I would probably regret going to the pep rally but it was the last one we'd ever go to as high school students. Becca wouldn't stop trying to talk to me despite Jaz's threats. She was finally showing me that she cared about me more than she cared about people finding out that she liked girls. Jordan however never left me alone in the halls long enough for her to come up to me. Becca's attempts were more limited to text messages, phone calls, and voicemails. Jordan didn't come in to Rizzo's every time I worked but she did pop in every now and then.

"Where's Jordan?" Thomas asked.

"No idea, she's the only reason I'm here," I said.

The pep band was playing in the bleachers and the cheerleaders were on the court. They didn't look bad, but there was one that stuck out more than the others in a bad way. Jordan was out there, wearing a cheerleader's outfit. At the end of the cheer and song, the cheerleaders came together in the center of the gym. A few girls did cartwheels toward my section and landed in a split, while the others opened and held up a banner that read 'Parker, will you go to prom with me?' Jordan came forward with a single red rose in her hand. The hundreds of students in the gym went silent.

"Well?" she asked when she got closer to where I was sitting.

"Yes, Jordan, of course I will go to prom with you," I said, smiling.

I got up and went down the few steps to her on the floor. She picked me up and spun me around while everyone clapped and yelled and the band started playing again. The cheerleaders moved back and into another formation to perform another routine. Jordan handed the rose off to me and came to sit with Thomas and I.

"I can't believe you did that, you idiot," I said.

"I had to go all out. You deserve that, you're an amazing girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes, "You mean you wanted to rub it in Rebecca's face."

"Yes, that too," she said, laughing. "but seriously, this was all for you Parker. I wouldn't do this for just anyone."

"I wish I had someone that would do that for me," Thomas said.

"You do have someone like that. He's just too much of a meathead to do this kind of thing in front of the whole school. I mean, he publicly came out for you Thomas, what more do you want from him?" Jordan said. She wasn't wrong.

"Just – more."

"Thomas he still asked you to go to prom with him, it's not like he said he never wanted to be seen in public with you," I said. "With you-know-who, that's what I would still be dealing with. She wasn't ever going to come out for me, and I wouldn't be going to prom either. You have more with Chris than a lot of people will ever have here. Look, I'm not saying this to be hurtful, I just want you to know that the big ask isn't that important compared to everything else."

"I know you're right, but that doesn't change how I feel about wanting it. It's like wanting the Range Rover that someone has parked in the lot. I'm jealous, envious."

"I want you to take a look at your boy over there," I said, pointing across the court where all the sports teams were sitting. "You see that? He was already looking at you, waiting for you to notice him, and now he's smiling like a little kid on Christmas. I haven't spent much time with him but I know he really cares about you. Just like Jordan cares about me. If we're being real here, we both know if he did that to you, you would've been embarrassed and mad, and the answer would've been no because he put you on the spot like that."

"Alright, alright. I get it. You can stop now." Thomas waved and smiled back at Chris.

The rest of the pep rally went without another disturbance. I wanted to leave after the prom-posal, but Jordan said we'd have to stay, especially as a thank you to the cheerleaders. The favor was already done, I didn't see why the cheerleaders needed to be 'repaid'. It ended before the school day was over, so we were supposed to go to the scheduled class. Thomas had other plans. We both walked out of the school and get into my car.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Prom shopping," he answered.

I groaned in response but still followed his directions. He made me drive an hour away to a small dress shop that looked pretty much abandoned. Thomas was sure that this was where we were going. I looked at the building with slight disdain, realizing that this hole would be where I'd get my prom dress from. A bunch of dresses that have probably been collecting dust for a decade. I followed him into the store silently. As I suspected, an older white woman ran the store, and at first, she seemed to be the only person working there. She and Thomas struck up a conversation as I began to look through the racks and at dresses hung up on the walls. They weren't terrible. I could maybe find something made this year and not when I was born. Thomas dragged me into the conversation, which I only heard because he said my name.

"...Parker, here is looking for a prom dress. Very last minute."

"Ah," the woman started. "I'm sure you'll find some very unique options here. Not something you'd find in one of those department stores. What kind of dress are you looking for? I think a column style would work best for your body type."

"I have no clue about dresses. I'll take whatever you suggest," I said.

She buzzed around the store, finding at least fine dresses of different colors, lengths, and levels of fluff. Thomas led me to the dressing room to start trying things on. I didn't tell the woman anything I liked. The only fancy dress I owned was the one Rebecca convinced me to buy. It was far too late for me to try to take it back. One dress looked the least bad under it's plastic shield. I quickly shed my clothes and pulled the dress up my body. It fit well enough and I was able to move my legs. I tested that as I walked out to Thomas, for him to see this number and tell me what he thought. The dress sat a little off the shoulders, so my bra straps were showing. The dress was form fitting but the fabric was stretchy, and sparkling, and covered in a lace detail. It was elegant and classy, the color of a nice, fine wine. Thomas looked impressed as he scanned the look.

"You look... amazing. First dress, we are lucky," Thomas said. "Thank you."

He was sending the gratitude towards the woman who pulled the dresses. Another one, younger, replaced her at the cash register, while she stood on the floor with us. I went back and changed into my clothes. The dress was put back on the hanger and under the plastic. The two of them were waiting for me just outside the dressing area. The woman took the dress from me to ring up behind the counter.

"Do you have shoes?" Thomas asked.

The younger one signaled to the back of the store. We shuffled between racks to the art where the rows of shoes were. A few pairs matched the dress but they weren't what I wanted so I didn't choose a pair. I still had time. When we left the small dress shop, we jeaded to one of those rent-a-tux places. He picked out an inexpensive one, a simple black suit, which I made him try on.

"Did you discuss colors? I mean, neither of you are wearing a dress, but you still need to match somehow," I said.

"Um... now that you mention it, no. We didn't discuss colors," he said.

He was looking at the various ties and pocket square deals for the prom season. There wasn't much variety and the options they did have were unattractive. I thought it best to try another store or online; he agreed.

We finally headed back home, leaving the accessories for another day. I dropped Thomas off at his place before going to mine. My father was home, in his bedroom. He never said anything about the night of the music festival, probably because the smell was gone by the time he woke up. I poked my head in to say hello, greeted first by a series of barks from Darcy. My father waved before looking up from whatever paperwork he had in front of him.

"Hey Parker. What's in the bag?" he asked.

"A dress," I said. "for prom."

"For prom? You're going to prom? I thought you said..."

"I know what I said. Thomas convinced me to go and my date made it hard for me to say no."

"Who's your date?"

"Jordan."

"I'm happy for you, Parker. I'm glad you found someone worthy of you. I've always had a good feeling about Jordan. You're a lot happier when she's around, not to mention doing better in school too. I'm proud of you, too. I wasn't there for you and again I apologize for that, but you have grown into someone amazing."

"Thanks dad," I replied softly. "I love you."

"I love you more."

He gave me a smile but got out of bed to give me a hug. I put the dress down on his bed to reciprocate. This was an odd time to have a moment, but it felt right. I'd been waiting for him to say something like that to me and mean it.

Darcy began nipping at our ankles, I guess jealous of attention that wasn't on him. I decided to take him on a walk after going to my room and hanging the dress up in the closet. It'd been a while since our last outing together. I had yet to thank my father for helping to take care of him when I wasn't around. Finally applying my lesson learned from previous trips, I put the leash on before opening the door. I greeted the fresh wind with open arms as my mind came to terms with the fact that I was happy, and I was loved.