"I really need to go sit down," I tell Jordan, struggling to catch my breath; him and I, along with Ryan and Mateo, have been jumping around and scream-singing like idiots for nearly the past two hours.

It finally seems to have caught up with me though, because I'm feeling super drowsy and ready to collapse at any moment.

"Yeah, me too," Jordan says, but all four of us end up heading back over towards the bench where we had all met up at just a couple of hours ago.

Jordan, Ryan, and I all take a seat, but Mateo hurries off, saying that he's going to try and track down Daniel.

A popular song is playing right now, and I'm sure that wherever my brother and Jasmine are on the crowded dance floor, they're probably acting wild right now.

The music is slowly growing quieter and quieter though, and eventually it totally dies off.

The DJ's voice is suddenly blasting through the speakers, informing everyone, "This is the last slow song of the night, lovebirds! Snag your last slow dance while you still can."

Ryan shoots up in his seat, grabbing Jordan's hands and dragging him on to the dance floor.

"Get your straight ass over here and dance with me," Ryan tells him, and Jordan groans, trying to pull away.

"I have to keep Lexi company," Jordan says, trying to make up an excuse.

I shake my head at him though, calling out, "I'm good! You two have fun!"

Jordan gives me the middle finger and I chuckle, but he's a good sport as he reluctantly does dance with Ryan.

Photograph by Ed Sheeran begins to play, and I'm a little bitter that I have no one to dance with as ever since this song came out all those years ago, I've always loved it.

I'm not usually a sucker for romance songs, but this song sits heavily in my heart, knowing that I don't think I'll ever find a love like the lyrics in this song speak of.

Instead, I watch all the other couples dance, wishing I could be like them and not too focused on my future to make time for some romance in my life.

Ryan tries to dip Jordan backwards and he fails miserably, causing both of them to almost fall over.

When they straighten up, they burst out laughing, and I have a smile on my face myself as I continue to watch them.

My view is suddenly blocked as a figure steps in front of me.

Bryce is standing there with his hand outstretched, waiting for me to take it.

"Dance with me?" he requests quietly, and I have to think for a moment.

I had never taken Bryce for the kind of person who's willing to slow dance at a high school dance, especially not when he probably expects for me to reject him.

"I think we both know what this conversation is going to turn into," I say, reminding him of our screaming fight when he had asked to kiss me and my answer was a resounding 'no'.

"Please? I just need to hold you for a few minutes. You look so beautiful tonight, Blossom. I can't take my eyes off you."

With those words, I rest my hand in his, allowing him to pull me up from my spot.

He walks me over to the edge of the dance floor, quickly spinning me around so that I'm facing him.

He lets his hands fall to my waist and I reach up to drape my arms around his neck, allowing him to pull me so close that our bodies are flush together.

It doesn't leave us for much room to actually move, and instead we just sway together, my cheek rest on his chest as he holds me just like he wanted.

"I love this song. It's so romantic," I think out loud as the outro begins to play.

Suddenly, Bryce is singing in my ear. His voice is soft but it's the most lovely sound I've ever heard, and I suddenly wish that he could sing me to sleep every night.

"When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me. Under the lamppost back on Sixth street. Hearing you whisper through the phone. Wait for me to come home," he sings to me, and before I know it I have tears streaming down my face.

The song is over now, and a slightly more upbeat song is beginning to fade in.

But Bryce and I are glued to the spot, staring at each other in the most intense way yet.

"Bryce," I whisper, my voice hoarse, and just like that, he presses his mouth to mine.

I kiss him back with everything I have.

I'm too emotional for my own good right now. I'm clinging on to Bryce for dear life, and his grip around my waist continues to tighten as he kisses me harder and harder each time.

I've craved this for so long that I'm afraid I won't be able to let go ever again.

He's running his fingers through my hair now, and I hold his jaw, angling his head in a way thar makes it easier for us to kiss. He lets out a small sigh, and the sound literally tears me to shreds.

I needed this. I missed this feeling so bad the past month, and I've had to fight the urge to throw myself at him ever since.

My heart always beats to crazy fast when I'm around him, not to mention that it's terrifying how badly I crave his touch.

When I pull away from him, I fully intend to kiss him again.

I'm caught off guard when I realize that we have an audience; all of our friends are around us, their jaws hanging open.

It strikes me that they've never actually seen us kiss before. They all knew it was happening, but they never had any actual confirmation until now.

When my eyes dart back to Bryce, he looks worried, and when I look back to everyone else, they still just look confused.

It quickly becomes too much for me to handle, and I feel the underlying urge to flee the situation.

And so I do.

The back door catches my eyes, and with one final look at Bryce, I hurry away from everyone and out into the cold air.

I find myself in the teachers parking lot, which is obviously pretty empty right about now. The cold February hits me right away, and I'm reminded that I didn't even wear a jacket.

Wrapping my arms around myself to try and keep warm, I easily navigate my way out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk by the front of the school.

"Where the hell are you going?" a voice calls out from where I had just came from, and when I turn around, I see Bryce storming towards me.

Knowing that he's approaching me at a fast rate, I turn away from him, continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

"Home," I answer, and despite the distance between us, I still hear him scoff.

"Blossom, please stop," he requests but I ignore him.

"Blossom," he repeats, this time a little more sternly.

"Don't you dare call me that right now, Bryce!" I practically scream behind me, even though I still keep walking.

For some reason, he respects my wishes.

"Lexi, this isn't funny," he tells me

"You can't walk home alone, Lexi. You don't have a jacket and it's cold. Not to mention that it's also pitch black outside, and you're wearing those ridiculous heels," he calls out, but though he brings up valid points, I still feel the need to get away from him and everyone else at this school.

"Lexi," he says again, and I choose to keep walking.

"Jesus Christ," he curses under his breath, and I can feel his footsteps getting louder as he catches up to me.

It encourages me to walk faster, having to catch my balance as I stumble when my stiletto heel gets caught in a crack in the sidewalk.

"Alexandra! Cut the fucking bullshit!" he yells, and it finally causes me to stop walking.

"Don't call me that," I spit, and that small window of time allows for him to catch up to me.

He quickly grabs my shoulders, spinning me around to look him in the eyes.

His use of my full name completely caught me off-guard.

There are very few people in the world who know that my name isn't simply just 'Lexi', seeing as essentially everything other than my birth certificate and passport don't have 'Alexandra' on them; even in the school system, I've always just been 'Lexi'.

"Why not?" he asks me, and I scowl at him.

"How did you even know my name? I've never told you," I hiss, and he crosses his arms, looking really annoyed with me now.

"I pay more attention to you than you realize, Blossom. How come you don't like being called 'Alexandra'?" he asks me, and as much as I don't want to talk to him about this right now, I'm sick of the lies.

"Because it still legally is my name, when I was in court for, you know, when I was nearly sold into sex trafficking, that's all everyone referred to me as. It brings back awful memories, and all I want is to remove anything that gives me those flashbacks. No one has ever called me it anyway; it's just not me," I confess to him, and suddenly I'm resisting the urge to sob.

Bryce reaches for my chin, tilting my face up so that I can look into his eyes.

My hands are shaking at my side but I try and focus all my attention on Bryce and the way that he's staring at me.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to make you talk about that right now. I just overheard your mom call you 'Alexandra' when we were still kids one day, that's all," Bryce apologizes, and he looks like he wants to say more.

"Bryce, we should probably—" I start to say, but he cuts me off by clamping his hand right over my mouth.

"I need to speak, please. You never have to talk to me ever again after tonight if that's what you'd like, but I just need to apologize to you, Blossom.

"When I pinned you up against the wall after those guys were harassing you the other day, I was in the wrong. I am so sorry. I hope that you know that it wasn't meant to come across as malicious; I was just jealous to see someone else with their hands on you.

"What I did to you at my house two weeks ago wasn't fair either. I made you uncomfortable, and I hate myself for that. I'm so incredibly toxic for you, but there is a reason why," he says vaguely, and I blink at him.

"What are you talking about, Bryce?" I ask him, and his eyes suddenly go dark.

He takes a step back away from me, and it feels like a knife straight through my gut. He pulled his hand away from my chin in the process, and I miss that bit of touch straight away.

"It's complicated, Blossom. I doubt you'd be able to understand where I'm coming from," he tells me, laughing a little to himself in the process.

There's something unsettling to me about the way he says those words.

I greatly appreciate the apology that he had just given me, I really do, but now he's back to saying the same typical Bryce things.

"I'm not a child, Bryce! You really think that I won't be able to 'understand' whatever you're thinking? You're not that far above me, golden boy. I think I can handle the truth," I basically spit at him, and he takes yet another step away from me.

It's ironic, actually, that after he came running after me, he's the one now leaving.

"Fuck, Blossom. I can't. I'll ruin everything," he says, and he looks like he has the most insane case of conflicting emotions coursing through him right about now.

"Bryce! Just freaking tell me!" I exclaim, and Bryce suddenly breaks down.

He's crying now. He's trying to wipe away the tears, but they won't stop falling, and it feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and thrown onto the ground.

"You're crying to distract me, aren't you?" I ask, wondering if this is some sick defence mechanism for him.

My words seem to instill that rage within him again, as the tears suddenly stop, and his hands are now fists clenched at his sides.

"Do you know why I'm so protective when it comes to you?" he asks me harshly.

I shake my head at him.

"Do you know why I can't stand any other guy's hands on you?" he asks, this time even more aggressively.

I shake my head once again.

And then he lets go, all the feelings inside of him spilling out.

"It's because I love you, Blossom. I'm so madly, hopelessly, fucking in love with you. You're the only girl that's ever mattered to me, and in my eyes, you're absolutely perfect. I've loved you ever since the day I met you, but I've had to hide it from you because I can't lose you, Blossom. I just can't. But I think I already have, so I guess that there's no point in hiding it anymore," he tells me, and my heart stop beating.

What?

Am I dreaming?

"I love you with my whole heart, and I'm sorry that I'be been so cruel to you, Blossom. I've tried to distance myself, not wanting to hurt you, but I can't play this game anymore. I give up hiding it," Bryce continues, and there are tears spilling down his cheeks once again.

His words made something click within me.

It all makes sense now.

In two quick strides, I've planted myself right in front of him.

Reaching up with both my shaking hands, I tilt his chin down to force him to stare at me.

I'm finally able to put all my feelings for him into words.

"I love you, Bryce. So much. So, freaking much. I felt terrible when you moved away as I thought that I lost all my chances with you. I spent so many nights crying in bed over the loss of you, and that's just one example of how badly I need to be with you. I'm happiest when I'm around you, and I can't just let that go," I whimper, and the sudden light in Bryce's eyes leaves me weak in the knees.

He tugs me by the waist, pulling me tight to his chest.

Here we stand, in the freezing cold, arms wrapped around each other as we sob like complete and utter idiots.

"I'm so sorry for everything. I just can't believe that you could ever love someone as fucked up as me," Bryce says quietly, still holding me as he gently strokes my hair.

"It's kind of hard to not love you, Bryce. My heart belongs to you," I tell him.

He pulls away from me a fraction.

Only enough so that he can strain down, planting a feather-light kiss to my lips.

"I love you," he says, as if to test how the words feel rolling off of his tongue.

He's now beaming down at me, looking happier than I've ever seen him.

"I love you too," I respond, grinning back towards him.

It took me thirteen years to realize, but I know now that Bryce Bradshaw is certainly the love of my life.

"So now that we're on the same page once again, do you think that we could go back to . . . speaking to each other? I've missed you like hell," Bryce chuckles, holding my face between my hands.

I laugh too, nodding as I say, "Yes, of course. I'd really like that."

He beams down at me, bending down to kiss me on the top of my head.

"I don't suppose you want to go back in there right now, do you? We can go get something to eat instead, or I can drive you home," Bryce offers.

It's sweet of him, but not exactly what I was thinking.

I bite down on the inside of my cheek, nervous to tell him what I'm feeling right now.

He's still staring at me though, his grip firm on my waist as he awaits my answer.

"Um . . ." I start, then unable to finish my though.

He's going to think I'm insane.

"What is it, baby girl? You can tell me what's on your mind. I won't judge," Bryce tells me, not at all in a mocking sort of way.

Baby girl.

"I want you," I blurt out, and Bryce's eyes go wide.

"But I thought you wanted to wait until college?" Bryce asks me, using one of his hands to brush all my hair out of my face.

He tucks it behind my ears, before tilting my jaw up to look into my eyes.

He has a sincere look of concern on his face, and it makes me literally swoon.

I really don't want to talk about college right now. None of that matters right in this moment.

I'm here in Bryce's arms, the man I love with my whole heart, and I want my first time to be with him.

I can't imagine feeling this way about anyone else, not ever.

"I was waiting for the person I love. As we now both know, I think that I've found him," I tell Bryce, and that's all the convincing he needs before he scoops me up into his arms.

I giggle, wrapping my legs tight around his waist.

He holds me by the hips as he carries me back towards the direction of the parking lot, saying, "You must be freezing, huh? Not to mention that you look sexy as hell in this dress, but I think that I'd much prefer it on my bedroom floor."

I swear that those words literally caused my whole body to tense.

I'm speechless now, not quite sure how to respond to a comment like that.

Thankfully, Bryce continues to speak, asking, "How did you get here? Charlie drove you?"

I nod at him, and he then directs me to, "Text him and tell him that you won't need that drive anymore. I'll keep you busy all night."