Disclaimer: The main characters don't belong to me, but the rest does.

Dear Diary,

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have written that out, now it looks a bit silly.

Still, I needed something to express that this has been the MOST MOMENTOUS NIGHT of my life so far, and a DRAMATIC TURNING POINT!

I'll do this properly and start from the beginning, even if I'm dying to tell you.

So, tonight was prom night. No, that isn't why I'm so excited. I really wasn't expecting prom night to be one of the high points of my life. I may love dressing up, but I hate real parties with loud music and no cake.

First, this afternoon, I went over to Meg's house to get ready together. We'd both contemplated and rejected the idea of getting our hair and makeup done professionally, both because it's expensive and we wanted a more 'natural' look (i.e. no foundation, contouring, etc.). Also, her mom is a boss when it comes to hair.

I went for a half-up, half-down style, and curled what I could. For makeup, I pretty much stuck to eyes and lips. Meg, since her hair is really short, just styled even more nicely than usual; she also did something to make her eyes look really sultry, which went well with her red dress.

Devin joined us right before it was time to leave, and then after taking a bunch of pictures, Meg's mom drove us to the hotel downtown where the school had rented out a large reception room.

The best part of the actual prom was when we first got there. I love people-watching, and it was fun to see everyone all dressed up and looking different from how they usually do. Some 'plain' girls managed to make themselves look really pretty, and it was nice to see them enjoy their Cinderella moment. Some pretty girls somehow managed to make themselves look less pretty than usual through excessive/strange makeup choices. The boys wore some… interestingly-colored waistcoats.

Of course, regardless of what anyone looked like, everyone, including me, exchanged the obligatory "you look amazing!" with everyone else.

After about an hour of looking at each other's clothes and taking pictures, we had to go sit down at our assigned tables. There was an announcement, then we all rushed to get food from the buffet. The food was pretty standard party food: pizza, chicken nuggets and so on. Thankfully, it being a school event, there was no alcohol.

After that, the dancing started, and things got pretty boring for me, since I don't know how to modern-dance. The music was awful and painfully loud. (I wonder if a school has ever been sued for one of their dances causing tinnitus?)

I carried on people-watching and munching on french fries alone, since Meg and Devin disappeared into the dance floor. After about a half hour of that, feeling pretty pathetic, I took out my phone to distract myself.

I had a message from Erik asking if I was enjoying myself. I replied that I had been up until a certain point, but was now deathly bored.

"They're all just jumping up and down, and my ears hurt" I wrote. "Also, I can only drink so much coke in one evening.'

"Ah, I see…" he texted back.

Then: "Do you need rescuing?"

"What do you mean, 'rescuing'?"

"I could come pick you up and take you somewhere we can dance properly."

I felt a definite thrill at the idea, but it also made me nervous. "That sounds tempting, but I dunno… I *did* pay 40 dollars for admission."

His next text appeared almost instantly (he can type uncannily fast): "My dear, it is a waste of a beautiful dress for you to be sitting there all alone in the dark eating junk food while your hearing is permanently damaged."

That made me laugh. "Fair point." I looked over at the dance floor, and saw Meg having the time of her life dancing with Devin. She would be fine without me, I thought to myself.

I took a deep breath, and texted him again: "All right, so what's the plan?"

"I will be there in half an hour. You get your coat, and wait for me in the lobby."

"But where are we going?"

"Patience, my dear. It is a surprise."

":P"

"Manners."

I decided I really needed to tell Meg before leaving, so I gathered all my courage and tackled the dance floor. Eventually, after awkwardly walking through the crowd of dancing people, I managed to find her, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Christine!" she shouted excitedly. "Dance with me!" She grabbed my hands and started moving them in time with the music, while I just sort of stood there. (She meant well, but I hate it when people do that!)

I did my best to shout over the music: "Meg, I'm leaving soon, but have fun, all right! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Her face fell. "What do you mean, you're leaving? We don't even know who the prom king and queen are yet!"

"Yeah, but we don't know anyone who's running, remember!"

"Yes but stiiiill! Where are you going, anyway?"

I leaned in to try to speak directly into her ear: "Mr. Destler is picking me up! I told him I was — feeling a bit under the weather!"

"Under the what?"

"Under the weather!"

It was a real nightmare trying to talk with the music that loud. I could feel myself straining my voice.

"Wait, so Mr. Destler is picking you up? Oooh…" She wiggled her eyebrows.

I nodded and grinned rather sheepishly, and then ran off before she could say anything else.

I made a very quick trip to the bathroom, during which I reapplied my lipstick and made sure my hair was in good order. A lot of girls were doing the same thing, so I had to get on tip-toe to catch a look at myself in the mirror.

Then I got my coat, and went to wait in the hotel lobby. That was pretty awkward too, but at least it was blissfully quiet there compared to the reception hall.

I could see the street outside through the glass doors, and it was only a few minutes before I saw Erik's car appear. When it did, I jumped to my feet and rushed outside, since I was pretty sure cars were not allowed to wait there. I opened the door, had a look inside to make sure it was Erik driving and not some serial killer, then plopped down into my usual seat with a sigh.

"Good evening, my dear." He began to drive. "You are a vision of loveliness."

I blushed in the dark. I tried to think of a clever comeback, but instead only said, "Thank you."

I had another look at him. He was wearing a tuxedo!

"You're looking quite dapper yourself."

"Hmm. I thought that since I am to closest thing you have to a prom date, I should dress the part." After a pause, he added, "If you look on the back seat, you will find a corsage you may wear if you choose."

It was a small bunch of blue and ivory flowers. "Thank you!" I arranged it on my wrist. "I would hug you if you weren't driving!"

"Well, you can save it for when we arrive."

"…Where?"

"You shall see. All in good time."

This time, though, I was able to guess. I noticed we were driving in the right direction for the opera house. I felt unbelievably excited, but I kept my mouth in case I had guessed wrong.

Sure enough, we pulled into that same creepy underground parking lot we had last time.

As soon as we'd parked, I triumphantly exclaimed, "I knew it!" I could not stop grinning. "Are we going to the stage again?" I started looking around for the "STAFF ONLY" door we had gone through last time.

He laughed, and said, "Not exactly. This time, we are going to Fairyland."

"Ooh, are we now?"

"Yes."

"But is it still through the same door as last time?"

"Yes."

Then I remembered: "I almost forgot — I owe you a hug!"

"Hmm, so you do. And 'no-one likes a debtor' — as I believe the saying goes."

I dutifully — and enthusiastically — hugged him. He smelled very nice.

He cleared his throat, and then lead me to the door I'd been looking for. Once more, he took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

He offered me his hand, and I took it. We stepped into the darkness.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I remembered about the rats. I had completely forgotten about them.

"Umm, Erik… Those rats from last time — are they still there?"

"The rats? Ah — yes — probably. Dear me. I suppose it is better if I carry you, just in case?"

"I suppose? I mean… I'm pretty heavy, so…"

"You are not heavy!" And just like that, he swept me off my feet. It was really quite alarming in the dark.

"What if you trip on something and drop me? How can you see anything?

"Do not worry. I have excellent night vision."

So he did. This time, we made our way to the backstage area a good deal quicker, and without any hitches.

He finally put me down, and said, "Close your eyes."

I closed my eyes.

"Right," he said, "this should just take a minute. Don't look."

It might only have taken only a minute, but it felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, I heard music. I recognized it as the waltz from Swan Lake.

"Can I look now?"

"No. Give me your hand first."

I did, and he led me to what I presumed was the stage.

"Open your eyes."

I did, and was amazed. We were indeed on the stage, but this time the sets were still in place, so that it looked completely different. From the music and the lake on the backdrop, I guessed we were supposed to be in Swan Lake. Only the stage was lit, while the rest of the auditorium was in total darkness. It was magical, and indeed a bit like being in Fairyland. Erik only let me gape at the surroundings for an instant before he suddenly pulled me into a ballroom hold, and we began to waltz.

We spun around so quickly that I felt quite dizzy, but Erik held me so securely and led so well that I somehow just kept on waltzing. It was wonderfully like a dream.

When the music came to an end, Erik still kept holding me.

"Christine?"

"Yes?" I said breathlessly.

"Will you…" His voice caught, and I was afraid he would not go on. I was suddenly very nervous.

He shook his head and sighed. "Oh dear… I don't know how to go about this…"

"Yes?"

"Will you… Will you… — I will understand perfectly if you say 'no'! Please do not feel under any obligation to say 'yes,' do you understand? I am fully aware of how old and repulsive I am.'

"Will I what?"

He closed his eyes, and said in a whisper, "Will you… go for coffee with me?"

I couldn't help laughing in relief. "Yes. Of course!"

He just stared at me for a bit, then said, "You do not understand. I do not simply mean 'coffee.' I mean 'coffee' — of the courtship kind."

"Yes, I got that."

"I am not joking."

"Nor am I."

"Ah. All right. I see." He looked utterly confused. "Are you, umm, certain you are quite well?"

I couldn't bear it any longer: "Yes, Erik, I will go on a date with you, and yes, I am sound of mind!" At this point, he looked at me for a long time, in a way that made me feel very shy and nervous, and then, he suddenly and quite unexpectedly gathered me up into his arms and began spinning me around!

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, but I remember that we settled the details of the date, beamed at each other a lot, he drove me home, and when we were saying good night he repeatedly kissed my hands.

I am very sleepy, and very, very happy. Good night, dear Diary.