I was aching to get up out of my chair. The day was spent being pushed around the school. Then being pushed around my home, and now, I was still in my chair trying my best to get ready.

And that is the reason I was sitting in my chair. Not because I was getting ready. No, the reason I was sitting in my chair was the same reason I felt focusing to be so impossible. The dance. I was so excited that I could hardly sit still, but I forced myself to sit still because I wanted to be able to dance.

I figured with the time that I'd been able to get up and move around by this point that I would be able to dance for an hour or two before I'd be stuck in the seat for the rest of the evening. My first dance ever, and I would be dancing with the one person in this entire world who made it worth it to me.

I heard a knock at the door and turned around to see. My mom was there smiling at me.

"Can I help you get ready?"

I smiled up at her. I thought of just muddling through, but the look on her face made me change my mind. "Sure, mom. I would appreciate the help."

There was someone behind her in the hallway. "I'm here to get your hair."

"Caroline!"

"I wanted to really thank you for your help. I've lost almost twenty pounds in the past couple of weeks."

"You don't need…"

"Yes I do need to do this. Something special. I've never felt really good about myself before. I know it's only partially you, but you showed me that I could enjoy exercise. And I'm feeling so much better now about myself."

I hadn't noticed it before, but she was a lot happier than she'd been the first time I'd seen her. There wasn't anything else to it, I just smiled at her and nodded my acceptance.

My Mom helped me to finished getting my dress on, and then helped me with my makeup. After she was done, Caroline went to town on my hair. I sat there patiently amidst the tugs and pulls, and time passed. Normally, it took Caroline no more than half an hour to complete any masterpiece she had in store for me. Today, I sort of lost track at half an hour.

And she continued to work on my hair, and pin it up and put ribbon in it.

My dress had the cut away at the knees I've described before, with the full skirt behind. It was a pale blue color with a soft yellow, almost off-white, underskirt that showed itself through the cut. It was tight where it needed to be, and displayed my figure perfectly.

When she finally declared my hair done, I could see that Caroline had used ribbon in the same color of blue mixed in with a thinner ribbon of shimmering gold. Where before, with the double braid simply looking a bit like a tiara, this was a regal grown made of hair, light and air. My breath caught in my throat and I hugged her, trying my best not to cry. I didn't want to ruin my mother's makeup job.
My dad appeared at that point with a camera and shot a couple of pictures while I smiled and laughed. Then he picked me up and carried me downstairs while I just giggled at him. I could have walked down on my own but he just said, "You need to preserve your strength, Anne-Jeanette Smith. You have a man who wants to dance with you, and I want you to be able to dance for as long as you are able."

"But I thought…"

"You're never too young to dance. Just remember that one of these days you owe me my first daddy-daughter dance."

I just giggled a bit at my day, realizing that I loved Shawn because of how much he reminded me of my Dad. It wasn't something I'd ever thought about consciously, but they were both very smart men who weren't afraid to talk to me like I was a person, no matter how much less I knew.

I looked seriously into my Daddy's eyes and said, "Put me down, Dad."

He did, a little confused. I put my hands on his shoulders, and looked up at him expectantly. He put his hands chastely at my waste and we began to move to the music that only we two could hear. When he began to cry a bit, I had to do my best not to tear up as well. I smiled up at him with burning eyes and then went up on tip toes and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Daddy."

He just hugged me at that point, and I hugged him back until I heard the sound of a camera. I looked over at Mom and scowled.

She laughed at me, and I smiled back. She walked up to me and handed a box to my dad before she started playing with my earrings. When she was done I felt a much greater weight there than I'd felt before, and then Dad put something cold around my neck.

I sat in my chair, ready for the slight break, and rolled over to the mirror beside the hallway door. I had drop earrings with luminous blue stones in the exact shade of my dress. The necklace that my dad had put on me was a pale gold with large blue stones in it.

"Those are aquamarines, AJ," my Mom said. When I looked confused at her, she continued, "They're your birthstone."

I was still a bit confused.

"We'll explain it later," my dad said, "we have a lot of catching up to do still in the jewelry department."

The doorbell rang, and I answered it since I was already there.

I wasn't prepared to see Theresa there.

"Theresa? What are you…"

"When I found out that my company was providing security for you, I just had to request this assignment. Plus it allows me to make sure my brother does nothing untoward to you tonight."

"Theresa!" I exclaimed.

"I just mean he does nothing you don't specifically ask for," she said with a grin. I blushed in embarrassment.

"We'd like some pictures of the two, Theresa. Where is your brother," my dad said.

Just then Shawn walked up, and the world faded away. Where my dress made me look feminine and the colors supported that look, the same colors with the more prominent shapes of his asymmetrical lapels made him look so masculine.

His smile was for me alone, and mine was for him. I felt a slow heat rising in me, and I had to look away. While I wasn't looking he lifted me from my chair much like my Dad had earlier.

There was as little strain showing in his face as there had been in my Dad's

They took their pictures of us, with lots of laughter from Shawn and giggles from me. I found myself wishing that he would move his hand a bit closer to my behind, and blushed at the thought.

Eventually it was time to go, and Theresa helped us into the limo that she would be driving for us. It seemed that this bodyguard firm my Dad had hires specialized in stealth guarding, and I wondered how many more people there were guarding me that I wasn't aware of.

We drove to the restaurant where we met up with a matched Katie and Sam. We weren't waiting too long for Jasmine and Jason to arrive.

We had a shared squeal and giggle when we all got there and took a moment to examine our men. The style for all three boys was similar, with the colors matching our dresses. The cut and fit let everyone know that they were masculine, and I could see Jasmine and Katie flush a bit as they continued to stare. I poked them and they giggled and sighed.

Eventually we were called to our table where we all ate very carefully. Even the boys. I'd never seen three boys eat more carefully than they did that night. I decided at that moment that I'd have to get Shawn dressed up more often, because he looked so handsome and…regal as he ate.

They weren't the small nibbles of a girl. He just took more care of where his elbows were, and how the food traveled from plate to mouth. I think I barely nibbled at my food as I was engrossed in just watching my man.

I did have room for a piece of heavenly chocolate cake, which was heavenly.

Then we were on the road again, making our way to the school.

I'd expected to drive around to the gym, but we went to a large building near the front of the school. I hadn't realized that our school had a formal ballroom, but it did. We walked along a lighted path to the doors where men stood in white wigs and tailed coats.

They took the tickets from the boys, and we were ushered in.

It was magical. I saw Andrew and Sandra there with a younger boy and girl. Andrew was actually doing his best to pay attention to the girl, and Sandra was dancing with the boy. All four of them seemed to be having a good time, and I was glad that I'd turned Andrew down.

I looked at Shawn and I realized that I was more than glad. I was ecstatic.

We were early, or I should say on time, so there were only a few couples on the floor and a few more getting refreshments. We parked my chair at a table and I carefully made my way to the dance floor with Shawn as a slower song began.

Dancing with Shawn was nothing like dancing with my Dad.

I felt a heat between us as we moved with the music that seemed to grow out of my stomach. I felt a heat growing in other places at well that even thinking about made me blush.

We talked as we danced, and I got lost in his eyes. It was like a long drawn out kiss that never ended and left me more breathless than I'd ever been, all while doing nothing more than touching in the fewest possible places.

After an eternity that couldn't have lasted more than four or five minutes we got a fast song, and then another slow one. I danced with Andrew and Jason and Sam each once, and then Jasmine, Katie, Sandra and I had a girls only dance. It was a fast one of course.

Sooner than I would have liked, I began to get tired, so Shawn led me over to the wheelchair, and then pushed me out on to the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not done dancing with the most beautiful girl here."

I blushed to the roots of my hair, smiling the whole time.

We danced some more like that, with me pushing my chair, and Shawn helping me. I didn't have any practice doing this, and neither did Shawn, but we figured out something that worked for us.

Eventually Shawn tired as well and we went to sit down at the table we'd commandeered when we first arrived.

We talked and watched our friends make fools of themselves. We laughed at them, but only because we realized that we probably looked just as foolish. We were young and alive and this was our night.

The sound of gunfire sounded loud in the enclosed space.

"Now that I've got your attention," and unsteady Julian Thoreau slurred out, "I want everyone but Aaron Smith to leave the room."

"There's no-one here by that name," Shawn said.

"I see him right next to you."

"This girl next to me is AJ."

"Same thing. I've come to kill the little shit. But not before you tell me where you sent my wife. She deserves some killing too." This last bit he said almost to himself, but the silence of the room made it perfectly audible.

"Well? Leave!" he shouted. He fired another shot into the floor and then raised the gun and pointed it at me.

I felt so helpless sitting there in the chair. I needed to get up so that I could get over to him. I could disarm him. I could defuse this situation, but my arms and legs were leaden with fatigue. I'd worn myself out at the dance. How could I have been so stupid? I should have saved something just in case.

I wasn't meant to be happy, and I should have known that something was going to happen to ruin this night.

"I'm never going to tell you where Rita is. She deserves better than a drunk piece of shit like you."

His face turned red and he raised the gun to point at me. I was suddenly cold. Looking down the barrel of the gun, I could only think of the story that Shawn had told me about Mark. I might be good, and when I can actually move I think I'm very good, but good doesn't beat a bullet.

I could see his finger tightening on the trigger, and sweat pouring down his face. I was sure that I was going to die.

Then Shawn was in front of me, shielding me from Julian. I could see nothing in his eyes but his love for me. There wasn't any fear there. "I love you," he whispered. And I heard the gun go off. The smell of gunsmoke filled the room, and Shawn's body crumpled to the ground.

"Shawn!" I screamed.

Theresa came out of nowhere and tackled Julian to the ground. I was out of my chair and holding Shawn in my lap. His blood was pooling in the ground below us. I didn't know what to do. Somewhere in my mind I thought about how this was ruining my Mom's beautiful dress, but I pushed that away. The bullet was ruining Shawn's beautiful life.

"Don't you dare leave me, Shawn Harris. If you leave me I'll never forgive you. Not now. You can't leave me. I just found you. We have the rest of our lives to live together."

I felt the arms of Jasmine and Katie go around me. They were pulling me away so that some men could get to Shawn. They were cutting off his clothing and I screamed. They were hurting him.

I lashed out, trying to get free and Andrew was there shielding me from the sight.

"AJ, stop. Stop this. They're trying to save his life."

I cried into Andrew's chest, my heart breaking into a million tiny shards of glass that ripped through the happy feelings of the night.

"It's not fair. Not fair." I kept repeating to myself as the sounds of sirens filled the night.