Author’s Note:

This is the alternate ending of The Guy in the Dark Suit. It sort of has a happy ending. There are scenes (beginning, middle, and end) that are different from the first one. The song is Cinderella by Sweetbox. I hope you'll like it, and thank you so much for reading it ♥

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~ Happy Ever After~

I bet you know Cinderella. She’s the girl who finds her prince charming in an enchanted night. After all the hard shifts she experienced in a long time, she gets her happy ending.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s always like that for everyone. Will we get our happy ever after? Will we be with the one we are truly destined to?

It’s hard when you feel alone even though there are a lot of people surrounding you. There are times when you want to be happy but you can’t because some unseen force is forbidding you. Weird, right? But that’s what I feel.

You stretch your lips into a smile when your friends are talking to you but it feels force. There’s hollowness eating you inside out.

Being a performer has its disadvantages, no matter how much you like playing musical instruments. Instead of being in the house doing school works and reading a good book, I’m required to stay here in this place and entertain people who are coming inside the building.

I have a choice. If I play, I’ll continue to get my scholarship. If not, well, you know what will happen then. What I don’t get is this: There are two bands for this event. The one besides us is Brass Band, which means they play loud music. They use those giant instruments like Trumpet, Trombone, Euphoniums, and a lot more which I can’t name. On the other hand, the band which I am a member uses Piano, Flutes, and Violins.

The Brass Band is on the first door, while we are on the second door; the main entrance. Of course, when they play, people will not be able to hear our music because they are playing so loud. Our instruments are so soft. I don’t get why they want us to be here, they already have musicians.

Our leader tells us to leave our instruments and take a rest. I leave my instrument and stand where my friends are. I play the piano. I like the feeling of the keys when I’m touching them. The stroke—

“Kyleigh,” my friend Melody says, breaking me from my reverie. “Arthur said that we have to go inside.”

Arthur is the leader of our band, even though he’s just a year older than us. We are all studying in one university and my band mates are all my friends.

I follow her and the others inside and sit on the table with our director, Mr. Patrick. He’s the one organizing our performances.

The table is oblong, with white table cloth drape on the top. Above it is another table cloth; this one is chocolate brown. There are ten chairs on our table which is just perfect because we are seven musicians, and then there's the choreographer, the director, and the assistant.

There are a lot of people in this place, and they are all wearing different clothes. I, for one, am wearing a light pink dress a few inches below the knee. Some are wearing Barong, Emperatriz, some are even wearing gowns. Others are wearing casual clothes. What kind of event is this?

The program starts but I don’t really watch it, much listen to it because I’m fascinated with the giant lanterns on the wall. One, two, three . . Whoa! There are seventeen all in all! I like watching them change lights and appearances. I’m trying to count how many are the faces of the lanterns but they changes lights very quickly.

 I find myself smiling in amusement as I watch them. I don’t even pretend to listen to the speaker on the stage. People give me odd stares because instead of looking to my left, which is where the stage is, I’m looking up to see the giant lanterns.

Models are walking around, guiding VIP’s to their table. They are all wearing the same dress, a light beige backless gown that falls down to their ankles. Some of them are really good looking.

After a few minutes, my friends decide to check on our instruments. I go with them hesitantly, glancing one last time at the giant lanterns.

“There’s a photo booth!” Diana says excitedly.

“Can you take a picture of us?” Marco asks the man operating the photo booth.

“Sure,” he says, but his eyes tell otherwise. He’d rather take a picture of a statue rather than a bunch of teenagers. “Go there,” he says, pointing to the green moss background.

We pose four times, changing places every shot. After a few seconds, the picture is already done. In the end, Arthur gets the only copy because he’s the leader.

We sit on the couches beside the photo booth and rest because we’re all tired. It’s such a long day! I woke up at four in the morning, and now it’s eight in the evening. My eyes are drooping in and closing slowly when I see him.

He’s wearing a dark suit with an intricate design with the color of fire on his left side. I can’t explain it, but the moment I see his face, time stops. Not because he’s very handsome (though he certainly is) but because he’s smiling at me.

A smile makes its way in my face without my permission. I feel warm all over my body. I want to stretch my arms beside me because I feel like flying in Cloud 9. I’m glowing inside and out because of him. Silly, I know.

Is he my schoolmate? Where does he study? The city is so big, and there are a lot of universities here. When this night ends, will I see him again?

My eyes travel beside him and I see a girl with her arms around him. She has curly brown hair and she’s wearing a tiara. What’s up with that?

Maybe she won a beauty pageant. But c’mon!Why wear it in this kind of event? Her gown is glitter gold which is well, perfect for her, especially for her super slim waist.

I shift my eyes to the guy, memorizing his features. He has black hair which perfectly matches his dark suit. His eyes are the color of ocean, they are—

“The guy will molten from your stare,” Melody says amusedly.

I can feel the blush starting to flood in my cheeks. I look at the place where I last seen the guy but he’s not there anymore.

A startle gasp escapes from my lips when I see him posing in the photo booth with the girl. I hope he hasn’t heard the words Melody utters a while ago.

The way the guy and the girl move is a sign that they’re not a couple. Before I know it, I’m grinning from ear to ear.

His voice is sweet and soft. It’s like he’s not capable of being angry. I just hear his voice, but I cannot make out the words he’s saying. On the third pose, the guy looks at me.

My heart skips a beat, I swear.  There’s a connection between us! I can feel it. I know that sounds fiction, but it’s true.

After the picture taking, two guys join them. Again, he turns to smile at me. His smile is contagious! I can’t help but smile with him.

Suddenly, I have this urge inside me. I want to know him, everything about him. I almost get up from my seat to introduce myself when five models join them. Of course, he talks to them as if they know each other. If I know, it’s just their first time to see each other, thanks to this event.

The guy with the dark suit steals glances my way and I have a feeling that he wants to talk to me. I don’t know why he’s familiar, like I’ve seen him before. Perhaps if it’s just the two of us, we can have a chat. But the situation is being hard on us.

After a few minutes, he walks outside on his own. The girl with the tiara goes inside with a guy.

A loud booming voice makes me jump in surprise. “Help me count to twenty,” the voice says, coming from the speakers.

“Come on,” says Richard. “Let’s go outside.”

“Why?” I ask, confused and startle at the same time.

He rolls his eyes and says in an obvious tone, “The fireworks display.”

As the speaker counts down to twenty, we run outside in the main entrance of the hall. We are all excited and eager to watch the fireworks display.

“Faster,” Christopher urges.

Finally, we arrive outside and make our way towards the front because a lot of people are at the back.

The stars aren’t visible tonight, but the moon is full, and is shining so bright.

“Three,” the people count. “Two, one.”

Boom!

“Whoa!” I exclaim. I can’t even put words to the view I am seeing. This is such a wonderful night. The full moon is perfect with the fireworks. There are different shapes like flowers, stars, hearts, and falls. The loud sound of every firework makes my heart beats fast.

There are Ooh’s and Aah’s coming from people’s mouth. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

Looking around me, I search for the guy in the dark suit but I can’t see him because there are a lot of people obscuring him from my view. It’s like finding a needle in a straw full of haystacks.

I feel disappointed because this kind of event which is something precious should be shared with someone special. Someone you like. I’m hopeless romantic, I know. Trying to be an optimist, I just continue to watch the fireworks with my friends. I don’t even want this to stop. If only the fireworks are unlimited, I think sadly. Unfortunately, nothing stays forever.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I say, and then pause because the voice is familiar, and not at the same time.

“But not as beautiful,” he continues, “As the girl beside me.”

Startle, I turn towards the sound of the voice. A surprise gasp escapes from my lips when I see the guy beside me.

The guy! The guy in the dark suit, here, beside me!

“Hello,” he says, smiling at me.

“Hi,” I stammer.

Is this real? What’s happening here? Am I dreaming? If I am, I don’t want to wake up. To test if this is real, or just a figment of my imagination, I pinch my arm. And it hurts! The place where I pinch my arm throbs. It’s worth it though, because I know that this is really, and absolutely real.

The guy’s mouth twitches upward.

Oh! He saw my little—

“You play the piano, right?” he asks, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes,” I say. Why am I whispering?

“I like the way you play,” he says, “You’re really good.”

There’s no doubt, my face is scarlet now. Taking a deep breath, I say, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he says.

His eyes, his eyes, oh, his eyes. They’re as bright as the moon and their color, it’s like the fireworks are dull comparing to them.

We’re silent for a couple of minutes, but it isn’t uncomfortable. We just look at the beauty we see in front of us. I don’t want this night to end. But I know that can’t happen so I’ll just reply this scene in my head again and again. I am sure I will never get tired of it.

When the firework show ends, I turn to see him gazing at me. I bite my lip to stop myself from grinning ear to ear.

“By the way,” he says, “I’m—“

“Kyleigh!”

Whipping around, I see my friends walking towards us.

“What?” I ask uneasily, glancing at the guy under my eyelashes.

“Let’s go,” Arthur says.

“Already?” I ask. Disappointment is clearly in my voice. Heaving a sigh, I turn to see the guy and say, “I have to go now.”

The smile on his mouth falters. “Okay,” he says slowly. “I hope to see you again.”

“Me too,” I mumble, and walk away with my friends.

The guests go home directly after the fireworks display. Only the performers, models, and the organizers are the only ones in the hall.

To my astonishment, I see the guy eating his dinner with his friends. At the sight of food, my stomach suddenly growls. I haven’t eaten anything yet since lunch so it’s normal to be hungry.

As I wait for the waiter to serve our food (performers eat after the guests leave), I look at the guy who’s sitting across from our table. I want to talk to him again, but I feel shy to go there.

I’m taking picture in my mind so I can save it for a rainy day. I don’t want to forget him. This night, I feel happy because of him. I don’t get how someone I don’t know can make me feel this way.

It’s okay to be happy on your own, but when other people give you happiness, it’s not the same. Very different.

When I turn to the table where the guy is sitting, he’s gone, along with his friends.

After eating, we put our instruments to the car so that we can leave. What now? I think with a sigh.

I walk back hastily to the main entrance of the hall, hoping to see him. Turning around one last time, I scan the area quickly, but I don’t—

“Looking for me?” An amuse voice asks from behind me.

That voice . . .

I whip around to see the guy in the dark suit with a smile on his face.