Addison jumped out of bed with the innate feeling that he was going to be late. And when he looked at his alarm clock...

"Shit!" he hissed.

There were only ten minutes until he was supposed to be at his voice lesson. He opened up the trunk that he stored all of his clothing in only to find it empty. "Fuck."

He raced down the stairs to the main portion of the house, passing Rachel and Marissa on his way to the laundry room and ignoring both of them quite effectively. Addison grabbed a T-shirt and turned to fly into the downstairs bathroom to change. And ran into his stepmother. Of course that would happen today...

He went to push past her with a muttered apology but she caught his wrist. "Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" she sneered.

"I have class in ten minutes," he explained in a rush shaking off her grip and locking himself in the bathroom.

From outside the room his stepmother continued to talk to him, "You're going to your first class in makeup?"

Addison shot a startled glance into the mirror, "Fuck!"

He clearly had makeup on. The makeup he had worn last night as Daniella. Some eyeshadow, mascara and a neutral tone of lip gloss. He grabbed some toilet paper and wiped off the makeup, to the best of his ability damn stuff was hard to get off, then looked into the mirror again.

A little more presentable, but nowhere near up to his normal standards. He left in a hurry and sped off to class faster than ever completely missing the dark calculating look on his stepmother's face.

                                                            ~ARC~

Lysette couldn't figure out what was wrong with that boy. He'd always been strange. Too musical and flamboyant. She knew that he was gay and worked in that kind of bar. But he had been acting strange—stranger—lately. Sneaking out of the house all day when he didn't have anything to do was weird. Usually he just played that annoying string instrument when she locked him up. (She knew he climbed out of the window when he had class but never put a stop to the escapes because she was hoping he'd fall and break his neck on his decent.) Then his inheritance money would be hers finally, like it should have been when the boy's father died.

The boy meant nothing to her. Perhaps he could have, if Frank would have lived, but, honestly, scum on the bottom of her shoe meant more than that boy.

But his newfound strangeness didn't concern her as much as this new fling of Lyle Prince's. The girl had started popping up with Lyle about a week before Thanksgiving. Now, basically a month later, she was still around. Lysette was beginning to sweat.

This Daniella girl was ruining everything she had worked for. And stranger still, nobody knew shit about her. Lysette had tried to do some digging on the interfering beauty and found out absolutely nothing. No last name, no pedigree, nothing, zilch, nada. She just popped up one day with Lyle.

The only thing Lysette knew for certain: the girl was in the way. Lyle Prince was absolutely crazy for her and she was in the exact position Lysette wanted for Marissa. She'd just have to keep digging around for something to destroy this girl and push Marissa to go after Lyle Prince even more.

She had gotten wind that Lyle was planning to go to an opera in mid-January. Marissa wouldn't like it (she hated operas) but Lysette would make sure she attended the event. She wasn't quite sure which show the millionaire would be attending so she'd just make sure Marissa attended them all.

                                                    ~ARC~

Lyle groaned in agitation. His father had sent their house keeper to get him saying he was supposed to meet the man in his stuffy office in five minutes. The man was so busy he bet this little seemingly random meeting had been planned back in November, let's say around Thanksgiving time. After rumors started that Lyle Prince had a girlfriend.

He stood outside the grand mahogany doors. Lyle didn't really want to have this little "meeting." He was reasonably sure he knew what—who—it was about and he wasn't ready for his parents to be a part of his and Addison's relationship. Hell, he wasn't ready to explain that Daniella was a man.

He knocked on the door and heard the muffled voices of his father granting him entrance.

Slowly opening the door, Lyle made his way into his father's study to find both his father and his mother sitting, not at the desk, but at the lounge furniture situated in front of their electric fire looking all nice and cozy. And they were totally staring at him. His father beckoned him over and he took the hint, sitting down in the vacant chair.

His father gave him the stare down, his icy blue eyes unwavering in their intensity. Leaning forward in his chair, he folded his hands in front of him before finally beginning to speak. 'So, Lyle, is there something you're not telling us?"

Lyle peered around the room refusing to meet his father's prying gaze. After a few minutes of successful avoidance Lyle finally looked his father in the eye and gave a rather obtuse reply, "Nothing that I can think of, sir," he then sat back, truly enjoying the comfortable chair, and waited for his father's eminent implosion.

Yup, and there it started. His face was beginning to turn a burning red. Lyle's mother placed a placating hand on the man's shoulder mumbling a quiet, "calm down," and as quickly as the anger had been building it disappeared.

That temper was one thing Lyle had always been grateful he hadn't inherited from his father. The man's nerves were shit.

"How do you explain all of this then?" his father asked pointing to a great number of tabloid-like magazines that all had pictures of him and Daniella doing various activities on the front cover.

"Oh, that," Lyle laughed nervously. How had he slipped enough to let those pictures happen? He'd never been on the front of a magazine before.

'When the hell were you planning on telling us you have a girlfriend?"

Lyle sighed and muttered under his breath, "When I get one."

His father completely missed the snarky retort but his mother, with her dog-like hearing, sadly, did not.

"What do you mean, 'when I get one?'" she stated calmly face scrunching in confusion.

Well... Lyle was sure he'd have to tell them eventually. Maybe he should start with telling them he was gay and ease them into the explanation of Addison. He thought that was a logical order.

"Well, Mom, Dad," he took a deep breath, "I'm gay."

His dad immediately began to argue, "Don't be ridiculous—

"I know," his mother spoke effectively getting both men to gawk at her. "Don't look at me like that. I've known since I found your porn stash in high school."

Oh god was this embarrassing.

"If you're gay, why are you with a beautiful girl like that?" his father asked. He was taking this remarkably well. Lyle was impressed. His parents had always said they had no problem with any kind of love but he was worried that their acceptance might not extend to their heir.

"Isn't it obvious?" his mother piped up again. Lyle gaped at her. She knew about Addison too? But he had been so careful. "She's his beard."

Okay, so maybe she didn't know. One out of two wasn't bad. He allowed himself a small chuckle, "Not exactly."

"Explain!" his father ordered.

"Daniella and I are going out but," he paused, more to annoy his father than for actual dramatic effect, "but Daniella's a guy."

"That's a guy?" his father practically yelled while his mother erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Yes?"

"He's very pretty," his mother commented.

"What's his name?"

"Addison," Lyle answered unable to keep the affection out of his voice.

"You really like him," his mother commented.

"Yes," he answered more serious than they had ever heard him sound.

His father cleared his throat, "So, when do we get to meet him?"

"Uh, at the masquerade?" Lyle tried knowing they'd press to meet Addison before the engagement announcement.

And that was assuming Addison wanted to marry him. Lyle was absolutely smitten with the amazing musician and he'd like to think Addison was just as invested in the relationship as he was but you never knew how a relationship would go. But seriously, after making him wait those three initial weeks, he and Addison had gotten pretty serious about each other.

He just worried about moving too fast.

And the media...

He didn't want to complicate Addison's life any more than it already was.

"No, that won't do," his mother said shaking her head.

"Yes," his father agreed. That was too long of a wait, "invite him for Christmas," he spoke as if the decision was already finalized.

Now Lyle knew Addison had absolutely no plans for Christmas. He had been putting about it since his university went on holiday a week ago. Usually he didn't mind his breaks so much, he would work more and stay out of his house by going to Eva's... a lot. But Eva had been instructed to go home this Christmas and Addison was stuck without anything to do on the long holiday.

"I'll ask him to come," Lyle gave in.

He knew Addison would be more than happy to have someone to celebrate the holiday with. Honestly, Lyle had always planned on spending a majority of the day with his boyfriend. He figured he could have lunch with his family and go exchange gifts and have dinner with Addison. Inviting him to a Christmas lunch only meant they could spend more time together.