"Aaaaaaaaaaand..." Brahms stretches out the word for far too long, smoothing out your hair one last time, "Done! God, I should be a professional dresser!" Whether a 'dresser' was a real job you were unsure, but you knew, yeah, Brahms would be damn good at it. Your hair had been touched up to perfection, going perfectly with the vibe of the suit your rich friend had purchased you. You were the last one to be styled (Save for needing to tie Norman's bowtie) and you were the hottest group of friends you'd ever seen. 

"Shit," Michael hummed, stepping back up to the mirror to smooth out the front of his suit for the billionth time, "I never knew I'd be able to pull off this fancy bullshit."

"Well, you can- We all can." Norman was grinning from ear to ear, unable to containing his pride in you all and your newfound confidence. It was like watching his own children realize how wonderful they are. "When we walk into the gymnasium we're going to blow minds!" The boy stepped up to you and held out the ribbon of his bowtie. You rapidly got to work flipping up his collar and beginning the knot that you'd, for some reason, memorized as a child while playing dress-up. Enthusiastically, Jason signed the sentence 'who knew nerds could look so beautiful?' 

"I know, right? Talk about a glow-up," Brahms held his hand flat underneath his chin, battering his perfect lashes; it looks like he'd applied a little mascara to make them extra dark. He looked like a doll, to be totally honest; some sort of expensive china one that only pretentious children play with. "We should make a Tiktok. My followers keep saying they want to see me in one of the fancy suits I always brag about. I'm pretty sure they think I'm lying about my riches." You finish with Norman's bow and pat his shoulders with a smile, soaking up the one he returns to you. Smiles from him were refreshing; they made you feel whole in a way you never knew possible. 

"What followers?" Michael mocks, and Jason is quick to follow with the teasing, signing 'you probably only have three'. "Even that's generous, Jay." The two snickered at their jokes and Norman turned to hit them half-heartedly on the arm, though he was snickering too.

"For your information I'm a Tiktok sensation. I'm 20k away from a million." At this, all jaws dropped.

"A MILLION?" The shout rings out in unison, three voices belonging to people who are positively aghast. "How the fuck don't people at school, like, freak out about you?" You say as you scan the room looking for his phone to prove this all, "And why haven't you shown us your videos? Jesus, Brahms, get your phone right now and let us see!" 

"Fine, but you have to promise not to simp for me more than you already do," He spoke cheekily, and pulled his phone from the interior pocket of his jacket- as all of you crowded around him, he went to open TikTok, relishing the surprise in all of your faces. As he clicked on his profile you realized with a second wave of shock that he was dead serious. Clicking on his latest video (one he'd uploaded two days ago) you realized why no one at school knew it was him. He went by an alias, simply known as 'The Boy', and he wore a mask that was made of smooth porcelain. You had never seen it in person but now you more than wanted to. It was eerie and frightening in the same way as a hairless cat, with an undeniable underlying cuteness.

"Jiminy crickets," Norman said through a laugh, leaning closer to snatch up the phone and scroll to the next video, "You've got more than a million likes on- on all of these!"

"I know," With a giggle, Brahms leaned back into the couch, propping his arms up behind his head. "I played piano for them once and everyone just about lost it- that's one of my most popular videos- something about my hands." 

"Go get that stupid mask. I want to ask your followers if I'm hotter than you." Michael's words were greeted by an immediate outburst of agreement. This was a competition now. Before you knew it, Brahms was wearing his mask (and offering one to you, Michael, Jason and Norman as well- Norman didn't want to be in the video at all, so he declined.) and propping up his phone in front of a whole setup he seemed to pull out of nowhere. Another huge perk of rich parents- this TikTok rig must have been more than a thousand dollars. With you in a porcelain mask similar to Brahms' own, but with rose cheeks and a crack underneath one of the hollow eye sockets, you were sure you'd win this impromptu contest, though your three participating  friends were quite the lookers as well. Jason had been offered a beat-up hockey mask that Brahms had used one year for Halloween, Michael donning an orange paper-mache one that had made in grade school for Brahms' father. After the video, Brahms promising to share the results after the dance, the four of you were ushered out the door as Norman fretted about being late.

***

The moment you set foot in the auditorium you thought, maybe, this was a mistake. There were a lot of people. A lot. When you had been text-venting to Michael the evening prior you had been hyperbolizing the fact that there would be 10x more people here than at Danny's party- at least, you had thought you were hyperbolizing. The gym, save for a strip around the edges were the stragglers were standing, was packed shoulder to shoulder with people you did and did not recognize. Your entire grade was here, as were the freshmen and the sophomores. You spotted the seniors, too, mostly in the middle of the throng of dancing students, and some kids who were older than the seniors; you guessed they were belonging to last years graduating class. Upon asking Norman who these older kids were, your thoughts were confirmed. So, a little bit terrified, and with Brahms holding your one hand and Jason the other, you were dragged into the hell in front of you right for everyone's sensible first stop- the snack table.

"Cookies, brownies, marshmallow squares- is that a fucking cake?" Michael was, frankly, awestruck, hurrying ahead of the group to grab a plate and start loading it with sweets. The rest of you were soon to follow, and you grabbed four of the mini apple tarts as well as as many cake pops as you could carry before skirting to the side to wait for your friends. During your snack raid a slow song had been playing and you'd almost been able to forget that this was supposed to be a party- then, it ended, and in its place came Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. As the song shifted, so did the tension of the room, shifting from the feel of an uncomfortably scratchy blanket to a tornado of sound and movement. The music cranked, and you had to wince away from a speaker that was about 20 feet away. 

"Look at this place!" Norman had to cry over the sound of Taylor's singing, "It's decked out!" You craned your neck back to take in the decor for the first proper time since your brief arrival. Across the ceiling, like a second skin, were streamers of yellow, blue and white. They swayed gently in the air conditioning pumping desperately through the vents and gave off the illusion that they heaved with breath. Scattered on the floor and taped to random spots of the walls were balloons of the same colours, and golden stars. A disco ball hung grandly from the ceiling, obviously the most expensive thing in the room. Spotlights hung from every corner to shine bright, colourful lights on the dancers, and the speakers vibrated with a deep bass as they sang from their places along the walls. It didn't look the greatest, but compared to other school dances you'd seen, it was quite the spectacle.

"Insane!" You shout back to your friend, elbowing him lightly and offering a cake pop covered in yellow and white chocolate. Jason spotted the two of you and hurried to your side, a paper cup in hand. He was beaming, and, balancing his cup in the crook of his elbow, enthusiastically signed, 'Isn't this great? Coolest dance yet!' You both gave your agreements and then Norman went off about how low-quality and cheap the dances from the year prior had been; just hearing about them told you that this was a massive upgrade. Brahms was the next to appear, Michael still clinging to the snack table, and the curly-haired boy quickly draped his one free arm over Norman's shoulders, hanging off of him dramatically. 

"So," He said, his voice wavering slightly with glee, "What do we do next? God knows we aren't getting Mike away from there any time soon." The four of you laughed, glancing at the taller man as he reached for what has to have been his third brownie. 'Dance?' Jason signed with a tilt of his head, and all three of you nodded your agreement but didn't yet move away.

"We should scope the place out and find the least crowded spot, shouldn't we? I don't want any of us to be over-"

"Hey!! Sweetheart!" As your head swiveled to spot Danny, you watched Norman and Jason tense out of the corner of your eye, awkward and anxious. Patting Jay gently on the arm you let a grin stretch over your face and lifted your other hand in a wave, though as soon as Danny was close enough he took that hand and pulled you towards him, spinning you around with a flourish before stooping down to place a kiss on the back of your hand. Your cheeks went rosy and you grinned even wider when he stood back up, making your heart stutter at the sight of his smirk. "Fancy seeing you here, huh?" He said with a laugh and offered as friendly a wave as possible to your friends- both Norman and Jason eased, just the tiniest bit, though their shoulders were still pulled up almost to their ears. "I love your hair. It's just... perfect." As Danny shrugs his shoulder, almost embarrassed, you take in the sight of his outfit for the very first time. He wore a suit that was a dark slate grey, tailored to fit his figure perfectly. Beneath it was another turtleneck (you adored his turtlenecks) of a robin egg blue. His hair, which was usually an organized mess, was somehow even more of an organized mess in the best way possible. It had been mussed into a fluffy chaos, swept gently to one side. Danny was... nothing short of absolutely breathtaking. 

"You- You look... great. Amazing." You felt a tension tighten between you and hoped to God that maybe, just maybe, he would lean in and capture your lips in his own. He didn't. Instead, a girl in a golden T-shoulder ball gown waltzed from the crowd, an impatient look in her eyes. She was wearing makeup that perfectly accentuated every single one of her features- she wore so much of it, and it made her look so gorgeous, that you almost didn't notice it was Chrissy. Your awe for her looks immediately died. Chrissy linked her arm with Danny's, leaning against him like a territorial pantheress. She eyed you with an obvious distaste, and then her gaze flickered over to your friends and she glared harder.

"Why did you try to run off, Daniel?" She hummed, leaning impossibly closer. You wouldn't be surprised if she started humping his goddamn leg like some fucked up chihuahua. 

"Just saying hi to my friends, C," The look Danny passed you was almost apologetic. "Could I have just another moment to talk to them?" He leaned over to her, humming the words in her ear, and the spell worked like magic. As little effort and enthusiasm he had put into the action, Chrissy melted at the close proximity and nodded her head. Planting a quick kiss on Danny's cheek- one that he winced at, but quickly recovered from- she hurried away to talk with a few of the girls you knew to be school cheerleaders. Before Danny could speak again, Michael returned, glaring at the girl who had just departed with the coldest eyes you'd ever seen on him.

"What was she doing here?" He growled, passing a quick glance to you- you returned it with a gentle smile to put his concerned gaze at ease.

"Sorry," Danny laughed nervously in the presence of the ice-eyed giant, clearly remembering their earlier altercation at the tailors, "She's, uh... persistent." At once, Michael turned to look at Danny and their eyes locked. For a second you (and Danny, by the looks of it) thought Michael was going to tell him to back off, to throw a threat or a punch or maybe just snap his neck entirely. Then, just like that, Michael's iciness melted away and he smiled. You were just as surprised as anyone else, but seeing that Michael trusted this boy, Norman and Jason relaxed too. "Anyways," He excused, returning Michael's easy smile, "I just wanted to say you all look like a million bucks." With a two-fingered salute and a wink in your direction, Danny turned on his heel and walked away towards his date to the dance. 

"Well," Norman hummed, "That was... surprising." There was a beat of silence (filled in only by the chatter of countless students and Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees) and then all five of you were laughing and diving into the crowd to dance. 

(A/N): WOOOOOOOOO! I really like this chapter! And oh my god guys you're not even READY for what I have next. I promise some light smut (for all of you who have been patiently waiting) in one of the next few chapters and then some things you might just hate me for a little. Gimme your thoughts, my friends, I appreciate them.