ok listen here y'all, here is a surprise for you. a different point of view!1!1 I felt like we needed some of Jim's thoughts lol

Jim's POV

Did you know that male seahorses are the ones that get pregnant, rather than the females? Weird fact, I know, but I think it's kind of cool.

And I know what you're thinking: Jim, why are you thinking about male seahorses right now?

I can honestly say that I don't have an answer for that. What I can tell you is that I'm getting kind of tired of waiting for Derek to be ready to get going.

Senior year passed by quickly, and I'd be damned if we didn't go to Prom together. Last year, it was a total bust, but I think that had more to do with the company I was with.

I could be anywhere in the world with Derek and I'd still be happy. Except for the ocean, because despite my fondness of aquatic facts, I'm actually deathly afraid of the ocean. I've always felt like that when I die, it's going to be due to drowning.

Derek walked out of the bathroom, distracting me from my thoughts. My breath is caught in my throat and I feel like I'm going to choke. Maybe I'm actually going to die from choking.

He looked amazing. Our suits were matching: black suit jacket and red tie. Classy.

"Hey," I said breathlessly.

"Hey," he laughed. He finds it funny to laugh at my torture.

Derek is the most beautiful torture. Back before I let him in, I felt like I was going to die, just drop dead from his smiles and laughs. It was safe to say that he was consuming my every thought, and I had been petrified about that.

So I quickly found myself a girlfriend. She was bearable, but awful. June turned out to be a bitch, but I guess I should be thankful that she led to my happy ever after.

"Are you ready to go?" I smiled.

"Yep," he smiled back.

And then after a few pictures together for mom, bless her heart, we were off.

I could tell you how Prom was totally fucking perfect. I could tell you about how we danced all night under the strobing lights and were chosen to be Prom King and King.

That just wouldn't be true. Yes, Prom is fun, but it's so overhyped. We did dance, but it kind of sucked because I kept stepping on Derek's feet. He's graceful and can actually dance, but I pretty much have two left feet.

And those strobe lights? God, those made us so sweaty. Being Prom King and King would've been nice, but let's be real, no matter how progressive and accepting a school is, that would never happen.

Despite how bad it was, that didn't change the fact that Prom was actually amazing. Confusing, I know, but then again, what isn't?

Under those strobe lights and between our sweaty fingers, I found love. It was there before, but I felt it so prominently that I almost wanted to cry.

"Derek?"

He raised his head and looked up at me. "Jim?"

"I love you," I said, and kissed him.

How could I have ever resisted him: Derek, my dude bro, my little pudding cup, my boyfriend, my everything.

When we finally pulled away from each other, Derek only had one thing to say, with a happy grin on his face.

"I love you too, Jimmy."

I cringed at the use of my full name. He's the only one who can get away with it.

We tucked away that night into our memories. Although many hard times would come, I knew that we were strong enough to face them head on.