New chapter! So some CainexDiana here, more of that next chapter and I know that Drake isn't really featured in this chap (though he is definitely up to something) so I promise he'll be featured more in Chap. 14! Also, it was requested that I make my paragraphs longer so I tried to do that this time. Basically this isn't me really trying to write, I am just doing this fic for fun (which is why it's horribly crappy at times) so I tried to put a bit more effort into it.

If you're reading this and like CA before the Fayz fics check out Life at Coates by soontobefamous13 because its really good!

(Sorry for the really long a/n but you should be used to them by now :P) Someone asked me in the reviews if Ariel (mentioned a few chapters back) was in Gone because they thought the name sounded familiar. Ariel is an OC and I don't think there is a character named Ariel in Gone (although I could be wrong). Either way, she wasn't based off anything that MG wrote if that's what you were wondering!

Thanks for reading!


April 30. The dreaded date for Diana. Tonight, after the students left the school and retreated to their dorms, the cafeteria and surrounding area would be transformed into a winter wonderland. Diana cringed as she imagined the large amounts of glitter covered snowflakes and giant puffballs of fake snow had gone into the making of this dance. She personally found social gatherings, unlike Caine, a complete waste of time. And, honestly, it was springtime. Who would want a winter wonderland theme in springtime?

Apparently all of Coates wanted a flashback to winter in April, however, because it was all the school could talk about during class that day. The attention had, to Diana's dismay, somewhat turned off of the whole Caine/Drake thing and onto who was taking who and what dresses people were going to wear. An outsider might have thought it slightly hypocritical that Diana was looking down upon those who chattered all day about their dresses while just upstairs in her own dorm room closet a designer dress she had picked out just for this event rested in it's satin garment bag. No one noticed that, however, or at least if they did no one was stupid enough to say anything.

Diana had more pressing thoughts on her mind, though, like how stupid Caine was going to act around her tonight. With her luck the idiot was going to try and put his filthy lips on her own. She hadn't wanted to go to the dance, or at least, she hadn't wanted to go with Caine. It was so much more fun to be able to go alone, flirt with boys, and just have a good time. That was how Diana operated best: alone.

"Ugh!" She hit her head down on the lunch table in anticipated dread.

"Are you okay?" Caine looked concerned but Diana ignored him. She honestly believed that if she tried to say anything to him right now she would just end up biting his head off. Not that that would be a bad thing per se. The boy deserved being snapped at.

Diana glanced up to where the rest of the lunch table, excluding Drake of course, was chattering away with the rest of the school about dates. Taylor was a little slut in the making so of course she was going with Andrew, one of Caine's minions who was four years older than her. That was just gross. Penny, of course, was being elusive and acting like someone had asked her, when everyone knew she would be going alone. Bug had no one, but Diana didn't find that surprising seeing as even Penny wouldn't have stooped so slow as to go with Bug.

"What about you, Dekka?" Penny asked, twirling her black hair around her fingers. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Nah." Dekka looked sad; Diana supposed she had been rejected. "I don't think I'm going to go. I've, uh, I've got a lot of homework."

"Hmm." Penny obviously didn't believe her either. "And you, Caine?" She looked hopeful and Diana suspected that she still hoped Caine would ask her. Some green-eyed monster stirred in Diana at this thought. Penny had no right to lust after Caine. Caine was hers.

"I…uh…" Caine glanced at Diana, obviously wanting to tell the entire world that he was taking her. The look she was giving him, however, seemed to tell him that he was under NO circumstances to tell everyone they were going together. There would be enough talk at the dance. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Penny raised her eyebrows.

Drake cracked a smile. "I like surprises."

Caine narrowed his eyes at Drake. "And what's that supposed to mean? You aren't planning something at the dance right? Because I want tonight to be perfect!"

Drake just shrugged, which was the telltale sign that danger was coming. "I'm not promising anything."

0000000000

"Diana, please come out! The dance starts in five minutes!" Caine said, trying to sound patient as he stood outside Diana's dorm room door. He had been waiting outside here for around…twenty minutes now. Nervous sweat, which had started out just around his neck had now traveled down to around his armpits, and he hoped this didn't make him smell too bad. Tonight was going to be spectacular, he could just feel it. But it wouldn't be spectacular if his date wouldn't even come out of the room.

"I'm not coming!" she cried from inside. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to hear what people will say when they see me…in this dress and with you!"

"Please!" Caine said. "I won't let them say anything about you, I swear! Just come out here!"

When there was still no answer he decided to use his last resort. This was sort of an emergency, after all. He reached out an arm towards the doorknob and flicked his wrist. His power flung the door open, revealing Diana standing right inside, staring at herself in the mirror.

"I-" Caine's words got stuck in his throat. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a short black dress with gold sequins at the top. It fit around her perfectly, accentuating everything that made boys go crazy for her. Caine couldn't stop looking at the curls that bounced around her shoulders. How had she gotten her hair like that?

Diana saw him staring and glared at him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the hallway. "Come on! If you're so worried about being late then lets get going!"

Caine frowned; something was off with her tonight. He had expected her to be snippy, but not quite like this. This wasn't like her. It wasn't the Diana he knew.

"Well…wait," he stuttered, still star-struck by her. She smelled like sunshine and mahogany. "If you don't want everyone talking, I understand that, but lets wait just a bit before we go down then. We could go to the oak tree if you wanted."

Diana seemed to calm down a little bit. Caine wondered again why she was so wound up about this whole thing. "Okay, that sounds good. Aren't we not allowed to go there right now?"

"Yeah…but-"

"Perfect." Diana readjusted the grip on his arm and lead him out to their favorite, old oak tree.

The night air was crisp around them and the animals in the surrounding trees hooted and crowed a mournful chorus as Diana kicked off her shoes at the base of the tree. She was visibly more relaxed outside, away from the noise and chatter that was coming from the cafeteria inside.

"What's going on?" Caine asked, walking up to lean again the tree beside her. "You seem really on edge tonight."

Her dark eyes flashed and for a moment Caine thought he had gone too far, as he usually did. He was surprised, though, because instead of getting snapped at Diana just let out a long, shaky sigh.

"I just…I don't know. I think…" she trailed off and didn't say anything. She wouldn't meet Caine's eyes. "Well, when I was younger…like in sixth grade one of my brothers friends asked me to his high school homecoming dance. I went with him, but he…he took advantage of me. My brother never found out, but most of the school did and I was the laughingstock of the high school before I even went there."

Caine bit his lip and reached out to take Diana's hand. She didn't pull away.

"I just…I guess going to another dance, it just reminds me…I feel like I'm going to get in there and everyone is going to look at me and criticize me and…I can't do it, Caine."

Caine was shocked. Like literally, he couldn't move or blink or speak even if he tried shocked. This was crazy. Diana Ladris, self-conscious? That was an oxymoron if he had ever saw one. But here she was, not meeting his eyes and practically breaking down in front of him.

"Diana," he said, grabbing her chin and forcing her gaze onto his. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and onto his hand. "Listen to me. You are beautiful. I couldn't even speak when I saw you tonight. So I don't even want to hear that you're scared about what people will say about you, because everyone else is going to be jealous when they see what you look like.

"And I know that I act like a complete doofus most of the time but I really do care about you. I would never, ever take advantage of you. And if anybody ever tries to do something like that they'd have to go through me first. You understand?"

She nodded, wiping at her eyes like she was ashamed of the tears.

"Good." Caine took a shaking breath. Had he really just said that? "Okay. You know what? Let's do something else tonight. I never really wanted to go to that stupid dance anyway. Would you like that?"

"Yeah, sure." Her voice was husky and it cracked.

"Alright, lets go inside. Can we stop by the cafeteria really quick? I just want to grab something to eat."

She had put her shoes back on. She stood up next to him, readjusting her hair. "I'm not such a big weenie that I can't go into the dance."

Caine couldn't say how much he admired her for that. He wanted to say something to her but couldn't bring himself to it. He was the weenie here.

"Lets go," she said, taking his hand as they walked together back towards the school.

0000000000

"Drake! You have the punch ready, right?" Tammy, the dance supervisor snapped at Drake as he walked forward with a giant bowl of sloshing liquid in his hands.

"What does it look like I'm carrying, woman?" Drake rolled his eyes at her.

"Did you follow the recipe I showed you?" Tammy asked, causing Drake to grin.

"Yup," he told her. He carried the bowl out into the cafeteria and sat it on one of the many food tables. Once out of earshot of Tammy he muttered, "I just took a few liberties with some of the ingredients. I think the students of Coates will really like the punch, though."