Friday morning.

Nikki sat up in bed, energetic despite it being five in the morning, excitement pulsing through his veins. He glanced over at the dress clothes hanging on his closet door with a smirk. He would be wearing them later for dinner. But today.

Today was graduation.

He'd get his robe at the school, and would come home after to change for dinner later with Tommy. And the.. surprise.

Nikki had been wracking his brain to come up with any reasonable thing that could be his surprise. He had come up empty.

But that didn't matter. Not now. He hopped out of bed, quickly exchanging his boxers and redressing in his new attire.

He was brushing his teeth when his mother's voice floated up the stairs to him.

"Honey? Come down!"

"Just a minute!" Nikki called back around his toothbrush, spitting out the bubbles and quickly applying his makeup. He trotted downstairs a few minutes later, heading into the kitchen where his mother was waiting.

"Hey, sweetie.. Congratulations," Nikki's mother pulled him in for a tight hug, kissing his forehead. "You look so wonderful, Nik.. are you going out with Tommy tonight? We were going to go out for dinner as a family if you aren't."

"I was, actually.. he says he's been saving up treat us to dinner and some surprise that he won't even give me a hint about." Nikki laughed softly, thinking about his boyfriend.

"That's fine, we can go out tomorrow," She smiled sweetly. "Surprise, huh? Does this surprise include his bedroom?"

Nikki groaned, rolling his eyes.

"We do more than have sex, Mom.. but I don't know. I think he's taking me somewhere. He promised that I'd like it." The bassist shrugged, rocking back on his heels. He glanced at the clock nervously.

"You'd better go. Just remember that I love you and I am so proud of you. We'll see you at the school later." She kissed his cheek before he trotted out to grab his bag and leave.

Nikki scampered to the school, terrified of being late. His old combat boots didn't quite match the outfit, but it wasn't like he really cared anyway. No one should see his feet while he had his gown on.

He found the senior class in the cafeteria, milling around between each other. He spotted Mick and Vince standing in one of the corners.

"Hey." Nikki grinned, walking up to them.

"Hey, man - ready for today?" Mick smiled, sky blue eyes brimming with excitement.

"Hell yeah. I'm so ready to get the fuck out of this hellhole." The bassist smirked.

"I asked them to put my name in pink font. I hope they did." Vince laughed, leaning against the wall. His blond locks were gently curled, a red mark on his neck marking where he had burned himself with the curling iron. Fantastic work, blondie.

Out of the corner of Nikki's eye, he could see a few teachers passing out tall bags with graduation gowns in them. A short man who could barely keep the bags from scraping the ground hobbled up to them.

"Vincent Wharton, Bob Deal, Frank Feranna."

"Aren't those old names just great?" Nikki joked as they grabbed each bag that belonged to them, the man giving him a strange look as he trotted off.

"Yes!" Vince giggled, his bag unzipped just down enough so he could see his name spelt in fancy pink cursive. Mick laughed, kissing his cheek.

Nikki opened his bag, staring in surprise down at the gown. Although his name tag said his birth name, the name 'Nikki' was printed clearly on his gown's left breast.

"Wow." He whispered, running his hand over it.

"They put Mick on mine, too." The guitarist smiled widely.

"Do we put them on now?" Nikki asked, not to anyone in particular.

"I assume so." Vince murmured, brown eyes fixed on other students sliding on their gowns and caps.

"This is wild." Nikki laughed, taking his own and slipping one arm into the large sleeve. He pulled it on the rest of the way, gazing at the cap sitting in the bottom of the bag.

"How the fuck am I supposed to get that on?" He asked, laughing. Mick scooped it up and balanced it on top of his giant head of hair.

"Perfect." His friend grinned cheekily. Nikki squinted.

"Isn't it just beautiful?" Vince twirled in his gown, his pink name shining in contrast. Mick grabbed his hand, dancing and spinning him around like a princess at a ball.

"You two are so fucking cute." Nikki laughed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Your handsome prince will be here soon, too." Vince laughed as Mick dipped him. Nikki's heart warmed at the thought.

"Class! Line up, last name alphabetical order!" A man called, and suddenly the entire senior class was hurrying into single file. Nikki couldn't believe it was happening so soon.

Within moments they were marched to the backstage portion of the auditorium. An excited buzz sounded from inside while a deafening, anxious silence fell over the teenagers.

The names began to be called.

Tommy was seated comfortably in between Nikki's parents. He had told them that he didn't want to split them up, but they had insisted. It was almost as if they were protecting him from the school officials.

At first, the burning stares of the teachers made him feel self-conscious and afraid. But he remembered quickly why he came. His friends wanted his support.. and his Nikki. He held his chin high all the way to his seat.

Tommy nearly zoned out after Mick went, staring into space until the F's started. He felt Nikki's mother squeeze his knee when Nikki's name was called.

Nikki Feranna, yeah, but still Nikki. That was good enough for him. He hoped it made Nikki happy.

Tommy watched with a swelling heart as his boyfriend trotted on stage, long, black gown just barely grazing the ground below him. His rugged boots poked out from under the gown, almost making Tommy laugh. He was so cute.

Nikki took his diploma with a broad smile, going along the line and shaking each of his teacher's hands. Tommy didn't know why, but he felt his eyes welling up. He forced himself to keep his mouth shut like the rest of the crowd when Nikki trotted down the stage stairs, smiling so widely it hurt. His boyfriend scooted past quickly, blowing a kiss to Tommy as he passed their row. Tommy prayed that Nikki wouldn't trip on his gown.

"I'm so proud of him." Tommy whispered, not specifically to anyone. Nikki's mother smiled sweetly over at him, wiping her tears, grabbing a hold of his hand and squeezing it gently.

"I'm so proud of both of you."

Tommy's heart swelled again.