in the city of san francisco, katelyn was at her house dressing herself for her senior prom. she got in her gorgeous cream colored dress that zach helped her pick out, then she put on her makeup as her mom help her curl her hair beautifully around her shoulders.
when she was ready to leave for the dance, she put on her matching gold heels. her parents of course wanted pictures before she left so they made her stand in front of the glass front door and pose. she was sad to be the only one in the pictures. she thought of zach. she knew he was in her city, so close to her but so far. in this moment she wished he was there with him, just to stand by her.
but zach was busy doing his own thing.
he was getting ready for his show later that night. he had rehearsed many times and got his costume changes all ready. at this time, all the boys were backstage messing around until their limelight meet and greet in an hour. zach didn't join his band mates in all the games they were doing pre-show. instead, he was talking to jon, the boy's tour manager, and corbyn about his plan.
"i need to make sure i can leave right after the show," zach said, not asking for permission.
"why?" jon asked.
"i want to surprise a fan after the show. she couldn't make it to show but she's a special fan." zach couldn't tell jon where he was going. it was a safety risk and he didn't want jon to stop him.
corbyn was intrigued. he ran through his head all the possibilities of where he could be going, and then it hit him.
"can you just make sure this gets to my dressing room before the show ends and have an uber ready for me right after the show? i'll need to leave right after the concert," zach said, pointing to a tuxedo hanging on a clothing rack.
jon was very confused.
"just-- trust me," zach begged to jon.
jon sighed. "fine. but you have to be back by midnight. we have to be back on the road until then. you better stay safe or we'll both be in trouble."
"thank you," zach jumped with joy. he ran off to go back to his dressing room but corbyn caught onto his shoulder.
"where are you going?" corbyn asked.
"i can't tell you."
zach tried to leave but corbyn wouldn't budge. "what fan are you surprising dressed in a tuxedo?"
"one who's going to prom."
"what?"
zach sighed.
"its katelyn's senior prom tonight. she would be coming to our show tonight to meet me but she wanted to go to prom. so i'm going to surprise her at her prom after the show."
"how long have you been planning this?"
"a few weeks," zach grinned. "you can't tell any of the boys. especially daniel. i don't think katelyn likes him very much."
"fine. but i want prom pics."
"sure," zach agreed. then he left corbyn and went to his dressing room to get ready for the show.
katelyn had arrived at the dance. she felt awkward walking in alone but she didn't let it show. she went inside and was suddenly hit with loud music filling the room and strobe lights blinding her eyes. she found a spot near the wall to sit and watch people as they danced. everyone was dressed so nicely. it was fun to watch everyone else but it felt very lonely.
a little while later, katelyn had aquired some a drink from the concessions stand. as she sat at her place away from the dance floor, a girl walked up behind her and tapped on katelyn's shoulder.
"hey, i love your dress," the girl complimented.
katelyn said thank you and returned the compliment. coincidentilly, the girl was wearing a dress similar to the one that katelyn was going to choose but didn't.
"are you alone?" the girl asked. katelyn nodded.
"me too. i'm abigail."
katelyn smiled. "hi abigial, i'm katelyn. would you like to sit here?" katelyn offered the seat next to her.
abigail smiled and sat down. the two ended up talking for a while, first vaguely explaining why they were at the dance alone. abigail's friends weren't into school dances but she was so she came alone. katelyn just said she had no one to come with. as they talked, they could feel themselves becoming better friends. katelyn was still cautious about opening up but she thought about what zach had said before. she just needed to let loose and drop her walls. and it worked.
zach was on his final few songs of his setlist. he sang his heart out and whenever he started to feel nervous, he thought about seeing katelyn soon. when the all the boys left stage to do their final outfit change for the encore, zach quickly asked jon if his things were in his room. jon nodded and zach felt do relieved. he changed into his outfit which was all black so he could get back on stage and sing everyone's favorite song, falling.
right after the show he sprinted to his dressing room, and got changed into his tux. he pulled out the pink and white corsage that he also got for katelyn before he ran out of the building to meet the uber at the back entrance.
the whole place was still crowded by fans but he needed to get out without being seen. luckily, corbyn was by the door waiting for him.
"i got him to pull up closer," corbyn said.
zach nodded. "thank you."
as zach was getting in the car, corbyn shouted out to him, "hey! good luck."
zach smiled and got in the car.
zach eventually pulled up to the location of the prom that katelyn sent him a few days ago. to him, the car ride felt like forever. zach got inside and searched for katelyn. he couldn't find her outside and it was hard to see anyone on the dance floor with the bright lights. he kept looking until he saw katelyn's lace detailed dress from a distance. she was sitting and talking with another girl in a dark red dress that looked oddly familiar. he took a deep breath before walking up behind her.
katelyn had been talking to abigial for almost an hour and a half. the dance was close to being over. they had already become really close. she told abigail that she met a guy online and that she might have feelings for him but she has never met him in person. abigail asked if she could see a picture so katelyn showed her a picture.
"wow, he's really cute," abigail said.
"i know right? but our relationship is complicated."
"how so?"
"well--"
as katelyn began to speak, a guy walked up behind katelyn. abigail was getting ready to defend katelyn when she recognized the guys face.
"oh my gosh-- katelyn," abigail said, staring at the boy.
"what?" she yelled and turned around to see what abigail was staring at. zach was standing right in front of her in a tuxedo with a corsage in his hand. he was a little shorter than she thought but he had the biggest, dumbest smile on his face which made him look so adorable.
when zach saw katelyn's eyes light up he wanted to scream and hug her. but first he got down on one knee in front of everyone and held out his corsage to her.
"katelyn,
will you go to prom with me?"
katelyn was so happy she cried.
of course she said yes. she took the corsage and slipped it around her wrist. katelyn jumped into zach's arms and they held each other.
abigail was behind them getting pictures of everything.
the dj announced that the dance was about to end. but first, one last slow dance was going to play.
zach held out his hand to katelyn.
"can i have this dance?"
katelyn put her hand in his.
"absolutely.
zach and katelyn walked to the middle of the dance floor. he placed his hands around her waist and she put her hands around his neck. they swayed back and forth to the music. eventually, she laid her head on his shoulder. zach took the opportunity to whisper in her ear.
"you didn't think i'd miss the chance to do this, did you?"
katelyn whispered back.
"i'm glad you didn't zachary."