"Look at my son. There's no doubt you got all your style from my family side," Albert said as he adjusted the tie around Lincoln's neck.
"It makes me a little sad that you didn't invite a girl," Myrtle said, ruffling her grandson's hair.
"I've been very busy lately, Grandma."
Myrtle had finished combing Lincoln's hair. "Well, you look handsome, son."
"He reminds me of when I was his age. They called me the white tiger. The girl I saw, the girl who ate me."
After hearing what her husband said, Myrtle pulled Albert by the ear.
"Ok, ok, ok. But nothing compares to you, my dear."
"This is how it is."
-At the dance-
The teens arrived by car or on foot.
Lincoln found himself next to the snack table, observing couples dancing slowly, embracing each other. Even Clyde was there with his three girlfriends.
Feeling alone since Andy didn't attend, Lincoln muttered to himself, "I don't know why I came here. My best friend is busy. The other one didn't come, and I didn't invite anyone."
"I better get going. Unless Clyde needs me for something."
Observing Clyde passionately kissing his three girlfriends, Lincoln decided to leave the dance.
Walking around the school football field, Lincoln pondered, "It's ironic. There are at least six girls here who like me, and yet I didn't invite any of them. So they wouldn't get jealous or think I had a favorite."
"Although now I think about it. Would they really feel that way? If they agreed to share me, I don't think they would think I had a favorite person if I only invited one."
"Even though two of them are not in the group that agreed to this,"
"Now that I think about it, I wonder if Linka and Liberty would agree to participate in this."
"Maybe Linka doesn't. That's very true. Although, knowing Liberty, this would definitely interest her because of all the anime she's watching."
"Oh! Why do I keep exaggerating things so much?"
Among all the storms of thoughts that disturbed the boy, he saw someone in the stands of the stadium.
It was a girl wearing a long-sleeved purple dress. This partial paralysis looks at the stars with a sad look. Lincoln realized it was Cookie.
At that moment, he became a little curious and approached her.
"Cookie?"
The girl turned to see who was talking to her. A blush invaded her cheeks when she saw that it was Lincoln.
"Hi, Lincoln."
"What are you doing here alone?"
"I like how the sky looks from here. There aren't a lot of lights, and the stars are much clearer."
"I didn't know you were interested in astronomy."
"I'm not just a cookie girl, Lincoln."
Lincoln sat next to her so they could watch the sky together. He didn't see the stars for three years. 'I think since I got my sight back, I haven't done as much as I missed because of my blindness.'
Lincoln noticed something about Cookie. An aura of sadness.
"Cookie. Are you feeling bad?"
The question caught the girl's attention. "Why are you asking?"
"I just feel like something is bothering you. Or more. Something is making you uncomfortable."
Cookie looks down with a sad expression. "I loved dancing. I had a lot of fun."
"Before? Do you mean not anymore?"
"No, it's not that I don't love them anymore. It's just... I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what? Tell me."
"Boys"
"Boys?"
"Since what the coach did to me, I have a slight fear of men."
"I went to therapy, but they still scare me."
"I thought coming here would help me. You already know. To face my fear. But I didn't even dare to go to the gym. Especially since this is where everything happened."
Lincoln felt his blood boil. This pervert has ruined the life of one of the most innocent girls he has ever known.
"And me? Am I scaring you?"
"Well, it's different with you. You saved me; you're the only person I can get close to without feeling nervous."
Lincoln understood what Cookie felt. Her situation was very similar to Leni's.
At that moment, an idea occurred to him.
"Then, do you want us to dance here? Together?" He asked as he stood up and extended his hand in front of Cookie.
Cookie's heart beat faster when she saw Lincoln's cute smile. She slowly took the boy's hand, and they walked down to the field, where Lincoln played music on his phone so they could both dance.
They both danced closely. Cookie laid her head on Lincoln's chest. So, even though it was just them alone, it was the best Valentine's Day dance of their lives.
It was already ten o'clock at night. Lincoln accompanied Cookie home.
"Thanks for everything, Lincoln. I really had a lot of fun."
"Bah. It wasn't a big deal. Just something impromptu."
"For me, then. It makes me happy to know that I can count on you for everything."
"Whenever you need it, I will be there for you."
"Good. I think I should go in now. Take it easy, Lincoln."
"By--" Before he could finish, Lincoln received a farewell kiss on the cheek from Cookie.
"Bye-bye."
Cookie closed the door behind her, leaving Lincoln still in surprise.
"Great. This isn't what I expected. At least you kept your pants on this time."
Lincoln arrived home. When he looked at his cell phone, he noticed that he had a message that his grandfather had sent him two hours ago. He said the following:
"Son, your grandmother and I will be back late. So take care of the house."
"Well, I hope they enjoy it. Although at his age, he's sure to be pretty quiet."