CHAPTER 36 (LIGHTS OFF ON NEW YEAR)

"This place… Is seriously huge", I exclaimed as we went inside the Judd mansion.

"Yeah. It's as huge as ever", Evangeline added, smiling as she looked at the mansion that was already familiar to her. She's been here quite a couple of times.

Christmas was over. We all spent our Christmas in different countries. My family and I flew to Greece, where my mom came from. It was beautiful there. I was teary-eyed when we had to leave. Tom and his family went on a cruise ship (they used their very own ship) around the Mediterranean Sea; Danny went to Ireland with Pamela and Nicole, Evangeline went on a safari in Africa; Jessica went back to Japan, where her father worked; Harry spent his time in Canada, snowboarding the whole time; Jenny went to Thailand to visit her grandparents; and Dougie was at Australia with his family.

Now we're all back here at Harry's mansion.

The mansion was extremely huge. It was pretty much like Tom's mansion. I couldn't even spot the difference actually. There were leather sofas, aquariums containing rare species of marine life, a few sculptures and expensive-looking paintings on the wall.

I checked my watch, it was 8:30 pm. I was holding a plastic bag that contained a cute marine blue dress with a silver bow and a bauble skirt. I can't believe I'm wearing this tonight.

Still, it might be fun. I've waited so many years to wear a dress as fancy as this is.

Evangeline was already wearing her dress. It had straps and was a nice shade of maroon. There were a few intricate designs on it, making it stand out. She looked absolutely beautiful with her red hair flowing in wondrous curls.

I, on the other hand, still need to change.

Why were we here? Well, Harry's invited us and our families to celebrate New Year with them. It was a formal dinner, so we had to really dress up.

I arrived late because I forgot to do the groceries. Evangeline was kind enough to go with me, even when she was wearing her dress. I have to say, a lot of boys were looking at her when we were at the grocery store. She didn't care anyway. She never did seem to care much about boys anyway. But she smiled at me and said that she liked French guys though. I laughed. I never knew she had standards.

Now I was supposed to change.

"Evangeline, where can I change here?" I asked her since she was so familiar with the place.

"This door here. That's the bathroom. Just go in", Evangeline replied, pointing to a door on the right.

I thanked her and went inside the door. I switched on the lights. I gasped. The bathroom was huge. There were expensive-looking shampoos, soaps, and other toiletries lined on one shelf. The bath tub was huge too. A lot of hooks were on the wall and the mirror was humongous.

I started taking off my shirt and pants. I put on my clothes on the hooks.

I started to carefully put on the dress. I was finally done, and I zipped my dress up.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked… Nice actually. The dress really fit me and it matched my skin color. I got a brush from the plastic bag and began brushing my hair. I was finally satisfied after a few minutes, and I fixed my things. I went out.

Evangeline was waiting. She gasped when she saw me.

"Someone's looking really pretty tonight", she remarked.

I grinned. "Thanks a lot. I don't look bad or anything?"

"You look absolutely divine".

"Thanks Evangeline".

Suddenly, a few more people entered the mansion. I nearly forgot that Harry's parents invited other guests. I recognized one boy from my class: David Kirkby, he had blonde hair and really blue eyes. He was handsome, but he was a total snob. Just because he's rich it doesn't mean that he has the right to get all proud. The worst thing was, he was always bothering me and trying to get my attention. Jessica told me that he might have a crush on me.

Eeew… I wished not.

Anyway, Evangeline and I just ignored him and kept on walking. I decided to tell her the genetic code letter. I already phoned Jessica yesterday about it. She couldn't believe it too.

I told her every little detail. She was extremely impressed. In her opinion, it was a really ingenious way of expressing one's feelings.

"So it's D… A… Blank, blank, blank?" she said.

"Yup. I have no clue who it is", I nodded.

She chuckled, as if the answer was so easy to see. She poked me.

I laughed. "Hey! What was that for?"

She rolled her eyes. "Anthea, it's obvious that it's Danny".

Oh my gosh. Kyle said it, and now she's saying the exact same thing too?

"Nah. Quit joking me", I grinned.

"Anthea, I am telling the truth. He looks like he likes you, you know".

I turned pink. Well, I guess that was possible… but it just didn't seem so.

"Well… I won't believe it, but I can hope can't I?" I grinned. Yup. That was better. It was better to hope than to expect.

"Good".

We walked some more until we reached the garden.

The garden was absolutely beautiful. Lanterns hung on wires spread throughout the place. Tables with white cloths occupied the place. There was also a dancing platform in the middle with pillars around it. Flowers and vines gracefully lined the pillars. I saw my family on one table. I waved to them. My mom saw me and beckoned me to come.

"My dear, you look gorgeous!" she exclaimed excitedly as I rushed out to meet her.

"Aw… Thanks mom", I replied.

"Evangeline, you look stunning too", she said.

"Thank you", Evangeline smiled.

After chatting a bit, we proceeded to our table. Harry, Pamela, Danny, Tom, Jessica, Dougie and Tom were already seated there. There were still three vacant seats left. I wondered who the third seat could be for.

"Hello", I greeted them as we got closer.

Pamela squealed and ran towards me, nearly bumping into Nicole. Good thing Nicole managed to dodge her. She was always so hyper.

"Antheeeaa!!!" Pamela grinned, excited. "You look so pretty tonight!!"

I blushed. "Thanks Pamela".

"Evangeline, you look good too tonight!"

"Thanks", Evangeline replied.

"By the way Evangeline, I set you up on a date!"

Evangeline's eyes widened. "You did whaat???"

Pamela only giggled. "Don't worry. He's absolutely dreamy. I'm sure you'll like him."

Evangeline sighed but smiled. "Oh well. I'll take your word for it".

"Besides, everyone needs a date", Pamela added.

"A date? We actually need one?" I asked.

I wasn't informed that we needed a date. I don't have one.

"Well, you don't exactly need one. It's not mandatory you know. But there's going to be a dance number for couples. So it'd be better to go with someone you know than have a stranger ask you to dance. And the boys here are snobby. Rich. Pfft. It figures".

Oh okay. So that's why. Well, I don't have a date. Maybe I could ask Danny.

I looked at him. He was talking to Harry. He suddenly laughed and grinned. He looked so cute when he smiled.

I don't know why, but now I felt so shy to ask him. Hopefully, he'll ask me later.

We went to the table and took our seats. I sat next to Danny. He looked so handsome tonight.

"Hey Anthea. You look really pretty tonight you know", he grinned at me.

"Hi Danny. Thanks a lot!" I replied, smiling.

Well, the only reason why I really fixed up was because of him. My attention was turned to the vacant seat again.

"Danny, who's the vacant seat for?" I asked.

"Oh. My cousin's coming", he replied.

"Really? Cool".

Wow. Another cousin? I definitely want to meet her.

He laughed. "She should be here by now".

I scanned the place for girls that might be his cousin. One girl caught my eyes. She had long black hair reaching a few inches above her waist. She had green, almond-shaped eyes and full lips. She looked pretty. Was she Danny's cousin?

"Aloura!!" Danny waved towards the girl.

The girl turned to his direction and smiled. She proceeded towards us. Wow. Danny has really gorgeous cousins. Well, it figures. He was gorgeous too.

"Danny", Aloura said and hugged Danny as he rushed out to meet her.

"Hey Aloura!" Dougie, Harry and Tom said at the same time. Tom looked especially glad to see her.

She smiled. "Hey guys. I missed you!"

Pamela and Nicole rushed out to meet her too.

"Hey Aloura. Glad you could come!" Nicole smiled.

"I thought you couldn't come here", Pamela said.

"Oh I know! Things were crazy at Claire Marie. I nearly had no free time. Good thing things went smooth", she replied.

My ears perked up when I heard 'Claire Marie'. That was a really expensive school for girls. Wow. They are so rich.

"Aloura, this is Anthea by the way", Danny said as he introduced me to her.

Her eyes grew wide. "Woow! You're Anthea?? Glad to meet you! Danny talks about you all the time", she said to me in a friendly manner.

I blushed and chuckled. I never knew that Danny talked so much about me.

Danny turned red too. "Um… Well, not really".

Aloura laughed and winked at me. "Don't worry. He's probably just shy".

We chatted for some time as we sat down. I liked Aloura. She was really friendly and it was easy to interact with her.

She was actually half-Irish, half-Japanese. It was a wicked combination. She chatted with Jessica too. The two got along so well. They were already laughing so much.

Dougie's dad went to the platform and began to announce. Dougie told me that his dad was hosting the show. He looked a lot like Dougie, only older.

"Good evening everyone. Dinner will be served in a few minutes. We hope you're having a blast and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the latest wine in our industry. It will be served during dinner. Oh, and please be careful because its stain will last for about a month. Dougie, don't drink too much, okay?" he grinned.

Everyone laughed. Dougie only rolled his eyes and smiled.

Dinner was served. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, roast beef, cured ham, guacamole and éclairs. Everything was so delicious. The wine that was served was great too. I felt a bit dizzy, but the taste was just so wonderful that I couldn't help but sip some more. Aloura and Tom looked cute when they began chatting together. They looked pretty close.

Dougie handed Jessica a small ball. She began playing with it. All of a sudden, the ball bounced out of her hands. It rolled away to some table. I laughed. Jessica looked so cute when she pouted.

"I'll help you", I said as I stood up.

"Thanks", she smiled.

We looked around the place for the ball. Finally, I found it near one table. My jaw dropped when I saw which table it was.

Oh no. Heck no. Not that table!! Of all the tables here, why there??

David Kirkby was sitting on the table with his snobby friends. And the ball was near to him. Great. It's just my luck.

I breathed in slowly. Okay. I can do this. I'll get the ball and leave quickly.

I approached the table, summoning all of my courage.

David turned around and grinned when he saw me. "Hey Anthea".

"Um… Hi. I'm just here to get that ball", I said, pointing to the ball. What's going to happen next?

He shrugged. "Sure. Just get it".

I could not believe this. Why did he turn nice?

I didn't mind though. This was great. I got the ball and walked away.

Yes!! Things were going so fine!!

"Wait!!" he suddenly said.

I froze. Oh man. And I thought things were going fine. I turned around and he was already in front of me, a huge smile on his face.

"Oh yeah. About the letter, you still remember that?" he asked.

What? What? What? He wrote the genetic code letter?? Maybe he overheard my conversation with Evangeline.

"Er… Yeah. I do", I replied.

"Well, I wrote it. You don't need to solve it anymore".

I felt like a rock dropped on my head. What? Him? Why him??

"Um… You sure David?" I asked.

He laughed and was about to kiss my cheek when I dodged. No way was I letting him do that!

"Um… Yeah. Of course. I like Biology you know, just as much as I like you", he replied, a sugary sweet tone to his voice.

Liar. You got an F for the subject!

He suddenly held my hand. What the heck?? This guy acts so fast!

All of a sudden, someone slapped his hand away and he finally let go. He winced.

I turned around to see Jessica with an outraged expression on her face. "Oops. Sorry. I saw a fly. I wouldn't want your skin to get bitten", she said sarcastically. She hated David too.

He glared at her. "What's your problem, huh? You're only a dumb blonde".

"Hey! Take that back!" I snapped back. I couldn't just let him be rude to Jessica.

He only chuckled, as if I didn't say anything. "Whatever. Anyway, I overheard you and Evangeline saying about your progress. It's D and A and three blanks right? Put in V, I and D, and what does it spell?"

Eew!! It can't be him! He was so pig-headed!

"It spells pig-headed, stuck-up, wannabe", Jessica replied in her most sarcastic tone ever. I looked at her. I'm glad she's with me to help me. I could count on her always.

"Blonde, yes, you. You dumb blonde. Mind your own business, will you?" he snapped and pushed her hard.

That's it!! He was going so overboard!!

All of a sudden, someone from the back poured wine all over him. Jessica and I gasped. Oh. My. Gosh.

We saw who did it: it was Pamela. She had a huge smile on her face as she held her glass in her hands. Nicole was behind her, an equally huge smile on her face.

"Oops. Sorry. I am so, so clumsy!" she faked an apology.

David glared at her. "What the heck do you think you're doing?? This is a very expensive suit!!!"

"Oh. Sorry. Did you hear that Nicole? It's a very expensive suit", Pamela said.

Nicole went near and looked at the suit. David was absolutely soaked. Suddenly, she poured wine on him too. This time, it was on the front of the suit.

David looked even more outraged. He looked like a steamed fish.

Nicole smiled. "Oops. My hand slipped".

David groaned loudly and stormed off.

Nicole and Pamela laughed and gave each other a high five. "Loser!!" they said at the same time.

"My gosh, you two were amazing!" Jessica exclaimed.

"You two sure have got guts. Thanks for sticking up for us", I thanked them. Seriously, I really was grateful. I was grateful to have these girls behind my back.

"Thanks! He was rude anyway. We knew something was up. Nicole planned everything", Pamela grinned.

Wow. Nicole planned this?

"Well, it was fun anyway. The wine won't come off for a month", Nicole grinned. We laughed. Nicole really was an evil genius.

We went back to the table and took our seats. A few minutes passed by.

"Couples, time to dance!" Dougie's dad suddenly said. And the band began playing waltz music.

Cool. That was nice. Too bad I don't have a partner.

Dougie took Jessica with him; Harry had Pamela; Nicole had a cute stranger for a partner; Aloura and Tom went together; Evangeline had a handsome French guy named Thomas as his partner. She looked ecstatic and thanked Pamela over and over again. I didn't have a partner. I looked at Danny. He didn't seem to have a partner too. I was about to ask him when a boy with jet-black hair and green eyes approached me. He looked very handsome and he had a charming smile.

"Excuse me miss, care to dance?" he smiled as he held out his hand.

"I'm sorry, but she's with me", Danny interrupted as he approached us. He was smiling. He placed his arm over my shoulder. "She's my date".

The stranger only smiled. Aw… he was so polite. "Oh. My apologies".

He walked away. I turned to Danny. My heart was sprinting once again.

"Danny? You don't mind dancing with me?" I asked him. I wasn't such a very good dancer.

He smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way you know. You're the one that I want".

I felt like melting when he said that. He was so sweet!

We proceeded to the dance floor. He placed his hand on my waist and he took my hand. We began dancing around the floor. Luckily, he was a great dancer. He guided me throughout the whole dance.

Everyone was having fun. They all had smiles on their face.

All of a sudden, the lights went out. Everyone gasped.

"A fuse went out! Don't worry everyone", Dougie's dad boomed.

Fear flooded through me once more. I gasped and hugged Danny. I was so scared now.

He held me gently. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared of the dark", I replied. I really was. I hated being in dark places.

"More than spiders?"

I nodded and hugged him more tightly. "Yes. At least with spiders, I know what's going to hurt me. In the dark, I don't know what's out there to get me".

This was how I always felt about the dark. I'm scared because I don't know what's out there. I can't see just how bad those things were.

"Anthea… you don't need to worry. I'm here. Didn't I promise that I'd keep you safe? Nothing will happen to you. I swear", Danny whispered as he held me tightly. I began to relax now. I'm glad I'm with him. I felt safe now.

He let go of me slowly and looked at me for a while. The moonlight shone on my face a bit.

"You look so pretty…" he smiled.

Suddenly, his head moved closer to mine. Was he about to do what I think he's about to do?

He was now inches away from my face. I could feel my heart pumping so hard now. I closed my eyes.

His lips slowly pressed against mine. He kissed me gently and softly. I kissed him back. It was a magical moment. I felt like being in a dream.

He began to stroke my hair as he kissed me. I didn't want this to end. I never did feel this way.

Finally, he broke off our kiss. And just in time too. The lights went back a few minutes after our kiss.

Everything was bright now.

I looked at him and my eyes widened as I fully realized what we just did. Oh my gosh! I cannot believe we actually kissed!!

He looked at me, turning red. He looked pretty embarrassed. "I'm… I'm sorry. I… I got carried away".

I nodded, turning red too. "Um… It's okay. Let's just pretend it never happened".

He finally grinned at me. I grinned back. I didn't mind the kiss though. He was really great. But maybe we did just get carried away. It didn't mean anything, right? Besides, we weren't even a couple yet.

"Okay. Now that the lights are back on, New Year is only a minute away! Let's start the countdown", Dougie's dad announced over the microphone. Everyone clapped their hands and began to count from sixty.

"Oh. Before I forget. This is for you", Danny said and pulled out a silver bracelet with a panda as a charm. It looked very pretty. He slipped it on my right hand. It looked absolutely adorable.

"Danny! Oh my gosh! This is so lovely! Thank you!" I exclaimed excitedly. I loved it!

"Aw… No problem. I saw this at a shop yesterday. Then I remembered that you liked pandas. So I bought it for you".

Wow. That was really thoughtful, and there wasn't even an occasion.

"Thank you Danny, really".

I looked at him, light dancing in my eyes. I really fell hard for him. He was just here, all along. I was just too blind to see. A few weeks ago, he just seemed like a really good friend to me. Now, he's become the guy of my dreams. I can't believe I couldn't see this before. He was my real Prince.

"Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one! Happy New Year!!" everyone chanted and fireworks shot towards the sky. The fireworks were amazing as they set the sky afire with wonderful colors. The colors even seemed to dance in the sky.

"Happy New Year Anthea", Danny grinned.

"Happy New Year Danny", I replied.

We all watched the sky as it was painted with different colors. Danny was holding my hand as I placed my head on his shoulder. It was beautiful, just like this moment.