Life soon returned to normal for the seniors of JFK high. The demise of the Titania was something that not one of them would ever forget, but luckily there were very few casualties. The school did hold a memorial for those that had perished. It was a somber event and had Rose thankful that Jack and Julie had returned before their names had been added to the list of deceased students.

But that had been three weeks ago and life at JFK high was returning to a more normal pace. One thing was for sure, the senior class needed something to lift them out of the funk they've been in. That is why the arrival of the Junior/Senior prom had come just in time. The school allowed the two classes to have their proms together as a gesture of the Juniors saying goodbye to the graduating class. Their last dance that they will ever attend together. This year it had special meaning. It wasn't only saying goodbye to a graduating class, it was also a celebration of life. A confirmation that there was life after tragedy and the future was something to celebrate, not mourn.

Rose, Helga, Trudy and Annabelle were all at the mall shopping for the perfect dress. Rose wanted to wear something beautiful yet fun.

"Girls, this is going to be the last formal dance of the year. We have to make our dress decisions count," Helga led the way into Laura's wedding boutique, where they didn't only sell wedding dresses, but dresses for formals such as high school proms as well.

"Oh we will. We'll find the perfect...dress…," Rose's words left her when she spotted it. Unfortunately it wasn't a prom dress. In fact, it was a dress she wasn't planning to wear until they graduated from college, but it was there. The perfect wedding dress. The sleeves were off the shoulder. The bodice was decorated with silk and lace and the skirt was silk and reached her toes. Rose closed her eyes, picturing herself in the dress, ready to walk down the aisle to finally join her life with Jack's…

Helga clearing her throat disrupted Rose's little fantasy. "We're here for prom, sweetie," She smiled, happily. She understood Rose all too well. Every time she walked into this store, she'd picture herself in one of the stunning wedding dresses, ready to say I do to Fabrizio.

Rose blushed and looked away from the dress. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Her wedding to Jack was years away and by then, she'll probably find another dress that she found just as perfect as this one. But still...the dress held her attention. "I know that...let's look for prom dresses, shall we?"

The girls walked among the formal dresses, trying on the ones they liked and laughing at some of the ridiculous dresses that they couldn't picture anyone but an insanely rich girl wearing. Finally Rose found a dress that she loved. It was a strapless forest green dress with a sweetheart neck line. The bodice was all beads and lace that had a design that lead down below the waistline of the dress. The dress reached down to her feet, ending in a sweeping hemline and it zipped in the back. There was plenty of room for leg movement, so she didn't have to worry about dancing. She was staring at herself in the dress when the boys happened to walk by.

"Rose?" Jack swallowed, staring at his girlfriend admiringly.

"No no no! You're not supposed to see her in her dress!" Trudy gasped, horrified.

Rose blushed and laughed. "Trudy, that's just a superstition and that's for weddings, not proms."

"Rose looks beautiful, yes Jack?" Fabrizio grinned, nudging his friend's arm, who just continued to stare, his breath completely taken away.

"Of course," Jack finally managed to get out. "The green brings out your eyes..."

"Fabrizio is not to see my dress yet. I want it to be a surprise," Helga winked, thinking of the red strapless dress that she had just finished modeling for her friends. She couldn't wait for Fabrizio to see her in it.

"No one will be as beautiful as Rose. At least not in Jack's eyes anyway," Trudy teased, finding Jack's speechless reaction hilarious. Of course it went without saying. Ever since the two had met, Jack had even stopped drawing other girls. It was like Rose topped them all for him.

"We better go leave the women to their dress shopping, mates," Tommy chuckled, winking at Annabelle, loving how it made her blush. "We'll see you ladies later."

The girls waved good-bye as Tommy grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him along. Rose resisted the urge to follow, remembering that she was still wearing the dress.

"Jack is going to look great in a tuxedo, don't you think?" She smiled at her friends as she stepped off of the pedestal, deciding to buy the dress. She loved Jack's reaction to it. Totally speechless.

"Jack looks great in everything," Trudy smiled. "You two should be voted best looking couple, really."

"Senior superlatives...I forgot about those," Helga giggled. "I'm definitely putting them on the voting ballet, right next to me an Fabri."

"Helga, don't you dare!" Rose gasped.

Helga's only answer was a smile. Little did Rose know, her and Jack had been on the ballot already for quite a while.

"Enough. Let's purchase our dresses and get out of here. We still have shoes and accessories to worry about," Trudy shrugged as Rose disappeared into the dressing room to change out of her dress.

…..

That night, after hanging up her newly brought dress in her closet and eating a light dinner, Rose went up to her room and was about to sit down to finish the latest novel she had been reading when her laptop dinged. Having no question of who it was, she opened the computer and smiled at Jack.

"Hello Jack," She smile, happy to see his smiling face.

After Jack's return, Rose had spent the night at Jack's house, cuddled close to him, letting his presence sink into her and allow her to catch up on all the sleep she had missed. But Ruth being Ruth soon requested that Rose return home. She may be eighteen now, but she was still in high school and was still to live under her roof until graduation, so Rose had returned to her mother's house, missing the security of Jack's presence. Knowing that the separation was going to be difficult for them both, Jack took to skyping her every night before turning into bed. It wasn't the same of being physically in the room together, but it soothed some of the ache of being apart. Needless to say though, neither could wait until they graduated and was on their way to New York. In New York, there would be no more good nights, no more sleeping alone, no more skyping wishing that the distance between them would disappear. In New York, they will finally have the same living space, the same lives. Rose couldn't wait.

"I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?" he asked.

"Of course not. I was just sitting down to read and then turn in for the night. I was hoping to see you again at the mall. Where did you guys go?" Rose remembered her disappointment as she and the girls went in search of their boyfriends, just to find that the guys had left already.

"Tommy wanted to check out some new sound systems at Best Buy so we went there after purchasing some art supplies," Jack explained. "I'm sorry that we took off like that. I wanted to tell you again how gorgeous you were in that dress."

Rose blushed. She loved it when Jack complimented her. From him, it meant so much, not because he was her boyfriend, but also because he was an artist. He had an eye for beauty, at least she thought so. "You flatter me, Jack. I'm going to have a big ego sooner or later."

"I only tell the truth, Rose. That dress...it brings out your eyes and your beautiful hair...I can't wait for prom, for everyone to see just how gorgeous you are. Heck, they already know. What am I talking about," Jack chuckle.

"You make me feel so special Jack..."

"You are."

"No...you're the special one. Everyone adores you. Even the people who don't know you."

"The only person that matters is you," Jack sighed, wishing that he could reach through the screen and touch her. Just looking at her made him want her even more. "I better go now..."

"I love you, darling. Sleep well..."

"I will. Night Rosie."

"Night," She watched the screen until it went dark again and sighed. She really couldn't wait until New York. Skyping just wasn't enough. She needed to be where she could touch and hold him.

"Rose, you are not skyping again, are you?" Ruth knocked on the door, her voice hard with impatience. "It's a school night. Honestly, you and the boy will see each other tomorrow."

Rose just rolled her eyes and stood up from her desk. "His name is Jack, mother. And no, we're not skyping. I'm reading and then going to bed."

Returning to her bed, Rose picked up the book she was reading and again wished that time would fast forward. Another reason that she wanted to get to New York as soon as possible was to get away from her mother. Ruth wasn't as bad as she could be, but her refusal to accept Jack as a part of Rose's life made Rose want to get away from her as soon as possible.

…..

Prom night finally arrived. The group of friends had decided to share the limo. The first stop was picking up Rose, who drove straight to the Dawson's. Phil and Beth immediately pulled her into the house, gushing over how beautiful she looked. She was in her prom dress, wearing a bracelet made of emerald gemstones that sparkled in the light. Her red hair fell down her back and shoulders in luxurious curls.

Jack was at the bottom of the stairs as handsome as ever in his black tuxedo and tie. His blond hair was combed back away from his face. He held a white rose corsage in his hand, ready to place it on Rose's wrist.

"My my my, Jack. It's a good thing that I'm such an old man," Phil teased, giving his nephew's arm a playful nudge.

"You are a vision, Rose," Beth complimented, holding up her camera. "Pictures!"

"Where's Julie and Derrick?" Rose frowned, looking around for the couple.

"They decided to skip it after all. Julie didn't see the point of it and Derrick wasn't in the mood, not with all the arguing that he's been doing with his parents. They're just going to have a quiet night in at his place," Jack explained, feeling concerned for Derrick. He had became a good friend to him and Julie over the past year.

"Come on you two. Get in position," Beth smiled, holding up her camera, ready to take the pictures.

Jack stood behind Rose with his arms wrapped around her waist as Beth clicked away. After three or four shots, she was finished and they were out the door, heading for the limo.

"Wow, fancy," Jack grinned when he saw the stretch limo. He had only ridden in a limo once, and that was when his parents had died and the funeral home had provided one to take them to and from the funeral home. This time, it was a more joyous occasion.

Rose smile. "It has everything inside. Tv, snacks, drinks..."

Jack nodded at the chauffeur who held the door open for them and closed it after they were both in. Jack whistled at the interior. "Maybe we shouldn't go to the dance. Just stay in here all night and enjoy all of this."

"Very funny Jack. No, we are going to go to our prom, dance the night away, and make even more memories that we'll look back on when we're old and gray."

Jack smiled and kissed her hand. "Rose, old and gray is something that you will never be, my dear. In my eyes, you'll be forever young."

…..

The prom was being held in a reception hall known as The Looming Heights reception and convention hall. The room was decked out in the schools colors of red and white. Streamers hung from the ceiling and a DJ was at the front of the huge hall. The photographer was just a few steps from the entrance an tables lined the outskirts of the dance floor. Plates of snacks and drinks also lined the room for anyone that may get hungry.

Jack, Rose and friends entered the hall, looking around with wide eyes.

"This is awesome," Trudy gasped gripping Micheal's hand in hers.

"White Star never did anything like this," Micheal commented.

"Oh they did, but it was at that old country club that only our parents attended," Rose chuckled.

Everyone found a table a few feet away from the podium and were just settling in when Micheal saw Madeline with her date, a senior from the university.

"There's Madeline, Rose," he pointed.

Rose glanced in the girl's direction and gave a sad smile. "Things are so different now than what we all had planned. Near the beginning of the year, when we had all been friends, we had everything planned out. We were going to do everything together, from the planned balls to graduation. Of course, things are quite different. We're not even friends anymore."

"Do you regret any of it?" Jack asked, curious. A part of him had always wondered if she missed any part of her old life at White Star. He knew that she didn't regret their relationship, but there had to be something about the White Star days that Rose had enjoyed.

She just shrugged in answer. "I don't think so. Madeline and Constance weren't real friends to me. On some level I knew that. That's why they weren't the first people I turned to when Cal had attacked me. On some level, I knew their friendship came with strings. There was nothing genuine about it. Not like there is with all of you guys. A senior year with the old group would be boring and dull and fake compared to the genuine love and friendship that I found here with all of you."

"I couldn't agree more. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I am now if White Star hadn't closed. Things changed for the better for both of us," Annabelle nodded.

"I would change Cal's attack, but that's about it. I wouldn't give your love up for anything, nor the friendships that I have come into. You have made this senior year a wonderful memory," Rose smiled leaning in for a kiss.

The rest of the night was spent laughing and dancing with their friends, enjoying each others company, and making another memory for the last year of their high school career. Jack ended up getting Prom king and Helga Prom queen and Fabrizio and Rose pretended to be jealous and dance with each other while Jack and Helga did the prom king and queen dance. Soon it was senior superlatives and just as predicted, Jack and Rose won cutest couple and received a heart shaped plaque.

At the end of the night, everyone was much too exhausted to attend the after prom at the local bowling alley. Jack ended up taking Rose to their cave. They haven't been there in ages. With the warm evening and the stars up in the sky, it seemed to be the perfect place to go. They sat in the mouth of the cave, their hands clasped as they stared up at the sky.

"I should probably take you home," Jack sighed, enjoying the quiet of the evening and the fact that it was just him and Rose now. He loved their friends, but he was glad to get this time alone with her.

"No. I mean...I am exhausted, but...home means saying goodnight to you and I'm not ready for that yet," Rose sighed, letting her head rest against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. "Does that make any sense?"

"It makes perfect sense. I'm not ready to say good-night to you either. But your mother is probably expecting you. She already doesn't like me as it is. Who knows what she'll say if I don't bring you home on time."

Rose just rolled her eyes. "She can't tell me what to do. Graduation is next month, and next weekend is the New York trip..."

Our friends will be spending senior skip day relaxing and reminiscing, while I go to New York to get interviewed by the art academy."

"And I find us the perfect apartment. I can't believe that it's happening. It feels like six months ago when we first began talking about moving to New York."

"Have you made a list of all that you wanted to do while in New York," Jack asked, trying not to think of the interview that he himself would be taking. Every time he thought about it, he felt sick. It was the interview that would get him into the academy for sure. If he messed it up...well he would have to come up for a new plan for life after graduation. He did know one thing for sure. New York was going to be his new home and Rose will be by his side. She was the only sure thing about his future.

"I'm planning to tour NYU. I have already been in contact with some students that will be happy to give me the tour. Then I plan to tour as much of the city as possible and hopefully get some ideas on some apartments for us...or a house. I can afford a house with the inheritance daddy left me..."

Jack chuckled. "We'll see. I think an apartment might be best though…when you rent, your utilities are sometimes covered. Like we might not have to pay for electricity or water...in a house, we're responsible for all of it."

"You have a point there," Rose sighed. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him. "I don't care where we live really. Just as long as I'm with you."

"That goes without saying, sweetness," Jack gently stroked her cheek. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"It was a night to remember," Rose giggled, pulling Jack into a kiss that sent them on another trip to the stars, where they didn't come down until the wee hours of the morning.