At last, Chapter 4 has arrived! Time to experience the wonderful Christmas Eve Ball. What will happen? Who will be there? You'll just have to read to find out. This is the longest chapter yet, around 3600 words! That's a record for me.

Once again, a shout out to my lovely reviewers. You guys are this story's life support, and without you, its nothing. I'm super appreciative of everything you've said!

Dear Diary,

So today's Christmas Eve. The party's tonight. I've been saying I'm not excited and I hate it and everything but…this year I'm kind of happy about it. Maybe I'm just in an abnormally good mood, but I have a good feeling about tonight. Virginia, Ruth and Mary are coming early. We're all going to get ready together. Evelyn and Hannah are geniuses with hair, so they're going to style ours for us. Nana made my dress, it's absolutely beautiful. I wonder if the Lamberts are coming, but I heard what happened to their son in Japan -

Sometimes I questioned my sanity when I started composing diary entries in my head. I didn't even own a diary.

I sat up from my bed with a grunt. My room was my favorite place in the world. I had redecorated it myself when I was 15, keeping the color scheme simple so I wouldn't grow out of it. The walls were crème, but covered in colorful paintings and other works of art to brighten the place up. My bed was blue with a matching canopy that billowed around the headboard in a regal, glamorous kind of way. It was the best part of the whole room. The rest of the poor excuse for a space wasn't worth describing. It was an utter mess.

"Don't you dare." I stated out loud while I looked out my window.

"How the hell did you know?" A voice behind me asked, the astonishment and disappointment about as subtle as Aunt Lotte.

"With the eyes in the back of my head of course." I retorted sarcastically. "Can't you see them?" I finally turned to face the intruders and squealed various greetings, rushing to engulf them in a group hug.

"I missed you guys! How's your break?" I inquired happily. Virginia, Ruth an Mary were some of my closest friends in the world. I had known them since I was 13, when I had started attending NOGA, or New Orleans Girls' Academy.

"Boring." Ruth answered automatically. "My mom's been so strict. I'm lucky to be here at all."

"Mine's been great." Mary said. "Dad had some friends over and they had a son visiting them, so they brought him. He's 24, but that's not too old. Is it?"

"Mary! You're 18." Virginia scolded her. Mary thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Whatever. He's getting shipped off to Europe in a few weeks anyway." We all rolled our eyes. Typical Mary.

"Where are your dresses? I want to see them!" I had heard about these dresses. Our Christmas Ball was one of the biggest social events of the year, next to the Benoit's Mardi Gras Masquerade. But, next to being a social event, it was a fashion show. No person wore the same outfit. Every gown and suit was custom made by the best designers, a way to show off how much money you had in your pocket.

"Oh my goodness! You have see mine!" Virginia squealed, jumping up to get the dress box she had dropped next to my door. She threw off the lid and held up the dress in one swift motion, the fabric of the skirt swishing as it hung from the bodice. It was a lovely gown. The bodice was pink with delicate black lace that connected to a full black skirt.

"Aw, I love it! I bet it'll look great on you." I cooed. It wasn't a lie. Virginia was model pretty. I'd kill to have her perfect, frizz-less hair. Mine would be a curly mess if it weren't for my hairdresser.

"You think?"

"Of course."

"Ooh look at mine!" It was Mary that time. Hers fit her perfectly. Always in the festive spirit, her gown was of dark green (a color that she looked fantastic in) and the skirt fell in columns of cinched fabric, kind of like a stage curtain.

"Here's mine." Ruth presented hers without the high pitched screaming the others had contributed. Though she didn't express it the way most people would, Ruth had an incredible taste in fashion. In school, her creations in our sewing lessons were always the best, no matter how simple they were. She didn't care for the popular designers, but no one noticed that what she wore wasn't designer anyway. They might as well have been. Like her gown, for instance. It was a simple dark blue halter, with a lighter blue tulle peaking our from under the layer of dark blue fabric on the skirt. "There'll be a crinoline under it. It'll look better then."

"Ruthie, it's gorgeous!" Virginia exclaimed.

"It has a rip in the tulle, and the bodice is awkward, but I didn't have enough fabric or time to come up with something else." Ruth, always the pessimist, scrunched her small nose as the outfit.

"Hey, Ruthie?" I called to her.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." She stuck her tongue out at me, and we all laughed. The only time I ever acted like a kid was around my friends. I left the public immaturity to Aunt Lotte.

Speaking of which, "Knock, knock!" Aunt Lotte giggled as the flounced into my room without knocking at all.

"Hi Ms. La Bouff." My friends all said, only somewhat in unison.

"Hello sweet peas. Why are you all not dressed yet?" She looked at us in disbelief. She, of course, was already dressed in her large, diagonally tiered pink dress, delivered straight from Paris weeks before. It didn't have nearly as big of a circumference as some of her other dresses had, and for that I was eternally grateful.

"Aunt Charlotte, the ball's not for two more hours." I pointed out, but she stuck my dress box in my face instead of an comment.

"People always show up early, and you need to be down there to help greet guests. I have to go now. There's so much to do! The food, the waiters, the music, oh there's just no time!" As if realizing that she'd already spent a few seconds of her life up in my room when she could have been harassing a maid, Aunt Charlotte flew out of the room as fast as possible, leaving us in a befuddled haze of questions.

"Eva, I do believe your aunt is in dire need of comfort food." Mary said rather bluntly. The rest of us nodded silently.

"I guess we should get dressed then." Ruth started to undress herself, and the rest of us followed suit. It took surprisingly long to shed our clothes and then get our new clothing on. Once the crinolines and everything were in place, it took practiced skill to maneuver our way into our dresses correctly. Luckily, as seasoned ladies of society, we had been well taught in that area of expertise.

After we were clothed, Hannah and Evelyn, two of the maids, came in. We took turns sitting at the vanity, two at a time, so we could do our makeup as our locks were styled into complex updos. It was tedious work, but the mood was kept light with jokes and gossip. By the time we were completely finished the sun had set and a crescent moon was reflecting off of the shining car-tops that were filing through our front gate.

"I'm so excited!" Mary skipped ahead of us while we strolled toward the grand staircase entrance. I hadn't been on time to greet guests, but I figured the butlers had gotten everyone situated well enough. Besides, Aunt Lotte would never know, as she never made her entrance until after all the guests had arrived. That way, more people could look at her.

In my opinion, the 'strut,' as Aunt Lotte like to call it, down the staircase was the most embarrassing part of the whole night. The guests entered through a door one of the walls next to the stairs, so it was always just me walking where everyone could see me. If they happened to come early, like that year, my friends eased the stage fright.

The door at the top of the stairs was opened, so we stopped in the hallway just before we got to the opening so we could decide how to go down. Single file was never preferred, so we determined that standing side by side in one row would be the better option. As soon as we each placed a manicured, heel-clad foot on the first carpeted step, it didn't take long for the whole room to turn their heads. I knew my face had to be beet red from the way it heated up to about a million degrees. I tried to smile and keep my gaze at the back wall. I discovered a couple years earlier it was best not to know who was staring at me if I happened to lose my footing. That hadn't been a good night.

"Oh goodness." Ruth mumbled under her breath while we were mid-descent.

"What?" I panicked.

"Robby George. Turn right when we get down." She passed the message on to the others, and when the last stair had been conquered we swung our line toward the refreshment table like a well rehearsed team of airforce pilots. As soon as we reached the edge of the crowds, I traded my smile for a scowl and the girls shielded me from any angle I could possibly be spotted from.

"Where was he?" Virginia asked.

"Walking in. He looked straight at you, Evangeline." Ruth pointed in the direction of the door.

I groaned. The last thing I wanted was an encounter with Robert George. "Shoot me now. I want nothing to do with that rotten jerk." I dared a glance back at the crowd, but there was no sign of him.

"Just forget about him. We'll warn you if he's coming." Mary promised. She was right. I just had to enjoy the night. The ballroom was beautiful. The lights that Aunt Charlotte had had strung from the ceiling glistened like stars, and the holly that was pinned up along the walls did a fine job of putting the guests in the Christmas spirit.

We turned to get some punch from the refreshment table and were happily greeted by Nana.

"Look at you girls!" She beamed at us from where she was handing out Tiana's signature beignets to a portly business man. "Aren't you just stunning! Evangeline, I knew that dress would be perfect on you. Turn around, let me see it." I did as I was told and did a little twirl, the end of my gown tickling my ankles as it twisted. It was made of a fine, flowing lavender fabric, with floral embroidery at the neckline and two scarves that hung from the center of the neck, over my shoulders, and down my back. It was elegant, and feminine, and the greatest thing Nana had ever made for me.

"Did you make your own dress again, Ruthie?" Nana asked Ruth, prompting them both to plunge into an enthusiastic discussion on who-knows-what about being a seamstress.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Is that Daniel Benoit?" Mary suddenly tugged on my arm and pointed a finger out into the mass of people.

"Marjory's older brother?" Virginia craned her neck to see over the heads of the high-heeled women blocking her view.

"Yeah! I didn't know he was back from New York, yet." She cocked her head and kept looking. "He looks good."

"Where?" I inquired, only to be ignored.

"Well, it is Christmas break, even for the Ivy League." Virginia commented.

"From what I hear he's not exactly holding himself up to Ivy League standards at the moment." Mary whispered, the thrill of scandal practically made her foam at the mouth.

"Where?!" I said, this time shaking Mary by the shoulders to get her attention.

"Whoa! Calm down, girl." She pulled me down to whisper in my ear. "See that man standing next to the woman with the blue dress. That's him. The one with the white jacket and black pants and the light brown hair. See him?"

"Oh, him?" I had to agree, he did look good. I hadn't seen him since he'd gone to college, and he had certainly changed. He'd become more muscular, and his face was slightly more handsome than it had already been, certainly with a greater air of arrogance. I rolled my eyes, but before I could make a remark, a trumpet blared and the lights changed. "Oh, fantastic. Here comes Aunt Charlotte."

A spotlight was placed on the summit of the staircase where a curtain of confetti fell over a posed Aunt Lotte. She giggled when the guests applauded her job well done on the ball, then threw her hands in the air and yelled, "Merry Christmas, everyone!" The crowd echoed it back to her, and she trotted her way down to the dance floor where she grabbed hold of the first single man she found. Almost forty years old and she was still chasing after her prince.

For the next hour or so, Virginia, Ruth, Mary and I were separated by family acquaintences who simply had to catch up with us and the gentlemen who asked us to dance. Dancing certainly wasn't my forte, but I had to be polite and accept their requests to waltz or swing. It was deafening in there with all of the wartime news that was being passed around, though the current events did nothing to dampen the mood. Everyone had grown rather used to the talk, and it was more casual to hear of a bombing or blitzkrieg. The room heated up fast once everyone got into the fun, and I had to fight my way to the back patio before I passed out from lack of breathing room.

It was cold outside, freezing actually, but I paid the temperature little mind, as long as it cooled me down. The music from the chamber ensemble drifted out onto the patio. It was a slow song, and kept the headache I could feel coming on at bay. I couldn't see far past the railing I was leaning over, the night was too dark and the lights behind me too bright, bit I could faintly make out the shapes of the trees and my garden not too far off. I became acutely aware of the goose bumps crawling up my skin only after I heard a husky voice behind me say, "What's a pretty lady like you doing out here all alone?"

My heartbeat quickened and my palms became slick as the memories of that voice erupted in my head and pricked at my heart. I didn't want to turn around, but common courtesy forced me to greet the unwanted visitor that was moving to stand next to me. "Good evening, Robert." I said as blankly as I could, though I'm sure he must have picked up the pain I'd failed so horribly at concealing. I'd rather wrestle an alligator than wish Robert George a good evening.

"It is a marvelous evening isn't it?" He smiled a toothy, overly charming smile at me, but I averted his gaze and decided my hands were a much more interesting subject to study. "I've missed you Evangeline." I rolled my eyes. Yeah right. "Really, I have." I gave him no response, and he sighed heavily.

"Angie," Robby used the nickname he'd given me that I inwardly loathed, "You know I'm sorry about what I did. It didn't mean anything, I promise."

"Yeah," I retorted angrily, "Just like you promised you'd never lie to me. Remember that, because I do."

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? Please, I care about you, Angie." Finally, I looked up at him. His brown hair was combed off his forehead neatly, like always, and his blue eyes were sincere. I didn't trust them, though. I could see the annoyance in his expression.

"Just go away Robby." I started to turn from him, but his rough hand grabbed my arm and twisted me around to face him again.

"Let's just kiss and make up, okay." Robby's features became tense and unfriendly, the sudden darkness of his eyes only deepening when I tried to wriggle out of his grasp. The music inside had become louder, turning into an upbeat tune that had people crowding the stage across the room.

"Let go!" I protested when he pulled me up against him and flipped us around so he had me up against the wall and out of sight from anyone inside.

"C'mon. Just one little kiss?"

"Robby, get off me!" My fists knocked against his chest, but his grip on me tightened to the point that I cried out in pain. My eyes widened and my pulse rapidly pounded in my chest as I watched his head dip closer to mine. I wanted to scream, but nothing but air came out of my throat when I tried.

Robby's disgusting lips were almost on mine when his weight was abruptly yanked off of me and his iron grip wrenched from my arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I heard Robby yell while I gaped at the large red hand mark that had been left just below my shoulder.

"I believe the lady asked you to back off. Have some respect, buddy." I heard a calm, silky voice sternly reprimanding Robby and looked up, alarmed. To my utter surprise, it was Daniel Benoit who was standing there, releasing the collar of Robby's suit from his tightly clenched fist.

"This is none of your business." Robby glared at him and stepped in front of me to block me from Daniel's view. For some reason, I guess fear, I did nothing but shiver.

"Maybe not, but it's her business." He lifted a hand to indicate me. "And I think she would much rather you not be here." Daniel side stepped so he could look at me over Robby's shoulder, eyebrows raised, and gaze kind. I stared at him for a minute, then nodded dumbly.

"I don't have to go anywhere." Robby argued, but his ground was held for only a short time, because Daniel seized lapels of his jacket again and tossed him aside with ease. Robby stumbled a few steps, but regained his posture and began to aim a punch at Daniel's head. I gasped involuntarily, but my fears were assuaged when Daniel dodged the punch and sent Robby flying onto the cold stone of the patio.

"You really should be going now." My savior told him, and Robby scrambled up and ran inside, not a bit worried over his dignity. I stood there still, even after my stupid ex-boyfriend was long gone into the fray of the ball. My breathing was heavy, and face flushed, I'm sure, though my cheeks heated with a blush when I caught Daniel looking me over. "Are you alright?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Y-yes." I managed to stammer out. I was shaking uncontrollably at that point, so whether or not I was actually alright was debatable. A true gentleman, he took his suit jacket off and draped it over my bare shoulders. I was all of a sudden very conscious of the cold. "Thank you, sir." I said, though I knew his name quite well.

"Daniel Benoit." He introduced himself anyway. I smiled weakly at him.

"Evangeline La Bouff."

"I know." He smiled charmingly, but not with the same charm that Robby always used on me. "You're mother was speaking to my father about you earlier." My blush grew.

"She's not my mother. She's my godmother. I address her as my aunt."

"Oh, I didn't realize."

"It's fine." An awkward silence started to choke the life out of the conversation, and I looked to the warm light pouring out of the doorway. Surely the girls were missing me.

"Can I get you a drink?" Daniel offered. I suddenly started to get annoyed with his need to look after me.

"I'm fine. Really. Thank you for your help, but I can lift a finger myself." It came out ruder than I'd intended, and I immediately regretted my tone when I saw the taken aback look on his face.

"I'm sorry, did I not just do you a really big favor?" He questioned.

"Yes," I handed his jacket back to him, missing it's warmth and protection as soon as its soft lining left my skin. "And I'm grateful. But now I'm okay and I'm going to go inside." I took only two steps before his hand gently reached out to hold mine.

"Just one dance?" Call me crazy, but this scene seemed vaguely familiar. Oh yes! Another variation had just been tried on me not five minutes earlier. As politely as I could, I found a way to turn him down. My hand did not move.

"No, thank you. As you can imagine, I'm quite ready for some peace and quiet." I expected more distress or surprise in his expression. After all, his was the only dance I'd turned down all night, not that I'd had many requests. Instead, I received only confidence in return for my actions.

"Another time, perhaps." He grinned at me and lifted my hand so he could kiss it. "Goodnight, Miss Evangeline La Bouff." With quick, long strides he was gone, eaten up by the great mass of dancers and socialites. I stared after him, though there was no evidence of him ever being there at all.

What just happened?

I believe I through a few of you for a loop by not introducing our resident Shadow Man in this chapter. But don't fret, he is coming up very soon, I assure you. The next chapter will be written in third person, by the way. *Hint Hint*

Reviews are the Naveen to my Tiana, as cheesy as that sounds.