It was going to be a very long day.

Dark, empty eyes fluttered open as soft puffs of air escaped parted lips. The sun was barely up, its gently light not quite the reason for the waking of the boy who was now staring up at the ceiling intently.

He wanted to desperately to disappear, just for this day. He wanted his alarm clock to suddenly disappear or break so he could say that he hadn't heard it. He wanted the sun to descend down the sky and be replaced by the moon, he wanted to Earth to shake, the rain to fall.

He didn't want to go. No.

But there were things he couldn't escape from. However tough they would be, however much they would heart, he couldn't flee, he could never hide. So, he could only hope that he wouldn't be chosen this year either. He had gone so many years without being chosen, why would it happen now?

Was it a certain magic that lingered in the air that coaxed him out of his bed at last? Or was it just an urge, a need for everything to pass quickly, for it all to be over? He didn't know but not much later, he was standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom, staring at himself.

He looked quite plain. Dark eyes and hair, somewhat pale, creamy skin. Like he never had the chance to chase his dreams in sleep, there were dark circles around his eyes, making him look a bit more exhausted than he actually was. A distant twinge of sorrow lingered in his gaze, almost like it lit up just because of this terrifying, horrendous day. All in all, he looked nothing like those popular boys girls wished to be paired with. Sure, it was never their choice but it still gave him some hope.

He took a shower and dressed up, frowning down at the light beige tuxedo he had been forced to wear. He hated the dress pants, too, along with the tie. This year's color for his age was beige. It would be followed with brown, then orange... And in a few years, it would be black.

Black was the color of the last hope. The clothes those whose last year to be paired off had arrived were required to wear clothes in that color on the day of the ceremony.

The one thing he had always detested.

It was all just an illusion of something good happening, nothing more than some play set up by people who whose skin was sprinkled with glitter so they looked magical. True love didn't exist and there was no chance that one could find their destined other while being called into a huge room filled with youngsters.

It was simply impossible or so the boy believed. Of course, because just like love, magic didn't exist. How could it?

"Disgusting." The boy murmured to himself with a frown as he made sure to fix his hair again. He looked bad in those clothes, he looked tired and bitter but he knew that he had to go.

So with a deep sigh, he walked out of his room, greeting his mother who was curled up on the sofa. Her glassy eyes were directed towards the screen of the TV that wasn't even ; they had long failed to gain enough money to pay its bills.

Emptily, she turned to look at her son but she said nothing.

No cheerful words left her, no encouraging smile played on her lips. She just gazed ahead with unfocused eyes before turning back, eyes once again fixed on the screen."Tao." She called simply.

Tao bit into his lower lip to suppress his tears."You're not coming?" He asked quietly. He knew that his mother was still upset, depressed and crushed but there was a chance that he would be chosen that day... The tiniest part of him wished that he would be embraced by strong arms and told that everything would be alright, that his father would return home and everything would go back to how it had been.

But fairytales like that didn't exist. So Tao just nodded a little, uttered a soft bye and walked outside, knowing well what his mother's response was.

Not much later, he was already in the hall, in the midst of many other teens. He had been told where his age-group was and now he was surrounded by boys and girls wearing beige-colored clothing. All of them looked good, expect for him. His clothes were too small, and the fact that he had dyed them from last year's pale blue was obvious. His tie was dirty and his shoes huge and black.

He took a shaky breath as the boy from next to him was called away. He hadn't even noticed that the ceremony had started. The fairies were standing on a huge stage, artificial wings attached to their backs so they looked more inhuman-like. They seemed overly joyful as they called name after name. The plump, red-haired woman would say the name of the person who was called up to the stage and the skinny, green-haired would tell them where to go.

Tao stood on his tiptoes and glanced at the side where the parents were gathered. Just as he had known already, his mother wasn't there. Deep down, he had wished for her to suddenly rush in, saying that she couldn't just miss something like this.

But no.

A girl with black hair was called from the group that was wearing a vibrant green. She squealed in joy and practically flew up to the stage, elegant, long skirt swishing behind her. She was somewhat pretty, Tao couldn't help but notice.

But everyone was pretty, actually. They were all dressed nicely. A few more names were called and as the crowd got smaller and smaller, he spotted a small, skinny boy in the middle of the teens who were clad in teal. He shot a smile to Tao, before wavering a little.

Tao's heart broke as he wanted to dash there and hold his one and only friend. Even he had come when it would hurt him more and more to do so. Those who had grave diseases taint their health were rarely ever paired off with anyone, simply because their fate was never really written in the stars, or so the fairies would say.

But suddenly, something snapped the boy out of his reverie. His name was called, loud and clear.

A mixture of odd emotions exploded in his chest. Tao wanted to cry and laugh at the same time and he wanted to run away, too. But just one sad look from his friend made him slowly walk towards the stage.

Everyone was staring at him as he bowed to the fairies, inwardly noting that in fact, their wings weren't fake. They both smiled at him reassuringly as he was told to go straight ahead and then turn to the left. He bowed again and nodded, his throat too tight for him to utter out even the softest phrase of gratitude.

And then, his legs were slowly bringing towards the room. In front of the vast, black door he stopped for a moment.

He didn't want this. He didn't want to love and be betrayed. But he was too weak to turn away.

Moments later, he found himself in front of a man.

Just a look from him was enough for Tao's leg to go weak. Before they had time to even look at each other, they were exchanging the sweetest of kisses. For a moment, Tao felt at home...

But how long would it last?