Drake and Josh characters belong to their proper owners. I did create some characters for this fanfiction. "Measure of a Man" is sung by Clay Aiken. It was written by Steve Morales, Cathy Dennis, and David Seige. Any other songs mentioned also belong to their proper owners. Because you all know how much I love sticking lyrics in these things.

Okay, this is the longest chapter in this entire fanfiction. I sat deleting and rewriting dialogue at the end of this chapter. Let me know what you guys think. There's still one more chapter to go after this one.

"Hey Drake!" yelled Josh, banging on the bathroom door.

"Can't hear you Josh. The shower's running!" called Drake through the door.

"Drake Parker! You can hear me, so hurry up! I need to shower before I go pick up Mindy!"

Josh heard the water stop running and the door opened. Drake stood there grinning.

"Good afternoon Josh," said Drake.

"You're in a good mood," said Josh.

"Why shouldn't I be? I did pretty well on that test this week, I'm Homecoming king, and I get to take the prettiest girl in school to the dance tonight. What could be better?" Drake headed to his room to get ready.

Josh stood there staring after Drake. Boy, he was in a good mood. Josh stepped into the bathroom and got in the shower. They were supposed to be at Alexa's house at 3:30. It was almost 1:30, meaning both guys had to get moving to pick up their girlfriends before then.

Drake stepped into his bedroom and dried his hair with a towel. He combed it and dried it some more. After combing it again he pulled off the sweat pants and t-shirt he'd been wearing and put on his pants and shirt. He wrapped his tie around his neck, that his mom would tie for him downstairs. He pulled his black jacket on and headed downstairs.

"Mom!" he said.

"Hmm?" she asked. "Oh Drake, you look so handsome."

"Thanks Mom. Uh, could you tie my tie?"

"Sure sweetie." She tied and adjusted it for him.

Josh came downstairs with his hair completely dry and all his clothes on. He had managed to tie his tie himself.

"Oh Josh," said Audrey. "You look handsome too. Oh, just wait until prom. You'll both look so wonderful."

Josh hopped into his car to pick Mindy up. Drake sat in his car for a second. This would be the first time in a long time that he saw Cassandra's parents. The thought frightened him a bit. He glanced at the clock on his car. It was 2:15. He was supposed to be at Cassandra's at 2:30. He started the car and headed toward her house.

Outside the door of the Blane household, he paused again. Everything was okay now. They were allowed to see each other again. He rang the doorbell.

In a moment or two, someone he didn't recognize answered.

"Oh, hello," said an older looking man. "You must be Drake. Come right in, and have a seat."

Drake stepped inside the house.

"I'm Cassandra's grandfather," said the older man, giving Drake a wink.

Drake remembered Cassandra telling him about how her grandparents reminded her parents of what they were like when they were a little younger than Drake and Cassandra. He sat down on the couch. Cassandra's grandfather sat down next to him.

"So," he said. "You must be the young man who stole my granddaughter's heart."

"Uh," said Drake. He wasn't really sure how to respond to this. Stole her heart? "Well, I'm pretty sure she likes me," said Drake.

"That was very obvious when we first got here last week," said Cassandra's grandfather. "She seemed quite upset when the topic was brought up. Anyway, Cassandra's mother and grandmother are out shopping and her father is still at work. I was supposed to ask whether you were coming to dinner next weekend though."

"Oh," said Drake. "Yes, I am."

Cassandra walked down the stairs. Drake turned around.

"Wow," he said. "You...you look beautiful."

"Thank you Drake," Cassandra replied, her cheeks turning a bright red. "You look great too."

"Well," said Cassandra's grandfather. "You two have a good time."

Cassandra and Drake walked out to the car. Drake opened the door for her and helped her fit her dress inside. If he slammed the door on it, he knew she'd kill him. Drake walked around and slid into the driver's seat.

"I didn't expect to meet your grandfather," said Drake. "He seemed pretty nice."

"Yeah," said Cassandra. "I don't know why my parents weren't around. I guess they think they'll see you next week. I think they're a little embarrassed about what they did."

"Oh," said Drake. He turned onto the street where Alexa lived and parked his car. He got out and went around to help Cassandra out of the car. They walked up the sidewalk to the house and rang the doorbell. Alexa's mother opened the door.

"Hello Cassandra!" she said. "My you look lovely. Come on around the back. We're taking pictures outside."

Drake and Cassandra followed Alexa's mother around the house into the backyard.

"Hey," said Josh. "You two finally got here."

"Oh, yeah," said Drake. He felt a bit distanced from everything now. He remembered what Cassandra's grandfather had said. Stolen her heart. He was still confused.

Alexa's mother arranged them all into several different poses until she ran out of film in her camera.

"Okay," she said. "The limo is here. You all have fun."

Alexa, her date Greg, Josh, Mindy, Drake and Cassandra all climbed into the limo and headed to the restaurant.

Alexa had chosen the restaurant, and it was a nice one. Josh looked at the prices listed on the menu. Not outrageously expensive but not very cheap either. He was glad he had a job.

The waiter came by and they all ordered. It took some time for the food to come. By then it was about 5:30. The dance started at seven, so they still had time. They ate and talked. Josh was talking to Greg about some video game. Alexa looked slightly annoyed at this. Mindy tried to engage her in conversation, but Alexa was too preoccupied trying to get her date to look in her direction. Drake and Cassandra sat there smiling at their friends as they annoyed each other. They had finished eating and Drake slid his hand over Cassandra's. She accepted it and they sat there holding hands under the table like little kids as Alexa tried to get Greg's attention. Mindy looked at Drake and Cassandra.

"It's hopeless," said Mindy and finished her dinner.

They all arrived at the dance a little before 7:00. Drake slid his crown onto his head.

"How do I look?" he asked Cassandra.

"Great," she replied as she adjusted his crown.

They walked inside and talked with their friends.

Christopher approached Drake and Cassandra.

"Um," said Christopher.

"Yes Chris?" asked Cassandra.

"Um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said. "I guess I was jealous and didn't realize it hurt you that much Cassandra. Drake kinda got you fair and square. So, I'm sorry." He walked away.

"Wow," said Drake. "I wasn't expecting that."

"No," said Cassandra. "I guess he really did feel bad."

At about 9:00 the DJ played a Zero Gravity song. Drake loved Zero Gravity, but given the circumstances, it made him think of when he abandoned Cassandra to go to a concert with Sam because he couldn't deal with seeing Cassandra all night because he had still liked her. He had been a jerk. He did love her, but was that enough? He debated in his mind. She had taken him back after her played "Always." He felt he had deserved a slap across his face. He still felt he probably deserved it. Maybe her parents had been right. Maybe he didn't deserve her.

Drake walked outside for a moment. He sat down on a bench, pulled the crown off his head and put his head in his hands. What was he doing? Cassandra deserved someone so much better than him. He wrestled with his thoughts.

"Drake?" called Cassandra. She found him and sat down beside him. "What's the matter?"

"Cassie..." he said. He glanced up at her. She looked so beautiful. He wanted to do what his heart told him, but he didn't even know what that was. His thoughts kept drifting from how much he cared about her to the fact that he was starting to believe he didn't deserve her.

Cassandra looked at him with her eyes full of concern.

"Drake?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"No," said Drake. "I feel like an idiot. What are you doing with me?"

"Why? Drake, what's the matter?" Cassandra pleaded. He was suddenly acting very strange.

"I can't believe you took me back last year. After what I did to you."

"Drake, I've forgiven you for that. Don't worry about it."

"Cassie, I can't forget about it. I hurt you. Even though we weren't dating. I'm scared that I'll do it again. I'm starting to think your parents were right. I don't deserve you. You could do so much better." He turned the crown in his hands.

"Why are you all of a sudden bringing this up?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"I just heard that song and remembered. It makes me hate myself." He was really upset with himself now. He'd made her cry. "I care too much about you to let you make a mistake like staying with me."

"Drake," said Cassandra. "You're...you're not breaking up with me..."

"I don't want to. I care about you. I don't know what to do though. I don't want you to get hurt."

"If I get hurt, I get hurt. It's life. I'll deal with it," she told him.

"Cassie," he said. "Don't do this. I love you." Whoops, that wasn't supposed to come out.

"What?" she asked.

"I love you," he said. There was no way around it. He had said it, and he meant it. He just felt she should be with someone else.

"Drake," she said. "I...I love you too."

"You do?" he asked her. He wasn't expecting this.

"That's all I need Drake," she said. "...is for you to love me. It's enough. That's what outlasts everything. I don't care about what anyone else thinks now. I knew I didn't have anything to worry about after those three weeks in Michigan."

"What?" he asked.

"When you and Josh thought there was a killer," she replied. "Granted, it was a deer, but you guys thought we were really in trouble. You stood in front of me. If it had been a killer you would have died before you let him get me. Even though Mindy and I were pretty sure it was an animal, I still knew you cared about me. Besides, you listened to me when I needed someone. There are things I've told you that I can't tell anyone else. I don't care if your grades aren't that high and your dreams seem unrealistic to some people. You care about me, and now I know you love me. That's all I'm ever going to need Drake. Now you know I love you too, and I'm not letting you go that easily."

Drake looked at her. She spoke to him with such sincerity that he wasn't expecting it. Well, she had been right. He would have died for her that night. It was odd, he was so willing to be hurt for her. He'd never felt that way before. Of course, he'd never loved anyone that way before.

"You really want me?" he asked.

"Yes Drake," she said.

"I never knew you felt that way," said Drake. "For a while I thought you thought I was dumb. Not doing that well in school and reacting that way to a deer."

"No Drake," she said. "I know you're smart, but you just don't do your homework or study, and I already told you how I feel about the deer incident."

"I guess that's it then," said Drake. "If you still want me."

Cassandra smiled and kissed him.