Texas Homecoming Queen Gives Her Crown to Friend Who Was Pranked

From left: Naomi Martinez, Lillian Skinner and Anahi Alvarez

By Tara Fowler

@waterfowlerta

09/19/2014 AT 12:45 PM EDT

Lillian Skinner was thrilled when she was told she'd been nominated for homecoming queen at Grand Prairie High School in North Texas.

But the news turned out to be a cruel joke made by some unnamed girls at her school.

Thankfully two young ladies who were actually nominated have hearts of gold. When Anahi Alvarez and Naomi Martinez, who are longtime friends of Skinner's, heard about the prank, they vowed to give their pal the crown regardless of who won.

"We promised each other and we were like, 'No matter what, no backing down. If one of us wins, we're giving Lillian the crown,' " Martinez told NBC 5 in Dallas.

And when Alvarez was named homecoming queen, that's exactly what happened. She called Skinner up to the stage, much to the teen's surprise.

"I said, 'It's okay. It's okay. It's your crown ... My name is not on the list,' " Skinner recalled.

"Seeing the look on her face and the way she reacted toward it, it was priceless," Martinez said. "I knew it was the right decision."

"For me, I want to say, and I always say, 'Lilly won. I just ran in her place, in her position,' " Alvarez added. "When they ask me, 'Were you homecoming queen?' I say, 'No, Lilly is homecoming queen.' "