“So it’s decided! We’ll be doing the play ‘Sleeping Cinderella’, also known as ‘What would happen if it was Cinderella who fell asleep in the tower’,” Yoo Youngjae, the class president, leaned over to his vice, “We need to work on the title.”

 

The class cheered at the news.

 

Daehyun remained in his seat motionlessly, ranting to himself internally, as he watched the other boys high five each other.

 

Why are they all cheering? They’re all GUYS. It’s a play with a heroine. As in a FEMALE. Which means some poor bum’ll have to play a girl role and dress as one.

 

He sighed. ‘It’s sad how desperate guys will get in an all male school’, he thought as another pair of hormone-willed teens high fived each other.

 

Youngjae cleared his throat, and the class went silent.

 

“Announcing the roles that have been decided in the polls as well,” Youngjae continued, “Jung Daehyun as Prince Charming...”

 

Hmmm...Me as a prince? That’s pretty unexpected. Who would be Cinderella? Maybe Himchan? He’s pretty feminine.

 

The class president announced Himchan as the make up artist.

 

Or not. Maybe Youngjae, himself. Daehyun chuckled to himself, looking at the blond. That would .

 

“...Bang Yongguk as Cinderella...” He blinked.

 

...Oh.

 

That’s awkward.

 

He glanced over at the frozen form of his classmate with pity. Some classmates were having trouble keeping their giggles in check. Others just let it out. Like Himchan.

 

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA~ Don’t worry, baby. I’ll fix ya up real good,” he gave him a thumbs up.

 

Bang, unsurprisingly, didn’t look any more reassured.

 

Youngjae cleared his throat. “Well, now that that’s all settled. The first practice will be in the classroom tomorrow at three. We’re just gonna focus on sets and outfits, so the actors have a chance to learn their lines because, no matter how much of a freaking genius Daehyun claims to be, he’s definitely not going to memorize his lines by tomorrow. I bet my lunch money on it.”

 

Daehyun smirked.

 

“You’re on.”

 

~.~

 

Daehyun was walking from home when he saw him with his head down, concentrating on something seemingly undetectable on the sidewalk. He was going to just go his own way but decided ‘Why the hell not?’ and called out to the other. They’re going to have to get close sometime soon anyway.

 

“Hey, Bang!” He shouted out...and looked like an idiot when the other didn’t respond.

 

Slightly annoyed, Daehyun jogged the distance separating them and tapped his shoulder. The teen jerked a bit in surprise but calmed upon seeing the other’s face. He took out his earbud, music still whispering from it, and grinned at him.

 

“Hey, you.” Daehyun ignored the shiver that shook his spine from Bang’s voice.

 

“Are you going home?” The other nodded.

 

“My house is right by the convenience store over there,” he said pointing a feminine finger towards the street.

 

Daehyun blinked. “Oh, hey. You live like across the street from me.” Yongguk grinned at this.

 

“Then we can meet up sometime and practice our lines,” he said excitedly. Daehyun refrained from saying that he already memorized half the play. Instead, he laughed and nodded.

 

They bounced back and forth between topics, and two found the other to be pleasantly easy to talk to. At Yongguk’s house, they exchanged goodbyes and cell phone numbers, and Daehyun left Bang with a bit of a skip to his step.

 

Looking forward to the next day, Daehyun smiled as he walked home to memorize the rest of the play.

 

~.~

 

“This is SO not fair,” Youngjae whined as Daehyun gleefully snatched the money from his hand. Himchan watched his friends, amused. He slid his arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

 

“Aww, baby~ You should’ve known how determined Daehyunnie could get. Especially if it’s for food money,” he cooed before kissing the side of the blond’s head. The teen pouted but didn’t protest to his boyfriend’s teasing.

 

Himchan was tempted to kiss Youngjae’s pouty lips, but instead, deciding he’d save the affection for tonight (mostly for Daehyun’s sake), he glanced at the clock.

 

“Hey, it’s three. We gotta go, babe.” Youngjae nodded and motioned for Daehyun to follow them.

 

The teen jogged over, thanking the lunch lady with a charming smile one last time for the discount she gave him and caught up with the couple.

 

“What are the actors supposed to do during the practice?” He asked whilst munching on bread. Youngjae rolled his eyes.

 

“Did you pay any attention yesterday?” When Daehyun gave him a blank look, he sighed. “Actors are supposed to practice and memorize their lines. Well, you already did, so I guess, you have to help others. You should rehearse with Yongguk,” he said.

 

Daehyun smiled at the mention of Yongguk. They had talked a lot that night about everything and nothing at the same time. It seemed to him that these awkward roles had made them comrades of some sort. During class, Yongguk was nervously anticipating the rehearsal and seemed almost ready for battle. Daehyun could help but think how cute it was, seeing him fidget in his seat and toy with the edge of his script book that sat on his desk the entire class period as he glanced at the clock every five minutes.

 

Himchan looked at him. “You got a chance to talk to him right? I saw him looking at you a lot during math. You guys already friends?”

 

Daehyun smiled, “Yep, we even exchanged numbers yesterday. He’s easier to talk to than I originally thought.”

 

Himchan laughed and said, “Yeah, Yongguk seems really badass, but he’s just a big, fluffy marshmallow on the inside.”

 

The teen felt a strange flutter in his chest as he recalled the way Yongguk had smiled at him. He bit into his bread, so he didn’t have to answer back.

 

The three entered the classroom. People were scattered on the floor with blueprints laid out in front of them. All of them were hard at work, making sure this event would rake in the prizes and awards at the festival.

 

A delicately small classmate, who (if Daehyun remembered correctly) was in charge of the set designs, scampered over to Youngjae. The dirty blond watched the boy fumble with his words (He couldn’t blame him. Jae was friggin scary in business mode).

 

Why wasn’t that kid Cinderella? His face was like a girl’s, and his body would have suited the dress better... Daehyun paused in his thoughts. What was he thinking? He usually wasn’t the type to save someone’s . Especially for someone he’d gotten to know as recently as Yongguk.

 

He ruffled the back of his head in frustration and swore under his breath. “It can’t be...”

 

“What can’t be?”

 

Daehyun turned to see Yongguk standing behind him with the script rolled up in his fist and a grin on his face. The purple-haired male’s sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing hardened muscles. He felt his cheeks warm ever so slightly.

 

“Ah...Nothing. Are you trying to memorize your lines?” He asked pointing to the script. Yongguk nodded, unrolling it and turning it to a page.

 

“Yep, I think I got the first couple acts down, but there’s this one part that I have no clue what’s going on.” His eyebrows furrowed. Daehyun suppressed a giggle and settled for a small chuckle instead.

 

“Let me see,” he said and immediately regretted it the second he got a whiff of Yongguk’s cologne as the other moved in next to him. His chest pressed against the blond’s arm, giving him a good indication of how fit he was.

 

“It’s this part riiiiight here.” A long finger pointed to a passage, snapping Daehyun out of his drunken reverie.

 

“O-Oh. This is the witch’s part. The witch is trying to convince the prince that there isn’t a princess in the abandoned tower when he looks for the one that fits the shoe,” he fumbled a bit.

 

Yongguk let out a noise of understanding and moved away from him. Daehyun almost give a sigh of relief.

 

“Thanks, man,” the purple-haired teen smiled, making his heart flutter.

 

He smiled back. The only thing running through his brain was how screwed he was and that this play was going to be excruciatingly long and torturous.

 

“Choi Junhong! Stop playing games and work, or God help me I will make you Cinderella’s bridesmaid!”

 

Zelo looked flabbergasted. “There’s no marriage scene though!” Youngjae glared.

 

“Well, there’s gonna be one REAL SOON if you don’t get your to work!”

 

Daehyun sighed.

 

Really excruciating.

 

~.~

 

“My love! Your skin glows in the moonlight, and I wish to caress it!”

 

“My Prince, your words make my heart stutter, but I cannot stay long.”

 

“And why not? The night is still young, my sweet.”

 

“Please do not make my heart yearn any longer...oh, shoot.” Yongguk snapped back to the script.

 

A vein popped out of Youngjae’s head.

 

“How many times do we have to go over this?! The next line is ‘I wish to stay with you as much as you-’”

 

“‘-with me.’ Right,” Yongguk finished and nodded. Daehyun shifted awkwardly by him. He was currently positioned hip to hip with Yongguk with one of his hands on the other’s hip. Their hands were clasped together next to him.

 

Himchan, who had been watching them for some time, approached the actors, dramatically lifting his arms towards an imaginary light. “‘The sun becomes shadowed and the moon lightless.’ Right?” he quoted the next lines and laughed, dropping his arms. “Aw man. It’s almost painful to see you up there.” Yongguk glared at the teen, and Himchan ignored him in favor of talking to Youngjae.

 

“Speaking of painful,” he continued, “Yongguk’s dress is apparently too small and the designer...Kuyong? Well, he needs to measure him again.”

 

“Why are you here? Why isn’t he telling me this?” Youngjae asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

 

“...You know, you’re perfect for the role of the wicked witch,” Himchan snickered. Youngjae’s eyebrows furrowed further.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Nevermind,” he smiled charmingly. Youngjae just shrugged and called out for a ten minute break. Like a spell broken, Daehyun’s shoulders sagged, and his hand slipped from Yongguk’s hip. In the distance, the lightman fainted.

 

The blond watched the other get escorted off the classroom’s makeshift stage, laughing with different classmates.

 

“You’re closer to Yongguk than you originally let on.” Daehyun turned to see Zelo behind him watching Bang.

 

“We’ve been talking a lot more lately,” Daehyun answered, turning back around in the directing Yongguk just left.

 

It was true. The two used to only exchange a couple salutations here and there with the occasional “Can I borrow and pencil?”/”Sure”. Or “Crap. What do we have first?”/”Math.” But now, it’s like they became friends overnight.

 

Literally. They were talking to each other constantly: during passing period, class time (“MR. BANG! MR. JUNG! DO YOU TWO WANT DETENTION?!”), and even during lunch time. And Daehyun never ate with anyone during lunch. Dude, anyone could be a lunch thief. He found that out the hard way. (Daehyun never realized how evil Jongup could look with his cookie in his mouth)

 

“Welp. I wish you two the best of luck ‘cause you’re gonna need it!” With that, Zelo left, laughing maniacally.

 

Daehyun looked at him weirdly when he felt his phone vibrate. He checked the ID.

 

Oh. A text from Bang. He quickly opened the message, and his eyes widened.

 

-Save me-

 

With lightning speed that would have made a track runner cry, Daehyun rushed over to the designer section (the bathroom).

 

“YONGGUK!” he yelled, banging the door open. Eyes turned toward him. Himchan, leaning against a cubicle, whistled.

 

“Talk about embarrassingly dramatic. What’s up, Daehyunnie?” he asked laughing, but the blond didn’t hear him.

 

He was entirely focused on the chest and torso in front of him. Kuyong, a small cutie, had his tape measure splayed out across his back, hands caressing the firm skin, and Daehyun had never wanted to be a tape measure so badly until that moment.

 

“Daehyunnie?” Said male snapped up at the sound of Himchan’s voice.

 

“Uh...I just came to make sure Yongguk isn’t late,” he put together lamely. Himchan glanced between him and the half- teen before smirking knowingly and let out a quiet “Hmmm?”

 

Daehyun couldn’t help but get a little worried at how much he knew.

 

“You sure you’re okay?” Yongguk touched his cheek lightly. “Your face is all red.”

 

The blond felt his face heat up even more. “N-No. I’m fine. You?” Bang shook his head and gave him a look, “No, really, I’m fine, Yongguk. We should get going back to the classroom.”

 

Yongguk finally seemed to give. “Okay...” He put on his shirt, to Daehyun’s chagrin, and looked back at him. “Hey, you wanna come over to my house on the night before the last rehearsal for a sleepover? We’ll probably need it,” he paused before adding sheepishly, “Well, I will anyway.”

 

Daehyun laughed at his adorable embarrassment, making the other’s cheeks warm further. “Sure, sure. I’ll probably need it too to calm my nerves or something.”

 

Yongguk grinned, and Daehyun inwardly swooned. “Cool.”

 

“Let’s get our butts back in the class!” Youngjae’s voice echoed in the hallway.

 

Himchan rolled his eyes and made sure to shout back, “What did you say? You want me in your ? Patience, baby~ Patience~!”

 

They all laughed when profanities quickly followed. The two boys never saw Himchan slip Bang’s cell phone back into his backpack.

 

~.~

 

The next couple days passed by uneventfully. Well, other than Daehyun’s disturbing sensitivity to Yongguk’s presence, of course, and he would have liked to say that it didn’t impact his day in any way, but that would be a lie based on blatant denial. If anything, Yongguk seemed to grow quite accustomed to sticking to Daehyun during class and rehearsal. This, in turn, was causing the common symptoms of having a crush to arise in him more often than he was comfortable with (i.e. blushing, occasionally stammering, fidgeting irregularly).

 

Oh yeah. He had it bad.

 

So when Yongguk decided to lean over his back while he was blissfully unaware to get a glimpse of what he was reading, Daehyun couldn’t help but let out a small mewl at the sudden flood of his scent and heat.

 

There was a moment of embarrassed silence in which he wanted to crawl into a hole before Yongguk quickly apologized and left the empty library and a horrified Daehyun in his wake.

 

Daehyun watched him go, and once the male was out of sight, he groaned loudly and dropped his head with a thunk against the desk.

 

“God, whyyyyy...?” His voice echoed in the large room, further emphasizing his loneliness.

 

“Why what?”

 

Daehyun looked up to see Himchan leaning against the doorframe with an amused smile on his pretty face. He dropped his head back down on the wood, smooshing his cheek against it.

 

“Why am I so...ME?!” He cried out in frustration. Himchan only laughed, making him turn to glare at him. The other male was undeterred by this.

 

“Enough angst. We need you in the bathroom/designers’ department to get you fitted into your dress. As much as Yongguk and I would like to see you in a crop top, the principle won’t be so happy, so we need to make sure everything is the right length,” he said with a devilish smirk.

 

Daehyun crinkled his brows.

 

“Why would Yongguk want to see me in a crop top?”

 

Himchan pretended not to hear and left the library, throwing a “Hurry there~” over his shoulder.

 

Still confused, Daehyun got out of his seat to put the book back and head to the bathroom/designer’s department. They needed a new name for it.

 

~.~

 

“Twirl for me! TWIRL!”

 

“I’M TWIRLIN’! I’M FRIGGIN’ TWIRLIN’!” Yongguk snapped at the designer. The student was a flamboyant male by the name of Kim Youngmin who was legendary for his love of sewing and flaming gay-ness. If one squinted hard, they would see sparkles in his hair.

 

Yongguk donned a darkish purple, wavy-haired wig, matching his own tresses. This complemented with the beautiful turquoise dress that flowed down his muscular form. Small, detailed embroidery decorated the outfit in a way that would have passed as professional work. He had to say it was pretty damn good.

 

Daehyun watched with amusement from the sidelines as he was being measured by his own designer, Jang Minwoo.

 

Youngmin dramatically sighed, placing his hand on his forehead. “Ohh~ Why does this big brute have to wear my belle dress?” He moved over to bring Daehyun to his side by the hip, making him yelp. “I would MUCH rather have this dame wear it.”

 

Himchan was the only one who noticed Yongguk’s face darken.

 

He cleared his throat. “I think Daehyun should go in the the ‘changing room’,” he made quotation marks into the air with two fingers.

 

“Ohhh~~~~ Yes, yes, yes, yes~” Youngmin practically shoved Daehyun into the stall, “I would looove to see you in our creation. Right, Minwoo?” Said male nodded silently.

 

“Please change into this”, the quiet boy ordered, placing a large, white plastic bag into his hands. The blond nodded before closing the door.

 

Himchan walked up to Bang, smiling mischievously .

 

“Was that jealousy I smelled just now?” he whispered into his ear. Yongguk turned to look at him incredulously.

 

“What? What are you talking about?” he whispered back fiercely. Himchan lifted up his hands in mock surrender and smirked.

 

“I’m ready”, Daehyun’s voice muffled out from behind the stall.

 

“So fast! Then come out~” Youngmin cried out in excitement. The door opened as Daehyun walked out timidly for inspection. The flamboyant designer’s eyes widened in delight.

 

“You look absolutely...DELICIOUS!” Youngmin looked at him from head to toe, lifting his arm up and then down. “The outfit suits you perfectly~!”

 

And it did. Yongguk’s eyes also widened and his pupils dilated as it took in the red material that seemed to hug Daehyun’s lithe upper body. Gold epaulettes with tassels hung off his shoulders, making his shoulders look broader, and small medallions were sewed onto his left . He trailed down the gold, shiny buttons down to his white gloves and then his black pants. He couldn’t help but note that Daehyun’s looked very cute in black.

 

Himchan snickered in the corner at Yongguk’s obviously appreciative stare.

 

Daehyun squirmed uncomfortably under all of their attention and cleared his throat. Yongguk seemed to realize what he was doing and looked away with a blush on his face. The black-haired male that was leaning against the wall, pushed off of it and grabbed their attention.

 

“I think it’s time for dress rehearsal, right?” They all nodded and walked off. Himchan laughed when Yongguk almost tripped over his dress. He sighed in frustration before grabbing a big handful of the material and lifted it off the ground to Youngmin’s horror.

 

In the school’s auditorium, Youngjae brightened up upon seeing them. He waved his clipboard around, gesturing them to come.

 

He sighed, “Boy, am I glad to see you guys. Some of these people here are idiots and I don’t think I can handle them much longer- HEY, YOU! CAREFUL WITH THAT! IT WASN’T CHEAP, Y’KNOW! ...See what I mean?” He ran his hand through his hair.

 

“Should we start rehearsal now?” Daehyun asked. Youngjae nodded.

 

“As soon, as we fix the wall from set #4. It’s wobbly and keeps falling. It could be pretty dangerous.” The costumed male nodded.

 

Yongguk turned to Daehyun. “So...You coming over tonight? It’s the night before the last rehearsal. Still up for it?”

 

The other nodded eagerly (but not too eagerly), “I have all my stuff in my locker, so we can head straight to your place after this is done with.” Yongguk grinned that boyish grin of his and Daehyun’s heart did not fail to skip a beat.

 

“Awesome. Then tonig-” He was cut off by Youngjae calling them in for scene one.

 

“Ah, shoot. Tell me later, okay?” Daehyun said. The other agreed and hurried to avoid the director’s wrath.

 

~.~

 

They arrived at Yongguk’s house rather quickly, due to its close proximity to the school. Daehyun slipped off his shoes and placed his bag on the ground.

 

He looked around at the house and whistled appreciatively. The walls were a soothing mocha color and the furniture was colored either brown or white, complementing it beautifully. There was a small, cute kitchen and dining room adjacent to the living room that he walked into with a cooler baby blue. The small coffee table served as a dining table, he observed, seeing a half-eaten breakfast.

 

“Where are your parents?” He asked, sliding off his blazer. Yongguk, still in the living room, mirrored his actions.

 

“Ah, they’re almost always at business trips. Mom’s an archeologist, and Dad’s an oceanographer. They’re probably more in love with their jobs than each other, but they’re keeping it steady so it’s all good.” Daehyun nodded in agreement, silently admiring his parents’ choice of work.

 

“Want pizza? I can order right now so we can eat it sooner”, he asked, holding up a cell.

 

“Sure”, he agreed amiably as he placed his blazer on the sofa with his bag.

 

Yongguk quickly finished the call, asking for everything as per Daehyun’s request and decided to finally show his guest the way to his room and where he’d sleep for the night. His room was typical of a high school boy, albeit a bit on the cleaner side. There weren’t any clothing strewn on the floor like Daehyun’s own bedroom. Wooden flooring was covered in a small patterned rug, and his bedsheets were a pale white color. Daehyun noticed a worn acoustic guitar sitting in the corner as well.

 

“This is my room”, Bang waved into the air. “It’s not much but you can sleep on my bed since it’s big enough. Um, or the ground but I kinda don’t want you to get back pain the night before the last rehearsal.”

 

Daehyun was silently glad for the excuse to sleep on the same bed as the other but just nodded ambiguously.

 

Yongguk started shuffling around his stuff, clearing off the bed of his homework. “Do you wanna go take a shower while I get an extra pillow and stuff?”

 

“Yeah, sure”, Daehyun nodded. He quickly grabbed his toiletries and left for the bathroom he spotted earlier.

 

Once he was out of sight, Yongguk flopped down on the bed and huffed irritably at his nervousness. He took a quick glance at the clock. 7:00 pm. Yongguk had approximately eleven hours of having Daehyun all to himself. He froze and ruffled his hair frustrated.

 

The doorbell rang at that moment, and he all but ran downstairs to answer it, glad for a distraction from his thoughts.

 

He paid, gave a tip to the guy, and shut the door inhaling the fresh smell of pizza. He took the box to his room and set it on his desk.

 

Placing his hands on his hips, he noticed that the shower was no longer running.

 

“Hey, Dae. The pizza’s...here...”he trailed off as the sound of soft padding entered the room.

 

His mouth went dry at the sight of Daehyun’s glistening body and torso. His eyes unconsciously followed a stray drop of water that was gliding down the unmarred flesh enviously. Daehyun’s cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat of the shower, making Yongguk’s fantasies go wild with thoughts of how he would look with a different kind of flush on his face.

 

“Umm...Yongguk...?” The purple-haired male jolted up from this dream world.

 

“Y-Yeah...?” He stammered, and then facepalmed himself inwardly. Could he be anymore obvious?

 

Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled the room, and the dirty blond male looked down in embarrassment.

 

Yongguk laughed, “I guess someone’s hungry, huh?” Daehyun chuckled, scratching his head sheepishly.

 

Thirty minutes later, the pizza was decimated and the pair was laying on the bed looking at the ceiling, suddenly painfully aware of the other’s body heat.

 

“Tomorrow’s the last rehearsal, huh...” Daehyun sighed. He felt a little sorry that it had passed by so quickly. The play was excuse enough to get close to Yongguk, and he wouldn’t have that anymore with it being over. Well, he would still be friends with the guy, so that was something, right?

 

“Yeah...” Yongguk huffed, “Kinda glad, too. I mean, I don’t really want to wear a drag for more than I have to.” Daehyun laughed at that.

 

“So true.” The purple-haired teen suddenly his side towards him, staring intently.

 

“...Hey, Dae? This is a little sudden but do...you have someone you like?” Daehyun looked up at that. He couldn’t help but feel just a bit hopeful at the motive behind the question.

 

“Yeah, I do”, he said slowly. He wanted to answer as sincerely as possible. “But it’s unrequited. I don’t know if that person likes me back.”

 

“Oh.” Yongguk became quiet.

 

Daehyun wanted to say something but didn’t know what. “Um...I mean, don’t worry about it, man.”

 

Yongguk suddenly looked embarrassed and turned back to look at the ceiling. “NO! I’m not. I’m not worried...I mean- ...yeah...”

 

“...Okay...” he gave the other a strange sidelong glance and shrugged as if letting the matter go despite that it was actually swirling in the back of his mind like a storm.

 

“Go to sleep, Dae. We still need to go to school tomorrow”, Yongguk whispered. He nodded and closed his eyes.

 

It wasn’t long after, when soft snores came from the Yongguk’s side of the bed that Daehyun realized just how hard he fell for him.

 

~.~

 

The class passed by excruciatingly slowly, and Daehyun practically leapt out of his seat just to get to the auditorium.

 

As expected, the rest of the class was also quick in getting there as they were just as eager to get it over with or be able to witness the fruit of all their hard work.

 

Yongguk was reluctant to get into his princess garb again until Youngjae decided, “FINE. I mean, instead we could always attach that wedding scene at the end”, and with that, he was in the changing room.

 

Daehyun hung out in the back, laughing with Jongup who was in charge of moving the sets from place to place.

 

He laughed at a pointless joke the other made while he flexed his enviable muscles, when he heard someone call out to him.

 

It wasn’t until he turned to see Youngjae and Yongguk’s panicked faces that he realized that they were saying.

 

“WATCH OUT!”

 

Daehyun looked up too late. The wall from set #4 that was wobbly from day one and had yet to be fixed came crashing down on the blond, crushing him with its sheer weight. He fell to the floor on his hands and knees and then his stomach, pain blooming from his head. The protruding texture of the wall dug into his back, and he struggled to move away from it only causing it to scrape along his arms and legs.

 

“Daehyun!” He looked up to see his partner on his knees in front of him. Yongguk shoved the set piece off his limp frame, and it landed behind him with a soft thunk.

 

“We need to get him into the infirmary”, Youngjae quickly commanded, urgency clear in his voice. Hands caressed his face before he was lifted up onto Yongguk’s back.

 

He saw Jongup’s stricken expression and smiled weakly at him to reassure the other that he was okay.

 

In his dizzy state as he was being rushed to the nurse’s office, he could only think two things: He shouldn’t get blood on Yongguk’s dress and OH CRAP YONGGUK’S STILL IN HIS DRESS.

 

~.~

 

“Dae...? Daehyunnie? You awake?”

 

The dirty blond opened his eyes, blearily. Slowly, he took in the white wall of the nurse’s office and the orange sunlight spoke in volumes that he was out for quite some time. He then turned his head to see Yongguk sitting on a plastic green chair, looking at him worried. Even weakened, he couldn’t help but think how pretty he looked bathed in the light of the sunset.

 

“Wha...?” He croaked out. Yongguk sighed in relief.

 

“Hey, you. You were out for the entire practice and missed Youngjae yelling at the set designers and constructors for putting off repairs. They wrote you an apology letter, by the way...How are you feeling? The set wasn’t supposed to be that heavy but it hit you right in the head. Nurse said it would be okay by tomorrow”, he rambled a bit. He shifted his arms a couple times, not knowing what to do with himself.

 

Daehyun tried to sit up and did so with the help of the purple-haired male.

 

“I’m always getting hurt, so this isn’t anything new”, he tried to reassure him.

 

It didn’t work.

 

Instead, Yongguk got this dark, angry look on his face, and Daehyun was suddenly kinda scared.

 

“That’s not good, you idiot! Do you know how freaking SCARED I was for you just now? And you brush it off with a ‘It’s nothing new’? That’s not how it works! I- I took a good look at your bleeding head and regretted the moment I parted ways with you because then you wouldn’t have gone to the set area at that moment. ...God! I was horrified! I love you too much for you to just wave things like this off!” Yongguk was breathing heavily at this point and lost in his rant.

 

Daehyun’s eyes widened in disbelief. His heart stopped, and time seemed to still briefly.

 

“W-Wait”, he interrupted breathlessly. “Yo-You love me?”

 

Yongguk seemed to realize what he had said and flushed a deep red as he stammered, trying to cover up his give away. His clammy hands wiped the side of his pants as he desperately tried to look anywhere else but him. Daehyun was having none of that.

 

“NO! It’s not a bad thing. I-I’ve been in love with you since the day we really talked on the way home”, he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck almost sheepishly.

 

Yongguk took a second to process this sudden development.

 

“You mean- I...We...We love each other?” he asked dumbly. Daehyun laughed at how cute the other was being.

 

“I guess so”, he smiled.

 

At that moment, Yongguk took in the sight of the teen sitting there in the light of the sunlight, his hair and skin glowing in the colors. He realized how incredibly perfect the other was and that, in seconds, he was all his.

 

He quickly but gently took the teen’s cheeks into his hands and kissed the other’s nose and then his full lips. Daehyun gasped at the suddenness of it all but rapidly found a rhythm to follow as he kissed Yongguk back.

 

The purple-haired male tugged at his bottom lip, and the other granted him access almost immediately. His tongue slid in and met its companion easily, playing with it and tasting the flavor of Daehyun that he found was intoxicatingly delicious.

 

They parted ways reluctantly when the need for oxygen suddenly grew urgent. Yongguk leaned his head into the other’s chest listening to the soft beating inside.

 

“Wow... We’re kinda dumb”, he muttered and Daehyun laughed, making Yongguk’s head bounce in place.

 

“Yeah, we are.”

 

“...So will you be my boyfriend?”

 

Daehyun smiled that angelic smile again and his breath caught in his throat. “Of course, you idiot. I don’t kiss other people for no reason.”

 

Yongguk pressed his lips against the other’s again.

 

“Good. Because I ain’t thinking about sharing you anytime soon. Or at all”, he growled possessively. Daehyun laughed and kissed Yongguk in reassurance.

 

“I’m glad I didn’t get hurt too bad. I still need to kiss my sleeping Cinderella after all”, Daehyun teased. The purple-haired teen groaned in aggravation.

 

“Don’t remind me. Today, Youngjae said...”

 

~.~

 

“...I’m going to make you do the wedding scene if you don’t wear the pink dress we designated for the kiss scene”, the director said, as a matter of factly.

 

Yongguk sighed heavily, “It’s pink and I hate pink. Not that it’s feminine or anything, but THAT color reminds me of pepto bismol. What happened to the blue one?”

 

“It doesn’t match with the white outfit that Daehyun wears to go save you”, Himchan chimed in and Youngmin nodded enthusiastically next to him.

 

Yongguk huffed, and Youngjae sighed irritably. One could cut the tension with a butter knife.

 

“Why are you saying this NOW? And on the day of the play, no less! People are already gathering outside, you know!” Youngjae began tapping his foot.

 

“Well, I could have protested EARLIER if you guys had told me that there’s an outfit change right smack in the middle of Daehyun’s heroic scene!” Yongguk wanted to stomp his foot petulantly.

 

“Because we knew that you’d act like this, so we all chose to tell you at the last minute!” Himchan chimed in again with Youngmin nodding behind him.

 

“And you thought I’d agree in the pressure of the approaching curtain opening?” He growled.

 

Himchan paused. “...Well...It’s working, isn’t it?”

 

At this, Yongguk wisely chose to snatch the disgustingly pink abomination and stomp off angrily.

 

Daehyun walked in as Yongguk left. “...The pink situation?” he asked knowingly.

 

They all just nodded, satisfied with themselves.

 

~.~

 

The curtains opened to reveal Zelo in all his tallness, standing there with a feather hat and a puffy middle-aged outfit holding a slightly yellowed scroll.

 

He coughed. “Welcome to the TS High School’s Annual Festival! I hope everyone is having fun?” The audience agreed and he grinned. “Well, if you aren’t, we’ll make sure to turn that around with Classroom 4-A’s play, ‘Sleeping Cinderella’!”

 

The crowd clapped and Zelo bowed making his exit.

 

The stage darkened and there was a shuffle before it was relighted and a pitiful-looking Yongguk was revealed on his hands and knees, scrubbing an unknown stain on the floor.

 

“What the hell is my son wearing?!” Yongguk’s dad whispered.

 

“SHHH!” His wife hushed him, already enraptured in the play.

 

Three other males from Classroom 4-A came down from the stairs daintily, one of them almost tripping.

 

“My, my, look here. If it isn’t Cinderella”, he sneered behind his feathered fan. “How is the air down there?”

 

The others laughed obnoxiously. The stepmother, the tallest of the three, quickly sobered up. “Now, now, children. We mustn’t waste what little time we have on this peasant.”

 

“Where are you going?” Yongguk’s voice attempted to attain a falsetto. Youngjae and the crew stifled snickers backstage.

 

“Just the greatest ball in the century of balls”, the stepsister suppressed a giggle at the hidden innuendo. “It’s at that prince’s castle, I’ll have you know.”

 

“May I go as well?” Yongguk implored, clutching his hands to his chest hopefully. The other “ladies” snorted at this.

 

“You can after you finish your chores. All of the them”, the stepmother commanded pointing to the long, long list of things to do on a piece of rolled paper he pulled out of his pocket.

 

“Thank you! Thank you!” Yongguk said. The women huffed and stalked away.

 

The curtain darkened.

 

The ball scene went by without a hitch. The wall that was used in the flirting scene was fixed and ready for use, and the line that Yongguk had so much trouble with before was recited perfectly.

 

The magical stepmother laughed evilly as Cinderella fell asleep in the tower of their home. Yongguk realized how nice it was to finally close his eyes to the harsh reality of dresses and hoped that his “prince” could hurry the hell up so that they could get this over with.

 

Daehyun fought valiantly through enchanted vines and magic soldiers that appeared out of nowhere, and then proceeded to beat the step sisters and mother like he was Mario and they were the three bosses.

 

He found Cinderella suddenly sleeping elegantly in a circle of wildflowers with a halo of gold sitting on her purple hair. Daehyun wanted to laugh at how cordy his muscles looked under that dress.

 

“What magic is this that makes your eyelashes brush your cheeks for so long? It must be the kiss of a prince to save this maiden!” With that revelation, he knelt down and pressed his lips against Yongguk’s. A series of girlish squeals echoed from both the audience and backstage.

 

Cinderella’s eyes fluttered open, and he leapt up in delight.

 

The two hugged in the middle of the stage, and the curtains swept to a close as Zelo bowed again saying that it was a “happily ever after”.

 

~THE AFTER PARTY~

 

“Cheers to our awesome play and our newly-formed couple, Yongguk and Daehyun!” Youngjae shouted holding up his glass of soda. Everyone cheered. Daehyun flushed a deep red but held up his glass nonetheless.

 

“It went pretty well, didn’t it, baby?” Himchan wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s waist and kissed his cheek.

 

Youngjae nodded. “Other than the fact that both Yongguk and Stepsister #2 tripped over their dresses, and that Tree #3 sneezed in the middle of the serenading, it went pretty well.”

 

Yongguk and Daehyun sat at a corner all to themselves elsewhere.

 

The purple-haired teen sipped at his coke when Daehyun spoke. “You know, I was pretty regretful that the play was going to be over so quickly because I wouldn’t have an excuse to talk to you again.”

 

Yongguk looked up from his drink. “What? That’s dumb. You could’ve talked to me anytime.”

 

“Yeah. It is. Well, I wanted an excuse to see you in a drag too...” Daehyun trailed off, smiling mischievously.

 

Yongguk choked on his drink before he grabbed the other’s head to noogy him. “You little...!”

 

Daehyun laughed, wriggling out of his grasp. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there to kiss you awake when you fall under the witch’s magic spell.”

 

Yongguk shut him up with a kiss, and the two melted into each other, ignoring the hoots of appreciation behind them.