President William McKinley High School, more commonly referred to as McKinley High School, is a comprehensive public high school in the Honolulu District of the Hawaii State Department of Education. It serves grades nine through twelve.

Spencer seemed to be trying, at least for the time being, and the last few weeks had been utterly blissful. At least until Violet discovered Leighton had a date a few days before the dance. She hadn't planned to tell her mother about Spencer just yet, because Violet could be a bit much. Leighton didn't want her mom to scare Spencer because the situation was already delicate enough. To Leighton's dismay, Violet forced her to invite Spencer over for dinner one evening so she could meet him adequately before the dance. Luckily, they hit it off, and surprisingly, Spencer could keep up with Violet's questions and annoying witty ways, even when blazed. Leighton had been impressed.

Leighton's relationship with her mother differed from most mother-and-daughter relationships. Violet was only seventeen when she gave birth to Leighton. So, the two practically grew up together. It could be a blessing and a curse because they have their similarities, but they also have their differences. Violet always did what she thought was best, but sometimes, it came at a cost. Like Spencer, Leighton had her demons. She just chose to carry her trauma differently.

The night had been perfect and was going far better than she had anticipated, even if Spencer didn't spend much time on the dance floor. But he got up and danced with her when it mattered, and that's all Leighton could have asked. So instead, she spent most of the night dancing with Sam and a few other friends while Spencer hung back at the table with Jess, occasionally disappearing for smoke breaks.

After catching Spencer staring a few times, Leighton walked over to him and held out her hand, "C'mon, dance with me. We can sway, it's fine," she assured him. The last thing Leighton was worried about was moving in rhythm to the music. It wasn't a dance competition. "Please," she begged, sticking out her bottom lip and wiggling her hand. When he finally agreed, her excitement was evident.

Once on the dance floor, they turned towards each other. Leighton rested one hand on the lower part of his neck and placed the other on one of his shoulders. She could feel herself melting into him as they swayed back and forth. She had an overwhelming amount of emotions when it came to Spencer. "See, not so bad," Leighton grinned.

Dances usually weren't Jess' thing, but since Sam wanted to go and Spencer had already asked Leighton, he figured it might not be that bad, and it wasn't. So he let Sam dance her heart away while he sat at the table chilling with Spencer and playing on his phone. "Shit. My phone's about to die," he frowned, hitting the home button before shoving it back into his pocket.

The dance wasn't the only thing Jess had planned for tonight. His parents were out of town, and his older sister was staying with her boyfriend for the weekend, so he had the house to himself. If his phone died, Jess couldn't make the final preparations. Some may say Jess partied too hard, but he was only trying to live his best life. Not many people could say they grew up in literal paradise.

"So, how's it going with Leighton?" Jess had heard bits and pieces from what Leighton told Sam, but they hadn't talked much about it. "You seem happier. Which is nice to see," he expressed to his best friend. They didn't have many, but they had their sentimental moments, and this was one of them. "I can't tell you the last time I've seen you smile as much as you have tonight. It's a good look on you, dude, for real."

After Leighton came over and pulled Spencer onto the dance floor, Jess followed suit and went to find his girlfriend. Once finding her, he slipped his arms around her from behind and pulled her body back against his. "Hi, my beautiful Valentine," Jess whispered into her ear before turning her around to face him. "How's my girl?" he asked, moving strands of hair out of her face. Luckily Hailie didn't go forward with pressing any charges. It was most likely because she knew she was the instigator, and it may not have worked out the way she wanted it to.

Jess had Sam's Valentine's Day present in his pocket. It was a simple white gold heart necklace. He thought about waiting until after the dance, but he was impatient because he was excited to give it to her. Jess spent some of his savings, but she was worth it and deserved something nice on their first Valentine's Day as an official couple.

Sam really didn't know how she had managed to get off without any repercussions for beating up Hailie, but she was considering it a win and moving on. An added perk: Hailie was far too afraid to harass Sam now, so she no longer had to deal with that bullshit either. Sam was free to date Jess in peace now.

Normally she'd rather celebrate anti-valentines or galentines instead, but this dance was actually proving to be quite fun, despite her impulsive last-minute decision to wear what was probably the most uncomfortable dress she owned. Still, she was making it work and having a blast with her friends. Watching as Leighton went off to get Spencer, Sam continued dance with their other friends. She'd been keeping her eye on Jess, just to make sure that no dumb bimbos tried to talk to him, but she wasn't going to force him onto the floor. He was dressed up, he was here, she was happy.

Still, it brought a smile to Sam's face when he snuck up behind her. It was wild to her to think how much could change in a year. If she could go back in time to last year and tell herself that she'd be falling for Jess, past Sam would probably laugh in her face. But here she was, falling hard for her best guy friend. "I'm a million times better now that you're here." Her hands joined together on the back of his neck, and she began swaying with him as she stared up at him adoringly. "Thank you again for bringing me tonight. I hope you're having some fun because if you aren't, we could totally spice things up. We could sneak off and find a classroom to make out in or I bet someone here smuggled in some of their parent's booze, just gotta sniff them out."

Was Sam trying a little too hard? Maybe but Jess had been treating her like a princess ever since they'd become official, and he deserved to be taken care of as well.

Spencer didn't understand what it was with girls and their strange obsession with dressing up. The clothes were uncomfortable, the dudes all looked like they were a part of some cult with their matching outfits, and to him it all seemed like more trouble than it was really worth. Leighton did look extra gorgeous too so maybe it wasn't all bad. Thankfully, she didn't even mind that he was stoned off his ass either. Probably because he'd managed to still make it through dinner with her mom without screwing things up.

Spending most of the actual dance people watching while Jess played on his phone, Spencer found his gaze landing on Leighton most of all. There were plenty of pretty girls here and he knew that if he wanted to, he could seduce a fair share of them. Hell, he already had done just that. He'd never actually been insecure about his body count until he started trying this whole exclusivity with Leighton. It could sometimes be awkward encountering exes when he was with her. Spencer squinted at his friend once he started talking to him again. "What?" he paused before his brain finally registered what had been said to him. "Oh right, she's amazing." he admitted, trying to play it cool. His friend knew him though, Jess could already see the signs of how much Spencer liked Leighton.

"I think you might be setting the bar too high for me though. Think you can tone it down with this whole perfect boyfriend thing?" he joked just before Leighton joined them at the table. "Hey. Uh..." he cleared his throat and loosened his tie slightly. "Yes, I can't say no to that cute face. Let's go." Spencer patted Jess on the back as he stood up. "See you later, lover boy." He took her hand and followed her out to the floor, his eyes locked on her the entire time.

One of Spencer's hands rested on her hip while the other one made its way to the small of her back and held her in close. "Nope. Not bad at all." Spencer smiled back. Swaying in silence for a moment before he finally spoke up again. "You having a good time? I mean, it looks like you are but is it everything you ever hoped for?" Spencer hoped that didn't sound too snarky. It was easy flirting with girls that he didn't care about but it was different with Leighton. He liked her more than he'd liked any girl and he constantly found himself feeling like an idiot when he was around her.

Leighton leaned in and kissed his beautiful luscious lips, which were softer than she had imagined. Then, pulling away, Leighton looked back at him adoringly. "It's better than what I hoped for," she clarified. "It's been perfect. You've been perfect. You've treated me like a princess, not just tonight, but for a few weeks now. I've been on Cloud 9." Leighton paused, wondering how much she wanted him to know. She didn't want to scare him away with her emotions. "Sometimes when we're together I have to pinch myself just to make sure this is real and not some crazy dream I'm having," she giggled.

As they continued to sway and rotated in a circle at their rhythm, Leighton looked down, suddenly feeling overwhelmed after noticing a previous flame of Spencer's was staring at her. It hadn't happened often, but it wasn't the first time tonight she had caught one of his ex's giving her the death stare. Leighton wouldn't have been surprised if he had told all his future conquests that Leighton was just a friend to avoid the conflict, but now here they were. She didn't know for sure, but that was the scenario her brain had constructed in the last hour or so.

Trying to calm herself down without Spencer noticing her going into panic mode, Leighton broke the silence. "Oh, I forgot to ask, how'd you do on your test?" Leighton had been helping him pull up the grades he had let slip at the beginning of the semester, which was pretty bad considering the new semester only started in January.

Jess slipped his arms around her slim frame, unable to erase the smile on his face. "Oh, babe, you don't have to thank me. I'm just doing my duty as a boyfriend," he chuckled. "I wanna make you happy, and if coming to the dance was going to make you happy, then we go to the dance," Jess shrugged. It seemed like a no-brainer to him.

"I'm having a great time! " Looking down at Sam, he chuckled, "That sounds amazing," he started to shake his head, "It's not necessary, though." As great as it was to be able to kiss and have sex with Sam whenever he wanted, he didn't want that to be the essence of their new relationship. Instead, they needed to be friends just as much as they needed to be lovers. Otherwise, Jess felt like their relationship wasn't going to work. "But if you want alcohol," Jess reached into the inner pocket of his vest and pulled out his flask. "I got this?" Jess said, tilting it back and forth.

After revealing it to Sam, Jess slipped the flask back into his vest pocket. Jess knew he had to be careful. He pulled down Sam's arms before taking one of his hands in hers and guiding her to an exit. As the pair made their way through the crowd, he quickly reconsidered his decision and moved Sam in front of him. Sam looked fucking gorgeous tonight, and he didn't trust the scumbags in their school not to get handsy.

The thought hadn't been original because groups of their classmates were already mingling across the green grass. So he carefully picked a spot for them to sit, somewhat secluded and away from other people. When he finally decided, Jess took out the flask, handing it off to Sam before taking off his vest and laying it on the grass for her to sit on. He hadn't thought this out because he would've brought a blanket if he had. Jess sat on the edge of his vest and patted the open spot between his legs. "Let's be corny and look at the stars," he chuckled, looking up at her.

Spencer just smiled at her as she rambled on about how happy she was. There was a little sparkle in her eye as she spoke, it was cute. It also felt amazing knowing that he helped caused it, but he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He'd been doing so well; it was only a matter of time before he fucked it up one way or another. "Good, I'm glad." he told her. "I was a jackass before. I should have been treating you like this the whole time."

With his eyes so focused on her, it had been hard not to notice her shift in mood. His eyes darted over in the direction she'd been looking, and it took him a moment, but he finally spotted the death glare. Returning with his own look of disgust before slowing then stopping the rotation once Leighton's back was to his ex. He didn't want to draw any extra attention to the situation than he needed to, but he was going to find his own ways to protect her from it. At least, as much as he could anyway. Spencer hoped that she hadn't had her own 'Hailie' tormentor that she wasn't telling him about because he had zero clue about how to ask her that. He was really banking on Sam or Jess telling him if that were the case and so far, they hadn't.

Spencer stared at her blankly for a few moments when she asked him about the test. They were already spending their free time inside the school, last thing he wanted to be talking about was school. "We'll find out Monday... but I have this hot tutor that has been helping me and she's also super smart, so I'm sure I killed it." Spencer smirked and winked at her. His problems at school were most definitely a result of his mental state and not his intelligence. Yeah, he certainly wasn't an AP type of kid, but he wasn't a complete moron either. He just seemed to have a hard time caring about school anymore. Or maybe it was a cry for help. Spencer figured his new therapist would tell him soon enough what his problem was.

The hand on her hip made its way up to her chin and lifted her face to meet his more so he could kiss her again. Spencer couldn't think of anything to say so he figured he would do what he knew best. His other hand pulled her in closer, so their bodies were pressed against each other as she kissed. Kissing her passionately enough to make her forget about the haters but not so much that they drew the attention of any adults, he found himself getting just as lost in the kiss.

"You weren't a jackass, Spence," Leighton disagreed. "You're a hot teenage boy, who likes many girls, and many girls like you," she started, giving Spencer the benefit of the doubt. "And I don't fault you for that," Leighton added. "I had hoped one day you would come around and see how great we could be together, and you did," she shrugged. "And it's not like we don't have things in common. Like, we both have family issues. You got trauma, I got trauma," she said comically to keep the conversation light-hearted. "I often wondered about the what if's, and now I don't have to anymore." Leighton quickly wondered if she overshared too much.

She placed one of her hands on the side of his face and pushed it gently to look back at her when she saw Spencer shoot looks in a familiar direction. "Stop. It's not that serious," she tried to assure him for both their sakes. "I'm fine. It's okay," Leighton added, moving her hand back to the nape of his neck. Unlike Sam, she wasn't an aggressive person. Leighton wanted to enjoy the dance without worrying about getting into a fight.

Leighton immediately started to blush after Spencer began to compliment her. She covered her face with both her hands. "I hate when you do this to me," Leighton said, a bit muffled. Then, after a moment, she pulled her hands away from her face and sighed. "Sorry. I'm still not used to all of this." When they were together, he often did and said things that made it feel like her whole brain dropped right out of her head.

When Spencer kissed her, she instantly closed her eyes, feeling her body loosen up. Her stomach felt full of fluttery butterflies, and her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest any minute when he deepened their kiss. She moved one of her hands to the back of Spencer's head while the other cupped the side of his face. Leighton pulled away briefly, opening her eyes to find Spencer staring back at her. She smiled before flirtatiously brushing her nose against his and kissing him again.

Sam had witnessed Jess be a boyfriend in the past and she definitely ganged up with Spencer to tease him about how soft and sweet he was whenever his girlfriends were around. But now? She was the girlfriend; all the sweet things were for her and it was making it hard not to fall head over heels for him. "I know that your parents are like relationship goals so you were raised right, but they aren't all like you. Thanks to you being amazing, I don't have personal experience, but there are a lot of boyfriends who don't even do the bare minimum." Sam peered down at the flask he held between them then back up at him and her smile turned much more mischievous. "Yay! Yes please."

Once outside, Sam clung onto his arm until they found their spot and he handed her the booze. Unscrewing the cap as she watched him get positioned on the ground, she built her bottom lip and tilted her head to the side. The pat on his vest snapped her out of her fantasies, she shook her head and smiled at him. Looking down at her short dress, then back at him, she let out a fake laugh. "That's a good one. I'll just stand here and let you stare at me. That seems easier." She paused to strike a couple poses before continuing. "Just kidding. Give me a moment to get down there."

Taking a quick swig off the flask, she cringed then shivered as the liquor burned its way down her throat, then she handed it to him and got to work on sitting in front of him without exposing her underwear to everyone. She'd bought those with the intention of Jess being the one to see them. 'I should have just stuck with the boring pink dress, but nooooo I just had to be flashy!' Sam finally got herself between her legs and she slightly leaned into him, trying her best not to hurt him with all the gems on her dress. "Do me a favor and remind me to burn this dress." Sam joked; she wasn't going to burn it, but she definitely would be getting rid of it after tonight though.

Sam tilted her head back until it rested on his shoulder, and she stared up at the night sky. This whole night had been special, but this moment right here was shaping up to be her favorite of the night. "You seriously are the best boyfriend ever."