Chapter Eighteen- Masquerade and New Love

I awoke the next morning later that week, leaning against the door. I carefully opened it, surprised that I was able to open it at all. Ryan had locked me in my room every night for the past week, and each night, Brendon and I had played Truth or Truth. Occasionally Spencer had joined in, but for the most part it was just Brendon and I. I searched the area. No one was there. Based on the sunlight peeking in through the ceiling, I could only assume that they had all gone to bed. I crept to the fridge, pulling out some milk and pouring a glass. Today was the masquerade and I had to get ready and stay out of my room until it started. That way Ryan wouldn’t be able to lock me away again… I thought. I crept into the bathroom, getting myself ready for the night that laid before me.

I had just slipped my dress on over my head when I heard the door slam. I stared at the window, shocked to see that the sun was almost set already. Ryan had beaten me. I thought that I could sneak into my room, just for a moment to get my dress and mask on, but he had awoken and locked me in. I sighed, staring at my outfit. I felt like crying. Why was he treating me like some pet? Well, I knew why, but I didn’t understand why he was so obsessive. I stared at the wall quietly.
“This isn’t fair…” I muttered to myself. I heard a noise as a figure held me against their body. It felt like a man’s body. I felt him cover my mouth so that I didn’t make a sound. I cringed as the man held me closer.
“My princess. You haven’t put your mask on yet.” He muttered in my ear. I felt my heart pound against my chest as I realized who it was. I pulled away, grabbing my mask quickly and placed it on my face angrily.
“Josh!” I hissed. He laughed happily as his vampiric white eyes shone behind the blue, black, gold and white mask which seemed to match mine. He wore a black tuxedo with an electric blue tie as he bowed calmly.
“My apologies, princess. Now. Shall we be off?” He asked, smirking. I sighed, searching the room before nodding.
“Ryan didn’t hire you to set up a trap or something, did he?” I asked. Josh laughed.
“No, not at all. Now, if you’ll please, princess. We’re late and you’re not even fully ready yet.” He stated I stared at him, confused for a moment, then realized what he meant. I nodded, my glamour peeling away to reveal my Talking form. With it, my casts and stitches vanished to reveal perfectly healed bones and skin. He smiled to himself as he held out his hand.
“Let’s go” He said calmly. I nodded, taking his hand. Suddenly, we were flying through the wall as his eyes shone a vibrant white. He looked back at me, grinning. Being with him… it felt different. He took of his shirt, then opened his wings as he pulled me into his arms.
“Now, I highly doubt you’re one for falling so lets take the other route.” He muttered in my ear, suddenly falling through the final wall. I clung onto his body as he fell towards the ground. Suddenly, his wings picked up the air and he burst upwards into the sky. He laughed at my reaction to almost becoming pavement.
“I thought I told you. We’re taking another route.” He said, still laughing. I hit him angrily.
“You jerk! You could have killed me!” I stated. Josh laughed calmly as we soared through the night sky.
“Yes, but I didn’t. I’m not stupid, don’t worry.” Josh said calmly. I stared up into his pure white eyes silently as the only sounds I could hear was the wind hissing in my ears and the flapping of his wings. 
“Josh?” I asked. Josh stared forward but nodded.
“Yes?” He replied. I sighed, then looked back up at him.
“Why are your eyes white? I don’t get weird emotions like with the other vampires. Like with red eyes I feel uncomfortable because I can feel their hate and anger… and black eyes make me feel empty and sad.” I asked, explaining my reasoning. Josh smiled calmly. Not his usual smile, but just a regular smile.
“It means I died with no emotion.” He stated. I stared into his eyes for a moment longer, trying to read them, then looked back into the night sky as Josh began his descend to the ground. He placed me down, then slipped his shirt back on calmly and neatened his hair over his mask. He looked towards me.
“You okay, princess?” He asked. I shook my head.
“Stop calling me princess. It’s Taya” I stated. Josh smirked, bowing.
“My apologies, then. Come on. We’re expected.” He stated, bending his arm. I linked onto his and continued walking forward into the building that laid before me. We walked in silently, yet as soon as we did, all eyes were on us. A few of the immortal creatures were whispering back and forth as we entered. I caught a few things, but for the most part I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.
“Is that Josh? Oh he does look handsome tonight…”
“What’s that he’s with? Is that the Talking everyone’s been talking about?”
“She’s definitely a Talking. I thought Ryan said she couldn’t come tonight.”
“Well, clearly Ryan was being Ryan when he said that. We all know what happens when He finds something he likes”
“She’s certainly beautiful without that human glamour.”
“She is.”
I could feel my face redden under the mask as I moved towards Josh awkwardly. He smiled to himself as I heard the hushed voices grow. Josh suddenly stopped, looking around the area.
“Where’s the music?” He asked. Suddenly the orchestra started up again. Josh smirked as everyone went back to what they were doing. Ryan Reynolds suddenly ran up, his arm linked with Katie’s. Katie smiled happily as we both let go of our dates to give the other one a hug.
“Oh my god! You look gorgeous!” She gushed. I smiled, playing with the dress, then jabbed her in the chest.
“You’re the one to talk. You look stunning! Purple really is your colour” I stated. I glanced over at Ryan’s eyes. They had changed to their werewolf colour which was apparently purple. I smirked. Katie’s dress matched his eyes. I looked back to Katie as she adjusted her mask. I looked around.
“So has Ryan arrived yet?” I asked. Katie nodded.
“Yeah, he’s with some werewolf girl. They kind of ditched each other upon entry. That’s what normally happens with them. But how’d you get here? Ryan came and explained to everyone that you weren’t coming?” She asked. I nodded, shooting a glance at Josh.
“Ryan locked me in my bedroom, and Josh got me out.” I explained. Katie nodded. I scanned the crowd, looking for someone else I knew. I saw Taylore with another girl which I assumed to be Hailey Williams. Both of them were wearing black. I continued to look around. A smile grew upon my face when I saw Saul and ‘Caramilk’ talking with each other. Saul looked super happy. I laughed to myself and continued scanning until my eyes came across Mara. Her body was clothed in a fiery red dress that was draped over her body seductively. Her pink eyes shone in the light as she held onto the hand of the vampire which had ran after Frankie and I when Patrick’s clan had attacked the restaurant. I looked back to Katie.
“Mara’s a night kid?” I asked. Katie nodded.
“Yeah. She’s sort of like Patrick’s clan’s pet. Sort of. She works with them and stuff like that. Weird that she got Andy though, they’re in the same clan. That rarely happens.” She explained. I nodded. I suddenly felt someone placing their hands over my eyes.
“Guess who?” A male voice asked. I turned around to face Cody. I laughed calmly.
“Cody! Where’s your date?” I asked. Cody shrugged.
“She got food poisoning at the last minute and couldn’t get her ass away from the toilet.” He explained. I sighed.
“That sucks.” I stated. Cody nodded as he looked over at Katie.
“Katie! Where’s your date?” He asked. Katie pointed at Ryan. Cody laughed.
“You two got the mercenaries? That’s lucky” He said, looking around. He looked back at us.
“Anyways, I’d better go. Cassie’s date was exorcised this week so I’ve got to keep her company.” He explained. Katie and I both nodded, watching him leave. I felt someone grab my hand as a new song came on. I looked towards Josh as he pulled me forward.
“May I have this dance?” He asked. I nodded happily, then looked back at Katie to tell her that I was going. But she was already dancing in Ryan’s arms. I laughed to myself, then felt my body being pulled towards Josh. He smiled as he held my body in one arm, and held my hand in the other. He leaned forward.
“Do you know how to ballroom dance?” He asked. I shook my head.
“I never learned how” I explained. Josh laughed, then held me even closer.
“Just follow my lead.” He muttered into my ear. I nodded, then felt his arm loosen as I felt my feet moving on their own. Josh smirked as I stared at them in shock. I suddenly knew everything that I needed to and the beat was going off in my head. 
“What?” I asked. Josh laughed.
“Vampires born with white eyes get abilities that the others don’t. You have no idea how hard it is to die with absolutely no emotion. One of my many abilities is that I can communicate with people with my mind. So just now I taught you all the steps that you needed to know.” He explained. I nodded, still lost on the subject. I looked past him, catching a glance from Ryan. The one that had been locking me in my room for the past week. His expression looked hurt at my joy as I spun around and around on the dance floor. My eyes locked with his as he glared at me. He turned away quickly, walking away. I sighed, then looked back up at Josh. He too saw what I was looking at.
“So Ryan went crazy over you?” He asked. I nodded.
“Yeah. He did. You knew that, though?” I asked, unsure. Josh nodded.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t aware of the fact that it had been a whole week” He stated. I stared up at him confused as to how he knew that as he suddenly held me tighter.
“If that ever happens again, call me for help. No matter where I am, I’ll pick up your signal and I’ll save you every time, got it?” He ordered. I nodded calmly. 
“Okay…” I said gently. Josh smiled calmly.
“So, other than that, how are you enjoying your new life?” He asked, “Actually a better question is how did you discover your new life?”
I sighed, wondering if I should tell him. I finally decided.
“Well… I was depressed, to be honest,” I explained, “It was just a few weeks ago when I had decided that the only way to feel better was to commit suicide. I grabbed a bottle of pills, walked out into the forest, then swallowed the bottle. I was saved by Ryan and taken to the hospital where Pete was my doctor. That was the first instance. The next morning I went home, then went back into the hospital after I crashed into my mirror after a nightmare. That time, Gerard was my doctor. That night while I was trying to recover, I was attacked by another vampire. I thought I had died, but when I awoke I was on life support. Ryan came in and asked me if I felt safe in there. I told him I didn’t, then Ryan took me away with him.”
Josh stared at me, surprised at the truth. He held me a bit closer.
“And you’ve never once felt weird about being with the vampires?” He asked. I shook my head.
“No. After all, they aren’t monsters” I explained. Josh raised an eyebrow as he leaned down.
“But that’s exactly what they’re labelled as.” He stated. I smirked, raising my head a bit.
“If you haven’t noticed, I’ve never really cared about labels.” I muttered, staring into his eyes. He stared back, his expression fading. He leaned forward, about to kiss me when there was a sudden noise.
“Patrick! Stop! Not here!” a woman screeched. Josh and I snapped up to see the familiar group of vampires consisting of Pete and three others stepping towards us. One of the vampires snapped his fingers as three more clans ran to their side. Brendon, Spencer and John suddenly leapt out in front of me, all snarling. Josh snarled, pulling his gun out. He and the leader locked eyes as he pressed me against his chest as if to show his dominance. 
“Patrick. I suggest you go back to drinking your punch” Josh snarled, cocking the gun. The leader, who I assumed to be, Patrick laughed as the weaker werewolves and vampires pulled out, leaving Patrick’s now giant clan and my four vampires. Suddenly Cody, Katie, Cassie, Karin, Taylore, Saul, Martin and Taija leapt out in front of me. That made twelve to twelve. Only we were still outnumbered by the fact that the vampires we had all drank packaged blood rather than pure blood, which according to Pete makes you stronger. Patrick stepped forward.
“Come on, Josh. We’re not that different. We both came from the same master. You can join us at any moment and you’ll remain unharmed.” He said calmly. He glanced at me, then back to Patrick.
“Yeah? And what would you do to Taya if I joined you?” He snapped. Patrick shrugged.
“As long as she remained obedient she wouldn’t be harmed. We don’t have to sacrifice her for ultimate power if we simply put her on our side. How ever, if she’s unwilling to… be reborn, then I’m afraid a sacrifice is all we can do.” He stated. I felt a chill run down my spine. I stared at their numbers. Twelve on… thirteen? I counted again, this time spotting Ryan. Brendon too had apparently spotted him as I did. 
“Ryan? What the hell are you doing?” He snarled, taking a step forward. Ryan growled.
“I could ask you the same thing. I’m your alpha. You should be over here.” He snarled. The three vampires from his clan exchanged glances, then snarled as their eyes turned their vampiric colour.
“I owe Taya my life. I’ll die before you go any further into your insanity with her” Spencer snarled. John nodded.
“Ryan, you’ve taken this to far. Taylor is her own person. She’s not a toy!” He shouted. Ryan glared at him, running forward. John too ran forward, and that’s when the fight began.