"You've got this, Tyler," I mumbled to myself, glimpsing at the aged mirror of the restroom.

My heartbeat raced as I turned on the water faucet. I reached a hand to a nearby soap dispenser, stroking my hands together under the steamy water that created a fizzy lather. I eyed myself in the mirror to make sure I looked decent before dinner.

Dinnertime already started, according to the prom schedule. Instead of rushing towards the dining room like everyone else, I made a beeline to the restroom to use it, wash my hands, and give myself a last look in the mirror.

I turned off the faucet and shook excess water off my hands as I strutted towards a hand dryer. Landon was drying his hands on the dryer next to mine and glimpsed at me with an enthusiastic grin.

"Are you excited about dinner?" He questioned out of the blue. "I can't wait to see what foods they have."

"Yeah, dinner sounds great," I responded, slipping my hands from under the hand dryer. "I haven't eaten much today."

Today, I only ate an apple, a bag of Cheetos, a burger, and a bottle of water. That is anything but enough to eat for more than ten hours. I've been wanting to eat something for a while now, but I never had the time due to preparing for prom.

I felt hungry to the point where I'd eat anything. Once it's time to eat, I'll probably scarf down whatever they serve first in several minutes.

I placed my elbow on the restroom door, pushed it open, and held it for a few moments to allow Landon to exit.

We strutted to the dining room, which wasn't far from where we were. We could already hear the muffled conversations of people in the dining room that covered up the music that played loudly. There were several people who chatted in front of the doors. As soon as they noticed us, they stopped to wave.

I waved back with a friendly smile and slid past them to enter the dining room. Since there were many people and all the tables were occupied, it wouldn't be easy to find Rose.

Or maybe it will be.

Fortunately, I saw her at a table, meters away from the dining room's doors. She waved her hand back back and forth with direct eye contact with me. She was also with her friends, Lizzie and Tracey, as well as Elijah.

I strutted to the table and sat in an available chair next to Rose. The table, as well as the room was decorated with many decorations. Each table had plates, cups, utensils, and napkins in their place neatly. In the middle of each table, there was a sign that had "Prom" plastered over it in forest green holographic letters.

There was grilled chicken and string beans served as an appetizer on each plate, along with ice-cold water in each cup. A plate of bread was next to the prom sign, right near me.

"We're here. I'm sorry that we were kind of late," I apologized.

"No problem," Rose replied.

"Yeah, we've only been here for a couple of minutes. It isn't much," Elijah added, reaching his hand toward his cup of water.

"That's great to hear," I replied.

After that, there was dead silence at our table. No one muttered out anything. We all stared at each other, holding on to items at the table.

I cleared my throat nonchalantly to attempt to break the silence. A few moments passed, and a word didn't come out of anyone's mouth.

I automatically knew that it was up to me to say something. Anything that would spark a conversation.

"So. . . are you all excited that school will be over in a few weeks?" I questioned out of the blue.

In about three weeks or so, this school year will be over and done with. After we finish taking final exams and important tests, we will not have to worry about school until the next school year rolls around.

I'm hyped that it'll be done soon. This school year has felt quite long from beginning to end. A lot of things happened, good and bad.

Most of the things that happened throughout this whole time doesn't matter at this moment. All that matters is that everyone else and I are having a fun time during prom.

"I am," Landon answered, poking his fork through his grilled chicken.

"I'm excited too. I'm mostly excited about getting no more homework," Rose added with jazz hands.

"Yeah," Lizzie replied after taking a sip of water.

I nodded as I poked my fork on a string bean before biting a small piece of it. The taste was decent enough for my liking. It was certainly better than the stale and tasteless string beans that are served at Westdale's lunchroom.

Before I could take a bite of my grilled chicken, I was distracted by the strong scent of perfume that rushed behind me. My nose tingled as if it was about to sneeze. I turned my head towards where the smell was coming from.

Millicent and her ex-boyfriend Charles were strutting close together to a table not too far from ours. That explained where the smell was coming from. From the smell of her perfume to the shimmery beige dress she wore, I could tell that she spent loads of money just to prepare for prom.

I turned my attention to Rose. She was already staring at me the moment I turned around. I flashed her a warm smile, extending my hand to meet hers for a few moments.

From her touch, I already knew that this prom would be enjoyable and amazing.

***

A few hours after dinner, everyone gathered in the ballroom to dance. Neon lights from above lit up the floor as music blared from the speakers. to allow everyone to show their moves. Rose bit her lip as I started to lead her towards the dance floor. I could tell that she was unsure and a bit nervous about dancing.

"I'm terrible at dancing, you know," she grimaced while biting her lip.

"I'm sure you aren't that bad," I reassured her. "I'll just tell you what to do, and we'll be fine."

"Okay," she grinned enthusiastically.

I took her hand and led her into an area that wasn't busy and crowded with too many people. I took her other hand and guided her to do whatever dance I could think of. I'm sure that it looked ridiculous to anyone who was staring at us, considering the fact that I'm not a good dancer.

But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're both having fun, regardless of what we do.

After a few minutes of dancing, we decided to take a break near a snack table. I took a cup of fruit punch and took a large sip of it within seconds.

"Did you have fun dancing?" Rose questioned, brushing part of her dress with a hand.

"I did. We may have done random dance moves, but it was very fun," I replied, followed by another sip of fruit punch.

"I had fun too," she answered. "I wonder when they'll announce this year's prom king and queen."

"Me too. It will be very interesting," I tossed my empty cup into a trash can.

No matter who gets chosen for prom queen and king, it will be very interesting. If Millicent and Charles get chosen, then Millicent would be happier than a child who just found out they've gotten everything they wanted for Christmas.

If someone else gets chosen, then that would be great for everyone else. It would be a change.

The moment everyone has been waiting for has approached. Principal Evans stood at the podium at the front of the ballroom, demanding for everyone's attention with his microphone. The music that played stopped.

"May I please have everybody's attention?" He questioned, waving a silver and glitter envelope in his hands.

The glitter of the envelope glimmered brightly from the lights of the ballroom, shiny enough to gain everyone's attention. Inside the envelope contained the prom king and queen for this year, so everyone started cheering and facing the principal.

"Now, it's time to reveal who is this year's prom king and queen," Principal Evans stated, holding up the silver envelope. "Thank you to everyone who voted for the nominees of who they wanted for prom king and queen."

Everyone started to clap their hands and cheer for which couple they wanted to win prom king and queen most. Balloons and confetti started to fall from the ceiling, landing on the podium.

Principal Evans gently opened the envelope and pulled a piece of paper out of it. Everyone cheered and hooted louder than before.

"This year's prom king and queen is. . . Joshua Grey and Lori Daniels. Please come up to the podium to retrieve your prize," he proclaimed with a huge smile.

The cheers from everyone erupted more. Except from Millicent and a few of her friends. From meters away, I could see the priceless look on her face. Her face looked tomato red as an eyebrow raised.

Joshua and Lori were both part of the student council, so that gave them some recognition to get some votes. No one knew that they would win, but I guess some people decided to change their vote for who they wanted as prom queen and king at the last minute for some reason.

Principal Evans awarded both of them with their crowns, which they placed on their heads within seconds. They waved at the crowd with genuine smiles, only to make Millicent's anger boil.

"How did they win prom king and queen?" She demanded out loud. "They're just two losers from the student council. Were the results rigged or what?"

"I don't know," Charles answered with one hand on the tip of his chin, while the other rested on her shoulder.

"Whatever. Take your hand off my shoulder," Millicent stated before storming off.

She disappeared into the crowd, causing a few of her friends to go after her. They looked just as confused as Millicent when she found out she didn't win prom queen.

But since this has nothing to do with me, I won't have to reflect on most of the things that happened tonight. All that I need to reflect on is that I had fun and had an amazing prom date.

***

After prom ended, Rose and I decided to go to my house to hang out a little bit before she'll go home. We were both exhausted, as if we hadn't gotten any sleep for a few days.

Rose collapsed on my bed as I pushed away a few shirts I forgot to put away in my closet. Before I sat on it, I decided to be genuine and pull off one-inch heels of her feet. I placed them on the floor beside my nightstand and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Prom was fun," Rose said out of the blue.

"It was. It was nice to go with you," I replied, reaching my hand towards hers.

"Yeah," she smiled warmly while sitting up. "It meant everything to me."

My cheeks warmed up a bit. Those five words meant a lot to me, so did her genuine smile. It was a change—and it was a great one. I hadn't felt this energy from someone I loved in a long time. Instead of feeling unsure about anything, I felt sheltered and adored.

Today has been an amazing day. In fact, it has probably been one of my best days.

I gently wrapped my arm around Rose's shoulder as she looked up at me. Her eyes twinkled through the dim light of my lamp. Heat rose from my stomach to my chest as our faces got close. My heart skipped a beat as our lips met.

Rose pulled her body closer to mine as she kissed me back. I stroked a few strands of her brunette hair as a wave of warmth brushed over my body as we let go of the kiss to breathe.

"I. . . love you," I admitted as my hands fidgeted.

"I love you, too," she kissed my cheek. "A lot."

I smiled bigger than ever today. This was the perfect ending of a long day. Rose and I are both happy. This made me look forward to the days ahead of us. I've never felt so eager about anything before.

What other people think about us being together doesn't matter. The two of us may be in different cliques, but that doesn't matter. It never will. All that matters is that we're both together and happy.