I thought Emmett was gonna pick me up at my dorm and walk me to the dance, but he didn't. Not that he didn't want to, or I didn't want him to ... it was my brothers who didn't want him to (or I should really say it was Dana who didn't want him to, and all of my brothers sided with him). None of my brothers could really make sure that I didn't wait for Emmett to pick me up since Cooper, Dana, and Ben left for the dance early because they were chaperoning ... and I had no idea where Owen was ... but Emmett and I agreed to meet right outside the gymnasium, where homecoming was being held.

"Your brothers are sexist," Julia said as she, Caroline, and I approached the gymnasium. Torryn was going with Tracey Morrel (or "Trey the tight-end" as we liked to call him) and said she'd see us there.

"What?" I asked, surprised by her super-random comment.

"They're fine with the three of us girls walking to the dance together, but they refuse to let you walk with a boy," Julia said. "Sexist."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Caroline chimed in. Julia shrugged.

"My brothers are not sexist," I said. "Overprotective, yes. But not sexist."

"On the contrary, the evidence says that they are."

"Julia—"

"What if you had decided to go with a girlfriend instead of Emmett?" she asked. "You think they still would have been against you going to the dance with her?"

"Do you mean a 'girlfriend,' or a friend who's a girl, like us?" Caroline asked.

Julia shrugged. "Either."

"Okay now you're not making any sense," I said.

"I'm making a point," she said.

"Julia, I know you're the debate queen and everything, but if you really want to know whether or not my brothers are 'sexist' why don't you just ask them yourselves?"

"No thanks," Julia said as I opened the entrance door for them. "I'm already struggling to keep an A minus in Mr. Kherrington's class."

"Oh no, not an A minus," Caroline fake gasped.

"Yes an A minus," Julia said. "It's horrible."

"Can we not talk about school?" I said. "This is homecoming, not homeroom. Let's have some fun tonight!"

"Says the girl with the date," Caroline mumbled.

"Oh whatever, you can still have fun without a date," I said.

"Penny's right, Care," Julia said as we walked into the darkened gymnasium. "We can still have—oh! I love this song!" She grabbed Caroline's arm. "Come do the Cha Cha Slide with me!"

I just shook my head as Caroline reluctantly let her roommate drag her onto the dance floor that was actually pretty filled with people. A few seconds later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a smiling Emmett standing behind me. "Hey," I said, smiling back.

"Hey," he said. "You look great."

I straightened out the short, gold dress I was wearing, even though it didn't really need straightening. "Thanks. So do you."

"Thanks." Emmett tightened his tie. "Who knew I cleaned up so good, huh?"

"Oh stop." My smiled dropped a little when I noticed Dana standing over in the corner of the gym. I knew my brothers were only chaperoning the dance to keep an eye on me because they rarely ever went to school dances in years past (and when they did, all three of them never went to the same ones).

"So uh, you want some punch or something?" Emmett asked me, probably noticing the distraction known as my brother.

"Sure," I said before I followed him to the snack table.

Emmett and I spent the next half an hour just standing around the punch bowl talking. A lot of good songs came and went during our long conversation, but the songs were either faster-paced songs (which involved "close-contact" dancing that the various chaperones repeatedly broke up), or line-dancing songs (which made the dance floor so packed that it made everyone really hot and sweaty really fast). So when a slow song came on ("One" by Brian McKnight, a classic), I was ready to jump on the first opportunity of getting Emmett on the dance floor with me.

But Emmett beat me to it.

"Wanna dance?" Emmett asked, before I had a chance to say anything.

"I'd love to," I said as I took the hand that he was offering me. Once we got to the middle of the dance floor, Emmett and I ensured that we followed the "six inches apart" rule as we put our hands around each other. When I looked up at Emmett and he looked down at me, I couldn't help but feel as though we were the only ones out there. It was wonderful being in Emmett's arms, slowly moving back and forth. It felt amazing, warm, incredible. ... It just felt right.

However, my Cinderella moment was kind of ruined once I noticed all three of my oldest brothers watching me from three different walls around the gym. Even though I honestly felt like they were three vultures circling us as they waited to swoop in on their dead prey (i.e. Emmett if he got too close to me or put his hands in the wrong place), I tried to not let it bother me as I looked back into my date's beautiful eyes.

"I'm really glad you ask me to the dance," I said as the song was nearing its end.

"Well I'm really glad Cooper told me to ask you," Emmett said.

"Wait. What?"

"What?" Emmett said, trying to look confused when he really just looked guilty.

We stopped dancing. "What do you mean 'Cooper told me to ask you?'"

"Uh ... I mean ..." Emmett thought for a moment. "That came out wrong."

As if right on cue, the slow song ended and another fast song came on.

"No, I don't think it came out wrong at all," I said as I dropped my arms from around Emmett's neck.

"Uh ..."

I sighed. "Please just tell me the truth, Emmett."

"Okay fine. Coach K said if I asked you to the dance, I would get to start the next game," Emmett said barely loud enough for me to hear over the blaring music.

My jaw hit the floor. "So you only asked me because Cooper bribed you?"

"No, no, it's not like that. I didn't just ask you out because of him."

"Oh c'mon, Emmett. I'm not an idiot. I know that it's a big deal for freshmen to get to start a game because it so rarely happens."

"No—I mean yeah it's a big deal, but all your brother's bribe did was give me the courage to ask you, because he said that he thought you'd want to go with me."

"Please. Are you saying you would have broken the Boys Soccer Team Code of going alone just for me, even if Cooper didn't tell you to?"

"Well I mean, you're the only girl I would break it for ..."

I shook my head. "I can't believe you, Emmett—using me like that." I then went to walk off the dance floor.

"Penny, wait." Emmett grabbed my hand. "Please, just let me explain—"

I turned around a pushed his hand off of me. "You've already explained enough."

I then took off running out of the gym and down the vacant school hallway.

"Penny!" I heard multiple voices say from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see my three oldest brothers running to catch up to me.

Luckily I'd taken my heels off while Emmett and I were talking by the punch bowl, so I was able to outrun them long enough to get into the girls' bathroom and lock the door.

"Penny, come on out," a voice that I knew to be Bens' said from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, tell us what's wrong," Cooper said.

"This is all your fault!" I shouted at the door, trying to hold it together from the embarrassment and anger I felt.

"What's our fault?" Ben asked.

Suddenly the door started wiggling as if someone was trying to open it. "Open the door," Dana demanded.

I didn't respond as I looked into the mirror to see whether my waterproof mascara had actually worked. It was then that I noticed the reachable window that was at the back of the bathroom.

"Penny?" Dana said as I quietly walked over to the window and pushed it open.