edited and rewritten

"Who are you going out with again, honey? Is it Via?" My mother asks as she and my dad barge into my room.

I look up at them as I put on my shoes. "Um, no, it's another friend." I don't want to fully lie to them. If I'm going to lie I want it to be at least 0.1 percent true.

"Oo, do we know this friend?" My mother asks with a smile on her face.

I give her a look, "No, it's not what you think it is. May I please leave now?"

She nods and steps out of the way. "Be safe." My father says as he kisses me on my cheek. I nod then I get my phone and I walk outside.

It's nearing six in the evening and the sun is taking its time going down. People are starting to scarce themselves on the streets. Everyone knows that the vampires come out to play at night. It's easy for them to disappear and not get caught at night. People try their best to be in their homes by seven. It doesn't stop them from attacking you in your own home, though. I would know.

It still makes me feel uneasy whenever I walk into my room. It feels weird to be in there alone. I have no idea what I'm gonna do when tonight comes. I'll be too scared to sleep alone. Maybe mom and dad will allow me to sleep in the living room until I feel better.

A car pulls up in front of me and the window winds down revealing the Prince. I walk around the car and I get in. "Good evening." I greet him.

"Evening." He responds, then we drive off.

Inside the car is pure silence. Neither of us talks and it starts feeling weird. I look out the window at the dark clouds in the sky. Ever since school started back, it's been raining constantly. It perfectly mirrors my mood.

I take a few quick glances at the Prince then I turn away. Does he feel the awkward tension in here? His head turns to me then he looks back at the road. I notice this but I ignore it. I don't want to mention something and then it ends up being even more awkward. He looks at me once more without saying anything.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him. He lets out a sigh then he shakes his head.

"No. Why are you so quiet?" He asks, keeping his eyes on the road.

My shoulders tense and in the car becomes even tenser. Well. . .on my part. I'm sure he could care less about my rapidly beating heart or my sweaty palms. I'm sure he's not even nervous in the slightest. He's the Prince of ArchDale does he even get nervous? He is human or at least somewhat human so he must feel that feeling right? Or maybe that isn't something vampires have to go through.

Do vampire ladies have their periods? If so how do they deal with it? Do they feel the urge to drink their period blood? I mean. . .that's kinda weird but then again it would be in your DNA, you wouldn't be able to help it.

What on earth am I thinking about? What is wrong with me?

"There's nothing for us to talk about," I say, as I wipe my hands on my skirt. The more sweat I wipe away the more that comes. Sometimes I genuinely hate sweating. Especially from my hands. If someone's supposed to hold my hands they'd be grossed out because it's all sweaty.

"You don't have anything to ask me?" He asks.

I nod, "I do. I am waiting until we get to the restaurant. I didn't want to bombard you."

He nods, understanding where I am coming from. "Okay. Well, we're here." He parks the car in his parking spot. There are specific parking spots for royalty. The penalty for a non-royal to park their cars in the position of a royal is paying fines or even jail time.

The prince shuts off the car and we unbuckle our seatbelts then get out. The cool summer air greets me and my shoulders relax. In his car, it is so cold, he had the A/C on blast.

"Let's go." He says and I follow him. He places his hand on my back and leads me inside. I jerk a little as I feel his hand on my back but I relax after a few seconds.

He opens the door for us and the hostess instantly welcomes us. "Good evening, your royal highness, guest." She bows before us.

"Would you like your regular table or something new?" She asks while typing on the computer.

"Regular." The prince answers and she nods then she gives us the go-ahead.

I let him lead us around the different tables to a private section. There are overhead lights, we're in the royalty section. There are different names of royals up ahead signaling who should sit around those tables. We continue walking until ArchDale Royals shows up.

He pushes back the curtain and we step in. He draws the curtain back and places in his password. He attempts to open the curtain again but this time it's immovable. "Woah," I say.

He looks at me, "You've never seen these before?"

I shake my head, still looking at the magnificent curtain. "Hm." That's all he responds with. He gestures to the chair and I sit in it. He sits opposite me and I avoid eye contact with him. He said that I could ask him whatever I wanted but it still feels weird. He's the prince and until two days ago, I'd never spoken to him before. Sure my parents work for him and his family but that doesn't include me. I simply hear about him.

He folds his hands and rests them on his lap as he leans back in the chair. "You may speak freely around me, Adara. Ask me whatever you want."

I take a deep breath then I slowly pull a piece of folded paper from the pocket of my dress. I open it then I ask the first question on my list. "Out of everyone that would jump at your proposal, why did you choose me?"

He looks at me pleased as a small side smile takes over his lips. "I believed I've already answered that one. You're my lawyers' daughter. You're the closest person I knew who knows about the situation. I didn't want to tell someone who'd sell it out to the press for a few hundred bucks."

I nod, "Alright. Well, if I did say yes to your proposal. How would that work? Would we actually have to act like a public couple? Would I be able to tell my best friend?"

He nods as he processes my question. "Yes, we would have to pretend to be public about it. Your best friend?" He sighs, "I'm not sure about her. I cannot have her know that it's fake. I know that you trust her but I don't."

"Okay, well, how would this end?" This is my third question.

"Well, you would eventually be a witness on the stand in the next few months. You'd attest to my character and prove the allegation false." He says.

"Which leads me to my next question. How could I help you prove that allegation false? It's legal stuff, that's something my parents would help you with." I say.

"That's true, and they are helping me. However, the girl who accused me goes to your school. I can't exactly get close to her and get her to confess. You can. You could be my inside person. This is why I need your help so badly." He says.

I nod then I take my time thinking about all the answers he gave me. There's a moment of silence between us as I process all of this.

So, he needs me for two things: to show that he's a good person and has been 'dating' me this entire time. Also to get close to the girl who accused him and gets her to confess. Seems easy enough. That's a lie, it puts a gigantic weight on me. This is serious stuff. He wants me to get involved in a lawsuit.

"I don't know," I mutter.

He lets out a small disappointed sigh. "I completely understand why you're reluctant to help."

Although, if we don't do this then I would have no protection from another vampire attack. Speaking of that, he said that he could protect me. How? How would he know that I'm being attacked? Would he be with me at all times?

I look at him to see him staring right back at me. His light brown eyes center on me and his brows crease a little, giving him those forehead wrinkles. "How would you protect me from a future vampire attack?"

"You can simply call me whenever you feel unsafe." He says.

"What would I call you by?" Would I refer to him by his name? I don't know it. In fact, I'm not sure anyone other than the royal family knows it.

"Your highness, prince, any name you deem worthy enough to call me." He answers so nonchalantly.

I smile a little, "So what if I wanted to call you Sparky?"

He blinks a few times, he clearly didn't expect that. "I don't like it. I'd prefer 'your highness'." He says.

I shake my head, "No you know, I think Sparky has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" The corners of my lips tug up as I see his eye twitch.

"No, I don't think so." He says, leaning back in his chair as he goes back to his original position.

"Oh well, too bad," I say, playing with the hem of my dress.

I notice him trying to fight off a smile, "So do you accept?"

I let out a sigh, "I do want to help you. But before I agree to anything. I'll need to see the contract. In writing." I say and he nods.

"That can be arranged. Tomorrow after school, I'll come over and we can go through the contract together and fix anything you don't like." He says and I agree.

"Okay, that sounds good."

He stands from his chair, "Alright, I wish we could've stayed longer, but I need to leave. Let me carry you home."

I get up from my chair and I follow him out of the restaurant. As we walk outside paparazzi swarms us like bees to pollen. The prince takes hold of my hand and pulls me closer to him. I keep my head down as we push to pass the intrusive crowd.

They all throw questions our way as if we were magic eight balls.

"Who is this woman, your highness?"

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Have you finally chosen a wife?"

"What do you have to say about the lawsuit?"

We remain silent and we get into his car. Once we're inside, the weight falls on my shoulders. "Oh my gosh, what if they recognized me? I haven't agreed to anything yet." I start freaking out.

The prince starts the car. "Relax. The odds of them recognizing you are small. We have time. It would take them at least a day for them to write an article about us and publish it."

My head snaps to him, "Do you really think they're going to do that? Write an article about us. About me?"

He shrugs, "Most likely. The last woman I was seen with ended up being the same woman who accused me of getting her pregnant so I'd assume so."

I nod as I let out a slow sigh. If that article comes out, what will I tell my parents?

"Wait, if I say yes, will my parents know that it's not real?" I ask him as he starts driving.

"The fewer people that know it's fake, the better. So no, they'd think we're really dating, just like everyone else. Including the king and queen." He says.

My mouth falls open a little. I have no idea how to respond to that. My parents and even the king and queen will think that the prince and I are truly dating. They'd think that we like each other or even love each other.