A/N: Analise's dance dress up above! I'm a big fan of it, personally :) Enjoy the story.

Chapter 17 - Will

    I took a deep breath, smoothing out my khakis in the full length mirror in my moms room. I ran a hand through my already styled hair, cursing to myself when the gel made it stick up unnaturally and tried to fix it. I adjusted my tie nervously, until the doorbell rang. I gulped.

"William!" My mom called a few seconds later. "Your date is here!"

My mom had taken the day off to see me off to the dance, excited that I was making friends in Chicago finally. I already had made friends of course, but if she didn't see me with someone she didn't believe me. I walked down the steps taking them two at a time, coming face to face with Mallory. She was in an almost see through white dress with flower detailing throughout it. Her long red hair cascaded down in waves and was pinned back so it only went down her back, and her makeup looked exquisite. She looked great.

"You look beautiful," I told her, coming to stand next to her and wrapping her in my arms for a hug. "Excited for tonight?"

"Very," Mallory admitted, smiling up at me.

"Aren't you guys the cutest pair?" Mom gushed, taking her camera out and pointing it at us. "Smile!"

"Mom," I groaned, but Mallory just quietly laughed while turning to face my mom with a smile. I heard a few clicks before I put my hand up to the viewfinder effectively cutting off her obsessing. "We're leaving mom."

"Okay, I love you William."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Gryer," Mallory politely told me mom, sending her a small smile.

My mom returned her smile. "Nice to meet you too sweetie."

We left my house, walking to my car in silence. I opened her door for her, then walked over to my own and started towards the school. She grabbed my hand over the center console, and I looked down at our interlocked hands thoughtfully. "Hey, Mal-"

"I'm so excited," she cut me off, looking out the window. "I got my dress as soon as I asked you. You think Justin will come?"

I frowned a little to myself. "Uh, probably."

She nodded. "I don't know if anyone asked him or not, but I hope to see him there."

"Analise is coming," I piped up, glancing at her briefly. She stiffened. "I mean I'm not sure who she asked, but she said she's coming."

"I don't see why you hang out with her," Mallory admitted quietly. "I mean, she doesn't seem like good company to keep if you know what I mean."

Anger surged through me almost immediately. That was like a hit to my gut, because Analise and I had grown close over the weeks I'd been here and I didn't think anyone had a right to talk bad about her. I tried letting go of her hand, but she grasped it more firmly. "Mal I-"

"We're here!" She squealed, effectively cutting me off again. Irritation bubbled up in me but I forced it down. I was going to try to have fun anyway, but it seemed like she didn't want to let me get a word in edgewise.

After getting our of the car we headed up towards the doors of the school and were greeted by dozens of other well dressed peers. I recognized some of them, but no one I talked to on a daily basis. Until of course I came face to face with Toby, who was arm in arm with Analise. My eyes widened as we approached them. They were together, laughing about something Toby was saying and very close in proximity. But Toby had told me he had a thing for Mallory, I thought.

Analise looked absolutely beautiful, of course. She was without her hoodie for the first time I'd ever seen on school grounds, and her long brown hair was straightened making it look three inches longer, at least. Annie was wearing a strapless red dress, short in the front and long in the back, and a pair of silver flats that matched the necklace on her neck. She had subtle makeup, but not a lot - it only helped bring out her naturally gorgeous features. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her, but I composed myself as quickly as I could.

"Hey guys," I greeted when we were within hearing distance. I did the bro shake with Toby and pulled Analise into a hug. She felt so right in my arms. "I didn't know you guys were friends."

"We're not," Analise explained vaguely. "Well, not really. Maybe we will be now. This guy came to my rescue."

"Rescue?"

Toby's eyes met mine and he nodded behind me. His features were sad. I turned around where Tommy was walking with his hand in... Ashlynn's? My eyes widened. "Analise and Tommy were supposed to go together and Ashlynn asked him to ditch her today. He did."

Anger coursed through me and I clenched my fist, trying to control the anger. I was so freaking tired of people hurting Analise. Toby put a hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to calm down and I reluctantly obliged.

*

The gym was decorated beautifully. The theme was under the sea and the planning committee had taken the planning to the extreme. It was dark in the gym with just the illumination of blue lights from the walls. There were what looked like bubbles floating up towards the ceiling, but if you looked close enough you could tell they were just strategically placed balloons. The DJ had flashing lights at the back of the gym but they weren't bright enough to disturb the under the sea vibe. 

Mallory and I had been dancing for the last hour, hanging with Justin and his date, Rebecca, and Analise and Toby. Colin and Raelynn had come in, but they were hanging out with Tommy and Ashlynn, which surprised the hell out of me that they could tolerate her that long. But I guess there was a first for everything.

Right when it was about to be half past ten, I walked to Analise after excusing myself from Mallory. I looked at Analise, then at Toby. "Mind if I cut in for a dance?"

Analise smiled and nodded at me, and Toby smiled clapping a hand on my back before making his way towards Mallory. I put my arm around her waist and she put her hands around my neck just as Little Things by One Direction started blasting through the speakers. I looked into her eyes.

"Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me. But bare this in mind, it was meant to be."

Analise and I started swaying to the music and I was looking into her eyes. Her beautiful, beautiful eyes. "Fancy seeing you here."

She laughed, shaking her head. "If i didn't know any better, I'd say you were flirting with me, Rando."

I grinned, "Maybe I am."

"You nervous for tomorrow?"

I had almost forgotten the play was tomorrow. To say I was nervous was an understatement. But I was excited nonetheless. As long as everything went as planned, I was going to be able to kiss Analise and nothing could prepare me for that. "I am."

"Me too," she told me honestly.

"Thought you weren't scared of anything?" I teased.

She shot me a joking glare, her lips twitching at the sides. I could tell she was trying to bite back a smile. "I'm not. Nervous is different than scared. I'm not afraid of anything, but I am nervous about some things. Like acting in front of a bunch of strangers, and..."

Analise trailed off, her eyes flicking between my lips and my eyes. I finished her sentence knowingly. "Kissing me."

"I'm not a kissing kind of person," she told me, looking down. "I'm not a virgin, let's get that straight. I have had hook ups, sure, but never anyone from Chicago - Always from a couple towns over. But I've never kissed anyone."

I raised a brow, chuckling slightly. "Let me get this straight. You've had sex, but you've never kissed anyone?"

I took her hand and twirled her before we came face to face again. She rolled her eyes. "Don't make fun or I won't open up."

"I'm not. It's just... Doesn't kissing usually come before sex?"

She took a deep, calculating breath, obviously considering how to answer. "Have you ever noticed I haven't once called Ashlynn, or any girls for that matter, a slut?"

I nodded and shrugged. I had noticed that.

"Slut shaming isn't cool," she explained. "So I don't do it. Sex isn't a reason to attack someone. Sex is a natural thing and humans are made to have sex to reproduce to procreate to create more humans. We are physically made to have sex, sex is no big deal to me. But to me, kissing is more intimate. Kissing, to me, should be done when you have feelings for someone. I don't have feelings for the guys I hook up with. It's just meaningless sex because I have needs like everyone else."

"So you're one of those girls who is saving her first kiss for her prince charming."

She shook her head softly, her hair staying still since it was straight, and I found myself missing the presence of her bouncing curls. "I wouldn't say that. I just want it to be with someone special to me, and I haven't found that person yet."

"I understand that."

"What about you, Rando? What's your experience?"

The song switched to a more upbeat song, but still we didn't break apart from our position. I ran a hand through my waves. "I've had a couple girlfriends, but only one serious one. I wouldn't say I'm the most experienced guy in the world. I know for a fact that I'm not, but I do have some experience."

"Why did you and your serious girlfriend break up?"

I looked down, sighing sadly. "When my dad died-"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay Annie. When my dad died, he took a piece of me with him. I took it pretty hard, and I pushed her away. We grew up together, we were best friends, I thought we were soul mates, but I pushed her away because I have a hard time coping with things. I guess it stems from my depression. But she let me push her away, and I can only blame myself because I wouldn't have fought for me either."

Analise put a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at her and look into her brown eyes. She gave me a small smile. "I would have. And I did. Because I know you're a good person. When I fought with Raelynn, you were brought up and I defended you because you're the first person who's made me feel like a person worth getting to know and worked so hard to get to know me."

I smiled at that, looking down bashfully. "I'm still getting to know you, Annie, but I like what I see so far."

She returned my smile brightly. "You're not so bad yourself, Rando."