Mesmerized | ✓

32

"Do you think there's alcohol in it?" Mark said looking into the plastic cup with pink punch he was holding.

"Don't know." Carl replied absentmindedly with his eyes fixed solely on Yuli and Candace dance together. He was waiting for them to stop so that he could come up to him and talk, probably for the last time. He couldn't wait to hear his velvet voice, see his emerald green eyes but at the same time dreaded it, knowing what would come after this.

"Hey, I don't have any picture of you yet." Mark said taking out his camera and pointing it at Carl who turned his masked face away from him. "Look into the lens. Don't be like that."

"I don't feel like it."

Mark groaned loudly. "Don't complain. The story needs a main hero. That's you." Knowing that Mark wouldn't let him off the hook so easily, he looked into the camera, just to get it over with. "Perfect. See? Was it so hard?"

"Whatever." Carl said, immediately looking back at the couple dancing in the middle of the room. Yuli, as per usual, looked completely natural, like he had been born to do just that, while Candace was barely dancing, just moving awkwardly. Yuli didn't seem to care about that, though.

Candace finally stopped and said something to Yuli. The boy stopped as well, nodded his head and walked to the table with snacks. That was Carl's clue to go. He took a deep breath, still not quite sure what he would say once they were standing face to face, once Yuli's gaze compelled him to betray their plan.

After a prompting nod from Mark, Carl gathered all of his courage and shuffled towards the boy he was about to send to his death. "Hey." He said with a shaky voice as he approached Yuli who was pouring punch into two plastic cups. Yuli turned to him and Carl's breath got caught up in his throat at how spectacular he looked wearing eye-catching make-up. He wanted to say something else but he forgot all the words having Yuli so close after days of being apart.

"Hey." Yuli said indifferently taking a sip from his cup and leaning against the table nonchalantly. "You enjoying the party."

"Yeah, it's great." Carl said, feeling himself start to lose it. The words were already formed on his tongue, he was about to utter them. He was one beat away from just screaming run! Into his face and pushing him out of the building. But, in the end, even though there were drops of sweat on his forehead, he was able to make himself stick to the plan by thinking of all the death and misery. "What about you and Candace?" And despite that, even just saying her name, Carl still felt jealous.

Despite Carl's mask, Yuli could clearly see right through it, and he smirked. Carl knew how much the boy enjoyed playing with his feelings and seeing him miserable. He still remembered their kiss, it haunted him each time he closed his eyes. And the prospect of one more kept him going but now it could remain their only one. "We're having a ball." Yuli said, teasing him with a smile he knew that Carl loved hating. "I was right. Throwing this prom was an excellent idea. She's all over me."

"That's awesome." Carl forced himself to say but then an old promise echoed in his mind and he couldn't stop himself from asking. "Don't forget you promised me a dance." He reminded Yuli.

He laughed. "I did, didn't I?" He leaned in and for a moment Carl anticipated him to pull off the mask and kiss him but of course that didn't happen. "I don't break my promises." He said. "But all in due time."

"Hi, can I have your attention, please?" A voice came through the speakers making them both, along with all the other people, look up at the stage. Rosalind was standing there in front of a microphone, also wearing a mask that matched her bright red dress. "First and foremost, I'd like to thank our host, Yuli, for organizing such an exquisite event." The dean sounded like an overly-excited school girl as she gestured at Yuli and the spotlight instantly landed on him, also illuminating Carl in the process. "Let's give him the round of applause that he deserves!"