Chapter 3: Why?

"Ouch!" I winced as the seamstress poked me with the small needle. Again.

"Sorry, Miss," she apologized. I have been here at this expensive dress store for over an hour trying to find a dress. Now that I found one, they have to fit it on me. This is a major pain in the butt, but oh well.

Flora, who was leafing through a magazine in her chair, glanced up at me with a smile. "Only a little while longer, Stella. The end result will look fabulous. Just wait and see."

I nodded. "So I guess you're going to this event as well."

"Of course. The only thing that's different this time is my date and that Brandon actually has one." She giggled. "Seriously though, thanks for agreeing to go. You have no idea how excited he was when he called me to pick you up for this."

"He was excited?" I asked, still bewildered by the fact that he wanted me out of all people to go with him.

Flora rolled her eyes. "That boy is crazy about you." I look the other way so she wouldn't see my blush.

"Besides, if you didn't go, then he would be hanging around me all night. My boyfriend and I wouldn't have any time together. So in a way I should thank you."

"Your boyfriend, huh?" I winked at her as the seamstress poked me again. "Goodness! Alright, I think I'll be fine. You can just stop." I waved her off politely and she smiled back.

"Sorry again Miss." With that, she scurried off to the back room. Flora shook her head.

"I'm going to have to fire her soon. But anyway, yes, I have a boyfriend. Brandon may have introduced him to you. His name's Riven."

My eyes widened. "Riven? Like, Riven Riven? He's your boyfriend?" She nodded and I blew out a breath in disbelief. A nice and quaint girl like Flora isn't the type of girl I would imagine with Riven.

"He can be really sweet sometimes. And he was there for me after my…last breakup." She got a faraway look in her eyes, like she was remembering something not too pleasant. I decided it was a good time to change the subject.

I walk over to the mirror in my dress. It was an orange strapless dress with a sequined finish. "How does it look?" I ask.

"It looks like Brandon's eyes are going to fall out of his head when he sees you," Flora responded with a wicked grin.

The next day, I was ready. Bloom did my makeup after she did her own, and we were now sitting on the couch. Bloom looks over at me. "When exactly did he say he would be here?"

I looked over at the clock. "He should be coming now, I thi-" I am interrupted by the doorbell. I give Bloom a triumphant look and skip over to the door. She has about zero confidence in Brandon. It is stuck in her head that he will bring me nothing but pain and heartache. I've assured her numerous times that we weren't even in that type of relationship, but she didn't really believe me.

I opened the door and there stood Brandon with a bouquet of Gardenia flowers. "Hey," he greeted with a drop-dead sexy grin.

"Hi," I responded quietly.

"You look… absolutely stunning, Stella," he tells me in awe. I blush slightly.

"You don't look so bad yourself." We kind of just stand there and look at each other for a moment, before Bloom interrupts.

"Aw, now are those flowers for me? Brandon, you shouldn't have," she teased. I grinned as Brandon shook his head.

"Sorry, Bloom. These are for Stella," Brandon handed the flowers to me with a shy smile. "I remember you telling me you loved Gardenia flowers so… here you go." I definitely appreciated his attempt at romance and the fact that he remembered my favorite flowers. Grabbing the bouquet, I shyly grinned back at him.

"Thank you."

"The pleasure's all mine," He replies as Bloom snatches the flowers from me and runs to put them in water. "Are you ready to leave now?"

Before I can respond, Bloom comes rushing back into the room. "Of course! I have yet to meet my blind date. Let's get a move on people!"

The mansion we pulled up too was elaborately decorated. Streamers and lights were hanging everywhere outside. If it was this fancy out here, I'll probably be shocked out of my mind when I go inside. Brandon helps me out of the limo.

"My parents tend to go all out at stuff like this," He whispers in my ear. "Just stay with me. I'll make sure you don't get lost around here." I smile up at him and suddenly notice our closeness to each other. I can tell that he notices too, because his eyes glance down at my lips. Oh no, he's going to kiss me! I knew this date was a bad idea, but I can't stop that nagging piece of my head telling me that I actually want to kiss him too.

I break eye contact and turn my head away towards Bloom who is giving us a knowing look. Brandon clears his throat and steps away from me. "I guess we should head in now." Bloom and I nod so we make our way to the front door.

Like I thought before, I was blown away by the décor of the ballroom. The floor was pure white and so clean that you could see your reflection. I'm kind of scared to step on it because in true Stella fashion, I will definitely find a way to mess something up. Sky, Riven, and a man that I don't recognize and a woman I don't recognize come over to greet Brandon.

"So," Riven says, "You think you can just keep all the gorgeous woman to yourself don't you, Brandon? You're going to have to learn to share."

I laugh. "Shouldn't you be sweet talking your girlfriend, Riven?" As soon as I said 'girlfriend' the unknown man stiffens. Riven takes no notice though.

"You're right, sweet cheeks. If you all will excuse me," And with that he walks away in Flora's direction.

Sky smiles. "It's nice to see you again, Stella. This must be Bloom?" Sky looks at Bloom and she looks back in appreciation.

"Yes and you must be Sky." Bloom holds out her hand. "Very nice to meet you." Sky takes her and kisses the back of it.

"Likewise," He says with a grin. I can already tell without looking that Bloom is practically swooning at this point. Brandon turns me away from them.

"Stella, this is my other good associate, Helia." Oh, so this is Helia.

"Hi! Brandon has told me lots about you and the company." I say. Helia gives me a polite smile.

"Brandon has told us a lot about you as well. I do hope you both enjoy yourselves tonight. This is my…girlfriend, Krystal."

We share the same styled greetings and then they walk away. I can't help but observe how Helia glanced in Flora's direction longingly. What's that about?

I look back up to Brandon. "Where did Bloom and Sky go?" Brandon chuckles and shakes his head.

"Who knows. They're probably already out dancing. How about we-"

"Well, if it isn't Brandon Woods," Brandon is interrupted by a pale, raven-haired beauty. She was wearing at least four inch heels and a short blood-red dress. I hear Brandon quietly sigh.

"Mitzi, I had no clue that you would be here. How's the family?" Brandon asks politely, but Mitzi's focus turned to me. She glared at me in such disdain that I almost shied away. What's her problem?

"Who's she?" She spat. Brandon grabbed my hand and pulled me gently towards him. "This is Stella. Stella, this is Mitzi. An old…family friend," he said with a forced smile. Something tells me that she is anything but a friend to him.

"It's nice to meet y-," I try to say but she rudely interrupts again.

"What do you do, Bella?"

Brandon's jaw clenches. "It's Stella. I'm not going to deal with this today Mitzi so don't start."

"What?" Mitzi blinks her eyes innocently. "I just wanted to know what she does for a living?" Her eyes swerved back to me. "So what do you do?"

"I'm a…waitress." I'm not ashamed of what I do, but from the way she laughed at me makes me think I should be.

"A waitress? You couldn't do any better than a waitress, Brandon. Come on now." She laughed some more as my cheeks burned in embarrassment. Not even for me; for Brandon. I knew I couldn't fit into his world. No one would accept a waitress.

"Mitzi, shut the hell up now," Brandon gritted out. I just shook my head.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," I pulled my hand from Brandon's and stalked away, disappearing in the crowd. I could her him calling out to me, but I wasn't listening. I found my way to the long snack and drink bar. I took a deep breath. This isn't how I planned the night going so far. Maybe it will get better. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around.

Helia looks at me with a slightly concerned look on his face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just… a little overwhelmed, I guess." He nods. We just stand there in silence, watching the couples on the dance floor. Helia seems to be concentrating on one couple in particular.

"Where's your girlfriend?" I would've said her name, but I forgot it.

"Oh, she went to the bathroom."

"Oh….Do you know Brandon's sister well?" Time to be little snoopy. Helia tore his eyes away from the dance floor and to me.

"Flora? Yeah we were good friends, I guess." he shrugged and looked down. For me, that's a sure sign of lying. Poor guy. I wonder what happened. Brandon begins to approach us.

"Are you alright? Mitzi is such a pain in the ass." He says, taking both my hands in his. They are comfortably warm.

"I'm fine, Brandon. Helia here kept me company." Brandon's eyes cut to Helia and narrow for a second.

"Thanks," he says shortly and looks back to me. "Would you like to dance?"

I nod and with a small wave to Helia, I allow Brandon to lead me onto the dance floor. It was a classic slow song that was playing. I put my hands on Brandon's shoulders as he wrapped his arms around my waist. It felt nice.

"So, I'm guessing you aren't enjoying yourself much tonight, huh?" When I didn't respond he chuckled humorlessly. "I'm sorry, Stella."

"It's not your fault. The night just started anyway. You have plenty of time to make it up to me," I smile to lighten the mood and it worked because he grinned back.

"Thanks for the opportunity." We sway quietly to the music.

"What's your favorite color?" Brandon asks abruptly.

"Uh… green, I guess. And pink sometimes. It all just depends on my mood. What about yours?"

"Grey," he answers.

"Grey?"

"Yeah, grey. What's wrong with grey?"

"Well, nothing really it's just a dull color. You don't like anything bright, like purple?"

"How is purple bright?"

"I don't know. It's brighter than grey."

He chuckled lightly. "Okay, so what if I change my favorite color to yellow-orange."

"That's a weird color combination. Why that?"

"It's the color of your eyes," he responds softly. I blush what I'm sure was a bright pink glow.

"Brandon…" Why does he keep saying stuff like that? He knows I'm not ready. I really do want to be ready though.

"I know, I know. It was just an observation," He smiled and kissed my forehead gently. I practically drown in his scent. Why can't I just let this wonderful man love me?

He pulls back. "Ready to meet my parents?"

A/N: Whoa, sorry for the long wait. School isn't easy nowadays. Thanks for all the reviews. I just love 'em!

So Stella is still insecure and hasn't let Brandon in yet. I know you guys want some romance. Just bear with me! It's coming. Brandon just has to prove himself a little more. Oh, and he is going to loosen up some more next chapter.

What do you think is going on between Flora, Helia, and Riven? Oh, and does anyone recognize Krystal's name? Review and let me know.

No, I don't know when I'll update next, but I WILL update! I'm not just going to give up on the story, trust me! And if I do, I'll give you a heads up first.

So…Review!