Brett let out his tears as he ran away from the crowd. Why must this happen to him? He thought someone had finally loved him but it was all just a sick joke. Great!

-

A few days before this happened. They were having their senior prom. Everyone was so excited and couldn’t wait for it, all except for Brett Yang. He did like parties but he wasn’t too excited about this since he didn’t have anyone to ask to go with him. He might as well go alone but the thought of it saddened him a bit.

As he was sitting alone, a guy stood in front of him. It was Ian, a popular guy in the university. He was a very handsome guy and every girl was swooning on him. He was everyone’s ideal type, Blond hair, tall, cool looking, talented as well. He had to admit, he liked him too. 

“Hey gorgeous..” Ian said in a flirty tone. “How are you doing?”

The violinist blushed as Ian’s face went closer to him. “I, uhhmm, I’m o-okay yeah..”

“Why are you stammering? Nervous much.” He chuckled oh so angelically. “Don’t worry, I’m just here to ask something..”

Brett didn’t mind and replied “Sure. What do you need help with?”

“Oh. Nothing. Would you like to go to the prom with me?”

And that was where Brett’s whole world stopped. Did he hear that right? Was Ian actually asking him out for prom?! This is unbelievable! His eyes widened, not knowing what to react. They both faced each other, both were silent. That was until Brett spoke.

“Are you serious?” Brett asked again, just to make sure he isn’t having selective hearing.

“Of course, dear. Why would I fake that? You’re a beautiful guy.” Ian whispered in his ear as he held Brett’s hand softly, making him shiver all over. Brett has lost his words, he never thought someone would ask him out like this.

“W-wow.” He breathed.

“What’s the answer, lover boy?” Ian asked again.

With a nod, the two smiled at each other. Nothing can describe how happy he is. This is amazing! Brett closed his eyes and sighed, he can’t wait to go to prom, now that he has a date.

How Exciting!

After waiting for a few days, the prom day finally came. Brett immediately went to his closet and got himself dressed into something pretty. He wore a nice white polo and pants with some suspenders and a black bow to add some touch. He thought he looked great on it.

He looked in the mirror and smiled before whispering to himself “You can do this.”

He quickly grabbed his satchel and violin case before leaving his house. Finally, he has been waiting for this moment.

Before he could even enter the room, the loud music could be already heard from a far. After looking around, he finally found the room. He looked through the small window and there were so many students! He opened the big door and boy was it crazy.

There was a disco ball, illuminating the room while the music blasted loudly. He glanced around, trying to search for Ian. Finding none, he decided to squeeze through the crowd, to find him. 

It was really hard to walk around without getting bumped over or without getting your shoes stepped on but he was determined to see Ian. He had been waiting to see him for so long. As he finally made it to the end of the room, there he was.

Ian..

He tried to hurry up but the crowd around him isn’t really helping. As he was trying to scurry his way there, he heard Ian’s conversation with his other friends.

“So, where’s your date?” His friend asked with a smirk.

“I have no clue and I don’t care man.” Ian said nonchalantly.

Brett immediately stopped. ‘What did he mean by that?’ He quickly thought. Did Ian not want him to be there? He suddenly decided to stay behind the crowd and try to listen further.

“Oh come on now. Precious Bretty would be sad.” His friends laughed.

“Oh fuck off, I ain’t a faggot.” Ian scoffed as he playfully punched them in the shoulder. “I ain’t dating a loser like him.”

Brett felt hurt hearing that. He had a point though, he was a loser. Who would date an asian violinist anyway? Tears began to prickle his eyes, now that the words had been spilled.

“Then why the fuck would you do that..?” He began to shout, making everyone turn around. Even the dj stopped the music to know the commotion. Ian and his friends turned to face him.

“Brett?” Ian looked at him and sighed. “Look, sorry to know it this way but I was gonna tell you.”

Brett couldn’t believe what he said to him. He clenched his hand into a fist. “W-why? Just why was that necessary huh?!” His loud yelling filled the whole room, making everyone circle around them. But he couldn’t care less about that.

“Hey now, it was all just a silly dare!” Ian admitted. The whole crowd began to whisper and gossip at each other. “It was a big bet so I can’t say no to that!”

“All for a fucking dare.. How pathetic.” Brett grumbled.

“Oh don’t call me pathetic sweetheart. You’re the one who fell for it.” Ian and his friends laughed at him.

He couldn’t even face him anymore, all he could do was face the ground while everyone giggled like little girls. Oh how he hated it.

“Next time, don’t be too naive, Bretty. Especially when the popular kids ask you out!” They all laughed again.

Brett couldn’t handle all of this anymore and ran away from the crowd. 

-

That’s how he ended up running away. He quickly went to the guy’s toilet and locked himself in one of the stalls. He sat on the toilet seat before letting out quiet sobs. “How can you be so stupid.” He said to himself, crying even more.

He then stopped as he heard the bathroom door open. The guy must’ve heard the sobbing earlier as he asked “Hello? Someone here.”

“Y-yeah..” He mumbled.  

“Oh good, I thought I’m hearing things again.” The guy chuckled. “Can you come out?”

“Is it necessary?” He spat bitterly at the person. “A-are you gonna humiliate me too?”

The guy must’ve been confused. “What the hell? I would never do that mate.”

Brett sighed heavily as he stood up and showed himself. It seemed like the guy felt bad for him as he immediately asked. “Are you okay bro??”

“I got h-humiliated in front of everyone because of my naivety. Do you think I’m okay??”

“Oh.” The guy said. “So you're Brett Yang. Ian’s new victim.”

“Great. Now everyone knows how foolish I am.” The violinist sobbed. “God, I hate this.”

“I know how you feel, he did this to me too.” The guy said softly. “But trust me, things are going to get better along the way.”

Brett then looked at him. His eyes, he was serious. How many people had that guy fooled? He didn’t care about that though, he was still hurt. He wiped his tears with shaky hands and just nodded, what else is gonna say anyways? He sighed again.

He was about to leave the area until the guy asked, “W-well you looked like y-you need a hug… Want one?”

“Is this another trick?” Brett began, feeling really skeptical about it.

“No, I k-kinda need one too and my date dumped me.” The guy admitted shyly as he scratched his neck.

Brett felt a bit bad for the other so he decided to give in and leaned in for a hug. He slowly melted from the hug as soon as he felt the other return it. He inhaled the scent of the other, feeling really comfortable. Soon enough, something sparked in him. It felt so different, the good kind of different. He immediately shook his head and shove those thoughts away before releasing himself from the hug.

The two of them smiled at each other, feeling a lot better.

“Thank you, uhmmm.” 

“Oh! Uhm, Eddy. Eddy Chen.” The guy said.

“Thank you Eddy.” Brett smiled once again.

“Anytime.”