When she was six years old, she made the kind of promise children make without understanding how much life can change: one day, she and her best friend Noah would go to prom together.
For years, it was a sweet running joke between them. They grew up side by side, shared homework stress, birthday parties, awkward school years, and all the small memories that turn a childhood friendship into something steady and familiar.
So when prom night finally arrived twelve years later, it should have been simple. Noah showed up in his suit, nervous and excited, ready to keep the promise they had made as little kids.
But before they could leave, her mother pulled her aside and said there was something she had to know first.