A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYBODY! Hope it has been excellent so far! I know it has been so for me =D So many story ideas have been flooding into my head. I think I'll be posting up a couple of new ones in the next few days C:
PS. Fellini refers to this famous Italian film director, Federico Fellini, and I'm rather fond of his movies. The first one I ever saw was 8 1/2 which is why I put 85, as in 8.5...okay, that's pushing it, I know. But yeah.
Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.
West Side Story belongs to Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim.
Bye Bye Birdie belongs to Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse, and Lee Adams.
Gillian let out a whoop at the top of the stairs.
"OPENING NIGHT, BITCHES!"
She exuberantly tramped down the steps to join the rest of the cast already assembled on the stage, each of them in varying processes of one of Arthur's favourite warm-ups: roll downs. Said director straightened up with a scowl.
"Thank you for informing us. And for finally arriving. Really, of all days to be late, you picked today? Do you want to give me a heart attack or something?"
"Arthur! Arthur!" Yong Soo hopped up and down, waving one arm in the air frantically. "Can we do shakedowns? Pleeeeeaaase?"
"No! We've wasted enough time as it is. Gillian, you missed dance warm up, so I expect you to do that on your own. Now everybody listen to Roderich for vocal warm-up."
Arthur hopped off the stage and up the stairs where he had deposited his backpack at the left hand highest corner seat. HK, who had been sitting up there next to it, watched him languidly as he sifted through the things in his bag.
"Nervous?"
"Oh, FUCK yes."
"It'll be fine. They know what they're doing." He stretched his legs as Arthur straightened up with a bundle of clothes in his hand. "Changing into formal dress already?"
"There really isn't anything else I CAN do at this point," the older boy sighed. As he stomped out the door, Maddie crept out of the booth to have a chat.
"I guess this is it."
"Yup. Unbelievable, right?"
"Crazy." They paused and listened to the rise and fall of people's voices from below. "But it'll be good."
"Yeah." HK twisted around to give her another of his almost-smirks. "OUR job here is practically done, anyway. Your turn."
"Oh, thanks," she replied wearily before retreating to her hiding place next to Eduard. HK got up and slowly began picking his way down the aisle.
"Hey, guys," he called out. "Dressing rooms are now open. Look for the list of names on each door. We have your costumes hung and labeled inside – Feliks will be here soon to help with any problems. For now, just get into your costumes and makeup."
"And we'll help with makeup for anyone who doesn't know how to do it!" Clara waved towards herself and Elizabeta.
"AND, don't forget to go to Kiku or Heracles for your mics afterward," yelled Ingrid, momentarily sticking her head out from the booth.
"Also, check off your name on the sign-in sheet, I put it up on the call board between the dressing rooms!" Maddie appeared next to her. "Should have told you about it yesterday, sorry…"
"By the way, we ordered pizza," HK shouted over the chatter of students drifting away, heading backstage. "It's in the green room right now, so actually hold on getting into costume yet. Arthur and Feliks both will kill you for getting any stains on them. Now go and get settled!"
Lovina didn't move, but glared up at the crew.
"…How the hell am I supposed to remember all of THAT?"
"Oh, they'll just keep on yelling at us until we do everything they say," said Francis, striding serenely past her. She followed him through the wings, past the props table and down the stairs into a hallway where the dressing rooms were located. Shouts and laughter echoed around them.
"Pizza's heeeeeeeere!" Lovina flattened herself against the wall as a stampede of eager and very hungry teenagers flew past. In the midst of it all, somebody grabbed her arm and began dragging her along.
"Come on, Lovina!"
"Could you guys fuckin' slow down already! It's not gonna run off!"
Francis laughed as he watched her being swept up into the crowd. Little Lovi was much happier than she let on. He continued making his way to the boys' dressing room to put away his things, still thinking about her. And Antonio. Francis smirked to himself. They had it coming, he decided. Tonight would NOT be just any night…he'd make sure of that.
Twenty minutes later, Arthur walked into the green room, straightening his tie. Quietly standing by the door, he watched the buzzing crowd of his peers eating and chatting away in a big group. He had to smile. Not like anyone would probably believe him, but this was why he loved theatre – he liked being surrounded by people. It was kind of the one surefire way he knew he wouldn't be alone, because you could never do anything in drama without having support and help from others. And if something like this would get such a socially unequipped person such as he to have friends, then it could help anyone.
Speaking of such cases, Lovina was leaning against the wall a few paces away, munching on a slice of four cheese pizza, and trying to ignore the ridiculous song-banter going over her head.
HI LIZZY!
HI GILLY!
WHAT'S THE STORY, MORNING GLORY?
WHAT'S THE WORD, HUMMINGBIRD?
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT TONI AND LOVI?
"Say WHAT?" Lovina yelped, nearly spilling her soda in the process. She twirled around to glare at the two girls, both wearing creepily similar smirks. She was never going to understand them. One second they'd be at each other's throats, then braiding each other's hair and giggling conspiratorially the next. Recently, the latter had been occurring far more often, which was extremely suspicious. "What the FUCK do you mean by that?"
"Chillax, it's just a song."
"You did NOT just use the word 'chillax.' I mean, who still says that?"
"Awesome people do!"
Lovina rolled her eyes and was about to retort with another sarcastic comment, but was interrupted with Arthur leaping up frantically, shouting how they now only had an hour before the house opened.
So the next forty minutes became a blur.
Lovina was shunted along to the dressing rooms, where chaos reigned with reckless abandon. People ran back and forth in varying states of dress (or undress…), giggling madly. Francis in particular was having a ball with this until Vash came forth, deadpan and brandishing a broken coat hanger. A long line-up quickly formed at the makeup station, and the girls were soon so busy that Elizabeta no longer had the leisure to sing random songs anymore. Not that Gillian lacked the enthusiasm to pick up the slack. The noise levels escalated as Maddie periodically checked in with them over the intercom reporting news on the timing and reminding people to set props. Lovina retreated to a far corner in one of the smaller, empty dressing rooms, wishing to be away from all the chaos.
"Ve...Still nervous, Lovi?"
Feliciana had somehow found a way to wriggle down to them. Sneaking through the door, she leaned over Lovina, smiling encouragingly. The amber heart dropped from her sternum towards the floor and dangled back and forth as her torso tipped forward.
She wore that potato idiot's stupid necklace every single day. But seeing it reminded Lovina of another thing – still ignoring Feliciana's question, she reached up and unfastened her own chain from around her neck. Dark green would look awful against white and pink. Feliks would have had a heart attack over it.
Undeterred by her sister's silence, Feliciana patted Lovina on the shoulder. "Don't be scared! It's going to be so good! I gotta go before they find out I left. Bye bye!" With a parting peck on the cheek, Feliciana darted off.
Lovina slowly uncurled herself off from her perch, glancing aside at the clock. 7:20. As if on cue, the intercom crackled to life again.
"Ten minutes until the doors open," Maddie reported. "That's when you have to be quiet if you're actually backstage, got it?"
She supposed she couldn't put off make up any longer now. Lovina opened the door a tiny crack.
"Loooooviiiiii!" The first thing she saw was Antonio running up and down the hallway. He skidded to a halt in front of another dressing room and poked his head inside. "Have you seen Lovina? Elizabeta and Heracles both say she doesn't have makeup and mic yet – Ohh, okay. Thanks anyway…" He gently shut the door and frowned.
He actually looked frightened. It was almost endearing. ALMOST. She debated staying hidden for a while longer, but Antonio's troubled expression kind of ruined the pleasure of the power trip.
"Yo. Over here, bastard."
"Lovi!" All distress melted away in an instant. He grabbed her wrist and began to pull her along. "Come on, this is cutting it kind of close, don't you think?"
Antonio stopped. "Though I guess, you don't need makeup." He gazed fondly at her. "You're pretty enough as it is…"
"Stage makeup isn't for aesthetics; it's to enhance facial features so the audience can see more clearly." Heracles suddenly appeared. He dropped a strap-on stage microphone into Lovina's hands and walked away. The two remaning teenagers stood there awkwardly, and Lovina felt her face burning up.
"Hey, Lovina!" Clara beckoned to her from the open doorway down the hall. "We can do you now, where've you been?"
"Yeah! Go," Antonio gave her a little nudge. "Francis says he wants to talk to me, catch you later, okay?"
She eyed him dubiously. "I don't think it's gonna take long. Be there in a few. Promise." He smiled reassuringly before she finally walked inside on her own. Clara winked as she let the door fall shut behind them. Antonio could hear loud exclamations coming from within – sounded like Gillian was in there too.
Francis's summons better be worth it if it was going to separate him from being at his Lovi's side right now...
Natalya was creeping up the stairs towards backstage. She couldn't find Ivan in the dressing rooms or the green room. It was very irritating. She thought he might be hiding in the wings, watching the seats being filled up. His older sister, Katyusha, who had graduated two years before, had come back into town to watch the show. Perhaps he wanted to catch her eye and wave…Natalya's heart flipped with a pang of jealousy. He'd never pay as much attention to her.
"Hey, Nat! You seen my show blade? I know you like knives, and you play with them sometimes…"
Her path was blocked by her ridiculous dance partner. Alfred grinned, muscled arms gripping the stair railing as he leaned back nonchalantly. Natalya took a moment to reflect on how most girls in their school would have been falling over themselves at being so close to the basketball star. Silly girls. Although, she guessed, that it was a decent sport to be good at. You had to be tall, and lithe, and quick…
She hastily shook her head. This was distracting her from finding Ivan! Natalya set her sternest glare upon Alfred.
"No, I do not know where your prop is."
"Aww…" He pouted, a plump bottom lip jutting out. Alfred's bright blue eyes wandered about the space. "Artie's gonna kill me, because I have no idea where I left it last time…" They finally settled onto her.
"Wow! You look really great!"
Natalya's train of thought was derailed once again, and she actually looked down at herself in surprise. It was just an orange sheath dress, with a thick brown belt around her middle. Nothing fancy.
"Feliks told me to wear it. So I did."
"Well, I'm gonna say he did a fantastic job!" Alfred grinned at her. She was surprised at the fact that it actually seemed sincere. "And huh, I never saw you with your hair up before either."
The hair had also been Feliks's doing – he'd taken on an additional role of stylist, assisting Clara and Elizabeta. At one point, he'd accosted Natalya, forced her into a chair and after ten minutes of teasing, hairspray, and overuse of the word "mod," she'd left with an elaborately coiffed updo.
"Feliks also told me to wear it." Natalya's eyes flickered up and down Alfred's own costume. "You look very…blue."
He laughed, fiddling with the edge of his denim jacket. "Yeah? Feliks told me to wear it too." He paused. Then, almost shyly, "Guess I better keep on looking for that knife…see you later?"
"Of course. My first scene is with you."
"Oh, yeah! Cool. See ya, Nat." She scooted to the side as he bounded away towards the dressing rooms. Natalya stayed on her step for another minute, trying to remember what she was doing before he had interrupted her.
"Natalya-san?" Kiku appeared at the top of the staircase, headset around her neck and looking concerned. "It's only fifteen minutes until the show begins…do you need something?"
"Yes. Is Ivan there?"
"No, sorry."
"Thank you." Natalya turned and descended. As she reached the last step, she saw something glimmer from beneath the stairs.
It was one of the stage knives. And sure enough, "AL J." had been scribbled along the side. She picked it up, shaking her head. For a moment, her lips might have twitched upwards at the corners just the tiniest bit. But only for the briefest moment. Natalya pocketed the blade and headed back to the green room.
Having stowed his backpack away in the sound booth with Eduard, Ingrid and Maddie, Arthur stood at the back of the house, staring down at the seats. A good two thirds were filled already, with more people trickling in. Some of them, students, teachers and parents alike, had seen him lurking there and engaged in small chat about the show. Arthur had tried to stay polite, but it was difficult to keep focused on the conversation while being so acutely aware of the time ticking away.
So now, he glanced down at his cell phone for the umpteenth time. 8:03 PM. Quelling his alarm, he scurried towards the booth and ducked inside.
"Let's begin."
"Right." Maddie pressed the intercom button again. "Hey, everyone! Show's about to start. Are we good to go? People ready for the Prologue?"
"HELL YEAH!" Gillian's familiar giggle filtered through the static. "It's gonna be so awesome. 'Cept the poor audience will have to deal with being bored outta their minds until I come in during scene three -"
"Dude! Shut up, Gill!"
"Suck it, Jones!"
"AL! Why aren't you backstage?" Arthur leaned over to bark angrily into the receiver. "You're one of the first people on, you git!"
"Okay, okay! Going."
Maddie gently nudged Arthur out of the way to speak to her assistant stage managers. "Good call. People, don't forget your entrances! Heracles, Kiku, are all the Sharks and Jets ready?"
Heracles mumbled an affirmative, but there was a pause on the other side. Then: "Yes, Alfred-san just arrived on stage right."
"Great. We'll start now then." Maddie motioned to Eduard. "House lights out. Roderich knows that's his signal. Break a leg, guys!"
Arthur slipped back out just as the lights dimmed over the audience, hushing them right away. Only the glow of the small work lights around the band stayed, and he could see Roderich lift one hand to count off the time signature just as he settled into the same back corner seat next to HK.
Da-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-dum!
Da da da….
The stage slowly brightened up to reveal the Jets making their way on, scurrying, leaping or treading carefully in time to the music. They formed a tableau: aloof, alert and streetwise. The audience held their breath, waiting for something to happen. Then Alfred, one thumb hooked casually in his pocket, strolled to centre stage, snapping his fingers.
When light glinted off of his glasses, it shot a white-hot flash out into the darkness for a split second. Arthur felt it in his chest like a physical burn.
No backing out now…
A/N: And the show begins! Eee! So exciting =D
Gahhh! I can't believe we're already here! I'm feeling slightly panicky and very excited. I've grown so attached to this story and its characters. When it ends, I'll be thrilled and sad at the same time…and even now when I go back and read it, I see how far I've come in terms of writing. In fact, I kind of avoid chapters 1-4 because they don't seem as good as my more recent ones :3 Thanks for sticking by, everybody!
(Oh, but we're not ending for a fair bit...with such a build up, finally doing the show definitely amounts to more than one measly chapter.)
R&R? Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!