She found the house and knocked nervously on the door. A little blond boy of about 9 or 10 answered, grinning at Summer. "Hi! Are you Summer?".
"Yes, I am," Summer said, wondering how the kid knew.
He smiled. "My brother will be so pleased you are here, he writes about you in his secret book!".
Summer followed the boy in. wondering if the book was that same book she had rescued from Sapphire and Rosita earlier that day.
"Summer's here!" the little boy shouted upstairs.
"Stop messing around Aaron!" came Nick's voice from upstairs. "She isn't coming!"
A woman who must have been Nick's mother came into the hallway and welcomed Summer. "You must be Nick's date for the dance. He didn't tell me he had a date, I didn't think he was going!".
Nick's mom gave Summer a cup of coffee and they sat in the living room and talked. Summer relaxed and felt at home at the Carter's house. Nick's family were really nice.
Aaron came bouncing back into the room. "Nick doesn't believe you are here!" he laughed, taking Summer's hand. "Come up and prove it to him!".
Summer laughed. "Sure thing!" she climbed the stairs and followed Aaron into Nick's room.
Nick lay on his bed playing Nintendo, wearing jeans and a football jersey. When he saw Summer, he dropped the controller in shock. "Summer?" he gasped. Then he managed to smile at her. "You look beautiful! I love the dress,".
Summer shrugged, embarrassed. "Thanks! So um, still wanna go to the dance? I can wait while you get ready...".
Nick's mouth dropped open. "Yes," he finally managed to say. "I'd love to!".
Summer left Nick to get ready and went back downstairs. "Your son is such a sweetheart!" Summer said to his mother.
She smiled. "I know, Nick has always been a sweet guy, I'm so proud of him,".
Summer frowned. "I think I upset Nick, when I turned him down and I really want to make it up to him..". She looked at her hands. "Um, I really like him, but my friends didn't want me to have anything to do with him, and they were mean to poor Nick...".
"Was that Sapphire Daler and her crowd?" Mrs Carter asked, looking concerned.
Summer nodded. "Yeah... but they're not my friends any more,".
"I'll tell you something," Mrs Carter said, lowering her voice. "We've had nothing but trouble from that Sapphire girl for as long as I can remember. I don't mean to be telling tales but she is an known bully and has even been known to bully her friends. She's from a rich family who spoil her... Nick got a lot of trouble from Sapphire in elementary school and he still does,".
Summer was shocked at this and disgusted that she had been so friendly with such a nasty girl! "Thanks for warning me, Mrs Carter! Actually Sapphire slapped me this morning and I've been avoiding her since. I don't intend to talk to her again after what you've just told me!".
At that moment, Nick appeared at the doorway. Thoughts of nasty Sapphire disappeared and she stared in shock at Nick. He looked so handsome! Totally gorgeous. He was wearing a tuxedo; his hair combed out of his eyes for once, revealing his big blue eyes, sparkling with happiness. "I'm ready, Summer," Nick said, taking her hand.
"I'll run you down there," Nick's mom offered, picking up her car keys. "Can I come to the dance?" Aaron pleased.
Nick laughed. "You're a bit young!".
Nick and Summer got into the car and Mrs Carter drove them to the dance. Summer was silent to whole journey, not knowing what to say. She felt nervous about being with Nick and wondered what people would say.
As the car stopped by the doors, Summer could see a few people going in. Music was blaring out and inside most people were already there, dancing and socializing.
Summer thanked Mrs Carter for the ride and got out with Nick.
She turned to Nick. "Ready?" she asked him in a scared voice. This was it.
Nick took her hand and nodded. They walked into the room.
The first person Summer saw was Mandy. She looked shocked, then called Nick and Summer over. "Hey Summer!" Mandy shouted over the music. "Sorry about what happened. It wasn't my idea! Can we still be pals?".
Summer smiled and said yes. "But I'm not speaking to Sapphire again!".
Mandy made a face. "Me neither! I told her I don't want to be anything to do with her any more!".
"Speaking of Sapphire..." Summer murmured as the girl herself sauntered over to Nick, Summer and Mandy.
"I see you let me have Danny back and got a date out of the gutter," Sapphire snapped, holding on to Danny's arm tightly. He gave Summer a disapproving look.
Summer turned her back on Sapphire, ignoring her. "So where's Dwayne, Mandy?".
"Oh talking to his friends, he'll be back in a moment. Ah, here he is now,".
The girls said goodbye as Mandy went over to her boyfriend. Sapphire and Danny tutted to each other and walked off.
"Don't worry, I'm not friends with Sapphire anymore, Nick," Summer said, smiling as she looked into Nick's blue eyes, drowning in them. She couldn't help herself as she put her arms around him and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad to be here with you Nick," she whispered into his ear.
When they pulled back, Summer saw everybody looking at her and Nick. Some were laughing and a few girls refused to look at Summer.
"I've ruined my rep, huh?" Summer said outloud, shrugging. "So what, at least I have the best date in the room!".
Nick looked on at her, amazed, but his were eyes happy for once.
Summer wrapped her arm around him and they walked over to the drinks. She got herself and Nick a coke.
"I love the dress Britney," Summer said to her friend.
Britney, dressed in a short pink fluffy dress trimmed with lace, glanced at Summer and gave her a fake smile. "Uh thanks," she said quietly, then turned back to her friends.
Nick led Summer away. "Have I lost you your friends now?" he said, a worried look on his face.
Summer shook her head. "Not really, only the shallow people who only care about popularity! I don't really care,".
Summer and Nick moved to the music as lots of fast tracks played. Then the opening notes to a familiar song started up and Summer grinned. "Yes! It's the Backstreet Boys! They're my favourite band!".
Nick's expression turned, Summer couldn't read it. He looked sort of sad, sort of in deep though.
"What's up? Summer asked him, pulling him into her arms so they could slow dance.
Nick tried to smile. "Um, I'll tell you later," he said. "Right now let's not talk, just dance!".
Summer felt the warmth of Nick's body on hers and sighed, a chill running through her body. Nick pulled her closer and rested his hands on her bare arms, sending Summer into heaven. Kissing Danny the night before was nothing compared to this...
When the song ended, Nick led Summer across the room and outside.
"Where are we going?" Summer asked.
Nick put his finger on his lips. "Shhh, you'll see soon!".
In the silence of the night, Nick led Summer around the carpark, along a path and out onto the beach.
The waves were crashing in on the cold sand and a full moon shined in the indigo sky. Summer rubbed her bare arms to keep warm in the cool night air. Nick took off his jacket and put it round Summer.
"Nick, the ocean at night... it's so beautiful!".
Nick sat on the sand, Summer joining him. "Yep! I love the ocean... Summer do you really like me?".
She looked into Nick's eyes. "Yes. I wanted to go out with you since the very first day of school, only my friends told me to stay away,".
"But now..?".
"Now I know how shallow Sapphire and the girls are, I don't care about them. I was stupid trying to have a good rep this time, I know I'm a nerd at heart!".
"What do you mean, Summer?" Nick asked.
"Oh, back in New York, I was 'Summer the Saddo'. I wore really nerdy clothes and my friends were the math club... Can we talk about something else,".
Nick put an arm around Summer. "This is the first time that I've had a proper date. Girls don't usually like me much...".
"They must be blind!" Summer exclaimed. "You're sweet, funny, cute, talented... you have an amazing voice, you should go professional!".
Nick stared at the sand and said nothing.
"Nick? Nick, what's up?".
Nick sighed and turned to Summer. "You won't believe this,".
.