This chapter is dedicated to MissKYLex for reading, voting and all her awesome comments. Thank you!

Lisa finally came back with another doctor and after she was satisfied that everything is in order, I was free to go. I lumbered out of the hospital with Lisa right behind me and she drove us to an ice cream parlor. I was mostly silent, giving one word answers but Lisa didn't give up trying to talk to me.

"You've got to snap out of this Em. That douchebag isn't worth a second of your time," Lisa said after the waiter had left with our order.

"I know, I'm trying," I sighed.

"You should go out with Kyle. Maybe make out a bit to get that self-centered toad out of your head.

I laughed dryly in response.

"What's going on with you two anyway? Laura mentioned something about 7 days and a deal." She dug into the huge chocolate ice cream sundae that the waiter had just placed in front of her. I poked at my vanilla and chocolate sundae.

"I gave up fighting him off and decided to take a shot at forgiving him. I told him that it was going to be hard to trust him again and he asked for seven days to earn back my trust," I replied in a monotone.

"Eat. Chocolate is healthy," she said pointing at my ice-cream with her spoon. I forced down a spoonful of ice cream and because she was still glaring at me, I took in another.

"What day is he on now?" she asked going back to devouring hers.

"He's been busy lately with the case and all so we haven't really had time to hang out, but he calls to check on me and we talk on the phone for hours." I replied.

"Maybe you should suggest going out to dinner or something?"

"You want me to ask him out?"

Lisa shrugged. "You want to go out with him don't you? And after seeing Craig, you need the healing touch of another man so feel free to do some heavy petting." She wiggled her eyebrows at me and for the first time since we saw Craig, I laughed.

"You're worse than Kyle." I shook my head.

She rolled her eyes and licked the ice cream off the top of her lip. "Okay fine, since you won't go out with him, you're stuck with me."

"Uh oh," I said and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Wear a ball gown and be ready by 7," she instructed me as we stood up, having finished our treat.

"I don't think I should go anywhere with you. We got arrested last time we were out together," I whined.

"You'll be fine. I can guarantee there won't be any cops there," she said driving off to the hotel. I grudgingly agreed and when she dropped me off at the hotel I went through the clothes mum had brought me. None of them were what Lisa would define as 'fancy' so I waited for mum to get back so we could go shopping for a dress together. Needless to say, she was thrilled about a shopping trip, as I had known she would be and we went from store to store, trying on dress after dress.

If it had been up to me I would have grabbed the first cocktail dress I saw on the rack in the first shop we entered and be done with it but my mum was having none of that. All the dresses I tried on were either too mummyish or too teen-styled or something. Finally, just when I was about to grab a dress, any dress and run with it to the counter to pay for it before mum could catch me she came smiling widely at me, handed me a maroonish-red dress and pushed me into the changing rooms. I sighed and tried it on and when I looked into the mirror I had to admit, it was a beautiful dress. The dress hugged my body tightly from the top up to my knees where it flared out in ruffles that swept the ground and stretched out a little way behind me. I loved it and when I went out of the dressing room to show mum she was absolutely ecstatic. Finally, we'd found the right dress.

We went back to the hotel with the dress and I only had 2 hours left to get ready. I took a quick shower, put on the dress and mum helped me braid my hair and put it up. I was just touching up my make up when there was a knock on the door. Lisa came in wearing an elegant wine-red gown that hugged all her curves and flowed to her feet. A slit that went up to her mid-thigh showed off her shapely leg.

"You look beautiful Em," she said looking me up and down.

"So do you," I complimented her.

"Now you just need one more thing and your outfit will be complete," she said digging into the golden purse she was carrying.

"You're not going to give me a corsage right? You do know prom was years ago," I joked.

"Aww and I thought I'd be the perfect prom date," Lisa said sarcastically. "There it is," she said and pushed me back onto the chair in front of the dressing table. She proceeded to draw something around my eyes and I tried in vain to see what she was doing.

"I already did my eye make-up," I tried to tell her but she didn't listen and continued drawing with her eyeliner.

"You need the war paint woman. So sit quietly and suck it up," she said. Mum laughed and watched whilst Lisa tortured me. After what felt like hours, she was done and she moved aside to let me see what she had been doing.

For the second time that day, I was breathless. She had painted a lovely pattern around both my eyes, making it look like I was wearing a mask.

"Wow," mum said as she looked at me.

Lisa nodded approvingly at my reflection. "Now you're ready for the masquerade ball!"