A.N. I own none of the characters from Ed, Edd n' Eddy, or the OC's Nathan Goldberg and James "Rave" Castellanos. They are owned by Danny Antonucci, c2ndy2cid and eyugho respectively. My OC's Logan and Adrianna Canterbury, Emily Sanders, and Vanko Barsky and any other characters not mentioned belong to me. I also own none of the content from the musical "The Drowsy Chaperone." Enjoy, review and cheers!
The loud sound of a CD recording rings throughout the hallway.
"I am Aldolpho! Aldolpho!" Just as the music ends, the choreographer's routine ends. They stand firmly on the ground. Nat, James, Emily, and Vanko stare at them.
"There ain't no way in hell I'm doing that with HIM," James says as he points at Nat.
Nat sighs. "Look, I'm not thrilled either, but we have to."
"Please. I'm not dancing with you until I absolutely have to," James replies. He takes the arm of the Russian exchange student. "C'mon Vanko, we'll practice together." He walks into another part of the hall.
Nat scowls at him. "Fine, I'll just practice with Emily then." He pauses for a moment. "I gotta piss. I'll be right back." He walks away. He passes by James, and then end up fighting as soon as they see one another. Vanko walks back over to Emily to get away from them.
The choreographers look at one another. Chad and Marceline Robinson, a married couple, sigh to each other, then look at Emily and Vanko.
"They don't get along very well," Emily says. Vanko nods in agreement.
"That's an understatement," he replies with his thick accent.
Marceline sighs. "Alright, I'll teach James and Vanko," she points to her husband, "and you can teach Nathan and Emily." Chad nods his head in response. The two teens finally break apart from fighting and Nat walks away.
"C'mon Vanko!" James says in an enthusiastic and flirtatious way. "We have to get started!" Vanko mutters something in his native tongue and goes over to James. Marceline joins them. Nat walks back from the bathroom, not hesitating to glare at James as he goes by. James returns the cold gesture, then looks back at Marceline. Nat walks over to Emily and Chad, and Chad begins talking about the dance.
…
"And dip, and-" Nat dips Emily, and Emily almost slips out of his grip. He holds onto her tightly, and in the moment, she threw her arms tightly around him to hold herself up. Nat pulls her back up, and she still holds onto him tightly. Chad brings his hands together in an audible manner to get their attention.
"How about we take a short break?" he suggests. "To get a drink and bring our focus back. Okay?" The other two nod at him, and Chad steps away to speak with his wife. Nat sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.
"I fucking suck at this," he says. "I can do the waltz, but I can't do the tango to save my fucking life."
"You'll get it soon enough," Emily says. She steps away from him, picks up her water bottle, and gets a drink. Nat puts his back to the wall and slides down it into a sit. Emily sits next to him.
"I hope you're right," he says. He grabs his water bottle from next to him and gets a drink. James and Vanko walk over to them, with James holding onto his dance partner's arm. James lets go of Vanko's arm, and puts on a fake smile as he looks at them.
"So how are you two doing?" He asks, his voice dripping in fake interest, and his own Texas twang. Nat hardens his expression to conceal the fact that he had been doing nothing but struggling this whole time.
"Great," he responds. "Just fantastic." James's smile curves into something more judgemental and sassy.
"You're not having any issues, Goldberg?" he asks. "None at all?"
"No, I'm doing just fine," Nat responds, standing. He accidently loses his balance and falls against the wall. James starts laughing at his clumsiness, resulting in Nat's expression hardening even more.
"I'm surprised you haven't fallen over yet with your balance," James says between bits of laughter. He wipes his eyes, ridding of small tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. "Well, I'm heading back into the auditorium." He takes hold of Vanko's arm again. "C'mon Vanko."
"I'll be there soon," he replies, not looking at James. The other walks away as he softly tousles his hair into place. Vanko watches him leave, and looks at Emily and Nat once James has left.
"So," Emily starts. "How's it going with him?"
"I would rather be gassed by the Nazis like my Deduska was," he replies. Both look at him, confused. "He was a Communist." Both Emily and Nat make verbal sounds of realization. "Da." He looks at Nat. "Don't worry, you will eventually learn the dance. Best of luck."
"Vanko!" He sighs in defeat.
"The beast is calling. I must leave now." he looks at Nat. "Udachi." He walks away and back into the auditorium. Emily stands up and looks at Nat.
"Wanna get some more practice in?" she asks. Nat stands up.
"It couldn't hurt, right?"
…
"I just-ugh. I can't stand him." The maroon haired teen looks up at the blonde and raven-haired boy in front of him. "You get what I'm sayin'?"
"I don't see why you have such a problem with him," Nazz says. "He and I are really close, and trust me, he's not the guy you make him out to be."
"He flirts with me, and it's annoyin'," James responds.
"He's just trying to be nice to you," Nazz says. "You just take it as flirting. Besides, he play flirts."
James mutters under his breath. "Doesn't seem like playin' to me."
"He doesn't' really seem to like you either," Nazz says. Eddward, who had been diligently doing his homework the whole time, finally looks up.
"With how to two fight and act, it's almost like you like each other." James breaks out laughing. He lets out a couple snorts as he laughs.
"Double D," James says through laughter. "You're hilarious."
"I'm being serious," he responds. "You could be trying to conceal your feelings for him."
James wipes a couple tears from his eyes. "Alright, whatever you say." He picks up his pencil and twirls it between his fingers. "I could also say that you and Kevin like each other."
Eddward blushes. "Please, Kevin doesn't like me." He looks back down at his homework, and busies himself once again with it. Nazz leans over the table to James.
"They totally like each other," she whispers.
The bell rings, and they gather their things. Eddward catches James before they leave.
"Just consider it Rave," he says. "It's not healthy to keep your feelings inside." He walks away before the other volatile teen can yell at him.
"I do not like him!" James yells. Passing students stare at him strangely. He sighs and heads to his next period.