One we take the initial pictures at the door, I don't think much about taking any more. I probably wouldn't take any at all if it wasn't for Beth, who spends the night with her phone out taking as many photos as she can. But Baker and I try to focus more on just enjoying the night. We don't do a lot of dancing. Turns out, most kids don't dance at prom. It's more about hanging out with your group of friends and talking. So we spend most of the night chatting with Beth and Spencer. But when they go out to dance (which they do often), it's a little awkward for us. Because we aren't very social, and we don't have many friends outside of each other.

"I don't think Ollie came," I say to him finally after searching for him for a few minutes and coming up empty. Ever since that day in the hallway a couple weeks ago, I find myself more aware of my ex than I ever was before. I thought the Ollie saga was over and done with, so having him seek me out the other day really unsettled me.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Baker asks, and I look up at him, waiting for him to explain. "Ollie was banned from prom after what happened the other day. Supposedly, the principal said he's lucky you didn't press criminal charges against him."

Heat rises in my cheeks as I look away. "Yeah, well...." I trail off, because sometimes I struggle with the fact that I didn't press charges against him that night at the party. I probably still could if I wanted to, but I'm not sure I do. It was so long ago now, and besides, there's no proof other than what Baker says he saw. So it's just hearsay. Not worth going through all the trouble.

"Do you ever wish you did?" he asks me, and I swear he can see inside my head.

I shrug my shoulders. "Sometimes. Maybe. It's weird though, you know? I mean, he didn't actually do anything that night. He was forceful, and I... I know he probably would've if you hadn't saved me. But nothing happened, so there wasn't much to do about it." I swallow hard as I look around the room. "But yeah, sometimes I do wish I had. It's not easy, always being on the lookout for him. Like he can still hurt me at any time."

Baker wraps me up in his arms and pulls me into his chest. "He will never hurt you again," he says softly. "No one will ever hurt you, Summer. They'd have to get through me first. And I can be mean when I want to be."

I giggle. "I know. I saw that the other day." He nods his head, but doesn't say another word about it. I know what happened that day bothers him more than he wants to talk about. Knowing what it feels like to be hit, I can't imagine he enjoyed doing it to someone else. "Thanks for coming to my rescue again."

He smiles. "I'll always come to your rescue, baby," he says sweetly, and my heart burns. He buries his face in my neck, placing a soft kiss against my bare shoulder before looking at me and saying, "Want to dance?"

"Do you want to dance?" I ask, surprised.

"I'm not the best dancer," he replies. "But I'd dance with you. If it made you happy."

My eyes fall on Beth and Spencer, who are dancing goofily in the center of the room. "I think my parents would be horribly disappointed if we didn't," I say matter-of-factly, and he nods his head before getting to his feet and holding out his hand to me. I take it, and the two of us make our way out to the dance floor. It's not a slow song, but it doesn't matter. He places his hands around my waist as I slide mine around his neck, and the two of us slow dance together for a long time. A few people look at us like we're nuts, slow dancing to a fast song like this. But this is all we really know how to do. I'm not here to be crazy anyway. I'm here to be with him.

My eyes fall on the fresh bruise on his cheek, and my lips pull into a frown. "When did that happen?" I ask.

He sighs, knowing what I'm talking about without me having to explain. "Last night. But it wasn't that bad. Looks worse than it feels." This is his usual response. It looks worse than it feels. And I know he's lying to me, because there's no way it feels great. But it's also his way of shutting the conversation down.

I nod my head and look away, because I don't like seeing the bruises, despite the fact there are so many of them. He places his finger under my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. "You're beautiful, Summer Lumen. You know that?"

His words make me smile. "You're just trying to change the subject," I reply, and he shakes his head.

"No," he replies. "I'm not. Not intentionally. Sometimes I'm just amazed by you, you know? Like, I can't believe you're with me. That this is real. I...." He swallows nervously before continuing. "I don't get these kind of experiences, you know? I never have. So sometimes, being with you feels kind of like... like a dream. And I worry that I'm going to wake up one day and find it was never real at all."

I press my hand against his bruised cheek, and he closes his eyes. "I'm real, Baker. This is all real. You have me. All of me. Okay?"

He nods his head. "I love when you touch me," he whispers as my fingers brush his lips. "It feels so... warm. I'm not... not used to it."

I know what he means, and it hurts knowing the only touch he's ever felt has been when he's being abused. I think about all the times my parents hugged me as a child. Too many times to count. The only person, up until recently, who ever hugged Baker was his brother. It angers me, knowing how tortured he's been. And I wish I could give a fraction of the love I've experienced from my family to him. That he could feel it too. Because he deserves it.

We dance slowly for a long time as people around us jump up and down to the sound of the upbeat music. I don't know how to dance like that, but I wouldn't want to even if I knew how. This is perfect. Slow dancing with the boy of my dreams, his arms around me as I rest my head against his chest, ignoring the fact that beneath his rented tux are a ton of bruises he's hidden from everyone but me.

After dancing for a while, he takes my hand and leads us outside to get some air. It is pretty stuffy in the commons, and I'm getting a little tired of everyone bumping into us every few seconds. We don't say anything as we walk hand in hand outside, small clouds billowing around us with every little breath. I start to shiver, and he takes his jacket off and covers my shoulders with it. And I'm amazed that someone who has gone through everything he has can be like this. So kind and compassionate. Gentle. He's the exact opposite of his father in every way.

"Summer," he says finally when we're completely alone. I look up at him, and I see how anxious he looks. My heart cracks a little as I remember another day in the not so distant past, when he pulled me aside to break up with me, shattering me to pieces in the process. "There's something I wanted to... um... talk to you about."

No way. He's not doing this again. Not tonight. Not when I'm wearing the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. Not when I've had such a magical night dancing in his arms. My eyes widen as my throat goes completely dry. "What?" I ask, trying to hide how scared I suddenly feel.

He sucks in a breath. "It's about... well, it's about college. Sort of." I stare at him, wondering where he's going. Sure he's going to hurt me again. "I got in to Stanford. I found out last night."

Here it is. The beginning of the end. "Congratulations," I say, trying to muster up a smile that I'm sure looks more like a grimace. "That's... huge news."

He nods his head. "It is. And with my grades and football, I think I could even get some scholarships."

My eyes are stinging. I should be happy for him. And I am. But knowing what's coming next is so painful that I want to throw up. "That's great."

"Yeah," he says slowly, and his Adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows nervously. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you." Another breath, and I brace myself, waiting for him to do it again. To say the words that will crush me even harder than last time. "I love you. You know that." Here it is. I nod my head. He reaches into his pocket. "So I got this for you." He pulls out a small box, and my heart comes to a full stop as I realize what it is.

I take a step back, shocked and kind of scared. "Baker," I gasp, and I feel myself start to physically shake. "We talked about this before. I told you—"

"It's not what you think it is," he says quickly, and I close my mouth, confused. He opens the box, and I see a small stone placed carefully on a thin silver band. "It's not an engagement ring. You were definitely right the other day about that."

I stare at the ring, my mouth dry. "So what is that then?" I ask, still a little scared.

He smiles. "It's... well, it's a promise ring," he says, and I blink in surprise. "A promise to you. That I'll always be with you, even when we're a country apart. That I love you, and I want us to keep this going for as long as we can. That I promise to keep you in my heart. I just... I wanted to promise you. That even though we're going to different schools in different places, that I promise to stay with you."

"It sounds an awful lot like an engagement," I say, still staring at the ring.

He laughs nervously as he rubs the back of his neck. "It's not. I mean, I'm not on one knee, am I?" I flush as I look up at him. "It's just a promise. I love you, and I won't hurt you again." He takes a steadying breath and reaches for my hands, holding them in his own. "I'm not going anywhere, Summer. Not really. My heart belongs to you, no matter where I go. It'll always be yours."

I shake my head as I gently pull my hands away from his, and I wrap my arms around myself protectively. "You can't promise me that," I whisper, my voice shaking ever so slightly. His lips turn down in a frown as I take a step away. "You just can't. I'm eighteen, Baker. You're seventeen. We're teenagers about to start completely separate lives."

He nods his head quickly as he tries to reach for me, but I take another step away. This conversation is giving me such bad anxiety that I feel like someone has hold of my lungs and is squeezing every bit of air out of them. His mouth falls open at my reaction, and it takes me a moment before I realize I'm having a full blown panic attack. "Summer," he says quickly, rushing toward me. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Just breathe."

"I-I-I c-can't b-b-b—," I stammer, my body shaking as my breathing comes out hard and ragged. My heart is racing so fast that I swear it's about to burst out of my chest and fly away.

His hands find my shoulders as he pulls me into his chest, holding me against him. "Shh, shh... it's okay. Fuck. I'm so sorry. I... I didn't know." I don't know what he didn't know, and I can't really ask him at the moment. My vision is getting dark, and it feels like I might pass out. He sets me down on a bench a few feet away and wraps me up in his arms. "Baby, shh. Just breathe. In... out. In... out."

I nod my head and try to follow his lead. At first breathing feels like the most impossible task in the world. But I close my eyes, forgetting everything around me as I focus on his breathing, trying my best to mimic it. In. Out. In. Out. Slowly at first. Then a little faster, until I'm able to breathe somewhat normally again. I have no idea how long it takes. Time is moving differently right now. It feels like it's been hours since we walked outside together, and yet I know it's only been a few minutes.

"Better," he whispers a little while later when I finally manage to get my breathing back under control. He brushes his hand against my cheek softly, and the warmth of his touch helps to steady my racing heart. "God, I'm sorry. I thought giving you the ring would make you feel better. You know, about us going to different schools. I know you've been anxious about it. But I didn't expect this."

I'm afraid that talking about what just happened is going to make it worse again, but I can't just table the subject. I have to get through it. "It's... it's just th-that... that you can't... you can't say that stuff to me. About not... about us always being t-together."

He wrinkles his face, and I can tell he's confused. "Why? Do you... do you not want to be together?"

"I d-do," I reply, still trying to steady myself. "But... but it's a lie."

"It is?" he asks, and I hear the hurt in his voice.

My head bobs up and down. "Y-yes. It can't be the t-truth, Baker. You can't promise me something like that. It's not... it's not...." Breathe, Summer. "It's not possible."

"Summer," he whispers, but I shake my head.

"N-No," I say, interrupting him. "You don't understand. We're k-kids. And the promise you just made me is not something you should be—"

"Summer, stop," he says firmly, and my words die in my throat. "I don't care about that. Our age. How long we've been together. None of it. I know. Okay? I just do. I know you're the one I'm supposed to be with. I can feel it down to my very core. Don't you?" I don't say anything, but the truth is that I know exactly what he's talking about. This connection between us is so strong that sometimes it feels like it's always been there, hiding in the shadows. "I don't want you to be afraid of a future with me, baby. I don't want you to worry every day that I'm going to leave you. I'm not. I won't. I... I can't."

"What about next year though?" I ask. "When we're not together anymore?"

"We will be," he says simply, and I shake my head. "Okay, fine. You know what? You're right. We can't know for sure. There's no way we can know. But I'll tell you what. I'll reword it, okay?" I look up at him, waiting for him to continue. "I promise to always be here for you. No matter what happens. No matter where we end up. I promise to always, always have your back. To always have a new Chemistry question at the ready for whenever you need one. Does that sound better?"

I give him a soft smile as I nod my head. It does sound better. More realistic. Parameters I can live with. He sighs, a combination of frustration and contentedness. Then he pulls the ring out of his pocket again and holds it out to me. "How do I wear it?" I ask as I stare at it again, because there is no way in hell I'm sliding it on my engagement ring finger. Absolutely not.

He purses his lips, as if considering my question. Then his eyes light up. "I know." He reaches behind my heck and unclasps the sun necklace he got me for Christmas. Then he slides the ring onto the chain so that it sits right next to the pendant before he reclasps it around my neck. "There. I like it better this way anyway. Closer to your heart. Which is wear I want you to keep this promise."

I look down at my neck and see the sun pendant and the ring resting together side by side. A smile curves my lips. "Okay," I whisper. "I'm sorry."

"About what?" he asks, resting my head against his chest again.

"About freaking out," I reply, embarrassed by how I reacted. "I don't know why I did that. I want to be with you. I want us to work out."

He gives me a sad smile. "It's okay. I mean, I hurt you once already, right? I don't blame you for being gun shy." I nod my head, but it's more than that. Yes, he did break my heart once before. But he's not the first one to do it. My heart was broken before I even knew what a broken heart was. And ever since then, I've been afraid to let anyone in. Afraid they're going to leave me just as I let my guard down. Him saying these words to me tonight brought it all back. The fear of losing someone I love. Of losing him.

"You want to go back inside?" he asks me finally after a few minutes, and I nod my head. He gets to his feet and helps me off the bench, and we rejoin the party inside. But the rest of the night, all I can think about is his promise. It should make me feel better. He wants to make this work even after we graduate. Which is everything I want too. But promising something so big right now feels impossible. And I'm afraid of getting my hopes up. Afraid of getting hurt again. Because no one can hurt me like he can. I'm not used to someone else having so much control over my heart. And the truth is, it completely terrifies me.

Author's Note:
Summer's got serious abandonment issues. Poor thing. What do you all think about this chapter? Let me know in the comments. Next chapter coming out soon! Stay safe and healthy until then, my dears!
XOXO,
~Aly