"Oh my God! It's finally here!" Biana bounded into Sophie's room, Linh trailing behind, causing Sophie to jolt awake with a start.

"What's here, Biana?" Sophie groaned. Then she remembered. 

The dance. 

Biana was shrieking as Linh chased her around with an elixir that was supposed to make your hair wavy. They had thrown away the makeup kits after finding out that they were fake lookalikes of human makeup. Sophie had complained that it had been scam since the beginning but Biana had insisted it was all right. Dex had brought over some elixirs for them to use, though it wasn't without a lot of mumbling and blushing as Biana tried her best to explain what makeup and elixirs she needed. Dex was going with Dina, after many back-outs and screaming. He had finally asked her when she came into Slurps and Burps to find some acne remover, much to her embarrassment. Dex had taken it with ease though his turn for embarrassment came when he found the courage to ask her. 

Sophie grabbed her dress and took it out of its bag. She went into the bathroom and slipped on the dress. Or tried to.

Sophie started to freak out. Why wouldn't the dress zip up? She pulled and pulled but the zipper wouldn't budge. She walked out of the room and asked Biana if she would help, but it still wouldn't move. Sophie took a deep breath and tried to refrain from screaming.

"It doesn't fit anymore. What am I supposed to do?" Sophie asked Biana, her worry increasing tenfold.

Biana shrugged. "I don't know, Soph. I mean, I have a ton of dresses, but they are really showy. I don't know if you'd want that..." Sophie sighed. She had no other choice.

"Biana. Take me to Everglen now," Sophie said, taking Biana's hand.

"NO!" Biana shrieked, flinging her hand away.

"Why not?" Sophie asked, appalled at her friend's reaction.

"My brother is there! He can't see you before he comes here to take you!" Biana shrieked. Sophie groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Who cares!"

"I DO! This has to be perfect, Sophie!" Biana said.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Sophie asked exasperatedly. "I can't just sit here half-naked and wait for some miracle."

"I'll go. I promise I'll pick my least crazy dress. I'll even bring a few choices." Biana said. "Or we can ask Dex if he has any elixirs to make it fit."

"No, there's no time," Sophie said worriedly. "Just find a dress that you think I'll be semi-okay with." She had a bad feeling about this. Biana was not to be trusted in times like this. Sophie prayed for a miracle.

"Fine. I'll be back in ten." Biana left through the Leapmaster.

Sophie sighed and turned to Linh. "Do you need any help with your outfit?"

"No, I'm good." Linh was going with Keefe, after telling him that she had changed her mind about everything. She was kind of angry at Sophie for going with Fitz, but she had been hiding it. She knew it wasn't meant to be with her and Fitz. She had given up Fitz for Sophie's friendship, and she wasn't going to lose it now. 

"Okay. I'll just be in the bathroom." Sophie left the room, close to tears.

How did the dress not fit? What happened? Sophie hadn't gained too much weight... or at least she didn't think so. She had eaten a lot of mallowmelt lately...

She sighed and walked over to the scale. She slowly stepped on and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the numbers. Finally, she opened her eyes.

135 pounds.

WHAT? (A/N I searched that up and normal is 115 or something so I just added 20. I AM NOT TRYING TO OFFEND ANYONE ABOUT THEIR WEIGHT. I'm super underweight and people always make fun of me so... I would never do that to someone else.)

SHE HAD GAINED 20 POUNDS SINCE THE FITTING? WHAT HAD SHE EATEN?

Sophie walked out of the bathroom and sat on her bed, willing herself not to cry. Linh looked up and saw Sophie's face. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to her.

"Sophie? What's wrong?" Linh asked gently.

Sophie shook her head. She couldn't confess to such a thing.

"I— I'm fine. I just... gained a few pounds is all," Sophie admitted. (A/N My sister is watching me write and she reads the series and she's like "WHAT IF FITZ WAS FAT?" and I'm like "RUDE!" and then we both looked like weirdos.)

"That's okay. It's a part of growing up. I mean, you're fine. Everyone is beautiful, inside and out, no matter what they look like. It doesn't matter if you think you gained a lot of weight. Nobody can even tell and besides, I think you're beautiful. All people are equal. It doesn't matter what anyone looks like on the outside," Linh said soothingly, rubbing circles on Sophie's back.

"Thanks, Linh." Sophie knew she had to say something. "I— I'm sorry for accepting Fitz when I knew you wanted him to ask you," Sophie said.

"It's fine, Sophie." Linh gave an almost-forced smile. "I know he only loves you. And besides, I really think I like Keefe now," Linh said, smiling a little more at the thought of the golden-haired boy.

Sophie had nothing to say back but she was saved from an awkward silence from the Leapmaster wooshing, signaling that Biana was back. Sophie clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "PLEASE, Biana, PLEASE have brought some normal clothes." She opened her eyes as Biana opened her bedroom door and dropped a bag of clothes on the floor.

"These are my best clothes that aren't... too showy." Biana said. She opened the bag and pulled out a black slinky thing that was incredibly short.

"Not too showy, huh?" Sophie sighed. She knew this was going to happen. Nevertheless, she grabbed the dress and put it on, not bothering to go into the bathroom. These were her friends, anyway. And she was wearing her slip under.

It was so short. Sophie was not used to seeing that much of her legs. "No, Biana. Just NO." Sophie took the offending thing off and tossed it to Biana.

"I think it looks good. A little short, but it's not my fault you're taller than me. I mean, it's fine, in my opinion," Biana nodded.

"No, Biana, no," Sophie said. "There's no way."

"Fine." She pulled out another dress, this one silver and sleazy. It had a low-cut neckline, but other than that, it didn't look too bad.

Sophie pulled it on, but it was too big. And it was so promising, too. "No."

"Oh my gosh. I don't know what else to do," Biana said. She pulled out a glittery gold dress that was backless with a very clear mesh shoulder strap.

"No back?" Sophie asked. She put it on and it fit, but Sophie felt too exposed in the back. "No. It's not working out."

"Fine. I only have two more." Biana pulled out a gray dress that didn't look too bad... Then Sophie put it on. It was extremely tight and she couldn't breathe. Besides, too much "curves" as Keefe would point out as soon as he saw her in it. "Nope."

"Okay, but I only have one more." Biana pulled out a white dress that had a brown belt. It was short, but it didn't look too short. "This one is too big for me, so you can wear this one."

"Fine." Sophie put it on. It actually fit. It was so pretty too, and it was short, but not completely short that Sophie felt exposed, like the other dress. The neckline was low, but not so low that it was inappropriate. And it was tight but still breathable. And even though she should have hated it, tt gave her... curves that she never knew she had. "I love it!" Sophie said. "It's so pretty!"

"You can have it forever if you want," Biana said, smiling. "I don't really care about that one. I mean, it looks so much better on you."

"Really? Thanks!" Sophie said. "Okay, can someone do my hair?"

Linh volunteered. Sophie emerged from her bedroom with her blonde hair done up in a twist that was hot in Biana's opinion and was sure to make Fitz "melt" which made Sophie roll her eyes and blush.

"I feel so fancy and not me," Sophie said, staring at herself in the mirror.

"It's a dance, Sophie. That's not supposed to be you either," Biana responded, rolling her eyes, though she was obviously happy about how everything had turned out. Biana, of course, looked stunning in her dress and Sophie couldn't help but gaggle at her friends.

"Wow, Biana," Linh gaped, exiting the bathroom. She was also absolutely beautiful. "When are the guys coming?" Linh asked.

"In a few minutes. Unless they're late. They're all coming together, I think, but I'm not really sure," Biana said, smoothing out her dress.

The girls sat in the room doing nothing and staring at each other and admiring each other's outfits. It was immensely boring until the boys finally arrived. They rang the doorbell and the girls all bounded down the stairs, chattering and shrieking.

Sophie opened the door, suddenly embarrassed by her outfit. She hung back but the boys caught on to her quickly.

"Hey, Soph... WOW." Keefe's eyes popped out. "You look amazing!" He whistled, and then Linh stepped out. Keefe forgot all about Sophie as he took in his date's outfit. "Wow, Linh, I think you're even prettier than I've ever seen you before! Sorry, Foster!" Sophie rolled her eyes, glad that Linh and Keefe were happy.

Tam walked in, surveying the girls and keeping an eye on Keefe with his sister. "Wow, Biana. You're prettier than ever. You're gorgeous," he said while hugging her. Then they started kissing and Sophie turned away.

"Where's Fitz?" Sophie asked Keefe who tore his eyes away from Linh long enough to just shrug at Sophie.

Sophie poked her head out the door and sighed. Of course, it was her man that was late. She turned away and then she felt someone lift her up, taking her legs out from under her. She couldn't help shrieking until she looked at the face. She punched Fitz's arm lightly. "Fitz! Stop it! Let me down!" Sophie giggled. He did gently and spun her around to face him.

"Sorry I'm late, but I had to get this," he said, handing her a corsage. "I went all the way to the Forbidden Cities to get this for you. I knew it was something that you guys did at prom or something." He blushed. Keefe turned around.

"So that's where you went!" Keefe lightly punched Fitz on the arm. "I knew it wasn't to get a new tie!" Fitz rolled his eyes and turned back to Sophie, fully taking her in for the first time. Sophie couldn't help but look away as soon as their eyes met.

"Wow, Sophie, you look beautiful. Gorgeous. Wonderful. Stunning." Sophie was pretty sure Fitz would have kept on spitting out flattering adjectives if she hadn't leaned in to kiss him. Keefe looked away, but there was no hurt in his eyes anymore as he turned back to Linh. He really had moved on from Sophie and she was glad. But she was already lost... lost in Fitz's kiss...

After a few moments, Sophie opened her eyes and saw the smiling faces of her friends. "Fitz..." she blushed.

He groaned and pulled her to him again. "Fitz... we have an audience," she mumbled against his lips. He finally pulled away and looked at the crowd, a blush erupting on his face as well. Keefe started clapping and whistling and Tam mumbled, "Get a room," and turned back to Biana. Sophie's cheeks burned but she turned back to Fitz.

"Guess we got to get used to it... together." She smiled at him and he grinned back.

"Guys, I just realized... where's Dex?" Biana asked, interrupting the moment.

Fitz said, "He'll be at the dance. He's not meeting up with us first. He called earlier and told us."

"Oh, such a loss," Biana said. "It doesn't feel complete here without him. Like, not the full gang or whatever we call ourselves."

"I know... I guess that's why we should get going!" Keefe said, revving up the crowd.

Everyone nodded and cheered and headed to the doors. Fitz stayed behind, pulling Sophie with him. "Sophie... wait." She nodded and waited for everyone to leave.

"Sophie, thank you for coming with me," Fitz said, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you for asking me," Sophie responded into his chest, smiling.

They pulled apart. Fitz asked, "You ready?"

"Yup." Sophie followed Fitz outside. Everyone had already left and Fitz pulled out his Pathfinder. They were transported to the dance, where there were thousands of elves milling about. It hadn't officially started yet so everyone was just mingling and talking. 

"Okay, let's do this thing," Fitz said, leading Sophie into the crowd. Fitz fist-bumped about three hundred elves, high-fived another three hundred, and hugged a ton of babies.

"Wow, how popular are you?" Sophie asked. Fitz shrugged and Sophie couldn't help but mutter, "Vackers." 

"Haha, so funny. I'm just nice," Fitz said. "It has nothing to do with my last name or my family."

"Yeah, definitely." Sophie giggled, rolling her eyes.

They met up with their friends in the center of the dance area. The DJ hadn't arrived yet so people were just talking and having fun.

"Guys, there's Dex!" Biana shouted over the crowd. They all moved towards Dex who saw them and grabbed Dina and pulled her with him towards them. "Hey, guys!" he waved.

"Dex!" Everyone hugged him and exchanged fist-bumps and high fives, similar to Fitz's earlier greetings. Dina also said hi to everyone and introduced herself to those who hadn't met her. She was pretty and exuberant and Sophie was glad for the match with Dex.

The friends talked for a while and got some punch while they waited. Finally, the DJ arrived and he was fully ready to amp up the crowd.

"What's up, elves?" the DJ yelled to the crowd. "You ready to DANCE?" Everyone yelled a positive response and he replied, "We will have some fast dances, slow dances, and couple dances. So make sure to bring your date with you to the DANCE FLOOR!"

He put on the first song, which was a rap song that had a good beat to dance to. Everyone started dancing except Sophie, who hung back.

"Soph, it's a dance. What do you do here, you may ask? Hmmm, I don't know... maybe DANCE?" Keefe yelled over the crowd when he saw Sophie.

"Yeah, Sophie," Fitz said, pulling her into the crowd. "Just move."

Sophie sighed and started doing the weird lopsided dance that she was famous for. "Fitz, I can't dance."

"Yes. You. Can," he sang.

"FINE," Sophie danced with Fitz for the rest of the song, despite her worries of looking stupid.

The DJ yelled after a couple of fast-paced songs, "Who's ready for a COUPLE dance?" Everyone screamed yes and he put on a slow song. "Grab your partner!"

Fitz grabbed Sophie and started to pull her away from the dance floor. "What? Are we not doing this dance?" Sophie was kind of relieved but she also wasn't. She wanted to dance with Fitz alone in some slow dance. But he kept pulling her away from the dance floor.

"Come on!" Fitz yelled!

Sophie followed Fitz... on stage?!?

Fitz grabbed the DJ's mic and turned off the music, much to everyone's annoyance and shouts. "Guys! I'm so sorry for interrupting! But I have an announcement to make!"

Everyone looked at Sophie and Fitz. He took a deep breath and shouted, "I have something to ask this gorgeous young woman!"

Everyone went quiet and waited. Sophie's heart sunk, as she was relatively sure that she knew what was coming. Biana stared at her in the crowd, her eyes confused at what was happening and Sophie couldn't help but shrug.

Fitz bent down onto one knee and took out a box. Yup, Sophie definitely knew what was happening. He opened the box. "Sophie Elizabeth Foster, will you do me the immense honor of marrying me, Fitzroy Vacker?" Sophie gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She knew that elves married younger than before when she had first come here but she hadn't expected this tonight. The crowd was drowned out and she could only see Fitz, his teal eyes wanting.

"Fitzroy Vacker, I— I— I don't know," Sophie said, tears emerging from her eyes. The crowd gasped and Fitz sank to the ground and put his head in his hands. He stayed there for another ten minutes until Sophie ran off the stage.

Biana ran after her, shouting her name. When she finally caught up to her best friend, she slapped her.

"What is wrong with you?!?" Biana yelled, her eyes sparkling in anger. Everyone else piled in behind them. "How could you reject my brother like that in public?"

"I didn't say no," Sophie said, choking on her tears as the guilt and shame overwhelmed her.

"But you didn't say YES!!" Biana replied. "You broke his heart... in front of everybody! How could you? I thought you were more than that! You could have at least yes in front of everybody and then told him the truth later on."

"Well, why did he have to ask me in front of everyone?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know, maybe because he LOVES you and wants to let other people know?" Biana said, angry.

"What will Grady and Edaline say? They'll kill me!" Sophie said.

"Why would we kill you?" Grady's voice asked from behind Sophie. Sophie spun around, her heart beating fast.

"Did you see what happened up on stage?" Sophie asked, tears streaming down her face at the sight of her parents.

"Yes. We saw. And we are very disappointed in you," Edaline replied, shaking her head.

"WHAT? You're disappointed with me?" Sophie asked, not believing her ears. She was absolutely shocked. "How? I said no! Isn't that what you want? I said no!"

"Exactly. Why? Why would you hurt such a kind boy like that?" Edaline asked, disappointed.

Sophie fumbled for words. "Because... I don't know! I'm sorry! What was I supposed to say?"

"Yes?" Grady asked.

"But you guys would never allow me to get married this early in my life!" Sophie said weakly. Her parents were not acting like parents.

"No, Sophie, we would. He asked us very graciously the other day and we finally accepted," Grady said. "I thought you would just be your normal self and accept!"

"Is that why you weren't mad at me about the... kiss and everything?" Sophie asked, her mind whirling as the pieces all fit together. She should have known that Grady would have been angrier when he caught them kissing that morning...

"Yes. Now get back up there and tell him your final decision. He's still up there. And I must say, I really hope you say something to heal his heart." Grady pursed his lips in a very un-Grady-like gesture.

Sophie turned around and ran back, her heart beating faster and faster as she stumbled towards Fitz again. She grabbed the mic, turned the music off, ignored the grumblings of the crowd, and spoke into the mic, proud of herself for how strong she sounded. Her voice didn't crack or waver for once. It was the miracle she had prayed for.

"Attention, everyone. I'm sorry. Fitz, I'm so sorry. I've made up my mind." He stood back up, hope and sadness warring in his eyes.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. I will marry you!" Sophie said, dropping the mic as she ran to Fitz and he hugged her and kissed her slowly, much to Sophie's embarrassment.

"Thank you so much, Sophie. I love you. I promise to take care of you for forever." He said into her hair. Everyone awwed because apparently voices rang out from up here, and clapped.

"I'm sorry for leaving you up here. I didn't know what to say, and—" Sophie said.

"Shhh," Fitz shushed her. "It's okay, Sophie." He kissed her again and then he seemed to realize where they were. "Come on, Sophie."

They walked off the stage and into the crowds. Sophie could never have been as happy as she was at the moment. She started to laugh, cry, and she couldn't stop.

"I love you, Fitz."

"I love you too, Sophie."

Yeah.