"So what are you looking for in a Prom dress?" I asked Kylie.

We were sitting side-by-side on my bed, looking at the thousands of choices of Prom dresses online.

"Something sexy, but not too sexy," she said, exiting the webpage she was currently on. "Something that hugs all my good features and blurs the bad ones."

"You don't have any bad ones," I informed her.

"Shut up."

I leaned back with a sigh. "Prom dresses are intense."

"What are you looking for?"

"Just something pretty, I don't know."

"That's your problem," she informed me. "You have to go in with an idea of what you're looking for."

I just shrugged, flipping to yet again another page of Prom dresses. "It just all seems so overwhelming."

"So when do you want to go actual shopping?" Kylie asked me.

"There's more?"

"Well you have to actually go to a store and put the dresses on, yeah," she informed me.

I let out a sigh, flopping back on my bed.

"Let's say tomorrow," she suggested. "After school we'll hit up the mall and make an afternoon of it."

"I don't even have a date yet," I pointed out.

"Stop being so melodramatic. You have a long-time boyfriend. Now shut up and pull yourself together."

I jutted out my bottom lip, and Kylie hit me in the face with a pillow.

"Some best friend you are," I pouted.

"I'm just realistic," she informed me. "You know that you're going with Bryce. It's not rocket science."

"I just want him to ask me."

"He's a boy. You have to tell him this stuff."

"But if I tell him then it's not going to be special."

She rolled her eyes. "Just leave it to me then."

~*~

I pulled an emerald green dress off the rack, observing it before adding it to my pile.

I still didn't know what I was looking for in a Prom dress.

"This one is gorgeous," Kylie said, pulling a peach dress off the rack. "I just love this."

"I just feel overwhelmed," I admitted, staring at the racks of Prom dresses ahead of us. "What if I pick, like, the wrong Prom dress?"

"I don't know if that's possible," Kylie informed me, laughing.

"What if there's a perfect Prom dress out there for me and I pick the wrong one?"

"Well there's always your Senior Prom to fix it."

I let out a long sigh, heading towards the dressing room to try on the stack of dresses currently in my arms.

Kylie wasn't too far behind me, the two of us right next to each other as we tried on dress after dress.

"This one looks like I've been eaten by a dragon," I informed Kylie, as I stared at the emerald green dress that had looked so pretty on the hanger. "Or swallowed by Ariel."

I shed the dress, listening to Kylie inform me about her hideous dress selection as I slipped my next dress on.

And as it continued for the next half hour, the two of us trying on dress after dress, each one a failure.

"Oh my God!" Kylie squealed.

"What?" I asked, as I tried to shimmy around in the blood red dress I was currently wearing

It was hideous. It was mermaid style, and I couldn't even walk in the thing.

"I found the one."

"Let me see!" I unlocked my dressing room door, shuffling out into the hallway.

She busted out into laughter as she saw my dress.

"Yeah, I know," I said, as I took in her dress.

It was a mint green dress that was strapless and tight-fitting throughout hips before lightly flaring out to the floor. It had a slit that ran up the right leg, just up to mid-thigh. The bodice of the dress was lined with rhinestones, layered thoughout the bust and hips.

"Oh my goodness," I said, letting out sigh. "It's gorgeous."

"Do you really love it?"

"I really love it," I agreed. "That dress was totally made for you."

She did a little turn around in the hallway, letting out a giggle. "This is my dress."

"Are you saying yes to the dress?" I mocked.

"Shut up."

I shuffled back into my dressing room, shedding the vampire dress and letting out a sigh.

That was it for my selections.

"Unlock your door!" Kylie called.

I let her in, and she dumped her load of dresses on my chair. "Here are all the ones I haven't tried on yet."

"So you're giving me your leftovers?"

She nodded. "Try these. And I'll go out and look for more." And then she disappeared again.

I sifted through the dresses, looking for something that spoke to me.

Prom dress shopping was so stressful.

I tried on a midnight blue dress, rhinestoned through the bust.

It was pretty, but it didn't form to my body.

Maybe today just wasn't meant to be my perfect Prom dress day.

I sifted through the pile again, trying on a both a purple and a teal dress. Both of them didn't suit me.

And then I came across a dress near the bottom of the pile.

It wasn't my type of dress. I was a more conservative type, while this was the complete opposite.

It was everything that I wasn't.

But I put it on anyways.

It was yellow through the bust, two gemstones resting on my bare abdomen as the rhinestones criss-crossed their way down.

There wasn't any material on my abdomen or down my back, just thin pieces of criss-crossing rhinestones.

The dress picked up again towards the bottom of my back, falling into a the same pale yellow that rested on my bust. As the dress continued to fall to the floor, it bellowed out into purple and blue, colors of the sunset.

A slit ran up the side of my left leg, exposing much more than what I'd usually be comfortable with.

But this dress was everything I never expected it to be.

It was perfect.

"Hey Sophie?" Kylie called from outside the dressing room door. "I found a couple more dresses for you to try on."

I didn't answer her as I stared at myself in the mirror.

"Sophie?" Kylie called again.

I opened the door, revealing the dress to her.

Her jaw dropped in shock as she stared at me, her eyes sweeping the dress.

"I would've never seen you in that," she finally said, after a few moments of silence. "But now that I am, it's perfect."

"Is it though?" I asked, looking down at myself. "Is it too much?"

"Your dad might kill you," she agreed, with a slight laugh. "But Sophie, you have to buy that dress."

~*~

"Sophie, Bryce is here!" mom called.

"I'll be down in a minute!" I called back, as I curled another piece of hair around my curling wand.

I quickly checked the time, letting out a nervous sigh as I tried to hurriedly finish curling my hair.

I stepped back in my full-length mirror to observe my handiwork, hearing my dad's laugh as he talked with Bryce downstairs.

I was wearing a romper, with a pink top that had a bow across the bust and black and white Aztec shorts, paired with a pair of black wedges.

My hair fell in curls around my shoulders, framing my face and accentuating my blue eyes.

I unplugged my curling wand before heading downstairs and into the kitchen, where Bryce was leaning against the counter, talking and laughing with my dad.

There were a bouquet of carnations next to the sink, sitting in a vase.

Bryce smiled at me, straightening up.

"Bryce brought you flowers," my mom informed me, excitedly.

"I see that," I said, kissing him on the cheek. "Where do you find all these different flowers?"

"I can't reveal my secrets," he said, with a laugh.

"You two have fun tonight," mom said, with a smile.

"We will," I promised, before practically pulling Bryce out of my house.

"Shouldn't we tell them what time we'll be back?" Bryce asked.

"They know we'll be safe," I said, unlocking my car.

He shook his head in disapproval, but slid into the passenger seat.

"And where are we headed tonight?" I asked Bryce, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Nowhere extravagant," he said, with an apologetic smile.

"Are you feeling alright?"

He nodded, but I could tell that he was lying. "We're headed downtown, to have ice cream amongst the hobos."

I rolled my eyes, laughing as I backed out of my driveway.

"So what's the special occasion?" I asked Bryce, looking over at him.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"You called me up, asked me out on an impromptu date, what's the special occasion?" I repeated.

"There's no special occasion. Just wanted to take my girl out."

"Mhm," I agreed, shaking my head.

Bryce just shot me a lazy smile, leaning back in his seat.

He was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive downtown. But he also didn't seem to be feeling well, so I let it slide, turning up the radio and having a solo jam session.

We stopped to get ice cream before walking hand-in-hand throughout the park.

"What'd you get?" I asked, before leaning over and taking a lick of Bryce's ice cream.

"Rocky Road," he informed me.

"No way does it compare to Mint Chocolate Chip," I declined.

"Mint Chocolate Chip comes from Satan himself."

"You take that back," I ordered, pointing my ice cream at him.

"I'm just stating facts."

We came across a Saxophone player on the corner, playing for tips.

Bryce took me up in his arms, holding his ice cream off to the side as he twirled me around.

I laughed, pressing my face to his chest.

"I've got all the dance moves," Bryce informed me, laughing.

"That's why I picked you."

He took spun me out again before letting me dip back, careful not to drop me to the floor.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding my ice cream out from the back of his neck. "Are you going to bring these moves out at Prom?"

He didn't say anything, and I couldn't see his face to know what he was thinking.

And then he pulled away from me, reaching into his pocket and throwing some money in the guys Saxophone case before tugging me away.

"What's bothering you?" I asked him, looking into his troubled eyes.

"We need to talk."

Those four words caused my heart to stop.

And Bryce didn't offer me any comfort as he led me down the sidewalk towards a metal park bench.

I tossed my half-eaten ice cream out in the trash next to the bench before taking a seat, looking up at him as he shoved his hands into his pockets, letting out a long sigh.

"I'm..." Bryce started, and then he let out a frustrated sigh. "It's just that we need to talk about..." He opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it again.

"I've gotten myself worked up and now I can't..." He tried to formulate a word that wouldn't come out. "...now I can't talk."

I took his hands in mine, gently pulling him down onto the bench next to me. "Just relax," I said, before pressing my lips against his.

I was nervous about what he was trying to say, but I didn't like to see him so worked up.

Especially to the point to where his speech impediment came back.

I pulled away from him, looping my legs over his. "What's going on?"

I could tell that he was still upset, but he wasn't as worked up as he had been.

"I'm sorry," he said, quietly.

I couldn't help the small sense of relief that came over me to hear him say the word "sorry".

"Sorry for what?"

"I know that Prom means a lot to you," he continued, his eyes searching mine. "But I... I mean I can't go."

I didn't know what to say.

"It's just that it's the week before Kayla's wedding," Bryce explained. "And my doctor said that I shouldn't go. And you know that I don't give two shits about what he thinks, but I can't risk Kayla's wedding. It means a lot to her, and I want to be able to go and be there for her. And if that means that I have to give up Prom to do that..." He trailed off again, his eyes still staring into mine. "I'm sorry."

His health should come first.

But I'd been so excited for us to go to Prom together.

I know it seemed silly after everything that's happened, a minuscule issue in the grand scheme of things.

But I just wanted this one thing for us to do together. I wanted him to pick me up at my house and to romanticize me like he used to. I wanted us to take Prom pictures and for us to have our moment together on the dance floor, as though the world had stopped around us and it was just the two of us in the middle of the slow song.

I wanted my cliché Prom moment. I wanted one moment in all of this to be selfish and to have things go my way for once.

Because in this whirlwind that we've been living these past few months, I thought that maybe for this one night, I could have everything I wanted.

But the universe doesn't work like that.

Bryce was still waiting for me to say something.

"I understand," I said, quietly.

He didn't say anything else, because he knew me better than that.

And although I wanted him to believe that I really and truly was fine with it all, that I was the selfless person that I wanted to be, I was heartbroken.

So what did you guys think about Kylie & Sophie's prom dress expectations? What about the description of Sophie's prom dress? Do you have an idea of what it might look like? And then what about Bryce's news for Sophie? I know you guys must have something to say about that.

I also posted a new YouTube video today, it's a Disney Scene It Challenge. So if you find yourself with some spare time, head on over to my YouTube Channel (knightsrachel) and give it a look.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Teaser: Prom! And Sophie isn't as stoked as she originally was. But expect the unexpected.