Timothy Benally couldn't focus.
The Ganado High School senior was giving a college presentation in front of the school, but he was more nervous about what would come on the last slide: his promposal.
He's shared a special connection with Jess Yazzie throughout much of their high school years, and he was asking if he could escort her to the school's Las Vegas-themed prom.
Jess, who has special needs, said yes to Timothy, but she kept him on edge initially by paying more mind to the decorations he and his friend had set up than to the boy she affectionately calls "cowboy."
According to Timothy, he and Jess were both on the Homecoming court.
When spring rolled around and he was trying to name who he should ask to prom, "hers was the first that popped up in my head," he said.
They had a great night at the prom, which he said was one of the school's best in recent years. Timothy said Jess particularly enjoyed the Vegas-themed decorations.
Ever since their night together, Timothy said he's noticed a change in Jess' attitude at school.
"Just the other day a teacher came up to me and she said 'Man I don’t know what happened but Jess is just so much more outgoing in class,'” Timothy said. "She just has so much more confidence."
Jess used to hide behind her books when Timothy looked her way, but now she's hiding in the classroom before class and popping out to spook him, playing a joke on her prom date.
Timothy said his senior year has been full of great experiences, from making it to the semifinals of the state basketball tournament to winning homecoming king.
"Of all those different things, I think the thing that's going to stick with me the most is Jess," he said.
So will the rest of us. His Facebook post about their connection has gone viral.
Timothy said he admires Jess for how open she is with her emotions and her resolve against those who may judge her for her condition. He said it was a "great pleasure, an honor" to feel the twinge of nervousness he felt before the promposal, considering the pressure and judgment Jess may feel from others, though he said that's changing around school.
"I just want to be an example to other people to show that no one is above anyone else," he said. "That anyone can be a princess or royalty."
