When he asked me to be his girlfriend on a random Tuesday after school, I said yes without hesitation. That’s when the real bullying began—not just at him, but at both of us.
They called us “Mutt and Jeff.” “The Giant and the Kid.” Some guys started asking if I was babysitting on the weekends. Girls who used to smile at me in the halls now giggled behind their hands. Even some teachers gave us pitying looks. But Elliot never let it break him.
“They’re just mad because they don’t have what we have,” he’d say, squeezing my hand. And I believed him.
---
Prom night finally arrived.
I stood in front of my mirror in the beautiful golden yellow satin gown my dad and I had spent three weekends shopping for. It hugged my figure perfectly, with thin straps and a flowing skirt that made me feel like a princess. My hair was styled in an elegant updo with little white flowers, and I wore the necklace Elliot had given me for our one-year anniversary—a delicate gold chain with a tiny star pendant.
When the doorbell rang, my heart raced. I opened the door to find Elliot standing there in a sharp black tuxedo tailored perfectly to his frame, a cream vest, and a matching bow tie. A single white rose was pinned to his lapel. He held out a wrist corsage of white roses that matched my bouquet.
“You look… wow,” he breathed, eyes wide.
I grinned, bending down slightly to hug him. “You clean up pretty nice yourself, handsome.”
My dad took pictures, teary-eyed, and warned Elliot to have me home by midnight—even though we both knew he was joking. As we drove to the school gym in the limo his mom had surprised us with, I felt like nothing could ruin this night.
I was wrong.
The moment we walked into the decorated gymnasium—balloons, string lights, and a glowing “PROM” sign in gold—the teasing exploded.
