When former beauty pageant queen, Ellie Wilde, hears of her grandmother's sickness, she's the first to offer to drive her to her chemotherapy. What she didn't know she was agreeing to was an obnoxiously cheerful blond boy somehow nudging his way int...
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When the boys step outside to descend to Boulevard Park, they're thankful to see a clear night sky. With its traces of pink and blue, and it's lack of grey clouds, they know they're safe from a night of typical Washington downpour.
Walking along the street to the park, they receive countless honks from passing by cars, the general public seeming to be amused by their elegant appearances. The moonlight shines off Brandon's grin as he turns to the other two boys. "I should start wearing a tux more often. I didn't realize it attracted so many women's attention."
"You'd look like a penguin if you wore a tux all the time," Nate says. "Instead of attracting women, you'd start repelling them."
"You doubt my abilities to woo the opposite sex."
"Speaking of the opposite sex," Cooper cuts in, "we're meeting the girls at the park? Are you sure we weren't meant to meet them at their dorm or something?"
Nate pulls his phone from his pocket, scanning over the text from Janie one more time to be sure he read it correctly. "She said to meet at the park. They had a few things to set up before we got there."
"How far are we now?"
"It's just down the block. We'll be there in a few minutes." Nate slaps a hand on Cooper's shoulder, his lips tugging up into a knowing grin as he scans his friend's face. "Don't worry, pal. You'll see her in a little bit."
Cooper doesn't try to deny the fact that he's anxious to see Ellie again, it's clear that he would be lying. Instead, the boys continue walking down the block, Brandon cracking a joke every so often about the benefits of taking on a strictly-suit wardrobe. Within minutes, the park is in view, and Cooper nearly freezes in his tracks.
Fairy lights are strung in the few trees, a crowd of people gathered underneath and dancing to the music that echoes down the street. The way the lights reflect off the water next to the park is something out of a movie. What really catches his eye though, is the DJ, that being the last thing he expected to find in the middle of a park.
With hesitating steps towards the crowd, he turns to his friends. "What is this?"
"It's prom!" Brandon exclaims, tossing his arms in the air excitedly.
"Who are all these people? Why is there a DJ?"
"The DJ lives two doors down from me," Nate says, wrapping his arm around Cooper's shoulder. "His name's Tyler. He's a music major, offered to do it for some exposure and free beer. The rest of the people are just randoms who wanted an excuse to party. Brandon handed flyers out around campus. It wouldn't be a very authentic prom without a crowd."
A laugh of disbelief sounds from Cooper as they approach the loud gathering, his eyes scanning over the crowd in awe. This is all for him. This entire thing is happening right now, just because he couldn't attend his senior prom. With his heart swelling up to the size of a balloon, he's sure he couldn't be any happier right now. But when his eyes land on her, he knows he's completely wrong.
