"You look really handsome, Dylan." Cassandra said to me.

It was prom night and I was getting ready. I was going to pick up Aubrey in twenty minutes, because she's my prom date and my so called girlfriend, but all I wanted to do that moment was go to Sidney's house and have a movie marathon with her.

I guess it's too much to ask.

"Thank you." I told her, though I didn't really mean it. I didn't want her in my room helping me get ready, but she insisted. She said that she just wanted to be a mother to me.

She looked at me with a smile plastered on her face. "She'll be head over heels when she sees you," she said.

I gave her a confused look. "Who?" I asked. "Aubrey?"

This time, she was the one who gave me a confused look. "Who's Aubrey? I was talking about Sidney."

Oh yeah. She never met Aubrey.

"Oh." I blushed, in a manly way. "Nevermind." I waved off.

She gave me a shy smile.

I hadn't realized it before, but Cassandra was actually very beautiful. Her eyes were sterling gray and everytime she smiles, she's like a goddess that decided to be a human for a little while.

She looked away. "Dylan, I know that you are not in favor of me being your father's new wife, but I am here to tell that I will still care for you no matter what." She said, not looking directly at me. I figured that she's afraid of my reaction.

"Why did you choose my dad? There are plenty of guys who would be perfect for you, you know." I informed her.

She smiled at me. This time, she looked at me. "When I met your father, he was broken hearted. He was devastated of your mother's unfaithfulness. You may not see it, but he is a very caring man. He only hurted you so you could grow up as a brave man, not a coward like him. Not someone who would cry all day just because a woman didn't love him as much as he loved her. I love your father for the way he is, and I promise that I will return the amount of love that he gives to me." She explained. "He really cares for his loved ones, Dylan. He cares for you."

I processed what she said. My father? Care for me? It seemed ridiculous. After all the beating he did to me? That wasn't care. That was cruelty.

I shook my head. "He is not caring, Cassandra. He is abusive." I spat.

"I cannot tell you what to feel, but I can tell you that you need to look deeper. See the real reasons behind. Sometimes, what you know isn't everything that is needed to know." She said.

She took a step backward, and another one, and another one, until she was finally at the door.

She smiled at me. "Have fun at your prom." She said and walked out.

I looked at myself on the mirror once again. The tux fitted me perfectly and my hair made me look 10 years older. I looked like a grown man and not a highschool jock. I looked like my father.

I shook my head and took my phone, wallet, and car keys. I figured that I should probably pick up Aubrey before she bursts like a volcano.

"Let's go." Aubrey said when she finally opened her front door.

There was something odd about her. She seemed... calm.

I opened the car door for her and went inside as well, ignoring her weird attitude.

The car ride was silent. She didn't talk about stupid things, and didn't boast her look for the night.

"You look great." I told her. It was the first thing that popped on my mind when I thought of 'something to start the conversation'.

I cursed inside my head.

She did look great in her black dress anyway, so I wasn't lying. I just knew that Sidney would look better.

"You're not angry with me?" She asked in a worried look.

I raised my eyebrow. "Uhm, no? I don't know?" I wavered. "Why would I get mad at you?"

She sighed. "Well, you can get mad at me for everything." She uttered.

"Everything?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

She looked outside the car window and sighed. Her hair catching the lights of the city. "After prom, I have to talk to you. I have to tell you something."

"About what?"

She closed her eyes. "You'll know."

I didn't say anything more and just kept on driving.

When we finally arrived at the venue, I told myself to act like a gentleman, despite my anger towards Aubrey. I opened the car door for her and letted her cling her arms around mine. Together, we walked into the place.

As I had expected, we were being talked about. I guessed that the news about me and Aubrey finally in a relationship already spreaded out the campus.

One guy slapped me on the back. "Congrats, man." He said.

"For what?" I asked.

"I heard Aubrey's finally your girlfriend. Congratulations. You just got yourself a hot, beautiful girlfriend." He said.

Girls, on the other had, looked jealous at Aubrey. When they saw Aubrey's arms hung around mine, they started gossiping and rolling their eyes at us.

I only wanted to scream at them one thing. "Sidney is the one I love, not Aubrey!" But I couldn't. Despite Aubrey's attitude, I still didn't want to hurt her feelings. No matter how much she had hurted Sidney's.

We reached our table and I pulled the chair for her to sit on. Kevin was beside her.

"Where's Sidney?" I asked him as soon as I sat down.

He looked away. "I don't know." He said. He covered his forehead with his hand showing how frustrated he was.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Something wasn't just right.

"I don't know, okay?" He surrendered. "We met yesterday, and she hates me, and she won't answer my calls, and she won't let me in their house and I don't know if she'll even come tonight or not. I don't know, okay?"

I stood up and walked over to him. I gripped his collar. "What did you do to her?" I glared directly at him. I kept my voice down a bit so that I wouldn't cause a scene, but I really wanted to punch him in the face.

He looked embarassed. "You should ask her. I don't have the guts to say it again." He raised his hands and walked away.

I watched his back as he was walked. It was obvious that whatever he and Sidney talked about, it made him uneasy. I thought, "did he tell Sidney about everything?"

I was about to run after him and ask him, but I stopped on my tracks and froze when I saw her. I saw Sidney.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

I looked at her and it felt like the whole world stopped. My heart stopped beating and I froze, just looking at her. There was this odd feeling that I couldn't explain. It was a weird thing to feel, like something is floating around my stomach, but I didn't want it stop. I liked the feeling.

She walked and I couldn't explain it, but everything went in slow motion. She was the only thing that existed in my world that moment.

She saw me and gave me a small smile. It wasn't the smile that the Sidney I knew would give me. My best friend would have waved like a lunatic and ran to me. Something was definitely wrong.

She headed for my direction and walked passed by Kevin without even acknowledging his presence. Kevin's mouth hung open. It was priceless.

I wanted to ask him what he and Sidney had talked about, but I guess I could ask Sidney instead. IF she doesn't strangle me.

Sidney caught everyone's attention as she walked. She looked stunning in her red dress. She was beautiful last year, but no words could explain how amazing she looked right that moment.

I couldn't believe that a year ago, I liked being with her because she's my best friend. Now, I want to be with her because I realized that I loved her.

Funny how time can change so fast.

She was finally in front of me. Only that moment did I realize that my mouth was hanging open the entire time.

How delightful.

I gathered myself and tried not to act like a girl. "I have something to ask you." I said.

She shook her head. "Why don't we just enjoy the night? We can talk later."

I nodded. "Okay then. Let's sit down." I offered her the seat that Kevin sat on a while ago.

She shook her head again. "No, thank you. I'm going to sit in another table." She pointed at the table on the other corner of the room. "I don't want to get in the way with your new girlfriend."

"What?"

"Aubrey is your girlfriend, right?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh, right." I scratched the back of my head. "I guess I'll see you later, then?" I managed a smile.

She just nodded and walked away. She went to the other table and sat next to Hayley.

I sat down and couldn't help but just stare at her from the other side of the room. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.

She was and is still the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.

...

Sidney Elizabeth Stewart, I wrote.

I dropped the small paper on the ballot box.

This year, the school decided to add something with the pageant. A prom king.

We were supposed to vote for a prom king as well, but I didn't vote anyone. I left my paper blank.

When I came back at my table, Aubrey wasn't there. Awhile ago she was sitting just right on her seat, but now she's gone. I figured that she must have gone to the comfort room or something.

A few moments later, the emcee started talking. Right on time, Aubrey came back. Surprisingly, she came back with Kevin along with her.

I wanted to ask her where she went, but I didn't want to give her the hope that I cared. I didn't want to give her any hope at all.

The emcee announced the nominees for Prom King and Queen.

Aubrey Hart

It was obvious that she would get nominated. She won prom queen last year, so some would still think that she deserves to win this year.

I don't.

She went to the stage. Last year, when she was called, she acted all happy and flattered. This year, she acted like she went over this a million times already and is tired of doing it again.

Aubrey seemed, not Aubrey.

Riley Mae Dawson

She's in my Algebra class. She's pretty, tall, and had a slight resemblance with Emma Roberts. She wasn't that popular the year before, but she is now. She's as popular as Aubrey.

The only difference with Aubrey and her is that she is nice and Aubrey is not.

Sidney Elizabeth Stewart

I never would've doubted it. Sidney will be nominated. When everyone saw her when she walked in the door, why would they even choose to vote anyone than her?

Plus, a lot of people had liked her. She's nice, talented, and very pretty.

A lot of people liked her. Me? I loved her.

Kevin Tott

He's good looking, so people would have voted for him. He's also talented. And good looking. And rich. And egyptian. And a son of a producer. And rich.

But if I find out that he did something bad to Sidney, I would never have a second thought of ripping his throat off.

Okay, maybe I won't rip his throat off because I'm not violent, but you get what I mean.

Tyler John Stone

I actually have no idea who he is so I have nothing to say about him.

Dylan Edward Matthews

Well, yours truly.

Some girls did say to me days ago that they would vote for me, so I kind of expected it. Sidney called those girls the 'Gossip Girls'. I laugh everytime I see them because of the nickname Sidney gave to them.

I didn't have a choice, so I got up and went to the stage like the rest of the nominees did.

When I was up there, I stood on the right side of the stage where the guy nominees had to stand. Sidney was on the other side with Aubrey and Riley. I didn't look at the emcee. I didn't look at the audience. I didn't look at anyone or anything. All I looked at was her. I just couldn't take my eyes away from her. She's just captivating in her own way.

(Oh. All the names of the girl nominees rhymed. Great.)

We had to walk on the stage, as what the event organizers said, so we did. We didn't have a choice, did we?

Aubrey was first, then Kevin, then Riley, then Tyler, then Sidney, and lastly me.

Surprisingly, Sidney didn't walk like a zoo animal this time. She walked gracefully. Actually she walked like she owned the night. Like all of it was destined for her.

I wasn't sure if it was only me, but everything went in slow motion as she walked and like a mellow love song started playing inside my head.

Oh wait. The Sound System was playing the song.

Anyway. After we walked around the stage, we went back to our seats to enjoy the meal. After that there were intermission numbers, awards like best dressed, and other parts of the program that I really didn't care about.

I just sat there, not caring anything about anything else, just thinking about how stupid I had been for not realizing how amazing my best friend was.

"In 15 minutes, we will finally announce who the Prom King and Queen for the year is!" The emcee said.

Some gasped and some looked excited about it. I didn't care even a single bit.

I was startled when Aubrey touched my hand. "Can I talk to you? Outside?" She asked. Her eyes were scared, which was new because they were always full of confidence.

"Okay."

She led me to the parking lot. It was quiet, which made me nervous. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked her. I just wanted to go back inside and maybe stare creepily at Sidney.

She bit her lip. "We have something very important to tell you." She said.

I raised my eyebrow. "Wait, we?"

"Yeah." She nodded. She turned around and called, "you can come out now!"

At first I thought she was crazy because for a minute no one came out. But then Kevin Tott appeared from one of the cars, his hand tucked in his pockets, and he was lowering his face.

"What's happening?" I asked. "Are you going to blackmail me again?" I scoffed. I already regretted giving in their blackmail to me. I didn't need another one.

"No," she shook her head. "We are here to confess something, Ed."

My eyes went wide. I grew angry. "No one gets to call me Ed except for Sidney, okay?" I almost shouted.

She screeched. "Okay." She looked scared. Like a puppy alone in the streets. "I'm sorry, Dylan." She apologized, calling me in my proper name. Well that won't take back what she called me.

I calmed myself down. "Okay. Just tell me what you have to tell me so we can all get back inside and get this all over with." I muffled.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Dylan, I know that you think I'm a bad person for blackmailing you." She started. What a great way to start her explaination.

I scoffed. "Hell yeah, you're right."

She ignored my statement. "The thing is," she paused. "We were also blackmailed to blackmail you."

"What?" I asked. You can't blame. She was confusing.

"She told us that she'd fail me and Kevin if we don't follow what she says. If we get an F and our parents find out, we'll probably be in Africa the next year feeding a kangaroo." She said.

"Wait, she? And fail you? Which means she's a girl and she is a teacher?" I asked. "Oh and Kangaroos are found in Australia. Not Africa." I pointed out.

"Oh." She only said.

"Yeah, kangaroos. How stupid Aubrey. And no, Dylan. She is not a teacher." A voice behind me spoke. I turned around to find out who it was. I was surprised to see her.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

She laughed. "She is not a teacher, because that she, is me." Hayley said.

I shook my head. "You? Blackmail them? And they gave in? How surprising." I crossed my arms.

She shrugged. "They were easy. They actually believed that I could make them fail." She said. Aubrey and Kevin looked embarassed. Their cheeks were red. I couldn't believe that they actually fell for Hayley's trick.

Says the man who fell for a stupid blackmail. My subconcious said.

I only wanted Sidney to succeed okay? And Aubrey did say that she'll hurt Sidney, so I'd be willing to do anything for my best friend. I answered to my subconcious. Which is stupid. And dumb. And probably very extremely stupid.

"Why did they even believe you?" I asked. It just seemed impossible that Aubrey and Kevin would be afraid of her. Since she's just a student like us. And she isn't a rich teenager like Aubrey or a child of a producer like Kevin.

She gave me a sneaky smile. "I told them something. Something I never told anyone before."

"What?" I asked. "What did you tell them?"

She walked closer to me. "About who my real father is. And who Sidney's real father is."

At first, I didn't understand what she was talking about. But then it hit me. "Your father is Mr. Johnson?" I asked in shock.

She nodded. "But oh, who would have known? He didn't want me to be his daughter. All he wants is Sidney and her mom. He doesn't care about OUR family!" She spat.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

She faked a laugh. "My grandmother didn't want my dad to be with Sidney's mom. So she made him leave her and marry my mother instead. But he didn't love her. He didn't love me. He didn't even give me his surname! All he wants is Sidney and not me. Not me! He even stalks them at their house!" She screamed with rage.

She walked even closer that our faces were only inces away. "My father was taken away from me. Don't you dare ask why I did all of this." She spat at me. She then started walking away, leaving me frozen with Aubrey and Kevin speechless.

I actually thought that she was a good person. I saw Sidney laughing at class with her. I guess she was just acting all along.

I faced Aubrey and Kevin. "Did you two know about this? All of it?" I asked them.

They both nodded. "Well, not all of it." Kevin chided in. "She didn't tell us that her father didn't love her as a daughter. We thought she just didn't want a sister. Which was why we actually believed that she was capable of failing us." He explained.

I nodded in understanding. "But why were you so afraid of failing that you would follow what she wanted?" I asked out of curiosity.

They both looked away.

Aubrey was the first one to look straight back at me. She was close to crying. I actually felt pity.

"I couldn't get an F." She started. "Someday, I would take over what my parents are working on with right now, and having bad grades is a big no for them." She said.

The girl in front me that was scared and was about to cry was not the Aubrey that I knew. She was the girl that was trapped inside Aubrey. The girl that had real feelings and emotions. The girl that wasn't made of plastic.

"They paid the school for me to always get an A. Most of the teachers agreed to their deal, but not Mr. Johnson." She said. "Mom and dad pressured me to ace Mr. Johnson's class. One F and it's bye bye Aubrey."

She started crying. Her make-up becoming a mess.

"I was tired of it. I wanted to ace because I worked hard for it, and not because my parents had money. But I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even speak up for myself. So I blackmailed you, even though I knew that you were a nice guy. I hated myself for doing it to you, not thinking about your feelings." She said. "I'm sorry. I was stupid for doing it."

She moved backward and turn around, probably so I wouldn't see her cry.

I hated her for doing it, but suddenly, I understood why she did it. Was I not the same with her? I agreed to her because I couldn't face the fact that Sidney won't get what she deserved all because of me.

Kevin stepped forward.

"I don't have a sad story like hers, but I only did it because I didn't want to disappoint my father. He was already disappointed with me, so I don't want to make him more disappointed." He said.

"I would've stopped. I didn't want to play Sidney. But I got to know her and I fell for her. I did stop playing her. I just didn't leave her because I wanted to be with her."

"But you still played her." I uttered.

He laughed without humor. "Like you didn't."

I clenched my fist and ran into him. I gripped on his colar and locked his eyes with mine. "I only did it because I wanted what was best for her!" I shouted at him.

Aubrey tried to stop us, but she was not strong enough.

I expected Kevin to scream at me back or punch me, but he didn't. He closed his eyes and heaved a breath.

"I know that you love her enough to know what is best for her." He said, which made me surprised. "I love her, but she deserves someone like you rather than me. Just..." He paused.

"Promise that you'll love her and make her feel special."

I calmed down. I let go of his collar. I closed my eyes and thought of what he said.

I nodded. "I will. Because she really is special."

...

"Are you ready for the results?" The emcee asked everyone. He was answered by screams and cheers.

We were all back in our seats, and Kevin, Aubrey and I acted like nothing had happened. Atleast I found out that they weren't the real bad guys.

Sidney was still sitting at the other side of the room, with Hayley. I wanted to come to her, to warn her about Hayley, but I didn't know what to say.

Well, I couldn't possibly say, "Hey Sidney. I just want to let you know that I love you and I know you love me too. Oh and I knew that Mr. Johnson was your father the whole time. And oh yeah, I tricked you for months. Aubrey isn't really my girlfriend and Kevin just played you. And the girl that's beside you right now is your sister who just plotted a big revenge to you. So yeah. How's prom by the way?"

Yup. Never in a million years.

"Okay," the emcee continued. "Let's start with the guys. The first ever prom king is..."

A drum roll sound effect started playing,
I looked at my schoolmate's faces and they were really excited for the results. Like it could change their whole life. Huh. Yeah right.

"It's...." The emcee finally said. "Dylan Edward Matthews!"

Cheers and applause surrounded me. They were screaming my name. They were congratulating me. But when my name was called, I was only looking at one person.

She smiled at me, and mouthed "congratulations."

I walked towards the stage with happiness all over my heart. Not because I won prom king, but because I finally saw her real smile that night. It was the smile that made me fall in love with her every single time.

They placed the crown on top my head and hung a sash around me.

"Are you ready for Prom Queen?" The emcee asked again. "Okay. This year's prom queen is..."

I closed my eyes and waited for her name. I just hope that it's her. I want her to be my queen in this overnight royalty.

"Congratulations to our new prom queen Sidney Elizabeth Stewart!"

I opened my eyes the moment I heard her name. I was so happy. I couldn't breathe for a moment.

I looked for her in the crowd. Then, I saw her. Shock was all over her face and I found it cute and adorable. She couldn't believe that she won. She smiled, and that moment I knew that she was happy to be prom queen. Last year, she didn't want to be prom queen. She hated it. Now, she gets to be prom queen, and liked it. She was happy.

She walked towards the stage. Towards where I was standing. She was in front me. My world was in front of me.

They placed a crown on her head. She was queen. She was the queen of my heart.

The emcee started speaking again. "Let us welcome our prom king and queen! Let us give then a round of applause for their first dance." He said.

A song started playing. Can I Have This Dance from the High School Musical.

I didn't move for a moment, and neither did she. We just stood there, eye to eye, and heart to heart.

Then, I offered her a hand. "May I have this dance?" I asked.

She smiled. "You may." She placed her hand on top of mine. Our hands touched, and it felt like a million sparks.

I slipped my other hand on her back, pulling her closer. She gasped as I pulled her, our faces only inches away, and if she only knew how I wanted to vanish that space.

I took one step as she follows. Slowly by slowly, we started dancing, our eyes not breaking its contact.

It felt like we were the only persons that moment. I could still hear the song, but my whole world was focused on her that it felt like no one was there in that room with us. Like that dance was meant for us. Like no one was watching.

Sidney once told me about her mother's prom. About how her mother and father fell in love during their first dance.

I couldn't even imagine her mother and Mr. Johnson dance together. The idea was unthinkable.

But what they felt was love. And it is what I was feeling that moment. But the question is, was it the same with Sidney? Does she love me the same?

"Your girlfriend won't get angry at this, right?" She joked.

I shrugged. "Well, she's not re..."

"Okay!" The emcee spoke so I didn't finish what I was saying. "Let's start with the disco!"

They started playing music that my eardrums did not like. I tried talking to Sidney, but the music was too loud for us to hear each other.

We both decided to find someplace to talk, but the moment we went down the stage, it was too crowded that I lost her. The moment I looked back, she wasn't there. She vanished in the crowd.

I tried finding her, but I had no luck.

I made my way to the front door, hoping to see a glimpse of her in the crowd. Then a girl started making her way towards me. But it wasn't Sidney.

"Meet Tyler, my boyfriend." Hayley said. Oh. Now I know something about Tyler. "Trying to find Sidney?"

"Yes." I told her. "I'll tell her everything. Everything about you and what you did."

She laughed wickedly. "I think not."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Tyler?" She called to her boyfriend. "Would you do the honors, please?"

Then, I realized what they were about to do. I tried to run, but I was too late.

Tyler punched me in the face and I passed out.

...

I woke up with a pained face.

I opened my eyes and I was in my room, still wearing my tux. I looked around to see who was with me, and it was Cassandra.

"Thank God you're finally awake." She said. "I was worried I had to get you to the hospital."

I half stood up. "What happened?" I asked touching my forehead. I couldn't touch my cheek because it was still bruised and it hurt a lot.

"You were punched by this really big schoolmate of yours." She said. "Don't worry. The school heads took care of him and this other girl."

Wild guess. The girl was Hayley.

I stood up. Well, I can walk. My feet isn't my face. "I'll go to Sidney's. I have something to tell her."

Her face dimmed. "About that." She said. "She left an hour ago."

"What do you she left. Wher..." The it hit me.

It was the day of Sidney's flight to Mexico. I was so stupid to forget about it.

"What time is it?" I asked her.

She looked at her watch. "8:30"

I cursed. "Her flight was at 8 o'clock." I said. "It's.... It's.... Too late."

She placed her palms on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. Whatever it is that you were going to tell her, just tell it to her when she comes back next week." She said.

I nodded. "You're right. I'll wait for her." I said. "I'll wait for her to come back and finally tell her what I really feel."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE END.

Well, not really.

In my original plot, this was the end of the story. Actually, it was supposed to be Sidney never coming back.

But. A friend of mine, shadowladyyy , pleaded for me to change it. She didn't like the ending. She asked me to make a sequel.

Sooo, I decided to add an extra chapter. (Hey shadowladyyy you happy now?)

So yeah. Another chapter it is. But it is the last chapter. This time, it's for sure. So stay tuned!

By the way. You probably got the chapter title now. XD

I had a hard time writing this chapter, it took me more than a week. But finally, I finished it! Hope you liked it. And the next one. :)

Z.