Blank Slate

Chapter Thirty-Three

In which Bam waltzes.

Bam's POV

After Endorsi left, Bam felt lonely and scared. He stood tall, holding his shoulders low like Ran had shown him, hoping to make himself look and feel less like a target.

It only took a single minute for him to run into another familiar face.

"Khun!"

His blue-haired friend gave a small smile as he took Bam's hand and kissed the knuckles.

"Good evening, Bam."

Now that he could see him up close, Khun almost looked like a ghost. His skin was so light and so flawless, and his silvery-blue hair just added to it. The only thing that seemed to hold Khun down to this world and away from that of spirits were his eyes. So piercingly blue, Bam felt like he had to squint or look away.

Not to mention his hair. Bam really liked the new style. He wondered if Khun would ever consider growing it this long.

Now that his attention was on his friend's hair, he noticed two small braids that hung loosely in hoops as their ends tied up in the bun on his head.

Bam wondered how he got here. Not literally, but just the situation. How did he meet someone at school and end up at a winter ball in the most outrageously over-the-top outfit he'd even imagined? When he met Khun in the cafeteria at school, Bam had worn just pants and a t-shirt. How did it come to this? How did he get lucky enough to see the most handsome man he'd ever seen in this setting, in this outfit, in this style?

"G-good evening, Khun," Bam stuttered. He then cursed himself for stuttering.

Khun let out a small, almost inaudible chuckle.

"The music is lovely," he sighed happily. "Would you care to dance to it with me?"

". . . I'm not any good at dancing."

"That's alright. I can lead us."

And he did.

When Bam danced with Endorsi, the music was fierce and energetic, just like the girl herself. It didn't matter if Bam messed up; no one could even tell or worry about it anyway.

But, with Khun, the music slowed down. A perfect 85bpm, both rhythmic and loose at the same time. On, off, off. A waltz.

Khun knew how to dance a waltz. He moved smoothly, gracefully, with a step perfectly in-rhythm. Bam struggled to keep up, but he did just enough that Khun covered the rest, and the two swept around the dance floor. He felt like he was floating.

For most of the dance, Bam kept his eyes on his feet, careful not to step on Khun's feet. He did once, which even threw his friend off his rhythm momentarily, but the two just laughed it off as they continued to dance.

About five minutes into the piece, Khun whispered something under his breath.

Bam made the mistake of looking up into Khun's eyes to ask what he had said.

God, his eyes.

Bam swore his heart stopped beating. Here he stood, here he danced, just inches away from Khun's body and face, and Khun's eyes had never before shone so brightly. Usually, they had a clever, knowing gleam. But, tonight, for the first time, Khun's eyes shone differently. Not only brightly, but. . . Softer.

"Hm?" Bam hummed in question. He couldn't divert his eyes. This caused him to step on Khun's foot again, but, instead of playing it off like last time, Khun just stopped and sighed. ". . . Khun?"

Khun cleared his throat quietly and looked away from Bam.

"I. . . Um."

Bam wasn't used to seeing Khun hesitate like this, and he most definitely had never heard him say "um".

Bam bit back a gasp as Khun looked back at him, his eyes shimmering in the chandeliers' lights.

Khun tried again. "Ahem. I. . . I said I think I like you, too."

---

Nope.

Bam refused to believe that he heard those words correctly. His ears were playing tricks on him. He had finally done it. He had finally gone mentally insane. His hopes of the man of his dreams liking him back overwhelmed his senses and made him hear things.

Except. . . He heard Khun right.

Khun really did say those words.

Bam froze. He didn't know what to do, what to think, or what to say.

Khun took one of Bam's hands in his own and interlaced their fingers. "Let's go outside. They have a lovely patio that people often forget about."
And so they walked along the perimeter of the massive room, avoiding people as best as they could. This proved to be more difficult than either had anticipated, as many people came to compliment Khun on his violin. Each time, Khun would take a deep bow and give a gracious thank you, which Bam thought was a little excessive, but it seemed to impress the people, and Bam knew that's what Khun lived for.

After two minutes (or maybe hours, or days. It felt like the latter.), Khun's unoccupied hand grabbed the golden doorknob to the backyard and pulled the giant door open.

The backyard spanned many, many acres, every inch mowed and trimmed and edged to perfection. Various bushes, flowers, trees, and vines filled up as far as the eye could see. A short stone fence wrapped around the patio, which was much bigger than Bam thought necessary. Ten tables that sat maybe six people each littered the stone flooring, spaced out in exact measurements. Everything was obviously newly cleaned. What a shame that no one was out here.

Then, Bam remembered that he was out there, alone with his crush who had just confessed to him. Maybe it wasn't such a shame that it was otherwise empty.
"Khun," Bam said, looking up at his friend, who wouldn't look him in the eyes.

Khun let go of Bam's hand, pulled a chair out from under a table, and gestured for Bam to take a seat. Bam already missed the warmth of their interlocked fingers.

Khun shortly thereafter took a seat next to Bam. Only then did he finally look Bam in the eyes again.

"Bam. . . I need to tell you something. It's a little bit overdue by now, but. . . It's really important to me."

"Go for it," Bam said without an ounce of hesitation.

"I need to tell you about Maria."