A/N: Wow, I'm so glad you guys like this! I almost didn't expect you to, due to the Stanton/other character pairing, but that's awesome! (I usually don't read those either, by the way. I have no idea why I dreamed this, but I did…lol…so I figured I'd kinda go with it.) I actually have a solid idea for an ending for this one, but I'm not sure you guys are gonna like it…

-Cali :)

"Need some help with that?" a voice asked from behind her, and Kieran nearly jumped out of her skin - and her dress.

"How did you - what - you?" she stopped and turned around. "The door was locked, I'm sure of it," she told him, holding the top of her dress over herself. "I walked in and turned around and locked the door.

Stanton shook his head, amused. "Nope. Lucky for me, you left it unlocked. If you hadn't, I would've had to pick the lock," he told her, teasing. "Turn around. I'll help you," he offered. "I remember you complaining about this dress.

"I know, but it's so pretty," she said innocently, and he chuckled while she turned her back to him.Inhaling her strawberry shampoo, Stanton took a hand and gently brushed her hair away from her back, taking the opportunity to leave a teasing little kiss on her neck.

"Stantonnnn," she complained, though from the way her back had straightened, he suspected he'd sent plesant chills down her spine. He ran his fingertips gently down her back, between the sides of the dress he'd have to tie together, and just as he was about to take the strings, she stopped him. "Wait...I was going to put something on. Hang on a second," she said, and - still holding the dress over her body - grabbed the glitter lotion. "I'll be right back," she told him, shaking it as she walked out of her room and into the bathroom across the hall

Closing the door behind her, she came to a realization. Nobody except her and Stanton were in the house. That was strictly against her mother's rules. No boys allowed when there are no parents home. She was going to get in so much trouble if her mother came home! She did have to come home eventually, did she not? Especially since she knew today was Kieran's prom, and she'd wanted to help her daughter get ready. Where had she gone

She pondered places her mother could've run to as she spread glitter lotion around her arms, and a little into her back as well. Taking a bit of pure glitter, she poured it into her hair brush and ran it though her hair. Just because she was leaving it down didn't mean she couldn't make it sparkle too. She had a feeling she was going to regret it, though. It was going to get all over the dress..

Oh well

She glanced in the mirror and frowned. She looked paler than usual. "Well, that'd be because you don't have any makeup on," she told herself, and then gasped. "I let Stanton see me without makeup on?" She was horrified, and immediately began to wash her face when she heard a knock on the bathroom door

"Are you decent, love?" Stanton, asked, and she could hear the mischievous glint in his eyes. Before she could answer, he opened the door and stepped in, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I didn't think so," he added, and she responded with an indignant "hey!

Unfortunately, she didn't get very far in her protests before he silenced her with a kiss. "Turn around," he whispered against her soft, parted lips, making her want to beg for more kisses. Instead, she complied, and turned her back to him, facing the mirror as he pushed her hair over her shoulder so it wouldn't get tangled in the strings. She was glittering all over, and the hearts on her chest went well with her hair and earrings. She felt Stanton lace the string through loops in her dress like a shoelace, pulling them taut before making a bow at the top

He ran one hand up the rest of her back and to the nape of her neck. She was thin - his fingertips reached nearly to both sides of her neck when he stretched his fingers out. He twisted his wrist a little and wound his fingers into her hair, sighing as he pulled his fingers gently through it, letting it fall behind her

Kieran closed her eyes against his touch. She wanted it too much for her own comfort. "Don't..." she said quietly when he ran a hand down her side and zipped the second layer of fabric over the corset.

"Don't what?" he whispered into her ear, teasing her, feeling a mischievous smirk creep across his lips when he heard a fine tremor even in her breath. "Zip up your dress? I can undo that..." he said, walking two fingers up her side

"Stop it, Stanton," Kieran said sharply, turning to face him. "Mom could be home any second. How am I going to explain to her how I got the dress laced by myself? 'Oh yeah, I just got really flexible all of a sudden...it's not as hard as I thought it was gonna be.' Yeah, she'll buy that," she said sarcastically

Stanton chuckled. "All right. I'll leave. I let the others hide your corseage so I could come see you beforehand," he said, stepping a little closer to her. As he circled his arms around her waist, he heard her sigh. "I'll be back at six," he murmured, his lips brushing hers. They exchanged a brief kiss, and Stanton stepped out of the bathroom

Kieran sighed, feeling the familiar ache in her heart that seemed to occur every time he left her. "Stop it," she told herself sharply, and turned back to the mirror to finish her makeup. Rubbing a bit of glitter lotion into her shoulders, she smiled. She liked to sparkle and draw attention to herself

Once finished, she searched though her eye shadows until she found a glittering teal to match the sides of her dress, a bit of black to help blend her eyeliner, and a darker teal to shade her eyes. Painting over her lids carefully, she brushed the lighter teal on first with a fluffy brush that tickled, and then shaded in her crease with a thinner brush. With a sweep of her finger, she smoothed out the teals. Uncapping her opalescent black liner, she drew thin lines in her eyelashes, and then blended it with a little bit of black eyeshadow. "Perfect," she said aloud, and rolled a coat of mascara over her lashes, then finished the job up with a bit of concealer to hide the dark circles she was sure would never go away.

"Kieran!" she heard from the downstairs hall. "I'm home!"

Finally, Kieran thought to herself, and stepped out of the bathroom. "Hi mom! What took you so long? I thought you wanted to help me get ready." She didn't show the disappointment in her face or voice.

Her mom smiled. "I am helping you get ready. Take a look at what I bought you," she said, and handed her daughter a bag. In it were a pair of blue topaz earrings that dangled down to her neck when she put them against her ears, and a matching necklace. The stones were cut into teardrop shapes, and were a beautiful blue that matched her eyes. The necklace was a Y chain with three small gold beads that lead to the larger teardrop at the end. When she put it on, it hung perfectly above the swell of her chest, drawing the eye to just that.

"Mom, look where this necklace makes you look. How awkward is that?"

"It isn't. You look beautiful, and your boyfriend will love it. I noticed you didn't really have any jewelry that matched this dress, so I went out and bought a bit. I hope you don't mind," her mother added. Then, much to Kieran's dismay, she was asked the one question she wasn't quite sure how to answer. "How did you get your dress on? You've never been able to lace it up without my help.

Kieran fumbled for a second. "Well, I - ah, er, you see," she began, then said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Cassandra was here to help me, then she left to get ready herself.

A scowl flickered across her mother's face. "Cassandra? Kieran, you know I don't like that girl," she said flatly, crumping up the paper bag from the jeweler's

"I know, but I can't figure out why, mom. She's perfectly nice..." Of course, Kieran had noticed little things about Cassandra she didn't like as well, like the fact that she was a cutter. She couldn't imagine ever doing anything like that to herself. The fact that her friend liked it just made her sick

"There's just something I don't like about her," Kieran's mom said, shaking her head

"Whatever," Kieran answered frustratedly. "So...um...what do you think?" she asked, changing the subject back to prom, and her outfit

Her mother smiled despite herself. "You look gorgeous, Kieran. My little girl's all grown up!" she exclaimed, kissing her daughter on the cheek

"Moooooooom," Kieran complained, rolling her eyes. "You'll mess up my makeup!"

"Sorry," her mom said with a bit of a sheepish smile. "So, when's Stanton coming? He's picking you up, right?

Kieran glanced at the clock, nodding. "Yeah, he is. He should be coming any minute now, it's almost six. We're going to dinner with a group of friends in a party bus," she gushed excitedly, and walked over to her purse to make sure she had everything in it she wanted. Pulling out a lipgloss, she smiled as she heard bass thudding in the street. That'd be her ride

When the bass didn't drift away, past her house, she grinned. "That's them," she told her mother, who smiled and went to look out the window

"What is that thing?" she wanted to know

Kieran laughed. "It's a party bus. Roomier than a limo, and easier to get out of," she added, and slung her purse over her shoulder. As she walked towards the door, she heard whistling and clapping, and opened the door to see Stanton walking towards her. She couldn't help staring at him, his blonde bangs hanging lazily into his eyes as he walked towards her with a half smile

"What happened?" she asked him. "I thought you were gonna come pick me up and we were gonna meet everyone somewhere.

Stanton kissed her lightly before answering. "There was a change of plans. Hi Mrs. Saunders," he added, saluting Kieran's mother, who laughed. She liked Stanton. "They didn't hide the corseage like I asked them to, so we have it with us," he told her, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear

"Can I take a picture of you two?" Kieran's mother asked, holding a camera up with a pleading smile.Kieran started to shake her head, but Stanton smiled. "Sure. Come on, Kia. You look great - let your mom take a picture so she can show you off next year when you're not around."

Stanton posed first with Kieran, smiling at the camera, then tilted her head up and back, and kissed her while her mother took a picture

"Awww," Kieran's mom said with a smile, and put the camera down. "All right, I'll stop. You two go have fun," she told them, and walked away to give them a bit of privacy

"Ready to go, Siren?" he asked, letting his eyes linger over her body. "I like your necklace, by the way," he added, and traced a line down the chain until she smacked his hand away

"Not here," she whispered quickly, and took his hand. "Let's go." When she stepped out and saw the white party bus with black windows she couldn't even begin to see through, she grinned. This was going to be fun.

A/N: So, chapter 2. Is it as good as you thought it was?