Chapter 15

May 30th, 1987

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and before Rachel realized it, it had been almost a year since the summer she had spent with Ross and tonight was finally Ross' senior prom night.

Last month, after her cheer practice, Ross had asked her to go to the prom with him.

He had waited until everyone left before he took out a stuffed t-rex - wearing some sort of a t-shirt, from his backpack. Rachel couldn't read what's written on the dinosaur's shirt until after he finally stood right before her. The word 'prom' with capital letters and question marks written on the dinosaur's shirt. Rachel smiled and she finally figured out what exactly he was trying to do.

He was doing the promposal.

Finally.

It was a month before the prom and promposals were being asked left and right here in Lincoln High. Emily had been asked by Will just the week before and even though Ross and Rachel were dating, Rachel was secretly waiting for him to ask, but he never did.

Well, not until that day…

"Rachel Karen Green," he said as he handed her the stuffed t-rex, kneeling in front of her with a goofy grin on his face. "Will you make me the luckiest guy in this school and be my prom date?"

"A t-rex, seriously?" she smiled at him, amused at his choice of stuffed animals. "There's teddy bears or even bunnies, but you chose a t-rex?"

"Teddy bears and bunnies are way too common," he shrugged. "I want to give you something special, something that reminds you of me."

"Hence the t-rex," she giggled. "You do have a weird obsession over dinosaurs," she said, clearly teasing him.

"It's not weird," he quickly protested, his forehead creased into a frown. "But seriously? Are you ever going to answer my question?"

"What was it again?" she asked, biting her inner mouth to prevent her from laughing out loud.

Ross shook his head and sighed, albeit a smile on his lips knowing she was only joking around with him. This is what he loved most about them after all. He loved their playful banters and their harmful teases. He loved how they could be both best friends and also a couple. He loved how easily they could switch between the two, how he could be himself and let his guard down whenever he was with her.

"Rachel Karen Green," he repeated, earning a huge grin from his girlfriend's lips. "-be my prom date?"

"I'd love to," her eyes sparked as she answered him, all the playful jokes were long gone. "Come here, you," she murmured and smiled before quickly pulling him off the floor.

The couple stayed in their little happy bubble – kissing, until finally they heard someone clear their throat and it turned out they weren't alone anymore. The janitor was there to clean up the gym and with pink cheeks, Ross and Rachel quickly rose up from the floor and made their way out of school to their favorite ice cream parlor, giggling and laughing about the recent incident.

Rachel turned to her bed, looking at the stuffed t-rex that was now becoming a permanent resident in her bed. She smiled, even if she personally thought dinosaurs were hideous, this was an exception. This stuffed t-rex he got her was special. He was right. It did remind her a lot of him and holding it while she slept somehow made her sleep better.

"Oh, my sweet little pumpkin…" Rachel heard her father's voice and when she turned around, she saw him standing by her doorway, unshed tears in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Daddy…" Rachel's voice sounded choked up when she spoke.

"You look so beautiful…" Leonard Green said as he entered his daughter's room. "When did my little girl grow up into such a beautiful young lady?"

"Thank you, daddy" Rachel smiled, kissing her dad's cheeks before turning around to look at her reflection in the mirror.

She smoothed the fabric of her black dress with her fingers, smiling when she felt satisfied with how the dress fitted her perfectly.

"Oh, sweetheart," another voice joined the father and daughter, this time the voice belonged to Sandra Green. "You look so beautiful… I bet Ross is going to be so happy to see you tonight."

For once the parents didn't fight or argue, instead they stood behind their daughter, watching in awe as their little girl blossomed into such a beautiful young woman. Sandra helped Rachel to fix her dress, whilst Leonard Green took the opportunity to snap a few pictures and recorded this moment on his video camera. Rachel was smiling the whole time, more than happy to see her parents getting along with each other.

A few minutes passed by and finally the doorbell rang.

"He's here," Rachel murmured, suddenly feeling nervous.

"I'll get the door," Sandra volunteered before kissing her daughter's cheeks. "You really look so beautiful, sweetheart. Ross is such a lucky boy."

"Damn right he is," Leonard muttered quietly.

"Daddy…" Rachel turned around, warning in her voice.

The relationship between Leonard and Ross was not that bad. They weren't exactly best buddies, but Leonard wasn't exactly hostile with him either. Ross often joined Rachel to meet her dad and sisters on their weekly dinner. Even so, it was Leonard's job as a father to look out for his daughters, so he couldn't help but feel overprotective when it came to his daughters.

"Alright, alright. I won't give him a hard time," Leonard promised as he kissed his daughter's cheeks. "Now, take a few minutes to get ready. I'll be downstairs so I can make sure to get you on my camera."

"Thank you, daddy," Rachel smiled and when her dad left, she looked at her reflection for the last time in the mirror before she finally made her way downstairs to meet Ross.

Ross stood gingerly in front of The Green's residence as he waited for someone to answer the door.

He fixed his tie for the hundredth times that night, wanting to make sure he looked his best for her tonight. He had spent nearly an hour in front of the mirror to get ready today, making sure his hair was perfectly styled just the way he knew she'd like it. He wanted this night to be perfect, not for him, but for her.

He almost couldn't believe he was here to take Rachel - his girlfriend, to his senior prom night.

When his senior year started, he never thought that he'd care so much about the prom night. In fact, he thought about skipping it all at once. He hated the idea of not having a date on his prom night and he was dreading the idea of asking a girl to be his date.

Ross was perfectly aware that the girl in his school didn't find him even slightly attractive. He even heard some of them talking behind his back, making fun of his now-gone mustache and afro. They talked about what a loser they thought he was, that no girl in their right mind would go on a date with a guy like him.

He was self-conscious about how he looked, more so over tonight.

It looked like his make-over only did so much after all. Even after he changed his looks, occasionally, he'd still think that he wasn't good enough and that he certainly wasn't good enough for her. Rachel was the most beautiful girl in Lincoln High and in the whole world, if you asked Ross. Being with her sometimes made him feel inadequate. That was why he spent hours getting ready today. He wanted to at least look half-decent standing next to her.

Fixing his hair for the last time, Ross straightened up his body as he heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. He took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop beating uncontrollably. He braced himself when the door finally opened and with a smile on his face, he greeted Rachel's mom, who was now standing right in front of him with a smile also plastered on her lips.

"Oh, Ross…" Sandra Green greeted him with a warm smile. "Come on in. Rachel is just finished getting ready, she should be down in a minute."

"Thank you, Mrs. Green."

Ross cleared his throat as he began to take a few steps inside the house.

The Green's house was so big, almost like a mansion.

It wasn't his first time stepping his foot inside of this house, but he couldn't stop marveling at how beautiful the house was. A huge piece of art hung in the wall was always the first thing that caught his attention every time he stepped his foot inside of Rachel's house. Ross knew nothing about painting, but it did look sophisticated and clearly expensive, probably even more expensive than the car his dad just got a few months ago.

"Geller."

A heavy voice interrupted Ross' train of thoughts and he felt his whole body tensed when he recognized who the voice belonged to. He quickly looked up at the direction of the stairwell and gulped nervously.

"Dr. Green," Ross greeted his girlfriend's father. "I-It's nice to uhm, see you again, Sir."

Ross had joined The Green's for Christmas dinner just a few months ago and since then, he'd joined Rachel for an occasional Sunday lunch with her dad and sisters. It wasn't the first time Ross had seen Dr. Green in a while, but still, Rachel's father had this aura that always managed to make Ross' legs quiver and his whole body covered in nervous sweats.

Leonard was about to open his mouth to make a comment about how a real man shouldn't stutter when he spoke, but he bit his tongue when he recalled the promise he made to his daughter just a while ago.

Instead, Leonard sighed.

"Rachel should be ready soon," Leonard informed Ross. "-and the usual rules apply. Do you hear me, Geller?"

"Yes, sir," Ross nodded his head rather immediately as Leonard's strict gaze bore into his eyes. "No alcohol, no speeding, and no funny business. I'll bring her home safely before eleven."

Ross knew the drill. He said the lines he knew by heart having to take Rachel on a few dates while she was staying with her dad on occasional weekends and school breaks.

"Good," Leonard nodded approvingly.

"Now enough torturing the poor boy," Sandra interjected. "- and look who's here."

Leonard and Ross' eyes followed the direction of where Sandra was now looking and that was when Ross saw Rachel for the first time tonight.

Ross' eyes immediately went big and his jaw dropped as he stared at her slowly descended the stairs, a rather shy smile gracing her lips as her blue met his hazel one. She looked really beautiful in her off-shoulder black dress. Ross swallowed as his eyes travelled from her eyes down to the exposed skin around her shoulder and then slowly to the rest of her body, noticing how the dress managed to highlight every curve of her body flawlessly.

"Hey, you…" She whispered as she finally took the last step, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as her gaze locked with Ross'.

"H-hey…" Ross finally managed to say after a few moments. "Y-you uhm, you look really beautiful."

"Thanks," Rachel blushed. "You uhm, you don't look so bad yourself."

They smiled at each other, for a moment forgetting that they weren't the only person in the room. It wasn't until Leonard cleared his throat that finally the young couple broke their gaze, both blushing when they finally realized that they weren't alone.

"I uhm, this is for you," Ross first handed Rachel a single white lily just like the way he did on every official date he took her to.

"Thank you," She took the flower, inhaling the smell, and smiled thankfully at him. "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," Ross grinned, but soon his cheeks turned pink just like Rachel's when once again Leonard cleared his throat. "-and uhm, this is for you too. May I?" Ross asked as he held a corsage made of a variety of white and maroon flowers in his hand.

Rachel smiled and nodded.

With her approval and his shaky hand, Ross pinned the corsage on Rachel's dress and as he neared the area of her chest, Leonard once again cleared his throat.

"Watch your hand there, young man."

"Yes, sir," Ross swallowed, suddenly his hands were shaking more than ever. "There. I'm not sure what color to pick, but Monica told me that you're wearing black dress tonight. I hope you like it."

"I love it," Rachel sighed, a huge smile on her lips as she fidgeted with the corsage on her dress. "It's so beautiful, thank you."

She leaned in to kiss Ross' cheeks quickly which made Ross blushed furiously knowing that her parents were watching their every interaction.

Leonard cleared his throat again, gaining the young couple's attention.

"Why don't you stand over there? Your dad is going to take a few pictures of you two together," Sandra said to her daughter.

With matching smiles on their faces, Ross and Rachel quickly obliged. He took her hand and together they posed on the bottom of the stairs, Ross' hands were protectively wrapped on her middle as he stood right behind her.

The couple smiled brightly as the camera flashed and another core memory, created.

Rachel looked around the crowded room, a smile on her lips as she greeted a few of her friends she recognized. The school's gym was packed with seniors, a huge banner with the word 'Class of 1987' hung on the wall, loud music was playing in the background, and people were dancing on the dance floors.

She had taken a photo with Ross on the entrance, as well as with a few of Ross' friends, like Emily and Will. They had chatted a bit before Will decided to take Emily to the dance floor, leaving Ross and Rachel alone. She and Ross opted to stay behind for now, deciding to fill their stomach first before they hit the dance floor.

The dance floor was overly crowded at the moment and Rachel almost choked on her drink as she watched her fellow cheer team get scolded by the vice-principal from dancing way too close to her date.

"Hey," her boyfriend's voice interrupted her thought. "Sorry it took me so long, the line in the bathroom is crazy," he sighed, kissing her cheeks and taking his paper cup out of her hand as he did so. "What am I missing?"

"Well, vice-principal Curtis is not happy to see Amy grinding her ass on Brian's crotch," Rachel giggled and then pointed at another direction of the room. "-and you see that girl over there with a scowl on her face?"

"Yeah," Ross nodded, frowning a bit as he noticed how the girl he recognized from Biology class was on the verge of crying as she stared at Amy and Brian. "Is she crying?"

"Uh-huh, poor girl," Rachel said. "Brian dumped her for Amy just last night and now she's left with no date."

"Seriously?" Ross asked and Rachel just nodded. "How do you even know about this?"

"Gossips travel faster than wildfire here in Lincoln High," Rachel smirked.

"Wow," Ross murmured, looking at his girlfriend with an amused smile on his lips.

She did love gossip.

"What?"

"Nothing," he assured her, leaning in to kiss her cheeks.

Suddenly, the light dimmed and the whole ambience changed. The DJ changed the music into a slower one and Ross' eyes lightened up as he recognized the song.

He placed his and her paper cup on the table and then he asked, "Dance with me?"

Rachel smiled, "Of course."

See the stone set in your eyes

See the thorn twist in your side

I'll wait for you

Sleight of hand and twist of fate

On a bed of nails, she makes me wait

And I wait without you

"Oh, I love this song," Rachel sighed as they danced in the middle of the dancing floor. She leaned her head into his chest as they swayed with the music. "Do you know who sings it?"

"U2," he replied. "It's their new song. I listened to it the other day on the radio and I've been meaning to get the tape for you. I just know you're going to like it."

"I love it," Rachel beamed. "Let's head to the store tomorrow and get each of us a copy."

With or without you

With or without you, ah, ah

I can't live

With or without you

Rachel let the lyrics sink in and suddenly she felt her eyes wet from unshed tears. She buried her head further into his chest, begging herself not to cry.

"You alright?" he asked after noticing that she had suddenly become quiet.

"Yeah," she nodded as she looked up to flash him a smile. "I'm alright, just happy right now."

He smiled at her, kissing the top of her head lovingly as he murmured, "Me too. I'd never thought I could be so happy going to the prom, but with you, I'm happier than I've ever been."

"You know what will make you even happier?" she asked with a hint of mischievous smile on her lips.

"What?" he cocked his head slightly, watching her with an amused smile on his face.

"I know a place where we can make out without getting caught."

Ross quickly looked around, noticing that approximately a dozen of teachers and parents were there watching them.

"I don't know," Ross hesitated. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't," Rachel promised him, taking his hand and dragging him across the room toward the exit.

"Rachel, wait," Ross stopped her as they were getting near the exit. He looked around again, making sure that no one was on their earshot. "I really don't think it's a great idea."

"Oh, come on," Rachel whined, shooting him her best puppy-dog eyes. "Please? This is getting boring and I just want to spend some time alone with you."

"Alright, fine," Ross sighed. "Lead the way."

Rachel's lips curved into the biggest smile as she took his hand and dragged him toward the exit.

About forty-five minutes later, Ross and Rachel came back. Her dress was now rumpled and he was missing a button on his shirt. Her lipstick was smeared, but thankfully Ross had noticed it and fixed it before anyone could see.

Clearing his throat, Ross joined Will, Emily, and a few of his friends.

"Hey, guys," Ross greeted his friends.

"Nice," Will gave Ross two thumbs up. "Way to go, man."

"Shut up," Ross blushed madly under his friends' scrutiny, meanwhile Rachel just smiled satisfied, leaning closer into Ross' arms and practically clung into him. "Did they announce the queen and king yet?"

"Not yet," Emily replied, but then smirked when she noticed the lipstick stain on Ross' neck. "Hey, Ross?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to wipe the lipstick stain on your neck," Emily said teasingly.

"Oops," Rachel winced and quickly wiped his neck with her fingers. "There, it's gone now. Sorry."

"It's alright," Ross said genuinely, knowing he couldn't' regret the thing they had just done a while ago. His cheeks blushed slightly at the thought of it. "I'm having the most amazing time tonight, thanks to you," he murmured near her ear so that their other friends couldn't hear their conversations.

"Me too," she murmured back, her cheeks also pink as they maintained their gaze to one another.

"It's starting," Will announced, effectively breaking the couple from their intense gaze.

Ross and Rachel, along with their friends, listened as the school announced this year's prom's king and queen. Ross wasn't particularly interested in it, but apparently his girlfriend thought otherwise. She was so invested in it that he could see the spark in her eyes as they crowned the prom king and queen.

"Next year the title is going to be mine," Rachel said resolutely, determination in her eyes. "-and you're going to be there with me, because I want to dance with you afterwards."

"Is this you asking me to be your prom date next year?" Ross cocked his eyebrow, a grin on his face.

"Yes," she answered in a heartbeat. "So… What do you say? Wanna be my prom date next year?"

"It'd be my pleasure," Ross murmured, capturing her lips into a kiss. After a while, they broke away and his fingers moved into her face, brushing a strand of her hair aside as they looked into each other's eyes. "I'll be here next year, no matter what."

The couple exchanged sad smiles, painfully knowing what it meant for them to make promises for next year without having to say the words out loud.

"Come on," he kissed her once more before taking her hand in his. "Let's go outside to get some fresh air. We still have an hour or so before we need to go back."

He led her to lay down on the grass – in the middle of the field, they looked up at the clear night sky and watched the stars together, their hands intertwined. Time stood still as the two of them laid beneath the ocean of stars, no words needed to be spoken. They just laid there – absorbing every second they got together – painfully knowing that possibly in the near future, a moment like this was going to be harder to come by if he moved away for college.

Rachel bit her lips, her eyes stung with hot tears she refused to shed.

She couldn't cry.

Not today.

Today was a happy day and she wouldn't ruin it by crying over something that didn't even happen yet. She tried to push the thought of Ross leaving away from her mind, but in the end, she failed.

She couldn't stop thinking about it.

It had been plaguing her mind as soon as the semester started. She had watched him getting busy as he began to prepare his college applications. Accompanying him as he wrote his college resumes over the weekends. Listening to him talking excitedly about the school that was on the other side of the coast, his dream school.

Wanting to be a supportive girlfriend, she had done everything to support him. Even if it meant that she had to swallow her own feelings as she watched him excitedly talked about the future he wanted to pursue, what he wanted to do as soon as college started.

Her boyfriend was so excited about college. He despised high school and he wanted to leave as soon as possible; she knew that. High school for Ross Geller was a living hell. He had once told her that if it wasn't for Rachel, he probably wouldn't survive high school.

High school was harsh.

The kids were mean to kids like him.

Meanwhile in college, he could finally be in his element, be with the people who shared the same interests as he did and he was so excited about it, and about Berkeley in particular.

Her breaths suddenly hitched as the thought of him leaving for California entered her mind. She had promised not to cry, not to beg him to stay, not to hold him back from his dreams. But it was getting hard as they were getting closer and closer toward his graduation.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he turned over so that he could face her.

"Hey," he spoke softly. "Look at me."

Rachel was still looking up at the sky although she was completely aware of the pair of hazel eyes that were watching her intently. She couldn't look at him because if she did, she knew she was going to cry. So, she bit her lips harder, forcing her tears to stay inside because at this point, Ross would know if she'd cry.

"Rach… Please?" he begged when she did nothing to comply. "Look at me."

When she finally did look at him, he could see the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Rach," He murmured softly, pulling her into his arms and then she finally sobbed.

"I-I'm so sorry," she hiccupped. "I-I know it's supposed to be a happy day. I don't know why I can't stop crying. I'm sorry for ruining the night."

"Hey, no. You're not ruining anything," He assured her, tilting her chin so that he could see straight in her eyes. He then smiled at her, wiping the remnants of her tears away. "Listen to me," he said, taking her hand into his lap as he looked straight into her blue eyes. "I know we haven't talked much about it. But no matter what happens in the future, I'm going to be right here with you next year. I'm not leaving you, ever. I love you so much and I'll never let you go."

"Promise?"

Her voice was little and unsure when she spoke that it broke his heart into pieces. At this point he didn't even know how he was going to leave this town without her. He didn't know if he could leave her.

"I promise," he sighed, tracing her jaw with his fingers before he finally kissed her. "You're it for me, Rach," he murmured against her lips. "No matter what happens, I'll always come back to you."

"Ross, sweetheart? Come down here for a minute, there's mail for you."

The next day, Ross heard his mom calling his name from downstairs. Ross wasted no time to climb down the stairs and immediately, his mom welcomed him with a smile.

"Yes, mom?"

"This came for you today," Judy handed Ross a piece of letter. "It's from Berkeley."

"Thanks mom," Ross murmured as he accepted the letter.

For a moment, he just stood there as he stared at the envelope in his hand.

This envelope would eventually determine his future and his hand was shaking when he held it.

For some reason, he was having mixed feelings about it.

A part of him hoped that he'd get accepted, this was his dream after all. But another part of him was dreading the thought of leaving Rachel to the opposite coast. Long distance relationship wasn't impossible, he knew a lot of people had actually done that, but the thought of not being able to see her everyday made his stomach churned.

He didn't want to go.

He didn't want to leave her, especially not after what happened last night at the prom.

Ross swallowed, his fingers hovering over the envelope, but he didn't open it yet.

"Ross…" Judy Geller's voice caught Ross's attention. "Everything is going to be alright between you and Rachel, no matter what the letter says. Just remember to be honest with what you want, both to yourself and to Rachel. You owe yourself at least that much."

"I know, mom," Ross smiled before his finger finally moved as he ripped the envelope.

Slowly, Ross took the piece of paper out from the envelope, opened it, and read it silently. It took Ross a couple minutes to read the whole letter and when he was done, his face was still so pensive that Judy had no clue what it meant.

"Well?" Judy asked expectantly. "What does it say?"

Ross read the letter one more time before a smile finally crept out from his lips.

"I got in."

A/N

Finally, the prom night! First of all, prom is not something common in my country (at least not until recently), so I know nothing about it besides what I gathered from the movies and the internet lol Feel free to correct me if I made some mistakes! :)

I know I made a big time jump from the previous chapter, but I've been itching to write about Ross and Rachel's prom night for a while. Ever since I saw the episode 'The One with the Prom Video', I couldn't stop imagining what it'd be like if Chip never showed up and Ross took Rachel to the prom. I just know I had to write it for this story, even though it was different (from the dress and everything), because it was Ross' senior prom, a year prior from the real prom episode. I actually stumbled upon Jen's prom picture when I was doing my research, so that's the dress I imagined Rachel wore when I wrote this chapter. Oh, and I was a little shocked when I found out that U2 released the song just months before what would've been Ross' senior prom, so I couldn't not include it in this chapter. I really hope you all like it!

Lastly, I apologized for the delay and as usual, let me know what you think! Thank you! :)