“Are you about ready girls?” my mom asked kindly while walking into my room where Kara and I were putting on makeup and adding the finishing touches to our hair. Mom had acted all excited once we told her about the dance, and for once, she and dad decided to stay home and see me before the dance.
“Almost, mom,” I told her while curling one last section of my hair so that my hair flowed in perfect waves down to a little past my shoulders.
“Ok, the guys should be here very soon, though,” mom said before shutting the door.
“Are you excited?” Kara said while I put on mascara.
“Hell yes!” I exclaimed and we both laughed.
“Me too,” she admitted and curled a small section of her hair. “You and Alex are going to be the cutest couple there.”
I rolled my eyes at her before quietly saying, “I doubt it.”
“You will be! You’ll definitely be the most talked about,” she told me enthusiastically and I raised an eyebrow at her before she continued to explain, “You’re the new girl that practically every guy is in love with and Alex is one of the most unattainable guys at school.”
“Seriously? Why is he so unattainable?” I asked confused.
“Well he used to flirt with every girl, but he wouldn’t date any of them. Everyone thought it was because he’s a player and everything because there’s a rumor that he’s slept with all the girls at school, but he told the guys he was waiting for the perfect girl and Rian told me,” Kara admitted and my eyes widened slightly in surprise before we both quickly put our dresses on.
“Kara, Kaylie, the guys are here!” my mom exclaimed from downstairs before I had a chance to reply to Kara’s comment.
“Are you ready?” Kara asked me.
“Just about,” I said while running my hand through my bangs which I decided to leave straight.
“You look perfect, Kay,” she told me and I just gave her a look before rolling my eyes. “No I’m serious.”
“Whatever you say, Kara, but you look perfect too,” I told her seriously and she blushed at me.
“Ready?” she asked while slowly turning my door handle.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I told her quietly before I signaled for her to go first.
“I’m so nervous!” I exclaimed quietly before we could be seen by the guys or mine and Kara’s parents, as they also chose to come over to see her before the dance, and she giggled at my nervousness.
“You’ll be fine,” Kara said while stepping into view and I heard several people gasp while I chuckled and followed her down the staircase.
“Kaylie sweetie, you look beautiful; you both do!” my mom exclaimed while wrapping her arms around me in a huge hug and I laughed.
“Thanks mom,” I said before letting go of her so I could hug my dad.
“I love you, Kaybear,” my dad whispered in my ear, using the nickname he gave me when I was younger.
“I love you too, daddy,” I whispered back with a smile, needless to say, I was a daddy’s girl.
“Kaylie!” Jack practically yelled while dragging me away from my dad and tackling me in a hug.
“Hey Jack,” I said while wrapping my arms around his neck and he lifted me up a little and twirled me around while I laughed before he finally sat me back down on my feet. “Now go to your date,” he whispered before slightly pushing me to Alex and I stumbled slightly before Alex caught me around the waist and pulled me into a hug.
“You look gorgeous, Kay,” he whispered to me.
“Thank you Alex,” I said quietly while blushing. “You look handsome yourself,” I whispered back a moment later before letting go of him and turning around to see my mom and dad smiling at us.
“What?” I asked cautiously and they just shook their heads and I looked around curiously as I noticed my siblings were nowhere to be seen. “Where are Jasey and Chase?”
“Jasey is getting ready at her friend’s house and Chase already went to Abby’s house,” my dad answered before my mom told us all to get together for pictures.
After enough pictures of Kara and me, Alex and me, all of us together, and Rian and Kara, we were finally in the cliché limo my mom insisted on. I was sitting in between Alex and Jack while Kara and Rian were sitting across from us.
“Are you excited?” Jack asked me after a couple minutes of silence.
“Yes!” I exclaimed before laughing.
The rest of the car ride was spent with random conversations and enough of Jack’s perverted jokes to last for the rest of my weekend. After about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the school.
“Let’s fucking rock this!” Jack exclaimed and we all laughed at him before walking into the cafeteria where the dance was being held.
“Kaylie!” someone yelled at me once I got in the cafeteria. I turned around and saw Jasey and her boyfriend Cody standing a few feet away.
“Jasey, you look beautiful!” I exclaimed while hugging her tightly.
“You do too, Kay,” Jasey said laughing before releasing me.
“Be good to my sister, Cody!” I warned him and they both laughed at me before I walked back to my group.
After dancing and singing with Kara to several pop and hip hop songs, Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved came on and all the couples got together while anyone without a date walked off the dance floor while looking sad that they didn’t have anyone to dance with and I instantly felt bad for them. Kara made her way to where Rian was and I stood in my spot awkwardly for a moment before I heard Alex’s voice.
“Will you dance with me, Kaylie Armstrong?” Alex asked from behind me and I smiled while I turned around to face him.
“I would love to, Alex Gaskarth,” I said mimicking him while laughing. He wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped mine around his neck and we swayed to the music.
“You know, this is one of my favorite songs,” I told him after a couple seconds.
“Really?” he asked me and I nodded.
“Yeah, I love Maroon 5, and this is probably one of my favorites of theirs, it’s such a sweet song,” I admitted and he smiled at me. I smiled back before resting my head on his shoulder and we continued to sway as Alex quietly sang along to the song causing the smile to never leave my face throughout the rest of the song.

The rest of the dance was a blast, and we were now on our way to Alex’s house to stay the night. Once we pulled up to his house, everyone got out and started walking into his house while Alex held me back.
“What’s up, Alex?” I asked him confused.
“Kaylie, I think I’m-,” Alex started but my phone interrupted him. I glanced at the caller ID and let out a frustrated sigh when I saw it was Chase.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologized to Alex before answering my phone. “What Chase?” I snapped at him.
“Kaylie, you need to get home now. Dad just got off the phone with Billie; grandma is really sick, and we’re going to Cali tomorrow to visit her,” Chase explained and my heart sunk.
“How bad is she?” I asked concerned while Alex gave me a confused look.
“The doctors don’t know if she’s going to live much longer,” Chase told me and I stifled a sob.
“Have you called Jasey yet?” I asked him.
“Just about to,” he replied and I nodded even though I knew wouldn’t be able to see me.
“I’ll be home soon,” I said while trying to hold back my tears before hanging up.
“What’s wrong, Kay?” Alex asked concerned and I started crying before Alex pulled me into a hug causing me to cry even more. “Do you want me to take you home?” I simply nodded and he led me to his car. He opened the passenger door for me before telling me he’d be right back. I sat in the car crying for a couple minutes before Alex returned with his keys.
“I told the guys and Kara that you needed to go home,” he explained while starting the car and backing out of the driveway and I just nodded as I couldn’t yet talk since I still couldn’t stop crying.
“My grandma is going to die,” I finally said after several minutes of silence and Alex looked at me questionably before looking back at the road. “When Chase called, he was explaining to me that dad just got off the phone with my uncle, and he said that my grandma was very sick and doctors said she might not live much longer. We’re flying to California tomorrow to visit her,” I finished explaining.
“I’m so sorry, Kaylie,” Alex said sadly while grabbing my hand and squeezing it slightly and then laced his fingers with mine, and I smiled a real smile at him, butterflies in my stomach.
“Thank you Alex,” I said quietly.
“For what?” he asked me while pulling into my driveway.
“Everything,” I said and he smiled softly at me. I unbuckled my seatbelt and just sat there. “Hey Alex?” I asked after a minute or two of silence.
“Yeah?” he replied back confused.
“Can you come in with me?” I asked while looking down, slightly embarrassed.
“Of course,” he said smiling while opening his door and I did the same before stepping out into the cold night air. I shivered before quickly walking up to my house with Alex beside me. Upon entering the house, I found nearly all the lights off and it being completely silent. I furrowed my eyebrows together before quickly taking my high heels off and walking quietly up the stairs and into the completely dark upstairs hallway.
“You can go ahead to my room, I’ll be there in a minute,” I told Alex before softly knocking on Chase’s door and entering to see Chase packing clothes in one of his suitcases.
“How long will we be there?” I asked him while sitting on his bed.
“Probably just a week,” he said without looking up from the suitcase.
“What happened to her?” I asked after a couple seconds.
“No one really knows, she just got really sick all of the sudden,” he said before finally looking up and walking over to me and wrapping me in a hug.
“Why did this have to happen?” I said before I started to cry again.
“I know it’s not fair, Kaylie, but at least we’ll get to see her,” Chase said into my hair while choking back his own sobs.
“I’m going to go pack,” I said after finally calming back down again a few minutes later. I wiped my eyes before standing up and walking into my room.
“Hey,” Alex said quietly and I tried to smile at him even though it turned into a frown before walking over to my dresser and grabbing a pair of sweat pants, a bra, and a plain white tank top.
“I’m going to get changed and I’ll be right back,” I told him quietly then walked back out of my room and into my private bathroom. I slid the dress off of me then put on my bra, tank top, and sweat pants before grabbing a rag and running hot water over it and washing my smudged and smeared makeup off of my face. I looked at my reflection and tried to smile. My bangs were naturally straight as usual, but the rest of my hair was curled and slightly knotted, and my face still had the remains of makeup I couldn’t completely wash off. I walked back out of the bathroom and into my room once again. I sat down on my bed and rested my head in my hands while taking slow, calming breaths.
“Everything will be ok, Kaylie, I promise,” Alex said sitting down beside me before wrapping his arms around my waist and I leaned onto his shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do, Alex. If my grandma dies, I’ll be an emotional wreck, even worse than I already am; I just love her so much and I can’t lose her,” I said into his chest before I sniffled.
“I’ll be here for you, Kaylie; I’ll always be here for you,” Alex said while stroking my hair.
“I love you, Alex; I have ever since I met you,” I said nearly inaudibly, not realizing what I said. I glanced up at him and saw him smiling at me while I wiped my tears from my eyes and cheeks.
“Do you want me to help you pack?” he asked me before getting up and holding his hand out to help me up.
“What about the guys and Kara? They’re still at your house, remember?” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but they said they’ll be fine and I just need to make sure you’ll be ok,” he said and I gave him a hug before thanking him for being such a good friend.
“Well if you don’t mind, I could use the help,” I said gratefully a couple seconds later and he chuckled at me.
“How long will you be gone?” he asked seriously while I went to my closet to grab a suitcase.
“Probably just a week,” I said while searching for a suitcase.
“So you’ll be back by Christmas?” he asked and my eyes widened. Shit, I forgot all about Christmas.
“Uh yeah, I should be back no later than Christmas Eve,” I said before turning around.
“Well, I’ll miss you, Kaylie,” he said seriously and a small smile formed on my face.
“I’ll miss you, too, Alex,” I said while walking back towards him with my suitcase in my arms. We packed a few things in silence for a little while before Alex suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked confused.
“Kaylie,” Alex started nervously and I raised an eyebrow, “Kaylie, I think I’m starting to fall in love with you.” As soon as he said that, my eyes widened before a huge smile formed on my face.
“Alex, I think I’m starting to fall in love with you, too,” I replied and he smiled before leaning down and softly pressing his lips against mine.