It's not that life was really awful, but it had transitioned back to the way it was before I started telling you my story. It took me a long time to get over Zayn, a very long while. It started out with Lou and Harry reminding me that it would be ok, and the right guy would come along when the time was near. Unfortunately, I didn't take the advice to heart. I let myself drift from them and their words of comfort, finding myself getting to work early just to have an excuse to keep myself away from going out with them.

And the worst part was, Zayn moved on. I don't know how much later, there was talk of him and a girl named "Suzie" going out some weekend. I ignored it, as most girls tried to rumor themselves to be with Zayn. It wasn't until I saw him and a perky little redhead enter the diner that I knew I wasn't on his mind anymore. I asked Jen if she could take the table, and she agreed, knowing I wasn't the least bit over him. That particular night left me quite self-conscious; Zayn knew my hours and no doubt saw me take other orders while he was there. I felt nervous, wondering if he was watching me, or this "Suzie". Although it was probably the latter, I couldn't help but have a string of hope that he was having a hard time getting over me too.

Of course I was struggling with the break up ever since it happened, but it hit me extremely hard when the Spring Formal came around. I hadn't been planning on attending (the idea of paying for a dress and going alone really didn't suit me), but when it came up in conversation between Jen and I one day, she wouldn't have it.

"What? You have to go! Harry's taking me, so you won't be alone!" she begged.

"That helps a little, but the last thing I want to do is stand by the punch bowl and watch Zayn slow dance with his beloved Suzie." I rolled my eyes. I actually had gotten to know Suzie a little since Zayn first started going out with her, and she really was nice. Very polite, and sweet. One of those girls that you look at and wonder how one can be so charming and giggly all the time. It was easy to see why Zayn was attracted to her, she drew people in naturally. I caught myself multiple times looking at the two. He would look at her the way he looked at me some time back. They were obviously meant for each other, and if you didn't think so, you really were insane.

As much as I hated to admit it.

"Then get yourself a date, Em! So what if the dream guy isn't the one? Isn't that how it works in the movies?"

"Who on earth would want to go with me? Not trying to throw a pity party, but even if another guy was interested, I'm not."

"Alright, how about we make a deal."

"What's that?"

"If you promise me that you'll go, I'll pick you up and hang out with you with the fast songs, and go with Harry for the slower songs. We can hang out as a trio!"

"I can't take you away from Harry. That's wrong. You two deserve to have a special night."

"First of all, I just asked you to prom. Are you rejecting me? And second, I have a prom at my school too, and I was planning on asking Harry anyway. We'll have our fun night, and so will you."

"I'll think about it..." I sighed, finally giving in to her pleads.

"Yes!" she squealed in delight, clapping her hands together.

"But don't get your hopes up, you know that I have my grandparents to deal with, and getting all dolled up for this will be a challenge."

"Even better! I'll help you go dress shopping, and I'll come over to your place early and do your makeup for you! Budget cuts are easy-peasy." she gave me a thumbs up, signalling that if there was a problem, she could fix it.

So that was that, and immediately after, we ended our breaks to keep working.

~~

"Really?" I asked, half in excitement, but also half in disbelief.

"Of course! You don't give yourself enough credit, dear. You haven't been to any dances since they started up, and this is one of your last ones, if not the last one. Grandpa and I have the expenses covered, don't you worry a bit. Let's see, you'll need a dress, and shoes, and you'll most likely be going to the salon to get the finishing touches on everything?" she mentally started to add up numbers in her head.

"No, Grandma, I can't accept that. Plus, Jen said she would do my makeup and hair and all that for me. I can come up with my own money for a dress and shoes. I might actually have shoes-"

"Emerson Ada Parks." she cut me off, hands on her hips. She never used my full name unless she was 100% serious about something, and it scared me when she did.

"You work yourself to death every week to pay for your rent, food, electricity, and water bills. You've been doing this for a little over a year, and the most your grandpa and I have helped with is bringing you food and helping you with some of those bills. We don't get to spoil you like other grandparents do. You're our only granddaughter, and we want to spoil you. You'd be surprised the hole saved retirement money burns in your pocket."

"Alright, alright. But I don't want any crazy numbers showing up on a check any time soon."

"How many digits is crazy?"

"2 digits is just fine."

"It is most certainly not just fine. I'm going to discuss a proper amount with your grandfather, and when we get this check to you, I don't want a penny unspent. You hear me?"

"Yes."

"Good." she nodded, seeming proud of herself.

~~

"So how much did they give you?" Jen asked. We were on our way to the mall one Saturday, prom just around the corner.

"I was about to puke."

"How much?"

"700 pounds!" I whispered, still in shock of how much money was respresented by the card in my purse.

"You're getting a real good dress, Em." she winked.

"Oh no, there's more. This is for anything and everything else I'll need for prom, and they said they wanted you to treat yourself at the salon too."

"Your grandparents are awesome!" she raised her voice, laughing as she drove down the streets of London.

"Awesome, yes. Terrible, also." I shook my head.

"You need to be happy that they spoil you! They really trust you, and that's great."

"You're right. I just never feel right about someone even paying for my food, let alone my whole wardrobe for a dance."

"Well, be thankful, because I sure am."

Not long after, we pulled in the mall parkway and started off our adventure for the day.

"We have to start with the dress, then find things to work with it." she explained. I just followed her like a puppy dog, having exactly no idea what I was doing. Twenty minutes later, I was in a dressing room stuffed with four other dresses of all shapes and colors. I would walk out and show Jen every one, but none of them felt like something I would wear. They were all really nice, but they weren't ringing with my taste.

"Alright... let me find some more. I'm on a mission for you, and I'll give you every dress in the store to try on if I have to." she stated before dashing out to find more dresses.

An hour later, I was exhausted from just stepping in and out of dresses. I was feeling discouraged, knowing Jen was searching for me and hadn't looked at one dress for herself. On hearing her come back in the lobby of the dressing rooms, I told her that I would really just pick any dress at this point, and wanted to get a move on.

"Wait! No, wait! I found a really nice one, just try this last one on!"

"You've said that about the last three bunches."

"I know, but this is just one dress. I have a good feeling about it, and didn't even bother picking out any others. I ran back here just to get it to you." she let a hanger peek over the door, and I pulled it over. A quick glance saw a light purple dress, with some sparkles here and there, but a careful observe revealed something absolutely breathtaking.

"Jen..." I called out, inspecting it at every angle.

"Oh my gosh, show me please!"

I opened the door, quickly shuffling out and spinning around in front of her.

"And..?"

"THIS IS TOTALLY THE ONE!" I was shaking with excitement, although I couldn't tell if I truly liked the dress, or just the fact that I was too tired to function correctly. Jen screeched in joy with me, coming over to hug me. She looked incredibly excited with me, and made me turn around so many times to inspect every little detail.

"There is literally nothing about this dress that doesn't flatter you. You get this dress now." she demanded, and I had no problem with that idea. She then explained to me that she had ordered a dress from their warehouse a few weeks ago, and she tried it on while I was busy trying all mine on. She showed me, and although she wasn't wearing it, the dress was definitely perfect for her.

In the midst of our excited squeaks and dancing, someone came in, a bit startled at first, but then giggling. As I met her gaze, a head of unmissable red, firey hair let me know exactly who we had run into.