I Knew Babysitting Paid, But It Finally Paid Off

-Joe's POV-

I feel bad that I had to lie to Kristen about having a show the night of her dance, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Manda and I have been working together since the start of school to plan the perfect Homecoming for Kristen. And in order for it to work, she had to be completely unprepared for it. That meant no buying a dress or ticket or anything like that. Manda was buying the tickets with the money I sent her and we were supposed to go shopping tomorrow for Kristen's dress.

I wanted everything to be perfect for her. It was her last year and it had to be amazing. Thats why I was flying Manda out to California for shopping. Manda knew that Kristen's favorite designer was Betsey Johnson and that she had wanted to wear one of her designs to Homecoming since her sophomore year. And since Manda knew her size and style, our plan just might work.

**Next Day**

It was seven o'clock and Big Rob and I were driving to LAX Airport to pick up Manda. She had taken the earliest flight she could so we could fit in as much shopping as possible. I was excited to pick out a dress for Kristen, but I am NOT a morning person. At all.

We arrived at the terminal and I got out of the car to meet Manda when she got off her plane. I waited a few minutes until I saw her walking around looking tired and carrying a bag.

"Manda! Over here!" I shouted, gathering glares from the other sleepy passengers.

"Hey Joooe." She yawned, coming up to me and giving me a hug. "You excited to shop?"

"Yeah, just not looking forward to devoting the whole day to it." I answered. She laughed when I was finished.

"Never go shopping with K then. She will wear you out." She said following Big Rob back to the car.

When we got back to our house I gave her a short tour and she dropped off her stuff. After breakfast we headed out to the stores.

It was noon, and we had already been to about a million different stores. And so far, we haven't found a dress.

"Ooh, Joe! What do you think about this one?" Manda said, holding up yet another dress. I shrugged, it just didn't shout "KRISTEN!" to me.

"What designer does she like again? Betsey Ross or something?" I asked, causing Manda to burst out laughing. "What?"

"Betsey Ross stitched the first American flag, Joe. She likes Betsey Johnson." Manda said.

"Oh. Same difference. Whatever."

We continued shopping until we searched the whole shop. On to the next.

"Ooh! This place is way better." Manda said when we entered the shop.

I went over to the dresses and started going through them. No, no, no, ew why would someone wear that, no-wait. I held out the dress, looking at it from arms length.

It was strapless and looked to be just about mid-thigh length. Gold with black lace patterns over it. I checked the tag, Betsey Johnson. I found it. Its the perfect dress. I pictured her in it, her black hair in curls cascading down over her shoulders.

"Manda!" I shouted to her across the store.

She ran over as fast as she could, navigating her way through all the racks. She gasped when I showed the dress to her.

"Oh my gosh, its perfect." She said, breathless. She took it from me to look at it better. "She's gonna love this Joe. God, you're the perfect boyfriend, you know that? I want a sweet boyfriend like you." I laughed.

"Its easier to be the perfect boyfriend when your head over heels in love with the girl."