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Today was a cold day.
The skies were painted a light blue with specks of clouds moving to and fro. The wind bellowed, allowing the grass to engage in a gentle dance. The grass itself was pale in colour, almost as if it was losing life.
But there was life. Vibrant laughters and chittering from two like-minded boys who decided today was a perfect day to go over duel strategies.
“I had no idea you could use that spell card instead.” Jaden said, staring in fascination.
“Right? I picked this up when I dueled that one feller!” Jesse replied, flashing the card in front of Jaden’s face all while sitting cross legged.
Both boys were inside Jaden’s dorm, sitting around the low table. Two juice boxes as well as their playing mats were spread across the table. Jaden slightly kneeled in order to tower over the low table, bridging the space that was between himself and Jesse.
“Wow Jesse. I feel like you can really do anything.” Jaden looked directly at Jesse who felt slightly bashful.
“The same could be said ‘bout you. Is there anything ya can’t do?” Jesse said.
Jaden brought himself to the ground, now lying flat on his back staring at the ceiling fan that hung above them. Dust was being collected, probably because the ceiling fan had no use now that it was nearly winter.
“I don’t know, but, if there’s one thing I want to do is reach you.” Jaden said with a solemn look in his eyes. He brought one open palm to the air, reaching towards the ceiling fan and then closed his hand firmly.
“If you wanna reach me then shouldn’t ya be pointing that hand towards me instead?” Jesse smiled, resting his chin in both hands as he looked at Jaden with admiration.
Jaden sat up, feeling slightly embarrassed that he said something so funny. But, he was being serious. To him, Jesse felt light years ahead of him. In dueling… in life. He felt as if he was being left behind.
He didn’t want to be alone.
“I didn’t mean like that!” Jaden stuttered.
“Well, if you’re interested in what I can’t do, I’m actually a pretty bad dancer.” Jesse said, thinking hard and seriously.
“Dancing?” Jaden tilted his head.
“Yeah! Back at my hometown we had fortnightly balls— sounds pretty fancy right? Except it weren’t really a ball, folk would be dancin’ however they wanted with a pardner of their choice! I wasn’t all that good so I usually went for the buffet.” Jesse had a nostalgic look in his eyes.
Jaden paused for a minute, Jesse’s face looked different. His voice sounded even sweeter than usual. It was a sight that tugged his heartstrings.
“Say… Jesse, do you ever miss your home?” Jaden asked, moving closer.
“Who wouldn’t!” Jesse looked towards Jaden who was anticipating his reply with curiosity, “but this place feels like home too, maybe it’s ‘cus you’re here with me.” Jesse stretched out a hand across the table, hoping Jaden would understand and envelope his hand with his.
Jaden looked down at the table, there was Jesse’s open palm. He suddenly had an idea.
“For now.” Jaden said, standing up.
“What?” Jesse said with confusion. Jaden didn’t take Jesse’s hand which made Jesse awkwardly draw back.
“I’m here with you for now , there’s something I gotta do!” Jaden rushed out of the room, leaving Jesse behind.
Jesse, even more confused than before, watched as Jaden sprinted out of the room, leaving the door wide open. A gust of wind blew into the room, dragging some cards onto the floor.
Jesse felt a little flustered.
***
Jaden continued to run, his cheeks turning a bright red as the wind fanned him. At that moment, he couldn’t think of anything else. The only thing he could think about was the idea that played around in his mind.
He thought that this ‘idea’ of his was sure to make Jesse happy.
Jaden rushed into the cafeteria where he hoped to find Blaire or Hassleberry; luckily for him, his friends all sat in the same corner of the room as they always did.
“Blaire!” Jaden yelled from across the room.
The cafeteria was noisy in itself, Jaden’s voice was simply carried away by the chitter chatter of the other school children.
Nonetheless, Blaire turned around. She just finished choosing what she wanted for lunch and held onto her food tray tightly.
“Jaden?” She said with a puzzled expression, “I thought you weren’t coming into school today.”
“He probably just wanted to eat. That’s all he does, eat and duel.” Chazz laughed obnoxiously at his own joke.
“Chazz! You’re here too.” Jaden said with a bright smile, he quickly caught his breath and scanned the table, “Good, you’re all here!”
Directly across Jaden sat Alexis with an empty food tray. Syrus, Hassleberry and Chazz also sat around the table.
“Sarge, you seem outta breath. Did you run all the way here?” Hassleberry said with a hint of concern.
“Yes! But that’s not important. Blaire— or Hassleberry, do you think it’s possible to hold a ball here in Duel Academy?” Jaden’s eyes glistened.
Everyone’s jaw dropped.
“A ball? That’s an odd request coming from you.” Blaire evidently looked concerned.
“Do you even know how to dance, loser? Ball’s are no joke.” Chazz crossed his arms.
“You can dance, Chazz?” Alexis said, interested.
“Of course. All Princetons have attended a ball at least once in their lifetime. That means I’ve been to plenty.” Chazz couldn’t help but feel the need to show off in front of Alexis, but all Alexis responded with was a laugh.
“Oh, so you know how to dance! Chazz, you need to teach me.” Jaden brought his face closer to Chazz’s, hoping his doe-like eyes would be enough to convince Chazz to teach him.
“What? Why do you want to throw a ball anyway?” Chazz averted his gaze discreetly as he felt his cheeks warming up.
“Jesse… he misses his old home. He was telling me about a ball his hometown used to throw and I thought we should bring one to him instead!” Jaden twiddled with his thumbs wondering if it was a good idea after all.
“A ball won’t hurt, right? Besides, it’s nearly the time we break up for winter so a ball would be perfect!” Syrus came rushing into Jaden’s defence.
Blaire glanced towards Jaden. His expression was firm and a bit clumsy. She placed her tray down onto the table and grabbed a startled Hassleberry by his arm, “when you put it like that Syrus, a ball seems like a wonderful idea! We’ll have to run it by other members of the council, but we’ll see what we can put together in a few hours.” Blaire smiled.
“The ball will be today?” Jaden gasped, “Chazz! You need to teach me to dance now!” He knelt down beside Chazz who was seated at the end of the table.
“Who’d go to a stupid ball in this school anyway? No.” Chazz said, maintaining his ground.
Jaden frowned.
“Aw what a shame Chazz, I really wanted to see you dance.” Alexis chimed.
Suddenly, Chazz’s face turned a bright red.
“Jaden!” Chazz called out, “meet me at the gym in twenty minutes. If you’re late, there’ll be no dancing.” Chazz stood up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria.
And so, the time to dance came.
Jaden was sure something like this would bring a smile to Jesse’s face, and perhaps, he would feel a little closer to Jesse.
***
Twenty minutes passed and Jaden arrived just in the nick of time. Upon entering, he saw a finely dressed Chazz in formal wear. He hung his black coat on the racks behind him and was currently fiddling with a record player.
“Chazz?” Jaden said, approaching him slowly.
He has never seen Chazz dress in such a way. He looked almost too clean and refined. His hair was styled just slightly differently from normal. His fringe lay on the opposite side than usual, his waistcoat wrapped around him perfectly, and his white shirt was as pristine as ever.
“Hurry up! We have… around three hours before the ball starts and Alexis wants to see me.” Chazz looked down at his watch.
“You look good.” Jaden said, doing stretches.
“Whatever,” Chazz’s heart jumped slightly, “come closer to me.” He stretched out both of his arms, making Jaden think he wanted a hug.
As Jaden leaned in for a hug, Chazz stopped him with just two fingers pressed against Jaden’s forehead. “I knew you would mistake that for a hug. Well no, I need you to hold my hands.”
Chazz grabbed onto both of Jaden’s hands, placing Jaden’s right hand onto his shoulder while holding his left hand up in the air and tight.
“You need to come closer to me.” Chazz’s free hand wrapped around Jaden’s waist, pulling him in close.
Jaden felt amazed; Chazz seemed so charming in this moment he wondered how he and Jesse would be like doing the same thing.
“Just follow my lead!”
And with that, Chazz swept Jaden across the gym. Twirling him and dipping him, all while holding Jaden extremely close.
They had several goes at dancing to different tracks, all playing melodious tunes that Jaden has never heard of. He couldn’t help but laugh with every dip and every twirl. His face grew softer, calmer and happier.
Jesse was sure to feel better with this ball.
***
Two hours of practice went by, and both Jaden and Chazz lost track of time. As soon as Jaden felt like he got the hang of it, he thanked Chazz and rushed back to his dorm where Jesse stayed.
The scene didn’t look any different from when Jaden left the room: Jesse was still on the floor, pondering over card strategies. The only difference was that there were more juice boxes on the table.
“Jesse!” Jaden panted, trying to catch his breath.
“Jaden! You rushed outta that room faster than lightnin’. S’everything awright?” Jesse put his deck away and moved the small table to the side.
“We don’t have much time left, but there’s going to be a ball in an hour or so.” Jaden dusted his hands.
“A ball?”
“Yes! Right here in Duel Academy, and before you ask, of course I’ll be your partner.” Jaden placed a hand behind his head and laughed.
“What are you talking about?” Jesse tried processing what Jaden just said to him, but failed to.
“When you reached your hand out to me before, you were asking me to dance with you right? Of course I would! Even if you say you can’t dance, let me teach you.” Jaden said.
Jesse suddenly remembered Jaden abruptly running out earlier today. He thought Jaden simply ignored him but it turns out he had other plans. Jesse held onto his stomach and couldn’t stop his laughter.
“And here I thought I was bein’ rejected! A dance you say? Let’s try it.” Jesse found himself entertaining this idea of a ball. He imagined Jaden must have gone to great lengths to do this, and who was he to deny a chance to get closer to his most beloved?
“First, you’ll have to come closer to me. That’s okay right?” Jaden asked, feeling a little nervous.
“Aren’t we always so close?” Jesse said in a playful tone.
“But this is our first time dancing together.” He replied.
Jaden clutched onto Jesse’s waist; seeing Jesse jolt and his eyes widen a little made him loosen his grip just a bit. He must have held on too tight.
“You got… a really strong arm Jaden.” Jesse said, trying to hide his winces.
“Oh sorry. It’s a bit nerve-wracking.” Jaden laughed shyly.
“Deep breaths! You got this Jay.” Jesse flashed a bright smile.
Jaden brought Jesse’s body closer to his and felt Jesse’s palm envelope his own. The distance between the two was non-existent. Jaden was just slightly shorter than Jesse, yet felt like he was being towered over. His direct line of sight was Jesse’s face: his eyes, his lips, the hairs that cover his forehead, it was all in front of him. Jesse’s eyes twinkled and his lips pulled into a smile.
“Ya gonna kiss me?” Jesse questioned.
Taken aback, Jaden frowned. “Chazz didn’t include that step in the dance.”
Jesse’s eyes widened, “I was jus’ joking! Let’s do things the way ya learnt.”
Jaden’s expression was serious. He wants Jesse to have fun like he did when he danced with Chazz, but if he messes up, Jesse won’t have fun.
Jaden had no music to dance to this time, so he hummed a little tune with each step he took. Jesse soon started copying the hums that Jaden did, causing both boys to erupt into laughter.
Step by step they moved to the beat of the voices that hummed in harmony. Jaden struggled a bit with twirling Jesse about, but once Jesse caught on, he twirled Jaden instead. Jaden’s laughter danced around the room the two boys were in, making Jesse smile the biggest he has ever done.
When it came to the dip, Jaden was insistent on being the one to dip Jesse. As he brought Jesse nearer to the ground, with his right hand acting as his support, he finally saw Jesse’s full face.
His hair dangled, revealing Jesse’s forehead. Jaden brought his face closer to Jesse’s, planting a delicate kiss on his forehead.
As Jaden brought Jesse back up again, Jesse’s face turned red. He placed a hand on the place where Jaden kissed and continued to relive that moment in his head.
“Ah, I messed up. That kiss wasn’t part of the dance I did with Chazz.” Jaden scratched his head, “but that was the first time I saw your full face. Let’s do it again! I’ll do it properly this time.” Jaden begged.
“Ya full of surprises, you know that right? I feel kinda honoured you thought you could do that with me.” Jesse said.
“Accident!” Jaden exclaimed.
“Then this is an accident too.”
Jesse intertwined his fingers with Jaden's, aligning his nose with the other boy’s. He stared into Jaden’s eyes, drawing closer and closer.
He planted a sweet kiss on Jaden’s lips, firmly gripping onto his hands to balance himself. At that moment, Jesse felt as if he would completely collapse into Jaden.
When they broke apart, Jaden stood wide eyed.
“That ball of yours, we’re prolly gonna be late at this rate!” Jesse dragged Jaden along with him, the warmth lingering on his lips.
***
As both boys arrived at the cafeteria, many people were already there. Most tables were pushed to the side revealing a large, empty floor that was quickly filled with bustling students. Above, the lights flashed in different colours.
“Jaden! You made it. I’m sorry this was all we could do. It looks more like a disco doesn’t it?” Blaire sighed.
Jaden glanced towards Jesse whose face was still full of energy.
“It’s perfect!” Jesse said, looking towards the buffet table, “it certainly does look like them balls we had back home!” he chuckled.
Jaden whispered a ‘thank you’ to Blaire before catching up to Jesse who was hovering over the buffet table. After grabbing plenty of treats, both boys sat at a table that overlooked the dance floor.
On the floor there was Chazz, dancing alongside Alexis. However, their dance seemed a lot more lighthearted than the one Chazz taught Jaden. Hassleberry and Syrus danced together too; Hassleberry brought Syrus up to the air as the smaller boy posed. Everyone on the dance floor was dancing in tune, out of tune, on beat, off beat, to the mixture of songs that continued to play throughout the night.
Jaden couldn’t help but find his gaze wandering to the teal haired boy who was scoffing down a cream puff. Jesse, while eating, cheered on for his peers all while throwing an occasional fist pump in the air as support.
“Are you feeling happy, Jesse?” The words accidentally rolled off Jaden’s tongue.
“Hm? Of course! Nothing makes me happier than being with you Jay.” Jesse looked towards the boy who had a more serious look, “Are you happy?”
Jaden paused, wracking his brain.
“You know, I wanted this ball to be for you. But the more I think about it, I did this all for me.” Jaden looked down, feeling slightly guilty, “you’re so far away Jesse. I want to get closer.”
Jesse coughed. It seems his cream puff took a different route down his throat.
“Is that a confession?” Jesse said.
“A confession?” Jaden tilted his head to one side.
“Is that what’s been worrying ya all day? You wanna get closer to me? I’m not goin’ nowhere!”
“I know! But I can’t help feeling so weird around you.” Jaden said with a more thoughtful look.
“Well gee, I like you too.” Jesse brought his face closer to Jaden to see the expression he was making.
Jaden’s face grew hotter. It’s like Jesse could read his mind.
This feeling, it’s love, isn’t it?
Jaden’s face grew hotter and hotter at the realisation he was in love with Jesse. He already knew he was, but to hear it in words, it felt clearer to him.
“Jesse…” Jaden said, gazing into Jesse’s eyes.
Jesse closed his eyes, expecting a pleasant surprise.
“You have cream on the side of your mouth.” Jaden used his finger to clean the cream off Jesse’s face and tasted the sweetness as he brought his own finger to his mouth, “you only kiss on accident, don’t you?” Jaden said playfully.
Defeated, Jesse couldn’t help but blush. “Shall we dance?” He said in a posh voice, extending a hand out to Jaden.
“We shall!” Jaden chimed.
That night, the two boys became closer than they could have hoped. Jaden felt like the bridge in between the two was no longer there. His heart, his body and his mind, all felt connected to Jesse.
A cold day it was meant to be, but with the feeling of love, it was no longer a cold day.