Edited.

Disclaimer:

J- So, about DP...

Random Girl: It's owned by Kelly Clarkson.

J: what are you talking about? Her album 'Breakaway'?

RG: no, DP.

J: you're an idiot. DP is owned by Kelley Armstrong. However, I wouldn't mind taking Derek off her hands...

Chapter 4- Barely Prepared

Invitations had been passed out, the house was rented and decorated, and now all that Tori and I are doing is waiting for the one boy to arrive so that we could dress him up for the party.

The doorbell rang. Jumping up, Tori grabbed the door and yanked it open. Simon stood on the threshold, scowling. And you could easily see his problem; it was literally right behind him.

Derek was dressed up as a wolf, with a black muscle shirt, nicely fitting black jeans and a headband with two black ears glued to them on his head, while Chelsiey was dressed up as a fox, her costume obviously bought at the store. And Simon looked like he'd rather be almost anywhere other then here right now.

"Hey Si! Come on up stairs and you can take at a look at the person you'll be going as!" I said, completely ignoring the two people behind him.

"I'll take you up on that," he said immediately,stepping in and away from the two behind him. I nodded and took him upstairs. As we hit the middle, I called back to the three in the hall who were having a staring contest, Tori glowering more than anything.

"Oh, and Tori?"

"Yeah?" she snapped, barely glancing up at me before returning to glaring at the two.

"Could you see if our guests would lend a hand?" I said after rolling my eyes. But my heart pounded hard in my chest and my hands clenched themselves into fists.

"Naturally!" Tori relaxed suddenly, a huge grin on her face. It took the two by surprise as Tori lead them away. "Nice look, Fido." I heard her say as they entered the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, the only person not ready was me. I took a deep breath and slipped into the red and silver dress. The sleeveless, silky material clung to my upper body, gripped my waist and then fell loose in a simple skirt. It barely hit my knees. The bottom half had a underskirt that barely reached mid-thigh. The red over piece made the black seem bolder. I adjusted the hem before putting on my red flats that had a black lace covering. Looking up, I saw exactly what I wanted. With the black, sweetheart neckline and the red and silver... it was perfect.

I walked out.

"Well Tori?" I asked as she began to shout, "Are you- oh look. You are finished." She said as she noticed me.

"Okay, so the cape is right here, and we will place it on after everything else. Now, sit." I sat in the chair she pointed to and let her have fun.

My hair was in perfect ringlets, and pinned back. I had on a dab of makeup to make my lips a luscious red and to make my eyes pop. With that done, placing on my cape and fiddling with my basket was all that was needed. And the cape was difficult. Tori fussed over my hair and makeup, saying little things like, 'don't let it touch your hair!' and, 'it's going to smear it!'

Once I had it settled on my shoulders and had clasped the ends together, we put in red earring droplets and a silver necklace, like a choker, with a wolf charm around my neck. I lifted the hood and adjusted it so that everything but my lips were shadowed.

"And last, but not least, the basket." Tori passed it to me. I must say, the way that the black roses added to my piece as a dark little red riding hood was incredible. Placing the basket lightly on my arm, I took the Blackberry Tori handed me and hid it within the black silky material the covered the bottom of the fake wicker contraption.

"Perfect!" we chirped and giggled as we headed downstairs.

DPOV

I knew beauty. I mean, come on, Chelsiey was beautiful. But the dark beauty that my ex-girlfriend displayed as she greeted her first guests, was something unexpected, something that caused my mouth to water..

The outfit she had hugged her perfectly and the skirt of her dress showed off her milky white calves. Her cape fell and draped around her shoulders and, well, I hadn't seen her face just yet.

"Ooh! I think your ex is rethinking his decision." A brunette squealed. I expected Chloe to either start stuttering or look back at me, and, to my surprise, she did neither.

"Well, he'll have to do more than stare to catch my attention." Chloe whispered. All the girls giggled.

"I'm glad that someone has still has morals." an auburn haired girl commented. She was dressed up as a vampire, and she rocked it. Her hair fell in slight curls down her back and her makeup had you drawn to her electric blue eyes. She was definitely a fine girl.

As the neighborhood girls walked away, I walked back to Chelsiey. The fog in my brain seemed to want nothing more than her; only then would it start to clear. It bothered me, but not enough to tell anyone. Once I reached my girlfriend, I leaned against the wall and turned to plant a kiss on Chelsiey's mouth, as the 'fog' demanded. However, that was when I saw Chloe from the front.

You saw nothing more then her lips and bright, blue eyes that seemed to glow from underneath the shadow her hood cast. Her lips were a beautifully delicious red and her eyes were enticing, seeming to spark. My gaze went from her lips to her throat, where a delicate chain choker hung, a delicate-looking wolf charm laced onto it. The wolf hung right in that hole of her collarbone, teasing me. Her perfect neck, that I just wanted to plant small, sweet kisses up and down its length. Her beauty was unspeakable. And it made her scent all the more overwhelming.

The strawberry scent of a field of the spoken of fruit just after a morning spring, with a hint of vanilla death was tasty. It made my mouth water, and right now I'm sure even Simon could smell it. And the sickening sweet scent of the black roses that enveloped her made her enticing. The bright, delicate, pure and young angel I used to see was hidden beneath layers of darkness. It was welcomed with open arms.

Chloe went from guest to guest, saying hello, chatting for a second before moving on to a new group. Her smiles were all sugary and none of them were fully happy. Some were filled with more enjoyment then others, but those were few. And one of the boys she rewarded such a smile to did the unthinkable.

My wolf growled. These days, it could have passed for a lap dog, but the sight of Chloe like this had provoked it. Before, it had merely been drooling and suggestive, but now it was angry. It told me no one but us was allowed to touch her so. And before I knew it, I was pushing through the crowd to get to their secluded corner. It didn't click that he hadn't pushed her hood down. It didn't click when Chloe hid a smile and nodded when he leaned in to whisper. It didn't click that he hadn't tried to raise her skirt. But I didn't care. Only I touched her the way he supposedly was and only I.

I reached out and and grasped the back of his hoodie, pulling him away from her. After I pushed him to the ground, I looked back to notice Chloe looking down at a phone. One, honey brown ringlet escaped the confines of her hood, and fell into her face as she typed. Seeing her like this, so vulnerable, made me want to pick her up, and as I contemplated that, Chloe put her phone away and walked over to the boy that had nearly assaulted her. Helping him up, she leaned into whisper, but I didn't catch what she said with the music up. Her smile flashed and she walked away.

Her walk was much like a dance, each step precise and swift. She didn't even glance back at me and that angered me, so I did my normal thing. I followed her, and when I caught up with her, spun her around to face me.

"Ow," she grumbled as she pulled her fingers off my arm. "I see you still don't know how to control your strength, Souza."

I flinched before straightening and glaring down at her. "You need to be more careful, Chloe. He could have hurt you." She surprised me when she burst into laughter, her smile mocking and eyes bright and ridiculing.

"Who? Thomas? He wouldn't have so much as talked to me if he thought it would be unwelcome." -her tone was apprehensive and it put me down, causing me to falter slightly as she cut me- "What you saw was him helping me, and-" her phone buzzed.

She pulled a purple Blackberry from out from her basket. Looking at her messages, she grinned, her lips looking delicious. "Ooh! Karaoke is starting!"

And she sauntered away.

so... R&R folks

-DJ