The moment I stepped back in, the music was blaring in my ear. The classic two-thousands hit played continuously after each other and my body grew a burning itch to dance. Smiling, I dashed to Meadow's side, who was oddly dancing with one of Declan's soccer friends. Note to self-- ask Meadow about this later.

"Well, I was going to say let's all dance and celebrate together, but you already beat me to it," I commented, wiggling my eyebrows at Meadow.

My serotonin levels skyrocketed as one of my favorite classical songs bounced from the speakers. I started dancing like a lunatic, shaking my arms like a snake as I tried doing the wiggle move. Then I attempted at the Robot causing the group of soccer boys to replicate me. Then when one of the most iconic songs played — Single ladies, I performed her iconic move.

Sadly, the DJ thought it was an amazing idea to shift towards a romantic mood and played a slow song. Meadow and the mysterious boy immediately drew to each other and waltzed together. When I looked over my shoulder, Catalina was being twirled around by Jayden. My girls are growing up so fast, I almost cried as I kept gently tapping my chest.

Suddenly, a hand rested on the small of my back, sending a tingling warm sensation across my back. Ambrose appeared in front of me, weirdly happier than when I left him outside. Could it be possible that Declan and Ambrose bumped heads outside? My heart beamed inside my chest as our bodies came into contact.

Like the oddballs, we were our rhythm was completely off. With every stride, either Ambrose or I stepped on each other's foot, causing us to continuously explode into laughter. Dancing with Ambrose was like walking on a weak rope-- frightened to break a heel. The DJ once again decided to ruin the night and switch to another genre of music. Right when Ambrose and I were having fun.

"All that dancing made me hungry and thirsty," I complained, fanning myself and especially under my armpits.

"Let's check the America-inspired table. I heard they've burgers and waffle fries," Ambrose advised, interlocking our sweaty hands together. Completely unphased we sprinted together towards the buffet table.

"Any food is enough for me," I said.

The table was stocked with burgers, two different kinds of fries -- sweet potato and waffle fries, buffalo chicken sandwiches oh lord the more I see the more drools gush out my mouth. Ambrose was gawking at the food like he was in love.

"Now, I can eat this." Meadow barged in between us and grabbed a bite-sized burger.

"Buffalo is so much better," Catalina commented.

"Yeah, but buffalo sauce can stain this beautiful expensive dress." Meadow pointed at her purple ball gown emphasizing her point. 

"You must be really happy." Hailey strolled over, tapping on the aqua-colored tablecloth. "Everything went the way you wanted."

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Thanks to you, Declan can't attend NYU, the best school in this state," one of Hailey's minions sneered.

"Just because you're the biggest idiot doesn't mean you should jeopardize someone's future, especially someone like Declan," Hailey scorned, her gaze dead and ruthless.

"You are the worst," her minion added.

My eyes kept frantically blinking as I processed their outrageous complaints. Scorching heat erupted up my cheeks as I gnawed my lip, speculating how to handle this conversation. Why had these rumors spread? If anything, Declan's decision of going to SilverLake University was a secret shared between the both of us. Oh, and maybe Cata and Meadow-- dammit.

How can I save myself from being chewed by the pack of wolves?

Hailey's eyes widened, and her gaze was locked with someone behind us. Hesitantly, I sprung around to witness Declan in his charming, dashing suit. The butterflies were exploding in my belly again as I took in every inch of how his tuxedo accentuated his muscular body. Wait-- did he hear everything she said before? Was he going to defend me?

"Declan," I softly gasped.

"She wasn't the reason why I'm not going to NYU," he admitted.

"Wow, I didn't know Declan had a nice bone in his body," Catalina mentioned, munching on her buffalo.

"I'm impressed," Meadow added.

"Why would I give up NYU for this idiot," Declan spat, altering the butterflies in my stomach to rumbling bees.

"Hey! Why'd you have to call me an idiot?" I gritted my teeth.

Declan grinned. "Because it's true."

The anger overflowing throughout my body overtaking all the peacefulness I had. My temper went haywire as rage carved itself in my bones, causing my breathing to become shallow. Everything in sight went fuzzy, and I swear all I saw was red. Before I knew it, Cata and Meadow gripped my arms as my feet lost feeling.

"Oh lord, you have done it now," Meadow warned, her anxious gaze meeting mine.

Suddenly, Mrs. Humphery appeared, hiding behind Declan's broad back. She placed her hand on his back, tapping it in reassurance. Using her other hand, she pushed back her glasses that were riding down her nose.

"That's right. Someone with a bright future like Declan wouldn't be fooled by this foolish female student and ruin his life," she smirked.

"Foolish," I mumbled, my nostrils flaring.

"You're right, now that I think about it... There's no way that Declan would like a useless girl like her. It was a waste of time to acknowledge that rumor," Hailey scoffed.

"Useless girl?" I swear my eye was twitching from all the malicious comments.

Enough is enough! Why does everyone think it's okay to make a comment about me? Declan I'll accept; it's basically a part of our banter but everyone else. They didn't know a single thing about me.

"Wait, a minute! I've been listening to what you had to say. Idiot? Idiotic? Foolish? Useless? And I think you're all being very rude, especially you, Mrs. Humphery, but it's true. I indeed had some help from Declan. I might have even caused a little bit of trouble for him," I ranted, my demeanor tense. 

Declan cockily raised his eyebrow, smirking. "A little?"

My lips formed a straight line as I thought about how right he was.

I cleared my throat. "I meant a lot," I whispered, keeping my gaze on the floor.

"True," Meadow mumbled, earning a sharp jab from my elbow.

"You didn't have to say it like that... Like a cold-blooded man! Yeah, that's what you're," I nodded, my lips twitching.

"But you love this cold-blooded man, don't you?" His tone was laced with cockiness. It's days like today that I wished I kept my crush a secret.

My stomach twisted and turned from the humiliating conversation I have gotten myself into. Why was he so bent on making the entire world know about my crush? My cheeks burned with steam and if we weren't at prom, I would probably lock myself in the bathroom. Meadow and Cata joined in the 'Oohs' or 'Ahhs' from the surrounding people.

"Aww, no more lovers quarrel. Everything happened because of the power of Lana's love. Face the facts, Lana and Declan are destined to be together." Declan's friend Nate formed a heart with his fingers.

"Don't be silly," Declan scoffed, his eyes rolling.

"Did you forget about the charm? Thanks to Lana's charm, a bicyclist hit Declan straight on and injured him," Nate explained.

"So that's why he was wearing crutches," Hailey replied, her eyes lighting up.

"Then he got stuck in the elevator and fell down the stairs. On top of that, he couldn't eat his lunch because Lana made it. It was a horrible day," The boy stated, nodding.

"That's not a charm! That's a curse," Hailey's friend inserted herself.

"No, it's the power of love!" Declan's friend exclaimed.

"Come to think of it, didn't her house burn down a week after she gave her love letter to Declan," Hailey said.

My eyes pinched together as I relieved those two wonderful moments in my mind. I'm starting to think I am cursed. Universe, why have you done this to me? Am I supposed to learn a lesson because I'm not seeing it?

"By the way, did she give you a gift for being accepted into SilverLake university?" Nate asked.

"A really dumb one," Declan admitted, bruising my ego.

"Oh, my god that's hilarious." Hailey laughed. "I'm enjoying this secret, revealing event. Whose secret should we reveal next?"

For a few seconds, my body shut down and the only thing escaping my lips was horror-filled laughter. My brain had officially lost it and went berserk. My arms were shaking, and I waited until I was able to seize control of my own limbs again.

"Oh, no, Lana is broken," Catalina stated.

"Lana! Lana, are you okay?" Meadow anxiously asked, sending a powerful blow on my back.

"This is fun, isn't it." I exhaled.

My control over my body went to my legs first, and I stomped my way over to the coathangers, snatching my sweater from it. Storming my way over, I inhaled and exhaled, slowly regaining authority over my next action.

"You're right, this secret reveal event is so entertaining! Since you went first, I think it's only fair for me to do the same." I smiled, strolling closer to Declan.

"What? I have never done anything that I would be ashamed of in my life," he retorted.

Smirking, I nudged a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You know, even geniuses have a weakness." I laughed, my grin wide.

Reaching into my sweater, I pulled out my personal lucky charm. To tease Declan, I gave him a glimpse of my special gift. When I turned the white sheet around, Declan's eyes widened as he saw the photo of himself sleeping with his plushie.

"How did yo-"

"That's a secret I'll never tell!" I winked, raising the picture into the air for everyone to see. "Ta-da! Enjoy everyone!"

A random hand grabbed my shoulder craning my neck, I noticed it was just Meadow and let her have the photo.

"Oh my god! Is Declan cuddling a freaking unicorn plushie!" Meadow snorted as Catalina pushed her head closer to Meadow.

"I guess, the lack of affection is getting to him," Nate joked, covering his laughter when Declan shot him a dreadful glare.

"Lemme, take a picture of that! I need to send it to Alice." Hailey seized the photo from Meadow.

For once, I had the upper hand, and I loved every single minute of it. It was about time Declan got his own taste of medicine. Now, he understood how it felt to have everyone laugh at you maybe that'll teach him to not mess with me.

"My mother gave you another one, didn't she," Declan snarled, his lip twitching.

"It's a secret! All I'm saying is I've been treasuring that photo for weeks because it featured my crush, but it turned me off seeing you cuddle a rainbow-colored unicorn," I taunted, smiling innocently as the angel I was.

Hailey must have mass-texted everyone since ringers kept going off and our classmate glanced over at Declan, snickering with each other. His face was red as a rose, his fist clenched by his legs. I definitely hit a painful nerve. His lips were pressed tight as he scanned around the room, only becoming redder by the second.

I stole the photo back from Hailey and taunted it in front of Declan's face. Joining the Devil's side was funnier than I thought. Declan tried stealing the picture from me, but I craned my arm back to only drop it in the progress. Oh well! I giggled like a lunatic, spinning around with glee.

Suddenly, Declan snatched my wrist, bringing our faces the closest it's been since that night I sneaked into his room. Being caught off guard caused my giggles to disappear and my eyes widened in shock.

"Come with me," he demanded, dragging my body with him.

Declan didn't stop until we were on the stairs away from everyone. Goosebumps emerged on my skin since the front doors were open, allowing the drift to enter. Somehow, Declan trapped me between the wall and his body. My pulse began to race, instantly regretting my plan to get back at him.

"What? Why did you drag me out here?" I asked, swallowing the scared lump wedged in my throat.

"You sure made a commotion, huh?"

"I'm not scared of you!" I lied, convincingly at least I'm hoping. "It only matters if it's you, but you made fun of my feelings for you, again!" I exclaimed, panting.

The silence sunk in between us for several moments as I gathered the courage to end this. Whatever relationship we had was clearly going nowhere. Finally, I'm realizing liking someone like him wasn't worth it. The mind games were messing with my head. I'm the only one giving myself hope because deep down I knew he would never return my feelings.

"I quit." My lips trembled as my heart thumped against my chest, I swear it was ringing in my ears. "I'm going to quit... fighting for you."

"I see," Declan responded, keeping his deadpan eyes glued to mine. "So you are going to forget me?"

"Yeah, I will! Now, I understand what kind of person you are. You're a jerk and someone who doesn't deserve me. I will find someone cuter in college and forget all about you," I frantically rambled, fighting back the emotions threatening to appear.

Suddenly, he softly latched onto my shoulder, surprising me in the process of my endless display of word vomit. His face was inches away from me, his minty breath fanning my face. His eyes pierced deeply through my own and flickered nervously as he thought he was contemplating something.

"Alright then. If you want to forget me so badly, then do it."

Nothing could prepare me for what happened next. He cupped a hand around my cheek and pulled his lips down onto mine.

As soon as our lips met, it felt like every nerve in my body surged to life. My heart hammered inside my chest. At this rate, he was going to give me a heart attack. I forgot how to breathe, move, or think from the utter confusion of the situation.

Declan Novak, my longtime crush, was kissing me.

He began to move his lips shyly and tenderly against mine. It was as if this was his first kiss too, and he was afraid to somehow mess it up. The kiss lasted seconds before he broke away and smiled as I stood still as a rock.

"Good luck," he smirked, spinning around to return to the ballroom.

Gasps escapes my lips as the wind drifts from the open door, riding my dress upward. Is he playing mind-games with me? He is, isn't he? My feelings are in a tidal pool, swirling endlessly.

My body slid against the wall, my lips parted from shock. Slowly, my hand lifted to my plump lips, reminiscing the way his cherry lips felt on mine. A special moment was taken away faster than I could blink.

For years, I thought my feelings for Declan never ran deeper than an innocent crush, but this moment changed everything.

I think I might love him.

How more absurd can my life get?

AHHHHHHHH I'm so excited to finally be posting this chapter!!! It's one of my favs and special moment between the two dear to my heart though there's plenty more later on ;)!!!!

Anyone caught off guard? Besides Lana?

Do you think Ambrose triggered Declan's emotions to make a move on Lana??

Can't wait to hear you guys thoughts!!! And I love you!!!!!