Will didn’t remember when the sparkle in her brown eyes first captivated him. He didn’t remember when he first spoke to her, nor the first time he heard her laughter sing in his ears. He didn’t remember the first time her silky black hair brushed across his cheek, nor did he remember any other moment that should be set in a crush’s memory. Yet there he was, spending his Monday night laying on his bed with only her on his mind.

A sappy song, complete with acoustic guitar and xylophone, played from his laptop. “I’m thinking about you-oo-oo. I hope you’re thinking of me too-oo-oo.”

Will stared at his ceiling, lost in thought. He and Rose had known each other for just over four months. In that span, they had gone from being just classmates for two periods to being nearly inseparable. They spent most of their free time with each other, albeit surrounded by mutual friends.

For instance, there was the time he played “Ho Hey” on his ukulele as she sat with him in the open trunk of his car. The others gathered and sang along, beginning the tradition of “trunk jam sessions.” Then there was the case they saw a movie downtown, when he almost got his face stuck in a popcorn tub as she sneakily rested her head on his shoulder. And earlier that night they had spent two hours in a Skype call. Their discussions about everything and nothing made for the best hours of his day.

Laying there, Will found himself thinking back to his previous experiences with girls. ‘Remember when you were too scared to ask Helen out for nearly two years? Man, you were clueless.’ Middle school had its moments, but he began improving through high school. In freshman year, Will’s cheeks no longer reddened when he talked to girls. By junior year, conversations and friendly hugs were no big deal. Although memories of tragic social ineptitude sometimes flooded his psyche and he still occasionally had awkward moments, like when he had the daft sense of making a poop joke while chatting with the cute ASB Secretary Jaimie (she wasn’t amused, so he slinked away when she turned to greet a friend), he felt better about his social life.

But senior year had presented his greatest challenge: a seventeen-year-old girl who actually seemed to look at him in a like-like kind of way. With a deep, contemplative breath, Will scrolled once more through his texts with Sara, a friend who happened to be close with Rose.

“so, prom is coming up. do you like anyone?,” one message said. “maybe someone you talk to a lot, whose name starts with ‘R’, rhymes with ‘hose’?” Often, he shyly grinned as he replied, “Idk, perhaps....”

Exchanges continued over the weeks, and it was apparent Sara was trying to break through Will’s indecision and introversion. “she likes you a lot,” read a text from that afternoon. “like alloott. yall seem cute together. ask her. she will say ‘hell yeah’.”

Will chuckled at this. The idea that a girl was that interested him was new. He scratched his head to help the information soak in. The longer he lay, the more he debated his options.

‘What do I do now?’

‘Well, it’s obvious what I do now. I ask Rose to Prom.’

‘But, but… What if she says no?’

‘You know there’s no chance of that. You see it in the way she talks to you, the way she smiles.’

‘Yeah, I know…’

‘Then what are you waiting for?’

The truth was that Will didn’t know the answer to that question. What he did know was that he and Rose were at the point where going on a date wouldn’t be just going on a date—it would be the beginning of something more. This frightened him. He wasn’t scared of having a girlfriend, but he did have a fear of the unknown. ‘I’ll suck as a boyfriend. I won’t know what to do. What if she doesn’t like me after all?’ These thoughts haunted him.

Will snapped out of his trance, turned off the music, and rolled over to sleep. Answers would have to be found some other day.


One week later—three and a half weeks until Prom—Will arrived at school for a new day. So far, had successfully managed to avoid any interrogations from Sara.

“Hey, man,” Sara called out from her front-row seat as she saw Will trudge through the doorway of their first period physics class.

“Wassup?”

“Not much,” Will groggily replied. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed a chair as the bell echoed in both halls and heads.

The class dragged on, and Will could barely keep focus on Mr. Kobalt’s lesson. Eventually, the bell rang again and class was dismissed.

‘Finally,’ Will thought, heading for the door. He looked forward to his next class since he sat next to Rose.

Next thing he knew, a round of applause filled the air. Will looked around. At the front of the room, he saw a boy offer Sara a box of chocolates.

“Would you like to go to Prom with me?” Paul, the quiet kid who sat in the back, shyly squeaked.

Elated, Sara’s eyes widened. “Awww! Definitely!”

They both smiled. Will joined the rest of his classmates in clapping. He was happy for Sara, who was not expecting anyone to ask her to the dance, much less someone to whom she barely spoke. However, his mind was reeling.

‘That guy barely knows anything about her! How can he just take a chance like that!’ Will was taken aback by Paul’s courage, and a small sense of embarrassment crept into his thoughts. ‘I’ve known Rose for four months now, and I haven’t even done anything. What’s wrong with me?!?’

The sense of urgency grew stronger. ‘You know what you gotta do, man. Just do it. You know Rose wants you to. You know you want to ask her more than anything. If Paul can do it, you can do it. It won’t hurt just to take a chance.’ He walked to his literature class, stuck in his mental track.

“Boo!”

Will’s train of thought derailed and he jumped in surprise. He turned to face the culprit. There stood Rose, delighted at his reaction. His shock gave way to giggles. As he smiled, his heart fluttered.

“Ha-ha. Scared ya,” she teased. “Howzit goin’?”

“Even better now,” Will beamed. He always loved their playfulness, and this came at the perfect time—his decision was now sealed. “I have a question for you.”

“Oh?” Rose inquired, raising one of the pointy brows on her freckled face.

‘Hold on!’ screamed the back of Will’s mind. ‘Not yet! I got a plan!’

‘I have a plan?’

‘Trust me. Boy, do I have a plan.’

“Umm...” he paused. “If pigs can’t fly, how come swine flu?” He immediately facepalmed at the sheer stupidity of his cover-up response. Fortunately, Rose laughed at the pun and remained oblivious to the fact that she soon would have a date. They walked into the class and continued their day without issue.

Will dedicated the following couple of nights to orchestrating his plan. ‘Rose has waited for too long,’ he thought. ‘She definitely deserves something special.’

Pieces were falling into place. Will picked up his ukulele and practiced chord patterns. Rose had sent him a song, entitled Beautiful Escape, a few weeks ago, stating that it was her favorite. It perfectly described how he felt about her. As the hours passed, Will’s fingers learned their positioning and the lyrics imprinted themselves into his memory. Driven by a motivation he never had before, Will prepared himself for his greatest performance.

‘I hope she’ll like it.’
‘No, she’ll love it.’


It was a Thursday. The sun shone down on the school’s back parking lot as Will’s friends assembled by their cars, where they normally ate lunch. Among them was Rose, who still suspected nothing.

Will reached into his trunk and pulled out his ukulele. Two friends grabbed the assortment of balloons and another brought over a box of fresh chocolate chip cookies. While they all snuck up behind Rose, whom Sara had been distracting with ramblings about taco salad, all Will could notice was how beautiful she was. ‘Well, here I go.’
“Hey, Rose?” He timidly tapped on her shoulder. “I have a song for you.”

She looked at him curiously, and he began playing. It then occurred to her that something was happening; she saw the balloons floating above him, and the anticipation on the faces of the dozen people surrounding them. Even the lyrics he sang were different—they weren’t like the normal radio songs he usually rocked to.

“And somehow this is not the way I planned it,” he sang. “I didn’t think I’d need someone right now. Then there was you.”

Will could hardly contain his joy as he watched her hands move to her mouth, covering her own emotional smile. ‘You got this, man. This is going perfectly! Keep it together, though.’ His excitement caused him to stumble over the words, but he pressed on.

“Let’s get away from here,” he continued. “Away to a universe that’s not so close, my dear. And in my arms, you’ll stay. Amazing how you take my breath away.” As the song ended, he added a cheesy, modified final line: “Will you go to Prom with me in twenty-two days.”

The strumming faded and the parking lot went silent. Will barely had time to look up before he found Rose’s arms wrapped around him.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Of course! Yes!” Then, before he could say anything, Will felt her soft lips press against his. Startled, he blinked his eyes. His suspicions were confirmed: the face of his dream girl was less than an inch away from his, and they were kissing. Relief and pride nearly made him melt as his friends cheered.

‘I actually did it! I actually did it!’ The weight of all of the horribly awkward conversations and cowardice actions in Will’s life lifted from his shoulders. He now had a clean slate, a fresh start, a new life to enjoy with Rose. He had no clue where this path would take him, but the destination wasn’t important; all that mattered was her by his side.

“Took you long enough!” said Sara jokingly. She passed the cookies around and the regular lunchtime atmosphere settled. Will and Rose ate like they usually did—sitting on the hood of his car. The only difference was that his free hand gently rested on hers.