Must listen: Sweet Creature by Harry Styles or Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran.

I had tried my best to keep my cool when Imara stepped into the room in the dress Miriam and I bought with her last week. She looked gorgeous, like a greek goddess with her pinned up hair and flower clips and the flowy orange dress.

Miriam, of course, caught on to my ogling, and had whispered to me to close my mouth before I caught flies.

Lovely sister that one.

Imara's mood seemed to have plummeted when we posed for pictures. She hid it well, but I could see her face drop when I put my arm around Brina. No one else seemed to notice, but I did. I always do.

When we left, I couldn't help but wish the girl going with me was the brown skin beauty at my house. It's shitty of me, I know, but I can't just turn my feelings off.

"You look lovely tonight," I whisper down to Brina and she smiles brightly up at me. She really does look stunning, but in my eyes, she doesn't even compare to Imara.

I manage to shake my thoughts of Imara and dance and have fun with my friends. I keep a close eye on Miriam who has her arms wrapped around Tommy. He's a nice guy- a bit dorky, and very respectful.

"It sucks that Imara couldn't come," Miriam says when she takes a break from dancing with her date.

"Yea."

"You wish she was your date don't you?"

I shrug. "Doesn't matter. She doesn't see me that way and besides, she couldn't even attend."

"I guess. Brina is pretty cool though. What time are her parents picking her up?"

"Eleven."

Miriam pulls out her phone to check the time. "It's 10:30. You got half an hour left to dance." She grabs my arm and drags me to where everyone else is. The four of us dance around some more until a slow song comes on then we break away with our partners.

Brina is a lot shorter than me, but in heels she's able to wrap her arms around my neck. We sway to the song until it's over and then I walk her outside to wait for her parents.

"Bye, Dustin!" She gives me a hug. "I had a lot of fun."

"Bye," I say, waving at her. "I had a good time too. Good night, Brina." She steps up to give me a kiss and I make sure to turn my face so she gets my cheek.

I wait until she gets into the car before going back inside. Miriam and Tommy are still slow dancing even though the song playing is no longer slow.

"You ready?"

I shrug. "Ready when you are."

We stay for a couple more songs and dance together to the upbeat music before we leave.

I dap Tommy up as I bid him goodnight. "Nice meeting you, man." I go inside to give him and Miriam a moment, not going too far to keep an open eye on them. When Miriam comes in, she's smiling and looks flustered.

"Look at you blushing."

She flips me off. "Shut up."

"Never."

Groaning, she slips off her heels. "As much as I love being dolled up. I want to change. Goodnight, Dust Bin."

"Night, Mir."

When she disappears upstairs, I pace the kitchen, wondering if I should go down to see Imara. I had an opportunity to kiss Brina tonight, but I'm kidding myself if I try to pretend I want to kiss anyone except Imara.

I drink a glass of water before forcing myself to walk down to the basement. I know she rejected me that one time so I'm not going to delude myself into thinking she likes me in any way other than a friend, but I do feel bad she had to miss prom, and she deserves to have a good night too.

It's already after eleven, and most places are closed, but there is a twenty-four hour diner across town. Hopefully, she wants to go.

I knock on the door and a few seconds later, she opens up. She still has on make-up from earlier and her hair is still pinned up, but it just looks a bit tousled. I feel my heart rate pick up when I see her looking at me all confused.

"Put your dress on. I'm taking you out."

She looks taken aback, but nods anyway, closing the door.

A few minutes later she emerges in her dress and I extend my hand to her. "You look beautiful, madam." She giggles when I twirl her around.

"Where are we going?" She asks, allowing me to hold her hand and lead her to the car.

"Out and about."

She rolls her eyes at me and I give her a cheesy grin, passing her my phone which she knows the passcode to by now.

"I love that my music taste is rubbing off on you," I say when she selects one of my favorite songs.

"You're really the only reason I even listen to music in the first place." She points out matter-of-factly.

Shocked, I raise an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

She nods. "I-uh- never really listened to music before you gave me the Ipod."

"Oh."

She chuckles, turning to look out the window.

A few minutes later we pull into the diner and I rush over to open the door for her. She looks at me funny, but doesn't say anything. I take her hand and lead her into the diner.

"What are you getting?" She asks after the waiteress leaves our menus.

"Double cheese burger and a milkshake. You?"

"I don't know."

She looks at the menu for about ten minutes before deciding on chicken nuggets and a vanilla milkshake.

"What is it with you and vanilla?" I can't help but tease her about her food choices.

She rolls her eyes at me. "What has vanilla ever done to you?"

"It's boring!"

"Maybe I like boring," She retorts, crossing her arms. Our food comes out a few minutes later and she looks confused when she sees the to-go boxes.

"We aren't eating here?"

I smile cheekily at her. "Nope."

The diner is nice, but there's a really pretty spot in this area that has a great view of the town. We get there in about ten minutes.

"Wanna eat on the hood or inside?"

She rolls the window down and sticks her hand out. "Inside." She decides. "It's cold out there."

I chuckles, following her actions. "Imara, that's hardly cold."

"Well, you're in long sleeves. I'm not."

She does have a point. She rarely wears anything that shows her arms so she's used to being more covered up than this.

"Can I ask you something?" I say when we start eating. She's facing me, her legs in the seat and her back leaning on the door.

"Sure."

"Why did people call you Blade for so long?"

To my surprise, she smiles. "My dad used to call me that."

"Why?"

"My dad had a knife collection. He was really into collecting cool knives. Daggers, hunting knives- you name it. It was something we bonded over, and he gave me that nickname. His favorite movies were also the Blade movies so it kinda came from that too. He joked I'd become a skilled hunter with his knife collection." She takes a sip of her shake. "His knife collection is one of the few things I have left of him."

I don't say anything, just wanting to hear her talk. I like learning about her

"That was my identity for a long time. A depressed girl who lost her entire family. I started telling people to call me that, and I built myself around that persona. Was easier I guess. I don't know." She looks distant now, her eyes glossy.

I take her hand it into mind, gently rubbing my fingers over her scars. "Well, I'm glad you're still here." I say earnestly. "And you're so much more than your pain, Imara. Never forget that."

She smiles at me, squeezing my hand. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now eat up. The night is still young."

She looks at me incredulously. "It's after midnight. Hardly young."

"Fine. Middle aged."

"Middle aged is still young."

"You are impossible."

She chuckles, slurping the rest of her milkshake.

When she's done eating, I get out of the car and walk over to her side, opening her door for her.

"What are you up to now?"

"Just go with it, please." I'm trying to be romantic. She takes my hand, letting me help her out of the car. I select a song on my phone before throwing it into the front seat.

I twirl her around and she laughs, a smile on her face as I pull her closer. We dance to the song, swaying our bodies slowly. I have one arm around her waist while I hold her hand, looking down at her as we dance. Imara has a relaxed expression, and we just stare at each other as we move to the song. I twirl her around just before the song ends and she squeals, caught off guard.

"Thank you." She says, her arms sliding around my neck as the song fades into another. I don't even hear what comes on next as I look into her soft brown eyes, mesmerized by all of her.

"You're welcome."

She shakes her head. "No. Thank you. Thank you for never giving up on me."

"I never will."

She leans closer, standing on her toes as she tightens her grip around my neck to pull me closer. She gently presses her lips on mine, and my eyes flutter closed. Her lips are soft and she tastes like her vanilla shake from earlier. I pull her closer to me, feeling like I can't get enough of her. When we pull apart, I rest my forehead on hers, a goofy grin on my face.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while," I admit and she giggles.

"Me too."

We kiss some more, and each one feels as amazing as the first. Every kiss is slow as we take our time exploring each other.

"We should head home now," I say but she shakes her head.

"Not yet. One more song."

She rests her head on my chest and we sway together to the music.

We just shared our first kiss, and this is probably way too soon... but I'm pretty sure I'm in love with her. I have been for a while if I'm being honest with myself.

****

When we get home, I go shower and change before going to bed. Or trying to. It's almost three in the morning but I'm not even remotely tired. All I can think about is the girl in our basement.

Are you awake still?

I don't expect she will be, so I'm surprised when my phone vibrates a couple seconds later.

Yea. Can't sleep

Can I come down?

She doesn't respond for a while and I take that as a no, but my phone vibrates again.

Okay.

I jump up, doing my best to be quiet as I sneak down to her room; feeling excited to hold her again. I knock softly on her door and she opens up almost right away.

"Were you waiting for me?" I tease, closing the door behind me.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. She is in pajamas- her hair in a messy bun. The low cut long sleeve shows a small circular scar that I want to ask her about but instead, I pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head. She melts into me and I love how well we fit together.

We lay parallel to each other on her bed and she has a fond smile on her face.

"What?" I ask and she giggles.

"Nothing. You're just cute."

"I'd like to think I'm hot and sexy and smoldering, but cute works I guess."

She laughs, pecking me on the lips. I pull her closer and she rests her head on my arm. Her eyes flutter closed and her breathing levels out a couple seconds later.

I plant a kiss on her forehead. "I love you." I whisper.