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So it turned out I had to wear my slightly ill-fitting tux after all. I couldn't really not go after Rosaline had given me her ticket; we were all still in that stage of doing anything and everything to try and please her because we still felt so bad for her – and watching Nathan and I getting ready for Prom seemed to cheer her up a bit. She even laughed when my dad tied Nathan's bow-tie to tight and he started choking and flapping his arms about so much that nobody could get close enough to help him.

                After this debacle I opted to get ready alone in my room and tackle my bow-tie myself. I stood in front of my mirror thinking I didn't look half bad; actually I scrubbed up quite well. My black hair was lying flat for once instead of doing its best to resemble a hastily-constructed bird's nest, my skin was behaving itself and staying the same pale colour all over instead of going red and blotchy in patches, and the tux somehow buffed up my skinny physique to make it look like I had some semblance of a body.

                And while all this was majorly pleasing, there was the small dark cloud of Parker Count, who would probably take one look at me and lock me into a bathroom stall with him.

                I think if it was anybody else I'd be flattered, honestly. I mean it's not like I'm so conceited that I dismiss anybody who shows an interest in me; honestly if any other guy showed me the amount of attention that Parker does I'd be ecstatic. But he's almost five years older than me, he's clingy and handsy, his voice makes me shudder, and at the risk of sounding shallow, he's not very good-looking. I think, just because I'm gay and sort of shy, doesn't mean I should settle for the first guy who comes along that shows an interest in me you know?

                And it's not like I'm holding out for Rowan Montgomery or any of the other mega-hotties in our town, because I'm not deluded. I know I'm not Cinderboy. I'm more just waiting for somebody not creepy and weird.

                All of this thinking and staring at myself was making my head hurt so I went to my French doors and flung them open, walking out onto the small balcony to get some fresh air. It was dusk, the sun having set a half hour ago, leaving the sky swimming with shades of orange, pink and purple, a few stars twinkling here and there and the moon making a pale effort to have its presence known.

                'Justin!' my mom shouted from the foot of the stairs. 'Photos!'

                I sighed and went back into my room, closing the French doors behind me, and took one last look in the mirror before allowing myself to smile. I looked good, I felt good, and there was magic in the air tonight. Who cared about Parker Count? I was going to have a good time at Prom whether he was there or not.

Rowan

'Dude, are you sure about this?' I asked Ben uneasily as he walked confidently along the sidewalk in his black tux, his mask swinging idly in his hand. I too was dressed to impress with my mask pushed up on top of my head, making my hair stick out at odd angles.

                'Yes,' he said definitively. 'Do you dare doubt my ability with the ladies?' he asked, with a smug smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

                'Ladies in general, no,' I admitted. Ben could be pretty smooth, but I guess all assholes had that going for them. 'Ladies who go to Capulet and will be on the lookout for any Montague meddling at their Senior Prom? Not so much.'

                Ben sighed at my lack of faith. 'We'll have these on,' he said patiently, brandishing his mask at me, like he was talking to a toddler. 'They don't need to know we're from Montague. They only need to know that we're hot and we lost our tickets.'

                'And what are we supposed to say our names are?' I asked sceptically. This plan was sounding more and more tenuous every time I heard it. 'They're going to know everybody in their year, they'll know we're not students by our voices alone.'

                'Just trust me,' Ben said long-sufferingly. 'They'll be putty in my hands, I promise.'

                I shook my head but refrained from commenting. 'What about Hayley Tate?' I asked.

                Ben shrugged uncomfortably. 'She's my Prom date, not my girlfriend,' he said offhandedly.

                'I can see why girls love you so much,' I said dryly. Hayley Tate was going to get her heart broken, but she'd been getting her heart broken by my cousin every day for the last four years. If she hadn't learned her lesson by now there was nothing I could do for her.

                'Here we are,' Ben announced, and I looked up to see we were, indeed, standing about  half a block from Capulet High. There were cars littering the parking lot, the lights were on and the doors were thrown open, with students in tuxedos and ball gowns, and of course their masks, making their way up the front steps to the school.

                Ben and I both tied our masks to our faces and glanced at each other with mild trepidation before shrugging and making our way towards the building.

Justin

Nathan and I got to school just as the place was really starting to fill up. Some kids were sitting in their cars drinking whatever alcohol they had stolen from their parents, more were making their way into the gymnasium where the dance was being held (classy, I know).

                Nathan hadn't caved on the date thing and offered me his second ticket repeatedly over the last few days in case I wanted to ask a boy in my year to come with me, but every time I just looked at him like he was insane and declined to comment. I was firmly in the closet and had no intention of coming out any time soon.

                We walked in together and approached the girls sitting by the table in front of the gym doors, taking tickets and striking names off their lists. These were the typical Prom Committee girls. The girls who'd skirted the fringes of the high school social scene and believed that Prom was their last ditch effort to make a name for themselves in high school. The girls who had believed since they were little that Prom was the be-all and end-all of the high school experience, that tonight was to be the biggest night of their lives, that they'd fall in love and have their Cinderella story moment.

                These were the girls who hadn't even been asked.

                'Hey Julia,' Nathan said cheerfully, handing his ticket to a pretty girl in glasses that I vaguely recognised. Her mask was on the table beside her.

                'Hey Nate,' she said, picking up her clipboard and searching her list for his name, then striking it off when she found it.

                Nathan hesitated, then said, 'See you inside?'

                She smiled, but it was obvious she wasn't having a good night. 'Sure. I'll be the wallflower,' she joked feebly.

                'Then you can save a dance for me,' Nathan said firmly, and she looked surprised.

                'Uh. Yeah. Cool.' She beamed at him, then shook herself out of it and turned to me. 'Ticket?'

                I handed over Rosaline's ticket and she frowned at me. 'I'm sorry, it must be your mask, I don't recognise you,' she said sheepishly. 'What's the name?'

                'Um. The ticket's under Rosaline Dawes,' I said, knowing I was about to get kicked out.

                'Uh...' Julia said, looking at me doubtfully, but then Nathan put his arm around me and said, 'Come along Rosaline,' and Julia laughed and struck Rosaline's name off the list.

Rowan

'That's her!' I hissed excitedly to Ben.

                'Your chick looks like a dude,' Ben said flatly, and I elbowed him. We'd been eavesdropping as Rosaline had handed her ticket to the girl at the desk and her date put his arm around her and propelled her into the gymnasium.

                'Why's she wearing a tux?' Ben demanded. 'And her hair's short. She might be a lez, dude.'

                'She can't be, that guy is her date...' I mused. 'She does look different though. Her hair was longer before, and she seemed more feminine... Whatever dude, she's going through a rough time. She might be having an identity crisis or something.'

                Ben looked at me doubtfully. 'And you're sure you want to get involved in all of that?'

                I shrugged. 'I have to. I can't get her out of my head.'

                Ben sighed and shook his head at my folly but nevertheless strode forwards to the ticket table.

                'Hey guys,' the pretty girl in charge said cheerfully. 'Tickets?'

                Ben went on a full charm offensive, sitting at the edge of the table and levelling the girl with that dark look he does so well. 'Thing is,' he said regretfully, 'we actually lost our tickets.'

                'That's no problem,' she said helpfully, not for one second falling for his crap. 'I have a list of the names here, I'm afraid I don't recognise you in your masks though – it's been happening to me all night, sorry. Who are you?'

                'You know it's funny, I don't recognise you tonight either, and you don't even have your mask on! You look beautiful in your dress, you shouldn't have to be out here taking tickets.'

                The girl laughed good-naturedly. 'Thanks,' she said. 'It's Julia. And you are...?'

                I sighed; this was getting us nowhere. We'd have been better off dressing up as plumbers and trying to scam our way in that way.

                Ben must have caught on to my impatience because he slipped off the table and moved away from me; Julia's gaze naturally followed him, and once I was sure nobody was looking at me I left him to his failure of a seduction technique and slipped through the gymnasium doors.

Justin

'Really it was unfair of you not to ask anybody,' I chastised Nathan as soon as we were inside the gym and I knew Julia couldn't hear us. 'There are girls like Julia who haven't been asked and think there's something wrong with them now. And you're actually good with girls, and you actually care about them.'

                'I asked her to dance, didn't I?' Nathan defended himself, leading us over to the refreshment table and tucking into a handful of hors d'oeuvres.

                I was about to reply but I was distracted by somebody who had just slipped into the gym. Even though he was wearing a mask I could tell he was totally hot, and I knew I knew him from somewhere, I just couldn't pinpoint how. 'Who's that?' I asked Nathan before I could stop myself, and he followed my line of sight and laughed.

                'Definitely looking for the polar opposite of Parker Count then, huh?' he observed, and I blushed.

                'It's not that,' I protested, even though it was. The guy was slim but well-built with black hair that fell over his face and big hands and he was tall and... I shook my head. 'I just recognise him from somewhere.'

                'Course you do,' Nathan said easily. 'That's-'

                But he was cut off by my suddenly grabbing him by both arms and steering him to stand in front of me.

                'What-... Oh.'

                Parker Count had just walked in behind the hottie and was making his way straight for me.

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A/N: The Midnight Beast song over there ---->

is Ben's outlook on dating XD

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