"Yuujirou! Hey, Yuujirou!" Touru bounded down the hallway after his friend who, to no avail, was trying to avoid him.
"Would you knock it off, Touru? I said no! No means no! Why can't you understand that?" Yuujirou growled, barely avoiding a younger student coming out of the Science Room.
Finally, Yuujirou lost the dark-haired boy as he ducked into an empty classroom. He shut his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady. What had gotten into Touru?
When he had first heard Touru's request, he was slightly shocked and more than a little confused. What sort of boy, even a cross-dressing boy, would ever ask another man to be his "date" to a prom in another high school? Oh sure, Touru wasn't gay. Yuujirou knew that for certain. Or did he? Either way, it was a logical request considering the situation.
Touru needed a date, or else his creepy little cousin would be his date. And which would be worse? His best friend or his little cousin?
Apparently, the thought never even crossed his mind to ask an actual GIRL to go with him. Then again, how many girls did Touru know in the first place?
It wasn't the fact that he would have to be in his Princess costume in public that made Yuujirou uncomfortable. It was the fact that he would have to be Touru's date all night. Of course, he DID sort of ask for it. Neither he nor Touru could shake the memory of their kiss, the one that got rid of Sayaka for a while. Yuujirou could fake being gay better than most of the guys he had seen. But what if Touru thought the kiss meant more?
Of course not. Touru was just stuck in a rut and needed a way out. And as his best friend, Yuujirou knew he had to stand by Touru's side and help him out. But to be his DATE?
The only reason Touru needed to go to the prom at the other high school was to pick up something from another guy there. Yuujirou had no idea what the "something" was, but he was sure it was important. There was no way that Touru would suffer through a humiliating night if he didn't have to. And having his best friend as his date would certainly be classified as humiliating. Then again, it wasn't HIM that would have to wear the dress.
"Oh hell," Yuujirou thought, "What can one night matter? I'll go with him, I'll wear the costume, and it'll be over. Then he'll owe me a favor later on." He took a deep breath and stepped back into the hallway.
"Yuujirou!" Touru yelled as he rounded the corner.
"All right, Touru, I'll go. What time do we need to leave?" Yuujirou sighed.
"Ten minutes ago. Hurry up!" Touru grabbed Yuujirou's arm and pushed him into the Home Ec. Room, where the Princess costumes were. A few minutes later, the two were out the door and on their way.
---LATER THAT NIGHT---
"Man, that was actually really fun." Yuujirou laughed, plopping down onto his bed, exhausted. He kicked off his Princess shoes and turned to Touru. "Did you ever see that guy you were supposed to meet?"
"I saw him." Touru nodded absentmindedly.
"And did you get what you needed?"
"I got it." Touru sat on the edge of his bed, deep in thought.
"Well?" Yuujirou pressed. Something seemed odd.
"Well nothing. That's all." Touru said.
"Well nothing? I just acted as your date for four hours for nothing? Come on, Touru, spill it. What is so important that you won't tell me?" Yuujirou sat up and pushed his hair out of his face.
"Well, it's...it's hard to explain." Touru closed his eyes. "The truth is, I sort of...well, I...oh hell, Yuujirou, I got you a present."
"A present?" Yuujirou blinked. "What kind of present? My birthday isn't for a few months."
"A present because..."
"Please don't say you love me," Yuujirou chanted in his head.
"...you've done so much for me and..."
"I don't know if I can handle knowing that you like me, Touru."
"...I really want to pay you back, you know? And well..."
"Just stop, please. I don't want to hear you say it. Or do I? Oh hell, just say it and get it over with. This suspense is killing me."
"...I thought now would be a good time..."
"Say it. Please say it."
"...because the truth is..."
"You're killing me, Touru. Either say it, or don't."
"...I've always felt like I owed you something, since you were so kind in showing me the ropes when I first became a Princess. I wanted to give you something to remember me by, even after we graduate and go off into the working world. So here you go, Yuujirou. Enjoy." Touru pulled a thin, brown package out of his bag. He slid it over to Yuujirou.
Yuujirou carefully peeled back the wrapping to reveal a photo album. He opened it and flipped through the pages. It was an entire photo album of the three Princesses at all stages of the year. The last ten pages were blank.
"I thought you could fill it with whatever other pictures you wanted. You do realize that being a Princess isn't going to last forever, right? This is a way you can remember how crazy it was this year. I made one for Mikoto, too. That guy I had to meet? He is a photographer. He touched up some pictures that I had. Other students would take pictures of us and give me a copy, so I passed them on to him." Touru glanced out the window. "If you don't like it, you can always take the photos out."
"No, I like it," Yuujirou grinned. "It isn't every day that you have proof of your existence as the opposite gender."
"You're right," Touru laughed, "I'm giving Mikoto an album tomorrow. I bet he burns it."
"You never know," Yuujirou said, tracing his finger over one of the pictures. "Mikoto is full of surprises. But we'd better get to bed. We've got an assembly in the morning, then we have to watch the teams practice. It's going to be a busy day."
"You're right." Touru yawned, crawling under the covers of his bed. He was asleep in minutes.
Yuujirou pulled the blankets tight under his chin and tried to fall asleep, but his thoughts kept him awake.
"Did I really expect him to say that he loved me?" He thought. "Did I...want him to?" He fell asleep with these questions racing through his mind. He never noticed that he was still holding the photo album, his hand resting on a picture of two Princesses in full costume, smiling like angels, ready to face a new challenge and a new day.