It was only a night away to the full moon, nevertheless, it was there, shining majestically in the middle of the starred sky. The feeble moonbeams caressed the raven-haired boy, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the terrace of Harvey's house, as he admired the stars upon him.

Incessant thoughts regarding a certain person prevented Zak from sleeping, so the slightly short boy silently waddled through and outside the house in the middle of the night, to the place who felt closer to his loved one.

After an hour of silent stargazing, the french window to his left slid open as his teammate, and best friend, exited from the inside.

"Oh boy, it's freezing out here." he murmured, hugging himself while his eyes immediately landed on Zak.

Silence welcomed his statement, and the older boy didn't react to the slightest either.
The Asian boy grin quickly faded, shifting his whole expression into a worried one.

"Do you wanna stay alone?" he dared to ask, concernedly arching his eyebrows.

The raven-haired boy hesitated a moment before silently nodding in reply.

"Alright." Harvey sighed, walking back inside the house soon afterward and leaving his friends isolated again.

The silence created by his absence didn't last long as the Sophomore quickly came back with two steaming cups in his hands and some blanket covering his head and rest of his small body, making him look like a low-cost and colorful ghost.

He surprised Zak by wrapping him into one of the sheets and, after sitting down beside his friend, he handed him one of the warm mugs as well, with his reassuring grin plastered on his face.

Scoffing, not surprised by his friend's gesture, the older boy faintly smiled with gratitude and grabbed the cup, looking back up at the sky upon them without saying a single word.

"What's up, bud." Harvey asked as he kept his eyes full of concern on him. "Is it because of tomorrow? Because of Darryl?"

Once again, Zak avoided answering by taking a sip of the warm beverage in his cup.

"C'mon, man. Talk to me." his friend insisted, tilting his head to the side.

Finally, his eyes detached from the sky and fell on the ground in front of him as he sighed bitterly.

"It's more about... I just realized how the people I trusted the most turned out to be the most delusional ones." the raven-haired boy admitted, arching his eyebrow.

"You mean Vincent and Dave, don't you?"

"I mean..." his small hands clenched on the mug as their faces flashed before his eyes. "I wish they were the only ones."

A moment of silence followed his words.

"Want me to be honest, Zak?" the shortest boy sighed, looking in front of himself with unusual seriousness.

Hearing that question with that unexpected tone of voice, the Junior couldn't help but frown and turn in his friend's direction, giving him full attention.

"You gotta learn to let go. Y'know, shit happens. Move on." he continued, stopping for a sip of the hot chocolate in the mug.

Zak stared at him with a hint of sadness shining through his eyes.

"And I don't mean it in a bad way, obviously." Harvey quickly added, turning his head towards his friend. "I mean, you gotta accept that the best thing to do is give up on certain people. Not because you don't care about them, but..." he stopped, sighing. "But because they don't. And especially when it's all about popularity, power and shit like that. It's just toxic, y'know?"

Without looking away from his friend, the older boy clenched anxiously his teeth as those words rose inconvenient questions.

"Is this why you cut me off, last year?" Zak dared to ask, biting the inside of his cheek.

Harvey's hesitation and avoidance of eye contact with him replied to his question.

"I see." he murmured, looking back in front of himself.

The asian boy sighed and shook his head.

"You were trying so hard to be something you weren't, that... I just couldn't bear seeing you like that every single day," he explained, his tone of voice sounding off. "There's a big difference between faking a friendship for its advantages and faking who you really are to be like by everyone."

Caught off guard by those sentences, Zak quickly turned his head back towards his friend, staring at him with surprise.

"People don't have to like you, and you don't have to care, Zak." Harvey began again, looking back at him. He placed his index finger in the middle of the raven-haired boy's forehead. "Get this into your head, you dumbo."

He still wasn't grinning, and that made Zak realize how serious and bothered his friend was.

"I hate seeing how easily people can damage you, and I particularly hate seeing you blaming yourself for their bullshit." his lips arched into a smirk, finally. "But believe me, I've never been so proud in my entire life. You standing up for yourself for the first time in a long time and demonstrating everyone who you really are, just... Aw, boy. It made me so, so happy."

Harvey's grin grew wider as Zak smiled too.

"Mega's still butthurt because you didn't listen to him, but believe me, he's proud too. I promise you," he added, snickering.

Scoffing, the older boy shook his head as his smile widened.

"I really don't know where I would be right now if it wasn't for you two, honestly." he admitted, placing his empty mug on the ground.

"Aw, come here, you dumbo!" Harvey exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer so he could mess his raven hairs up.

"I'm being serious!" the other pointed out, snickering.

"Well, it doesn't matter, okay?" he countered, letting him go and widening his grin. "You're here, now. Safe and with people who really appreciate you and are actually gonna help you out."

Zak smiled at his words, feeling way better than before.

"Yeah, you're right."

"What? Of course, I am!" the Asian boy disputed, crossing his arms with hegemony.

"Psh, shut up." the other replied, pushing him friendly.

The two laughed for a few moments before going back silent, both admiring the shiny stars and moon upon them.
Their thoughts wandered around in their heads.

"I really hope this whole letter thing will work out." Zak suddenly said in a whisper, his eyes still glued on the sky.

Patting his friend's shoulder, Harvey smirked.

"It will." he comforted.

"Will it, though?" the short boy insisted, turning his head towards him.

"Trust me, it will."

Zak smiled thankfully at his friend.

"Harvey?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being here."

His lips arched further, accentuating his happy grin.

"Thank you for not giving up, Zak."

"Aw, fuck! How are we always late, Jesus Christ!" the older boy whined as he attempted to fix his blue tie.

"Psh, yeah, whatever, Mister Last game, I promise." Harvey mocked from the bathroom facing the room Zak was in, fixing his suit as well.

"Shut up! It was fun, don't even try to deny that." he talked back as he walked into the same room as him.

"And I won't!"

Zak snickered, profusely slamming his shoulder against the shorter boy, nudging him aside to see his own reflection in the small mirror.

The Asian boy got pleasantly caught off guard by seeing who once did everything in his power to avoid any type of mirror, now voluntary looking at his reflection with nearly no problems. He couldn't help but grin proudly and wrap his arm around Zak's shoulders, messing his hair up as he pulled him down to his height.

"Why would you do that!" the older whined, his high-pitched voice reached its peak. "I just fixed it!"

Laughing at him, Harvey got pushed away by his friend who desperately tried to fix his hair.

The Sophomore walked outside of the room and, in the middle of the hallway, found Mega all dressed up in his black suit and his balaclava, which changed in a black one as well.
Harvey's eyes couldn't ignore the awry bow tie, and his grin automatically softened, finding the short boy adorable.

«Don't, even, try.» the mute boy warned as he noticed his sweet smirk, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.

"I didn't say a word." he defended himself, lifting his hands. "Come here, I'll help you."

Huffing, Mega walked closer to him, stopping in front of the taller boy.

Harvey's grin grew wider as he finished fixing the bow tie.

"Done."

The two stared at each other for a moment before Zak's head peeked from the bathroom interrupting them.

"Yo, ya ready? It's already nine, dude!"

"Oh, shit-" Harvey cussed, turning his head towards him. "For real?!"

«Yep, that's what I was about to tell you.» the short boy added, shrugging unbothered.

"We really gotta move, then." the Sophomore pointed out, fixing his suit and grinning.

"Let's do this."

Every step taken augmented Zak's anxiety and tension, and both his friends noticed that, so they tried their best to distract him with bad puns and funny predictions about how the night would end.

Finally, the trio reached the school gym, and as soon as they stepped in, loud music invaded their ears, while a wave of warm air heated them up and made them forget of the cold weather they walked in seconds before.

Zak's eyes navigated through the crowd dancing in front of him, trying to detect the familiar dirty blonde hair, in vain.

"Yo, let's get some punch!" Harvey proposed, giving two punches on both his friends' shoulders.

The Junior frowned and turned his head towards him, getting the joke way too late.

"Oh, God-"

«Why can't you be normal.»

Proud of his pun, Harvey laughed at their reactions. And arguing on how bad it was, the three walked towards the table full of beverages and snacks.

"Alright everyone!" a Senior called from the stage, shouting in his microphone. "In ten, homecoming king and queen will be elected!"

"Oh, boy. I forgot about that." the Asian boy admitted as he poured some punch into a red cup and handled it to Mega with a sweet grin.

«Shit boutta go down.» the shortest asserted, grabbing the drink.

"Mega!" Harvey scolded in a whisper, tight-lipped.

Groaning, Zak detached his eyes from the crowd and glared at the two.

"Whatever, guys," he mumbled, taking a sip of soda and looking back around right after.

«Well, if Dave wins, it's gonna be more than tragic.» the shorter boy pointed out.

"What? There's no way he's even getting close to winning after what he did and said yesterday." Harvey halted for a moment, a frown made his way on his face. "I hope."

«If you think about it, if he makes it to court, there's a good chance of him winning, since only Seniors can vote. From what I could see yesterday, most of them are still on his side.» Mega pointed out, turning towards the Asian boy.

"But there's Doni, doe. He's-"

Slamming his empty cup on the table, Zak interrupted the two boys' argument.

"Can we forget about that idiot for a fucking second, please?" he spat, narrowing his eyes on his friends.

With a slightly forced grin plastered on his face, Harvey rose two finger guns and walked backward, towards the dancing students.

"Then let's dance!" he proposed.

«I'm gonna pass.» Mega immediately refused, rising both his hands in defense.

Pleased at the idea, Zak smirked and as he walked towards him to join, he pushed the shortest boy towards Harvey, who almost fell against him after tripping.

The two snickered and started dancing, while Mega immediately walked back to the snack & drinks table surrounding the fort.

Little did the two Sophomores knew that Zak's head was elsewhere, tormenting himself with the constant thought and fear of Darryl not showing up. His eyes didn't stop scanning the whole crowd in search of his tall and blonde figure despite having checked countless times already.

After a pair of songs, the party atmosphere got interrupted by the same Senior from the stage, who notified he was about to announce the six girls that made it to court.

As soon as the music stopped, Harvey quickly made his way back to Mega, dragging Zak along.

"We're back!" he happily announced, grinning at the shorter boy.

«Without you two idiots I had the best time of my life.» and with that acknowledgment, Mega gained a soft punch from Harvey and a scoff from Zak.

"Alright, now it's the boys' turn!"

At those words, the raven-haired boy's body clearly tensed up.
Noticing that, the younger Sophomore leaned a hand on the top of his shoulder, nodding reassuringly.

"Oh, boy. It's happening." Harvey murmured, grinning anxiously.

The Senior on the stage started with two pretty popular students, and tension accumulated every second.

"Third boy: our number seven in the baseball team, Harvey!"

"Oh!" the boy shouted, bringing both his hands on his head. "Oh my God!! Are you serious?!"

In the meantime, Mega was coughing as he tried to breathe after choking on his punch, while Zak hugged the elected boy proudly.

"Fourth boy: Carder, a.k.a. Skeppy, our captain!"

Those words left a big frown on the Junior's face, confused by the unexpected election.

"What?!"

"Let's go!" Harvey's excitement swept his negative thoughts away. The boy tiptoed to reach him and messed his hair up again.

«Idiots making it to court count: two.»

"Psh, you're just jealous!" Mega's classmate objected, messing his hair up as well and unexpectedly gaining a small chuckle from him.

Zak, whose attention was fully focused on the guy on the stage, rose a hand in sign to quit talking.

"Fifth one: Dave, number sixty-nine in the baseball team!"

«Whoops, warned you.» Mega shrugged, shaking his head with disappointment.

Harvey's excitement faded into a forced and anxious grin, and so did Zak's. The two older boys exchanged a worried and tense glance.

"And, last one everyone!" the Senior on stage announced. "Obviously it's him: Doni Bobes!"

The crowd of students got extremely excited at that name, causing happy screams and yells.

«Wow.» Mega started, turning towards his friends. «I fucking told you.»

"Shut up, I'm the one who was about to talk about Doni!" Harvey retorted, a proud grin grew on his lips successively. "And I bet Zak's gonna win after what he said yesterday." he patted the back of his hand against the Junior's chest.

"What? There's no way I'm gonna win, and if there's a reason, that's why." he objected, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Come and tell me this bullshit after walking off stage with a fucking crown on your head." the Sophomore bit back, pushing him friendly.

"Psh, shut up." the raven-haired boy murmured, scoffing.

"May I ask the six boys and girls to get here on stage? Thank you."

At the Senior request, Zak and Harvey did as requested and walked on the platform with the other elected students.

The captain could feel Dave's glare burning skin as he walked past him, but for the first time in years, he walked with his head up.

In the meanwhile the guy at the microphone spoke nonsense, Harvey's eyes immediately searched for Mega, finding him where they left him.
Unexpectedly, the little one started nodding and clearly smiling proudly behind his balaclava.
The Asian boy took a good moment before realizing it was directed to him and not to Zak, who was busy searching for Darryl, so he ended up grinning like an idiot for the happiness.

He was happy, he wasn't only helping Zak, but Mega as well. It was incredible how much the short boy changed in those few days together and especially after the night before, he looked more attentive and uncharacteristically thoughtful, and surely, happier. And sometimes Harvey just couldn't resist to hug him.

As soon as the guy at the microphone dismissed the students on stage, the Sophomore quickly walled back to Mega with a big grin plastered on his face.

Zak tried to follow him, but once off the platform, his arm got forcefully grabbed, provoking a wave panic inside of him. Breathing now was a struggle, but knowing who caused that forced the Junior to clench his teeth and stay strong.

"Don't fuck with me, Zak." a disgustingly familiar deep voice growled to his ear.

Without hesitation, the short boy turned his head towards Dave and looked at him right in the eyes, narrowing them.

"Just watch me." he spat in reply, shaking his hand off his skinny arm.

He walked back to his friends immediately, actually scared of the Senior jumping on him and start a fight in front of everyone, but luckily that didn't happen, and the two Sophomores didn't see that pitiable scene.

Harvey's excitement quickly changed Zak's mood, influencing him with horrible puns and pulling him onto the dance floor once again.
However, his eyes kept desperately searching for Darryl, still in vain.

Mega still refused to even get close to the dancing crowd, and happily accepted to stay by himself by the table full of snacks and beverages.

The two baseball players danced on a pair of songs before getting interrupted once again by the Senior on stage.

"Okay, guys, last call to vote for this year's homecoming king and queen!"

After forcing himself to resist for another song, Zak gave up and pulled Harvey closer, letting him know he was going to take a drink. He smiled at the shorter boy who replied with two thumbs up, and then walked away.

The Junior tried to avoid Mega's suspicious glare by filling up a cup of simple water. Unexpectedly, the shorter boy approached Zak.

«Are you okay?» he oddly asked as he stopped by his side, trying to mask his concern behind his annoyed expression.

Scoffing at his question, the raven-haired boy still avoided eye contact.

"Of course I'm not. If Dave wins, he's gonna fuck with me again." he replied in a murmur, taking a sip of his drink.

«And, exactly, why would he embarrass himself a second time?» Mega pointed out, glancing at his friend. «I mean, I hope he understood that you won't let him walk all over you ever again.»

Zak stared at his cup for a long moment.

"I hope you're right." he murmured in reply, taking another sip of water.

"Okay, everyone! Times up, the votes are in!"

"Shit..." he murmured, turning towards the crowd to see Harvey walking towards them all excited.

"Oh, boy. I can't believe it's happening." he admitted, rubbing his hands together.

«Don't bring your hopes up, lover boy.» Mega mocked clearly smirking behind his black balaclava. He nudged him friendly.

"I-I'm not..!" the Asian boy babbled in reply, going through some sort of a bisexual panic.

Zak gently shushed his friends, wanting to hear the Senior on stage who just declared who was the Homecoming Queen of the year. It was a Senior, the leader of the cheerleaders.

"And the Homecoming King of this year, is..."

The two baseball players held their breaths, and surprisingly Mega too, who was secretly hoping for Harvey to win.

A frown grew on the guy on the stage. He immediately looked at the two girls behind him who counted the votes, receiving a shrug in exchange.

"Uhm, well, this was unexpected," he admitted, turning back towards the crowd of students. "Apparently, for the first time ever, it's a tie!"

"What?!" Zak and Harvey exclaimed in unison, glancing at each other in a frown.

"Dave and Doni, may I ask you two to come up on stage again?" the guy at the microphone asked, searching for them in the crowd.

"Aw." Harvey whined disillusioned, getting two pats on his back from Mega.

"Fuck." the Junior spat in a whisper, clenching his teeth as he glared with hatred at the blonde Senior, followed by Doni, walking on stage.

"Since this happened, we're going to let everyone in here vote! So, if you want to vote for Dave, go to Claire!" he pointed at one of the helpers that walked off the right side of the stage. "If you want to vote for Doni, go to Julie!" his finger now pointed the left side of the platform, where the other girl was standing. "You're not obligated to vote, obviously! In five, we'll announce the results!"

"What are you gonna do, Zak?" Harvey asked, turning towards him with a worried grin.

"I'm not voting." he spat, taking a sip from his red cup.

Silently sighing, the Asian boy exchanged a concerned glance with Mega.

«Not gonna vote either.» he notified, shrugging.

"Should I vote?" the Sophomore asked, his eyes jumping from a friend to the other.

"Don't even try, Harvey." Zak replied, narrowing his eyes on the crowds split in half. "Dave already hates you because of me. If he sees you voting against him, there's a good chance of him remembering that in the future."

«Translation: please don't vote or you're gonna regret it.»

Harvey slowly nodded, he just wanted to help his friend out by reducing at least a few the possibility of Dave winning.

"Okaaay..." he sighed, crossing his arms on Mega's head and resting then his chin on them.

Those five minutes of voting passed by quickly, and the two girls and guy walked back on the stage with a big smile plastered on their faces.

"Okay, the results are in, everyone!"

Zak tensed up ulteriorly, clenching his teeth as he waited for the Senior to announce the winner. The two friends anxiously exchanged a glance in the meantime.

"Doni Bobes! Congratulations!"

The crowd of students immediately started celebrating with happy shouts and jumping, screaming the Senior's name.

Finally, Zak could breathe normally despite Harvey messing his hair up and reminding both Mega and him were right.

"Come on stage, Doni!"

"Oh, boy, is he gonna do a speech or something?" Harvey asked, letting Zak go with a small chuckle.

"Probably." the older replied, watching the Senior getting crowned all smiley and proud of himself.

Indeed, after getting applauded, Doni grabbed the microphone and waited for the students to go silent before talking.

"Good evening, everyone." he began, smiling. "Thank you for voting for me, I really appreciate it. But, honestly, Zak Carder deserved it more than anyone else."

Harvey grinned surprised and turned towards his friend, expecting a happy reaction as well, but all he could see in him was the panic rushing through his body.

"What the fuck are you doing..." he murmured, tight-lipped. His eyes refused to look away from the Senior on stage.

"Why? Because of his courage. I'm pretty sure not a single one of you in this school would have the courage to do what he did yesterday. And I wanna take advantage of what he said in his speech to come out. Everyone," his smile widened. "I'm bisexual."

In pure disbelief, Zak stared at him wide-eyed, not even knowing what to feel about his reveal.

In the meantime, Mega was coughing again because of his drink, while Harvey was shouting supportive comments along with a good part of the students.

"Before letting the party continue, though, I really wanna add something." the Senior continued, raising a hand as a request for silence. "Dave," he turned towards him, receiving a pissed glare in exchange. "real kings are as leal as their friends are. No matter what." he smirked looking back at the students in front of him. "Enjoy the rest of the night, everyone."

The cheerings kept going for a good pair of minutes, and Zak still didn't know how to feel about what just happened.

Everyone was happy, why he felt terrified?

Harvey's hand messing his hair up snapped him back from reality, and the short boy realized Doni was walking towards him.

He stopped in front of the baseball captain, smiling, then took off his prize.

"Good job, man." he congratulated, placing the crown on Zak's head. "You deserve it."

The boy walked away from him soon afterward, not expecting nothing from the shorter boy.

Everyone around him started dancing again as nothing happened, lost in their happiness and excitement.

He hated what he was feeling.

He looked at the clock, it was late. In less than half an hour the dance will end. And his eyes still couldn't find the emerald ones he fell in love with.

Zak felt sick.

The music became fuzzy, and Harvey's voice didn't sound clear enough to be understandable.

"Guys, I'm..." he stopped a moment, focusing on them. "I'm gonna go get some air."

Harvey's face scrunched up in a worried frown, and as soon as he tried to open mouth to talk back, Zak cut him off.

"Don't. I'm fine. I just need some fresh air. Alone." he underscored the last word.

Concerned, the Asian boy forced a grin and nodded with Mega.

"If you need us, we're here."

Smiling lightly, Zak murmured a "Sure." and walked away, outside the gym.

Shortly afterwards, a slow song started playing and whistles filled the background noise.

"Well," Harvey began, turning on himself and stopping in front of Mega with a small bow. "May I ask you for this dance?"

The shorter boy stared at him for a moment, snorting lightly and shaking his head.

«Dumbass.»

His grin grew wider at his reaction.

«I won't dance, and you know it.» he remarked, smirking behind his balaclava.

"Psh, we'll see about that." he objected grabbing his free hand and pulling him into the dancing crowd.

«Harvey, I-»

"Y'know, maybe u should step out your comfort zone." the older cut him off, grinning kindly at him. "Just for tonight, please?"

Still holding his hand, Mega stared at the boy for a long moment before letting his thumb type on the phone.

«I'm never in my comfort zone. I don't even have one. I'm literally always uncomfortable.» he talked back, frowning.

"Aw, time to change this, then!" he replied, taking Mega's phone and making it slide through his suit sleeve, then grabbed it and tucked it in his pocket. With the same hand, he held the shorter boy's free one.

Harvey took the lead and started guiding the little one in a slow dance, following the sluggish melody of the song playing.

Not able to hold his gaze, Mega looked away murmuring a "Shut up.", causing the raven-haired boy to widen his soft grin.

"Listen, Mega. I was... thinking about something."

The shorter boy looked back up at him with an interrogative expression.

"I'd like to learn sign language."

Surprise took over Mega's eyes, and this time was Harvey the one breaking eye contact.

"I noticed how easily tired you get when you're talking through your phone, especially in the last nights." he admitted, grinning nervously. "Zak told me you're somehow more communicative with sign language, and he also said you'd be surely down to teach me... so, would you?"

The Asian boy didn't realize how happy Mega was until their glances met again. He didn't hesitate too much before nodding.

"Really?!" Harvey asked, surprised. "Yes! Thank you so much, Mega!"

His eyes stared into the shorter boy ones, but after catching a familiar figure over his shoulders, he broke eye contact.

"Oh! It worked!" he suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes.

Frowning, Mega turned on himself and followed his glance. Surprise left him agape.

"He's here!"

"I told you to leave me alone, Harvey." Zak spat, filling his lungs with frigid air.

The slow song playing in the background was still audible despite being on the other side of the school perimeter.

Every disturbance that wasn't music was easily distinguishable for Zak, now leaned against the banister of the stadium.

He didn't actually check behind him if it was his friend, but knowing him, he was more than certain.

"God... I knew this whole letter shit wouldn't work." he murmured, cupping his face with his free hand, without detaching from the iron handrail. The other one was occupied by the crown he knew he didn't deserve. "If Darryl had come, I would've asked him to dance, y'know?" he rose his head, staring at the empty field with a sad smile plastered on his face. "Then we would end up laughing together at my incapacity, and I would've kept excusing myself every second for continuously stepping on his feet."

Zak scoffed, shaking his head slowly, disillusioned.

"I miss him so fucking much."

A pale hand with the palm bandaged appeared on his right, catching his attention. His eyes widened.

"May I have this dance, then, my little muffin?"

[unedited; 4835 words.]
im probably gonna take a
while for the next update.
i really want to edit and
rewrite all of the chapters,
since they're unreadable.
im so sorry.

thanks for all the love
and support.
<3