"Which song should we use for our montage?" Nicole asks, flopping back onto Stacy's bed.

It's almost six on Saturday evening. Tyler and I just arrived at Stacy's and somehow were bamboozled into wearing face masks and eating pineapple chunks before we really got ready. Though it's a strange situation, I'm feeling too excited to question it.

Stacy bounces into her bathroom to see if her mask is ready to be washed off. "Vogue?"

Tyler looks offended. "By who, Madonna? Why would we torture ourselves like that?" He shakes his head firmly and resumes shaping his eyebrows. "We should be listening to Barbra Streisand,"

"So we can cry before we leave?" Nicole asks.

"My skin always looks great after I cry," Stacy vouches. "I'm really in the mood for some Streisand."

"Is that why you never get pimples, Kenny? Because you're crying all the time?"

I roll my eyes but smile. "Yeah, it's all due to the fact that I cry myself to sleep every night thinking about the soul crushing fear I have of my future." I tell them. They gently ignore me.

"I'm washing this off now," Stacy hollers. "It's gone dry,"

"Play Streisand right now," Tyler demands. Nicole rolls her eyes and opens up her laptop, searching up Barbra Streisand on YouTube. The beginning chords of The Way We Were starts up and he starts humming along, really feeling it.

I'm more apathetic towards the song. "I'm not feeling this,"

Stacy comes out of her bathroom, fresh faced and glowing. "Ty, you've gotta get out of here, I'm going to strip and I doubt you'd wanna see that,"

He looks lost. "Where am I going to go?"

"Guest room, three doors to the left. Take your tux with you,"

"Okay." Tyler stands up, still looking lost. "Well... since none of you want me here... I guess I'm just gonna... go,"

"Bye," Nicole says whimsically.

He wanders to the door and looks back at the three of us, a forlorn expression on his face. When we don't do anything, he leaves the room, sniffling a little bit.

"I feel bad," Stacy says and unzips her dress from the bag.

Nicole snorts. "I'd feel bad if he hadn't put a worm in my dress during the eighth grade Sadie Hawkins dance."

"I remember that," I chuckle. She glares at me. "What? You're the one who asked him to go with you,"

Stacy gasps. "You went to the dance with Tyler?"

"Yeah? It was the only way I could somehow get Kennedy to go with Dante. We made it a group date thing and they literally spent the whole night together," She says and pats her face.

"You went on a date with him?" Stacy asks, taking off her tank top.

"I mean, kind of? We talked about basketball," I reminisce. "We used to be such sports nerds together, it was pretty much the only thing I could talk to him about because we were so awkward around each other,"

"Basketball. Is that what y'all were so heated about when Tracy and I came over?" Nicole stands up, ready to wash off her mask.

"He liked the Knicks and I hate them," I roll over and steal her laptop, ready to change the song. "I wonder if he still likes them, he pinky promised he'd show me they were the best team but never did,"

"Date night," Nicole hollers and then comes back into Stacy's room, pink face. "Kenny, you need to wash that off, it's all dry and makes you look like the rock man in the Fantastic Four,"

I change the songs from Barbra Streisand to Beyonce and stand up. Stacy is taking the packaging off her dress inside its zip bag. Apparently she got it custom made and wouldn't let the two of us see it despite the fact she helped us choose our dresses.

"It's very pink," She says, inspecting it closely. "I think my mom told them to make it pinker than I wanted but it looks so good so I'm happy,"

Nicole rolls her eyes. "You and your mom are so extra, I can't wait to be like that with my kids,"

I go to the bathroom and stare at my face. She was right, I do look like Thing from the Fantastic Four. "I thought you hated kids, Nicole,"

"Blame your brother for me changing my mind. Jackie gave me a cookie when I told him Max broke my heart and I realised that children are reflections of their parents,"

How nice. I wash my face and fan it dry with my face before coming out of the bathroom. Stacy's struggling to put on her dress while Nicole watches her with her sick sense of humour, eating the rest of the pineapples. I go and help her zip it up and shape it around her chest.

"How do I look?!" She does a little twirl to show us her fit and I look her up and down. The dress is hot pink and strapless with sequins and diamante detail leading into a fluffy mermaid tail finish. It really suits her.

"You look like the prom queen," I say.

Stacy squeals and jumps around in a circle, reflecting light everywhere. "I can't wait for tonight! This is all going in my favour!"

Nicole and I share a look and I smirk before getting my own dress. It's a red velvet plunge maxi dress with thin straps holding it up. My favourite part is the skirt though, due to a slit going all the way up my leg, it's not as tight fitting as it could be which means my stomach can get as bloated as I want it to and nobody will notice.

Unfortunately, it's also very difficult to get into. When I tried it on in the dress store, it took the three of us to get me into it. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen tonight because I can already sense we'll be late tonight and my dress difficulties will just add to the time wasted.

"Hot damn!" I shake it out and show its full length to the two of them despite the fact they've seen it before. "My legs are going to look so good in this,"

Ego starts playing just as Nicole stands up. "Has Dante seen it?"

"Do you guys think I'll have to wear a strapless bra with this? I mean, it has spaghetti straps," I shake it out a few times, marvelling at how the velvet shimmers. "And no, he hasn't. Why?

Her instant smirk tells me that I don't really want to hear her reasoning. "Well, as soon as he sees those double ds in that dress, he's going to have a hard time walking,"

I wish I had something to throw at her smug face. "Oh shut up and make your slow ass useful by holding this for me,"

She cackles like the witch she is and takes it from me. "This is one sexy number though, what are the two of you planning tonight?"

"Nothing?" I say, taking off my shirt.

Stacy puts a boatload of primer on her face. "Seriously? Aren't you staying at his house tonight?"

"Nope, I'm staying here,"

"So you're not even going to be..." She swivels around dramatically. "Deflowered?"

"Oh my God," I touch my forehead.

The both of the cackle. "Face it Kennedy! You are the flower and he is the bee waiting to steal your honey!" Nicole sings. "Hey, did that, like, rhyme?"

I need new friends. Preferably ones that have better literary skills and can provide me with better analogies.

At around seven, Tyler knocks on the door to Stacy's room. The three of us are dressed up and sitting at Stacy's huge vanity, talking about how much food we're going to eat tonight.

"Kennedy, where is your dress?!" He says. His hair is all slicked back, making him look like Don Corleone. His tux is pretty typical which pretty much surprises me because he's the type to wear a powder blue one with bright green snakeskin shoes and pull it off.

"I'm wearing it?" I say, putting down my mascara.

"Why is none of it covering your back?" He comes over to us and I notice he's not wearing a tie. "Hey, can I use your tweezers?"

I hand my tweezers to him and he bends down next to us to pluck his eyebrows. "Because it's a backless dress, dummy,"

"Don't call me a dummy."

"Then don't act like one?"

"Any who, Nicole, you look pretty." He comments, ignoring me. She's wearing a forest green two piece, with the top half being a sparkly halter neck crop top and the skirt being long and flowy. "Like a garden fairy."

Stacy has half her smoky eye look done. "How do I look, Ty?"

"Like the prom queen, babe,"

She touches her perfectly curled hair with a grin and then slams her makeup brush down on the table, looking the happiest I've seen her in about three months. It's actually quite nice. "I'm so fucking pumped," She says loudly. "Especially since we all look so good – Hey Tyler, is there a prom after party?"

Tyler stops plucking his eyebrows to turn to us. "I think Wayne's hosting one but –"

"Okay, so we're not going." She picks up her brushes again while Nicole does her slow cackle.

"Wayne is going to regret doing what he did to you," She says, spritzing some perfume on. "I can't wait to film his reaction when you win prom queen,"

I don't remember when we all made the collective decision that Stacy would be prom queen but I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks she should win.

"Who can tie a tie here?" Tyler asks.

"I can," Nicole says and stands up. She's only wearing some concealer and foundation so far but her face looks flawless, HD even. "What colour is your tie?"

"Er... I've got four with me but I don't know which colour to choose. Come, help me pick,"

The two of them leave Stacy and I to continue doing our makeup. She passes me the gold glitter eyeshadow and slides over on the bench until she's sitting next to me. "I haven't said this enough but Kennedy, you look really great tonight."

"Thanks, Stace," I say, smiling at how genuine she is. "But I've got nothing on you, Miss Prom Queen of Warren High,"

She flips her hair over her bare shoulder. "Well, some of us are just born with it,"

"Well, you're wearing a heck of a lot of Maybelline now so I don't think that's the-"

"Shut up Kenny,"

As I expected, we're late. It's exactly seven forty five when we manage to get to Dante's house, which is half an hour away from our high school. Prom started at half seven but Tyler decided he wanted to sleep after Nicole gave him the most hideous tie in the world and we roasted him for it.

"Kenny, you go get your man," Stacy says. She's drinking sparkling apple juice out of a champagne flute in the back of this fancy limousine. I wrinkle my nose and look at my stilettos, wondering if I am really the perfect candidate for this.

"Nobody is coming with me?"

"You invited him," Nicole says and holds her own champagne flute filled with water up to the roof so they can touch them together. "Clink, clink bitch!"

I give them a stink face and open the car door. "Remind me to never do anything for you guys again,"

"Kennedy, we're late," Tyler says looking annoyed. I gasp, shocked and appalled by his cheek.

"Who was the one who took a forty minute nap and wouldn't get up when we needed him to? I think his name is -"

"Go and fucking get Dante!" Stacy screeches. "I can't be prom queen if I'm not there!"

I decide that it's best for me to go and get Dante.

Vic answers when I knock on the door and he looks highly uninterested at first until he looks at me. "Oh shit! Kennedy?"

"Hey Vic, where's Dante?" I say, nervously. Why is he staring at me? Does he notice that one of my dramatic eyeliner flicks is a hell of a lot shorter than the other? I'm ruined.

"He's upstairs... needs help with his bow tie. Um... do you... why don't you come in?" He clears his throat.

I take a step inside, wondering what's wrong with him as he closes the door. "You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah," he shakes his head. Anaya wanders into the foyer, eating an apple which she almost drops when she sees me.

"WOW, Kenny!" She says, holding her apple like she's presenting a gift. "What a look! You look like you're going to take over the world,"

I think that's a compliment. Either that or she's telling me I resemble a dictator. "Thanks?"

"I agree," Vic says, standing beside her. "You look very pretty,"

"Thank you," I repeat and look at my nails, slightly embarrassed.

Anaya clears her throat. "Where's Dante? Kenny, you go get him, we'll go get our parents and their camera so they can capture his face." She directs firmly. I nod and lift up my skirt, ready to ascend the stairs.

Loud hip-hop music is playing from his bedroom and I can hear Dante rapping along through the door. It stops when I knock and he yanks the door open, wearing a long sleeved black dress shirt and looking very irritated. But then his eyes widen, his jaw goes slack and he drops something in his hand – a bow tie.

"Hey! Are you ready to go?" I ask when he doesn't say anything. He still doesn't reply. "Dante?"

"I- Holy shit in the corner store." He puts a hand on his forehead.

"That doesn't make any sense?" I say nervously. He just stares at me and the nerves become pretty bad for me so I bend down to pick his bow tie.

"No, don't bend – actually. That's a pretty good angle," At first he attempts to stop me but then he takes a step backwards. I glance up at him, at first confused but then I realise where he's looking and suddenly all those nerves I had just disappear.

"You fucking pervert," I say and throw the bow tie at him. Finally, Dante grins at me and catches it with a laugh. "I can't believe you,"

"I'm just appreciating what the dress shows me! Sorry!" He says and opens his door wider for me to come in. "How are you, Slugger?"

I feel the need to hit him but I walk into his room and sit on the chair. "I'm good, but we're late and everyone's waiting so we need to get going,"

He nods, licking his lips. "Okay cool. Could you help me with this though? I don't get how to adjust the neck thing,"

"Okay,"

"Can I be sitting down?" He blinks a whole lot of times and looks away from me.

"Sitting down? Why?"

"Kennedy, there's a limited amount of time I can be standing up around you when you're wearing a dress like that," He says with a big smile, as if he's proud of himself.

"Oh my God, Dante,"

He laughs but sits down anyway. "You wore the dress!"

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" I chastise but find myself smiling anyway. He's so contagious. I put the bow tie around his neck and clip it on from the back, adjusting it so it's not too tight or loose. "So does that mean I look okay?"

"Oh fuck off Kennedy, you know you look great," He gives me the most sceptical look. "You look like you'd steal my soul and I'd say thank you and then ask you to do it again,"

He really isn't making any sense tonight. "I'll take it," I mutter anyway.

When I'm done, I face him and try to discern if he looks okay. "Look at you!"

Smugly, Dante shrugs. "What can I say, I'm a reflection of you,"

"Where is your tux jacket?" I ignore him. He stands up and then takes my hand, not answering my question. "Dante, could you focus? We're late,"

"It's not like rushing will change that," He puts his hand on my back, "Is there no back on this?"

"No?"

"Oh shit,"

"Do you need to sit down again?" I ask sarcastically. He laughs. "Because we need to go,"

"Relax, baby girl,"

"Stacy's gonna bite my head off if she doesn't win prom queen," I pretend to busy myself with his shirt collar.

"I'll protect you from her,"

"Will you now?"

He leans forward and almost kisses me but I put my finger to his lips and move out of his grasp, noticing that his jacket is hanging on his wardrobe door. Like my dress, it's red velvet with black buttons and lapels. "Kennedy, come on,"

"Dante, we're late," I hand it to him and open the door. "We have to get to prom,"

To my dismay, he sits back in his chair. "We don't have to go to your prom, Slugger."

I fold my arms. "What are you suggesting?"

"You know what I'm suggesting,"

I try not to laugh but the smile slips out anyway so I turn away from him and step outside his room. "You're so annoying,"

"Wait," He stands up quickly and pulls me back in the room, shutting the door. I almost fall in my heels but he catches me and holds my hand. "I'm not leaving this room until I've kissed you,"

We really don't have time to be flirting like this anymore. It's almost eight and I can just sense Tyler and Stacy bitching about me in the limo. Nicole is probably just draining water like she's a sink.

"Okay. I'll go to prom without you." I let go of his hand to turn away fix my hair in his tiny mirror. "There's this guy who is pretty obsessed with me and I'll just dance with him all night, at least –"

Dante kisses me when I turn back around to face him. It's soft, gentle and makes me feel like jelly, especially when he cups my face and leans his forehead against mine when we're done. "I'm going to make that guy who is obsessed with you very jealous tonight." He whispers with a wide grin.

Poor Chad.

When we get downstairs, his dad takes a photo of us straight away. "Wow Kenny, you're looking like a million bucks!"

I grin. "Thanks Mr Correll,"

"Dante you have red lipstick all over your lips," Vic comments. "How did that – oh," I pretend not to see the two of them wink at each other, deciding I won't let him raise my blood pressure anymore tonight.

His mom comes forward and us both a tight hug. I almost tear up, I can't believe she likes me this much. "You two are so matched well, you're like the purest couple,"

I wonder how she'd cope if she knew how he was behaving upstairs. "We try mom," He says innocently.

His dad puts his camera up again. "Pose kids!" I do as he says as the camera shutter goes off over and over. "Kenny, you look like a supermodel, Dante you have to do better because this is going straight into the family album,"

"Don't inflate her ego," he sounds offended but when I look up at him, he's still smiling for the camera.

"Don't act like you wouldn't just love that," I whisper. His smile becomes all the more genuine and I realise how much of a pervert he really is.

Five minutes later, we leave the house. Stacy's face is pressed against the window and she's watching us with hawk eyes through the glass.

"You weren't joking about her were you?" Dante asks me. I shake my head. "Do you think she'll fight me if we say I was taking long?"

"Yep," I say with no hesitation and flick my hair over my shoulder. I'm not used to it being straight and all over the place like this. "Someone's gonna have to hold her back from you,"

He looks worried for a quick second but then puts his arm around my shoulder. "Nah, it was worth it. Anything's worth it if I spend more time with you," 

a/n:

the chapter was getting too long so I split it into two I'm like 20% into the next chapter pls I am trying not to be the frank ocean of wattpad appreciate me and my updating skillz and support black owned stories