Chance and I stand outside of the school near the gymnasium.

It turned out that Chance's mom, Lana, was the one to drop us off at school. Of course, like my mom, she also wanted tons of pictures of me and Chance. She literally talked the whole ride about staying away from bad kids and if we see anyone doing something that they're not supposed to be doing, walk away and not get involved. Sounds like something I hear almost every day from my mom.

Standing not too far from the gym, I can hear the blaring sound of the music. The music pulses in my ear almost as if I'm already inside the gym. Cups are scattered everywhere with a bit of liquid dripping from them or a pool of the liquid surrounding them. There are just a few students outside but at a far distance from where I am standing, holding cups of drinks in their hands.

"Are you ready to head inside?" Chance asks me, my arm looped around his.

I look at him with a smile, drawing my attention from my surroundings to him. "Yeah, let's go."

The both of us start walking up to the doors of the gymnasium. I move my arm from around Chance's as he opens the door for me to walk in. I walk inside and instantly, I think I'm going to go deaf from my eardrums beating so hard in my ears.

Students dance, moving their bodies to the beat. There are girls wearing tight dresses with such tall high heels, they look like they're about to fall over. The girls are either dancing with their dates or having a make-out session while bodies move against them. I notice a few adults, maybe 2 - 3, standing in the corners to make sure nothing goes wrong, or if anything illegal is happening. They seem to not be doing a great job at that because they don't seem to be caring about their surroundings.

Chance holds my hand and leads me through the crowd. He leads me to a sitting area with white tables and chairs. We sit down with other freshmen, watching the crowd of students as they dance and have fun.

"I'll-" Chance yells but gets cut off by another yelling voice.

"Chance!" someone says and I look up to find that it's Chad, who's Chance's old friend and also the one to bully me on the first day of school. He's wearing a black suit with a button-down shirt and a bow tie underneath.

Chad sees me looking at him and sends me a charming smile, "Hey there, Annie."

I smile at him, then look at Chance, who doesn't look very happy to see him. "You should go talk to him," I say, hoping he'd take my advice.

Chance moves his gaze from Chad and looks at me. He nods his head and stands up. "I'll be right back," he assures me and walks away with Chad following.

I sit for a while, deciding to wait until Chance gets back that I'll start having fun like any other human being here. But, noticing that he's probably having a long talk with his old best friend, I change my mind, getting up from where I was sitting to go have a drink of some punch.

I stand by the table that has a bowl of punch with treats and food surrounding it. I lift the big spoon, pouring the liquid into my cup. I finish pouring my drink into my cup and turn around to face the crowd. I step a few feet away from the eating area and start drinking. I finish my drink and see two girls walking towards me; Amy and Lindsey.

They both have a smirk on their faces as they make their way over to me.

Amy is wearing a two-piece outfit that's pink and the lace being white. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's wearing white heels. Lindsey is wearing a simple red dress with black heels, her hair is also up in a ponytail like Amy's, but the end is curly.

They both look rather simple, but of course, Sandra has to ruin the moment as she makes her grand entrance by walking in the middle of both Amy and Lindsey.

"Hey, Annie! What a surprise to see you here because I didn't see you last time at our 8th-grade dance... so I guessed you wouldn't make it this year, but here you are!" Sandra says to me in a fake tone and I internally scowl at her in great disgust. She's wearing a long, off the shoulder, red dress that has a split at the side. She's also wearing black heels, and to add more to her outfit, she's wearing a tiara that - I'm not going to lie - looks amazing.

"Oh, hi, Sandra! It's such a surprise to see you, too!" I say with sarcasm dripping from my tone. I can see the plain scowl on her face, and I want to scowl back, but I keep my expression as neutral as possible. "Yes, I'm here!"

Before replying to me, she looks at Lindsey, who doesn't look at her and walks away from next to her and somewhere behind me. I don't look back, I keep staring at Sandra. "Well, it's really nice seeing you here. I actually wanted to apologize..." she says to me with a small pout on her face.

I smirk. "Oh, really? Let me hear it!" I say fakely, totally not buying it.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you back in middle school and now, in high school. I was just so... jealous of you and all that stuff. And now, seeing you here, I just want us to be friends again. Please accept my apology!" she says to me and I can see her pleading with her eyes.

Okay, first of all, the "jealous" part sounds just about right. Second of all, she sounded way too needy. She never sounds needy. And third of all, when she exclaimed for me to accept her apology, right then, I know she's lying and is up to something.

"Nope," I tell her, popping the p. I can feel a looming figure appearing behind me and quickly, I step out of the way.

The looming figure turns out to be Lindsey as she spills the bowl of punch onto the spot I was standing at. Sandra screams as some of the punch splashes onto her. There's juice soaking into her dress and there's also some of it on her arms, feet, and face-- ruining her make-up.

"Oh... my gosh..." Sandra says, looking down at herself in terror. She looks up at Lindsey who backs away, then she looks at everyone, including the DJ who has stopped the music.

I smile, happy that I've stepped out of the way just in time, knowing that something like this would happen.

Sandra's eyes stop scanning the crowd of freshmen as her eyes land on me. "I hate you," she tells me and I just shrug my shoulders, walking away from the scene.

~ ~ ~

"Annie," Chance says, walking over to me.

"Hey," I say, holding a vanilla cupcake that I've bitten into in my hand.

"Sorry, it took me so long to come back. I just had a long talk with my best bro. I missed talking to him," he tells me and I smile at him, happy that he's talking to Chad again.

"It's okay, but you totally missed something very exciting and I know you would've loved to see it," I tell him with a bit of humor and sarcasm in my tone and one of his eyebrows arch upward, telling me that he'd like to hear all about it. I go over everything that has happened with Sandra and her girls during his absence and I watch as his eyes widen in surprise.

"How did you know Lindsey was right behind you?" he asks me.

"I guess I had my suspicions by the way Sandra was looking at her before she left, and also when she walked behind me, I kind of came to my senses, knowing what's up," I answer his question with a small smirk on my face.

"Well..." he reaches out to hold my hand, pulling me from my spot and towards the crowd. I frown when I notice that my unfinished cupcake has fallen to the floor. "I would like to dance with you, Annie."

"Sure," I say to him, though I want to so badly rant about my poor cupcake on the floor. "...though I'm not really a good dancer."

"Just move to the music and feel the beat as it courses through your body," he grins at me and starts dancing while I just stand here awkwardly.

I look around at the students who are dancing. My eyes land on one girl who's swaying her body from side to side in sync to the beat of the music. I follow her movements slowly, getting my own ideas on how I should dance next. I lift my hands in the air - almost as if I'm reaching for something - jumping around and moving my body as others' bodies move against mine and I've gotta say, I've never felt so alive -- being able to feel something I've never felt before.

"Wow," I open my eyes to see Chance in front of me, watching me while I dance. "I thought you said you weren't a good dancer... But here you are, dancing like a pro!"

I laugh, moving closer to him. He takes my hand in his and lifts our hand in the air. I spin, and he embraces me into a one hand hug as I sway my body to the beat. I look up at him from behind to see that he's smiling as he also dances, and then he lets go of my hand, not embracing me anymore.

"Alright! Alright, everyone, listen up!" someone says on the mic, making the DJ stop his music, and everyone to stop dancing. "We'll be announcing Homecoming king and queen."

I look to Chance to see him looking ahead. I know that he may not be looking forward to being Homecoming king, but I sure do hope he wins. If anything, he's the one who deserves that crown. He's such a good guy, someone who has stuck with me, even though I wasn't looking to be too close to him -- to be his friend.

"Are you all ready to find out who your Homecoming queen is?!" this someone turns out to be our head counselor as she holds a box in her hands with the names of the votes for Homecoming queen. Freshmen whistle and shout to show how excited they are. "Well, well... let's get started!"

She shakes the box in her hand and pulls out a slip of paper. "And your Homecoming queen is..." she pauses to make it more dramatic and maybe long, "Sandra Brown!"

Everyone claps, except for maybe Chance and I. I watch as Sandra walks onto the stage already changed into another outfit that she probably brought with her as a spare or ordered for someone to bring it to her. The outfit she's wearing looks nice... It's a long black dress that sticks to every curve and shape of her body. She's wearing black heels. Her hair is down, falling onto her shoulders and back with the ends being curled. This time she's not wearing her tiara.

The counselor puts the crown on her head and walks off the stage, leaving all the spotlight for her. "Wow," she speaks up, looking around. "This is such a great honor. I've never really thought I would be crowned Homecoming queen--"

"You literally stuck posters on everyone's locker, our faces even... and also threatened us to vote for you," someone yells from the crowd of students.

Sandra glares at that person, ready to snap, but keeps her composure. "Well, all I came up here to say is... thank you!" she says and blows an air kiss, walking off the stage.

"Thank you, Sandra," the counselor says as she's back on stage. "It's now time for Homecoming king! I already did the shaking of the box, so, your Homecoming king is... Chad Miller!"

Chad walks onto the stage with a bright smile on his face. He doesn't even wait for the counselor to put the crown on his head as he takes it from her and puts the crown on his head himself.

"Thank you, guys..." he speaks into the mic and pauses as if he's thinking of what to say next. "Yeah, I have no idea what else to say." We all laugh and clap for him as he makes his way off the stage.

It's now time for the Homecoming king and queen to dance, so, of course, the DJ has changed from upbeat music to slow-dancing music. Sandra and Chad both stand in the middle of the dance floor. Sandra looks very uncomfortable as she leans a bit away from Chad, seeming to not want to get too close to him - while Chad, on the other hand, seems to be very calm as he doesn't act indifferent towards her.

"Do you want to dance?" I ask Chance, turning to face him.

He looks at me and I already know the answer as he pulls me by the waist. I let out a gasp, looking into his eyes. "Of course, I'll dance with you, even though I'm supposed to be the one who asks."

"Hey! Girls can ask too!" I say to him, faking a pout.

"I was just thinking that since I'm the one who asked you to be my date, I should be the one asking," he smiles, looking down at me with his hands around my waist.

I move my hands around his neck, staring deep into his dark, swirling eyes. "You kinda have a point," I say, smiling softly.

"Kinda?" he asks, and I take in the scent of his hot breath as it fans across my face. It smells like mint.

"Yeah. I still strongly believe that girls can ask a guy or anyone to have a dance with them," I say and without a second thought, I rest my head on his chest. I can feel the vibration on his chest as he chuckles.

We continue to dance, which only consists of our feet moving from side to side, to the slow music that the DJ has put on. 

My eyes are closed with my head still rested on Chance's chest and his chin rested on top of my head. As we both stay in this position for the past few minutes, I can't help the random thoughts that run through my mind, and I can't help but wonder if Chance is having these random thoughts, too.

My thoughts come and go - Why does he smell so good? I think I've suddenly blocked out the music and is now listening carefully to the steady beats of his heart... Stop, Annie. You're so weird. His hands feel so good around my waist... like they're meant to be there... like a puzzle piece? Why does it feel like we're the only ones here and no-one else?

But there's this one thought that just lingers there in the crowd of other thoughts that keep rushing in - I like Chance. I really like him and there's no denying it now.

I feel as Chance lifts his chin off my head and I move my head from his chest. We stare at each other for a moment in silence and I can't help but think that maybe he just had the same thought as me just now by the way he's looking at me, almost as if he's surprised.

"I like you," we both blurt out without hesitation. I gasp and his eyes widen.

Before I even know it, Chance's lips are on mine and I don't think that during my 14 years of living on Earth that I've encountered someone who has kissed me as good as him. 

His lips are soft against mine, just like I've imagined them to be. He reaches a hand up to cup my left cheek, deepening the kiss further as our lips move in sync. I'm in total bliss, not knowing what to do or what to think as only him invade my thoughts and I become incredulously vulnerable to him.

Finally, we stop kissing and I think I would fall over and call it a night if Chance's other hand was not on my waist still and his right hand still cupping my cheek. 

"Wow," I whisper but loud enough for him, or even myself, to hear. "You're a really good kisser."

Chance smiles at me. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to kiss those lips of yours, even if it means I get red lipstick on my mouth."

I laugh and find that I'm holding a scrunched up napkin in my hand. "Here, let me help you with that," I say, using the napkin to wipe away the lipstick from his mouth. "There, all done."

"You didn't  have to do that..."

"Why?"

Chance's lips are back on mine, kissing me all over again.

I can't help but think that maybe this is what fate had in store for me. Maybe fate set me through with all this - Sandra, Lindsey, and Amy bullying me, only for me to come up with the idea that I should wear a mask - torture only for me to have a happy ending with Chance, the one who has become my true friend and also... my boyfriend.

The End

***

A/N:

Hello there! So, this is chapter 16 but part 2 - the final chapter/part of this book... Yay!!

This is probably not a good ending... I can tell, but at least Chance and Annie ended up together... Woohoo! 

*whispers* There are tears stinging my eyes as I write this author's note.

Thank you so, so, SO much if you have reached the end of this book. Thank you for sticking around with probably a lot of grammar and spelling errors throughout this book! I really, REALLY appreciate it!!

I want to give a shoutout to MlleAb who has been reading this book since the first part until now. Your votes and comments, keep me motivated to write... and I'm really thankful for that! Go check out her books! They're amazing! I'm reading Destroying Love right now... and I've gotta say, it's amazing! So, check out her profile!

Thank you, again.

Love,

Tanya <3

Song: You by Petit Biscuit