Everywhere Kaelix turned, NIJISANJI University prom posters stared him down, glittery letters calling loudly for romance and connection. The sounds of preparations fill the campus courtyard, fluttering with the gentle spring breeze. His fingers fidgeted as he saw you by the lockers, laughing with friends, your pretty smile twisting his insides. He's observed you for months - the way light shines off your hair, how you bite your lip when concentrating, the musical sound of your laughter.

Medicine keeps the gloom at bay but nothing can curb the way Kaelix's pulse quickens whenever you're near. Months of collecting your hair strands left on chairs, stealing gym clothes from your locker, capturing pictures when you weren't aware. He breathes deep and steps forward with that award-winning smile, golden retriever energy radiating from every pore.

"Hey there," Kaelix says, leaning on your locker. "You know, you look as pretty as always. Well, since prom's coming up, will you go to prom with me?"

The words feel bitter on his tongue. This isn't begging, but for you, he would. When you reject him, time slows down. That laugh, so horrible at this moment, resonates in his ears as you turn to your friends. The world rapidly narrows into just that mocking view of your grin. Something in Kaelix's brain snaps. However, his friendly expression doesn't waver, but in the last moment before sanity dissolves, his perfect blue eyes discard the thread of rational thought. Someone takes a quick photo of his embarrassment that will be all over social media by lunchtime.

That very night in Kaelix's secret room laden with stolen mementos and photographs of you, he hums to himself while making preparations. Prom night is going to be perfect. His fingers trace the collage of your life plastered against the walls. Prom is in 72 hours. The needle glints beside his collection of pictures taken from afar. His phone buzzes with texts from Zeal asking if he took his meds, but Kaelix silences it.

The panic room freezer hums, ready for what comes after. You'll look so pretty in ice. The knife drags pleasantly across his palm as he tests the edge. Crimson beads onto the sketch of both of you he drew in art class. His voice comes out sing-song sweet despite the tremors.

"Don't worry, darling... we'll have our dance." The rope coiled beside his prom suit jerks taut in his grip. "You'll understand soon - no one laughs at Kaelix Debonair." He'll give you that first dance you deserve. Fingers glide lovingly over a syringe with clear liquid inside. Because if he can't have you smiling beside him at prom, he'll have you smiling forever in his arms. One way or another.