Kori stood behind her parents, pretending to be listening to the meaningless bragging of the bigwigs they introduced her to. Doctors, congressmen, CEOs, pharmaceutical reps, all they talked about was money, cars, houses, or vacations. Occasionally one of them would mention that they had brought their handsome sons with them, and that Kori should date them. She politely declined these offers and eventually made her way to the outer edges of the ballroom. She silently cursed the ridiculous poofy pink dress her mother had insisted she wear. She found an unoccupied table in the shadows and sat down, kicking off her heels and leaning on her elbows, sighing. The whole place was decked out in shades of red and pink lace and satin, with heart shaped glitter all over the tables and the bartenders were dressed as baby cupids. Kori's mind drifted back to the New Year's party she and Willy had hosted. Just one drink had gotten Willy loosened up enough to dance close to her. She thought about his letter, that he was drinking to calm himself down. She wished he wouldn't hurt himself like that.

A male voice interrupted her thoughts. "This is the first time I have seen you all night, darling. What is wrong?" The European accent sounded familiar. Kori looked up to see a tall, thin young man with dark spiked hair and tanned skin. She looked at him in confusion. "You have never seen me before. I am Sebastian, protégé of Mr. Slugworth. He is here as well. He has not seen you yet either, although he has been looking for you…So you remember me now, I see." Kori had stood up and was slowly backing away from the table, glaring at Sebastian. "Relax. Sit back down, I have brought you a drink. I have some things to tell you." He set a Pink Lady on the table in front of her chair. She sat.

"I'd like to apologize for everything my benefactor has done to you." He said, taking a sip from his own drink. "He's doing it because he wants to destroy Mr. Wonka and take his factory."

Kori was confused. "Why are you telling me this? The most trouble we have had from him is the day he wanted the Gobstopper recipe, and it was pretty obvious that he wants to put Willy out of business." She picked up her own drink and took a sip. "This tastes like punch."

Sebastian chuckled. "It does, but I'm talking about what's going on right now. It was Mr. Slugworth who convinced your parents that they wanted custody of you. They argued with him at first, saying that you were nothing but a nuisance before and that they were glad you were a pain in someone else's ass now. They didn't even want to claim that they knew you, because they felt that Mr. Wonka's…uniqueness…would rub off on you and be an embarrassment."

Kori huffed. "I knew it! They don't care about me! How did he convince them?"

Sebastian smiled. "He said that he planned on acquiring the factory by telling Mr. Wonka that you wanted an 'advance' in your inheritance, and that you had hired your parents' attorney to help you claim the factory, but that would just be a threat." He took another sip.

Kori was outraged. "That bastard! He wanted to make me look like a traitor! Does he have any idea what that would do to Willy?" She slammed her fist on the table, causing a couple at another table to look their way and start whispering.

Sebastian glanced at the gossiping couple and continued as casually as before, crossing his legs. "He knows exactly what it would do. His hope is that with you gone, Mr. Wonka will become depressed and lose interest in anything that reminds him of you. I.E, candy."

Kori interrupted, "So how did he convince my parents?"

"I'm getting to that. He promised them a share in the factory's profits. He also convinced them that by appearing to be concerned for your wellbeing, they would be held in much higher esteem by their peers. Meanwhile, Slugworth plans on buying the factory while Mr. Wonka's morale is in the trench and 'kindly' offering him a place to stay in his home, where he can easily take advantage of Mr. Wonka's physical weakness. In the end, Slugworth wins huge profits and a love doll that he seems to have a really unnerving obsession with, if you ask me."

Kori was disgusted, but not surprised. "Bastard. Why did you tell me this?"

Sebastian replied, "Because I do not approve of his Machiavellian cruelty. And his twisted obsession with corrupting that innocent straight man makes the rest of us look bad."

"Us?" Kori tilted her head.

"Homosexuals, darling. Anyway, you look depressed. Let's dance, I know you know how to shake that little ass." He winked.

Kori blushed. "Um…okay, I feel like a ridiculous pink cupcake in this dress though."

Sebastian laughed and grabbed her hand, dragging her out to the floor. "Girlfriend, I know how you feel. You look like a damn fool, I don't know what your mother was thinking!"

They danced together for the rest of the night, Kori's heart felt a little lighter watching Sebastian dance like a queen. She was glad to know that he was a good person, despite having close ties with someone so evil. It brought her a glimmer of hope, although she hoped that even though he was isolated, Willy could find hope too and save himself and the factory.

Little did she know, a photographer had been paying close attention to them with his camera.

A/N: Really short…