Only Friends: Dream On.

If the Pink Pony Club started playing heartbreak songs from its early days...

By the 2000s, it was understood that it was time to go home. Rome packed up the DJ equipment, not forgetting to put the tips from the guests into his wallet. As he turned to unplug it, he saw someone standing at a distance, watching him. Raffy smiled and slowly approached Rome, standing still until they were only separated by the DJ counter.

 

"Why are you here?"

 

"I was hoping to see you play live," Raffy said, "but it looks like I'm too late."

 

“So, is that right? Why did you come so late?"

 

"So, shall we go have dinner together?"

Rome paused, meeting the other's gaze to confirm that he had heard correctly.

 

"I can treat you."

 

"What do you want?" the young DJ retorted.

"I just wanted someone to have dinner with, but when I got home, my mom scolded me for withdrawing from the play. Tonight, I want to spend time with people who won't judge me."

 

Rome hesitated, "Do you think I wouldn't do that?"

 

"So, are you going to judge me, like you would everyone else...?"

It seemed Raffy was feeling lonely tonight and truly needed someone. Rome sighed, putting on a facade, before turning to continue packing his things, but he still gave an answer.

 

"Wait for me a minute."

 

Rome drove Raffy to a late-night rice porridge shop, a haven for night owls. He had his pampered friend sit on a plastic chair on the sidewalk. Raffy observed the shop's atmosphere with curiosity.

 

"Have you ever eaten plain rice porridge?"

 

"I'm not that naive," the celebrity son chuckled, "I just haven't been here before. Eating at a restaurant like this"

 

"I brought you to a secret restaurant, you know. I usually never share with anyone, just so you know," Rome said, picking up the menu. "You have to try the preserved olives and the fried pork with salted fish. They're top-notch." Raffy glanced at him, smiling slightly without saying anything. He let Rome choose the dishes, believing that Rome was more familiar with the restaurant than he was. Soon, the food began to arrive until the table was full.

 

"Why are you withdrawing from the theatre group? You fought so hard to get in. You got to play the lead role?" Rome decided to ask after finishing his bowl of pickled plum soup.

 

"I've lost my passion," Raffy replied while enjoying his meal.

 

"That's how it is with rich kids, isn't it? They can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and quit whenever they don't feel like it."

 

"Didn't you say you wouldn't judge me?" Raffy looked up.

 

"Why don't you think I'm worried for you?"

"If you're worried about me, then stop talking about this."

 

"Okay, let me ask one last time," the young DJ said, placing his hands together and crossing his arms, looking at the person opposite him with a teasing yet serious expression. "Is it because Jack doesn't want you anymore that you came to me?"

 

"I chose to stop thinking about Jack."

 

Raffy gave a simple answer with a relaxed demeanour. "You might have been right that day."

 

Rome paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow at Raffy, who was calmly eating his rice. His expression was a mixture of confusion and surprise, but eventually a faint smile escaped his lips, unnoticed by the other man. After that, he said nothing more, simply lowering his head and silently eating his porridge with the man who always stirred his heart.

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Jack brought everyone to his condo, where the owner stood with his arms crossed. He watched worriedly as his younger brother applied an ice pack to his sister's face.

 

"So what are you going to do next?"

 

"I guess I'll have to go stay with my mother for a while," Dao said tremblingly.

However, she stopped crying a while ago. When Jack heard that, he quickly volunteered. "Shall I give you a ride?"

 

"It's alright," Dao quickly declined, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'll buy the plane ticket myself."

 

"Then I'll buy it for you." Jack didn't wait for the other person to speak; he hurried off to arrange it. Booking the plane ticket directly from the laptop that's open nearby. Dao turned and asked her younger brother in a low voice. "Are you two back together?"

 

"Not yet, but things are much better than before," Dean said truthfully. "Jack's still such a good person," Dao said, her face showing a hint of bitterness.

 

"You're lucky, Dean. At least you didn't go through what I did. Don't hurt him again. Be careful, you might lose a good person like him."

 

His sister's words made Dean glance at Jack, who was happily busy running errands for others. And it was true, as Dao had said. Jack had never caused him any trouble or physically harmed him, even after their breakup. It was always Dean who caused the problems. Perhaps Jack was too good a person to be with him. Dean stood up and walked towards the other man, then embraced the tall figure with all his might.

 

"Thank you."

 

"It's just a plane ticket, it won't cost much."

 

"It's not just about that," Dean kissed his cheek softly, "but I mean everything."

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The opening day of the play is fast approaching. Many team members are diligently performing their duties to the best of their abilities. Finally, the stage set is taking shape, all the actors are wearing their actual costumes for rehearsals, and the lighting, sound, and special effects teams have everything perfectly set up, just in time for the Preview Tour.

 

A Preview Tour is an opportunity for media, faculty, and students from the Faculty of Fine Arts to visit the theatre and see exclusive rehearsals before the actual performance. This is considered one of the strategies. A promotion that producer Timmy had been planning for a long time.

 

"The theatre will open in about ten minutes!" Timmy announced in front of the theatre. He was handsomely dressed and looked very excited. "Today isn't the actual performance, so we won't prohibit the use of communication devices. Feel free to take photos or videos as much as you like. Just remember to use the hashtag #OurTheater."

 

Backstage, the costume department is busy preparing outfits for the lead actors. Today, there will be a short rehearsal of a love scene between Dean and Arnold for the special audience. Tua was helping Arnold tie his shoelaces, unaware that someone was secretly photographing him. The young stylist looked up and saw Arnold's cell phone in his hand.

 

"Why are you secretly taking pictures?"

"I'm preserving the memories," the leading man reasoned. "Because I'll be acting in a play later."

 

"Once it's over, there won't be pictures like this anymore."

 

"It's as if we'll go our separate ways once the play ends."

 

"Who knows? And I don't want to know anyway. I just want to live in the moment."

 

"Better," Arnold said, continuing to take photos of Tua without listening.

 

"Uh, help me put on this costume, okay? I'm an actor, you know," said Dean, after watching the two of them bicker for a while. Tua laughed heartily before getting up to help his friend.

 

"Everyone! The theatre is about to open. Get ready!"

 

One of the crew members ran backstage, shouting to everyone in front of the theatre. Another crew member ran to report to Timmy that everything inside the theatre was cleared. The producer nudged the director to get to work before the audience was allowed inside.

 

Jack stepped into Timmy's usual spot. Today, the handsome young director looked bright and cheerful, speaking with proud enthusiasm about his own work.

 

"Romeo & Romeo is a reinterpretation of a classic play. The story may not be much different from what everyone already knows, but I guarantee it will offer audiences fresh perspectives—both in terms of entertainment and the hidden meanings in the characters' dialogue, or even the ending... well, you'll just have to see it for yourselves on the day of the performance!"

 

"Boo!!" his classmates teased him, which he didn't like.

 

"But I can only tell everyone that the era of unrequited love is truly over. I hope this play will inspire our generation to lower their prejudice against sexuality and love that doesn't conform to societal norms, to honour the generations before us who never experienced the love they did," the director said, receiving thunderous applause. Soon, the theatre doors opened, Timmy ushered everyone in, and since it was a special performance, they could choose any seat they wanted.

 

When the time came, a spotlight shone on the characters onstage, and the audience's chatter gradually quieted. A scene unfolded: Romeo and Dean's bedroom, with the two on the bed, intimately embracing under the blankets. Some audience members couldn't contain their excitement and let out screams. Jack and Timmy, seated nearby, exchanged smiles.

 

"Hurry up and go back, someone might see you," Dean said, following his lines. His voice was loud and clear. He turned sideways towards the audience, as if trying to avoid the other person, but Arnold leaned down and kissed his shoulder lightly before looking up with a flirtatious glint in his eyes.

 

"May I stay with you tonight?"

 

"While you were here, you only bullied me."

 

"But you like it..." Arnold smirked, "...to let me bully you one more time."

 

The chemistry between the two actors undoubtedly captivated the audience, who gave them perfect scores in the surveys received before the show. Everyone on the team was overjoyed, especially director Jack, who was beaming and felt all his hard work had paid off.

 

The two characters slowly kiss, accompanied by romantic music designed by Rome. The lighting transforms into warm rose tones to match the scene. However, a projector light suddenly shone on the actor.

 

"Hey..." Timmy exclaimed at the wrong cue, then was stunned a second time. Upon seeing what clip the projector was showing, depicting Arnold kissing Dean on stage as the actors, the screen then showed the same clip of the two finishing up. However, they weren't wearing their character costumes, and the backdrop wasn't Romeo's bedroom, but the entrance to the bungalow, the same place where the whole group had recently gone on an outing.

 

Arnold was the first to notice something was wrong. He quickly nudged Dean to snap him back to reality. Both of them were so shocked that they completely forgot about their performance. Before Dean could react, he turned to look at Jack on stage. The young director was watching a clip with his arms crossed, his face expressionless and difficult to read.

 

Rome, who was controlling the sound system nearby, exclaimed in surprise, swearing… He deleted the clip himself!

"Shut it down now! Who's in the control room!" Timmy jumped from his seat, shouting towards the second-floor balcony of the theatre where the projector was coming from. "I told you to shut it down!"

 

"Nobody's up there, sir! We haven't set up the system yet!" shouted one of the junior team members from the side of the stage. When the audience during the preview realised this wasn't part of the performance, they panicked. Some pulled out their cell phones to film the video being projected onto the actors, whispering and gossiping. The teachers shook their heads, waved goodbye, and stormed out of the theatre in frustration.

 

The magic of the play Romeo & Romeo, which once captivated audiences, has faded, replaced by chaos that is about to unleash a major series of events.

 

"I asked who!"

"

"I'm giving you all a chance to accept it," Timmy yelled at the crew, and all the actors exclaimed, "Who did it?!"

 

Almost a hundred people from the production team were gathered inside the theatre, but all they could hear was the sound of the air conditioners and their own breathing. The crew exchanged glances as if searching for a culprit, but no one dared to speak a word.

 

"There are no CCTV cameras in the control room," Rome, who had volunteered to check the scene earlier, ran back to report in the theatre. "There's only the troupe's computer that's being used to access the footage."

 

"Leave the clip behind."

 

Timmy slapped his forehead loudly, his voice trembling with nervousness. Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense, Dean spoke up to break the tension.

 

"It's okay, everyone. Think of it as a technical error. Things will get better on the day."

 

"Be careful."

 

"How could you say that, Dean?" Jack blurted out the first thing after the silence.

It's been a long time since that incident happened. "How could you do that?"

 

"I just don't want everyone to..."

"I mean, how could you kiss Arnold?!" Jack yelled, his voice booming, making Dean jump, and his face turned pale. He knew the other man had a hot temper, but he had never seen Jack this furious before.

 

"I didn't kiss Arnold."

"Jack..."

 

"Shut up!" The director pointed at another actor who had walked over to try to defend them.

 

"No kissing? Then what was that clip? Was it AI?! Tell me it's not real!"

 

Dean remained silent, trying to find a plausible excuse, but he found that the truth is the most correct answer.

 

"It's a real clip."

"There it is!"

 

"But I didn't kiss Arnold that night," Dean tried his best to explain.

"We almost kissed, that's all."

 

"Almost?! That's not 'almost,' Dean. You two practically kissed!"

Of course. Do you think I'm stupid?"

 

"Then can you listen to my explanation first? How can I make you believe what I'm saying?"

 

"Sometimes!"

 

"Believe? Believe what? Someone like you, who likes to keep secrets, and then it's always me who finds out later, just like before?!" The Prince of Sin was cornered. Those words left Dean speechless because it was something he had done to hurt Jack in the past, leading to their breakup. Jack chuckled, feeling sorry for himself.

 

"I wanted to give you another chance, but look what you did. Do you understand now why we can't go back to how things used to be?

 

"Jack."

 

"Luckily, it hasn't started yet. At least I won't get hurt like last time."

 

"Jack!" Dean was about to follow the other man, who had turned his back and was walking away, but Timmy stopped him. They came to hold him back because they knew it was pointless.

 

"Let it go for now. There are a lot of things to deal with today."

 

The Prince of Merchants' face was covered in tears. He tried to look around for the face of the person who would understand him best, who was among the crowd in the theatre, before he saw a figure standing not far away, watching him."

 

"You have to help me, Tua," Dean grabbed his best friend's arm. "What are we going to do? Make sure Jack understands."

 

Tua remained unnervingly still. The young stylist shook his arm away as if utterly disgusted by the person in front of him. Dean was shocked to see his dearest friend displaying such a cold demeanour, something he had never experienced before.

 

"You should sleep somewhere else tonight. I'll leave your things outside the house."

 

"Tua..."

"Tua," Arnold tried to approach to explain, but the other man refused.

 

"Both of you..." Tua glared at his former lover, "Don't bother me anymore."

 

"You kicked me out of the house, so where am I going to sleep?"

 

"It wouldn't be difficult for you. Someone like you can get whatever they want. It's always the same, isn't it? There'll be a place for you to sleep eventually."

 

The sarcastic words pierced his heart, causing him pain he had never experienced before. He watched his Tua roll away from the theatre with a broken heart, while Arnold, refusing to give up, ran after him, still hoping to explain. The others gradually dispersed, leaving the Prince of Mercy, dressed as Romeo, alone and weeping in the empty, cold theatre.

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Rome's assumption was simple: who hated Dean the most, if not Raffy, who had previously exposed Dean as a male escort? And today, Raffy had disappeared from school and stopped attending, so he became Rome's suspect. By implication, Rome had expected to see Raffy at the Pink Pony Club. Lately, he'd been coming to see him on days when Rome was feeling down, and today was no different. When Rome arrived and saw Raffy sitting alone at the bar, he wasted no time and immediately went over to start a conversation.

 

"Was this your doing?"

 

Raffy is watching a video clip filmed inside the theatre, and it's now being shared everywhere. Neither on the faculty's Discord nor on other social media platforms did he express any emotion about it. He simply scrolled through it with a blank expression, making it difficult to guess what he was thinking. The celebrity's child just laughed.

 

"How could I? You're the one who deleted the video from my phone, or did you forget?"

 

Rome seemed to have just realised this, but he still wasn't convinced by the other person.

 

"You haven't saved the files anywhere else, have you?"

 

"Rome, if I were going to do it, I wouldn't use that method. It's so old-fashioned," he showed the other person the video clip on his phone. "But anyway, nobody would believe me. Today, about a dozen people called me, asking if I did it."

 

"But it's not surprising that people would think that, is it? You didn't come to school today. Besides, everyone knows that you and Dean have always had problems."

 

"This clip was filmed from a different angle than where we stood were Rome. Open your eyes and look," Raffy said, handing the screen to the other person to analyse. "You were with me that night, you know."

 

Rome had never suspected anything before. Upon closer inspection of the video clip, he realised that Raffy was right; the clip projected onto the screen was from a different angle than the one they were in that day.

 

"Xie... you're right."

 

"No one would believe me if I said I didn't do it. Just being born is probably enough of a crime. Everyone is jealous of him."

 

"Sorry."

"Whatever."

 

"Who the hell did it?" Rome still couldn't help but wonder.

 

"It looks like it won't be just the two of us that night," Raffy commented.

 

Just a quick remark before he picked up his beer and continued drinking. Raffy's phone rang. His eyes widened when he saw it was Jack's name. Even Rome, who glanced at it, froze. The DJ wondered if the other person would answer. Finally, Raffy turned the screen face down, letting the phone continue to vibrate, ignoring it.

 

"You're not accepting it?"

 

"No," Raffy said, "Jack probably has a lot on his mind tonight. Let him stay. It's better to be alone."

 

Rome secretly smiled until Raffy raised an eyebrow in a questioning and slightly irritated manner.

 

"Are you going to play? I've been waiting to hear what you have to say, you know?"