July 15, 2002
3 Days prior to Shelby's Birthday

Shelby woke up the the sound of someone banging on the door. She got out of bed, threw on a robe, and went to get the door.

"I have a package for Shelby Murphy." the delivery man said holding out a parcel.

"I'm Shelby." Shelby said taking the package out of his hands.

"I just need you to sign here." he said handing her an electronic key pad to sign.

Shelby signed her name then handed it back to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, and have a good day miss." he said before walking away.

Shelby shut the door and sat down on the couch with her package. She tore off the brown paper and opened the box. Inside she found a card, she took it out of the envelope and slowly opened it. Two pieces of paper fell out, she glanced them over and went to read the card.

Shelby,

Take these gift certificates and use them today. One is for you to get your nails done and the other is for hair and makeup. Wear this and go down to the sidewalk at seven sharp, a limo will be waiting. Have fun, for the day is yours.

Love you.

Shelby looked inside the box and found a beautiful strapless dress of red satin. Around the very top there was a black satin ribbon that came around in the front and made a cute but sophisticated bow. The same black ribbon adorned the middle of the dress as well as the very bottom, sans the bow. Included in the box, Shelby held out a pair of strappy black heels.

"These are beautiful." she whispered to herself looking over the dress and shoes.

Shelby put them both delicately down and tried to find out where it said who it was from. It wasn't on the envelope or the card or any of the gift certificates. She felt warmth in her stomach as she smiled and thought about Justin. He was such a sweetheart, she was so blessed to have him. She was thinking about calling him when the door knocked again.

She went to answer it and found Tony on the other side.

"Did you get a package?" he asked letting himself in.

"Yeah."

"Sweet, I was just wondering what you were doing tonight."

"I have a date."

"Really? With Justin?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." Shelby answered even though she wasn't positive that it was with Justin.

"But I wanted to take you to dinner." Tony said coming closer.

"Sorry, listen Tony, I'm not sure if I gave you some kind of wrong impression, but you know that I have a boyfriend. I would really appreciate it if you stopped coming on to me. It makes me feel really uncomfortable." Shelby said backing away.

"What are you talking about Shelby, I'm just trying to be your friend." Tony answered.

"You act like you're my boyfriend. You insisted on buying everything for me at the show, yesterday you wanted to take me to a movie, and now today you want to take me to dinner. You tell me if that's just being my friend."

"I'm sorry Shelby, I didn't know you felt that way. I'm this way with all my girl friends." Tony lied easily.

"Really?" Shelby asked still feeling uneasy.

"Of course, sorry that you felt that way." Tony said taking her into his arms.

Shelby just stood there with her arms at her sides, she couldn't bring herself to hug him back, not when she felt so uncomfortable.

"Well, Miss Shelby, I'll leave you to your date." Tony said before exiting the room.

'You don't know what's about to hit you.' he thought as he walked away.

~*~

"So it's working?" the voice asked over the phone.

"Yeah, the plan is unfolding perfectly. Just like you said it would."

"Good. This is great. If I can't have him no one can."

"You'll get your pictures after everything is done."

"How many shots are there?"

"So far I've got a full roll."

"Get it done."

~*~

4PM

Shelby poured herself a hot bath with some nice smelling salts and a really nice bubble bath that the woman who did her manicure suggested she use. She was about to get in when the phone rang. She grabbed it and then sunk into the heaven that was her bath.

"Hello?"

"Hello Shelby?" the woman asked.

"Yes, who is this?" Shelby asked recognized the voice but couldn't place it.

"It's Lois, we met about a month and a half ago."

"Oh my gosh, grandma. How are you? It's so good to hear from you." Shelby said surprised.

"I'm good, it's good to hear your voice as well. I just wanted to call and wish you a happy early birthday. We're going to be out of town on Saturday so I wanted to make sure I wished you a happy birthday before I forget." Lois answered.

"Thank you. So how are you? How is Grandpa?" Shelby asked.

"We're both doing very well. We've decided to move down here for good. We're quite sick of the traveling so we're giving it up for good. I hear something in the background, am I interrupting you?"

"I'm just taking a bath, I'm going out tonight." Shelby answered.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry dear. I'll let you go. Maybe I'll call you some other time then."

"Thank you for calling Lois, I miss you guys dearly."

"We miss you too."

"Take care Lois." Shelby said trying not to cry.

"You too sweetie." Lois said.

Shelby hung up the phone and carefully put it down on the floor next to her. She sunk low in the bathtub and let the bubbles flow over her body. She closed her eyes and let herself relax and soaked until she was pruned.

It was around five when she finally got out and got dressed, she threw on some sweats and a zipped hoodie so she could easily slip out of her shirt after they'd done her hair. She realized the time and hurried up, her hair and makeup appointment was at 5:45 and it took at least a half an hour to get there.

Shelby rushed to her appointment and got there on time. They had her sit down in the chair and began their work for the night. They added extensions to her hair so that she could wear it up and curled it all. They ended up gathering it all on top of her head except for a few curls here and there along the back of her neck and a few down front.

For the make up, they went for a light touch. They made her look beautiful, natural, but it accented her features and brought out her eyes. They insisted she wear contacts for the effect.

Shelby wasn't allowed to look at herself before she left, she was instructed to go home, put on her dress and shoes. Only then could she see herself in the mirror. She was really tempted to peek, but she realized the dramatic effect would be so much better if she just waited until she could see the finished product.

It was 6:45 before Shelby finished getting ready. She was now about to stand in front of the full length mirror. She already felt like a princess, but what if when she looked at herself, her fairytale was over. Knowing it had to be done, she stepped in front of the mirror...and lost her breath.

She looked beautiful. For the first time in her life, Shelby looked beautiful. They had done a wonderful job with her hair and makeup. She truly looked stunning, she smiled and looked at the clock. It was already 6:56. She grabbed her purse, took one final look, then headed down the stairs.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside and saw Justin standing there holding a single red rose with a black ribbon tied around it. She smiled and her breath caught in her throat, he looked so handsome standing there.

Justin was thinking along those same lines. His Shelby looked stunningly beautiful. She smiled at him shyly and stepped in front of him.

"You're beautiful Shelby." He said handing her the rose.

"Thank you." she said breathlessly.

"You're carriage awaits m'lady." Justin said offering her his hand.

It really did, behind Justin was not a limo, but a real carriage. It was a beautiful black and white carriage that was pulled by white horses.

Shelby took his hand and allowed him to help her up. She sat in the carriage and was amazed. Everything was beautiful and very fairy tale like. She watched Justin get in beside her and smiled at him.

Justin took Shelby into his arms and softly kissed her.

"I love you." he whispered lovingly.

"I love you too. I missed you so much." Shelby stared up at him with stars in her eyes.

"Happy birthday." he said.

"It's not 'til Saturday." she answered.

"I know. This was the only day I could get away." Justin smiled.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before they stopped in front of a small restaurant.

Justin jumped out of the carriage and held out his hand to help his Cinderella.

"Why thank you kind sir," she said curtsying.

"Right this way." Justin said putting her hand in the crook of his elbow.

Shelby followed Justin inside and when she did her jaw dropped.

Inside was a beautiful candle lit room with one table setting in the middle and a 5 piece orchestra playing beautiful music. A waiter was there to bring them to their table and asked what they'd like to drink.

"We'll take a bottle of champaign." Justin said.

"I'm not old enough to drink." Shelby said feeling foolish after she'd done so.

"Don't worry sweetie, you'll be fine." Justin smiled.

Shelby looked at her menu and frowned when she couldn't read a thing it said.

"Is this French?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." Justin answered.

"Am I supposed to read it?"

"Don't worry about it sweetie." Justin assured her.

The waiter came back with their bottle of champaign and proceeded to pour them each a small glass. He proceeded to ask them if they were ready.

"What are your specials tonight sir?" Justin asked.

"Lemon coated chicken breast over angel hair pasta." he answered.

"That sounds good, I'll have that." Shelby smiled at him, glad she didn't have to try and decipher the menu.

"And what kind of dressing would you like for your salad miss?" he asked.

"Italian please."

"And for you sir?" he turned to Justin.

"I'll have the same thanks." Justin answered.

"We'll have those salads right out." he said taking their menu's.

"You look really stunning tonight Shelby. I can't say it enough. I'm not talking about just your physical beauty, I'm talking about everything. You've changed so much since I met you. You've totally stood your ground since I came to pick you up. You don't look down any more, you look everyone in the eye and talk to them directly. I'm so proud of you." Justin smiled.

"Thank you." Shelby blushed feeling overwhelmed.

"I wish you'd come back to the tour, nothings the same without you." Justin said taking her hand.

"If I could I would, I just need to find myself here Justin. I hope you can understand that." Shelby answered.

"Don't worry hon, I understand perfectly. I just hoped to change your mind because I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, all the time." Shelby agreed. "There are so many times when I long to feel your arms around me."

"Oh baby, I love you." Justin said leaning over to tenderly caress her face.

"I love you too." Shelby closed her eyes and leaned into his touch for a moment.

"Can I take a picture of the lovely couple?" a voice asked with a camera.

Shelby's blood turned cold when she saw Tony standing there. "No." she said before thinking.

"Why not?" Justin asked her.

Shelby looked from Tony to Justin who was looking at her with a hurt expression.

"Um, I guess it couldn't hurt." Shelby answered against her better judgment.

Justin beamed at her and helped her stand then drew her into his arms and held her close. They posed for a few moments while Tony took their picture then sat back down.

"Here you are folks, have a good everything." Tony said handing them a picture.

"Thank you." Justin took it from him.

Justin didn't notice that Tony was staring at Shelby as he looked at the picture.

Shelby knew that Tony's being here was trouble. She knew she had to get rid of him as soon as Justin wasn't going to expect anything.

"Well, you kids enjoy your meal." Tony said leaving.

After Tony was out of sight, Shelby excused herself to find the restroom.

"I've got to find the little ladies room." Shelby said standing up.

"All right, hurry back." Justin smiled.

"I love you." Shelby leaned over and kissed him before walking away.

"I knew you'd come find me." Tony said as she turned the corner.

"What are you doing here?" Shelby asked the moment she saw him.

"Taking your picture." Tony answered.

"I want you to leave now." Shelby demanded.

"This is a free country honey." Tony said standing his ground.

"You are an asshole." Shelby glared at him.

"Oh you know you want me." Tony grabbed her and roughly kissed her mouth.

Shelby wasn't aware of anything but getting away from this brute, she didn't hear the camera clicking away. She pushed as hard as she could on his chest and finally pushed him back.

"Don't you EVER come near me again." Shelby said holding her mouth.

"Whatever you say sweetie." Tony smirked evilly before walking away.

Shelby stepped into the bathroom and felt tears very near. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw the damage his kiss had done. Her mouth was all red and swollen, she turned on the cold water and grabbed a paper towel, she pressed the cold towel to her lips and willed them to look normal. It took about five minutes, but she did finally look normal once she left the bathroom.

"What took so long?" Justin asked standing up.

"Sorry," Shelby smiled at him.

"Our salads aren't out yet, did you want to dance?" Justin questioned.

"I'd love to." Shelby said recognizing the song the orchestra was playing.

"I hope it's okay that I requested a song." Justin whispered holding her in his arms.

"It's a beautiful song." Shelby smiled.

Justin started softly singing to her as Shelby lost herself in his yes.

When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light
To light my way.
And when I'm scared,
And losing ground,
When my world is going crazy,
You can turn it all around.
And when I'm down you're there
- pushing me to the top.
You're always there,
giving me all you've got.

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

When I lose the will to win,
I just reach for you and
I can reach the sky again.
I can do anything
'Cause your love is so amazing,
'Cause your love inspires me.
And when I need a friend,
You're always on my side
Giving me faith
taking me through the night

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

For the arms to be my shelter
through all the rain,
For truth that will never change,
For someone to lean on,
For a heart I can rely on through anything,
For that one who I can run to...

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true

I turn to you.
I turn to you...

"I love you Shelby, so much." Justin said as the song finished.

"I love you too." Shelby said, stars in her eyes.

*Song I Turn to You by Christina Aguilera*