39. Welcome to the Party

"Tizzy, on Standby, Group A,"

"Sonya, ballroom, Group B"

"Noell, ballroom,"

"Jamie, ballroom,"

"Maisie, 10 Downing Street, Group C,"

"Cassie, 10 Downing Street,"

"Vahn, kitchen, Grou,"

"Kaeden, Final check, Good Luck Team,"

3rd Person POV

The Ballroom: Group B

Noell quickly walks alongside the charming Jamie Caspian, arm in arm as she pushed a lock of curled brown hair behind her ear. The handsome man only complimented her sweeping white gown of innocence with a sinful design that drew the attention of all who gazed upon her. She enjoyed the attention but her mind was a focused hum of confidence and sex appeal. As much as she longed for Jamie's adoration, there was only one man in this ballroom whom she was seducing tonight.

Thinking of Jamie, she tilted her head to the side catch a glance of the pretty eye candy on her arm. A steamy American boy in the flesh was about as rare as they come in her life and he wasn't hers. Pity.

But Noell could tell by Jamie's stern face and his tense body language that he was not okay.

"Christ Jamie, would you loosen up a bit? I mean unless this is your idea of playing a straight guy. If so, please continue," her words earn a small hint of a smile from Jamie, who runs his fingers through his newly dyed blonde hair.

"Oh sorry, was I too deep in character?" he asks causing Noell to giggle lightly. He clears his throat in nervous anticipation as the pair hold out their wrists to the ushers who scan the white bands hijacked for them by Tizzy. The ushers scan them with their eyes, paying special attention to Noell who throws a flirtatious smile before they're let in. Jamie turns his head and follows their group leader Sonya who also gets in without a problem and quickly joins Noell's side.

"Group B is in," She speaks into the communicator to alert the others before she breaks apart from Jamie and Noell to scan the crowd. Jamie follows Noell and eyes the crowd. They were on the hunt for two people.

Damien Giani and the representative from the Grayson family who appeared to bargain for their taken nephews.

The bass from the music caused the floor to vibrate underneath their feet as they mingled deeper into the ball. A whole orchestra played on as the three deviants walked among the rich and famous undetected. Smiles plastered on their faces as they kept to themselves.

Sonya grasped a small flute of champaign from the waiter with dark black hair and streaks of violet which reflected off the lights coming from the glass chandeliers. He watched her with a straight face and Sonya pretended she didn't recognize him, but felt safer under his watchful gaze.

She took a small sip from the flute just to fit in. Damien Giani was nowhere in her sights and the crowd of men and women slipped past her without a word. Eventually, she settled for a small break in the crowd and took another sip from the glass, her smudged dark maroon lipstick sticking to the rim in an unladylike fashion.

Swirling the light colored liquid in the glass, she watched as men passed her without a single glance. When she went out tonight she thought she was beautiful, her boosted confidence was broken by her invisibility. Maybe the others had lied to her out of pity.

One man passed by her and looked at her, but his sneer only broke her down further. She wasn't here because she was actually attending this ball, she's here on a mission. She should be invisible, right? It's a good thing.

But the beautiful Noell a mile away from her across the dance floor had drawn the attention of nearly every guest. The name Christina drifted through the crowds like wildfire and everyone knew her alias.

Sonya downed the glass before setting it on a tray and taking another, she goes back to scanning the crowd, trying to ignore the pain of self-pity hitting her heart before making eye contact with a man she knew.

"SONYA!"

The zookeeper shouted her name above the crowd, clearly drunk and out of his mind.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sonya cursed under her breath as she tried to search for a way out but the ex-boyfriend seemed inescapable.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were like...poor," he hiccups as he gets extremely close to her face, so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"I-I'm here with a friend," She says, before making eye contact with waiter Vahn, who sees how uncomfortable she is and starts cautiously walking towards her.

"Just a friend? Or more?" He winks and she tries to push him away but she was too big to move.

"Cause if its just a friend I will gladly-"

"Ah, there you are! I thought I lost you!"

Sonya tilts her head to the deep yet unfamiliar voice strutting towards her and the air quickly escapes her. Her savior was a tall well-dressed man with long blonde hair tied back in a put together fashion and piercing blue eyes that had locked onto her chocolate brown ones. His gaze shifts to the zookeeper, who quickly jumps back from the mans naturally intimidating vibes radiating off his large muscular figure.

"Oh, sorry I should, um, yeah," He stutters before stumbling elsewhere but Sonya's focus was so trained on this gorgeous man, that out of a large crowd of beautiful women, had actually walked up to her. This man noticed her and she no longer felt uncomfortable.

"Sorry, it looked like he was bothering you," he speaks with a deep voice that sent a chill down Sonya's spine.

"Yes, um thank you so much," She could barely squeak and felt embarrassed by her lack of sophisticated wording.

"No problem, you look a little lost although if you hate crowds I must admit, I'm quite impressed by your gift of finding a perfect nook to hide in. You must teach me your ways," he chuckles with such a deep rumble it was as if Sonya could feel it in her chest and he took a step closer to her.

"But a beautiful woman like you shouldn't feel the need to hide. Come, dance with me." He almost demands instead of asking. His English was perfect but there was a hint of an accent she couldn't put her finger on. For some reason, the accent sounded familiar.

He holds out his hand to her but she shyly tries to retreat back into her corner of invisibility.

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a dancer," She speaks honestly and instead of moving on to the next woman, he stays put. A glint of determination appears in his glowing light blue eyes.

"You don't have to be. It's my job to lead and show off your beautiful dress. All you have to do is follow. Look, it's a slow song which should be an easy start," He offers and she somehow knew he wasn't going to give up.

Sonya gives in and places her hand in his, which he bows in return and kisses like a gentleman you only hear of in those old historical fictions. A strange hum runs through her body and causes her heart to race at a mile a minute. If she could blush through her dark skin, she would be the deepest shade of red.

He takes her out onto the dance floor amongst thousands of other couples and intertwines his fingers in hers before taking her hand and placing it on his bicep before taking her waist.

"You know, I just realized I'm probably the stupidest man alive," he says almost out of the blue causing Sonya to release a small giggle.

"And why do you say that?" She asks as they grow slightly closer.

"Well you see, I'm actually quite shy, but I noticed you the moment you stepped foot in this room. And after kicking myself a few times, I finally get the chance to talk to you and now I even get to dance with you, but I was in such a rush that I forgot to ask for your name," He nervously explains and Sonya couldn't help but smile in his very presence. Stepping even closer to his comforting gaze.

"I'm Sonya," She regains her ability to speak and his smile warms her closely guarded heart.

"Sonya...it's lovely to meet you. I'm AJ. Umm, AJ Grayson," He says and mention of his last name she clumsily trips on her own feet but he catches her and turns what could have been her demise into an elegant spin which shows off her beautiful dress.

Once he pulls her back he could sense she knew the person he had been sent to find.

"From that reaction, I'm guessing you're friends with my little brother Finley. I hope he hasn't done anything that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. I can assure you I find him just as unbearable as you," He quickly explains and Sonya chuckles at the sentiment which seems to relax AJ, who feared the name would scare her away.

"Yes, I'm one of his close friends. Are you sure you're brothers? You're absolutely nothing alike, in looks or mannerisms," She questions and he rolls his impossibly blue eyes, that had Sonya mesmerized.

"Good, we like to keep it that way. Who knew one small man could cause so much trouble? Now could you please inform my brother-in-law that my father...oh nevermind. Looks like he found him," He looks over my shoulder and shakes his head. Somehow, just knowing he was related to Fin flooded Sonya with relief. He was no longer a handsome stranger on the dance floor. He was someone she would see again.

"Eh, I'll let my father take care of that. I'd rather stay here for a little while longer and dance with you," He shrugs it off and the two focus on each other for as long as the peace remained unbroken.

But sadly, that wasn't for long.

*********************

Introducing Dylan Sprouse as the adult AJ Grayson; Finley's half-brother.