Around the middle of November, there was a dance at Mina's school. She was excited because she'd never been to a high school dance before, and she secretly hoped that she'd have a chance to dance with Derek. When the night of the dance finally came, she went into the gym and looked for him.

"Mina! Over here!" Xander, having spotted Mina, waved to her from across the room.

"Hey, Xander!" Mina went over and hugged her friend.

"How are you? Is your knee better?" Xander asked, remembering what had happened on Halloween.

"I'm much better." Mina smiled. "Thanks again for helping me."

Xander blushed. "Listen, Mina, there's something I really want to talk to you about."

"Sure, what is it?"

Xander took a deep breath. "The thing is, I..."

Suddenly, Zondra came running up to Xander. "I love this song! Come and dance with me, Xander!"

Xander sighed, knowing that Zondra wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed to dance with her. Besides, he didn't feel like he could tell Mina what he wanted to tell her with Zondra watching. "I'll be right there." He turned back to Mina. "Sorry."

"No problem." Mina said. "Have either of you seen Derek?"

Xander frowned. "No, why?"

Zondra grinned when she saw how Mina's eyes lit up when she mentioned Derek's name. Maybe Mina wasn't a threat after all! "Let's just go dance, Xander." She dragged her brother away.

Later that night, the Vitus twins got separated in the crowded room. As Zondra walked around looking for Xander, she bumped into Derek. "Hi, Derek."

"Hey, Zondra." Derek grinned. Just then, a slow song started playing. "Would you like to dance?" He asked shyly.

"No thanks." Zondra's eyes darted around the room, still searching for Xander. When she glanced at Derek's disappointed expression, she felt a pang of guilt. She lightly touched his arm. "Sorry. Why don't you ask Mina? I think she likes you!"

"Uh, okay." Derek looked around until he saw Mina, then made his way over to her. He was unsure about this, but Zondra clearly wasn't interested, and he didn't feel like just standing around instead of dancing. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He approached Mina, who was talking to Xander.

Xander stopped talking when he saw Derek. "I'll just talk to you later. It's not that important." He smiled at Mina and giggled nervously, mentally kicking himself for not just spitting out what he'd been wanting to say.

"Sure, no problem." Mina smiled back, then her smile got wider when she noticed Derek standing there.

"Mina, um..." Derek fidgeted and stared at the floor. "Would you like to dance?"

"Okay!" Mina walked with him to a spot that wasn't crowded, then put her arms around his neck. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he put his hands on her waist and they began swaying to the music. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. She was so happy that she didn't even notice or care that he stepped on her feet a few times.

As they danced, Derek took a good look at Mina. He'd never really paid attention to her big green eyes before, but now he was captivated by them. It wasn't just her eyes. He found her beautiful, inside and out. They already knew that they had many things in common, like their birthdays and their mutual love for old movies, and they enjoyed spending time together. Was Zondra right? Did Mina really like him that way? Derek had the sudden urge to find out. He leaned in for a kiss, and was delighted to find that she seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.

Xander looked on with despair as Mina and Derek kissed and continued to dance. With tears in his eyes, he turned away from them and came face to face with his sister. He threw himself into her arms and cried on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about her, Xander." Zondra rubbed his back. "I love you, and I'll never leave you. You know that, don't you?"

Xander gave her a small smile and nodded.

When the dance was over and everyone was going home, Frank arrived to pick Mina up. He got out of his truck when he saw a familiar face, and walked over to where this person was standing. "Hello, Brad."

Brad frowned when he saw Frank. "Oh, hi."

"What are you doing here?" Frank crossed his arms.

"I'm here to pick up my son." Brad looked at the door and smiled when it opened. "Oh, here he is now!" He took a closer look. "And he's with a girl. She's pretty!" He grinned when he saw Derek put his arms around Mina and kiss her. "That's my boy!" Brad beamed with pride.

Frank followed Brad's gaze and his mouth dropped open. "That girl happens to be..." His eyes grew wide. "... my daughter!"

Brad's smile disappeared. "You mean she's Janet's daughter?"

"Of course, Brad." Frank rolled his eyes.

Brad gazed sadly at Derek. "My poor boy... Derek's going to get his heart broken, I just know it. That girl's probably a slut, just like her mother."

"You ASSHOLE!" Frank lunged at Brad. "Don't you dare say things like that about Janet and Mina!" He punched Brad in the face.

A crowd gathered around at that moment, including Derek and Mina. "Dad!" Derek cried. "What happened?"

"I'll explain later." Brad sighed and attempted to get his nosebleed to stop. "Just get away from that girl and come with me." He angrily stomped away.

Derek glanced confusedly at Mina before following his father to their car.

"Dad, what was that about?" Mina asked as she watched Derek leave. Turning to face Frank, she found him standing there looking like he was fighting back tears. "Daddy? Are you okay?"

Frank glared at her. "Okay? No, I am not okay! First, I catch you kissing a boy. A boy who just so happens to be the son of Brad Majors. To top it all off..." He let out an anguished sob and waved his hand in front of her face. "I broke a nail!"