Pierce posted the pictures of him and me late that night—since I was already following the Golden Boys (since eighth grade), I got the notification the moment there was a new post. Until then, there were only a ton of pictures of Matteo and Thea, Shane, and occasionally Tom and Julie. There were also group pictures of all of them from a few months ago, I wonder why I didn't see it. I wouldn't have been so nervous about Thea seeing Pierce then if I'd known they'd met up as friends quite often.

But the picture that held my interest now was the one of me and Pierce.

Me and my babydoll. Best time of my life. That was the caption Pierce had put under it, with five red hearts. Made me squeal in delight. He was so unbelievably sweet! I knew he put that in for me to see.

I was the first one to like it. I didn't want to leave any comments because we had to keep everyone in suspense—but in a few minutes, I saw Matteo and Thea like it and leave comments each.

That's my cousin. Looking good, Matteo wrote, with a sunglasses emoji. Thea wrote an extremely long 'EEEEEEEEEEEK!' and five exclamation marks with two party emojis. Pretty soon even their friends Shane, Tom and Julie commented.

Hot ham and cheese, my mate's got a mate! Good on ya! Shane said. He sounded like an Australian, it made me laugh.

Congratulations, Amb! Julie wrote with a kissy face emoji. Tom sent two thumbs-up emojis shortly after that. Within seconds, my own friends liked the picture and left comments.

YOU GO GIRL, Haruko wrote with a smirking emoji.

I've never seen a more perfect couple, Cassie said with two crying emojis. Aww, I gotta cheer her up tomorrow, I knew she was still feeling let down about not having a date.

Well, at least my secret was out. I shut off my phone quickly after that before I felt compelled to read the string of comments that started pouring in from everyone at school. Tomorrow, everyone else could wait till tomorrow.

~

I woke up bright and early after a great night's sleep—guess it was relieving knowing my secret was out. I wondered what everyone was thinking now—'Amber Gardener's dating the TA?!' will surely be the first thing on everyone's minds. However, that wasn't my concern. I'd barely finished brushing my teeth when Thea arrived and came running upstairs as I got out of the bathroom. She hugged me tight, squealing.

"Ahhh, I'm so happy for you, sis!" She exclaimed excitedly with a broad smile. "What made you decide to go public?"

"It was long overdue," I said with my impish smile, hiding the real reason. "So, are you gonna help me get ready for Homecoming or what?"

"I came all the way from New York for it, of course I'm helping you get ready!" Thea squealed, pulling me downstairs. She and Mom began working on me after breakfast—Mom put her hair-styling skills to good use doing my hair, giving me a trim so that I now had side swept bangs and adding in a few golden streaks. She said I was old enough for them now—I loved them.

Thea helped me with a face mask while doing my nails in silver with colored rhinestones—they glittered as much as the dress I bought. By evening, I was so ready for Homecoming.

I got a text from Pierce as I was putting on my earrings—he said he'd be over any minute to pick me up. I smiled to myself and sent him five hearts—yeah, I loved him like crazy.

I had asked him if he could wear something lilac to match with me—he promised he would. I couldn't wait to walk through the doors of the auditorium on his arm as an official couple!

"Amb, you ready? Pierce will be here any min—oh, my, gosh." Thea entered my room and paused with her jaw hanging open when she saw me. I smiled and did a little twirl.

"Do I look alright?" I asked. She wiped fake tears from her eyes.

"I've never been so proud to see my baby sister dressed to the nines in femininity! C'mere!" She hugged me delicately so as to not ruin my outfit. She then grabbed my perfume bottle off the dressing table and began spraying me excessively.

"Hey! I already put a little!" I laughed. She shook her head solemnly.

"Trust me, guys love it when we smell like flowers. Matteo can't stop kissing me when I spritz all over." I giggled, blushing. I imagined Pierce 'kissing me all over' while inhaling my scent... oh heck, I'd probably be far too intoxicated by him far before he even sniffs me.

"AHHH! He's here!" Thea squealed when the doorbell rang. I rolled my eyes in amusement—Thea could be so dramatic. She practically dragged me downstairs—I had to cling to the staircase railing so I wouldn't fall on my new, studded stilettos—as a tomboy who lived in sneakers her whole life, I'd never worn heels before. But as I came downstairs and my eyes fell on the most gorgeous guy in the world, all my attention turned to him and I forgot my footwear. My mouth filled up with saliva and I almost drooled—holy smokes, my boyfriend was illegally too hot.

Pierce wore a black silk tux that shimmered in the light, a glossy lilac tie and shiny black moccasins. When he met my eyes, they went wide in awe—still, he couldn't have been as awestruck as I was. He smiled dreamily at me while I was still tryna break the hypnotic trance he'd put me under.

"Amber... babydoll... wow..." Was all he breathed as I came close to him. I smiled shyly at him, on the verge of swooning to the floor.

"You look—amazing," I said, after searching my head for a decent superlative adjective and coming up with just 'amazing'. Ugh, he rendered me speechless, he was so darn hot.

"You both do," Thea said excitedly, snapping candid pictures of us with her phone.

"You two are gonna win the couple-of-the-year award for sure," Matteo said with a grin. Matteo was here too? I hadn't even seen him arrive, I was so fixated on my own golden boy.

"Thanks for matching with me," I whispered sweetly to Pierce. "I love the tie." He smiled.

"No problem. But your outfit is not quite complete—yet." He pulled a little box out of nowhere and I gasped—inside was a beautiful, purple and white flower I'd never seen before.

"Your corsage, babydoll," Pierce said, lifting my wrist to tie it on.

"It's beautiful! What is it?" I asked in wonder.

"A passion flower," Pierce replied with an ardent gaze on me. "To represent the love I have for my beautiful babydoll. Because there's only one girl I'm passionate about." Don't cry, Amber, don't you dare cry and ruin the twenty minutes' worth of eyeshadow you've got on! Pierce's confession made me tear up so much that I had to blink furiously to prevent the tears from ruining my makeup.

"Oh, crud, tears..." I mumbled, laughing and crying simultaneously. "Thank you, Pierce, I love you." I hugged him and felt him chuckle.

"That was only part one of the gift I got you," he said in my ear. I withdrew and looked at him inquiringly. He pulled out another smaller box in black velvet.

"That flower won't last past tonight," he said, "but this one should." He opened the box and I gasped again. Inside was a glittering, purple pendant on a silver necklace, a replica of the passion flower on my wrist! Oh, it was magnificent, my first real gift from Pierce!

"I wanted you to have something of your own from me," he whispered. I knew where that came from. This was Pierce's gift to me, not Thea. I knew he wanted me to feel special, it touched my heart all the more.

"Happy Homecoming, sweetheart," he said, going behind me and putting the necklace on for me. EEEK, glad I decided not to wear a necklace—now I got the perfect one. I turned around once he had put it on me and hugged him so tight I almost crinkled his suit.

"Thank you, Pierce," I whispered with all my heart.

"You're welcome, babydoll," Pierce whispered back, pecking my cheek. I heard applause behind us—my parents, Thea and Matteo were all clapping. Whoops, forgot we had an audience. I giggled, pink in the cheeks.

"Photo time!" Thea declared.

"My baby girl is all grown up..." Mom started blubbering. Even Dad violently blew his nose in his handkerchief, a sigh that he had teared up. Thea groaned.

"Mom, Dad, don't cry right before the photos! You can cry afterward!" She grumbled. I laughed. This was gonna be one of the best nights of my life.

After a long photo session with everyone, Pierce escorted me to his car.

"Have a great time, you guys!" Thea called from the door, waving wildly with Matteo beside her. He gave a victorious whistle and I laughed as Pierce drove us off, off to Homecoming.

"Honestly, I didn't realize I was taking Cindy Crawford to the Homecoming dance," Pierce said huskily when we were alone in the car.

"Who?" I asked blankly. Pierce laughed.

"Alright, Kendall Jenner."

"But who's Cindy Crawford?" I asked.

"A nineties supermodel, she was the hottest female back then, according to my mom," Pierce explained with a smirk. "Which is why I compared her to the supermodel sitting beside me." I was so glad the car was dark because my face went red as a pomegranate.

"Oh, I see," I mumbled demurely. Pierce patted my bare knee.

"So, you ready to face the music tonight, babydoll?"

"Of course, I can't wait to dance with you!" I replied enthusiastically. Pierce laughed.

"I meant about going public with me. The wolves will be waiting for fresh meat, you know." I giggled hard at that, I found it funny more than intimidating.

"Yeah, I know."

"You liked my post last night?" Pierce asked with a glance at me. I simply leaned over and kissed his cheek in response.

"It should be Instagram's top trending post for the next few weeks," I said with a smile. Pierce smirked mischievously.

"I wouldn't be so sure... tonight's gonna top it." Of course, we would take a couple picture of us at Homecoming—that should top it for sure.

"I'm guessing you didn't read the comments..." Pierce continued. I shook my head.

"Not apart from our friends' comments. I'm not interested in what the whole school thinks."

"Good, because some of them said their brains broke on finding out about us," Pierce said and we both laughed. Who cares if people were shocked that I'm dating the TA? Not me. I was gonna debut with the hottest man on the planet beside me, jaws were gonna drop like hot potatoes tonight. And I was looking forward to it.

~

https://youtu.be/S1mFBm7NYVw

"OH. MY. FREAKING. GOSH." Yeah, that was the response that fell out of Vera Wallis's mouth the moment Pierce and I arrived. As we walked through the entrance with intertwined arms, everyone's tennis-ball eyes were on us and their jaws were on the floor, as I'd predicted. Ha, their reaction amused me. I smiled, continuing to walk with my head held high. How could I not be confident with the sexiest golden boy by my side?

We took a couple-picture in front of the glittery painted backdrop set up for the photo wall before strolling into the auditorium. The place held my attention for a whole minute before it reverted back to Pierce—it was fabulous! Glittery drapes hung everywhere, sparkly lights glowed from every inch of the ceiling, cutout fashion silhouettes covered every blank wall, and a platform was set up to look like a real runway with a red carpet running down it. Girls were modeling for fun on it while posing with their dates as photographers took pictures—but everyone's smiles turned to gapes as they caught sight of me and Pierce. Yep, our picture together from last night had broken the internet.

"Amb! Yoo-hoo!" Cassie called out to me from the crowd. She and Haruko came over to me with broad beams on their faces.

"Hey guys, you look amazing!" I said in admiration. Cassie was sure to win the Homecoming crown looking like that—she was gorgeous! So was Haruko in her punk-rock, goth-chic style.

"Not as much as you, you're turning heads, Amb." Haruko winked and gave me a double-point.

"And guess what?" Cassie asked me excitedly. "I got ninety-five votes, I think I really will become Homecoming queen!"

"I know you will, Cass!" I said enthusiastically, thrilled for her.

"But the award ceremony can wait, looks like you gotta deal with the paparazzi first," Haruko muttered, just as the crowd started mobbing around me and Pierce like we were celebrities, throwing questions at us. I felt Pierce squeeze my hand reassuringly before facing everyone.

https://youtu.be/IUqP1xzRZkw

"Amber, is it true that you're going out with Mr. Hartman?"

"You're seriously dating the TA?!"

"Does this mean you and Trey are over?"

"Have you been cheating on Trey with the TA this whole time?" Ugh, I resent that! How the heck did they arrive at that conclusion?!

"Please, it's a classic, fake-relationship scenario," Vera Wallis spoke up loud and clear in scorn, making her way to the front. "She's obviously pretending to date him so she can get her grade up." EXCUSE ME?!

"How dare you?!" I flared up at her. Pierce hushed me, whispering 'Let me handle this' before Vera scoffed out a 'Ha!', tittering in disdain.

"Oh, please, like you have a chance with the TA! Come clean, Amber, You plotted this whole little ruse to try and cover up your smutty relationship with Trey Russo. It's shameful, really. And then you go and photoshop pictures of you and Hartman on Instagram—"

"Miss Wallis, I'm standing right here," Pierce interjected in a menacing, authoritative voice. "And I don't take kindly to people mudslinging my girlfriend." Gasps went up from the crowd when he said 'girlfriend'.

"Give it up, Mr. Hartman, we all know you're not really dating Amber Gardener," Vera laughed brashly and a few people joined in. "It's just a ruse Amber paid you in some way to try and pull." Did she seriously just undermine his authority and forget who he is?

"You seem to have forgotten I'm still a teacher," Pierce exhaled with evident condescension, pressing his temple with his fingers, "and for defamation of character, you'll be spending all of next week in detention, Miss Wallis." Louder gasps went up from the crowd. Haruko held up two rock-and-roll signs with her hands, yelling, 'Burn!' in Vera's face. I giggled.

"Wha—no, you can't do that!" Vera exclaimed in dismay, suddenly losing all her bravado. Pierce smirked.

"I can and just did. And I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself if you don't want a suspension next. Now if everyone will excuse me, I'm going to dance with my girlfriend." And with that, Pierce swept me off to the dance floor as Haruko and Cassie started clapping. I laughed as the volume of the music which had dimmed during that confrontation rose again.

"Told you I'd handle it," Pierce said quietly only for me to hear with a tender smile. I smiled back, shifting closer to press against his body as we started to sway together.

"My hero," I said, hugging him. He chuckled.

"Now what do you say we make memories?" He asked me. I nodded, curious about what he meant. He turned to the DJ.

"Hey, DJ, mind playing that special number?" He hollered. The DJ saluted him and changed the song—and I squealed.

https://youtu.be/gUkce2dHYo0

"Ahhh! It's our song!" I said excitedly as a rendition of 'I Love You Baby' based on Frank Sinatra's original track lilted out of the speakers. Pierce smiled warmly at me.

"Naturally," he replied, "it's my song dedicated to you, babydoll. I wanna dance to it with you."

"You had it all prepared in advance?" I asked with shining eyes. Pierce inclined his head with a gentle nod.

"For my babydoll, of course." There goes my heart, flapping away to heaven again. Pierce spun me around, twirling me like we'd rehearsed dancing together. Whoa, he was quite a dancer! A lot of people stopped dancing and cleared to floor to simply stand aside and watch us. And with the spotlight on us, it felt like we were the only two people in the world.

"I love you babydoll," Pierce sang softly along with the chorus, making me smile widely.

"I love you too, Pierce," I said happily, resting my head on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heart. Just before the song ended, he withdrew, gave me an intense gaze, and lowered his lips between mine, capturing me in a slow, sultry kiss. Whoops and applause rose from the crowd, the loudest among them from Haruko and Cassie—Pierce had kissed me in front of the whole school! And he didn't stop—he deepened the kiss, cupping my face in his hands and savoring me for a few moments before withdrawing with an exhilarated look on his face.

"C'mon, let's go finish this in private," he said roguishly, making my heart race a mile a minute. He took my hand and led me away through the parting crowd. He stopped only so we could grab a couple glasses of sparkling punch before continuing outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked with a thrill of excitement as he led me through the dark hallways of the school before going upstairs.

"Somewhere we won't be disturbed," he replied suavely. We finally arrived at the rooftop—and gosh, the view was worth coming up here! The night sky was a sight to behold with the full moon above us and a few flecks of stars dotting the place.

"It's beautiful," I breathed as we sat down on a nearby bench.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Pierce replied. When I turned to him though, his eyes weren't on the sky. They were on me. He'd meant that compliment for me... I blushed, smiling.

"Are you okay, babydoll?" Pierce asked gently. "That was a pretty rough ordeal to go through—can't have been easy hearing all that stuff they said about you."

"I'm alright," I assured him with a content smile, "I was with you after all. I'm not worried as long as you're with me, Pierce." He smiled, looking more relaxed.

"I underestimated you... You're stronger than I thought, sweetheart, I'm glad," he said, sipping his punch. I giggled.

"Yeah, a lot of people tend to do that." I turned to admire the sky while I finished my punch. Then I set it down and cleared my throat.

"So, what did you plan to do with me now that you've got me alone up here?" I asked playfully. Pierce downed his punch in one last gulp and gave me that familiar, seductive smirk.

"You're about to find out." He flung his cup to the ground and grabbed me by the waist, yanking me flush against his body. I gasped in laughter at his urgency but had no time to talk as he had crushed his lips against mine. I hummed contently, throwing my arms around his neck to pull him closer if possible. I was already pressed up against his chest and our bodies felt as one. His hands glided up and down the sides of my body before settling around my back. I felt him gently tug on my hair, tilting my head back. My lips left his but his were on my neck in a moment, sucking the tenderest spots and igniting electric shocks throughout me. Oh, boy, I'd be going home with plenty of hickeys tonight. Oddly, the thought thrilled me.

"My Amber, my perfect shade of gold," Pierce whispered while continuing to pepper me with kisses across my throat. I moaned when he got particularly intense, like he was imbibing me. Good thing a cool breeze blew through the air, my skin felt like it was on fire—Pierce had set me on fire with his flame of love.

His lips finally returned to mine with soft, slow, tantalizing tasting, exploring my mouth with that gentle tongue of his. His hands continued to caress every inch of my bare skin he could find exposed by my dress. Being in Pierce's arms was paradise—he gave me an experience of love I'd never had before, only dreamed about. He fulfilled all my deepest desires while igniting new ones, made my dreams come true while becoming my new dream. I whimpered in pleasure while he had his way with me like the master of seduction that he was. He suddenly chuckled.

"Am I too much for you, babydoll?" He withdrew to ask me.

"No, no, you're perfect," I blurted out without thinking as I was still in a trance. Wait, what just came out of my mouth?

"I was gonna say the same thing for you," Pierce smirked, raking me with a sensual gaze. "I love it when you dress up for me." I blushed hard at that if I wasn't red already from all his kissing. He turned me around and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight against his body. He brushed my hair to the side and continued succulently kissing my neck. We stood there for a long moment in each other's arms after that, just enjoying each other in the moonlight. I leaned into his embrace, breathing his delicious scent as I felt him breathe mine—I gotta thank Thea for all that extra perfume spritzing later. Eventually though, I heard him sigh.

"So... I should probably get you back to the dance..." Pierce said petulantly. I giggled.

"I'd much rather spend the rest of the night up here alone with you," I replied playfully. Pierce grinned.

"So would I. But the show's about to start and I don't want you to miss that."

"What show?" I asked in confusion. Pierce merely smirked secretively as he answered.

"One the whole school won't forget."

~

Pierce had really piqued my curiosity by the time we got back to the auditorium—what did he mean by a 'show'? The dance was still in full swing as we entered. Pierce and I grabbed a couple of antipasto sandwiches while we waited for the Homecoming award ceremony to begin—maybe that's what he meant by a 'show'. Well, I couldn't miss Cassie's crowning, so yeah.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're all excited about our award ceremony," Vera Wallis got on stage, having the honor of hosting the show. "Well, without further ado, let's begin!" She read out all the mini awards first—the winners of the best dressed, best this, best that... I didn't pay much attention until Haruko won the 'coolest kid in school' award—then I clapped hard.

"And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for..." Vera announced with anticipatory suspense, "the royals of our fabulous Homecoming ball—first off, our queen to be is..." There was a drumroll from the DJ before Vera yelled out, "Cassie Kelley!" The whole auditorium broke into applause, including me—Cassie so deserved this!

"Woohoo! Go Cass!" Haruko shouted from nearby as Cassie went on stage to receive her crown. She shone in her golden gown like the beauty queen she was, smiling and thanking everyone with gracious waves.

"And now, presenting a royal king for our queen..." Another drumroll followed before Vera called out, "David Castillo!" Not bad... David Castillo was a really nice guy, one of the more shy, down-to-earth volunteering types. He was popular without being popular, no wonder he won.

He humbly accepted his crown before turning to Cassie with a smile, asking for her hand to dance the king's dance. Cassie accepted and as they got down to the dance floor to waltz, I saw Cassie's face light up as she gazed at him.

"Oh boy, I know that face," I giggled to Haruko beside me, "she's falling in love."

"Not a bad match if they hit it off, Dave's a decent guy," Haruko laughed. After everyone clapped when the song came to an end and the royal couple bowed, Vera got on stage again, looking far too deviously delighted.

"And now, there's one last award of the night to be announced," she said smugly, looking around at the crowd.

"Uh-oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Haruko mumbled, nudging me. "Amb, you might wanna make a break for it, I think Vera's planning something."

"Oh no, could it be a homecoming hazing prank?" Cassie whispered in dismay, coming near and joining us. I swallowed nervously at that—I had forgotten all about that. Pierce rubbed calming circles on my hand enclosed in his.

"Don't worry, babydoll, you're not getting hazed on my watch," he whispered to me. I exhaled, feeling calmer. Yeah, Pierce was still the TA here, no one would dare mess with me with him around.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're all dying to know who the couple of the year is," Vera said with a creepy beam. Uh-oh, please don't say who I think you're gonna say! If Trey and I were voted together, I was out of here. Not that I'd even seen Trey at the dance... Where was he?

"After certain considerations, I see there have been some last-minute changes to the choices," Vera continued. "So now, it is my proud pleasure to present the couple-of-the-year award to—Amber Gardener aaaand—" The suspense was killing me...

"Our very own TA, Pierce Hartman!" Vera hollered. HOLY SMOKES, people actually voted for us?! My jaw dropped as the auditorium thundered with applause and whistles. Whoa, guess Matteo's prediction came true! I turned to Pierce, blinking.

"I had a feeling this would happen," he said with a smirk.

"Where's the happy couple? Come up here and receive your crowns!" Vera called out, looking dangerously gleeful. My stomach knotted... something didn't feel right. Sure we showed everyone we were a great couple from the dance floor earlier but why would that make Vera look like the cat who swallowed the cream? She hated me...

As I climbed to the stage with Pierce, Vera brought forward a cushion with a plastic tiara.

"It is my honor to crown the couple of the year—Amber," Vera prompted me to step forward. Pierce followed with me though, refusing to let go of my arm.

"Aren't these lovebirds a totally golden couple?" Vera tittered, and everyone laughed. "They're inseparable, they deserve to be showered with golden—glorification!" The way she suddenly shouted out the last word made me freeze. But in the next moment, Pierce had yanked me back off the center of the stage and had taken my place exactly where I'd been standing—just as a shower of bright, golden, glittery paint rained down upon him, drenching him from head to toe! Huge gasps went up from the crowd, the loudest coming from me.

"NO!" Vera howled, looking scandalized. "That wasn't supposed to happen!" Everyone looked stunned. I was horrified. Pierce calmly turned to me with a smirk.

"Told you I'd protect you, babydoll," he whispered only for me to hear. Tears of love filled my eyes and I covered my mouth. Pierce had known... he knew this was gonna happen. And he saved me from a landslide of humiliation, taking my place.

Pierce... was my hero.

💜

DUN DUN DUUUNNN!!!😯😨😱 Kabam! Big finish!🤣 Betcha weren't expecting that! Lol this chapter was so much fun to write! Ya like the romance?🔥❤💋 Huh? Huh?😏🤭 And whooo! 4.6k words, baby!🥳 Super long chapter, so worth it though! And I happened to post this one after a long break so hope this makes up for it! And the story's not over, far from it. We're just ending on a cliffhanger for now.😁 It'll continue in the next. Until then, muah,😘 see you soon! Ooooh and thoughts!🤩

And hope you enjoyed all the music 😄.