. She said she loved me. Lie. She said she loved the government. I was fairly sure that was a lie too. She said she was looking forward to a life with me. Another lie.

Her hand found mine as she finished the speech. She raised her hand, so our hands were even with our chests. It wall all a show. I had known that before the curtain opened, but that didn't stop me searching for one real thing. I was coming up empty.

Sonnet let go of my hand and rested her head on my shoulder. I let myself pretend that wasn't fake too. Nothing had gone wrong yet. I wanted to scream, to yell at everyone to wake up, to look around. To see through the facade. But something stopped me. Was it fear?

Sonnet gave me a look. That was what stopped me. She seemed to be pleading for the night to go as planned. Or if it was derailed, for it to be derailed by someone other than me.

My blood froze in my veins. She had a plan. She had a plan and I wasn't a part of it.