I had greatly misjudged what outfit to wear to Kaoru's dinner that night.

When he opened the door (before I had even knocked) I saw him dressed in a very formal black tuxedo complete with a bowtie around his collared white shirt. My frozen face would've told Kaoru of my nervousness even if he couldn't read my mind already. He's in full-on tux mode and I'm in my converse, jeans, and a hoodie.

"Don't worry about it," he said, pulling me inside enthusiastically. "It's my fault for not telling you, and they'll figure that out, so it's no big deal."

Well that's easy for you to say when you're the one smashing the tux.

And then I met his mother. She was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen, in a floor length deep purple dress that complimented her pale skin and rich, black hair. Her eyes were slits, like Kaoru's, but the pupils were more of a golden-brown. She floated to the door to greet me, gliding down the stairs with grace only given apparently to vampires.

"It is very nice to finally meet you," she said in a deep, resonant voice, smiling warmly at me. "My name is Veda, and I apologize but my husband Conrad will not be dining with us. Our guests are very limited and I'm sure you know why." Here she widened her smile to this amazing row of perfect white teeth. I tried not to think about what they were used for. "It is a pleasure to have you, not just as a guest, but as the person Kaoru is always speaking of."

"Let's go to the dining room, Mother," Kaoru interrupted, taking my arm in his. The excitement is pounding through his body to mine. "We'll introduce her to the rest of the family there."

So he bustles me through the door beneath the stairs that immediately led into a long, loooooong room with the highest ceiling that I have ever seen in my life. A huge crystal chandelier that must have been at least fifteen feet in diameter hung from the center emitting an eerie light, with two much smaller ones on either side of it. A long, dark table of polished wood with old fashioned triangular support thingie spread from one end of the huge hall to the other, directly down the center, with a lush red carpet beneath it that complimented the rich red walls. The far wall was completely glass, all window, covered in purple curtains. Far, far away on the other side of the table, sat four people. Kaoru had told me about them. His cousins. What were their names again?

It took us a good minute to get to the other side, where I could finally see them. They all stood, except Lucretia, the female that Kaoru had spoken of. Her hair was black with deep red streaks and piled in a loose bun. Her dress was quite short (I avoided looking down), a red, skintight thing that hung from her thin, petite shoulders. Surprisingly her eyes were violet. The three cousins all had it. Hikaru, Kaoru's brother, of course looked almost exactly like Kaoru. There was a slight difference in his eyes, his demeanor. It was the same carefree feeling I got from his twin, but in a different way...

"You know Hikaru," Kaoru said, looking back from me to his family excitedly. "And this is Lucretia." She didn't even acknowledge me, just fixed her hair. "Here is Aiden-" he gestured to a tall male in a black tux like Kaoru's, except he wore a red tie instead. His skin was just as pale, and the eyes a purply-white mixture in their slits, and a surprising mop of creamy blonde hair streaked with black. He seemed more friendly than his sister. He was smiling cheerfully at me with his hands in his pockets in a casual manner. "-and this is Kurt." The other tall male nodded at me politely, and I nodded back, taking him in. He wore the same standard black tux with the collared shirt, except there wasn't a tie at all this time. His purply-violet eyes were looking my stupid, stupid outfit over and I could just feel him jumping to conclusions about me already. He had simple black hair that hung down to his shoulders.

I am so feeling out of place right now.

Everyone sat, with Veda at the head of the table, Kaoru and me on either side of her, Lucretia next to me, Aiden across from her, and Kurt beside him. I had felt a little tense during the introductions, but Veda immediately smoothed things out with another smile and a clap of the hands, summoning two butlers through a doorway behind me. They set large silver trays on the table, one before each member seated. Mine held a sort of vegetable platter, salad thingie topped with some delicious looking dressing. Good thing too, because I'm a vegetarian. Everyone else had some sort of soup in a thin bowl. I totally didn't want to know what it was.

The dinner was quiet. Even Kaoru had hushed down his usually bubbly self. No one looked at anything but the food. We didn't even make eye contact. I wonder if it's always like this here, I thought to myself, focusing on my salad.

It was soon over and Kaoru pulled out my chair for me and took my arm as soon as everyone had put down their spoon. "Mother, I'd like to take her on a tour of the house, if that's alright with you," he said, back to his smiling, cheery, happy personality and itching to run. I had to hold back laughter as he rocked on his heels impatiently. Lucretia gave a slightly disgusted look, but everyone else smiled, especially Veda.

"Of course you can," she eased out heavily. "Just make sure you bring her back so that we may spend some time with her before she leaves."

And just like that he was almost dragging me down the table to the door, and once it shut behind us he was running with me. I laughed and tried not to trip over my own feet as he pulled me up the stairs, clinging to the railing to keep from falling. "Come on!" he shouted to me as we turned the corner to run through another long hallway. Door after door was on our right, windows to our left, with small tables under each. "You have to meet Travis first!"

The kitten Kaoru had talked about! In truth I was actually very excited to see him. Kaoru's neon orange hair bounced as we ran, and his tux scrunched in the back.

"Oh wait!" He stopped suddenly and I ran full-on into his back. Ow. My nose seriously hurts man... "Sorry," he said, turning around to face me. He was panting, but all that exhilaration and anticipation still fumed in his eyes. It resparked mine and I felt myself beginning to smile again. "I just wanted to let you know that you're awesome," he whispered between breaths. His eyes never separated from mine. "Like, totally awesome. You remember that spark when we first met?" I nodded, the memory still all too fresh in my mind. It hurt a lot. "Yeah, sorry. But it's a good thing. Like I said, not everyone gets it. So it means you and I are linked forever in a special way." Really? I never thought about it like that... "Yeah. I can't tell you how yet, but it's special and amazing and I wouldn't want to be linked like this to any other person but you."

Well now I think I deserve to hear what this linkage is all about-

"Not yet," he giggled, before grabbing my hand and and taking off once again. "Soon!"

I just let it go and ran after him, his laughter mixing with mine. Right now, everything feels so magical. So free.