Will

Will ran down the corridor and into the theatre for the first play rehearsal. He had been sitting in the boys locker room, looking at videos so as to learn how to waltz. It did not really help that all the other boys kept thinking he was watching porn, because he did not let them see what he was watching.

He went into the wings and sat down on a bench. He saw Emma enter a few minutes later, and she sat down next to Will, their shoulders brushing, which sent a strange shock through his shoulder. He had read about static electricity. Maybe he had just gotten a slight shock from Emma's sweater. It was normal.

They sat there for around 15 minutes, but to Will, it felt like an hour. He didn't really know why. Maybe because the play was very boring, or he was having a hard time trying to not look at Emma. Yeah, he was gonna go with the first option.

Finally, their part arrived and they walked onto the stage and took their assigned position. Will took her hand in one of his, the other hand rested on her waist. She rested her other hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath. See, there was nothing wrong, except his heart was beating way more than it normally should and goosebumps covered all his skin, even his back. He was so glad he was wearing a full-sleeved t-shirt. Otherwise this would have been super-embarrassing.

"I really don't know how to waltz", he whispered to Emma.

Emma bit her lip and looked down," I don't either."

"Well, I guess we just have to try not to embarrass ourselves then", he said smiling as Emma let out a soft giggle.

"Yeah, that would be pretty difficult for me", she said and they both began laughing, Will wasn't able to control himself. He loved the sound of her laugh, he had never really heard it before. Why hadn't he heard it before.

Because you never really said more than a hi to her before, said a part of his mind.

He instantly felt guilty. He did not want her to think he had started interacting with her because she had begun to dress differently. He didn't want her to think he was shallow. But why did her opinion matter so much to him? She was Matt's girlfriend now. She might not even have an opinion of him. But he wanted her to. And that too, a good one.

They started moving to the rhythm, Will trying his best to catch up with the choreography. He had expected waltz to be a fancy slow dance. Unfortunately, it was much more than that. His mind was divided into two parts- one focused on the choreography while the other was trying very hard to not step on Emma's feet.

Emma was dancing much better than him. Girls were better than guys in everything anyway. Why would dancing be an exception? He knew how talented Emma was. He had noticed her in the track team, how hard she worked to win those medals.

Every moment that their eyes met, it sent shivers down his spine. What was happening to him. Well, it was his first time dancing. Maybe it happened to everyone. He lead Emma into the dance ended with a deep dip according to Mrs. Hughes screaming in front of them. Emma was there in his arms, supported only by his arms. She looked so beautiful, like a crystal swan, which would shatter if dropped. He reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of her blonde her, behind her ear.

He could feel Emma was surprised by this gesture. He wanted to slap himself. She was Matt's girlfriend, he reminded himself. Well, what he forgot to remind himself was that they were still in the dip and it was too late to do so because everybody was staring at them now, as if they were retarded.

He felt his cheeks burn, as he lifted Emma back onto her feet. He could see that Emma had turned deep shade of red as well. He had managed to embarrass himself this time, dragging Emma into it as well. He really wanted to kick himself again. But then people would think that he really had lost his mind. So he just looked down and walked, actually ran out of the theatre and into the corridor, where he almost ran over Shane, who was holding a pile of papers and a big bag.

Will grinned at him," Hey man, what are you doing?", he asked.

"Well, Will you will have to cancel all your Friday plans, because you have to attend this masquerade ball organised by us seniors. Here's your invite and mask. Dress code's formal. The doorman won't let you enter if he doesn't see a tux and the invite ", said Shane, handing Will an invite and a silver, very big mask, which was supposed to cover the entire face.

"You know I have enough money to buy a mask, right?", asked Will, thinking it was stupid to hand out a mask to everyone.

"We don't want you guys to figure out each other in any way whatsoever. You need to be completely anonymous the whole night and take off your mask only at midnight", said Shane, excitedly,"Oh so you can't bring a date."

"Well, this should be interesting", said Will.

Shane looked behind Will's shoulder and smiled and called out,"Hey! Emma! You are coming for this masquerade ball Friday night."

Will turned and looked at Emma. She seemed to hesitate but then took the mask and invitation.

"Can I invite my best friend Penny?", she asked.

Shane smiled at her and handed her a mask,"Sure, you can. Wear a pretty dress and please be anonymous."

"But what about my...boyfriend?" Emma asked and Will scrunched his nose at that, for reasons he didn't seem to understand.

"Don't worry boo, I'm not telling you to hook up with anyone, just have a great time with random people."

Emma gave Shane an uncertain smile, "Sounds great!"

MATT

"Griff! Three o'clock!", Matt yelled, as he warned Griffin about the two defenders closing in on the guy. Griffin easily dodged the two defenders, ran to the three pointer, then passed the ball to Matt.

Matt looked around. Too many defenders under the net for a drive in. His eyes searched around for players to whom he could pass the ball, and all of them were guarded. There were ten seconds left on the clock, and he had to think fast.

Yes, it was only a friendly match, but it was a friendly match was with their arch-rivals Charleston High, and any match with them was never a friendly match. There was tension in the atmosphere, as everyone held their breath in, looking at Matt, anticipating what he would do. 

He was at the three pointer, he could shoot. But there was 50-50 chance that it would go in. Charleston was leading by 2 points. That meant they had to score three points. 

Matt took a deep breath, and readied himself to take the shot, when he heard Penny call his name from behind him. She was  the half-court line. He looked at the clock. Seven seconds. Penny was going to shoot from half court. 

And he passed it to her, without a flicker of doubt. 

She jumped up and shot the ball towards the basket, and it was in the air as the buzzer rang. The entire audience had sucked their breath in, along with Matt, who watched anxiously, as the ball hit the ring once, then twice, and then...it went right in, earning the loudest cheer from their school.

He ran to her and put his arms around her, and held her tightly.

"That was so awesome!", he cried, then realised he had just unintentionally hugged his biggest crush, and he stepped away, feeling his cheeks heat up. Penny looked red too, as the others too sweeped her in for some of the basketball team's signature bone-crushing hugs.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he saw Emma standing behind him, who spread her arms out, and he obliged by hugging her tightly, so tight that he almost lifted her off the ground. And it felt..good. Really good. When he let go, he looked into those electric blue eyes and felt his cheeks heat up again. What was wrong with him?

Next up, was Will, who almost injured Matt's ribs with his hug. Will was always the happiest when Charleston High lost. Because of the feud he had with the current captain of the basketball team. The ex captain of that team was rotting in jail, courtsey of Matt. But that was a story for another time.

Will proceeded to hug Penny, who became prune-red when he hugged her, and Matt felt his insides boil. 

No, you should not thinking about dislocating Will's head off from his body with a basketball.

Shane, Kevin and Kyle walked up to him next, Shane and Kevin's arms wrapped around each other. They had been inseparable ever since the flash mob incident in the alley. And it had been extremely gross at times.

Even this time, unfortunately, when Matt noticed that Shane's arm was not exactly around Kevin's waist but it dipped down a bit lower...

Kyle must have noticed Matt's expression, when he sighed and said, "Try sitting next to them. They were basically on top of each other." He then went and hugged Penny, who turned a deeper shade of red, when Kyle hugged her.

And Matt felt his insides boil, yet again.

"Come on, dawg. A little birdie told me there's a party at Chad's place!", Shane said excitedly.

"And who was this birdie?", Kevin asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Chad", Shane said.

Matt sighed, "I don't really feel like going to a party, guys."

Shane scoffed, "Bullshit. You are getting wasted with us."

"No I won't let you get wasted", Kevin assured.

Matt shook his head, "Shane has made it very clear he's gonna drug me. And I have a Peppa Pig monthly marathon with Erica lined up. She'll be pissed if I cancel."

"Come on, dawg! Let your parents handle that!", Shane whined. Matt and Kevin went silent.

"I mean parent", Shane corrected, looking down.

"It's okay if you don't come", Kevin said, "have fun."