Leia sighed loudly as she keyed in the code on her locker. Finals week was in full swing and while she had initially felt confident that she was prepared, the exams were proving harder than anticipated. In spite of herself Leia was beginning to panic. She shouldn't have been really; she was without a doubt the most dedicated student at school. She studied weekends, while the majority of her peers spent their time at house party after house party. She secretly envied them but she couldn't afford to be that carefree, not if she wanted to leave this place.

Her locker clicked open and Leia begrudgingly reached in to collect the enormous pile of books from within. Tonight was going to be a long one she reckoned. It wasn't going to be easy but she had to try. She needed this. She needed to get through this so she could escape. She couldn't stay any longer. The harsh voice of her father echoed in her head.

("You're never going to be anything more than useless. USELESS.")

Two more finals to go, just two more, Leia. She told herself, but it wasn't quite enough to ease her panic.

"Stressful day, your worship?" A low voice from beside her droned, transforming the sinking feeling inside her stomach into something far more pleasant. She tried to ignore it.

"You could say that." Leia replied coolly as she slammed her locker shut, meeting the green eyes and stupid smirk of Han Solo. As usual he appeared annoyingly calm amidst the chaos that was Tatooine High School. It irritated her that he seemed unaffected by everything, and yet he still managed to pass every test easily and without a care in the world. She bet he wouldn't know stress if it hit him in the face. A lot irritated her about Han Solo. Like the nicknames he gave her, the way he always managed to rile her up, the stupid way he would wink when he caught her staring at him, his stupid hair that she just wanted to run her fingers through.

Ugh, so stupid.

"Anything I can do to help you out?" He said with a teasing grin that sent tingles of excitement through Leia's body.

Goddammit Han.

"I think I'll pass." She said, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart that beat rapidly in her chest. She hated that he had this affect on her. She had bigger fish to fry.

Han frowned. The expression crossing his face could almost be described as disappointment, but almost as soon as it had appeared it was replaced with the usual cocky confidence. "Shame, cause there's this… party on Saturday and I was wondering if you were going…"

"When am I ever at parties?" Leia cut him off harshly, walking away from him and down the hallway. Not surprisingly Han followed her.

"Well…never." He said, vague amusement lacing his voice. Leia increased her speed, trying to lose him, but of course he was quick to catch up.

"Look, I was hoping that you'd be there." He continued breathlessly. He almost walked into a group of girls, who all giggled at the sight of him. He offered them his most dazzling grin before chasing after Leia again. Girls were always giggling when they saw Han Solo. That was also irritating.

"Forget it. I'll be busy." That wasn't necessarily true and they both knew it.

"C'mon princess, let loose a little. Finals will be over by then." There was an urgency to his tone that made Leia stop to eye him suspiciously. Sure, Han often told her to loosen up, live a little, all that usual crap. But he usually gave up quickly, knowing she was a lost cause. Why was he so desperate this time?

"Why are you so concerned about me going anyway?" She asked him, her tone softening slightly. Han looked slightly flustered, pausing for a few moments before replying.

"Um well, I was kinda hoping you would…" His voice trailed off and his eyes avoided hers, staring down at his shoes. It was rare to see Han Solo at a loss of words, and while it was amusing, Leia wondered why he was so nervous. That was until she remembered a conversation she'd had with her friend Winter just the previous day. She'd been gabbling on as usual and Leia had barely paid attention, but she had managed to piece together what she'd been so excited about.

("So many people asked me as their date, but I just knew I had to wait for Lando to ask me. I knew he would." "My dress is BEAUTIFUL Leia, you should see it. It's classy enough that people won't call me a whore, but my boobs look hot in it so it's a win, win.")

"Wait a second! Isn't Saturday night…Prom?" A small smile beginning to form on her face, she couldn't believe what was happening.

"Right, yes…so when I said party, I meant…" Han blurted out, apparently still at a loss for words.

"You're asking me to prom?"

She couldn't help but feel unbelievably touched. No one ever bothered to ask her to dances like this, let alone prom. She always pretended she didn't care, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed when all her friends were asked and she wasn't. The night of junior prom, she'd cried to herself, hunched over her books, never feeling more alone in her life. But here Han was, in all his scruffy yet handsome glory asking her, Leia, to the senior prom.

"I…yes I am." Han admitted, avoiding her gaze.

"Han…" She said in an almost reverent tone. But she couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculous expression on Han's face. He always acted so tough, like a ladies man, but she could see that was not exactly the case. He wasn't as smooth as he made out he was. He was kind of a softie. Instead of that putting her off, it actually endeared her to him.

Han obviously mistook her giggles for rejection and he frowned in anger.

"Look, it's stupid. Forget I asked." He turned to move away from her, but Leia touched his arm gently, causing his breath to hitch. It seemed she had an equal affect on him as he did her.

"I'd love to go with you." The words tumbled from her mouth before she'd considered them. They surprised her just as much as they did him. It was too late to take them back, so she didn't.

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Sure hotshot." She unthinkingly leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. She couldn't help it, his furrowed brow and the confused excitement that crossed his face was almost…adorable. Leia was delighted to see him turn crimson. It felt good to finally turn the tables on him.

Han ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up more than usual. "Uh, cool…I'll pick you up at 8?"

"Mhm." She hummed in agreement, turning to walk away. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder to see he was staring after her with the goofiest look on his face. She tried to stop her smile from slowly growing. She failed.

"This doesn't mean I like you, you know." She said, more to convince herself than anything. Han offered her a half smile, like he knew something she didn't. Perhaps that was true.

"I know."