Prom was finally here and I had mixed feelings about it. One part of me was thrilled to go with Axel and have a blast, but the other part of me kept thinking of what Mom said. Dad had cheated on her. He had broken her heart the night of prom. What if the same thing happened to me?

Shaking my head, I knew I was being silly. Axel wasn't like that. He wasn't a player. But even then, I felt sad, knowing that I was going against Mom's wishes. She wasn't being fair with me, but I still wanted to make her happy.

I sighed and left home, knowing I needed to get my hair and makeup done. At the thought of dressing up, I became excited once again. I hoped it would be a good night.

*****

I was ready and staring at myself in the mirror. Axel would be coming soon and I was standing by the door, waiting for him to arrive. As I waited, I wondered if I looked okay.

My blonde hair was curled, my make up was simple. I was wearing a long sleeve golden dress that flowed out beautifully at my waist. Everything looked good, but for some reason, I felt weird. Probably because I rarely ever dressed up.

"You look beautiful," I heard Mom say out of nowhere, causing me to turn around.

She was smiling at me, her eyes soft, and I smiled back. I was thankful she was putting differences aside.

"Thank you," I said.

"Axel is a lucky guy." Mom's smile grew. "I hope you have a good night."

Mom turned around and left, leaving me staring after her. Her words meant a lot to me and finally, I felt like I could truly enjoy myself. With Mom not against my choice, I felt relaxed.

The doorbell suddenly rang and I quickly went to the door and opened it. Axel was there and his eyes grew wide at the sight of me. I blushed and felt butterflies from his reaction and how handsome he looked.

"Oh god, Zoey," he said, eyes wide with amazement. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I said shyly. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Axel grinned and extended his hand towards me. I took it and he led me to the car. Excitement was running through me.

*****

    Axel and I were dancing, laughing as we kept our arms wrapped around each other. Hannah and Archer were dancing next to us, grinning at the sight of us. Prom was incredible and I was loving every second of it.

    Everyone was on the dance floor of the hall, dancing their hearts out. The lights were dim and the place was hot, but I barely noticed it as I had a blast with Axel. We had been dancing for the past hour.

    "Are you having a good time?" Axel asked suddenly.

    "The best." I grinned. "How about you?"

    He grinned. "Same."

    He pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes for a moment, allowing me to study him. Axel was gorgeous. So gorgeous and he cleaned up well. My heart was racing at the thought.

     "Shall we take a picture?" Axel then asked, eyes flying open.

    "Yeah," I said, blushing as I quickly looked away. "Let's go."

    Axel moved away and took my hand. I quickly told Hannah where we were going and then Axel and I went to the photo stand. A couple was currently taking a picture, so we waited patiently.

     "You're happy, right?" Axel asked randomly.

    "For sure," I answered, growing confused. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. I just really want you to have a great night."

I didn't know what overcame me, but I leaned forward and kissed Axel's cheek. He turned red and I smiled, finding him adorable.

"With you at my side, I'm having a great time," I told him.

Axel grinned and it was then our turn to take our picture. Together we went to the stand and stood together. I had my back to Axel's chest and he had his arms around my waist. We both smiled at the camera and in Axel's arms, I wished this moment would last forever. I wished we would be able to show our children these photos. There was nothing more I wanted in that moment than to have this guy in my life forever.

*****

"Are you sure this is okay?" Axel asked, leading me to the hotel room.

"Yeah, if it's only for a few hours," I answered, entering the room we had booked. "It's prom. My parents will understand why I came home late."

Axel followed me into the room and shut the door. Many of our peers were on the same floor in their own rooms, and we had decided to do the same. It would allow us to spend a few more hours together, privately, just to bond.

    Axel led me to the bed and we sat. It was hard to move in my long dress, but somehow I managed to slide up the bed. My back was pressed against the headboard and soon, Axel was at my side. Staring at him, I watched as he pulled out wine from his suit jacket.

    "Shall we?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

    Because it was prom and because he was so attractive, I had to agree, even though it was probably a dumb idea to get drunk. But I did it anyways, knowing I just wanted to spend time with him. Alcohol had a way of loosening up people, so I knew this would be good for us.

    Axel and I passed the wine to each other until we got intoxicated. I was then giggling and Axel was grinning lazily, which was oddly attractive. My heart was pounding and suddenly, there was a question I wanted to ask.

    "Why haven't you kissed me yet?" I asked. "I would let you if you tried."

    Axel froze at the question, frowning. I stared at him, wondering why he reacted like that.

    "Honestly, I want you to keep it," he said. "I just think that it's for the best."

    "Why?" I asked, confused.

    "I don't know." He shrugged. "It just seems better if you keep it. It's what you originally wanted."

    "What I want has changed though. What I want now is you."

    I put a hand on his chest and stared up at him. He stared back at me, his eyes gentle, and I knew I really wanted to kiss him. I really wanted us to connect in that way, which was surprising because once I thought physical contact was a waste of time. But now, I knew it was such a simply beautiful thing as it made you feel closer to another person.

    "Zoey, why are you so perfect?" Axel whispered. "How was I, someone who is worthless, able to get you?"

    "Don't say that about yourself," I said angrily. "You're so much more than you think you are. You're so incredible."

    "Zoey..."

   I began leaning in then, wanting him to understand that he was incredible. He was so incredible that I had changed my values, just for him. Once I never thought I would date or even kiss someone this soon, but he had changed me. He had made me learn that love was incredible.

    "Zoey, don't force yourself to," he said, stopping me by holding onto my shoulders gently.

    "I'm not," I told him, eyes shutting. "This is what I truly want."

    I leaned forward and our lips met. Axel seemed hesitant at first, but before I knew it, he was kissing me passionately. He was kissing me and I knew he had been waiting for this. It was obvious from the way his lips devoured mine.

    I understood why people kissed as we kissed. It made you feel so connected with your partner. It made you feel like you were truly alive as all of your feelings for that person seemed to enhance. Kissing was such a wonderful thing.

    Eventually, I pulled back and suddenly, my hands were moving to his suit jacket. I began to unbutton it, too intoxicated to think straight. Now that I knew how good kissing was, I wondered what the rest was like.

    "Whoa Zoey," Axel said, putting his hands on top of mine to stop me. "Stop. You're really drunk."

    "But," I said, blushing. "I-"

    "This isn't what you believe in," he said, growing serious. "Don't make rash decisions. Remember what I told you. If you have morals, stick by them to the end. You'll be at your happiest then and you won't ever regret anything."

    I stared at him, eyes widening as I realized he was right. I would regret it the next day. My morals were to wait and I was about to throw that away. Around Axel, sometimes I didn't think straight. Thankfully, he was kind enough to put me in my place.

     I hugged him then, knowing I was thankful. The kiss was perfect and I was happy. So happy and I really liked him. Prom was the best day ever.

    "How was the kiss?" Axel asked, sounding amused.

    "Incredible. Amazing." I smiled against his chest. "How's having the kiss now?"

"It's whatever," he said. "I'm more happy about having a girl I really like in my arms."

I closed my eyes and grinned. I was at my happiest there. Axel was so sweet and kind and he was genuinely a good person. It was clear from how he didn't take advantage of me. Knowing that, I knew that I would never let him go.