The days following the state championships were all spent in celebration. The basketball team, along with the whole school and city, had been high off the win, and Faust and Theo walked the halls that treated them as kings.

Stress due to the requirements of our studies was inevitable though, and because I was working on the paper with the staff as well, I'd been busy enough to subtly avoid Nico after the stunt I'd pulled last Saturday. Aside from the meetings in biology and two lunch breaks during the past week, there had been no time to speak with him at all.

And though I was grateful he wasn't bringing it up, I could tell he wanted to by the teasing glint in his eyes whenever he sat beside me in class and stared at me for the hour instead of listening to Mr. Finch.

It was as unnerving as it was exciting.

Foolishly, I was hoping for Nico to come to the dance tonight, but that was a big 'if'. I didn't even know if Faust was coming as my date—which was what we'd agreed upon when we were still together—and I was too afraid and embarrassed to ask.

In a span of an hour and a half, my makeup had been done alongside my hair at the salon earlier with Sutton. The brown waves fell over one shoulder in simple curls, and my face had a natural glow that I'd consider pretty. I put on a simple pair of pearl earrings before dressing—the color was an elegant black, the upper half a plunging V-neck that ended just above my belly button with the back bare, save for the crisscross of the thin straps, and the skirt was of tulle fabric with a slit along my thigh. I was carefully slipping it on, together with a pair of black heels when there was a brief knock on my door followed by the appearance of my brother in a tuxedo.

I stood upright, and Theo's eyes grew wide, a smile gracing his handsome face. "You look amazing, sis."

I grinned. "Thank you. You look dashing, too."

He stepped closer and held out a hand. "Do it for me?"

Taking the necktie, I spun him around by the shoulders, almost at level with his height due to the heels I wore. I raised the collars of his dress shirt and placed the tie around his neck. "Are you taking someone?"

My brother scoffed. "Nah. Didn't feel like it. Is Carter picking you up?"

My hands froze for a moment. I promised myself I was going to tell Theo soon, but I couldn't find the right time to do it yet. Although there were already whispers and speculations about my breakup with Faust, both of us never spoke up. Let the people say what they wanted to say, they didn't have a right to know—Theo did. "Think so."

He hummed. I spun him around again. I smiled at my handiwork and tapped his chest. "You're good to go."

"Thanks." Theo leaned over and gave me a quick hug. "I'll see you later at the dance."

I sat on the dresser and stared at my reflection for a few minutes, wondering if I should've gone with a lighter shade of lipstick and gloss instead when the phone on my bed chimed with a text and pulled me out from my internal conflict. It was from Faust. forgot to tell you. won't be coming to the dance. not a problem, right?

I sighed, already wishing I'd left with my brother. no, not a problem. take care.

have fun. :) you too.

I finished the final touches of my hair and makeup. Glancing at the mirror one last time, I grabbed my purse and prayed that my father didn't have anything important scheduled for tonight and that he would lend me his car. With my eyes locked onto my feet, I took careful steps down the stairs. "Dad, can I—"

"Thea!" my mother's voice exclaimed, and I looked up, my lips slightly parting at the sight in front of me.

Nico Romero was standing in the middle of my living room at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in a simple tuxedo with a bow tie around his neck. His raven-colored hair was pushed back cleanly, emphasizing the brightness of his eyes that without shame, looked at me from head to toe. His mouth tipped up a bit by the corner once his eyes found mine again.

He was absolutely breathtaking.

I blinked and stared at my mother. No words seemed to be coming out of my mouth. "Uh—"

"Silly boy was waiting outside the house for God knows how long, honey," Mom said with a wide smile, holding him by the elbow. "If I hadn't seen him once your brother took off, he would've left!"

Nico cleared his throat. "I wasn't sure if Thea would've wanted me to have me here unannounced, Mrs. Simmons."

Before I could say something, my mother smacked his arm. "Of course she does! Don't you, Thea?"

"I, uh, yeah—um—"

"Sorry for the late notice," Nico said in a smooth voice, glancing at her briefly before bringing his heated gaze back to my eyes still wide with surprise. "Finding tickets was a...hard task."

He tried to find tickets. To go with me. To the dance?

My mother said something about taking a picture that I couldn't comprehend properly, and then Nico was beside me, and oh God, he smelled so good and my pulse raced. "What are you doing?" I whispered, looking up at him.

His green eyes twinkled with amusement as his hand slipped around my waist, his fingertips splaying over the thin material of the dress. "Having our picture taken, like your mother said. Smile, baby."

I barely had time to do so before there was the click from the camera of Mom's phone.

"Oh, you two look lovely!" my mother gushed. "Get going, have fun! Nico, bring her home safely, alright?"

And so we went. Nico had his hand placed against my lower back, his thumb stroking my bare skin as he led me towards his car. He opened the passenger door.

I looked at him. "You're..."

He raised an eyebrow. I couldn't catch my breath. "I'm what?"

I bit my lip and shook my head as I slipped inside the passenger seat. "Nothing."

Nico rounded the car and got settled into the driver's seat, turning the key over into the ignition as the engine roared to life.

"How did you know Faust wasn't coming?" I asked quietly. "Did he tell you?"

He shrugged and pulled out of the sidewalk. "It was a...lucky guess."

I fiddled with my fingers. "I thought you didn't do dances."

He paused before answering, "It seemed important to you."

I exhaled shakily. "It is, but I don't want you to feel forced or obligated to go to somewhere you don't want to just because—"

"I'm here because I want to be," Nico said softly, quickly glancing at me. The intensity of his eyes made my heart jump. "Do you understand?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I just—"

"And I'm here because there is no way in hell I'm letting you go in there alone. Not dressed like that."

I blinked. "Like what?"

His grip on the wheel tightened a fraction. "You know what. You don't need me to tell you how beautiful you are."

My breath caught in my throat. "I—"

"Also, I'm here because I want to spend time with you," he added softly, keeping his eyes on the road as he held out a palm across the center console. "Seemed like the best way to do it. You haven't been around for the past few days, and I couldn't even tease you about what you did to me the last time."

Covering my face with my hands, I groaned. "Okay. That's—yeah."

A slight laugh. "That's yeah?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I want another one."

I almost choked. "You...want another kiss?"

"Unless you go around giving guys free kisses," Nico snapped, narrowing his gaze as he glanced at me. He pointedly hit his hand on the console. "Do you? Hold my hand."

"What?"

"It's been there for the past few minutes, princess. I look stupid."

I threw my head back and laughed. It covered the feeling of nervousness and anticipation as I held out my own and slipped my hand into his. "You're so demanding."

"I am," he agreed easily, gently intertwining our fingers together. It felt good. Right. "I can also go and be a bit jealous, frustrated, and impatient. Tell me now if those are going to bother you."

I shook my head immediately. "No," I murmured. "Not in the slightest."

Nico squeezed my hand. "That's enough for me."

And this—being here with him—was mine.

"Nico."

"Mm."

"How long?"

A few beats of silence. Until, he answered quietly, "A while."

I stared at him. "Will you tell me everything later? After the dance?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I will."