"Honestly, this is a complete and utter mess!"

Alfred and Matthew exchanged wary glances but didn't dare let out even a single whisper. The rest of the rehearsal hall was silent, the tension so thick and heavy in the air. Arguing with the conductor when they're already pissed is never a good idea.

"We have two days," Mr. Edelstein said, stomping over to the calendar near his desk and pointing to one of the boxes. "Only two days until our concert. I was under the assumption that you all actually cared about music, but apparently, I was sorely mistaken."

From the corner of his eye, Alfred caught sight of his bandmates' reactions. Gilbert (who wasn't too difficult to find in the crowd with his ghostly appearance) watched Mr. Edelstein scold the students with indifference, although he didn't look bemused as he typically would. Elizaveta had her lips pursed into an uneasy frown, her eyes darting around the room rapidly. It was a strange disparity, as she would normally stare at the Austrian as a fangirl would stare at one of her favorite idols.

Not having eyes at the back of his head, Alfred couldn't tell what the percussionists were thinking. Although, on a usual day, there would be some sort of cacophony of noises coming from the percussion section, whether it be the accidental CRASH of a dropped cymbal, the quiet-but-still-somewhat-audible marimba rhythms that were usually a result of Lukas's boredom, or Mathias's loud chatter.

Alfred heard none of it.

It was almost eerie to hear the band hall in such a pin-drop silent state.

"This piece is simple! One of the simplest we've had!" Edelstein crossed his arms over his chest and glared daggers at the students. "Marching season hasn't even started yet, and I'm already starting to see a drop in motivation."

Alfred wished things would have been different. The conductor's stern lecture put a damper on what would otherwise be singlehandedly one of the best days of his life.

He felt the corners of his lips twitching, threatening to pull themselves into a wide grin. Even thinking about it made him happy.

He said yes, Alfred thought to himself for the 50th time. He actually said yes!

"—the dynamics are horrendous at measure 20. And, Euphoniums, do you even know how to count?"

Man, Tolys sure is something. Probably even more than that. He's kind, he's smart, he's hardworking...

And he's got a six-pack, too. To be honest, I wouldn't have expected him to be the type of guy to have one.

Whatever. It just makes him that much better!

"—staccato, Clarinets! Nothing else is acceptable!"

Mr. Edelstein's words became like white-noise in the midst of Alfred's daydream. He felt somewhat like the female protagonist of one of the shoujo mangas Kiku introduced him to. Mad in love, to the point where he could barely think straight.

But I guess thinking 'straight' has never been a specialty of mine.

Above all, there was one more thing that gave Alfred his daily-dose-of-dopamine.

The fact that he beat Ivan.

It was no secret that Ivan had some interest in Tolys; albeit, his methods being more than just a little bit sadistic.

Alfred felt a shiver run down his spine.

I know that first hand.

His terrifying experience with Ivan the night of the storm was, well, terrifying. Not only was Alfred placed at the mercy of his sworn enemy, but his pride was dented, too.

I couldn't fight back. I— I thought I was stronger than that.

Is that how Tolys feels?

"—my grandmother could play measure 13 livelier, Trombones. And she's dead!"

Alfred clenched and unclenched his fist. The Homecoming dance was mere days away, and his mission was finally complete.

I've got a date with one of the sweetest guys at W. There's nothing else to worry about, right?

Except for the fact that another event was scheduled to take place on the same day.

"—and, Trumpets, if you play even one decibel louder, you will shatter the audiences' eardrums. Need I remind you of the difference between mezzo-forte and fortissimo?"

Alfred sighed the warm feeling in his chest momentarily disappearing.

Oh, right. There's that.

He focused on the sheet of music in front of him. Naturally, the dynamic marking read mezzo-forte.

The problem was, Alfred didn't exactly do mezzo-forte. He liked to "live out loud," (or as Arthur put it, annoy everyone within a five-foot radius.) The idea of an "inside voice" along with formalities went over Alfred's head.

"—finally, with all that being said, I do hope we can produce an adequate performance, at the very least," Mr. Edelstein huffed. He brought out his baton and adjusted his glasses, the scowl on his face softening to a frown. "We'll go from the top."

Tolys still couldn't process what was going on. His mind was on a rollercoaster of emotions, and it refused to get off.

"—really, the dress wasn't even that expensive. Like, I don't mind shelling out 200 euros for the sake of fashion." Feliks twisted a strand of blonde hair around his index finger. "And, of course, I did. Totally worth it."

"Mhmm," Tolys mumbled absentmindedly with a lazy nod. "Sounds great." He was beginning to feel a little dizzy, with nothing but a bookshelf to keep his balance. There wasn't much of a reason to stay at the library; all his tasks for the period had been completed. Even the librarian had gone off to the lounge, already.

The only thing keeping him from leaving was his own muddied thoughts. Tolys never had many friends, to begin with, but he was lucky to have one as loyal as Feliks. The blonde was a great listener, though he did enjoy sorting through Tolys's romantic life more than Tolys did himself.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think that you aren't even listening to me," Feliks commented with a frown. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, incredible..."

"It's about him, isn't it?"

"W-what? No!" Tolys denied quickly.

"Gosh, no need to get your panties in a twist," assured Feliks. "But, I never even mentioned who I was talking about, so..."

Tolys buried his face in his hands and let out a frustrated groan. "Alfred. It's Alfred."

Feliks smirked. "Mm. He's a great catch, Liet. You've no idea how lucky you are."

"Really?" Tolys questioned. "I don't feel very lucky. I'm just... a mess."

"C'mon, half the girls at this place would, like, give their right arm to be in your place. And don't even get me started on the guys!"

"Well, to be fair, Alfred is kind of attractive..."

Feliks raised one eyebrow.

"Okay, fine! Really attractive."

It was all common knowledge, apparently. Tolys had been friends with Alfred for some time, so appearances didn't exactly prioritize themselves. It was, however, pleasing to think that such a popular person took interest in him.

Alfred isn't just a pretty face. He's more than that.

He's enthusiastic. Sweet. A little childish, but in that sort-of endearing way.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but..." A short, black-haired, boy emerged from behind one of the bookshelves, with a few volumes of manga in his arms and a camera hanging around his neck. "May I check these out?"

"Oh—Kiku! certainly!" Tolys scrambled to get behind the checkout desk, with the other boy placing the manga on the counter.

Was he listening, the entire time?

Immediately, Tolys felt very embarrassed. What further developed his suspicions was the small, satisfied, smile present on Kiku's face. What else could be interesting enough to bring such emotion to the level-headed Asian?

The moment the last of the books were scanned, Kiku left the library in a dash.

Tolys watched him go curiously.

Weird.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you, today?"

Gilbert forced a cocky grin. "No idea what you're talking about, Liz."

Elizaveta slid a sheet of music out of her binder and onto the stand, all while eyeing Gilbert suspiciously. "Yeah, right. You were doing it this morning, too."

Gilbert shoved his hands deep into his pockets, crossing and uncrossing his legs. "S-so, what? That proves nothing!"

"No, it proves everything!" Elizaveta argued. "The worst part is, you won't even tell me!"

Frankly, Elizaveta was getting tired of putting up with it. She really wished she could just let the entire thing go and wait for her friend to tell her himself, but she'd never been the most patient person in the world.

"And, I'm not gonna," insisted Gilbert. "So, there!"

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Mr. Edelstein had "graciously" allowed them some free-time right before lunch, with the heavy implication of "you better go practice" during said free-time. This is what led Gilbert to a situation that he was certain would be his ultimate demise: being alone in a practice room with Elizaveta Hédévary.

"Fine," Elizaveta scoffed. "Have it your way."

More silence ensued, causing a nervous atmosphere to form around them, not unlike the one present in the band hall during Mr. Edelstein's little rant.

"So, then..." Gilbert accidentally let his voice crack, internally cringing at how utterly foolish he sounded. To distract from it, he decided to bring up a topic from their previous conversation on the walk to school that morning. "You going to Homecoming?"

Elizaveta shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. The only reason I'd be going at all would be to help Kiku take pictures for the yearbook."

Psh. 'Pictures'? Candid shots of Francis and Arthur making out in the bathroom, more like it.

Still, there was some hope in this. For the plan Lovino had discussed with Gilbert a few days back to work, Elizaveta had to be planning on attending, already.

"How about you?" Elizaveta asked.

Gilbert felt his entire body tense up. "M-me?" He wasn't expecting that. "I... I mean, of course, I'm going! It's a Bad Touch Tradition, obviously!"

Indeed, it was. At the beginning of Freshman year at World Academy, Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio had made a promise that they would attend every school event they could.

Every.

Single.

One.

Football games, tennis matches, chess tournaments, pep rallies— if it existed, the Bad Touch Trio attended.

And, of course, dances and parties were no exceptions.

But even if they had dates to these events (like how Francis got Arthur to go to the previous year's homecoming with him) they would almost always spend most of the night hanging out together.

Friendship over romance, huh.

Not this time.