“Night Changes” is the seventh song and second single from One Direction's fourth studio album, Four.  The song is a poignant reflection on the swift passage of time and the transformative experiences of youth. With its gentle melody and introspective lyrics, it captures the bittersweet nature of growing up and the ephemeral quality of life's moments. [Source: Lyrics Layers]

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Fun Fact: Emily can't dance.

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Chapter Twenty Seven: Night Changes

I woke up remembering the brush of Nathan Callahan’s lips on my forehead and my cheek. I smiled to myself as I turned over and screamed into my pillow. The smile remained on my face the entire day. Anytime I remembered his hand on my thighs, I shuddered and cleared my throat. Mom gave me a look now and then, but I ignored her.

The whole day was spent in nervousness, giddiness, and anticipation for the prom night. Then it was evening. I was sitting in front of my mirror, in my prom dress, with my makeup done. My hair was up in a messy updo, a few strands curled in waves around my face, framing it. My lipstick was crimson, which went well with my dark green dress. I took a deep breath and smoothed down the skirt as the calling bell rang through the house.

Nathan Callahan was here.

I heard Mom open the door as I stood up and checked my reflection for the last time. There were conversations downstairs. I breathed through my mouth. I held up the skirt of my dress as I climbed down the stairs.

Nathan Callahan was talking to my mother, a slight smile on his face as he charmed the hell out of her, I could just tell. He was a smooth talker when he needed to be. My mother was already smiling.

This sight was so surreal. Two of my favorite people in the same room, meeting each other and having a conversation.

My eyes were drawn back to Nathan. I had seen the photos of his brother’s wedding, him wearing a tux. I had expected to see him like that.

But nothing could have prepared me for the effect Nathan Callahan had on me, wearing a white dress shirt, a thin dark green tie, his crisp black tuxedo jacket and dress pants, a pair of shiny black shoes. He had a dark green pocket square too and a small red rose pinned to the front of his tux as well.

His hair was messy, but it looked like he had styled it to stay that way. The jet-black strands looked soft, ready for my fingers to run through them.

I swallowed thickly when my gaze landed on his hands. Nathan was holding a bouquet of red roses.

This had to be a dream. If it was, I never wanted to wake up. So, I stayed on the stairs, holding my dress, stared, stared, and stared at him some more.

Nathan finally realized someone was looking at him. He glanced around, and his eyes met mine.

I forgot to breathe. It was one thing to see him from where I was hiding, it was quite another to stare into his green eyes, half a smile on his face, as he looked at me.

I had read hundreds of romance books about banters, kisses, dancing in the rain, fights, groveling, lovemaking, confessions, and heartbreaks. But nothing had prepared me for this moment, right here. Nothing could have made me ready for the moment Nathan Callahan stared at me, forgot whatever he was saying, and held my gaze in his.

My eyes watered.

I thought it was something in the air.

I looked down and breathed in. I was okay.

I carefully got down the stairs and reached him. He was already walking towards me.

He was right. If I ever wrote a book, it would be a romance with a happy ending. I'd rewrite and overwrite and try to contain this exact feeling coursing through me right now, and I'd fail. Words would never be enough to describe my feelings for Nathan Callahan.

“Hi,” he said, with his hands hidden behind him. I'd already seen the bouquet.

“Hi,” I said, pushing back all my emotions, “You are here.”

“Yeah,” Nathan murmured, his eyes sliding over me, my face, my hair, my dress, then came back to my eyes, “I am here.”

He was here. Finally. That was all that mattered.

Nathan produced the flowers in front of me. There was no way I'd be able to carry that around. But I took it and breathed in, taking in the sweet, intoxicating smell of the roses, so red, so sweet and soft, yet with thorns.

Like Nathan Callahan in a flower form. I looked at him as he took me in.

I glanced at my mother, and she was giving me a look that said, Where did you find him? You never told me about him, and I only smiled at her in reply.

She clapped once, “Alright, kids, I think a photoshoot is in order.”

We stood in the foyer, side by side, as Mom held the camera to her eyes. It was an old Polaroid camera, something she had found in the chaos of our storage. I stood shoulder to shoulder with Nathan (actually, shoulder to arm because of my height, but let us ignore that), and he wrapped his arm around me. I held the flowers in front of me as my mother made a big fuss about taking photos.

“I have this weird urge to do this thing,” Nathan whispered in my hair.

“What?” I replied.

He shook his head. But I prodded him.

“To throw you over my shoulder,” he chuckled as he said it.

I gasped in surprise. His chuckle turned into a laugh, the sound like the notes of a love song.

I was staring up at him when I heard another click of the camera.

“You should look ahead,” Nathan said to me, his lips stretched in the ghost of a smile.

Why should I when I can look at you instead? I thought, but I would never say that aloud. I shook my head as we both looked forward.

“By the way,” he started again, “I mistook you for the prettiest girl ever.”

My mouth fell open as Mom snapped another picture. The photo was ruined again, I was sure.

“Mistook?” I glared, though I actually felt like melting into a puddle on the floor.

“Then I remembered you already were,” he countered as he squeezed my shoulder.

Me, the prettiest girl ever. He had to be blind.

“Stop joking,” I elbowed him as he shook his head. I thought I should tell him the truth too, even though it would stroke his ego, “I also mistook you for a devilishly handsome, mysterious emo boy.”

“Say that again, and I'll add it to my Tinder,” Nathan said back.

Mom glared at us both, and we fell silent. Even though I knew he was joking, I ended up asking, “Why’d you have Tinder?” Which was a mistake.

“So I could maintain everyone’s standards,” Nathan shrugged.

“Oh, Nathan,” I said, placing a hand over my chest with mock admiration, “Thank you so much for your service.”

“And my handsome face,” he added, “And my impeccable fashion sense.”

“Yes, the emo boy's outfit, definitely.”

Nathan jabbed me on my hip. I looked up at him when Mom said, probably in her teacher voice, “You two! Enough. I can't get one decent photo. You keep talking and moving and making weird expressions.”

We both said our sorry in unison as I tried to push Nathan's hand from my hip. He only squeezed me more firmly. We fought as we stood together. Mom glared at me, so I ended up placing my palm over Nathan's on my hip. For the next photo, Nathan decided to lean his chin on my head. I might have squealed a little on the inside.

Then I grabbed his tie and pulled, and somehow we ended up with his chin over my shoulder, both of his arms around me. This was not a pose anymore, this was a back hug.

“I think we have enough photos,” I said, and started to walk away.

“Really?” Nathan countered. I looked up at him, and he looked down at me, and I heard the shutter go.

“I will check the photos later,” I said to mom, despite Nathan pouting. We were at the door when Mom decided to rain on my parade.

“Go have fun and be back before 11.”

I turned around, “Mom!”

“What?” She said, “It’s junior prom.”

I cocked my head and stared at her, unblinking. Nathan was looking from Mom to me.

“Fine. Be back at midnight.”

“Yes!” I said as I hugged her. She patted my back and told me to have a good time. Then I followed Nathan out the door.

As we reached the car, I turned to him with my eyes widened. The old Pink Kia Soul was gone, and it was replaced by a shiny black—

“Is that a convertible?” I asked incredulously.

Nathan came to my side and placed a hand on the hood and said in a voice of reverence I had never heard him use, “That is a 1963 Cadillac.”

“Okay.”

“It's more expensive than my body, but I got it for tonight,” he said, nodding. I broke out into a laugh. He smiled at me, “Promised you I’d be the best prom date.”

I shook my head as he opened the car door for me and leaned down, gesturing for me to get in.

“Such a chivalrous gentleman.” I murmured. The interior was black leather, and it smelled nice.

“Where did you get it, though?” I asked as he got in.

“Shush,” he placed his hand on the steering wheel. Then he said, to change the subject, “You're like a real life Cinderella.”

“If I'm Cinderella, who are you supposed to be?” I asked him, clasping my seatbelt.

He glanced at me for a second and said, “Your wish-granting fairy Godmother.”

“So there is no prince for me?” I leaned back in the seat, smiling at him.

“You don't need a prince,” Nathan said, “You’ve got me.”

God, have mercy. I thought to myself as I looked away. I stared out the window, but when the car didn’t move, I turned to Nathan. He was sitting there, with his temple resting on his hand on the steering wheel, turned to me.

“What?” I asked, fidgeting with the seatbelt.

“It’s true,” he said, with the smile line around his eyes.

My heart thudded against my ribcage. With all of his attention focused on me, I felt my skin grow warmer every passing second. “What’s true?”

He reached towards me, his finger taking hold of one of the loose strands around my face. I swallowed, my breath hitching. He rubbed the strands between his index finger and thumb, then met my eyes.

“You look like a fairy,” Nathan said.

My stomach swooped as I blushed; pink, red, crimson. Like the rose pinned to his tux. I closed my eyes and pushed his hand away. “Shut up.”

He moved away and finally put the key in the ignition, “You don’t take compliments well, do you?”

I glanced away. I never really got compliments, I realized, except from him.

“Last time I called you pretty, you sent me death threats,” Nathan commented as he started to drive.

I smiled to myself, “You doodled it on my face, with a pen.”

Nathan was smiling too, “Best day of my life.”

“I was sick and almost dead, and it was the best day of your life,” I grumbled.

“Actually, no, you are right,” he thought as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road as my eyes were on his face, “It was the day of book shopping. No, it was the day I asked you to prom.”

I chuckled. “Of course, you got to humiliate me the whole day.”

“That is exactly why,” Nathan replied dutifully, but I knew he was lying.

I had also kissed him on his cheek that day. I remembered that and blushed again. We drove the rest of the way in silence. I stole glances at him, and sometimes our eyes met when he slid his eyes to me.

Nathan parked the car as we reached school. I took off my seatbelt. He was by my side of the door before I could open it. He opened the door for me and offered me his palm. I stared at it, then up at his face, at his slight smile.

Bless my fucking heart. He was already the best prom date, and we hadn’t even entered school. I placed my hand in his as I got out of the car. He closed the door behind me and placed his palm on it.

We stood in front of each other, my hand in his, his other hand by my waist, his body crowding me against the car.

“I think,” I said under the gaze of his green eyes, “we should go.”

My voice was shaky because of the way he was looking at me. As if he couldn’t take his eyes off me, as if I really was a fairy, the prettiest girl, as if he was mesmerized. The lines around his eyes were soft, his gaze warm as he took in my face, “Yeah, maybe we should.” He said, distractedly.

The wind brushed against my bare shoulder, and I shuddered. Maybe it had nothing to do with the wind.

I tugged at his hand, avoiding his eyes, “Let’s go.” I said, though I didn’t even mean it. I could have stayed there, with his eyes on me, leaning against his car.

“Emily,” he whispered, “I have to tell you something.”

My eyes traveled to his face, “Yeah?”

“Maybe not now,” Nathan said, his eyes hopeful, his lips curved slightly, “Perhaps when I take you home.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “I will be waiting, then.”

His eyes bored into mine. “The thing is,” he removed his hand from the car, his thumb traced my cheek, “you don’t have to wait anymore.”

He squeezed my hand. My eyes widened, “What do you–”

I was cut off by someone hollering, “Oi, Nathan!”

Nathan and I turned to the source of the sound and saw Theo in a tux, waving at us. Beside him, holding his hand and fussing with her dress, was my beloved best friend, Leanna Miller.

*****

“I can't believe it,” I said as I eyed the couple holding hands, standing side by side as the guy talked to my prom date.

“He seems fun,” Azra said by my side. We stood near a table filled with drinks, probably lemonade and fruit punch. “I like his hair.”

“She kept such a big secret,” I fumed, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Who are you to judge?” Malti bumped my hips.

“Yup,” Uyen and Erika said in unison.

I gave them a finger as I stood up and walked toward the three people I'd been glaring at.

“You sneaky bastard,” I said to the tuxed-up, blonde-haired boy whom I considered a friend, “I can't believe you slept with my best friend!”

Theo narrowed his eyes, “When did I get so lucky?”

“I didn't tell you once that I slept with him!” Leanna interfered.

“But you moaned on the phone!” I said, “And I won’t believe what you say anymore.”

Nathan wrapped his arms around me as I pointed my finger at Leanna.

“Now that I think about it,” Theo glanced down at Leanna, “You really did moan like-OW.”

Leanna punched him on his shoulder, stopping him right before he spilled the tea. Theo tackled her with an arm around her neck. Then he leaned down and kissed her temple.

“Ew! Gross,” I said, making a face.

“Yeah, really gross,” Nathan nodded and made a face too.

“Listen,” Leanna said, pushing Theo's mouth off of her, “I really tried to tell you, okay?”

“When?” I complained, “You had so many chances.”

“I tried, okay?” Leanna said.

“Bullshit,” I said.

Nathan and Theo looked at each other, not having a clue as to how to solve this dilemma. There was no solution.

“Well, if anything helps, I told Leanna all about what a sweet guy our Natey boy is,” Theo shrugged.

“You did what?” Nathan said.

Now it made sense why Leanna apologized to me the other day and where that ‘I’m happy, if you’re happy’ speech came from. I gave her a look as Theo continued.

“Yup, she was concerned that you’d break our sweet Em’s heart, so I told her how you fought for her scrunch-”

Nathan was quick to lunge for Theo, covering his mouth. He hissed a ‘Shut up’ glaring at him.

“Fought for my what?” I looked from Nathan to Theo, who was still silenced, and then to Leanna.

“Your-” Leanna started, but Nathan glanced at her, and a look of solidarity passed between those two.

Was my best friend and my prom date bonding? I thought to myself.

“Fought for my what?” I asked again as Nathan made a disgusted face at Theo, removing his palm from his mouth.

Everybody ignored me, and Theo commented, “Did I come to this school to get assaulted? First my girlfriend, then my best buddy. Who’s next?”

Nathan came back to my side, wrapped his arms around my waist as I looked up at him, wondering about the secrets he was keeping from me. He smiled down at me.

The music started to boom, the DJ had put on a mix of ‘Call Me Maybe,’ and people had started to dance around us. Theo threw his hands up, making Leanna roll her eyes. He was mouthing the lyrics, and she smiled. I thought they were cute.

I glanced back at Nathan. We were on the dance floor, surrounded by rowdy teenagers who were screaming lyrics and jumping to the beats.

Nathan shrugged, and I took a deep breath. I let go of my fears and insecurity. Then I started to dance.

*****