Well, it certainly took me longer than two days to write this. It took me forever. But I did it! A lot of this is just fluff, but it adds a little bit of character for Melinda, I think. I have just started college so I probably won't be able to post weekly, but I'll try to keep on top of it all. Wish me luck!

After we ate lunch, we went to our separate rooms to take a more comfortable nap. Or at least, I tried to take a more comfortable nap, but all I managed to do was stare at the ceiling and glare at the light coming in through the curtains.

After a half hour of this, I finally got out of bed and went upstairs. A lot of the men were watching a football game while the women were gathered in Grandma's fancy parlor. I sat on the ground, listening to the different stories my aunts and various other female relatives had to say about their morning. My sister Julia beckoned me over. I sat down next to her and she smiled. "I saw the picture Chantelle took. How was your morning?"

Silence filled the room after her question. They had noticed me. I blushed and took my glasses off, rubbing them absentmindedly on my shirt. "I… well I… had a good time."

"Did he buy you anything?"

"Just breakfast," I muttered. "Sheesh Jules, we're just friends."

She snorted, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Right."

"We had our first date today, nothing else has really happened. We went shopping, I bought my family gifts, bought myself a couple of shirts, then we accidentally fell asleep on the couch talking," I explained quickly.

"What were you talking about?"

I had to stretch my memory. What had we been talking about?... "School, shopping. His aunt."

That seemed to bore them because my aunt Emily across the room asked, "Is he coming to the dance tonight?"

My weary brain struggled to figure out what she meant by that. Dance? What was she talking ab—Oh. The Midnight Friday dance held in town. The family was expected to go every year in best dress. I even packed for it and everything. It was a funny tradition, set up by the city when my grandma was a teenager. You were expected to be there at five o' clock sharp, in formal wear, and it was considered rude to leave before one a.m. There was a large dinner (yes, the day after Thanksgiving), and then a night of dancing afterwards. It was nowhere near like what the high schools or even the colleges did for dances, since it was put on by the conservative city council. Not that I was complaining. The music was always better.

I'd forgotten to tell Hiro.

"I—um, probably not. He doesn't have anything to wear," I said.

Grandma spoke up. "I might have something he could borrow."

My mind instantly went to an old, hokey tux from the 1990's, when my grandparents were teenagers. Or even worse, one from the 2030's when around Grandpa had died. I seriously doubted she had anything that would fit Hiro properly. "That's okay Grandma, I could probably borrow a suit from Ky."

"Ky didn't bring anything," Mom reminded me unhelpfully.

I gave her a look. She ignored me.

"Give your grandmother a hand, sweetheart, and we'll see," she saw right through my deception and I was instantly guilty.

"Okay," I said, and helped my grandma out of her chair and up the stairs to her bedroom. She was 80 years old and still able to walk up and down stairs, it was a miracle.

She rifled through the contents of her huge closet and came upon a clothing bag. She unhooked the hanger from the rod and put it on her bed, unzipping the bag. Out came soft black fabric that was stiff but supple to the touch. There were no tears, no snagged threads. It looked brand new.

"It's not a tuxedo," my grandmother said softly, "but it's close enough. Your grandfather wore it to one of our high school reunions some years back; he never put it back on, but I'd always liked the look of it. Mr. Hamada looks like he could fill it out nicely."

I stroked the suitcoat. "It's beautiful. Are you sure? I don't want it to get dirty."

"It needs to be used, my dear. Take it."

I lightly embraced my grandma and heaved the bag over my shoulder. "Hiro will take good care of it."

"He better. Now help me back downstairs," she put her hand on my arm and we made our slow way back to the parlor.

I hurried downstairs with the suit and hung it on my closet door. I assumed Hiro was asleep since he hadn't come out of his room yet and I didn't want to wake him. It was my fault that he was so tired anyway.

When I went to leave, carefully shutting my door, I turned and found my three sisters surrounding me.

"We want to help you get ready for the dance tonight," Chantelle spoke first.

First of all, my sisters and I aren't very close. I know there are some families where sisters are very tight, the best of friends forever, but they are a lot older than me and married. They have their own lives. I've always been closer with my parents than my siblings.

When I have spoken to my sisters, they compliment but criticize me. They try to give me advice on dating and boys, but it's been quite a few years since they've done anything like that so… you can see the problem right, Ms. H?

But then I see the look in their eyes and the hope that I will finally be married and happy like they are, that I will understand them. All they want to do is help.

All I think is I'm not ready for marriage. Then, who knows.

All I can do is let them take over.

I tried to put them off for about a minute, my only argument being, "We have four hours!"

The three of them just sat me down on a bar stool and made me close my eyes. And they made me talk.

"What's he like?" Chantelle's giggle made me glad that I'd heard the door click shut.

I raised an eyebrow. "What does he like or what is he like?"

"What is he like," Julia corrected for her. "I know he's smart, his intelligence practically rolls off of him, but is he funny?"

I felt the snip-snip as scissors trimmed my ends. I opened my eyes in protest, "Kathy no! I've been growing it out!"

She pulled me back, "I'm only cutting off the dead ends, settle down! Sheesh!"

"Not too short," I mumbled.

"Of course not. Well? What is he like?"

"He makes me laugh," I admitted. "He listens to me and-"

There was a knock on the door. "Is Melinda in here?" Speak of the devil and he'll appear.

I spoke over my giggling sisters, "Yeah."

"Everything all right in there?"

I raised an eyebrow at myself in the mirror. "Give me another half hour and I'll tell you."

An hour later, I'd told them everything I knew about Hiro and they'd finished my hair, make-up, and nails. I felt kind of silly with my bouncy hair and elegantly lined eyes but… I liked it. The deep red lipstick was a nice touch. My sisters opened the door and we found Hiro sitting on the ground, swiping at something on his phone screen. Oh no. He'd probably heard all the gossip. I could feel the creep of a blush coming on.

How long had he been waiting for me? He'd checked in at the 30 minute mark, but other than that, I thought he'd disappeared upstairs. A slow smile crept on his face when he saw me. "You have any plans tonight?"

I wanted to smack him for saying something so dastardly in front of my siblings. That and the way he was looking at me.

"I forgot to tell you about a tradition we have in the family—er town, I suppose." I explained about the dance and showed him his suit since I'd figured right that he didn't have one handy. "We still have a couple of hours until it actually starts, so you don't have to get ready just yet."

He pulled one of my curls and watched it bounce. "That didn't stop you," his eyes met mine and my blushing heightened.

"That didn't stop my sisters, you mean. And I'm not ready; I don't have my dress on yet."

"Melinda!" My mom called for me from the top of the stairs.

"What?" Hiro followed me to the bottom of the stairs.

"Can you do me a quick favor?" She went on without my consent. "I need you to run to the store and grab me some things. Mom completely forgot that she was supposed to make two large salads this year. How she forgot I don't know but-" She sighed and handed me a list. "Luckily a Caesar will do just fine. Please?" She looked so tired, I couldn't say no.

I grabbed my keys and shoved the shopping list into my purse and Hiro and I drove to the nearest supermarket. "Romaine, cherry tomatoes, parmesan, croutons, Caesar," I muttered under my breath. "They shouldn't be too far apart from each other."

We walked quickly, Hiro carrying a basket, to the produce section. "Found the romaine," he called out. "How many bags do we need?"

"Oh shoot, I don't know," I stood next to him, holding up two bags. "Maybe two will be enough? Oh but Mom said that it two large salads, so…" I trailed off when I saw someone I knew standing across the aisle. I looked back down quickly, holding myself rigid. "Four bags? No, no, maybe three will be enough." I looked up at Hiro quickly then scrabbled through my purse for my phone. "I'll just call Mom and see what she thinks."

Warm hands encircled my arms and I looked up at Hiro. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

"It's noth-" I realized that keeping him in the dark would be no good, especially if he came over, which he would the moment he saw me. "It's my ex-boyfriend standing over there."

His hands slid down until they enclosed over my hands. "And that makes you nervous?"

I bit my lip. It shouldn't. I really shouldn't give a crap. I was stronger than this. I nodded.

He leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose. "You are a beautiful, fearless woman. He doesn't deserve you. Plus I'm here, what could go wrong?"

I smiled up at him. Did I deserve him? "Thank you."

He just shook his head at me and slung his arm over my shoulder. "I think I saw the tomatoes over here, and the Caesar thataway."

I kept on smiling and put an arm around Hiro's waist as we passed him. I froze the moment he lifted his gaze and saw me. My smile slipped for an instant and I made to silently pass him, ignoring him completely, but he grinned. "Lindy!"

There were many reasons I despised that name. He was one of them. Of course he wouldn't let me pass, he didn't seem to feel awkwardness when it weighed on others like a bag of bricks.

"Gray! Hi!" I sounded far too enthusiastic for my tastes.

"How have you been doing? You went to Ivison's right? What brings you up here?"

"Family reunion for Thanksgiving. What about you?"

"Same kind of thing," his eyes swept over me and it didn't feel as great as when Hiro had done the same thing earlier. "You're looking good."

I was very aware of Hiro next to me, stiffening slightly. "Well, thanks."

"And who is this?"

I glanced up at Hiro. His eyes were stormy, though his mouth was screwed up in a slight smile. "This is Hiro Hamada."

Gray raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I've read about you in the papers, I believe. One of the top professors at SFIT, right?"

"Right. And who might you be?"

"This is Grayson Bell," I stepped in. "We went to high school together."

They both muttered good to meet you's and then Gray started talking again, "How have you been these past couple of years?"

"Fine. Being away from high school is the best part." Yes, that was meant as a jab.

As usual, it went right over his head. "When did you two meet? Being at two different schools and all."

I couldn't believe that we were still standing here. "We met during the summer."

"Really? For such a short time, you two seem pretty serious," he grinned as if he'd made a joke. "And how did you manage to find such a celebrity, Lindy? I didn't think science nerds were really your type."

I felt the anger in me flare, though I tried to stay polite. As if cocky rich boys had ever been my type. The man by my side was the only reason I didn't completely snap. "That's really none of your business, Gray." I turned to Hiro. "I think you're right Hiro, the tomatoes are over there, and I see the Caesar…" I dragged Hiro away without another glance at Grayson Bell.

We ducked around the corner and Hiro started to laugh. "Is that guy for real? What kind of person…" He trailed off when he saw my expression. "Right. The tomatoes."

We got out quickly and when we were safely in the car, I started to breathe normally again. "I'm sorry you had to see that, and that you had to talk to him and that he-"

"Don't apologize for him. He's an idiot. Like I said, he didn't deserve you."

"Gray was a jerk. He made my high school years miserable. Yes, he was my boyfriend, and when I finally broke up with him—it was like he couldn't take a hint! I finally left for Ivison's and I was so relieved!" At this point I knew I was babbling but I had to make Hiro see. "I started dating again and after some time I realized that he had left me with some serious trust issues. He had me hooked around his finger for too long, wondering if he really liked me, wondering if he hated me, and… but I'm over that now. You can see that right?"

Hiro nodded slowly.

"I trust you. I don't base my emotions on if I think you're mad at me or happy with me. Not like I did with him. I may still be nervous around him but it's only because… because I feel ashamed at myself for not seeing what I see now. And the awkwardness. More than anything I hate how awkward it all is."

He nodded again, not saying anything.

"I don't want to talk about him anymore, okay? He's in the past. That was a bad time for me. This is the present."

"Well I should hope we're not time-travelling," he quirked.

I cracked a smile, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. "You are the best."

"I know. Let's go."

We got home, gave the salad stuff over to my mom, and we headed downstairs to get ready for the dance. I handed over the suit to Hiro and then closed my door, opened my closet, and slid my dress off of its velvet hanger. I sighed in wonder.

It was a deep purple evening dress with long sleeves and a skirt that swished all the way down to my ankles. It was simple with no decoration, but it managed to accentuate my curves. I tugged my black boots on.

There was a knock on my door, "May I come in?" Hiro turned the knob when I said yes and swung the door open.

He took one look at me and said, "I believe I've told you how beautiful you are twice today, so I'm going to change it around a bit." He took a step closer. "You look stunning. How am I supposed to compete with the other men who will be there tonight?"

I grinned and straightened his lapel, "It helps that you look pretty amazing yourself." And wow, did he ever. The suit looked a little big, but he wore it well. "Do you mind helping me with this?" I picked up a white crystal-beaded necklace and turned around, holding the ends toward him.

He was gentle as he pulled my hair through the necklace and settled it over my collarbone. "So does this count as our second date?"

I shook my head, laughing softly. "This is a community thing Hiro; we're all expected to go."

"Doesn't mean I can't bring a date."

I leaned in closer, "You didn't exactly ask me out."

"You're really making this difficult, aren't you?" He tugged me out the door.

"It only makes you want it more," I said slyly.

"It's outside?" Hiro's eyebrows knit together. "But it's freezing. It snowed today!"

"But it didn't stick," I reminded him. "It starts off kinda chilly, but it gets a lot better the longer you stay." The party planners always hooked up heaters to the various outlets during the first couple of hours, but after the dancing got started, they were taken away, not given another thought.

Every year I wished for snow, and every year it never came, or it always melted. Still, the huge pavilion the dance was held under was lit up beautifully in glorious Christmas colors. The bedazzling was blinding if you focused on the dark sky outside for too long.

We found the table our family was sitting at. Hiro pulled out a chair for me and I sat down, huddling into my fluffy coat. I would take it off later. I always did. I couldn't wait to push away the tables and feel the music fill my veins and…

My throat clogged up as I remembered the last party I'd been to. I remembered Sophie's leering voice and her awful comments. I remembered my tears and… the flying trip Hiro had taken me on that night to help me feel better. I took his hand under the table and squeezed it.

He smiled at me and squeezed back.

Dinner began moments later.

Every year is a little different. Sometimes I would dance with all of my uncles and cousins, sometimes I would go off by myself. One year all of my aunts made a huge circle and showed off their moves. It was terrifying. There was one guy I would dance with every year, since that was the only time I would ever see him. When I was younger, I would fantasize about him sweeping me off his feet and making me his wife someday. I never remember his name.

He didn't have anything on Hiro. To be honest, that night is a total blur. Too much punch maybe, or maybe it was the volume of the music, but I remember little snippets, and he was always there. Whether I was slow-dancing in his arms because neither of us could really dance, or whether he was making a total nut of himself, he was always in reach. His brown eyes were on me and I wanted to melt into them. The lights made me giddy beyond reason, but I remember his laugh right next to my ear, his steady arm around my waist, and that smile that lit me up like a thousand bulbs.

"You brought someone tonight," my mystery man said.

I nodded, feeling guilty about the one dance I was making Hiro sit out. "I did."

He twirled me around. "Must be a special one."

"Yeah," I smiled, letting a calm settle over me the first time that night.

"I'll let you in on a secret," he leaned forward. "I brought someone too."

"Why's that a secret?" I asked conspiratorially."

"Because I'm thinking of marrying her," he grinned when he saw my shocked face and then let me go when the song ended. "See you around. Maybe."

I remember that moment and the moment Hiro took my hand again, asking me who he was. I remember explaining, though I don't remember my own words. The rest of the night was blur of words and laughter.

I don't remember the drive home. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was closing my door shut, stumbling into my pajamas, and falling face first into bed.

A soft, warm hand cupped my cheek and my eyes opened slowly. "Hmmm?" It was still dark outside, but I could see a faint outline of the person above me because of a light shining through my window. I struggled to lean on my elbow and glanced at the time. It read 5:32.

"Shhh, it's just me," Hiro whispered. He reached over and turned on the lamp.

I blinked hard, trying to adjust again, and when I could finally see, I realized that Hiro was fully dressed, and that his suitcase was behind him. "What's going on?" I asked.

He grimaced, "I just got a call from Reese. He's in some kind of trouble and I need to go fish him out. I'm sorry that I have to leave early."

I sat up fully and rubbed my eyes. "I guess you won't be back?"

"Probably not."

"Well, I forgive you anyway. Call me when you get finished, okay?"

"Of course," he quirked a smile. "Then I'll take you out on our date."

I could already feel myself drifting off again, so I swung my legs out of bed, but Hiro stopped me with his hands on my shoulders. "Don't; I'll let myself out. Reese is sending me a ride." He bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "See you soon."

"Okay," I whispered, swinging myself back under the covers as he turned off the lamp. "See you soon."

Tell me what you think! And forgive me for updating so late. -Zaira