After three more days of college, Saturday's finally arrived! Whoo-hoo! I wake up like always and go greet my parents, who are aware of the upcoming party. "So, sweetheart, do you have to bring a date to this party that your friend's holding?" My mom questioned with a smug smile. I was clearly flustered, but my dad managed to step in. "Sakura, don't tease her like that! She has only known the man for a week." I nodded after he spoke. "Yeah, but you were the same when yourmama asked the same thing when you met me!" It almost felt like the whole house went silent. That was, until Blues started snickering. "Pfft- Well...Aria is our dad's daughter, so it's only fair that they'd share the same experience."

"Let me remind you that you...You are absolutely TERRIBLE!" Suna yelled, and she started to laugh too. Cue this happening to Rock, Roll, and Remix until the whole family started laughing. This kinda lasted for ten minutes, until I heard a *ding* from my phone. And you probably might have guessed it, or maybe not, but it was a text from Zero.

"Hey Ari. Do you have an idea of what you're wearing to the party tonight? Sorry I didn't elaborate on the theme, hehe."

"Nope, not really. What is the theme anyway?"

"It's really formal, sorta like a masquerade. Anyway, do you want me to give you the location?"

"Absolutely."

"It's my...house (if you could call it that), near the outskirts of Abel City. Just look for the gothic skull fortress with red candlelight."

Something just hit me, hard. I looked left and right and excused myself from the table. "I'm just gonna...go to my room! Yeah, uh...See you guys in a bit!" I bolted up the stairs, leaving my family in a state of absolute confusion. When I approached my room, I quickly opened the door and closed it all in one swift motion. "Phew...Okay. Back to texting."

"Okay. I'll be sure to keep that place in mind."

"Aw, great! Is X coming too?"

"I think so, just gonna make sure."

"Alrighty! See you there!"

I smiled, shut off my phone, and prepared for tonight's party. "Where is it? I know I had it somewhere! I get that I couldn't fit it during my sweet sixteenth, but I know I have it somewhere!" I frantically looked through my closet for that same damn dress, until I finally found it! "YES! FINALLY!" But then I was buried by the length of the material that it had. Don't get me wrong, the dress below is absolutely gorgeous, but I think Mom could've toned it down on the length. Still a pretty dress though.

Anyway, I'm getting carried away. Let's get back to the subject at hand; I put on some sparkly red platform boots, the dress, a pair of long white gloves with red glitter embroidery, and a pheonix mask to finish it off. "Ariana, you did it again! Looking fine as always, honey. Lemme tell you something; you walk outta this laboratory and have an amazing time at this party!" I told myself in the mirror. Hey, sometimes you have to hype yourself up in nervous moments just to get your mojo back. I checked the time just to see if I was making progress, and I was! It was exactly six in the evening, and I gently walked down the stairs making sure that I'm not gonna fall. Cue the onslaught of paternal complements and embarrassing hugs.

"You have a great time at that party, alright, hun?" My mom asked, floating around me to adjust my clothing. My dad, on the other hand, gently held my face in his hands. "Please...Be safe, will you?" I gently held his hands and smiled. "Dad, when will I not be safe?" That got him to smile, and we all did one giant group hug. "Alright! Come on, X! The party starts at 7:30!" I called and X came running, looking like a hell of a fancy bluejay. We both walked outta the lab and waved goodbye to everyone as me and my little bro traveled on a wave of lava.

X looked pretty nervous and placed a hand behind his head. "Hey, um...Ari? Do you think anything bad is gonna happen at this party? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if...you know...they came to ruin the fun." I turned my body around to face him. "If those motherfuckers ruin this damn party, I can and will make their lives hell on behalf of everyone." I growled while shaking my fist in anger. But, I saw the scared look in my brother's eyes and calmed down. "But if I'm being honest, not in the slightest!" X sighed with relief and it was silence for the rest of the ride.

Man, it's 7:20, and we're not even there- Wait, that's Zero in a demon costume waiting for us! The wave dissolved into air as me and X both hopped off of it. "You guys made it! Welcome, welcome!" Zero smiled as he hugged both of us. He then gently kissed my hand, which made me blush a little. "Can we go inside now?" X groaned while pointing to the door. Me and Zero laughed and went inside the skull fortress he called his home. The inside reminded me of those fancy anime ballrooms with all the people in different masks, dresses and suits, and uh...y'know, the butlers (which I didn't know existed but okay). It was so extravagant that I spaced out completely. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, which brought me back to reality. "Heh. Zero really outdid himself, didn't he."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess so, Bass." I groaned. Jesus Christ, sometimes I wish I never met that cobra. "Come on, girly. Lighten up, it's my brother's party, for crying out loud! Can't ya at least crack a smile?" I sighed harshly and ran off to find X and Zero. "Hey, girly! Tell Suna I said hi!" Ignoring him was a conscious decision as I ran up the stairs while holding up the sides of my dress. Upstairs was more quiet, but my sight was on Zero, who dashed into a room. "Hey, Zero! Wait!" I dashed after him, but the door slammed on my face. "Ugh, Zero! What's happening? You were so happy before, what made you change your emotions that fast?" I asked, placing my ear next to the door to hear him. The voice I expected on the other side didn't really...sound like him. "Please...Just go away."

I thought this was some bullshit, so I poured a few drops of water into my hand and formed it into five red velvet cupcakes. "Will a few sweets make you talk?" That was easy enough. I saw a fluffy golden claw gently open the door as Zero peeked his head out. He still looked human, but there were some changes such as his hands, which were turned into fluffy claws; he grew at least 4 more inches; he had wolf ears and a big fluffy tail; and his neck was covered in a golden coat of fur. It just looked so...beautiful to me that I spaced out (yes, I did that shit again) with an extremely flustered face. "Um...Ariana? Please don't stare at me like that." I snapped out of it and stammered. "Oh, damn- Fuck- Jesus Christ- I'm so sorry." I quickly gave him the cupcakes and sighed. "Hehe...Thanks for the cupcakes, sweetie." Did he just fucking call me sweetie? Now, I've been denying this shit for a damn while, but I think I like him as much as he likes me, if not more. But I'm not gonna let him know for at least two more chapters.

"Well...Um. I guess you know what I really am now. I don't blame you if you start screaming; I'd be scared too-" I put my face in his fur as I hugged him. "Why the fuck did you not tell me that you were so god damn fluffy?!" That got him to laugh, and eventually smile. He held me back, but it was more gentle than I thought. "I like the fact that you're so accepting. I mean, look at me. People would normally run away the first time they see me, but you? You're...supportive. And I like that." There it is again. That damn feeling. It's too early for this, Ariana. You need to wait. "Uhhh- Anyways, we should probably go find X. Y'know how he gets when he's by himself!" I said while trying to lessen the awkwardness of this situation.

Zero already got the memo and dashed while gently grabbing my hand. We were both running so fast that we didn't notice the whole crowd staring at us. Well, they weren't really staring at me, but they sure as hell were staring at Zero in his new form. I'm surprised that the suit still fits his new body! "Hey, Zero! Loving the costume!" Axl yelled from the chocolate fountain. Awww, looks like X just wanted some sweets! I sighed in relief, knowing that my little brother is safe. Although, I couldn't ignore the people whispering among themselves.

All I could make out was something about Zero being an "alpha" and that he was the "strongest werewolf in the forest". It's starting to worry me, and Zero picked that up. "Hey, you alright? Your face is starting to get a little...gloomy." He said, gently lifting my chin up so that we were meeting eye-to-eye. "OH- I'm alright, just...bummed out over some stuff. Y'know?" I nervously laughed, but X could tell that it was a lie. Zero smiled and gently ruffled my hair. "Okay. If you say so, hun." Again with the damn butterflies. So, it was just me, X, Axl, and Zero talking at the fondue fountain. We laughed, told jokes, and overall, just had a good time at the party, before we all went our separate ways.

On the way back home, I noticed that my little bro was smiling. "Alright, what's got you smiling, lil' X." I asked while turning back to face him. He just gave me this smug smirk and had the audacity to say: "Nothing...Just noticed you couldn't keep your eyes off of Zero's smile, then his form, for the whole time." Trying to keep the truth inside of my brain, locked away for no one to hear of it ever again, was hard enough. But when X brought it up, it made it worse. So, I shifted back to focus on where I was going. "You tell anyone about what I feel and you aren't getting any sweets for a month, got it?"That got him to shut up real quick. "Nah, I'm just playing with you. I wouldn't actually do that." He hit me in the back of the head.