DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)

Sebastian's New Friend

Sebastian looked at his surroundings disdainfully as he walked across the street to a nearby coffee shop. Hartfeld University had an acceptable campus, he supposed, but Sebastian's current alma matter was undoubtedly superior.

Even without going into the campus proper, he could already see some of the riff-raff who studied here - those muscular students wearing scruffy sneakers were undoubtedly here on a football scholarship.

His old friend had called him up out of nowhere, asking him if he would be willing to take on the role of the villain in his play. Sebastian, being a generous soul - and a superb actor, of course - had agreed… but when he asked James what had prompted his sudden foray into the world of theater, his friend had gotten disgustingly sentimental.

"Sebastian, I never thought I would ever see my play performed onstage, but that was before I met MC."

"Who's MC?"

"She's… it's hard to explain. Do you believe in soulmates?"

If Sebastian had known that that was the opening line of James' lengthy, and extremely sappy, monologue about the perfection and beauty of whoever this MC person was, he wouldn't have even asked.

After taking his coffee from a cheerful barista behind the counter, Sebastian found a small, empty table with two chairs and took a seat. He would use the next half-hour or so to get into character before meeting James on-campus. Sebastian knew that getting into the right mindset - a villainous mindset - was important before going in for an audition. Even though James had already promised him the role, it was a principle of the thing.

As he delved deep into his mind and imagined with intensity the feeling of committing evil acts, of destroying innocent lives, of breaking hearts, of betraying those who had trusted him, Sebastian could feel it. He could feel the role, the character, the man - he was the villain, he was Lord Rathbone, he was-

-interrupted.

He looked up from his vile contemplations to see a blonde girl his age wearing a pink sweater and a large silver necklace, who was gesturing to the seat across from Sebastian.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "Is that seat taken? There are so many people in this cafe that it's hard to find a spot!"

Sebastian looked around. The girl was right - with the many people inside, chatting and drinking coffee, the seat across from him was the last empty one. And while he would have much preferred to be alone, Sebastian was, of course, a complete gentleman.

"Please," he gestured gallantly, just like Lord Rathbone would, "be my guest."

"I'm Madison, by the way. Thanks!" chirped the girl, setting down her coffee on the table before sliding into the seat.

"Sebastian," he replied with disinterest. "Pleased to meet you."

Now that that was done, Sebastian could get back into character. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Yes, he could see it. He was Lord Rathbone, he was confident and proud, lord of the manor, master of-

"What are you doing?"

Groaning internally, he opened his eyes again. As much as he now wanted her to just go away, Sebastian had manners, and to send her from his table would be extremely rude. But just because he had to speak to her didn't mean that his time would be wasted. He could still educate her in the merits of stage performance.

"I am visualizing my character for a play."

Rather than raise an eyebrow at him, which was what he would have expected from a girl who seemed like she would rather go to sorrority parties than attend the theater, the girl - Madison - perked up.

"A play? I love acting in plays!"

He tilted his head slightly. Was he fortunate enough to meet somebody with whom he could have an intelligent conversation? So few people met his standards - but he wouldn't get his hopes up.

"Oh, really?" he asked her. "What kinds of roles have you performed?"

Madison put down her coffee cup and set it aside as she looked at him fully, and Sebastian was pleasantly surprised to see the genuine smile on her face. That, right there, was proof that she was being sincere - her love for theater was evident before she even talked about theater. He leaned forward, just a little, in his seat, slightly eager, despite himself, to hear what she was about to say.

"Well, my favorite role was a delicate character. She was beautiful and graceful, but she didn't have a lot of time left. As the play went on, the changes in her - and in me - reflected the changes of the seasons. 'For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes the still, sad music of humanity.' My character went through a lot in that play, but I think she taught a lesson about the fleeting nature of life."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. That… that was surprisingly moving. Most people, when asked about their roles, talked about the act of performing itself, but Madison had delved right into the heart of her character and taken lessons from her. It was just like how he felt about the villainous roles he played - he didn't just perform them, he was them. This Madison - she seemed like she understood. And she had even quoted William Wordsworth - Sebastian's favorite poet.

And in his mind, he heard the echo of James' voice.

"Do you believe in soulmates?"

Much later, he would find out that Madison had been talking about a cherry blossom tree - hence her comments about a beautiful character who reflected the changes of the seasons.

(A tree!)

And Sebastian would forever deny to himself the fact that for a moment, just one moment, he had believed in soulmates.

(THE END.) (Originally posted on T-22/05/17.) (F-19/06/18.)

Fanfic notes: (B02-C02.) This Sebastian-centered one-shot is an idea that I've had for a couple of weeks now, which is probably a funny choice for my first ever The Freshman fanfic! :D Since Sebastian and Madison both love acting, it was fun to imagine and write them meeting like this! :P

About my main Pixelberry fanfic: Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)