Houston, Texas, at the Magnolia Ballroom, Friday, September 26th, 2030, at 6:00 pm

Rachel

We pull up outside of a rustic stone building with luscious vegetation covering a dark green lawn. Red, orange, and blue flowers add a beautiful contrast to the dark gray structure emerging from the ground. There's people filing out of cars dressed to the nines; some are showing up solo, others have someone on their arm.

My heart sinks as I think about how much I wish Lucas was here. I know that he has to finish up this project, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less when I show up to events like this alone. I watch a couple kiss a few times before they head inside, feeling my heart hit the floor.

The valet opens the door for us and we step out. Our shoes make clicking noises against the concrete pathway up to the front doors. The sky behind the building is still full of sunlight, but you can see an orange glow starting to creep up and cover the blue. Lucas would probably be making a comment about what's happening with the light during a sunset.

It's called scattering. Particles in the air cause light rays to change direction. That's why the sky is so colorful.

Lucas said that to me when we were in high school. It was our first date, and he took me to an observatory. I smile to myself as I think about that night. I was initially attracted to Lucas for superficial reasons; he was tall, had wavy dark hair that fell past his ears, and he played football. I assumed he was one of those dumb jocks you watch in movies, because he fit the character type physically.

After that night, however, I fell in love with Lucas. He was sweet, he made me laugh, and he let me hear what goes on inside of his brain. He was, and still is, the smartest person I've ever met. His intelligence quickly became the sexiest thing about him, and everything else was secondary.

"I feel like a celebrity!" Erika squeals as she grabs my arm, pulling me out of my daze.

"Honey, I always feel like a celebrity," Artemis says in a sultry voice as she flips her hair around.

I giggle at my friends as we step inside the building. The ballroom looks like it came straight out of a movie; there's elegant white table cloths draped over about a hundred tables that fill out the majority of the floor. There's a large stage all the way in the back of the venue with gold lights and flowers creating a beautiful archway.

The orchestra that Principal Jeffreys picked is sitting over on the left by the stage playing a joyous and bouncy tune. Guests are moving between tables and in the center of the ballroom where there's an open space for dancing on top of a parquet floor. The walls are draped with deep red curtains, falling from the ceiling and down to the dark wooden panels running along the ground.

Waiters and waitresses are carrying around silver trays full of appetizers and wine. The tables are already set up for the main course, with little name tags resting next to glasses of water. Black napkins sit perfectly folded in little swan shapes on top of the plates.

We did a fantastic job.

I think to myself, my pride beaming as I look around at the lively event we've helped create. My heart stops as Sam comes into my view. He's mingling over by the stage with a couple of other familiar looking gentlemen.

"Oh my god, is that Vance and Tony?" Erika must have seen them at the exact same time that I did.

"Our brothers!" Tyler shouts a little too loud, causing the three of them to look our way. Vance and Tony's faces light up when they see us, throwing their hands in the air.

"Howdy!" Tony's voice is so clear that it sounds as if he's right in front of us. The kids at Westlake Academy can't use the excuse that they didn't hear his directions with a voice like that. Tyler immediately starts walking over to them, almost knocking a few people over on the way. Erika and Artemis follow closely behind Tyler, and Anne lingers back with me.

"Are we going to give them the cold shoulder, or are we going to go and say hi?" Anne teases me.

"We can go say hi, but we need a signal in case I need you to rescue me tonight," I tap my chin trying to think of something that would be casual enough to randomly loop into a conversation.

"How about you wave the left side of your skirt at me, and I'll save you," Anne suggests.

I smile at her and nod.

"Perfect, that doesn't require any weird words."

Anne giggles at me and grabs my elbow to guide me towards the stage.

We move past the other guests and staff, trying to avoid stepping on anyone's dresses or bumping someone with a drink. I'm mainly watching the floor and the people right in front of me, but when I look up I see Sam staring at me. He has his lips parted slightly, and his eyes travel all over me.

"Well, don't you two look wonderful!" Vance exclaims as we approach. Sam doesn't say anything or break eye contact with me. "I don't believe we've met." Vance holds out his hand and Anne shakes it.

"This is one of my best friends, Anne," I say warmly as I finally break free from Sam's gaze.

Vance gives her an award winning smile.

"Nice to meet you, Anne. I've heard a lot about you," Sam says in his charming low voice as he shakes Anne's hand as well.

I can feel my cheeks heating up when he says this, as I remember telling him stories about Anne in Seattle.

She sounds like some friend. One of a kind.

Sam had said after I told him about the time that Anne helped me through one of my panic attacks. I smile as I look at Anne, feeling eternally grateful that I always have her by my side. I put an arm around her back and she gives me a side hug.

"I'm glad that I get to be here with Rachel. It's an excuse to get dressed up and hangout with friends," Anne giggles as Artemis pokes her side.

I can feel Sam's eyes burning a hole in the side of my head, but I'm doing everything I can not to look at him. I'm sure that he's noticed Lucas isn't with me, and I don't want him to say anything about it. I don't want to have to tell him he was right.

"Well, the place looks fantastic," Tony says as he holds his arms out wide, taking in the whole room.

"Yeah, these two worked hard all week," Sam says as he glances between Artemis and I.

"Speaking of work, do we get paid for that?" Artemis chimes in, causing the men to burst into laughter.

"I wish that I could pay you for helping with this event, but all I can do is bring you snacks in return," I find myself giggling at Sam's words, and his eyes dart over to me.

He doesn't say anything else, instead he discretely looks over my outfit again. I can feel my face burning as I study his eyes. They aren't as light as they normally look, right now they're a deep green, as if a shadow is cast over them.

"I think we need to grab drinks!" Artemis sings as she looks around for a waiter.

"Here, let's head over to the bar and order." Vance points to my right where a group of people are standing around a wide counter.

"Perfect!" Artemis cheers as she drags Vance and Erika with her. Tyler and Tony follow behind them, leaving me with Anne and Sam. Sam clears his throat to grab our attention.

"Rachel, could I talk with you privately for a moment?" Sam's voice makes my stomach flip upside down.

Anne rubs my back and looks at me reassuringly. I nod at her and touch her elbow, trying to steady myself. She gives me one last look, telling me that she will rescue me if I need it before she walks over to join my friends.

"Can we go in the hall, please?" Sam draws my eyes back to him. He's smiling at me sweetly with his head tilted. I nod at him, trying to hide how nervous I am. He keeps his eyes locked on mine as he slowly turns his head and guides us out a side door to the left of the stage.

The hall is lined with deep brown carpet and lamps along the wall illuminate the cream colored molding. Sam leans up against a post and gazes at me. His eyes travel down from my face to my chest, and then to my hips. He shakes his head slightly as his eyes travel to the bottom of my dress, and I watch him slowly look at my exposed right leg. He smirks at me as he finally meets my eyes again.

"You look divine, Rachel." His expression is serious, as if he's declaring something important. My cheeks heat up again and I can feel butterflies in my stomach.

"Thank you, Sam. You look great, too."

He has on a black tuxedo and a simple red tie, but his lean figure is hugged in all the right places. Sam's skin is tanner and his light brown hair looks almost blonde under the lamps in the hall. His expression turns more somber as he looks at me.

"Where's Lucas?"

This question catches me off guard, even though I was expecting it. I inhale quickly, trying to seem confident.

"He's coming," I say as I tilt my head forward at Sam.

He raises an eyebrow at me, giving me the classic face he makes when he doesn't believe me.

"Did he tell you that?" Sam pushes the subject, and I start to feel slightly embarrassed.

"Yes, he promised me that he was coming," I reiterate, raising my voice slightly to sound more sure of myself.

Sam nods slowly and looks down at the ground. He places his hands on his hips.

"And what if he doesn't show up tonight?" He looks up at me without moving his head.

A nauseating feeling starts to form in my stomach as I think about how high of a possibility it is that Lucas won't be here.

"Then he doesn't show up," I reply curtly, trying to show Sam that I don't want to have this conversation.

He wipes his mouth with his hand and shakes his head.

"You know that's not what I meant," he says curtly. He presses his lips together and looks at me expectedly. I do know what he means, but I can't give Sam the answer that he wants to hear right now.

"I know what you meant, Sam," I say as I sigh heavily. "Things are not going to improve between Lucas and I if I don't put some faith in him and give him a chance to prove that he can be there for me."

Sam's eyes shift as I talk, like he really understands what I'm saying this time. He closes his eyes for a moment, but when he opens them he isn't looking at me anymore.

"I hate seeing you in pain, Rachel." He slowly meets my eyes and I can feel my heart aching. "You hide it well, but I can see it in your eyes and how you walk around."

I furrow my brows at him, not sure where he's going with this.

"You lack confidence when you're upset about something. You're standing here, in front of me, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and you have no confidence."

My eyes start to burn at Sam's words. My breath catches as he steps towards me, and once again my feet are glued to the floor.

"You had so much confidence when we were together," Sam whispers as he stops just inches away from me. I can smell his cologne, it has hints of sandalwood in it. "I fell in love with you in Seattle," Sam's eyes are glossy as he reaches out to grab my hands. "And I'm still in love with you now."

Before I can move away, Sam kisses me passionately on the lips. There's a small piece of my heart that wants to give in, to melt into his arms as I remember the time we spent together in Seattle.

There's something about what he said that made me realize something, though.

I push against Sam's chest with my hands and look up at him. His expression is pained, as if I physically hurt him.

"Sam, I can't," I whisper to him.

He shakes his head at me and rests his hands on my hips.

"I don't get it, Rachel." His voice is quiet and raspy. "He's let you down so many times, why do you still trust him to be there for you?"

Sam is asking me the same question all of my friends and family have asked me. I have a thousand answers swirling around in my head as to why I will always choose Lucas, but I can't put them together right now.

"He's let me down a lot, yes," I start to answer as I grab Sam's hands and take them off of my hips. "But he's also been there for me for over ten years."

Sam's expression drops as he fully takes in what I'm saying. Lucas has loved me through every phase of my life as I found myself. Sam might have fallen in love with me when I was confident and carefree, but Lucas fell in love with me when I was a timid girl who hid behind hair clips and frilly pens. Sam looks at me, his green eyes are full of sadness and heartache. My heart hurts too, but I have to listen to it.

Sam is about to say something else when the door behind me flies open. Vance steps out, almost spilling his drink on the floor.

"Howdy, it's almost time for Acting Principal Marconi to give a speech!" Vance gives us a toothy grin as he holds the door open. "You have a little bit of time to prepare."

Sam steps away from the wall so he's next to me.

"Great, thank you." His tone is defeated, even though he tries to cover it up with a weak smile.

I take this as a cue to exit the conversation, and slide by Vance back into the ballroom. I wade through the crowd until I find my friends. They're hanging out by our table, but they aren't sitting down yet.

"Hey, there's our princess!" Tyler says warmly as he holds a beer in his hand. "You look like you need a drink."

His face turns serious when he notices my deflated mood. I smile at him and nod, hoping he just grabs me something and I don't have to talk about what just happened.

"Why don't you guys go and get drinks for everyone?" Anne suggests as she shoots Artemis and Erika a look. Their eyes widen as they connect the dots and nod quickly at her.

"Sure! We can do that!" Erika bounces over to the bar with Artemis and Tyler in tow. Anne places her hand on my arm and steps in front of me.

"Are you okay?" I shake my head at her and take a deep breath.

"Sam kissed me," I whisper to her.

Her mouth drops open and her blue eyes become as big as golf balls.

"He did not," she hisses back, squeezing my elbow.

I giggle at her out of discomfort and twirl a strand of my hair.

"Well, you can add this to the list of things that you have to tell Lucas," Anne's lips curve into a joking smile, and I burst out laughing.

It's not actually funny, but Anne and I cope with stress through self deprecating humor. I feel much better after we joke around for a bit.

"I know, it's going to suck," I say, putting it lightly.

Anne gives me a quick hug before my friends return with drinks. I pretty much rip the cup out of Tyler's hand and scarf it down. It was a vodka cranberry. I cough a few times and hand him the cup back, his face dumbfounded.

"I'm going to need another one." As soon as I say this, Artemis reaches out with another cup.

"I knew you were going to say that." She smiles at me mischievously.

I burst into laughter again, as Artemis once again convinces me that she can read my mind. We stand together and goof around for a few minutes before Anne grabs my arm so hard that I spill my drink.

"Ouch, what are you doing?" I exclaim as I turn to Anne. Her eyes are staring behind the group where the entrance to the ballroom is. I follow her gaze and see two very handsome astronauts standing there in black suits.

"Cooper!" Anne squeals as she runs over and tackles him.

He picks her up effortlessly and swings her around, almost hitting Lucas. He doesn't seem to notice the commotion at all, as his eyes are fixated on me. He tilts his chin up slightly and smiles at me with so much adoration that my knees start to feel wobbly.

I quickly walk over to him, and he meets me halfway, scooping me into a tight embrace.

"Lucas!" I shout at him even though he's right in front of me. He laughs against my neck, his breath sending shivers down my spine. He pulls away from me and smiles broadly. "You're here! I knew you would make it!" My cheeks hurt because I'm smiling so hard at him.

Lucas blinks a couple of times and closes his mouth, his expression turning very serious all of a sudden.

"You knew I would make it?" His voice cracks when he asks me this, and his eyes immediately get watery. I see this as a perfect opportunity to show Lucas how much I believe in him. I reach up and rest my hand on his cheek, feeling his strong jaw under my palm.

"Yes. I really believed you when you said you were going to be here."

He tilts his head to the side and presses his lips together. His shoulders drop, as if he's been carrying a weight around for weeks.

"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that," Lucas chuckles at the end of his words.

I can feel my face beaming as I try to show him how proud I am of him with my eyes. He wraps his arms completely around my back and pulls me in for a very slow, tender kiss. It feels like we're the only two people in the room for a few seconds, until guilt overwhelms me again.

Lucas steps back from me and grabs one of my hands, twirling me around. I giggle as I give him my best ballet spin. He smiles and looks over me slowly. His eyes trail over my entire body, looking me over at least three times. My face hurts because I'm grinning so hard at him, and it feels like my stomach is going to burst. Lucas' eyes widen as he stares at my neck. He pulls on my hand and I let him lead me all the way back into his arms again.

"You're wearing the jewelry I got you." He's grinning at me broadly, showing off his perfect teeth. "You look so, so beautiful Rachel." The way he's looking at me is new, I've never seen his eyes light up the way that they are now. His expression is a combination of amazement and disbelief, like I'm a mirage.

My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest as Lucas continues to inspect me lovingly. He brushes some of my hair behind my shoulder, his fingers just barely grazing my skin. I can feel goosebumps forming under my sleeves as he rests his hand in the crook of my neck and strokes my skin with his thumb.

"I think that you look beautiful!" I exclaim to Lucas as I play with the lip of his jacket. He chuckles lightly at me and shakes his head. "I mean, you look very handsome, Lucas." I give him a flirty smile and his cheeks become rosy.

The floating sensation that I've been feeling since I saw Lucas is fading as I remember that I have a lot to tell him.

"Hey, do you think we could go and talk about that thing I wanted to talk about this morning?" I clear my throat when I finish asking him, trying to hide my apprehension.

His face falls slightly, but he keeps smiling at me.

"Can we talk about it after the event? I just want to have a good time with you tonight." Lucas gives me a meaningful look and a wave of guilt washes over me.

"No, not really," I stutter as I try to show him that it really can't wait.

He furrows his brow at me slightly and tilts his head to the left.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please take a seat at your assigned tables and get ready for our speaker," a staff member's voice echoes through the ballroom through the speakers along the edges of the ceiling.

Lucas spins me around so he has one arm fastened around my waist.

"Looks like we need to go and take a seat, gorgeous." Lucas smiles at me as if there's nothing wrong.

Is he just avoiding the conversation because he really thinks it can wait, or because he can't handle hearing anything else? I start to feel anxious as we head over to our table. It's large enough to seat all seven of us.

Cooper pulls Anne's chair out for her and I can see her grinning from ear to ear when he sneaks a kiss as she sits down. Lucas pulls my chair out for me as well, rubbing my arm as I take a seat. He scoots his chair closer to mine so that we are about a foot away from each other.

"We will talk about whatever it is, I promise," he whispers to me before giving me a quick kiss.

I smile at him, trying to hide the twisting ball of worry that's forming in my abdomen.

I wonder what is going on in Lucas' head.