(Elias’ POV) My nerves got stronger as we drove closer to the location. There was every chance that this would go wrong. I tried to draw Harper out by making small talk. I mentioned that I had made sture Stokes wasn’t ruining her birthday by bugging her and she smiled and thanked me. She kept looking out of the window and I readied myself, just in case she realised where we were heading and reacted badly.  I pulled into the side of the road where I was directed and saw the pathway we were to take. I glanced over at Harper who was looking out the window. She seemed uneasy in herself but when I helped her out of the car she smiled at me. We began down the path and just as I saw the lights decorating the gazebo come into view I felt Harper stiffen and then gasp behind me. I turned quickly and she was staring at me with

(Harper’s POV) I woke up enveloped in the warmth of arms wrapped around me. Elias’ scent surrounded me and I felt a peace inside me that I hadn’t felt in a really long time. If ever at all. I laid there, not wanting to break the spell. And I know that there was some small part in me that wanted to hold on to this feeling like my life depended on it. And yet there was a bigger part that was scared, scared of allowing myself to be taken in, to trust someone else fully with that broken part of me. To see beyond the shield and see how fucked up I really was. Because what if they saw that and they rejected me? What if they decided that there were too many pieces to fix and what if after showing them the truth in what I was they left me there, exposed with my own feelings? And no way to know how to build my wall again.  Or worse, what if they stayed? What if they were really in for the long haul? They come armed with emotional superglue and dili

(Colton’s POV)  ****Ten years ago*** “Hey!” I felt a sharp pain in my arm and glared round at Damien. “What the fuck, man?” I exclaimed, rubbing my arm where he had just punched me. “You just got us killed, you idiot!” he said, and pointed to the large screen in front of us. I blinked and saw the words GAME OVER splashed across the screen in red writing that was meant to look like blood splatter, “Seriously man, those twerps annihilated us because you were too busy mentally wanking off in your head” Damien snapped. Geez, it was just a computer game, but he had been restless lately, so I let him off. “Shit, sorry man,” I said. “I guess I was just thinking about-” “Harper,” Damien rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I know” “It’s just, she seemed different today,” I said, thinking back to the morning I had spent with my angel.  “She seemed like she was coming around to things,” Which I was happy about

(Harper’s POV)I looked at myself in the mirror and scowled. Dress comfy! That’s what the note said. I mean, what the fuck did that mean. Dress comfy means pajamas or joggers, but a date required more. What did date comfy mean? I had changed between my skinny black jeans and my black joggers twice now. I huffed at myself in the mirror and pulled my messy bun down and let my hair fall down my back. It was already 5pm, and I was getting annoyed at myself for being such a girl. I sighed. Screw it! Black joggers and a purple sleeveless top. With my hair down and a touch of lip gloss and mascara and I was giving in. I grabbed my mobile phone and headed out the door and bumped straight into a wall of muscle. I looked from the black t-shirt that was pulled tight around the chest to Elias’ smiling face. I got a full on smell of his sea salt and mint scent and I forgot what I was doing as I felt a stirring inside of me. Elias&rsquo

(Harper’s POV) I looked in the mirror at my reflection and smiled.The full length black dress had a sheer back with diamonds sewn in that looked like they floated on my bare skin and one leg could be seen through the thigh high split. My hair was styled in a curled updo with a few curls trailing down against my shoulders and sparkled with diamond style hair clips. I had my makeup simple with barely a silver sheen across my eyes and cheeks and pale, almost skin tone lip gloss. The only jewellery I wore was the ring that I was unable to remove. I looked at Louise in the mirror, who looked stunning in her silver satin full length dress and I was reminded of ten years ago when we were in my room getting ready for the ball.  So much had changed in that time. I was sad that Katie wasn’t here with us, but it had become apparent that the distance between Katie and Louise was more than just time. I had tried to ask Louise about it, but she had just