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I pushed open the side door and a blast of cold air made me shiver. But I saw the lights on in the stadium. Axel might be there. I ran out the door and down to the stadium. It didn’t take long for me to find him sitting in the bleachers. His elbows were on his knees as he stared down at the jewelry box in his hand. He was flipping the top of the jewelry box opened and closed. Staring at the ring he’d proposed to me with.

I still had a million questions running through my head. But there was only one main question that mattered right now. Axel had proposed to me. He was waiting for an answer.

My heart started pounding against my ribcage. My whole life, I’d been too scared to tell him how I felt. But I wasn’t scared anymore.

I ran up the bleachers toward him.

He heard the sound of my footsteps and lifted his head. He snapped the box closed, shoved it into his pocket, and ran down the bleachers toward me. He stepped down onto the same row I was on.

“Scarlett, I’m so sorry. I should have just told you the truth back in sixth grade...”

“It’s okay.”

He lowered his eyebrows. “Nothing about any of this is okay. I never meant to hurt you.”

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry too. I should have told you how I felt.”

His eyes searched mine. “And how do you feel?”

My heart kept pounding. This was my moment. I’d tried so many times and failed. But he’d put everything on the line already. He’d made my job here easy. “I saw the videogame you made for coding class. But I don’t need a quest to find my Prince Charming. I already found him. Axel Stevens, I love you. I’ve loved you my whole life. You mean everything to me and I don’t want to go another second without you knowing...”

His lips slammed against mine.

I felt like I’d kissed a million boys trying to unmask him. But no one’s kisses beat his. Axel kissed me like I was the air he needed to breathe. And I felt exactly the same way about him. We just...fit. We always had. We’d wasted so much time but I was never going to waste another second.

For the first time ever, he didn’t grab my hands away as I wrapped them behind his neck. He no longer needed to conceal his identity. And I could finally do something I’d always wanted to. I lifted my fingers into his hair and they immediately got stuck.

I laughed and pulled back. “That is a lot of hair gel.”

“I was trying to fit the theme of your dance,” he said with a laugh.

“You do. You look perfect.” I’d run my fingers through his hair later. I smiled at the thought of a lifetime of laters.

The wind blew and I shivered.

Axel shrugged out of his leather jacket and put it around my shoulders. “The only thing that would make you look more perfect is if you were wearing my varsity jacket. But you still have that.” He smiled down at me.

“And now I understand why you never took it back.” And why he’d never given it to anyone else over the years.

“It was always meant to be yours, Scarlett.”

For a few seconds we both just stared at each other. Something in the air had shifted. And everything finally felt right. The way it was always meant to be.

He dropped his forehead against mine. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Axel took a deep breath and pulled back. “But I’m gonna need you to answer my question before I lose my mind.”

I knew what question. He’d asked me to marry him. One day I’d be Axel’s wife. There was no doubt in my mind. But there was something I wanted first. Actually, a whole lot of somethings. “Can we maybe start from the beginning?”

Axel tried to get back down on one knee.

“No, not there,” I said and grabbed his arms to stop him. “I don’t want to skip any moments. I want it all with you.” I lifted the homecoming king crown. “Axel Stevens, will you be my boyfriend?”

Axel laughed as I stood on my tiptoes and placed the crown on his head.

“I would love nothing more.” He pulled me back into a searing kiss.