"Hey Curly," you said, standing in the doorway of Paul's dressing room.
Your words startled Paul, who looked up. "I thought you were Ace for a second there."
You smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I think he's rubbing off of me."
Paul chuckled before zipping up one of his platform boots. "Understandable."
Still smiling, you sat down in a chair, watching him get ready for the concert. He was almost finished. "Paul?"
"Yes, darling?"
A shiver went down your spine. Even though you weren't dating, Paul would sometimes give you a nickname, and you loved it whenever he did. They always had an effect on you, too. That being said, you had forgotten what you were about to say. "Never mind."
"Hmm." He adjusted his choker, then walked toward you. His eyes met yours for a quick second before he took a hold of your hands, pulling you up from the chair.
His actions made you both surprised and confused. You looked at him, furrowing your brow. "Paul?"
"Mmm-hmm." He rested a hand on your waist and holding your right hand with his other. This made you understood his actions and so you placed your other hand on his shoulder.
But you were still confused. "Paul, you couldn't possibly--"
"Shhh." He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.
A hush fell in the room. For awhile the two of you slow danced, enjoying your time together. A few times Paul would spin you around before pulling you to him again, making you smile each time.
"I like this," you said softly.
"Me, too." He kissed your nose.
Eventually the slow dance turned into nothing but hugging, though you were still swaying. You held each other close, enjoying the moment alone together.
There were voices talking outside the room but you paid no attention to them. One belonged to Ace, who said something about the concert indistinctly. You didn't know what he said.
"Paul?" you asked, resting your head against his shoulder.
"Mmm."
"What is this?"
"What?"
You paused for a minute, then spoke. "What is this? Like, why are we doing this?"
Silence.
"I just thought it would be nice to dance," he said softly. "With you."
Your face grew hot.
With you.
Did you hear him correctly? Did he actually say that?
Yes. He did.
With you.
You lifted your head to look at him. His red lips turned into a smile.
There was something in his eyes, though. Admiration? Love? You couldn't tell. Maybe it was both. However, you were too busy thinking about what he had said. It was the way he said it, too, which led you to thinking.
Did he like you in the same way you liked him? There was a possibility. But just because he said that didn't mean he did. He might've just wanted to dance with you.
But then you remembered his nicknames for you and the kisses he would give you. What did those mean? They had to mean something, right? He didn't do those without a reason, did he?
You wanted to find out. But how?
Before you could attempt to speak, there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice. "Paul, are you ready? It's almost time."
Gene.
"Already?" Paul asked. "I thought we had a lot of time left."
"We don't. Only a few minutes."
"Okay, well, I'll be out in a minute."
"All right." Gene's footsteps faded away.
Paul sighed, looking at you. "Well it looks like I have to go."
"You should go, then," you said. "Don't worry. I'll be in the audience."
Your words made him smile, however, he didn't leave the room. Instead he continued to look at you before doing the unexpected.
He pressed his lips against yours. You returned the kiss, running your fingers through his messy hair. Later the kiss deepened, and Paul eventually pulled you closer to him.
The kiss lasted for a good long while, though you had to stop for air. More kisses followed afterwards, and both of you smiled between each one.
"Okay, I really have to go," Paul whispered.
"Just one more," you told him.
He nodded, and then the two of you kissed again. And again.
"Y/N!"
"Paul!"
A chuckle came from him. "We should really go."
"Let's go, then," you said with a grin.
He smiled, taking your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours. "Let's go."