"OMG! Max! This is so exciting! What color do you like? Strapless? No, I don't think you should go strapless because you're gonna be dancing the whole night. One-shoulder? Oooh, that'd be gorgeous on you Max! Let's go to Macy's, Windsor and Nordstrom. Those are by far the best for dress selection! I mean come on, everyone knows that! Duh! But hmm…I think you should get like a deep, but bright color! Ya know? Like a royal blue, or maybe a deep purple! Hmm maybe red?" Nudge rambled on for about 15 minutes about dress styles, colors and anything that the word dress in relative proximity. My mom, in the driver's seat next to me choked back a few laughs. I rolled my eyes, and Nudge just grinned ecstatically. Ella was next to her and they were going on and on about fashion. Kill me now.

"Calm down, Nudge." I said slightly smiling and her natural ability to make people happy. She blushed happily and was practically bouncing in her seat next to Ella.

"I still don't understand why Fang couldn't have come with?" I grumbled, "It would have made this trip at least a little more fun." I'd asked both Ella and my mom if I could bring Fang with us, but they had both said no. My mom sighed.

"Max, it's so obvious! You can't bring Fang with you dress shopping because one, he's a guy and then we couldn't have like a girls day! And secondly, you're not going with him because you're going with Gordon! We all agree that he was going to ask you, but you can't bring him with to like rub in his face that you have a date! Duh!" Ella said from the backseat. Mom even nodded next to me.

"Oh my gosh! He doesn't like me! We're friends! You guys are all on like crack or something," I said laughing. "But I really don't get why you all think he likes me."

"Max, I have to agree with Ella here. He really does like you more than friends." Guess who said that. My freaking mom!

"Fine. But I'm not in agreement on this." I unbuckled my seat belt as we pulled into a spot in the back parking lot of the mall. It was an outdoor mall, and it was a chilly Sunday afternoon, and it was already December. I couldn't believe we'd already been here for 4 months.

"Where do you girls wanna start?" mom asked buttoning her jacket as a large gust of wind blew through the trees.

"Windsor!" Ella and Nudge both squealed in unison.

"I don't care. But you promised that if we got a dress we could get food. And snacks." I said reminding everyone of our compromise. I'd go dress shopping if we could eat. And get me extra food because I was bound to get hungry later. I eat like a mofo, not even kidding.

"Yeah, yeah whatever Max! Dresses!" Ella chirped.

We walked into Windsor and started looking through racks of dresses.

"OMG! Max! This one's cute!" It was one-shoulder, the bottom was all sequins that were silver and black, and the top was pink and very low cut. Nudge, of course, was holding up the hanger with the dress on it looking hopefully over the top.

I gave her a look that was a combination of have-you-lost-your-freaking-mind and in-what-possible-universe-would-I-ever-go-anywhere-in-that-thing. I think she got the message and immediately went back to looking. After several other failed attempts at pleasing me, my mom came over holding a blue dress on hanger up. It was decent I guess, well loads better than any of the others. This dress was also one-shoulder, a deep royal blue color, and fitted to my body. The best part, well in my opinion, was the bow on the shoulder. There was a huge bow, made from the fabric, which was on the one shoulder. Yeah, it sounds tacky, but it really looked awesome. And I'm not one for fashion or clothes or any of this crap, but if I say it's cute, you can take that to the bank.

My mom breathed in, "Oh Max, you look beautiful!"

Ella had just turned around and her mouth literally dropped open. I kid you not. "Max, you look amazing! That dress looks perfect on you! You're getting it!"

"OMG! Max! Girl, you look so gorgeous! I wish I could be that pretty! And you don't even try!" Nudge squealed as she came prancing over to see the winning dress.

"Thanks Nudge. You guys are both gorgeous. I'm being totally serious!" I exclaimed smiling. My mom nodded at me. I knew that was a you-are-getting-this-dress-no-matter-what-you-say-because-it's-beautiful-on-you nod, and I grinned. Not gonna lie, I was actually a teensy weensy bit excited now. I mean come on; I have a gorgeous dress, a gorgeous date that is super sweet and funny, and my best friends going with me to the dance too. Okay, I'll admit it, but you can't tell my sister, but I really am excited for the Winter Formal now, even getting dressed up! Imagine that. Never in a million years would I, Max Martinez, have thought I would have a date, in this new town, to a dance and a best friend who's going to be there too.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," I said chomping my way through a bag of cinnamon pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's. They were still warm from the oven and my mouth was watering before we even got inside.

"Agreed," Ella and Nudge added in unison, smiling at their twinliness. Just pretend that's a word.

I licked my fingers, cleaning off the delicious brown crystals which were making their way onto my lap.

"You girls ready to hit it?" my wonderful mother who bought me pretzel sticks asked taking a sip from her Diet Coke.

I nodded and took a swig of my own Dr. Pepper, which was almost gone already. Once we were all situated in the car, Ella remembered a very important part of the homecoming ensemble.

"Wait! Max! Don't you have to get Gordon one of those Boutonniere things? Like the flower thing that matches the corsage he's gonna get you? Nudge is that right?" Ella asked making sure to check her fashion knowledge with the expert.

Nudge nodded in agreement, "She's right! I don't know how I could have forgotten. But yeah you gotta get one for Gordon! Aww Max you're gonna be so cute!"

I blushed, "Thanks Nudge. Mom?" I asked assuming she would know the protocol of dances with dates.

She nodded also, and I sighed. So much for leaving now.

"It's all right sweetie, I can pick one up while you're at school or something." Yes. Best mom ever.

"Thanks! So we can leave now?" I asked desperate to get home.

My mom sighed and grinned at the same time, "Yes, Max. We can go home now."

"Thank God," I muttered under my breath and my mom, Ella and Nudge all smirked and exchanged looks. I just rolled my eyes.

_(LINE BREAK)_

**Day of Winter Formal**

I sat nervously on my bed biting my finger nails, checking my phone every few seconds. Not gonna lie, I was really nervous for the dance tonight, and for Gordon. We went to YogenFruz last week and it was really fun, and thankfully not that awkward. Let me tell you, this kid was hilarious. The dance went from 7-10:30 and we were meeting at Nudge's before to take pictures, grab some snacks and hang out for a while. We were heading over there at around 5:15 or so, and we were leaving to head to the school at 6:45ish. After the dance we had reservations for an Italian restaurant uptown. I decided I was somewhat bipolar. I was super excited to go, but at the same time super nervous. Is that bipolar? Or maybe they could just invent a new disorder and diagnose me. I was doomed.

Ella knocked on my door, and I was about to tell her to come in, but she came in anyway. Why knock if you're not gonna let me answer! Geez, people these days…

"Max! Ready to start getting ready?" she exclaimed grinning from ear to ear. Had I heard her right? Start getting ready? It was 3:15, if it took me 2 hours to get ready I was going to be incredibly ticked.

I just stared at her blankly, my mouth almost dropping open in shock. I spend around 30 minutes getting ready in the morning. I brush my hair, put on some clothes and eat some food. Done. How could I possibly need 2 hours to get ready?

"Max. You're gonna need more time than you think. Just go get in the shower and I'll start getting stuff ready. Okay?"

"Yes sir," I replied giving a firm salute as I went to grab some sweats and a towel. She rolled her eyes and went to get a variety of hair and face products that I had never known existed.

I let the hot water stream through my hair, and over my shoulders. It was calm and relaxing in here. Ella had given me some of her shampoo and conditioner to supposedly make my hair softer, smoother and shinier, according to the purple font on the bottle. I had to give her credit on her shampoo choice because it smelled freaking amazing. Once I was done, I quickly dried off and then threw on a pair of baggy sweats and a cut-out shirt to get ready.

"Okay let's get this show on the road," Ella chirped. She looked beyond excited, God knows why. I know I sure wasn't. She towel dried my hair, and put a squirt of nice smelling lotion stuff into it to make it extra smooth and soft. Then she plugged in a hair dryer and started blowing my hair dry. She ran her fingers through it in an attempt to speed up the process. I quietly hummed along to Take A Little Ride by Jason Aldean. My sister had unfortunately gotten me hooked on country music. The phrase I'm just ready to drive this Chevy, and drive this Chevy down a little back road. Slide your pretty little self on over, get a little closer, turn up the radio was stuck in my head. The guitar part to this song was awesome, and I was determined to learn it and sing along while I played.

I glanced at my phone and had a message from Fang. Fang was taking Marian, who was gorgeous, hilarious and super sweet. They were old friends and I wasn't sure if they were going as friends or dates, but I was happy for him.

Blahhhhhhhh- Fang

Haha you sound so excited, at least you don't have Ella making you get ready now!-me

You're already getting ready?!- Fang

Yeah…Ella's insane-me

"Hey!" I hadn't noticed Ella reading my messages over my shoulder. Oops. I couldn't help smirking. "You know you could ready without me."

We both laughed knowing how lost I'd be with all the bottles and styles and my amazing fashion sense.

"Good one Ella," I muttered still smiling. My phone buzzed.

You loser. I was gonna have you over for an hour before we had to get ready-Fang

You know I'd rather be anywhere else right now!-me

True dat Max-Fang

You know it broski…well I better go before Ella changes her mind and cuts out all my hair instead. I wouldn't put it past her. Call me when you leave and we'll go together. –me

Good plan.-Fang

After about another 35 minutes, Ella had miraculously managed to produce my wild mane of hair into a masterpiece. How she did it remains a mystery. I glanced in the mirror, and the top layer of my hair was gathered to one side, and fell down past my shoulder in big loose curls. The under layer was also curled, and I had to admit, it looked gorgeous. And let me tell you I never think hair is gorgeous, let alone pretty.

I kinda spaced out for a while, and hummed One More Night under my breath as Ella did her makeup magic on my face. I realized I was starting to get nervous about Gordon, and the dance and everything. For some reason Fang kept popping into my mind, just calm and reassuring as always, but why? I mean I liked Gordon, maybe it's just nerves. You know, hormones. Anyway Ella had finished applying make-upy stuff to my face, and I was free to look in the mirror.

I could barely recognize myself. Let me tell you, that's a good thing. My face was completely even and smooth, tan and clear. My eyes had the tiniest bit of silver eye liner, but somehow she managed to bring out my usually boring brown eyes. They had lots of different shades of brown that hadn't been there. My eyelids had a small amount of a neutral eye shadow, but enough that you could tell it was there. My eyelashes were beautifully long, but not clumpy or too thick. The black matched the silver eyeliner perfectly. I honestly couldn't be happier. My lips were coated in a simple lip gloss (spearmint flavor of course), and my face broke into a huge grin.

I jumped up, and hugged Ella. She seemed surprised for a second, but then she hugged me back hard. "Thanks Ells! This honestly looks amazing! I love it!"

"Aw yeah of course Max! It's so you! You look absolutely GORGEOUS by the way!" she said her face lighting up.

"Thanks," I blushed and looked up into the mirror again, and I couldn't help but smile. She was right, it was just so me. I glanced down, and my phone said 4:15. It had taken me an hour to do all that. I mean they do say "time flies when you're having fun…" I had about 45 minutes until Fang and I were heading out. So, as any reasonable person would do, I watched Dark Knight. With the Joker, you know Heath Ledger, and Morgan Freeman as Fox. And of course Christian Bale for Bruce/Batman. This is my favorite movie in the whole world. No joke, I've seen it around 8 times, and I can quote it and I used "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," for an English essay. I watched for around 30 minutes then decided I better get dressed.

I slipped the blue dress on, and stepped into my silver heels. They were silver, kinda shimmery and 3 inch pumps. I didn't care much for them, but Ella said they completed the outfit, so whatever. It was 5:00 and I was officially ready to go. Fang and I were getting a ride with my mom, and his parents would meet us over at Iggy's. According to Fang, Iggy had a thing for Ella, but he asked this gorgeous girl, Paige, to homecoming and she had said yes. Apparently since Ells was still in middle school it'd be weird if they went together, and it wasn't even allowed. Not that I wanted her there or anything. Anyways, it would be Paige and Iggy, Fang and Marian, me and Gordon, and Ben and Alexis. I think that was it. Well of course Nudge and Ella were coming for a little while to take pictures and all that.

"Max! Time to get Fang!" a warm voice called from the kitchen.

"Ok! Coming!" I called back, in a very un-Max-like response and grabbed my silver purse and slowly walked down stairs, praying I wouldn't fall.

I heard a gasp, "Max," my mom breathed out. "You look beautiful. Oh my goodness." She looked sad for a second, and then smiled. "Gordon's a very lucky guy."

I blushed as Ella came up, and announced that she needed to take a picture of my mom and me before we left. My mom was in a simple black dress, it was casual but cute, and looked effortless. I was insanely jealous of my mom's natural good looks, and how young she looked at her age. Ella, who had transformed herself while I had been watching The Dark Knight, was wearing a black pencil skirt with a flowy silver shirt tucked in, with a necklace hanging down the front. She looked herself, effortlessly adorable. Then Ella and I took a picture together.

"Yo," an incredibly familiar voice said creeping up behind me. I spun around.

"Fang!" I said excited and I went over and gave him a hug. Just a best friend hug, in case you were wondering. He was wearing a black jacket, with a white shirt and grey tie. He had on matching pants and shoes. He looked very attractive in his fancy get out.

"Max, you look beautiful," he said quietly and I was the only one that heard him.

I blushed deeply and looked at the ground. "Thanks. You clean up pretty nicely too," I said with a smile. He grinned at me.

"You ready to get going soon?" he asked and I nodded.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Max and Fang! Omg! You guys NEED a picture! Like ASAP!" Ella squealed coming over with her turquoise camera.

Fang and I put our arms around each other and Ella snapped a few photos. "You two should have gone together, this is sooo adorable," I heard Ella mutter under her breath. She seemed truly awestruck.

"Well we better hit it guys," my mom said, thankfully breaking the awkward silence. Thank you mom. We all hopped into our car and drove over to Iggy's house, where he and Ben were waiting outside with Alexis. Fang and I got out and went over to our friends.

"Hey Max! Hey Fang!" Alexis grinned, and waved. She was so down to earth, and sweet all the time. "Oh my gosh! Max you look amazing! I love your dress!"

"Hey Alexis! Iggy! Ben! Thanks Alexis! But you look sooo gorgeous!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah you don't have to tell me I look gorgeous too Max, I already know it," Iggy said with a grin.

"Oh thanks Ig, I was just about to tell you," I said casually shoving him. He laughed.

"Max, watch it. I ironed this thing all morning."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure you did. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, actually."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Iggy pretended to be hurt by my comment.

"Shut up Ig," I said laughing. "Look, your date's here. Go greet her like a gentleman." He bounded off the steps, adding a little spin-o-rama for affect after the last stair. I laughed, only Iggy.

Paige and Marian, Fang's date, got out of the car. And another car followed and Gordon got out too. He looked nervous, in his black jacket with a white shirt and royal blue tie to match my dress. This sounds shallow, but he looked really hot too. I walked over to meet him and his face lit up and we both grinned.

"Hey Max," he said still smiling.

"Hey Gordon," I replied so excited. I saw Fang walk over to go say hi to Marian, but I could feel his eyes watching me even as he was talking to Marian, Paige and Iggy. I gave Gordon a hug, and it was really cute. He had his corsage in his hand, and my boutonniere was in my purse, which I had left on the porch.

"I left my purse on the porch, it has your boutonniere in it," I mentioned a little embarrassed but he just laughed.

"Come on, let's grab it and then I can corsage you, if that's what it's called." We walked over together, and I saw Ella follow us and snap a few more pictures of us from behind. I just smirked and continued walking. He had a flower with blue, indigo and violet in it, and surprisingly it complemented by dress perfectly. He pinned the flower onto my dress, and I grinned as it matched perfectly. He put his arm around me and I put mine around his waist as we saw Ella motion for us to take a picture. One of the reasons Gordon had stuck out to me since we'd moved here, was his adorable smile. He had one of the greatest smiles on Earth. Right after Fang though, when he actually gave a real smile, whose grin made the Sun stop in its tracks, and caused everything to seem better. But unlike Fang, in a good way, Gordon smiled all the time and I loved being around people who were just naturally happy.

"You guys are so freaking adorable! I'm so jealous!" Ella squealed walking away to go grab a Dr. Pepper from the cooler under the table on the porch. I noticed Fang's eyes practically glued to my back as Gordon and I talked and sat together, and got a few more pictures. What was his deal tonight? I mean he had an absolutely gorgeous and sweet date, and I had a date but he kept watching me and tensing up whenever Gordon put his arm around me. I didn't get it.

However, before I got to do anymore thinking on this subject, it was already time for us to start heading over to the school and get to the dance. By the time we got to the dance, it was around 6ish, and we stood in the line that ran out the door, and down the sidewalk along the street just to get into the gym.

"Dang, this is a pretty popular place," Iggy, of course, said approaching with Paige following. I noticed a group of kids a few people in front of us who I recognized in our grade. Colin, my new English buddy, turned around.

"Hey Max! Hey Gordon! Hey Iggy and Fang! What's up guys!"

"Hey Colin!" a variety of voices called back. He waved and then motioned to his friends, turning back around. He and Lauren were going together, and Lauren wasn't in any of my classes, but I'd seen her around. Then Fang and Marian came over to stand by us and the four of us started talking as we slowly moved forward in the line, coming closer and closer to the doors.

Unfortunately, since it was December, I was freezing in just my dress and heels, and my teeth were chattering loudly, and I was shaking a little bit.

"Here," Gordon said taking his jacket off and placing it around my shoulders. "Better?"

I stopped shaking a little from the warmth of his jacket and nodded. "Thanks a lot," I replied and he just smiled. His smile was so freaking cute, I couldn't help but smile myself. I noticed Marian and Fang making some small talk about school, but I noticed neither of them seemed very comfortable, which seemed strange since they were old family friends. It seemed to be an hour later, but in reality was only 10 minutes, but we were finally admitted into the school and to the dance.

"Here we go," I heard Iggy yell from behind me. Gotta love him.