W Stepparent❤️‍🩹

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My dad remarried when I was 15, and I was NOT having it. My stepmom Karen seemed nice enough, but I was determined to hate her on principle. She kept trying to bond with me, and I kept shutting her down.

Junior year, I finally got asked to prom by this guy Derek who I'd been crushing on forever. He was popular, played varsity basketball, and somehow wanted to go with me - the awkward theater kid.

I was so nervous about everything being perfect. The dress, the hair, the makeup - I wanted Derek to think I was worth his time.

The night of prom, Derek comes to pick me up. My dad's taking a million pictures while I'm dying of embarrassment, when Karen appears from the kitchen.

She takes one look at Derek in his rented tux and says, "Oh honey, you clean up nice! But I have to ask - are your intentions with my daughter honorable?"

I want to crawl into a hole. "Karen, please don't."

But she's not done. She walks right up to Derek and says, "Because I need you to know that this girl is special. She's been hurt before, and if you do anything to make her feel less than amazing tonight, you'll have to answer to me."

Derek looks confused. "Um, yes ma'am. I'll take good care of her."

Karen nods approvingly, then turns to me. "And YOU, young lady, need to remember that you're a catch. Don't let some boy make you think otherwise."

I'm mortified, but then she does something that surprises me. She pulls me aside and whispers, "I put condoms in your purse. Not because I expect anything to happen, but because I want you to be safe if it does. And I put pepper spray in there too, just in case Derek turns out to be a jerk."

I'm shocked. My own mom would have given me a lecture about staying pure. Karen just handed me practical safety tools.

"Also," she continues, "I programmed my number into your phone as 'Emergency.' If you need a ride home for ANY reason - no questions asked - you call me. I don't care if it's 3 AM."

Derek's standing there awkwardly while Karen gives me this whole safety briefing.

Then she looks at both of us and says, "Alright, go have fun! But not TOO much fun."

As we're walking to his car, Derek turns to me and says, "Dude, your stepmom is kind of gay. She's like a mom and a bodyguard rolled into one."

"She's not my mom," I say automatically.

"Maybe not, but she sure acts like someone who loves you a lot."

The prom was amazing. Derek was a perfect gentleman, we danced all night, and I felt like a princess. But around 11 PM, some of his friends started pressuring us to go to an after-party at this senior's house where there would definitely be drinking and probably worse.

Derek was into it, but something about the whole situation felt off.

I told Derek I wanted to go home. He got annoyed and said I was being a baby.

I texted "Karen" and she was there in fifteen minutes. No questions, no lectures, just "How was your night, sweetheart?"

When we got home, she made us hot chocolate and let me tell her everything. About how magical the night was, but also how disappointed I was in Derek's reaction when I wanted to leave.

"You did exactly the right thing," she said. "A boy who really cares about you will respect your boundaries, not pressure you to cross them."

Then she said something that made me cry: "I'm so proud of you for calling me. That took courage."

The next morning, Derek texted asking if we could talk. Apparently, after I left, the party got busted by cops and several kids got arrested.

I started calling her "Mom" that day.

Sometimes the best parents are the ones who choose to love you, not just the ones who have to.