"THEY WANT TO HOLD A DANCE THIS FRIDAY?!"

Both Nikki and Miyuki had yelled similar things as I'd told them this with a beer in my hand. The music was loud in Nikki's apartment, but everyone had heard this over it. Hearing this incredible thing, everyone came rushing toward us. 

"Excuse me, what?" Chidori asked, the yakitori in her hand completely forgotten now. She sat down at the counter and Hanako sat next to her. 

"Um. Yes, they're calling it a 'gay prom'. Well, that's what my kitchen manager- I mean, the kitchen manager is calling it now-"

"Gay prom. Well, I'll be. Alright. Let's think about this." Miyuki's pointer finger was on her forehead as the wheels were clearly turning. "I know all about proms. I've studied those dresses. What the heck is everybody going to wear?"

"Of course that's the first thing you'd think about," Nikki said. He looked troubled, though. "Isn't that term offensive? 'Gay prom'. What is that supposed to mean?"

"No, I don't think it's offensive," Miyuki defended. "That's what it is, isn't it? If it's for us. Well, LGBTQ prom, more like. Do I know any straight people who'd come? Oh wait. Oh my god, do I know any straight people?!"

Laughter erupted about this. 

"You do know at least one." Kazuya was sitting next to me, his foot secretly on top of mine hidden from view from everyone. We couldn't stop touching each other, and I didn't want to stop. 

"Who is it? For real, I can't imagine a single one." More laughter.

"Yuko."

Calmed voices. Sentimental noises. But, there were still smiles. I squeezed Kazuya's hand, sharing this acknowledgment with him. Thinking about her suddenly. Missing her. Knowing he was missing her, too. 

Hanako went to grab another yakitori from the pile in the box before us. Spread out, there was so much food here. Really, there'd been nothing to worry about in that regard. He began eating, but speaking through it. It was unlike him, because he was usually so polite. I was slightly taken aback.

"I want to sing at gay prom," he said, no question about it. 

Chidori's hand went straight up in the air. "I want to play music at gay prom, too. Hey, we have lots of friends who are musicians. We can ask them. I wonder who's available."

"Hmm. Let's call right now. There's no time to waste."

"Okay!"

They both got up and rushed away to the bedroom, the door closing in no time. Calling their friends in private. It seemed like maybe the music should be shut off if there were serious conversations going on, but everyone started chattering at once. There wasn't any time for that.

"What am I going to wear, though? What am I going to wear?!" Miyuki panicked in a burst of air. Her hands made claw-like motions on the counter. "What's the theme?! All proms have themes! I have to dress to the theme!"

"Screw clothes and themes! Who am I going to go with?!" Nikki practically cried out. "I don't have a date!"

He and Miyuki let out panicked noises together at the same time. "I claim Minoru!" Miyuki called out. "Oh fuck, I'm going to call him right now. I don't care if he's sleeping." She got out her phone and shot up from her stool, gravitating towards the living room as she tapped on her phone rapidly.

Nikki got up after her immediately. "NO FAIR! OH MY GOD, YOU CAN'T DO THAT! WHAT OTHER SINGLE GUYS DO WE KNOW?!" 

"I DON'T KNOW! NOT MY PROBLEM! OH MY GOD- MINORU! MINORUUU! WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR- YES I KNOW IT'S 2AM!"

Next to me, Kazuya was snickering, his fist pressed against the side of his mouth adorably. But, at that exact moment- Nikki grabbed that fist. "Kazuya! Oh my god, Kazuya, go to the dance with me!" Nikki pulled his hand to him in a mock of romance, and it was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh, too.

Kazuya drew his hand away, his face dropping in a deeply appalled manner. "Ew, that's like going with my brother!"

I was laughing so hard. My hands went over my face. On the phone, Miyuki was having her own similar struggles.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?! SINCE WHEN?! WHO THE FUCK IS HE?! WHAT- AN ARCHAEOLOGY STUDENT?! WHAT'S ARCHAEOLOGY?! THAT DOESN'T MATTER! GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME!"

"No, really, who am I supposed to go with? Gyeong-Wan, how dare you tell us with only two days to plan!" Nikki was horrified. It was so obvious he was trying to figure out who he knew who was single like it was the most difficult math problem in the entire world. "Goddamn, why do I have to be a certain age? Everyone's together. It's really making me realize how small of a community we actually have. Am I going to have to take a girl? Charlotte is extremely single. Ew, I don't want to take a girl, though."

Kazuya shook his head slowly in amusement. "She wouldn't go with you, anyway."

"How do you know that? Should I call her?" He already had his phone out, getting it out as he was speaking.

"You just said you don't even want to go with her!" Kazuya burst into giggles again. He was so cute. My foot pressed on his and I saw his expression soften at this. 

"Yeah, I'm panicked. I don't even have to ask you who you're going with. It's obvious."

This gave Kazuya pause, and I was frozen, too. "Oh, do you know who I'd go with?" Kazuya asked.

Miyuki was coming back to the counter, too. "Yeah, we know who you'd go with." She sighed, letting out every particle of air inside of her as she tossed her phone onto the counter with a clatter like it was useless. 

I saw the pink blush enter his cheeks, flooding them until they turned red. My own breathing was more shallow, my eyes wider. 

"Do you think I'm going with-" Kazuya started. 

"What are they going to serve at the prom? What kind of food?" Miyuki asked, getting up suddenly again, grabbing her phone.

"Oh, the shade," Kazuya started giggling. What was that word, shade? Was it slang?

"We know Gyeong-Wan's your boyfriend. We've known that for a while," Nikki said, so matter-of-fact that it caught me off guard. I let out a small cough involuntarily. 

"Boyfriend?" I asked, unable to control myself. My ears must have been redder than cherries.

"He's not my boyfriend, we're just friends." Kazuya said this so quickly. 

"Yeah, we're not together," I said, just as fast. My foot didn't go anywhere, though. His stayed put, too.

"Oh wait, yeah. You had your girlfriend, Seo-Yoon," Miyuki said, sitting on Nikki's couch with her phone. "Dammit, who do I know who's single and around my age? Now that I think about it, asking Minoru was a mistake. He's so much younger than me. But, dammit who do I know? I can't ask any of my clients. That's overstepping a line. Who'd go with me? Way to make me feel like the most single person in the world." Her head went down at this as she pressed her phone to her forehead like it might tell her who to call.

"Regardless, we know you two are going to the dance together," Nikki shrugged. 

"Oh, you don't know that," Kazuya said quickly again. 

I did, though. Why hide it? Remembering holding him in his apartment. How good that felt. It flooded my chest with that feeling again, just the memory. I leaned in to Nikki. "No, we are going together." 

Nikki gasped. "I knew it! I knew it! Kazuya, you liar!" He let out a long wail. "You have to find me a date! You have one, so now you have to find me one!"

Kazuya's face was so red. His mouth was open. Had I done the wrong thing, but oh then- "Why do I have to find you a date?! I found a date even before you knew there was a dance! Why is your date my responsibility?!"

"Kazuuu! Help me! I don't know anybody! I'm going to have to go on Grindr or some sh-!"

"Ewww, don't go on Grindr! Are you insane?!"

"Kazuuuu..." More wailing. 

"Okay, that's it," Miyuki sighed greatly, tapping her phone rapidly again. "I'm committing incest and asking a client. I know one who's extremely single and cute. He's also a fantastic dancer."

Nikki whipped around to her. "What?! That's not fair! Ask one of your clients for me, too!" 

"No. Gross. Ah, hey Tatara. I know I'm not waking you up right now. Haha. Hey, you like dancing. I like dancing. You want to go to a dance with me?" She got up from the couch, all grins now, spinning around and practically waltzing into the bathroom where she locked the door.

"How am I this single?!" Nikki cried out, gripping his phone but it wouldn't do him any favors. "How do I not know anybody?!"

"You work all the time," Kazuya pointed out. This was true. They never got a day off to meet anybody. Even I'd noticed how hard they worked, how devoted they were.

"Well, why don't I just ask coffee to the dance." He did look like he was almost in real tears now. 

Kazuya's hand went on his back as he folded over the table in despair. "Hey, we'll find you somebody. There's got to be someone we know that we're not thinking of."

"I bet they all have hidden boyfriends, too. Just like Minoru."

"Well, we don't know that."

There was an explosion from the bathroom, though. 

"YOU HAVE A WHAT?! WHY IS EVERYONE COMMITTED?! NO, THAT'S NOT YOUR FAULT- I'M HAPPY FOR YOU- BUT- YES YOU CAN COME TO GAY PROM WITH HIM, BUT- DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY FOR ME?! YOU OWN A GAY BAR, FOR GOODNESS SAKE! TELL ME WHO YOU KNOW! NO, YEAH I KNOW A STRAIGHT GUY IS MORE APPROPRIATE FOR ME, BUT I FEEL SAFER WITH A GAY GUY FOR THIS, OKAY?! THAT'S WHY I ASKED YOU! FINE, FIND ME A BISEXUAL GUY THEN! STOP LAUGHING, I'M SERIOUS!"

Kazuya's finger went into the air. It pointed at the bathroom. Nikki knew what to do before he said anything, though. He was up like a rocket towards that door. My hand went over my mouth, trying to halt my laughter that had never stopped. Maybe with this stroke of luck, Nikki would find a date after all. 

"WHAT GAY BAR IS THIS?!" Nikki yelled at her before he'd even gotten to the door. "OH MY GOD, MIYUKI! HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS INFORMATION FROM ME?! WHERE'S THIS GAY BAR?! CAN I GO RIGHT NOW?!"

"NO, NIKKIII! GO AWAY! NO, THAT'S MY FRIEND, NIKKI! HE'S GOING TO THE DANCE, TOO! NO, HE'S JUST COMPETITION AT THIS POINT- STOP BEING SO NICE!"

The bathroom doorknob started wiggling loudly as Nikki tried to get inside and Miyuki just screamed. 

Ah, but with both of them now distracted, I felt the familiar weight of Kazuya's arm go around my back. Pulling me close. Reminding me of the conversation we'd had downstairs in his apartment. Momentarily ignored by the two most single people in the world, 

But, my brain was gravitating towards a new thought. This accusation we'd just been embarrassed by. Was I really that embarrassed? 

We know Gyeong-Wan's your boyfriend.

I'd been wanting to ask him. I almost had, on that same awful day. If nothing bad had happened, I'd have already asked... And maybe we'd be sitting here in an entirely different situation. 

But, it wasn't too late. 

As we listened to Nikki and Miyuki scream at each other like children, no doubt influenced by all the beer they'd had but still entertaining, I took Kazuya's hand. He smiled as I did, and I began to rub my thumb between his thumb and pointer finger. This special spot. It was so soft. He watched me do it, such a gentle smile on his face. His arm held me close, and my cheek went on his shoulder. Thinking about the dance. Thinking now about something else I wanted to ask him, that made asking him to the dance pale in comparison. But, oh it made my heart feel free. The most free I'd ever been.