The doors at Freddy’s Deep Freeze were locked until precisely seven o’clock—that’s when the long line of Austen seventh graders winding around the block got their first glimpse of the Sadie Hawkins Dance in all its glory.

Emma had decided she would meet Jax there. She’d keep everything cool and casual; the last thing she wanted to do was scare him again. As she walked through the door, what she saw took her breath away. The entire room was draped in pink toile, and pink balloons floated on the ceiling. She couldn’t believe this was Freddy’s; it looked more like something out of a fairy tale. She had to admit it: Jordie and her cheerleaders had done an amazing job transforming the room into a magical space, and Luc and the Partytopia staff had certainly come through. Winston had strung sparkling lights all along the counter, and music was booming from speakers he had mounted on the walls.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Harriet gushed. She looked like a frosted cupcake in her puffy pink dress with a sheer layer of shimmering sequins sprinkled across the skirt. “I can’t believe we pulled this off, Emma. After everything we went through, it’s just perfect.” Marty was wearing a white suit and pink tie to match.

“Not too shabby, huh?” he asked Emma, tugging on his lapels.

“I kind of expected you two to dress as Superman and Supergirl—but this is much better,” Emma joked.

Izzy and Elton also looked perfectly paired: She wore a little black dress with a red sash around her waist, and Elton was in a black shirt and red bow tie.

Everyone looked amazing—so elegant, so put together.

“Make way, make way,” Lyla said, parting the sea of students for Jordie’s big entrance.

“The queen has arrived,” Ty told Emma. “You don’t wanna miss this.”

Emma stepped aside and watched and waited like the rest of the seventh grade for Jordie’s fashionably late arrival.

Finally, she appeared at the door, a vision in bubblegum pink, from her billowing ball gown to her elbow-length gloves to the tiara perched on top of her updo. Winston trailed behind her, proud and perfectly matched in a black tux with a pink bow tie and cummerbund. His hair was slicked back, and his glasses were tucked away in his pocket.

“Winston, you’re a vision,” Emma told him. “I never would have recognized you.”

“I don’t recognize me, either,” Winston admitted. “But I like it!”

Jordie strolled over to Emma. “I have to hand it to you,” she told her. “You saved the dance. I would have been very upset if this custom couture gown didn’t have its moment in the spotlight.”

“Glad I could help,” Emma said.

“Helping is your talent,” Jordie told her. “Like mine is singing, dancing, acting—just about every-thing else.”

Emma tried not to laugh; Jordie was a bit full of herself. But telling her she had a talent for helping others made up for it. It’s the one thing that truly made her feel fulfilled—just knowing that she had been able to bring so many people together and come up with a way to prevent this magical night from being canceled.

She suddenly spied Jax watching her from the corner by the jukebox. She waved, and he came over, smiling.

“You look amazing,” he said. He was wearing a light-blue, button-down shirt that made his eyes look even bluer, and a purple tie that complemented her dress.

“How did you know what color my dress was?” Emma asked, surprised. “That tie is a perfect match.”

“Two little birdies might have told me,” Jax said. “You really have some great friends.” He handed her a wrist corsage made of delicate purple irises and lilacs.

Emma looked around the room at her match-making handiwork: There was Marty and Harriet, arm and arm; Izzy and Elton toasting each other with ice cream sundaes; Lyla and Ty busting some moves on the dance floor; Winston carrying the train on Jordie’s gown and grinning from ear to ear; Ms. Bates and Mr. Goddard were standing by the punch bowl chatting; and even her parents looked delighted to be helping, scooping out cups of ice cream with Freddy behind the counter.

“Ya wanna dance?” Jax asked her. She remembered the last time they had danced together, at the Student Congress after-party, while Maroon 5 performed in the background.

“I loved the iMovie you made,” he whispered in her ear as they began to take the floor side by side. Emma looked stunned—how could he have possibly seen it?

Jax read her mind. “I said you had the best friends—they kind of snuck it off your laptop and sent it to me.”

Remind me to strangle Izzy and Harriet, Emma thought. And remind me to change my password! But she couldn’t be angry at them; they had just been trying to get her and Jax back together. Come to think of it, she definitely would have done the same thing herself.

“They figured since you helped them get their dates for the dance, the least they could do was patch things up between us.”

“And did it work?” Emma asked, shyly. “Did they patch things up, I mean?” He was holding one of her hands in his and the other was around her waist.

“I never forgot about DC or us, Emma,” he admitted.

“Well, you seemed to have a pretty bad case of amnesia.”

“I’m sorry I acted weird, but I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”

Emma saw her dad dipping her mom on the dance floor. “We Woods are pretty persistent,” she said. “I tried everything I could to make you like me again.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jax told her. “Because I think you’re amazing just the way you are.”

Emma noticed the music had suddenly stopped. She heard Luc’s voice over the microphone: “And this one goes out to someone you all know: Emma Woods.” Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are” began playing, and a confetti cannon suddenly went off showering the entire dance floor in pink and silver. Everyone cheered—even Ms. Bates and Mr. Goddard who seemed to be gazing into each other’s eyes.

“You set this up, too?” Emma laughed. “How much did it take to bribe Luc?”

“Ten dollars,” Jax said, grinning. “And I told Mr. Freddy the soccer and track teams would handle the cleanup. That’s a whole lotta confetti.”

“Very impressive,” Emma said. “You thought of everything—and I had no idea what you were up to.”

“I can do sneaky,” Jax said. “I learned from the best.”

They swayed to the music and Emma rested her cheek against Jax’s shoulder. This felt right. They felt right together. And Emma couldn’t have been happier if she had planned the whole thing herself.

And for once, she was glad she hadn’t.