"Dante," I say and click my fingers a few times in the car.

"Yes?" He answers but doesn't look up. We've been sitting down for about twenty minutes, on our way to the Assembly House just on the outside of town where our prom is being held. I just noticed that he won't stop staring at my chest.

"My eyes are up here," I say. He apologises and looks out of the window.

"Kennedy is a double d cup," Nicole says loudly. Tyler chokes on his coconut water.

"We didn't need to know that!" He complains. In the rear view mirror I see the driver laughing at all of us. He's so lucky he's not me.

"I needed to know that," Dante mutters. I pinch his arm hard. "Ow? Kenny! What if I needed to buy you a bra or something?!"

I pinch him again and he yelps. "I can buy my own bras! Why would I need you to buy me a bra?"

"What if you're desperate? I mean, it's been two months and all but the day will come when I buy you a bra because you need it."

"Like when?" I pinch him again.

"A day when you leave without wearing a bra – like tonight," I gasp and he tenses, still with a righteous look on his face. "And I will remind you of how many times you-" I raise my hand to pinch him again. "Kennedy I swear if you pinch me again,"

Stacy leans into Tyler, who looks violently ill. "Why is this conversation so centred on Kenny's boobs?" She whispers and I roll my eyes.

"I don't know but I wish it'd stop. I don't want to think about – that area – ever again,"

"'That area' looks fucking great though," Dante mutters and then holds my hands so I won't pinch him again. Instead, I lean my head against his shoulder, ready to leave this all in the past. Carefully, he lets go of my hands and puts his arm around me, tapping my bare shoulder a few times.

"Ty, could you pass the apple juice?" Stacy asks.

With speed, he whips out his phone and the theme song from The Godfather starts playing. "You come to me," He starts, his voice going gravelly. "You come to me on the day of my prom and ask me for a favour?"

I actually think I hate him.

"I ask you for juice," She says quietly, her face going sombre. "Juice and justice,"

I hate them both.

"You didn't even think to call me Godfather," He shakes his head. "Stacy, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully –"

"Boy if you don't hand Stacy that juice right now," Nicole interrupts their display. Tyler pouts and hands Stacy some juice. "Kenny they were planning this while you and Dante were doing your thing inside, I wanted to die."

When I look to them for confirmation, Tyler shrugs. "It was the only way I could get Stacy to not rip your head off when you came back."

The limo stops and the driver turns to look at us. I know he's been having a great time listening to us talk because the smile on his face cannot be faked. Well, either that or he's glad to be rid of us for a few hours. "Here we are at the assembly hall!" He says.

We all thank him and get out of the vehicle. Luckily enough for us, some people are still arriving too, including girls from the softball team who are way too excited to see the three of us considering the fact we quit last summer. Tyler drags Dante away so he can see some old friends or something, but they're not too far from us. We also see our old friend Tracy, who looks gorgeous per usual.

"Kenny! You're glowing!" She tells me when we hug. I flip my hair over my shoulder, feeling way too overconfident right now. People have been telling me how good I look all night, at this point I feel inclined to believe them.

"Thank you Tracy! I really tried today."

She laughs. "It looks effortless, you're literally stealing the show from everyone."

"You look great too!" I reply and look around. Nicole and Stacy are arguing over something and I decide that I don't want to get in the middle of that. "Hey Trace, remember Dante?"

"Yeah? Did you bring him? Where is he?"

I point to where he's standing talking to Tyler and another one of their shared friends with a wide smile on his face. He sees me staring and winks before coming over to the two of us.

"Hey baby," he kisses my cheek and then looks at Tracy. "Oh shit. Tracy?"

"Danny! You're so tall now!"

He chuckles. "Puberty does wonders doesn't it? I'm still a bit shorter than you though,"

"Oh - I'm wearing six inch heels! I wanted to be an Amazonian goddess tonight but Kenny kind of snatched that title." She says nicely. I chuckle.

"Yeah, she looks great." I feel his gaze on me and pretend to ignore it up until he puts his hand around my waist. "Hey, Slugger, are you up for prom queen?"

I shrug. "No, I didn't get nominated."

"I'm gonna vote you best dressed in the yearbook, Kenny." Tracy comments. "You look so cute."

Even though I forbid myself from touching my face tonight, I put my hand to my cheek. "Thanks, Trace."

She winks at me. "And Dante! I'm so glad you finally grew balls and asked Kennedy out! I was weary of her telling me in middle school how cute she thought you were,"

He laughs. "She was definitely cuter,"

My heart has been reborn.

Tracy coos while I check my reflection for tears, smiling hard. A guy sidles up next to her and she squeals and then kisses him on the cheek. Dante looks at me for an explanation but I just shrug, not knowing what to say.

She notices us standing there awkwardly. "Hey these are my old friend Kennedy and Dante! Guys, this is my boyfriend Xavier."

"Hey," He shakes our hands and smiles. Then, to Tracy: "There's a photographer by the fountain inside, you wanna take a photo?"

A fountain inside? Wow, they really went all out.

The two of them wave and walk away from us while Dante turns to me again. He just stares at me and doesn't say anything so I begin to get very self-conscious.

"What?" I ask, trying to hold his gaze. He smiles and I instantly know what's coming.

"Nothing. You're just pretty,"

I roll my eyes and move in to hug him. He laughs and wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close and squeezing me tightly. "Dante you're amazing," I tell him quietly and he laughs again.

"I will probably say the same thing about you in twenty minutes," He says and pulls away from me, still smiling. "Now come on, your friends already went inside,"

He takes my hand and the two of us head inside. Nicole and Stacy are taking squad photographs without me and I have to rush to join them, just about getting into the last ten. Then we take a big group photo all together and head inside the ballroom.

They really went all out for us; everything is illuminated in the colour blue and there's a lavender flower arch that people are taking pictures under. Every table has a different coloured flower arrangement, making the room smell fragrant. I remember the theme being something to do with a night garden but didn't really stick to it – not many people did honestly but it's nice to see the effort they put in the decorating.

Tyler and his baseball friends start screaming and being a general menace once they see each other while the rest of us find our table.

"Wow, everyone looks so pretty," Nicole says once we sit down. "I should've tried harder and gotten that queen dress that we saw."

"Oh no you don't bitch!" Stacy snaps. "I'M the prom queen here!"

Dante looks alarmed and leans in towards me. "Is she... is she okay?" He whispers.

I nod and look at the desserts menu. "She's the best she's been since February."

He doesn't talk about it again but does ask me if I want a drink. I ask for some juice and he looks at me weirdly before going up. I watch him leave, staring at the back of his head.

"Look at my favourite couple," Nicole comments. I roll my eyes and turn to her, knowing she either wants to fight me or tell me how sick we make her. Strangely, I hope it's the second option. "You're so cute,"

Surprised, I sit back. "We are?"

"Why are you so surprised?" She pouts.

Stacy snorts. "Maybe because you're saying something nice for a change?"

Tyler suddenly appears behind Stacy with a stink face on. He sits down next to her. "Did you just snort?"

She gasps. "Why would you even think that of your prom queen?" He gives her a very exasperated look until she rolls her eyes at him. "Fine, I did,"

"You're gross," He says shortly and then starts humming a song. The look of betrayal on Stacy's face makes me want to laugh but I know she'll be upset if I do. So instead, I share a look with the very condescending Nicole.

"Nobody has ever called me gross before," She looks so hurt.

"Well, I'm the first and I'm honoured. Where's Dante?" He turns to me.

I turn around and look at the drinks table where Dante is talking to this kid we knew from middle school, Troy. They look like they're really having a good conversation. "He's getting us drinks... why?"

Tyler clears his throat. "Because Chad is making a beeline for you right now and I know that boy will get jealous,"

Surprised, I turn to look back at him. "What?" He points and I see Chad swaggering over like he isn't about to stress me out. "Oh shit – guys could you –"

"Nope," Nicole says.

"This will be fun to watch," Stacy sits back in her chair. Tyler puts on his sunglasses and begins playing the Godfather theme song on his phone again.

Wow.

"Kenny Jay!" I hear behind me and wince. I turn around and Chad is looking totally... Chad. He's wearing a black tux of course but without a tie and his satin gold shirt is open all the way down to his chest. I'm not even surprised. "Look at you!"

"Hi Chad," I say, sighing. Dante is still talking to Troy but at least now he's holding two glasses filled with something. "How are you?"

"Better now you're here!" He winks at me and sits in Dante's chair. "You look like fire, like literal fire – hey did you do that on purpose because you do biology?"

I hear someone cover their laugh with a cough and decide that my friends truly aren't shit. "No, I just wanted to... look good, I guess?"

He licks his lips. "Well you do! Like, your –"

"Who's this?" I look up and Dante is behind Chad, looking a little annoyed. Nicole mutters something about this getting good under her breath and I turn and glare at her. She's not even fazed.

"This is Chad, Danny," Tyler introduces. "He was just about to compliment Kennedy again,"

He is such a shit stirrer.

Chad looks annoyed all of a sudden. "Ty, who is this guy?"

Tyler chuckles. "Stacy, do you wanna get a drink with me?" He evades the question smoothly.

She looks as surprised as I feel. "Uh? Yeah? Sure?"

"You don't sound sure," He says but the two of them go together anyway. Dante is still standing around with my drink so I stand up and take it from him smiling.

"Thank you, what is it?" I ask.

"Uh...sparkling cherry?" He shrugs and then seems to realise that Chad is in his seat. But instead of saying anything about it, he reaches out for me and puts his hand on my waist. "I got it because it matches our outfit, look!"

He puts the glass next to his blazer and grins at me. I start laughing because he's so corny but then he sits in my chair. When I gasp, he just pulls me down to sit in his lap and it's a little surprising but I don't say anything about it. I mean, there's two empty seats now that Tyler and Stacy are gone and I'm probably heavy but he's not reacting so I don't either.

"Cheers," I clink our glasses together, forgetting truly that Nicole and Chad are sitting down and watching us. It's only when she begins making vomiting sounds that distract me from him.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Chad asks. Dante sighs behind me.

"Um, yeah, he –"

"Why are you still here?" Nicole asks him plainly. He blinks at her then stands up and leaves without another word. "He is so annoying! He didn't even compliment me," She says and pouts.

"Who was he?" Dante asks me. I shift awkwardly on his lap and decide to sit in the now vacant seat. He still waits for my answer and I sigh.

"You know I told you about the guy who wouldn't leave me alone?"

"I thought you were just being conceited or exaggerating," He admits and I roll my eyes. "What? You wanted to get me out of my room!"

Tyler and Stacy come back, holding plates of finger foods with no drinks in sight. "Did Chad go already? Great,"

He sits down next to Dante and eats a cupcake decorated with purple and pink flowers. "Why did you take Stacy with you?"

"We needed to schmooze for her prom queen campaign," He says, shrugging. "Can you believe she didn't even put up posters or anything for this shit? How are you going to win with that attitude, huh?"

She shrugs. "I thought people would vote for me because I'm pretty,"

He puts down his cupcake and goes into lecture mode. "Dante is pretty but his ass didn't win shit because he didn't campaign!" Dante looks genuinely touched by this compliment and I begin feeling salty because he doesn't get this hype when I tell him he's pretty. "Being pretty isn't going to win you gold medals, girl! What does Tyra Bank say – don't rely on what your parents gave you, work it to your damn advantage!"

Stacy actually looks like she's taking mental notes of this. Tyler starts going off on how she has to win the heart of the people like she's running for president while Nicole and I share a look.

*-8*-8*

After we've all eaten and Stacy actually wins prom queen (she specially mentions Tyler in her speech but doesn't dance with the prom king because he's one of Wayne's friends), Dante and I decide to take a walk. The Assembly Hall has these amazing gardens behind it, filled with brightly coloured springtime flowers. At the very back there's a lake with a small footbridge covered with small red lightbulbs, illuminating the water and making it look like crystals.

"This was fun," He says, quietly. We're looking out over the lake, watching it glitter in the moonlight. I sigh and look up at him, smiling a little. "What?"

"Nothing," I say and look away, still smiling. He turns to face the lake with me and nudges me with arm. "It's so magical here, I wish we could stay forever,"

I sniffle a little bit as my eyes begin to water as I look out across the pretty water. He doesn't notice that I'm crying until I raise my hand to wipe under my eyes. "Kennedy? You ok?"

I nod and wipe the under of my eyes carefully. "Yeah, I'm just being a little sentimental." He waits for me to speak again and I release a sigh. "Like, in a few weeks, high school will be over and we'll be on summer vacation then college and the rest of our lives and I don't know if I'm ready for that yet,"

He puts his arm around me and hugs me into his side. "You're so adorable."

"Aw shucks," I say and lean close to him. "I'm happy though,"

"I hope you are," He mutters and I laugh a little, still tearing up. "You really are though Slugger, really had me getting worried for a second there,"

"Sorry I cry so much," I say and look up at him. He kisses my forehead.

"It's okay, you're okay," He whispers quietly.

We stare at each other for a few moments before I lean up on my tiptoes and give him a soft kiss, telling myself that I'm so damn lucky that he's here with me. Dante hugs me until I've stopped crying completely and we stand on the bridge in silence for a while. He releases a long sigh, something on his mind.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He says and sighs again. "You've just got me thinking now,"

"About what?"

He shrugs. "The future. It's coming so fast like you said. I wish we were fourteen again,"

"I don't," I say and flip my hair over my shoulder. He lets out a low chuckle. "What? Being fourteen was such a hassle, I couldn't do anything except cry,"

"Well, I for one enjoyed my youth," He says and removes his arm from my waist to fix his bowtie. "I was the coolest fourteen year old around – don't roll your eyes, you were obsessed with me,"

I roll my eyes anyway. "I was 'obsessed' with you because you were a dork. Not because you were cool,"

He puts a hand to his chest. "I feel attacked,"

"You're really not serious," I tell him and smile.

We go inside after that. All the couples are slow dancing, save for Tyler and Nicole who really are doing the most by creating a dance routine. Stacy's going around throwing petals over people and talking to them with the widest smile on her face. Her prom queen crown is still on her head and she pointedly ignores Wayne's constant advances to her. There's nothing more wonderful than knowing that she's finally over him.

I ask Dante if we can take a photo together underneath the now deserted flower arch and he obliges. The photographer is eating a cupcake but he stands up when we approach.

"You two are the most matched I've seen all night," He compliments us.

"It was my idea," I say smugly and then laugh when Dante rolls his eyes.

"Oh here we go," He says.

I gasp. "What do you mean 'oh here we go'? I chose this dress out before you asked me?! I told you what colour to wear!"

"Okay but I chose my blazer after you told me it was red and I had no idea your dress was velvet until this evening,"

"I bet you searched around my room that time I put Jackie to bed and found it!" I accuse. He gasps.

"Why would I do that? Kennedy, be serious."

I mimic him and he puts his hands on his hips, ready to fight me. That's when a camera shutter goes off. The two of us look to where the photographer is standing, looking at his camera with a proud expression on his face.

"You two are really photogenic," He comments when he realises we're staring. "Do you want another one?"

Dante looks down at me and I nod a few times. "Yes please," He says.

"You sound like you're seven years old," I mutter to him while he puts his arm on my waist and smiles.

"Kennedy, if you don't keep quiet,"

I smile at the camera as the flash goes off. We both say thank you and make our way to the dance floor, steering clear of Nicole and Tyler's killer dance moves. "What'll happen if I don't keep quiet?"

Dante rolls his eyes but he's still smiling at me. He dips down and kisses me deeply, moving away when I'm feeling woozy and have almost forgotten who I am. "That'll happen,"

I fan my face, totally spellbound. I never thought I'd be part of the couple that made out shamelessly at prom but I really want him to do it again. "Well, I guess I'm never shutting up ever again,"

He laughs.

a/n: