"You can't hide in the bathroom forever, Moogle..." Daniel stated outside of their half bathroom that was on the main floor.

"But... I don't know about this suit..." Alan spoke hesitantly from behind the door.

"Is something wrong with it?" Mrs. Lang asked, puzzled.

"NO! No... it's... it's a really nice suit, actually..." Alan quickly answered.

"Then, what seems to be the problem?" She asked, a frown coming to her face.

"I just... look... Daniel, you know I'm gonna get stared at!" Alan protested.

"Keep in mind, our bet is still on anyway. I can let the 2 days in the hospital slide, but you still have to continue." Daniel teased, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, come on! That's not fair!" Alan shouted, shocked.

"I'm going to go and get the screwdriver and take off this door handle." Mrs. Lang stated firmly, turning on her heel.

"OK! Ok.... I'm coming out..." Alan answered, defeated. The sound of a click was heard as the door was unlocked, before it was soon separated from the doorframe as he pushed it open.

Alan stepped out into the hallway from the bathroom in a turquoise colored suit, the trousers a slim fit as well as the matching blazer, with a white button-up shirt tucked neatly underneath. He was also wearing a matching tie, with a white pocket square resting on the left side of the chest. He had on a pair of black dress shoes and socks he borrowed from Daniel, as they were a size too small for him. His hair was combed and lightly gelled into a stylish side part that he was actually capable of doing himself without making a huge mess. He stood there nervously, his hands moving to his pockets in a bashful fashion.

"I honestly don't see what the fuss was about. You look like a handsome gentleman in this suit." Mrs. Lang spoke with a warm smile, reaching over to gently adjust his tie. "You look far better in it than Daniel did last year."

"Geez, mom... thanks." Daniel said in a playful tone, before he looked over Alan in a pleased fashion. "You look really nice, Alan. This color actually looks excellent on you. I'm also glad that everything fit! You have a nice body type for slim fitted outfits."

The attention was getting to him as Alan kept his gaze towards the floor, his face becoming redder the more they spoke. "T-Thanks..." he spoke softly, a smile coming to his face.

"Do the shoes fit? They're a bit small for me, but they were the only spare dress shoes I had." Daniel asked, looking down at them.

"Yeah, they fit great, thanks." Alan answered with a nod.

"Well, you two should head out. It's almost 6. Sorry you cannot grab dinner beforehand, considering the circumstances earlier. However, I'm more excited for you two to be able to attend your homecoming dance without some witch constantly looming over you." Mrs. Lang stated happily. "Of course, you know I want a picture."

"Another one?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"Why would I want to keep a picture of you and that horrid witch?" Mrs. Lang shot back in disgust. "I'd rather have one with you and Alan."

"M-me? You want me in the picture too?" Alan asked, shocked.

Mrs. Lang looked over to him with a smirk. "I mean... you are his date."

Alan blushed immediately at her statement, his lips pursed tight as he knew he wasn't able to lie in front of her.

"Māmā..." Daniel muttered quietly, not helping but to be embarrassed himself.

"We'll talk about it later, but I want my picture. Go and stand over near the bookcase like before." Mrs. Lang demanded gently, waving a hand in the direction of the tall bookcase as she walked over to grab her camera. While she did so, Daniel and Alan made their way over, standing next to each other once they were there.

"How... the hell... should I even pose?" Alan asked, looking over at Daniel, shyly.

"Um... well..." Daniel responded in the same fashion, before carefully reaching over and placing his hand on Alan's waist opposite from his own, gently moving him closer. "I... think this works..." he spoke, a bashful smile on his face.

Alan gave the same smile in return, yet his stomach was doing nonstop flips of excitement. I could fucking faint right now.

"Ok, that looks lovely!" Mrs. Lang stated happily, standing a few feet away from them with her camera, taking several shots of them together. "Alright, I've tortured you enough. You can head out now."

"Alright... let's go." Daniel stated, taking hold of Alan's right hand and heading towards the front door, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek before doing so. "I'll let you know when we are heading back home."

"Ok, have fun, wombat." She replied gently, before giving a playful wink to Alan, who just blushed madly in return.

-

"I don't wanna get out of the car. Can we just... skip homecoming?" Alan stated, trying to hide himself in the front seat of Daniel's car.

"Really, Moogle?" Daniel teased, reaching over and poking Alan in the side gently, only to see him jump in surprise. "It won't be that bad. Besides, we've sat here for quite some time, and it's already 6:45."

"I mean, I'm going as your date. That's not a bad thing!" Alan admitted, before sighing. "However, no one will know that I am your date, and I'm ok with that. I don't want you coming out to the whole school during homecoming. That's not what I'm asking..."

"Then, what is it?" Daniel asked, concerned.

"I'm not... used to getting attention like this, Daniel. I'm a wallflower nerd. I typically go to dances with my friends in groups. But, Nikki is going with Manny and... well... I don't really have many other friends, to be honest." Alan answered, his hands fidgeting as he spoke. "I know people are going to stare at me, especially if I walk in with you. I don't want them getting any ideas... and knowing Thomas..."

"What about Thomas?" Daniel questioned, puzzled.

Oh shit... I haven't told him about Thomas. He doesn't know anything about that... which makes my plan a little complicated...

"Nevermind... I'm just... trying to enjoy this time with you, but also respect the fact that you want to keep your sexuality a secret. But, also not be uncomfortable with the way I look right now, as well as come down from my adrenaline high from literally killing a freaking bitch of witch earlier today, and-"

Without much warning, Daniel leaned over to place a simple, but gentle kiss on Alan's lips, cutting him off mid-sentence entirely for a few seconds before pulling away slowly, only to see Alan stare back at him with wide-eyes.

"Calm down, Moogle. I appreciate the fact that you're willing to keep my sexuality a secret until I'm ready to speak on it. While I wish I could openly take you to homecoming as my date, just the two of us knowing makes it more... special at the moment." He admitted, before continuing. "That, and you look fucking amazing in that suit, and I have to admit... that it's really hard for me to not touch you right now. So, the longer we stay in this car, the more I might... want to do things... I shouldn't do in the school parking lot." Daniel explained, a bashful grin slowly coming to his face.

If Alan could be any redder, his face wouldn't be visible as he sat there in silence, listening to Daniel, his face flushing with intensity the more he heard him speak. However, not too long after, a playful smile came to his face. "I mean... you're making it hard for me to leave the car with that kind of information." He teased, only to see Daniel laugh. "But, ok... we can go. Should I... go in first?"

"I think that might be a good idea." Daniel agreed, before he reached over to take Alan's left hand. "I'll come in a few minutes after you. Sound good?"

"Alright... I'll see you soon, then." Alan stated, a smile coming to his face, giving Daniel's hand a gentle squeeze. "I kinda like 'wombat' more than Tidus, actually." He joked, only to hear Daniel groan before he quickly exited the car, closing the door behind him.

He began his walk over towards the school gymnasium where the dance was taking place, nervous as he kept his hands in his pockets. He had texted Nicolette to let her know he was coming and that he would try to find her in the crowd. He could hear the dance music increasing the closer he got to the doors, seeing teachers standing by the entrance checking student IDs as several of his classmates and upper class-men made their way inside. Once in, he carefully walked past the second set of double doors to see a rather active crowd of dancers on one half of the gym floor, a live DJ up on stage, flashing lights behind him, with the other half of students congregating and talking amongst their groups. As expected, he got immediate stares and whispers as he went further into the gym, trying his best to appear calm as he made his way further inside.

"Well, you actually did show." A voice spoke from behind him, catching his attention. Alan looked over to see Thomas standing there, alone, holding a cup in his hands. "I was starting to think this was some type of ruse."

"Thomas." Alan stated, an annoyed frown coming to his face.

"Ah, still that same adorable scowl, even though you look... amazing." Thomas admitted as he looked Alan over with a pleased smile. He was dressed in a grey suit with thinned black pinstripes, a black dress shirt and gray tie. His brunette, wavy hair was freshly trimmed, a few of the curls resting against his forehead. "This color looks lavish on you."

"I'll take the compliment for now, but I'd rather you not continue." Alan spoke tensely, not enjoying this attention from him at all. "Where is your date?"

"Oh, Claire? She's talking with a few of her friends and I offered to grab her a drink while she did so. She's a nice girl. A bit... air headed at times, but very sweet." Thomas spoke casually, a smile on his face.

"I can imagine." Alan replied, having recalled the moment during biology class where he watched her and her best friend almost cut Daniel open as a frog.

"We should find the time to talk later, as it seems that things are in order with Mika and her efforts to capture Daniel." Thomas spoke calmly, watching Alan's reaction carefully.

Alan stared back at Thomas, his expression rather calm. "Sure, Thomas. That's what I agreed to, right?" He spoke, a small smile on his face.

Thomas's expression shifted from content to puzzlement, not expecting such a reaction from Alan at all.

"Allie!"

They both looked over to see Nicolette waving for him to join her and Manny, who was closer to the dance floor.

"I'm going to go..." Alan stated softly, taking a step back as he did so.

"We'll talk later, Alan. Enjoy the dance." Thomas spoke with a polite smile, watching him walk away quietly as he did so. In the distance he caught sight of Nicolette, who was glaring at him in a threatening manner. He gave her a simple smile, waving his free hand in a friendly gesture, only to see her flip him off. "So feisty... not much she can do now, since I already have him."

However, Thomas caught sight of Daniel having walked through the doors into the gym, gazing about and scanning the area. "Why... is Daniel Lang... alone?"