Hi, my name is Faith Evans and this is how prom, in one night changed my life.

It all started on Saturday morning while I was showing my dress to Lucas, my best friend, I know it’s unusual, but Lucas and I have been best friends since pre school and he always knew what to say better then any girl I knew; I had this beautiful one shoulder, Kelly green dress with scattered beading on the waist; I had chosen this dress months ago, saved three months allowance to buy it and went on a diet to perfectly fit in it. “So, do you like it?” I asked Lucas, who was sitting in my bed looking at my corsage. “He didn’t buy you a corsage himself?” he looked at me with a puzzled face. “I thought it be easier for me to just pick it up myself, that way there’s no mistakes.” I told him and he nodded. Truth is, I didn’t know if my date would remember, so I bought it myself, but before he could say anything else, my annoying little brother Kyle came running inside my room yelling that my boyfriend was at the door. See, I don’t have a boyfriend, so I was surprised and mortified at the time because at the door was my prom date.

Taylor White was my kindergarten crush, I’ve scribbled his name in so many notebooks I could open a collection out of it. We never been out on a date, so when he asked me to prom I was so excited I said yes before he finished the sentence. I looked at the mirror, fixed my hair a little, and ran downstairs. “Hi! Come in please.” I told him by the door. “No, it’s okay. Can we talk for a second?” he nodded towards my porch. “Sure.” I walked outside, my heart was pounding with excitement, my prom date and who knows, my future boyfriend was at my porch. “Faith, I can’t go to prom with you.” He murmured under his breath and looked away. At that moment my perfect day was ruined, my heart was on the floor being stepped on it. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” I asked trying to salvage my night. “No, I just don’t want to hurt you.” He told me, I wanted to yell ‘No, hurt me all you want.’ But instead I kept quiet and nodded. “I’m so sorry.” And he walked away with my perfect night.

My eyes filled with tears while my hearth broke into pieces as I walked back to my room, I glanced at my dress, and Lucas hugged me. “I’m sorry, I overhead you guys.” He mentioned and hugged me tighter. “What am I going to do?” I started sobbing, “My prom is ruined.” I picked my corsage from the bed and threw it in the trash without thinking. “Hey, the flowers didn’t do anything to you.” Lucas took them out of the trash. “Be ready by 8, I’ll pick you up.” Lucas told me and grabbed his coat. “Where are you going?” I asked stunned by him. “Well, you’ll want me in a tux, I imagine, so I have to go buy one.” He smiled and left.

Time went by in a blink of an eye, before I knew, it was almost eight o’clock. I gotten ready like I would’ve but I had no excitement, I knew Lucas would be a great date but he was my best friend, and I wanted a real date, one that I could give a good night kiss on my way home. Before I could think of more ways to be miserable my bell rang, and I knew it was Lucas. My mom had a camera downstairs and my dad didn’t bother to come have ‘a talk’ with Lucas, my dad trusted Lucas better than me. I glanced one last time at mirror and headed downstairs.

Lucas stood there motionless and for the first time I looked at him and saw a perfect guy. He had on a black suede tux and a beautiful Kelly green tie; on his hand he had a small box, “What’s that?” I asked snooping the sides of it. “Well, I thought I’d buy you a real corsage.” He told me and pulled this beautiful green corsage, with white feathers on the side, very delicate out of the box. “May I?” he asked and I gave him my hand, after he was done, I carefully put his on, we took pictures and we went outside. “Oh my God, a limo?” I was taken back; there was a stretch white limousine on my front yard, “I thought you deserved the best”. Lucas opened the door for me.

As we arrived at the Prom, my excitement had grown from zero to a hundred, Lucas was the perfect date so far, and my night was turning over. Our prom theme was one night in Paris, which I thought was cliché at first, but the lights and decorations were out of this planet. “So, I will get us a soda or something, you’ll be okay?” Lucas asked and I smiled. After he left I started thinking that for so long Lucas has been in my life and I had never seen this side of him, you know, the date type, but tonight it’s like we were meant to be here together, as if he had planned this the whole time. Then it hit me, of course he had this things planned. How do you get a limo in less then five hours on prom night?

“Here you go.” Lucas handed me my soda and I kept staring at him. “How did you get a limo so fast?” I asked, “I know a guy.” He smiled, “How did you find the perfect corsage in such short notice?” I suspiciously asked again. “I saw it on the florist shop, and reserved it, I meant to show you before, but you bought one.” He took a sip out of his soda and wandered his eyes from mine. “Lucas, how long have you been planning this?” I finally ask, and he stares at me for a second. “Okay, I wanted to this later, but since you won’t leave me alone.” He took my and his soda, and placed on the table, then pulled me to the dance floor. “Are you going to answer me?” I asked annoyed. “Dance with me. And I’ll explain.” He says, I nod, and we start slow dancing.

“I was going to ask you to prom the day you told me Taylor asked, you were so excited, I didn’t want to make you feel guilty into coming with me, but I wasn’t going to come with anybody else.” He asserted me. “Why” I asked and he was silent. “Because…“ He paused, “Faith, you have been in my life since forever, I have eaten lunch with you, gone on vacations, even gone shopping…” he paused again and I giggled, “Prom was my chance to tell you that, what I feel for you isn’t plain friendship, but it’s more, it’s change my plans for you kind of thing, it’s me being static when you smile at me kind of thing, it’s more than just I like you…” he paused and I was terrified of what would come next. “I know this may break our friendship, but I want you, all of you, and being friends is not enough anymore. Sorry.” He kissed my cheek, released my hands, and headed to the exit, before I could even move.

I stood in the middle of the salon, paralyzed, breathing fast and with my heart pounding stronger then ever. My head kept thinking how could this be, and my heart kept saying go after him, I watched him leave and did nothing. Tears begun coming down my face, and I glanced at my corsage. All this years he has been the best thing in my life; I mean, what kind of guy knows your favorite things? Or your favorite color? I was so blind trying to find a perfect guy and date, that I overlooked the best one right next to me. “Hey, you came, want to dance?” I looked back and Taylor was standing there, asking me to dance with him, the guy that I always thought I wanted. It took me a minute but I finally found words to answer him. “Actually, no, thanks. I have to go find someone.”

I ran outside and couldn’t find Lucas anywhere, I called his phone but no answer, when I was ready to go to his house and sit there, till he talked to me, I saw him sitting on the swing inside the playground. “Hey. I want to talk to you” I yelled as I walked towards him, “Look Faith, you don’t have to explain…” he began saying and I approached him. “It’s okay that you don’t feel the same…” he paused “I should’ve never done this.” He undid his tie, fuming with anger. “Thank you.” I told him. “For what?” he asked. “For making me see you as more than a friend.” And I kissed him.