Karen twiddled her fingers as she sat off from the crowd. In all truthfulness, she was rather bored with the entire event, especially since a speaker was up announcing the first dance contest of the night. She breathed heavily and sat back in her chair. She was quite taken aback when Carson walked over to where she was sitting.

"Hey, Karen. How's it going?" he greeted, though his voice was far from cheery.

Karen's eyes refused to look up from the floor. "I'm not in the mood, Carson."

Carson sat down next to her. "You can't keep pushing me to the side forever, Karen. There are a lot of things we need to settle before any of us can have peace. Let's just talk about this, OK?"

Karen's eyes flashed up to Carson's. Her entire demeanor had changed. "Talk about this? Carson you were swapping spit with my roommate whenever my back was turned. How do you expect me to react to that? Did you think I would say, 'Oh, Carson. You can go ahead and sleep with my best friend all you want. After all, I have no self-respect for myself and I have very low self-esteem. Go ahead, do it with her to your heart's desire!'"

Carson shook his head. "Of course I didn't expect you to say anything like that! God, is it so much for a guy to ask to have a chance to explain himself?"

Karen sat back sharply and crossed her arms. "Fine, explain away, Carson."

Carson was silent for a moment. Then he began, "Look, through it all I always liked you best, Karen."

"That's a bunch of bull!" Karen interjected.

"Just let me finish. Through it all I always liked you best because you had the smarts to go with the beauty and the personality. You were the one that could make me laugh and you were the one with whom I could carry on an intelligent conversation with. Karen, you had everything that I could ever want!"

Karen's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Then why in God's name would you start going with Ebony behind my back?"

Carson stood up in exasperation, shoving his hands into his slacks's pockets. "I don't know, Karen. Hormones, I guess. Ebony never held back. She wasn't afraid to experiment intimately with me. She was willing to go the distance. You never would."

"Oh, so this is my fault now? Come on, Carson, you can do better than that!"

"I can't help what's in my genes, Karen! If the urge comes on, how am I supposed to fight it? Answer me that!"

Karen stood up to face him. "If you like me as much as you say you do, then why did those urges matter? Couldn't you have at least tried to fight them?"

"You don't know what it's like to be a man. You don't know how powerful those urges were!" Carson feebly attempted to defend himself.

"Obviously not as powerful as your feelings for me," Karen's words were cold and smooth as ice. "Go away, Carson. Go away to your little hussie, whomever she may be, that you're using and trashing just like you did to me."

"Karen-"

"Get away from me!"

Carson took a step back before turning to walk away. He suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Karen. "You can push me out of your life now, Karen, but it's only going to happen again. After all, you do have a bad record with men. Maybe it's just not in the cards for you to find someone who'll love you as much as you love them."

Karen stood up and walked over to Carson. "I may have had bad luck twice, Carson, but I've learned my lesson. You see, I don't need a boy in my life to make me happy. I can make it on my own, and you can be sure that I'm going to do that. I don't need anyone to support me, I don't need anyone to lean on. I'm used to having to do things on my own, and you're even dumber than I gave you credit for if you think I need a sleazeball like you to keep me happy."

"Come on, Kim! It's not gonna hurt you or anything. It's just a stupid dance contest!" Trace pleaded, five-year-old style.

"If it's so stupid then let's just sit it out," Kim bluntly refused. She crossed her legs as she sat in the chair. "I don't really feel like dancing."

"You don't understand. We have to show everyone that we are the best dancers at Midway Prep. Everyone thinks it'll either be Allan and Francesca or Brent and Eve, but we all know how many skills we have."

"Trace, I'm still not sure-"

"For me," Trace took Kim's hand and looked into her eyes.

The emotion captured Kim again. She always had been prone to it. In one sweeping motion, Kim was in Trace's arms and out on the dance floor, awaiting the signal to begin. Trace let her go for just a second to enter their names in the contest.

Brent and Eve walked over to the two. "Oh come on! You don't actually think you're going to beat us!" Brent laughed, giving Trace a playful slap on the back.

"We don't think, Brent, we know. Trace and I are going to wipe you with this floor just like the rest of 'em. As soon as they announce the lineup, we'll be on our way to victory!" Kim taunted, linking arms with Trace.

"Really? We'll see. Here they come with the announcement now," Eve whispered, turning towards the small platform in the center of the stage under the disco ball.

"May I have your attention everyone. May I have your attention," Gemini called from the platform. "The first contest of the first annual Madison's Ball is about to begin!"

The crowd yelled in response.

Gemini laughed and went on. "Glad to hear it! Let's cut the small talk. The first dance of the night will be determined by Dizzy." Gemini put down the microphone and took a small object from a person next to the stage. She opened her hands, and revealed the "object" to be a small, beautiful brown puppy with black ears and paws. His eyes were large and round, as well as clear and brown. When you looked into them, your heart immediately melted and belonged to him. Everyone was in awe.

"Dizzy is this small terrier. Isn't he adorable? He's currently living at the Midway Animal Shelter, but could really use a nice, loving home to live in. If any of you are interested in adopting Dizzy, talk to me as soon as we get through with this. Now back to the contest! We have four sets of dog food: one for tango, one for waltz, one for disco, and one for freestyle. Whichever one Dizzy picks is the one that we'll have tonight. Got it? Good! Let's get this party started!"

Gemini gently released Dizzy and watched the little puppy wobble on his small legs. After much thought and pondering, Dizzy slowly made his wobbly way over to freestyle. Everyone clapped in rejoicing.

"Freestyle it is!" Gemini called above the roaring of the crowd. "All participants have five minutes to prepare. After that, just pray to God because we all know you'll need it if you want to keep all ten toes. Your five minutes starts...now!"

Three-fourths of the entire crowd moved out of the ballroom and into small rooms surrounding it. Gemini laughed until her sides hurt, when she caught a glimpse of Sloane leaning in the doorway. She immediately stopped laughing and looked at him with large brown eyes. He finally turned away, and as soon as he did Gemini did as well.

"Gemini, are you OK?" Robin came up from behind her. She noticed Gemini's faraway look, so she called her on it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gemini responded quietly. She picked up her dress and walked off the platform. "I just need some punch."

"What I think you need is a little bit of Sl-" Robin began.

"Don't say it!" Gemini interrupted sharply. "I do not want Sloane and I never will. The guy practically bit my head off when I was trying to be nice to him! Why on earth would I want a guy like that?"

"Because you love him."

"Love, Robin? Love is too strong of a word for a fourteen year old, don't you think?"

"Not in all cases. Look at Allan and Francesca, as well as Brent and Eve. Those two couples are obviously in love, the way they shower each other with sweet words of kindness and compassion. Those two couples are ones that you know should be together, and I just want to make sure you don't miss out on your chance."

"Trust me, Rob, I won't miss out. I have my entire life ahead of me and I don't plan to waste it pining away for a man I don't even want. Now come on, help me emcee this contest," Gemini said, grabbing Robin's gloved hand. As they were walking, Gemini suddenly stopped and felt her ear. "Dang! I lost my earring! That earring was priceless, Robin! Seeing how huge this dance floor is and how many shoes it could have gotten stuck on or in, I may never find it!"

"Calm down, Gem. I'll help you look for it."

"Calm down? Robin, I just lost an earring that was probably worth more than your parents' two-story, four bedroom, three bathroom, three-car garage house! If I don't find it, my parents will kill me!" Gemini began hyperventilating. "Look, I'll catch up with you. I've got to find that earring."

"OK. I'll just be over here in the corner," Robin said, walking towards a lonely table away from the dance floor.

Gemini made her way back to the platform, panic-stricken, and was stunned when she looked up to find Sloane standing there. "What are you doing up there?" she asked, trying to rebuke him but ending up sounding soft.

"I believe you dropped this," Sloane held up a small, golden object. "Bugs Bunny would've had a field day with these 24 carats."

Gemini smiled in relief, taking the earring from him and looking at it. "Thank you so much, Sloane. You don't know what you just saved me from," she stopped and looked up. "I really appreciate it."

Sloane flashed a brief smile at Gemini. "No problem. See ya around."

"Wait, don't you want to stay for the contest?" Gemini inquired hastily.

"Nah, I think I'll just head back home. I need my rest for tomorrow," Sloane said, turning around to leave.

"But Sloane!" Gemini shouted after him. "I...I..."

Sloane turned around. "You what?"

Gemini twiddled with the earring in her hand and cast her eyes downward. "I'd like it if you stayed."

"Really?" Sloane's eyes brightened.

"Yeah, I mean I don't want you to miss out on the first Madison's Ball ever. We need all of Midway Prep to participate to show their support and to remember Madison. Besides, it'd look kind of odd if you just left," Gemini explained.

The light disappeared. "Oh. I'll stay a little longer, but I'm leaving in a few."

"Thanks again, Sloane," Gemini turned and retreated towards Robin in the corner. It was so hard to fight the feelings you knew would eventually erupt. Gemini knew that best.

Allan sat down in a chair against the wall, waiting for Francesca to come back. Numerous questions were flashing through his mind, questions he needed answered fast. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice a young woman coming up to him.

"Allan?" a soft voice greeted him.

Allan looked up. He smiled when he recognized the soft olive face and rich light brown hair. "Adrienne. Francesca's friend, right?"

"Yeah," Adrienne smiled back. The smile faded when she saw the depressed look on Allan's face. "Is something wrong, Allan? Where's Francesca?"

"I don't know. She just ran off, and I don't even know where she is," Allan said helplessly.

Adrienne just put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into her eyes, those round, sympathetic, gentle gray eyes that seemed to hold all of the answers to those unanswered questions. "Trust in your love, Allan. Trust in it," was all she advised in her soft, sweet voice.

And for some reason, Allan believed her. He smiled and said, "Thank you."

Adrienne sat down next to Allan. "Allan, I know how much Francesca means to you. Don't have any doubts in that, because doubts are what destroy relationships. Francesca was probably just overwhelmed with emotion or something. The love between you two is too strong for it to be something else. I know that you and I don't know each other too well, but I know enough from what Francesca has told me to know that you're the man of her dreams. So you two just get out on that dance floor and show everyone who's boss, ok?"

Allan chuckled and looked up at Adrienne with sparkling eyes. "I'll do that, Adrienne."

"Good! It looks like this contest is kicking off, so if you'll excuse me I've got to go find a corner for myself" Adrienne began walking away.

"Adrienne-" Allan called, then hesitated.

Adrienne turned around. Her eyes were wistful and twinkling. "Yes?"

Allan looked downward. "Thanks for your advice."

The twinkle left Adrienne's eyes. She attempted smiling, but couldn't fully pull it off. "Any time." She began walking away again.

"Adrienne-" Allan called again.

This time Adrienne didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"You know, I haven't seen Francesca in about thirty minutes, I have no idea where she might be, and this contest is about to kick off. I really want to participate, and I really don't want you sitting in a corner all by yourself, so would you like to...would you like to," Allan hesitated.

Adrienne wheeled around, her eyes hopeful and sparkling. "Would I like to what?"

Allan looked up from the floor. "Would you like grant me the honor of being your partner in this contest?"

Adrienne beamed. "It would be my extreme pleasure."

Gemini stepped back up on the platform and grabbed the microphone. "OK, everyone! It's time! Let's kick this baby off and get those feet to freestyle! Is everybody ready?"

Everyone screamed in response.

Gemini smiled and nodded her head. "Then let's go ahead and get started. Here are the rules: first, you must keep doing the tango throughout the entire contest; second, if a judge taps you on the shoulder, you're outta there; third, go for creativity and passion, those are the ones that win; fourth, don't trip anyone, because if you did you'll immediately be thrown out of the contest. Didja get all that?"

"Yeah!" the crowd shouted in response.

"Then crank up the music, judges! The contest has begun!"

Gemini laughed as she stepped off of the stage. She was stunned to find Sloane there. "I thought you'd be gone by now."

"Hey, I'll leave if you don't want me here," Sloane turned to leave.

"No! No! That's not what I meant! I was just surprised that you'd stayed as long as you did. After all, you did say that you'd probably leave before the contest," Gemini countered.

"Is it a crime for a guy to change his mind?" Sloane grinned. He then donned a serious look and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Gemini was stunned. "I...well...see..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Sloane quickly said, though his eyes looked hurt.

Gemini looked up at Sloane. "Of course I'll dance. Let's go."

Gemini put her soft olive-skinned hand into Sloane's tanned, hardened one. The two smiled as they walked onto the dance floor.

"We've got this one, babe," Brent laughed down at Eve.

As Brent spun Eve around, she smiled back up at him. "I think we've got this down, too." When Brent dipped her, Eve was startled to find Chloe staring right at them. "What is up with that girl?"

"Who?" Brent inquired, moving closer to Eve while continuing to dance.

"Chloe! This whole time I've seen her staring at us dancing."

"Aw, Eve, don't be mean. She doesn't have a date, so she's probably just wanting to dance," Brent offered. "I'll go dance with her when the contest is over."

Eve pulled away sharply. "What? Brent, I'm your date, not Chloe! Dances are supposed to be for your girlfriend, not some girl you barely know!"

"Eve! Where's this coming from?" Brent questioned seriously.

Eve moved back towards Brent. "I just don't want to lose you, Brent. What we have means too much to me."

"Don't worry, Eve. What we have is forever."

"I thought that with all of the other boys I dated before you too! But all of those turned out to be false promises, and I don't want to get hurt again, Brent. Whether you want to realize it or not, there are threats to our relationship. I just don't want Chloe to be another one," the words rushed out of Eve's mess.

Brent looked down at Eve as they moved back and forth across the floor. "You have nothing to fear, Eve. Chloe is only a friend."

"With your habit of flirting she may turn out to be more!"

Brent took Eve's face in his two strong hands. "Don't worry, Eve. You're with me and that's all that matters." He drew her head close to his shoulder. He looked across the floor at Chloe, who was standing on the edge. Brent noticed how wistful her eyes looked, how much longing was held in them. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Here he was having the time of his life with his girlfriend while Chloe, sweet, innocent Chloe, stood on the edge of loneliness. Brent & Chloe locked eyes.

Chloe, noticing that Brent was looking at her, quickly diverted her eyes. "Get a hold of yourself, Chloe. Don't let him know."

"Don't let who know what?" Melanie asked, coming up from behind Chloe.

"Nothing," Chloe said quickly. "I was just rambling."

"Oh really? It sounded pretty serious to me," Melanie said, looking into Chloe's eyes for answers.

"Trust me, it was nothing. So what's up with you?"

"Would you believe that almost all of the girls have dates tonight? All except me, of course. Leave it up to Melanie to be dateless," Melanie sighed.

"Count me in. Dateless girls unite!" Chloe laughed and high-fived Melanie. "If only I could feel good about that."

"I know what you mean. When you've been looking for someone to love you practically all of your life, it's hard to look at everyone else who has it."

"I know!" Chloe exclaimed. "Everyone says that because we're so young, we don't need to think about those kind of things, but we do! We want to be loved just as much as the next thirtysomething!"

"Preach on! But it's like something's working against us to prevent us from finding true love," Melanie paused and sighed.

Chloe then put on her best smile and threw her arm around Melanie's neck, friend-like. "You know what, Melanie? We don't need a man to make us happy right now. I think we're doing just fine as it is. We have friends, school, and everything!"

Melanie only groaned. "Yeah, but friends and school can't fulfill those needs, Chloe."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Melanie, I hate to say this, but you sound like an insecure, man-obsessing parasite who's looking to feed off men. Don't even give me that look! You know it's true. I say it's high time we focus on more important things in our life like our future," Chloe preached on, walking with Melanie. "There's life after boys."

Mel walked over to Chantal, who was sitting by the punch table. He looked upon her with determined yet hesitant eyes. He bit his lip and moved closer. "Hey, Chantal."

Chantal looked up from the book she was smiling and grinned. "Hey, Mel. What's cookin'?"

Mel chuckled. "Nothing much. It just seems like there's a dance floor out there that's calling your name."

Chantal shook her head vigorously. "Oh, no you don't. There's no way in this world I will put one foot out on that floor. Dancing is not my thing."

"What a coincidence," Mel grinned, "it isn't mine either."

"Are you hinting at something, Mel Clark?" Chantal asked playfully.

"Hmm," Mel pretended he was deep in thought. "Could be!"

"Well whatever it is, get it out of your head because it ain't happening. This chair and I have become great friends over here, and I don't think it'd be polite to leave."

"Sorry, but that's too bad. I already signed us up for the dance contest," Mel said, words tumbling out of his mouth.

Chantal looked at Mel as if she'd seen a ghost. "No you didn't!"

"Oh yes I did, so if we don't get out there they'll disqualify us. Come on!" Mel grabbed Chantal's arm and dragged her out on the floor.

"Mel Clark, I'm going to get you for this!" Chantal shrieked.

"Fine, put it in your appointment book, but for now we have a contest to win," Mel said, putting his hands in Chantal's.

Chantal gazed into Mel's eyes, her's full of hope and expectancy. "Do you truly think we'll win?"

A small smile flickered at the corners of Mel's mouth. "There's only one way to find out."

Jake took a glass of punch over to Jessica. He noticed that she was deep in thought. "Anything troubling you?"

Jessica looked up with a start. "Hmm? What did you say?"

"I was asking if there was anything wrong."

"No, I wouldn't say wrong, exactly. It's just that I'm thinking about a lot of things going on in my life right now," Jessica sighed.

Jake's eyebrows raised. "Oh? Good things, I hope."

Jessica waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "Good and bad. There's a bunch of things going on right now that I need to sort out."

Jake grunted. "Talk about it. Things have been pretty chaotic since you went into your coma and since I've broken up with Kim." Jake's eyes glazed over. "Things really haven't been the same since."

Jessica stared at Jake intently. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A little bit of both, I'd say," Jake answered. "I mean, I lost a few friends when I broke up with Kim. They said that I was overprotective and jealousy-driven, but I don't see it as that. I thought that what I had with Kim was special, and I just wanted to protect that. I believed that we were really going somewhere, and when someone threatened that possible future, I suppose I just lost it."

Jessica looked away. "Oh."

"But," Jake took Jessica's hands in his, "things have changed since I found you. My heart was in a million tiny pieces, but you took them and mended them with your needle and thread of sympathy, kindness, and love. I truly thought I'd never go out with another person, but you brought something into my life no other girl has. I just want it to last."

Jessica beamed her brightest smile. "It will, Jake, trust me. I know there are some obstacles standing in our way..."

"Carrie," Jake mumbled.

"Among other things," Jessica laughed. "But you know, I really think we can get over them. Life hasn't always been easy, but I've learned that love and perseverance always win."

"You just keep saying that, Jess," Jake said. "We'll need words like that to keep us strong when things get down. Would you like some more punch?"

"No, thank you. I have someone I need to talk to," Jessica began moving her wheelchair towards a dark corner of the ballroom.

Carrie sighed impatiently. "Could you get me a drink, Joey? My throat's simply parched."

"Sure," Joey replied, getting up and moving towards the punch table.

Carrie watched him walk away, when someone caught her eye. She immediately recognized the wheelbound creature to be Jessica. A smirk appeared on her face. "Well, well, well. What do we have here."

"Hello, Carrie," Jessica greeted, though her voice was far from warm and kind.

"Why hello, Miss King. Whatever do I owe the pleasure of being in your presence to?" Carrie inquired sarcastically.

"There are some things we need to talk about. Now," Jessica explained.

"Oh? And what would those 'things' be? Please don't expect for me to pay your hospital bill. I know you may not be as fortunate as I," Carrie put her fingertips on her chest and gazed upward mockingly, "but I think you can pay for your own medical bills."

Jessica refused to laugh. "Cut the crap, Carrie. This serious."

Carrie got up and moved closer to Jessica. "The only thing that's serious, Jessica, is what will happen if you don't stay out of my way. I wasn't kidding when I said the things that I did at the hospital."

"Nor was I! Don't take me lightly just because I'm stuck in this," Jessica gestured down at her wheelchair. "I can do just as much damage, if not more, than I could when I wasn't in it."

"Please, Jessica. You don't scare me. I could rip you in two without even trying. I almost did as you can see," Carrie glanced at Jessica's wheelchair and laughed.

"You know what, Carrie? I'm getting fed up with your attitude. The time has come for you to pay for what you've done to me," Jessica snapped.

"Oh please. You can't do anything. There's nothing you can do to prove that I had anything to do with your oh-so-unfortunate accident," Carrie taunted.

"That's what you think. You see, Carrie. What you don't realize," Jessica drew a small tape recorder out of her pocket, "is that I have everything that I need to convict you of attempted murder." Jessica laughed at Carrie's confused look. "It's time for you to take a dose of your own medicine." Jessica slowly pushed the play button.

"Don't you dare even think of threatening me, Jessica. Being in a coma will seem ten times better than what I'll do to you if you think about attacking me, do you hear? You listen to me, and you listen to me clearly. I will put you away for good if you try and go against me." Carrie's words rang clear and incriminating.

Jessica laughed at Carrie's shocked and frightened look. "What's the matter, Carrie? Cat got your tongue?"

"You are an evil-" Carrie began.

"I guess I can't help it. After all, you know what they say: 'Payback's a b-'."

"You wanna see b-, I can show you b-. Keep your mouth shut or I'm going to come after you, and I'm sure you don't want that," Carrie hissed.

"Just what can you do, Carrie?" Jessica questioned sarcastically, folding her arms and sitting back in her wheelchair.

"Well," Carrie began, "I'm sure that you value your relationship with Jake greatly, don't you?"

Jessica sprang forward with a start. "You leave Jake and my relationship with him out of this!"

"Like I said, Jess," Carrie sneered, "don't mess with me."

Francesca wiped her eyes. The night air was crisp with cold, but that wasn't the reason that Francesca was shivering. She was shivering with fear. "How could I have let this happen?" Francesca whispered, a small tear falling from her glazed eyes. "How?"

"You weren't careful enough," a voice came from behind Francesca.

Francesca spun around to see Amber. "Go away, Amber. This is not the time."

"Look, Francesca. I'm not out here to fight. I saw you run out of the mansion, so I decided to come out here to see how you were doing," Amber explained, wrapping her jacket closer around her.

Francesca scoffed. "Since when did you give a flip about how I felt? You were the one that did this to me!"

"I know, and I truly am sorry that it had to come this far," Amber said softly.

"No you're not! Ever since July you've been determined to ruin my life! You schemed, you manipulated, you did everything in your power to get me to give up the title of Miss Midway! Then you come out here and say you're sorry? You know, you're unbelievable, Amber."

"You just don't understand, Francesca! You don't realize how much that title meant to me!" Amber cried. "You don't realize how much I lost when you took that crown."

"Just what did you lose, Amber? One less boyfriend out of the hundred that you have every school year?"

"No! I lost the respect of so many people when I didn't win. Everyone looked down at me because I lost to a girl who was gone for half of the summer," Amber said. "My parents, especially my mother, was severely disappointed. Do you know what she said when I spoke to her over the phone?"

"No. What did she say?" Francesca asked softly.

"She said, 'I thought you were better than that, Francesca. You don't let some other girl just come in and take your territory. You obviously don't have what it takes to hold on to it. Your father and I are greatly disappointed to you.'"

"Did they really?"

"Yes, they did! I know it sounds really shallow, but it hurts when your own mother says that. You see, my parents don't care about anything but that. I bring home a report card with straight-A's and they just grunt and push it to the side."

"That's terrible."

"All my parents have cared about is how good I look to other people. As soon as I was able to walk, they were putting me in beauty pageants, trying to show me off to the world. They've been sending me off to Cotillion since the age of eight and have been sending me back every winter so that I can be 'presented to society' in my Junior year. God, do you know what it's like to live under that kind of pressure? And now, I mess up, and I've disappointed them beyond reconciliation. I've tried so hard to make them happy, but it seems like nothing works. That is why losing the crown was so devastating, Francesca!" Amber finished vehemently, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Francesca, in silence, went over to hug Amber. "I'm sorry, Amber. I didn't know it meant so much to you."

For a few moments, Amber just let herself go into Francesca's arms. Soon, though, she tensed up and pulled away sharply. She wiped her puffy eyes with running mascara quickly. "I'm going to get the crown back, Francesca! I'm going to make them proud!"

"Amber..." Francesca said helplessly.

"No! I will make them proud! I will!" Amber said, running off frantically, repeating the phrase over and over again. "I won't let you take away my parents' faith in me, Francesca! I won't let you take away their pride!"

Kim beamed and whispered into Trace's ear, "It's down to us, Brent & Eve, Gemini & Sloane, and Allan and some other girl."

Trace looked quickly at Allan. "You're right! What on earth is Allan doing with another girl? Francesca's going to be mad!"

Kim took Trace's face in her hands and turned him towards her. "That's their problem. We're so close to winning this contest, Trace. Let's finish strong."

Trace smiled, sending Kim into an outstretched spin, but continued holding onto her fingertips. "You got it babe!"

Brent looked at Eve tenderly. She was so beautiful, so sweet, and everything he wanted. Yet something kept tugging at the back of his mind. Something kept nagging at him whenever he thought of his relationship with Eve. He found his eyes drifting over to Chloe. She was so kind, so gentle, and so innocent. In the few weeks he'd grown to become friends with her, he'd found that she had a wonderful sense of humor and a heart to go with it. She was a great friend, he kept telling himself.

Eve put her head on Brent's chest. She closed her eyes and flowed with the now slow music. She seemed to be on Cloud Nine at that time. She had the man of her dreams and that's what made her happy. Many had told her that she seemed to devote all of her time to her relationship, but Eve always responded with a laugh and a sigh. She explained to those interrogators that she was a love-seeker, a young woman who's goal in life was to find true love, wherever it may be. Many thought Eve to be naive and inexperienced when it came to boys and their ways, but Eve thought she was just a young girl in love. It was in that love that she found strength and security. Life hadn't always been easy for her, but her relationship with Brent seemed to outshine all of the shadows that seeped through her walls of happiness. It was in her love that she found shelter from the harsh realities of teenage society.

"We have this one, Brent. We have it," Eve whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah," Brent responded, turning his attentions back to Eve. "You and I, babe. You and I."

Allan found himself closing his eyes and drifting away on wings of pleasure. It felt so good to be able to dance to beautiful music, to be able to move with the smooth, rhythmic tones that were coming softly from the string players on the stage. It seemed so right. He opened his eyes quickly, a confused look now coming onto his face. He looked down at Adrienne. How could it be right without Francesca? How could he dance with another woman and still find pleasure in it? It wasn't right, it wasn't ethical.

"Are you having a good time?" Adrienne asked softly.

"Yes," Allan replied without hesitation. That worried him either more.

"Then if you're having as good a time of a time as me, then we'll win. I truly think so," Adrienne said, her voice sweet and gentle.

"You know what?"

Adrienne looked up. "What?"

"I believe you."

Gemini and Sloane seemed to float across the floor. Their feet moved in perfect rhythm, their eyes, though closed, seemed to be looking directly at each other. They moved together as one being. They were oblivious to anyone else around them. The two of them danced as one entity in a vastness of space. Gemini and Sloane found themselves exploding with emotions, emotions they'd worked so hard to keep.

Gemini finally opened her eyes. She saw one of the judges go up to Kim and Trace and tap them on the shoulder. She saw them amble off the dance floor, defeated.

Sloane opened his eyes. He eyed a judge who walked onto the floor and made her way over to Brent and Eve. He spotted the devastated look on their face as they walked off the floor.

And so the dancing continued on. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a judge walked onto the floor, halfway between Gemini & Sloane and Allan & Adrienne. After a moment's pausing, he walked over to Allan and Adrienne and tapped them on the shoulder. Gemini & Sloane had won.

The music played on outside of the small, red-wallpapered room that Randall lead Ariel to. Ariel yanked her arm out of Randall's grasp. "What do you want, Randall?"

"Patience is a virtue. Ever heard that before?" Randall asked sarcastically.

Ariel eyed Randall disgustedly. "I'm not in the mood to play your games, Randall. Just say whatever you have to say so that I can go continue on with my life."

"Fine," Randall responded, startling Ariel, "I'll tell you. I need you to take care of a job for me."

"You've got to be kidding! Look, Randall, no offense, but you don't exactly have the best reputation in this school. You've been known to do some dirty scheming and hatched some nasty plans. I'm not about to get myself involved in something like that."

"Either you help me or I'll take you out along with everyone else in this school," Randall stated promptly. He smiled at the confused and fearful look on Ariel's face.

Ariel shook her head and inched closer to Randall. "What are you talking about, Randall? What do you mean you're going to take everyone out?"

Randall remained silent.

"Tell me!" Ariel shouted.

"If you must know," Randall began, "I'm going to get revenge on all of the people who destroyed my chances at success."

"Not this again," Ariel groaned, turning to leave.

Randall put a strong hand on Ariel's shoulder, preventing her from leaving. "You're not going anywhere, missy. I think it's time that I fill you in on everything that I'm going to do to those jerks who did what they did to me."

"Why? Why me? I had nothing to do with that and you know it," Ariel snapped. "You have no right to do this to me!"

Randall laughed. "That's what you think! You see, Ariel, you and I are a lot alike."

"Come on-"

"Just let me finish," Randall broke into her speech. "You and I both have things we want in life, and we both know that we have to do certain things to get them. I think it's about time that we both turn on the people who rejected us."

"Rejected us?" Ariel questioned, but this time her voice was much softer.

"Oh yes," Randall said, nearly smiling because he knew he was toying with Ariel's insecurities. He moved behind her and began talking into Ariel's ear, with her facing forward with wide eyes. "I know all about how your friends turned against you when they learned that you were going after Gemini's boyfriend. I know how they turned their backs on you when you needed them most. You see, I've gone through that same thing."

"You have?"

"Yes, I have. That's why I say that we let them feel the same exact pain that they threw so mercilessly on us. It's payback time," Randall said, so close to Ariel now that he was whispering in her ear.

"Payback time," Ariel repeated in monotone.

"Yes. No one tonight is going to leave here unaffected by what I have planned. No one."

As soon as the music died down, Christian made his way onto the platform in the center of the floor. "Let's give it up for Gemini Narcissus and Sloane Buchannan, our winners!"

The crowd let out a wild cheer. Then they settled down into silence once more.

"I'm sure that everyone had a great time dancing, listening to the music, and talking, but believe it or not, there's a certain reason for us being here. We're here to remember an extraordinary young woman known as Madison Gray.

"Some of her friends called her Maddie or Mad, or just plain Madison. No matter what she was addressed as, one thought always comes to mind whenever her name is mentioned: she was an angel. From the first day that I knew Madison, which was way back in the day, Kindergarten that is, I knew she was someone special. On that first day, when I stumbled helplessly into the expansive room that was to be my classroom for nine months, she was the first one to come up and greet me. I remember it clearly, she invited me to play with her blocks in the corner. Even back then, she had that famous, open-lipped smile. I knew right then that she was one of a kind.

"That wasn't the only reason that she was special. As we grew older, things became much more complex than just playing with blocks. Madison was always doing something. She was either taking gymnastics, playing her piano, swinging her hardest in softball, or anything. You name it, Madison was doing it. That girl never got tangled up into the petty jealousies and catfights that other girls our age had. She always had that smile and a kind word to offer. She was always there to offer her support even when you knew things weren't going so good for her in her own life. She was our rock.

"And so we continued to grow older, and many of us changed. We grew into short tempers, explosive angers, and sharp put-downs. We began thinking some people weren't as important as others, that whatever we did was OK, no matter what the consequences were. Madison never did. If anything, her gentleness and support grew. She knew that we were going thorough tough times with all of our hormones raging throughout our body. Madison felt the same things in her life, but she was in so much more control. She was always there to help us gain back that control when we lost it, which was quite often. She was always there to help, because that's what she did best. Madison Gray was dedicated to helping others. I remember a countless number of holidays each year in which Madison would head down to the homeless shelter or any volunteer organization to offer her services. She didn't do it for money. She did it for the pure joy that she had from putting a smile on someone's face, for making someone just a little bit happier when there was so much to be sad about.

"Then came that fateful day: New Year's Eve, 1999. We were all heading to a party at the Arboretum. Her mother was driving us there. It was the perfect night: a violet-black night sky lit up with millions of tiny stars. Everything seemed to be so perfect. Then it happened.

Christian paused a minute and took a deep breath before continuing. "None of us saw it coming. We were just laughing and chatting merrily when out of nowhere we saw these huge headlights. There was this enormous truck that was swerving back and forth on this road that was going to intersect with the one we were on. We were at a speed where we couldn't stop in time, and both we and the truck arrived at the intersection at the same time. The truck slammed into the passenger side. Madison was killed instantly. There was no time to say goodbye, there was no time to say thank you. There was no time. Madison was killed by a young man who had gotten drunk at another New Year's Eve party. The man...that man survived with only a few minor injuries, but Madison's life was destroyed. And folks, I know you don't like to be preached to, but please take from this instance that if you're drunk, get a sober friend to take you home. And if you're not drunk but you know someone is, give them a ride home or encourage them to stay where they are. You don't want some innocent young girl much like Madison was to be killed because of your ignorance and mistake. In honor of Madison, with the help of Midway Prep administrators and several Midway businesses, we're setting up the Madison Fund. This fund goes to the millions of children much like the ones Madison helped at the shelters that aren't as fortunate as you and I are. I encourage you all to contribute, because it would be the ultimate tribute to the memory of a fantastic young woman. And I'm sure that Madison, up in Heaven, is smiling down on us now and, even in death, is continuing to support us during our tough times.

Christian paused again, a tear rolling swiftly down his cheek. Many of the faces in the audience mirrored his own. He continued on, "So we need to remember the real reason that we're having this ball tonight. We're here to remember a golden-haired, brown-eyed, glasses-sporting young woman with a heart of gold. Madison...she...she was a true gift from God. I told you that I suspected it before, but now, on this day one year later, I know it's true: Madison is an angel," Christian choked up. Tears flowed down his cheeks openly. Shannon went up on the platform and gave him a hug, tears dampening her own cheek. Grasping Shannon's hand tightly, he finally continued on. "Heaven truly gained someone special when Madison arrived."

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