Hi, my name is Max Anderson. I'm a senior in high school. Prom is 5 days away and I don't have a date. You may be wondering why. Well, I haven't had the courage to ask my best friend/crush. We've been friends since 6th grade. I fall a little more for her every day. Today, I'm going to ask her after math class. Let's get to the story.
I leaned over and whispered to Grace, "When are we actually going to use the quadratic formula in our real lives?"
"Probably never. Didn't we also learn this as sophomores?" Why are we reviewing it?" She whispered back, smiling.
"Because, Ms. Solace, these skills, while seemingly trivial, are in fact quite crucial for your life." I said in my best imitation of our math teacher, Mr. Reese.
She laughed quietly. Have I mentioned how amazing her laugh is?
"Mr. Anderson and Ms. Solace, please wait in the hall." Mr Reese said, looking very unhappy. We walk into the hall together.
"Sorry you got in trouble. I didn't mean to." I said, feeling genuinely sorry.
"No need to apologize. Mr. Reese is pretty chill. We'll probably just get a warning." She said, giving me a hopeful smile.
"Grace, would you–" I began to say before Mr. Reese came out into the hall.
"You two are among my best students. I know you are excited for prom, but I can't have you interrupting my class. Since you two are usually so well behaved, I'll let you both off with a warning. You may rejoin the class now." Mr. Reese said, his tone stern.
Grace shot me a look that said, "told you so." I could only smile back at her as we walked back into class. We suffered through the rest of math class before the bell (sorry teachers) dismissed us. I followed Grace out of the class.
"Hey Grace, um, can I ask you a question?" I asked, feeling nervous.
"What's on your mind, Max?" She responded.
"Well, um, I was just thinking about prom. I don't have a date yet and neither do you." I said, really not sure what I was saying.
"Thank you for the reminder. Is there a purpose to this?" She said in response, a curious look on her face.
"Well, um, I was wondering, if you're up for it... um... maybe.. would you be my date to prom?" I asked, feeling incredibly nervous and shy.
"Wait, really?" She asked, sounding hopeful.
"Yeah, really." I said, sounding more confident. She smiled brightly. Her smile is so incredible!
"I'd love to!" She said, smiling.
"Great!" I said, hugging her. She returned my hug.
5 days later, I walk up to her house. I'm really nervous. I knock on the door. Her father answers. He knows me really well. He gives me an approving smile as he shakes my hand.
"I'm glad you are the one who asked my daughter. You're a good boy." He said.
"I'm very lucky. I couldn't have asked for a better date than your daughter." I said, responding with a smile. Her father was about to respond when a sight caught both our eyes. Grace descended the steps in a beautiful silver dress which made my breath catch. I couldn't help but stare.
"Are you just going to stand there and gawk?" She asked.
"Yes." I said, smiling.
"Well, stop it. You look stupid." She said with a smirk.
"I can't help it," I said, taking her hand in mine, "Your beauty makes the brightest stars seem dull by comparison."
She blushed. I kissed her hand.
"You're quite the gentleman." She said, smiling and blushing.
"Thank you, my lady." I said with a winning smile. We spent a few more minutes going through the formalities and traditions of prom. The usual stuff like the corsage and the boutonniere, the thousands of pictures taken by the parents, that kind of stuff. After we got through all of that, I offered Grace my arm.
"Shall we?" I asked.
"We shall." She responded.
I drove us to the venue for the dance. This year, the school had set the dance up at the state capitol. Upon arriving, I parked, exited the car and then opened the car door for Grace. As she stepped out of the car, I thought to myself, "is it just me or does she look even more stunning?" I love everything about her. Her kind, fun personality, an intelligence that Athena would envy, and beauty that would make Aphrodite jealous. I could stare into her soft, kind, brown eyes forever. She saw me staring.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just got lost in your gorgeous eyes." I said, offering my hand.
"You think my eyes are gorgeous?" She asked, blushing as she took my hand.
"Grace, I could stare into your eyes for eternity and never tire of their brilliance and beauty." I said, smiling kindly at her.
"I bet you say that to all the girls." She said, looking away.
I gently turned her head to face me.
"What other girls?" I asked, giving her a reassuring smile. She didn't say a thing. She just smiled back at me. I put my arm around her. We walked into the capitol. When we walked in, everything went silent. Everyone turned to look in our direction. They were all looking at Grace. Who could blame them? She looked like a goddess. She seemed nervous with everyone watching. I turned her to face me. I took her hands in mine and looked her in the eyes. I leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry about them. Just focus on us. You and me. That's what matters." She nodded and smiled.
"May I have this dance?" I asked formally.
"You may." She responded with a smile.
I took one of her hands in mine. She rested her other hand on my shoulder. I placed my other hand on her waist. We danced slowly with the music. Slowly, everyone went back to their own conversations and stopped watching us.
"Want to see something amazing?" I asked.
"Of course." Grace responded, smiling.
I led her through the halls and stairwells of the capitol building. Eventually, we arrived at a door. I took out a makeshift key and opened it. We stepped through together, onto the balcony of the capitol building. The view was breathtaking. I kept my arm around Grace as we leaned on the banister.
"Grace, can I be honest?" I asked, summoning my courage.
"Of course." She responded, giving me a reassuring smile.
"I...I lo...," I looked away for a second before turning back to face her, "I love you. I have for a long time. Ever since we met, if I'm being completely honest. You're amazing. You give me the strength to face every day with a smile. You are what gets me out of bed in the morning. You inspire me to be the best version of myself. I understand if you don't feel the same. It's alright if you don't. I had to tell you how I felt though. The possibility of us being more than friends was too exciting for me to keep to myself." She was silent for a moment. I was worried I had screwed something up, but then she spoke.
"Max... I... I feel the same. I love you too." Grace said, looking quite happy.
"Really?" I asked. She nodded. The smile that appeared in my face in that moment was so bright, they could have seen it in Rome. I picked Grace up in a hug and spun with her in my arms. We laughed together, overjoyed at the turn this night had taken. I set Grace down, but kept my arms around her in a loose hug. She looked at me. Have I mentioned how absolutely head over heels in love I am with her, how her presence makes my heart dance and sing, how she is just so incredible that it's beyond words? We both gazed at each other fondly. And let me tell you, the kiss that followed was pretty much the best kiss ever.