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From
The Orange County Register in Calif.:
MISSION VIEJO, Calif. – The yearly Homecoming dance is always a special night for high school teens, but the Nov. 6 dance was particularly special for Trabuco Hills High School senior Sean McElwee.
McElwee, like many boys his age, asked his friend to the Homecoming.
Sean McElwee, right, helps his date, "Glee" actress Lauren Potter, with the corsage he got her for the Trabuco Hills High School homecoming dance.
"She's kind of cute, very funny and I love her," McElwee said.
While McElwee saw his date simply as Lauren, his on-again, off-again girlfriend and good friend of nearly a year, she was more recognizable to others as Lauren Potter, a television actress who plays Becky Jackson on the popular television show "Glee."
McElwee, 17, and Potter, 20, both have Down syndrome. They met last November during the Down syndrome Association of Los Angeles' Buddy Walk. As a self-proclaimed "obsessed" Glee fan, McElwee recognized Potter and sought her out at the walk, inviting her to the Down syndrome Association of Orange County's Annual Red Carpet ball.
They have been friends ever since, dating whenever the mood strikes as so many high school-aged kids do, McElwee's mother Sandra McElwee said. The two text frequently, but only see each other on the weekends since Potter lives in Riverside and is frequently working and traveling during the week.
"We love to play baseball, but not basketball. We like bowling; I'm a pro at bowling," Potter said of their weekend activities. "We like going to dinner and movies. I like it when we do something romantic."
Saturday's Homecoming dance proved to be just that – romantic, Potter said.
Potter wore a black dress with a black and pink sweater. McElwee wore black slacks, a black shirt and a matching pink tie. McElwee even got her a pink corsage to go with her dress.
"She looked gorgeous ... and she was looking hot," McElwee said of his date.
They shared their homecoming experience with about 35 other friends from THHS. The group had their photos taken by eager parents before they headed to dinner at Café Rio in Lake Forest.
When they finally made it to the dance, Potter called the night was "amazing, wonderful and beautiful." While many at the dance recognized her, Potter said she didn't mind the extra attention.
The two danced and fought with balloons, having fun with their friends but mostly with each other. They spent most of their evening inside and away from the crowd on the outside dance floor. It was a quieter setting for their date and for the moment McElwee and Potter called the most special part of the night.
"When we kissed," Potter said.
