To say Amy felt nervous was an understatement. As she stood in front of the floor length mirror Zen had lent her, clad in the mint green evening gown he had bought for her, every imperfection and flaw she had seemed to exaggerate itself in her reflection till she resembled a caricature more than an actual person. Groaning, she tried posing a couple different ways with the hope that she if she stood just right that she wouldn't look half bad, but to her dismay, one of her flaws was always showing and ruining the image in front of her no matter what position she took. Groaning loudly in defeat, she flopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes, her face scrunching up into a cute pout.

"I can't go looking like this. I'll be a laughing stock." she thought to herself as she groaned again, hiding her face in her hands.

Amy was so engrossed in her despair that she didn't hear the soft creaking of the bedroom door opening or the tiptoe of Zen's feet as he silent crept towards her, a smirk on his lips as he gazed down at her. Easing himself down onto Amy's mattress, her gently pried her hands away to reveal the gorgeous face he had come to love more than his own.

"What's the matter, babe? You look troubled." he purred after placing a gentle kiss on the tip of Amy's nose.

Slowly, Amy's eyes fluttered open and stared up into his ruby red orbs before suddenly going wide as oceans. With a shriek, she leaped up off of the bed and threw her hands over her body before remembering that she was, in fact, clothed.

"Zen, what are you doing in here?! Why didn't you knock?! What if I wasn't done changing yet?!" she shrieked, her face as red as a tomato.

Zen chuckled at Amy's embarrassed expression and flashed her a playful wink. "I figured that twenty minutes was more than enough time for you to at least get dressed. Plus, I became quite worried when I heard all of the noise you were making; I thought you might have hurt yourself."

"Liar." Amy grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring daggers at Zen.

"Changing the subject, you still haven't answered my question. What's got you so upset?" Zen purred, rising to his feet and pulling Amy into a gentle embrace.

"This dress. No, that's not right. It's not the dress' fault that it's too pretty to be worn by an ugly troll like me." Amy mumbled as she buried her face into Zen's tuxedo jacket.

One of Zen's eyebrows immediately curved in a high arch of surprise. "Ugly? Who said you were ugly?"

"The mirror."

"Amy, love, mirrors can't talk."

"Shut up, you know what I meant."

Smirking, Zen gently started running his fingers through Amy's hair, brushing away any knots he encountered with the tenderest of care. "Do I? I'm not so sure because right now all I see is beauty when I look at you."

"That's because you're blinded by love." Amy retorted sharply. "Echo Girl and the paparazzi aren't stuck under the same spell though."

"Since when have their opinions mattered to you?"

"Since I started dating an amazingly talented actor who has a reputation purer than his white hair for me to uphold."

Zen's smile gradually faded away, replaced by a concerned frown. "My reputation isn't your burden to bear, Amy."

"You know that isn't true, Zen. The minute my lips met yours, I signed a contract accepting partial responsibility for your life and career." Amy replied. After a momentary pause, she added. "Maybe we shouldn't do this. Making Echo Girl mad is bound to only hurt your current project together and any future encounters you two have; plus, she has far more favor with the media than I do and could probably ruin us both in the blink of an eye. This was a childish and petty plan anyways."

Zen was now more than just slightly concerned about his currently still secret girlfriend. Worrying about things like other people's opinions and possible negative outcomes weren't like her; where was all this newfound anxiety and worry coming from? Was it because of him? That thought made Zen's heart sink.

"No, I'm not letting you back out. I need you there tonight; you're the only one that can keep me sane around those people!" he protested, his grip on Amy tightening.

"We both know that's a lie. You'll be fine without me." Amy mumbled.

"I'll be fine, but I won't be having any fun because I'll be apart from you."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Zen, that was so corny."

"I don't care. Please Amy, don't make me go alone!"

Unable to resist her boyfriend's pleading puppy dog face, Amy sighed in surrender. "Fine, but I'm leaving if I get laughed at for looking stupid."

"You don't look stupid."

"Compared to all the celebrities that will be attending? Yeah right. Everyone's going to wonder if I'm a joke date or someone you invited out of pity." Amy grumbled.

"You're just spouting nonsense. Here, sit down." Zen stated as he guided Amy over to her vanity and sat her down on the cushy matching bench. Grabbing a brush, he began brushing Amy's long locks again, humming a giddy tune as he did so.

"Zen, what are you doing?" Amy asked, her despair giving way to curiosity.

"Helping the princess I see on the inside emerge from her chrysalis." Zen replied suavely as he swapped the brush in his hand for a curling iron and grabbing several packs of bobby pins from one of the vanity drawers.

"So you admit then that I'm ugly?"

"No. I see the beautiful you as you are, but some people need help to see the masterpiece I know to be Amethyst Hall."

Amy's cheeks flushed bright pink as her heart sped up. Zen wasn't just smooth with his voice; he was also smooth with his words. He was every girl's dream guy, and he was hers. That very thought sent hundreds of butterflies fluttering throughout her entire body, causing her to smile like an idiot as she started to giggle like a schoolgirl. The sound of Amy's laughter sent waves of relief washing over Zen as he carefully wrapped strand after of strand of his girlfriend's hair around the hot iron, styling them into perfect little curls. He was going to show his princess what she looked like in his eyes, not for Echo Girl or the paparazzi or some other snobby celebrities but for her. He was going to make sure she saw herself as beautiful.

----------------------------------

The day had been pretty slow for Saeyoung, with the definition of slow being that he had more than enough work to do and had received many furious calls from Vanderwood demanding he get his jobs done already but the hacker not giving a care in the world. So how had the infamous 707 decided to spend his time? Watching the security feed of Amy's old home like a hawk, busily munching on Honey Buddha Chips and downing bottles of Ph D. Pepper like there was no tomorrow. Not much had happened so far; both Mr. Hall and Emerald seemed to be getting ready for an event though. Just as he was finishing what had to be his third bag of chips, a flicker of movement caught the corner of Saeyoung's eye, causing him to turn and one of the other screens. What he saw made his eyes go wide, the now empty bag of chips falling from his hand and joining its brethren on the floor. Somewhere far away, Vanderwood felt a sharp pain rip through his body.

"Is that Echo Girl? What's she doing there?" Saeyoung gaped, staring at the young starlet as she stood on the porch of the Hall's home, impatiently tapping her foot as two bodyguards flanked her on either side. As his Super Secret Agent Senses started tingling, the redhead instinctively reached over and grabbed his cellphone, dialing Zen's number faster than a heartbeat and lifting it to his ear.

"Something is not right."

-----------------------------

As she and Zen sat in the rental limousine, Amy jumped slightly when her phone started vibrating like crazy, indicating she was receiving a call. Slowly, she opened her handbag and reached in to retrieve the device, but Zen swiftly smacked her hand away.

"Zen! What are you doing?!" Amy exclaimed.

"It's not important. Trust me." Zen stated as he slid his own phone back into his tuxedo pocket.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me, I just do."

Rolling her eyes, Amy closed her bag and set it on the seat beside her before resting her head on Zen's shoulder.

"I'm still unsure about this." she mumbled as she slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers and then squeezing them gently.

"It'll be fine, I promise. Just stay close to me, alright?" Zen cooed softly, placing a kiss along her hairline as he squeezed back.

"Alright."

As the car finally rolled to a stop and the sound of cameras clicking and reporters babbling greeted her ears, Amy took a deep breath to calm her nerves and allowed Zen to pull her from the safety of the vehicle. Immediately, the soft hum of commotion turned into a loud buzz as she faced it head on, spots swarming before her eyes like flies as she was assaulted by dozens of bright lights. Zen gently pulled her a little closer till their shoulders were touching and then swiftly guided her towards the front entrance of the venue, smiling like usual as he waved to some of the cameras. Handing his invitation to one of the guards outside, he then proceeded to pull Amy inside where the noise was less overwhelming.

"Is it over? Can I go home now?" Amy mumbled as she rapidly blinked her eyes in attempt to clear them.

Zen just chuckled and affectionately nuzzled her cheek, sliding his arm securely around her waist. "Not yet. I still need to show you off."

"Show off what? Your sympathy for the unfortunate?"

"Not even close." Zen whispered huskily in Amy's ear, making her face flush. "I want to show off the rare gem I now get to call mine and only mine."

"Z-Zen..."

"Am I interrupting something?"

Amy's blush darkened profusely while Zen spun around to face the only person that would have enough nerve and indecency to interrupt such a moment for him.

"What are you doing here, Jumin?" he growled in a voice so low it almost wasn't human.

"My father and I received invites just as you did. He insisted I come." Jumin replied dully. "Now what seems to be going on here? You're looking rather red, Amy. Are you alright?"

"She's fine." Zen snapped, stepping between them and glaring daggers at his hated rival. Jumin just rolled his eyes and walked around the stubborn actor.

"Zen hasn't done anything improper to you, has he? You can tell me; I promise not to let him hurt you." he stated, gingerly cradling Amy's small, delicate hands in his gloved ones.

"N-No, he hasn't done anything wrong." Amy stuttered.

"Yeah, what she said. Now stop touching my girl with your filthy, cat contaminated hands!" Zen barked, hugging Amy's waist from behind and scowling at Jumin from over her shoulder.

Jumin raised an eyebrow then took a sip of his wine. "Finally."

"What was that?"

"Nothing you need to know. I suggest you both hurry into the main hall; Echo Girl is bound to be looking for you, Zen."

"We'll go in when we feel like it." Zen grumbled bitterly.

"Zen, calm down. He's not hurting anything." Amy stated, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I'm surprised you haven't hit him yet. Last time on of your father's associates tried to hold you like that, he was kneeling on the ground in the blink of an eye. Could it be that you're going soft?" Jumin remarked inquisitively.

Amy's eyes narrowed. "I would watch your tongue, Mr. Han, or you'll be the one on the floor, and for your information I have not gone soft in the very slightest. It just so happens that Zen has earned my approval for physical contact."

Noticing the smug expression on Zen's face, Jumin rolled his eyes and swirled in his wine around in its glass. "Just be careful. He's not as gentlemanly as he looks."

"Like you're one to talk, Trust Fund Kid!"

"Meager peasant."

"Stuck up jerk!"

"Uncultured pig."

"Son of a-"

"Zen!!! You're here!"

Zen silently cursed and shot Jumin one final glare before he turned his attention to Echo Girl, who was running towards him with a childlike grin on her face. However, her look of excitement quickly vanished and she slowed to stop when she noticed Amy standing alongside her crush. However, she quickly forced an overly sweet smile onto her face, not that she was fooling anyone whatsoever.

"Amy, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were coming." she hissed between clenched teeth.

"Zen brought me along as his plus one." Amy replied, squirming slightly due to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Oh, is that so? How nice of him." Echo Girl chuckled dryly, her hands clenching into fists behind her back. Thinking quickly, she grabbed hold of Zen's hand and began dragging him away, purposely leaving Amy behind. "Zen, I've got some friends who would really like to meet you! Come on!"

"Alright, I'm coming. Just give me a second." Zen smiled. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed hold of Amy's arm and pulled her alongside. "Alright, let's go."

Echo Girl's smile wavered slightly, but just as she seemed close to snapping, she spun around and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Follow me. Try not to get lost in the crowd." she said finally, though her voice sounded strained.

Following behind the starlet with no sense of urgency whatsoever, Zen and Amy walked arm in arm into the massive hall where the main part of the party was being held. Inside, dozens of different celebrities and stars all stood chatting with one another and laughing as waiters bustled about carrying trays laden with a variety of appetizers. Zen's eyes widened when they landed on the food, his stomach uttering the softest growl, and he swiftly plucked several of the bite-size morsels from one of the passing plates.

"These are really good. You want one, Amy?" he purred, offering her a piece.

Raising a suspicious eyebrow, Amy gingerly accepted the food only for Zen to quickly swoop down and bite off half of it, his lips brushing against hers.

"Z-Zen!" she exclaimed, her face bright red.

"Gotcha." Zen purred smugly, shooting her a flirty wink.

"Why you-"

"Amethyst? Is that you?" a familiar voice suddenly called out.

Amy's heart nearly stopped beating as she slowly spun around to see her sister standing behind her, glad in a gorgeous emerald green dress and matching heels. Tears immediately rushed to the girls' eyes as they threw their arms around one another and held each other tight.

"Em! Oh my gosh, Em! What are you doing here?!" Amy blubbered, hugging her sister with all her might.

"I could ask you the same question!" Emma gushed as she hugged back just as fiercely.

"Zen brought me as his plus one."

"Zen?"

"Yeah. Zen, this is Emerald-"

Amy stopped short when she turned to find Zen had vanished from sight, swept away by an all too eager Echo Girl no doubt. The very thought of the busty brunette clinging to her boyfriend's arm made Amy's blood boil.

"Amethyst, are you alright? You've got that I-want-to-kill-someone look in your eye." Emma frowned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'll introduce you two later." Amy muttered distractedly before turning her full attention back to her sister. "How are you? Dad hasn't been too hard on you since I ran off, has he?"

"Not really." Emma replied though her expression said otherwise.

"Em, what has he done? He isn't hurting you, is he?" Amy asked, her voice grave.

"No, he hasn't hurt me. This is the first time I've gotten to leave the house though. He shut off all my access to the outside world including the internet though so I'm probably extremely behind in all of my classes."

Amy's eyes narrowed and she hastily wrapped her sister in another hug. "I'll get you away from him soon, I promise. You'll get your freedom too."

"That's a nice thought, Amy, but..."

"But what?"

Suddenly, the hum of microphone feedback echoed throughout the room, silencing all other conversations. All eyes looked up to behold none of then Chairman Han and Mr. Hall standing on a little stage at the front of the room, Jumin's father looking rather bashful will Amy's dad's expression remained as blank and cold as slate.

"Heheh, sorry everyone. Unlike our lovely hostess, I'm not very talented with a microphone." Chairman Han clucked, prompting a few chuckles from the audience. "The wonderful Echo Girl was also kind enough to grant me permission to use this stage for a special announcement."

For some reason, Amy suddenly started to feel sick. "Special announcement?"

Mr. Hall raised his hand to silence the murmurs that had broken out amongst the crowd so Chairman Han could continue.

"In a few days, my cooperation and Mr. Hall's cooperation shall become one when my son Jumin and his daughter Emerald are joined together in holy matrimony!" Chairman Han exclaimed excitedly.

Amy's blood went cold as Emma hung her head shamefully, the clapping and cheering of the crowd around her going one in ear and out the other. All around her, the entire world seemed to fade into nothingness till only she, Emma, and her father were left.

"Matrimony? You're marrying Jumin?" Amy finally uttered, still not wanting to believe it.

"I had no other choice." Emma mumbled.

Clenching her jaw, Amy whirled around and scanned the room with eyes full of rage. Spotting a rather shocked looking Jumin at the back of the crowd, she stormed towards him and dragged him out of the room, slamming him against the one of the hallway's walls.

"You knew about this, didn't you?!" she screeched, holding him by the collar. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Amy, I didn't know! I swear!"

"Liar!"

"Amy, leave him alone!" Emma cried as ran to her sister's side and struggled to pry her off of her fiance. "I wasn't supposed to know about the engagement till tonight either. I secretly overheard Dad and Echo Girl talking in his-"

"Echo Girl?! What does she have to do with this?!" Amy demanded angrily, her grip on Jumin tightening.

"She's the one who gave Dad the idea about the marriage."

"She what?!"

"She told Dad to make me marry Jumin instead but that's not what's important-"

"That seems pretty important to me, Emerald!"

"Would you just shut up and listen?! Echo Girl said something else also-"

"My my, what do we have here? Trying to steal your sister's future husband? How scandalous, Amethyst."

Amy whirled around and glared murderously at Echo Girl, who was standing smugly in the doorway of the party room. "You! You're going to be sorry, you little witch! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-"

"You're going to what? Hurt me? That would be bad publicity for Zen, you know." Echo Girl crowed smugly, her hands resting sassily on her hips.

"I'm not going to let you win, you know."

"I already have, stupid."

Growling, Amy released Jumin and stormed off down the hall, ignoring her sister as she called for her name. Once she had rounded the corner and left Echo Girl's line of vision, she allowed the tears she had been holding back to fall freely, dotting the carpet with them as she made her way towards the building's back exit. As she struggled with the handle, the sound of heavy panting and running feet echoed behind her till a pair of strong arms enveloped her in a tight, comforting embrace.

"Amy, where are you going?!" Zen exclaimed, struggling to catch his breath as he clung to her like his life depended on it.

"I'm going home, Zen."

"But what about your sister? She insisted that she needed to talk to you-"

"I said I'm going home, Zen!"

"Alright, alright! We can go home. Let me call the driver. Just breathe, okay?" Zen cooed, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead as he pulled out his phone and lifted it to his ear. Meanwhile, Amy buried her face into Zen chest and released a shaky sob.

"This is all my fault. This is all my fault."