Act 2

Chapter 16-Welcome back

The wind's gentle breeze blew the dead leaves along the stone path that was outside the boys' dormitories. The sun was still high in the sky on this Friday morning and the familiar orange glow of Arcadia Bay was washed all over the stones and grass, covering all it touched in its warm embrace. Aaron sat on the bench outside the building as he scrolled through his phone, letting time pass him buy. He wasn't interested in doing anything, just relaxing for a while before he faced the long night ahead of him.

Kate had been in the hospital since Tuesday and he had already visited her a number of times over the last few days. Aaron didn't like the idea of her being in the hospital but he'd rather be there than in the ground. It was the lesser of two evils and he had to accept it; lucky for him, he had friends to keep him company.

Max walked up to him, drawing his eye; Aaron waved back in response, taking his head out of his phone.

"What's up Max?" he asked as she stood in front of him.

"Nothing much, just checking in, how you doing?" Max replied, giving Aaron a warm smile.

"Getting by, same as usual. Kate says thanks for the flowers you dropped off yesterday, she really likes them" Aaron stood up and walked away from the dorm with Max and headed for the main campus.

"Are you going to see her later?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking about heading down for two-ish"

"Mind if I tag along"

"Sure, it'd be nice to have company for a change" Aaron replied with a smile. "I still don't like the idea of her being in hospital, there's nothing wrong with her"

"I agree with you one hundred percent" Max said as she looked at the time on her phone. "There's nothing we can do to about it now apart from make sure she's treated right when she comes out"

Aaron grumbled as the two continued to walk. He was glad that people had finally realised what situation Kate was in and offered their help, even if it was only because she was about to kill herself. He had another fight lined up as he always did on Friday so he wanted to see her while he wasn't all bloody and bashed up.

"Mr Keaton should have posted the cast list for Hamlet, wanna go see what we got?" Max suggested, leading Aaron to nod in agreement as the two headed for the double doors of Blackwell's main building.

Aaron hadn't planned on getting a big part, he just chose drama as he had to take an extracurricular activity and this was the one he could stomach the most. He was only there because he had to be, not because he actually gave a damn.

As he flipped his hair to the side, he thought about football again; Zach's offer was solid enough and he probably could get Aaron a place on the team. If not for his own doubts, Aaron probably would have accepted the offer then and there. He just didn't see his build as one for Varsity football.

At least he knew he was good at playing football, so that would be more of a reason to take the offer. With drama, he had no idea what he was able to do and what he'd suck at. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place and he really couldn't be bothered to figure out a way out of everything, especially with everything going on with Kate and his next fight.

Max was in the same boat; she was a very shy girl and performing in front of a large crowd wasn't something she saw herself being able to do. However, there was nothing else she saw fitting for her and since she had Chloe back in her life, she was feeling more confident and figured this would be the next step in coming out of her shell.

In an ideal world, Max would be happy with whatever role she was cast in and would play it to the best of her abilities. She just knew she'd have to deal with the bitchyness of everyone and all of the judgmental comments. It wasn't something she was looking forward to but hoped with Kate's attempted suicide fresh in everyone's minds, that she would escape the cruelness of everyone in the room.

The two made their way along the corridor and turned into where the drama class was located; there on the closed door was the cast list. It was certainly a shock to see who was cast in the titular role as well as the supporting roles. The crowds of people all checking in on the list all voiced their distaste and annoyance with the choices as most people would. Aaron and Max had to make their way through the small crowd of people to see what they have been left with.

The Tragedy of Hamlet; Prince of Denmark

Cast

Hamlet –Aaron Heartfield

Ophelia-Maxine Caulfield

Claudius-Hayden Jones

Horatio-Nathan Prescott

Polonius-Evan Harris

Gertrude-Dana Ward

Gertrude's Lady in waiting-Juliet Watson

Cornelius and Voltimand-Justin Williams and Trevor Yard

Laertes-Luke Parker

Lady's at court-Victoria Chase, Taylor Christiansen

The Ghost of Hamlet's Father-Warren Graham

Aaron and Max just stared at the door with their mouths hung ajar; they were probably more shocked than Victoria at the roles they had been cast in and it showed on their faces. Victoria had stormed off when she realised she didn't have the part she wanted but that could be expected from her. Justin and Trevor were just happy that their names were placed next to each other on the sheet of paper.

Dana had roped Trevor into taking drama and he in turn roped Justin into it. The two of them had no interest but as the lessons went on, they found themselves enjoying a lot more than they thought they would. Warren was there mainly due to Max but also because he was good friends with Aaron and Luke was there because even though he wouldn't let anyone close to him, he was a vivid thespian. You wouldn't think it by looking at him but it's true, he loved acting.

"Wow, this is uh…yeah" was all Aaron could say as he looked at the piece of paper that was stuck to the door in front of him.

"Yeah, this is a shock" Max replied as the two stood dead still as the crowd dispersed around them.

"Well I guess we're both shocked by this" Aaron jested as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I honestly didn't think I'd get Hamlet...like...at all"

"The same could be said about me and Ophelia, I didn't even audition!" Max exclaimed as the two turned around and walked back up the hallway. The shock was still fresh in their minds, they both had landed the two lead roles that they had no intention of getting.

Aaron wasn't all that bothered by it, it just meant there was something for him to set his mind to. Learning lines, conveying dialogue etc, it was all very exciting to be honest. Max on the other hand wanted to be more confident but didn't see how this role would help her. It was too much too fast but she figured she didn't have a choice. The coming weeks would be very interesting indeed.

Kate's hospital room was what you would expect all hospital rooms to be like; clean and smelling of hygienic disinfectant. She had no idea how everything had come to this but she was alive and she was very grateful for it. The whole situation was stupid and Kate regretted ever putting herself and other people up on that roof. It was over and she cold move on, get better. She had started drawing happy things again, not the doom and gloom that she had been creating these past few weeks.

Flowers adorned the corner of her room as well as several cards wishing her on a speedy recovery. It was a shame to see how many people cared AFTER she was bullied up to the roof. Kate was too kind to see it that way and just saw the darkest part in her life as being officially over. She had friends, her family back and now Aaron; her light at the end of the tunnel. This was a new situation for Kate and she wasn't sure how to act; she had never been in a relationship before and the last time she saw Aaron was from the back of the ambulance as he waved goodbye to her.

The one thing she knew however was she loved him more than anything. The feeling she had inside her whenever she thought about him, that she was feeling right now always made her smile as well as feel extraordinarily happy. In Kate's eyes, he was her guardian angel sent by God himself to protect her.

As if by magic, her door opened and his little head popped around it. The two smiled at each other before Aaron entered the room fully, allowing Max to come into view. Kaye was happy to have two of her favorite people there together. She got up as Max hurried to give her a hug while Aaron placed his hands in his jacket pocket and flipped his hair to the side, out of his right eye.

"You guys!" Kate exclaimed as she withdrew from Max. "You came to see me"

"Of course, I miss my favourite girl" Aaron replied as he pulled her into a tight embrace and planting a soft kiss on her cheek. This made Kate blush as she pulled him in closer.

"How are you feeling, Kate?" Max asked her friend, she certainly looked better.

"I feel great, thanks Max" Kate said with a smile on her face as she held Aaron's left hand with her right, interlocking their fingers. "I feel even better now you guys are here"

"How's your family doing, they treating you well?" Max asked as she read some of the cards that Kate had handed her.

"Oh yes, they've been really supportive of me which I didn't expect…I'm glad"

"You're their daughter Kate, they should have helped you from day one" Max called, she wasn't impressed with how Kate's family ostracized her.

"I'm just glad you've allowed them back into your life, not many people would be as kind as you" Aaron joined in, lifting Kate's chin up with his right hand, causing her to smile some more.

"Actually, they are so grateful that you saved me that they want you to come to dinner when I get out of hospital" Kate said to her now shocked boyfriend.

Aaron didn't really know how to reply; he was frozen in place. Of course he'd love to meet Kate's parents, he just didn't think he was the type of guy she'd want to bring home to the family.

"I uh, yeah" Aaron stuttered. "That would be great"

Kate smiled even brighter when she heard Aaron wanted to meet her family. Her parents were so grateful for what he had done for Kate, they needed to express their gratitude in some way. Kate was just happy her and Aaron were official and bringing him home would be a nice thing they could do together.

"Well it was nice to see you guys but I need to take my medication now" Kate said as she looked at the clock on the wall. "Feel free to visit any time you want"

"We will, Kate; I just hope you get back to school soon. Everything just isn't the same without you and everyone misses you. Max replied as she hugged her friend goodbye.

"I'll text you later ok, I love you" Aaron whispered as he hugged her goodbye.

"I love you too" Kate said back to her boyfriend. Things just didn't seem real.

Someone who actually loves her, someone who just wants to look after her and spend every second with her. After being on her own for so long, it was nice to have someone she could share these feelings with. She couldn't wait to be free from this hospital and live her relationship to the fullest.

A/N:-Ok, a few things I need to say; first off, so very sorry for such a long upload time. My old laptop refused to work and eventually fell in half so I had to but a new one. It took some time but as soon as I had it, I went straight to work on this chapter. I do apologise for the length, I just wanted to get the start of Act 2 out to all of you who have been waiting patiently.

The second thing I wanted to say is I've made a mistake with Aaron's age throughout the story. I've referred to him as being seventeen when he is in fact eighteen. My understanding of the American education system was off and I'm sorry it took this long to correct.

I'm keen to see how you all felt about Act 1 and what you'd like to know about the direction I'm taking the story in. Please Review, that's what it's there for, I wanna make the story as good as possible. A follow and favourite is always appreciated and makes me a happy bunny. And that's chapter 16 done, the next one is gonna be a nice wholesome filler of what has happened since Kate has been in hospital so let's see how that goes. All I can say is look forward to chapter 18-Blackwell: After dark…that's gonna be a whole lot of crazy you don't wanna miss.