When next week finally rolled in, we were all nothing but excited for the event ahead.

I was grateful that there was something to fill my mind, and as I got ready for prom, I constantly told myself that today was a special day for me and my friends, and I shouldn't let my current pain get the best of me. Mr Nakamura's words played over and over again in my mind.

I'd gotten fulani braids done, and the yellow beads at the end of each braid matched perfectly with the dress. I loved the way they clinked together every time I moved my head. It was such a satisfying sound.

"Jemimah, dear! Come down, please, there's something I want to give you". I heard Susanne calling from downstairs.

I was surprised she was home; she'd usually be working around this time. I went downstairs to the living room where she was calling from, and she had a package in her hand. "A little gift from Dad", She smiled.

My eyes widened, as I took it from her, and opened the cardboard lid. I couldn't hold back my surprise when I glanced down at the gold strap block heels lying inside. They were gorgeous. He'd called me in the morning to give me some rant about not kissing any boys at prom, before saying I looked beautiful in my dress, but he'd ever mentioned this little surprise. I wondered how he got the time to look for these when he was so busy with work. I loved that he'd made time to do that for me.

"They suit your dress," Katie said to me, leaning in to look at them. "Wow".

Susanne wrapped her arms around me. "Today's a special day for you, Jem. I'm sorry your Dad couldn't be here with you, but he'll be home as soon as he can".

I nodded. It had been five months since my Dad left, but I knew he was working hard back in Ghana. I wondered what it would've been like if I went with him. Katie rested a hand on my shoulder, and she seemed to know what I was thinking, because she gave me a gentle smile; something I'd never seen her do before.

"If it makes you feel better, my Dad's not here either. But we got each other. Sisters stick together right?" She took my hand.

Her smile was infectious, and I grinned back at her, intertwining our fingers together. Me and Katie have had a long ride together since I got here. There was a lot we didn't agree on, still to this day, and when we weren't having some sort of rivalry with each other, we usually stayed in our separate spaces with our separate lives. But somehow, life had pushed us together and intertwined our dramas, and now we were a pretty good duo.

I guess some of the most special things can happen in the most unexpected ways.

"I hadn't realised you two had gotten so close." Susanne smiled.

Katie rolled her eyes, muttering an "I wonder why" under her breath.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "That should be the other two gang members. Don't worry, I'm getting the door." Susanne left the living room.

"I wonder why she's suddenly so invested in our lives, now." Katie muttered.

I thought about bringing up the situation of the assault. I could only imagine how difficult it was for Katie to talk about something like that, when she felt like no adults were around to open up to. I knew this wouldn't be the time or place to bring that up, though. But the fact that she hadn't brought up the topic again made me kind of worried for her.

"THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED."

Obviously, we didn't have to look to see who had just entered the room, but we turned anyway, to greet Beatrice as she waltzed in, her long purple dress flaring out as she spun around. Aki followed close behind, dressed in a dark blue formal suit with a black turtle shirt underneath. His usual messy bangs were now styled in a wavy, curtain fringe, revealing more of his face. He actually looked incredibly handsome.

Our eyes met, and he had a somewhat shy look on his face when I smiled at him. "You look amazing," I walked over to him, admiring his new hair, "You should do that hairstyle more. It shows more of your face."

"It was my amazing idea!" Beatrice exclaimed, "I TOLD you you'd look good in that style."

"You're looking stunning yourself, Bea." I complimented, playing with he strands of her high blonde ponytail.

"You're still the best at doing hairstyles. she grinned, and then went over to talk to Katie. Those two really have seemed to bond more too, recently.

Aki placed his hands into his pockets, and averted his gaze from me. It seemed like he wanted to say something.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. He looked at me.

"Yeah...It's just that I've never seen you look so beautiful before. It's kinda making me feel shy." He gave me an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know when you became such a gentleman, but I like it."

"Oh please. Gentleman is such an ancient word."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you preferred Teddy bear." His eyes widened at my joke, but he didn't get a chance to respond, as Susanne called out to us.

"Alright ladies and gentleman, everyone outside. I Have to take a picture of you all". She cooed, striding out the door, excitedly. "You all look gorgeous."

We followed her outside, and stood at the front of the house.

"You know, of all the people I'd expect to take prom pictures with, you were probably the last person I would've thought of." Katie said, as she stood beside me.

"Likewise," I looked at her. We met gazes, and immediately burst out laughing.

Beatrice stood on the other side of me, and Aki stood beside her.

"On the count of three we all have to say hot chocolate and cheesecake." Beatrice announced.

"Three...two...one...HOT CHOCOLATE AND CHEESECAKE!"

**********************************************

It was Mr Nakamura who drove us to the prom venue, an events building surrounded by fields which were decorated with serenely designed tables. The place was already crowded when we got there, and I couldn't help but admire everyone's outfits as they walked past.

"You guys, be responsible," Mr Nakamura said to us, "And have fun, you hear? Oh, and..." he pointed at me and Aki, "You two should keep in mind that this is a friendly socialising event, so maybe try and do a little bit of that if you can help it." He gave us a teasing grin, before he shut the car door, and drove away.

Once he was out of sight, we all just stood there unsure of what to do.

"Where do we start?" Katie asked, voicing all of our thoughts.

"Food. There's snacks over there." Beatrice didn't wait for anyone as she started over to the snack stalls. 

The prom venue had a white and purple theme, with round tables around the field, and a dance floor in the centre. Fairy lights brightened the place up, glimmering more when the sun went down, and making the place look like it had been littered with pretty glitter. There were more eating places inside, but most people chose to stay out in the summery weather, and this was also where the music was loudest.

Me and the others sat for a while at one of the tables, mainly chatting and eating snacks, before someone called out loudly from a microphone.

"We're about to start our first moonlight dance. Everyone get ready to come onto the dance floor!"

I was only half paying attention, as I had spotted Alana at one of the snack stalls, with her girl friends. I hadn't realised I'd been staring at her, until our eyes met.

"Are you guys going up?" Katie asked, and then looked at Aki, "Which of us will you ask to dance with you, Aki?" There was a tease in her tone, and so Beatrice immediately joined in.

"He's in his own harem, so he has to get a taste of all of us first."

"Oh come on, don't put it like that. We can all just dance together." Aki pushed Beatrice playfully, and she burst out laughing.

Just then, a boy tapped Katie gently on the shoulder, and she turned to look at him. Her eyes widened when they met his round grey irises, and he gave her a shy smile, revealing a pair of dimples on either side of his cheeks. "Hey, Katie."

"Liam?" She looked surprised to see him.

Liam ran a hand through his wavy brunette hair, and then outstretched the other one towards her. "Wanna dance?"

We all turned to her, bright looks on our faces. She went slightly red, but seemed unsure, and looked away. She glanced towards me, as if asking what she should do. I nodded, urging her to go with him. Katie stood up, and took Liam's hand. "Sure." She said, flashing him a smile.

We watched as she was led to the dance floor, and I couldn't help but smile to myself when I saw the faint tug of her lips as she followed Liam. After all she'd been through, Katie deserved to have a happy end to her school life.

"I never expected us to ever get close to her," Beatrice said, taking a sip of tropical punch. "I still don't like her that much, but she's nowhere near as bad as I thought she was."

"She's actually pretty cool," Aki added, "Good thing you guys figured out the sister thing in good time."

"Yeah...I never really registered her as a sister until a few months ago to be honest." I replied. Just then, I caught a whiff of familiar cinnamon perfume, and I spun my head round to see Alana, who had just approached our table.

She was stunning as always; the white and purple fabric of her dress matched the designs of the prom and hugged most of her figure except for the ruffles that flared out at her calves. She had waist length white cornrow braids, revealing more of her round face, since I was used to her features being half hidden behind a fringe, and it made me realise how much she looked like her brother.

"What do you want?" Beatrice gave her an evil eye.

Alana glanced at her, and looked like she wanted to retort but instead held it back, and said something else instead, "Chill out. I'm not my brother, alright? I just need to talk to Jemimah."

"Sure..." I said quietly.

Alana stood there awkwardly for a moment, before saying, "In private?"

I glanced at the others , who nodded at me. "I'll be right back". I said to them.

I stood up, and followed Alana towards one of the drink stalls. She poured two glasses of lemonade before handing one to me. "Try this, it's mixed with this weird berry flavour."

I took a sip of the sweet drink. "Wow, this is really good".

Alana nodded with a small smile, and then leaned against the table. "So...how's... everything?"

I nodded slowly, and then took another sip of my drink. I felt her eyes on me. We both knew what "everything" she was referring to.

"Look..." She started, "on behalf of my brother..."

"It's alright," I interrupted, "You don't have to apologise for him. You did nothing wrong."

"No, Jemimah. I am partly to blame," Alana shook her head, "I knew about Jesse's panic attacks. They stress him out, and they stress out other people sometimes, too. He's always been afraid to take a step out his comfort zone. He's always been a scared guy. He told me he was a hundred percent sure with you, but I had my doubts. And I let him go on anyway. That was my fault."

"You did try to tell me, Alana, but I didn't listen to you, just like I didn't listen to Aki. People need to stop blaming themselves when all they did was try to help me. I was too blinded by how I felt about him, and that led me to where I am now. I've accepted that already, so I don't need your apology."

"Well...if that's how you feel, I can't really change your mind," Alana said to me, "But the other reason I wanted to talk was because...despite my own opinion about my brother, I know for a fact he really did love you."

My heart seemed to drop at her words. I felt my eyes burning up, but I blinked away the potential tears. "Why are you telling me that?"

"Because I don't want you to think that you fell in love with a liar. My brother has done a lot of things, but deceiving isn't one of them. And like I said, his actions cannot be justified, and he did play with your emotions and lead you on when he shouldn't have, but he did care about you. I just want you to know that, Jemimah. And I wanted to thank you for it."

My jaw clenched. "What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything."

"For giving him a reason to smile again," Alana's voice had a slight crack in it now, "You have no idea how long it's been since I last saw my brother smile, Jemimah. He's been through so much with these attacks. You really made him happy. And I'll forever be grateful to you for that."

I smiled, and pulled her in for a hug, and to my surprise, she hugged me back. "Thank you for saying that. And for telling me about Jesse, too. He broke my heart, but...I still care about him. And I'm just glad I was able to make him just as happy as he made me, even if it was for a short time."

Alana pulled away from me, and held me at arm's length."I want you to know, Jemimah, that I'm here when and if you need me. You've been a great partner in class, and a pretty cool friend." She gave me a side smile, "Can we keep in touch?"

"Doesn't that go without saying?" I smiled back at her. She nodded, and then poured some more lemonade into our cups.

BEATRICE POV

"You know, I would never have expected to go to prom."

I lay my hands on Aki's shoulders as he put his on either side of my waist. We started the slow dance to the music playing through the speakers.

Aki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you knew me and Jem were introverts, so you lost hope in ever going to a party," he said, parroting my words from previous times, "You've said it more than once."

I laughed. "Actually, that's not what I meant. I was referring to the fact that I've been a loser in my school for practically my entire life, and so prom was always nothing but a far away daydream to me. I always wanted to go to a prom, after watching those teen movies and stuff. I love parties. But I got upset because I knew I'd have nobody to go with, and I'd have to be alone," I bit my lip, "and I didn't look pretty in any dresses."

Aki's eyebrows furrowed, and his smiley expression had turned serious. "You were really affected by all that bullying, weren't you?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, up until recently. I don't know how I kept it from you guys for so long, it's such a big part of my life. But therapy's really helped me open up about it more."

Aki looked at me. "Well, I'll tell you now, Bea. You're gorgeous. And I mean that. And you look especially amazing tonight."

I smiled. "Thanks, Aki. I know I wouldn't have made it this far with my confidence, if it wasn't for you and Jemmy. I wish I told you everything sooner."

"Well, there's no point moping about the past. What's important is that we know now, no more secrets between us. It just seems to be the root of a lot of problems that we've been through," Aki said to me, "We've all been hurt in the past, so even after so long, it's gonna be hard to put complete faith in another person. So we have to try to trust each other more."

I raised an eyebrow. "True. But you're not exactly following through with your own words. I'm pretty sure you've got a big secret, that you're not telling Jemmy." I looked pointedly in Jemimah's direction. She was standing with Alana and her group, but seemed rather distracted, and was instead looking around instead of focusing on them.

She'd been like that a lot lately. Wandering off into her dreamworld. I suppose the thought of Jesse had really stained her mind. I wondered if she was actually enjoying herself here.

Aki blinked and was clearly flustered by my words. He looked so cute when he was embarrassed. "Well...you know that's different."

"Not really,"I smiled, "So what's your next move? Are you gonna do anything about it?"

Aki shook his head, and his eyes lowered down to the ground. "No. I'm not going to do that to her. She's been through enough love drama already, do you really think it'll make it any better when she's hit with the fact that her best friend has a crush on her?" He was clearly pained, but I could tell he was certain of what he was saying, "And besides...I know she'll never see me that way."

"That's pretty noble of you. I had a feeling you'd say that. So you're just gonna keep things the way they are, right?"

Aki nodded. "I'm happy, when you guys are happy."

I pouted. "That's so cute. You two are seriously third wheeling me, though."

His eyes widened in panic. "Beatrice..."

"Chillax, I'm just teasing," I grinned, as Aki rolled his eyes. "I'm not attracted to my own family, thank you very much."

"Okay you didn't have to go there." Aki said sourly.

"Well, we don't control who we get crush syndrome for, do we?" I teased.

"Only you'd think of something like crush syndrome. You're something else, Bea." Aki shook his head.

I nodded, proudly. "You're only now figuring that out? Girl, how long have you known me?"

The slow dance song then changed to a romantic one, and upon changing it, Aki took my hand and spun me around. I laughed, surprised, and then I took the chance to spin him around instead.

"Beatrice!" He laughed, "That's the guy's job."

"We're in the 21st century, Kiki. We women are breaking stereotypes these days."

Aki grinned, and then pulled me back into him by my waist. I looked up at his hazel brown eyes, and smiled at him. "One day, I hope we all find the people we want to fall in love with. I just don't think that time is now."

"We have all the time in the world to think about that." Aki agreed.

The dance was magical; and I felt like I wanted it to be that way forever. We glided across the floor, Aki occasionally twirling me around, as we moved to the rhythm of the music. But just as I was about to fall into another dreamy state in his eyes, my ear caught the sound of someone mentioning my name.

"...Beatrice Garcia. The one who wanted to off herself."

"Wait, that's her? I'm surprised she's here. I thought they'd put her in a psychiatric ward or something..."

My blood ran cold at their remarks, and Aki took my hand, and pulled us further away from them. "We're not here for them." He whispered, "We're here for us to have a good time."

But my stomach was already churning with the images of the black water that was several feet below me, as I balanced on the edge of the bridge. All of a sudden, I felt nauseous, and I cupped my hand over my mouth. I let go of Aki's hand. "I'll...I'll be back..." I wheezed, before racing to the girls' bathroom.

"Beatrice!" I heard him calling after me, but I ignored him. The world was swirling around me, and I was feeling more and more light headed by the second.