Jessica's Fate

Chapter 25

I hurried in the shower, washing my hair first so that the conditioner element Gabriel had used could activate before final rinsing. I got out and wrapped my wet hair up in a towel before drying myself off and getting dressed in the appropriate undergarments for my dress later.

I certainly wasn't going to have to get dressed carefully later because he did something elaborate with my hair. I wrapped my robe around myself, belting it securely.

Okay, Jess. My eyes locked with their reflection in the mirror. Time to go let Gabriel fulfill his lifelong dream of creating a Pretty, Pretty Prom Princess.

With a life sized Barbie doll for the day.

I sighed softly and ventured back downstairs, heading into my old bedroom. "Okay people." I grinned at them. Mom was still hanging out with the two of them, studying my dress. "I'm ready to be turned into a prom queen."

"Are you going for that?" Mom asked.

"Probably not." I said as Sang cleared me a space to sit down on a chair. "It'll be one of the popular girls. What I'm most looking forward to is the dances. They let us all submit 3 songs for the playlist." I grinned at her. "My first one was 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi."

Mom's face lit up in a huge grin. "Excellent." She gave me a quick fist bump. "That's my girl."

"What else was on your list?" Sang asked as Gabriel moved behind me and started to squeeze a bit more water out of my hair.

"My faster sort of dance pick was 'Can't Sleep Love' by Pentatonix." I told her. "And then my slow pick was 'Heaven' by Bryan Adams."

"Another good retro pick." Mom chuckled. "You have good taste in songs, baby girl." She came over and kissed my forehead. "I'm going to go make sure that there are some lighter snacks available for you to have for lunch."

"Thanks, Mom." I said as Gabriel began to comb my hair out. "So, what are you thinking? Up or down?"

He tilted his head to look at me and then looked over at the dress. "I'm thinking that I'm going to return you to your roots." He grinned at me. "A fancy braided up do, worthy of Katniss Everdeen."

"Sounds like a great plan to me." I said.

Sang smiled. "But if she wants to let it down later, the pins will be easy to pull out, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, my hope is that you won't want to do that but if you do, it'll turn into an elaborate braid down your back."

I nodded as well. "Sounds pretty." I said softly. "Thank you both for helping me out today." I said.

"Ah, you know we wouldn't let you get ready on your own." He grinned at me. "So, first... mani/pedi." He stated.

~ ~ ~

~A~

Zack studied his reflection in the mirror.

He hoped he'd made the right choice. He'd called the number like he'd told Luke he would. He went to the appointment.

He was completely surprised when the clerk, a woman named Greta, handed him an envelope that had two offers in it.

Anonymous offers.

If he honestly had to wager a guess, he'd almost suspect Jessica's Academy ties to be behind it.

He was ready to update the almost to be removed because why would anyone else help him in this way if they weren't somehow already looking out for her as family?

One offer was for everything he needed tonight to be heavily discounted and allowed him to pick and choose what he wanted to use tonight. He had totaled up the offers and he would still have needed to come up with almost $300 for the evening he wanted to treat her to.

The other, more curious and more appealing, offer was for a specific evening lay out. He'd thought back to his conversation with Luke several times and realized this was on purpose. Even though Luke had stressed that it wasn't for favors, because frankly, he didn't have many favors to his name right now and his team was very low in general. The offer was designed for the favors to be paid later and if wanted, could be paid by any member of his team as long as the favors were paid off within 5 years.

He'd talked it over with them. It was important that they understood what he was getting himself into and through that meeting, they realized that they didn't have enough ready cash to help him cover the first offer. So, a vote it was and all 6 of them were 'willing and would obey'.

And here he was, finishing formal look by tying his bow tie. Because this wasn't a rental. The note and offer was very clear that at some point in his life, he'd probably need a tux anyway so this was an investment in his future. And who could turn down the offer of Armani?

There was going to be a car picking him up soon. A limo and driver, provided for the evening. There were flowers for Jessica, a pale shade of pink that he was assured was the same shade as her dress. They were going to dine at one of Charleston's premier restaurants – a special price fix menu, a chef's tasting if you will. All at no upfront cost, just those 6 favors to be named later over 5 years. He sighed softly and sent his team a text.

~Off I go, thx for agreeing to help~

He silenced his phone and slid it into his jacket inside pocket and picked up the flowers, leaving his place and locking up, just as the limo arrived. He blinked slightly at the sight of the largely built driver. "Hi." He said tenetively.

The other man grunted and crossed his arms, studying him. "Prom night, da?"

Zack blinked at the Russian accent. "Yes." He agreed. "Thanks for driving."

The driver reached for the door and opened it. "Is good. I'm here for girl. You do anything out of line, I will see your ass in slink."

Zack frowned. "In a sling?"

"Same."

"No worries, man." Zack said hurriedly. "I don't disrespect my girlfriend by being out of line like that." He said, getting into the car.

"Good." Was the only reply before the door was shut and the driver got into the car again.

"Do you need the address?"

"GPS already loaded."

Zack sat back in the seat and tried to relax. Everything was going to be fine, right? "Squirrel." He blurted, kicking himself for not trying the Academy greeting system before he'd gotten into the car.

His driver glanced into the rear-view mirror and grinned. "Taco." He said before chuckling. "Good to check." He said. "You and girl are safe. Trust the professional Russian."

Zack wanted to trust him but there was something about the casual use of the phrase 'professional Russian' that just was going to keep him on his most alert state for at least the duration of the times they were in the car.