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𝔈𝔭𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔡𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 ✔️

"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢'𝐦 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰"

Ed Goff, Jack's date, and Raymond Hernandez, Mikey's. Andy looked around for Rye. 

"He's probably already here," Brooklyn indicated his look. "Listen, Andy-" 

But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the chatter of the other couples. Mikey and Raymond rode with them in Brooklyn's car, keeping up a steady stream of banter all the way to school. 

Music blared from the open doors of the auditorium. As Andy got out of the car, a strange certainty came over him. Something was going to happen, he realised, as he gazed at the square mass of the school building. The peaceful low walk of the last few weeks was about to slide into high. 

I'm ready, he thought. And hoped it was true. 

Inside, it was a kaleidoscope of colour and activity. He and Brooklyn were mobbed as soon as they walked in, and compliments rained down on them both. Andy's shirt and his suit.. his hair... his flowers. Brooklyn was a legend in the making: another Joe Montana, a shoo-in for an athletic scholarship. 

In the dizzying swirl that should have been life and breath for them, Andy kept looking for a dark head. 

Mr. Tanner walked by with a soggy paper cup and looked like his collar was strangling him. Sue Carson, the other senior homecoming princess, floated up and cooed over the purple dress. Mikey was already out on the dance floor, shimmering under the lights. But nowhere did Andy see Rye. 

One more whiff of Doublemint and he'd be sick. He nudged Brooklyn and they fled to the refreshment table where Coach Lyman began a critique of the game. Couples and groups came up to him, lingered a few minutes and then retreated to make room for the next in line. Like we were really royalty, Andy thought wildly. He glanced sideways to see if Brooklyn shared their amusement, but he looked fixedly to his left. 

He followed his gaze. And there, half-hidden behind a cluster of football players, was the dark head he had been looking for. Unmistakable, even in this dim light. A shiver ran through him, more from pain than anything else. 

"Now what?" asked Brooklyn, jaw thrust forward. "The bondage?" 

"No. I'll ask him to dance, that's all. I'll wait until we've danced, if you like." 

He shook his head and he made his way through the crowd to Rye. 

Bit by bit Andy registered information about him as he approached. His black blazer was cut a little differently from the other guys', more elegant, and he wore a white cashmere jumper underneath. 

He stood very still, not fidgeting, a little apart from the groups around him. And, although he could only see him in profile, he could see that he wasn't wearing his glasses. 

He took them off for football, of course, but he had never seen him up close without them. He felt giddy and excited, as if this was a masquerade and the time for unmasking had come. He focused on his shoulder, the line of his jaw, and then he turned to face him. 

It was at that moment that Andy realised he was beautiful. It wasn't just the dress, or the way his hair was done. He was beautiful in himself: slender, imperial, a thing of silk and inner fire. He saw his lips part slightly, reflexively, and then he looked up at him. 

"Hello." Was that his own voice, so calm and confident? His eyes were green. Brown like oak leaves in autumn ."Are you having a good time?" he asked. 

Yes, I am now. He didn't say it, but he knew that was what he was thinking; he could see it in the way he stared at him. He had never been so sure of his power. Only he didn't look like he was enjoying himself; he looked stricken, in pain, as if he couldn't last another minute. 

The band began to play, a slow dance. He was still staring at him, sucking him in. The brown eyes darkened, turned black with desire. He had the sudden feeling that with one tug he would pull her to him and kiss him hard, never saying a word. 

"Would you like to dance?" he asked softly. I'm playing with fire, with something I don't understand, he thought suddenly. And at that moment he realised that he was afraid. His heart began to beat violently. It was as if those green eyes were speaking to a part of him buried deep beneath the surface - and that part was screaming "danger" at him. Some instinct older than civilisation told him to run, to flee. 

He did not move. The same force that frightened him held him there. This is out of control, he thought suddenly. Whatever was happening here was beyond his comprehension, was not something normal or reasonable. But now there was no stopping him, and even while he was afraid, he revelled in it. He was the most intense moment he had ever experienced with a boy, but nothing was happening at all. He just stared at him, mesmerised, and he stared back as the energy between them shimmered like a flash of heat. He saw his eyes darken, defeated, and felt the wild leap of his own heart as he slowly reached out a hand. 

And then everything shattered. 

"Oh, Andy, how sweet you look," a voice said, and Andy's vision was blinded by gold. It was Sonny, his black hair rich and shiny, his skin tanned to a perfect bronze. He wore a suit of pure gold lamé that showed an incredible amount of that perfect skin. He slipped a bare arm through Rye's and smiled lazily up at him. He was stunning together, like an international modelling couple hanging out at a high school dance, much more glamorous and sophisticated than anyone else in the room. 

"And that little suit is so pretty," Andy continued as Andy's mind continued to run on automatic. 

That casually possessive arm linked with Rye's told him everything: where Sonny had been for lunch the last few weeks, what he'd been up to all this time. "I told Rye we just had to stop by for a minute, but we won't be staying long. So you don't mind if I keep him to myself for the dances, do you?" 

Andy was strangely quiet now, his mind a buzzing blank. He said no, of course he didn't mind, and watched Sonny walk away, a symphony of auburn and gold. Rye went with him. 

A circle of faces formed around Andy; he turned away from them and bumped into Brooklyn.

__________________________

Well, Andy nearly had him for himself, but Sonny has stolen the show for him. Well, let me know what you think will happen after Andy bumped into Brooklyn, and what do you think about Rye and his behaviour

Late chapter upload: July 7th

Draft: 01 July 2021
Final Edit: 30 August 2023