CV: Hello all! Quick note beforehand. This prompt was given to me by EllaAwkward, so Ella, this is for you! We did an exchange, so make sure after this to check out 'Reach Me By Page'. I myself am stoked for it and encourage you all to be too.

Okay, now onto the fic. Enjoy!

"Francis! Gilbert! Guess what, mi amigos?" Antonio immediately asked his two friends upon entering their currently desolate homeroom class. He was awake and vibrant as the sun, one of the only two moods it seemed possible for him to exhibit at this time of the morning. The other was a barely conscious and rather disoriented display, obviously a huge contrast. It's been proven that in this state, he probably would be more productive left in bed.

Gilbert and Francis, however, were quite the opposite of their cheerful friend this early Monday morning. Before Antonio had come bouncing in, Gilbert had been snoring, cheek smooshed against the desk in front of him, while Francis had been staring into the dark depths of his morning coffee, having taken off the lid momentarily to pour a sugar packet inside and forgotten to replace it after in his grogginess. Little to say, the two were not the brightest of eyes or bushiest of tails that particular morning.

But, if they had been in foul moods before Antonio's appearance, then what could be said now for them must have been all the more severe. They both glared at the Spaniard, who was oblivious to their moodiness as he hopped closer. Gilbert had foggy eyes and large red splotches dotting his cheek from where he'd been face-planted. Francis' hair stuck up slightly on the left and his hand now had burns from the sticky liquid that had poured over it.

Antonio continued to smile despite their frowns and looked expectantly from one to the other, waiting for his friends to get as excited about whatever business had made him so. Francis sighed.

"Yes, Antonio?"

Antonio sat down across from him, straddling the back of the seat where he held like an excited kid on a roller coaster. "Weeellll," he started, leaning forward, "I just got back from a student council meeting."

Antonio paused for a moment, as if in anticipation that his friends would demand more. They didn't. He continued on anyway.

"Annnd. We finally have a date for prom!"

Francis and Gilbert seemed at least a little more interested in this info, but it was minimal. They both knew what was coming when Antonio said next, "I'm really going to do it this time, guys!"

Gilbert's muffled voice came from under his arm, where his head was buried once again. "Twenty bucks he won't, Franny."

Francis sighed again, discontentedly. "Oh, I have lost too much money on that bet in the past, mon ami."

"No, seriously!" Antonio protested. "I'm really gonna!"

Gilbert merely rolled over. Francis dried his hand on Gilbert's shirt and sent Antonio a sympathetic look. "You do realize this is your last chance, don't you?"

Antonio blinked. "What do you mean?"

Francis covered his eyes, obviously too tired to deal with this right now. "It is prom. Of Senior year. The last dance of your last year. If you are going to ask Lovino to a dance, this has to be it."

Antonio's eyes went comically wide at this. "You're right. Oh no." He visibly became nervous then, biting his lip and thinking hard on it. Francis decided to wake up now, sighing at his friend's pathetic state.

"Toni. Antonio." Francis called his attention and grabbed his friend's shoulders, turning Antonio toward him. "Listen to me." Once he was sure Antonio was finally seeing him and hearing his words, he continued. "You are going to do this. You have been trying to ask your little brat to every dance we've had at this school since the middle of sophomore year. You've gone to every single dance with him since he moved here in the middle of sophomore year. Those hopelessly platonic dates will honestly be something the whole school will speak of in twenty years at our class reunion. If you do not act soon, you shall be voted into Best Couple That Never Was and you shall both leave high school, wondering on that 'Never Was' for the rest of your lives."

"Uh…" Antonio lifted a finger to interject, "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

Francis looked at his friend, long and hard, then sighed. "Oh, Antonio. Whatever will we do with you?"

The conversation was dropped, much to Antonio's confusion, and Francis turned back to the front of the room, awaiting their fellow classmates and teacher to enter.

Antonio tapped his desk. Now that he thought about it, he and Lovino had a lot of platonic dates. What? It wasn't their fault that they were President and Vice President of Student Council. Kind of…

Antonio can't say he regretted it one bit. He got "stuck" on a lot of projects with Lovino because of this and they spent a lot of time together. They also organized a lot of dances and attended together if only to monitor their event's progress.

But they were all platonic. None of them were what Antonio wanted them to be. He couldn't ask Lovino to dance or hold his hand or give in to the temptation to kiss him when the other caught him watching when Lovino's eyes twinkled under the false lights they'd set up in the gymnasium.

Sure, he supposed he could do all those things and ultimately confess, but dances always threw Antonio off for some reason. During a dance he would always hold himself back, just like he did in class and student council meetings and lunch and wherever else he caught Lovino.

But this time he would do it. Prom was two whole months away. He had plenty of time! And he would come up with the perfect plan to do so.

This time, he really was going to do it.

-/-

It was three weeks until prom. Great. Leave it to Antonio to procrastinate this for so long, even when he'd known so far beforehand.

Prom dates had been announced long ago and couples had been getting together for at least a week already for the occasion. He'd seen one guy ask his girlfriend with a huge banner over the hood of her car. And the posters announcing the event had only been up for a few days by then.

Some people just had all the confidence in the world. And that guy should have. The girl was already his girlfriend. As for Antonio, he wanted to ask out the guy he'd been crushing on for three years.

Great.

At the moment, Antonio was twiddling his fingers, poking at a mess of greens on his lunch tray with a white plastic fork. His thoughts were insistent, but his nerves were on edge.

Come on, Antonio. His brain supplied. Francis is right. This is your last chance and you better get it right.

"So, Lovi," Antonio asked suddenly, sitting across from his friend at the lunch table. Neither Gilbert or Francis had the same lunch period as them, much to Lovino's continuous and Antonio's current relief. "Excited for prom?"

Lovino looked up, a bored expression masking his features. His brows lifted in consideration. "Not really."

Antonio's ego deflated, though he continued to keep up pretenses. "Oh, really? Why?" He really was curious, but he had to make efforts to only sound mildly so.

Lovino shrugged. "Well, it'll probably be just the same as last year. Go to a shitty venue. Watch people pretend that they like each other or know how to dance. Then we have all the prep work before and I really am not looking forward to directing all the dumbasses to what they're supposed to be doing."

Antonio nodded, still feeling a bit put out.

Lovino didn't like dances. Antonio knew that; he'd only ever gone because of Student Council and usually ended up leaving one or two hours in just to say he had gone. Less if things were going particularly smoothly and he didn't have to constantly monitor the place. Dances just weren't his thing.

Even if Lovino did like dances, though, who was to say he'd want to go to one with Antonio? As a couple, no less.

They weren't particularly close friends. Apart from Lovino being his VP, eating lunch together, and occasionally seeing each other in class, they really didn't know one another well. He didn't know what books he read or shows he watched. He didn't know much about his family. And, no, he hadn't a clue on his friend's feelings toward Antonio himself.

Damn. You'd think after three years you'd get to know a guy a bit more.

-/-

"When are you going to ask that boy out already?" A voice asked from behind Antonio, making him jump at least a foot into the air. When he turned, he wasn't surprised to find Elizaveta standing there, a smirk on her face and arms crossed. He gave a nervous smile in greeting.

"Hey, Eliza. How are you?"

"I would be a lot better if I didn't have to watch all this pining. Honestly, it's been the highlight of my years in StuCo, but the exasperation is building. If you don't get some Italian soon," Eliza motioned behind Antonio, to the corner she knew he'd been looking at with said Italian scolding his little brother for whatever reason, "I will make it my personal project to do so for you."

Elizaveta's eyes practically glowed at this. "And I'll do it my way." An alarmingly giddy smile stretched across her face and Antonio stepped away a little nervously.

Antonio laughed anxiously. "Really, Eliza. There's no need for anything like that. I mean, we're just friends anyway, so-"

Elizaveta put up a single hand, cutting him off. "Don't even try. You know how obvious it's been for years."

Antonio blushed. He did, in fact, know how obvious he had been. The entire Student Council, perhaps even the whole school, knew about it and many people because of this were constantly trying to get them together. Some of these so-called people went by the names of Elizaveta, Kiku, and, even Lovino's own brother, Feliciano. Kiku never really talked to anyone about it, mostly keeping to himself and snapping pictures every now and again, but Elizaveta and Feliciano never shut up about it.

Really, Antonio was flattered and all, but mostly it just made him anxious.

How could he tell Lovino that he liked him with the whole school practically breathing down their necks? It wasn't like he ever saw Lovino outside of school, where they could get away from the watchful, hopeful eyes of their classmates whenever they spoke. It wasn't like he could find out if Lovino was interested in anyone, what flowers he liked, if he could possibly like him, when Antonio constantly felt eyes on the back of his neck. The giggles from random people when he and Lovino were together and exchanging of hands in what he knew could only be bets placed on them were enough to make Antonio terrified of ever asking Lovino out.

It would be impossible asking Lovino out under any conditions unless he knew for sure it would be a yes. Yeah, it sounded lame, but Antonio didn't think he could take the shame. He needed help.

So he made a decision.

"Hey, Elizaveta?" He asked, already wondering if he would come to regret this later. Eliza turned back to him, having already busied herself with talking to someone about some sort of project. No turning back now. "How would you like to help me with that?"

Elizaveta perked right the fuck up at this.

-/-

It turned out that it wouldn't only be Elizaveta helping him. No, there would actually be four people helping.

At least, that Antonio knew of.

But, if he were to be honest, Antonio wouldn't have chosen any other four than Elizaveta, Feliciano, Francis, and Gilbert. Though he was pretty sure Gilbert was only there for morale, he appreciated him nonetheless. If anything, Antonio was in desperate need of morale.

The four had, somehow, persuaded Antonio into a first attempt at asking Lovino to prom. They had reassured him that, yes, of course the boy would agree to go with him and that he had nothing to worry about. Apparently, it wasn't only obvious to all of student council and the rest of the school that Antonio liked Lovino, but that the other returned these sentiments as well.

Antonio still wasn't completely sold on the idea, but he went with their first plan nevertheless. He had asked for their help anyhow, so he might as well follow the advice they gave him.

But now Antonio was barely functional. It was at times like these that he developed sensory overload. And it was at times like these when both speech and understanding completely abandoned him.

Oh, Broca's and Wernicke's Areas, why have you forsaken me?

Antonio blinked, looking around the classroom and taken off by the random information that had sprouted in his mind. Huh, perhaps he'd retained more in his psychology class than he'd thought.

But it wasn't long until he grew dumb again, eyes honing in on the tiniest details around him.

Lovino, sitting silently at his desk, tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind his ear, intent on the novel he was reading. The clock on the wall was absolutely shattering of the complete silence in the room. Not a single student, after having completed their tests, seemed interested in conversing or passing notes. Too much effort to not get caught by the teacher, Antonio supposed.

Antonio tried not to stare either at Lovino nor the clock, knowing either would make him just too nervous for the bell to come. But the plain black and white of the circular object and the sounds of Lovino turning pages brought his attention constantly racing between the two.

Antonio had been absolutely hopeless the years he had known Lovino, especially when it had come to the countless times he'd attempted to ask the boy out. Every time he always felt confident, having no idea why he always changed his mind at the last second. Then he would try again and remember.

Oh right. Antonio would think. I get nervous and my palms sweat and I can't stop noticing how beautiful Lovino looks and I feel like puking at the thought of rejection. No big deal. Heh…

He was so screwed.

But this was supposed to be an easy one. Eliza and Feli had said so. Simple. Lovino would like simple.

A confession in front of the entire lunch room didn't read 'simple' so much to Antonio as it apparently did Elizaveta and Feliciano, but they knew what they were doing, right?

Yeah. Yeah, of course.

Antonio gulped at the thought and was suddenly jolted from his thoughts by the sound of a bell.

The lunch bell.

Antonio was so dead.

-/-

Antonio was used to eating lunch with Lovino. It was all routine as they sat down, Lovino pulling out a Tupperware container of some sort of pasta his family had had the night before and Antonio with nothing quite yet, still in need of going through the school's lunch line. He usually sat down until the line died down a bit, so that's exactly what he did today. He was certainly in no rush for what came next anyway.

So the two got to talking like any other day. Antonio noticed he was rambling and Lovino apparently did too, but neither one mentioned it. They just continued the exchange as normal. That was, until the topic landed on prom.

"You gonna ask someone this time?" Lovino asked nonchalantly, looking down at his fork as he twirled pasta onto it. Antonio paused dead in his tracks, then laughed nervously, hoping Lovino hadn't taken notice.

"Maybe." Antonio answered in a rush. "How about you?"

Lovino shook his head. "No. Dancing's not really my thing, so what's the point of a date?"

Antonio's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. "Oh, really?" Antonio questioned weakly, laughing in that off sort of way he had before. He nodded to himself, piercing that table with his eyes and gulping. He didn't even notice Lovino now looking at him, biting his lip.

Suddenly, Antonio sprung up. "Gotta get my lunch." He announced before shooting off without waiting for his friend's response. He ran for the line at first, but when he'd disappeared behind the crowd, veered to the opposite end of the cafeteria. It wasn't long until he found the four giddy people awaiting him by the superintendent's podium, Eliza holding the microphone hooked up to the room's speakers like a lifeline. That was the microphone he was to take to the middle of the bustling room to ask his dreaded question.

They all sprung to life when Antonio approached.

"Oh, Toni. There you are." Francis sighed in relief.

"We thought you'd chicken out." Gilbert cackled, slapping him good-naturedly on the back.

Elizaveta was the next to step up, handing him the mic. "Thank God you're here. They were about to kick us out. Here; it's turned off, but you can find the switch on the side."

Antonio was already shaking his head. "No, we can't do this. We have to abort mission."

Feliciano bounced up, pout already in place. He and his brother may have looked a lot alike but one thing was for sure; they're expressions were completely different. They both had the cutest pouts, but they were completely unlike each other's.

"Why do you want to do that?" Feli asked, then lowered his voice, leaning in. "Are you afraid of public speaking? Really, Antonio, it isn't all that bad."

Antonio shook his head again. "No, no. It's not that, Feli."

"Then what is it?" Eliza asked, crossing her arms and leaning on her hip. Antonio shifted from foot to foot.

"I don't think Lovino wants to go to the dance." He finally admitted.

"But we already told you-" Elizaveta tried, only to have Antonio cut her off with nodding and agreement.

"I know. I know. You said he does. What I meant to say is, I don't think he wants to go with anyone. I. E. Me."

Elizaveta huffed at this, rolling her eyes. Before she could say anything though, Francis spoke up.

"If we can get proof that he does want to go and wouldn't mind going with someone, will that be enough for you?"

"Uh, I guess…" Antonio replied, feeling a bit foolish for making his friends do so much for him. "But you don't have to. You've already done enough and, I mean, being friends with Lovino is more important to me than-"

"That is a yes, mis amis." Francis turned away from Antonio and back to the other three without listening to the rest of what Antonio had to say. "We must work quickly. Can we all meet up after school to discuss?"

The four then went off to their respective tables or classrooms (to which Antonio did not wish to know how they had gotten out of in the first place) all while still chatting on the topic until they were forced to go separate ways. Antonio stood, watching them go until he roused himself and made his way back to his own table. When he got there, Lovino looked up.

"Where's your food?" Lovino asked. He tucked his hair behind his ear again, but Antonio was much more relaxed in noticing it this time. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Decided I wasn't hungry." Was his response, which received a roll of Lovino's eyes before the boy went back to his own meal.

Antonio released a sigh of relief, yet still could not let go of the clenching in his heart. Despite all of his anxieties, Antonio really hoped his friends found something in their search.

-/-

It wasn't long until one of them found some sort of evidence to their supposed claim that Lovino liked him, or, at least, wouldn't mind going to the dance with him.

It wasn't a surprise when the first turned out to be Feliciano, since, being Lovino's brother and all, he probably talked with him on the daily. Two days later, Feliciano walked up to him, claiming he was "Ready to report!"

They were outside in the field for gym that day and, since Feliciano apparently had something to say to him, the two had decided to "play outfield" while the rest if the class ran bases and threw a rather brutal-looking baseball. Alfred was pitching at the moment and Antonio, even from way out there, could have sworn he'd heard the ball whiz through the air.

"So, I talked to Lovino!" Feliciano exclaimed, smiling like this was the most exciting thing in the world. While Antonio wouldn't deny talking to Lovino was an enlivening experience, this wasn't quite what he was looking for that day.

"And?" Antonio asked, trying as he might to sound patient. It probably didn't come out like he'd hoped.

But Feliciano giggled. "Welllll, he hates dances." Antonio's heart immediately sunk. He'd known this would happen. He'd known . Why had he let his hopes up?

"But!" Feliciano exclaimed, knowing Antonio was already put down by the original comment and ready to reveal the good news to that bad news. This was really exciting for Feliciano. Not only helping Antonio confess and all the beautiful, cute parts of match-making, but the part where he was setting his brother up too. The part where Feliciano knew a lot more about Lovino's feelings than he was going to let on. Lovino was his brother. Of course he wouldn't divulge.

This, though, was open game. "But," he said again, "Only because he has to do a bunch of work for them. And everyone has such a great time and all he does is stand in a corner and watch. He would kill me if he knew I told you this, but Lovino can get really lonely."

Antonio took this all in.

Lovino was lonely, huh. He didn't like that. Antonio didn't want Lovino to be lonely. He wanted to be there if that's what it took. He wanted to stand by Lovino's side if that's all he wanted. He would stay with Lovino the whole time if they went to prom together.

Watching the ball pitch out in the field, under the scorching sun, Antonio wondered if Lovino had been lonely all the times Antonio and him had stood together at the outskirts of the dance floor, watching their peers make fools of themselves while busting a move. He couldn't have been lonely when they had laughed together, could he?

"So, how are you going to ask him?" Feliciano asked then, practically bouncing out of his tennis shoes. Antonio blinked and focused back on the other he was with.

Was he going to ask him? Was this proof enough to ask Lovino to go with him?

"You can't go wrong with a big poster!" Feliciano continued, "And something cute writen on it! Like a little poem; oh my gosh, he'd love it!" Feliciano was way too into this, but Antonio couldn't blame him. He also couldn't bare the ideas much mind, as his thoughts were a jumble of I ask him. I ask him not. I ask him-

Where could he find a flower if just to make this decision process easier? One with a lot of petals so he could spend forever contemplating its possible outcomes.

"I don't know, Feli. You think your brother would like that?" Antonio asked absently.

I'm gonna do it. He thought to himself.

Wait, what? He replied back to his own thought incredulously.

Yes. If Lovino is lonely at dances I have to fix that.

Can I fix that?

I have to try.

With his mind made up, Antonio turned back to Feliciano. Feliciano hadn't replied to his question, had he? Had Antonio zoned out that much?

But, if Antonio had been zoned out, then he hadn't been the only one. When his eyes landed again on Feliciano, he could tell his thoughts were far away. Mainly, on the new pitcher.

That was Gilbert's brother, wasn't it? As far as Antonio could tell, Feliciano's attention had been on Ludwig for the past couple of minutes. At least, that's how long Antonio thought he'd been spaced out. Wait, did Feliciano like Ludwig? That was so cute!

Antonio chuckled and let the boy be. Their conversation had given him a good idea anyway.

A poem, huh?

-/-

Apparently poetry was a lot harder than advertised. Specifically rhyming poetry that asked someone out without going down the "Roses are Red…" track.

Antonio took a lot of time figuring out just what he wanted to say, so, by the time he had settled on something, it was only a week and a half until prom.

In fact, this little time crunch was what had inspired him in the first place.

Not long until prom;

Sorry for the wait;

I just wanted to ask,

Will you be my prom date?

Super lame. So, upon finally writing a poem for Lovino, Antonio immediately trashed the idea. Instead, he would go a much simpler route.

Prom? Read the note. One word. Simple. One word wasn't hard for him to write and wouldn't be hard for Lovino to understand. And he wouldn't have to be there when Lovino saw it because he was planning on just slipping it into his locker. Yeah, it was kind of a cowardly way to go, but it would work, right? It had to work.

So Antonio arrived very earlier to school the next day and made his way to the hall he knew Lovino's locker would be. It was a struggle trying to get the tiny note to fit through the even tinier metal slots, but in the end Antonio succeeded and victory danced away, hiding at the end of the hall as he contemplated if he would in fact stay or take off before he watched everything unfold.

When Lovino approached the locker about ten minutes later, Antonio didn't dare breathe. When the locker door was opened and the ripped, folded, and sharpied piece of lined paper fell out onto the floor Antonio could no longer look but through his fingers. As Lovino bent to retrieve the paper, plain confusion etched across his features, Antonio knew he was close to the clammy hands of death.

Then Lovino opened the note and read the single word.

That one word.

And turned it over, brow furrowed in more confusion than he'd had before he'd opened it. He continued to turn it around and scanned it and around again, as if searching for something.

Then it hit Antonio what he was looking for.

There was one problem with a note with only one word on it.

It wasn't signed.

-/-

"Can you believe it wasn't signed?" Lovino snorted as he took back the note he had been showing Antonio over lunch. Antonio laughed too, though he wasn't sure how convincing it was. By the looks of it, Lovino didn't think twice about it, as he continued to talk.

"Probably some prank. Some people live to be assholes, don't they?" Lovino scoffed, causing Antonio to hunch a bit. He wanted to completely fold in on himself, disappear from the world - or try to - but he figured that would be a little too obvious to the oblivious one across from him.

"Yeah…" Antonio responded, all the while having no idea how. "Assholes…"

"Anyway, what's new with you? Still haven't found a prom date?" Lovino asked, picking up his slice of pizza. Antonio felt like dying.

Thank God that was when Francis arrived.

"Bonjour, mis amis. How are you all doing today?" The Frenchman asked as he elegantly took a seat beside them. Lovino looked at him in distaste but said nothing. Francis was there for Antonio anyway.

"Hey, Francis." Antonio greeted weakly, sighing as he drew his attention away from Lovino. "What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"

Francis waved this away and scoffed. "Oh please. I came to talk with you. Things such as classes cannot get in the way of that."

Antonio was feeling a bit more cheery now that one of his best friends was there to cheer him up. "You have a test this period, don't you?" Antonio asked, knowing his friend.

Francis feigned offense, placing a hand to his chest. "I would do no such thing! How dare you insuate the notion, Antoine." It was obvious that Francis did not care one way or another, but it was amusing to see him act.

"Alright. Alright." Antonio put up his hands in surrender. "What can I do for you?"

"Ah." Francis indicated with his eyes sliding to the other end of the table what the oh-so-important conversation was about. "It is a bit tricky, I must say." His words were vague but his intentions to steal Antonio away from the table were clear.

"Take him. I don't want to see your snail-eating face anymore." Lovino said, not looking up from his phone as he took another bite of pizza.

Francis merely chuckled and winked in Lovino's direction. Antonio didn't think the Italian could see the action until he fake gagged.

"Let us go, Toni." Francis announced and practically whisked him away.

Once they were safely across the cafeteria, Antonio asked. "So, what is it?"

"Ah, I wished to share my findings as to the Lovino case with you. I think you will find them quite pleasing." Francis gave a knowing smile.

"Really?" Antonio's heart lifted just a little. He needed good news right now. He had made such a colossal mistake this morning that he was looking for anyway to mend it.

"Yes, yes. You will find it very well that I flirted with him yesterday after school."

Now Antonio was confused. "Uh what?"

"I flirted with him and, as you know, nobody can deny themselves of moi but for one thing." Francis held up one finger. If it was to punctuate the 'one' thing or to create pause for whatever grand reveal he was readying them for, Antonio couldn't bother to understand. He waited.

"Unless they are in love with another."

Antonio's heart tumbled. It seemed to be taking a beating lately.

So, Lovino was in love. That was… disappointing. It was the most disheartening thing Antonio had heard all day and that morning he had forgotten to sign his name on a promposal!

"Why the long face, Antonio? You should be celebrating!" Francis asked.

"Celebrating?" Antonio buried his head in his hands. "Why should I celebrate? Lovino's in love with someone!"

There was a pause. Somehow Antonio could feel that silence's exact emotions brimming in the air. Tension and… exasperation?

"Antonio. Lovino is in love with you." Francis said plainly, knowing his friend would simply understand no other way. Antonio's head shot up.

"W-what?!" He said. "How can you say that? Do you- do you know?"

Francis sighed. "No, I do not. But, honestly, who else would the bitter little Italian fall for?"

"Wait." Antonio took a step back, clearing his head. He had a frown in place now. "So, just because Lovino didn't flirt back you think he's in love with me?"

"Well, obviously. Please, Antonio. Keep up."

But Antonio was shaking his head. "Francis…"

"Oh, so you do not believe me. I see." Francis said, "Well, that can be fixed. I will try it again. Maybe give him a rose next time. I know how dense he can be, so if this doesn't work-"

"Wait!" Antonio couldn't help but exclaiming, an idea forming in his head. Francis looked at him in puzzlement.

"A rose. That's brilliant, Francis!"

Francis stopped, then smirked. "Oh, yes. The old rose tactic. It's romantic, beautiful. No one can turn down such a display of romance."

"Annnd," Antonio added, "I can hide behind the flower while I'm asking him! Thanks, Francis; you're a lifesaver!"

"Wait, I'm sorry. What?" Francis spluttered at the blatant disrespect of romance. Before he could protest anymore, though, Antonio was already sprinting off.

"I'll see you later!"

And, with that, Antonio was gone. All Francis could do was sigh.

"At least he might actually ask him this time."

-/-

Prom was on Saturday. And it was Monday. Antonio had his rose though, and he was early to school. He had a plan.

Roses. You couldn't go wrong with roses.

Which is why, walking up the path to school that early Tuesday morning, Antonio had all of the confidence in the world. One single red rose in one hand and a skip in his step, Antonio was swiftly making his way to Lovino's locker where he knew the boy went first every morning.

He had it all planned out in his head. He would get there and immediately flourish the rose for the other to see. Lovino would probably slam shut his locker and lift an eyebrow at Antonio, amused but slightly baffled at the display. Before he could demand what Antonio was doing Antonio would say it.

"I like you. Will you go to prom with me?"

Straightforward. No room for misunderstanding and directive plain to see. Then, while his confidence was still high, Antonio would smile as Lovino took the rose, bashful smile on his lips.

Antonio was ready. He wouldn't hesitate. He would go forward and ask without a thought to what could happen. He wouldn't even consider rejection.

Crap. He'd considered it.

Antonio slowed all the while shaking his head. No. No room for doubt. Go, Antonio! He remembered his friends' words of encouragement from last night and used them to push himself forward.

Go get him! Gilbert had said.

He would be a fool to say no. Had been Francis.

Antonio strode forward again with purpose. Yes. This was it. This was-

"Seriously?" A voice cut Antonio's thoughts right off as he turned down one side of the school building. He was still outside, but there was Lovino, standing by a bench outside with none other than Elizaveta Hedervary. She must have stopped him on his way to his locker.

So Antonio slowed. What was he supposed to do now? He hadn't prepared for this!

Then Elizaveta caught his eye and, not long after, her own eyes landed on the rose in his hands. A wicked grin twisted onto her face as she turned back to Lovino and continued to talk to him. Antonio felt rather wary approaching the two but continued to anyway. Elizaveta had that giddy look she always did when setting people up and it concerned Antonio more than anything. What was she telling Lovino?

Then he could hear their voices. "Roses?" Lovino said. Antonio's heart almost stopped. Elizaveta sent him a look equal to a thumbs up.

"Pssh, roses are cliche."

Antonio's pace ceased as Elizaveta's face swiveled back to him. Antonio had no clue what she was trying to say with her eyes because all he could see was Lovino starting to turn his way.

He threw the rose behind him at the last moment and plastered a smile on his face. "Hi, Lovi!" He greeted, perhaps a little too cheerfully.

"Uh, hey, stupid." Lovino said, rather confusedly. He must have picked up on the awkward atmosphere, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"I was just going to say good morning, but I see you're talking to Elizaveta right now so I guess I'll see you later." Antonio laughed at a high pitch. "Okay, well, see ya!"

Antonio took off. Lovino turned to Eliza.

"What was that about?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "If only you knew."

This confused Lovino even more but he couldn't get anything else out of her on the topic.

-/-

"I'm so sorry, Antonio!" Elizaveta exclaimed upon seeing the Spaniard in one of the many student council meetings of the week. It was Tuesday and they still hadn't even visited, apart from the President and VP themselves once, the venue for prom. It would be a wild time setting up when they were finally allowed in on Thursday.

Antonio waved Eliza's apologies off, smiling affably. "It's alright. It's alright. I know you were just trying to help." And he couldn't thank her enough. What if he had actually given that rose to Lovino? Could he have laughed in Antonio's face for something so "cliche"?

Elizaveta pouted. "You should really be more put out by this. I fucked your chances of asking yesterday!"

Antonio shook his head. "No. Think if I had given it to him! That would have been a disaster!" Antonio laughed as if he had made a good joke while his insides told a different story.

Elizaveta crossed her arms. "He still would have said yes." She mumbled, then clapped her hands together, all business. "Anyway! That's not all I got out of him yesterday, so listen here."

Antonio was definitely listening. Prom was soon and if he didn't get some sort of plan going, he would never ask. Just like every dance for every year since the tenth grade.

"So I was talking to him, you saw that part, and we were talking about prom. Dancing came up and music and food and friends. He was kinda confused why I was talking to him in the first place about it all and seemed a bit wary for some reason."

I can relate. Antonio thought, knowing that Elizaveta sure was a scary chick when prompted. Either it be kicking someone's ass or setting people up, she was hardcore about it all.

"Anyway, we came to the part about dressing up for the event and I finally found something. That kid's a difficult one, but I found something he enjoys in regards to prom."

Antonio leaned forward. What could it be? Lovino hated most things about school events. Dancing, no. Music, never his taste. Food, never even 'edible' according to him. Hanging with friends, forget about it.

"He says he's always wanted to wear a tux." Elizaveta revealed, as if she had been holding the secrets of the universe. Antonio scratched his head.

"A tux?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. So, obviously, you have to ask him. He wants to go."

Antonio looked at her in bewilderment. Yeah, she was right. To any other dance they had been to it had always been regular suits for them. And, while Antonio didn't really know much of a difference between suits and tuxedos, Lovino sure seemed the type that would.

But this sounded almost as crazy as Francis' reasoning! Ask Lovino to prom because he mentioned once that he's always wanted to wear a tux? It sounded insane.

Almost the kind of insane Antonio would have agreed with in his desperation to find the strength to ask his friend.

"So, there. Take it as you will." Eliza said then winked. "And I'll see you two at prom."

-/-

Antonio still wasn't sure. He's tried and tried again, this time more than any, but he still couldn't seem to get the words out or his intention clear. None of his plans had worked. None of the years he'd put into this had paid off.

He just didn't know Lovino well enough, even after three years. Apart from some of the, rather weak, evidence his friends had dug up for him, he still couldn't be sure if Lovino even wanted to go to the dance. And he certainly didn't know if Lovino would go so far as to go with Antonio.

Perhaps it was never meant to be. Maybe they truly should be that 'Couple That Never Was'. The superlative really would have been earned by this point.

Prom was tomorrow and, if nothing else dissuaded Antonio from asking, that did. There was no way he could ask a day from the dance. Sure, they both would have had their tuxes ready because they were going for the Student Council anyway, so it wasn't necessarily the getting things together the last minute that was bothering him. It was more to the respects of the whole thing. And to his pride.

So, if Antonio might have been 'moping', then that was his own damn business.

And, apparently, Lovino's.

"Dude, what's up with you?" The other said as he sat down across the lunch table from him. Antonio looked up, smiling genuinely. Just seeing Lovino could bring a smile to his face.

"Nothing. I guess I'm just tired." Antonio shrugged. Tired was right. He was tired of his own cowardice. He was tired of his insecurities and never having the guts to tell Lovino how he felt.

"Same. All this prom stuff has me beat. And we still have more to do tonight." Lovino responded, sitting down in his seat. "So," Antonio looked up from where he had been tracing the lines of the lunch table. Lovino looked away once their eyes had connected. "Did you ever ask anyone?"

Antonio's heart plummeted again. He should really figure out how to regulate the thing. "No."

Lovino nodded, biting his lip. Antonio always found that cute and the corner of his own lip lifted. "I guess we'll be awkwardly standing to the side again like the chaperones. U- unless you're going with friends, I mean…"

Antonio shook his head, humored by Lovino's alarmed stuttering. "No, both Francis and Gilbert have dates." Antonio almost laughed at the memory when about a week ago Gilbert had tried to ask Matthew, a shy Canadian kid in their science class, but the guy had beat him to it. "So looks like you're stuck with me."

Lovino was still not looking at him and he slightly shook his head. "It'll probably be the only part I'll enjoy."

At this, Antonio was stunned. As the words process in Lovino's head, he became stunned as well.

"I-I mean! Uh, that's not-" Lovino quickly tried to hide his slip up but Antonio cut him off.

"Will you go to prom with me?"

Lovino was stunned again. "W-what?"

Antonio didn't know what prompted those words out of his mouth, but they were said and he couldn't bring himself to regret them. Lovino liked being with him at the school dances. It was his favorite part of the night, just like being around Lovino was Antonio's. Just hearing that made his heart want to explode. If anyone had asked him how he felt right then, he would have had no idea how to respond but with the statement: "A million smiley faces."

"Idiot." Lovino's voice brought him back to reality. "We're already going to see each other there. Why go 'together'?" He asked, using air quotes on the last bit.

"I like you, Lovino." Antonio said plain and clear. "So it isn't asking you to go as much as it is asking if you will be my date." Antonio gave a sheepish grin. "So, will you?"

Silence greeted Antonio's question for the longest time and it was enough to make Antonio doubt himself. Perhaps he had read the situation wrong. Maybe Lovino was simply saying staying at the side of the dance would be his favorite part, not necessarily being with Antonio. Maybe he just hated dances so much that hanging with Antonio was just the lesser evil. Maybe Lovino didn't like him that way-

"Yes."

Antonio's thoughts were ripped away so quickly that he saw their fragments disappear in his peripheral as he focused back on the boy across from him.

Lovino shrugged, a very very deep red covering his cheeks and spreading further across his face. "I'll go with you." He tried to make it sound nonchalant, but Antonio could tell it was anything but. Lovino bit his lip to keep himself from smiling.

And Antonio would have been sure it was all a dream, if it wasn't for the way his heart was beating. Thumping loudly, rapidly, strong. He was just glad it hadn't given out already from these long, strenuous weeks.

-/-

Antonio's and Lovino's prom experience wasn't like people would traditionally think. There had been no picking the other up at their house, swarms of photos by their parents and family, a nice dinner out before they arrived. No, as President and VP of Student Council, Antonio and Lovino had to get there really early to make sure that everything was ready to go.

So, they'd brought their tuxes which sat in their own individual cars, awaiting for the rapidly approaching evening, and were now racing around in their sweats, trying to check things off of to-do lists, escorting caterers and light technicians around. Antonio had never seen a light technician in his life and was relieved that they were employed by the venue and not the school itself. When they'd walked up to him at first, he'd had no clue what to say.

When only the finishing touches were left and the other, less involved but still-ready-to-help kids of Student Council arrived, Antonio had to pry Lovino from the room so that they could get ready themselves. Leaving Lovino to find his own car, Antonio raced to his, grabbed his tux, and bolted for the first bathroom he could find. Once he'd changed, he stepped out of the stall and continued to get ready in front of the mirror.

He spent minimal effort on his hair, knowing only the strongest of gels, in which he didn't have, could tame it, and instead worked on his bowtie. Perhaps he should have practiced tying this thing a few times before tonight.

Then, something caught the corner of his eye in the mirror and his breath stopped short. Lovino looked his way, black tux, combed hair, and bowtie neatly knotted, and meet his eyes in the mirror. Damn. How did Lovino make getting changed in a public restroom look so good?

"Having troubles?" Lovino asked knowingly, a smirk on his face. It took a few moments for Antonio to pry his eyes away and focus back on the present. He looked at his bowtie and blushed.

"Yeah…" he confessed, sheepishly. Lovino's smirk grew and he stepped forward.

Antonio turned toward him and, in less time than Antonio had thought possible, the bowtie was knotted. Lovino then swiftly moved to the other faucet to Antonio's right and fixed his hair and straightened his own bowtie in the mirror. Antonio was baffled that Lovino thought he looked anything less than perfect.

"So," Antonio asked, his own smirk in place, "We meet for prom in the bathroom. Not the most traditional of dates."

Lovino scowled at him in his reflection. "Don't be stupid." Lovino decided there was nothing else to be done to his hair and set his hands down. "Like anything we do would be traditional."

Antonio smiled. "You're right." Then took Lovino's hand. Lovino flushed and looked down at their joined hands as Antonio stepped forward. "Ready to go?" He asked.

Lovino looked up at him, piercing his lips as if considering something. "Almost." Then he leaned up and lightly pressed their lips together. The kiss was chaste, but the rate his heart was now at was anything but. Lovino smirked again, having settled back to the ground.

"Kissing even before the first date. How untraditional can we get?" Antonio asked. Lovino shrugged.

"Let's go, idiot." Then they stepped out of the bathroom together, hand-in-hand. After three long years of only imagining it, Antonio was finally going to a dance with Lovino. It sounded horribly cheesy and hopeless, but, it had all worked out in the end, just like a cheesy and hopeless tale should.

CV: Did I mention that this fic is horribly cheesy and hopeless? But I loved writing it so much. Thank you Ella for the awesome prompt and excuse to torture Antonio with high school crushing.

Editing may be a little whack because I pieced this thing together like some sort of Frankenstein's monster, but I hope you liked it anyway! Please remember to go check out Ella's 'Reach Me By Page' and I'll see you all next time!