Today was the day.

The day of the Valentine's dance. Thomas was honestly nervous—this was all so new to him. He'd never been on a date before, much less gone to a dance with someone. And to make matters worse, his dad wouldn't stop fussing with his shirt.

"Keep still, Thomas—you have to look good for Carter," his dad said.

"D-Dad! I literally wear this every day!" Thomas groaned.

"I know, but you need to look your best!"

Earlier, Thomas had gotten Carter a box of chocolates and tucked it carefully into his bag. But his dad had also slipped him a red rose to give to Carter.

"A-a rose?" Thomas stuttered.

"Yes—you can't have a Valentine's without a rose!" his dad replied.

Though Thomas wouldn't have minded giving Carter these gifts at all, the nerves were overwhelming. "How am I even supposed to give it to him?"

"Well, preferably when you see him once you reach the school. Just hand it to him and say, 'Happy Valentine's Day,'" his dad said.

Thomas studied the red rose and then looked back at his dad. "That's... all I have to say? W-What about when I give him the chocolates?"

"You can improvise—remember, he's still your friend. You're just talking to someone you love."

"W-Well..." Thomas took the rose from his dad's hand. "I'll do that, I guess."

A knock came at the door. Thomas's dad went to answer it. "Oh, Thomas, it's Carter," he called over his shoulder. "Looks like he wants to walk with you."

Instantly, Thomas's face flushed bright red. This was the moment to give Carter both the rose and the chocolates. Standing before the door, his heart pounded as his dad opened it to reveal Carter.

"Hi, Thomas! Happy Valentine's Day!" Carter beamed.

Thomas stood there, awkwardly clutching the rose behind his back. Unsure what to say, he smiled shyly. With a gentle nudge from his dad, Thomas quickly stepped forward, revealing the red flower.

"H-Happy V-V-Valentine's," he stammered.

Carter gasped in delight. "O-oh! Thomas, thank you!" he said, accepting the rose before wrapping Thomas in a warm hug. Blushing furiously, Thomas returned the hug.

After a moment, Carter pulled away and, noticing Thomas's dazed expression, asked with a giggle, "Thomas, you alright?"

Snapping out of his stupor, Thomas nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm alright!"

After saying goodbye to his dad, Thomas and Carter walked to school together.

As they strolled, Thomas looked down at Carter's hand holding his, while his left hand still clutched the rose—he even sniffed it occasionally.

Thomas couldn't help thinking, 'He's so cute.'

Carter caught him staring and asked, "Yeah?"

"N-nothing," Thomas mumbled, looking away.

"Thanks so much for this," Carter said, leaning into Thomas's arm.

"You're welcome, Carter," Thomas replied with a soft smile.

He planned to give Carter the chocolates later—probably at the skydome.

Nearing the school, Thomas noticed the field trip buses parked outside, waiting for the end of first class.

"Wow, I haven't been in one of those kind of buses in such a long time," Carter remarked. "They use them for field trips sometimes—we went to a museum one year."

A memory from his time in England surfaced. "We went to Buckingham Palace when I was in Year 2," Thomas recalled.

Carter tilted his head. "Buckingham Palace? Um... isn't that where the Queen lives or something?"

Thomas nodded. "Yep—and our entire class met her."

Carter gasped, "Y-you met the Queen of England?!"

Thomas giggled at Carter's astonishment. "Yeah, it was honestly one of the best experiences of my early childhood."

Carter smiled warmly. "I'm glad you have that happy memory. But wow—you met the actual Queen! I'm super jealous."

Thomas chuckled. "Britain has its wonders."

Carter grinned, then hugged him. "And you're one of them."

"Thomas! You're here!"

A loud voice rang out as Abby suddenly lunged forward and hugged him. Thomas had just entered the classroom when she sprang out of nowhere.

"AHH! WHA-?!" Thomas gasped.

"Geez, Abby, you almost gave him a heart attack!" Miriam laughed.

"S-sorry!" Abby apologized.

Thomas shook his head with a chuckle and sat down. The classroom was a free-for-all—no one was in their assigned seats since the teacher didn't care; everyone was leaving soon anyway.

"Yes, no more boring school for today," Tyler said as he slumped into his chair.

Everyone clustered around Thomas: Mei sat next to him, Miriam was in front, Abby was near Priya, and Tyler was next to an empty seat right beside him.

"S-so... I asked out Shane... and she said y-yes..." Pyria announced, her cheeks tinted pink.

Mei gasped, "R-really?!"

Miriam beamed, "You go, girl!"

Thomas smiled. "See? I told you it would work out."

At that moment, a random student moved toward the empty seat behind Tyler, but Tyler quickly blocked them.

"Sorry, that seat is taken," he said.

Thomas immediately knew why—that seat was meant for Percy, who was still not here yet.

Leaning over, Thomas whispered to Tyler, careful not to draw attention, "You're waiting on Percy?"

Tyler nodded. "Y-yeah," he replied, turning in his chair to face Thomas. "He's... not here yet."

"Maybe he's running late," Thomas said.

Tyler's voice trembled. "A-are you sure? What if he bailed on the whole thing?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that," Thomas reassured him.

Tyler looked down sadly—he was clearly worried.

Then a student walked into the room.

Percy.

Thomas straightened in his seat but didn't mention it to Tyler. Percy entered, scanning the room as if searching for someone, and when his eyes landed on Tyler, they softened. Smiling, Percy made his way to the seat behind Tyler. Tyler, with his head still down, barely noticed until Percy sat and softly asked, "Hey, Tyler, are you alright?"

Tyler gasped and looked up quickly. "P-Percy!" he stammered.

Percy chuckled. "Are you alright?" he repeated gently. Tyler blushed and nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, Tyler asked, "Um... do you still want to go to the dance with me?"

"Of course I do, silly—I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to," Percy replied.

"R-right..." Tyler mumbled.

Thomas thought he was the only one watching, but then he heard Miriam whisper, "Man, Tyler has a mad crush on him. Look at that blush."

"I know," Thomas murmured.

"I'm still jealous," Abby added with a laugh.

Mei giggled.

"You're the only one here who doesn't have a date," Pyria said calmly.

Abby nodded. "I know, but I wouldn't mind going with all of you as friends."

"Let's just not treat her like a third wheel," Mei laughed.

"Yeah, let's not," Miriam agreed.

They chatted until the bell rang.

"Guys! I think we're ready or something!" Miriam exclaimed.

The teacher stood from his desk. "Okay, class, we're about to leave. Whoever's with your valentine, sit together on the bus," he announced.

Miriam hugged Mei, and Percy smiled at Tyler. Meanwhile, Thomas needed to find Carter, who was in a different classroom—Same as Pyria.

"You have to go find Carter," Mei urged.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, I'll wait outside at the door."

Soon enough, everyone left the room, pairing up with their dance dates. Thomas stayed at the front door, watching his classmates pass by, their faces aglow with happiness and love—feelings he was just beginning to understand. Lost in thought, he felt someone tap his shoulder. Glancing left, he saw Carter grinning at him excitedly.

"Ready?" Carter asked, extending his hand.

Thomas nodded and took it. Carter giggled, and they walked down the hall together with the others.

"Awww, look how adorable they are," Mei remarked.

Blushing, Thomas glanced back at Mei—who was walking with Miriam, hand in hand.

"Yeah, they're so cute!" Abby added.

"Geez guys!" Thomas protested bashfully, covering his face with his free hand, while Carter giggled and snuggled closer.

They stepped outside into the brisk air and headed for the buses.

"Woah, they're using those buses instead of regular school buses?!" Abby exclaimed.

"I told you guys—the school went all out this year," Mei said.

"We only use these for special field trips," Pyria added.

"Yeah, remember that one year we went to Casa Loma?" Abby recalled.

"Oh yeah! That's what it was!" Carter snapped his fingers. "I keep confusing it with a museum."

"Well, technically it is a museum," Miriam said.

"Casa Loma? What's that?" Thomas asked.

"It's an old castle!" Abby replied.

"Oh, like Buckingham Palace?" Thomas asked.

"In a way, but I don't think any royals live there," Mei explained.

"Thomas went to Buckingham Palace—you know, he met the Queen!" Carter smiled.

"What?! S-Seriously?!" Abby exclaimed. Thomas blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah... I have," Thomas admitted.

"Dude, that's totally amazing!" Miriam cheered. "When was this?" she asked.

"When I was 7 years old, in Year 2," Thomas replied.

They gathered around the buses as the teachers let them choose their seats.

"I call dibs on the window seat," Carter giggled, playfully nudging Thomas.

"Ugh, not fair," Thomas chuckled.

Once they were all on the bus and seated comfortably, the bus pulled away. Carter gazed out the window while Thomas rested his head on Carter's shoulder, seeing the streets that he flew down the other day. 'Wow... that was something,' Thomas thought as the bus cruised down the road.

"I can't wait to see 4 Town again!" Abby shouted from behind, sitting next to Mei and Miriam. Nearby, Priya and Shane sat together, both looking shy, while Percy and Tyler shared another seat—Tyler looking especially nervous with Percy's arm around him. Thomas shook his head; Percy was clearly teasing him on purpose.

"Yeah, I know! Do you think they'll remember us if they see us?" Carter mused.

"Boy, if they don't remember us from what happened Saturday, I'll have to question their memory," Miriam joked.

Mei snorted. "I know, right? We're all going to be engraved in their memories."