Chapter 13

Soon enough the night came. Ludwig and Gil would have both liked to say they were calm and collected, but in reality they were scrambling around the house like madmen. Ludwig was wearing his towel from his shower searching for his suit, which Gil had accidently moved. Gil was madly looking for his shoes and his hair gel, which Ludwig hadn't seen.

It took them both a bit to calm down, but eventually Ludwig located his suit and Gil was able to do his hair. Ludwig had to tie Gil's tie for him, all while Gil laughed at the bright pink tie his brother wore. Gil wore black pants and a black shirt, with a silver tie, and a black suit jacket. He didn't like to wear white since he was already so pale. Ludwig was dressed the same, because his pink tie didn't look good against a white shirt.

"The tie does look pretty good with the black suit." His voice didn't hold any sarcasm this time.

Ludwig huffed and together they went out to the car and drove. Gil dropped Ludwig at Felicia's so they could take their couple pictures. Gil drove himself to Liz's and he had to collect himself before getting out of the car. He looked respectable in his tux, his hair was done and he cleaned up very nice.

He had been to her house before of course, but not like this. Her parents didn't like him around before, and he'd be even less welcome now. But after all the problems this year, after dream boy, Liz picked him. He was who she had confidence in, and that made him smile. She didn't see an orphaned poor boy in him. She saw something, he didn't know what but he was glad she did.

So Gil got out of the car and walked to the door, and he knocked. Her father answered and stared at him a bit less than welcoming. Good thing he hadn't been caught in her room those few weeks ago, because Gil thought he might've been greeted with a gun.

Her father stiffly let Gil in the house. Like most fathers he just wanted the best for Liz. Like a good boy with straight A's who probably would be a lawyer. Roderich would have been welcomed here.

Her mother was a bit kinder, she said Liz was still getting ready upstairs. Oh boy.

Gil took a seat and sat in the living room. He hoped Liz came down before he got frostbite. He had to look at the ground, because he didn't want to see the disapproving looks from her parents.

And if they gave him that look, he'd likely say something smart like 'hey I snuck in that window and spent the night in your daughter's room.'

The silence was broken by a growl "Look here boy, you better not hurt her, or I will hurt you. I know you live in that house alone, God knows what you do—"

Prom or not he wasn't going to sit there and be railed on. "I do my homework, balance a budget from life insurance and the sporadic checks from my low life father and I raise my little brother, like I have for years. So if you want to find a fault in me for that, look no further. I lied for years and pretended to be my father so nobody came and took our house, or my little brother. Yes, what a criminal I am, living alone and becoming a parent, lying so I don't lose my only family to the foster system. Good thing I'm 18 now!" Gil didn't really care how rude that came off, he didn't need a man who didn't know a damn thing pointedly accusing him of being some low life bum who did drugs and brought home girls every weekend.

What he said did the trick because it shut up her father and made him look nearly ashamed.

"Liz has been my friend since grade school. I've been just about the same person since then too. Still immature and stupid, but still caring and loyal. So I will take care of her, because I always have. Just because I'm dating her now, doesn't mean she still isn't my friend. Don't worry. Sir."

The room was quiet for the next minute and her father simply nodded. It would take him a moment to forgive Gil's attitude, but he did admit to himself that he had judged the boy too fast, on too superficial of grounds.

Liz's heels clicking on the stairs brought both men to attention. Gil grinned widely and felt his breath leave his lungs and not come back. Liz was beautiful, she always was but this was stunning. The black dress had looked like nothing special on the hanger when he first saw it, but on her it was something.

It was plain, the front had just ruffles here and there in the flow, and rose to her chest. It was not low cut in a slutty way, but not nun-ish either. The strap went around the back of her neck, and as for the back, well there was no back. It was all open, coming back at her hips, where it then clung. Her dress was loose from her hips down, in a dreamy flow like way all the way to the floor. He couldn't see he shoes but he guessed they were silver, because she had told him to wear a silver tie, which he did.

Her hair fell loose down her back in rivets and curls, and her makeup was done perfectly, in the way where it wasn't too much, but it accented all her finest features and hid the lesser ones.

Gil was totally star struck. He stared for a moment before walking to her and grinning widely. "You clean up pretty nice Lizzy."

She blushed and shoved his arm lightly. "You don't look half bad yourself."

He laughed a bit, but before he could say anything intelligent about how good she looked, he was shuffled off to the family room to take pictures with her. Then to the front yard. Gil didn't find it hard to smile, it was coming naturally. He held her, hugging from behind, and he noticed just how they were the perfect size for that pose.

Other pictures came, but Liz told her parents tot quit so they wouldn't be late. Liz went to grab something from inside with her mother, and Gil stood outside with her father.

"Enjoy yourself tonight. I'll see you and her tomorrow."

Gil figured that was the closest to acceptance he was going to get, and that worked just fine for him.

Liz returned and he opened the car door for her, just this one time. She looked surprised but he just shrugged. "Well for this one night, you look like a princess so I figured I should treat you like one."

She blushed at that too, and he got in the car and drove off, making sure to do so very responsibly. He parked in Felica's driveway and held his hand up. "Don't get out yet."

They had agreed not to get each other flowers but he had gotten her a corsage anyway. So he reached in the back seat and pulled it out. He had decided on a red rose, because red went with black, and he liked the simple elegance and romance of a red rose.

She smiled widely went she saw it and held out her wrist, and Gil attached it.

"I thought we said no flowers?"

"I hate flowers. But you don't. So I said no flowers so you wouldn't get me one."

She leaned over and kissed him, and Gil melted into it like he had every single time since the first. He was never going to get sick of her lips.

Gil would have continued his kiss, if Francis hadn't started taking pictures (with flash) from outside.

"Later." he promised and got out of the car.

Ludwig was standing by the front of the house with Antonio and Romano. They were taking all out door pictures because of the nice weather, and the nice land scape. The soft tan brick of the house was a nice backdrop, but it was mostly lost to the vibrant green bushes, stunning flower beds, and a grand fountain, spewing clear water in the center.

Felica and Liz squealed and ran at each other, hugged, and started chattering excitedly, so Gil walked to his brother.

"Gil don't you love the pink color of Felica's dress?" Francis laughed

Gil looked to see that Felica was wearing black, like Liz. It was short and frilly, all together different than Liz's, but black.

"Luddy was just dying to have a pink tie I bet." Gil snickered, and ducked his brother's hand.

Antonio wore a dark red shirt, his suit jacket already over his arm. He had black pants and a matching tie. Romano had the usual white and black ensemble going on. Francis was wearing a grey suit with a pale pink shirt, and no tie. His date was looking pretty good too, in a black suit with a green shirt that brought out the shades of green in his eyes. Gil didn't know Arthur well, but he knew Francis had been dying to get this guy for ages.

The boys made easy conversation while the girls took about a hundred pictures of just the two of them. Then things got moving.

Gil had to take pictures with Liz, Ludwig and Felica, and then he got shuffled to take a picture with just Antonio and Francis. Gil had to pose with Ludwig, taking a shot of just the two brothers, then there were group pictures, with everybody standing behind their date, then next to them.

Then came the exciting poses. The classic back-to-back Charlie's Angel's finger guns. Then a shot of each couple kissing, first it was nice sweet kisses. Then it became who can do the most outrageous kiss. Ludwig picked up Felica and kissed her holding her up. Francis dipped Arthur like a dance move and kissed him passionately, making it seem like a still frame from some 80's romance movie. Antonio got risky, starting with a nice kiss, then grabbing his dates ass, which led to some very loud swearing. However the picture was fantastic, it had been caught just before Romano flipped out, meaning the two were kissing and Antonio had his hands on Romano's ass. Gil had to do something but he couldn't think of any more crazy poses.

Then he decided on something. He whispered it to Liz, who grinned at him, and he leaned in. When their lips met he had to remind himself that people were present, because damn, could he get lost in the feeling. Gil's idea was to recreate the famous sailor kissing his girl after coming home from war picture, So Liz lifted one leg behind her, and Gil held her tight to him, leaning into her so they she bent back, but that her body touched his. It might not have been the wildest, but he was damn sure it was the most romantic.

Now that they had enough pictures, it was time to get over to the reception hall.

Francis and Arthur drove with Antonio and Romano, so they left in their car. Felica grabbed the keys to the Ferrari and gave them to Ludwig.

"Why don't I get to drive fancy cars?" Gil asked

"Because you're irresponsible and speed, all the time?" Liz said with a teasing smirk as she slipped into the back of the car. Gil followed right after her, enjoying the very luxurios interior.

Ludwig looked totally thrilled to be behind the wheel, and he backed up and drove, making a very pleased face.

Gil was holding Liz's hand, so when he said "Is that your orgasm face Luddy?", she whacked him on that arm.

"Be nice to your brother!"

"I am nice to my brother!" Gil argued

"Sometimes." Ludwig grumbled, an amused smile spreading on his face. He was so glad his brother had finally gotten with Liz. He liked seeing them both happy. And there was nothing cuter than seeing two childhood friends falling madly in love with each other.

When they arrived at the reception hall, it took about five minutes to park the car. Then they proceeded to walk in together. Already so many people were in the foyer, moving in and out of the main room. Gil knew some people, and others he didn't. Liz broke away to see her other friends, and he eventually got dragged over into the sea of makeup and sequins. He knew that being the most popular girl's date would have him being paraded around like a show dog, but it was way worse than he expected.

He thought he just had to stand there and look handsome, but they actually asked him questions. So he tried his hardest to answer them and move on.

They moved into the main room, and Gil had to admit it looked pretty. There were tables all around the room in a half moon around the dance floor. The tables were covered in white tablecloths, and they had the school colors as flowers and napkins. A DJ was nestled into the corner near the dance floor, already playing some music.

The back wall had a table covered in finger foods, then another with drinks in ice tubs.

"So, what next?" he asked Liz.

Liz looked up at Gil, and leaned into him, hugging him. "I think we should just go wherever feels right. I'm done bossing you around for the night. I'll start again tomorrow."

Gil chuckled and shook his head, but he was grinning widely.

So that's what they did. It was eight o'clock, so most people were digging into the food. Gil led Liz over there, and they covered the plates with a variety of food. There was all sort of strange food, the kind of food that floated around the room during a wedding's cocktail hour. Vegetables, rolled foods stabbed with toothpicks, cheeses, crackers, and more. Gil took two of everything as he moved down the table. At the drink table he snagged soda for him and Liz, and they staked a claim at a table.

The other couples who took pictures with them joined at the table. Antonio hung his suit jacket on the back of his chair and did little eating, but a lot of complimenting and flirting. Gil was 90% certain once they got to Antonio's house, those two would disappear behind a locked door.

Francis and Arthur weren't fighting for once, instead the two were playing guess the food, popping pieces from their plates into each other's mouth.

Ludwig was eating, while his cheerful Italian girl just rambled off on who knows what. Gil smiled a bit, because while he didn't have a clue what Felica was going on about, he could tell Ludwig was hanging onto every word she said.

Gil and Liz ate their own food like normal people, and talked about how each thing tasted, how other people they knew looked, and how the room looked.

When the food was gone, the eight talked, conversation just wandering like it typically does at dinners like these. They talked about how each started dating the other, and how they asked each other to prom.

Ludwig smiled a bit while he talked. "I drove to her house on the weekend, tossed a small stone at her window, and when she came, held up a sign that said prom on it. I uh, had a rose in my mouth."

Antonio had done it in the school hallway before first hour. He had jammed Romano's locker full of paper hearts, that all said prom? on them. So when he opened the locker, they fell all over the hall.

Francis had sent Arthur roses, with a note that only had an address. So when Arthur showed up to the park, Francis had left clues that took him on a scavenger hunt, until he ended up by the duck pond. Where Francis waited with a single rose, matching the ones he had sent to the house. Then he had asked simply.

Gil smirked "Alright boys, I'm about to out do you all."

Liz groaned from beside him.

"So I called Liz over to my house when Ludwig was out, and we decided to watch a movie. I picked out this really awful chick flick and we both sat there, dying internally and wanting it to be over. I picked that movie on purpose because I knew about halfway through Liz would walk out of the room and not come back. In the kitchen, where she would go, I had two prom tickets on the table. So she called me in there and launched into her 'You didn't formally ask me' pre-prepared rant, so I cut her off with a kiss. Then, I got down on my knee, because I'm romantic like that, took her hand and asked her. "Liz, will you go to prom with me?", while holding out the tickets like a guy holds a ring." he grinned "Naturally that wasn't good enough for her, so she flat out told me to re do it. Which I knew she would do. So I said 'damn, I better get some cream for that burn' and because she's sarcastic, she opened the drawer where we keep the burn cream. In the drawer, I had a hand written note in German, so naturally she demanded I translate it. It ended up being 'what's white and wears black and can't dance?' so when she sighed and dramatically asked what, I said me on the dancefloor at prom, with you."

It might not have seemed like something amazing, but the fact Gil knew just what Liz would do, and that she did do those things, showed how well he knew her. The casual way, the over exaggerated way he asked, was a mark to their long standing friendship. Gil wasn't a romantic. They were friends longer than a couple, and their friendship was full of pranks, sarcasm, jokes, teasing, and doing stupid things just like that exchange.

Liz had said yes, because she couldn't think of a more moving and meaningful way to be asked to prom. Her best friend, her boyfriend, their relationship, it all was summed up by Gil's seemingly simple plan.

Ludwig and Gil's friends got the meaning in that, and by the excited shiver Felica did too. They all had romantic ways, each in their own unique way.

Time wore on and they moved for the dance floor. They danced for a good hour, to the fast party songs. Gil and Liz did some dirty dancing, with some grinding and some flirty grabs, but it was in good fun. They also got into a few fierce make out sessions, and by the end of the hour Gil had more lipstick on him than Liz had on her.

They had to be out of the room by midnight, and it was already coming up on eleven thirty. So the DJ switched to playing slow songs.

Gil smiled, shifting and taking her right hand, and placing his left hand on her hip. She stepped close to him, her hand on his chest. They started to sway, moving in a lazy circle.

"You know, I never imagined prom being like this." he said

"What did you see?" her green eyes searched his red ones

"I never thought I'd be slow dancing with my dream girlfriend, that's for sure. I guess I figured I wouldn't go."

Liz was caught on the words 'dream girlfriend', and Gil could tell.

"Did you think you were the only person who had a dream date?"

"No I…just didn't think…I'd be yours."

The song ended and went into another slow song but they didn't stop dancing.

"Well, my dream girl was always a tough girl. One who could play with the boys, handle the teasing and the humor, but be able to blow me away when she dressed up. I had always wanted my girlfriend to be my best friend…I just didn't know she would actually be my best friend."

Liz looked up at him "You know, I didn't see prom like this either. I saw myself dancing with a boy who knew how to waltz, with that dream guy. I just didn't know my dream guy would be a bore. I'm glad that my heart picked someone else. I'm glad I came with you, with my best friend. I don't have to worry about a hissy fit, or worrying I'll get drugged or something. I know that if the punch is spiked, I'll be safe with you. Beyond all that, I'm glad I was wrong about my dream guy."

"You're glad Roderich broke your heart?" he raised his eyebrow.

"No, I'm glad I had someone loyal enough to be there when I fell. To have someone who would heal the hurt, and never let me down like that again."

Now it was Gil's turn to be moved.

Gil leaned down and kissed her, a long sweet kiss. His hands fell to her hips, and her hands rested on his neck. They stopped moving, and kissed each other long and loving. They didn't have to worry about their relationship lasting past prom. They didn't have to worry about college pulling them apart.

They were best friends, they knew each other, they trusted each other. They held each other's secrets, and with those secrets they had the power to destroy each other. But they didn't, because they weren't just a boy and a girl dating. They were two lifelong friends, who knew each other's flaws and faults and didn't care.

They were perfect together. She was the girl he had always loved, in one way or another. The girl he trusted and leaned on. He was the boy she relied on, who was always there when she needed him. He was the boy she had confidence in, after all; he was the boy she brought home.

The End

So I hope you liked the ending. What did you think about this chapter and the book all together? Thanks for reading, and all those lovely reviews, follows and favorites, you guys are great! I hope you enjoyed the book as a whole, so please leave those final reviews for me!