Okay. Onward we go!

This is going to be the last update until early next week, as I'm starting another job, have a friend visiting this weekend, and haven't written the next chapter yet.

Unfortunately you won't find out what's up yet, but next chapter things will start to make more sense. This is a bit more of the backstory, and once again we're going back to before the gala.

Oh, and a gala is just a big fancy expensive party. FYI :D

Enjoy!

Chapter 3 - Not the Same

"Are you ready yet?"

Angie Thompson rolled her eyes and smiled, having heard the same question five times in the last ten minutes, by a certain brunette surgeon who happened to also be very impatient.

"Will you just settle down?" she replied, poking her head out the door as the man in question smirked and sat back on the couch, kicking his feet up as he waited for her. "I'll be done in five minutes."

Returning to her bathroom, Angie's slender fingers reached up on the top of her head and pried open the clip holding the remainder of her un-styled hair, allowing the blonde locks to fall loose. Separating the last chunk into two smaller ones, she instantly grabbed the one on the left side of her face and began rolling it up in the curling iron as she leaned her head to the side and examined herself in the mirror.

Her wide eyes were perfectly lined with a thin black frame, lids shadowed with dark, shimmery, charcoal shadow that deepened the green in her eyes, lashes were coated with mascara and curled just enough to bring about a more feminine tone to her face.

She let the strand fall from the curling iron and picked up the final chunk of uncurled hair, twisting it around the silver barrel while further examining herself in the mirror.

Pale cheekbones touched with the slightest hint of blush and lips plump and perfectly pink, Angie did not so much as smile when she realized it was the best she had looked in a long time. Instead she simply unraveled the last chunk of hair from the curling iron and set the tool on the counter, spraying her head with a light mist of hairspray as she turned around and walked back into her bedroom, allowing the curls a moment to set.

Reaching onto her bed she pulled her brand new and quite expensive sparkling dress into her hands. She had spared no expense in dressing up for what was going to be one of the most important nights she could ever remember, and just thinking of it made her heart skip a beat, though still, no smile grew on her lips. Lowering the dress down to the floor, Angie gingerly stepped into the full length gown, pulling it slowly up her body until it was in place. Tying the two inch-thick shoulder straps into small bows, she reached onto her dresser and pulled the heart-shaped diamond and platinum necklace Derek had given her years ago into her hands, fastening it around her neck - where it hung nearly every day since the day he had presented her with it. Spinning around Angie walked back into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror, using her fingers to tousle her hair from tight spirals into big, fluffy, romantic curls.

It was then a warm smile grew on her lips as she admired her hair, fingers absentmindedly tracing over the silver heart on her chest.

"Just the way Derek likes it..."

In times like those, it was hard for her to keep her mind from wandering, thinking of the man she had been in love with for so long.

--

Standing in the bathroom with a frustrated sigh, Angie pulled the last chunk of her long blonde locks through the curling iron, holding it for the painstakingly long amount of time necessary to curl the entire length. From outside in the living room Derek groaned, having let himself into her apartment nearly forty-five minutes prior to that time. She hadn't even come to the door to answer it, just simply calling him and telling him to come in and wait in the living room – that she would be out as soon as she could.

"Angie, it's been nearly an hour! I'm starviiing!" he whined, pushing her frustration even further.

"Will you just hold on a minute? I'm almost done!" she replied, pulling the barrel from her hair, the chunk now a bouncy curl.

"What are you doing in there!?" he asked. "Do I need to send in a rescue crew?"

"Derek, just… be quiet, alright?!" she replied, rushing quickly over to pull on a long, black sparkling dress before she landed in front of the mirror again, shaking her hair around until it relaxed into bigger curls. A smile landed on her lips as she thought about the conversation her and Derek had just two weeks before, where he wondered as he played with her hair one late night why he had never seen it anything but straight.

"Because it takes two hours, that's why..." she muttered underneath her breath.

"Angie, seriously – can I help you with something...?" he asked, and from what she could tell, did so with his face pressed to her closed bedroom door. She answered by pulling said door open, leaving the surgeon nearly knocked off of his feet. Shocked by the difference in her, Derek's mouth dropped wide open before he broke into a huge grin, leaving her to blush and giggle.

He stammered for something, anything to say to express what he was feeling at that moment, but his fumbling did nothing but leave Angie to just laugh harder, realizing there were very few moments in his life that Derek Stiles was ever speechless.

"Oh come on – two hours of work and you don't have anything to say?" she joked, her eyes dancing with amusement, though it quickly dissipated into wonder as he took a step towards her and took her hands into his, kissing her lips once passionately.

"I love you..." he said as matter-of-fact as could be, leaving the blonde's green eyes to shoot wide open, her face displaying shock while his showed sincerity. Both knew that it was the first time either one of them uttered the words, and honestly speaking, Angie hadn't known until that point if her feelings could be called love, because it had only been a short time.

Though once she heard him say it and felt her heart flutter in her chest as his eyes bored softly into her own, she became aware of just what Derek meant to her, and let the words flow out without a second thought... but instead, with a huge grin.

"I... love you too, Derek..." she replied, giving him no other option as her lips pressed against his, his strong arms instinctively wrapping around her back as the kisses deepened, curled blonde hair cascading all around them even as they pulled back and smiled.

"I swear..." Derek said, brushing a strand from her face. "Angie, you never, EVER, fail to take my breath away... "

"Derek..." she said embarrassed as if to dismiss him from going any further, though he grabbed onto her arms and looked her straight in the eyes, delivering words she would remember the rest of her life.

"I'm being serious – I knew I loved you since nearly the first moment we met. And no matter how you look, where you go or what you do, I need you to always remember, no matter what – I will always love you with everything I have. Nobody else – you're it. You're mine, and you're right here…" he said, pulling their clasped hands over his heart. "Don't ever forget that..."

Angie nodded, the smile never leaving her lips, even as they met his again.

Who knew a simple gesture could do so much?

--

Snapping out of her daydream from another call in the living room, Angie took one last look at herself and grabbed her purse, walking out to where her doctor was waiting.

Though she knew he would never give the same reaction as the one she received on the day that seemingly never left her thoughts, Angie couldn't help but let her heart sink as the two of them walked out of their house and to the gala without so much as a smile or a single word about her appearance, though one thought pestered her among all others.

Even though she knew it was all her fault, it was crazy how things could completely change in such a short time.

Still confused? :)

I promise, you'll see what's going on next chapter. A little. I've still got more surprises planned... (evil laugh)