Keeping Secrets: Baljeet X Buford

Chapter 6

They were already late, but Baljeet and Phineas had saved them seats in the front, so they awkwardly made their way over as other students snickered and the teachers stared disapprovingly. Buford collapsed into the seat next to Baljeet gratefully, who gave him one of his 'where-have-you-been?' looks. This happened almost every time they had assemblies, and it reminded him of before the whole mission thing. It was almost comforting.

'Quiet down!' his English teacher, Mr Davidson, was standing on the stage, wearing his customary glare. After a brief introduction, he launched right into calling out each part for the play. 'As you know, its Cinderella,' the man paused and glanced down at the list held in his hand. His lips twitched slightly when he read them, but an instant later and he was frowning again.

'For Prince Charming we have...' here he looked up and the tiny smirk was back. 'Baljeet Rai.'

There were a few giggles and catcalls, and Buford patted his boyfriend's hand, snickering quietly. Baljeet's eyes were wide, and he was muttering under his breath, 'Oh goodness, how will I fit this in with my studies?'

'For Cinderella,' Mr Davidson coughed into his hand. 'Ah, Buford Van Stomm.'

The entire hall erupted into laughter, and even Baljeet was giggling at him. Buford frowned, staring at the piece of paper that Mr Davidson held. He was Cinderella and Baljeet was Prince Charming. That was a little.. Odd. But maybe it was just a coincidence.

'For the Fairy Godmother we have Isabella Garcia-Shapiro,' the man was now just reading the names off, no longer pausing to let the students react. 'For the Evil Stepmother we have Chris Fraser. The Ugly Stepsisters are Phineas and Ferb Flynn-Fletcher...'

Buford stopped listening. It was no longer a simple coincidence. He turned in his seat, ignoring the talking and laughing around him, scanning the crowd in the hall for a certain face. He saw Chris near the back, and their eyes met. The blond boy winked lazily, smirking at Buford's scowl. Chris glanced down, breaking eye contact, and a moment later Buford felt a buzzing in his pocket. He read Chris' text silently. Meet u in E corridor after.

Once all the roles had been called out, they were let go for second period. Buford, Phineas, and Ferb all walked out together, as they had the same class. The brothers were talking quietly about the rehearsals coming up. 'I, uhm,' Buford's mind was blank. 'I can't go with you to class. I have to...'

'Go to the loo?' Ferb asked with a raised brow.

'That's the one!' Buford clicked his fingers, nodded to the brothers and hurried off, towards E corridor. Once there, he waited impatiently against the wall beside a classroom door, scanning the deserted corridor. He saw a flash of blond and immediately snarled loudly, 'What the hell are you playing at, Fraser?'

Chris shoved his hands in his jean pockets, giving a half-assed shrug. He wasn't even looking at Buford, which only served to piss the brunet off more. 'Just having some fun.'

'Did you rig it?' he asked harshly, watching as Chris pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and lit it. Chris blew smoke in his face, and Buford sneered, waving it away.

'Fuck yeah, I did,' Chris snickered. 'You should have seen your face.'

'What the hell is with Phineas and Ferb as the step-sisters?' Buford continued to wave smoke away from his face as the other bully took more drags.

'Oh come on, it'll be hilarious. You have to admit, those two have some chemistry,' here Buford bit back a snicker at how close Chris was coming to the truth. 'I've seen them in plays before. They were pretty good together. Plus, them in drag?'

'You do realize you'll be in drag too?' he asked, and Chris shrugged in response. 'And I hope you also realize that this whole thing is a bit too coincidental.'