"I don't even know what I was thinking." Troy whispered, looking at Ryan through thick eyeliner. "I'm no actor. I don't think I can do this Ry!"

Ryan smiled gently. "You always feel this way the first couple of times." He whispered. "Don't worry." Running a thumb under Troy's eye he smiled. "Eyeliner makes you look more than just a little hot."

Troy grinned, though he felt his heart hammering in his chest. "I didn't know so many people would show up." He said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, round here, plays are a big deal." Ryan shrugged. "I mean, we do have scholarships coming in from Julliard. It has to be top-notch. Plus, my parents donate so much to the drama department its a wonder we're not making feature length films yet."

"That school really means alot to you doesn't it?" Troy fiddled with his shirt while listening to the sounds of the crowd outside getting seated. He stared up at the deep red curtian in front of him. He could barely breathe.

Ryan nodded, looking at Troy. "Don't worry." He said. "Its just a play and you're not in too many scenes. Just the first..."

"When we kiss..."

"The fourth the sixth and the ninth..."

"When we kiss." Troy said, his voice an octave higher that before." You wanna practice now?"

Ryan nudged him. "See, you still have your sense of humour."

In half an hour Troy found himself standing on a stage filled with props, trying to slow his heart rate and immerse himself in his charater. That's what he'd been told to do, 'immerse' himself. Staring into Ryan's eyes, it wasn't that hard. But as he said his lines he felt the kiss looming upon him with rapid intensity. How would everyone react? Sure, plenty of people had read the play, but seeing it would be a whole different ball game.

As the time came closer to the kiss, he began to slow his lines down a bit, and Ryan looked at him strangely. "And now we depart, fair friend." Ryan said, biting his lip in a way that made it look entirely natural, but let Troy know that he was just as nervous as he was.

As Troy got ready to say his departing line, before they kissed, he saw his father, sitting in the seventh row from the front, staring up at him. The look on his face was indistinguishable, but Troy understood the implications. 'He came to see me.' He thought. 'Even though we're fighting and I haven't been home for more than a week he came to see me.'

Ryan looked at him, squeezing his hand a little, pleadingly,

Troy turned to him, then got it together. His father could wait. "The loss of you is not so bitter as it is sweet, for the thought of being with you once again makes the bittterness dim." He said. Then, bending foreward, he kissed Ryan, as only someone totally in love with someone else could. But the people in the audience didn't know that. They just thought it was excellent acting.

So they clapped, 5 minuites straight, making Ryan flush with pride at the reception.

Troy grinned in relief.

This one took a while to write and then I realized that the chapter was too long, so I split it in half.

Poll:

A)Run

B)Face Fears