Link never really understood theater. Sure, he had a pretty decent grasp on the concept of acting and how it worked with the scripts and the costumes etc.
His mom, for one, had been a huge fan of musicals when he was younger. Whenever his father would have a day off from work, his mother would not hesitate before booking them a couple of tickets to go see the county production of "Les Miserables," or "Little Shop of Horrors."
That being said, Link never seemed to figure out how people could find any sort of enjoyment from performing on stage. It seemed suffocating, having to stand on a platform in front of a crowd of people who may-or-may-not even want to be there and perform a scripted act that may-or-may-not even earn any money after the curtains have closed.
His bitterness towards theater may also have something to do with the fact that his mother had not so much as mentioned going to a musical production after his father had passed away. As a result, Link had grown to be bitter towards any, if not all, of the performing arts.
Link had made a silent vow to give up any and all relations with theater. It wasn't as if he was particularly in love with the art to begin with, so letting it go was simple, it was easy.
This all changed, however, when he moved away from his hometown, traveled halfway across the country, settled into a new high school, became involved with a guy who may-or-may-not be a devout criminal, and found a flyer for his school's production of 'Catch Me If You Can' lying quite innocently on his desk. Beneath the flyer had been a messy, scribbled letter.
Love,
It may come as some surprise to you, but I've been involved in this school's theater program since my freshmen year. This year we're putting on a production of 'Catch Me If You Can', courtesy of yours truly, and are very much so in need of another willing participant to audition for the role of the lovely Brenda. I've never heard you sing but am only assuming that someone who looks and acts like an angel is capable of singing like one too. Auditions are this Thursday starting directly after school. I'd really appreciate it if you'd give it a shot.
Sincerely Dark (AKA Frank Abagnale Jr.)
Dark and Link are not dating in the traditional sense. They spend almost all of their time tangled up in each other's orbits inside of school and, as of recently, outside of school as well. Despite their constant flirting, not so innocent physical contact, and constant involvement in each other's personal lives, they are not officially dating.
It isn't that Link doesn't want to date Dark. If he wasn't so Hell bent on his own refusal to date exclusively in high school, he'd have had Dark sprawled out on the backseat of his car weeks ago.
Nevertheless, Link has made a personal vow to not allow himself to become romantically involved with anyone until well after high school when he has enough sense to keep his priorities straight and not get his heart broken.
Most days, keeping himself from Dark is near impossible, the pull towards the older boy being so strong and inviting. But now, seeing the object of his affection sitting at their usual lunch table , munching distractedly at an apple core, looking entirely too innocent, makes Link absolutely livid.
Dark doesn't even notice when he approaches, he just continues to stare unassuming at the tabletop in front of him.
Link sits down at his spot on the opposite side of the lunch booth with a huff. This draws Dark's attention away from his own pondering and he gives Link a slow, typical Dark smirk. Link just frowns.
"You could have asked me in person," Link snaps, glaring across the table at Dark. Dark proceeds to look confused, his eyebrows knit together in a way that only manages to make Link even more angry.
"Asked what beautiful?" Dark asks.
"About the musical," Link answers quickly. Dark's confusion turns back into his characteristic smirk and Link has to clench his hands into fists to keep himself from doing something stupid.
"Does that mean that you'll audition?" Dark asks this as if he already knows the answer, as if he knows that Link can't resist him. Well, does Link have news for him.
"I'm not going to audition," Link growls, "If you had enough courtesy to ask me in person, I may have considered it. But, now? Nope! There's no way that I am going to play your precious Brenda." It's a lie. Dark could have asked in person, standing outside of Link's window with a handful of pebbles and Link still wouldn't have agreed.
Dark looks slightly put off, his eyes boring into Link as if he's trying desperately to read him. He doesn't look angry, not even upset, just mildly perplexed.
"That's a shame," Dark says at last, his voice soft, "I was only hoping to spend more time with you. These next few weeks are going to be busy for me with practices and dress rehearsals and we aren't going to be able to spend much time together anymore."
Link's heart clenches painfully and he has to look away from the honesty in Dark's eyes. The idea of not spending time with Dark is both miserable and lonely.
Link can't be in the musical.
"I'm sorry," Link says, his voice soft, "But I really can't do it." He doesn't state why but the look in Dark's eyes is surprisingly gentle, he looks as if he understands even though Link hasn't explained himself at all.
Link is finding it increasingly more difficult not to give in.
"It's okay beautiful," Dark says, returning to munching on his apple. Link watches him for a moment more, his heart trying to take on a mind of its own again.
"Where are Craig and Zelda?" Link asks, desperate to start up another conversation. The silence is deafening. Dark continues to nibble, glancing up at him beneath his eyelashes.
"No idea," Dark answers. Link isn't surprised. Not unlike Dark, his friends have the tendency to skip certain classes for prolonged periods of time. Only with them, it tends to always be around lunch time and sometimes they don't even bother returning at all for their afternoon classes.
"So," Dark murmurs before another awkward silence can settle in, "Why are you 'the boy who hates musicals?'" Link huffs.
"I don't hate musicals. I just don't want to audition," Link answers, "Not to mention, Brenda is clearly female and I'm, well, not." It's the truth, how does Dark even expect him to audition for a female role in the first place? He'll maybe end up getting cast as a background singer if he's lucky. His singing voice isn't exactly horrible but it isn't exactly amazing either. He is unimpressive. Ordinary.
"This isn't the first time that a male has played the role of a female. If you have the pipes for it, I'm sure it'll work out just fine."
Against his better judgement, Link actually considers this.
If he were to audition, maybe he could bring theater back into his family. Would his mother be proud, seeing him in a musical?
Link shudders and tries to think of reasons as to why he can't audition. Even if he were to audition, he wouldn't have to necessarily be in the show. He could simply show up at auditions for a bit to make Dark happy. In reality, he had nothing to lose.
"I think," Link whispers, glancing down at his hands, suddenly nervous, "I think I might give it a shot."
Dark doesn't look too surprised. He just gives Link a soft smile and winks at him.
"I knew you'd come around," Dark says.
Thursday shows up far too quickly and Link warns his mother the night before that he'll be a bit late getting home. She doesn't pry too much, just gives him the usual parent talk; no drugs, no alcohol, curfew at 11:00.
Not that he'll admit it, but Link has been practicing his singing pretty intensely for the past few days. He makes sure to keep it quiet when his mom is at home but on the not-so-rare occasion that she stays past closing hours at the office, Link takes the silent house to his full advantage and sings at full volume.
He has also taken it upon himself to learn as much about the musical; 'Catch Me If You Can' as possible. He watches the movie and then proceeds to spend three hours after school watching the Broadway production on YouTube. By the time Thursday has rolled around, Link can honestly say that he has just about memorized all of the lines for Brenda, despite the fact that he might not even get the role.
He's prepared. Overly prepared, actually. This still doesn't stop him from rambling about it to Dark nervously for the entire school day.
Dark handles it with surprising ease, comforting Link when he starts ranting about forgetting the words or accidently getting so nervous that his voice cracks in the middle of the audition.
The day moves quickly, far too quickly for Link, and he finds himself quite unwilling to make his way to the music room for auditions after the bell signals the end of the school day. Dark is sitting beside him the entire time, he doesn't pressure him to move. He doesn't say a word, only remains sprawled out in his desk chair, giving Link a curious glance every few seconds.
"I'm going to go," Link murmurs, as if he's convincing himself. Dark hums in agreement.
"Find some inner courage, beautiful," Dark answers. Link nods, feeling suddenly stoic and stands up from his seat. Dark follows behind him a little less enthusiastically and he follows Link all the way to the end of the hall. Link stops suddenly, turning on Dark and giving him a look.
"I have no idea where the music room is," Link says softly. Dark looks startled for a minute before letting out a piercing laugh.
"Oh god," Dark says between chuckles, "Of course you don't. Here, follow me." Dark looks at him a moment longer before making a quick motion with his head and turning left down another hallway.
The music room is in a different building entirely and Link tries his best not to feel intimidated at the looming double doors and the strong piano playing that he's greeted with when they make it to their destination. Dark gives him a smile and pushes the door open with ease. Link finds himself staring, suddenly remembering that Dark has been part of the theater program for at least three years. He won't let Link make a fool of himself.
Actually, he probably will, but Link needs all of the comfort he can possibly get right now.
There's an elderly woman behind the piano, she's studying a piece of music intently and in front of her is a young girl, singing a piece that Link recognizes immediately.
It's the same song that he's been practicing religiously for the past few days. Link's heart drops low in his stomach and he feels himself clam up.
"You okay?" Dark asks, concerned. Link doesn't respond.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Dark says again, trying to sound reassuring. Link just continues to stand completely still, trying not to listen to the way that the girl in front of the piano hits one of the notes that he has been struggling with. She sings it with perfect clarity and no cracking.
Dark leans forward and grabs Link's bag from his shaking hands. He carries both his and Link's stuff over to a far corner and adds it to a pile of other school bags, most likely property of the other theater kids.
Why did Link ever think that he could fit in here?
The girl stops, her voice dying out on the last note and the piano player looks up from her sheet music, she looks thrilled.
"That was brilliant, Midna!" The older woman congratulates, "We have so many great auditions for Brenda already, It's so exciting!" Link crosses his arms across his chest and notices Dark walking towards him from the other side of the room. His friend takes a detour, however, and leans down to give the piano woman a hug, resulting in a squeak and a harmless slap to the side of Dark's head.
"Dark!" The woman says, sounding twice as happy as before. If that were even possible. Dark smiles and takes a seat beside her on the piano bench. She doesn't seem to mind, laughing and ruffling his hair.
Link's hands clench into fists.
"Why are you here?" The woman asks, "Surely you must know that you can't play both leading roles. Not that I would deny you the privilege. If anybody could handle it, it'd be you." Dark smiles, fluffing up under the praise. He gives a softened glance over at Link who is still standing stiffly in the doorway.
"Despite how much I would love to play both roles," Dark says, still smiling, "I'm here for him." The ladies attention is then completely focused in on Link and the blonde tries his hardest not to let his nervousness show.
"Hello," The lady calls out to him, "Who are you?" Link gulps loudly and walks forward. He sticks his hand out and she accepts the handshake with a strong smile. Is she ever not smiling?
"I'm Link," Link answers, "And I'm here to audition for the role of Brenda." Dark watches him fondly, still seated on the piano bench. The lady looks surprised for a few seconds before her confusion is quickly replaced with a smile and she motions towards the music stand in front of the piano. It's the same stand that the other girl was standing in front of when she was auditioning.
"Please," The lady tells him, "Show me what you've got. Do you have a particular song in mind? Maybe I can accompany you." Link moves over to the music stand and nods.
"I'd like to audition with the same song as the girl before me, 'Fly, Fly Away.'" Link says softly, eyes locked on her face. He tries increasingly hard not to look at Dark who is also staring back at him from behind the piano.
"Of course," The lady says and Dark turns his eyes away from the blonde long enough to give the piano lady a quick tap on the shoulder.
"I'll play it for him, if that's okay. The poor thing has been nervous all day." Link tries not to gasp. Dark, playing for him? His nervousness eases just the tiniest bit at the thought.
"Please," Link begs, face turning pink, "I'd feel much more comfortable if Dark played. No offense of course." The lady looks confused for a moment, eyes passing between the two of them before a sort of understanding lights up her face and she nods. She stands up from the piano bench and walks over to sit in a chair next to the doorway, watching expectantly.
Dark stretches out on the piano bench and lets his fingers dance over the keys for a moment.
"Whenever you're ready darling," Dark teases. Link gulps again, his fingers drumming nervously against his jean clad thigh. The nervous blonde gives Dark a quick nod and Dark winks at him before turning to look down at the piano keys. The first note rings out throughout the room and Link follows it with a surprisingly clear, strong voice.
It sounds different than the girl before him, obviously, he doesn't have the high register of either a Broadway singer or a female. It isn't horrible though, his vibrato his descent and his pitch is shaky but still somewhat in the right key.
He ends up closing his eyes halfway through, not being able to look at the expression on Dark's face anymore. He can't stand the thought of Dark somehow finding out that Link is singing about him.
His voice cracks a bit on one of the higher notes but he can't seem to care, too lost in the music to care much about correctness or technicality. He sings for his dead father and for his mother. For his new life and for the boy glancing at him from behind the piano.
Audition be damned.
He ends stronger than he hopes and listens with his eyes still closed as Dark kills the sound on the piano.
The room is completely silent and Link cracks his eyelids open, already dreading any sort of response. He has half the mind to just run over to the back of the room, grab his bag and run like Hell but he stands still because he owes himself that much at least.
The piano woman is the first to speak, she sounds uncertain and the smile is no longer on her face.
"How long have you been going to school here?" She asks suddenly. Link blinks at her, surprised.
"I just started a few weeks ago," He answers. She shakes her head and stands up from her seat. She moves over to where Dark is still sitting at the piano and pushes him over so that she can take a seat beside him.
"It wasn't perfect," She reveals, smiling once again, "But I do think that you have a lot of potential. I'd like to hear you sing one more thing, if you don't mind." Link's heart drops at the idea of having to sing again and he tries not to clam up. He doesn't have to be doing this, he reminds himself. He could be at home right now, lying in bed playing video games and doing homework. But then he looks over at Dark, who is still staring at Link as if he's seeing him for the first time and Link knows that he can't leave now.
"I don't mind," Link replies reluctantly. She smiles again and then turns to Dark and gives him a gentle push.
"Go on," She chastises him, "Up you go. Go stand up there with your friend, I'd like to hear a duet." Dark looks positively shocked, glancing from the piano lady back up at Link.
"I-" He starts but stops when the piano lady gives him a strict glare. Dark lets out a sigh, and stands up from the bench, walking over to stand next to Link. Much to Link's surprise, Dark leaves a pretty large space between the two of them. He tries not to let it affect him too much.
"Do you know 'Seven Wonders?'" The piano lady asks, already flipping through her music book. Link nods and then, realizing that she can't see him, clears his throat.
"Yes Ma'am," Link calls to her. Dark doesn't look at him, just fiddles with his shirt sleeve and looks everywhere except for at Link.
"Good," The piano lady notes, "Well, we'll start on my cue."
Link takes a deep breath and glances over at Dark again. His friend looks uncomfortable and just downright disturbed.
Link holds up his hand.
"Hmmm?" Piano lady inquires, looking up from her music at Link.
The blonde turns to Dark, giving him a look equal parts hurt and confused.
"Do you not want to sing with me?" Link snaps. Dark glances over at him, looking surprised that Link has even spoken to him.
"Of course I want to sing with you," Dark tells him somewhat reluctantly, "I just-"
"You just what?" Link asks. Dark looks away from him again.
"I don't think that a street urchin should be seen singing with an angel," Dark murmurs.
Link's heart clenches painfully again and he studies Dark's face desperately. The taller boy just looks embarrassed.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Link quips. The piano lady laughs outright and Link spares her a quick glance.
"You two are quite a pair," She says fondly, "I'm going to have to ask you to go ahead and start singing though. I do have a life outside of high school theater." Dark grunts and Link glares at him before smiling at the piano lady and giving a sharp nod.
They skip the dialogue at the beginning and jump right into the actual duet. Dark's voice is unlike anything Link has ever heard before. He's completely in character and it's no shock to Link that he would be perfect at this too. God knows he's perfect at everything else.
Link's part is much less impressive and the whole duet is more bittersweet than it is romantic but when they both finish harmonizing on the last note, the piano lady looks incredibly pleased.
Dark, however, looks far from pleased, and is once again avoiding Link's eyes.
Link thanks the lady profusely for her time, trying not to dwell on the space that Dark continues to put between them. She tells them that the audition results should be posted outside of the music room tomorrow after school. Link assures her that he'll be there to see the results.
When the piano lady is back in her office away from them, Link walks over to the back room and grabs his and Dark's bags. Dark follows a few paces behind him, looking irritated as Link lugs both bags over his shoulder. If Link has Dark's bag in his possession, he knows that the taller boy isn't going to be able to escape a confrontation.
They don't say a word until they are both out of the music room and are standing in front of the main school building. Dark is still following behind Link, looking uncomfortable and just as reserved as he had been ever since Link had started singing for the audition.
The blonde drops both bags onto the concrete pathway leading to the main building and turns to glare at Dark.
"What did I do?" Link asks, cursing the way that his voice shakes. Dark looks startled, glancing at him for a moment before glaring down at his shoes.
"You didn't do anything," Dark reassures.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Link asks, trying another tactic. Dark lets out a rough sigh and reaches up to run a frustrated hand through his hair.
"I can't explain it," Dark murmurs, "I just need some time to myself. Some time to be, you know, alone."
Link lets out a shaky breath. The idea of Dark not wanting to talk to him is foreign, it's uncomfortable and miserable. Link tries to ignore the sharp impact that the words have on his heart but It doesn't work and before he knows it, he's reaching down and picking his bag back up.
"Ah-" Link chokes, looking around him nervously, "I understand-" No, no he doesn't, "-I'll just leave you alone to think." Dark, finally, looks like he's coming back to his senses and he looks honestly terrified. It's a shame that Link is too far away from him to see it now.
"Link!" Dark yells, running to catch up to the blonde. Link doesn't turn to look at him, just continues on his way to the student parking lot.
"I'm not mad, Dark," Link lies, he's good at lying, "I'm really not. Don't worry." He doesn't stop moving as he's talking and he doesn't turn around even after Dark forces him to a stop with a hand on his wrist.
"Link," Dark starts, but Link just continues to look at the ground, turned away from his friend.
Dark lets out a breathy sigh, and reluctantly lets go of Link's wrist. Link is just about to start on his way back to the student parking lot, but before he has time to move, Dark is grabbing onto his wrist again and turning him around to face him.
"Dark?" Link yelps, surprised, but Dark just stares at him. He looks so confused, so broken and he doesn't say a word.
Link stays completely still, doesn't dare to breathe as Dark leans forward and brushes blonde bangs out of his eyes. Link gasps and Dark leans forward. Link is sure he's going to kiss him, he's so sure, in fact, that he reaches forward and clings to Dark's shirt front like it's a lifeline.
Much to Link's disappointment, Dark doesn't kiss his lips; he just places a very gentle, very fleeting kiss onto his cheek. He stays there for what feels like an eternity, soft lips pressing against Link's skin and black hair tickling the tip of Link's nose.
When Dark pulls away, Link finds himself missing the sensation. He doesn't let go of Dark's shirt.
"I'm sorry," Dark murmurs, reaching up to run a hand through Link's hair. Link leans into the touch, loosening his grip on Dark's shirt.
"Sorry for what?" Link asks, breathlessly.
"For everything," Dark answers, and before Link has time to register what's happening, the taller boy is pulling away and moving away from him. Link stands there, watching as Dark moves to the other end of the walkway and grabs his bag from where Link threw it down. He doesn't so much as glance at Link, just heaves his bag onto his shoulder and walks back in the direction of the music room.
Link breathes heavily, moving over to lean against the building wall. He feels boneless, like everything inside of him has turned to jello.
It's in that exact moment that Link begins to understand Dark's apology. He understands why Dark kissed him, why he pulled away and why Dark said that he was sorry.
Dark is starting to fall in love with him.
And Link suddenly comes to the realization that he should be feeling just as sorry because he's starting to fall in love too.
(VERY LONG) Author's Note:
Alright, so I obviously have a lot of explaining to do.
I'm going to begin this explanation with an apology.. I'M SO SORRY FOR ABANDONING YOU GUYS! In complete honesty, I hate making excuses for myself so I'm just going to say that my life got extremely busy at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school and pretty much hasn't slowed down until this year. I lost all inspiration for this story and even when I tried to turn back to it and write another chapter, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was doing or where I was going with it.
That's what led me to turning this into a theater AU.
Now, don't get me wrong, It's still going to be a high school AU and the theater part will not take up all of plot... I just had the weirdest urge to make Dark a theater kid! Also, I added Midna because I was too lazy to come up with another OC and she's super cool so, you know, why not!
IDK! It's crazy!
I have to say thank you to all of you guys. After the response to the first two chapters of this story, I was both thrilled and terrified. Even after I shut down all production with this fanfic and went on a seemingly endless hiatus, I STILL got responses and favorites for this story. IT was CRAZY! So, yes, I am very horrible at leaving things unfinished and feel that I will never be able to start on another fanfiction until I have finished this one. Or at least attempted to finish it.
So, yes, here's to frequent updates and a steadily developing plot!
(Btw, I completely understand if theater is not your thing and you don't want to read this anymore. I get that. Trust me, I do. I'm just continuing this for the sake of my sanity and for the sake of any others who are just itching to see this thing completed once and for all..)
I had a beta for this thing at one point I think but I'm not cruel enough to expect them to even want anything to do with me after I left this story sitting in the depths of my computer for so long... so all of this is horribly edited by me, myself, and I!
I've never actually seen all of Catch Me If You Can.. (Which might explain why some of my facts are wrong.. If some of my facts are wrong..)
But writing this has given me inspiration to finally finish watching it!
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME!
I LOVE YOU!
