5 days to Prom 

Afgan 

Like a jittery ghost, the days after the smiling incident, he haunted the hall and the area near his hazel eyed girl's class, hoping to get a glance of her. He was too shocked to follow her directly to the hall the other day, and he lamented it so bad afterwards. So in the end, he tried to redeem himself by trying to 'confront' her once again, to make sure that the earliest, tiniest glimpse of hope in the form of pointed hint or signal from her wasn't just a mere courtesy. Alright, she was a kind, demure girl, but she was also very polite towards older people so he needed confirmation. Too bad he couldn't involve his besties yet, lest he was proven wrong. He couldn't bear being their clown for weeks if they ever caught him thinking of that girl liking him, no scratch that, reciprocating his feelings for her, and that the lines he wrote in his notebook were actually for her. Ultrakill. 

Thus, here he was, after school, obediently using the command of Mr Jo as an excuse to sneak a peek at Raisa. He agreed to write some lyrics for his class band's performance, and that day they suppossed to use the hall together with other performers to have a mini rehearsal. 

He went to that centre building right after concluding some paperworks at school office. None of his friends arrived yet, so he lingered near the entrance, just under the bushy tree. The sound of people clapping and leather drum percussion reverberated from inside, followed by some muffled comments, then silence. 

Next performance, he mused. 

"Check..check..," his ear perked up at that voice. That beautiful voice. His heartbeat accelerated. 

So this time was her band's turn. 

"My shattered dream.....," there she went, with her melodious voice, and instantly, his smile bloomed. It was Brian McKnight's song that she was singing, and he began to sing it with her. By heart. 

"I know I gotta be strong, But 'round me Life goes on and on and on, and on....," 

Closing his eyes, he nodded to her pitch, pleased when it hit the correct notes. This girl seriously can be a great singer one day if she decided to pursue career in it, he thought in awe. 

Another chorus went well, and he found his feet enchantedly walked towards the entryway, to the source of those magical spell. 

A few meters inside, he could see her without barrier. Standing on her turf, her eyes closed as she gathered her focus on the music, mic grapped firmly between her hands, and her hair framed her pretty, sweaty face almost flawlessly. 

He was enthralled. It was too good not to be immortalized. If only he had a camera...

A light pop in his mind and he grabbed his pen and freshly bought notebook instantly. Without stopping a beat, he began to sketch, alternating between raising and bending his head to catch the vision. His pen brushed the white paper furiously, as he raced with time before the song ended and the magic disappeared. 

At one point, he realized that she had opened her eyes, and she..seemed to be aware of his presence, as he watched with elation, a tiny smile was formed at the corner of her lips. 

So cute...!

He couldn't help but breaking into a shy, sheepish smile himself, moony eyed at her. 

Then, suddenly spurred by the newfound confidence by that smile exchange, he scribed some final words to her at the previous page before his sketch, expressing whatever words he had in mind at that time. He couldn't afford another round of lamenting later. 

When he finished it 10 seconds later, she had reached the last tunes, humming in falsetto, looking elsewhere but evidently looked happier. 

But at that moment, a wave of nervous hit him again, now that the song that served as a bridge between them faded. His dorky, shy side came in full force as it dawn on him where he stood. Too many people. Too many things to say. Too lost to begin anything. What if she wanted to talk...wait, why would she? What if...what if she went away again? What if he messed up and chased her away? He was never good with girls anyway...

It was too much for him, so he decided to go back where he came, but left his notebook deliberately on the nearest desk. So that he could have some legit excuse to go back in, in case his courage meter could be restored. Or his friends came later. Whatever. He just felt it has to be left there. 

Or maybe, just maybe, that girl would be curious enough to find what was there that he wrote down during her singing...

He threw her a last glance as he put the book down, then turned around to head outside, putting the earbud firm on his ears. It might be a cool gesture for people watching, but little that they know that it was fully to drown the sound of his heart, beating so strongly inside his rib cage. 

When he had reached his bushy, breezy spot, he let out shaky breaths. 

Inside the hall, a pair of hand curiously lifted the book, and opened it. 

~~ 

Raisa 

The night was way past its middle mark, but she couldn't sleep due to the bubbles of excitement that kept engulfing her, making her restless. She reached towards the blue book that she brought home that evening, and as she rolled over, her long fingers caressed its pages fondly. 

She opened it, and there was an image of a long haired girl, standing elegantly with a sequin dress on stage, with some words beautifully inscribed below it. She rifled through the previous page, and another image welcomed her. Its a sandglass, fully filled with artistically drawn words. 

She read it, 

"They said that love takes time, 

But that doesn't apply the first time I heard your voice," 

She read it over and over again, before succumbing to the butterflies inside her stomach, as she grabbed the nearest pillow and muffled her squeal with it. 

She recalled the earlier events before the book ended in her possession. 

She was belting her heart out, determined to reach perfection during today's rehearsal. 

"One last cry......," 

When she opened her eyes during the last chorus, the senior that had been niggling in her mind these last few days was there, looking at her intently. Another look at him and she saw that he was busy writing, or drawing something, all the while keeping his eyes on her. She felt her heart began to act out, but it was accompanied by a strangely pleasant feeling. 

He was there, looking at her from afar, only her. Now it wasnt a daydream. She couldn't hold the ghost of a smile from appearing. 

Then he smiled back, his adorable smile, and she was at loss, at loss to discern the joy that burst within her. 

It took all her focus to stay perform solidly on stage, why, a good practice, and when she reached the end humming, a wave of relief washed her over. 

She put the mic back, then casually looked around to gesture her thanks for the approving claps she earned when she caught him glancing very briefly at her direction while putting a book on one of the desk near him. Then he turned around and went back to his oblivion with his earbuds on. 

She should feel a little dissapointed he didn't stay longer to give any appreciation, not that she craved for it but...well, it wont hurt him to do so, but her mind was inexplicably steered to that dark blue book he left behind. 

Waving her hand for excuse, she descended from the stage and beelined for the book. She took it, then opened it without hesitation since her curiosity overwrote it. Some blank papers......she rifled through the pages impatiently...she was sure he had written something down...and it was the only book he had in hand....

Some pages after that, and she finally found what she wanted. 

It was the picture of a girl, and some words. 

When she finished reading it in just a few seconds, she giggled bashfully. 

How cute! 

She held the book close to her chest, breathing the air happily as the world around her suddenly appeared much more beautiful than it was, all shiny. 

~~