You could practically hear the prom from about a block away, music blaring and people laughing. Jen even giggled a little, gripping the wheel and turning on the street of the school.

"I'm so excited! Harry is meeting us at the front of the school. Look at the boutonniere I got him!" she motioned towards her purse, and I pulled out a plastic container with a really pretty arrangement of white and black flowers.

"There wasn't any sparkly silver flowers... who knew? So I just got black and white. He said his tie is going to match my dress, how cute is he?" she babbled, and I felt happy. I'm so glad they were happy together, they both deserved such a wonderful significant other.

She pulled in to the school lot, and parked the car where there was an available spot. It was a bit of a walk, but not too bad. Before we were even near the sidewalk, Harry spotted us and ran faster than ever to greet us.

"Hey girls! You both look wonderful!" he smiled, giving Jen a hug and a kiss. He gave me a hug too, and I was glad that Jen wasn't the jealous type.

"Your... your tie..." Jen covered her mouth with her hands, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"What? Nothing's wrong with it!"

"I didn't know you meant bowtie, you goof." she joked.

"I think their underrated."

"Definitely. Anyway, This is for you!" she pulled the box out from behind her back, opening it and starting to attack it to his pocket's button-hole.

"And this is for you!" he whipped out a box as well, taking out a corsage of almost the same arrangement, and securing it around her wrist. She squealed and hugged him again, probably the most excited out of all of us. I took a step or two back, not wanting to ruin their reunion. I loved watching them, they were so perfect for each other. So caught up in each other's worlds. I was starting to get caught up in it too, when I bumped into someone. I jumped, scared out of my better-than-cable mindset, and turned to apologize to the stranger.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"My fault completely." A pair of blue eyes smiled down at me, to match the familiar voice.

"Lou! Hi!" I said, glad to see him. I gave him a huge hug, and nearly lost it when he picked me up to spin me around.

"You look great!" I said after he put me down, noticing how he styled his hair differently. I also realized I had never seen him all cleaned-up before, but he looked quite well.

"So do you! I barely even recognized you! I almost thought you were a stranger until you turned around to look at me. Can't forget those eyes." he smiled.

"Thanks. Who did you come with?" I asked.

"No one. I thought tonight would be a fun night for hanging out with friends. Plus, if I asked a girl, what if she got the wrong impression? I might not necessarily want to date her."

"I understand. I came alone too, Jen wouldn't let me stay home. Neither would my grandparents. But Jen promised me she wouldn't leave me alone, so I don't really mind."

"I wouldn't leave you, either! We can arrive alone together." he smiled.

"Speaking of Jen... where did her and Harry go?" he continued, looking over to where they used to be.

"I guess they went in already. Let's go find them." I suggested, so we both walked in. The hallways were quiet compared to the decked-out gym. It was hard to believe that this was the place I spent my free hour in, because it was silent. Music blared, people danced and chatted, disco lights shone everywhere, and you know the rest. It was everything a girl dreamed of seeing on her prom night, and I was finally stepping into it.

"There is no way we can find them in here!" Lou shouted over the noise.

"I know! They could be anywhere!"

We scanned the crowd for a few more minutes, but we had no luck. I looked back over to him, seeing him shrug once before breaking out in the most pathetic dance moves I'd ever seen. I busted out laughing, seeing him make a fool of himself.

"Dance with me, Em!" he begged, as he started to do something that resembled the sprinkler. So I did, for once, without hesitation. And we kept going and going until we got lost in the mix of people on the dancefloor. We got some stares, but that didn't stop us. Eventually, we even found Harry and Jen, doing the exact same thing. We all danced together for the next few songs, laughing and acting like idiots the whole way.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go get a drink, I'm starting to wear out already." I said, and they all nodded. I made a path through the frenzy, my sights set on the punch bowl. It was a bit crowded, but on my way there, the music stopped and the DJ announced that we were going to "slow it down". By the time I got there, every one was back on the dancefloor with their prom date, nuzzled close to each other. I poured my drink and sipped on it, leaning against the wall. I scanned the crowd, not seeing anyone I recognized, until I hit the opposite end of the gym. There I saw an unmistakeable pair of lovers, one with a jet black quiff, and the other with fiery red hair. I didn't really acknowledge any feelings about it, but did feel a pang of pain when Zayn whispered something to her, she giggled, and he placed some kisses on her neck.

I couldn't help but remember that I was in that position not too long ago, and I missed him a lot. But what really hurt is that I thought we were great together, but when I saw them, they were a flawless couple. It only reminded me that the guy of my dreams really was too good for me, and there was living proof that he can do so much better than someone like me.

I don't know how long I was staring at them, but a voice interrupted my pity party.

"I know what you're thinking, and you better stop right now." Lou said from behind me.

"You don't know what I'm thinking." I shook my head, turning my attention away from young love and towards my best friend.

"Well I know what you're looking at, and you don't look happy, so that narrows it down quite a bit."

"I know. I'm sorry. But don't worry about me, you know I'm an emotional mess. Go have fun."

"First off, you're not an emotional mess, you're heartbroken, and that's ok. It's normal that you feel sad. I did for a long time after Jen moved on to Harry." he pointed in another direction, and I spotted Jen and Harry also slow dancing, foreheads pressed together.

"In fact, I still get sad when I see them together. I just never thought I'd find someone like Jen, so kind and caring and funny. Knowing that I was so close to someone and they felt the same way, or at least I thought they did, hurts. But that just means they aren't the one for you."

"Obviously. I get to see every day how much better he clicks with her than he did me. And I thought we clicked well, didn't we click well?" I asked, looking back over to Zayn and Suzie.

"Do you want my opinion or something that sounds sympathetic?"

"Your opinion, of course." I mumbled, knowing where this was going.

"You two were happy together, which was great, but you changed each other. Zayn took advantage of how innocent you were, and you were willing to do anything for him. I'm not saying love won't involve sacrifices being made, but love also accepts the person's standards. If you had rules you set for yourself, you shouldn't have broken them to make Zayn happy."

"But he just kept pushing, and he wasn't being annoying about it, but he would make a ton of hints and it becamse a temptation. It became a personal decision over one that would just make him happy."

"He did that because he knows you. Now, Zayn isn't the guy to take a naive girl and use her, but the more he got to know you, the more he wanted to show the world you were all his, and changed you in the process. But as far as I know, he apologized to you for it, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens to Suzie."

"How do you know so much?"

"I have a lot of time to think." he chuckled, walking over and leaning on the wall beside me.

I took into consideration his words, and the more I thought on them, the more I realized how much Suzie and I were really alike. We were both innocent, willing girls who really just wanted the love we saw in the movies. Zayn was a sweet guy who seemed to fall for that sort of personality, and wanted to be Prince Charming. Bless him for that, but he seemed to have the wrong motives for his own personal life.

"It's just a lot. I thought I had the love I wanted, and I'm just watching it play before me. I just feel hopeless now."

"Em, you're not hopeless. This is senior year of high school. Everyone is still immature, and they're rolling in it because they know as soon as college comes around, it's no more funny business. Chances are, the second you start college, your life will flip completely. You won't have a reputation there, and you'll find a whole new group of people that you canb relate with. Someone in the group will probably be compatible with you, and little will you know, he will be the guy you're gonna marry. But he could be that exact guy who was a complete idiot in high school, because he knew those were his last years of being a kid." he explained.

"I don't even know what to say to you. No matter what argument I have, you have a response to shut me right up." I laughed, but not because it was funny. Because I was full of questions and I couldn't figure out the answers on my own.

"It's because I've gone through the same things, and I've experienced them myself. What do you know about my background, Em?" he asked.

"Well, you're from Doncaster, and you have an older sister, and your parents are divorced... um..." I thought, realizing that's really all I knew about his personal life.

"I don't tell people much about me because I don't want them to feel sorry for what's gone on in my life. You know me as some silly bloke that got you into a relationship that's left you shattered-"

"No. I know you as an incredible best friend who has sacrificed important times to make sure I feel better, and to help me. You make me laugh, let me cry on your shoulder, and you don't judge me, or anyone, based on how we act or the decisions we've made. You're practicallly perfect, Louis."

"Thanks, but I'm not. I'm so far from perfect. The only reason I don't judge is because if there's anyone who's lived a life like mine, I wouldn't want them to get some of the comments I get. I try to be nice to everyone because if they come from a background like mine, they definitely will take all the happiness they can get. I try to be a friend to everyone because everyone deserves a friend, and I could never have too many."

"What happened to you? What do you mean when you keep referencing your background?" I asked, wanting to be a friend to him as well.

"That's for another time. Just know that life goes on, Em. When you're 83 and you're looking back on your years in life, make sure you're looking back on someone who made society a better place. That's what I aim for, and I realized that boxing myself up because Jen didn't love me the same way I loved her wasn't helping anyone. I read a quote somewhere... 'don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened'." he smiled a little.

"Thanks Louis. You have no idea how much you've helped me in the past 7-8 months." I said, suddenly realizing school was coming to an end within a month or so, and this had been arguably the best year, all because of Louis.

"You've helped me too, Em. I owe you my thanks." he smiled even bigger, giving me a hug. It felt like some spiritual glue held us together, letting the both of us know that even though it seemed like a big part of our life, it's just another step, and it will be just fine.

"Here. I got this for nobody in particular, in the event that I might find someone tonight that was in the same position I was, but I think I've already found her." he pulled out a box from inside his tuxedo that held a corsage. Nothing dramatic, but one beautiful red rose surrounded by tiny little white flowers. He opened it up and secured it on my wrist, smiling back down at me when it was on.

"I wish I'd done the same for you... I feel like an idiot." I sighed, noticing the bare pocket on his chest.

"Nah, don't worry. I think it ruins the manliness." he popped his collar, and posed like an actual idiot, and I laughed harder than I probably needed to.

What I didn't realize at that point in my life is that Louis was honestly the biggest blessing I could have ever asked for. I took his advice to heart, and even when Zayn and Suzie went up to accept their crowns for rightfully winning prom king and queen, I clapped, and hollered for them, because they deserved it. I let any jealousy or anger melt away with each word I spoke to or about them, because deep down, I knew that was the right thing to do.

The night was good, but what I got out of it was priceless.