Oh goodness I was so nervous.

Election day was finally upon us.

I had campaigned as well as I could in the short time span. I made sure to smile more and was overtly friendly to the members in the chess club and the currently staffed student council.

The current members wouldn't resign from their posts until the new staff was elected.

Evelyn was still running unopposed, but the rest of the officials had some kind of competition. The current treasurer was indeed running for office again, but she still lacked the skillset to successfully fulfill her duties. She, however, was extremely popular and knew practically everybody in the school.

I used this to my advantage and got word spread around that I wasn't challenging her ability to be a good friend, but her ability to serve the student body as a treasurer. Her past mistakes the year prior was enough evidence to showcase her shortcomings.

Conversations about helping their friend to not make a fool of herself again spread like wildfire and I could tell that the votes were going to be a close call.

Adelaide had initially tried to distance herself from me.

She had told me that being seen with the 'social pariah' of the school would hurt my chances of winning.

I told her that she was an idiot.

If winning an election meant giving up my new friend then I didn't want the position.

She saw how hard it is for me to put myself out there and properly convey my feelings. To have a friend that understands me and accepts me, it's just too good to be true.

I told her that before I moved here that I only had Tony to talk to. Then my small circle got a little bit bigger when we moved next to Gregory, Rudolph, and Anna. But it's hard to talk about certain girl things with three boys and a 10-year old girl.

There was still a sense of…isolation that made me feel abnormal.

Adelaide identified with that feeling of loneliness.

It took her a couple of weeks to finally open up to me, but she eventually told me that she was a lesbian. She had looked so scared when she told me. I, being the idiot that I am, didn't understand why she was terrified of my reaction.

Apparently, there were a couple of girls that didn't care she was a scholarship student and tried to befriend her. They immediately dropped their olive branch when she had mentioned her homosexuality. One of them tried to 'convert' her and kept telling her 'that it was just a phase', and 'that she was so young and didn't really know her sexuality yet'. Before finally giving up and telling Adelaide 'that it's a choice and I don't need your beliefs corrupting my own.'

I, per usual, responded in a blunt manner after hearing this story.

'What a load of hogwash. How does she know that she's straight? You just know. Complete idiot…wait—please tell me that she isn't part of any of my clubs? I don't want to risk catching her stupidity because a low IQ is clearly a choice.'

I had seethed with a roll of my eyes before looking up at her.

Adelaide just looked at me in amazement before thanking me. I had told her that I didn't need her thanks for having simple common sense. She laughed at that before continuing our study session.

After her confession, Adelaide seemed more at ease and it became much easier to work on our growing friendship.

Truth be told, I was more in shock about people's ignorant attitudes in the 21st century.

Why can't humans be more accepting of each other?

The vampire clans are right to hide from us…

We can't even accept our own kind—how are we ever going to accept a different, sentient species?

I told Gregory about what Adelaide had said.

He seemed extremely confused about the whole sexuality thing.

So, I began explaining to him about how some people were attracted to the same sex. He, however, cut me off and said he understands that part, but didn't understand why it mattered.

'Bonded souls don't have a gender. Like I said before, this body of ours is just a shell. We couldn't care less if our other halves are in similar bodies or not. We only care that our bonded are safe and happy with us.'

I asked him why humans were running the world when we couldn't figure out something as simple as that. He laughed at me and said it's just how the world was.

Gregory did tell me that there were other disputing factors that pitted other clans against one another but wouldn't go into any detail about what they were.

He had that sad, faraway look in his eyes, but I didn't ask him why.

Gregory still hasn't told me about his past and I don't want him to feel like I'm pushing him.

But I do want to take away that guilt and sadness that I see weighing down his shoulders.

I let out a sigh of frustration as I rested my head on my desk.

Lunch had just ended, and I was sitting in the classroom with Adelaide during our free period.

We had stupidly finished our morning assignments during class time and now I was stuck with these troublesome thoughts with nothing to distract me.

"You're going to give yourself grey hair if you keep stressing like that," Adelaide commented without looking up from her book.

"I can't help it…" I muttered beneath my breath.

"The elections have you that worked up?" She asked me with a raised eyebrow, "You know they'll announce the elected officials at the end of the day, so there isn't any point in worrying about it now. What's done is done."

"No…it's not just the elections…" I admitted.

"Are you worrying about your friend's family again?" Adelaide asked.

She knew about the half-truths and stories of the Sackville-Baggs that I had told her. I had permission, of course, to talk about them, but I was sworn to secrecy on their true nature.

For obvious and good reasons too.

As we had stated earlier, humans were not ready to learn about vampires.

"A little bit…" I mumbled.

"Geeze, you're too young to worry about grown adults and their children," she chided.

"The baby will be due in a few months and they won't let me babyproof the castle," I complained while thinking about Liesel and Isaiah's unborn child.

"That is their call," Adelaide reminded me.

"It's a stupid call," I griped.

She snorted at my childish behavior before a thought sprung into her head.

"Lucretia," she began while setting her book down, "Do you ever worry about me?"

"Oh, all the time," I confessed.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," I went on to explain, "At first I worried because your apartment building is right in front of the bus stop that is part of a known route to the pubs. What if you were attacked by a drunk stumbling off the bus? What if the drunk was an expert thief and got an idea to case your building? You could be robbed or assaulted."

Her eyebrows shot up at my scenarios.

I simply carried on with my little rant.

"I tried to ease my worry about something like that happening to you by looking up the crime report in your area. That did not help the stress levels when I saw your area had a string of burglaries recently. Did you know that the statistics of a robber returning to an area that they've robbed is 25% within the first week and 51% within one month? Yeah, I read that lovely bit of information and didn't sleep for a week afterwards…"

She opened her mouth to say something, but I held up my hand.

Oh no, there is more.

"Not to mention that since your dad works two jobs there is this nagging fear that some crazed maniac will target you because you are a lone female…Oh, God, I just realized that your chances of being victimized increase because of your sexual orientation. You don't even carry pepper spray or a weapon on your person…Maybe my mother can talk to the Headmistress agai—"

"Lucretia, stop. Just breathe for a second. You're running a marathon in your head again," Adelaide interrupted me while taking a firm grasp of my shoulders.

"Well…you did ask…" I informed her.

She slightly chuckled at my sulking face, "And I regret asking. I didn't realize it would get you riled up like this."

"It's…not normal, is it?" I hesitantly asked her.

"…No, but it's just how you show you care," She said fondly, "It's…nice to have someone concerned with your wellbeing."

"…Really?" I confirmed with a sigh of relief, "I'm not too clingy?"

She snorted at my description.

"Cling all you want…Like I told you before, it's nice to have someone concerned about your welfare," Adelaide said with a shrug before returning to her book.

"…Can I improve your building's secur—"

"No."

"Oh, come on," I whined, "You just said—"

"That it's nice for your concern—I don't need you, you… 'babyproofing' my home."

"You can never be too careful…"

"Lucretia," she growled in warning.

"Oh, fine…I'll let it go."

"Thank you."

"For now."

Adelaide kicked my shin in response, and I laughed at the scowl she gave me.

Well at least that took my mind off some things for a bit…

Now I only have five more minutes before my afternoon classes begin.

I won.

Oh my…

I can't believe it…

I won!

It took everything within me, to refrain from jumping up and shouting out in victory after the announcements were made over the intercom.

I had hoped for the best but prepared my mind for the worst-case scenario.

My opponent had a lot of friends in this school and I was afraid that I would lose due to her popularity, but thankfully this wasn't the case.

The student body had seen my talents and determination and decided that I was the best candidate for the position. I am so happy they chose me!

I can't wait to make them proud of their decision.

My classmates congratulated me.

Simone and Adelaide both said they knew that I would win.

I laughed and told them that I wish they had filled me in on their psychic abilities so that I wouldn't have worried myself into such a frenzy.

They chuckled at that.

Adelaide asked me if I was heading to the bus stop with her, but I waved her on.

I told her that I promised to call Gregory as soon as I received the results from the elections.

She told me that she'd see me outside and we parted ways for the moment.

I went into the inner courtyard for some privacy.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" Gregory answered with a sleepy yawn.

"Gregory…are you still sleeping?" I asked him, scared that I woke him up too early.

"No…it's fine—besides, I told you to call me remember?" I could feel him smiling at the other end of the line.

"Yeah, but I still feel bad for waking you…"

"It's fine, now quit stalling and tell me—did you win?" He asked eagerly, sounding completely awake in his excitement.

I bit my lip deciding to play a small trick on him.

"Well…" I solemnly began.

"…No way—there is no way that girl beat you," Gregory denied, "You showed me her platform and the speeches she—Lucy, seriously stop pulling my leg. The only foundation she had for being re-elected was that she was popular and held the position the year prior. You actually have experience in finances and had a proper platform with excellent ideas of how to help advance school activities and funding and—Lucy, there is just no…you need to demand a recount."

I had to hold my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing at how riled up he was getting.

"Lucy, are you still there?" Gregory asked me, "Did you hear what I said? You need to demand a recount—"

I sniggered into the phone and tried to reign in the rest of my chortles.

This actually worked in my favor because Gregory thought I was crying.

"Lucy, please tell me that you're not crying right now," he pleaded with me, "Look, it'll be sunset soon, just come home and I'll take you up to the roof to clear your head, yeah? You don't have to say any—"

"Gregory, I-I'm not c-cry-ing," I wheezed out, "I'm laughing."

"Lucy…did you lose your sanity?" He worriedly asked.

"No, Gregory, I didn't lose my sanity…and I didn't lose the election," I finally told him with a big grin on my face.

"What?"

"I won!" I exclaimed, "Gregory, I actually won!"

"You little—you let me believe… I thought you were absolutely heartbroken and crying over there, Lucy!" He reprimanded me.

"I know and you said the sweetest things about my campaign…"

"I am so getting you for this," he told me with a laugh, "But, revenge aside, congratulations, Lucy! You have definitely earned your title and are going to do wonderful things for your school."

"Thank you, Gregory," I happily replied, "I'm so excited to just dive in and get started on everything!"

He chuckled at that.

"You know what we should do?" I asked him, an idea coming to my mind.

"What should we do, Lucy?"

"We should celebrate!" I declared.

"Alright, let's celebrate," Gregory agreed, "What movie do you want to watch?"

"Well…I was thinking that we could do something a little different…" I trailed off.

"Oh?" He inquired, "And what did you have in mind?"

"I heard through the grapevine that there is a hangout place for teenagers in the village. It's kind of like a club that has food, non-alcoholic drinks, and music," I said before telling him the best part, "Tomorrow night they are going to have live music for entertainment and are having a few rock bands play."

Gregory, not surprisingly, enjoyed the rock genre.

He liked anything from heavy metal to alternative, as long as it had a good beat and even greater lyrics. I listened to more of the pop genre but enjoyed some parts of rock along with him.

"That…does sound like fun," Gregory commented.

"Right? And we can have Tony, uh, get you ready, while Anna helps me get ready," I mentioned, secretly indicating the special effects makeup to make him look more human.

"You don't want to celebrate tonight?" He asked me, to make sure that I wasn't putting off our commemorative outing just so he could enjoy his favorite music genre.

"I'm positive," I reassured him with a smile before reminding him what tonight was, "Besides, tonight is family dinner night."

"Oh, yeah…I forgot about that," I heard him mumble under his breath.

Gregory has told me that the hunger hasn't been gnawing at him like it usually does. I have a theory that their weekly meals have helped store some kind of blood reserve within their bodies. Kind of like how humans' bodies store fat and can last about 2 weeks without food…

Clan Genovese was even starting to look more on the healthier side as well. Some of the members have become almost accepting of our presence, but there was still a reluctance to let go of past hatred.

"So…did you want to go?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it sounds like a great plan," Gregory told me, a bit of excitement in his voice, "You deserve a fun night after all your hard work."

"Hey, you helped me," I reminded him, "All those late hours bouncing ideas off you and rehearsing my speeches…I couldn't have done it without you."

I heard him let out a slight chuckle, "Flattery won't save you from my revenge, Lucy. I'm still going to get you back for that little prank of yours…"

I laughed at my best friend's sadistic attitude.

I wouldn't have Gregory any other way.

"I'll be home soon, Gregory," I told him, "We can ask our parents together at dinner if it's okay that we go out tomorrow night."

"I'll see you soon…Remember your promise…" He told me.

"I'll stay safe, Gregory," I assured him, "I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later."

After we both hung up, I felt as though I was floating in the clouds.

Everything just seemed brighter and full of possibilities.

I couldn't wait to get home to tell my family and my clan the good news.

With this last thought in mind, I made my way to the bus stop where Adelaide was waiting for me.

Such a wonderful day…

We were all gathered in the dining hall. Clan members were still coming up to me with congratulations and patting me on the back.

I smiled at their recognition and announced my gratitude for their acknowledgements.

"Lucy we are so proud of you," my mom gushed with delight.

"Proud enough to say yes to my request?" I tried to nonchalantly ask.

Gregory coughed on his blood a little bit before shooting me a grin, "Smooth transition."

I elbowed him in the side, causing him to laugh harder.

"Lucy, we discussed this already…" my dad began giving me a look.

"No tunnels," mom finished before him.

"Oh, no, it's not the tunnels—"

"You aren't babyproofing the castle," dad cut me off, "Freda and Frederick have already told you that vampire babies are a lot stronger and can fly at—"

"No, not babyproofing the castle, either," I said, cutting him off in turn.

"…What else has she been planning?" My dad whispered to my mom.

"I…don't know—she's been so busy with the elections that I figured…Lucy you didn't email Abrams again did you? We discussed that too. You aren't allowed to email anyone in the company anymore until you graduate—"

"Mom, not that either…" I said in exasperation, putting my hand to my face.

"Maybe you should ease up on the schemes for a bit," Gregory teased me from my side.

I elbowed him in the side again before retorting, "I don't 'scheme', I plan. There is a difference."

"Oh? Is that why your parents are always suspicious of you when you make a request?" He taunted me with a laugh.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Freda beat me to it.

"Gregory, honestly, you mustn't pick on your friends so much," she reprimanded her son.

"Yes mother," he tried to innocently reply, but sent me a sideways smirk.

Stupid jerk.

"Alright Lucy, we'll bite—sorry, pun not intended—What is it you want to request?" My dad asked, quickly amending his statement while looking at the vampires at the table.

"There is a club for teenagers that is going to play live music tomorrow night, and I was wondering if Gregory and I could go?" I asked my parents, finally able to place my request without getting interrupted.

"You…you want to go out?" My dad asked in shock.

"Wait, wait…You're going to go out with a friend and have…fun?" My mom clarified.

"Uh…yeah?" I replied not quite understanding their line of questioning.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Tony asked from across the table. I stuck my tongue out at him before turning my attention back to my stunned parents.

"Oh, I get it, you're going to go to a library or something beforehand to study, right?" My dad asked, confident he had figure something out.

"Bob, sweetie, that doesn't make sense," my mom informed my dad, "She wouldn't go to a club after—Oh, I see, what's happening here. You want to look into a potential investment, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah that—that makes more sense," my dad agreed with my mom before turning towards me, "Lucy, we told you that we don't want you to overload your investment and stock portfolio—"

"No, mom, dad, I'm not trying to invest anything or go anywhere before—oh well, actually, the village is setting up booths for the Starry Night Festival and we could walk around for a bit before going to the show," I replied while turning to Gregory with my last-minute idea.

"What does a 'Starry Night Festival' have?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, well, it's basically one of the Fall events the village hosts where you can go for evening stroll under decorative lights that look like stars. They'll have food, shopping, and…here, I'll just pull up the link and you can see all its activities," I said while pulling out my phone to show him the information.

After handing my cellular device to Gregory, I turned my attention back to my parents who still had a look of shock.

"Um, so can I go?"

"Well, I don't know…"my dad hesitantly replied, "It sounds like there are going to be a lot of people and I don't know how I feel about a 15-year old being—"

"Of course, you can go!" My mom interrupted with a huge smile on her face.

"Dottie!" My dad objected while turning to look at his wife, "We don't know anything about this club—"

"We'll look it up tonight."

"As I was saying before there will be a lot of people—"

"Gregory will be with her."

"Dottie, Gregory is a vampire."

"It will be nighttime, and Tony can do his makeup to make him look more human again."

"We haven't even asked Freda and Frederick if Gregory can go," my dad finally stated while looking at my mom triumphantly.

"Oh, good point," my mom turned away from my father and addressed the two vampire parents, "Is it okay if Gregory goes with Lucy to the festival and live music show?"

"Oh, of course, that's alright," Freda said with a soft smile.

"Only if Lucy stays with him," Frederick said after his wife, "She seems to be the only one that can keep his head on straight."

Frederick gave his eldest son a pointed look with his last comment. Gregory gave his father a sly grin in response.

The clan leader rolled his eyes at his son's childish behavior.

"You…you both are okay with this?" My dad hesitantly asked.

"Oh, yes…Lucy deserves some fun and Gregory will make sure nothing happens to her," Freda reassured my father with a knowing grin.

"Bob, Lucy has never asked permission to hang out with a friend before," mom reminded dad.

"Well, I know that…but can't they hang out here on the castle grounds? You know…where it's safe?" He asked her with a worried frown.

"Bob, you have to kick the baby bird out of the nest sometime," mom wisely informed him with a giggle at the look he was giving me.

"Dad, we'll be careful," I promised my father.

"You have my word that nothing will happen to Lucy, sir," Gregory vowed to my father.

"Gregory, I would feel a lot better if you included yourself in that promise," my dad honestly replied to the young vampire.

"Then you have my word as the next clan leader of the Sackville-Baggs that we both shall return home safe and sound," Gregory restated, slightly amending his earlier vow.

My mom caught my eye and secretly motioned for me to break out the secret weapon.

"Please, daddy," I pleaded with the biggest puppy dog eyes.

He stiffened at the sight of his first-born child, his pride and joy, his angelic little girl; proving once again that Robert Victor Thompson was a sucker.

According to mom, I've had dad wrapped around my little finger since the moment I was born.

Dad sighed, trying to shield his eyes from the adorable sight.

"Lucy…that is not fair—I am your father and my word is final, young lady, and…and I—ugh, fine…you can go," dad muttered, crossing his arms in a pout.

I let out a whoop of victory before enveloping him in a hug and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, daddy," I whispered to him.

He gave in to the cuteness and patted my arm in acknowledgement.

"Alright, but there is a curfew," my dad informed me with a stern look.

I nodded my head in understanding.

"Both of you will be back inside the castle at 12am—no later," my dad began.

We both nodded our head in agreement.

"Yes, and Gregory," Frederick called out, gaining his eldest's attention, "If there is even a hint of trouble you are both to return here immediately, understood?"

"Yes father," Gregory confirmed.

"Lucy, you do not leave Gregory's side for a moment," my mom added on.

"Okay, mom," I replied to my mother's terms.

"We want both of you to stay safe, but be sure to have fun," Freda told us with a soft smile.

Looks like she's the only one who thinks that we will use good judgement on our outing.

"Can we go to the village too?" Rudolph and Tony asked our parents with Anna eagerly nodding her head with excitement.

"Maybe when you're their age," my mom responded for my dad who looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

"…I'm hoping that you mean Lucy's age, mom," Tony cheekily replied, "I don't think I'll make it to my 400th birthday."

"426th birthday, thank you," Gregory snarked back at Tony with teasing grin.

"Sorry, I don't think that I'll make it to my 426th birthday," Tony corrected while Gregory gave a nod of his head in approval.

"Keep being a smart mouth and you won't make it to your 14th birthday," my mom warned.

"Have to admit…I'm surprised that he's made it this far," my dad honestly admitted.

"You have your daughter to thank for that," my mom joked, "I was going to leave him in the woods like Hansel and Gretel."

Tony let out a snort at my mother's morbid humor.

"Ah, I see," dad said before turning to me, "Thank you so much for the extra gray hair on my head—really brings out my eyes."

"You're welcome," I replied back cheerily before finishing my meal.

"Lucy, you do realize that we aren't in the military," Tony called out to me, "You don't have to eat your food so fast."

"Is it too late to go with your Hansel and Gretel plan?" I asked my mother in response.

"Oh, don't act like you don't love me," Tony stated with a grin, "My fresh attitude keeps you young."

Gregory's head popped up at that last statement, "You have been hanging out with Rudolph way too much."

"Whatever do you mean, dear brother?" Rudolph innocently asked while batting his eyelashes.

"Oh, don't blame Rudolph for Tony's misbehavior," I chided Gregory, "Rudolph is such a polite boy.

Gregory sputtered at my comment, "P-polite bo—I'll tell you what, you can have this polite boy and I'll take the sarcastic one off your hands."

I raised my eyebrow at him in disbelief, "Gregory, I don't think you can handle Tony's sarcastic wit."

He seemed to bristle at my comment.

"And I don't think you can handle Rudolph's sneaky behavior," he informed me with a decisive nod of his head, "At least you can tell when this one is up to no good."

He finished his comment while pointing at Tony.

I thought over this supplied information before making my decision.

"Okay, I'll tell you what, since I am so generous…you can have both boys and I'll take Anna," I said with a smirk, "It'll be like a 2 for 1 sale."

"Like Hell you get the only good child of the group!" Gregory cried out offended at my suggestion.

"Oh, come on, you don't even know how to braid hair."

"And you don't know how to fly."

"That is hardly a solid argument."

"It's solid like the ground you have to walk on."

"Now, you're being a brat."

"And you're being —"

Tony and Rudolph's rowdy laughter interrupted Gregory's retort.

"You two fight like an old married couple," Tony pointed out while wiping a tear from his eye.

A red blush bloomed across my face.

"We do not," I defended.

"Oh please, we weren't even arguing… just having a conversation is all," Gregory informed them, "It could even be classified as a debate."

"A little one, of course," I added on to his statement.

"Of course," he agreed with me.

Both boys did not look convinced.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Tony—you've witnessed an old married couple fight," I carelessly informed him.

"Oh? And who is this 'old married couple'?" Mom asked with a threatening glare.

Dad chuckled at the look of terror on my face after I realized what I implied.

"Clearly not you two youngsters," I quickly backtracked, "It was an old married couple back in San Diego—you wouldn't remember them. Anyway, look at that time, hey Gregory come on, we got go do that thing we talked about."

"Hmmm…a thing?" Gregory asked, trying to get payback for my earlier prank, "You'll have to refresh my—ouch!"

I swatted his arm while grabbing my dishes and quickly excusing myself to head to the kitchen.

Gregory chuckled before copying my actions.

"We should really teach her how to lie better," my mom commented while laughing at my hasty retreat.

Once we were in the kitchen, I rinsed my dishes in the sink before sticking them in the dishwasher with Gregory's goblet.

I then turned to glare at Gregory.

"You are the worst alibi ever," I hissed at him.

He let out a light chuckle before pulling me into a one-sided hug.

"You know that you deserved it from earlier today…Also your mother commented that you need to learn how to lie better. Should we start training you in the art of deception?" He teased me, laughing harder at my pouting face.

"You're still a jerk."

"True, but I'm your jerk."

I snorted at that before resting my head on his chest. He tucked my body under his neck before I heard him whisper, "Congratulations, again, Lucy."

I guess he's right.

He is a jerk.

But he's my jerk.

Gregory and I decided to hang out at the playground that Maney had built on the property. The goofball was so excited about the appreciation gifts that I got him back in August, that he had used the new tools to build a playground for us.

Clan Genovese had a couple of other children other than Maria in the group and they were hesitant at first, but soon took a liking to the play area. Rudolph, Anna, and Tony loved the new playground as well. Especially since it gave them something to do other than watch movies.

I loved it because they were in a safe, contained area and not waltzing off into the forest every night.

Gregory was currently twisting the swing that I was sitting on.

I was giggling from the look of determination on his face.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked between chuckles.

"Trying to turn you into a human spinning top," he replied in an obvious tone of voice.

"Oh, boy…Should I be scared," I teased him.

"Terrified," Gregory simply responded before letting go of the swing.

My body suddenly lurched in a counterclockwise direction and my laughter became even louder as I spun around on the swing. I could have set my feet on the ground to stop the twirling motion, but, man, this was fun.

Eventually the swing came to a stop and I looked up at Gregory who had a big smile on his face.

"Well, was it a success?" I asked him, "Were you able to create the first human spinning top?"

His grin widened even further.

"Yep, sure did," Gregory answered before crouching down to my height.

He pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear before a curious look came across his face.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me out of the blue.

I opened my mouth to respond before immediately shutting it in shock.

My face must have betrayed my stunned state because Gregory called out to me.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah…sorry, I just realized that…I wasn't thinking of anything," I admitted, "Weird, right? I usually have some kind of to-do list, but all I can think of is…how much fun I'm having."

"Good," he simply stated before helping me up to a standing position, "What would you like to do now?"

"Hmmm…I'm not sure…" I trailed off while trying to stifle a yawn.

Gregory noticed my tired eyes and gave me a small smile.

"Did you want to get some rest?" He asked.

"No, way," I told him with a firm shake of my head, "I don't want this awesome day to end yet."

"Lucy, you've been up since 5o'clock this morning and we are going to continue our celebration tomorrow night," Gregory reminded me with a worried look in his eyes.

"I can sleep tomorrow during the day with you. Please Gregory, just a few more hours," I begged him with a pout on my face.

He let out a low chuckle before conceding to my pleas.

"Alright, alright…how about we wake you up a bit and… go flying?" Gregory suggested.

I know he was trying to tease me but flying through the night sky didn't sound too bad.

"That actually sounds like fun," I honestly replied.

"Really?" Gregory inquired in shock. He slightly raised his eyebrows in alarm.

"Well…yeah…I mean, I don't mind flying anymore, well… as long as it's with you," I added on remembering the one time I let Rudolph fly me, "And I already have a floating feeling in my chest, so we might as well float around the castle."

"A floating feeling?" Gregory repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, I think it's where the expression 'walking on cloud 9' comes from," I partially joked with him.

He laughed at that before holding out his left hand to me.

"Alright, then, shall we fly?" Gregory proposed with a sweet and endearing smile on his face.

The way that the moonlight shined on his figure and the stars glittered in the night sky behind him, made me feel like we were part of a fantasy tale.

I placed my hand in his own and relished the sensation of his long fingers gently engulfing my small hand. My feet slightly floated off the ground as he brought me closer to his body.

Gregory gently wrapped his other arm around me and settled his right hand at the small of my back. I had placed my left hand onto his shoulder for better stability. We still had our hands clasped together, but our fingers were now intertwined with each other.

From an outsider's viewpoint, it would look like we were dancing together.

He gently twirled us in the air as we flew higher into the sky.

The gentle breeze from our ascent lightly rustled my hair and felt soothing on my warm skin.

We didn't speak any words and simply stared into each other's eyes.

The sounds of the night became our music while we gently swayed in the wind.

The happy feeling that bloomed in my chest spread to the rest of my body.

In that moment with Gregory, I felt…complete.

I never wanted this feeling to fade.

AN: Hey everybody! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I just wanted to thank you all for continuing to read and review my work. It is an amazing confidence boost whenever I read how much you enjoy my storyline's plot or character's development.

To answer a couple of questions that I saw in the comments...yes, some bad stuff is about to go down in the later chapters. It will be soon coming up, but I want to add some more fluff to it before then. Mainly because it might be a little angsty, but is it really a romance novel if it doesn't pull at the heart strings a little bit? :)

Anyway, I'll try to post some happy content in the collection of side chapters called The Protected to balance this out. The first chapter is up and is told in Maney's POV of how he escaped Rookery. That one has a bit of violence and emotional manipulation, so be warned if you have any triggers.

I'll try to get another chapter in there by tonight, but if not, then it will definitely be there for you tomorrow.

Thank you all again so much!

Happy reading and lots of love!