Draco could no longer bear to have the words 'I love you' stuck in his chest, burning and twisting his insides.
He needed to do something before his heart exploded.
Maybe he could talk to Zeth? Or Finn?
Maybe not?
Maybe he should talk it over with Alex?
But what if Alex thought he was weird for liking him?
Would he look at him differently?
Of course not!
Or maybe of course yes?
Maybe his crush would ruin everything!
E-VERY-THING
Draco stood in his position behind the stage curtains, waiting for them to rise, biting his lip with his fangs. He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves.
"Hey Draquito," Alex said, checking the Velcro of his tailored suit.
"Alex..."
"Do I look good?" Alex asked, jogging in place a bit, "I haven't done this in years... And I mean here."
"You are nervous? Like, like, you? Alycandro Alfaro? Are nervous about being sensual? Really?"
"A bit. I want to make sure the clothes can come off easily, but I'm worried because these. Damn. Velcros. Are. Worn. Out!" Alex checked them again, "I don't quite remember how to pull this off, and I mean the clothes."
"Everything will be fine, you'll see," Draco smiled warmly. God! He had liked Alex for so long, but tonight had to be The Night.
This would be the night Draco would finally have the immortal guts to tell Alex how he felt.
Tonight, with adrenaline pumping, Draco would say 'I Love You' or almost die trying!
He had made a promise to himself, and he intended to keep it.
He couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach.
It was time to see Alex in action, back to his old business dancing for many women.
"Are you nervous?" Alex asked Draco, looking him square in the eye.
"Of course I'm nervous," Draco nodded. "But I have to do this. For myself."
"For yourself? What are we talking about again?" Alex placed his hands on Draco's shoulders and leaned into his space. "Are you talking about the show or something else?"
Draco went cold. Was Alex hinting at something?
Did Alex know? Had Draco been caught?
"You're nervous about your crush, I can tell," Alex whispered, brushing Draco's out-of-place scarlet hair with his fingers, "But you don't need to be. I talked to Zeth about a poly relationship so we can all be happy. No more loving anyone in secret."
"So you know I'm very much in love, right?" Draco asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He felt like screaming. It was all surreal.
It was the right moment.
"You know? I think I feel the same as you," Alex whispered.
Did Alex know?!
Of course he knew!
How could Draco ever hide that from him?
"So you know I have like, like, a huge crush?"
"Yeah, me too!" Alex smiled broadly.
Draco froze, shocked beyond belief.
"What did you say?" Draco stared up at Alex, who shrugged.
"Yeah. It's kind of obvious."
"Obvious? How is that obvious?!" Draco exclaimed.
"But relax! Evie is fine with this, I think everyone is, even Frank." Alex laughed out loud. "Zeth is going to tell Evie that we can all try a poly relationship. You no longer need to hide what you feel for her."
"I... See..." Draco managed to choke out. He could never, ever be jealous of Evie. Never! But it certainly hurt him that Alex hadn't shown any interest in him, not in a romantic way.
Alex was straight, and there was no way to change that. That's what hurt the most.
"And now, Monster Mash like you've never seen them before!" Elord Darke's voice echoed.
Around Draco and Alex, the other guys in the band took their positions behind the red curtains, nervous to see them rise.
"Here we go," Alex sighed, and Draco, true to his professional ways, decided to put aside the pain in his chest and give the fans what they wanted: a show that would make them forget about their problems.
But who would help Draco with his own?
It did not matter.
When the curtain moved up, men and women shouted, whistled, and stomped their feet. The music thumped, and people sang along. Draco felt so hot, but also cold. He kept his eyes on the audience, knowing that if he looked up at Alex, he would fall apart completely.
The guys started the show standing diagonally, with their front feet pointed towards the audience and their back feet resting flat sideways.
They all took a step ahead rolling their hips, dragging their feet, making a small bend at the knees.
It was a great way to proceed towards the audience.
Adopting a wide stance, they kept their legs apart and started rolling and grinding their hips without moving the rest of their bodies. They all kept their hands behind their backs so that the audience could get a clear view of their movements.
Among the crowd, Jade was blushing hard. She never knew stripping would involve more than just, well, stripping or having an attractive body.
The intense movements looked physically taxing, but all the boys seemed acquainted with the art, although Frank's moves came across as a bit jerky.
The guys looked like they had taken private lessons from some strip master, careless and free while doing this, though not as much as Alex, who looked extra relaxed and flexible. While the other boys kept their legs still and rolled their chests to match the hip movements, Alex was bending slightly, alternating between the hip and chest grinds to get the ladies grooving to his rhythm.
All of them always maintained eye contact with the fans to make them feel special.
Everett's slow movements acted as a teaser to arouse the wildest fantasies of the crowd, and fast moves like Draco's hip shaking got the ladies on their feet.
"Scream, scream, scream!" Elord said into the microphone, "Let's cheer them on! The louder you scream, the less clothes there will be!"
The guys yanked off their suit jackets and kicked off their shoes. The crowd cheered louder, even more when they unbuttoned their shirts, sensually removing them.
With the music blaring and the crowd going crazy, the guys yanked at their Velcro pants.
There was screaming and a couple of people fainted.
Now all they were wearing were hammock-like underwear pieces.
Oh. God.
Jade had a cameraman filming her face as she watched from below the stage among a thousand horny women, and as hard as she tried to act prudish, she couldn't.
The boys left nothing to the imagination. Those hammock-like pieces were just too tiny. Who knew monsters would be so well endowed?!
Oh Jesus Christ! Jade was drooling right now!
One wrong move and all of 'em flesh chandeliers would fall right out of the Ball Room in front of all these people!
And Jade was oh so ready for that!
Zeth looked like an Egyptian god up there, sliding one of his hands into his hair. His tanned skin glittered like gold under the warm, yellowish light that illuminated him. When he thrust his hips forward, his abs flexed and all the women went crazy, screaming at the top of their lungs. He had the most ripped body of them all.
"Frank! You're way to close to the edge of the stage!" Zeth shouted, "Be careful!"
"I'm not going to fall!" Frank laughed, dancing beneath an electric green light, his muscles rippling under his skin. His bionic hand landed on one of his pecs, the one that was not made of metal, and he squeezed a little. As Frank spun into an Adonis pose, flexing his biceps, the metal plates on his back clacked and buzzed, gleaming, and all the girls reached out their hands as if they wanted to touch him, "Hey Everett! You having a good time?"
"I'm having fun! I am just little bit overwhelmed! I forgot earplugs but I can manage!" Everett shouted among cheers and whistles, and he looked beautiful in the cold, white light that bathed him. His snow-pale, muscular body flexed exquisitely. He ran a hand through his white hair and flexed his biceps, as if this were a bodybuilding competition. "I like to dance, and I like not wearing clothes. Can I take tiny hammock off?"
"NO!" All the boys yelled in unison.
"Sounds like you're having a lot of fun, Big Guy!" Finn was dancing under a bright turquoise light. His long legs were almost hypnotic as they stretched out to touch the ground. Strong pecs, arms, sweat and body oil? Oh yeah! He was a wet dream come true! "But it looks like Draco has found his calling!"
"I was born to do this!" Draco clasped his hands above his head as he moved his hips in circles under a red-as-blood light. He was like a marble sculpture: flawless, artistic, sensual. The crowd cheered louder when he slowly ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up wildly in all directions, "What do you think, Alex? Do you like me? I mean! Do you like my dance?"
"You're doing great, Draquito!" Alex said, his cinnamon skin glistened under the blinding purple lights above him. He moved his hips in circles and raised his arms, flexing his biceps. He howled and threw back his head, sliding his hands on his oiled, sculpted chest and rock-solid abs all the way to his huge and veiny arms.
"Let me sit on your face, Alex!" A girl yelled in the crowd.
"Oh my Gosh!" Frank's shocked face was priceless.
The whole club burst into laughter.
"Naughty girl!" Zeth said.
"That girl is truly aroused!" Alex chuckled a little, scanning the crowd to find the girl who yelled that.
Instead, his eyes landed on Jade at the edge of the stage.
And Draco died inside when Alex beckoned sexily with a finger.
"Jade, come on stage," Alex said amidst cheers, holding out his hand so she could join them up there. The cameraman captured this perfectly.
"Doll-Finna! Come over here too!" Finn held out his hand to help her up, "A promise is a promise!"
With both Doll-Finna and Jade on stage, Everett disappeared behind some curtains and stepped out of the backstage with a chair in each hand, which he placed against each other in the centre of the stage.
"Is this how they go?" Everett asked, and Alex shook his head.
"Back to back," Alex turned them as he wanted them.
"What are the chairs for?" Jade asked as she sat down.
"Oh Honey! Have you ever been to a bachelorette party?" Doll-Finna sat down, too excited, practically vibrating with happiness. Suddenly, Finn put his feet on the sides of Doll-Finna's chair, practically on top of the Drag Queen, holding onto the back of the chair and moving his hips like... Oh!
He moved as if he were underwater, his muscles flexing and rippling under his skin. His blonde hair fell to the side of his head like waves, and he winked at Doll-Finna, flashing two rows of white piranha teeth.
"Touch me," Finn whispered and Doll-Finna, already hot and sweaty, ran her hands over every millimetre of exposed skin. Finn was getting hotter, moving his body in almost obscene ways. Who knew he could be so sexy on a stage like this?
"Wow Finn! You've got talent for this!" Alex shouted and placed his feet on the sides of Jade's chair. He did a hip and chest grind, half sitting on the chair by bending his knees.
Oh God!
Oh Jesus Christ Redeemer! Jade was going to faint again!
Alex was dancing very sensually, alternating between chest and hip grinding.
Jade's cheeks were burning, as were her ears and forehead.
The way he looked into her eyes and smiled was making her dizzy. He was beautiful but also wicked, a predator ready to devour her whole.
Alex was so close, tantalizingly close that she could taste him. His abs smelled sweet, just like chocolate. Maybe this was scented body oil? Oh, she wanted to smell it, touch it, and lick it, all at the same time. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and the blood rushing to her face made her head spin.
She couldn't breathe properly or stop thinking about what it would be like if he leaned forward, grabbed the back of her chair, pulled her closer to him and kissed her...
She wanted him.
"Jade. I will grab your hands very lightly," Alex said. "This way, you can break away from my grip if you aren't feeling comfortable with the move, okay?"
"Y-Yeah."
He turned his back on Jade and gently grabbed her hands, placing them on his beefy pecs and guiding them through his torso all the way down to his stone-solid abs.
His skin was burning and sensually slippery. Alex was on fire, his muscles rippled under her fingertips.
"Touch my body, anything you want is allowed. Knock yourself out, señorita," Alex winked at her over his shoulder, and she, very obedient, squeezed lightly and traced every contour and every inch of strong flesh.
Alex suddenly turned back to half-sit on her lap, flicking her hair with his nose.
What a tease!
"What do you want to do now, Señorita?" he whispered.
Draco turned over his shoulder to see Alex dancing for Jade, and his fists clenched.
"I'm too aroused to think clearly," Jade whispered, turning to see Zeth dancing with rough, sharp hip movements without paying attention to her.
"Hey! Do you mind if I join you?" Draco faked a rebellious smile, moving his hips back and forth as if they were a separate part of him. He had his hands on his nape and his mouth slightly open.
He danced almost as well as Alex.
How was a girl supposed to remain pure and chaste with all this around her?
To Jade's left, Frank was running his hands over his torso and moving his hips toward her, and she couldn't help fanning herself.
Jade could already see herself entering hell with a premier pass from so many naughty things that crossed her mind right now.
"I want to do this more often," Everett said, dancing for Doll-Finna along with Finn.
"Jade, don't forget you gotta pretend you trip and I'll catch you." Zeth said, making her jump a bit. He was kneeling next to her, looking straight into her eyes.
"Oh! Right now?"
"Wait until the final chorus of the song passes and you do it," Zeth said, licking his lips, "No kiss this time, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay," she nodded, "We don't want a reaction while wearing mini-underwear, do we?"
Zeth blushed rather uncomfortably.
"Hey señorita, before you go..." Alex began, "Just a quick question, just to be sure. Do you really think a girl would want to be the girlfriend of all of us at the same time?"
"Obviously!" Jade shouted just for the sake of shouting. "Why ask again?"
"Just to be sure," Alex blushed. "It's just that the girl we all like has never done anything like that."
"And she is too stubborn and doesn't make things easy for us." Zeth continued.
Oh god! Jade couldn't believe it. Did they think she was playing hard to get? Was everyone really interested in her? Obviously! She was amazing after all. And she's super brave for agreeing to do this video and hairdo and everything. If she were the guys, she'd be amazed at herself too and even ask herself to go on a date!
"So what's so special about this girl. Have you ever kissed her, Zeth?" Jade asked wiggling her eyebrows, and Zeth looked away, "Is that a yes?"
"We're working, this isn't a sleepover where we talk about our love life, Jade," Zeth replied.
"Methuselah? Kissing someone?" Alex mocked, "I don't think I've ever seen him do it other than tonight."
Jade was shaking with nerves. All these boys wanted to be her boyfriends! That was so exciting!
"That is sooooo good to know," Jade said, placing her hands on Alex's slippery abs.
"I'm not really sure but I might try the poly thing just for her," Frank said. His face was filled with happiness.
"If you all agree, I think we can all date the same girl, and who knows, maybe try other flavours? Experiment a little?" Draco told Alex.
"Well I'm in! Hey, Draquito! Do you think this is hot enough for the video?" Alex asked with a laugh, putting his hands on the back of his head, thrusting his hips to the beat of the song. "I look sexy as fuck tonight, don't I?"
"Alex, omule... Te uiÈi naibii fierbinte!" Draco said, biting his lip, "Oh God! Eu îÈi voi da o muie after the show!"
"Draco?" Zeth lowered his eyebrows, "Did you just say..."
"I didn't say anything!" Draco yelled, wide-eyed.
"What did he say?" Alex asked.
"I have no idea but, Draco spoke Romanian again, right?" Frank asked.
"Draco said..." Zeth met the vampire's eyes, and the boy shook his head, pressing his lips, "He said that... That Jade looks pale."
Draco thanked Zeth with his eyes, and Zeth nodded discreetly.
"Just breathe, Jade," Everett said from where he danced with Doll-Finna. "We don't want you to pass out now."
Jade took long, deep breaths. This was the best night of her life!
"You'll be cursed, baby! Seal the tomb! Shut your mouth right now, baby!" Finn and Zeth were singing, yes, singing! No lip-syncing this time. Wow! Those two voices sounded powerful together, loud, mocking. And they were both back to back with the whole club singing along with them. "If you talk! Watch your words and tongue, baby! Seal the tomb! Shut your mouth right now, baby!"
"YEEE! YEAH! Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Finn sang a super high note, and this time the entire club exploded in screams and praise.
"It's my time now," Jade told herself now that the bridge of the song had passed.
She did what Zeth asked her to do.
She stood up elegantly, pretended (too overacted) that she was going to fall and then...
Oh!
Flash!
Magic!
Screams!
Gasps!
Oh yeah!
She saw stars...
But not for the right reason.
"Cut!" Sam Morgan shouted in the background.
The entire club fell silent and the music stopped abruptly.
"Oh God!" Draco covered his mouth.
"Jade fell off stage?" Everett asked.
"Yes she fell off the stage," Frank said with a shocked face.
"Zeth, weren't you supposed to catch her?" Finn asked.
"Well yes, but she didn't even give me a second to get close to her," Zeth said, looking down at Jade sprawled on the floor beneath the stage in the middle of a circle of people. "I just heard the crash and realised that she had gotten ahead of me."
"Con una chingada! Why didn't any of you catch her?!" Alex yelled to the audience.
The show didn't go on until the paramedics checked Jade and she stopped complaining to Zeth for not catching her.
It took half an hour.
"It was supposed to be my night and now I'm sitting in this chair backstage because of you, Zeth."
"Next time don't just fall, wait for me to get close," Zeth said, kneeling beside her. She remained with her arms crossed without speaking to him, looking in another direction, pouting.
Everyone outside was laughing and going on with the show, but here she was with a bandage around her wrist wasting valuable spotlight time.
Once out on stage, Jade pretended to stumble and AH!
Zeth caught her!
"Much better," Zeth held her close in his arms while the cameraman zoomed in. She brought a hand to his oiled chest. His muscles underneath her touch hardened, and she tried to ignore the sensation that shot through her body, but it was difficult.
She was already a second away from bursting into flames.
She would burn to a crisp, and not even her ashes would be allowed to join the fireflies... Whatever that meant.
She was so blushed that she was sorry to exist.
Then the track stopped.
"That's a wrap!" Sam's voice boomed all over the place.
The club erupted in cheers, laughter and applause. Everyone was celebrating, confetti fell from the ceiling, but Draco was in no mood to celebrate.
"That was amazing!" Alex shouted to the audience. Draco slowly approached from behind.
"Umm... Alex," Draco made him turn, "Can we talk? In private?"
"Sure thing, buddy," Alex nodded, "But first we need to shower, okay?"
"Okie-dokie."