Ross Herweg was standing by the classroom door in his trademark pink and black. The senior who was waiting on a friend, Jordan Kerr, had always worn those two colors when he could. If those colors were good enough for the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be in wrestling then they had to be good enough for him. Those colors were great on him because they brought out his confidence. He was assured of himself since kindergarten to wear his favorite wrestler's colors that fact made his stardust shine from him. Most boys that age would stay away from pink because of the razzing from the other boys. Ross paid no mind to what those other boys said. He knew they were wrong about it not being manly. Bret Hart wore the pink and he was a man who backed up his words, stood up for what he believed in, and never backed down.

The man whose stardust shined by just wearing the colors he wanted, needed to know if one part of the word in the halls was true. He did not have to confirm whether Jordan and Ziggy were dating was false speculation. He knew Jordan's heart only belonged to Dave. Ross needed to know if those two were escorting each other to the prom. He wished it was true. Ross knew that soon his cast of friends will be going their separate ways and wanted everyone at the prom to make more memories to have about their time together.

Jordan's warm glow was all that Ross needed to see from his best friend to find out the information he wanted. The man who was going to get to wear his dream dress on the biggest night of the year was happy to confirm to Ross what was already known. Ross was happy to hear that, which also meant Jordan was not going to be able to go to Seth's after school; his friend was going to get pictures of him in the dress to help Ziggy pick out the right corsage. It was an excuse to wear that dress but Ross understood that Jordan needed to take any opportunity to wear it.

***********

Bill Kerr was waiting with his Canon camera for his eldest child to come down in his prom gown. Jordan wanted the pictures of him in the gown to show Ziggy. It would help coordinate their outfit, and also for his prom date to get the right corsage. There was no way it would be the perfect coordination like his ex's pastel yellow suit, but that was fitting. Dave and Jordan were a couple and they should complement each other perfectly while he and Zigs were just friends. Jordan did not know that Ziggy would be able to perfectly coordinate his suit with the dress, he owned the same suit as Jordan's ex did.

Bill could not be any prouder of Jordan, than he was today. His child's heart was broken by his boyfriend because of Jordan picking out the perfect gown. Still, Jordan was not backing down from wearing what he wanted and found a way to still go to the prom with a date. Bill was happy that Jordan did not let losing his man make him start to conform. Jordan was well on the march to be his own person.

Bill knew people had to be free to be who they were from his given name. It was Tecumseh. Bill was named after his father's favorite general. Naming their eldest son after their favorite general was a tradition in the Kerr family. It was a way to give them a role model to emulate when they take part in another tradition of that clan, joining the Army. Bill's father admired General’s Sherman determination, so his eldest was named Tecumseh.

Bill only followed his namesake by agreeing that "war is hell", give your all to attain your goal, and changing his name. Knowing the true horror and cost of war, Bill was the first of the eldest Kerr's boys in six generations not to join the military. Because of Bill forgoing the tradition, his father refused to help with any of the cost of his eldest son's higher education The man who was making his own future was able to obtain his degree from CMU in electrical engineering by working at the university full-time overnights. Bill wanted a clean break from the military traditions of his family so he legally changed his name to William. Picking William was a way to rebel against his father, Patton Kerr, wanting to uphold the ways of the family. Bill still had Sherman's name but on his own terms.

The man knew true happiness was by forging your own way in the world, was stunned by how beautiful his son looked in that prom gown. To Bill the job of the parent was to help their children become strong enough to be their authentic selves. Jordan's strides in that gown made the loving Father know that his eldest had the strength to match Hercules. Jordan had the strength to wear that gown liked he owned it, and Bill could not have asked for anything more from his son.

Seeing that smile on his father's face made Jordan become even more radiant in the pastel blue and yellow polka dot strapless midi gown. Those polka dots matched the yellow of the sun and Jordan found that fitting. The Sun is just the formal name of the closest star to the Earth and this dress helped bring out the stardust in Jordan to make him shine. Jordan loved how his gold heels, purse, faux golden pearls necklace, and bracelet accented the outfit.

After the mini photo shoot, Bill suggested to his son to put on a different dress and they would go out and have curry for dinner. It made total sense to Jordan's dad for many reasons. His wife, Yennifer, was working late tonight, so it was only them. The only thing in the fridge ready to cook was some hot dogs. His wife would love having some Aloo Chana Balti with rice and garlic naan waiting for her when she came home. It would be a waste on how great of a job Jordan did on his makeup to not go out. Plus, Bill did not want to cook or do dishes.

Jordan knew Ross, along with Seth and Kenny would love some curry, so he suggested to his dad that they pick them up. Bill thought that was a great idea. He knew that curry was always better when shared with a group and he enjoyed his son's friends company. They made him not feel so old and helped him stay connected to his convictions that people should be who they were.

***********

Ross was just in his basement chilling and watching Youtube with Seth Ambrose and Kenny Kowalski. They were in the mood to do something but could not come up with anything. The three friends were being particular today about the entertainment for the evening. They did not want to do anything just for the sake of doing something. In the words of Kenny, the idea would have to be bang-up to get them out of their hangout.

Ross' phone rang and it was Jordan with the bang-up idea they were looking for. He invited them for curry with his dad. They loved hanging out with Jordan's dad. He treated them like adults and made it so they believed that they could hold on to their convictions even when they were well into adulthood.

*************

Ziggy happened to be walking into school at the same time as Steff. Even with them sharing as much in common as an anvil and a parachute they both engaged the other in a conversation. Steff to score points with his girl Joy, he knew that he would need to build up as much goodwill with her so he could continue being his old self. Ziggy for he wanted to make sure that Steff felt welcomed by Joy's circle of friends.

As soon as the two who were having a forced conversation walked into the school's lobby they saw Jordan. Ziggy's date was wearing a pencil denim skirt and a white puff-sleeved blouse. Jordan planned on wearing skirts and dresses all week to totally embrace his feminine side. He wanted to be in touch with it at the prom so he got the most enjoyment out of having her in the foreground.

Steff and Zig could not help but notice Jordan. The man in the skirt was sparkling and the glow coming from him added to the shimmer of the silver which was weaved into vertical stripes down the blouse.

Steff was happy to see Jordan while with Ziggy. It would give him a chance to joke with Joy's best friend about his date. It had the added bonus of being able to make Ziggy look bad to Jordan. Steff was under the false impression the only reason Ziggy was taking that boy to the prom was to make others think he was a good person. Ziggy could not be as nice as he plays off in public.

It got better for Steff when Jordan’s smile got bigger seeing them and he started to walk towards them. Jordan wanted to share the picture of him in his prom dress with Ziggy. He wanted to explain why instead of going with the bow tie and cumberbund which came with the tux, he should use the one which Jordan bought for Dave's suit.

Steff waited until Jordan was in earshot to say there is your date to the prom and he looks so pretty today.

Those words fazed both Ziggy and Jordan as much as fans booing at home affected the visiting team. Ziggy and Jordan knew exactly what Steff was doing and were disappointed in Joy's man. Ziggy knew that there had to be something special about Steff because of Joy's feelings for him. He just wished that the boy would show it more often. Jordan wanted that stardust which Steff was made out of to start to shine.

Keeping the beat of the conversation better than Neil Peart, Zig said, "Yes, he does."

Hearing how Ziggy's positive affirmation of that little boy's joke made Jordan feel even better. That statement made Jordan dismiss his concerns that his date would need some time to relax for being with a man in a dress at the prom. Jordan did not want to subject Ziggy to another smart comment from the idiot Steff so he called off showing the picture right then. "Ziggy if you don't mind, at lunch I want to show you a picture of me in my gown."

Steff saw a chance of adding another rib to both of those two and took it quicker than a child ate a slice of birthday cake. "I would love to see it also."

Jordan knew that either way, he was going to have to hear more stupid comments coming from Steff and thought what better time than right now. It would be best to get it out of the way. "Jordan I will love to see it now."

The boy who loved his prom dress was more than happy to show it. He knew that Ziggy's confidence in who he was would act like armor against the arrows Steff was firing at him.

"I have the perfect tie and pocket handkerchief to go with my dress. They are blue with small yellow polka dots on them. I was going to give them to Dave. Too bad you cannot rent a yellow suit like Dave's. That would have gone so perfect with my dress."

Steff said, "Yeah, too bad Ziggy, you two would have looked like the perfect couple then."

Ziggy knew exactly what suit Dave was going to wear and owned the same one. "Steff, don't worry, Jordan and I will look like the perfect couple. I have the same yellow suit as Dave. The golf team all bought the same suit to wear when we traveled to the state championship match last year."

Ziggy continued talking while changing the directions of his comments to Jordan. "I would love to keep them, for they will go great with that suit, and also, it would be a little memento of our night at the prom."

Jordan said, "Of course you can keep them. It is sweet you want to remember the night, plus I have nothing which goes with that tie.

Also, I forgot you are on the team with my man. Sorry, I mean Dave. I love golf, but Dave just gets too competitive during those matches. That game is a great way to relax while having a walk in nature. It is so hard to play a round with him during the season because he is so worried about improving his game."

Ziggy understood why Dave could be a killjoy on the course. Dave got a full scholarship to Wake Forest to play on their golf team. Ziggy's teammate needed to make sure that he never lost the edge of being competitive. That edge rubbed off on the rest of the team and was how they made it to the state final. "Yeah, Dave can be pretty intense on the course. I also love just relaxing when playing a round, we should play a round Saturday morning at the after-prom. I will set up a 9:00 tee time."

Steff walked away from those two. It irked him that he did not get the reaction out of them which he wanted. Those two laughed because they were like rubber and Steff was like glue. His attempts to get under their skins bounced off of them and stuck to him. It might have been childish to get enjoyment to see him sulk away, but they did not care. Before they went to start their day Ziggy said he was happy he was escorting Jordan to the prom and they were going to have a great time. Jordan agreed.

************

That little conversation between Ziggy, Steff, and Jordan was too juicy for their fellow classmates around them to ignore what was said, even if they wanted to. How succulent that little conversation was made it too tantalizing not to share. They might have witnessed the start of a new romance and also a reveal about Ziggy. People loved sharing good news. If two people finding love while going to the prom was not good news, then nothing was. Right up there with sharing good news was people letting others in on revelations. If Ziggy being gay was not surprising, then nothing was. Many people thought he was in love with his best friend, Joy.

The gossip made it to Joy before her first class started. The rumors of Ziggy and Jordan flirting and how Steff tried to make light of how they felt wer even juicier than yesterday's big story of the prom date. That meant it traveled even faster.

Joy was not happy hearing the hearsay. First Ziggy was not gay, he could not be. There would be nothing wrong with her best friend wanting to be with a man, but it just did not feel right. She would have known before others. People saying what was untrue about Ziggy made the girl wished more people would just mind their own business.

Joy also was not happy about hearing that Steff was up to his old tricks. Why did that boy of hers need to always be joking around? He should be more encouraging to other people instead of trying to get a laugh by making people uncomfortable with who they are. It was like Steff needed to ridicule what was different so he felt good about his decisions.

Lastly, Joy was hurt about the round of golf those two were going to play. It was on Saturday and she planned on spending the entire morning being with Zigs. She knew her best friend good enough to know that he made sure that they would still have breakfast together. Joy just wanted it not to feel rushed and Zigs having plans right after it would make her feel like they would be hurried.

The first person who found out about Joy's displeasure was Beth. Beth could not help herself and joked about being right about Ziggy's sexuality yesterday. To Beth, it was just a harmless joke. To joy, it was anything but harmless. Joy took it as Beth believing the gossip for it helped make her narrative about Ziggy true. Joy saw the truth was Beth was covering up that she would much rather be her at the prom with Ziggy than her date Ian Cornell.

"You know that Zigs is not gay. You just hate the fact that he never flirted back with you when you liked him."

Beth was pissed that her friend went for the same put-down in response of her going for the same joke about Ziggy. In Beth's eyes, her friend needed new material. The lady who did not like being reminded of the past told herself it was the lameness of the joke which got to her.

Beth liking Ziggy was true, last year, but that was distant history for the high school senior. A year in the social life of a high school student equaled a decade of normal time. Yeah, she still might like to flirt with Ziggy and would go out with him, but Beth convinced herself that crush, which was now small, was a thing of the past.

"Lighten up you need to quit being so serious. I know he is not gay, it was a joke. I swear I can't even talk with you anymore."

"Good, then don't."

"There you go taking things too serious again."

"There you go giving out what you can't take again."

The next person who got a taste of Joy's displeasure was Steff. Joy did not waste any time by saying hi to give her boy that bitter taste he deserved, "I thought I told you to quit it."

The confused boy said, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I am talking about. You joking about Ziggy and Jordan. I told you that was not funny and you should be acting more grateful towards my Zigs."

Hearing that, gave Steff a way to show his anger. The boy who wanted to be seen in the best light possible would talk about Ziggy going behind his back. Steff knew that Joy hated people doing that.

Steff did not want to get into a fight with Joy. He was trying to be cool about Joy being annoyed with his actions. He only needed to put up with her for a couple of more months. He could take her nagging for that long if it meant he had a sure thing in the bedroom.

"Tell, Ziggy if he has a problem with me to bring it up with me instead of you. He needs to man up."

"Zigs said nothing to me. It is all around the school for people heard it. You don't know him and he is nothing like you."

"That is a good thing for we would not have got back together if I was like him."

"I agree. We would have never broken up. Our relationship would not be on-again, off-again, so much if you were dependable like him. Zigs says that you just need to mature some and will be an even greater guy for me to be with than you are now."

"He doesn't know me and I'm already a great guy for you."

"Yeah he doesn't, he would not always stick up for you if he knew how you talked bad about him."

Steff knew he was going to have to bite the bullet and start to make up right then. If they fought this close to prom there was a chance Joy would not be in the mood for his after-prom plans. "Sorry babe. I love you and I just get upset when you are upset. I know Ziggy did not mean anything by saying I need to change. He just doesn't understand how passionate our relationship is and that leads to fights. We are still learning how to deal with two strong people being together."

Steff waited to find out if the insincere words sounded sincerely enough to his audience of one. He knew they should be for he said what Joy wanted to hear with conviction. When Joy's face started to shine like new porcelain, Steff knew she bought his words. Even with this being planned as time together, Steff wanted out of there as quickly as possible. If he left there would be no chance his true feelings about their fight would betray his acting. "Babe, I need to get going and talk to Ms Foreman before class, love you."

Joy did feel better after hearing what Steff said, but she wanted their little fights to stop. Steff might have changed but the bickering did not. The bickering always came back. For some reason, it seemed to have come back earlier. Joy did not know it but the reason was for both of them were just going through the motions of being in a relationship.

This time when they got back together there was no honeymoon period. The reunited couple would always start the relationship all lovey-dovey at first. Then little things about him started to annoy her and she knew little things about herself would start to annoy him. Joy knew she had to work on getting better about the little things she did and not letting his little things get to her. In truth, Joy should have only been working on the latter, and Steff should also just let the little things not get to him.

Steff bailing on Joy did not matter, she could just go see Ziggy now. They would talk and make more plans to hang out at the after-prom weekend. She knew that Steff would not want to do anything until Saturday evening, he was never much of a day person. Joy liked hanging out and chilling in the afternoon most of the time, but Joy was not going to do that when everyone in their class was at Seven Springs Resort. There was just so much to do and too many people to see. Steff hanging out in the room without her would be fine to Joy, a couple did not need to be connected at the hip in her eyes.

Seeing her best friend, made Joy's displeasure about her boyfriend quickly go away. How hers Zig's eyes brighten up seeing her just made her feel so good about herself. What made her feel even better was Zigs greeted her with a hug. She did not have to say she needed one, he could just tell. Joy was waiting for the day when Steff knew her so well that he would do the same.

During the conversation, Joy brought up that they could go horseback riding on Saturday afternoon. She could tell that suggestion made her BFF feel bad. Maybe he was allergic to horses. Then she found out why when she asked him what was up.

"Joy I already made plans with Vince, Jon, their dates along with Jordan's friends to go to the waterpark. I was waiting until I saw you with your man to invite you two along. It will be great. I thought that you would be spending the afternoon with Steff. It is prom weekend I should not be the one monopolizing your time. It is a time for you two to make memories to share for the rest of your lives together."

"Oh. you know Steff, he is not big in doing things in the afternoon, especially after a night out."

"Then you two should spend a lazy day together, soaking up being back together. But if you like I will go horseback riding with you."

"No Zigs, you are right. I should be with my boy. You and I will have our breakfast together to share."

"And also a walk before it. Instead of waiting for the shuttle bus to the main resort building, we can walk this nice little trail up to the restaurant. That trail comes out of the woods right at the patio where they serve breakfast. It will be great, us two soaking up the bright morning sun while having breakfast al fresco."

Joy could not shake the feeling that even with Zigs being right, he was wrong. They needed to have more than just the breakfast together as their memory of prom weekend. She had Steff and thought that was going to be forever, but Zigs would become less and less a main part of her life. They had four more years of being a daily occurrence in each other’s life at Villanova, but after that, they will go their separate ways.

It gave the lady, who was mourning a future loss, comfort to know Zigs planned to make going to that breakfast special. That little hike in the woods would give her another mental souvenir of their friendship. It would be placed alongside all the other great memories Joy had made with her Zigs in her mental curio cabinet.