Beyond yanked Light's wrist up to look at his watch. Light playfully rolled his eyes and yanked his arm back, "Whatever. At least you know who your date is. Apparently, the poor girl is so ill the runner up behind her is coming in her place."

Nodding the raven haired boy tugged at his own tie nervously, "Light. I don't do this kind of shit for a reason."

Sighing softly the brunette smirked and readjusted Beyond's deep red shirt underneath his coat and gave him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine. It's just one time." He paused and bit his lip tenderly, "You look nice."

Beyond took a shaky breath, "Are you sure I can't just take you?" Light let out a loud laugh as the girls came out of the changing room. Both boys looked up in anticipation. Both of their eyes widened when Misa approached them. She wore a Southern Belle Lolita goth styled ball gown. She wore deep red rubies that dangled from her ears and neckline elegantly. Her shining blonde hair tied into a loosely styled braid with small sanguine rose blossoms tied into it, a glistening crown tangled into her hair tactfully. She released a bright smile past her cherry colored lips, at Beyond's expression. His eyebrows were raised, mouth hanging open slightly with wide eyes. "Wow…"

Misa giggled quietly as she lifted the obsidian haired boy's chin up, shutting his mouth, "Oh, quit." She blushed when he lifted her scarlet velvet gloved hand up and gently kissed the back of it.

He narrowed his eyes playfully and betrayed a seductive smirk, "How could I not? You're gorgeous. I'm probably going to need to keep a bat at my side." The blonde's blush deepened in color when he wrapped an arm around her waist and started walking with her towards the exit.

Light's eyes fell on a girl with long black hair. His resplendent eyes widened with realization who it was. "Naomi? Wow. What happened to your pink hair?"

She nervously clutched her A-line styled mocha dress at the flaring hem at her waist. The dress hugged her midsection tightly as elegant layers of mocha and cream silk dangled towards the floor in a flare style. Dropping her olive hued eyes from Light's golden irises, "Oh. I got tired of it and decided my natural black was better for me anyway…" Canary diamonds complemented her complexion, dress and eyes flawlessly.

The brunette held his arm out for her with a comforting smile caressing his features, "It looks nice." Naomi smiled meekly back at him, interlocking her arm with his and followed him out. Beyond smirked at Light and mouthed, 'Well, that sucks.' The brunette only offered a shrug in response. Naomi smiled at Light when he held his hand out to help her into the freshman carriage. She placed her hand into his with uncertainty, 'I can't let my guard down around him. He is still Beyond's best friend.' Her olive eyes trailed back to the young man who was talking with Beyond before the others filed out with their respective dates.

Misa leaned forward and winked, "This'll be fun, no?"

Naomi startled from her thoughts and shifted her gaze to the blonde. "By whose standard?" She gave a dull stare towards the path ahead where people waited with cameras, mostly parents and school yearbook photographers. Even a couple local news papers, resting her head on a partially closed hand she let out a drawn out, but quiet sigh.

A lighthearted laugh was heard from the blonde, "Fun as in the envious stares, the renowned fame of being right here in this carriage." She flitted her eyes towards the two males who were talking quietly among themselves. "I bet if we played our cards right we could snag both of them." She gave a playful wink, "Wouldn't that be something? Class president dating the JV quarterback? And the perfect jab at Beyond." A devious smile curved around her plump lips.

The ebony haired girl sighed and chuckled, "To be honest? I just want tonight to go off without a hitch of drama. It's bad enough as it sits. I just want to be civil. You can honestly have him, he's a nice guy. Treat him right."

Misa blinked a couple of times before giving a sincere smile, "You're a lot nicer than everyone gives you credit for."

Naomi hung her head slightly in a dejected manner, "Thanks?"

Both girls shifted a glance at the young men as they sat next to their dates. Light smiled and caught Naomi's attention. "I guess. You're supposed to have this." He placed a shining tiara, that glittered as the light reflected off it, on her brow. Her breath caught when he tucked the stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Yeah. I'd say you look more like a princess now. You left before she could put it in your hair."

Releasing a bright blush and twirling the ends of her hair around her fingers nervously Naomi nodded, glancing her eyes away from Light. 'Damnit! Why does he have to be an absolute sweetheart!'

Misa smiled sweetly, "What did you guys talk about?" The carriage rolled forward as the steady Clydesdale started to move.

Beyond smirked at Light, "How dumb this whole charade is. How nice you both looked. General stuff. Were we supposed to talk about something else?" The brunette laughed quickly leaning his arm on the side of the carriage and masked his smile with the palm of his hand. The blonde shifted a curious expression towards Light.

A brief gust blew by and Naomi shivered. Misa smirked, "Still not used to the cold?" The ebony haired girl shook her head as she rubbed her shoulders. Her eyes widened when a coat landed gently over her shoulders, shielding her from the chilled gusts. She shifted an unsure glance towards Light, who smiled pleasantly at her, but remained wordless. She subconsciously returned the smile and waved at the crowd, a slow and small, genuine smile creeping along her lips. Misa blew kisses to the crowd with a grand smile. Both boys rolled their eyes and chuckled.

"It's a little overwhelming… All the cameras and people… Makes you a little on the edge." Beyond remarked as he stared mindlessly at the crowd as they passed. Light nodded in silent agreement.


The carriage came to three stops before it was time to enter the hall. Beyond held his hand out for Misa who gracefully carried herself from the carriage and interlocked her arm with his. They waited for Naomi and Light.

Light waited for Naomi with his hand out for her. She grasped his hand and less than elegantly stumbled on the small ridge from the doorway of the carriage. She lost her grip and started to fall forward. 'Damned shoes!' She closed her eyes tightly and braced for impact, 'What a fine mess this is.' She peeked an eye open when she landed against a pair of arms. She glanced up and blushed furiously at the young man who caught her and held her bridal style, "Uh. Thanks… I'm not used to heels… I normally wear flats or tennis shoes." She bashfully looked away from the amber hued eyes. A timid apology followed as Light set her down and steadied her, "I'm sorry. I promise. I'm not clumsy."

Light smiled at her and held his arm out for her, "It's alright, even if you are." She sheepishly grinned and locked arms with him.

The couples entered the grand hall passing through the classic Gothic styled arch and entered into a grand room that was decorated in fresh flowers and ribbons. The room was illuminated a soft blue. A couple loud huffs were heard before a terrifying sneeze. Naomi blushed brightly, "Sorry… Allergies." She blinked a couple of times when Beyond snapped his fingers, turned around to her and pulled a small pill out of his pocket, that was in the wrapper. "What's that?"

He smirked, "You always had awful allergies. I figured you'd forget to take something for it." Beyond smirked and scratched the back of his head. "So, I brought it along. I just forgot about it until now. Sorry."

Naomi took it from his hand, "Thanks, you didn't have to worry about it." He gave her a shrug. "I mean it. Thanks. Tonight would have been awful without it." She smiled sincerely as she interlocked arms with Light again. Misa smiled as the raven wrapped an arm around her waist and walked to their table.

Seating themselves at the white cloth covered table that had a single lit candle and small crown of flowers encircling it. They watched the crowd grow larger and larger. A senior representative from each school took the stage, "Thank you all for being here!" Naomi knocked back the medication with a glass of water as they spoke. 'He really has changed over the years.' "We'll start with a dance from our royals!"

Naomi chuckled when she heard Light cursing in Japanese, 'Just can't seem to leave us the hell alone.'

She glanced at him and responded in fluent Japanese, 'Something about being put on a pedestal? I can honestly say, I think I'll be a bigger bitch next year, so I don't get voted in like this again.'

The brunette's brilliant eyes landed on Naomi with a surprised glance, he cracked a full bodied, blinding smile. She blushed and smiled, tucking a rogue lock of hair behind her ear. She glanced up at his velvety voice, 'So you speak Japanese, then?'

She nodded, 'I'm half Japanese, my mother insisted that I learn it. Guess it finally came in handy.'

"Come on up! Our lovely couples voted by their peers!" The couples reluctantly stood and shuffled behind the upbeat upper class-man 'royalty'. "We traditionally start with a couples dance! We hope that everyone enjoys themselves tonight. Remember! Be responsible! Rides back to the campuses will start as early as 10:00!"

Light shifted a smile towards Naomi and held his hand out as the lights dimmed down and the melody of 'You and Me – Lifehouse' played. The raven haired girl shrugged her shoulders up bashfully and placed her hand into his.

Naomi closed her eyes as she was tugged into his arms, she smiled softly when his arms wrapped around her and his hands landed on her waist tenderly. Resting her head against his collarbone, she blushed and smiled wider when she heard him singing along to the lyrics of the song. 'He smells like a musky vanilla. I wonder if that's his natural scent?'


A/N: Behold! The elusive update, living in its natural habitat! ^.^

Updated as requested! - Reviews fuel my update gauge ;)

To my readers, Thank you for being ever patient with me and my abysmal update rate. As stated on my profile page. I will always look into updating specific stories upon the request, even if it's sooner than I had originally intended. :)