The night of the Winter Formal, Sehun borrowed his brother’s car to take Seulgi to the event. They met the rest of their friends in front of the gym at IBS and waited in line to take pictures—group pictures, couple pictures, all sorts of keepsakes they would cherish for a long time. Wendy went with one of the boys from the school band named Johnny, while Moonbyul had decided to come as a group with three other girls from the volleyball team. The entire senior class looked so elegant, all the students neatly dressed in tuxes and dresses. It would definitely be a night to remember.

Seulgi was still worrying about how things had ended that day she had visited Trinity, she kept worrying about Irene. Jisoo, luckily, had texted her on Thursday assuring her that Irene seemed to be doing alright and wishing her a great time at the Winter Formal. She even included a stealthily taken picture of the four girls trying on their Winter Ball dresses. Irene had a distant smile on the picture but at least she was smiling. Jisoo’s text helped Seulgi get rid of her uneasiness, albeit not completely, she still wanted to talk to Irene. She wished she’d get a chance after the dance, at the after-party Irene was hosting at her house.

She had to admit that being with her friends was helping her clear her head. Sehun was such a gentleman and such a great dancer that Seulgi couldn’t help but inwardly thank the boy for the fun night. A more upbeat song started playing, echoing through the crowded room and prompting kids to leave the bleachers to join the dance floor.

“I love this song!” Wendy exclaimed over the loud noise, excitedly dancing to the beat of the music.

A few other friends and friends of friends had joined their group so now their party now consisted of 5 couples and Moonbyul's small volleyball group. The night had definitely surpassed Seulgi’s expectations, she was so glad she’d decided to come.

Sehun didn’t seem to care about making a fool of himself. He loved goofing around the dance floor, leading Seulgi from one side of the dance room to the opposite as he busted a variety of complex moves. Seulgi was very good at following along, not missing a beat, although her physical state was not nearly as apt as Sehun so she could feel her body growing more and more tired as the night progressed.

“Do you want to go for some drinks?” Sehun considerately asked, noticing how out of breath Seulgi was beginning to look.

“I’d love that, yeah,” Seulgi replied, trailing behind Sehun as they cut through the crowd toward the bar.

“Hi, one strawberry juice for me and for her a…” Sehun said to the middle-aged woman at bar, trailing off as he waited for Seulgi to tell him her drink of preference.

“A strawberry juice for me too, please,” Seulgi ordered, leaning against the bar countertop.

“I knew you’d be a great dance partner for the Winter Formal from the very first day I tried to teach you how to moon walk, that day after Biology,” Sehun mentioned with a genuine smile as they waited for their drinks.

“Thanks, I’m not that good though,” Seulgi replied looking at her feet, at her silver high heel shoes that were beginning to feel a bit too tight after all that dancing. The mention of Biology had her feeling a tad blue, that subject had slowly become her thing with Irene. Somehow, she had come to like the very class that only months before she dreaded so much.

“I have to admit that I can't wait for this year to be over. The thought of going to art school and dancing all day has me literally losing sleep these days, I’m so excited,” Sehun said as he passed a cup of strawberry juice to Seulgi. Part of why Seulgi felt so comfortable around Sehun was that the boy was all about dancing, she never felt any romantic tension between them. Sehun’s world revolved around dancing, he was deeply passionate about it, and he didn’t want anything to distract him from his goal. Seulgi wasn’t expecting to get a kiss later that night when the DJ decided to the set the mood and play slower songs, she didn’t expect to go back to Sehun’s house for any private “after-party”.  Though, she definitely did expect to have a blast with a good and kind friend of hers, a nice boy.

“I’m glad you said yes, Seul. I swear I would’ve been too shy to ask anybody else and would’ve been too embarrassed to come all by myself,” Sehun confessed as they moved back to the main dance floor.

Seulgi was thinking the same thing. The boy often reminded Seulgi of herself, they were very much alike. “Same here, Sehun. I’m glad you asked me out,” she honestly replied. As they approached the rest of their group of friends, the very first slow song of the night started playing, Seulgi recognized the singer to be Taylor Swift.

“Would you allow me this dance?” Sehun asked, with a dramatic bow, stretching his hand in Seulgi’s direction.

“Yeah, sure,” Seulgi chuckled, unable to contain her laughter at yet another of Sehun’s goofy antics.

Sehun carefully placed his hands on Seulgi, while Seulgi rested hers on his shoulders. Seulgi suddenly felt the weight of the world coming down on her shoulders as she realized just how much she missed Irene and wondered how her night was going. Who was her date? Was she also slow-dancing at this very moment? Seulgi rested her head on Sehun’s shoulder, looking for some place to rest, which made Sehun’s frame tense up.

“I-I hope you know I think of us only as friends,” he murmured nervously. “That’s why I invited you to the dance.”

“I know. Same here, Sehun. I can assure we’re on the same page. I’m just a bit tired, sorry,” Seulgi replied in defense, realizing she had made the boy uncomfortable.

“Oh, no problem, then. Just wanted to make things clear,” he said offhandedly. “Then by all means, please do rest for a bit longer on my firm yet comfy shoulder,” he added, joking around.

“Ugh, so cheesy. I’m suddenly not feeling like I want to anymore,” Seulgi replied as she resisted a giggle, resting her head on his shoulder anyway. They swayed to the beat of the ballad for a few more moments in silence, enjoying the peace that surrounded them.

“I love Treacherous, it’s such a nice song,” Sehun murmured to himself almost inaudibly, unwilling to ruin the comfortable atmosphere.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, I just need a moment with her,” said a determined voice behind them that had Seulgi jumping backward in utter surprise.

Sehun knew that the two girls had made peace with each other, but felt the need to ask Seulgi, out of politeness. “Are you gonna be OK?”

“Y-Yes, don’t worry. I’ll text