Your heart was beating so fast you could feel the thumps in your eardrums.
You heard someone call out your name but you didn't stop as you continued running.
Floods of people were coming your way and you kept bumping into them.
You were definitely gonna gave some bruises tomorrow but you couldn't think about it now.
It was 3:30 and you were supposed to be there 15 minutes ago.
If only Alice hadn't started vomiting words without a break you would have maybe remembered to look at a clock.
but she had, and you hadn't, and your legs and your very not-used-to-it lungs were damning you for it right about now.
You finally turned right at the end of the hallway and you thanked every existing being as you caught a glimpse of the theatre's doors.
Those laminated pea-green doors had never looked more beautiful as you finally reached them.
You ran through them so fast you almost fell, but you didn't, instead, you stabilized yourself and freezed at the entrance, your eyes shutting close as you braced yourself for the scolding inevitably coming your way.
You could already see Mr. Hanrl's wrinkles deepening as he squinted at you with those creepy black eyes, threatening to throw you out of the play if you arrived late one more time.
And you could already see yourself apologizing and walking head-down backstage while desperately trying not to laugh at his incredibly squeaky voice.
So it was a surprise when instead of "I can't believe you arrived late again" you heard another voice, a much deeper and warm one ask "what are you doing?"
Your eyes snatched open and they widened incredibly as you saw Tyler looking at you confusedly from the stage.
The room fell silent and you felt drowned by the absolute absence of sound.
God this was stupid.
He was still looking at you, an amused smile on his face.
"I" you couldn't help but laugh "I was waiting for Mr. Hanrl to yell at me" you smiled, as you gestured to what you now noticed empty seat, where he sat for every rehearsal.
"Wait why isn't he there?" you looked around, taking in the completely empty room "wait" you gasped incredulously "did I arrive early?"
He laughed softly, the sweet sound traveling through the distance between you straight to your ears.
"no" he smiled "not at all"
you frowned
"Rehearsal was canceled"
"oh" your eyes widened "but then-why are you here?"
he scratched his neck "I didn't get the message, and from the look of it " he gestured towards you "you didn't either"
You smiled "No, I definitely didn't"
silence again
"so" you cleared your throat "I guess I'll go then" your pressed your lips together in an awkward grimace "It was- It was nice seeing you"
"Oh" he said, almost disappointed "Y-yeah it was nice seeing you too"
You tried to examine his face when you heard his tone dropping, but you didn't gather that much information to actually come to any type of conclusion.
You waved hastily before turning around
"wait y/n"
you turned back around
"we could-" he paused a moment "we could rehearse together" he bit his lip "you know, since no one is here and- and we have the whole theatre at our disposal " he started speaking fast "and we're the main characters and have so many scenes together" he was rambling, and your chest warmed "I think it would be good, no?" he caught his breath.
You tried not to laugh. You didn't want him to think you were making fun of him, even if you sort of were.
"Yes, it's a good idea Tyler"
Oh how he loved when you said his name, it rolled off your tongue so easily, smooth like silk. He could listen to it forever.
"great" he said, as you walked up to the stage.
You were right in front of him "uhh" you hummed, rummaging through your bag "what scene should we do?" you said, finally finding the script.
"well, last time we didn't get to finish the dressing room one"
"Oh right" you smiled "that's a fun one "
"it is" he agreed, reciprocating.
"so we stopped just before you sang the last part of the song right?"
"right" he nodded, as you did the same
"so" he raised his eyebrows "I guess I'll start"
You laughed softly "yeah, that seems about right"
This was more awkward than you'd expected.
he took some steps away, glancing at you amusedly one last time before clearing his throat.
He started singing, and your mouth immediately turned upright.
His voice was so smooth and low when he sang, it could fill the whole room the moment he opened his mouth.
he was amazing, you had always thought it.
Since the first rehearsal, he stood out.
He was talented, and funny, and a great actor and- cute, god he was cute.
It was hard at first to pretend you weren't fascinated by him, and you would still catch yourself sometimes staring at him a bit too long to be acceptable, but you got better.
You could have a full conversation with him now, and as of lately you had been doing that a lot.
Before rehearsal, after rehearsal, yesterday when he saw you in the hallway, and the day before at lunch.
You had started to talk. A lot.
And you absolutely loved it, he was so funny that at times you had to cover his mouth to make him stop.
And he was clever, god he was clever.
And not like, I can do math clever, no, he actually was smart, real-life smart.
he knew what was going on around the world and knew how to engage in a conversation bout it, he knew about poetry, about books, and even if his favorite film was fight club (which normally would have been a huge red flag, if it wasn't for the fact he was the first man on earth to actually understand the meaning behind it) he still had great taste in them.
And so talking to him came easily, and you started to enjoy it more and more as time passed.
But now,
now it wasn't easy.
And you couldn't understand why.
It was never awkward between you two, it was everything but.
And as you started relieving all those encounters, all those times you had talked and talked and then talked some more, at times risking arriving late to class, you realized the common denominator.
You were never alone.
Other people were there, even if they weren't with you they were still present, they were in the hallway, in the canteen, on stage, there was always someone.
And now it was just you, and him, sole.
You didn't know why, I mean, it shouldn't have, but it did, it made sense.
Being alone meant having no way out, no easy excuse, being alone meant privacy, and privacy meant having possibilities, chances, chances to do the things you stopped yourself from thinking of, from dreaming of, because there was no point, in deluding yourself of something when you knew it wouldn't happen.
But it was hard, just knowing that those thoughts had been there at some point, it was hard pretending they hadn't.
He was still singing, you noticed, as you awakened, and also closer to you.
when had that happened?
You just hoped you didn't look like an immobilized zombie all this time.
he was smiling, like he was supposed to, and shit- you realized you were also meant to be doing the same.
Right, you were rehearsing.
Your expression changed, as you at least tried to get into the part.
You were Satine, and Satine definitely didn't get distracted by a guy with a pretty voice.
oh but she did.
God, you were so fucked.
He had walked up to right in front of you, and he put his arms on your waist as the song was about to end.
His touch was warm, even if it was just against the t-shirt you were wearing, it still felt like he was touching your raw skin, burning it with his hands.
You whimpered involuntarily, and hoped to god, or anyone listening that he hadn't heard.
The slight sparkle in his eyes made you think otherwise.
shit.
his mouth closed into the happiest of smiles,( because he was a good actor, not because he was actually that happy to be close to you) as the song ended.
You were inches apart, like you were supposed to be, like the script said, and your brain was buzzing and melting slowly and your heart was beating fast and you really fucking hated yourself.
just be normal. my god. It shouldn't be that hard.
He's just a boy.
A normal, stupid, hot, funny, and clever boy.
fuck
He was still silent and your cheeks reddened as you realized you were supposed to say your line.
"oh I can't believe it. I'm in love" you paused for dramatic effect, and also, maybe, just maybe to catch your very weak breath "I'm in love with a young, handsome, talented duke" you breathed out incredulously.
His eyes fell to your lips and you noticed how it also took him a moment to realize it was his turn.
"duke?" he frowned, confused
You laughed softly and his eyes glanced at your mouth again.
Was he doing it on purpose?
Was he that good of an actor?
He must have been.
"Not that the title is important, of course"
There was something in his eyes- you'd never seen him like this"I'm not a duke"
Your mind was completely somewhere else, but you could still somehow remember the lines "not a duke?" you said unconvincingly, and you felt like he wasn't there anymore, Tyler was there physically, but he wasn't the one holding you, talking to you.
He stepped even closer to you, your two bodies now so close you could feel him, his warmth, his scent, everything.
"I'm-" his eyes fell to your mouth again, and you really wished he would just lean in and kiss it "I'm," he said again, obviously distracted.
This wasn't part of it.
You knew.
You glanced at him, and he met your eyes, a sparkle traveling between them, an understanding, a message, going from him to you.
Everything suddenly fell silent and you began being very aware of your own breathing, your lungs inflating and deflating fast as you felt anxious, for what you didn't know, you just were.
He smiled softly, looking straight at you and you swore your stomach dissolved.
Was this really about to happen?
Or were you imagining things?
It was all so confusing
All your doubts disappeared once he did it, he started leaning in.
Not because of the script
not because of the play
but because he wanted to
he wanted to kiss you
You tilted your head to the left, granting him access and you could feel his lips, his beautiful pretty lips graze yours when the bell rang.
he stopped
so did you.
You didn't want to look at him,
he had regretted it
it was fine
it was a mistake
you understood
you took a step back, looking at the floor
"I-I gotta go"
"why?" he frowned
"what do you mean why?" your eyes widened "the show's tomorrow"
He laughed softly at your nervousness "you have nothing to worry about" he said, turning towards you "you're amazing y/n, you know that" he smiled "You're the best singer here" he continued " and not to mention actress" he chuckled "I mean, You knew all your lines on the first day"
"you're gonna make me blush" you said like he already hadn't.
"well maybe I like seeing you blush"
You held your breath
"you're an asshole" you rolled your eyes playfully
He laughed, genuinely, wholeheartedly "I'm sorry" he smiled "if you want to we could run our lines some more"
your heart fluttered, flashbacks from last time passing through your mind.
"i-Uhh, sure"
he smiled, like he knew, like he had just thought the same thing,
because he had.
"alright" he sat down on the stage, and you followed his lead.
You had rehearsed for hours, you were tired.
"so what's your least favorite scene?" he asked
you were confused "what do you mean?"
"Usually your least favorite scene is the one you need to practice more" he explained " y'know, because you don't like it, and your mind subconsciously tells you that it's ok to fuck it up"
You frowned, as you smiled "and who said that"
"I did"
You laughed "oh well, then we're in great hands"
"hey!" he feigned shock "it has always worked for me"
"ok" you shook your head "so what's that scene for this play?"
He thought for a moment "I think the balcony one is pretty tough"
Your mouth slacked open in pretend offense "so the one you have to kiss me in"
He laughed "Oh" he shook his head"not because of that" he said "definitely, not because of that" he glanced at you "you know that"
definitely?
"I did not know that"
"well" he chuckled "now you do"
"ok, so if it isn't because of my aberring mouth" you raised your eyebrows "then what is it for?"
He grinned "the songs are difficult, and I have to be careful not to sing over you"
You shrugged " you've never done that"
"I know, but I could"
"you wanna rehearse that one then?" you asked
he raised his eyebrow smugly "you're that desperate to kiss me?"
yes, most definitely.
You punched his shoulder playfully "oh shut up" you rolled your eyes "and it's not like we were gonna kiss anyway"
"Why is that?"
"We don't kiss in rehearsal, Tyler"
"We could make an exception" he smirked "I mean, it would only be right if we tried it out once before doing it on stage, no?"
Your cheeks were red.
"I-" you swallowed nervously "If-If you believe so"
"I just think it makes sense"
"y-yea. It does" you smiled shyly, and you could see relief wash over his face.
"all right then" he stood up, to get to the center of the stage "come here sweetheart" he said sarcastically, and you knew it was a joke, but that didn't stop your heart from speeding up at the pet name.
"right away my love" you joked, walking up to him.
You felt electric, dizzy almost as you stopped right in front of him.
he was tall, and his hazel eyes were hypnotizing.
he put his hands on your waist, and you didn't give yourself time to think about it before you put your arms around his neck.
"ok" you breathed out shakily
"you have to say something before right?" he asked
"oh right" you laughed softly, taking a moment to remember what it was you were supposed to say.
Ok, you got it
You looked at him "you're gonna be bad for business, I can tell" you said and he smiled, before he leaned in, placing his lips on yours.
You felt so light you would have flown away if it wasn't for his hands keeping you grounded.
And he felt right, like he was finally sure.
He leaned away, and both of you smiled.
"Well I think we're good at this part" he said
"yup" you smiled, taking your arms off of him to take a step back.
Something in his face changed when you did, what looked like uncertainty glanced into his eyes.
"We're ready for tomorrow then" you smiled, to relieve some tension.
"absolutely" he agreed
the red and blue lights were emerging from every direction and you felt like you were in a dream as you sang with him, with Tyler.
The soft music resonating in the theatre, mixing heavenly with your voices.
he walked up to you, in the same place he had been in yesterday, and as you sang together the last lines you felt your body warm, at that indescribable feeling.
"you're gonna be bad for business, I can tell" you said, your voice echoing in the room, before he kissed you.
Little shivers traveled down your spine, as the contact took your breath away.
You weren't supposed to feel that way for a fake kiss, you knew.
Just like he knew.
The curtains closed as the music reached its climax and you leaned away, breathing heavily.
You smiled once you noticed some of your lipstick on his lips.
"we were great" you couldn't help but hug him.
You knew it was the end of the first act, and that you were supposed to rush backstage to change, but you wanted to feel close to him, you needed to.
"you're amazing y/n" he stroked your hair "I never doubted we were gonna be"
You looked up at him, your chin against his chest "thank you" you said sincerely, tightening your hug.
" I should go change" you said
"me too"
none of you moved
"I-" you were about to let him go when he stopped you.
"y/n" he said, the light illuminating only the left side of his face "I-" he took a deep breath, and you frowned "y/n I've been wanting to tell you this for the longest time" there was so much fear in his eyes "I really wanted to, but- but I was scared and-" he chuckled " and you made me so fucking nervous" you smiled too now "but- but now I have to, because if I don't I'm scared I never will" his pupils were scanning frantically your whole face "y/n I like you" he smiled anxiously "I like you, like- a lot"
Your face lit up, as your body shut down.
He had said it
He had said it for real.
"Tyler" you murmured "I like you too" you smiled "a lot"
