"AND now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to announce this year's homecoming king and queen."

The students gathered by the stage, while the nominees made their way towards the stage, standing behind the principal.

Principal Hughs smiled, and looked at the crowd with anticipation, taking the golden envelope between her fingers and tearing the red wax apart.

"And this year's homecoming king and queen are…" she began. Mal held Felix's hand through the short distance. He squeezed it back gently, then gulped in anxiety as they both waited for the names.

"Mal Mohamed and Hyunjin Hwang!"

Mal gasped in surprise, then took her turn and wrapping her arms around Felix, Ava and Hyunjin in enthusiastic hugs.

"I'm so happy for you." Felix whispered as he hugged her back, smiling.

"Thanks, sunshine," she muttered, planting a quick peck over his lips, "I'm happy for you too."

Mal wrapped her arms around Hyunjin as she muttered Korean words of congratulations.

"Thanks, Mal…"
The group then walked over to the remaining members, and greeted them with more hugs.

"Congratulations, guys!" Chan cheered, letting go of each of them.
"Yeah! You were great on that stage."

They all giggled at Han's comment.
"Well, that's it. Guys, we need to go."

It took them a few minutes to gather their things, and to bid goodbyes to everyone else in the gymnasium before they ran towards the car, which was parked in the school's parking lot.

Chan took his place in the driver's seat, then turned on the engine and began driving to the stadium.

☂︎

"Damn, that's a big amount of people!" Han gasped out, glancing at the big crowd before him. His heart pounded loudly in his chest.

"Guys, make sure your mics are on!" A staff member yelled out, passing by with a few paperwork in her hand. Mal nodded, then took her turn to look at the crowd.

The stadium was gigantic, with a lot of rows for red-covered seats, and long rows of lights hanging from the ceiling to the stage.

"Guys, I don't think I can do this." Han muttered, turning to his friends with a pale, mostly sweaty face.

Mal stepped towards him, and began stroking his upper arm in reassurance.
"Han, it's going to be okay. You're going to do great."

He took a few, deep breaths as if trying to reassure himself. Mal took another look at the crowd, scanning it quickly with her eyes.

Then it hit her.

The guests she called were here.

"Oh my god, they're here! They're here, I have to go get them!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down in enthusiasm.

"What do you mean? Who's here?" Chan questioned, turning to her while still trying to reassure Han.

She bit her lower lip. "My friends from Egypt!" She lied quickly, "Yeah, yeah, they talked to me and they wanted to be there. I have to go get them, and say hello."

Felix let out a small noise of protest, "Baby, no, we're going on stage in ten minutes!"

"No, Felix, it's fine. We still have time," Chan reassured his younger friend, "you can go, Mal. Just please, be quick."

She nodded and hurried towards the back entrance, which led to the front of the stage, therefore leading to the front row seats.

She scanned the enormous room once again, taking notice of the families taking their seats at the back of room. She quickly made their way towards them.
"Hey, it's so nice to finally meet you!"

One of the women before her stared at her in confusion before it finally hit her. The first family smiled and engulfed her in grateful hugs.

"You're the one who sent the invitations…" a younger girl spoke.

"Yes, and I couldn't be more happy you all are here! Do you want to go backstage to greet them before the show?"

They all nodded in anticipation, which allowed Mal to lead them towards the backstage door once again towards the makeup room, where her friends were standing.

"Hey, guys!" Mal greeted her friends again. They turned around slowly, glancing at her in a neutral expression.

Then glanced at the people behind her.
"M-Mom?" Felix began, tears welling up in his eyes. Each of the members ran towards their parents to hug them tightly.

Chan greeted his two younger siblings, then greeted his parents, Hyunjin hugged his two parents, Felix greeted his mother and his two sisters while Han took a deep breath and smiled, hugging his parents just like the others.

"Oh my God, how did you come here?" Felix asked his sisters, who were named Rachel and Olivia. Olivia smiled and hugged her older brother again.

"We came by plane! Mal sent us the tickets, and we had someone pick us up from the airport."

The members turned to Mal, a look of gratitude and enthusiasm planted over their faces.

"How were you able to reach them?"

Mal bit her lower lip with a smile. "My mothers have a private detective. I told them that I wanted to reach your parents to attend the concert and they agreed with no hesitation."

It took the members a moment to put the words together, as they were still taken aback by yet another gift from their friend.

Mal gently smiled and gave her boyfriend one last, tight hug before she stepped away.

"I'll leave you all alone for a while. I'm going to say hello to my friends from Egypt," she paused for a moment, then giggled at herself, "for real this time."

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