"It has to be her," I said to dad that evening. "Mr. Mancini's top student. Bianca."

Dad and I were laying in the hammock outside on the terrace that same evening, trying to figure out how the money came to be at Molto Di Moda. The weather was unexpectedly warm again, almost feeling like early summer for this bitter January.

"It's an unusually hefty payment for a dress, not to mention that it was enough to pay off the building," He said. "But why did she do it?"

"That's what bugs me," I said. "And how did she know?"

"Well, we did meet briefly at the awards ceremony last year, and she gave me that picture," He reflected. "You said she and Caitlyn bumped into each other and started to talk. Maybe she told her."

"But it's a handout, dad," I crossed my arms. "It still doesn't make sense."

"Molly…" He looked at me. "Sometimes in life you're forced to do things on your own. When you're offered help, you don't know whether to accept or reject. Truthfully, neither way is bad, but if you do accept, the only thing you can do is show generosity."

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" I jumped out of the hammock. Hammocks are tricky when trying to get out of them; they have the tendency of flipping the occupant over, and in this case, it did, but not to me. "I'm going to a ball tonight."

"Is that so?" He asked, getting up off of the ground. "Does it involve badgering the city's curator's granddaughter to death with questions?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Molly, I won't allow this."

"Dad, it's the only way I'll know for sure," I pleaded.

We stared at each other for a moment, and then I guess he finally gave up.

"Fine, alright," He mumbled something under his breath about me and mom. "But you're not going alone."

"I know."

I straightened the bow tie around Matthew's neck, and brushed the dust off of his shoulders. "There."

He looked at himself. "Is this necessary?"

"You'll have Molly to thank for that," I said. "And be careful with this suit. It's special."

"How special?"

"How about…'Me drowning you to death,' special," He jumped back.

"I'm ready."

Molly walked downstairs. From the sound of her shoes, she was wearing high heels, and she was wearing a lavender dress, which Caitlyn made, to compliment her hair. She walked up to Matt, who stared blankly at her.

"Matt?"

I snapped my finger repeatedly in front of his face. "Oh, um…sorry…wow Molly, you look beautiful."

She blushed. "Thank you."

"This is so wrong," I mumbled. "Your mother called ahead and cleared you for the ball, and I…yeah. Anyway—"

Danielle interrupted, walking through the front door holding a camera. 'Where are they—oh, perfect!' She immediately took a picture, flashing the two who only got a split second to break a smile. "Calvin, aren't you proud?"

"No. Anyway," I continued. "The ball begins at eight, so you better hurry." I gave Molly a matching pocketbook and the two went for the door. "Oh, and Matt…don't try anything stupid, alright?"

"What do you mean…wait, Mr. Winthrop! I-I would never do anything to—" Molly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out, shooting me a very pissed look.

"He's almost halfway there now, Molly!" I said, snickering. Danielle closed the door.

"My dad is such an idiot!" I growled.

We took the same gondola ride towards the museum, where the ball was being held. Invitations weren't needed for Alto Marian citizens; in fact, we were more like VIP than citizens. We walked into the museum, and were immediately greeted by hundreds of people. It would take a while before we found Bianca.

"Molly, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, right?" Matt still hadn't gotten over that comment from my dad. I sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Of course not."

"Okay good. Now who are we looking for?"

"She's about our height, brown hair," He looked around. "And if you saw the dress your mother made, then she's wearing it."

"You mean her?" His stare became constant, and I followed his line of sight until I spotted her.

"Wow. Not bad," He turned red. "I meant the dress!"

We walked over to her. It was just a few questions, no harm in that. Okay, be calm. Don't try to scare her. Greet her with the utmost composure.

"Hi!" I blurted out. Fortunately she wasn't too surprised by this.

"Oh, hello again…Molly, right?"

"Yes," I shook her hand. "This is my friend, Matthew."

"Yes, we've met earlier," The two greeted each other. "I guess you're here to ask me about my unusually high payment for this dress."

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Well I'm no psychic, but I can see that you have no interest in an event like this," I laughed it off, but she was right. "I know it sounds unusual, but I had a feeling that you might need it. I apologize if I offended you."

"No harm done," Matt said. "Actually, my mother sends her regards."

She nodded in appreciation.

"Where's your grandfather?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, he couldn't attend tonight, so I'm acting as curator in his absence."

"Is it hard?"

"Excuse me, ma'am," A waiter came by. She cringed at the word "ma'am". "Do you mind if we start the music now? And there's a phone call for you."

She turned back to us. "I hate this job. Excuse me," She followed the waiter through the crowd. A couple of minutes later, the music started, and people joined hands to dance. Matt looked at me.

"How well do you dance?"

"Um…my dad taught me when I was younger—"

"Good enough!" I pulled him into the crowd.

The phone rang. I picked it up.

"Hello, Calvin."

"Who's this?" The voice was familiar, but I couldn't pin it on anyone.

"Have you forgotten me already? This is Lorenzo, from the museum."

"Oh. Hello Lorenzo," I said, relieved. "You know, it's good that you called actually. My daughter was looking for your granddaughter."

"She'll be at the ball until late this evening, but I need to speak to you," His voice now sounded urgent. "Would you mind joining me at the old antique store in the marketplace?"

"Um sure, I'll be right there," He hung up before I could get a chance to ask why. I put the receiver down, and looked back at Danielle.

"That was the city's curator, Lorenzo," I said. "He wants me to meet him at an old antique store in the marketplace."

'From the awards ceremony?' I nodded. 'Well there's no harm in that.'

I put on a blazer and stepped outside. It was a very pleasant evening, so I decided to walk to the marketplace. I tried to wonder why Lorenzo wanted me, and so urgently. Did it have something to do with the store Caitlyn bought? I guess he just wanted to know why the transaction had been done in the first place, but until Molly found out, I really didn't know. I cut through her school and walked across a bridge to the opposite street. The street was built into the side of the buildings, while following a canal that ran beneath. In ancient times, they used this segment, which in turn used to be a repair shop, to fix any damage that had been done to the masts of the ships from storms or low clearance obstacles. Once done, the ships proceeded to the marketplace to unload goods, upon which I entered at that same moment. Lorenzo's meeting point, an antique store across the way, was very dilapidated, and was one of the very few buildings that were overlooked in the restoration. But now work was being done, and scaffolding covered the building from the ground up. I walked inside; the wooden boards beneath my feet creaked and crackled with every footstep.

"Hello?" I called. "Lorenzo, are you here? Look, if this is about that dress your granddaughter bought, I honestly don't know anything about it."

"Calvin," He revealed himself. "What are you talking about?"

"O-kay, so you don't know either," I scratched my head. "Why did you call me here?"

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something before you went on about the dress my granddaughter bought," He said. I became confused.

"In an old…antique building?"

"Yes, it's the most secluded place to chat."

"About…?"

"Tell me, Calvin," He turned on a light fixture in the corner and sat on a stool. "How exactly did you come to know about Latios and Latias?"

"I'd love to know too," Sure enough, there was Bianca. These two read me like a book!

"Isn't it strange that she was indulged in a phone call all night?" Matt asked me as we walked back home that evening.

"More like coincidence, if you ask me."

We stopped at his house.

"I really had a great time, Matt," I said. "Maybe we could do this again sometime?"

"I'd love that."

We both said our goodbyes, and I walked the short length back to my house. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Danielle and we were immediately lost in chat. Matt was the most polite guy I ever met. And he was a great dancer. From the way he described his father, it must've been very hard on him when he passed away. When I got back to the purpose of me going to the ball in the first place, I confessed to her, and then realized that I hadn't fulfilled it just yet. Where did Bianca get the 'feeling' to purchase a dress for the exact same amount of money it would take to pay off the store?

'Maybe it was just plain generosity.'

"That's what dad said." I replied. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

'Oh, he stepped out for the evening. He went to go see the city's curator.'

"Did he say where?"

'In the marketplace.'

I shrugged. "Well, maybe he and I shared the same thoughts."

I yawned and bid her goodnight, and then retreated to my room to get some sleep. I dreamt about actually going on a date with Matt, because, as his mother obviously stated, it was only a matter of time before the boyfriend/girlfriend denials were thrown aside and we made it official. He also reminded me of myself in a way.

'I told you it was destiny.'

"Stop rubbing it in, Latias," I mumbled. "Go away."

'Or how about…love at first sight?'

I groaned, and covered my head with my pillow. "Why do you always have to be right?"

She started to laugh. I then realized that she had to have been in my room to be having this conversation, or…

"No you're not in my dream!" I jumped up out of my sleep. She continued laughing, laying on the edge of my bed. I threw a pillow at her. "What are you doing here?"

Her laughter died away. 'Molly…is it okay if I tell you something?'

"Sure, anything."

'Because…' She cleared her throat. 'I've been hiding a secret from you for some time.'

"How long…?"

"Um…'as long as I've known you' long?"

Meanwhile…

"You said you've known her for how long?" Lorenzo asked.

"Over ten years," Calvin said. "Eleven come this June…but why do you want to know?"

"Because," He stood up. "I've known her since I was a boy."

On Molly's side…

"How come you never told me?" Molly asked. "Wait…your human form…is this who you take after?"

'Yes,' She said. 'I'm sorry Molly. I know I should've told you sooner, but we've both been so preoccupied with other things that it slipped my mind.'

"And let me guess," I put the pieces together. "It was you who told Bianca about the store?"

'I thought it would help if she knew,' She said. 'But when I told her, she became frightened, and I think she might've taken it the wrong way.'

"How bad?"

On Calvin's side…

"I don't trust you," Bianca said hotly. "What if you're out to hurt her?"

"That's the last thing I would do to her," I said. "She's helped me out a lot and I owe her my gratitude."

"Then why don't I believe you?"

Simultaneously…

"Fine." Calvin said. "I'll just have to show you."

"Fine." Molly said. "We'll just have to show them."

Latias and I waited patiently in the garden. She glided around for a while until she heard something and returned to me.

'Here they come.'

"Okay if I'm here, won't that just make things worse for dad?" I asked.

'On the contrary, it gives them a better understanding,' She replied. 'Why, are you nervous?'

"More like terrified."

Once they all appeared, dad came to comfort me. Latias quickly sought to set the matter straight, and we all began telling our little pieces of the story until we found out that none of our intentions meant to hurt anyone. Bianca and Lorenzo took deep breaths, and we followed.

"This is…very interesting," Lorenzo finally said. "You know, you intrigued me and my granddaughter earlier in the year, but I let it slip. You seemed like such a sophisticated gentleman the first time we met."

"Sophisticated," Dad chuckled. "Right."

"I, however, I did not take this so lightly," Bianca said. "There are only a handful of people whom we've entrusted with this secret, so I found it very unlikely that you found out on your own."

"I feel just the same way," Dad replied. "In fact Latias and I met very casually, at the park ten years ago."

'It's true,' She said. 'He caught on to my disguise pretty quickly.'

Bianca frowned for a moment, and then turned red out of embarassment. "Am I really that predictable?" Latias giggled. "Molly, can you tell Ms. Morgan that I really love her dress?"

I took notice of the last name, but now I was deprived of sleep and was probably delusional. I yawned. "Sure. Anyway, I really should be getting back to sleep. I have school…today."

"You go on home, Molly," Dad said. "I got it from here."

'I'll take her,' Latias picked me up and before I knew it, I was back in my room. She placed me down on my bed. 'Anything else?'

"Are you sure everything's okay now?" I asked. She nodded. "I hope Bianca and I see eye to eye."

'Of course you will,' She said. 'Bianca is a great friend, and I'm sure she'll share the same feelings with you.'

I shrugged. "Goodnight, Latias."

'Goodnight, Molly.'