We were in the ballroom scene now.

  She, the proud princess.

  Me, the hesitant prince.

  I've got this, screw that guy and his weird notes. I won't let that stop me from making sure this next one goes-

  Line one. I fumbled it.

  I stammered. Repeated it.

  The audience murmured.

  Arisa bit her lip backstage.

  Nao looked pale, wringing her script in her hands.

  Reina stood frozen.

  Even Shiori tilted toward me, slightly worried at my mess-up.

  My heart raced, my eyes drifted into the crowd, which was nearly impossible to see thanks to the blinding light, but the fact that they could see me and, while I couldn't see them, made me more nervous.

  "I'm going to ruin it," I thought, doing my best to keep a straight face. "All because of a stupid note. 'Don’t take her from me...' Who?! WHO?! WHO IS THE HER?!?!"

  Then Shiori grabbed my hand. Not part of the scene. Not scripted. She just… Took my hand.

  “Focus,” she whispered. “We’re here now. Not in your head.”

  It was a small gesture, but somehow, just like that, it was enough to get me back to the prince again; she was the princess.

  And the scene came to life.

  We flowed through the dialogue, her confidence carrying me like a liferaft through choppy waters. Each line ricocheted between us with electric precision. The audience erupted into laughter at a line I'd butchered consistently during rehearsals, a miracle born of Shiori's steadying presence.

  Then came the dreaded finale.

  The kiss.

  Shiori stepped closer, her dark eyes burning with an intensity that made my throat go dry. Her expression was a masterpiece of theatrical control, unreadable, yet somehow devastating, committed to the precipice we now stood upon together.

  Then…

  A loud BANG.

  Someone backstage dropped a mic or a clipboard with thunderous impact. For God's sake, these people are sabotaging me deliberately.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The sound reverberated through the theatre like a gunshot, violently shattering the moment. Shiori flinched forward, our foreheads colliding in a moment of unscripted intimacy. Our lips hovered dangerously close, trembling with shared breath and unspoken tension.

  Not quite a kiss.

  But the electric almost-touch sent a collective gasp rippling through the audience, close enough that I tumbled out of character completely. Close enough that I could taste the sweetness of her breath mingling with mine. Close enough that forbidden emotions surged through me like wildfire, scorching every rational thought.

  We remained frozen, suspended in that charged moment far longer than the script demanded. Her eyes locked with mine, a universe of unreadable emotion swirling in their depths. My heart hammered against my ribs as an unwelcome realisation crashed through me: "Damn, she's really cute," before merciful darkness swallowed us as the lights dimmed.

  The audience erupted, applause thundering against the walls. I bowed mechanically, a puppet with cut strings, while Shiori dipped with balletic grace. As we retreated from the spotlight, she leaned in, her lips brushing my ear with dangerous intimacy, seemingly not having a care in the world that we almost touched lips.

  "Whoever sent you that letter..." Her voice dropped to a whisper that sent electricity down my spine, "Don't let them win."

  I stopped dead in my tracks, blood turning to ice. She knew. Without a single question, without any explanation. She just... knew. Her eyes challenged me with something that felt dangerously like protectiveness.

  "I was expecting more of a 'don’t you dare go around telling people we kissed.'"

  Shiori glanced away, her smile faltering for just a moment, a delicate blush colouring her cheeks. "You’re a foolish idiot," she muttered, her voice softening slightly as she walked away.

  Backstage was buzzing.

  The teachers praised the scene.

  The audience was still murmuring.

  Even Shiori was offered a water bottle like a celebrity actress.

  But my eyes?

  They scanned for the sisters.

  Nao was whispering to Reina, pointing toward me. Arisa kept glancing between the stage and the crowd, and occasionally daggers at Shiori.

  Then Nao asked a question that I should have noticed a long time ago.

  “Where’s Yuki?”

  And the moment the words left her lips was the moment I realised for the first time since I'd met these girls…

  She wasn’t there.

  I didn't even notice her absence; my mind was so fixated on the whole rehearsal that it kind of actually flew by me. "Her not being here meant that she must be down at the seats," I said, trying my best to calm the situation before it got worse. But after a quick scout, both Nao and Arisa confirmed they didn’t see her anywhere.

  At first, I didn't believe them; they must have missed her. She does have black hair, and it was pretty hard to spot anyone in the dark, but even after doing my own check... I realised the girls were right. She wasn't there.

  “Oh no... Don’t tell me.”

  My heart started racing. I scoured the crowd, but the first thing I noticed was that the tall guy was gone.

  “Oh shit... This is starting to look really bad,” panic surged through me as I realised how bad the situation truly was. My heart raced, and I whipped around, ready to sprint into the audience in search of Yuki. But just then, the Teacher’s voice rang out, slicing through the chaos like a knife, forcing me to halt in my tracks.

  “Next and finally…”

  DeadEndYuto!