AN: I have wanted to do a HS AU for so long because I have a secret guilty pleasure for them. And also I am a huge theatre nerd (BFA in acting baby!) Hopefully this isn't too cliche and overdone but we shall see. I am not writing ahead on this so I am up for suggestions. I do have an idea where the story is going though. USUK ALL THE WAY! The boys are 17, turning 18 in this so there may be some heavy smut later on.
Anya= Fem!Russia (Though, Ivan may or may not show up at some point)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or anything else pop culture like in this story. Because if I did, then Al & Artie would go on super cute dates with Mattie & Gil and they would be so happy!
I just own the story. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter One: The Start of Something New
"Sports and drama—they're like plaids and stripes. They. Don't. Mix."
-Zack (Chad Christ) "Jawbreaker"
It was that time of year again. Juniors in every high school across America were beginning to prepare for college applications and the ensuing panic attached to such a time was no different at the World Academy. The prestigious private school prided itself on an incredibly high rate of graduates who attended Ivy League universities and the equivalent. Most students wished to feed directly into World Academy's own sister college, World University, as it was considered one of the best higher education facilities available.
Most students were not Alfred F. Jones.
For his part, Alfred knew that he was going to attend college, but he wasn't too interested in a particular field of study or the academic rankings of said university. He was concerned with the athletic rankings—particularly the basketball and football stats. Which was why, like most World Academy students, he had his sights set on World U. While the university boasted and impressive academic standing, it was also top notch in most athletics, including the ones closest to Alfred's heart.
Al knew that he was never going to play sports professionally, but if he was going to slog through classes in preparation for a job that he didn't really want, then he was definitely going to slog while playing his favorite sport at a top ranked school. Unfortunately for Alfred, while he was perfectly happy coasting through school with his "B" average, he was not one of the juniors who was prepping for the ensuing college application flurry.
Which was why, four months later, at the beginning of his senior year, he found himself sitting across from his guidance counselor with a goofy grin on his face and absolutely no head start in the way of applying for a higher education.
"Mr. Jones," The guidance counselor, Tino Vainamoinen, known to the student body affectionately as 'Mr. T', sighed as he looked across the desk at the star athlete sitting before him. "It says here that you wish to attend World University after graduation?" His incredulous tone and forced smile did not register with the blonde teenager in front of him.
Alfred simply nodded his head with a grin and an enthusiastic "Yup!"
The two stared at one another for a full minute before Tino clasped his hands on his desk and leaned forward saying, "World U is very difficult to get into Alfred."
He received only a blank smile and a nod from the teenager. "Yeah, I know. Their basketball program is amazing!"
"Uh huh," the guidance counselor nodded, his voice betraying him. Tino was no stranger to talking students out of lofty goals or pushing them when they seemed to be giving up on their dreams too soon—but he wasn't used to the oblivious positivity that he was getting from Alfred Jones. Most students seemed to have some sort of grasp on what they were going to be able to achieve with their grades, finances and extra-curricular activities. Alfred Jones did not. The senior athlete, while very talented on the court, just didn't have the resume to be accepted at the school's sister college. It wasn't necessarily his grades. A solid B average was a bit below par for a university as prestigious as World University, however, they did make exceptions for student athletes, as much as Mr. T disagreed with the practice. It was more that all Alfred did at school was show up for classes, do enough homework to get by, and play sports.
"Alfred," Tino pursed his lips and leveled with the young man in front of him. "You just don't have a well-rounded grouping of extra-curricular activities."
Confused, the young blond tilted his head and scrunched up his nose. "What do you mean? I'm a starter on the basketball, football and baseball team. I'm the highest ranking member on the golf team. The only sport I don't play is soccer."
"Futbol," the guidance counselor muttered. Raising his voice, he stated, "Yes, you are Alfred. But I'm afraid that your school activities are limited to sports and sports alone. World U prides itself on a diverse student group and they encourage their students to have many interests."
"I do have interests," Alfred insisted. "I like sports. Like, all sports—except soccer."
"I mean, that it would help if you had other things to list on an application," Tino stated, his voice gentle but firm. "Your grades could be better, but I'm confident that the school may overlook them if you had a better-rounded listing of clubs and groups that you participated in while you studied here."
"So," Alfred spoke slowly, "You want me to join some more teams?" He huffed and pushed his glasses up onto his nose. "I guess I could play soccer if I really had to."
"No Alfred," Tino sighed. Even after three years with Alfred, Tino was still sometimes surprised at how oblivious the poor senior could be. "Not teams. I think you need to join some of the other student groups around here—at least one. It would really help you with your applications, not just to World U, but to any other schools that you may wish to try applying for."
The blonde teenager nodded, a serious expression crossing his usually smiling features. "Like what?"
"Well," the guidance counselor pulled out a folder from his desk and opened it to a list of school activities. Alfred leaned closer over the desk, to see what groups had been listed as Mr. V began to point at different clubs on the paper. "Unfortunately Alfred, most of the clubs and groups have already held elections for positions of prominence that would really stand out on an application. Can you play a musical instrument?"
"Huh?" Alfred cocked his head, an errant tuft of hair flapping against his skull.
"Nevermind," Tino crossed off 'Marching Band' from the list. "What about cooking? The Home Ec classes have an after school group that meets and tries food from all over the world. I think Francis is in charge, you two are friends, yes?"
"Um, yeah," Alfred said slowly. "We are, but—he told me about that club. He says they eat like, snails and fried bugs and gross shit—I mean stuff—like that."
Tino slowly nodded, "The point of the Gastronauts is to try food from other cultures."
"No thanks," Alfred shook his head quickly. "I'd prefer to stick to really good food, like hamburgers, Mr. T."
"Okay," he tried to smile at the teenager. Scanning the dwindling list, Tino made a thoughtful sound as he read one of the clubs printed near the bottom of the page. "How do you feel about Drama Club?"
"Drama Club?" the blonde athlete looked skeptical.
"Yes," the guidance counselor nodded encouragingly. "It's one of the only school groups that hasn't held elections or tryouts yet. Auditions for the school musical are in a few days and the four leads are automatically given the responsibility of club officers for the remainder of the year." Tino tried to sound upbeat and make the Drama Club look as appealing as possible. After all, his job was to help students get into the college of their choice, but he could only do so much. "I know it really isn't your scene Alfred," he stumbled over his words in an attempt at teenage slang. "But the Drama Club is very highly respected here at World Academy and from what I have gathered talking with the students involved in school productions, it's an awful lot of fun."
In fact, Tino Vainamoinen knew exactly how much fun the Drama Club had. Shockingly enough, the drama students were the ones he had in his office most often—for everything from underage drinking in the choir room to being caught making out in the parking lot. The theatre kids were always the troublemakers—but he supposed that you were only young once—and Tino knew that sometimes it was a good thing to break the rules.
"Drama Club?" Alfred still seemed hesitant.
"Yes," he pressed. "Drama Club." Glancing up at the clock over his door, Tino handed the list of school activities to the tall senior and said, "Give it a thought Alfred. If you really do want to attend World U next year, you need another club under your belt. Just…think about it."
The blonde teen stood up, starting down at the list. "Okay, I'll think about it," he said quietly. "What show are they doing this year anyway?"
Tino smiled, "'Grease.' It's a classic musical."
"A musical?" Alfred looked skeptical as he stood. "Like, singing for no reason?"
"Yes, a musical has singing," the guidance counselor laughed. "John Travolta was the lead in the movie version."
Alfred instantly brightened. "John Travolta is cool! He was in 'The Punisher!'" The teen smiled and began babbling on about the violent superhero movie. "I'm more of a Captain America or Batman kinda guy, but Frank Castle is way cool too! I mean, he kills a lot of people in that movie, but I get why he does it; I mean, John Travolta had his whole family killed—even that guy from 'Jaws.' I guess that's cause John Travolta was the bad guy—is he the bad guy in 'Grease?'"
"Why don't you go rent it this weekend—I think we have a copy here in the library," Tino flicked his hands in a gesture to shoo the young man out of his office before the bell rang for the next period.
"Okay," the teenager smiled as he left. "Thanks Mr. T—you rock!" The strong teen pulled the door closed as he left, causing it to slam loudly.
Tino just shook his head. He knew that he was right—Alfred really did need more activities for World U to overlook his grades. If only the blonde boy wanted to go to a less prestigious school, his GPA was perfectly acceptable for another university. He just hoped that the Drama Club was ready for the likes of Alfred F. Jones.
The giggles were the first thing to alert Arthur Kirkland that he wasn't alone. The handsome blonde allowed himself a grimace into the depths of his locker before he plastered on a semblance of a smile and turned. Giggling girls were something that he was not going to miss after graduation. He doubted that college women were so insipid as to giggle constantly. Most of the young ladies at World Academy didn't even seem to speak—they just communicated through simpers and other annoying forms of laughter. Usually Arthur could ignore it, since he was not in the business of trying to find a girlfriend—being gay had its advantages. But he was cursed with bright green eyes, tousled blonde hair, a fashionably slim figure, and an English accent, so the ladies tended to come a-running, despite the fact that he was quite open about his sexuality.
Strangely enough, Natalia and Elizabeta were leaning against the lockers to his right smiling at him. At least, Elizabeta was smiling. Natalia was sort of glaring, although, he was pretty sure that was her version of a 'sultry' look. Usually they didn't giggle; wasn't their style. Maybe they had taken a few shots from the flask Natalia usually kept in her bag. That would explain the twittering noises coming from the usually mature girls.
At least it was other members of the Drama Club, and not random girls. Arthur didn't really enjoy associating with outsiders. The Drama Club tended to stick together, like some sort of weird, toxic family. They all hung out together, took the same classes, dated each other, and swapped partners within their group of theatre nerds without so much as batting an eye. And he, Natalia and Elizabeta ruled their little theatrical kingdom. The trio were very close despite their differences and they managed to land every lead role since they had started at the academy. They were like the sisters that Arthur never had—talented young ladies who he actually enjoyed spending time with—unlike his actual siblings.
"Ladies," Arthur's British accent never failed to make the girls of World Academy swoon and today was no exception.
"Kirkland," Natalia looked at him from under her lashes.
"Arthur," Elizabeta smiled at him and placed her hand on his forearm. Glancing down uncomfortably at the contact, Arthur stared at her hand until she got the hint and removed it. Unfazed by the awkwardness of the situation, Elizabeta tilted her head to the side flirtatiously and asked, "Ready for auditions?"
"I'm always ready," Arthur smirked and slammed his locker door shut. He was the best male performer in the entire group—which meant the entire school—and the best was always prepared for an audition. Spinning the combination lock before he started down the hall, he could hear the two girl's footsteps trailing after him.
"I'm so excited that we are going to do 'Grease' this year," Elizabeta hummed. "Last year was such a disaster with 'Peter Pan.'"
"Don't be ridiculous," Arthur said. "You were a wonderful Wendy." Elizabeta beamed, and Arthur, remembering just in time, turned to Natalia and said, "And you were a magnificent Peter. It's always a privilege to work with someone familiar with stage combat."
Natalia smirked at him, "I enjoyed fighting you Captain. You were a decent pirate."
"I was an excellent pirate," Arthur raised one of his large eyebrows.
"You were perfect," Elizabeta nodded. "I was referring more to the faulty wiring that caused Natalia to take out half of the Darling's Nursery set on Opening Night."
"Well, that was sabotage and we all know it," Arthur huffed angrily.
They could never prove it, but the entirety of the Drama Club was convinced that the basketball team had tampered with their flying harnesses. A dangerous prank that could have ended up much worse than it did. And all because 'Peter Pan's' Opening Night was scheduled for the same day as one of their stupid tournaments. The basketball team had been furious when they were forced to change their championship tourney to another day simply because the academy insisted that they could not accommodate enough parking for both events and the musical had been booked first.
The Drama Club had yet to forgive. Especially Natalia, since she was the one who ended up in the emergency room with a broken wrist—and Natalia wasn't anyone to mess with. She insisted that she was biding her time and that revenge was best served cold. Even the basketball coach, Mr. Vargas and the drama teacher, Mr. Carriedo were still not on speaking terms because of the whole debacle.
"I still have a few things to hammer out before auditions," Natalia offered. "Not that I'm worried." She smirked at them both.
"Doubt it," Arthur stated. "No one could touch you as Rizzo."
"Who said I was going for Rizzo?" Natalia said casually. "I think that I would make an excellent Sandy."
Both Arthur and Elizabeta stared at the slender, blue-eyed girl before them. It took them both almost a full minute of blinking their shocked faces at her before she laughed and waved her hand saying, "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Elizabeta breathed. "I thought you were serious for a moment there—we would have had a problem." She shook her head and smiled.
Natalia laughed dryly and said, "What, you were gonna start a rumble?"
Elizabeta stepped toward the other girl. "Maybe."
"Ladies," Arthur's voice held a slight warning. He knew they were friends, but a part was a part and all was fair when it came to casting. "You both know which roles you are suited to; let's not be unpleasant."
The girls took a split second to stare at one another and silently communicate their thoughts before they both giggled again, causing Arthur to roll his eyes.
"Of course, I am going to be Rizzo," Natalia dropped her lashes. "And you, Liz, will be a fabulous Sandy."
"Thank you," Elizabeta's voice was polite, but clipped.
"You've got the hymen for it," Natalia muttered under her breath.
Elizabeta swirled, furiously, her eyes cutting as she opened her mouth and stepped toward her friend.
Sliding his arms around both girl's shoulders, Arthur smiled and said, "Ladies." He knew that they were both fighting for show. Neither girl was really all that angry; they just enjoyed riling each other up before auditions. Natalia said it made them both more formidable to the other girls in the drama club; the girls who were always cast in the chorus. "What were you planning on singing, darling?" Arthur asked Elizabeta.
She took a beat to glare daggers at Natalia who simply smiled and raised one eyebrow in a challenge before she said, "The Music Man. 'Goodnight, My Someone.'"
"Excellent choice love," Arthur soothed, patting both girl's shoulders.
"Yes," Elizabeta snapped, still staring at Natalia. "I know."
"Well," Arthur drew the word out and stepped back to stare both girls down. "I think that we are going to have the best production of 'Grease' since Olivia and Travolta with the three of us in the main roles."
"You'll be such a sexy Danny," Elizabeta murmured.
"Yes," Natalia glanced at him. "No one could pull it off, except you."
Arthur smirked, "Yes I know." The trio shared a laugh and stopped at the hallway junction where they would have to separate.
"I want to run over my song once more before tomorrow," Elizabeta said thoughtfully. All three of them were well aware that 'once more' meant about three hours of intense singing.
"Me as well," Arthur glanced at the attractive girl. "I was planning to ask Roderich to accompany me in one of the rehearsal rooms this afternoon. Just to polish out the details, you know."
Elizabeta grinned. "Nat and I were going to do the same."
"You can never be too prepared," Natalia said as she glanced down the hall to where her older sister Anya was holding court with a few of the basketball players. The statuesque blonde never failed to turn heads. Even Arthur, despite his homosexuality, couldn't help but admire how aesthetically pleasing Anya Braginski looked.
"We should find out when Roderich is available," Arthur tore his eyes away from Anya and the group of basketball players. It was harder than he imagined. Alfred was in that group, lingering just towards the back next to his strange albino friend, Gilbert. Arthur had been carrying quite the torch for the blonde American, despite knowing that nothing would ever happen. The English boy huffed out a breath and forced himself to turn back to his two friends.
Elizabeta waved her hand in a non-committal gesture. "Roderich will be available whenever I ask him to be available."
Shaking his head, Arthur stared her down. "You know he's in love with you, yes?"
"What?" Elizabeta's eyes went wide and she shook her head in surprise. "No," she insisted. "He's just very friendly."
Next to her, Natalia had stopped watching her sister and snorted. "Right," she grunted. "Friendly. That stuck-up musician may as well be one of the jocks. He's about as friendly to the rest of us as a mongoose is to a cobra."
"And you're the cobra," Arthur smiled at Natalia.
Her grin held an edge. "Of course."
Realizing the bell for next period was about to ring, Natalia pulled Elizabeta down the hall toward their shared class, even as Elizabeta kept insisting that Roderich was just a really nice guy and was not attracted to her.
Arthur shook his head in amusement. Natalia was right. Roderich could be one of the sports superstars based on his attitude toward them; not that the meatheads would give Roderich the time of day either. Arthur knew that the incredibly talented pianist only put up with them because of his massive crush on Elizabeta. No matter, it came in handy. One should never underestimate the power of a skilled piano player who knew your quirks and could effectively cover if you fucked up during a song. The stuffy Austrian trained with them all enough that he could fudge even the most offensive of musical gaffs.
Unable to resist another glance at Anya and the crowd of basketball players around her, Arthur allowed himself a moment to bask in the beauty that was Alfred F. Jones. He had dated his fair share of guys at the academy but he always hoped that one day he would get a crack at Jones.
They were almost complete opposites. Alfred was popular, well-liked, and a jock. Arthur was grumpy, ignored and a member of drama club. It was a shame. Sports and drama were two completely different social circles. They were about as likely to be friends—or lovers—as two male lions in the same territory. The thought actually broke Arthur's heart.
Allowing himself one final glance, Arthur was about to turn to head towards his AP History class when Alfred himself, lifted his head and looked directly at him. Their eyes locked. Arthur felt himself suck in a breath as Alfred gazed at him—and winked. Clenching his teeth and narrowing his eyes, Arthur spun on his heel to head toward his class. There was no conceivable way that Alfred. F—for fucking gorgeous—Jones was winking at him.
Absolutely no way.
Alfred couldn't help himself. Standing with his friends who were, for the most part, ogling Anya, he used the opportunity to discreetly watch Arthur Kirkland saunter down the hall. Flanked by two of the theatre girls, Arthur's cocky smirk never failed to draw Alfred's gaze. He had spent plenty of personal time in the shower thinking about the English boy—and it was always a good way to pass the time, as far as Alfred was concerned. Arthur Kirkland was his absolute ideal. Although, Alfred knew that the chances of him ever getting the chance to see what the sexy blonde was hiding underneath his school uniform was slim to none—nothing would quell the obvious attraction he felt for the other boy.
It was kind of funny actually. The two of them hung out with completely different groups and had almost no friends in common, save Francis, who didn't really count since he was friends with everyone—and half the faculty. Alfred would have a better chance of becoming a fighter pilot with his astigmatism than ever hooking up with the glorious Arthur Kirkland. That fact wasn't going to stop him from dreaming about it though.
So when Arthur had glanced up and caught him blatantly ogling, Alfred did the only thing he could think to cover his embarrassment—make Arthur even more uncomfortable than himself. So he grinned and winked; and while his heart was fluttering and he was doing everything in his power not to betray how awkward he felt, the dark blush that rose on the English boy's cheeks was more than enough compensation for the athlete's pride.
As he watched Arthur stomp away, Alfred allowed himself to think that perhaps his infatuation wasn't one-sided after all. He knew that Arthur was gay, so he had that covered—and while Alfred wasn't as out and proud as some of the student body, he would always admit to his bisexuality when questioned. Lots of his friends wondered privately why Alfred had been single all through school, but no one really noticed that while the golden blonde athlete had plenty of girls fawning on him, he did tend to prefer men—and those were harder to come by. Especially when the object of Alfred's deepest desires was a boy he hardly knew and couldn't exactly just walk up to and start a conversation with at any moment.
"Jones. Al Jones. Alfred Fucking Jones."
Alfred turned sharply when he heard his friend Gilbert say his name. "Yeah?"
"How did it go with Mr. T," Gilbert's harsh German accent contained something of a smirk.
Shrugging, Alfred toed at the tile of the hallway and mumbled, "I have to do more extra-curriculars in order to get into World University next year.
Gilbert simply stared at his friend. "So? Like that's hard, go sign up for something."
"It's not that easy," Alfred countered. "I have to have a position in the club I sign up for and at this point, according to Mr. T, the pickings are a bit slim."
"How slim?"
"Drama Club slim."
There was a beat before the German boy burst out laughing and clapped his hand on Alfred's broad shoulders. "Please shut up," Alfred whined slightly.
"Sorry," Gilbert chuckled. "I just…that's just…holy shit Al," Gilbert doubled over in a fit of giggles once more. When he finally straightened, he fixed Alfred with his piercing red eyes and managed, "That's just fucking funny."
"I gathered that from your uncontrollable laughter Gil."
"I mean," Gilbert grinned, "Can you see yourself onstage with all those weirdos in the Drama Club? Prancing around wearing eyeliner and singing songs?"
"Hey," Alfred protested. "My brother is in Drama."
"Who?" Gil tilted his head in confusion for a moment. "Oh wait," the German boy nodded. "Yeah, that's right, you do have a brother. Quiet, longer hair, looks like your twin…usually hides when I come over?"
"That's him. Matthew."
"Mattie, yeah," Gilbert trailed off in thought for a moment.
Alfred used his friend's uncommon silence to think about his options for a moment. "Gil," he began. "Do you really think I should do it?"
"What? Drama Club?" the albino glanced over at his friend.
"Yeah. I mean, it's not really my scene, ya know."
"No shit," Gil snorted. "Well," he continued. "You said Mr. T told you that you need an extra-curricular…so I guess that means you have to do it. I mean, dude," Gilbert stared him down. "If you're not at World U with me next year on the team, it's going to royally suck. You gotta be there with me so that we can be the most awesome basketball duo that school has ever seen!"
"Jordan and Rodman," Al nodded with a grin.
"Exactly!" the albino boy crowed. "So I say go for it. Who knows, maybe you'll get a chance to finally talk to your lover boy."
"What!?" Alfred squawked.
Gilbert smirked. "Please, like I didn't see you winking at Kirkland a few minutes ago."
"I did not!"
"Sure kid," Gilbert laughed. "You were staring right at him."
"No," Alfred could feel his face heating up with red. "I was just, you know, looking at Anya." The American boy spouted the first lie that popped into his head.
"Right," Gilbert nodded. "And who was standing behind the pretty Russian ice queen? You're not fooling anyone bro. I guess you forgot about our little drinking game this summer…you know," the German prompted. "The one where you told me that you're totally—"
"Shut up!" Alfred's voice was embarrassingly high. "I remember okay dude. Jeez, you don't have to shout it out for the whole school!"
"No one will care Al," Gilbert said. "Half the student body are homos. That's the beauty of international schooling. Us Europeans aren't all uptight and douchey as you Americans about experimenting a bit with another dude's tight little—"
Alfred cut off his friend with an undignified screech. "Stop dude. Just stop."
"Whatever," Gilbert shrugged. "Just trying to help you release your inner gay."
"It's released," Alfred insisted. "I like boys, I like girls; everyone knows. I released it."
"All I'm saying is that you should release it on that cute Brit before someone else does," Gilbert's tone was ominous and serious for once. Alfred made a low sound in the back of his throat. "Join the damn Drama Club dude," Gilbert stated with a firm tone. "You'll get into World U, we can dominate the basketball team there, and maybe you'll get some ass. Literally."
"You're fucking crass dude," Alfred shook his head. He glanced down the hall in the direction that Arthur had scurried. The bell rang, signaling classes were beginning. The group of jocks and the object of their attention, Anya, all moved to head to their next period. Alfred hefted his backpack over one shoulder and headed toward his English class. English. Arthur was English.
Shaking his head, Alfred internally groaned; he couldn't even go to school without some reminder of the intense infatuation he had with Arthur Kirkland. Gil was right. He needed to get this out of his system. And Mr. T had given him the perfect opportunity to obtain everything that he wanted. Alfred's guidance counselor was the best!
The last two periods of the school day were normally reserved for Arthur's study hall, but the young man was intent on getting a scholarship and in Year Ten, he had decided to pad his college applications with a little volunteer work. For the past three years he had used his study halls to act as the student aide in the campus library. He enjoyed the work; it was calm and somewhat tedious, but it allowed for a certain amount of daydreaming which was good for any actor in which to plot out different ways of approaching a character. It was also excellent for quiet reflection when the library wasn't too busy so that Arthur could possibly work on a monologue or simply allow his mind to go blank.
But most of all, Arthur enjoyed being surrounded by books—literature was like a drug to the blonde Englishman. He devoured everything he could get his hands on. Not simply the classics, as most people would suspect of him—he loved all of those of course—but he was also eager for each new popular series, and felt no shame in the voracious reading of what some intellectuals may have referred to as 'frivolous reading.' If he liked a book, he was damn well going to read it and be proud. Except that sparkly vampire one; fuck that book.
Arthur shuddered as he slowly pushed the rickety cart containing all the returned books around the stacks, placing them tenderly back where they belonged. His mind wandered to the upcoming auditions and he smirked a bit as he slid a large volume of Dostoevsky back in its rightful place. He was going to dominate those auditions. He always enjoyed seeing the looks of the Freshers when he got up to perform his audition pieces. It was if they knew there was no way they could top it. It tended to intimidate, so Arthur liked to go closer to the beginning of the lineup in order to psych out the competition.
There was no doubt in his mind that the role of Danny Zuko would be his. After all, there was no one standing in his way.
It was finally the end of the day for Alfred, and he was exhausted. Technically he still had study hall, his last class of the day, but he usually skipped out to hit the gym before practice. Unfortunately, his mind had been running so frantically at what Mr. T had said to him that morning and he really just wanted to go home, eat dinner and then go to bed. He didn't know that thinking so hard about such an important topic would be so draining. 'This,' thought Alfred, 'This is why it is easier to just coast. All fun, no stress, less napping.'
It didn't help that all of the thoughts for his future were interrupted by big green eyes and a snotty English accent. Arthur Kirkland was going to be the death of him. Alfred was already bordering on obsessed with the handsome actor, but the actual thought of possibly being in close proximity to his crush had the athlete's feelings all jumbled up.
As he walked down the hall toward his locker, Alfred pulled his phone out of his back pocket and pulled up his Netflix app. He quickly typed in the title 'Grease' and when the movie popped up as being available on the video streaming device he groaned out loud. 'Shit.' The blonde athlete had been hoping that it wasn't on Netflix so that he would actually have an excuse to go to the school library and borrow it from the inadequate DVD collection housed there. Going to the library meant that he would get to see Arthur. And any excuse to see Arthur was something worth doing.
Alfred powered down the Netflix app and slid his phone back into his pocket. He would just go rent it from the library anyway; and if Mattie asked, then he would just tell his brother that his Netflix was acting sketchy and he didn't want to risk it since he had to see this movie tonight. Perfect. Totally innocent. Mattie wouldn't buy it, of course, but honestly, Alfred really didn't care. Whistling as he made his way down the hall, Alfred began sauntering in the direction of the school library.
The first thing Arthur heard was the piercing, high pitched whistling that announced an unwanted guest in the library. He popped out from behind one of the stacks where he had been restocking the returned books and glared at the perpetrator. Jones. Of course it was fucking Jones.
"What do you want?" Arthur shouted across the empty library. The whistling stopped immediately as the owner swiveled his head to find the source of the angry, accented voice. Alfred's eyes finally stopped on Arthur, peeking around a shelf and glaring at him.
Pushing his thin, wire-frame glassed up his nose, Alfred grinned. "Lookin' for a movie."
Arthur grunted. "Of course you are." He emerged from the stacks and made his way slowly towards the front of the library where Alfred was now leaning against his desk in a casual fashion. "What movie Jones?"
"Alfred."
"What?" Arthur shook his head in confusion.
"Call me Alfred," the handsome jock said. "All my friends do."
"We aren't friends," Arthur grumbled. "Follow me." The perpetually grumpy Brit shuffled towards the opposite side of the library where the meager stack of videos were housed. Once reaching the shelf, he swiveled quickly and was surprised to find Alfred only a few inches away from him. Slowly Arthur lifted his gaze and locked eyes with the tall athlete. Blue met green. For a few beats both boys simply stared at one another's eyes until Arthur managed to blink and spit out, "What movie again, Jones?"
Alfred couldn't seem to find his voice. He made a few sputtering sounds before croaking out, "Grease," and was humiliated when his voice hitched up on the word. Jesus, this was like being in middle school again; how fucking embarrassing.
Sucking in a breath, Arthur snapped, "Why?" His voice was laced with suspicion.
Alfred wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plausible excuse and utterly failed. "Mattie wanted to watch it this weekend, so he asked me to pick it up." His voice ended on the lilt of a question, which gave away his lie to the sharp Englishman.
"Matthew?"
Alfred nodded.
"Matthew wants to watch 'Grease,'" Arthur deadpanned.
Again, Alfred bobbed his head and cleared his throat saying, "He's studying light cues. You know…for the show." Alfred prayed to anyone listening that the cute Brit would buy his lie—after all, it was entirely plausible since Mattie was designing the lighting and sound for the show.
Arthur cocked an impressively large eyebrow in suspicion, but he turned away and began to gaze at the shelves, looking for the DVD. Alfred let out an almost silent breath, relieved that his lie was seemingly bought.
"Here," Arthur shoved the DVD that he had recently found toward Alfred, his arm outstretched, trying to put distance between them. Immediately, the shorter blonde turned and stalked back to the librarian's desk and began typing into the computer. He scanned the movie and handed it back to Alfred stating that it would be due back in a week.
"Heh," Alfred let out a nervous laugh as he took the film and kept staring into those green eyes. He didn't know why he was still standing there. "Thanks Artie," he finally managed.
"It's Arthur," the green-eyed boy scowled. After a beat he glared even more fiercely and practically shouted, "Good day, Jones!"
Alfred nodded and turned to leave the library. Once the doors were closed and both boys were left on their own once more, each breathed out a huge sigh of relief and tension. That was the most that they had interacted in years; and the effect was obvious to each of them. They both just hoped that the other hadn't noticed how awkward they had behaved. Luckily, or unluckily for the Englishman and the American—in the case of love, they were both a bit oblivious.
Matthew Williams, Alfred's incredibly quiet and shy, younger half-brother came home that afternoon to a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his days. Alfred was lounging on the sectional couch in their basement rec room, karaoke machine hooked up and was singing along with the movie 'Grease' playing on their big screen TV. Laying on his back, legs kicking in the air, Al was belting out 'Greased Lighting' with incredible energy and a surprisingly good voice.
Lurking at the foot of the stairs for a few moments, Matthew watched his brother and silently chuckled to himself. 'What in the world is Al doing?' the younger boy thought. Clearing his throat softly, he stepped forward so that Alfred could see that he wasn't alone. The sound and movement were enough that Alfred jumped off of the couch, scrambling for the remote to turn off the film, his face reddening as he tried to stammer out a, "This isn't what it looks like." Unfortunately he hadn't unhooked the karaoke mic and ended up shouting his protest into it causing a loud, harsh echo and the squeal of feedback.
Matthew plugged his ears and grimaced as he spoke with a playful lilt in his voice, "Looks like you're geeking out over 'Grease.'"
Al's eyes were wide and the red hue of his cheeks just kept deepening the longer that his brother scrutinized him. "No," Alfred protested, drawing the word out into three syllables. "I'm just, you know…watching a movie."
"A movie based on the musical we happen to be performing at school this year?" Matthew quirked an eyebrow. "A show that will most certainly be starring a certain blonde, English boy who has the initials of A.K.? As in Arthur Kirkland? You're precious little Artie, who—"
The younger boy's playful teasing was cut off as the blush on Al's face became more pronounced and he shouted, "This has nothing to do with Arthur!" The protest wasn't taken quite seriously when the older boy kept looking at his feet and mumbling about green eyes.
"Yeah," huffed Matthew, "I'm pretty sure that about ninety percent of your life revolves around Arthur, which is creepy since you hardly know each other."
Matthew knew full well that Alfred dutifully attended all of the school's theatrical performances on Opening Night with their parents; and it wasn't for the extra credit grade offered by the English and Drama classes. The members of the Jones-Williams family would come to support Matthew, despite their younger son never actually being a performer. Their parents knew Mattie's passion lay behind the scenes, designing and hopefully one day directing. And they wanted their youngest to feel supported—plus the World Academy productions were top quality due to alumni funding; some of whom boasted their own Oscars and Tony Awards.
Although Matthew knew that Al did deeply support him, he was also aware that his older, sports-loving brother usually attended each show a minimum of five times just to watch Arthur Kirkland without being totally creepy. Poor Al failed miserably at that. Paying night after night to watch a crush from afar without said crush's knowledge seemed a tad disturbing to Matthew.
Knowing full well that his brother caved under pressure, Matthew simply stared serenely at him until Alfred cracked. Mumbling his way through the explanation about joining extra-curricular activities, Matthew listened intently to Alfred ramble on, finally ending his 'tale of woe' with a huge and heartfelt sigh.
"So," Alfred said, looking at his brother expectantly. "You see—nothing to do with Arthur—at all." Matthew nodded absently before Al continued. "I just gotta see what this show is about so I can audition next week."
That statement startled Matthew out of the shock of his brother actually auditioning for Drama Club. "Next week?" the normally quiet brother practically shouted. "Al! The auditions are tomorrow afternoon!"
AN: The title is a play on words. A company of players is a group of actors and when you're in the company of players you should be careful of your heart...
The chapter titles will all be songs from musicals-bonus internet hugs for those who figure them out :)
Most of the terms being used are the American ones since the school is going to be in America, I just headcanon that it is an international school where lots of foreign students go.
I also didn't want the normal pairings of friends right off the bat, which is why Arthur is with Elizabeta and Natalia (I wanted to try out Belarus for a bit).