"Beautiful."

The word lingered, the atmosphere unwilling to release the enchanted murmur of the long-imagined phrase.

Of course Amelia Pond had been mentioned as beautiful by close relatives such as her Aunt Sharon, or the likes of the close friend Mels and Rory. The latter of the duo best friends had managed the bold remark, and despite the fact that countless hours of shopping had been spent with him – with every five minutes earning a compliment from the nurse-in-training, somehow this remark contained a manner different to her. Best friends are meant to compliment each other. Best friends were there for shoulders to cry on. And despite the fact that the ginger female had only two her whole childhood, both had lived up to the expectations of the ideal friends. Perhaps not like the ones viewed in movies, but in their own way they were perfect for the dreaming girl. The trio had been just friends until the beginning of time, yet, now – now one had stepped out of the comfort zone.

The bond was broken when Amelia had made the mistake to ensure Rory that to her, she could care less that he was gay. An assumption created since well, Rory had never expressed his love for other girls. And if not girls, he must have been infatuated with boys and too afraid to tell the two best friends. Which was silly to Amy, considering they told each other absolutely everything. Yet, with the late night sleepovers spent with Mels and Rory, and the countless hours of sharing ghost stories, embarrassing moments, and of course – crushes. Mels and Amelia were open books when it came to drooling over the new hot boy in Leadworth, while poor Rory might express nothing more than the occasional sigh or eye roll. But inside, the unfortunate teen felt his heart ache that Amelia would speak of nothing else but "how amazingly fit Jeff was". Why should he expect otherwise though? Someone as stunning and ravishing as the fairytale Amelia Pond, he was lucky that she should even be speaking to him. He was constantly dumbstruck at the fact that the pal had no more than the two friends. Yet, with the rest of Leadworth, he knew the reason. The phase of dreaming for the 'Raggedy Doctor' that had gone on for nearly eight years had ruined the poor girl's reputation, gorgeous or not. Leadworth, being the smallest town since . . . ever, everyone knew everyone, and the town's 'crazy girl' was not going to go unremembered. Despite Amelia never mentioning her dream for the last few years, people were still cautious if the lass was still insane. The years were kind to Amelia however, the baby-fat dropping, and in the last few years of high school she was a sight to behold. Now in their senior year, Amy was constantly swarmed by every boy in the school, who wanted to become her boyfriend on account of her looks and body rather than personality. Luckily for Amy, she was smart and naturally turned every offer down.

Now, it was senior prom and since Amy had created such an embarrassment for Rory the week before, admitting that she assumed him gay for countless years, the least she could do was accompany him as his date. Fortunately for Rory, she didn't realize that the girl he had eyes for countless years was herself.

"Honestly just I mean . . . wow – Ames, you look beautiful."
The normal compliment of beautiful coming from a best friend – a gay best friend – was something not uncommon; something looked over and shrugged off. Something she expected him to say because he was just 'a friend'. Yet, knowing that the best friend was not gay resulted in a new perspective. It meant that the two of them – that they might be . . . they could be . . . something. The idea resulted in chills. Falling for Rory? Please. He was sweet and perfect, but – he was Rory. He was her best friend. She didn't want him to be her boyfriend. She didn't want to loose a best friend.

"Oh – thanks. You look great too. I mean, your mum showed me the suit about ten times but you know it looks good … on."
Of course Rory's mother expected him to accompany Mels and Amelia to prom, yet he was just with Amelia. Of course she was ecstatic.

The awkward tension lingered in the atmosphere. So new, as if they were meeting once again for the first time in ten years. A whole new perspective was developed. Sweaty palms rested at the sandy-haired male and heels rocked a moment, pale green eyes glued to the wooden panels etched into the flooring. Brain searched for … something, he couldn't mess this up. They were going to the prom together. Together.

"So. I mean - I um – sorry we should-should get going."
The words stammered between dry and cracked lips as there was a small hesitation of grabbing hold of the opposite's wrist, and ever-so-gently leading her from the hallway to his car. Of course he wasn't allowing Amelia to drive, he was still convinced the sole reason for receieving her license was on account of her too-short jean skirt worn to the driving test, and the instructors eyes were only on such an article of clothing. Like a gentleman might, the door of the ancient car was opened for the best mate, followed by him as he made his way into the driver's seat. An echo of silence resonated before the car ignition was started. A deep breath was inhaled through the colossal nose as the silence contined, eyes straight ahead.

It took him a moment to notice that Amelia had carefully rested her delicate and pale fingertips against the back of his hand. Breath hitching, eyes wandered to her face. Yet, the beauty was simply peering out the foggy window, as if it were any normal day. He couldn't help but smile.

Arriving to the venue for the prom, not many managed to glace at the couple as they exited the car. Mels wasn't there yet of course, and neither would be surprised if she didn't show up at all. Slipping into the party room, it was filled with noise, music, and of course dancing. Fingers tightened around Rory's as he looked down to see that Amelia's digits had tangled around his own. The two hadn't spoken it what felt ages, and yet it was perfect. Thought clouded the teens' minds. As the trained nurse's eyes wandered left, the sight of the foretold Jeff was headed straight for the couple and he had the idea he might request a dance from Amelia, which was quite typical of the people in the crowd to do. Panicked, Rory didn't hesitate as a small tug followed on Amelia's arm and he led her a few feet away. Dancing. Of course both were terrible dancers, but that didn't stop him. At least Jeff looked to be turning the opposite direction. As the ginger haired girl danced madly to the beat, and Rory simple swayed, she couldn't help but laugh and grab hold of the boy's hands, forcing him to dance with her.

"C'mon, I'm not gunna bite or anything!"

The attempt to loosen up was evident, they could get over the clear awkward bump of accepting that Rory was straight, just as accepting as she was that he was gay. The song transitioned soon enough, and when the long-dreaded slow song started, the nurse seemed to simply freeze. By now however, Amelia convinced herself to act as if she had acted around the boy all their lives. Immediately, the outgoing woman reached up and gently eased Rory into the dance, red locks rested against his chest as the two swayed.

The perfect moment.

Beautiful.