"I think you should wear the jewelry and I'll wear the tie." I joked in an attempt to lighten his mood. He just sighed. Grumpy bear.

At least the tie matches my dress.

I sat down on his computer chair and looked at the computer screen as he fussed with whatever he was doing.

"Tie."

I shook my head, still looking at the screen. "Not until you stop being grumpy. I don't even want to go and I'm not complaining."

"Give me the tie."

I sighed and looked at him. He looked good dressed up.

I crossed my arms over my chest. A challenge to come take it.

"I don't have time for your games today."

I rolled my eyes, "Its prom. Of course you have time to play games."

"I don't want to."

"So you're being a grouch."

He was getting frustrated with me. I knew that look.

"Please." He said in a sigh. "Please can I have the tie?"

I got off the chair while taking the tie off and walked over to him. I put it on him like I put the tie on Mason.

"Why so grumpy today?"

He shrugged, "Why not?"

"Cause its prom. It's supposed to be fun."

His eyebrows rose, "I'm not getting laid tonight. That doesn't sound fun."

I shrugged, "You never know." He smirked. "We might have another fight and you might find Jessica again." I wasn't looking in his eyes for the last 5 words.

"You can't hold that over my head forever." He growled.

I smiled at him, "I can."

I hadn't told him of the doubt I had that Jason had planted in my head. I was afraid of being unwanted by anyone. Afraid I was a hassle the pack had to deal with.

He reached onto the bed and grabbed the square black box.

"You lose these, you're screwed." He warned.

"Why?"

He flipped the top off the box with his index finger. My jaw dropped. A necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring. All diamond incrusted and sparkling wonderously.

"They were my moms." He grabbed the bracelet. "They're all very expensive. Real diamonds and shit." He grabbed my wrist and put the bracelet on it. "Be careful with this shit on."

I nodded as I stared at the bracelet. He put on the necklace when I was still staring. It was so sparkly, so beautiful.

"Put these on yourself."

I grabbed the earrings and went to the mirror. Then he shut the box.

"What about the ring?"

"What about it?"

"I-"

"That's my mother's wedding ring. You don't get that. No one does." He snapped.

I nodded and looked down. He grabbed the bottom of my chin, making me look at him.

"I didn't mean to snap." I nodded. "Maybe someday you'll get it." He shook his head, "But not now."

He kissed me once then led me to his car.

Becky, like I, was shocked at the jewelry Grayson was letting me use. Grayson eventually loosened up a bit. Halfway through the time allotted for prom, he pulled me onto the dance floor. If you've been to a prom, or watched one on TV. That's how it was. Most of the people he hung out with, the popular kids were on the dance floor, bumpin and grinding.

I didn't care how close Grayson had me pulled to him; I slept in the same bed with him sometimes. And how much I didn't want to think about it, after the night about Brian, it was Grayson who put me into my pajamas. A slow song came on a few songs into the rotation. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I saw Brian dancing with Amanda. They'd been together since freshman year. As far as Brian was concerned, she was and was always going to be his. It was sweet. It was what I wanted, what I knew I probably wasn't going to get. Which made me sad. I rested my head on Grayson's shoulder since he was still taller then me in heels.

"What's wrong?" He whispered into my ear. I shook my head. "Tired?" I shrugged. "Do you want to get out of here already?"

I nodded. He smiled, happy to be leaving. He went back to our table and grabbed his jacket. We took our pictures when we came in. We took several actually.

With Mason & Mandy.

With the guys from the pack, which turned out to be fun

I took one with Becky then took a separate one with Brian.

All in all, there was a lot of money spent on prom pictures. But it was worth it. We'd get them the last week of school, in a month.

It wasn't tough being let out early. Grayson just said I thought I was coming down with something, and they let us leave.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He asked once he merged onto the highway.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You're Zombieish."

"That's not even a word."

He smiled. "It should be." He looked at me a few times, switching back and forth to the road. "Come on. Tell me."

"Nothing's wrong."

"It's not nice to lie to a werewolf."

I sighed "I know."

"So...?"

I looked at him, "Don't you want to find someone the old fashioned way?"

He shook his head, "If I was looking for someone."

"So, you know who you want?"

He nodded.

"Then why waste your time with me?"

He smirked as he glanced in his rear-view mirror.

"Remember your 10th birthday?"

I nodded smiling "When we got lost in the woods playing hide and go seek."

"We spent that night in the hollow of the tree." He reminded me, making me laugh. "You cried for hours when you realized we were lost." He teased and smiled. "What you didn't know was that I followed you out there. I knew you were going into the place where we had never taken you." He paused while he switched lanes in the Saturday night traffic. "I didn't think about stopping you because I wanted to be able to make fun of you when you got lost. But I got lost too." He looked at me. "Then I freaked because I knew we were getting lost. Then you started running deeper into the woods."

I nodded, "I saw the biggest spider I've ever seen. That thing gave me nightmares."

He smiled and looked back at the road, "When I finally found you, you were crying with a cut on your forehead." I nodded. There was a low branch, but I wasn't about to admit to that embarassind detail. "You were so happy when I walked closer to you. I remember that you avoided us."

"I was afraid."

"But you ran over to me and wrapped your arms around me."

I laughed.

He smirked, "I was only 12, but I knew I found what I wanted."

I shook my head and sighed, "You can't find what you want when you're 12."

He shrugged, "I was raised differently than you were. Find a girl, stay with the girl." He let out a huff of air. "But then when Trevor found us, he told me what he really thought. So I started avoiding you."

"Does he really hate me so much?"

"Just the opposite. You are the one he chose for me."

"You wanted to rebel?"

He nodded, staring at the road.

"So now what?"

He looked at me. "I don't know." He looked back at the road. "But now that it's out in the open. What do you think?"

I was terrified. Trevor chose me and Grayson picked me when I was 10. A child.

"Just going to stay quiet? That's not really like you."

I shrugged, "It's not like I wanted a fairytale. I just want to be normal."

"Maybe you're trying too hard."

He turned off the highway at our exit.

"I was normal once."

He smirked and teased, "But then you were forced into a pack of werewolves."

I looked at him, "Yea."

"So you can't be normal because you know werewolves?" I nodded. He chuckled, "You can't go to high school, college, marry or have kids because you know us?" I sighed. "We're not that bad. You just never warmed up to anyone beside Brian."

"You guys are unnaturally dangerous."

He nodded, "We are. Unnaturally dangerous, strong, built, loyal." he looked at me. "You don't believe me?"

I looked at him, "After all those years of showing me only hate, I can't believe that you want me."

"How am I supposed to prove it?" He pulled into the driveway. He gripped the steering wheel tight. "Do you want me to let you go fool around with whoever you want to prove it to you?"

I shrugged and opened the door, "I don't know what I want anymore." I got out of the car and made my way to my room. Did I want him? Did he want me or was this just another trick?

He lightly grabbed my hand, making it clear that I could leave him alone on the darkened doorstep.

"I'll let you go." He said it like it hurt him. "I'll let you realize that I'm everything you want by yourself."

"What if you're not everything I want?"

He looked down. "You won't think that." He mummbled clear enough for me to hear.

"What if I find someone to support me? A nice guy I could raise a family with?"

He smirked as he raised his face to look me in my eyes. "I'll have to scare him off before he proposes."

I smiled. "Why should I believe anything you say?"

He kept his eyes on mine. "I wouldn't be lying to you if I said I love you."

"If you said..? I guess that doesn't count." I smirked as I looked down.

He was smiling when he made me look at him. "You want me to say it?"

I nodded. "Because you need to prove it to me."

He looked around, making sure there were no listeners. "You can't tell anyone. It's our little secret."

"Why?"

"Trevor can't know. That will only bring us both a whole lot of hell we don't need."

I nodded. He brought his lips downed to my ear and breathed it into my ear. Following were the slow kisses down my neck, then eventually up to where our lips could meet.

We tiptoed to his room. Well... he tiptoed I tried to hang on to the back of his shirt. I was on his shoulder, praying I would still have my head when he finally let me go.

When we entered his room, I was relieved that my head as still attached to my body.

The Dress ------>>>>>