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“Are you quite done in there yet?” the teen groaned, sitting back impatiently in his chair. God, yet again he had to baby-sit for this kid from school…how his father got the impression that he should be friends with his friend’s son, he didn’t know. The kid was fourteen, for goodness sake, and he was nearly an adult!
“Just a second, Dennis,” a muffled voice said from behind the door. Dennis sighed. Somehow Jim had managed to convince him that they should put on a play. Romeo and Juliet. And so now, prefect, Rugger player, high-standing student Dennis Stanhope was waiting for little Jimmy Raleigh to come out of the closet in his costume.
“Well, hurry up, or I’m leaving!” Dennis said, rocking his chair back more and closing his eyes. That kid…
“Wait, wait, wait! I’m coming!” Jim threw open the door, panting. Dennis took one look at him, blinked, and turned his face away.
The boy had come out in a huge, poofy red and pink dress that went all the way to his ankles, cinched in with a crimson sash at the waist, with a plunging neckline that would have shown off breasts if the boy had any. His wrists, neck, and ears were dripping with gold. To top it all off, he wore a wig the same blonde as his hair, but curling down to meet the sash.
“Do I…look good, Dennis?” Jim asked, putting a finger to ruby-painted lips and cocking his head.
Dennis looked up, his face beet red and his body trembling with laughter. “My…haha!…my God, where did you get that stuff?” he asked, pointing with a shaky hand and doubling over. Jim pouted.
“I found them. Various shops.” He hung his head slightly. “I hoped you’d say I was pretty.”
“Well, for a boy in a dress, you don’t look bad at all,” Dennis said, now only slightly pink and snickering.
“Well, that’s a compliment,” Jim said dryly.
Dennis stood up with a flourish of his hand, bowed before the younger boy, and got down on one knee. Grabbing his hand and kissing it, Dennis purred, “My dear Juliet, you are far more beautiful than the moon and the stars.”
He got up slowly, laughing. “Is that what you wanted to hea—” He paused, looking at Jim. His eyes were huge, doll-like, and filled with wonder; his face was both pale and flushed at the cheeks like a victim of consumption. Dennis could feel himself getting red as the little doll flung itself on him.
“Exactly what I wanted to hear, Dennis,” he chirped happily.
“I just found my Romeo.”