Ezekiel looked depressed for a moment when she spoke of the secret. He hadn't noticed Mayhen looking at them at all and he was wanting to leave soon.

"It's a bit complicate," he said. "I can't tell you right now though. I'll..."

He was interrupted by a finch that had flown on to his shoulder. He looked a bit surprised at first but the finch was a bit too jumpy to actually be at the ball room.

"Speaking of which," he said. "I need to take my leave before I get drunk enough to forget this. Would you mind coming to lunch tomorrow with my family?"

He was beaming slightly knowing that his family would drag him there bright and early, maybe ten or eleven. He knew they wouldn't be upset if she came since Veronica always came anyways.

"I can do that," she said smiling, and then eying the finch.
"I'll let you go then, but no drinking though."
Leaning in, she quickly hugged him, then ran back into the crowd. Verona smiled as she dashed through the hoards of people in the Opera house, which was far too crowded for its size.

Mayhen spotted her amongst his dancing, but couldn't get free of his partner.

'Damn,' he thought. 'Why does she want him so much!?'

Verona was finally free of the building as she popped out of one of the side entrances. It was very tense back there, stifling almost, and she couldn't take all that noise. But she was in a perfect mood now, all because of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was a bit stunned at first and was unable to give her a hug in return. She was more beautiful then he'd let himself admit and he was taken from his daze when the finch pecked him on the neck.

He jumped slightly but then started to make his way out. He'd have to explain to his father about what happened to Maria since she'd most likely be in her room bawling her eyes out.

It was a bit too crowded and it agitated him too. He had to pass Mayhen on the way and he dreaded that idea. He saw he was dancing with another girl so maybe then he'd be too distracted.

Ezekiel got by him and the finch seemed more distracted than ever and was clambering onto Ezekiel's head and burrowed in his hair.

"You know it took me a while to actually get my hair like that," he said to the finch out of habit.

After sitting outside for a moment, Verona pulled a cellphone from the bodice of her dress, and dialed the limo drivers number.

There was no point in staying at the ball anymore, and besides, she didn't want to have to dance with Mayhen again. Most likely he'd try to kiss her again, or start about how sorry he was.
She didn't want to deal with him anymore, not if he was going to act like a complete fool.

The limo arrived moments later and Verona hurried in before Mayhen could run after her.
They began the brief ride home, up into the hills, passing the regular world behind them, and entering the world of big houses, and lots of money.

Ezekiel was relieved when the man that kissed Verona hadn't approached him. He snuck out the door and took one of the limos that usually waited there until either he or one of his siblings was ready to go.

As he climbed into the back seat he took the finch, otherwise known as Maria, off of his head. He set her down on the seat.

"You're going to tell me exactly what happened there," he scolded slightly. "And where the expensive dress is."

The finch chirped at him and then bit his finger. He only laughed slightly as he teased his sister for having changed. It was essentially what she deserved for teasing him.

(I guess we should skip again?)

When the limo arrived home, Verona practically leapt from her car and dashed up the stairs and into the house, her dress dragging into the dirt.
At this point, not even her dress seemed as important as tomorrow's main event.

She ran up the stairs to the second floor in a flash, and swung her doors open.
Slamming the door behind her, she began to peel her body out of the tight dress, and then set it carefully on a chair near the balcony.

"There we go," she said moving into her closet.

Emerging with a bath robe, she skipped into her bathroom like the night before.

(sounds good)

As usual for after a ball the Singston family was to meet in the town square at the cafe for lunch. Winslow and his wife had gotten there early and had freshly brewed tea while waiting for their children, though they were no longer child like, to come and join them.

It was about eleven when Ezekiel and Maria showed up. Then five minutes later Veronica and the middle child, Eric, showed up also. They were all dressed in there normal attire for the most part and looked very tired. If there were an mess up today they would not be able to prevent themselves from changing out in the open.

"Now Ezekiel," Maria said clearly. "What is it that you wanted to tell us?"

"Just that I invited Verona Byres to eat lunch with us," he said sheepishly.

Eric scowled at him while Winslow just grinned as if proud of his sun for accomplishing such a task. Overall the entire family seemed slightly surprised since Ezekiel was known for being alone quite a lot.

Verona had already been on her way when Ezekiel had arrived at the restaurant.
The driver had just been a bit ill today, so technically it wasn't her fault.

When they arrived at the small cafe, she could already see the six of them sitting at an outdoor table.

Waving off to the driver, Verona made her way through the small gate, and then stood blankly in front of their large table which no longer held any open seats.
"Hi," she said curtsying. "I am Verona Byers."

Her attire today consisted of a white and pink, knee-length, spaghetti strap sun dress. Her hair was up again today, and tied back with yet another pink ribbon.
She seriously needed a new color.

The waiter that had been serving Winslow and his wife came back with a chair after he'd overheard another person was coming. He set it next to Ezekiel, who moved his chair to make room for her to sit down.

The family members seemed pleased to see her, except Eric of course. Eric was more pessimistic than Ezekiel was, probably due to the fact that he had no way of getting the family fortune with Ezekiel in the way.

"Welcome," Ezekiel said. "Take a seat here!"

He sounded a little excited and a tinge happy and Veronica gave a concerned glance to Winslow who shrugged slightly. He meant well by the shrug but Veronica scowled slightly and crossed her arms. She was glad she only changed when she either became extremely agitated or distressed by a situation.

Smiling, Verona thanked the waiter, and took her seat next to Ezekiel, pleased that she had the opportunity to sit next to him.

Scooting her chair a bit closer to the table, Verona ordered a water, and sat in the awkward quiet.

She saw Winslow smiling, Maria just kind of sitting there, Veronica seemed uncomfortable, and Eric kept glaring at her. Their mother was smiling quite sweetly too, but she stilled seemed on edge.

"Um, did I come in at a bad time," Verona found herself fidgeting under the table.
She was very nervous.
Not only was she meeting parents and family members, no one was saying anything, so it was just very uncomfortable in general.

"No," they all said at the same time.

It surprised Ezekiel slightly and he flinched when he realized it. They were all on edge but couldn't exactly tell her why. They'd all assumed that Ezekiel hadn't had enough time with her, alone, to actually tell her.

"Well dear," the mother said. "I don't think we've all been properly introduced. I am May. This is Maria, Eric, Vanessa, and Winslow."

They all waved when their names were said rather than have her point due to the fact that she hated to raise her arms very much.

The waiter had come back at that point along with the beverages. He gave everyone their respective drinks before asking if they were ready to order or not.

When everyone told he 'no' in such a fast voice, she felt no better.
She smiled pleasantly through the introductions, and only looked up when the waiter came back for orders.

Everyone had known what they wanted, except for Verona, so deciding to take a risk she quickly said, "I'll have the same thing as Ezekiel."

Everyone looked up at her then, and she blinked.
Was there a problem with what Ezekiel had ordered?

The waiter simply nodded, then left the seven of them alone.

"So," she began. "Did everyone enjoy the ball last night? I had a blast."

It felt like she was literally pulling conversation out of her hair, why was it so difficult to be outgoing with them all?

Ezekiel glanced at Verona when she said she'd have the same thing he'd have. He ate a lot, and it was a shock to see that someone else was ordering the same thing. The tension seemed to begin to subside when Verona asked the question.

Maria of course looked bright eyed and launched into a detailed description of almost every guy she danced with.

"I loved the ball. It was spectacular and the music was glorious. I think I danced with a different person during every dance almost. Then there was that guy you were dancing with before you ran away from him. He is a very good dancer but not quite my type. I have to admit the dancer after that, I don't remember his name, must have been Mathew or Damien, was much better."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and brought a book out that she had taken along with her. It was small so it fit in her purse and she proceeded to distract herself from Maria's ramblings.

Winslow and Maria also began talking, though in a less blatant fashion about what they would do with Maria if she did not finish her story about the dancer by the time the meal was finished.

Ezekiel audibly groaned and sank further back into his chair. He knew exactly, or almost exactly, what his sister would say since she'd spent half the night telling him about it already.

Verona couldn't help but giggle about the sudden excitement at the table; it was nice.
They were the average family. They had the kid who did nothing but talk, the smart kid, the kid who hated everything, and then Ezekiel.

"So," she began towards Ezekiel. "How did you enjoy the dance before I pounced on you?"

She figured he'd probably had a lot to drink, although he didn't seem so far gone when she found him.

She remembered what he said about how he was feeling when he saw Mayhen kiss her. Thousands of little butterflies suddenly flooded Verona's stomach at the thought. Maybe he did like her?
If so, she would definitely need to find some better things to wear.

Suddenly she was brought back to reality with the sound of Ezekiel's voice.

Ezekiel had taken a moment to figure out to say it without letting her know that he was completely devastated when he saw her dancing with him. He considered it a selfish act, despite the fact he was usually extremely arrogant.

"It was interesting," he said. "With a bit of vodka in your system dancing isn't that bad. I didn't drink much last night. Just a few shots and two Long Island Ice Teas."

He half grinned at this statement and Eric just glared at him like he was going to ruin everything. Ezekiel felt good so he was ignoring Eric for now. for the most part he was excited and very happy. He couldn't tell why but it felt like something was changing.

"Oh my god," Maria said while she stood. "Oh wait its nothing."

Looking up to Maria, Verona couldn't help but gasp, "What!? What happened?"

The butterflies and fright whirled around Verona's stomach as she stared at Maria, and Maria stared at her.

She had no idea what was happened, but everyone was staring in her direction, or at her, she couldn't tell.

The whole family seemed quite strange anyway, but now, things were just odd. She could have sworn they were all staring at her, weren't they?

(small again.)

Ezekiel felt his face when he felt the family beginning to stare at him. His father was beginning to look angry and he was frightened and overly happy about just being able to be near Verona without getting told off.

Maria didn't look anxious but she was trying to distract Maria. She was having trouble doing it too and then Ezekiel was gone. The chair cracked under him and collapsed and in his place was the same big cat from before. His creamy white spotted coat went well next to Verona's outfit.

Eric backed away as he saw his father rise. It seemed that all this happened instantaneously as the father changed from not a man to a monstrous grizzly bear roaring at the poor cat. A finch appeared along with a bobcat and Mary just let her head drop into her hands.

Before Ezekiel could actually get away his father had pinned him to the ground. The roar sounding almost deafening and everyone at the Cafe stopped to stare at the sight. A large grizzly bear paw came down on Ezekiel and he was thrown at least six feet before landing to the ground.

Screaming suddenly, Verona didn't know what to do. She was terrified as all of the people she was sitting with were suddenly animals before her, all except for Mary and Eric.

Then she saw Ezekiel's father attacking him! It was madness! How did this happen!?

Jumping in between Winslow and Ezekiel, Verona threw her arms in the air, blocking the monsters path.
"Please stop," she screamed in a hoarse voice.

She felt stupid for doing such a thing, but it wasn't right for him to be hurting his own son in a public place, animal or not.

Glancing behind her, she saw Ezekiel in all of his beauty. Even as an animal he was handsome.

Ezekiel had faintly heard her scream and he forced himself to stand up despite the pain he was feeling. The bear had backed down as soon as Verona had stepped between the two. The sirens of the animal control could be heard not to far off and Ezekiel gave Verona a pleading look.

"I would suggest you take Ezekiel in the limo," Mary said to Eric. "He's already had enough dart experiences for a while."

Eric groaned slightly and took the finch off his shoulder and placed it on his mothers. It was hopping about erratically and trying to find a place to hide. Eric decided that maybe he wouldn't take Ezekiel and he took Veronica instead into the limo that had just driven up.

Ezekiel looked devastated as he slumped down, still bleeding from where his father had hit him. It was at about the same time that the two animal control vehicles arrive. At least nine men lumbered out of the vehicles, six of the approaching the Winslow and the other three approaching Ezekiel.

"Ah its the pretty flower from early," the captain said. "Is it me or do you keep running in the SUCs. Poor girl has no clue whats going on and she's dining with the Singstons."

There was an uproar of laughter after that and Ezekiel looked ready to lunge at the man for being so cruel.

Verona's patience was running thin with that animal control man. He wasn't polite, and he had no right to call her pretty, much like Ezekiel..

Stepping between the man and Ezekiel, she kept a serious face, "You are not to touch him.."

And then all of the men laughed again, like this was fun for them.

"Look hun," one of the men said approaching her. "We can take care of tis just like last time."
"Last time?"
"You don't remember?"

That's when she realized it. That day that Ezekiel ran away from her when he tried to apologize, he was trying to avoid this. And then some store owner saw him. S.U.C.: Singston under curse...

The man tried to step past her, but she raised her arms like she'd done to Winslow.

"I said that you will not touch him."

Her voice sounded shaky, her arms were shaking as well. When she was angry or upset, she cried.
A lone tear slid down her cheek as she glared at the man, "I said no."

The grizzly was gone by now since they had easily taken him down with a few darts. They'd seen the wound on Ezekiel's face at first and thought it would be an impossible task but he complied faster.

Ezekiel understood everything she said and looked shocked for the most part. He was shaking slightly by now slightly from nervousness at seeing everyone there staring at him. He moved forward slightly so that his head was under her hand and he pushed it slightly.

The animal control look confused for the most part and one of them men shot him with a dart. It wasn't touching him so they were allowed to do that. She said not to touch him and they didn't touch him.

Ezekiel growled slightly before the elixir could take effect on his body. He collapsed in what seemed like a minute and lay slumped against the bricks that led into the cafe.

"He'll have a slight headache when he wakes up," the captain of the animal squad said and then laughed with the rest of his crew.

Her patience was no longer, and sweet little Verona was gone.

"You bastard," she screamed lunging for the man who'd shot Ezekiel. Her hand made it barely against his face when someone grabbed her body from behind and pulled her away.
"Let me go," she screamed as they carried her away from the men, and Ezekiel. "Let me go," she screamed again, her voice already hoarse as she cried.
The tears flustered her eyes as she grabbed walls, tables, people, anything to prolong her from leaving him.
"Please," she cried aloud. "Please let me go.."

They were already too far gone now. The people inside the restaurant stared at Verona in horror; she was causing a scene. But why shouldn't she? She had no idea what was happening, or who was carrying her.

"Let go!"

Her hoarse voice echoed through the quiet cafe as she flailed, and successfully got free from whomever had her.
Running back out to the patio, she watched the animal control men pulling away laughing hysterically.

"No," she screamed hoarsely again, sinking onto the cobblestone flooring.
A hand touched her head, it was Mayhen's. He must of seen everything..
Instead of quieting her down, he allowed her to sob against his leg, rubbing her head she held onto his legs.

Mary just sat there like nothing had happened and she was brought her food and she began to eat it. She'd learned it was better not react to this kind of thing because it worried Winslow too much. She let out a slight sigh while she watched Verona cry into Mayhen's leg.

"Well," she said to herself. "I hope you visit him tomorrow morning. I need to get some bandages for the group."

Mary disappeared, after paying of course for the mess they made, into another limo that drove up a moment later. She would be going to Aldous' shop on this trip and would most certainly need to pick some things up there besides the bandages.

When she got to the shop Aldous was already at the door with a large container of supplies. The rumors had gone around faster than expected and Mary pursed her lips slightly.

There would be consequences.

((time skip to when he's banished? aka next day))

(Yes.)

The next morning. Verona didn't sleep well, and her eyes were so red from all of her crying. Her mother and father had heard about the incident, but they didn't acknowledge Verona. They never did.

When she was out of her bed, she brushed out her hair, and picked out something simple to wear. It was a light pink dress, and a black shaw, with black flats.
She put her hair in a quick headband, and headed out the door.

The limo was already waiting for her when she had gotten outside. It was so bright outside, what time was it?
As she silently climbed into the limo, she didn't speak to the driver, he knew where to go..

Verona hadn't said a single word to anyone since it happened.. She was so ashamed of her actions, and not only that, she hurt on the inside. She felt as though this was her fault; it was her fault.

When she arrived at the Singston's estate, she waved for the driver not to wait, and walked up the steps, knocking on the door gently, probably too quietly.

Maria answered the door, a surprised at this time of day. She was happy to see Verona and hugged her. She let go when she realized how awkward it must have been for Verona.

"I apologize greatly for yesterday," she said. "We didn't mean for you to see us like that. I hate being a bird."

She pouted slightly after her last sentence and then realized what she was supposed to do. She motioned slightly where to go, which was the direction of Ezekiel's room and then walked off.

Mary was actually up there at the moment applying the bandages to the sleeping boy. He'd put up a fight while getting out of his crate and they'd given him an extra dose of the elixir so that he'd be asleep when they carried him upstairs.

(sorry if its short)