"I can't believe we both have dates to the Swan Court Cotillion Ball!" Y/N gushed to Kim Crawford, her best friend. They both were sitting close together in the cafeteria during lunch at school at Seaford High because they couldn't hear each other over the amount of people talking and laughing together. "Aren't you just excited?"

"I am!" Kim answered her happily.

"Wait, who's your date?" Y/N asked Kim with a frown on her face. She totally forgot that the last time they chatted about their dates to the dance, Kim had been interrupted by Y/N's parents calling for them to come to dinner the other night. 

"Oh, it's --"

"Hey, guys," Jack said, sitting down next to Y/N. He pressed a kiss on the crown of her head, and she leaned into his shoulder affectionately. They had been dating for a little over a month, though they had known each other for a year. It took them a long time to come to terms with their feelings for each other, but it was a good thing they did that because she hadn't ever been happier than she was now. "What're you talking about?"

"The dance," Kim told him, rolling her eyes at Y/N. "You just interrupted our conversation, though."

"Well, I'm sure my conversation now is much better than what it was before," Jack answered with a grin on his face. "I'm always the center of attention."

"And sometimes that's a bad thing, Jack," Y/N said.

"All attention is good attention, Y/N."

"Yeah, especially when you're doing something embarrassing, Jack."

"Okay, Y/N, Jack," Kim said to them. "We don't want one of your famous arguments breaking out, do we?"

"No, I guess not," Y/N said, laughing. "Besides, that would ruin the dance tonight, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Jack agreed with a smile on his face. He gave them a pointed look as he continued saying, "Speaking of the dance, don't forget that we're all meeting up at the dojo before we come here for the dance."  

"What's that look for?" Y/N asked him, frowning up at him.

"We both know that it takes you two forever to get ready, especially for something as important as a dance."

Milton, Eddie, and Jerry all plopped their trays down on the table just as Jack finished his statement to Kim and Y/N. "What are you guys talking about?" Eddie asked the others that were sitting down at the table before they had arrived, already digging into the pizza on his tray.

"How long it takes the girls to get ready for honestly anything," Jack told him.

"Oh, hold on, guys, I'm still doing my hair!" Jerry said, his voice higher pitched than normal. He placed his hands on his head, running his fingers through his close-cropped hair. 

"Me, too, Kimmy!" Milton answered, his voice also high pitched. "Do you have a hair tie? Mine just broke!"

"You guys think you're so funny," Y/N said, shaking her head. She glared at all the boys as they continued laughing at the expense of Y/N and Kim. "Newsflash, you're not."

"I think we are," Eddie said, high fiving the other boys. 

"Hey, not fair," Kim said with a frown. "We both have longer hair than all of you combined, so that does take a lot longer than

"All right, guys," Jack said as the other three boys continued laughing harder and harder. He shot Y/N a look, one that said that he felt bad for them making fun of her and Kim. She rested her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. "That's enough."

"Fine," Milton said, his voice still full of laughter.

"Like I was saying to them before you guys got here," Jack said to everyone, "we're all meeting up at the dojo before the dance so we can come here together."

"Ugh, we have to bring our dates to the dojo?" Jerry asked with a groan.

"I'm meeting my date here at the dance," Kim said to him gently. She shot a smile at Y/N, who had to hold in her laughter. Jerry and Milton had to take out these nerdy girls to the dance for some reason, and they were really dreading it. The others, though, could make fun of them for it. "So, just tell them that you'll meet them here."

"Good plan," Milton agreed.

"I'm glad I don't have to go to the dance," Eddie said with a grin. He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back with his elbows stretched out. 

"Speaking of those nerds, I think your dates for the cotillion just walked in," Jack told Jerry and Milton, ignoring Eddie.

"Ugh, here comes the nerd herd," Milton said sadly.

While Jerry and Milton chatted to their dates with disgust apparent on their faces, Y/N turned her attention to Jack. He was eating his food happily, and he looked incredibly cute doing it. He caught her gaze and grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile back at him. Y/N hadn't realized that she was that happy. It was a great feeling to be here with those she loved most, and she couldn't wait for the dance tonight to have even more fun with them.

---

"I'm going over to Kim's house tonight," Y/N said to her uncle Ty as she headed toward the front door, who sat on the couch watching some old karate movie. 

He barely broke his gaze away from the TV to look at her, which was fine. She didn't want him to see the amount of makeup she had piled on her face or the bag slung over her shoulder containing her dress for the dance. She planned on getting dressed at the dojo so her uncle wouldn't figure out that she was dating Jack. Jack and Ty didn't have the best relationship because of how Jack took Kim away from his dojo to go to Rudy's dojo, and Ty had forbade her from ever spending time with them again. He also didn't like that she was friends with the others at Rudy's dojo, but he couldn't stop her from being best friends with Kim or stop her from dating Jack. 

"I'll probably come back late tonight or maybe tomorrow," she said to him.

"Okay."

Y/N didn't waste any time trying to get her uncle to talk to her more than that. Instead, she quickly walked to the dojo, which was pretty close to Ty's house. It didn't take her long to get to the dojo, and when she walked inside, she immediately went straight to the bathroom to get changed before anyone else saw her. She got dressed as fast as she could because she was running a little late already.

Once she stepped out of the bathroom, she headed back into the dojo where everyone else was waiting. Kim saw her first, and she grinned at her best friend. Kim wore a pale pink dress that really accentuated her bright eyes. Y/N couldn't help but smile at Kim, who was nudging Jack to try to get his attention. When Jack saw her, his mouth dropped open, his chin nearly brushing against the neckline of his dark tux. 

"Whoa," Jack said. "You look so . . . beautiful, Y/N."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek and grinned up at him. "You look handsome, Jack."

Jerry and Milton wore handsome suits, too, and they both smiled at Y/N. Eddie and Rudy both had come tonight as well to see them off at the dance. They all said a quick good-bye to Eddie and Rudy before walking to the school. Though she wore high heels, it wasn't that far of a walk to the school, so her feet weren't killing her yet. 

The music was already playing when they walked into the gym that had been transformed into a beautiful room that matched their theme for the dance. Y/N and Jack began dancing immediately, and they had a lot of fun with their friends before the announcement of the dance king and queen.

"This year's king and queen of the Swan's Court are Jack and Y/N," the announcer said after a few songs had played just as the music finally stopped playing. Y/N smiled up at Jack as they walked to the center of the dancefloor together. "And now for the presentation of the crowns by our grand swan."

The audience clapped as the swan placed the crowns on both Y/N and Jack's heads. Jack wrapped Y/N up in his arms as they started swaying together in front of the entire school, minus Eddie. She grinned up at him, and he smiled down at her. This was the moment both of them had been waiting for, and it was better than she could imagine.

Until it wasn't.

"Stop the music!" someone shouted. He pushed his way through the crowd, and Y/N gasped when she saw her Uncle Ty standing there, glaring at Jack. "Y/N, step away from Jack right now."

Jack pushed Y/N out of the way, and he approached Ty with a glare on his face. Both of them circled each other like they were about to fight. Just as Ty and Jack were about to launch themselves at each other, Y/N stepped in between them, placing her hands up to stop them. Jack dropped his arms down to his side with a confused look on his face. 

"What are you doing, Y/N?" he asked her.

"Don't fight each other," she said to them. "Please."

"Why?" Uncle Ty asked her angrily. "He deserves this. He kissed you."

"Because we're dating," she told him. "Jack and I have been dating for a month now, and I've never been happier."

"You can't be happy with him," Uncle Ty said.

"Yes, I can. I don't want either of you to fight because you both mean so much to me. Why can't you just put your differences aside for me?"

Jack looked between her and Ty and nodded. "I get it," Jack said to her. "You care for both of us and only want to be happy."

"Yeah," Y/N said, smiling at him. She looked at Uncle Ty and hoped that he understood. He finally dropped his hands to his side. "What do you say, Uncle Ty?"

"I don't like him," Uncle Ty said to her, shaking his head. "I don't like that you're dating him."

Y/N's heart sunk in her chest. Ty wouldn't understand how happy Jack made her. He probably didn't care that she was this happy with him because of his personal vendetta against Jack. But Ty stepped away from both of them, and she frowned up at him.

"I can't make your decisions for you, though," Uncle Ty said. "Even though I don't agree with your choices, I can't stop you."

"Thank you, Uncle Ty."

Ty looked around at everyone and quickly walked away before he got kicked out by the teachers who were tasked with chaperoning the dance. The music started up again and people began dancing together. Y/N wrapped her arms around Jack and whispered, "Thank you for that. It means a lot to me."

"Of course, Y/N. I'd do anything for you."

She grinned at him and kissed him. "I love you, Jack Brewer."

"I love you, too, Y/N L/N."