Hyuck paced the gymnasium floor. The people around were giving him a wide berth, mostly because he punched the last person who was too close to him.
His nerves were on edge. All right, they had been like that for the past several nights, but tonight they were even more so.
It was already almost 8:00. She should be here soon.
His costume was, for lack of a better word, freaking awesome. He and his friends had a tendency to go all-out for Halloween.
Back when they were younger, it had been a tradition to dress up wildly and passionately, and spend hours out trick-or-treating.
Finally, they got too old for that. Luckily, by then, they were just old enough for parties.
Donghyuck's costume consisted of a white shirt, with the first few buttons undone, and black pants tucked into boots. The boots were actually his dad's, who had apparently played a Musketeer in a college play.
They weren't exactly pirate shoes, but they had small heels and buckles. Hyuck wasn't complaining. He also had a red overcoat edged in gold thread, found at the back end of a cheap costume store.
The hat was the best part, in his opinion – huge, feathered, lace-trimmed, and completely covering his hair.
At the last second, he'd chickened out and bought a simple black mask. Now, he was completely unrecognizable.
Even the people on the dance floor didn't know who he was, just the pacing punching pirate.
Only his friends knew he had a pirate costume, and they hadn't seen the mask. Hyuck had ditched them back at the car, saying he had 'things to do.'
By things, he meant nervously freak out while his date still refused to show up.
The music was booming all around, making the floor vibrate when the bass dropped. The DJ Sunny Side Up, was doing a pretty good job, and a lot of people were out on the floor, dancing.
Hyuck caught sight of one couple, grinding against each other, and instantly wanted to pummel them both. How dare they dance so luridly in public? Especially when he wasn't able to?
The song came to a close, and a few people cheered. Then a few people started murmuring, and one pointed to the staircase.
Hyuck guessed one of their friends had arrived.
Then a few more people turned, and pointed. The cheering fell into murmuring. Hyuck, intrigued, turned around to see what all the fuss was about.
His eyes landed on a figure in a pale blue gown gently descending the stairs.
Now, Hyuck had never been one for being romantic, or dramatic. He wasn't the kind of guy to make a big deal over beautiful women, or to suddenly swoon on the spot and start writing poetry.
He was a guy that liked to set things on fire, not a teen-girl book hero.
But the second he was that girl on the stairs, his feet were rooted to the spot and the whole world started spinning.
And Hyuck knew he wasn't the only person suddenly entranced, if the whispers fling around the dance floor were any indication.
The music started up again, and most people slowly shrugged off the sudden, mysterious appearance and went back to dancing. But Hyuck kept his eyes focused on the girl.
