Flashback Zack's point of view
Kenny and I walked down the corridor of our high school holding hands,
ignoring the stares and looks of disgust of our school peers; we had been
together for 6 months and we were so happy. I had fallen in love with Kenny
the first time our teacher paired us together in science class, but I was
unsure if Kenny felt the same way.

I remember being really nervous that day, it was getting to be prom season,
and I wanted to ask Kenny to be my date. I had asked our Head Master ahead of
time, and he said it was alright; I felt so lucky to have such a sympathetic
and open minded Head Master. Then came the hard part, asking Kenny to prom and
telling him how I really felt, that I loved him and wanted to be together
always. Easy, right? No. In the past, every time I tried to confess my
feelings, I either got interrupted or chickened out at the last moment. I was
so angry with myself.

I planned on making my move during our date that night. I'd ask and then
hope against hope that he would say yes. I knew that I would be heartbroken if
he said no, but I would accept it and just spend the night playing World of
Warcraft at home.

Later that evening, we were grabbing a quick dinner before heading off to see
the new Spielberg movie at the Cineplex in town.

"Kenny can I ask you something please" I queried as I twisted my napkin
in my lap.

"Of course you can, Zack" Kenny said as he looked up from his menu. He
must have seen how nervous I was, because he reached over and took my hand in
his, giving me the strength I needed to continue.

"Will you be my date at the prom? I asked the headmaster, and he said we
could go together…" I stop talking I when I realized that Kenny had


tears rolling down his cheeks. I was about to ask him what was the matter, when I
saw the head jock of our school heading towards us. Panic filled my chest and
made it difficult to breath. My shocked look makes Kenny turn around, coming
face to face with the muzzle of a gun. He never had a chance as Tommy Barry
pulled the trigger. Kenny was thrown backwards by the impact as blood spurted
from a wound on his chest. I rushed over to try and stop the bleeding, to
make everything okay again, but he was slipping away fast. The last thing he
whispered was, "Yes Zack I would love to go to the prom with you", and
then he died in my arms. I started to cry, and I didn't stop until after his
funeral.

When I went back to school, no one knew what to say to me, and that was fine
with me. I threw myself into my work, and got really high grades. I went
through college without dating, no one could replace Kenny. I got a job at
the Jeffersonian, and the rest is history as they say.

I will never forget Kenny, and Howie knows what happened, so he understands
that on the date of my first love's death, I become very depressed; but
hopefully, with Howie in my life, I won't be so upset about the past.