Andy

I only poked myself in the eye twice while attempting to put on my mascara, which counts as a win in my book. Once my Mother had helped me into the gown (she was the only one who knew were all the hidden zippers and cinches were) She helped me do my hair and makeup.

I sit at the vanity in her massive bathroom, the sunlight of midday coming through the window to my left and making the blue lace it touched appear as though it were glowing.

She had the radio on to occupy the silence while she brushed through my hair, telling me tales about her own prom and how she’d gone with my Dad. I have great admiration for them both. Most high school sweethearts don’t make it long outside of school, at least not after society crushes them.

“Do you want your hair up or down?” She asks, splitting my hair and holding up one side, leaving the other down. “Or we could leave most of it down, curl it, and braid this part back into the side.”

I have no idea what she’s talking about or visualizing, so I just nod, an encouragement for her to continue.

From where I am sitting, I can see the corner of their bed through the bathroom doorway. On it is three large suitcases already filled and zipped shut, ready to go for another week-long trip.

“Ash, honey I’m sorry we can’t be here for the whole evening. But I’m glad that we can at least be here to see you off.”

I smile at her in the mirror. “It’s fine,” I say with a small shrug. “I need to get some adulting in, anyway. Spending a week by myself is just what I need.”

She gives me one of her knowing mother looks. “We both know you won’t spend the entirety of this week alone.”

“Fair enough, I’ll probably hang out with Elizabeth a bit if all goes well tonight and nothing goes down.”

“What about that Christian boy?”

“CC?” I ask in confusion, unable to make the connection that she has.

“What’s going on with you two?”

“Oh... No no no... I’m not with CC, Mom.”

“Sure.”

“Seriously. He’s quite a bit older than me. And anyway, he’s like this weird combination of a cool uncle and a brother to me.”

She eyes me for a moment in her reflection, looking sly like she thinks she knows what’s really going on but if she knew who I was really crushing on she wouldn’t be feeling so smug about it.

I wonder absently if there will ever be a day when I could reveal him to my parents and explain to them all the crazy things we’d been through. Though even with evidence of his physical existence, they’d be terrified and reluctant to believe.

She gets to work dividing my hair with clips and pinning it out of the way while she gets started with the curling process.

While she works on my hair, I work on my makeup. I apply my foundation and primer to my eyelids and begin the careful process of covering them in pale gold glitter.



“Aw!” My Mother squeals once I’d gotten completely ready. She grins at my reflection. I look into my own eyes and feel a certain level of badassery in the transformation... Kinda like when Bella finally became a vampire in Twilight.

“Wow.” I breathe, feeling my excitement rising up in the disguise of anxiety. I can’t remember another time that I’d ever felt so confident about my appearance.

“Okay... Okay!” She claps her hands on my shoulder, absolutely beaming. “I’m going to go downstairs and grab the camera. You come down when you’re ready.”

She leaves me alone to stare at my own reflection... The beautiful strange girl with a sea of green curls surrounding her face.

I take a deep breath and get up from the chair, sitting down on the edge of the tub to put on my heels - a pair of pumps with a black and gold glitter gradient on them. They aren’t much, but they’ll make me significantly taller beside Andy.

A few more calming breaths later to contain my excitement, I am ready to head downstairs.

I step off the bottom step of the staircase, only having a moment to gather myself as I am blinded by flashes.

“What? Your phone’s camera isn’t working anymore?” I ask, blinking rapidly to rid my vision of the dancing rainbow-colored orbs.

“Oh, it’s fine.” My Dad grins, snapping another photo with his old, clunky Polaroid camera. “I just enjoy the nostalgia of polaroids.”

He shakes his latest addition with a proud smile on his face. “See?” He says once it’s done developing, holding it towards me at a safe distance where I could not snatch nor destroy it. It’s a photo of me with the hideous look of bewilderment and instant blindness of my face.

“Now that one... That’s a keeper.”

My Mom comes out of the kitchen, adjusting the petals on a small bundle of pink orchids.

“We didn’t want to deprive you of flowers if your date doesn’t pull through.” Dad nods towards the flowers, burying one hand in the pocket of his khaki jeans, the other cradles his camera, waiting for the next fine opportunity to catch me off guard.

“And we thought they were too pretty to pass up. I know you love orchids.”

She holds them towards me, their sweet fragrance raising to my face. I inhale deeply, the nostalgic smell swirling around in my head, triggering distant memories from my childhood involving the flower.

She busies herself with pinning them into the plaits of my braid, the awkward, half green fishtail that pulls my hair all to the left side of my face, amidst all the curls from the hair I’d left down. While she works, the doorbell rings, causing me to jerk up and poke myself on the bobby pins she is using to secure them.

“Hold still!” She snaps, and it reminds me of when she used to brush and style my hair for church on Sunday mornings. She’d pull on my hair too hard for my liking, leaving me squealing and squirming in her grip, making the whole ordeal awful for both of us.

Dad goes to answer the door, and I stare at it eagerly, wondering who it’d actually be and half expecting Andy to actually be standing there in his funeral suit with a grin and flowers. To my surprise, a kid around seventeen or eighteen stood there in a crisp white suit with a tie and a charming smile.

What the Hell?...

“Hello, Mr. Hunter.” He greets him in a pleasant voice. “My name is Connor, I am Christian’s cousin?”

“Of course! Come inside!”

I stare this kid down, trying to look as though we’re familiar with one another when I’ve never seen this kid in my life. There’s no way this kid is CC’s cousin...

My Dad makes a show out of clapping him on the shoulder to make sure he’s ‘worthy’. I notice all the little glances he sneaks at the poor kid while sizing him up.

Connor redirects he attention to me, still getting stabbed in the scalp by my Mother. I wave at him in a friendly fashion before wincing again and leaning away from her grip while she scolds me some more.

“Asheen! Lovely as ever.” He flashes another smile, his eyes a sweet shade of amber-brown. He has short, dark brown hair, all gelled back into a style straight out of the Gatsby era.

I twist free of my mother’s hand and extend my hand toward him as he reaches it, really milking the moment and trying to see how much I can get my Dad’s jaw to drop. I see the shock and surprise on his face as Connor takes my hand in his, bows slightly, and plants a kiss on the backside of my hand.

“We need photos of you two!” My Mother hollers and I look Connor in the eye to ask him without speaking what the Hell we’re supposed to do. He goes with it confidently, putting one hand in his pocket, the other around my waist. I lock up uncomfortably, finding it harder and harder to play into this stunt.

“Play along.” he whispers to me too low for my parents to make out. “Andy and CC are outside.”

I nod once, flashing a bright smile and standing close to his side to sell the ‘we’re close friends’ deal to my parents. They eat it up without suspicion... My Dad grinning while he snaps multiple shots while my Mother is doing these little sob-laughs she does when she’s overwhelmed with excitement.

“Ready to go?” He asks me with a sweet smile, to which I nod slowly. I go to hug both of my parents goodbye and it pulls at my heart and gives me anxiety. I’ve never spent time alone, not this much in one sitting.

“I love you... Drive safe.”

“We will.” My Mother promises, pulling free of the hug to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear, smiling proudly at me. I go to hug my Dad.

“We’ll call you and keep you updated as we travel. You know the house rules while we’re gone... Be home before dark for the rest of the week excluding tonight, keep us updated, and uh... No boys over, okay?” His concerned gaze flickers briefly to Connor who is still standing politely nearby.

“I know. I’ll be fine. You two have fun and send my love to Grandma.” I go and stand beside Connor, looping my arm through his.

“Uh... Have her- Have her back by midnight!” My Dad calls after us as Connor closes the door behind us. The second we’re on the porch and out of sight of my parents, he pulls his arm free of mine and his smile instantly slips away while he rolls his eyes and gestures toward the end of the driveway.

“Your royal carriage awaits.”

We walk down toward CC’s car that we’d be borrowing for the evening. CC is sitting in the driver’s seat with a shit eating grin on his face. That’s when Andy flickers into view, his hair combed back neatly, and as promised, he is wearing his nice funeral suit and holds a bundle of peculiar white and red roses in his hand which he extends toward me as I get closer.

“These are very special.” He says with a proud smile as I accept them.

“How so?”

“The colors have symbolism... The white symbolizes purity and innocence... That’s you. The red symbolizes passion and sacrifice.”

“And that’s you.” I finish his sentence with a coy smile, accepting his hand as he extends it toward me. He makes of show out of turning my hand over to kiss it like Connor had, only making sure that he was doing it better.

He opens the back door and gestures for me to climb in. I get in, and he follows, smoothly closing the door behind him.

“Hopefully that looked like a natural exchange...” I say, looking back to the front windows of my house to search for prying eyes. The blinds in the windows jerk shut.

Connor gets in shotgun, shutting the door behind himself and turning toward CC.

“Here you go, you little punk.” CC sighs, counting out a stack of twenties and handing them over.

“Thanks, shit head.”

“Are you guys... Actually related?” I ask in confusion, sensing no love in the air between them. CC meets my eyes in the rearview mirror and takes in Andy’s laughter from beside me.

“Yes... Unfortunately.” He grimaces, looking over at the teen with a look that made him look like he was thinking of leaving him in a ditch.

“Are you actually cousins?”

“No.” CC replies, pulling away from the curb. “Step-Brothers. My Mom remarried and I got this shit head in my life as a reward.”

“It’s shit to be brothers with you.” Connor retorts, all the charisma and sweetness gone in favor of the bitter teenage angst.

“The feeling is mutual.” CC glances over at him, then becomes more pleasant.

“Alright, so I’m going to stop by my Mom’s house to ditch the kid, then apartment to drop myself off, then you two can have the car for the evening. Don’t worry about getting it back to me tonight, I’ll have Jake or Jinxx bring me by your house tomorrow to collect it.”

“Sounds good... Thanks again, CC.”

“No problem.” He beams, “Anything for my favorite power couple.”

“What’s Ashley doing tonight? Is he coming, too?”

Andy nods. “He wanted to be fashionably late in his own words... Whatever tat means. I don’t know how you can be late to a prom that isn’t yours than no one knows you’re attending.”

CC pulls up outside of his mother’s house. It’s a simple small suburban home.

“Get out of my car.” CC says, flipping off his stepbrother as he climbs out, returning the gesture as he walks up the sidewalk toward the house.

Next he drives toward Main Street district where his apartment is.

“Alright, don’t have too much fun, kids... And don’t forget about our show tonight at the Daisy Chain!”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I assure him, “and thanks for everything, CC. You are the best.”

I get out with him when he does. He leaves the car running while Andy crawls up from the backseat into the drivers seat. I hug CC and kiss his cheek.

“See you at your show tonight... Don’t fuck it up!” I call to him as I circle the car to the passenger door. He grins at me. “I’ll try.”

He waves goodbye to us before heading inside. I look to Andy and he looks back at me. “Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.”



Andy pulls into the parking lot in a dramatic fashion. He doesn’t even need to say anything, I know what he’s doing. A couple well-dressed teens stand on the sidewalk with their dates, in line to get inside. They all look up when the vintage muscle car squeals into the parking lot, smoothly gliding into a parking spot at the end.

He gets out and walks around the front of the car to my door with his chest puffed out proudly. He extends his hand toward me with a crooked smile.

“M’lady?”

“Thank you, kind sir.” I smile at him, accepting his assistance as I climb out of the car and rearrange my skirt.

“I’m a little pissed at myself to be honest.”

“Why’s that?” I ask in confusion.

“I didn’t tell you sooner how beautiful you look. Where’d you get the dress?”

“My Mom made it.” I say with a smile. The skirt is too form-fitting for me to grab it and spin around in it, but I still make my best effort whirling around in a little circle to show him all the bells and whistles it has.

He raises his eyebrows, impressed. “Damn.”

I feel my face getting hot and red, not a feeling I am really used to having since I generally only get compliments from family and close friends... And weirdos on the street.

“I almost forgot!” He opens the backseat door and digs around a bit before producing two masquerade masks to coincide with the theme of the prom. He hands me mine, which is a fitted silver mask with dramatically cut edging and a pale blue feather for decoration.

“This suspiciously matches the color of my dress...” I say, giving him a suspicious smile.

“We’ll never know, will we?” He flashes a smile. “Mind helping me?”

He hands me his, which is black with gold accents. He crouches down on the ground while I tie it on, carefully pulling the ribbon into a neat little bow.

“Now I’m in disguise,” he says as though he is about to try and pull off some ninja moves across the parking lot. “no one will ever know it’s me!”

“Which is for the best,” I remind him as I finish off the knot and help him to his feet. “because it might worry some people if a dead kid showed up to prom. And anyway, you started enough of a frenzy the day you made yourself known at school for the sake of pissing off Reece.”

“Good times... Let me do yours.”

I turn away from him so he can tie the mask into place, and while he is doing that I spot Elizabeth and Reece crossing the parking lot together hand in hand. Despite the cutesy hand-holding and their color-coordinated attire, they look sour-faced and upset about something.

“You’re good.” He says, but I can’t look away. Andy notices my lingering stare and follows it to the couple getting in line near the back.

“I’ll keep an eye on them tonight,” He assures me. “I’ll let Ashley know, too. We’ll keep her safe and out of trouble.”

I take a deep breath, feeling a little bit of relief wash over me. “Thank you... I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” He smiles, proud to be of assistance.

We’re getting ready to leave when I notice something crucial about his own attire.

“Wait... You’re missing something.”

“Oh shit I put my underwear on the outside of my clothes again didn’t I?” He looks down in a joking panic, patting his jacket.

“You need some flowers.” I say, pulling out a cluster of orchids from the back of my hair to tuck into his breast pocket. “There you go, all bright and prideful and ready to destroy the prom. I’m proud.”

He beams, puffing his chest out and extending his elbow toward me. I hook mine with his and off we go to make our debut at the senior prom.

Senior prom?... How in the Hell did we all get so old so fast?

I avoid the eyes of the other teenagers eagerly waiting in line as we approach. I’ve never loved being the center of attention at things like these. They just set you up for unsolicited snide comments later.

“Everyone is staring at us.” Andy whispers under his breath, tempting me to do more than simply look above the heads of those standing along the wall of the school building waiting for doors to open.

“I know.” I reply uncomfortably in a mumble. “You got any ghostly powers to make them stop?”

“Well, we could go invisible.” He suggests with a shrug. “But instead of staring, they’ll be panicking. Pick your poison.”

“I’m fine with staring.”

He chuckles, stepping up onto the sidewalk and offering me aid in the tight skirt that severely limits leg movement of any kind.

Now it’s harder for them to stare without making it obvious. Of course they know it’s me under the mask, I’m the only girl in school with green hair... But Andy? He’s a complete frustrating mystery for them to gossip over.

The girl ahead of us with her date is one of the girls who was originally spreading the ‘drug abuser’ rumor at school the day after his death. I remember hearing her talking about it in the girls bathroom... Right before I blew up at them over someone I didn’t even know.

I notice her trying to stealthily steal peeks back at us without being too obvious. Everything from pretending to check the line behind us (there was none) to pretending to be fixing her train and glancing up at the tall man behind her.

Andy confirmed her sneaky efforts by waving at her politely on the third time she attempted to look back. Once realizing she’d been caught, she no longer tried.

5:00 came and the line slowly began to inch forward toward the front doors where they were signing people in. I lean over a bit, catching a glimpse of Eliza and Reece in the opposing line wrapping around the other side of the school. Her face is annoyed and her arms are crossed, no longer lovingly wrapped around her date.

We get up to the registration desk and Andy hands over our tickets, also getting a confused, lingering look of partial recognition from the teachers running the desk.

“Come along little blue bird.” He says, leading us into the gym with a nostalgic smile on his face as he looks up at the balloon arches and streamers glimmering in the rays of rainbow light off the disco ball. The music is already loud enough to rattle my teeth.

“Would you like some punch?”

“How very cliche of you. Yes, I would love some.”

I appreciate that he doesn’t abandon me in the middle of the dance floor to go fetch it, but instead takes me with him. We walk leisurely toward the refreshments table at the speed of an old couple, just taking in everything and looking for some familiar faces in the crowd.

Everyone looks as though they are having the time of their lives, as they should. One thing I’ve learned since I’ve known Andy is that when tomorrow comes, anything can change. Embrace the now, and live in it because no moment lasts forever.

“Here ya go.”

I accept the paper cup from Andy and sip it while watching the crowd.

“Greetings.”

I look to my left and spot Ashley standing there in his version of formal wear. His black blazer has its sleeves rolled up and most of the buttons of his untucked white shirt are undone.

“You made it. Didn’t think you’d show since you’re not into the social scene much these days.” Andy says as he hands him a cup. Ashley observes the room quietly from behind his black sunglasses, seemingly confident enough that enough time has passed that no one would recognize him.

“Everyone has to do something different every once in a while, right?” He shrugs, pulling a flask out of his jacket pocket and pouring some of the amber colored liquid that stinks of cinnamon into the paper cup. He stares down at the contents, swirling them around a bit before taking a sip.

“I’ll catch you two around.”

He walks into the heart of the crowd dancing in the center of the room, shifting to dodge the dancing bodies.

“You having fun?” I shout at Andy over the pounding beat of the unrecognizable tune. He nods, sipping at him punch before yelling back. “Yeah... I’m just glad that it’s impossible for me to go deaf.”

“Must be nice.” I laugh, looking to our left where more teen couples are coming through the door, seeing Elizabeth alone now and looking deeply discouraged.

“I’ll be right back.” I tell him, sitting down my glass on the table and making my way toward her.

“Howdy, stranger.”

I tap her shoulder and she whirls around to face me. From the bit of smudged mascara under her eyes, I can tell some tears have been falling.

“Hun, what’s wrong? What happened?”

She takes a deep breath and looks around the room, scanning the crowd. “This was supposed to be a special night... Reece is such an asshole, that’s all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I offer.

She thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head, dabbing her tissue under her eyes to clean up the mess.

“I suppose I’ve already messed up my makeup.” She sighs as I take the tissue from her and wipe off the black smudges.

“You’re still beautiful,” I remind her kindly, “You’re always beautiful, Eliza. You don’t need a douche like Reece to define you or tell you your value.”

I smile at her and after a few moments, she gives me a small, saddened smile and pulls me into a side hug.

“So I’m guessing you’re here with Andy, right?”

I nod and point toward the punch table. Andy’s now having a conversation with one of the jocks - about what, I do not know.

“Ashley’s here, too.”

“That’s nice.” She murmurs, looking like she’s feeling deeply out of place.

“Want to come hang out with us?” I offer, tugging her hand in the direction of Andy. “You’re welcome to.”

“That’s sweet of you, Ash... But I have to go fix this...”

“Are you sure that’s the best thing right now?”

“If I can’t get him to see sense, I have backups.” She flashes me a genuine smile. “Reece wasn’t the first nor the last boy to ask me to prom. Whether or not he wants to be a good date is his problem. I’m not letting him ruin this evening for me.”

“That’s the spirit.” I clap her on the shoulder encouragingly as she heads off in search of the brutish man. I frown a bit, trying to keep my eye on her as best as I can before she disappears from sight.

I make my way back toward Andy, having to remind myself again that I also have to make this an enjoyable night for myself. I can’t spend it all fretting about things out of my control.

“So... Like... What’s your name?”

A couple of the more popular boys with their dates have gathered around Andy to prod him for personal information. They’ve already figured out that he’s the black sheep and now they need answers.

“Uh...”

“Come along darling,” I grab his arm, towing him away from the awkward situation. “Let’s dance.”

I glance over my shoulder at those that we’d left behind.

“Thanks.” He says in a low voice. “You know, I always think I’m pretty ready for anything that I might have to deal with, but knowing how to deal with awkward social interaction is not one of them. I wasn’t very good at it when I was alive and it’s worse now because it’s been over a month since I’ve had to actually do any of this kind of stuff.”

“You’re doing great.” I hug his arm, leading him into the death pit of sweat bodies grinding in the center of the room while panicked teachers and chaperones work hard to peel the teens apart and maintain a twelve-inch distance between them.

The music changes to something a little more our speed and familiar. The lively tune of Victorious by Panic! At the Disco.

“You’re probably itching to show off some more, right?” I ask him while laughing as we dance, swinging back and forth and marching in a circle.

“It’s going to buy you some unwanted attention tomorrow morning.” He says regretfully, looking around the room.

“Go for it,” I encourage him. “The way things are moving, I could be in California by Saturday and never see these people again. Go wild.”

“In that case...” He laughs, “How much do you trust me?”

“Indefinitely.”

“How do you feel about cheerleader-esque stunts?”

“What kind?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Jumping in the air and me catching you.”

“In this?” I point toward the tourniquet skirt. He thinks about it for a moment before nodding, having calculated a way for it to work. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Shoot.”

“Just go with it.” He says with a smile, “I’m not a dancer by any means myself, but back when I was with Juliet, we spent way too many evenings watching Dancing with the Stars and I learned a few things.”

He grabs my waist and hoists me up into the air above the heads of everyone else, which is easy enough with the height he already has on them.

It’s actually quite difficult to simply ‘act natural’ when the only thing keeping you from falling to the ground is two hands embedded in your back and the only thing keeping everyone from seeing up your skirt is a prayer.

He crouches down slightly and calls up to me “If all else fails, I can just revive you.”

“That’s comforting.” I reply, laughing nervously. A tic that I had developed as a child.

“Ready?”

“No.”

He thrusts his arms up into the air, sending me sailing up above his head. All the teenagers keep on dancing, oblivious to the super human stunts happening around them. A couple take notice and turn to watch me fall back down.

I attempt to do it as gracefully as possible, but I still brace for impact when he catches me in his arms and keeps dancing to the upbeat rhythm of the song.

“Fun?” He shouts over the music and I can’t quite form a proper response with my heart pounding out of my chest.

“Okay,” He says, sensing my discomfort. “We’ll stick to the ground.”

“Sounds good.”

Some overly dramatic spins ensue, dedicated to the purpose of showing off the flair aspect of the skirt. The blue lace and ribbon cascades around me and it would have been beautiful and photo-worthy if not for the others dancing so closely and completely cramping the moment.

During my spins away from his body when only our fingertips touched, I searched the crowd for Ashley and Elizabeth. I did spot them both once... Eliza dancing halfheartedly with one of the senior guys on the football team while Ashley hung out in the shadows behind her, sipping his altered concoction.

I spin back into his arms just as the song ends. I’m staring into his eyes as a slow song starts playing.

He gives me a small smile and adjusts our stance accordingly, placing on hand on my hip, the other locked with my own fingers. I place my hand on his shoulder and we begin the small dancing shuffle that all the other couples are mirroring around us.

“So how is this for taking a pause from life?” He asks me, leading the dance while I concentrate on just keeping up.

“It’s nice.” I smile. “No demons... No suspicious people... Well, probably some.”

“It’s important to take breaks from life some times to recalibrate yourself, I think.” He says, speaking low enough to keep our conversation soley between us. That’s what alerted me to the nearby dancers dancing a little closer than necessary.

I lock eyes with on girl who keeps glancing at us. “Do you mind?” I snap, causing her and her date to dance off in the other direction. This garners a chuckle from Andy.

“I don’t know why the ‘higher ups’ thought you needed me. You’ve got everything handled just fine.”

“If by handled you mean I find myself in altercations too much, then yes.”

“I’d say you’re doing just fine.” He smiles, brushing a strand of green hair away from my face that had deviated from my Mother’s elaborate hair style.

I take notice of the room around me, trying to once again grab onto the moment and really concentrate on it. I never really compliment myself too often, but tonight it feels deserved. To be completely honest, I feel damn cute in this dress and there’s a sort of a romantic aura that hangs over us.

I’m sure there’s people glancing our way or even making comments, but I will drown them out to the best of my abilities.

I look up at his face again, his skin is illuminated by colored specks of light coming off the disco ball, moving slowly over the bridge of his nose, and getting caught in his eyes, making their normal blue hue appear purple and green.

I take a deep breath and pull my hand away from his in favor of just draping them around his neck in the traditional prom dance. I look down, feeling the saddened beat of the music in my soul.

It’s not a moment that needs to be filled with chatter... The silence between us makes it feel more real, it gives me time to really immerse myself into the experience.

My classmates are dancing all around me, many of them people I seldom talk to or not at all... But all the same, if you pointed out one of them, I could tell you their name in a heartbeat. Bottom line is that I might not say much, but I am always observing.

I look over my shoulder for Elizabeth, but she’s nowhere to be seen now.

“Ashley is with her... Whether she knows it or not is a different thing.” Andy says, breaking the silence and giving me some comfort. Ashley is a lot like myself, quiet and observant. He’d silently follow her to make sure that everything is good.

I nod, looking back up at him, trying to re-center myself and remind myself to enjoy everything despite all the stress poking at me from the back of my thoughts. All the concerns for my Grandmother, for my friends, for me, and for Andy. The weeks ahead are vast and unknown and bound to be full of firsts.

“Something on your mind, dear?” He asks, keeping up his old-fashioned tone. I look into his eyes, but they are shadowed by his mask.

“Always.” I say, giving him a small smile.

“Need to vent? I’m always listening.”

“I know,” I breathe, leaning my head against his shoulder, staring at all the people around me, watching the chaperones making their rounds, making sure that none of the kids are doing anything inappropriate.

“But for right now, let’s enjoy this. All that stuff will still be waiting for me when we’re done here.”

“True.” he hums, still rocking steadily back and forth. “Did I already mention how beautiful you look this evening?”

“You did,” I smile. “But it’s nice to hear again. You don’t look too bad yourself for being the dead kid.”

His quiet laughter rumbles in his chest. “I try.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, listening to the lyrics hidden away in the music all around us. Andy keeps guiding us through the slow dance while I daydream.

“This is one moment I want to photograph.” I say to him as we sway. “To photograph it and keep it forever.”

“Well, we didn’t get our picture taken yet. Do you want to?”

“Of course.” I laugh. “We don’t have any pictures together yet.”

We keep moving along steadily until the slow song drifts to a close. The couples around us pull apart and get ready for the upbeat song that begins to play, but we just keep slow dancing even when it’s changed and no longer matches.

With my ear pressed to Andy’s chest, I can feel the vibrations of him talking, or so I thought he was talking. The more I listen, the more I realize that he is humming quietly to himself.

The notes weave within each other, forming an unfamiliar tune. I listen to it in fascination, confused and intrigued.

“What is that?” I ask him, breaking his concentration and snapping him out of his daze.

“Hm? Oh, just an old song.”

“What song?”

“Something I was playing around with writing the week before coming home. I was considering resurrecting Black Veil Brides once I’d gotten home and had been dabbling in songwriting again after having left it alone for so long.”

“Did you ever name it?”

“I did.” He says quietly, still rocking back and forth. “I titled it Lost it All.”

He hums again, starting from the beginning. The notes sound much louder with my ear pressed to his chest. I listen to the low notes, their melody haunting. I try to imagine what words he might’ve used as lyrics for it.

“I say we keep making the most of this evening,” He suggests after a bit. “Want to get that photo?”

I pull away from him until we’re hanging on by our hands. I smile and nod, hooking my arm with his again and making our way toward the photo booth at the far right side of the gym.

I skip along at his side, grinning at him. “What kind of photo do you want to do?”

“It’s your prom, you decide.”

“I’m not one for formal or dramatic photos,” I say as we get in line behind three other couples, listening to the photographer scolding the ones standing in the way of the backdrop.

“Let’s do something hilarious.”

“Like what.”

“Follow my lead.” I tell him confidently, “We’ll have to do it at the very last second for it to work.”

When it is our turn we step up in front of the lights, getting into the cliche spoon stance where he stands behind me with his hands on my waist. The photographer counted down, and during that fraction second before he pushed the button to take the photo, we both extend our arms toward the camera and extend out middle fingers and stick out our tongues.

The photographer gave us a dirty look as he shook the photo, but doesn’t say anything. He hands the little polaroid shot to Andy and we step aside to cherish it in private.

“It’s perfect!” I gush while laughing. “As my Dad would say... It’s a keeper.”

He sticks it his breast pocket with the orchids. “Now what would you like to do? Dance some more, go mingle?”

“Let’s mingle a bit.” I nod toward the center of the room which looks like an absolute mosh-pit death trap with Eminem playing in the background.

We’re headed into the heart of it when I hear yelling. Confused, I look around for the source and spot Elizabeth and Reece back in the shadows arguing with Ashley getting between them and shoving Reece back.

“Uh oh, that’s not good.”

I point it out to Andy and he rushes over to do what he can, but before he even reaches them, Reece has stormed off out of the gym, down the hallway toward the lockers and restrooms.

I stumble along in my heels to get to them, Elizabeth is in tears.

“What happened?” I demand, but she waves a dismissive hand at me.

“Ash, stay out of it.”

I look at Andy in confusion, then back at her. She wipes her eyes and stalks off in the same direction Reece had before turning the corner and walking out of sight.

“What do we do?” I ask them both.

“Pursue her, I guess.” Ashley suggests. “I don’t know what’s got her so riled, but I’ve got a pretty good guess.”

“What do you mean?”

Ashley points at his abdomen in a circular motion. “I think she’s carryin’.” He says vaguely, but it’s enough information. I nod, sighing and heading out of the dimly lit gym into the bright hallway toward the corner where it turns left toward the bathrooms and exit.

“What do you want us to do?” Andy asks, keeping up with me easily as I walk toward the girls room under the impression that that is where she is hiding out.

“For now, stay put. It’ll only stress her out more if an entire audience is in there. I’ll call you if I need help.”