It was two days after Daisuke had gotten sick, two days of sneezes and coughs from both him and Dark. Emiko had decided to go easy on her boys, letting them have some days off.

Which was handy, since the school play was into the production stage.

The girls in Daisuke's class were all thrilled, acting like it was a huge treat to prepare the stage and costume the boys. Most of the boys were having a blast, too, standing off in little groups to practice their lines as the lead actors were fitted for their costumes.

As he was standing backstage with a tape measure across his body, Daisuke regretted not being at school the morning parts were handed out. He did not want to be Freedert!

… But as the lead, he had the choice love interest …

Next to him, Satoshi, too, was being measured for his costume.

"Stand up, Niwa-kun!"

"Oh! Sorry," he apologized to Ritsuko, who was measuring him for the skirt.

She mumbled something that Daisuke didn't catch.

She ordered Daisuke to stay put as she turned on her heel and grabbed a selection of fabric samples.

"Now, Niwa-kun, which do you like best for your dress?"

"None," he said, exasperated.

"The dark violet."

Daisuke jumped as a voice sounded from behind his shoulder. Satoshi was standing there, looking over at the fabric Ritsuko was holding. "That way we won't clash." He looked over at Daisuke. "Can't have you making a fool of yourself out there, Niwa."

Daisuke was about to get all defensive when he saw the ends of Satoshi's mouth curl up slightly at the corners. "Gee, Hiwatari-kun, thanks for your concern. I'll try not to outshine you too much," he retorted jokingly.

Satoshi turned and left as Ritsuko started pinning cloth up to Daisuke's waist, checking everything before she measured a final time. He sat in a corner and picked a book out of his bag, burying his nose in it.

Almost another hour of measuring, pinning, and remeasuring, Daisuke was shoo-ed away, to his great relief. Ritsuko packed up her supplies and ran out with glee to start sewing her work of art at home.

The rest of the class started heading out the doors, too, louder and more boisterous than usual.

Even with the dress, Daisuke had the feeling the play would go great.

With a sigh, he leapt from the stage with ease, landing near silently on the floor, His sneakers squeaked on the tile floor as he dashed to the theatre chair he had left his schoolbag in. The painting he had done for the competition at school was there, too. His heart sunk a bit as he thought again of his rejection.

Ah, well.

He tucked the painting under his arm, facing his body to hide it from the world. He liked it, he thought it would win a place in the show for sure, but he was wrong, and did not want the rest of the school to ridicule it.

He swung his bag over his shoulder and started for the door.

Still sitting in the back row of the theatre, Satoshi was hiding behind the pages of his thick book. He looked up as Daisuke walked toward him.

Daisuke felt his face flush, and he looked down towards his toes as he pressed forward.

"Niwa-kun," Satoshi said softly.

"Yeah?" Daisuke said eagerly.

With a tiny grin spreading across his face, Satoshi drawled, "I'll see you tonight, then?"

"Uh …" Daisuke stammered and swallowed thickly. "Uh, yeah. Tonight."

"Until tonight, then."

"Yeah. Bye … Hiwatari-kun." Daisuke ducked out the door quickly.

He couldn't wait for nine o'clock …