A/N: Hello! Hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, I decided it would be good to add a character that we haven't seen in a while and that everyone seemed to love and another one that was mentioned but I don't think anyone payed too much attention to her in honor of getting above the 15k reads milestone! Enjoy! ;-)

**Picture: Stephanie's "meeting" outfit**

Stephanie's POV

"The Turks were able to invade Constantinople because of the gunpowder technology they had. The Byzantine empire had a lot of might, but nothing anywhere near gunpowder and cannons like the Turks did. This changed the entire course of history." Says my AP World history teacher.

I yawn and try as hard as I can to keep my eyes open, but I'm definitely losing the battle to sleep. There are people who can live peacefully with just three or four hours of rest. I am not one of those people. Haley kept me up last night to tell me what she did with Sam at the park, then Amy couldn't decide what to wear to school to impress Noah. As if that wasn't hard enough to deal with until one in the morning, I also started my running regime again. So, naturally, I had to stumble my crusty-eyed, matted hair self out to run at five thirty in the morning. Four miles later, I was back at home with half an hour to get ready for school.

I'm sleepy, cranky, miserable, and I can't even blame it on the red eyed demon that visits once a month since it's long gone. I'm trying so hard to forget all of this and listen to the history of the world, but there's times you just can't. Not to mention the fact that my brain has been suffering stress from the hundreds of calls I had to ignore on the weekend from the press. I did have to change my phone number, and now only a select few know it. I specifically texted my father to tell him my new number, but he's been radio silent and further drilling the hole in my heart. But I won't do anything, no, I'm going to try to move on and just live my life.

Easier said than done.

The bell finally rings, and I quickly grab my stuff and walk out the door where Collin waits for me with a dazzling smile. Girls passing by look like they're about to faint and I can't really blame them. He's a gorgeous specimen inside and out; there aren't many guys like that around anymore.

"Hello Bambi, " he says kissing me softly and linking our fingers together to get to our next class.

"Hey stud muffin," I tell him softly as we walk. I lean on his broad, strong shoulder and sigh. Why does everything seem so much safer in his arms?

He kisses the top of my head and the goes to sit in his seat as I slump into mine. The teacher begins her lesson, something about counting atoms, and I lose the battle completely to sleep.

Sleep: 1; Stephanie: 0

***

"Ms. Coleman?"

I grumble softly under my breath and move away from the pesky voice. Who's the idiot interrupting my sleep?

"Ms. Coleman I suggest you wake up right now!" The annoying voice yells out.

Dios mio, dame paciencia! Esta voz me dar un dolor de cabeza si sigue asi!

I pick my head up from my hard pillow and rub my eyes. Then I look around expecting to see my room in the Jameson house, but I'm mortified to find myself in chemistry class with the teacher glaring at me and all the other students trying not to laugh. Gulp.

"Please tell me the answer to the question on the bored seeing as how you were paying so much attention." Ms.Peploni (or pepperoni as everyone calls her) says angrily.

I nervously look at the board and see an equation: Find the percent composition of the compound H3PO2. Show your work.

I sigh in relief. These are always super easy to do. I quickly grab my calculator and the periodic table to look up the masses of the elements, add them together to get the denominator, and divide the single mass of each element by the overall mass to get the percentage of each one. I say my answer, and Ms. Pepperoni frowns when she sees I'm right.

"Just pay attention," she demands haughtily. She then continues with her lesson with her nose stuck high in the air. She's going to get a crick in her neck from holding up her nose like that.

I rub my eyes that seem slightly more hydrated after my little catnap, and I look over to see Collin smirking silently. Glaring violently, I stare at those fascinating vivid green irises that entrance girls all over the nation with just one look. He's thinking of something and I don't know if it'll be in my favor.

"What," I mouth. His smirk deepens and he shakes his head. My eyes narrow and I concentrate on trying to figure out this enigma. What's he planning?

***

When school finishes I begin walking to the auditorium, but I'm stopped by Collin.

"Hey, Noah's giving Amy a ride today because you and I have to go somewhere today." He tells me as he directs me in the direction of the parking lot. We stop in front of my BMW and I look at him, confused.

"Where are we going? Is this a date, because if it is I want to go home and refresh first." I tell him stubbornly. He chuckles.

"No Bambi, it's not a date this time. We're going somewhere so you can meet someone who's very influential in my life. I can, however, give you an hour before picking you up for it since you look so tired."

I sigh and nod in agreement before leaving with a small kiss goodbye. I'm not sure about this meeting. Collin and I have just gotten to a tentatively stable place in our relationship where we can both understand and appreciate each others flaws, but I'm not sure what someone else in his life might think of me. Especially one who's so influential to him like he claims.

I get home with my mind racing on what to wear, so I take five minutes to destress, then rush to the closet and pick out my outfit consisting of a white, short sundress with flowers, a jean jacket, and brown combat boots to finish it off. Rushing to the bathroom, I take a quick shower to get the grime and sweat of the day off, then get dressed and leave to the living room to wait for Collin with sunglasses and a Pucci tote Carrie had gotten me last Christmas.

Carrie. Thinking of her reminds me of Stacy and that eery feeling I got the other day that something was wrong. Stacy's never been one to break because someone tells her something, no matter how strong the insult is, so I know that something must be going on in her life that made Collin's speech to her a breaking point. But what?

I contemplate this until the doorbell rings signalling Collin's arrival. I wave goodbye to Anna and Haley who're in the kitchen making dinner and walk out into the brutally hot sun and the equally as hot man standing on the porch steps with a mischievous grin. My eyes narrow suspiciously.

"What?" I ask as we walk to his precious Maserati.

"What of what?" He asks innocently while starting the engine and driving off to this mystery location.

"What's going on? You're super suspicious today. I mean, you can't tell me where we're going or who we're meeting, and that to me spells out trouble."

"Bambi, I promise you I'm not leading you to imminent death. I just really need you to meet this person, because they're so important to me. But if it makes you feel any better, I'll go ahead and tell you we're going to The Southern Paradise."

I roll this information around in my head. The Southern Paradise is a restaurant with quite the heedy reputation around here. It is a mix between traditional southern and uptown class. Whoever this person was, he/she is important enough to warrant at least a somewhat upscale restaurant and he/she is probably an adult. Great, now I really need to channel all those mannerisms that Cruella drilled into my head during the dutiful debutante meetings.

We finally reach the restaurant, and I see Collin get more and more calm as he parks. He gets out of the car gracefully, and opens my door for me with a soft smile. Gravel crunches beneath my boots as I step out, and Collin's fingers tangle with mine when we step into the cool shade of the restaurant. People talk in soft conversations under big umbrellas in the wood veranda covered with gleaming tables, and I see Collin's smile grow as he waves toward someone to our right. He leads me over and I take a deep breath to prepare myself for this meeting. But what I see is definitely not anything near what I was expecting.

An older woman, in her early to mid-sixties but looking like she's in her early to mid-fifties, sits at the table in front of me with a mischievous sparkle in her crystalline, turquoise eyes. Her hair is in rich auburn ringlets that compliment her flawless pale skin which boasts very little signs of aging. What really gets me going, though, is her attire. A short, cheetah print, form fitting dress with brown high heeled boots that make my feet hurt just looking at them, and big, gold hoop earrings dangle from her ears to finish off the ensemble. I am absolutely gobsmacked that this woman who has to be around four or five times my age can pull off a cheetah print dress and somehow look even better than I do without really trying.

"Bambi this is my grandmother, Elizabeth Jacobs, but everyone calls her Nana or Liz. I told you about her awhile back, that day of the photo shoot." He tells me. I shake Elizabeth's hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Jacobs." I say politely. No need to start off on the wrong foot by giving her a nickname she doesn't want. She shakes her head immediately.

"Oh no no no, child, call me anything but that. No need to make this bag of old bones feel older." She tells me. Even her voice is a surprise; it's a husky Scarlett Johansson type voice that completely belies her age once more with a sweet southern accent. She's a complete juxtaposition, and I laugh already loving it.

"Alright then, I'll just call you Liz." I say as I finally sit with Collin next to me waving down a waiter. Liz looks at me with mirth.

"Now, please tell me your name isn't actually Bambi or I'm going to have to have serious talk with your parents on what their mental health was when they named you that." She tells me. I laugh.

"No, it's not. My name's Stephanie Coleman, but Collin decided to call me Bambi. Something about my eyes, I don't know." I shrug. Liz raises an eyebrow at Collin.

"How many times have I told you that you have the creativity of your grandfather? Why would you subject this poor girl to that?" She asks him with a slap to the back of his head. He rubs his head with a shocked expression that makes me crack up, while Liz simply crosses her arms and shakes her head at him.

The waiter comes and I look up to see a very handsome man smiling at us. Liz bats her eyelashes in a way that I can't do without looking like I have something in my eye and coyly flirts. Collin puts his face in his hands and I just watch as Liz easily puts a spell on the man a good twenty years younger than her. When he leaves she looks at Collin's exasperated face with a smirk.

"Oh come on! You didn't honestly expect me to leave a fine man like that without some flirting? I have lived ten years without your grandfather honey, and one thing I learned in that time is that sometimes you have to grab fun where you can get it. Besides, it's just some harmless flirting!"

Collin shakes his head and tries to speak, but Liz turns to me.

"Now dear, this meeting is supposed to be about you. So, while we wait for the food, I want you to tell me all about yourself. Let's just hope you're not as much of a boring poop stick as Collin over there," She whispers to me.

The thing is, Liz makes it easy to talk. She allows the conversation to flow easily, and her constant back and forth banter with Collin is so amusing that I'm pretty sure I'll need stitches soon if I keep laughing so hard. I've never quite met anyone like Liz, and I can definitely see why Collin loves her so much.

We finish our meals, and though they were delicious, they were pretty small. Or as Liz says: smaller than a rat's poop when he's scared out of his wits. So, when she asks me if I know any places we could go to get more food and some really good dessert, I smile brightly.

"I know the perfect place. "

***

We step into Dominic's during the dinner rush, and regulars are scattered everywhere in a cacophony of noise. The hostess gives us our menus once she settles us into a dimly lit booth, and she goes to tell Dominic I'm here per my request. While I do want to greet him, I have ulterior motives for wanting him to come out. And they all have to do with Ms. Elizabeth Jacobs.

Dominic lost his wife six years into their marriage, and he had to raise his two boys alone. He's never been with anyone else, but I know that if anyone can get him to come out of his shell, it's Liz.

Our steaming hot pizza comes topped with cheesy goodness and we dig in. Liz looks at me with soft eyes and a bright smile as she eats her slice. She opens her opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by big, booming laughter. We turn to see Dom coming our way with a dazzling smile, and I smile back excitedly.

(Hugh Jackman as Dominic)

"La mia bella ragazza è tornata!(My beautiful girl is back!)" He yells out when he reaches me. "Estefania, how many times I tell you to visit me, hmm? My sons no love me, that amica of yours no love me, and now you no love me, either!" I stand up with a grin and my arms wide open.

"Oh come on Dom! I've been super busy, but I always have you in my heart! Now, come on, give me a hug." I tell him, inching slightly closer. He tries to keep a smile off his face, but fails miserably and gives me a big bear hug that squeezes the breath out of me.

"I miss you too much, Estafania, you and Amelia. You two are like figlie (daughters) to me, and it hurt in my heart to not see you two. Promise me you will come by more often. You can bring the mr. pop star if you must." He pleads. I giggle softly.

"I promise, Dom," I say, sitting back down in my booth and getting ready to introduce the very curious and interested looking Liz. "Dom, I want to introduce you to Elizabeth Jacobs, whom we all call Liz. Liz, this is Dominic Ardiccioni, the goofball owner of this place." Liz gives him a flirtatious smile.

"Well, hello there," She breathes out. Dominic gives her his million watt smile.

"Piacere di conoscerti (pleasure to meet you), Elizabeth." He tells her. Liz told me she doesn't like her full name, but I think she'll definitely be making an exception for Dominic when he says it in his deep Italian accent.

The two begin to talk and soon enough Dominic is laughing hard and looking completely enchanted with Liz. Judging by the look on her face, I know the feeling is definitely reciprocated. Collin hauls me closer to him by the waist and kisses my head.

"So, you decided to play matchmaker on nana?" He asks, looking thoughtfully at the lovebirds who're completely entranced in their own world.

"Yeah," I answer. "It's about time they both find happiness, and what better way to do that than with each other?"

We finish our pizza, talking quietly about everything and anything, until Dom finally breaks out from his spell and look over at me with excitement.

"Estefania, I want to ask favor of you. My friend, Gustavo, bought me a karaoke machine and I want to try it out. Would you be willing to sing for me?" He pleads.

I think about it for a minute, but in my heart my answer is already cemented. Dom was there for me when I was broken and depressed; the least I can do is sing for his restaurant.

"Sure," I tell him. He claps happily and walks me over to a makeshift stage at the end of the restaurant. He plugs in a few machines and passes me a laptop, telling me to search for the instrumental version of whatever song I want.

I bite me lip and think on what to sing, but when I look up and see Dom talking to Liz, it instantly comes to me. I look it up and let it play.

The soft melody of "Love me tender"(Norah Jones version) plays through the speakers, and I do my best to replicate the husky/sweet voice that's supposed to accompany it. When I finish, clapping ensues, and Dom goes over to give me a big hug.

"Grazie, bella. Mille grazie!" He whispers in my ear. I smile and say goodbye when I realize that I really have to get home. Collin escorts me out, and we leave Liz to talk as much as she likes to Dom since she has her own car. We do say bye, though, and she makes sure to tell me she wants to see me soon and doesn't want any excuses for why I want to be a stranger.

The car gets to the Jameson home, and Collin and I get out slowly. He looks me deep in the eyes with an emotion I can't pinpoint.

"I don't know what to do with the raging feelings I have for you in my heart. What are you doing to me?" He whispers. My eyes begin to water, and he smiles softly and cups my cheek. We kiss deeply, forgetting about the world and all our problems for that moment. It's just us and the multitude of stars shining above us.

We part and hug one more time before Collin reluctantly leaves. I stare out into the driveway long after his car is gone, then sigh dreamily and go into the house with a dopey smile.

Trouble may be on the horizon, but I know I can get through it if I have Collin. I just know it.

***

A/N: Did you guys like it? I had so much fun writing this chapter, and it might just be my new favorite chapter.

What about you guys? What's your favorite chapter? Let me know!

나중에 봐 (see you soon in korean)