I look pretty good for a dead bitch.
in all seriousness, i’ve had this in my drafts since like……a million years ago and i’ve been working on it for just as long teehee…i teased it months ago but completely lost motivation to do it which i’ve only recently gained once more so…here it is! the athlete au where casey is an actor and bailey is a cheerleader….enjoyyyyyy
warnings: light language? maybe?
summary: ajay’s rehearsal gets interrupted. how rude.
tagging: @anotherbeingsworld @mvalentine @theeccentricbibliophile @rulesofthebeneath @missmadwoman
“Casey and Rory, take it from the top of the cauldron scene, please.” Ajay looked up from his trusty clipboard at the three actors onstage. “And remember, Rory, you run across the stage, but not so fast that you roll an ankle like last time.” Casey held a hand over his snicker as he took his place down stage, throwing himself into the scene as soon as his director called action. He was talented, and everyone in the auditorium knew it as they watched him go toe to toe with the witch, perfectly played by Danielle. Ajay sat next to Erin as they watched from the creaky seats, writing down little notes in his blocking notebook and whispering to himself.
“You’re going to make yourself go crazy over this show,” she murmured, biting off a piece of the Twizzler strand in her hand.
“If that’s what it takes.” He ran a finger through the different notes he had spent hours perfecting, eager to make this the best show he’d ever put on. This scene was about to be the first one they could get through without a single pause or mistake, but it was interrupted by the loud clanging of the auditorium door as it opened and closed. Mr. Olson was backstage helping with props and everyone had already been accounted for at the beginning of rehearsal, so Ajay stood angrily and turned back towards the intrusion.
“Who in the hell is interrupting my rehearsal?” He angrily motioned to Skye in the box for her to turn the lights up, revealing a small girl with a tight ponytail that swung as she bounced down the aisle. The movement of her hair matched her short cheer skirt, fabric the same obnoxious ketchup and mustard as the tight cropped shirt that revealed her belly button just above the waistband of her bottoms. On stage, Casey paled and jumped down, abandoning his script on the floor in favor of running to where Ajay looked ready to tear this girl apart.
“Bailey! I told you to wait outside the doors and text me!” he scolded, taking the brown bag from her hands and tossing it to where his backpack was placed on one of the chairs. Ajay looked between the two, trying to determine the relationship between the slightly scrawny Casey and the toned Bailey.
“Who is this? Your girlfriend?” he asked, looking to Casey and blinking when the actor let out a loud laugh. Bailey lightly tapped Ajay’s shoulder, causing him to jump and whip around to face her.
“I’m Bailey, Casey’s twin. I’m sorry for interrupting your rehearsal, it’s just that my brother forgot his dinner since he’ll be staying so late tonight.” She cocked her head and nodded, making Ajay’s heart beat just that much faster in his chest. He realized that she was looking at him still, expecting him to respond.
“I…It’s fine, just don’t let it happen again. I won’t have you getting in the way of rehearsals.” He expected her polite smile to falter at least a little bit, but it only grew wider.
“No problem! I’ll make sure Casey doesn’t forget anything next time, too. He’d forget his head if it wasn’t on his shoulders,” she joked, laughing a little to herself. “And if he didn’t have me, of course.” She shrugged her shoulders in a ‘well, what can you do?’ expression and gave a small wave to her brother before turning around and marching out of the auditorium, closing the door quietly on her way out. Ajay continued to stare after her even as Casey began to profusely apologize on his sister’s behalf and resumed his place on the stage. Only when Erin pulled his arm to take him back to his seat did Ajay finally return to the present, still unable to stop thinking about the cheerleader who made his heart beat faster than it ever had.
“Mia, how can I help you?” Ajay gave a polite smile as the small yet sturdy cheerleader and costume designer walked up to him, a worried expression on her face.
“Ajay, I know that you really need me in rehearsal, it’s just…” She fidgeted with her fingers and looked down at the floor. “We have a game today and I need to be at practice.” Erin was sitting next to him, reading her lines, but she briefly stopped to see how he would respond. She had her sneaking suspicions since yesterday’s rehearsal got interrupted and Ajay seemed to lose his head, but she needed more evidence.
At the mention of the game, Ajay immediately thought of Bailey, short skirt swishing around her thighs as she clapped and yelled, lights of the field lighting up her smile before she looked at him and yelled–
“Ajay?” He snapped his eyes up at Mia and blinked.
“I, uh, sorry. Yeah, it’s fine, we’ll find a way to get you caught up later. Good luck at the game,” he said, waving her off and missing the confused look she sent him.
“Uh, yeah, thank you! I hope we’ll see you there!”
“Oh, I usually don’t–” Another image of Bailey with pom-poms popped into his head, making him stop and blush. Erin leaned forward in her seat, easily catching how distracted he was. “Actually…I might stop by.” Mia’s eyes widened and Erin’s mouth fell open.
“Wow, um…That’s great! I’ll see you later, then!” She gave a small wave to him and Erin before running out, closing the door quietly behind her.
“What the hell, Ajay?” Erin roughly pushed his shoulder, making him stutter.
“What, what?” Rubbing the spot where she hit him, he furrowed his brows and fixed his glasses with his other hand, still distracted.
“When have you ever shown any interest in sports, especially high school football?” Erin gave him a smug, knowing smile. “It’s because of Casey’s sister, isn’t it?”
“His si–? I–Absolutely not!” Ajay exclaimed, unable to get a full sentence out as his blush came back full force. “My impression of her is not a very good one and personally, it is absolutely preposterous to believe that I would ever entertain the thought or idea of–”
“Yeah, you’re in love with her.” Erin laughed and sat back in her seat, holding up her script and making a few marks on the pages. “Look, man, I’m not judging you or anything. I’m just telling you to own up to it.”
“There’s nothing to own up to, Erin. Focus on the play.” He was staring straight ahead, face neutral. She knew better, though, and figured that he was having his own personal dilemma about his feelings.
“Fine. Think about it, though.” She picked at her nails, intending to push his buttons as much as possible. “I’d freak out too if I saw a girl that hot in that nice little skirt with that sweet smile and those strong l–”
“Alright, we’re going to work on the peasant and the witch scene!” Ajay called, effectively cutting her off and standing from his seat. He sent a pointed look her way before finally walking off to lay down blocking.
Yup, she thought, smiling to herself. Young love. How… Her gaze inherently found Casey, who was sipping his water bottle but stopped to wave at her. …sweet.
