The next morning, Lena awoke to sunlight streaming into her room. Blinking in the brightness, she slowly sat up and looked around. She was tired. Lena was sure that she had been awake thinking until well past midnight last night, although she hadn't looked at the time. Looking at the clock, Lena saw that it was already twelve pm.

A knock on the door startled Lena. She threw a shirt on over the tank top she had slept in and opened the door.

"Hey, Lena! Good morning!" Aleta beamed and walked past Lena into the room.

"Hi, Aleta," Lena replied tiredly.

"Were you up thinking again last night?" Aleta walked to Lena's desk and set down the box of donuts she had been carrying.

"Maybe..." Lena mumbled. She walked back to the bed and flopped facedown on the blankets. "I'm up now though..."

Aleta eyed Lena as she lay on the bed and snorted with laughter.

"Clearly."

"Fine, fine..." Lena sat up and looked out the window.

"You're thinking about her again aren't you?" Aleta asked, handing Lena a glazed donut. Lena took it but kept looking out of the window.

"Who?" Lena feigned ignorance.

"Her! You know who I'm talking about! Etna!" Aleta insisted, whacking Lena gently with a pillow.

"Yes. Fine. I am thinking about her again," Lena said.

"What is it now?" Aleta asked, walking over to sit next to Lena.

"I was just thinking about the dream I had the night before we met Etna," Lena said.

"What about it?"

"I was just thinking about Enigma. I don't really know anymore... I don't know if I like Enigma or Etna, but I know Enigma is only a dream... I think." Lena muttered.

"You also barely know Etna regardless of her not being a dream." Aleta pointed out.

"I know... and I'm pretty sure nothing will ever come of this crush. I doubt Etna is even interested in girls..." Lena took a sulky bite of donut.

"Here is an idea," Aleta said. "Tonight ask Etna to dance with you. If she won't dance with you, then she doesn't deserve you at all."

"Maybe..." Lena said, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

"If she dances with you she will be worthy of your attention. If she doesn't you'll know she isn't interested in you and then it will help you move on." Aleta said.

"Alright... I guess that makes sense." Lena said, but now she had another thing to be nervous about.

"Don't worry! Try to have fun tonight!" Aleta said, giving Lena a hug.

"Wait... wasn't I supposed to avoid Etna?" Lena asked after a few moments.

"Well, yes. But clearly, that isn't working! You've just been lovesick kitten all week!" Aleta said, and Lena blushed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"...Kind of. But I think you need to talk to her. If all you do is crush on her from a distance, you'll go crazy!" Aleta laughed and hugged Lena again.

"I guess you have a point," Lena said.

The rest of that day passed quickly. As evening approached, Lena got more and more nervous. By the time Lena and Aleta began getting ready for the dance, Lena could hardly sit still. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress and paced the room as Aleta finished getting ready.

"I'm not good at wearing dresses... I don't think I look good... what if she thinks I don't look good?" Lena asked, feeling more nervous by the minute.

"You look beautiful, Lena! I'm sure Etna will think so too. She would be a fool not to, even if she isn't into girls." Aleta said, turning to look seriously at Lena and pushed her in front of the full-length mirror. "Look at yourself!"

Lena stared at her reflection. Her black hair fell down her shoulders in gentle waves. Her simple black dress was definitely not something she would usually wear, but it was pretty. The half-inch silver platform sandals complimented the silver flower clip in her hair. She was surprised to see that she actually didn't look as bad as she was worried she did.

Lena turned to Aleta and gave a small smile.

"Thanks, Aleta," Lena said. "You look really good too."

Aleta was wearing a bright purple dress and black one-inch sandals. Her makeup matched the color scheme of her clothes and her hair was done half up in a delicate braid. Aleta did a delicate curtsy and both girls broke down laughing.

"Are you ready to go?" Aleta asked after several minutes of laughing.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lena said. Then the two of them left together and walked to the gym where the dance was held.

The inside of the gym was decorated with string lights and streamers. It lit the room with a cheery glow. The room was filled with hundreds of people. Lena and Aleta made their way through the crowd and eventually found a quieter spot away from most of the crowd.

As they stood by the wall watching many of their classmates dancing or talking, Lena scanned the crowd for Etna. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress. She couldn't remember ever feeling so nervous about how she looked. Then again, she had never actually had anyone she wanted to impress before now. Aleta watched Lena and chuckled softly.

"What?" Lena asked, suddenly, even more, self-conscious.

"You've fallen so hard..." Aleta giggled. "It's so cute!"

Lena blushed and said nothing.

"Just let Etna know that if she breaks your heart I'll break her!" Aleta exclaimed, suddenly serious. "You're my best friend and I don't want you to get hurt. I want you to be happy."

Lena nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good!" Aleta threw her arms around Lena in a hug. "I love you! As a friend. You know what I mean."

"Yes, yes. I love you too!" Lena laughed as she hugged Aleta.

"Lena! Behind you!" Aleta whispered and gently turned Lena around and pointed. "Over there!"

Lena saw what Aleta was pointing at. If Lena had been nervous before, that only increased tenfold when she saw Etna. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. All the sound around Lena seemed distant as if she was hearing it from underwater. The world around Lena narrowed until the only thing that was real to her was Etna.

Etna's hair was its usual side-swept style, but her black jeans, beat-up shoes, and zipped up leather jacket had been replaced. At least, the jeans and shoes were gone, replaced with black tights and a red and black plaid thigh-length skirt. Instead of the old sneakers, Etna now wore one-inch heels. The leather jacket was still there but now it was unzipped to reveal a black blouse and silver necklace. Silver eye-makeup made the bright green of Etna's eyes stand out even in the darkened room.

Lena was surprised to see that, for the first time, Etna seemed a bit uncertain. Etna spotted Lena and began making her way over.

"I don't understand how you can walk in these," Etna laughed as she walked up to Lena and Aleta, gesturing to the heels she wore.

"I don't really know how to walk." Lena blurted out. "I-in heels I mean... I do... um... know how to walk..." Lena really wished she could make herself stop talking.

"So... This is a dance, huh?" Etna asked, looking around. "People don't really seem to be dancing very much."

Lena looked around. There were people milling around the snack and beverage tables, there were people standing in groups all around the edges of the room, but only around a third of the people there were actually dancing.

"Do you want to? To dance, I mean?" Lena asked.

"With you? Sure!" Etna replied, giving Lena a smile that made her want to melt. Right at that moment, the song switched to a slow song. As Etna took Lena's hand and led her to the dance floor, Lena looked back at Aleta to see her grinning as she waved and mouthed the words Good Luck!