TONY'S POV

“Mum!” I yelled. “Can you help me?”

Rushing into the bathroom, my mum giggled when she saw me - eyebrows scrunched as I stared at the mess that was my bow-tie.

"Oh baby," she chortled, turning me around by the shoulders. "You look so handsome," she cooed, fixing the bow in place for me. “Are you excited?”

"I’m terrified," I said honestly, running my hands through my hair. "I don’t think I can even dance, mom… what if I mess up? What if I stand on her feet?"

"Then she’ll give you a firm telling off and the night will go on,” my mum smiled. She patted my shoulders and then grabbed my face, giving me a motherly, sloppy kiss on the cheek. “You’ll have a wonderful night, sweet pea.”

Grumbling a little, I thanked my mum before letting her go back to making Lucia and Bertie’s dinner. I was far too on edge to eat (or to do anything other than pace and stare at my reflection, for that matter).

Once it reached 6pm, I grabbed my mum’s car keys and drove to Karina’s. I didn’t know what to expect: would her dad be there? Would he want to talk to me? I felt sick from butterflies, and my hands seemed to get sweatier and sweatier with each passing mile.

Pulling up outside her house, I grasped the steering wheel and, once again, shut my eyes. It will be okay. You will be okay. Just try not to stare at her too much. Remember to hold all the doors open.

Mumbling motivational prompts to myself, I got out of the car and approached her door. I raised my knuckle to knock, but it swung open before I actually got to to do so. Her dad gave me a stern look, silently reminding me of his rules, and stepped aside to let me in.

"I’m coming!" Karina laughed from a room. "Just, uh, one minute!"

Her dad covered his eyes with his hands, sighing. “She’s been jumping about all day,” he informed me. “One minute she’s excited, and the next she’s crying because her left eyelashes aren’t the same length as the right ones.”

"Sounds like me," I chuckled, "just, y’know, with different scenarios."

Hearing a loud thud, followed by laughter, I couldn’t help but smile. Eventually, Karina came into sight. My heart thumped so hard against my chest that, for a second, I thought that I might have broken a rib. She was wearing a dark green dress, which fitted tightly on her chest and then, after a black band of ribbon, fell down loosely around her figure. Her black hair was up in a bun, with a few curled strands framing her face, and her makeup was minimalistic.

"You look stunning,” I said softly, smiling at her.

Smirking at me, she took me hand as her dad began to rant about rules. She agreed mindlessly until he stopped, and then dragged me towards the door whilst saying goodbye. Part of me wanted to say something to him, but I couldn’t find the words.

Shutting the door, Karina dropped my hand immediately. She lifted the hem of her dress up until all of her leg was exposed to the night. She squirmed a bit before pulling a studded little bag out, pushing it into my chest.

"What the hell?" I laughed, holding what was apparently a ‘clutch bag’. As her attention was fully on fixing her outfit, I slipped my gift to her out of my tux and into a pocket in her little bag. Initially, I was going to give it to her after the prom, but I wanted her to find it instead. She always did like spontaneity, after all.

Fiddling with the belt sewn onto her dress, she then yanked the green material roughly. All of a sudden, the long material came off, leaving her in a shorter version of the same dress which now barely reached her knee.

"Let’s go," she whispered, biting her lip as she glanced at me with eyes full of wildness. Taking her bag off me, she skipped down the driveway in her beat up, black Doc Martens, leaving me to play catch up.

Getting in the car, I turned the radio on and put the key in. "I’m so shaky," she stressed, fanning herself with her bag.

Smirking, I leaned over the centre console and gave her a kiss. “I hope you’re a bad dancer,” I chuckled, starting the car.

We talked endlessly the whole way to the prom. The conversation was mainly fueled from the fear of silence - the fear of having a moment to think. We were both on the edge of our seats, but laughing and joking all the same. I kept wondering if she thought I looked okay, and if she knew how perfect I thought she was.

Rolling into a spot in the school’s parking lot, Karina wasted no time in clambering out. Shaking my head, I pulled out the keys and got out to find her leaning against the hood of the car, palms flat out and her head down.

"Babe, you okay?"

Nodding, she straightened herself up and exhaled, a few strands of hair sticking to her beautiful lips. I bit the inside of my cheek and approached her, my heart thumping out of my chest. "I'm fine," she assured me. Her eyes slowly opened, meeting my gaze. "You make me really nervous, Tony Perry."

Taking my hand, she stared at me with those alluring blue eyes for a second before breaking the contact and pulling me towards the school building. I, feeling like a little boy being led to a candy shop, happily followed behind.

I couldn’t wipe the smile of the face. I loved the fact she didn’t settle for a conventional prom look, and that we scrapped the idea of corsages, and that the night had brought out her crazy side.

Racing through the halls, we soon found our way to the gym hall. The door was lined with pale blue balloons, and loud pop music was blaring from inside.

"You ready?" She grinned, squeezing my hand.

Feeling butterflies fill my stomach, I pressed my lips against her cheek. “Let’s raise hell.”

KARINA’S POV

The gym hall had been completely transformed, and served as the perfect place for everyone’s night. Tony linked our arms and guided me through the crowd, bee-lining for the punch bowl. I cold see his slightly shaky hand fiddling with one of the buttons on his crisp white shirt, and his eyes were darting around the room. It made me happy knowing we were equally as nervous.

"Karina Smith, you better get your pretty little butt over here!"

Whirling round, I was engulfed by a bone-crushing hug from Elise. She shook me like a rag doll, screaming into my shoulder and bouncing on the spot. “You look gorgeous, you little punk!”

Pulling away, I looked down at what Elise was wearing. Cascading down her perfect, sloping figure was a dark red dress, complete with a cream and red corsage and a little cream clutch. “So do you!” I exclaimed, laughing as she gave me a twirl.

"Tony," she said, surprise clear in her voice. "Don’t you clean up well, hm?"

Giving one of those low, boyish chuckles, Tony thanked her. It was only then that I remembered the night at the party where Mike forced Tony to socialise (fortunately, with me). I’d completely forgotten about how shy he was in large crowds.

Saying goodbye to Elise, we carried on towards the drinks table. Tony dropped my arm and poured us each a cup of punch. As he did so, I glanced around the hall and took everything in. The atmosphere was happy, but there was an underlying feeling of sadness. The nostalgia had kicked in before the memories were even really made.

"One drink for one pretty lady," Tony said, handing me the cup.

Taking a sip, I slipped my free hand into his. Blue and purple lights flashed on the dancing body of people, as well as the surrounding walls, and a few teachers stood on the sidelines with reflective expressions.

Seeing a familiar face approach, I hastily took a large gulp of my punch. “Hey guys,” Owen said politely. The girl on his right, who I recognized as Marcy Russin, gave me a small smile.

"Hey," I replied lightly. "You guys enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh yeah," Marcy nodded, "it’s so much fun. You two are really cute by the way, I always see you guys in the halls and stuff."

Feeling a hot blush run to my cheeks, I thanked her. From the beginning, I never thought of myself as someone who got noticed, and I didn’t think my relationship with Tony had changed anything. I was certain that nobody ever really cared - I wasn’t exactly the most popular person in school, but I also wasn't low enough in the food chain to be known well either. I was just sort of there.

"You say that like you’re the only person in the school who thinks it," Owen chuckled. "They’re basically Mission Bay’s high school sweethearts. I mean, they’re not up for prom king and queen for nothing."

"What?" Tony blurted.

Owen shook his head, laughing as though he thought Tony was just joking around. “Well, we better go, this is Marcy’s favourite song.”

"See you guys later," she smiled, waving at us both happily. I watched in shock as Owen dragged her on to the dance floor, and they began to dance along to ‘Quit Playing Games' by the Backstreet Boys.

"Did I hear that right?" Tony asked in my ear.

"I think so," I said, still quite baffled. We're high school sweethearts? How? Nobody notices us? We're on the sidelines. We've always been on the sidelines.

Kissing my cheek, Tony took one last swig of his drink before setting the empty cup down on the table. He dragged me on to the dance floor - a menacing, unrestrained grin on his face - and began to dance in a silly manor, mocking everyone around us.

Laughing at his interpretation of the moves, I snorted into my palm, thankful the music was loud enough to drown the sound out. Pulling me close, he pressed a quick kiss to my lips before spinning me around.

Once the song ended, we decided to head over to the photo booth and get our picture out of the way. We joined the back of the line about 4 couples strong, all of them fixing each other up in preparation.

Opening my clutch, I pulled out my dark red lipstick and ran it along my lips several times. Tony turned to me and smiled, leaning down for a kiss the moment I’d finished. “Nu-uh,” I giggled, tossing it back in and popping my purse shut.

"You’re a horrible girl," he winked.

Trying my best to refrain from biting my lip, I impatiently tapped my foot against the wooden floor. I just wanted to get it over with. The photographer called for the next couple to come through, meaning me and Tony, and my heart nearly jumped into my throat.

"Fuck, I hate pictures," I mumbled.

The man told us how to stand, and how to smile, and where to smile, and then took the picture. After that, and a moment of thought, he took several more.

"Lovely, next!"

Having accomplished my biggest fear of the night, I slumped against Tony in relief. He chuckled, wrapping his arm protectively around me, and led the way back to the dance floor.

As the night progressed, the music seemed to get louder and the people got looser. Everyone was having a good time - letting go of all the stress and worry that senior year held. We weren’t thinking about college, or the future, or what we were going to do once the night ended, we were just taking a break from it all.

Feeling someone tap my shoulder, I turned around to see my old biology partner, Carilyn Baranski, looking at me with a proud expression. “Good luck tonight, hun!” She squealed, wrapping her arms around me. “Me and Hannah voted for you.”

"This is real," I breathed, turning to Tony. "Oh God, this is real."

Carilyn ran her hand over her chocolate brown hair, her thin eyebrows moving together. “What?”

Tony then explained that everything was a bit of a shock as we weren't really expecting to be running. Carilyn seemed quite confused, and finding it a little hard to hear Tony's quiet voice, but she politely nodded away.

"Wait, who entered you then?"

Mike. “I’ve got a pretty good idea,” I laughed. “Thank you for the vote though, Carilyn.”

After exchanging a little small talk, Carilyn - and her extremely shy girlfriend, Hannah - carried on, moving to mingle with another couple. I immediately looked at Tony, my eyes like saucers. He grabbed my hand so tight that I felt my bones crumbling.

"I’m going to kill Mike," Tony panicked. "Oh shit, I can’t…"

"We’ll be fine, he put us in as a joke," I said, trying to reassure us both. "Anyway, we’ve only got two votes, so our chances are slim."

Tony laughed, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. “Seriously, Karina? Everyone here loves you. I have a feeling we're going to get more than a two."

"Hey, good luck tonight!" Exclaimed Becky Powell, a girl I use to talk to during PE in junior year. "I voted for you guys."

"Thanks,” I smiled falsely, complimenting her on the puffy blue dress that was eating her up.

”Our chances are slim,” said Tony, echoing my words. “Fuck, I wish you weren’t so likeable.”

"Hey! I’m not the one stealing all the attention in class," I retorted, whacking his arm.

Laughing, Tony went to reply, but was interrupted by someone howling his name. Both of us stiffened as yet another couple approached. This time, it was the captain of the basketball team, Daniel, and his girlfriend, Alana.

"Hey man, I hope you pull a fucking sick joke out the bag when you win tonight," Daniel snickered. "And Karina, you look hot - in your own crazy ass way - as always."

"Thanks," I laughed. Honestly, I had never spoken to Daniel before in my life, but he seemed a lot nicer than the rumors that went around portrayed him as.

Tony talked to Daniel for a few minutes, both bringing up old memories from middle school. Alana, who was also the subject of many rumors, lived up to what they said. She kept glaring at people and rolling her eyes, putting a new coat of lip gloss on every time someone in the room breathed. I told myself not to judge - that it was wrong and mean - but I was keeping it to myself, and I wasn't ever going to see her again, so I let my mind run wild. Like Elise said, this was the last impressions we got, and I was just trying to embrace that.

Once Daniel and Alana left, Tony placed his hands on my waist, guiding my body towards his. Resting my head on his chest, I wrapped my arms around his neck and shut my eyes.

"This one was requested by, uh, Turtle," the DJ announced. "It goes out to the girl with the stash of Twinkies in her bag? Yeah, here goes."

Hearing 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd, my mouth fell open. He didn't. The little fucker. He didn't. "Tony!" I yelled, squeezing him as hard as I could.

Laughing, he lifted me off the floor and kissed my nose over and over, making my smile grow wider than my face. It was the happiest I'd felt in a long time. Placing me back down, Tony put his finger under my chin and raised my head.

"I love you," he whispered against my lips. "I really fucking love you."

Stealing a quick kiss, I let myself relax into him. I was becoming more and more aware of how much I really loved Tony, and how serious my feelings were. I may have been young, but I was sure. I was sure that I'd never feel that way for anyone else ever again.

The song ended, but we kept dancing. Everywhere he touched felt like it was on fire, and every time he laughed my heart skipped a beat. I knew it was cliche, and I knew I sounded really cheesy, but I couldn't help it. I'd fallen head over heels for the annoying boy who entered my Maths class all those months ago.

The DJ cut the music, and the loud drone of the principal's voice filled the gym. He informed everyone that it was time to crown prom king and queen, therefore we should all gather round the stage.

"Good luck," said some random girl beside me, her eyes glittering under the lights.

Turning to face the stage, I felt Tony wrap his arm around my waist and hold me close. I placed my hand on top of his, which was shaking once again. The room fell silent and all eyes glued to the small, plump man on stage.

"This year was close to a draw, but one little black bombshell came on top. Ladies and gentlemen, clap for your queen, Karina Smith!"

"Fuck," I mumbled. A tsunami of nerves hit me, and I stumbled out of Tony's grasp. As people made a small path for me, I quickly walked through them with my eyes stuck to the ground. What if I trip up? What if I puke when I get on stage? Oh God, everything is spinning.

Walking on stage, I squinted away from the blindingly bright lights and laughed as I thought about the silly face I must have made. The crowd - made up of people who I never even thought knew I existed - cheered and howled.

"Congratulations," the principal said, lifting the crown off a tasseled little pillow from the drama club's prop box and placing it on my head.

"Alright, now for the man who gets to dance with this lovely lady. Everyone, I want you to make some noise for your prom king, Tony Perry!"

Feeling my stomach twist, I covered my face with my hands and squealed crazily into my palms. I never imagined for a second that I would be standing there. I couldn't come to terms with the fact that people, actual people, had voted for this. I wasn't peripheral. I wasn't in the margins. They could see me: they could really see me.

Feeling familiar fingers wrap around my wrists, I let them move my hands away from my face. Tony bit his tongue between his teeth, smile going from one ear to the other. A large, novelty crown was resting on top of his dark hair, and the crowd cheered as he raised my hand and kissed it.

"Please make way for the prom king and queen," the principal said through the microphone. As I went to step down the stairs, I realised that the song was going to be slow and corny. I hated slow and corny.

Rushing to the side of the stage, which accidently earned a few gasps, I asked the DJ if he could play a different song and, after checking his record collection, he agreed. I ran back to Tony, took his hand, and dragged his tall self down the stairs.

'Dammit' by blink-182 began, and everyone looked between one another with odd expressions. Unable to stop laughing, I let go of Tony's hand and started dancing like an idiot. He joined in, doing a few over dramatic poses like the ones boy bands do in music videos, and played air guitar.

Spotting Meg at the side, I hurried over and dragged her away from her date. Everyone watched with smiles as I tossed person after person on to the dance floor. I didn't care if I got into trouble, I didn't care if it wasn't traditional, I just wanted the night to be a good one.

As the song drew to a close, Tony found me and wrapped his strong arms around my body, leaning down so that his face - frozen into a smile - was inches apart from mine. He closed the space between us, and our tongues moved against each other as the song played out. His hands slowly trailed up my figure, moving with every curve until his fingertips were grazing my bare back.

Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up

Pulling away, I went on my tiptoes to try and get a little closer to his ear. "Promise me we'll never grow up?"

Tony smiled softly, his eyes deep and calm.

"I promise."

Notes

its so nearly over, mehhh :c

QUESTION: Do you guys want a sequel?

I really hope you guys like this chapter. I love you all!<3