meeting at a masquerade ball au (for Harry and Uma, please?)
Harry and Uma masquerade AU
Uma sat slumped in her friend's tiny vanity chair. Evie applied glittery, flawless makeup to Uma's face. Sure, it was beautiful, but Uma couldn't be more annoyed.
Evie had been invited to some super prestigious Mardi gras masquerade party. The girl didn't want to go alone so she'd invited her friends, Mal and Uma. Somehow she'd gotten them both to agree, but now that the time was here Uma didn't want to go.
"Evs, I don't want to go anymore" Uma said while Evie was still applying her makeup
"Well that's just too bad isn't it" Evie fake pouted "it's exclusive and RSVP. You don't get to back out honey. Especially now" she said puckering her lips signaling that she was going to start applying lipstick
"Getting cold feet" Mal taunted from the other side of the room where she was looking in the mirror at herself in the super skimpy dress she'd picked out.
Uma rolled her eyes at the girl but didn't respond because Evie was doing her lips. Uma never went to parties, she didn't like the commotion. Mal on the other hand took any chance she could to get drunk and slug all the guys, so of course she was going to all the parties. Uma would go more often if she had good company. Sure she liked hanging with Evie and Mal, but it could be exhausting. And she always felt like she was third wheeling in this friendship, like she wasn't fully included.
Whatever. Evie was right though, it would be selfish for her to back out, guess she was totally committed. Coming to terms with that Uma let Evie finish and got ready with her friends. Listening to Mals nonsense, to Evie being a sweetheart as usual and putting up with the other girls bullshit, Uma chiming in every so often to give her opinions. Until they were finally ready.
Mal had on thick makeup and a short, sexy, sequence dress that was too short to be considered an actual dress. Evie went for fluffy, but it was beautiful, the ruffles suited her. And Uma, she went with a tight, long velvet dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. They all looked completely different, but their looks suited each one of them, and somehow they fit with each other perfectly.
"See Uma, you're a beauty, you're gonna steal the show" Evie said as they all looked at themselves in the mirror
"Thanks Evs, but I believe it's you that everyone will be looking at" Uma said smiling
Evie gave Uma a soft smile and a squeeze on her shoulder to show her appreciation
"Hello? And what am I?" Mal pipped up irritated that all the attention wasn't on her.
"A slutty purple cabbage" Uma suggested
Evie gave her a look "No, you're beautiful too. Now let's get our masks. Remember guys, no taking off your masks until the end of the night during the big reveal. You take it off before then, you get kicked out"
"Geez what is this, a cult?" Uma questioned
"Yes" Mal said agreeing that it sounded weird
"You wont actually get kicked out" Evie assured "it's just that the reveal is the most important part of the party. Now, we have to go or we'll be late" she added
.........................................
The party was at a huge hall. Decorated to the brim and filled with so many lively people. A smile graced Uma's lips as she saw it, even if she wasn't too thrilled to be there, it was impressive. There were glorious food tables, an all you can drink bar, a dance floor, music, games. It was all there
"Alright biatches, I'll see you around. I have places to go, people to see" Mal waved them off
"You have no one to see Mal, not until the reveal" Evie reminded
Mal rolled her eyes but nodded to signal she understood before she was off.
"I'm going to the food table, wanna join?" Uma said to Evie
"Thanks for the invite but I'm not gonna miss my chance to be on this dance floor" Evie said genuinely and politely
"Alright Evs, that's fine. See you later" Uma said as the girls went their separate ways
Uma was overwhelmed to say the least when she got to the food tables. She was sure she'd never seen that much food in her life. As a college student she didn't really have the money for food like this. The dessert table is what really caught her attention though. Towers upon towers of delectable pastries. Uma grabbed a plate and started to walk through getting what she wanted. There wasn't enough room on her plate but she figured she could go back for seconds if she needed.
Out of the side of her eye Uma could tell that someone was coming up next to her in the line. They probably just wanted some of the food she was standing in front of. Turning she gave the person a small smile and moved a little. It was a boy, a tall boy, his outfit was flawless. He gave her a smile in return, that smile was the kind that appeared in your dreams. Uma couldn't see much of his face but she could see his pretty blue eyes under his mask. Something about him seemed so familiar. She couldn't look away.
He cocked his head to the side a bit which made her realize she was staring.
"Oh, sorry. Am I in your way?" Uma said a bit flustered
"Not at all love, I'm just following your lead." He said
Uma had to look at him again. She wasn't expecting him to have an accent. And again, it seemed familiar to her. She nodded and decided to just continue down the line of tables. He followed as well, moving everywhere she did, piling up his own plate.
"Ever had a fern cake love?" The boy questioned Uma seemingly examining a little pastry in his hand
"Huh? Oh.. uh no" Uma said, not really sure what he was talking about
"A fern cake" he showed her and proceeded to place one of the desserts on her plate "A delicacy where I come from. They're my wee sisters favorite" he smiled at her
"Where are you from?" Uma asked as a conversation starter but genuinely interested
"Scotland, Edinburgh" He said proudly
Uma nodded, explains the accent she thought "So you go to college around here then?" She asked
"Mhmm. And you love?" He asked
Damn it, she wanted to know where he went to school. "Yeah, I uh, I go to Auradon prep. Where do you go?" She said straightforward
"Oh hey are these Madeline cookies?" He said straying the topic away
Okay, so he was being vague on purpose
Uma furrowed her brows at him.
"Do ya drink love?" He asked
Why did he keep calling that? It was making her blush. "Yeah, I do." She said
"Well, what do you say I buy you a drink if you sit and eat with me?" He suggested
"I'm pretty sure they're not charging for your first few drinks" Uma pointed out
The boy looked over and read a sign that said exactly that "ah, it would appear as though you're right. May I just get you a drink then?" He suggested.
"Sure, Iets find a table first" Uma said trying to hide the fact that she was very interested in this boy and wanted to talk to him more.
They found a table and set their food down and the boy instructed Uma to stay and sit.
"Can I get you a drink now?"
"As long as you're not gonna roofy it, I'll have a bloody Mary." Uma said
The boy stopped in his tracks and eyed her. "You don't think that's why I'm talking to you right?" he asked genuinely concerned.
"No, I shouldn't have said that. Sorry" Uma shook her head immediately
The boy nodded slowly but he didn't respond, only leaving to get the drinks.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, why would I say that!? Uma kept thinking, way to make a first impression.
When the boy came back he silently placed her drink in front of her and sat down.
Uma eyed him and decided to speak up because he wasn't. "I am sorry. I shouldn't joke about that stuff, I know it's a touchy subject." Uma apologized
He nodded a little "Yeah, no it's okay. It's just..uh" Uma could see him thinking about whether or not he should continue "uh, my elder sister got roofied once. She was okay, nothing happened. Her boyfriend beat the living shit out of the guy, but it scared her right good, and scared me too" He said solemnly
Ugh, this was a disaster. Uma always had to ruin everything for herself. "I'm sorry, really, that was my bad" Uma shook her head
"It's alright, you didn't know" he assured
Uma cleared her throat and nodded deciding to change the subject "So what's your name?" She asked
"Now now, you know you have to wait for that. Am I just too irresistible that you're getting impatient" he shot her a cheeky grin
Uma didn't know that actually, but made sense for this party. His gaze made her blush again. "So what can I call you then?" She asked
"Call me Scarlet, love" he winked
Scarlet, that made sense. His outfit was covered in red. He was wearing a deep red corset with what seemed to be a hooded cape. Tons of jewelry and a mask that matches identically. It was very nice, very pretty. But it was hiding most of his features unfortunately.
"And what are you doing at this party, Scarlet?" Uma questioned digging into her food and sipping her drink
"I was sent an invitation, didn't you get one?" He questioned confused as to why she wouldn't know that.
"No, my friend invited me" Uma said
"Hmm, I didn't know you could invite people" He said surprised
"You probably can't, but she did"
"And where is your friend now?"
"You know, that's a good question" Uma chuckled a little
"Can't see why she wouldn't want to be spending time with you. You're clearly a lovely lass. Guess it's good for me though, I get you all to myself " He shamelessly flirted
"Thank you..." Why was he having this effect on her? She didn't even know him. Didn't even know what he looked like. "So is this a super exclusive cult or something, what's up with the guest list?" Uma joked
The boy laughed. He has a nice laugh, Uma couldn't help the thought. "Nah, just a bunch of stuck up assholes. They wish they could form something as precise as a cult." he said
"Well if you were invited what does that make you?" Uma joked
"An observer" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
He was clearly putting on a mysterious vibe. Uma didn't know if he was doing it to draw her in but if he was it was working.
They talked and got to know each other for a bit. It was nice, the conversation was nice. The boy was so very endearing. He spoke like all of his words were flowing from a beautiful poem, it was so enrapturing to listen to. Uma was hooked.
At some point, Evie came over with a seemingly very drunk Mal.
"Can we sit?" Evie asked as they were already sitting down
Uma immediately got annoyed. She didn't want them to ruin this.
"You having fun Uuuuu-aahh, um, butterfly?" Evie said, slipping and almost saying Uma's name not realizing there was someone else at the table.
"Just fine princess" Uma said easily "and how's Barney" she said pointing at Mal who looked completely wasted
"Fuck you" Mal said grabbing some food off of Uma's plate and then locking eyes with the boy at the table "Who's this stud?" She questioned
The boy chuckled, directing his attention to Uma "Well I don't want to interfere. I'll see ya around love" he said getting up to leave grabbing her hand from the table and placing a kiss on it.
No! No! Uma didn't want him to leave! Oh god her heart was doing flips. She needed to stay with him until the end of the night to see his reveal.
Mal and Evie exchanged a look at the pair in front of them. Immediately Evie got up and dragged Mal with her.
"No. You stay. We didn't mean to interrupt" Evie said
"Yes, please sit, we have to go get food anyway" Evie assured
He bowed slightly in gratitude and sat back down. Before Evie left she gave Uma a squeeze on her shoulder and a wink. Mal stumbled with her.
"Call me" Mal drunkenly said to the boy before she left
When they were gone Uma looked back at the boy who smiled amused. Uma laughed awkwardly before picking up that fern cake he'd stuck on her plate and taking a bite.
Her eyes went wide and he watched the whole thing.
"Good huh?" He asked smiling
"Really good" She said excitedly
He grabbed his own fern cake off of his plate and his gaze softened as he started at it.
He was probably thinking about his sister, Uma had peiced together. He seemed like a very family oriented person.
"Do you miss your sisters?" Uma decided to ask, he'd brought them up a couple of times since talking to her.
"Terribly" He said taking a bite of his fern cake "I wanted to leave my past behind, go somewhere far away. But it wasn't until I actually got here that I realized that meant leaving them too." He said sadly
Uma wondered what it was like to care about someone like that, so unconditionally. She'd never had someone in her life like that. It was just always her. Alone.
"Do you have any family?" He pipped up
"None that I would miss" Uma told him
He nodded understanding. "Hey how about a dance. To change the mood?" He asked
"A dance? Umm, sure" she said. She never really danced
Smiling he placed out his hand which she happily took and he led her away.
The night seemed to fly by. Uma was enraptured by this Scarlet boy. As every hour went by she anticipated the reveal more and more. She needed to know him. Needed to see him.
And finally it did. Everybody was stopped in their tracks as it was announced on a speaker that it was now time for the grand reveal. Uma's heart beat sped up with every second of the count down. Until finally.
Everyone started to take off their masks, Uma doing the same. She looked to her right where the boy she'd spent all night with was standing. The anticipation was killing her. Her own mask was off and he was taking his off as well as his hood. When she saw his face she was immediately stunned. She knew he was familiar.
"Wait. Harry. Harry Hook" Uma said surprised "we're in marine biology together!"
"At your service, Uma" Harry grinned
"Wha- did you know who I was the whole time?" She questioned still surprised
"What can I say. You seem to always catch my eye love" he said flirtatiously
Uma had never talked to him, but she'd seen him around. He always seemed to give the most fascinating presentations. Though unfortunately the students only got to give two presentations a year. He was a very handsome boy, she just never thought he'd be interested in someone like her.
Uma smiled and started to laugh despite herself.
"How come you never talked to me before" Uma asked
"You never talked to me" Harry pointed out
"Fair, But I didn't know you were trying to get to know me" Uma said
Harry shrugged "Hiding yourself can save you from rejection" he said "So, this was quite the perfect opportunity"
"Not exactly" Uma said smirking
Harry raised his eyebrows
"You haven't asked me on a date yet so you don't know if I'm gonna reject you" Uma pointed out
"Ah. Well, Uma, do you want to go out with me next Saturday?" Harry asked smiling
Uma pretended to think about it "Yes, yes I think I just might" she said happily
He laughed. They continued to talk and dance until Evie found Uma and said they had to leave for Mals sake. Uma and Harry said their goodbyes and exchanged numbers.
On the ride home Uma couldn't stop thinking about Harry with a dopey grin on her face. All she knew was, she couldn't wait until Saturday!
