"How does this dress look?" Elke asked, stepping out of the dressing room in a tight, pale yellow dress. The bodice hugged her curves, and the cut outs showed off her porcelain skin.

"It looks nice, but I still like the white one." Libby said, watching the blond twirl in front of the mirrors.

"Maybe try the pink one?" Cindy asked, pursing her lips. She had always envied the girl because she seemed to be so effortlessly beautiful. Her hair had fallen in perfect golden waves down to just below her breasts, with not much more than a brush running through it.

"Good idea." Elke nodded and retreated back into the dressing room.

"So did anyone ask you?" Libby asked, barely looking up from her phone. Cindy knew her best friend and Sheen were in a heated argument because he wanted to wear converse to prom and Libby was not allowing it.

"No, but I don't really care. I don't need a date." Cindy shrugged a shoulder and reached for her grey cardigan, slipping it over her bare arms. It was hot outside, but a blue tank top was not enough to keep her warm in the cold mall.

"You sure? I bet I could get one of the guys from choir to ask you." Libby said, finally looking up at her friend, her hair flaring around as she moved. "I'm sure someone-"

"Nah. I'll worry about a date my senior year. Besides, there are six of us. Jimmy is going stag too." Cindy shrugged and checked her phone. She had a text waiting from her mom asking if she would be home for dinner. She texted back a quick no.

She and Jimmy were hanging out.

"I don't know if he is, Cin." Libby said with a huff. She set her phone down, probably trying to ignore the situation. She figured Carl or Jimmy would talk Sheen out of his stubbornness. "Sheen told me he wants to ask someone."

"What? Who?" Cindy asked, fingers freezing above her phone. She was about to text Jimmy and ask if he wanted Chinese for dinner.

"I don't know. Sheen just said he's thinking of asking someone." Libby shrugged and stuck her hands between her knees. Elke reemerged from the dressing room in a poofy, blush colored dress, looking every bit like sleeping beauty.

"I think it's too close to yours, Cin." Libby mumbled.

"Yeah, I think I agree with Libby, the white looked so pretty on you." Cindy said, giving the dress a once over. It looked a bit too long for the girl.

"I'll put that one on once more." Elke said, scowling at her reflection. Something about the dress just didn't suit her.

"Elke, did Carl tell you who Jimmy wants to ask to prom?" Libby asked, perking up with the idea that maybe the third girl knew.

"He didn't tell me that Jimmy wanted to ask anyone. He told me someone wants to ask you though, Cindy." Elke said, pointing to the other blond.

"What? Really?" Cindy asked, sitting up straight. She hadn't thought anyone would ask her at all. She wasn't nearly as popular as Libby.

"Yeah. That's all he said, though. He didn't say who it was." Elke said, twirling back towards the dressing room.

"Wow, Cin. Maybe you'll get a date after all." Libby said, elbowing her with a smile. "I bet it's Michael."

"I bet it's not." Cindy shook her head and grimaced. She had hoped she could just go by herself in all honesty. She figured Jimmy was going to have a date, she should too.

"Sheen, you can't wear those shoes. Libby will dump you." Jimmy said, changing the channel on the television. Sheen had his feet crossed on the coffee table, his worn red converse on his feet. "And get your feet off of my mother's table."

Sheen groaned but let his feet fall to the floor anyways. He slouched further in his seat and crossed his arms.

"She can't tell me what to do. I can wear whatever shoes I want." Sheen grumbled. He felt his phone vibrate against his leg, but he ignored it. He knew it was Libby.

"She's your girlfriend. She can tell you what shoes to wear. It's her job to make sure you don't look stupid." Jimmy said, tossing the remote onto the couch beside him. Cartoons would have to do.

"Why do I have to do what she says? I'm an adult, I'm 18-"

"Barely."

"I should be able to do whatever I want." Sheen said, sitting up straight and turning to his friend. Jimmy sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Relationships are about compromise, Sheen. Prom is really important to girls. You should wear nice shoes because looking nice would mean a lot to her." Jimmy explained with a sigh. He had listened to Sheen drone on about their stupid little spat, just like every other time.

"How would you know? You've never dated anyone before." Sheen scoffed, moving back to his slouch. And re-crossing his arms. "You can't even ask a girl out."

"It's not for lack of trying. Every time I get up the nerve, you guys interrupt us. We're both going stag, anyways. We'll probably be stuck to each other all night out of default." Jimmy said, picking his phone as it vibrated against the coffee table.

Cindy wanted to know if he wanted Chinese for dinner. That actually sounded really good. He sent her back a quick 'yes' and let his phone flop beside him on the couch. He saw Sheen pick up his phone finally out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh, maybe not, Jim." Sheen said, scanning the text. "Libby just told me someone else is planning to ask Cindy to prom."

"What? Who?" Jimmy sat up straight, knocking the phone and remote to the floor in his haste.

"She doesn't know. You need to make your move, Jimmy." Sheen said, locking his phone again. He still wasn't too keen on his girlfriend at the moment.

"I'll ask her tonight. We're hanging out here tonight." Jimmy shrugged and reached for his phone on the floor. He hoped he wasn't too late.

"What about black converse?" Sheen asked.

"Sheen. No sneakers." Jimmy said sternly. He had just sat back up straight when the front door opened and Carl waddled his way in, inhaler in his hand.

"What's up, Carl?" Sheen asked, looking at the red inhaler and Carl's similarly shaded face.

"Elke sent me a picture of the dress she bought." Carl said, holding his phone out to show his friends. The dress was long, white, and trimmed around the plunging neck line and the diamond shaped cutouts on the sides with silver beading. It flowed around her legs fluidly down to the floor.

"That's really pretty." Jimmy said, nodding in approval.

"She's got a nice rack. I'd be breathing heavy too." Sheen said, nodding as well. Jimmy smacked his friend in the arm, earning a small 'the hell, man?' before settling back into annoyed silence.

"She's so pretty. I bet she's got a bunch of guys throwing themselves at her back home." Carl lamented, flopping down in the chair.

"Yeah, probably, but she chose you. Don't worry about it." Sheen shrugged and stopped rubbing his arm.

"What Sheen means is that she's loyal and she really loves you." Jimmy corrected, scowling at the tallest boy, who went back to his phone.

"Where are your parents?" Carl asked, noticing a lack of duck noises and the smell of pie.

"Wedding. They won't be back until tomorrow." Jimmy said, turning the tv off and getting up to turn on the gaming system instead.

"Why? You feel like flirting with Judy?" Sheen asked with a smirk. He always teased Carl about his childhood crush.

"Shut up, Sheen." Carl said, his face flushing deeper.

They boys were in a heated game of Mario cart when the front door opened. Jimmy was catching up to Sheen, almost in the lead. Carl was bringing up the rear, trying to avoid the banana peels and failing miserably.

"Hey, Boys." Libby greeted as she kicked her shoes off at the door. She got back a chorus of monotone 'Hey's back, but their eyes never left the screen. She scowled.

"What are they doing?" Elke asked, straining her neck and trying to watch the cars on the screen.

"Playing Mario Cart. It's what teenage boys do." Cindy explained, walking past both the girls and around the coffee table in front of the TV, earning her a few shouts of displeasure, and flopping down on the arm of the couch by Jimmy. "Sheen winning?"

"Not for long." Jimmy said, incredibly focused on the game. They were nearing the finish, and Jimmy just barely passed Sheen in time. He threw his hands up in victory while Sheen scowled in defeat.

"Jack ass." Sheen grumbled.

"Guys, where am I?" Carl asked, trying to get his car to at least finish the race.

"You're going backwards, Dude." Sheen said, eyebrows raising. He hadn't been watching Carl's screen at all and was surprised to see how far behind he was.

"How was dress shopping?" Jimmy asked, turning finally to the girl beside him.

"Fine. I called the Chinese place, they said it'll be here in an hour." She said, leaning onto him with and elbow propped on his shoulder.

"Awesome, thanks for that." Jimmy said, reaching up to touch her arm for a moment before going back to their game.

"Hey, Cin, check this out." Libby leaned over her boyfriend's lap and Jimmy's lap to show her phone to her best friend. "Think you can do this?"

Cindy eyed the screen that showed a red and silver nail design and nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. It'll look nice with your dress." She said as Libby crawled her way back to her seat at the other end of the couch.

"You know what else would look nice with your dress?" Sheen asked.

"No converse!" Jimmy and Libby shouted at him. They glanced at each other for a moment then Libby offered a small smile.

"Fine. Whatever, I'll wear stupid dress shoes." Sheen growled, crossing his arms again.

"Carl give me the controller, let's play teams." Cindy said, reaching for the boy sitting on the floor between his friends. He wordlessly handed it over to her. "Girls versus guys, 3 races, we each compete, let's do it."

"Bossy." Sheen mumbled. Jimmy smacked him upside the head.

After the girls won their tournament, Sheen and Libby decided to take their competition to Libby's basement. Carl and Elke retreated back to his house for dinner, soy burgers, which sounded disgusting to everyone else.

Cindy was digging into her rice while Jimmy tried to find something on television. The movies on a Sunday night were always boring, but he found a musical he knew Cindy loved.

"Are you trying to butter me up for something?" She asked, suddenly finding herself bopping along to summer lovin'.

"Nope. But I know you love Grease. So do I get to see your dress yet?" Jimmy asked, picking up his lo mein.

"No way. You have to wait until Prom to see it." Cindy scoffed, trying to use her chopsticks and eventually giving up and picking up a fork.

"How will I know what to wear?" Jimmy asked with a laugh.

"Wear whatever you want, I don't care." She shrugged. "Don't you have to match whoever you ask?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. But I'd have to know your color first." He said brows knit in confusion, picking up a takeout container.

"Why? If you end up wearing that color too I'll punch you." Cindy said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well fine then. I'll just wear whatever." Jimmy leaned back into the corner of the couch and focused on the television.

After a week of general irritation with each other, Cindy was sourly doing Libby's hair in her bedroom. No one had asked her, and Jimmy had asked no one. Yet for some reason, they still weren't talking much.

"Easy with those pins, Girl. You're stabbing my head." Libby said, reaching up to ease the pain in the back of her head.

"Sorry, Libs. So who was it that Jimmy wanted to ask? He never said anything." Cindy asked, picking up another bobby pin for Libby's hair. Her curls were pinned in a loose up-do, still bouncing mostly free.

"I have no idea. I saw him talking to Nissa the other day. Maybe he asked her." Libby shrugged and sighed. All Cindy had talked about all week was Jimmy, both in good and bad contexts. "You so love him."

"I do not." Cindy shook her head and rolled her eyes. They hadn't talked about that word, she would much rather sweep his feelings under the rug. If he didn't want to love her, that was fine, she didn't want to love him either.

"You do too. Why didn't you just ask him to prom? He so would have said yes."

"Because I don't need a date, I'm fine going alone." Cindy shrugged, putting a final pin in Libby's hair. The girl stood up and they switched places. Libby's button-up – which actually was Sheen's – hung down low enough to nearly cover her shorts, and the big sleeves were rolled up to her elbows.

"What do you want me to do?" Libby asked, picking up the straighter.

"Up." Cindy decided, not remembering how Jimmy liked her hair until it was done.

"How do you tie these things?" Sheen asked, trying to tie his tie, and only succeeding in tying a bow. "I don't get why I have to wear it."

"Because it's a formal dance, Sheen. Lemme see." Jimmy held out his hand, and Sheen passed him the red silk tie. The shorter boy slipped it around his own neck and tied it effortlessly, then loosened it and passed it to Sheen.

"Thanks." Sheen mumbled looking in the bathroom mirror. He didn't look too bad, he decided. He looked over to the other sink at Jimmy who was trying to style his hair.

"Does this look stupid?"

"No stupider than normal." Sheen shrugged, ignoring his friend's glare. "When's Carl going to be here?"

"He said he would be over after they had lunch. Elke was showing up to Cindy's to get ready a little late." Jimmy shrugged, fumbling with his own tie.

"Still can't believe you chickened out." Sheen shook his head as he adjusted his collar. "You totally love her, dude."

"I do not. And she didn't want to go with me. She probably wanted to go with whoever else was going to ask her." Jimmy took a deep breath and focused on his tie. He wasn't the happiest person in the world without talking to Cindy, and the frustration was starting to get to him.

"You so do. Libby said no one asked her, I bet she would have gone with you." Sheen argued, fixing his hair in the mirror.

"Jimmy! Carl is here!" The two turned at the sound of Judy's voice from downstairs, and then heard the heavy footsteps of their friend coming up the stairs.

"Hey guys." Carl said as he poked his head into the bedroom. He was dressed in his dress shirt and pants, but was carrying an armful of other parts of his tux.

"Hey, Carl." Jimmy waved, catching a glimpse of him in the mirror. "How are the girls doing?"

"Libby told me to tell you dress shoes." Carl said as he stepped up beside Sheen. "And she looks really pretty."

"I'm wearing the stupid dress shoes, what more does she want?" Sheen asked, looking down at the offending shoes on his feet.

"Just let it go, Sheen." Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"And Cindy looks really pretty too, Jim." Carl put a hand on his best friend's shoulder, and Jimmy paused his fiddling with his clothing.

"I didn't ask." He said, trying to refocus on his nitpicking.

"It's not too late to ask her." Carl pointed out. Jimmy looked up and locked eyes with him. "She's going alone, Jim."

"Look, we're not going together, I don't get why that's so hard for you two to accept. She didn't want to go with me. We're not madly in love with each other, we're just," Jimmy paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what we are." He shook his head and looked back down to unbutton and rebutton his shirt.

"Fine, be in denial." Carl shrugged and looped his tie around his neck. "At least try to have fun tonight? You two being miserable is going to drag down the night."

"I'm not in denial and we'll have fun. At least I will." Jimmy grumbled, deciding he could spend some time in his room with his belt and shoes.

"You look nice, Jimmy." Libby greeted, holding up the skirt of her dress as she walked. He smiled softly at her, ignoring the fact that he knew Cindy wouldn't be far behind. "I like the blue."

"Thanks, Libby. You look very pretty." He motioned down to the billowing skirt around her legs.

"Thank you. Hey, you don't have a date right?" She asked, looking back over her shoulder where Elke was greeting Sheen and Carl.

"No, I didn't ask anyone."

"Give this to Cindy. She's kinda down that no one asked her. Just pretend you got it for her." Libby pulled a plastic box out of her purse and shoved it into his hand discretely.

"A corsage? Libby, we're not going together-"

"I know that, but you don't want her to be the odd one out, do you?" She asked, glancing back again. Jimmy caught sight of Cindy over her shoulder.

She was wearing the pink dress, the skirt not as poofy as Libby's, but still flowing out around her legs, and beautiful beading on the skirt. The sweetheart neckline and lack of straps accented her thin frame and showed off her pale shoulders in a beautiful way.

"No, I don't. I'll give it to her." Jimmy nodded and swallowed.

"You two look very pretty." Carl said as Elke and Cindy approached. He grabbed both of Elke's hands and pulled her close enough to kiss her cheek.

"Thanks, Carl. You both look handsome, as well." Cindy said, reaching out to fix Sheen's shirt collar and smooth out the jacket. He took her hand and kissed it.

"Gracias, Bonita." He said. "Hey, can we ask you to do something?" Sheen asked, reaching into his jacket pocket.

"Depends on what it is." She eyed him suspiciously.

"Could you give this to Jimmy? We felt bad that he would be the odd one out, but it'd be weird if we gave it to him." Sheen pushed a plastic box into her hand and let her look at it.

"A boutonniere? Sheen, he's not my date-"

"I know, but come on. You don't want him to be to odd one out, do you?" Sheen nodded towards his friend, who was talking quietly with Libby across the yard. He nodded at something and she hugged him, which he returned with a solemn look on his face.

"No, I don't. Give me the stupid thing." Cindy sighed and took the flowers out of their plastic. "You don't get to ask me for any more favors."

"Deal. Here they come." Sheen nodded again and pointed at Jimmy and Libby as they made their way across the yard. "You look gorgeous, Libs."

"Well thank you. You look pretty fine yourself, Papi." Libby smiled as she leaned in to give Sheen a kiss. "I think that's our limo. Let's go talk to the driver." The pair laced their fingers and headed off towards the street with Carl and Elke in tow, leaving the non-couple standing awkwardly together.

"Hey, uh, I know you're going stag and all that but, well, I got you something." Jimmy spoke up, holding out the box Libby gave him.

"Oh, I uh, I got you something too." Cindy accepted the box and held up the little flowers in her hand. It was then that she noticed her corsage was full of blue ribbon that matched Jimmy's tux and Jimmy's boutonniere matched her dress.

"You look really beautiful, Cindy." Jimmy sighed, looking down at her. She smiled softly and reached up to pin the flowers on his jacket.

"Well, this is the dress you picked. As much as I don't want to admit it, you always know what looks best on me." Cindy said with a tight smile. They both turned when they heard a camera shutter and saw Judy and Libby standing there, both smiling.

The prom was nothing spectacular, at least to Jimmy's standards. The music was loud and crude, and the dancing looked more like fornicating on the dance floor. They had danced as a group during all of the faster songs, but once the first slow song hit, he and Cindy retreated back to the table.

"They are so happy together." Cindy said, head resting in her hand and watching Carl stare at his feet while he and Elke danced. He wasn't a great dancer, but the girl didn't seem to mind. She was giggling and her blue eyes were alight.

"They really are. He's head over heels for her." Jimmy nodded and reached for his drink. "I'm really glad he found her. Sheen and I were worried he was going to be living with one of us for the rest of our lives." He laughed.

"So I thought you were going to ask someone." Cindy said, turning her attention to the boy sitting beside her. He finished his sip of soda and set it back down with a nod.

"I was going to but I got the feeling she didn't want to go with me." He shrugged, playing with his tie.

"Who was it?"

"I'm not going to tell you." Jimmy scoffed. The song ended and a faster one picked up. Sheen turned to Carl as the whole dance floor started jumping and they joined in enthusiastically. Libby took Elke's hands and started dancing and laughing with her while bumping her backside into Sheen's front occasionally. "Let's go dance with them."

Cindy scowled, but followed him anyways. She joined in with Libby and Elke, the three of them dancing in a circle with the guys around them. Sheen had his arm around his friend's shoulders as they bounced.

Everything was going fine until Cindy felt arms on her waist and someone grinding into her behind. She twisted and saw Keenan, one of their classmates, his mop of brown hair sticking to his forehead and reeking of alcohol.

"Get off before I kill you." She said, trying to shove away from him. She stumbled forward, tripping over her dress and catching herself on Libby.

"You should go, Dude." Sheen said, stepping in. "You're pretty drunk, you're gonna get thrown out."

"I'm fine. Just thought I could get some action." Keenan shrugged, leering at Cindy. She glared back.

"Either leave her alone or I'll make sure you get kicked out." Jimmy said, standing tall. He wasn't taller than Sheen, but he wasn't short either.

"Fine, whatever." Keenan scoffed and walked back towards the popular group where he had been. Jimmy turned to look at Cindy as the music changed again.

"You okay?" Libby asked, still holding onto Cindy's forearms.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cindy nodded. "Go dance." She pat her friends arm and she stepped away, reaching out for Sheen's hand.

"He's just a drunk jerk, Cindy. We'll make sure he doesn't do that again." Carl said, taking Elke into his arms for another slow dance.

"Thanks, Carl." Cindy nodded again, looking back at Jimmy, who was striding towards her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets and giving her a once over.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little taken off guard." She shrugged and glanced around the dance floor. All the couples were swaying back and forth while those who had come alone were retreating back to the tables.

"Hey, Cin, I know we both came alone and stuff but uh, will you go to prom with me?" Jimmy asked, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing. Cindy watched him for a moment and laughed before speaking.

"Sure." She nodded and took his outstretched hand. "So you're really not going to tell me who you really wanted to ask?"

"Do you really want to know?" Jimmy asked with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I want to know what kind of girl you want to date." Cindy said, looking around at all of the couples dancing. Libby was content with her head on Sheen's chest, and Carl and Elke were whispering to each other and giggling.

"Okay I'll give you a few hints." Jimmy said, turning her slightly as they moved. "She's blond. She's a great singer. Not too tall-"

"Oh my gosh, it is Nissa."

"It's not Nissa." Jimmy laughed, rolling his eyes. He stared down at her beautiful jade orbs and smiled. "It's you. It's always been you."

"Really?" Cindy asked, her stomach fluttering with nerves.

"Yeah." Jimmy nodded and cleared his throat. "Cindy, I-I love you. And I don't want to stop, ever."

"Jimmy," she mumbled. "I love you, too." She whispered.

Suddenly, Sheen and Libby started cheering a few feet away. The two braniacs turned to look at them, and saw that they were encouraging the rest of the students to join them.

"They finally said they love each other, everyone!" Libby shouted.

"It's about damn time, Jim." Sheen said, and soon the whole room was cheering and clapping in a big circle around them. They turned to their other side and looked at Carl and Elke, who were clapping as well. Jimmy got a thumbs up from his best friend.

"Hey, hey, kiss!" Sheen shouted, then started chanting 'Kiss' and getting the rest of the students there to join him.

"I, uh, I think they want us to kiss." Jimmy whispered, looking back down at her.

"How long do you think they've all been thinking we should date?" Cindy asked, looking around at their classmates.

It wasn't a secret to anyone but themselves. The whole student body thought they should date. Jimmy and Cindy just went together like every other famous pair.

"Cin?" Jimmy asked, catching her attention again.

"Yeah, right." She laughed, looking down at his tie. He brought his hand up to her face and tilted it up, then leaned down and kissed her.

The crowd cheered louder.

"I guess they've been waiting for this." Cindy whispered as she pulled away.

"They're not the only ones." Jimmy whispered back, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Gosh, I love this. I love waking up next to you." Jimmy said as he curled tighter around Cindy's nude body.

"Well good morning to you too." Cindy laughed. "I love this too."

"And now that I've said it, I don't feel like stopping." Jimmy crawled over her, peppering kisses on her face and professing his love between them. Cindy giggled and pushed him without any force behind it.

"I love you too, Jimmy." Cindy mumbled, looking up at him.

"How about we have some awesome morning sex, then we can go meet up with our hungover friends?" Jimmy asked.

Sheen and Libby had dragged them to an after-party that they were invited to, and though Jimmy and Carl didn't drink, Sheen was throwing back shots like no tomorrow. Libby was sipping on a drink, but he was sure she didn't have nearly as much as Sheen.

Libby stayed at Sheen's that night, and Cindy in the lab.

"Sounds good to me, Babe." Cindy said, wrapping her arms around Jimmy's neck and giving him a deep kiss. She pushed her hips up, feeling his hardness trapped between them.

Jimmy gripped her hips and rolled them so she was laying on top, still kissing him. He flashed on the night before when they had barely gotten their clothes off fast enough. Her pinned to the couch, her dress hiked up around her waist and Jimmy with his pants open and tie undone, both moaning and screaming and saying they love each other over and over.

"I can't believe this still." He mumbled as she sat up and ran a hand through her hair that was now down and fell in pin-straight strands to her shoulders. It was a testament to how well Libby had done her hair.

"Me either." She shook her head. "Let me make it a little more believable." She smirked and reached for the box on the nightstand. She quickly slipped a condom over his cock and slid herself down on him.

"You alright?" He asked, grabbing her waist.

"Yeah. A little sore." She nodded, starting to move. "Got a little rough last night."

"Sorry about that," he laughed. "It had been a while."

They continued in silence, the only sounds being their panting breaths and Cindy's cries when she came. Jimmy flipped them quickly and slid back into her, moving in and out as quickly as he could until he was following her high.

"I love you." He whispered as they calmed down.

"I love you too, Dorkoid."

AN: Hey guys, sorry this took so long, you all have to remember I have a full time job and I go to school full time, so I don't have a ton of free time. There will be an epilogue after this chapter, so don't worry it's not totally done, but this will be the final chapter in present day. I hope it was to your satisfaction!