I HAD BEEN DREADING THE PARTY since I'd discovered that Tracy had asked Ryan out. I'd been waiting for her to bring it up, but she hadn't said a word. And I wasn't about to bring it up. Not even now, as we were getting ready.

I took the cap off of some shimmer and started applying it to my face, "Don't forget your chest," Diane said as she pointed to my maroon V-necked tank. I paired the top with a new pair of dark blue jeans, a sparkly silver belt, and high-heel boots. I took a step back to look in the mirror, satisfied with the results.

"Oh, let me try!' Tracy said as she grabbed the shimmer from me and started applying it. Tracy was wearing a black lace fitted top with black pinstripe flare pants. She looked so beautiful tonight with her hair down -- she usually wore it up in a ponytail. It was obvious she was pulling out all the stops for Ryan.

"All right, I think we're ready," Diane said as we all gave one another a once-over in my bathroom mirror. Diane, as always, looked perfect. She was wearing a black A-line skirt and an aqua-blue sheer turtleneck with matching tank underneath.

We walked into my bedroom to grab our coats, but Diane sat down on my bed and opened her matching aqua purse, "I have something for the two of you," she said as she removed two small boxes wrapped in silver paper with a red ribbon and handed them to me and Tracy. "I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate everything you did for me this year."

"Diane, you didn't have to," I protested.

She simply shook her head and nodded toward the package.

I pulled off the red ribbon and tried to be careful to not tear the delicate silver paper. I gasped when I saw a blue tiffany's box.

"Diane!" I could hardly believe it. I looked over to make sure Tracy wasn't ahead of me. She gave me a nod and we both opened our boxes.

Inside the box was a matching blue bag. I opened it to find a silver chain bracelet with a heart at the clasp.

"It's beautiful," both Tracy and I said in unison.

"Read the inscription," Diane said as she walked over to me and held up the heart. One side read LHC while the other said my name. She reached over and put the bracelet on my wrist.

"Diane, it's too much. You shouldn't have," I said.

"Yeah, Diane -- I mean, tiffany's." Tracy fiddled with the clasp.

Diane walked over to help Tracy. "You guys have done so much for me this year and this is just a small way to say thank you. Plus . , ." Diane held up her left arm and pulled her sleeve up to show that she was wearing a matching bracelet. "You don't think it's too corny, do you?"

I couldn't take my eyes off the bracelet. it was the nicest thing anybody had ever given to me.

"No, it's not at all." Both Tracy and I embraced Diane in a group hug,

"And there's one other thing I wanted to tell you guys." Diane looked nervous. "I know things are changing with the Club and that you guys will probably start dating soon . . . and I just wanted you to know" -- she looked up at me -- "that I'll support you, whoever it is you date."

She knew.

Diane knew about Tracy.

Tracy rubbed her back. "Thank you, Diane. You know we'll always be there for you as well."

They started walking out of the room. "Tonight is going to be so much fun!' Tracy said.

Yeah, right.

It seemed that we were nearly the last people to arrive at Amy's. We had to park around the block.

The three of us linked arms as we rang the doorbell. We heard the noise die down from inside as Amy opened the door wearing a beautiful red knee-length dress.

"Welcome." She stepped aside so we could see everybody gathered inside the living room and spilling into the adjacent kitchen.

"Happy Holidays!" everybody said at once and started applauding.

"Wow, you guys must be sick of that by now," Tracy said.

It took the three of us a while to figure out that this was for us. All of the members of the Club were on their feet cheering for us. I spotted Ryan, Tyson, and Tracy's brother over in the corner doing the same thing.

"What's going on?" Diane asked Amy.

"We just wanted to give you three the welcome you deserve." She ushered us in and took our coats.

The cheering died down, but we realized that everybody was looking in our direction with smiles on their faces. I looked over at Jen and Morgan to see if I could get a hint from them, Both of them just smiled at me.

"So," Amy said to the crowd, "we all just wanted to let the three of you know how much you have meant to all of us."

Tracy grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I guess she was right after all. the three of us had really created something here. Something positive, something worth doing. Regardless of what any of the other guys in school, or Braddock, thought.

"We just wanted to give you something to say thanks." Amy grabbed three presents from under the Christmas tree by the bay window.

"Jen and I were reminiscing about the first time we joined the Club and everything we were talking about. Little did we know back then that under the tree in front of school, something this big was starting." Amy gestured toward the packed room.

Diane, Tracy, and I unwrapped our presents, but I was starting to get nervous as I heard giggling in the room. I fumbled with the wrapping, so Tracy was the first person to open her box.

"It's brilliant!" she exclaimed. I looked over and saw her hold up a white T-shirt with pink three-quarter-length sleeves. She showed me the shirt and on the front it said LHC and on the back LARSON.