The next day, John arrived early to his first period. He engaged in some small talk with his teacher, bringing up his play and actually convincing the adult to come to it. Once the bell rang, the kids started filing in. They started doing some review to help with the finals when a certain Strider strolled in, late as usual. He dropped his bag and sat down in his seat, which to John's dismay, was right next to him. He was his partner in ever class they had together, and John was starting to question it.
"Mr. Strider this is the fourth time you were tardy. Another tardy and you get detention." Their teacher, Mr. Donald, peered at him through his glasses, then went back to teaching. Dave just shrugged, John rolled his eyes at the careless gesture. Dave then leaned closer to him. "Hey, Egbert, I was wondering...Maybe today I could come over, and we could practice our lines. Y'know, for our Drama finals." He whispered, smirking slightly. John raised his brow.
"I'm busy after school. And since when did you care about finals, let alone Drama?" John didn't let the other respond, turning his back to him. John opened his binder to get out a paper, when Dave slammed his hand down on it. John jumped slightly, then glared at him. "What the hell-"
"'Prince Charmings'. What's that?" Dave looked closely at the script. John yanked his binder back and frowned. "It's the play I'm auditioning for, today after school." He answered, closing his binder. "Oh. Sounds gay." Dave turned his attention back to John's angry looking face. "That's because it is." He spat, then raised his hand. "Mr. Donald, can I move up front? I'm having trouble seeing." He lied.
"Sure John. There's an open seat right there." Mr. Donald nodded, and waited for John to move. He continued on with the lesson, though John and Dave both tuned him out. John just zoned out, not really thinking of anything, but Dave on the other hand had his mind set on John. He wasn't like all the other loose girls and guys, who would accept any offer from Dave in a heart beat. No, he despised Dave. John didn't care about him at all. And that's what interested Dave.
Dave blinked and looked up at his teacher, who had repeatedly snapped his fingers in his face. "Dave I'd appreciate it if you gave your attention to the board and not Mr. Egbert." Mr. Donald turned away from him, shushing the class when their giggles got out of control. Dave blushed slightly and glanced at John, who was ducking in embarrassment.
Class seemed to drag on after that moment, time going by painfully slow. John would glance at the clock every two seconds, praying that the bell would ring every time he looked. The bell did ring though, and most of the students rushed out, including Dave. Feeling awkward, John took his time packing up his stuff and leaving the classroom. He met up with Karkat in the hallway, and they headed towards the Theatre.
"He was staring at me again." John shoved his hands into his pocket and frowned. "It's creepy and annoying. And he's trying to go to my house!" He looked to Karkat, who seemed to not be paying attention.
"Why the hell does he want to go to your place?" Karkat looked up at him, his eyes dull and angry. John shrugged. "He said he wanted to go over our lines and stuff for the Drama finals." He explained. Karkat only snorted. "Yeah right, I bet he's just trying to get in your pants." John rolled his eyes and was about to open the door, when someone else walked out. They both stepped back, watching the other walk away. That person just so happened to be Dave Strider, the most popular guy in school. John and Karkat exchanged looks, then walked into the Theatre.
"Um, Mr. Ben, why did Dave just leave this area?" John asked, setting his stuff down. "He came to get a script, he's auditioning for the play." Mr. Ben didn't look up from his papers.
"What?!" John and Karkat said in sync, then looked at each other awkwardly.
"That was weird."
"Never do that again."
John walked over to his Drama teacher and leaned on the desk. "Mr. Ben, you can't do this!" Mr. Ben rose his head and stared at John blankly. "Who says I can't?" He said quietly, then went back to his work. John sighed. "You and I both know he sucks at acting, he's going to mess this whole thing up! And the whole school will take being gay as a joke." John plopped down in a seat and sighed again.
"Whole school? John, you said no one comes to our plays, why are you so worried?" Karkat sipped at his juice and raised a brow at the other. "You clearly don't understand, Karkat. Think about it, think real hard. Dave is the most popular guy in school, and if word gets out that he's in a play, bitches will be lining up for miles waiting to see it." John rested against the chair, then held his arms out. "I need a hug."
"Yeah, ya do." Karkat put his juice down and walked over to John, then wrapped his arms around him. John sighed happily, and they stayed like that for a while.
"You smell bad, Karkat."
"Shut up, I just had PE."
After school, John, Karkat, and Vriska all met up at the Theatre. Scripts in hand, they were ready to audition. John went first, then Karkat, then Vriska. Anyone else who came just claimed they only wanted a small part, like a background character, since there were only two supporting roles. Finally, Dave walked in, waving back at a few girls. Everyone looked back at him, all giving him the same deathly stare.
"What?" Dave stared back at them through his shades, then walked up to Mr. Ben when no one answered him. "You should've been here twenty minutes ago, Mr. Strider." Mr. Ben looked at him disapprovingly. "Sorry, got caught up in traffic." What a lame excuse.
"You weren't even fashionably late," John said under his breath. He was sitting on the edge on the stage, kicking his feet and reading over his lines. Dave cracked a small smile at his remark, then went towards the stage. "I'm auditioning for the role of Rafe, Mr. Ben." Dave jumped onto the stage and rolled his sleeves up.
"Ooh, looks like you've got a runner up, Karkat." Vriska grinned and nudged the shorter one. He just growled and elbowed her. "Oh shut up, you'll probably end up as an understudy with your shitty acting anyway." Vriska glared at him and moved to a different seat. "Where's your script, Dave?" Mr. Ben asked.
"Oh, heh, I don't need it. I got all my lines up here." He tapped his temple with his index finger then looked down at John to see if he was impressed. Which he wasn't, but that should've been expected. John just slid off the stage and sat in Vriska's previous seat, which was by Karkat. Dave frowned slightly, then cleared his throat. "But dad you don't understand! I love Asher, he's my everything! I can't live without him, please don't do this to me!" Dave said his lines so perfectly, it really surprised everyone. He dropped to his knees and acted as if he were crying, then stood up and jumped off the stage. "How was that?"
Mr. Ben, along with everyone else, looked appalled. "Heh, that was great!" He smiled and pat Dave on the back. Dave sauntered passed Karkat and John, smirking at their expressions. "Better close your mouth, John, don't want any flies goin' in there." John instantly shut his mouth, looking away out of slight embarrassment. Dave chuckled and took a seat behind the two. A few minutes passed, and Mr. Ben turned to face all the students in The House.
"Alright, that's a wrap. You'll all get your roles tomorrow, just come by during Nutrition or lunch." He announced, then spoke with one of the techies, Sollux, about microphones. John and Karkat started gathering their stuff then headed out the door, Vriska following along.
"So John, what'd you think of Mr. Popular's performance?" She looked to him with a smile. John adjusted the strap on his bag. "I'll admit, it was shockingly well done. But a little over done, and he got a few lines wrong."
"What if he gets the part?" Karkat asked. John made a disgusted face. "Then I'd give up my role. I'd never kiss that pretentious dick wad, even if it was staged." Karkat chuckled. "Nice choice of diction, fuck face." John rolled his eyes and playfully punched his arm. "Oh shut up."
Just then, Dave appeared behind them, and he looped his arm around John's shoulder. "So, Egbert, about those finals..." John moved away from him, Karkat and Vriska doing the same. "Which finals are you talking about, Dave? We have five classes together, and they all have final exams."
"The Drama final, duh." Dave stood in place, one hand on his bag strap and the other in his pocket. John turned to him and held his binder close. "What about them?" John questioned. "Well I was thinkin' we could head back to your place and-"
"Dave. I've done 'Going to the Top, Part Two,' at least two out of the four years I've been in Drama. I don't need to practice it. You just proved that you remember things easily. So you go home and practice your lines, and stop bothering me about it, okay?" John turned away from his and started walking with his two friends again. Dave stayed back, feeling stupid and a bit humiliated. Sighing, he just turned on his heel and walked away.