Spinel POV:

I sighed, feeling sarcastic. Everyone in the hall looked happy, some in groups talking almost in whispers because of the music, and others dancing together as couples.

Meanwhile, I stood here like a statue... alone, watching them from a distance.

"Oh... how did I end up here?" I grumbled, cursing under my breath, already hating this party.

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One Day Ago...

Steven was excited as he looked for masks, this time in his dad's van, finding some masks that looked really silly and tacky.

I looked at Steven's enthusiastic face. It seemed I was the only one who thought the masks were really ugly. Steven noticed my look as I raised an eyebrow sarcastically, my gaze shifting between him and the masks. "I'm not wearing this. I'll look like a clown."

Greg pursed his lips in thought, then snapped his fingers when he got an idea. "Wait a moment."

He went into his storage and rummaged through other boxes. After a few boring hours, he came out with a beautiful pink mask. "Yeah, this is what I'll wear."

No one dared to say that this thing was a gift from Greg to Rose... Pink Diamond. It looked new, meaning she had never worn it.

"Okay, it looks really great!!" I finally said, taking the mask from him and putting it on.

I was happy, thinking I would have a really fun time...

If only Steven the jerk hadn’t left me alone to talk and dance with Connie... This was the ugliest thing he had done so far.

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### Back to the Present...

Damn you, Steven. I swear when I find you, I'll make you regret leaving me alone in the middle of the party like this.

I said in my head, feeling embarrassed because I was alone while everyone else danced and enjoyed their time. I stood here waiting for Steven to appear from the crowd and save me from this situation.

The one he put me in himself.

I looked around, sulking, and saw the food table. It had many strange types of food I didn’t recognize, except for the cakes.

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Yes, I'll keep myself busy with food until Steven comes. If he doesn't come back within ten minutes, I'll leave, and when I find him afterward, it won't be the happiest day of his life. I discussed the plan in my mind as I walked to the table.

I picked up a cherry-flavored cupcake and started eating it. It was really delicious. Okay, if there was one good thing about this damn party, it was the sweets for sure.

"Hey Spinel, sorry if I'm late." I jumped and almost spat out the donut from my mouth. Steven was behind me with Connie and... another human girl wearing a mask.

Steven looked at me, seemingly unconcerned that he broke the rule of not calling people by their names. He smiled nervously, anticipating my expected wave of anger.

To his surprise, I didn’t explode at him. I simply stared at the girl next to him who had captured my attention.

"Spinel, I told you to wait for me while I talked to Connie for a bit. I was looking for you, I thought you had left."

I frowned at him when he said that sentence I always hated hearing, especially from him. "Well... not my problem you took so long talking to your friend." I emphasized the word "friend." Steven's eyes widened for a moment, and he swallowed his tension.

"I'm really sorry about leaving you." He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Of course you are." I stifled my laugh after seeing his embarrassed face and looked at the human girl, secretly hoping she wasn't also Steven's best friend. This jerk already has too many of them. I don't need more.

Looking at her, she had red hair and her blue eyes were visible under the mask, a combination I hadn’t seen before. She was wearing a shiny black dress that reached mid-thigh and red heels, just like the color of her seductive red lipstick. I hated to admit it, but I could stare at her smile forever, which suddenly turned into... confusion?

"Huh?.."

"Spinel, we were calling you, where was your mind?" Connie said, breaking the party rule as well. Maybe no one cares about this but me.

"I see you're very curious about Scarlet," Steven said with a light laugh.

"S-Scarlet?" I stammered, my turn to feel embarrassed as I stopped myself from staring at her more and looking like a complete fool.

Why am I nervous? I've never been this nervous when Steven introduced me to new people before.

The girl laughed quietly, the sound the most beautiful I had ever heard. "That's my name, nice to meet you Spinel. Connie and Steven have told me a lot about you."

My face blushed a little as I fought my nerves, struggling to be normal and make a good impression. I didn't understand why I suddenly cared about this, but I wanted to leave a good impression.

"Me too... Are you... Steven's friend?" I asked cautiously.

She stared at me oddly, then her damn smile that was killing me returned. "Well, even though we met just a few minutes ago, we are now, right, Steven?"

Steven nodded, smiling as he crossed his arms.

"I introduced her to him a while ago. She's my friend who graduated from college last year. She's one of my close friends," Connie explained with a smile, placing her hand on Scarlet's shoulder.

"Oh... that's... good?" I said uncertainly, not knowing what the hell a college was.

So, Connie was the reason behind all these friends Steven had! I continued staring at Scarlet, who seemed a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of her neck with slight shyness.

Both Steven and Connie noticed this and looked at each other with a sly smile. "So, Spinel, Connie and I are going to dance, can you stay with Scarlet? Maybe you two can get to know each other better?"

"Huh?" Both Scarlet and I said together.

Scarlet was more shocked, staring at Connie.

"You must be kidding me! You said we'd enjoy the party together!" I said to Steven angrily.

"And we still will! We're not leaving, I promise we'll be back," Steven quickly defended, raising his hands in front of him.

Connie added, smiling at me politely, "Besides, we'll be dancing nearby, how about you two dance together?"

We looked at each other, unsure. I huffed when I saw Scarlet's nervous expression as she stared at Connie, seemingly with a look I couldn’t read because of the mask.

"Whatever." I said, looking at Connie defiantly. If she’s taking Steven, then so be it. I'll dance with him and snatch him back once I dance with the beauty next to me.

Wait, what did I say?

I fought another blush. Scarlet isn't bad anyway. It's not like I was afraid of not being able to handle her beautiful smile for longer... Wait, did I say beautiful again?

My blush deepened. It seemed Scarlet wasn't in a better state than me. There was a slight blush I noticed on her face, probably because of my continuous, unintended staring. And I was still staring! I turned my face away.

"L-let's... let's dance and get it over with." I saw Steven and Connie move to dance together.

"Oh... sure, I guess..." She looked at me with great embarrassment and hesitation but forced a smile on her face.

Looking at Steven and Connie, who were staring at us and whispering, they seemed really excited about me dancing with Scarlet. What’s up with them?

I grabbed Scarlet's hand without any care. I'm here to have a good time, and I'll do that whether with Steven or anyone else. In the end, I know exactly how to enjoy my time in any circumstance, even if it was in the depths of hell.

I thought, smiling determinedly before pulling Scarlet behind me to the dance floor.

"Spinel, wait!"

No, no waiting. We're going to have fun, girl, and they chose a stubborn dance partner for you!

I smiled more. It will really be a fun night as I outdance Steven and Connie with my beautiful dancing with Scarlet.