Elias and I just lay there for a while, wrapped up in each other's arms and giddily giggling with each other. Every now and then, Elias would raise his head from where it was resting on my shoulder to stare at my face incredulously, like he couldn't believe that it was me there lying beneath him, before breaking out into the most dazzling smile I had ever seen.

After doing this repeatedly, Elias suddenly hoisted himself up, pinching his cheek before reaching down to pinch mine, making me yelp.

"What was that for?!" I groaned with feigned anger, looping my arm around Elias's waist and flipping the two of us over as the soccer captain laughed at my attempt at making an angry face. His fingers reached up and poked at the wrinkles between my brows, eyes warming with unabashed fondness.

"Just making sure this isn't a dream," Elias said, his fingers trailing down my sharp nose bridge before his thumb began softly rubbing against my bottom lip. Elias's own mouth parted slightly, the boy swallowing slowly. 

"Believe me, it's not," I whispered hoarsely, our noses bumping as Elias took a sharp inhale of breath, eyes looking into mine.

I knew where this was going. I had read and dreamed about this moment for so long, writers going on and on about the 'fireworks' and 'heat' and 'sparks' when the protagonist finally kisses the main lead. Sure, maybe they were overselling things, but with the way my heart was beating rapidly in my chest, they got at least one thing right.

But, there was just one little thing missing.

Eyes locked onto Elias's, I blindly fumbled around to find the switch on the special projector I had set up amongst the pillows, struggling to find it. Elias felt me slapping my hand around frantically and raised a brow as I swore under my breath, before finally latching onto the little switch, flicking it on.

Suddenly, the white sheet I had carefully stretched out above us as a roof became illuminated with the gorgeous image of the galaxy. Elias's mouth opened further in surprise, the soccer captain's eyes tearing themselves from mine to look over my shoulder. The galaxy swirled and swirled around before zooming in to see an array of stars in various famous constellations. 

"Alex..." Elias whispered, eyes becoming wet again as he turned back to me in a daze, the image of distant stars dancing over him. "Did you..."

"I, uh, know you like stars and... since we can't see lots of the famous constellations here in the Southern hemisphere, I thought I'd try to bring them to you," I said awkwardly, blushing a bit at the disgustingly cheesy gesture. However, when Elias let out an overwhelmed laugh and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, all of the embarrassment ebbed away and was replaced by relief. When Elias was so honestly and sincerely happy that he couldn't stop smiling, that in itself made all of the embarrassment worth it and more.

"How are you even real?" Elias murmured, again tracing my cheeks with his hands before cupping my face carefully like he would shatter whatever illusion I was if he held me too roughly. I just smiled, stomach flipping at his words and moving to cover one of his hands with mine as I wondered the same thing about him. 

Because, in my original world, Elias wasn't real. He was just a bunch of letters, of zeroes and ones online, a figment of a reader's imagination.

But, here in my arms he is alive. I could feel his warmth seeping into my skin and into my heart, and that feeling itself was more real than anything.

"Well, instead of pinching me, there are other ways to make sure I'm real," I said, smiling a little when Elias just laughed with a small shake of his head, before sliding his arms up around my neck to softly tug me down. 

I let myself fall willingly, waiting to finally feel the touch of Elias's lips on mine in a proper kiss, unlike our accident on the ski slopes.

I felt his breath still in anticipation, the radiating glow of heat from his lips, so close to mine. And then...

"Hurrk."

Elias and I froze at the sudden gagging noise that mysteriously came from a row of hedges lining the fencing. 

Elias and I turned back to each other with shared suspicions. Helping my boyfriend up, the two of us nodded in silence, creeping towards the source of the noise. Our steps across the grass were silent until we were at the threshold of the thick hedges, quickly jumping over them with a warcry.

"Gyah!!" Amber screamed as Aubrey squeaked in surprise, the hand that she had plastered over my sister's mouth flying back in shock.

"I knew it was you two! What the heck are you doing here?! Aren't you guys supposed to be at the formal?!" I shouted, grabbing my sister's shoulders and shaking her back and forth, the girl choking on her breath with residual shock at being caught. Elias was just staring at Aubrey questioningly, the girl managing to give him a sheepish smile.

"We were here to make sure you didn't fuck things up! This is clearly more important than the formal, which we can always rock up late to anyway," Amber finally said, slapping my hands off her and brushing down her evening gown. It was then that I viewed the full picture, letting out a snort with how ridiculous the two girls looked. 

Amber's blonde hair was left down in perfectly messy waves, her brows sharp and eyes smokily sultry, lips a deep and glossy pink and her complexion flawless. She donned a tight-fitting two-piece pink dress, the sleeveless bodice hanging on to her toned body by her ample curves. The thigh-high split in the skirt showed off her long legs and tanned skin, only made longer by the sky-high strappy heels that wrapped around slender ankles. She looked like a vixen in pink, and yet completely out of place squatting behind some bushes in the dirt. 

Aubrey, on the other hand, wore a forest green dress that accentuated her fiery hair, which was tied in an intricate curled ponytail embellished with gold-infused plaits. Her cheeks were flushed with her natural warmth and a hint of blush, her lips a natural nude shade. She wasn't wearing glasses for once, showing off her bright blue eyes. The spaghetti straps of her dress showed off her pale skin and smooth collar bones, the floral-lace bodice giving her an image of a dainty yet ethereal fairy. Her flowing asymmetrical skirt fluttered about her in gentle waves as she stood up, the hem shorter at the front to show off her legs. Her nude heels weren't as high as Amber's, but she stood up straight and proud as she beamed at Elias, elated for her friend who just shook his head with a matching smile a slight blush.

The two girls were beautiful, but completely out of place with the way they had been hiding behind the bushes and spying on us without a hint of shame. At least, Amber had no shame. Aubrey at least had the decency to look apologetic, though the smile on her face showed that she was more than happy witnessing the lovey-dovey show. 

"Thank you you for your concern, but it was completely unnecessary," I squeezed out through clenched teeth, crossing my arms over my chest sternly.

"Knowing you, you'd find a way to fuck it up," Amber countered with a click of her tongue, before immediately relaxing and gently punched my arm, grinning. "But, clearly we underestimated you. Glad to see everything worked out."

"See, Amber? I told you it would be fine," Aubrey said, but she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eyes shining at Elias and I. "Oh, but that was so romantic! Especially when you got all flustered when you confessed, Alex! And Elias, I've never seen you so happy, it's amazing! Ahhh, I'm so happy for you guys!"

Elias and I looked at each other, and Elias's face slowly began to change into a look of horror that matched my own, when we realised they had likely seen, and heard, everything. From my bumbling confession to the way Elias pounced on me, they had. Seen. It. All.

"How long have you guys been watching for...?" I asked slowly, beginning to sweat as Elias coughed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he likely remembered all of the cheesy, lovey-dovey things we had said and done just moments prior.

"Long enough," Amber said, emphatically pretending to gag, clearly the one of the two girls who had gagged earlier and interrupted us. "I do not need to see my bro making out with anyone, even you, Elias."

Well, because of your interruption, there was no making out with any one. Just because I've stopped accidentally cock-blocking myself, why did the universe have to hire a professional new cock-blocker? 'Say No to Bad Boys' was rated R-18, and yet I don't even get a kiss?!

Hello, author. Knock knock, anyone home? Can you please revise your stupid plot?

Elias couldn't help but laugh, stepping closer to me to wrap his arm around my waist, the smooth action eliciting wide smiles from the girls.

"Well, now that the moment is thoroughly ruined, why don't we all share the pizza and then head to the formal together? We can all be fashionably late," Elias said, Aubrey and Amber cheering as I just sighed, dropping my head onto Elias shoulder with an incoherent grumble. The two girls picked up the hems of their dresses and jumped over the bushes with incongruous elegance, making a beeline for the pizza. Elias and I following behind them as I continued to complain under my breath.

The girls began opening the pizzas as they chatted, but just before we reached the pillow fort, Elias's hand tugged on mine, making me turn back questioningly.

I didn't even have time to close my eyes when Elias pressed his lips against mine for a brief second, the warmth leaving almost as quickly as it came. I just blinked at the boy, who smiled shyly while shooting me a little wink before darting over to the girls who shoved him a plate of pizza and garlic bread. 

I stood there for a moment, still and dazed. I then touched my mouth, still warm with the feeling of Elias's own, and smiled. 

Yeah, there weren't fireworks or a symphony ringing in my ears, and it didn't feel like the world suddenly stopped turning from the power of a cosmos-shattering first kiss...

But my heart was about to burst, my stomach aflutter and my mouth unable to contain my smile. 

And that was more perfect than any first kiss I have ever read about.

***

By the time we had finished eating the pizza and the girls touched up their appearances, we were exceptionally late to the formal. According to posts on social media from our classmates, the formal dinner had already been served and people were tearing up the dance floor, which was the scene we were greeted with when we stepped through the doors to the ballroom the school hired in the luxurious hotel.

Heads immediately whipped to focus on us despite the thundering music and flashing lights, mouths and eyes following the four of us as we walked in. 

Elias and I were standing side by side, Amber flanking my left and Aubrey standing to Elias's right. I wasn't surprised by everyone's stares - Amber was famous for her bombshell looks despite going to another school, and Aubrey had the genes of a protagonist, born to ascend and become a goddess with a few swipes of eyeliner and a pair of contact lenses. Our notoriety also did not decrease with Elias standing with us, my boyfriend clearly the most attractive person in the room.

It was when the double doors closed behind us that people's mouths leapt into action, as they always did.

"Xander got back with his ex? When the hell did that happen?" a bitter voice grumbled from the crowd, making me almost stumble on nothing.

"Oh my God, I totally knew that Elias and Aubrey were a thing! They were always stuck together at school, and she was always all over him during lunch." This time, Elias and Aubrey were the ones twitching at the insane rumour, Amber merely looking curious since she didn't go to our school and had no idea how things were in its ridiculous social hierarchy.

"I thought they had a falling out last week though? Like, Xander wasn't hanging out with those two at all. I thought everything was back to normal now."

"Well, clearly they're fine, since they all came together. They skipped the dinner, so they were probably on a double date or something before coming here."

"Who's that girl with Xander? Oh, she's his ex? The one he's been hung up on ever she broke up with him? No wonder he couldn't get over her, she's hot as fuck." Amber smirked at that as I just gagged at the fact that people were thinking about me and my sister being together in any way other than as a brother and sister. I glanced at Elias, hoping he wasn't misunderstanding anything, the boy just raising a brow with a slightly smug smile, giving me a small wink which made me grin in turn.

"Don't they look like a good couple? I think I'll vote for them for Formal King and Queen."

"Who? Xander and his girlfriend? Or Aubrey and Elias?"

"Aubrey and Elias, of course. They're actually pretty cute together."

"Nah, I'm obviously going to vote for Xander and Amber. They honestly look like a model couple, not Year 12 students like us. They're both so hot."

Ignoring everyone, Aubrey grabbed my hand and Elias's, jerking her head towards Amber with a wide smile.

"Come on, guys! Since we're here now, we've gotta dance!" Aubrey yelled over the rush of the music as the song changed, the three of us just laughing at her excitement and following her onto the dance floor amongst the sea of students all pulsing to the beat.

The four of us jumped and danced around on the dance floor, all giggling messes as we mocked each other's dance moves and slung our arms around each other while swaying to the music, having the time of our lives.

And then, the music stopped, everyone on the dance floor stilling and gathering around the stage as two prefects tapped at and coughed into the microphone. 

"And now, it's the time you've all been waiting for. We've tallied the votes, and now it's time to announce the winners of the Formal Awards," one of the prefects said with a grin, all of the students cheering and whispering their predictions amongst themselves.

With everyone's eyes on the stage, Elias shuffled closer to me, his fingers brushing the palm of my hand discreetly. I turned to look at him, smiling, flipping my hand around to intertwine my fingers with his completely. 

"The King and Queen thing is so stupid," I whispered to Elias, who nodded, squeezing my hand.

"I agree," Elias said, lips curling upwards. "Obviously it should be King and King."

A/N: And the fluff fest begins! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There are only a few chapters left of the main story, but once that's done and dusted I'll be working on a few (long!) bonus chapters, including a chapter that will earn this story its Mature rating, as well as Elias's POV! So, still plenty more of these silly boys ahead, don't worry! :)