They arrived at the Rec center at eight fifteen, and went in to the booming building. Katie didn't go to many dances at her old school, because she thought they were really stupid and boring. However, she didn't like very many people at her old school, either. Katie's stomach flip flopped when she saw that there was nearly a couple hundred people in the huge, dark room.

Nicole walked in, and immediately started to talk to people. Katie stood on the outside of the group, immediately feeling stupid and lonely. She looked up and saw Zac, and he walked over. He looked really nice, wearing boots, khaki pants, and a nice black shirt with a button up black shirt over it. He had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail, and it looked great. Katie felt sick.

"Hi." he said.

"Hi."

"I thought you weren't going to come." He said.

"Well, i came." She said, almost yelling over the loud music.

"You changed your hair." He pointed out.

Katie not really knowing if this was intended to be a compliment, replied, "I know."

They stood in silence for a moment, the Zac spoke. "You know, Ian isn't coming until later."

"Shut up." She said, then walked away to look for Nicole. Zac shook his head. it was going to be a long night.

Katie sighed as another slow dance started. So far, Zac had danced with a few other girls, and Nicole danced every dance with a different boy. ian wasn't there, and it was only eight forty five. It was going to be a long night.

Katie looked over and saw that group of about four girls were standing around Zac, touching his arms and talking to him. He was smiling, and he looked up to catch Katie's eye. She quickly looked away, but then when she looked back, he was still looking at her.

She felt stupid standing against a wall, watching the couples. She was wondering why she even came when she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Ian.

"Oh, hi Ian."

"What do you mean 'Hi Ian?" he said, frowning at her.

"What?"

"You've been avoiding me for days." He said. It was evident that he was mad.

"I'm sorry, i just, didn't know what to do." She said, feeling a little embarrased.

"Well, you could have called me!" he said, growing more angry.

"Why are you so upset?" She asked.

"I asked you out, but i didn't know it would take days to get an answer." He said.

"Well-"

"What kind of a person are you?" He asked, cutting her off. Katie was starting to get upset.

"I wasn't sure if i liked you." She said quietly, suddenly feeling very inferior.

"Well it's not right to go around telling everyone lies about me, you stupid bitch!" He said, stepping closer to her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Don't play dumb! I heard all about it." He said.

"Ian, i don't-"

"Just forget it." he said.

"Nah, she ain't worth it." One of his friends said.

"Yeah, i know. What did you do to your hair anyway?" Ian said, looking at her with disgust.

"What-" She started to turn red, and a few people were looking at her. She felt her eyes well up, and her whole body get hot.

"Hey, Ian!" They heard a voice.

"Hey Zac." Ian said.

"Hey man." Zac said, slapping him a five.

Zac walked up, and Katie tried her best to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"What goin on?" He asked, looking at katie.

"Nothing. Just another stupid one." Ian said, gesturing towards Katie.

Katie stormed away, retreating to a table in a corner, out of sight. A few people looked at her funny, which made her feel even worse. "Where is Nicole?" She asked herself, looking at her watch. It was almost nine.

She sat for a few moments, before Zac walked over.

He kneeled beside chair, and she tried to wipe the tears from her face, and she sniffed, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Hey." He said softly, looking up at her.

"What?" She asked, looking around at the people.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still talking quietly.

"Nothing." She said, her breath catching in her throat.

"It doesn't seem like nothing." He said.

"It's that jerk." She said, looking over at the dance floor, where Ian was talking to a group of girls.

"Ah, don't worry about him." Zac said. "He's not a big deal."

"Yes he is." Katie said. "I thought he liked me." She said, a fresh set of tears starting.

"It's okay." Zac said, pulling out a chair and setting it in front of her. He sat down with is knees to hers.

"Now, i'm going to tell you something, okay?" He asked, taking a napkin from the table and giving it to her.

"What?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"Ian is a jerk." He said. "He does this all the time to girls, but i didn't tell you because i thought you could handle him." He said.

"So did I." She said, taking a deep breath.

"Well, he's not worth it. Dont' let him spoil your evening." Zac said.

"I'll try." She said, wiping her eyes again.

"I'm sorry he's such a jerk." Zac said, looking at her.

"Well, he made me feel pretty stupid." She said.

"What did he say?"

"He made fun of me, called me stupid, then told me my hair looked stupid." She said, wiping her eyes.

"Ulgh..." Zac said, clenching his fist.

"What?" She asked.

"He is a jerk."

"I know."

"Well, you're not stupid, and he's a coward to make fun of you. That means he doesn't like himself." Zac said. He looked down at his hands. "Besides..." he said, "I think you're hair looks really cute."

"You do?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"Yeah." He said smiling at her.

"Thanks." She said, smiling down at her hands.

A slow song came on, and Zac looked at the pairing couples.

"Well...Just so we don't look stupid...We should dance." He stated, looking at her questioningly.

"Well..."

"It would show Ian that it doesn't bother you." He prodded.

Katie looked at him, with hopefullness in his eyes. "Okay." She said.

He took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. His hand felt warm in hers, and she smiled when he wasn't looking. She liked this side of him...a lot.

He stopped, and then she put her arms around his neck, and he placed his around her waist. They swayed slowly to the music, and Katie felt weak in the knees. She had never realized how nice or cute Zac could be. She had never seen this side of him. They spent the next hour together, dancing, and talking, Zac trying to keep her mind off of Ian. katie looked at the clock, seeing that it was already ten thirty.

She still felt crappy about Ian, but even she had to admit, Zac was helping. Ian had left, Zac saw, but he guessed right when Ian returned an hour later and was hanging on a new girl. Zac took a deep breath so that Katie wouldnt notice that he was back.

He asked her to dance again, and they went out onto the dance floor once again.

"Zac, why are you being so nice to me?" SHe asked him.

"Because." He said. "I've seen Ian do this to a lot of girls, but i took this one personally."

"Thank you." She said, looking up at him.

"No problem." he said.

"You're not as vile as i thought you were." She said.

"And you're not as hard as i thought you were." He said. They both laughed quietly, and caught each other's eye. He smiled shyly at her, and she just blushed, and looked away.

"I'm glad i could help you feel better." He said, quietly in her ear.

"You helped me more than you know." She said.

"I'm glad." He said.

He pulled her closer, and she rested her hand on his chest, and leaned her head on his shoulder. She could hear him breathing, and she could smell the faint scent of his nice cologne. He rubbed his hand on her back, and she sighed contentedly, never wanting this dance to end.