Judged by a jury of our peers.

We made our way back into the gym, still holding hands. The moment we stepped through the doors, I heard Michael.

“There they are!” He pointed at us from across the room as if he'd just discovered a missing celebrity.

Lyndsay looked over and immediately started laughing.

Michael cupped his hands around his mouth. “EVERYONE! THEY'RE BACK!”

“Shut up!” I called.

“Don't be embarrassed now!” Kat squeezed my hand. “He's never going to let us forget this.”

“Nope.”

Michael jogged over, grinning. “So…”

“No,” I said.

“I didn't even ask anything.”

“You were about to.”

He looked at Kat. Then at me. Then down at our intertwined hands. “Honestly, mate, I think the photographic evidence speaks for itself.”

Kat laughed. “You wanted proof.”

“I did.”

“And now you've got it.”

Michael put a hand dramatically over his heart. “I've never been prouder.”

Lyndsay caught up with him. “Leave them alone.”

“I'm congratulating my friend!”

“You're embarrassing him.”

“That is my role.”

Kat shook her head. “It's fine.”

Michael grinned. “See? She likes me.”

“Don't push your luck,” I told him.

Carla appeared beside Rebecca a moment later. She looked from me to Kat and immediately noticed our hands. “Oh.”

Kat smiled. “Hi.”

Carla's grin grew. “So that's what you two were doing.”

“Nothing,” I said.

Michael snorted. “Nothing?”

Lyndsay elbowed him. “We agreed you were leaving them alone.”

“Right. Right.” Michael took two steps backwards and raised his hands. “I'm gone.”

He wasn't. He was still staring at us.

I laughed and shook my head. Then I noticed the DJ's setup at the far end of the gym.

“Hang on.”

Kat looked at me. “What?”

“I'll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Trust me.”

I made my way towards the DJ. He was standing behind his equipment, scrolling through his playlist.

“Hey.”

He looked up. “What's up?”

“Can I request a few songs?”

He gave me a smile. “Sure. What have you got?”

I pulled out my phone. “She's into a bit of heavier stuff.”

I glanced back towards Kat. She was talking with Carla now, but she noticed me watching her. I smiled and pointed towards the DJ. She raised an eyebrow.

I turned back. “AFI.”

The DJ looked at me. “At a school dance?”

“Yeah.”

He scrolled through his music. “Got it.”

“And maybe some Funeral for a Friend. My Chemical Romance. That sort of thing.”

The DJ laughed. “Okay. I can work with that.”

“Could you do 'Miss Murder' next?”

He looked across the dance floor. “Your girlfriend requested it?”

I glanced back at Kat. Then smiled. “I'm requesting it for her.”

He nodded knowingly. “Gotcha.”

I headed back towards Kat.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“You'll see.”

Before she could ask anything else, the current song faded. The lights shifted. The opening of AFI's "Miss Murder" came through the speakers.

Kat's mouth dropped open. “You did not!”

I grinned. “You said you liked it.”

“I love this song!” She grabbed both my hands. “You actually requested it?”

“Specifically for you.”

Her face lit up. “Come on!”

She pulled me onto the dance floor. The two of us lost ourselves in the song. This wasn't the slow, romantic dancing from earlier. It was energetic, ridiculous and completely us. Kat laughed constantly, throwing herself into the music while I tried to keep up. At one point she grabbed my tie and pulled me closer.

“You are officially forgiven for forgetting the dance.”

“Good.”

“You're still an idiot.”

“Fair.”

When the song ended, Kat was breathless and smiling. “That was perfect.”

“I've got more.”

She stared at me. “You requested more?”

“Maybe.”

The DJ moved through some Funeral for a Friend and My Chemical Romance afterwards, mixing them into the night's playlist.

Kat looked at me like I had somehow just become the most thoughtful person alive. “You really did this just for me.”

“Yeah.”

She reached up and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”

That tiny gesture made my stomach flip.

Then Carla called from behind us. “Get a room!”

Kat turned around. “Jealous?”

“Absolutely not.”

Michael joined in. “She's just bitter because our boy has finally figured out how dating works.”

“Michael!”

“What?”

“Stop talking.”

“Never.”

Everyone laughed.

The teasing was good-natured, though, and somehow that made the whole thing easier. We weren't hiding. We were just two friends who suddenly seemed to have become something more. A few minutes later, an announcement caught our attention.

“The dance photographer is available for couple photographs near the entrance.”

Kat looked at me. “Come on.”

“Again?”

“We need proper ones.”

“Proper?”

She nodded. “The ones from your phone are terrible.”

“They're memorable.”

“They're blurry.”

“That's artistic.”

She grabbed my hand. “Come on.”

We found the photographer near a decorated backdrop. A camera on a tripod stood beside a small posing platform, with several couples already waiting their turn. When it was our turn, Kat immediately straightened her dress and adjusted her hair.

The photographer smiled.

“New couple?”

Kat glanced at me. “Pretty much.”

“Congratulations.”

He gestured for us to stand together. We started with the obvious pose: side by side, smiling at the camera. Then he adjusted us slightly. “Closer.”

Kat moved in against me.

“Perfect.” The camera flashed. “Now, both of you look at each other.”

We turned towards one another. Kat smiled. I smiled back. Another flash.

“Now put your arms around each other.”

My arm settled around her waist. Her hands rested against my chest. Flash.

“Great. And one looking at the camera while the other looks at them.”

We switched. Flash.

“Last one. Something natural.”

Kat looked at me. Then she whispered, “Kiss me.”

I smiled. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

I leaned down. She rose slightly onto her toes. The camera caught us just as our lips met. Flash.

The photographer lowered the camera. “That one might be my favourite.”

Kat looked at the preview screen. Her expression changed. She went quiet for a second. “We actually look like a couple.”

“We are a couple.”

She smiled. “I know.”

The photographer took a few final shots and told us the prints would be available shortly in the coming weeks.

When we walked back into the main part of the gym, Michael spotted us again. “Oh, fantastic.”

“What now?” I asked.

He pointed at Kat's wrist. Then my tie. Then the photographer's station.

“First you two disappeared behind the gym, then you came back holding hands, then you got a private concert, and now you're doing professional couple photos.”

Lyndsay shook his head. “Mate, just accept that they've had a better night than you.”

Michael looked offended. “I'm having a fantastic night.”

“You've spent half of it spying on them.”

“Research.”

Kat laughed.

Carla joined in. “Honestly, you two are disgustingly cute.”

I glanced at Kat.

She looked back at me. “I'm okay with that,” she said.

“So am I.”

Michael put his hands over his ears. “Stop. You're making me sick.”

Lyndsay laughed. “You're just jealous.”

“I'm not jealous.”

“You're absolutely jealous.”

Michael pointed at me. “I'll remember this.”

Over Michael's shoulder, I noticed Rebecca. She was standing beside the drinks table with Carla's place beside her now empty. She had a glass in one hand, but she wasn't drinking from it. She was looking at us. Not staring. Just watching. Her expression was difficult to read. For a second, our eyes met. She gave me a small smile. It was the kind of smile she had given me a thousand times over the years. Familiar. Warm. Almost convincing. Then her eyes dropped to Kat's hand in mine. Her smile faded. Only slightly.

So slightly that I might have imagined it. “Rebecca?” I asked.

She looked back up immediately. “Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Of course.” She gave a tiny laugh and lifted her glass. “I'm happy for you two.”

Kat smiled. “Thanks.”

Rebecca nodded. “Seriously.” She looked at me again. “You two make sense.”

There was something about the way she said it that made the words feel heavier than they should.

Before I could respond, she turned towards the drinks table. “I think I'm going to get some air.”

She started walking towards the side doors. I instinctively took half a step after her. Then I felt Kat's fingers tighten around mine. I looked down at our hands. When I looked back, Rebecca had already disappeared through the doors. I hesitated. But only for a moment.

Kat gave me a small smile. “You can stay.”

“I know.” I squeezed her hand. Then I turned back towards the dance floor.

Michael was already arguing with Lyndsay about something ridiculous, and the DJ was starting another song. Kat pulled me gently towards the music. I let her. Behind us, through the glass of the side doors, I caught one last glimpse of Rebecca standing outside beneath the courtyard lights. Alone. She looked down at her drink. Then out across the darkness. And after a few seconds, she quietly wiped beneath one eye before straightening herself and heading back inside. I didn't see it. By the time I looked again, she was gone.

Inside, I looked around the gym. The music was playing. My friends were laughing. Kat was beside me, her fingers intertwined with mine. I no longer felt like I was waiting for something to happen. Something already had. I looked down at Kat.

She caught me staring. “What?”

“Nothing.”

She smiled. “Good.”