After returning Adrianne to Becca's house, Jake went back to his own home to get ready. 'I hope Adrianne had her dress picked out already', he thought. He slipped into his black tuxedo and looked at himself in a mirror. 'I'm pretty good lookin', he thought to himself. "How conceited of you," said a voice behind him. He turned around quickly to see a cloaked man standing in the hallway adjacent to his room. "Who are you?"

"A name is just a way to deceive oneself. Defining the spirit is the target you should be aiming for." There was a glimmer of hatred in his eyes when he said the word, "spirit", almost as if he could see down deep into Jake's soul and pick out his most secluded secrets. "Now, about your friend Adrianne, you two are close, no? On the verge of being closer, yes?" Jake had no idea what that meant. Apparently the confusion showed, because the hooded man laughed and started again to speak.

"I am an old friend of Adrianne's. Would you do something for me? Give her this message: 'The water flows freely, but only in the absence of a plug.' Too complicated for you? You are not meant to understand it, nor will you try. Relay that message to Adrianne, and I bid you farewell." And with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

'What was that all about?' Jake thought.

*****************************************************

Jim got into his red sports car that his parent's bought him, and motioned for his other friends, Greg and Alex, to follow. Greg was a hair shorter than the other two teens, and he had very dark hair. Alex was the middle of the three, and like Jim, he was a brunette.

Jim was, at his most basic level, a spoiled rich kid. He always not everything he wanted. Except Becca. For some reason he could not get Becca. Although he sensed a great need for him inside of her soul, she seemed to hold back every time they talked. It was almost as if she had feelings for someone else. Ben. It had to be. Their friendship had started to strain ever since last years prom, when Becca had snuck in with Jim and become part of prom court. Whatever Ben had planned to win Becca over, Jim would discover it, and thwart it.

"Are we ready?" Greg asked as he got into the car. Jim mumbled a monosyllabic grunt which Greg assumed meant yes, so he buckled up and Jim started the car.

"First stop, Becca's house."

Jim put the key in the ignition and drove down Becca's road. As he neared Becca's house, something struck him as odd. Usually, Becca's younger sister, Amanda, was tailing along around Ben. But Ben was there in the front yard Amanda-less. 'Maybe he found a way to get rid of the pest,' he thought.

"Hi Jim," Becca said in a way just a little more flirtatious than Jim had expected. She hopped into the back seat and threw her dyed blonde hair over her shoulder in an attempt to get Ben's attention. The attempt succeeded.

"Becca, you seem overly flirtatious tonight. Something wrong?" She laughed and replied, "Nothing, but I can think of a few things wrong with the way you've ignored me all these years." Ben tried to protest, but Becca put a finger to his lips. "Less talk, more tongue." And right then and there, she kissed him passionately, as if she had no inhibitions. Ben squirmed for a while, but eventually he just let the heat of the moment take him over, and enjoy the kiss he had been waiting for all his teenage life.

Just then, Adrianne walked out of the house. " I've been trying to decide if this necklace goes with this dre-" She looked up Ben and Becca. "Did I miss something? And why is Ben here? Becca told me he wasn't coming."

Greg spoke up. "Apparently, he is."

*****************************************************

Jake looked at his watch again. 'Where could they be?' he thought. 'Calm down. Adrianne and Jim and the others wouldn't just abandon you, would they?' His apprehension rose. 'It's twenty minutes to prom, and I still haven't got my date. Where is Adrianne?'

He stood out on the front porch of his house and shivered in the slight 8:00 chill as he waited for Jim and the others to drive up. This prom was promised to be the greatest ever, and that was saying something, because Jake had heard that the last prom was amazing. The teacher in charge, Mr. Rice, had promised live music.

'Probably gonna be Cher or something,' he thought. He sighed in the cool of the evening. "It's only spring. The sun shouldn't have set this early," he said out loud. It had been almost twenty minutes since Jim had said he'd be there.

Finally, Jim's red sports car pulled into Jake's driveway. Hop in, I think we got room for one more," Jim said, although the car didn't look like it could hold anymore people without sagging. Eventually, Jake managed to fit into the car, but it took some work. He sat next to Becca. She threw him a flirtatious look.

"Hey cutie. You're lookin' good in that suit," she said to Jake. "Why thank you- Hey are you alright? You don't seem

yourself," Jake replied.

"Actually, I feel more myself than ever," she said. "I'm free!" This scared everyone else. Except Ben.

"Isn't she great?" he said, clearly blinded by the earlier kiss that Jake had missed. It was blatantly obvious, to Jake at least, that something had to be done about Becca's erratic behavior.

Jim groaned. "I still have to fit Amber and her twin in this car. We're pushin' it as is!" Ben smiled and looked at Becca with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Becca can ride on my lap," he said, and Becca unbuckled and sat on his lap. "Adrianne and Jake can do the same." Jake looked at Adrianne and she shrugged. So she took off her seatbelt and sat on his lap. The couples buckled back in.

"There. Now if Amber can sit on Greg's lap, and Kelly on Alex's, then we can all fit in this car." He let out a sigh of relief as Becca laughed. "Yeah, right after we get arrested. I'm not sure which one, but I'm sure this violates some kind of law." Jake turned around to face Becca and talked through the leather of Adrianne's thick coat to hide her dress until they were at the prom. "Hmne frunum frum," he said. Becca raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?" Jake pushed the coat out of his way. Adrianne shifted so that she was sideways on his lap, careful not to lose the white hat that was placed neatly on her head to not only hide her hairdo, but to keep it the same as well. Jake continued. "I said, you're not yourself." Becca rolled her icy-blue eyes at him. "I told you, I'm fine."

There was something odd about Becca. Something different, besides the 180° turn in her personality. So Jake pressed the issue. "You seem different. Did you do something to your hair?" Becca smiled. "Not the hair." Jake rubbed his chin with mock contemplation. "The eyes? You always used to have such beautiful brown eyes." She shrugged. "Contacts." Ben shifted her so that he could talk. She was also wearing a coat to hide her dress. "But you don't need glasses. Why would you get contacts?" he asked. "These are the kind that don't fix your vision." They all nodded.

Except for Ben and Jake, they were fooled. Becca's spell over Ben had been broken, and for an instant, his face reflected his suspicions. He looked at Jake, and Jake nodded. "Good for you Becca," said Ben as he tried to take off her hat that matched Adrianne's exactly. "Leave the hat. Later you can worry about stuff like taking off my hat. Or any other things you feel like taking off."

********************************************

Kelly Milton was much like her sister. In fact, they were identical twins. Kelly, however, was only ten points above genius, while her sister was fifteen. She wound her raven-colored hair up into a bun and put a white hat on her head to cover it up. She had met with Adrianne, Becca, and her sister to decide to do this: hide their hair and dress from their dates so they could be surprised at the prom. Her coat was already on, and she, unlike her sister, was absent-minded, so she couldn't remember the exact color of the dress.

Amber. There were times when she hated her perfect sister. All the guys that she liked were always madly in love with Amber instead. SHE was always the pretty one, even though they looked exactly alike. SHE was always the smart one, just because she had a single point over Kelly. SHE was always congratulated for doing well in sports that Kelly excelled in. There was one thing that Kelly could do better than her sister: dance. 'I'm twice the dancer she dreams of being,' she thought in consolation. And Amber had quite the imagination in her dreams. But none of the guys were interested in a girl that can dance.

And Amber had the special ability in the family: every once in a while, she would get premonitions. Visions of a possible future, stuff like that. Her parents thought that she was just SO talented, that they fawned over her so much that Kelly was completely ignored sometimes. Even at her own dance recitals.

A horn honked from her front yard, and she heard her sister yell something like "Come on Kel, we'll be late!" She walked out of her bathroom. She left her house and locked the door.

When she turned around, she saw a very disgusted Amber buckled on top of an even more disgusted Greg. The two had been mortal enemies ever since the first grade when Greg scored higher on a test than Amber. Their friends kept telling them that it was a silly thing to feud over, but neither would listen, and they remain enemies to this very day. Then she noticed that there was no more room in the car.

"Hi Kelly. Can you do me a HUGE favor and sit on Alex's lap, if even just for the trip?" Jim asked. Kelly rolled her eyes. Alex was even brainier than her sister. He had a lower GPA, but he just gave off a 'smart' aura. He had glasses, which definitely added to the look.

"Sure thing James," she said. One thing about Kelly was that she insisted on calling everyone by the names they were born with.

"Now that everyone's here," Jim said. "Let's get going!"

********************************************

Eevano pulled off his cloak to reveal a black suit. 'Adrianne will be surprised to see me at her prom,' he thought. Eevano had only known her for a short time, but it was enough for him to love her. 'I will get Adrianne back, whatever the cost.'

The woman came out of the shadows again. "Eevano, what have I told you time and time again. Don't get emotionally involved! You have started to fall for that girl ever since you took over this host body. Now get out of that suit and go check on the Faceless's victim."

Eevano pulled out a tiny mirror and saw Ben's eyes and smiled. "The plan is working perfectly," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the prom." As he walked away, the woman yelled at his back, "She doesn't love you!" Eevano stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at her. "Then I'll have to make her love me."

********************************************

"I have never seen a more beautiful prom, have you Adrianne?" Becca said very obviously near the decorating committee. Adrianne pulled her away for fear of someone noticing her. The guys waited for their dates over at the snacks table, where a very obviously angry Miss Luten was passing out free pins to everyone to join Biology Club.

Suddenly, Adrianne came walking onto the dance floor. She removed her hat, and her golden brown hair fell to her shoulders in what seemed like slow motion. Then came the coat. It was as if she was baiting him, waiting for the right moment to unleash her dress on the unsuspecting eyes of her fellow classmates. With each button she undid, more heads turned to watch. Finally, the coat was completely off, and she slipped it off her shoulders and put it down on a chair on the side.

Her dress was pure white, covered in sparkling sequins. The single strap over her left shoulder was held together by a dove pin. The other girls entered in a similar fashion, and their dresses where the same basic design, but different colors. Amber's was sapphire blue, while Kelly's an emerald green. Becca's was a deep, dark color that no one could quite identify. Ben broke the ice by walking over to Becca and taking her hand. The others soon followed suit.

Adrianne and a prissy blonde girl named Krissi Manion were the only ones still sitting alone on the sidelines. Krissi was crying because she didn't have a date. Then, Jimbo comforted Krissi and asked her to dance. Then only Adrianne was left. Jake decided it was time to act. He walked up to her and said, "May I have this dance?" She laughed a little and nodded. Once the song was over, Mr. Rice got up to the mic and started to speak.

"Now, I know I promised live music, and I intend to make good on that promise. So here they are, performing their smash hit, "What Happened to Good Old Fun?", our very own Regality!" Greg ran up onstage, determined not to miss his solo as lead singer of the group.

Regality was quite popular with the students in Jake's high school. They started out as just another band made up of silly high school kids, but, with the support of their peers, grew to be almost as popular as some national bands. Most of the kids had already bought their first CD.

As Greg sang his heart out onstage, Adrianne let loose on the dance floor. Jake tried to follow her example, but she outshone him. After the song was finished, (despite it's popularity it was rather short) Greg went back up to the mic.

"Thank you everyone. Now, we're gonna tone it down a little with a guest singer from the audience. She's smart, she's sassy, thank god she looks so classy! She's Amber Milton!" As the crowd cheered, Jake thought, 'What a ham. He just loves milking his audience like that.' Adrianne sighed into his chest. Watching Greg speak and Amber walk up to the mic and start her very annoyed thank-you speech, he hadn't noticed that Adrianne was right up against his chest. He smiled and put a hand on her head.

"Thank you for that touching speech. Now on with the song!" Amber went back up to the mic. After shooting a venomous look to Greg, she began to sing in a beautiful alto voice.

"Have you ever been in love?

You could touch the moonlight.

When your heart is shooting starts,

You're holding Heaven in your arms.

Have you ever been in love?"

It was a slow song, so all the couples slipped into the arms of their dance partners. Adrianne put her arms around Jake's neck, and he put his arms on her hips.

"Have you ever walked on air?

Felt like you were dreamin'

When you never thought it could

But it really feels that good

Have you ever been in love."

Jake was so close to Adrianne that he could hear her breathe. Their noses were only inches apart, and he looked into her eyes, and she looked back into his.

"Have you ever been in love?

You could touch the moonlight.

When your heart is shooting starts,

You're holding Heaven in your arms.

Have you ever been in love?"

Jake and Adrianne drew closer. Jake moved his head slightly sideways, and their faces were now nearly touching. Jake pulled Adrianne closer.

"The time I spent waiting for something

That was Heaven sent.

When you find it don't let go

I know..."

Jake closed his eyes, and Adrianne did the same. Her hand moved from his shoulder to his head as she pulled him close. "I love you," Jake whispered to her. "I love you too," she whispered back.

"Have you ever said a prayer

And found that it was answered

All my hope has been restored

I ain't looking anymore

Have you ever been..."

This was the moment. Finally, Jake and Adrianne kissed. It was tentative at first, but then they both became more passionate, more alive. She tasted vaguely of strawberries, with a hint of toothpaste.

"Some place that you ain't leavin'

Somewhere you gonna stay

When you finally found the meanin'

Have you ever felt this way?"

People started to stare, most of all Becca. Her face contorted into an evil look, and her eyes were on fire. Ben would not even go near her now. She stormed over to the couple. Jake and Adrianne, of course, remained blissfully unaware of the flaming rage that was about to collide with them.

"The time I spent waiting for something

That was Heaven sent.

When you find it don't let go

I know..."

Ben grabbed her hand, and she turned to him. He shook his head as if to say, "Let it be." She narrowed her eyes at him, and that was the moment that he knew this was not Becca.

"Have you ever been in love?

You could touch the moonlight.

You can even reach the stars

Doesn't matter near or far

Have you ever been in love?

Have you ever been in love?

Have you ever been in love?

So in love."

Amber stepped away from the mic. A thunderous applause erupted from the gym. A passerby might have thought a riot was going on in the tiny gym of Jake's high school.

"Yes, yes we're all glad that Amber is a beautiful singer, but we must remember that-" Greg could not speak because there was a mob of people surrounding Amber and thanking her much more than was necessary.

"I wish people would mob us like that. NOW!" Greg shouted very loudly so that everyone would pay attention to him and not Amber. " We are going to play another slow song, one that we wrote ourselves." They started the song.

Ben forcefully pulled Becca closer to him and held a gun to her stomach. "Who are you really?" he said, pushing the weapon further into her belly. "You are good, perhaps good enough work for my master," she replied. "And who is that?" Ben asked. Becca smiled. "You'll never live long enough to find out!" A wave of energy pulsed from her body and knocked over everyone in the gym.

********************************************

"So in love."

Jake vaguely heard the song stop, but he was slightly preoccupied. Adrianne slowly pulled away, and Jake did the same. They heard Greg say something, but they were lost in each other's eyes, so they didn't hear much of the short speech. Adrianne's mouth opened like she was going to speak, but instead she slowly backed away. Jake reached his hand after her, and she stopped. The music started again.

Jake and Adrianne just stared at each other. Adrianne's was a look of confusion mixed with fear, while Jake's was one of love mixed with uncertainty.

"I don't want us to be like this. I love you," Jake said with his arm outstretched.

Adrianne opened her mouth. "Jake.. I.." Suddenly, a burst of energy threw them to the ground. Becca laughed evilly, and her body fell to the ground and twitched convulsively. "I........ will........ kill........ you.......... all!" Her voice was speaking the words, but there was another voice behind it, like she was possessed. "I........ will........ kill........ you.......... all!"

*****************************************************

A/N: Wow, that was great. By the way, I don't own the song that Amber sings, some suits that produce for Celine Dion do. Not quite sure who they are, but they're not mining, and that's that. Next chapter, big battle scene, new Dragoon, more kissing, and the reason why Ben brought a gun to prom.