It seemed like things wouldn't end for the young teen. He was first forced to do all the work, then blackmailed and now his stepfamily was making him miss the one event that he was invited to since that wedding. He left the kitchen and went back to work trying his best to get his composure. He saw that his next costumer was actually his idol and his old boss.
"Mr. Sakuma." Shuichi said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Let me get a coffe, 2 creams, one sugar." He ordered.
"Coming right up." Shuichi said dryly. Then he went back into the kitchen to make yet another coffee. He knew that the shift was just getting started.
Ryuichi just looked at his former employee. He saw that something was very wrong. Whenever Shuichi worked for him he was happy but now with new management. He could see and feel the misery that his former employee was feeling.
"What's the matter shu?" he asked. "You seem out of it."
The pink haired boy wasn't about to let his emotions get in the way in his work. But there was no one else at the shop just yet so he thought maybe he could talk to the former pop idol for a bit. It wasn't like it mattered to him though. There was no way for him to make Shuichi's dreams come true. So he thought.
"Well, Ayumi has been breathing down my neck with this double shift lately. I had plans tonight but she ruined that." Shuichi explained. Then he went back to the counter to wait for more costumers.
"Shuichi, did your plans include a date?" Ryuichi asked.
"N-no!" He said defensively. But it was obvious that he was lying. Since the teen didn't lie very often, it was easy for anyone to know when he was lying. Especially if someone dealt with liars for a living. Ryuichi wasn't one of those people but he knew something had to be done to cheer up is former employee.
"Shuichi, why don't you take the night off? I'll handle everything here." The former star suggested.
The boy thought about it for a minute. He wanted to go to that party. He wanted to be with Yuki. But was it really worth letting his former boss take Ayumi's wrath? Then he remembered what Ayumi told Taki one day. She was going out and that she would be home by midnight. He still thought about what would happen if he were to get back to the shop after his stepmother returned.
"I guess I could let you take over but… I have to be home by midnight. Plus I don't have anything to wear to the Masquerade ball." He said. Then Ryuichi thought about what to do about that problem. He remembered Shuichi going on and on about some Masquerade ball that he was invited to and how excited he was to be invited personally. But then another flashback hit young Shuichi.
Flashback- a few hours ago.
Taki already found the suit and showed it to them. the once glamorous tuxedo was now nothing but rags. Every piece of it from head to toe was torn and cut.
"THAT WAS A RENTAL!" Shuichi shouted.
"Your loss." Taki taunted. "Now get to work!"
End flashback.
"Follow me." Ryuichi said. And they left the shop to a nearby rental store. Then he looked around the store for a new tux for one of his best employees and fans. After a few minutes of looking around he finally found what he believed to be the perfect new tux for Shuichi. It shined with a lavender glow, a mask that would fit his small delicate face and a hat that would cover nearly his entire head. To many it looked like it was something out of a three ring circus. But it was just the right size and style for the pink haired boy.
As they exited the store with a new tux and Shuichi's new found happiness from the trip, they went back to the shop where the teen got dressed and was on his way to his school. Then ryuichi told him the one thing he already knew but had to remind him just in case.
"You have to be back here by midnight, Okay Shu?" He said. "No later than that because I have a busy day tomrrow morning and I need my rest."
Then Shuichi was already out of the shop and on his way to what would be the best night of his life.
At the ball, Yuki was waiting around for what seemed to be two hours. He didn't dance with one person the entire time he was here. Sitting next to him was his younger brother Tatshuha. He was beginning to suspect that his big brother was waiting for someone who was either late or probably not showing up at all.
"Who are you waiting for, bro?" Tatsuha asked. Then he noticed that the older teen was looking around for someone. In a way he knew exactly who Yuki was waiting for.
"Don't tell me, coffee boy right?" He guessed. He didn't know Shuichi all that well but he knew that Eiri would always go to him in the shop. It seemed like they always bumped into each other at the most unintentionally convinient times. But as time went on, there was no sign of the boy. Yuki was starting to give up.
"I knew inviting him was a mistake." He said. But it appeared that he spoke to soon. Someone came through the door but not just any guest. It was Shuichi dressed up in the outfit that his old boss rented him. Heads turned as he made his way to The bench where Yuki was at.
When A few of Shuichi's classmates saw him, didn't reconize him at all. Sure it was a masquerade ball and everyone was in a mask but there was no one at that party that would have guessed that it was him. Well, almost no one. Hiro instantly knew it was his friend and Yuki at least suspected it but wasn't sure.
"I knew Shuichi wouldn't miss it." He said to Suguru. Suguru nodded. He knew that Shuichi would have probably snuck out to be there.
"I just hope his mom doesn't find out he's here." the younger teen added.
Taki couldn't take his eyes of the boy and was getting suspicious as well.
"Maa, does that kid look familiar to you?" He asked his date.
"I don't know Taki." Maa said. "I haven't seen him around here before." Then he looked harder at Shuichi. He knew that something was up.
There's no way that could be Shindou. He thought. "He just looks really familiar, You know?" He told the blond boy.
"Yeah, Yeah, Shut up and dance with me!" Maa demanded.
"Hi, there." Shuichi greeted the blond. The other teen didn't say a word to him. Was he angry at him or could it be that maybe he was sad about something? Either way, he had to get Yuki to talk to him.
"Sorry I'm late." Shuichi said. "I was busy doing stuff." But he still didn't respond. Shuichi began to think that maybe his invitation expiered when he showed up so late. But of course he would be proven wrong yet again.
"Let's go." Yuki said Taking him onto the dance floor. It seemed like maybe things were looking up for both of them at that moment. Yuki still wasn't sure if it was really Shuichi he was going to dance with. But something told him it was. Whether or not he believed that something would depend on how their dance turned out.
It seemed to go smoothly at first. Young Shuichi never slow-danced before and worried that he wouldn't be graceful enough for anyone. But with Yuki leading it didn't seem to bad. In fact, it was almost like it was meant to happen, like maybe somewhere in the cosmos, a higher being was pushing the two men together without them even knowing it. From the wedding until now it all seemed like it was divinely planned by god himself.
As they danced through the night Taki had something planned. Something that could possibly expose the his steptbrother's Identity. He wasn't 100% sure if it was Shuichi but he thought that if it was he had t find a way to prove it. The wicked boy slipped a small round ball onto the floor and watched it roll towards the pink haired teen. His planned was almost a success; Shuichi unknowingly stepped on the marble and fell to the floor. Some of the guests laughed while some others went to see if he was alright.
Embarrassed by the whole ordeal, Shuichi runs outside. He couldn't bare to let anyone see him now. Especially after that display of skills, or lack of skills.
"I can't believe that just happened!" he vented. "I just embarrassed myself and Yuki in front of everyone at the party. There's no way I can face him now."
"What happened back there doesn't matter." A voice said from a distance. He turned and saw that it was the same blond man that he knew and kind of liked.
"Sure you fell on your ass, but you weren't a complete embarrassment out there." He said. "Not to me anyway."
Shuichi could tell that he was giving a compliment in his own way. Maybe he wasn't as much of a hard-ass as he acted like.
"Thanks." Shuichi said. "I'm did have a good time out there."
Then the two men were now just standing outside of his school. After a few minutes of venting and feeling sorry for himself about falling down in front of everyone. He decided to go back inside. But not to rest of the party. They went to the roof and had another dance there. It all seemed too perfect somehow. It was a blissful night after all. but something about it didn't sit well with the blond. the atmosphere was almost too good to be true.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" He asked.
"I'll let you know." Shuichi answered. They were now locked in the others eyes, it appeared that there were two different thoughts going on in their minds. However, it didn't seem to matter to them when they leaned closer to one another. Still lost in the almost-too-perfect atmosphere, their lips were just inches away from each other, but all of that would be cut short with a gong from a nearby clock. Shuichi knew that it was about to be midnight. He didn't want the moment to end but knew that it had to.
"I-I'm sorry, but I gotta go!" He said as he raced to the stairs and headed out of the front door of the school, Yuki wasn't far behind him. He was trying to get the younger teen to stay if only for a few minutes longer.
"Hey! wait a minute!" he said. At the exit he found a floppy disk titled.
"Glaring Dreams"
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