geto suguru x reader | college au [18+]
offscript ch.1 be my lead
⊱ Pairing. college au - volleyball player! geto x cinematography major! reader (f)
⊱ summary - In the chaotic world of college life, you should have expected your drama production to turn south as fast as it did. When your lead actor drops out just weeks before the play, you’re left scrambling to salvage the show that means everything to you. Enter Geto Suguru—talented, charming, and the last person you’d expect to help. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and you find yourself convincing him to step into the spotlight.
⊱ warnings/tags - 18+, fluff, angst, smut, fem reader, romance, unrequited love, pining, yearning, one-sided, slow burn, friends to lovers, acting, college au, alcohol/drugs, injury, jealousy, Geto is bad at feelings, oblivious, love triangles, messy, heartwarming
⊱ status - ongoing
⊱ chapters - 1/x
⊱ word count - 4.6k
"I see the way you look at me, I know when you are lying everytime you open your mouth." Juno sucked in a sharp breath, a vein attempt at not giving the man before her the satisfaction of watching her break down.
Kazuki could only think to watch her in guilt. Had her confrontation come as a surprise, no, but he hadn't expected her to say it all here, right to his face, in front of everyone to see.
He takes a step forward, she takes a grounding breath in. His own mind, a place where he should have the most control, blanks in the one moment he needed it most.
"Do you love me?" He finds himself whispering.
Juno fights every nerve in her body to come off as unwavering, but he can see how badly she wanted to run away. "Do you love me?" She mimics. And he's taken aback. Stuck for words. Yet the answer already flickered across his eyes, now she only waits to see if he has the guts to say it to her face.
She stiffens when he takes her cheek and keeps her locked on him, but the final line that's meant to conclude this song and dance, those three, irrational words everybody either overuses or undervalues doesn't come and you're left confused from where you sit, behind your table. Watching as his confession lays empty in the air when he doesn't deliver the line.
The girl who plays his lover waits just as concerned and even more embarrassed than anything else, whispering the line to him as if he had really forgotten, chuckling and glancing at what she knows to be everybody an audience watching in confusion, and yet, for someone so involved in what everyone is thinking of her, she doesn't seem to realize how alarmingly angry her very lover looks at her now.
You could tell, you think everyone could, his eyes no longer bore weight to the scripts words, and he veered off into the very opposite direction.
"Fuck you."
The hall audibly gasps in a chorus, nevermind he had a mini microphone attached to his cheek.
The next second the lecturer who was supervising is up in arms. He questions you and your friend Mai's integrity while she looks at the script hurriedly to show him that it was not planned, and of course it wasn't. That was him. All him. And you had no fucking idea why.
Cecilia, the actress, arguably takes the biggest brunt of the hit, barely keeping what you assume to be her real tears from streaming down her face as she watches Jean, your lead male actor and her long-term boyfriend, drop the script to the floor, jump off the stage and grab his bag, beelining it straight for the doors.
"What the hell is his problem?" Your friend Mai glares at him when he rushes past the table then she rounds it to do some damage control and you? Well, you wish you could say you had just an inkling of moral to check up on Cecilia, but the only realization managing to bypass your conscious is the fact that your only male lead is speeding towards the exit door.
"Wait!" You try to catch up to him, but he just starts walking faster, ignoring you.
You run to his side and manage to grip his arm to keep him from leaving. "Jean! just wait. Talk to me, what the hell happened?" You attempt to find some kind of answer in his eyes, but now that you were in front of him, the sun from outside beaming down the rows of seats, you could just make out the tears that were brimming along the rim and I don't know, there's just something about men crying that gets you feeling like you're about to cry yourself.
"She cheated." He suddenly says, as if it were physically hurting him to pull those words out of his throat.
your eyes widen, and it's the first time you stop thinking about your play. "she...she what?"
"She fucking cheated," He says again, laughing pitifully at himself as he now aggressively wipes his palms against his cheek over and over to the point where it was turning pink. "And you wanna know with who?"
You fumble a couple filler words, expecting him to be rhetorical, but no, he wanted an actual answer. "C'mon, guess." he says patronizingly, "There's only a few people worth fucking over a 4 year relationship for."
You flinch at his tone, "I...I don't know-"
"It was Geto. Geto fucking... I mean what the hell am I supposed to do when she cheats on me with a guy like that?"
He turns his head the second his voice starts to crack so you wouldn't notice, but the damage was done, you could hear him sniffling and it made your heart crack into two uneven pieces.
"Shit...I'm..." You straighten up, standing there awkwardly now as he tries to stop himself from crying in front of you. The name he mentions is not foreign to you. Probably not foreign to anybody, really.
Geto Suguru. An amazing athlete, the campuses star setter. Of course you can't win against a guy like that when you're already so beaten down. Which makes your comfort options pretty limited in the moment.
"...Jean, I'm so sorry."
"It doesn't matter." He shakes your arm off that you didn't even realize was still holding onto him, then he turns, half ready to leave you with a problem bigger than you've possibly ever experienced. "I'm sorry, but I can't be in this play anymore."
As someone who does theatre work as her major, emotions were something you learned to pick up on pretty easily and Jeans... well Jeans just left you feeling horribly raw. You take a step back and nod sympathetically.
"I understand."
Then he leaves. Without another word. Slamming the doors against the wall and leaving it swinging in his wake. When he's out of sight, your mind starts to pick up on all the commotion that's still happening behind you. Cecilia is a crying mess on top of the stage, and everybody is out of their positions trying to comfort her or get the tea on what really happened.
"Hey, what did he tell you?" Your friend Mai finally jogs over, concern written all over her face. You link your hands behind your neck and sigh.
"We just lost our lead."
---
you cancel the rest of the session. Having no lead not only made it difficult to continue, but now you stand packing your bag away with your precious script and the imminent reality of having your work crushed under a piling mound of shit.
Most people have already left except for Mai whoe helping you close up, but someone walks up to you and you could feel yourself teetering the edge of breaking down.
"I don't know when the next rehearsal will be."
"It's me." Your hands freeze mid stuffing your jacket inside to look up and find Cecilia standing before you. Her eyes are all red and puffy, faded lines of mascara running down her cheeks. You'd think she was the one that got cheated on.
"Do you want to sit?" You offer her a chair, lifting it up, but she shakes her head.
"I just-" she takes a deep breath, ringing her hands together nervously. "I just wanted to apologize to you. Formally. I really messed up and-" out of nowhere she starts bursting into tears again and it took you a few seconds to properly register it before you quickly walked around your table to offer her a consoling hand.
"Its okay cece, you really don't have to explain."
"But aren't you angry with me?" She tries to rid herself of the tears, but they won't stop spilling. You try to sooth her with a gentle hand to her back then stretch over the table to your tote bag and grab the mini tissue packet for her. She takes it gingerly then really goes at it.
"I fucked up so bad (y/n), like royally fucked up, and now I ruined your play. I know you worked so hard on it-"
"Its fine cece." You squeeze her shoulders and bend down a little to look into her eyes. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Do you think I don't have a replacement?"
she sniffles, lifting her head up like some kicked down puppy. "I thought you said you didn't prepare for one?..."
you give her a reassuring smile with an added wink for extra confidence. "Ah, have a little more faith in me, yeah? This is the biggest show of my life, of course I prepared for one."
That seems to calm her down a little bit because she's not crying anymore, but still she wipes her eyes. Spreading her dried up mascara bits even more. "If I can do anything to help, anything at all, please just let me know."
You narrow your eyes at her, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and wiping off the mascara from the corner of her eyes. As much as you despised cheaters, you also knew that there's always two sides to a story. Plus, you'd hate for her to quit too just because you couldn't find it in you to be a little sympathetic. "You should just go home and rest. I'll call you when rehearsal starts up again."
She suddenly comes in for a tight hug and although you work with her, you don’t really know her personally, so you awkwardly return it with a few pats on her back, then you think she probably really needs it so you squeeze her plenty instead. She thanks you and turns to leave, but stops mid-step. As if debating if she should say something else.
"um, also...did he... did he say anything to you when you stopped him?" She can't look into your eyes when she asks. You think it's probably out of guilt, who really knows, but there's this ugly feeling in your chest that makes you think that Jean was probably telling you the truth. You don't want to get into the middle of anything, though, so you shake your head.
"Just that you guys had some problems."
She nods with a forced smile then leaves the empty hall.
---
"Cheated?!" Mai scoffs beside you as you and her walk along the colonnade outside campus, a disgusted expression on her usually peppy face. "And I consoled her! What a witch, you really never know what kind of people you hang around with. And even Geto! I didn't think he was that kinda guy, shame on him for making a move on a taken woman!"
You weren't listening to much of what she said since leaving the deserted hall. After de-escalating the situation and convincing your lecturer that it was not planned, you were promptly reminded by him that you either find a new lead and be ready for the date you had scheduled, or prepare for a failing grade and the disappointment of flunking the golden opportunity you had.
"So what're you going to do?" Mai sighs looking over at you, then frowns when she sees how despondent you looked, like the last kitten in a litter box, poking at your ice cream in a cup that you bought from some fundraising group in the university.
Despite having told Cece that you had a replacement for Jeans' role, you didn't actually have one. You can't even remember why you didn't prepare for that.
"do you think I could bribe Mr Sayako into giving me an extension?" You sigh and she shakes her head.
"Wouldn't work hun, this was already your extension, remember?"
"But he saw what happened up there. How could I have planned for that?"
"I think you know the answer to that, too."
You groan again, taking a mouthful of your sugary treat and spoke through it. "I'm such an idiot, how could I have not prepared for a freaking substitute? A substitute! I'm genuinely appalled at myself."
Mai cuts in. "Okay, okay, yes, it is a major set back, but let's look at it this way right, maybe time apart will help Jean come back to his senses, he needs a passing grade too. There's always a solution if you think hard enough-"
"mm," You take the spoon out of your mouth so you could talk, responding as if you weren't listening to a word she said. "Last week I made those changes to that scene and distinctly recall myself saying how I'm going to be the next Hayao Miyazaki. Those exact, fucking, words, you know, I can't even believe the universe would be so cruel to just one person."
Mai watches you worriedly, then picked off a stray piece of lint she noticed on your jersey. "Honey, I think you need to touch some grass."
"Yeah, I probably do, I must reek of desperation and old ramen." You juggle your admissions envelope and ice cream in one hand while you fish in your back pocket for your phone, already looking for an Uber nearby so you can wallow in your bed with that entire bottle of wine you had planned on popping for your opening night, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen.
Mai continues to think in her own little head of potential solutions while you were scowling at all the expensive prices for a ride when suddenly she gasps and takes your shoulder.
"I have a crazy idea." She looked ahead as if she could physically see the plan manifesting before her eyes. She's always had a habit of being pretty intriguing, so you wait and listen, but you don't respond. "Why don't you ask Geto to be your lead?"
You deadpan. Meh, sometimes she's just way off.
"I'm gonna let you stew with that idea for a couple of seconds. Really let it boil over." You look back at your phone.
But it seemed the more seconds that went by, the more she became convinced that she actually thought of something brilliant.
"Nope, I thought about it, now I like it even more. Did you know he did drama in high school?"
"No..."
"He was fucking fantastic. My teacher hated him."
"In high school?" You repeat like she didn't catch what was wrong with that.
"yeah!"
"Like informal and for marks?"
"Yeah? Why do I feel like you're being condescending."
you look at her funnily. "oh, is that the word?" you stuff your phone back into your pocket. "You can't possibly think because he was good in a class play he'd be good to act in front of an entire audience, on a stage, in make up and costume?"
"You're not listening to me!" She whines and shakes your shoulders. Her excessive persistence makes you groan, flailing your one unoccupied arm at her to push her away.
"he was irritatingly great! Like professional great! Every acting club begged for him to join, even I begged him once but he said no cause he was doing volleyball or whatever-" she stops talking when a sports committee student abruptly comes between you both and shoves a flyer into her hands, while you decided to continue to walk to avoid the said flyer and possibly Mai's conversation. "Sure, thanks," she absent-mindedly answers her then catches up to you.
"seriously, he was really good. I can guarantee you he would be much better than any random person you find now. With all the good actors gone he's your best shot."
You scoff, taking a spoon out of your ice cream again. "best shot..." you mumble pitifully. "you know what, fine, lets say he actually is as good as you say he is, what makes you think I can convince him? If volleyball was his lame excuse back then, now he has it locked and loaded and auto aimed to my head."
You give her a couple seconds so that the gears could turn, but the disappointment never hits, and her expression is unyielding, "You can be very persuasive." Is her counterargument.
You raise a brow at her then she gives you one of her meanest, half-assed glares. "Why are you being so difficult right now?" She whines and even stomps her foot a little.
"Because Mai, I am not in the mood to make a fool out of myself with somebody I don't even know, not to mention, incase you forgot, he is literally the reason my first lead quit on me!"
"and some people fuck their CEO to get a promotion!"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
She rolls her eyes impatiently.
"You have been trying to get picked up on your writing for years now haven't you? Are you seriously willing to just throw that all away just so you can say a couple of years down the line that you maintained your morals?" She waits for your answer genuinely concerned and it makes you frown.
"I guess not..."
"Then you can't be thinking about everybody else's feelings (y/n). You do what you gotta do in this world. It's survival of the fittest. Someone else's drama shouldn't become your problem."
"But what if-"
"Zip it." She takes your ice cream and it makes you frown harder. "It's just one audition. I swear on my convertible you can pin the blame on me if shit hits the fan."
You press your lips into a tight line and narrow your eyes at her. She does love that damned car...
Admittedly, a part of you was already convinced. What more do you have to lose realisitically. Maybe a bit of respect. But it's not like you're some icon.
Mai glances down at the flyer she forgot was in her hand then she gasps and starts to shove it in your face.
"You cannot tell me this isn't a sign!"
You shove her hand away with an irritated look then pull the flyer from her to read it. In clear-cut bold, it says:
Volleyball Team try-outs!
The gym will be closed for the next month in order to facilitate the try-outs and training of those interested to become new team members.
Trials will begin on the 27th of May and end on the 21st of June
Make the time and become a part of the Todai Volleyball team!
It was professionally designed, a team photo opaqued behind the font and Geto so easily noticeable amongst the other members.
This was a testiment to just how much the school adored their volleyball team, handing out these flyers to just about anybody that had a pair of hands, going off of the stack that was in that girls arms.
The date, however, was what interested you the most because it couldn't have been more perfect, giving Geto, if he had to agree, the perfect opportunity to help you out and not clash with his practices.
Mai had watched you read the whole thing giddily and then glanced past your head when she heard a little commotion then gasped loudly again. "ohmygod, girl our saviour is speaking to us right now!" She grips your arm and forces your attention to the right. You look around then feel your chest tighten when you see him in all his glory, Geto Suguru, a man of men, and a few other guys you recognize as a part of the team around him. Geez, things seem to be aligning a little too perfectly here...
They just walked out of the econ building and you can already notice the attention they were unconciously drawing.
Mai is suddenly pushing against your back fervently. "Now's your chance, c'mon! Let's go!"
"What?!" You look back at her like she's gone mental. "Now? You want me to go now?"
"When else?!"
"I didn't even prepare anything! Don't I only have one shot?!"
"Yes and this is it! You're the most persuasive when you don't overthink anything. Just ask him before you chicken out!"
She shoves you hard, and it's enough to get you to stumble and start walking his way anxiously, looking back at her enthusiastic smile as she gives you two thumbs up like a mum sending her child off to school.
You groan poorly. There's a reason you became a writer and not an actor. You hated talking to people, even if Mai says you're good at it.
Life has a funny way of throwing out curve balls you think as you make your way. Just now you had the perfect cast, the perfect script, even the perfect date, lucky number 27. And now you're going to beg and grovel to someone you've never even spoken to before?
If by some miracle he's actually as good as Mai says he is then you wouldn't mind the headache. But that was one big miracle and you don't think you've done enough good deeds to warrant that.
You adjust your navy blue headband to neaten out the baby strands of hair sticking out. The rowdiness of the group with their deep, masculine laughter forcing a gulp of spit down your throat. You neatened your buttoned up white shirt, unrolled your black jersey sleeves, and lifted your pants up with the hoops of the waistband.
"god... here we go," you mutter. "excuse me!" you call loud enough to catch the attention of just the right person who turns his head right as a guy beside him gave a solid slap on his back and exclaimed a this guys worse, dude before following the group further down the pavement, leaving you alone with Geto.
For some reason, it felt like time stood still when you were merely half a metre away from him. Only ever spoiled by his presence from deep within the packed stands of heavily anticipated volleyball games and never truly grasping just how tall he was, freakishly tall. With an effortless confidence and the kind of androgynous beauty one can only imagine.
But then reality kicks in and some random first year comes hurtling between the both of you on his skateboard, shouting out an apology at nearly pushing you right over had he not skidded along the rail beside you.
You were a second away from completely telling him off, holding your hair back from brushing over your face when you turned, but remembered that you couldn't come off as some tempermental brat right now, looking back at Geto with your best placid smile.
You hate to admit it, but just standing before him makes it so easy to imagine him as your lead, and with that mental image in mind, you'd reach profound disappointment if you didn't at least try to convince him.
“I don’t think you know me,” you say.
He looks a bit pensive at first, a light crease forming in his dark eyebrows, head tilted trying to recognize you, but it quickly disappears the same moment his eyes flicker to your hand that still holds your small admissions envelope that you got signed to book out the hall for your shows opening night.
“No, I don’t think I do.” He turns away from his retreating friends to give you his full attention, and it catches you so off guard. His voice not rushed or clipped, but passive in a way that scarily lets you want to drop your guard. A delicateness to him that you hadn’t anticipated.
“I’m (y/n),” you introduce yourself quickly as if you could forget your own name. He nods in acknowledgement. For some reason you feel like he'll never forget it, then introduces himself as if not everybody already knew who he was.
“Geto.”
You tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and exhale.
“So, listen... I know we've just met and this is kind of random. I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll just cut to the chase. I’m producing this show, and I’d really like for you to audition to be my lead—" Your words trail off as you notice his expression change. Like that was the last thing he expected you to say.
"A show?" He repeats.
You just nod. "Yeah...or like a play, whichever works..."
“Oh.” You hear the disinterest in his tone faster than he can cover it up with a polite smile, “I'm flattered, but I’ll have to decline. I’m really busy with volleyball practice—”
"I know you're busy," you cut him off, thankful that you had a brief prep with Mai to learn how that'd be his first excuse. "my play's opening night is June 27th, and I know your practices are on hold for now for the next month with the trials starting up."
He stares at you for a solid few seconds, almost like a deer caught in headlights and then he chuckles. Low and frugal.
"You really did your homework."
You give him a weak smile, shrugging. "If I'm going to ask you I think it's only safe measure to know my information, right? This wouldn't be just for me, either. This would be really good exposure for you too. I have pretty top end agencies attending the play and you never know. They may just be interested in what they see."
Daringly you once him over, but you don't think about how inappropriate that may be until after you've already checked him out. Luckily he doesn't seem like the type to get overly offended, still, you snap your eyes back up to his slightly amused ones.
He hums, crossing his arms and getting more comfortable on his feet. It takes everything in you to not glance at how nice his arms probably look across his chest.
"But I'm pursuing volleyball, what need would I have for acting agencies?"
"Well, they're not just looking for actors," You no longer feel this impending sense of rejection, rather the confidence in knowing what you're taking about coming out as easily as directions.
"they could use you for the sports magazine, publicize your skills, your credentials. It could easily bring nationwide attention for you to be on that, which I'm sure now that it's your final year, professional teams are most likely head hunting."
You feel a sense of pride when Geto’s demeanor shifts subtly from uninterested to genuinely intrigued. You’ve cast the line, and now you just need to reel him in.
He exhales, one hand finding his nape that enlargens his bicep hidden beneath his team jacket. You swallow involuntarily. “and how long is this again?”
"just one month. Give or take a few days."
"and you want me to audition?"
"Yeah, any day this week is cool but preferably as soon as possible."
He raises a brow and by the tilt of his head you're assuming he has something to say. "This sounds really important...you're only now looking for a lead?"
You flush in response to his comment, glancing away sheepishly at the students exiting the campus. Sharp as a knife this one...
"That's a... It's a really long story, but you don't need to worry about that, I have a complete team that's ready to go at a moments notice. I just need my lead."
He taps his finger against his bicep, nibbling on the inside of his cheek as if he's thinking about it and you think you might have actually convinced him, but then he shakes his head again and this time he's halfway turning around with a hand ready to say goodbye.
"Sorry, but I'm just not interested. Good luck with your search though." then he leaves, catching up with his friends. Your jaw literally drops. He asked all of those questions just to fucking say no?!
In his defense this was all impeccably last minute, but you couldn't care less about that as you feel your frustration begin to boil over, all the events of the day starting to overflow. Without thinking and with really nothing to lose, you yell:
"You owe me, you asshole!"
and he turns, so damn fast you're surprised he didn't get whiplash. His face is just screaming for you to repeat that and you did. Gladly. The idea that you're just using him as a punching bag well out of your rationality range.
"You think I don't know? sleeping around with girls that are already taken!?" Ah, you vaguely remember hearing Mai say something like that.
How strange though, you don't even know when it happened or how in the world he moved so fast but you're suddenly pushed back into campus with a very strong hand, dragged into a random empty lecture hall as if you weren't a fully grown adult yourself and then despite how much Geto tried to whisper, he echoed in the large room.
"What the fuck is your problem?" He demands. Sweet and approachable Geto no longer in sight, but now looming over you with a spiking displeasure.
Usually you'd be intimidated by a man as dominating as him but in this current moment, you could only glare and channel every nerve of frustration into the conversation.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" You press a finger into his hard chest and for a split second you see him look taken aback by just how angry you are. "Sleeping with someone that's already taken—do you have any idea how hard I worked, how long I slaved away at this show just to have it ruined because you couldn't keep it in your pants for someone that's available?!"
Geto’s eye twitches at the remark you've just made about him, and for a moment, you think he’s going to yell back or outright curse you out then leave. But instead, he takes a step back, runs a hand down his face and somehow calms himself down.
“Look,” he says, weirdly willing to engage. “I don’t know what you think you know, but whatever happened between me and... whoever, it’s not my fault your show is falling apart.”
You let out a bitter laugh, looking away and shaking your head. “Cecilia. And of course, it’s not your fault. It’s never the other person's fault, right? You just waltz into other people’s lives, do whatever the hell you want, and leave them and others to deal with the mess.”
Geto’s jaw tightens, you think he remembers now, and you find yourself swallowing for some odd reason. “I didn’t ask that girl to be unfaithful." he says.
"Oh how virtuous of you." You reply quick.
He doesn't appreciate the quip. "I didn't know she was before she threw herself onto me and I sure as hell didn’t ask to be dragged into this mess.”
“oh, my bad, you’re right. You didn’t ask for this so that just means all of the problems you had a hand in just fall away." You take a step closer, teetering the edge of blowing a fuse.
"I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but your actions have consequences you know. Whether you like it or not, you’re part of the reason why things went south. Why I don't have my lead anymore. You could at least try to be an adult about it and take some responsibility instead of just playing innocent.” Your phone starts buzzing in your back pocket and you take it out to see it's Mai texting you, but you quickly turn it off.
You don't see his expression soften slightly, the tension in his shoulders easing as he actually considers your words. “...you actually believe being in your play is going to make up for it?”
Your ears perk when you hear the change in his cadence, momentarily stuck for breath by it, then you look back at him, noticing how he seems to be considering you, “It’s a start,” your tone softens too, “I know it’s a long shot and you may not even like it, but it’s all I’ve got. I’ve worked too hard on this, and I’m not ready to give it all up when I'm so close to the end."
You watch his chest rise and fall with a deep breath then he turns his head to look away from you and instead at the empty seats in the lecture hall. Long, dark lashes flutter against the top of his cheeks every time he blinks. You hate the fact that you think about how unfairly attractive he is and how undeniably perfect he'd really be as your lead. With that kind of presence? You'd be golden.
After a long pause, he finally looks back at you, his expression unreadable. You have no idea what to expect from him.
“Fine,” he quietly says and your eyes widen. “I’ll audition. But that’s all I’m promising. If I don’t like it, I’m out.”
You can't control how shocked you look when he acquiesces. Honestly, you didn't expect anything out of this after calling him out the way you did and just started running your mouth to let off some steam, but maybe he really did feel bad. “s-seriously? Oh my god, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warns, the seriousness in his tone cutting through your relief. “Like I said, this doesn’t mean I’m committed. I’ll give it a shot, but if I’m not into it, that’s it.”
“I understand,” you quickly nod. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Geto takes a step back, leaning on the edge of the lecturers table with one palm holding his wrist. “So when should I come in to audition?”
"Uh—... " Your mind runs blank, you hadn't expected to come this far. You scramble for your phone to check the schedule you’d painstakingly put together, but not a single slot was available. "How's tomorrow afternoon?" You look at him.
Geto raises an eyebrow. “Afternoon works. What time are we talking?”
You tap on your phone screen with your painted nail, trying to appear confident despite the nerves. “How about 4pm?”
“Sounds good," he tilts his head and his eyes go smaller, almost like a predator stalking his prey. "but...only if you agree to one condition.”
"condition?”
"yes," a witty smile plays on his lips and it takes everything in you to pay attention to what he's saying and not run wild with all the new ideas you're suddenly having for your play. “I want an iced coffee," His shoulders raise as he shrugs. "It's the least you could do after nearly tarnishing my name out there."
You blink, momentarily taken aback by such an innocent request. “uh, yeah sure. I can do that. Is that all?"
He gives you a pointed look before he pushes off the desk and walks over to you. You feel yourself straighten by the approach. "That's all." He practically murmurs. "But I can ask for more if that doesn't seem fair."
"no no."
You get a bit overwhelmed by his unwavering eye contact so you look away into your tote bag. You swear he becomes just a little bit smug by it. "um, here’s the script." You pull out your personal script since it was the only one you had on hand. When Geto looks at the worn-out, slightly crumpled script covered in handwritten notes, annotations, and sticky tabs, his gaze softens, and he takes it tentatively from you.
“I know it looks like a mess, but it’s got all the notes and directions you’ll need. Just ignore the scribbles if they get in your way—most of it is just me trying to make sense of everything.” You adjust your bag strap sheepishly while Geto cards through the pages with his thumb.
"You're really passionate about this." He glances at you and you're not even paying attention to him anymore. Your eyes are trained on the script in his hands like it was your holy bible and it might as well have been.
"Hm, I've been working on it since the start of the semester. I'm hoping to get picked up with this bad boy." You look back at him, and you're suddenly giving off a much softer, easy-going vibe. He thought how strange it was that you saw no issue in handing over probably your most prized possession to a complete stranger. In your defense he's always been told that he's a pretty trustworthy person.
He sighs and then tucks the script to his side. "I’ll see you at the audition, then.”
You smile back at him, marginally happier than he is in that moment. "hm, see you then. And thanks again. Really."
he hums indifferently and walks past you to the door, involuntarily brushing his arm against yours where you could feel the cold sports fabric touch your skin, the tension in your chest finally starting to ease. Just as he reaches the exit, he pauses and glances back at you.
“And for the record,” he adds, his voice carrying easily across the empty room, “you’ve got guts. Not many people would call me out like that.”
Your heart stutters from the random admission and with that, he leaves, the door clicking shut behind him.
You stand there for a moment, still processing everything that just happened. Your heart is still racing, but it’s no longer from anger or frustration. It’s from a strange, tentative hope that maybe, just maybe, things might work out after all.
When you leave the class you're surprised to see Mai just a meter away, gnawing at her nails with the most horrified expression on her face. When she sees you she doesn't waste time to grab your arm and drag you out of the campus building. "I told you to convince him to audition, not fucking call him out, you idiot!"
You laugh at her, holding her hand that's on your forearm. "Do I have some good news for you."
✧You're all caught up!
