Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I take one of the soft waves in my hair in my hand. The heels that I'm wearing are the black ones that I wear to my piano recitals and don't quite match the level of the dress, but I'll probably change into tennis shoes when I get to the dance anyway.

I make my way downstairs to wait for Zack to pick me up. My entire family is watching TV. They've been giving me the silent treatment for a while.

I stare at them from a distance, hesitant, then take a breath before walking over. "Mom," I say. She continues to stare at the TV. "I'm going to winter formal with my friends and boyfriend." I want to leave but I force myself to finish. "All the moms are going to be there to take pictures and I'd like it if you would come."

I leave the offer at that. When she doesn't respond, I turn away.

"Where is it?" she asks just as I'm about to step out of the room.

I pause. "I'll text it to you," I tell her. She doesn't smile but she doesn't frown either. She just nods.

---

The moment he sees me, Zack smiles in a way that makes my cheeks turn as red as my dress. He immediately grabs my hands and wraps his arms around me, enveloping me in his cologne.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my whole body. He pulls away to look at me, just standing there and staring like he could stare at me forever.

"You look very handsome," I reply, brushing his hair. Zack is the kind of guy who was born to wear a suit.

"This is for you," he says and pulls out a velvet box. I recognize the brand immediately. It's the one my mom wears, which means it's more expensive than anything I own.

Taking it in my hands gingerly, a gasp escapes me as I open the box. Inside of it is a necklace with his name on it.

"I hope it's not too much," he adds. His nervousness is endearing.

"It's perfect," I say immediately and pull him into a hug. "Thank you, Zack."

I move back then sweep my hair to the side so that he can put it on. His fingertips send chills up my spine.

"Only the finest for Princess Amelia."

---

She doesn't come. No matter how long I wait, my mom doesn't appear. I tell myself that it's fine and I didn't have my hopes up anyway but I know that it's a lie.

"You still wanna do this?" Zack asks, placing his hand on the small of my back. "We can dip if you want."

Everyone is getting in their cars to get to the dance. "No," I decide. I'm not going to let her ruin my night. Lacing my fingers through Zack's, I smile up at him. "I'm ready to leave."

My first school dance takes place in a gym decorated with snowflakes and long, white lights that hang from the ceiling with chiffon. The ethereal decor clashes noticeably with the crowds of students jumping up and down to censored rap music but my insides swell with excitement nonetheless.

Like I said, I like dancing.

Amira grabs my hands and my friends and I form a circle. Near the end, a popular song from my middle school days switches on and Zack hugs me from behind as everyone belts out the lyrics. My voice gets lost in the crowd.

This. This is what high schools should be like: slow dancing with my beautiful boyfriend, singing with my friends, not stressing about my grades for once.

The final slow song comes on and I lean my cheek against the sturdiness of Zack's chest as we sway slowly in silence. His spicy cologne mixes with his usual smoky scent.

"What are you thinking about?" he murmurs into my hair.

I look up into his eyes, those shining eyes. The words spill out of me. "I don't want this night to end."

He smiles down at me. "It doesn't have to," he says. "Wanna get out of here?"

We bid our friends goodbye and get in his truck, ending up at Carrie's diner. In the car, I force him to listen to Liebestraum by Liszt on the way so that I can remember his face in this moment every time I hear this song.

After receiving our food and secret smiles from Carrie, we go out to the empty parking lot and turn the radio on loud enough so that we can hear it from his truck.

An older pop song from a couple of years ago comes on and Zack springs up from the ground. Eyes closed, he uses a mozzarella cheese stick as his mic and sings along, holding one hand over his heart. I can't stop laughing.

It's nearly midnight when all of the food is finished. We lay down and stare at the sky together. It's full of twinkling stars. He points out the different constellations, something that his dad taught him when he was a kid. When I look over at him, I can't stop myself.

"I love you," I say. If I knew words enough, I could go on about how much, but in this moment, just those three words are enough.

The most breathtaking smile graces his face and I swear I can see the stars in his eyes when he says, "I love you, too, Amelia."

When he kisses me, I know that I will never forget this moment.

A/N: this is probably my favorite chapter ever. Sigh, I'm so single. Also Liebestraum is my favorite piano piece (another name for it is Love Dream) and it's BEAUTIFULLL.

As always, thank you so much for reading, voting, and commenting. I appreciate you all and stay safe