Giorno returned to school after a week of absence. Thankfully, Bruno was the boss now, so the teachers went easy on him. As Giorno walked to his room, he noticed posters on the walls about a dance Saturday night next week and thought about Fugo. Giorno shook it off and tried to think about his studies. However, when he returned and focused on his missing work, he couldn't stop thinking about Fugo.

Since it was a Friday evening, Giorno could go to Bucciarati and Abbacchio for help. He headed out, hoping they were in Libeccio. Luckily, they were, but Bucciarati looked ready to head out until he bumped into Giorno.

"Oh, shouldn't you be doing your work?" Bruno asked.

"I should, but I'm having trouble focusing," Giorno answered.

Abbacchio was right there. "You're having trouble focusing? Since Fugo's gone, I thought you'd be the smart guy."

"You still haven't found him?" Giorno frowned.

"We'll find him. Don't worry," Bruno assured him. "Unfortunately, that'll leave you to tutor Narancia. You seem a better tutor than Mista. I have to go now."

Bruno left.

"Why are you so worried about Fugo, anyways?" Abbacchio questioned.

"Because"—he blushed—"we fought together side by side."

"Once."

"We will find him, right?"

He sighed. "Giorno, if it makes you feel better, he was here. Check with me on Sunday. I'll be able to search freely with Narancia and Mista. They miss him too. For now, Bucciarati wants you to focus on your studies."

"What about—"

"Just go. There's nothing you can do."

He would press Abbacchio to search for Fugo, but it seemed he had no interest in listening. Knowing Abbacchio was right, Giorno returned to his school to finish his work.

It was Saturday, and Giorno headed to Libeccio to tutor Narancia and to see if Fugo had turned up. Abbacchio, Mista, and Narancia—all with sullen looks—greeted him when he sat at the table.

"Narancia, since Fugo isn't here, I'll tutor you," Giorno said. "If we don't finish this in 30 minutes, I'll be doing my homework."

The black-haired boy said nothing but sighed. He brought out a piece of paper with simple math questions.

Thirty minutes passed, and Narancia had almost completed all the math questions.

"Alright, now for me to do my homework," Giorno said, bringing out stacks of paper from his bag.

"No way," Narancia commented. "That can't be your homework."

"Well, I missed a week of school. This is all the classwork and homework I have."

"It sucks to be you guys," Abbacchio commented. "Damn, I was hoping we could search for Fugo right now." He sighed. "Can you get this done any faster?"

"If you guys help me, things will go faster."

"I'm not smart like you or Fugo," Mista said, "but I'll try!"

"I don't know, Giorno," Narancia said. "What if I hold you back?"

"There might be something you might know that I don't," he said, trying to cheer him up. "What's the harm in trying to help me?"

"Alright, I'll try to help."

Even with all the help, it took Giorno five hours to complete the work.

Abbacchio relaxed in his seat and placed a hand on his forehead, looking exhausted. "Now I see why Fugo gets frustrated with Narancia whenever he tutors him. So, Giorno, are we—" He looked out the window. "What? It's dark already?"

"It's alright. I'll help you search for him this time," Giorno said.

"Bucciarati and I tracked him to a hotel, but we had to stop and rest. Mista, can you drive us around?"

The gang arrived at a small rundown two-story hotel. It seemed more like somebody's home, but they went in and found a dark-haired woman behind a desk. The room was messy, like a family home. As for the woman, her name was Kizzy.

Abbacchio approached her. "Have you seen a blond kid here? And no, I'm not talking about the one next to me. His hair is more golden."

Seeing as Giorno, Narancia, and Mista were beside him, she felt intimidated. "M-may I ask why?"

Narancia approached the desk, looking concerned. "We're his friends. We've been trying to look for him. Can you tell him his friends are waiting?"

"How do I know he's your friend?"

"I know his first name! It's Pannacotta!" Narancia answered.

"Anyone could know that. Give me something else."

"Look, lady!" Mista was about to bring his gun out when Giorno stopped him.

"Okay, well, Fugo wears a thong."

Abbacchio looked at the boy in concern. "And how exactly do you know that? Do I want to know?"

"Well, he, Mista, and I were alone in the library one day, and I was feeling down. So Mista tried to cheer me up by pulling Fugo's pants down."

"Oh, that was when I was new to the group. That day, I learned never to piss Fugo off," Mista added. "Ah, it feels like it was just yesterday."

"I'll believe you. Unfortunately, he left to do some work with somebody yesterday. He hasn't been back since."

"Did Fugo say where?" Giorno asked.

"No, I'm sorry. That's all I know."

The gang left the hotel, which confused Giorno.

"Shouldn't we be investigating further?" the blond asked.

"I need my rest," Abbacchio answered.

"How can you rest when we haven't found Fugo?" Narancia questioned, getting angry.

"Hold on, you two!" Abbacchio replied. "Narancia, I understand you're worried about Fugo, but Giorno? What's your reason?"

"It's something about school."

"Oh, I know how you feel," Narancia commented. "With that stack of paper you brought, I understand needing help from Fugo."

"No, that's not it," Abbacchio said. "Giorno's smart, probably not as smart as Fugo, though. It's something else. What is it?"

The blond blushed, but before he could give him a clear answer, Abbacchio realized.

"Ah! You like him!"

"Huh?" Narancia tilted his head. "Wha? No way! You like Fugo?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Mista commented. "You both are nerds."

Narancia and Abbacchio chuckled.

"I'm serious, though." Abbacchio stopped laughing. "I need to rest. That day on the beach." His voice drifted off. "I'm having trouble sleeping. I need to sleep. I can't understand how you three can sleep soundly, but I'm tired. Night." He headed home, leaving the three by themselves.

Narancia sighed. "We can't give up on him."

"Do you know if he's awake at this time?" Giorno asked.

"He might be awake. He might not. I do know that people breathe more slowly when they sleep."

"People can breathe faster during their REM sleep stage. If you're using Aerosmith to find him, it'll be useless. Perhaps we should search by day then."

Narancia slightly frowned, but then his facial expression changed, looking angrier. "REM what? Whatever. Be like Abbacchio and go to sleep. I'll drive around and find him." Determined to find him, he ran off somewhere.

"It might be useless, but there might be a chance we could find him," Mista said.

"Sorry, but I still believe it might be better to search for him during the day."

"Suit yourself. I have nothing better to do, so I'll help Narancia. Later."

Mista headed somewhere else while Giorno returned to his dorm. On his way back, Giorno could've sworn he saw somebody in green near his school. The stranger seemed to be looking at the building, and his hair was blond too.

"Fugo?" he shouted, causing him to run away. He tried to chase after him. "Wait, come back!"

Giorno chased him after some time, but Fugo slipped away.

"Please, don't leave!" he shouted. He knelt, trying to catch his breath. However, his body was fatigued, causing him to rest on the cold sidewalk.

Giorno awoke inside his dorm room. Did Fugo bring him in? He checked the window and saw it was foggy outside. His idea to search for Fugo during the day was a horrible plan, and he panicked. He calmed himself down and went to Libeccio.

At the restaurant, a surprise awaited him at the table. Fugo sat at the table by himself, looking worried. He wasn't facing him.

"Fugo?" the blond uttered quietly.

He jumped out of his seat. "Ah, Giorno!" A panicked look was on his face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Where's Bucciarati? Did something happen? He is always here. Please, don't tell me he's dead."

"He's alive and well. All of us are. Narancia missed you a lot, and so do the others." Giorno nervously approached him for a hug. "I missed you."

Fugo hugged him and nervously laughed. "You're not angry?"

"Never was."

They stopped hugging and sat at the table.

"What about the others?" Fugo asked.

"They didn't seem angry. Narancia said he'll study hard, and I helped tutor him when you were gone."

"Don't you also go to school? You missed an entire week. You must have lots of work to finish!"

"I was. It would've taken me forever to do my work, but I had the others help me."

"The others? Oh no, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Giorno thought about the school event on Saturday. "This is probably a bad time to ask, but would you go to my school's dance with me?"

Curious, the golden blond looked at him. "What? Why me? Why not Narancia or Mista. What about Trish?"

"Bucciarati took Trish somewhere where somebody would look after her. As for the others, I just felt more drawn to you."

He blushed. "Me? Even after I snapped at you when I drove us to Pompeii? You still thought of me?"

"Yeah."

Fugo blushed harder and brushed a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "I'll go to the dance with you. Wait, is it a formal dance?"

"No, it's not. You can wear that to the dance."

Before their conversation could continue any further, Narancia arrived at the restaurant in a hurry.

"Abbacchio, how long will the fog—huh?" He stared at the two. The blonds were unaware of how little space was between them. "Fugo!" He got closer to hug him but stopped. "Wait, did I interrupt something? You two weren't in the middle of kissing, were you?"

Fugo blushed and got flustered. "Whoa, I just returned to the group!"

"So, you don't want to kiss Giorno?"

"I—ah! Damn it!" His face was red.

They heard footsteps coming from two people. Mista and Abbacchio had arrived, walking to the table until they saw them.

"Oh, Fugo, you're back," Abbacchio said. He grabbed a seat. "So, where were you?"

Mista sat down to interrogate him. "Yeah, buddy, we've been searching for you? We thought you didn't want us to find you."

"I kept myself occupied," Fugo explained. "I've been doing things the people around here asked. I heard you were back, but I got scared. Everyone except Bucciarati returned, so I assumed he died. I'm sorry for everything."

Narancia sat next to him. "We're alive. Everything alright now, right?" He looked at the others.

"I guess," Mista said, "but he has to take Giorno to the dance as a punishment. Oh, and we're coming too."

"What?" Abbacchio replied.

"Abbacchio can't come. He too old," Giorno said.

"Too old? Tch, whatever. I'm only 21. I didn't want to come, anyways. I have better things to do, and Bucciarati needs me. Ugh, and Giorno, I don't know why, but Bucciarati made you capo. Keep drugs out of the streets, collect protection money, and you know the rest."

Mista frowned. "Aw, man! Come on! This guy hasn't been in our group for long. Fugo, you aren't going to object?"

"I'm surprised, too, but I don't object," he answered. "Ever since Giorno joined the group, our luck has changed. Think of times we were in deep shit. Now think of that again but without Giorno."

"You know," Abbacchio said, "When Bucciarati returned Trish to the boss, I think he would've betrayed him, anyway. He would've died without Giorno. Thanks for keeping us alive, by the way."

"I see he got nicer towards you," Fugo whispered.

Narancia cleared his throat. "Could you guys help me with my math homework?"

Throughout Monday and Friday, Giorno and Fugo got closer as they fought off drug dealers in the streets and helped Narancia with his homework. Eventually, Abbacchio left to be at Bruno's side, leaving Giorno with Fugo, Mista, and Narancia. After tutoring Narancia, Giorno had some things to discuss.

"Alright, everyone," Giorno began, "since there are four of—"

"We need to recruit someone fast!" Mista interrupted, his voice panicky.

"Yes, I was going to say that. Anyways, I may have found someone who could join our group. A girl asked people around about me. Her name is Sheila. I don't know where she is, but Bucciarati told me she's already a part of Passione. Maybe we could welcome her to our team once we get the chance."

"What about the dance?" Narancia reminded him. "You said it was this Saturday."

"I remember." Giorno looked at Fugo and blushed. "Are you still down for it?"

"Of course."

"My school isn't far. Let's go."

They arrived at Scuola Media Stale "Giovanni Verga," and Fugo noticed something. However, before he could speak out, a crowd of girls surrounded Giorno.

"Please go out on a date with me!" begged one girl.

"No, pick me!" said another.

"You're ugly!"

"No, you are!"

The girls started fighting and accidentally bumped into Fugo, pissing him off.

"Back off! He's mine!" he yelled.

The crowd of girls frowned and left.

"Giorno, how'd you get so many girls to like you?" Mista asked.

"I don't know. It's a curse. They're kind of annoying. Anyway, the dance should be in the gymnasium."

"Typical, like most dances," Narancia commented. "Race you there!" He raced.

"Hey, wait for me!" Mista followed him.

Giorno took him by the hand and entered the gymnasium. People were chilling around or dancing, the lights constantly changed color, and pop and electronic music played. As for Narancia and Mista, they stood near the food table, chowing down on finger foods.

"I thought you guys would be on the dance floor," Giorno said.

"Eh, we're not feeling this song," Narancia replied. "Fugo, what do you think of the music?"

"S'alright, I guess. Giorno?"

"Honestly, not my type of song either."

Macarena by Los del Río blasted through the speakers.

"Will this song end?" Mista complained. "Is this what it's like to be Mario? Oh, I just remembered what question I wanted to ask. Giorno, do you know how to dance?"

"No," he answered. "I was always studying and trying to make money."

"We could teach you," Fugo replied. "Once a good song comes on, just start dancing."

"It's that simple?"

"Well, no. Um, maybe. It depends on the song. You've heard of those DDR things, right?"

Before Giorno could answer, Mista interrupted him. "I thought I was a good dancer, but then I played a difficult song and got a bad score."

"You think DDR is difficult?" Narancia questioned. "You just suck."

"Hey, take that back!"

Before the fighting could get worse, the song changed, switching to the song Fugo, Narancia, and Mista tortured Mario with. The torture dancers smiled and got to the middle of the dance floor, Fugo taking Giorno with him.

"Just follow our lead," he told him.

The three did the same dance they used to torture Mario, and Giorno tried to mimic the dance. Since he remembered the dance, it wasn't hard to copy. Everyone around them watched in amazement. However, a minute of the song passed, and Giorno had no idea what to do. He looked at the three, watching them each do a different dance. Seeing as they were making it up as they danced, Giorno moved his arms and legs to the music.

"Nice work!" Fugo complimented.

The song ended, and the four returned to the food table to get some drinks.

"Man, I'm parched," Mista whined, pouring a drink for himself.

"Yeah, all that running and dancing. I wish this were orange juice, though," Narancia said.

Mista giggled, and his cheeks turned red. "Hehe, what's in this? Oh my god! It's so good."

Narancia laughed too. "Fugo, you got to try this."

"Huh?" Fugo poured himself a drink and took a sip. "It's just fruit punch."

"Nuh-uh!" argued Mista. "This is alcohol!"

Curious, Giorno got a drink, too, and tasted its contents. "Fugo's right. It's just fruit punch."

"Mista, I just figured it out!" Narancia exclaimed. "I think we're the only ones old enough to be affected by it!"

"You idiots! Anyone of all ages can be affected by alcohol!" Fugo yelled. "There isn't any alcohol in this!"

"I don't think it's possible, but could the atmosphere of this place make them drunk?" Giorno questioned.

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"Fugo, remember when you stared at Trish's boobs?" Mista reminded him, flustering him.

"I wasn't staring! I was deep in thought!"

He ignored him. "Do you like Giorno's?"

His face turned red, and he appeared less angry. "I—um." Somebody bumped into Fugo, causing him to land on Giorno's chest. "I'm so sorry! It was an accident!"

"Boob-liker!" Mista pointed.

Narancia laughed uncontrollably. "We should have a dance battle one day against Bucciarati and Abbacchio. Giorno can join team boob window."

"Team boob window?" Mista cackled.

While they laughed their asses off, Giorno and Fugo snuck out of the gymnasium and into the halls.

"Jesus, the song and those guys were giving me a headache," Fugo said. "So, um, did you have fun?"

"Yeah, how about you?" Giorno asked.

"I had a blast! It's been a while since I had fun."

"Hey, Fugo."

"Yes?"

He was silent for a minute. "Do you want to kiss? We're alone. I don't see anyone."

Fugo blushed. "I never kissed anyone before."

"Is that a yes?" He got closer to him, backing him to the wall.

Their faces were inches from kissing, and Fugo closed his eyes as Giorno's lips locked into his. Then they withdrew and stared at each other for a few seconds. Fugo placed his hand on Giorno's cheek and kissed him, this time longer and heavier. They withdrew again, feeling hot and trying to catch their breaths.

"I love you," Giorno said.

"I love you too."

They held hands.

Narancia and Mista came running over.

"There you are!" Mista said. "We were wondering where you were."

"Are you guys dancing out in the hall?" Narancia asked. "How come parties aren't thrown in the hall? Some people like tightly crowded spaces. So, are you going to head back or chill out here?"

Giorno looked at Fugo. "Do you want to head back?"

"Wherever you go, I will follow."