[SLOW UPDATES] The Stroke of Midnight

Five.

Gerard couldn't believe what he was hearing. The handsome stranger wanted to dance with him? There were so many other young maidens, and he wanted to dance with little Gerard, someone who lives by waiting on others.

"Um, yeah, sure." Gerard agreed, watching the smile on the handsome stranger's face widen as the orchestra that was present began playing a waltz. Gerard sucked in a breath as he felt the man's hand on his waist, his other hand in Gerard's. Gerard used his free hand to hold his dress as the two began swaying across the ballroom floor, a spotlight on them as the other lights dimmed.

"I don't really know how to dance..." Gerard whispered, a blush on his face.

"Don't worry, baby, let me lead." The handsome stranger whispered back, the husky sound giving Gerard chills. "You know, I think I'm the only one here that knows you're not a woman." He whispered again, making Gerard bite his lip.

"All these girls are here to meet the Prince, right?" Gerard asked as they danced pass the crowd of maidens, most of which were watching with dreamy smiles, the rest were watching with envious glares. 

The handsome stranger scoffed as he led Gerard away from the girls, out of the ballroom to where he had first seen Gerard, seeing the curtains close, cutting them off from the rest of the partygoers. "Yeah, but something tells me they're gonna be really disappointed by the time the night ends." The stranger let go of Gerard's hand, his other lingering on his hip.

They both walked around the area, sitting on a bench and looking up at the moon. Gerard stared at his stranger, his features illuminated in the moonlight, making Gerard want him even more. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the stranger's.

The stranger looked at Gerard, their gazes locking. Gerard felt his stomach churning, the back of his neck beginning to heat up. The stranger turned more towards him, his gloved hand moving to rest under Gerard's chin, his thumb on Gerard's bottom lip.

"Because their Prince likes boys." He whispered, leaning in and gently placing his lips against Gerard's. For Gerard's first kiss ever, he swore to himself that he never wanted to kiss anyone else. Those sparks that he felt when he had first accidentally touched the stranger were amplified by a thousand in the kiss. His smooth lips against Gerard's most likely chapped ones. Tonight really was a dream come true.

The stranger was about to deepen the kiss, when a loud chime made Gerard jump, making the handsome stranger giggle. "Relax, it's just midnight." He soothed, his hand going to Gerard's thigh.

"Oh, midnight." Gerard smiled, but once he heard his fairy godfather's voice echoing in his head, his smile dropped. "Oh, oh, goodness!" He stood, making the stranger's eyebrows furrow.

"What's the matter?" He asked, watching Gerard panic as to what to do, or where to go. 

"It's midnight." Gerard said again, beginning to walk away, his pace fast. "I must go; goodbye."

Gerard began running, before taking off his shoes and running barefoot, realizing that running in heels was much harder than he thought.

"Please come back!" He heard the stranger call from behind him, "I don't even know your name, how will I find you?!" Gerard's mind was racing, but he managed one coherent thought.

"The produce stall!!" He yelled back, as he ran past palace guards, running out through the front of the palace. He had forgotten there were stairs, and he tripped, falling down the palace steps, his glass slippers hitting the ground and shattering on impact. He grimaced at the pain, tears flooding his eyes as his fairy godfather raced to his aid, helping Gerard up and racing him to the carriage.

Gerard got inside, and the two of them took off into the night, palace guards behind them, not wanting to let the Prince's love interest go. Somehow - Gerard thought his godfather's magic had played a big hand in it - the two managed to escape the guards, returning to Gerard's house in record time. Gerard's clothes had gone back to his normal work clothes, his hair windblown and tangled around his head. 

He got out of the carriage, looking around to see if Mikey or his stepmother had made it home yet. Luckily, he was the first one back.

Gerard turned around to thank his godfather, but he, the carriage, and the horse were gone, vanished into thin air. He looked around, searching for any sight of the magical being, but there was none at all.

He sighed, going into the house and up to his room, washing his face in his water basin and changing into one of his nightgowns. After he had settled down, he grabbed his sketchpad and charcoal, beginning to sketch a familiar face.

"Their Prince likes boys..." he whispered to himself, his eyebrows furrowed before he finally put the pieces together, the charcoal falling from his grip.

His handsome stranger was the Prince.

Gerard had kissed the Prince. Or rather, the Prince kissed him.

The Prince was interested in Gerard?

Gerard felt butterflies erupting in his stomach, and he laughed loudly, covering his mouth with his hands. Had he really kissed the Prince? Was his living hell finally over?

The sound of his door opening caught his attention, and he saw Mikey peeking in, an eyebrow raised. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice wary.

Gerard nodded. "Yes, I'm completely fine." He smiled at his brother. "How did your night with Kristen go?"

He could tell Mikey was trying not to smile, watching as his brother looked down. "Yeah, it was great, thanks. Night, Gee."

"Night, Mikes." Gerard watched as Mikey nodded curtly, closing his brother's door and leaving him alone with his mind.

Tonight really had been a dream come true, but Gerard couldn't help but feel that he was in the eye of the storm, and something worse than he could think of was awaiting him, about to strike at any moment, waiting to tear him down from his high.

~~~~~~

tis i, the frenchiest fry

so, as you can probably already tell, this isn't the conventional Cinderella story. this was about as far as I was going to take it; the rest is going to sound more like me, and less like Disney.

I hope you all are enjoying it, I know I am.

xoR