"I hate these events," James mumbled as I went through the dresses on the rack. Some of the guys were scattered around in the mall searching for something to wear at the event.

"What about this dress?" Ethan asked holding up a 3 quarter dress.

I rolled my eyes, "It's a ball, not a strip club."

"We could make it a strip club," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I made a disgusted face which caused Ethan and James to laugh.

"You guys are ridiculous."

"Why don't you call Jayson up? He knows what you like," James suggested.

"Oh, my god. Your smart genes came in," I said in a girly voice while pulling out my phone.

"Shut up," he scoffed.

I dialed Jayson's number and waited for him to pick me up. Jayson was our only close friend between in and out of the organization. He also happens to be one of the youngest leaders of the organization. He's pretty chilled about everything and offered me a place with him when my parents were gone but the state overruled it.

"Well, look who decided to call," his voice came across the phone in amazement.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get your butt down to the dress shop. I need a dress for the ball," I pouted.

He chuckled, "Ask James and Ethan."

"Jay," I sighed, "Ethan picked out a slutty dress and James is well no help."

"Hey!" I heard them both yell simultaneously in the background.

"That bad huh? Well, I'll be there in 15. You owe me a dance tonight though."

"Ugh, fine," I scoffed as I hated the idea of dancing itself. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

"Can you feel that?" Ethan's voice cracked as he bend over.

I ran to him so he wouldn't fall. "What happens?" I panicked.

He placed his hand on his heart. "Your comment hurt my heart."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him back causing him to fall. He and James both burst out laughing while I sent death stares to him. "You guys are despicable," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Awe don't be like that. You know it was pretty funny." James laughed, clutching his stomach.

"Idiot. Next time I'll shoot you myself," I mumbled while rolling my eyes at Ethan who grinned.

I spent the next few minutes roaming around the store. All of a sudden I was blinded.

"Guess who?" the familiar voice said.

"Jay!" I squealed as I felt his hands covering my eyes.

He moved his hands from my eyes and I turned around to tackle him with a hug. He picked me up and spun me around. "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you," he said, putting me down. "Except in height. You're still short," he teased.

"And you're still a bully. I guess some things really don't change," I smirked.

I took in his features. Black curly hair with some new tattoos and he was now a little more buff than I remembered. His skin was a light soft tan which complimented his blue eyes.

"Touché. So for starters, you're on the crappy side of the store," he said pointing to the short dresses. Before I could say anything, he threw me over his shoulders and carried me to the far end of the store.

My eyes light up. "Oh..my...gosh!" I said jumping out of Jay's arms. "These dresses are... wow," was all I could get out. I ran my hand through the dresses feeling all the different fabrics.

"Who's the best!"

"Jay is the best. I admire your sense of fashion. You are sure you're not gay?" I teased.

"I told you I just have a great sense of taste. It doesn't mean I have to be gay you know," he groaned.

"You can't blame me. Everyone in the house is straight except Randy and Kevin who is the only gay ones in the house. They're the only ones who know what good fashion is and before you ask, they're on a mission," I informed him.

"Fair enough. But I assure you I'm straight. Would you like me to show you?" he smirked as he playfully first.

"Sure and I'll should you have I bite my hotdogs," I flirted back.

"Ouch," Jay's face went sour, "I take it back."

I chuckled and we started to pick out dresses for me to try on.

~~~

I have been trying on dresses for almost 2 hours now and it was now 3 o'clock. All the guys had already found what they needed and went back home about an hour ago.

"Jay, I'm tired of this," I whined tiredly.

All the dresses I picked up were gorgeous except there was one problem. None of the dresses suited me. I was now in the dressing room taking off a red dress that was laced on the top and blood red on the bottom. This was way harder than I thought it would be.

A knock came on the door. "Open. Try on these 3 dresses and if they don't look good then we're going to look again," Jayson tried to reason with me.

"No. I give up," I huffed.

"Just shut up and try these on. Don't make me come in there and dress you myself," he spoke in a serious tone.

"You wou-" I stopped myself then remembered the last time I said that. We had to go to one of these events but it was more formal. I couldn't find a dress and I gave up. He ordered me to try on some that he had chosen and I refused. The dude really picked the lock and locked himself in here with me. Then dressed me until we found one.

"You want to finish that sentence?"

"You're evil," I mumbled and opened the door. He eyed me up and down then passed me the dresses. "Matching I see," he smirked.

I looked down to see I was only in my bra and undies. "Stare all you want but there's no touching this," I said while taking the dresses from him.

After trying on the 3 dresses, I decided to leave 1 behind and take the other 2. I stood in line with Jay who was on his phone talking to someone from the organization.

"Next in line," the cashier called. I smiled and stepped up to the counter along with Jay behind me.

I placed my dress on the counter and watched as she scanned it. Damn it. I just realized I didn't check the price. I hate buying things that are really expensive unless it's some sort of transportation or weapon.

"Your total is $3,844," she said with a smile.

"What?!" I screamed as I started at the tags on both of the dresses.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked now standing next to me.

"The total is $3,844 for 2 freaking dresses," I shrieked in shock.

He rolled his eyes, "Are you serious? I thought it was something major."

"Are you kidding me? You know how much food I could buy with $3,844?!"

"So are you taking it or not? You're not the only one who has to pay," the lady sighed.

"Ugh, I'll pay," I said, pulling out my black card and swiping. I then typed in my pin and the cashier placed each dress in a garment bag.

"Thanks for shopping at Dressaholic," she smiled as she gently passed me the dresses. Jay held it for me instead and we headed to the car.

"Thank you for helping me as usual," I smiled looking up at him as we walked out the parking lot.

He returned the smile, "You don't have to thank me. I'm always down to help my favorite girl," he winked.

"Huh," I mumbled.

"What?" his eyebrow rose.

"Maybe you really aren't gay," I teased. He glared at me.

"I could literally wipe your existence out of the organization system and kill you," he informed me as he placed my dress in the back seat and shut the door.

I sat down in the driver's seat with my door open and Jay standing in front of me.

"True but then you'll have no one else to bother," I commented.

"You are a piece of work Skylar Marran," he smirked before leaning down towards me. I planted a short kiss on his lips before we said our goodbyes.

~~~~

I curled my hair and tried doing my makeup but failed. I groaned in frustration and threw the eyeliner across the room. I was never good at doing my makeup.

"You don't need makeup for the last time," James once again reassured me while laying on my bed.

I looked to see him holding up his phone and texting. I used my powers to flip the phone so it ended up hitting his face. "What was that for?!" he shouted sitting up.

I shrugged, "Don't know and I have to put makeup on. Everyone there is going to look good and I'm just going to be like an un-fried potato."

He raised his eyebrow, "Un-fried potato?"

"Yeah. Do you like un-fried potatoes?"

He paused for a moment then slowly answered, "No."

"Exactly my point," I said wiping the eyeliner off from my face.

He let out a chuckle, "Just go and put on your dress, you'll be fine. I promise."

I let out a heavy sigh and grabbed my dress along with a black box. I made my way into the bathroom and slowly slipped into it making sure I don't rip it or mess up my hair all at once. The dress was a nude color with gold crystal designs on the border since it was off-the-shoulder.

"So what happened to Ethan's girlfriend? He barely goes out anymore," I asked as I got into my dress.

"She turned out to be a ...." he paused as if he was trying to find the right word.

"Snobby b*tch?" I filled in.

"Exactly."

I laughed and let my hair down. I took the black box in my hand and opened it. It was a necklace with gold and diamonds. I gently took it out of the box and placed it around my neck. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and touched the necklace.

My parents bought this for me when I was small. At the time my father and mother were in the jewelry store shopping for their anniversary. Out of everything in the jewelry store, there was only one thing that caught my eye causing me to stop and admire it. I didn't say I wanted it because I knew we were poor at the time. I also didn't think they saw me staring at it. On my birthday, they gave it to me and told me that I couldn't wear it yet since I was just a kid so they told me when I got older I would be able to wear it.

I bawled my eyes out that day not because of the jewelry but because of what they went through to get it. My mother would work the night shift while my dad worked during the day. This was all before the organization so things were tough at that time and before any of the guys were adopted into the family.

I picked up the black box and read the writing engraving;

To our beloved daughter Skylar. We will always love and cherish you.

Sincerely, Your Mom & Dad

I placed the box down and walked out the bathroom. James was laying on my bed still.

"About ti-" he stopped once he saw me.

"What?! Is something wrong?! It's the dress, isn't it?! It doesn't go with me. I told Jay it wouldn't really go but you know how stubborn he is and then I told him I didn't want to try on any more dresses and he threaten to dress me himself and I -"

"No! You look beautiful," he managed to choke out as he walked up to me.

"I hate these events," I mumbled as I brushed off my dress.

"I know. We all do. Turn around."

I did as told and he moved my hair to fix my necklace.

"Mom and Dad was the nicest person on this planet," he softly spoke with a hint of sadness.

"They loved you guys so much."

"Yeah, not so sure about Dad though. He yelled at all of us for not telling him where you were during hide and seek after 2 hours."

I burst out laughing. "I was 8. Let it go."

"That was also the last day Gabe ever cried. It was hilarious," James said, spinning me around.

"It was. The fact that he only cried because he was caught in a horrible spot," I laughed as I remembered the day.

He walked over to my closet and took out a pair of nude sparkling heels. He walked back over and placed them on the floor. I placed my hand on his shoulder and slipped into the heels. 

"Ready?" he asked.

I grabbed my phone and shook my head. He held my hand and we both walked down the stairs. The guys were all downstairs except for Lucifer which I was thankful for. Some of the guys were dressed in suits, vests, or sports jackets.

"Pretty lady alert!" Justin yelled, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Alright. The limo is outside. Who wants to reach there late, raise your hand," James announced and everyone raised their hand except for Ethan. James smirked, "Alright, Ethan you will drop Lucifer off. The rest of you suckers, get in the limo."

Everyone groaned as they realized James had tricked them. "You're mean," I laughed.

"It's one of my great qualities."

We walked outside to the limo and James and I were the last ones to get in. All I could think about is how I hate these events and this was going to be a long night.