I'm kind of having second thoughts on which direction I should go with the story, so please leave a review and tell me if you'd like to see more Emily/Daniel stuff or more revenge-y stuff.

Disclaimer: All rights go to the Creators, Cast, & Crew of Revenge. I own nothing.

There was a certain buzz about the crowd Emily had just walked into. Not the good kind either. Her suspicions were being confirmed by this buzz. Victoria was definitely planning on trying to take her down tonight, but Emily would never let her win. Familiar and unfamiliar faces of donors passed every which way by Emily as Daniel led her with one hand. He let go of her and snatched two champagne glasses and handed her one. They smiled at one another and Daniel said "Cheers!" as the pair clinked glasses. They sipped simultaneously.

"Perrier-Jouet?" Emily inquired.

"Ah, you know your champagne well."

Daniel was still smirking at her.

"I did have quite the experience in Franschhoek for a couple winters before moving to The Hamptons." she said.

"And I never got the chance to go and be graced by your presence sooner? I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling a bit ripped off." Daniel joked.

Of course he'd never been to Franschhoek. He'd had a drinking problem before, so would Conrad and Victoria allow their son, the alcoholic poet, to go to a festival of drinks in South Africa? Of course not. But that was the one thing that worried Emily about their relationship; what kind of man he'd become if he ever had one too many. She had seen him before, back when he was still a poetry major in a bar and last summer when Tyler, his roommate, now dead because he didn't know how to keep his nose out of places it didn't belong, got him drinking again. Daniel knew how to control himself now, though the thought of being in a relationship with an angry, drunk Grayson made the pit in her stomach a bit deeper. However, if he got abusive and began raging, she knew how to handle it because Takeda taught her how to handle these situations and beyond.

The Hamptons Orchestra Conrad and Victoria had hired for the Charity Ball began playing a soft waltz that made Daniel set down his drink and snap his attention back to Emily after scanning the crowd.

"May I have this dance?" He asked in a fake, but believable, pretentious tone.

He bowed to her and reached out his hand exposing his bare palm. Emily smiled and chuckled a bit at Daniel's attempt to act like royalty, though he practically was already. She placed her glass on the nearest table to her right and curtsied back at Daniel, bouncing the hem of her dazzling red gown above the tile for a split second. She looked up as their glances met and his eyes glued to her as she lifted her wrist with the sparkling bracelet Nolan had given her while her palm met his.

Another moment. Another moment where Emily felt nothing but a growing affection for Daniel. This moment gave her butterflies and rarely, does anything do that to her.

He led her gently out onto the dance floor and posed like a statue waiting for her nod to begin. They spun together in circles around the floor as more couples joined them, including Aiden and some woman who had agreed to dance with him. But Emily paid no attention to Aiden. Her eyes were locked on Daniel's as their feet glided with rhythm to the orchestra's score. The butterfly feelings in her stomach were becoming stronger and she felt lighter than a feather. Her heart racing as her thoughts seemed clogged with images of Daniel. She was past falling in love with him and his glimmering brown eyes and his contagious smile. She had just fallen in love with all of him. Emily loved Daniel Grayson, wholly and truly.

The music faded as did the moment, but it left Emily with something new, something she could cling to. That's when she looked up and saw Nolan. Leaning on a table draped in a pearl white tablecloth, champagne in hand wearing some ridiculously colorful and tight suit with hair gelled in sophisticated spikes, Nolan caught Emily's eye and he waved subtly to her. Emily let go of Daniel's hands and caught her breath.

"Nolan's here" she said.

"Go ahead," Daniel allowed "I should go find my mother."

They brushed shoulder diagonally and went to opposite ends of the manor. Emily walked swiftly over to Nolan's table where he stood alone.

"Have you seen the white haired man yet?" she asked in a hushed, more serious tone.

"Not yet, but those looks you were giving Daniel were pretty convincing Ems. You sure you're 'over' him, just like that?" Nolan said.

Emily rolled her eyes making sure he'd see.

"I told you I'd get everything under control and I did. Trust me." she spat.

Nolan leaned off the table as his gaze followed the footsteps of Aiden as he strolled up to the table.

"A bit of an eclectic suit, Ross. Do you truly intend on donating something to this cause?" Aiden remarked.

"It's Armani and yes I do, unlike you whom I have no idea how you got into this party in the first place." He shot back.

"I have my ways." said Aiden.

He glanced over at Emily with a mysterious smirk on his face, as if trying to impress her.

"How we got here doesn't matter, okay? We're here and we're prepared for whatever the white haired man has planned, right?" Emily lectured.

She didn't even notice Aiden's poor attempt at impressing her.

"The only problem Ems, is there's no sign of the white haired man." Nolan said.

"Then stay on your toes."

She spun on her four inch heels like it was her job and plastered a smile back onto her face and left the boys on the lookout.

Her hand softly met Daniel's shoulder while she strolled up to his side and came face to face with Victoria.

"Emily," she began "so nice to see you could make it."

"I wouldn't ever want to miss such an incredible opportunity to donate to a children's charity. And when Daniel asked me to be his date, how could I say no?" Emily replied.

Her tone was half loving towards Daniel and half phony conversation filler for Victoria.

Victoria shot her sarcastic smile directly at Emily and let her eyes drift over to Daniel.

"So when will the auction begin?" Daniel asked.

"It should be starting momentarily." Victoria offered.

Just as Victoria was about to add some snide remark that only she and Emily would understand, the tapping of a microphone flooded their ears. Before Emily could turn around, she was met by the familiar English accent of Aiden Mathis.

That's how he got into this ball? By working as the auctioneer of Victoria Grayson's Charity Ball? Emily thought she'd give him props for achieving that status.

The bidding started with a bottle of Chateau that surprisingly sold for $680,000. Aiden was also shockingly good at his job. At about 9:15 donors were growing uninterested with the auction, so Victoria motioned for Aiden to take about a half hour break from calling numbers and the names of expensive wines.

Daniel had purchased a bottle of 92' Merlot and promised Emily he'd share it with her, sooner rather than later.

Music and dancing picked up once again, everyone now a bit lighter on their feet, but also a bit clumsy after so many glasses of champagne. Daniel and Emily glided out onto the floor again for another waltz and as she turned to face Daniel, a face all too familiar caught her attention.

Her fierce gaze locked with the threatening, arctic blue eyes of the white haired man.