I do not own anything except the storyline. You will see alot of characters pop up from the book and my mind! But I do not own any characters associated with fifty Shades
Chapter 1: Charity of the Year
Ana was going to kill her roommate, like really actually kill her this time. The fact that Ana had been trying to get out of this big charity dinner that Kate was covering for her new magazine was tiring. Ana thought maybe she could act sick, or even hurt to get out of this whole party, but it was no use. Ana wasn't happy with the idea of spending six hours at a gala that she had no interest in going. "Ana!" Kate's annoyed voice cause Ana to jolt back to reality. "I'm going to assume you didn't hear anything I just said. I literally hate when you zone out every time I try to drag you out." Rolling her eyes Kate pulled her attention back to the two garment bags she had in her arms. From what Ana remembered it was a masquerade type of event, which was a plus since she could just disappear into the crowd without an issue. "I wish you would realize what an amazing opportunity this is, we're going to be rubbing elbows with the famous people of Seattle." That was Kate for you, she sometimes seem to be thinking more about how to raise her status in the journalism world. Yet here Ana was just trying to keep calm in every aspect of my life.
Running the brush through her hair softly, Ana was attempting to remain calm using her therapist's tools. Kate was probably the best at bringing on Ana's panic attacks. "I told you I'd go with you Kate, I don't know what else you want from me. I refuse to pretend to be excited for something I really don't want to do. I'm doing this because I promised you I wouldn't let you go alone." Brushing her hair to the side, Ana was attempting to pull off a side bun, but decided to just curl her hair to one side. "I'm sorry Kate, I just don't really want to go, and you know how I get in strange new places with strangers." The memory of her past seemed to come to the front of her mind. She wasn't sure why, but suddenly she was faced with memories of her ex ability to make her feel so low in her life. Shaking her head she came back to reality, she locked eyes with Kate and guilt was reflected in Kate's eyes. Kate was there when the pain was at its worst and it wasn't easy for her to see Ana in that place.
Kate sighed as she sat down next to Ana with her arms wrapped around her. "Look I get it and I promise we will only stay with enough time to have a drink and appetizers. After that, when we have the second to break we will come back home watch movies and just be us." Kate would try to keep her promise to Ana, and probably even get close to keeping it, but they both knew that it wouldn't actually work out. Ana wouldn't even attempt to hold her breath when it came to believing her friend, Kate was a social butterfly and there was not get around it. "Anyway, I rented you the most amazing gown for tonight, you are going to look like Cinderella tonight." Kate smiled before heading towards the spare room, she was oddly excited for the dress choice she'd decided on. "Tonight's event has a theme, Mrs. Grey does one every year, this year it's a masquerade ball, and when I say ball I mean poufy dresses and the whole place is going to be decked out in things that would be there during the times of Kings and Queens." Ana listened as her friend spoke loudly from down the hall, she needed to get her hair done, especially with so little time and so much hair. "Tonight, is going to magical." Kate shouted as she came back up the hall with a large garment bag.
"Kate just promise me no set ups and defiantly no forcing me to stay longer than our said time." Ana warned, she knew Kate and if she decided to stay longer she'd try to guilt Ana into staying using a man or something along that line. "What color is the dress Kate?"
Ana had allowed Kate to pick out the dress as long as it wasn't to revealing or pink, because pink was not Ana's color. "It isn't pink! I swore to you." They both laughed as Kate hung the dress up and took the curler form Ana's hand before helping her curl the last bit of her hair. "It's a beautiful ball gown that is fit for a princess. Your mask is silver and it goes beautifully with icy blue dress." Kate smiled as she began to create a beautiful flowy cascade of curls in Ana's hair. "Ana, I know it hurts to do this. Just try to relax tonight, it'll be a nice way to distract yourself from what happened two years ago. I'll be there if it gets too much." After putting the last few curls in Kate sighed and smiled. "Perfect. Now your dress is pretty big and we have about an hour before the limo gets here so..." Moving away from Ana, Kate went to the dress and unzipped the garment bag. This dress was off-the-shoulder with a fitted bodice. The dress had a nipped waist and a flowing A-line skirt. This gown finished with a soft lace and perfectly hem-length. The beautiful dress was the perfect shade of ice blue. "So, it's time to put your outfit on while I go finish mine up."
The limo ride is beyond uneventful, Kate seemed to be more focused on her phone and writing her notes down then helping Ana calm down. "So, tell me about the Greys, why do they throw this party every year?" Ana was curious, she didn't know much about any of the Grey family, but according to friend, they were very sought out people.
"Well there is Mia, Elliot and Christian, all were adopted and all are very successful. Mia is home from Paris, she was working with an amazing French chef, and she is the Grey's youngest child. Then there is Christian and Elliot, Christian is the CEO of Grey Enterprises and Elliot is a huge deal in the construction business." Kate then began to mutter off all the facts she could think of, she knew so much about the Grey's and their children. How Kate knew all of this seemed very strange. Ana was thrown back thinking about all the information that Kate seemed to be running off, how was it even possible for her to know everything about this family. By the time she'd got into the history behind the Mia's adoption, they had finally arrived about the venue and boy was it huge. The driver helped Kate than Ana out of the car with a smile.
When Ana got out she was able to finally take in everything she was seeing. "Wow..." Her eyes found the large venue overwhelming as well as beautiful. Ana didn't know how to really blend in here without sticking out like sore thumb.
"I know right?!" Kate smiled softly before walking with Ana inside. "I have to go check in, I'll meet you at the bar." Without even waiting for Ana to reply, the blonde walked away leaving Ana to fend for herself. Ana wasn't the person who normally did this, go out to fancy parties and mingle with higher society, she was the person who enjoyed spending her days in her room reading or even the library just enlightening people on the many stories of the world. Yet here she was waiting for her friend to come back from engaging in the crazy affair of learning about the family she envied and needed to get to know.
Going to the bar, Ana's body seems to relax when she realizes she was off from the party. She didn't need to interact with many people. Ana's biggest fear was having to relive what she went through in New York, the memory was still in the front of her mind. As scared as she was, Ana was trying to keep herself calm and settled for the sake of her friend. "What can I get you ma'am?" The bartender asked as he looked at Ana's curious eyes before looking down at the menu she'd been staring at for a the last few minutes.
Taking a deep breathe Ana just pointed at the Cosmo's picture before looking up with her soft blue eyes. "Uh just a Cosmo please." Ana sighed as the bartender left to make her drink, her eyes never left his hands, she refused to think for a second that he wasn't capable of doing the same thing others have tried to do. When her drink finally was done, Ana's eyes went instantly back to the crowd of people. Sometimes she had wished to be normal and carefree like her roommate, but here she was not normal and avoiding the crowds in front of her. "Why can't I be normal?" She whispered softly more to herself.
"Normality isn't always the thing you need," a soft voice came up next to her. Turning around her eyes roamed over the man who was wearing a grey mask that seemed to enhance his own grey eyes, he wore a black suit with a white button-down shirt with a blueish-grey tie. "Normality is a paved road. It's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it."
"Van Gogh..." Ana's voice came before she thought of the right way to avoid the man next to her. It was almost like an instant reaction. "He isn't completely wrong. Everything about being normal can cause a person to be stuck constantly in a funk."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." The mystery man smiled before ordering a drink from the bartender before sitting across from Ana. "You don't seem to be having any fun tonight. Not your scene?" He asked taking a sip of his drink. Ana didn't know why she was even considering this conversation, last thing that she usually did was embrace a conversation with anyone other than the people she was used to.
Looking up from her glass Ana's blue eyes connected with that of the grey ones staring basically into her soul. "No, this isn't my normal everyday thing. I promised my friend I'd attend with her, but per usual she decided to lose me before I even had a chance to find out what was going on. I'm not used to walking around and pretending to be more than I am." The mystery man just stared at her and smiled, it was rare for himself to be this calm around women who weren't his submissive. But here she was, a woman who seemed to be perfect for him both in and out of his play rooms. Her soft voice had something of a calming effect on her. She didn't make him feel any sorta of aniexty and allowed him to enjoy just talking. "What about you? You don't seemed to be enjoying yourself either. I can tell when someone is feeling like the world seems to be pushing them into a small box."
Going to the bar, Ana's body seems to relax when she realize she was far enough away from the crowd and could easily enjoy the party around her. It was interesting to see all of the people around her enjoying the party itself. The colors were bright and inviting, she only wished she could take it in and socialize the way her best friend could. "Can I get you anything beautiful?" The bartender smirked
Ana looked to the bartender with a small smile. "Can you get me a Strawberry Cosmo please?" The bartender nodded before heading back towards the bar to make her drink, he was kind, but she needed to keep her mind focus and ignore any advances from the man making her drink. When the bartender returned with her drink, his smirk was a bit creepy for her taste. "Uh I wont be needing this." She placed the napkin with his number on it in front of him before getting up and walking away from him. Taking a deep breath, Ana moved to the table farther away from the bartender who was currently again staring at her intensely.
"Probably shouldn't drink that." Ana looked up and saw a tall grey eyed man. She couldn't take in much of the man, but she saw a kind smile and currently was hiding behind a black masked, a mask which was currently increasing the mystery he was.
"Thank you…" As she extended her hand to take his, she paused waiting for the mystery guy's name.
"Christian."
Please let me know what you think! Read and Review!