the world can see us in a way that's different than who we are

by apadmes

he's the typical boy next door - dark curly blonde hair, tall physique, chiseled features, gorgeous eyes, beautiful smile, and outgoing personality. she's the typical nerd - long brown hair, petite frame, soft characteristics, big doe eyes, gentle beam, and shy disposition. these are who anakin skywalker and padmé amidala came to be respectively as they live their everyday lives in

author's note:

hello everyone! this is my first anidala fanfic to be published. normally i follow proper casing but i originally intended to post this on my tumblr until it ended up being longer than expected so i decided to post it here. i really don't know how i got the idea. i didn't even know what to name this fanfic, so i just got the title of it from a song lyric in high school musical (if you're wondering, yes it is from 'breaking free'). anyways, i hope you all enjoy this fanfic! :D

you know the world can see us in a way that's different than who we are...

i.

he's the typical boy next door - dark curly blonde hair, tall physique, chiseled features, gorgeous eyes, beautiful smile, and outgoing personality. she's the typical nerd - long brown hair, petite frame, soft characteristics, big doe eyes, gentle beam, and shy disposition. these are who anakin skywalker and padmé amidala came to be respectively as they live their everyday lives in coruscant high.

ii.

it's the first day back at school. she walks down the hallway and she sees him, leaning back against the lockers as he talks to his friends. "he's so beautiful" she thinks to herself. she's found him quite attractive since he first caught her eye as a lanky newcomer in freshman year. who knew the new kid in town would end up being one of the most popular people in the whole school? not to mention the most desirable boy in the entire student female population - herself included.

she loses herself in the thought of him, until the school bell rings and everyone rushes to get inside their classrooms fast. she realizes she still has her books in her hand, so she begins to rush to her locker to dump her books in and run to her first class - hoping she's not late for it.

iii.

she plays with her mac n' cheese on her tray as she sits in her usual place in her usual table.

"you should run for student body president this year." her best friend, dormé, says as she takes her seat beside her.

as a young hopeful future politician, she has always dreamed of running for the highest position in any government program she can join. she's been running to be a member of the student body council since she was in elementary. she was internal public relations officer in her first year in high school and she was elected assistant secretary the year after that. now that she was a junior, she could run for student body president with a chance of winning.

she gives dormé a look when she suggests such idea. the only place she's comfortable to speak in is the classroom when she recites, presents speeches and reports, or debates with her teachers to justify her answer. if she ran for president, she'd have to speak in front of the entire school to persuade them to vote for her - and that terrifies her, because she knows no one really pays attention to student president candidate speeches unless they were really interested.

despite her initial thoughts about it, she takes dormé's suggestion into consideration. it's a new school year. maybe this time was her time to shine. maybe this year would be her year.

iv.

she waves farewell to her friends as she's about to head home. that's when she sees him, sitting at the back of his pickup truck while he hangs out with his friends - ahsoka, rex, and cody. he's so carefree when he casually catches up with his friends. that's when aayla secura comes along to join them.

aayla secura is the most popular girl in school, along with her friends serra keto and barriss offee. in so many ways, aayla was different from her. choice of wardrobe, make-up, and pastime aside, she's outgoing and she always made a point to get whatever she wanted and to let it be known.

she sits beside anakin, which doesn't surprise her at all. the whole school knows she's got it bad for anakin skywalker. no other girl dare comes near him because they know he's all aayla's (well, he's all aayla's eyes set on).

she sighs at the sight of her trying to get closer to him, seeing that he doesn't mind at all. she turns on her heels and walks back home.

v.

it's another long day for padmé naberrie. she formulates theories to derive how certain math formulas were created in mr. windu's new math lecture, while her other classmates had no idea what she was talking about and were more than glad to have someone in the class distracting their teacher from teaching them their new lesson. as always, she has the grasp on how to solve the problems but she never quite gets it right. anakin skywalker, on the other hand, just looks at the math equation and he already has the answer in a snap. this amuses her greatly while mr. windu is rather annoyed by how he could be quite the distraction in class but always knew how to get the right answer just by blurting it out.

she meets with the student body council later that day, where she announces her intentions of running for student body president. she receives much support from her fellow student body members, but she feels nervous about her decision later in the day.

vi.

she nervously prepares for her speech. she decides to take a walk, since a walk always gets her to calm down and collect her thoughts. she walks down the neighborhood when she passes by anakin's house. his garage door is opened and his truck is parked in. that's when she sees him underneath his truck.

he's shirtless as he fixes something underneath his truck. seeing him like this makes her blush furiously. she's seen him shirtless once, back when they were freshmen when he took his shirt off for a change after he had a late afternoon practice for track and field. he may have looked gangly back then, but now his body had defined muscles. of course he was muscular, she should've took notice of how his shirts fitted his body. if she could agree on one thing about back then and now, it's that seeing him shirtless is definitely a good sight to see.

just as he's about to get up from underneath his truck, she starts to run away back home. when she gets home breathless, she recalls all the thoughts she gathered up on her walk - they were all anakin skywalker.

vii.

it's the day of the student president candidate speeches. the entire student body is seated in the canteen as principal yoda settles everyone down. everyone's just happy they don't have their first two subjects for the day just to give way for the speeches. padmé is running with two others - bail organa and mon mothma who are both seniors. she has no chance against them! she's a junior! bail was vice president last year and mon was secretary for two years straight. they both had an edge against her!

bail and mon gave their speeches first. everyone applauded them once they were through, but when padmé looked out from the backstage curtain no one seemed to be paying attention to what they were saying.

when her turn comes up, she's quivering as she stands up on the podium. her first words come out shaky, but she gives her speech as smoothly as she can despite her nerves. she promises them that she will be their voice. she will fight for what they want and what they need as a student body. she promises to fight for their rights and to make their school a peaceful community. when she finishes her speech, everyone is silent. she doesn't know what to feel. her palms start to get sweaty and her eyes dart around the whole room... until she hears a clap, then another one, and then another one... until it becomes a lone applause. her mind wonders who would start such an action before she sees him standing up from his seat.

anakin skywalker is giving her a standing ovation for her student presidential candidacy speech. she doesn't know what to say, what to feel, what to think... she couldn't believe anakin was standing up and applauding her for her speech. suddenly ahsoka stands up applauding her too, then another student, then another, then a group of them, until everyone stands up and applauds her all together. they cheer her on and she can't help but break out into a laugh on stage. when she looks at dormé who is seated at the first row, her eyes are wide in shock and amusement.

the next week, the voting for student body council starts. by the time the votes have been counted and tallied, they announce her as the new student body president for the year and the first junior student body president to win by a landslide of votes.

maybe she was right at the start of the year. maybe this was going to be her year.

viii.

she's sitting alone in the library, book in front of her and pencil behind her ear. she's trying so hard to get the answer of the example on her math book. just when she's about to give up, a shadow looms over her.

"42." she hears from her behind.

she recognizes that voice instantly. she turns around her seat to see anakin skywalker standing behind her looking down at her and her math book.

"derivatives are really easy." he tells her. "mr. windu just doesn't like to teach us the shortcuts to anything."

all she does is blink up at him. "speak to him!" her mind yells at her.

"you know shortcuts?" she timidly asks him.

"yeah..." he says before he bends down and teaches her technique.

she's fascinated by his knowledge, but she's more fascinated by how he's actually talking to her. it's not like it's the first time he spoke to her. he's said 'hi' to her before and he knows her name. he started applauding her the other day - which is still hard for her to believe.

she thanks him for teaching her. he then puts his book down on the little space beside hers and asks to sit beside her. she nods before he pulls up a seat beside her. she couldn't believe any of this was happening right now.

he sits beside her, opens her book, and begins to study. she steals a glance at him every now and then. she notices he's reading a book for history class and he's having a hard time understanding whatever he's reading. she takes a look at his book and she explains to him whatever he's having a hard time understanding on the page. he gives her a look as an idea forms in his head.

he suggests that they tutor each other. he tutors her in math and she tutors him in history. she agrees in an instant, because not only does she benefit in good grades but she also benefits in spending time with him. they decide on weekly tutoring sessions over the weekend. she offers her house as their study place. he agrees to meet her there in the middle of the afternoon and she bashfully smiles at him.

she has never been more excited for the weekend to come.

ix.

it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon on saturday and padmé has been curling the ends hair with her roller brush for an hour now. sola, her older sister who is sitting on the living room couch as she watches her stand by the mirror hanging on the wall, laughs at her. her older sister teases her endlessly when she hears that anakin skywalker is coming to their house. she glares at her every now and then as her teasing goes on.

yes, her sister was absolutely familiar with anakin skywalker. she told her about him in all the multiple times she was forced to confess whenever she was dragged in to play truth or dare or to engage in uncomfortable boy talks with her. no other boy came to mention whenever padmé was forced to talk about one. ever since freshman year, she's admitted to finding him attractive, being curious to get to know him, coming home late in the afternoon because she stayed out in the field watching him during his track and field practices, and running away from his sight whenever she caught his attention.

when they hear three knocks on their front door, padmé instantly rushes to open it. sola stands up from the couch and heads upstairs, teasingly telling her younger sister to have fun and to try to actually study. the younger of the two irritably hisses her name and waits for her to get inside her room. once she's sure that her older sister kept herself in her bedroom, she finally opens the door.

she sees him scratching the back of his head and pacing on the front porch before he greets her with a smile. she welcomes him inside and they head to the dining room to study. studying was never something she truly enjoyed doing until now. there's something about helping anakin and learning from him too that makes it more fun, and it makes something inside her flutter too. he's so loose and relaxed and it infects her serious and focused studying persona. his remarks and comments are funny. she can't help but giggle every time he throws one. above all, she enjoys hanging out with someone - with him - like this.

if this is what studying with anakin skywalker is like, she can't wait for the next saturdays to come.

x.

studying with anakin has been tremendous. her math skills and grades had noticeable improvement, and so have anakin's own in history. not only was it tremendous on their marks, but they got closer and more comfortable with each other every single week they studied together.

their new friendship is evident when he says hi to her while he passes her table at lunch. she greets him back and he tells her he'll see her this saturday. dormé and sabé immediately start interrogating her with what he meant by that and she shyly confesses to them about what had been going on with them for the past few weeks. they start squealing at her and she gets embarrassed by them. they tease her about how incredible it is for her to spend time and grow closer to the guy she's been denying as her crush since she started going to high school. she just shakes her head at them.

deep inside, she doesn't deny that they were right. it's incredible to be close to anakin skywalker.

xi.

they both laugh together as they make mistakes as they quiz each other for their tests. they both can't seem to master the lessons they're studying. padmé normally gets frustrated in situations like these, but ever since she's been studying with anakin she takes her mistakes lightly and she understands that she can't always be an excellent in everything – besides the more times she can't perfect a lesson the more times anakin helps her, and oh does she love being helped by anakin skywalker. she doesn't see much hope for them to get high marks this time on their upcoming quizzes in math and history, but anakin sees differently because he has faith that she'll get it right even though she doubts it.

"tell you what," he says cheekily as he rests his chin in the palm of his hand. "i'll treat you out for coffee next week after we study if even one of us gets above average on our quizzes."

she can't believe what he's offering her, a chance to spend time with him that doesn't involve trying to understand math and history better. she's stunned as she accepts his deal.

coffee with anakin is just what she needs to motivate her to study hard for her math quiz. she studies her math lesson every chance she gets – when she wakes up, when she eats, when she has free time, when she gets ready to sleep… she evens asks sola, her parents, and her friends to help her master her lesson by giving her sample problems and giving her a few tricks every now and then.

her extra efforts pay off when her math quiz goes swimmingly. she obtains an above average grade on the test, making her one of the highest in the class. anakin surprises her by doing an extremely good job on his history quiz. not only does he achieve a grade above average, but he's the second highest to padmé in the class.

she ends the school week in the best way, with a wide grin behind the books that cover her face and feeling like she's walking on clouds above the sky.

xii.

all she thinks about that friday night is coffee with anakin skywalker. sola, dormé, and sabé relentlessly make fun of her for it. she's too happy to care, though. anakin skywalker is going to treat her out for coffee the following evening.

she silently thanks the heavens that they grasp their lessons faster today compared to the past days they've studied together. after they finish studying, he takes her out to a quaint little café around town in his pickup truck. he chooses a small table for them, one with a sofa for two and a perfect view of the stage where a live band will play. she learns he has a good taste for coffee and desserts, because she tells him to choose whatever he thinks is good when he asks her what would she like to order – which he orders them both two caramel lattes topped with caramel crunch bits and a mini chocolate cake for sharing.

she enjoys the treat just as she enjoys casually hanging out with anakin and getting to know him better this way. the things she learns from him now are far better than the things she's learned from him before. she learns that he truly is a simple, down-to-earth kid. he moved to their town back in the summer before entering high school because his mom, who he loves and cherishes more than anything in the entire world, relocated for better job opportunities. he's glad they moved. their life now is so much better in comparison to the hard life they had back when he was younger. also, he's more comfortable here and his mother found a source of happiness in a man who would soon become his stepdad. he loves track and field because it gives him the adrenaline rush he needs in life. he dreams of being a mechanical engineer, because he's always been good at fixing and building things. he's been good at it ever since his mentor, a family friend named obi-wan kenobi, taught him. she finds out that he is the man behind anakin's extremely excellent skills in math and science. she appreciates the privilege of soaking up this new side of anakin skywalker, and it makes her appreciate him more than ever.

just as they were getting deep into conversation a live band starts performing, so they sit back and relax to their number. a band called sleeping with sirens plays songs from their latest extended play. they perform a song called scene one – james dean & audrey hepburn, which she finds it be such a nice romantic song perfect for the moment she was in (not that anakin and her were having a romantic moment, but the calming vibes of the song surely did fit the mood). she unconsciously leans her head on his arm and he pulls her closer to him and tucks her head under his chin. she smiles. she feels so contented.

once it starts getting late, he drops her off at her house and walks her to her front door. he tells her that he really had a great time with her and that would want to do it again if they could. she's glad to hear it, because she feels the exact same way and she's elated to have caused him to feel that way too.

she gets inside her house and she leans back against her door as she waits for him to leave. when he's gone, a wide smile grows on her face and she bursts into giggles - until she's surprised by sola, dormé, and sabé, who come out of her living room and immediately start grilling her about her time with anakin. she tells them about what happened, how amazing it was, and how amazing he was and they all make her blush by pointing out happy she is after spending time with anakin in this new way.

no matter how unrelenting her sister and friends are of her new bond with anakin, it doesn't change the fact that tonight is one of the best nights of her entire life.

xiii.

it's mid-year, which is track and field season. padmé isn't a sports fan, but she loves this particular season because she gets to spend her afternoons secretly watching anakin skywalker practicing out on the field. she pretends to leave early by telling her friends she's going to go home to study, even though her actual intentions are pretty obvious to her friends now since she becomes mysteriously more studious every track and field season, and she immediately heads for the back of the bleachers to watch him.

there's always some sort of thrill to watch the track and field varsity team practice for the games. there's something about watching the team practicing their sprints, the way their muscles flex, and how fast their feet can take them – most especially anakin. he's one of the star players of the team, with a height and body built like his. he's an asset to their team. many people like to watch him on the field. she knows she's not the only one. aayla secura and her friends do too as they sit on the bleachers wearing particularly shorter skirts than the usual whenever it's track and field season.

it's the day before the game when anakin catches her hiding behind the bleachers as he gathers his things and prepares to go home. she tries to come up with a logical explanation to why she's there and she ends up pathetically saying that she just wanted to know if their study session for the week is still going to push through since it's on the same day as the game. he tells her that he won't be able to make it but he asks her if she could come to their game later that evening to watch him and he also invites her to his house for an after party if they win. she blinks up at him and shyly accepts, clearly shocked.

he offers to bring her home, since it's getting dark outside, but she decides not to because her house is just a five-minute walk away. just as she leaves, he puts his letterman jacket on top of her shoulders. she looks up at him and he says to keep it with her and that it's getting too cold to walk outside.

this is the giddiest she's ever been walking home from school.

xiv.

the next day, padmé dresses up in her regular casual apparel – a dark blue sweater over a white flowy knee high skirt with white sneakers – but this time she tops off her look with the letterman jacket anakin gave her yesterday. she heads out in the late afternoon to support anakin in his game that night.

she chooses to sit at the row second to the bottom on the bleachers. she sits on the right side of the bleachers, close to the starting line. she sees some familiar faces on the bleachers as well. ahsoka, rex, and cody sit in the middle of the bleachers. aayla, sera, and barriss sit slightly in the middle on the row second to the top. dormé and sabé, who have no idea she's actually there, were seated on the left end of the bleachers a row or two above the middle one.

the night begins as the track races begin. it's early in the night when they call all the long-distance runners to the field. all the runners line up at their positions in the starting line, including anakin. just when anakin positions himself, he looks around the bleachers and his eyes land on her sitting on her spot. he looks surprised to see her there and he blinks at her. she blushes and shyly waves and smiles at him. his mouth drops a bit and breaks into a smile. the referee starts his countdown and he focuses his attention on the field again, not before stealing one last quick look at her. as soon as the referee shoots a single bullet up into the air, anakin runs. he runs faster than all the other sprinters on the field. he's ahead of them all by a large gap. padmé stands up on her seat to witness the race. anakin looks behind him and sees her standing on the bleachers watching out for him. she roots for him and he runs like forrest gump running away from his bullies when jenny tells him to. his torso breaks the finish line ribbon and they crown him the winner of the race. the look on his face is priceless when he crosses the finish line. he's jumping and throwing his fist in the air. he's so cute being this happy. his friends roar loudly with cheers. he waves at them before he turns to her and waves at her too.

the game goes great for the coruscant high knights. they excel well at the remaining events. when they tally the score for the game, the team earns enough points to be crowned champions. the team, and everyone on the bleachers, race to the middle of the field to celebrate. everyone's jumping, screaming, and hugging one another. padmé looks around the crowd for anakin to find him and she sees him in a group hug with his friends. he pulls away from the hug when aayla taps his shoulder from behind to congratulate him. the sight of that suddenly makes padmé feel uneasy. she suddenly feels like something is stabbing her at her gut. after aayla congratulates him, he sees padmé standing in the middle of the field and he walks up to her.

"i hope you can make it to my place tonight…" he asks quietly with glistening pleading eyes of hope. "if you can."

she opens her mouth to try to say something to him, but his friends interrupt and they pull anakin away from her and head out of the field. he turns back and gives her an apologetic look.

she feels so small as she stands at the empty field as she watches anakin and his friends go. she's never felt small - not even knowing her reputation in school made her feel small. she then shakes herself out of it and realizes that they only way she won't feel so small is if she throws herself out there.

with that, she moves by feet to anakin's house.

xv.

she passes through the side of the house to get to the backyard, since she saw ahsoka, rex, and cody go through there too. there, she sees them hanging out by a table with a punch bowl and pizza. they look at her as she makes her way to sit in the hammock held together by the big tall tree of his backyard and the clothing line. aayla and her friends come in next, much to everyone's surprise it seems as she notices his friends looking at them hanging by the corner with wide eyes.

a few minutes later after everyone arrives, anakin comes out in jeans, a coruscant high t-shirt, a hoodie, and sneakers. he's greeted by his friends who huddle up to greet him. aayla and company approach him next. she's obviously trying to flirt with. anyone could easily tell simply by her mannerism. padmé looks at anakin but he's difficult to read. she's unsure if he likes it or if he's trying to hide his dislike for it.

he looks up as everyone tries to get his attention and he sees her sitting down. he smiles at her and he makes his way to her through the small crowd. she stands up from her seat when he stands right in front of her with a wide smile. he's glad she came. he beams at her with a high amount of happiness that surprises her. he also apologizes for earlier at the field and that it was rude of him not to stop his friends from suddenly taking him when he clearly was talking to her. she tells her it's alright.

anakin is about to say something to her when his mother comes out into the yard and brings out a tray of cookies. he then excitedly introduces her to his mother as "the girl i've been telling you about." a knowing glint pops up in his mothers eyes. she tells her that her son says that she's a lovely girl who pretty, kind, and smart. she asks her about her life and her family and friends and she also tells her so many stories about anakin, who blushes away as his friend and his mom form a new bond together. padmé is enjoying this so much. she understands well that this is another way anakin lets her get to know him better.

while all of this is going on, aayla watches them from behind. she glares at them all - especially padmé naberrie. she wasn't going to let her get away with getting anakin so easily.

xvi.

it's the monday after the game and padmé sits on a bench in school and pulls out a sandwich from her backpack. she eats it and some of the filling falls on her skirt. she notices it and she just flicks it off carelessly, since it was just a tiny piece of lettuce that fell off. that's when she hears familiar snickering behind her back.

the sound comes from aayla and her friends. they're laughing and gossiping again. they're whispering louder than usual. they're talking about her. they're making fun of her. they criticize how she can't even eat a sandwich properly and how she can't even make the effort to keep her clothes clean. they criticize her outdated wardrobe and her clothing choices. they call her plain and boring and uptight and they point out how all these characteristics make people like her out of pity.

padmé tries her hardest not to let it get to her. she's better than this. she knows whatever they're saying about her isn't true, and she knows that the only reason why they're talking about her like this is because she and anakin are friends. she holds her sandwich tighter in her hands. she almost crushes it with her strong grip. their loud laughter rings in her ears when they say that anakin is probably friends with her just because she's smart and nothing else and that no one would ever like someone as bland as her. it breaks the last straw and she rises from her seat, grabs her things, and dumps her sandwich in the thrash.

she walks out of school, pushing away through everyone - including a confused anakin who wonders why she ignores him when he greets her until he sees a smirking aayla secura and her giggling company. she walks back home as fast as she can. as soon as she enters the front door, she throws her bag on the stairs and tries to calm herself down. she fights back the tears that threaten to fall. she hears footsteps from upstairs, which means sola is home and she's got nothing to do. with that, a lightbulb lights up above her head.

"sola!" she calls out her sister. she immediately goes rushing to the stairs.

"you're home early, what's up?" her older sister asks.

"i need you to go shopping with me." she answers, which excites her sister.

sola grabs her car keys and padmé grabs her bag and they go out to the nearest mall. padmé is introduced to a new world outside of target, walmart, stella mccartney, and payless. her sister accompanies her to forever 21, h&m, topshop, converse, nike, and adiddas. she also shops for things she's never thought of having from mac and sephora. later that evening, sola helps her out mix and match items and teaches her how to fix herself properly and how to behave properly as well. she's incredibly nervous about what she's done, but there's no turning back now.

aayla and company are going to learn to never to mess with padmé naberrie.

xvii.

all eyes are on her the next day at school - and all she's doing is walking down the hallway to her locker. everyone clearly notices her change. she feels like a model strutting on the runway.

sola and her had created such a large haul of tees, cardigans, tights, skirts, sneakers, flats, penny loafers, and even make-up and facial care products. later that same evening when they got home, her older sister taught her how to mix and match her new bought items. she even taught her how to do her own hair, make-up, and facial care routine. with all the efforts they put through, she had to put her new purchases and techniques to use - and it clearly paid off.

she's about to reach her locker when anakin suddenly stops her on her tracks.

"hey, are you ok?" he asks, clearly genuinely concerned as he looks down at her.

"yeah, i am. why?" she answers.

"yesterday you pushed past me and you walked home on the streets, really fast. are you sure you're ok?"

"yes, i am anakin. don't worry." she smiles up at him.

"ok, but just know that you can talk to me about anything anytime alright?"

she simply nods at him. she tries to make her way to her locker when anakin stops her once again.

"ah padmé..." he says as he stops her before he looks at her from head to toe. he takes in the sight of her with her hair let down, her lightly powdered face, her mauve pink glossed lips, her fit pink polo tee, her mid-thigh white pleated tennis skirt, her plain white tote bag hanging on her right arm, and her white ballet flats. he swallows a small lump in his throat.

"what is it, anakin?" she furrows her brows in confusion.

"you look great today." he says before he walks away to let her get to her locker.

she stands there stunned. anakin skywalker complimented her, and he gave her a good compliment! her head just couldn't wrap itself around it! a smile grows on her face when she notices aayla and her friends looking at her in disbelief from the corner of her eye and dormé and sabé in disbelief themselves on the other. she heads for her locker and opens it to grab her things for class. her friends approach her and ask what just happened and why the sudden change, but padmé's too giddy to answer them right now.

she stays giddy for the rest of the day. she's on a high on cloud nine. her self-confidence has never received such a boost - and it's all because of the way everyone stared at her, anakin's compliment, aayla's disbelief... that, she admits, is better than receiving the highest mark on her grades.

xviii.

it's the last day of school before the start of christmas break. it's late in the afternoon and everyone is starting to head home since the school will be closing down for the holidays a few minutes from now.

padmé was heading out from her mini christmas celebration with the rest of the student body government when she bumps into anakin who had just left his own mini christmas celebration with the track and field team. they share a small chat in the middle of the hallway, which is something they don't normally do since they're dragged away quickly from the opportunity by their friends most of the time. they ask each other about their plans for the holiday season. they both plan on staying at home and spending quality time with their families.

just when they're about to say goodbye, anakin pulls out something from his duffle bag and he gives her a small box wrapped in christmas paper and red ribbon. her eyes widen at the sight of it and she's speechless when he puts it in her hand. he tells her it's ok that she didn't get him any gift because he knows she didn't expect a gift from him and he also tells her that it's something he's made in obi-wan's workshop so it's ok too if she doesn't like it. she thanks him gratefully, clearly stunned by his friendly gesture. she really wishes she could hug him, but she's not sure if it's alright with him. they greet each other a merry christmas and they both head home for the two-week break.

she doesn't open his gift until christmas morning, when the rest of her family opens their gifts. it's the last thing she opens after all the new clothes and accessories she's received from her family. she opens it while the rest of her family are examining their own gifts. she unties the red ribbon around the box and carefully tears off the christmas wrapping. she lifts up the small lid and her eyes behold one of the best gifts she's ever received.

she pulls out the small hand-crafted necklace pendant from the box. she runs her fingers on the rectangular piece of wood with different lines and curves carved on it. she smiles as she understands the reason why anakin gave her such thing. he told her about a tale obi-wan told him long ago about angels who once roamed the earth. they were considered the most beautiful creatures in the universe. they were timid and kind-hearted. pirates who sailed around the seas and roamed around the many vast lands of the world would show their appreciation for them by making them jewelry. they would carve lines and curves on a snippet and make it as the pendant as a way for them to give their angels good luck. he was so into telling her about the tale that he even showed her the book where obi-wan found it and showed her how the angels, the pirates, and the jewelry looked like. padmé was so intrigued by his story and showed true interest in it too.

she giggles as she looks at the tiny necklace in her hands. sola comments on the beauty of necklace and her parents ask her who is it from. when she tells them that it's from a friend in school named anakin skywalker, her sister instantly lights up with naught and her parents interrogate her about her friend from school. she rolls her eyes at her sister's commentary.

she smiles as she puts the necklace around her neck. it's a merry christmas indeed.

xix.

she spends new year's eve with her family at the nearby park. they set themselves up a picnic in the middle as they wait for the new year to come.

she sits on the picnic blanket covered with homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, iced tea, and chocolate cake. she looks around and sees her parents live telecasting the new york ball drop at times square on the radio as they sit together on the beach chair they brought along while sola cuddles with her long time boyfriend, darred. she notices other families having picnics, children playing, and street performances at the background. she checks the time and she notices it's ten minutes to new year. having nothing to do, she stands up from her place and she tells her parents she's going up to the hill to watch the fireworks display later on.

she walks to the top of the hill, where many adolescents like herself decide to stay at when the fireworks come on as soon as the clock strikes midnight. she stands idly by herself at the top of the mountain when she hears someone call her name from behind. she turns around and she's surprised to see anakin skywalker standing behind her smiling at her. she smiles back at him as he walks towards her. they learn that they both came up to the hill for the same reason – they got bored down below. they talk about their christmases back at home. she thanks him for the gift he gave her and she tells him that she truly appreciates it and he looks warmly at her. a couple their age catches their attention as they look at them smiling while wrapping their arms around each other and share small pecks on the lips. padmé absent-mindedly stared at them.

"padmé." anakin calls her out of her trance. she looks up at him and blinks, wondering how long she's been staring at the young lovers.

she furrows her eye brows at him when she notices he's trying to say something but can't. she peers up at him every time he opens and closes his mouth.

just when it seems like he's finally about to say something, fireworks explode and light up the sky. padmé instantly turns around to look at the sight at the sound of it and anakin looks up at the sky. they both admire the spectacle of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and white sparks lit up across the sky.

"it's beautiful." she says in wonder.

anakin looks down at her and sees her staring up in awe. "yeah, it is." he responds.

they both stand together in comfortable silence, watching the fireworks display in the sky. anakin moves to stand closer to her. when she feels his presence lightly touching her left arm, the fireworks in the sky do not compare to the fireworks in her head.

"happy new year, padmé." he greets her quietly from behind. she looks back at him and she sees him smiling at her. she mirrors it.

"happy new year, anakin." she returns his greeting. they both continue to watch the lights in the sky welcome the new year together until it comes to a finish.

when padmé comes down from the hill, not only does she receive greetings from her parents but also playful bantering from her sister who caught her watching the fireworks on top of the hill with anakin. her older sister surely and confidently predicts that this year anakin skywalker and her weren't going to be just friends for long. she rolls her eyes at her sister.

as she smiles at the thought of having spent new year's eve with anakin, she surely predicts one things about the new year - that it would be a happy one with anakin skywalker.

xx.

when padmé and her friends have lunch on the first day back from holiday break, they come back to finding their table outside the school cafeteria has been covered by so much snow that it could barely be seen. they stand their looking at their snow-covered table wondering what to do.

just when they decide to resort to sitting on one of the school benches instead, anakin approaches them - most notably padmé - with a lunch tray in hand.

"there's plenty of space in our table." he says quite nervously. "you girls can sit with us... if you want."

padmé blinks up at him, but she awkwardly gives him an 'ok' to his kind offer. they follow him from behind as he leads them to his table. dormé and sabé give her wide-eyed looks, shocked that he would offer them a place to sit with him. they were going to sit with anakin skywalker!

when they reach his table, his friends are already seated and are casually playing around with each other. they stop whatever they are doing though when they see the three girls shyly standing beside anakin. he explains to them about their table and his invitation to join them and they allow them to join them. they awkwardly sit together on the round table, with anakin and padmé sitting in the middle beside each other since they both are clearly they connector between these two groups. it's only when they start talking to one another when it becomes comfortable for both groups. rex, cody, and ahsoka easily get along with dormé and sabé and they have so much fun engaging in conversation and even being playful with one another. the new combination of these two groups is definitely a joy. anakin and padmé even join in the fun by him joking around with her, her retaliating by saying something smart, and both of them trying to outsmart each other until anakin does something funny and she ends up giggling.

both groups admit that this was a fun, spontaneous idea, and that they should have lunch together more often. this is such a huge relief on anakin and padmé. while their friends chat along together, anakin notices his necklace hanging around her neck and she looks up and smiles at his awe-beaming face. he smiles back at her.

at a table not so far away, aayla secura looks at their table with disgust. she narrows her eyes at padmé naberrie, who sits closely and shyly converses with her crush for as long as she's been in coruscant high. it's there and then when she makes up her mind and plans to teach her a lesson she'll never forget.

xxi.

padmé never really considered going to her high school prom... until anakin skywalker asked her if she was going to attend their junior prom. she started off by telling him about how she's never really thought about it since it wasn't a requirement, she wasn't a fan of school dances, or she didn't even have a date to bring, but the hint of sadness in anakin's eyes when she looked up at him made her say that she would give it a try despite what she said earlier. he looked really happy when she told him she was going to the prom, which was in less than three weeks away...

... which is what brings her here to a local gown shop, looking for a prom dress that most girls have been planning for for months before their prom. she sighs as she looks at herself in the mirror in a light pink flowing gown, which is the fourth dress she's tried. when she rejects it, her entourage - composed of dormé, sabé, ahsoka, and sola - who sit behind her sigh behind her and they decide to keep on looking.

when they ask her if there's at least one thing she's looking for in a prom dress, she tells them that maybe it could be white. sola immediately mentions overhearing how anakin told her on their last study session that a white dress would suit her and her friends immediately light up with mischief. they relentlessly make fun of her when she tries to defend herself by saying that it's not bad to take her friend's suggestion, but the four once trustworthy girls she brought along with beg to differ and try to get her to admit the one thing she's been denying all this time - she's got it bad for anakin skywalker. she raises an eyebrow at what her friends and sister are indicating.

yes, she may think that anakin skywalker is attractive and cool. yes, she may think he's the most friendly, kind-hearted, generous, and funniest guy she's ever met. yes, since the day they've started to get close to each other, she may have thought of him one way or another - as a friend and as more than a friend... but padmé knows what reality they were in - it's high school, where looks and reputations are the equivalent to a caste system. anakin's popular and athletic and she's unnoticeable and nerdy. sure he's friends with her, but he wouldn't ask her out... ever, she's sure of it. there are other girls out there much suited for him - taller, slimmer, prettier, much more outgoing, confident, care-free, and stylish... he wouldn't settle on her. she wouldn't place her bets on it. she wouldn't put her heart out on the line like that. it's too risky and too hopeful and too heart-breaking for her to take.

when she looks around the endless numbers of racks of the store one more time, sabé suddenly calls out for them. she pulls out a dress from the rack and it's beautiful, stunning, elegant, and white. padmé and the rest look and inspect it in awe. they find out that it's the last of it's kind and it's her size. her friends make her try it, which she willingly agrees to. she comes out of the fitting room and she stuns her companions. she looks at herself in the mirror and she feels beautiful. she feels right in it, as if it was made exactly for her and her alone.

she leaves the store with a new prom dress in hand - perfect for her, and perfect for anakin skywalker.

xxii.

on the day of the prom, padmé prepares from her the night at home rather than joining dormé, sabé, and ahsoka who are getting ready together in a local salon. sola helps her do a simple homemade spa treatment and facial and she does her hair, nails, and make-up as well. when she finishes, her sister wishes her luck in impressing anakin and for her to have a fun night before she sends her off. padmé smiles at her for once, for she would normally be annoyed at the mention of anakin's name from her sister.

her father drops her off at the front of the school after her mother takes a bunch of photos of her before she leaves. when she steps out of the car, she notices everyone in their formal attires. she then makes her way to the school gym.

everyone is standing outside the gymnasium, talking to their friends or taking pictures with their dates, as they wait for it to open up to let them inside for the prom. she looks around for her friends until she hears dormé, sabé, and ahsoka call out for her. she joins them and they comment on how amazing she looks and how sola did a wonderful job on her. she notes herself to tell sola that later. rex and cody come up from behind her three friends in the middle of their conversation. they comment on how she, dormé, and sabé look while they playfully and light-heartedly make fun of how ahsoka is made up for the night. she doesn't let them get away with it that easily. it's such a humorous argument to watch.

the group notice that there's a photo booth, so they decide to line up for it for a photo together. just when padmé's about to follow them from behind, she notices anakin standing far behind them looking at her with his eyes wide and clear and his jaw dropped. she furrows her eyebrows at him before she makes her way over to him.

"hey!" she calls him out lightly with a smile on her face. "we didn't notice you standing back here. what's going on? are you ok?" she asks as she peers up at him with curious concern.

he looks down at her and the look on his face beams in awe. "you look so... beautiful." he says softly and breathlessly as he looks at her from top to bottom - her dark brown curly hair fixed in a nice messy tousled low side bun, her lightly made-up face in natural glowing colors, her white halter neck floor-length dress with silver jeweled details on the halter neck, her glittering silver rectangular box clutch being held by her hands with white nail polish, and her glittering silver open-toed shoes.

a pink blush grows on her cheeks at his honest words. "thank you." she says as she looks up at him. "you look really good tonight too." she meant it. he truly did look good tonight with his short dark blonde hair fixed up nearly, his white dress shirt tucked in his black trousers that complimented his black tux and leather shoes, and his deep red tie.

he gives her a smile and that's when she notices something odd about his demeanor. he's nervous about something. she could easily tell by the way he's trying to stand firmly on the ground, the way he slightly opens and closes his mouth as if he wants to say something, the way his hands are fumbling around by his sides, and the way his eyes are only looking at her as if he's trying to find something from her.

their friends call for them and they turn to look at them positioning themselves by the photo booth. both of them head for the photo booth together to join their friends. once they're there, anakin stays at right end in the back with rex and cody and padmé positions herself upfront by anakin's side. the photo booth manager starts the self-timed camera and as the timer counts down padmé feels anakin's hand lightly above her elbow. she quietly gasps at his touch before the camera flashes.

after they take a few more photos, the group leaves the booth and everyone starts filling in the gymnasium. their friends go in together and just when she's about to join them she stops on her heels and looks at anakin who's looking at her with a beautiful smile on his face. he then walks up to her and says "well, let's go to prom." she blushes at his words and enter their prom together side by side.

xxiii.

when they get inside the gym, the group of friends notice that almost every table is full. the only tables that weren't were aayla secura's table, which had four available seats left on their round table, and a table filled with some of their classmates, which was two tables away from aayla's and had three seats available. without any choice, anakin and his friends sit with aayla and her friends and padmé and her friends sit with their classmates.

the night starts off with a fine dinner. their school serves them with an appetizer, a main course, and dessert. she finds dinner delicious and she enjoys herself eating with others. she talks to her classmates on the table, mostly to dormé and sabé, but most of time which is whenever she can she looks at anakin dinning on the other table with his friends and aayla secura. he seems to be enjoying his dinner too. he sits closely beside aayla secura. she doesn't have a single doubt that aayla probably made him sit next to her. he talks to his friends, and aayla whenever she tries to make a move on him. however, he looks up to look at her from her table every chance he gets. she catches him whenever he does, and knows it goes vise versa as well. their eyes constantly lock together throughout dinner. it makes it hard for them to eat their meals. one of their friends always snaps them out of their trance to get them to eat or engage in short conversation.

after dinner, the dj starts the prom and plays a bunch of party songs to get everyone dancing. everyone gets up from their seats and head to the dance floor. ahsoka heads over to dormé, sabé, and padmé to grab them from their seats. when she does, the girls join the boys in the back of the dance floor and they party together. the girls carelessly jump around and throw their hands up and wave their arms around the air to the upbeat rhythm of the songs being played while the boys sing along loudly as they dance together. it's the most fun padmé has ever had with her friends.

amidst the hype, anakin and padmé face each other with wide grins on their faces. they suddenly stop whatever they're doing. they stare at each other. anakin reaches out to grasp padmé's arm to pull her closer to him. their bodies are only millimeters away from each other. they look at each other, as if there was nobody and nothing else in the room but them. he speaks out her name softly, and just when he seems able to tell her something after releasing a shaky breath the dj changes the music and calls all couples to the dance floor. she notices her friends leaving the dance floor, so she goes along with them. anakin follows her from behind to try to stop her, but aayla moves quickly and suddenly she's standing in front of him smiling.

as padmé walks back to her table to be with her friends, she stops in her tracks halfway. she feels a soft pounding in her chest as she catches her breath. she turns around, expecting to find anakin following her from behind and she opens her mouth to call for him, but instead she catches him dancing with aayla secura. she stands there watching them and for some reason she feels her chest sinking deeply and her stomach heavily pressing downwards. she feels tears building up on the rims of her eyes. her breath suddenly hitches her throat. they're standing so close to each other, holding each other close. he's looking down at her and she's looking up at him as she runs her fingers through his hair.

the sight of them becomes too much for them, and she turns on her heels and walks right out of the prom.

xxiv.

padmé walks out in the cold, dark night. she wraps her arms around herself as she wonders around the street lit up by streetlights on the side. her constantly plays the memory of seeing anakin and aayla dancing together. remembering it makes her bite her bottom lip and sniffle to stop herself from pouring out the tears her eyes hold back.

as she walks on the street, she finally comes to a realization and admission that she should've done months - and probably years - ago. she likes anakin skywalker, way too much to say - and it goes beyond his good looks and his popularity and reputation in school. he makes her happy in his carefree ways. every moment she has spent with him always feels like a dream come true and is a treasure to her. she likes every little thing about him - from the details of his beautiful features and his wonderful attitude towards life and others. he treats her like no one else, with sincere and pure kind-heartedness and without failure to make her feel so special. he's too good of a friend to her, but she wants him to be more than just a friend to him just like she wants him to be more than just a friend to her. life is cruel and terrible for making this the only time she realizes such things, when anakin has another far better than she is in things she'll never be. she should've known since he never really dodged her advances. it's not difficult to see and understand why.

her eyes sting from the amount of tears flowing underneath her eyes. she decides to walk into the park when she passes it. if she's going to burst into tears, she rather be alone in a quiet place doing so. she heads for the playground and she takes a seat on one of the chain swings. she closes her eyes and she finally lets a few tears run down her face. when she opens her tear-filled eyes, surprise takes her by a rose presented in front of her. she looks up and finds anakin skywalker standing in front of her with the rose in his hands.

she stands up and wipes away the tears from her face. "what are you doing here? you should be at the prom." she asks.

"i saw you walking out, so i followed you." he answers.

she looks up at him with wet eyes. "what about aayla?"

he furrows his eyebrows at her. "wait, that's why you left? i was following you but aayla came up in front of me and didn't let me go unless i danced with her."

her eyes were wide as she blinks up at him. "what?"

he sighs, and she's not sure way because he does it in a way where he doesn't look angry or relieved. "i don't like aayla." he says as he steps closer to her. her heart, which she thought was her chest earlier, starts racing. he looks at her and he releases a shaky breath before he finally says it. "i like you, padmé naberrie... i really, really like you."

she doesn't believe her ears at first, but the way he looks at her vanishes her disbelief. she releases a euphoric laugh despite herself and she sniffles with a smile. "i really, really like you too, anakin skywalker."

it's his turn to let out a euphoric laugh and he closes the distance by wrapping his arms around her waist. she does the same and she relaxes into his embrace. after a while, one of his hands come in between them and he offers her the rose once more. he tells her that he had planned to give it to her while he told her he liked her during or right after their prom. she accepts it and apologizes for ruining his plans, but he tells her that this is far better than anything he could've planned.

he then grabs her by the hand and he leads her out of the park. he confesses that he's always wanted to dance with her on their prom night, and not being at their prom wasn't going to stop him. they stop right by the side of the park where his pickup truck is parked. he heads inside his pickup and he turns on its battery and radio. he puts in a cd and he plays it. a wide smile grows on her face as she hears the song and sees him walking back to her. the song playing was the song performed by the live band on their coffee date. he admits that it's a pretty good song before he takes her waist in his arm and holds his hand out for her. she takes his hand and places her other one on his shoulder. they begin to dance on the turf of the park.

they move slowly to the rhythm for the music, not that it bothers them. there's no need to rush the moment, it's perfect. it's better than prom or any dance or formal. it's just them, all about them. she rests her head on his chest as he enfolds his arms around her and she around his neck. when he suddenly stops moving she looks up at him confused until he gives her the most beautiful gaze. he slowly cups her nape and his thumb lightly grazes her right cheek. he leans down and she meets him halfway and they kiss.

her knees go weak at the feeling of his soft, warm lips on her own. thank goodness his arm remains wrapped around her waist. her eyes flutter close at his touch. she pulls herself by her arms around his neck and she stands on the tips of her toes. he angles their heads from side to side. she loses herself in the sensation and emotion of it.

when they finally pull away from each other, their faces are both flush with pink spreading all over their cheeks. she settles back on the ground while he lets his hand fall from the back of her neck. she gently bites her lip and he chuckles at the sight. he places a kiss on her forehead with a smile before he tucks her head underneath his chin and she smiles happily against him.

later, he grabs a blanket from the back of his truck and he takes them to the edge of the park lake. he lays the blanket on the grass and they both lay on it. he gives her his tux to hang on her shoulders to keep her warm from the cold air of the late night. they share a comfortable silence, completely in an elated daze. they casually look up at the night sky. they both can't believe that they finally admitted their true feelings for each other after so long and that they feel the same way about each other too. he can't get enough of her because when they face each other he moves to kiss her again. she smiles into his lips. when he pulls himself back he stammers an apology which she finds endearing. that's when he asks so flustered if she could be his girlfriend. her heart swells up in her chest and she kisses him in response. they both continue to look at the stars in the sky as she rests her head on his chest.

they get up and leave when he notices she's getting sleepy. they walk back to his pickup truck and he drives her home. he walks her up to the front steps of her house. he shyly bids her goodnight and she kisses him on the cheek. they're both so new to this, but eventually they'll warm up to it and they'll be more confident around each other this way. she gets inside her house and she leans her back on the front door until she knows he's gone. she heads to her bedroom and she gets ready for bed. she sleeps, and she has the best sleep of her life.

the next morning, she wakes up when sola starts asking her about her prom. if it were any other time padmé would have irritably go back to sleep or snap at her for waking her from her sleep, but she's still hungover last night that she doesn't even have the heart to stop her. instead she stretches and reaches out for her pillow and she sleeps again peacefully. she ignores her sister and does not answer her questions as a small smile grows on her tranquil face.

the night before feels like a dream, but she wakes up and she knows that last night at the park with anakin is real. it's definitely a dream come true.

xxv.

anakin and padmé come to the school canteen together on the monday after prom. they head for their table, where their friends are already seated waiting for them.

when they make it to their table, their friends immediately interrogate them on their whereabouts later in the prom. anakin and padmé just stand side by side each other as their friends throw them question after question. the couple yet to be revealed have cheeky grins on their faces. their friends notice the change in their behavior around each other and they ask them what's going on. they simply stay silent with the grins on their faces growing sillier. from behind, anakin reaches out for padmé's hand and he grabs it and entwines their fingers together. their subtle movement does not go unnoticed by their friends and they seriously demand to know what's going on between the two. rex and cody cross their arms firmly, dormé and sabé narrow their eyes at them sternly, and ahsoka - who sits between the middle of the friends - positions herself as if she's getting ready to pounce at them for answers. it amuses them seeing their friends like this.

after they fail at suppressing their laughter, they show them mercy when anakin swings out their joint hands from their backs. their friends immediately get up from their seats and excitedly tackle them as they cheer. dormé and sabé both give her a hug that almost knocks her off her feet. rex and cody pat anakin at the back and playfully punch him too. ahsoka gets in between them from behind and wraps her around their shoulders and starts exaggerating on how after so long they finally got their heads together and got together.

the group have lunch together as usual, but instead of messing around with each other with practical jokes, physical play, and witty remarks - they talk about anakin and padmé. it's comical how they talk about the new couple as they reveal interesting and embarrassing facts about them, but padmé just enjoys herself. it goes all the same for anakin. dormé and sabé reveal the many details about her infatuation towards anakin, but she finds it fair that rex, cody, and ahsoka do the same about anakin. they shyly laugh and blush around each other. they steal glances at each other every now and then, until rex snaps them out of it when they end up gazing at each other instead. anakin wraps an arm around her waist. she can definitely get use to this.

when she comes home from school after anakin gives her a lift to her house, sola startles her when she asks her about she and anakin. she gets the feeling that either dormé, sabé, ahsoka, or even all three of them have something to do with her older sister finding out. she tells her everything about prom night and she receives endless teasing comments and threats for anakin in response - it's her own way of conveying to her younger sibling that she's truly happy for her.

it's a wonderful feeling. being with anakin is so blissful. she plans on telling her parents about anakin next as soon as possible. she's pretty sure he's told his mom about her. the whole school probably knows they're together now too, including aayla who most likely shot daggers at them during lunch. not everyone might agree to the idea of it, but she simply doesn't care. she's happy. anakin's happy. their friends are happy. her sister is happy. most of all, she and anakin are happy together.

that's all that mattered.

xxvi.

the rest of her junior year goes on and it goes well, with many flying colors achievements but most of all great memories. just like every year she tops her classes with honors and she ends her year as student body president fulfilling everything she promised, but this year she ends things a bit differently.

now that her group of friends has expanded, she spends more time with them other than having slumber parties, movie nights, and study sessions. she goes arcading, bowling, drive-in movie watching, shopping, going to amusement parks, and a whole lot of adventures for a bunch of high schoolers. she has always been contented with having dormé and sabé as her best friends, but now that anakin, rex, cody, and ahsoka are part of their circle of friends now as they are now part of theirs she admits that she feels like she's lives life a little bit more. her friends admit the same thing.

as for her and anakin, being his girlfriend simply makes her as happy as her entire year. he's the sweetest, most chivalrous, and most thoughtful boyfriend she could ever ask for. they spend time together beyond study dates, now that they're in a relationship. he brings her out on dates, just like any typical boyfriend does. he considers her interests whenever he does. other than dinners and movies, he takes her on tours around their neighborhood, late night poetry readings, museums of different sorts, self-learning classes together at their homes for skills such as painting and cooking, and watching the sunset or the stars in the sky at the back of his pickup truck in meadows, beaches, parking lots in the city, and even at their own backyards.

her parents adore him and his mother already treats her like her own daughter. conversations with sola are deeper and create a deeper connection between the two sisters, since she feels like she can talk about anything about anakin with her because sola has darred and she's had him since they were in high school themselves. her friends root for them, and they don't mind them being a couple whenever they get together. they're have the biggest belief that she and anakin are going to be together for the long run, and even though she knows life is unsure and constantly changing she's glad that she has them to believe in them.

most of all, anakin treats her like she's his entire world. within the popular student athlete, he's such a romantic – and above all the many things about their relationship, exposing that soft, caring, and passionate side of him is the best part. he's so affectionate towards her and he sincerely cares about her. her happiness and welfare is a big priority to him and he does everything in his power to make sure that she's satisfied and protected. he picks her up from her house every morning and drops her off every afternoon. he holds her hand or wraps an around her waist. her wardrobe is always increasing because of the number of jackets and sweaters anakin gives her whenever it's freezing outside. he's always ready to help her out and he supports her through anything. he can never get enough of her, but she doesn't mind because neither can she. his mother has caught them making out on the hammock in his backyard, sola has caught them on their living room couch, and her friends have caught them multiple times at the back of his pickup truck. lastly, he loves her and his love for her makes her overjoyed because she truly, deeply feels the same way.

thirteen years later, after many summers, holidays, high school, and college, now a successful senator of her city, she sits on a chain swing in the park with her 3-year-old daughter leia on her lap as she braids her hair while her husband, anakin who is now a mechanical engineer, runs around the playground with their son and leia's twin, luke. as her baby girl starts rambling about the mythical fairytale adventures she's read about princesses and princes and their friends, she looks back at her junior year of high school fondly.

she was right. it was her year.