Whitney: Allo! I return!

Erk: Oh good. Just give me a moment to sharpen my knife, and then we'll be all set.

Whitney:... I just wanted to take a second to thank all my reviewers for the encouragement I've been recieveing -

Heath: there was that one exception, of course

Nino: #reading over particular review# We're ignoring that one until the guy learns to spell.

Erk: wait until he learns to read too. I mean, DUH. If you want action, why would you come to SHAKESPEARE PLAY?!?

Whitney: however, I got an idea from that review, so my story will now flip POV's around. It'll centre mostly around Hector, like normal, but during certain moments I'll put the POV on someone with more interesting observations.

Hector: Are you saying I'm dull?

Whitney: As dull as an axe.

Hector:... huh? Axes can be dull AND sharp!

Whitney: Exactly. I would also like to thank the reviewer who used the term "walking on eggshells" for Hecter and Lyn. I loved that line.

Nino: there was also that person who said we weren't acting OOC at all.

Eliwood: except we are.

Nino: It's the thought that counts.

Eliwood: #sighs#

Whitney: Anyway, thanks to EVERYONE, I hope you enjoy the, er, new style!

Karla: She doesn't own anything copyrighted mentioned in this fic.

Main Characters:

Orsino - Heath

Olivia - Lyn

Sebastian - Hector

Viola - Nino

Antonio - Eliwood

Maria - Rebecca

Valentine - Wil

Curio - Rath

Toby - Sain

Andrew - Erk

Malvolio - Jaffar

Feste - Matthew

Fabian – Kent

Extras:

Captain: Guy

Attendants: Serra, Priscilla

Servant: Florina

Officers: Lowen, Karla

Priest: Ninian

Monday morning had a feeling of hollow feeling about it, like all that was worth happening had already happened. Hector didn't really like it.

The weekend had been fairly exciting, if you discounted the four lost hours of costume making. That had to make THAT up after school today. He groaned. He wasn't up to this on a Monday.

Then there was the whole Erk-Serra thing that the whole class – if not school – seemed to be in on. They hadn't MEANT to spy on the two, but it seemed to end up that way – simply because the opportunity presented itself, Hector was trying to tell himself. It wasn't really working.

However, his biggest problem wasn't Erk and Serra anymore, or even that bloody play. It was Lyn.

Not that this was a new thing. She was always a problem. But she was a BIGGER problem now; one he wasn't all that sure how to deal with. If anything, he wanted to keep their tentative relationship a secret –unlike Eliwood, who had practically announced it to the whole world when he and Ninian hooked up- and that normally wouldn't be a big problem, but Serra and Erk had happened to be at the one place Hector took her, and they knew. That could be a problem.

"Hector!" Eliwood almost jumped him from behind.

"Hey Eliwood," Hector greeted his friend, somewhat distractedly.

"Hector? You're alright?" Eliwood asked, noticing Hector wasn't paying attention.

"Er," Hector straightened up and tried to pay attention. Always a difficult thing when you're trying to sort out a problem like "how to keep the biggest loudmouth in school from spilling your deepest, darkest secret". "Er, yeah. I'm good. What's up?"

Eliwood grinned. "I was beginning to get worried there. Anyway, I never got a chance to talk to you after me and Ninian's, er, get-together," they grinned at each other, "Saturday night. Have you found out how it went? Did Erk ever call you and string you out?"

"Uh..." Hector faltered. Of COURSE Eliwood would want to talk about that, since he and Ninian had mysteriously vanished after calling Hector late Saturday night. "Well, when I saw them they were having ice cream – probably at Serra's insistence – but... they seemed to be doing O.K. And no, neither of them has hired assassins to come after me... yet, anyway."

Eliwood laughed. "Yeah, yet. Hey, wait a second – you SAW them? At an ice cream place? After I talked to you at the theatre?" Eliwood looked at him, confused. "What were you doing out there?"

"Er..." Hector shrugged, trying to think of an excuse. "Well, um... I got hungry, I guess. I thought about going to a movie, but it was kinda late, so I... just stopped by the first place I saw. And they happened to be there. S'all." Well, it wasn't a COMPLETE lie, and Eliwood seemed to believe it. Thank God Eliwood was trusting. Hector didn't lie a lot either, so that helped him a bit. Now, back to the Erk-Serra-Hector-Lyn problem. Erk had a grudge on him, and Serra was the biggest loudmouth around, and Hector was pretty sure that Lyn, like him, wanted to keep this as quiet as possible. ...Aw, hell, who was he kidding? He was screwed.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!....

"WHY CAN'T THE SCHOOL BUY SOME REAL FLIPPING BELLS?" He yelled peevishly over the noise of the bells as Nils whipped around the school ringing them for all he was worth.

"I dunno. They charge enough, so you'd think we'd have enough money to install a P.A. too." Eliwood shrugged.

"Wadda we have first?" Hector asked grumpily.

"Er... Chem. It's a lab today too," Eliwood answered. Hector just swore and followed Eliwood to the lab room.

Lab seemed to last forever. Lyn, who was smarter than Eliwood and Hector, was in advanced, and so did not share their class, for which Hector wasn't sure he was happy or disappointed. He was very inattentive that class, and in addition to spilling half his chemicals, he also dropped two beakers and the metal stand, which dented the floor and made the whole class jump with the noise. All in all, it was a very nasty first class, and he was more than happy to get out of there.

"Hey, Hector, are you SURE you're OK?" Eliwood asked as they exited the class.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hector demanded, somewhat upset after the class.

"Well, normally, you're pretty good at hands-on things like labs," Eliwood said, shrugging. "Today you pretty much went to pieces – along with most of your equipment."

"Shove it," Hector growled. "What's next?"

"It's recess right now. We have 15 minutes before English. A double double again."

"Shit..." Hector grumbled. "Hey, Eliwood, can you bring my book to English for me?" He asked.

"Huh? Well, sure, but where are you going?" Eliwood asked.
Hector didn't answer, and instead proceeded to enter the boys bathroom, where he spent 15 minutes agonizing over his problem. If anything, he did NOT feel like looking Lyn in the eye until he had too. When the bell rang, it was with great reluctance that Hector headed for the gym.

Eliwood POV

Eliwood sat nervously in the seat he normally did, Ninian seated beside him. Hector'd been acting strangely all day, and Eliwood wanted to ask him why. He had Hector's books placed on the seat next to him, and he kept his eyes glued on the gym doors. Lyn entered as the bell rang, and seemed to be looking for someone, from the ways her eyes searched the room. She finally made her way to the front of the room, where Eliwood and Ninian were.

"Have either you guys seem Eliwood?" She asked, looking nervous.

"I haven't seem him since before recess," Eliwood answered. "But he asked me to bring his books, so he should show up." Lyn nodded mutely and sat down in the seat next to Hector's empty one. Eliwood looked at her curiously. She didn't seem so self-assured today. If anything, she was acting the same as Hector had been earlier. Eliwood raised an eyebrow but said nothing. There was SOMETHING going on, and it seemed to be centring around those two, but he'd keep his peace if they didn't want to talk about it.

Hector finally arrived, just ahead of Ms. Spencer, so Eliwood had no chance to talk to him before Ms. Spencer started yelling at them to get ready. Eliwood noticed the yelling and an icy stare seemed to be directed at Jaffar, and Eliwood wondered how much of it had had to do with the weekend's threat of the seamstress. With a sigh Eliwood picked up his script and handed Hector his copy. He noticed that neither Lyn nor Hector looked each other in the eye, or even traded insults. This was definitely getting interesting.

"You can begin anytime, boys," Ms. Spencer told them with a curt nod.

Eliwood sighed. "Ready Hector?"

Hector nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"' Will you stay no longer? Nor will you that I go with you?'" Eliwood asked. The old language wasn't tough to read, but it was a nuisance. He wondered if Ms. Spencer would object to a MODERN version of the play, where everyone could understand what was being said.

"'By your patience, no," Hector exclaimed in response. It seemed to Eliwood he was putting all his energy into the play, for whatever reason. It was having a good effect, though. "'My starts shine darkly over my. The malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours; therefore I shall crave of you your leave, that I may bear my evils alone. It were a bad recompense for your love, to lay any of them on you.'"

"'Let me yet know of you whither you are bound,'" Eliwood winced. His character was basically gay, and he knew it. Still, he reasoned, it was ONLY a play, so he might as well go along with it.

"'No, sooth, sir; my determinate voyage is mere extravagancy. But I perceive in you so excellent a touch of modesty, that you will not extort from me what I am willing to keep in;...'" Hector trailed off for a second there and seemed to stare at his paper. Eliwood glanced quickly at the sea of students and saw Lyn doing almost the exact same thing with her paper.

"HECTOR!" Eliwood hissed as quietly as he could.

"Ah! 'therefore it charges me in manners the rather to express myself. You must know of me then, Antonio, my name is Sebastian, which I call'd Rodorigo. My father was that Sebastian of Messaline, whom I know you have heard of. He left behind him myself and a sister, both born in an hour. If the heavens had been pleas'd, would we so have ended! But you, sir, alter'd that, for some hour before you took me from the breach of the sea was my sister drown'd.'" Hector spoke with such accusation the last part of his lines that Eliwood was hard-pressed not to stare at him.

"'A-Ala-alas the day!'" Eliwood stumbled over his words.

"'A lady, sir, though it was said she much resembled me, was yet of many accounted beautiful; but though I could not with such estimable wonder overfar believe that, yet thus far I will boldly publish her: she bore a mind that envy could no but call fair. She is drown'd already, sir, with salt water, though I seem to drown her remembrance again with more.'"

"'Pardon me, sir, your bad entertainment,'" as Eliwood apologized as the lines dictated, he felt the need to apologize to Hector at the same time, as if his prying had somehow been a violation. It was an odd feeling, and it made Eliwood feel guilty.

"'O good Antonio, forgive me your trouble.'"

"'If you will not murther me for my love, let me be your servant,'" Eliwood offered. Here it was: gay city. He was going to pay for this later.

"'If you will not undo what you have done, that is, kill him whom you have recover'd, desire it not. Fare ye well at once; my bosom is full of kindness, and I am yet so near the manners of my mother, that upon the least occasion more mine eyes will tell tales of me. I am bound to the Count Orsino's court. Farewell.'" He said, and stalked to the edge of the stage, where he – and Eliwood – were stopped by more than a few of the class actually APPLAUDING – without Ms. Spencer's encouragement. Eliwood smiled and clapped along with them, because it was for Hector they did so, not him. And Hector deserved it, for the performance he had delivered. Hector, in a rare display of modesty, looked at his feet and headed to his seat, taking only a brief glance at Lyn. This gesture made both of them look away and turn slightly red.

"'The gentleness of all the gods go with thee! I have many enemies in Orsino's court, else would I very shortly see thee there. But come what may, I do adore thee so that danger shall seem a sport, and I will go,'" Eliwood finished and sat down, not a few of the guys making cat calling noises, which ended abruptly with a screech from Ms. Spencer.

(A/N – since we appear to be having problems with our translators (Lyn and Ninian), we offer a translation from : "Somewhere near the coast of Illyria, we meet two men who have not yet appeared in the play. One of them is called Antonio, and he has been hosting the other in his home. This other man is none other than Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola, who she believes has drowned. It seems that Antonio took Sebastian into his home when he washed up after the shipwreck and has been caring for him ever since. At first, Sebastian gave him a false name, but now that he plans to leave Antonio and go wandering, he decides to tell his benefactor his true identity and the tale of his sister, who he assumes drowned in their shipwreck. We learn here that Sebastian and Viola's father is long dead, and so Sebastian assumes that he has no family left. He is still devastated by the loss of his sister and is preparing to go wandering through the world, with little care as to what the future will hold. Antonio urges Sebastian to let him come with him on his journey. It is clear that Antonio has become very fond of Sebastian and does not want to lose him. But Sebastian is afraid that his travels will be dangerous, and he urges Antonio to let him go alone. After Sebastian leaves to go to Orsino's court, Antonio ponders the situation: he wants to follow his friend and help him, but he has many enemies in Orsino's court and is afraid to go there. He cares about Sebastian so much, however, that he decides to face the danger and follow him to Orsino's court anyway." We will now return you to our regular programming.)
"Good job, Eliwood," Ninian smiled at him as he sat down. Eliwood smiled at her and sat down, taking another quick glance at Hector and Lyn. They seemed to not be looking at each other, but their chairs had somehow gravitated closer together. On impulse, Eliwood twisted around and looked to were Erk and Serra were sitting. Serra was practically hanging off Erk's arm, and the pained look on Erk's face, Eliwood suspected, was more than a little forced. He was going to have to talk to Erk and Serra, and see if Hector had been acting weird Saturday night; since it was entirely possible he had.

"Ok, next scene! Viola and MALVOLIO get up there!" Ms. Spencer seemed to be trying to get rid of her stress by yelling at Jaffar as much as possible. Eliwood couldn't blame her as he sat back to watch.
Jaffar's POV
It had been a more than little weird day. First was Erk: since when was he with Serra? Nino had been happy for the two of them, and he tolerated her chattering about Erk. After all, he wasn't competition anymore. Not with Serra clinging to his arm. The other was Hector. He'd overheard more than a few people talking about his clumsiness in chemistry, and he'd seen him holed up in the boys bathroom. The fact that Lyn had acted nearly the same way in their lab was equally interesting. They were both hands-on, practical people. Sure, Hector hated his guts; that didn't stop him from speculating about his love life. From the signs, it looked like the two of them might be getting together. They would bear watching. However, at the moment, it was him and Nino, on the stage, at the same time, so he'd tolerate it again. He was a little put out by the fact he had to be mean to her, though.

"'Were not you ev'n now with the Countess Olivia?'" He asked, his rough voice making him sound harsh. Harsher than he meant to be, in any case. Nino seemed to be used to it, though.

"'Even now, sir; on a moderate pace I have since arriv'd but hither,'" Nino answered politely, an innocent look on her young face. Jaffar looked at her for longer than he meant to –he would never call it staring- and quickly bent his head to the paper.

"'She returns this ring to you, sir.'" He winced. No one could EVER mistake Nino for a boy. Unless they looked only at her name, or something. And if anyone ever DID mistake her for a boy, he'd kill them. Most people knew that, but there were always a few idiots around. "'You might have sav'd me my pains, to have taken it away yourself. She adds, moreover, that you should put your lord into a desperate assurance she will none of him. And one thing more, that you be never so hardy to come again in his affairs, unless it be to report your lord's taking of this. Receive it so.'"

"'She took the ring of me, I'll none of it,'" Nino said, drawing herself up in indignance. Jaffar watched her, smiling to himself. She was a good actress, even if she was still three heads shorter than he was.

"'Come, sir,'" He winced slightly again. This play was not going to be kind to him. "'you peevishly threw it to her; and her will his, it should be return'd. If it be worth stooping for, there it lies, in your eye; if not, be it his that finds it.'" He turned and walked to the edge of the stage, stopping near the stairs and turning to watch her as she turned to the audience, her green eyes wide in innocence and concern.

"'I left no ring with her. What means this lady? Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her! She made good view of me; indeed so much that methought her eyes had lost her tongue, for she did speak in starts distractedly. She loves me sure, the cunning of her passion invites me in this churlish messenger. None of my lord's rings? Why, he sent her non. I am the man! If it be so, as 'tis, poor lady, she were better love a dream. Disguise, I see thou are a wickedness wherein the pregnant enemy does much. How easy is it for the proper false in women's waxen hearts to set their forms! Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we, for such as we are made of, such we be. How will this fadge? My master loves her dearly, and I (poor monster) fond as much on him; and she (mistaken) seems to dote on me. What will become of this? As I am a man, my state is desperate for my master's love; as I am woman (now alas the day!), what thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe! O time, thou must untangle this, not I; it is too hard a knot for me to untie.'"

Jaffar watched her smile as she finished and move towards where he waited on the steps. She was special, Nino. For as long as he could, he'd be with her, her silent support in anything and everything she did. So long as that something wasn't marrying Erk or some other guy. Jaffar nodded to her and they made their way back to their seats.

"Alright class," Ms. Spencer's voice cracked over the heads of the other students. "You're dismissed for the day." She was still glaring at him. What was her problem? The seamstress had wanted him to strip, for crying out loud. She didn't need to see him ass-naked! She'd gotten what she deserved, when he'd pulled the knife out of his jeans. She hadn't needed to go into hysterics; almost all the guys carried knives, or guns. Of course, they boys she'd already done were some of the gentler boys, so it was altogether possible that his was the first knife she'd seen. Too bad for her. Without looking at Ms. Spencer Jaffar left the gym, his steps slower than normal to allow Nino to walk beside him.
Back to Hector's POV...
The rest of the day went more or less smoothly. Lyn had slipped Hector a note, to which he'd agreed, and the two managed to get through the rest of the day with minimal damage. He noticed Eliwood looking at him oddly a few times, but he ignored it. Last class was biology, which everyone slept through anyway, so it passed by alright.

"What are you doing after school?" Lyn asked him and Eliwood as they stood by their lockers after classes.

"As, damn!" Hector swore as he remembered. Lyn looked at him disapprovingly. "We have to go back for costume fittings." He said by way of explanation.

"Why?" She asked. "I thought we did those on Saturday."

"We did," Eliwood said gloomily. "But Jaffar said or did something that scared the hell out of the seamstress lady, so we all had to leave. Apparently we have a new one, since the old one refuses to come back."

"I wonder who the new one is?" Lyn inquired, more to herself than anyone.

"I heard it was some guy," Matthew said, joining their small circle.

"A guy this time? Good," Hector nodded.

"I also heard that he's a tough guy. Apparently, according to what the seamstress was babbling, Jaffar pulled a knife on her. According to what he told Nino, though, He was simply taking it out of his jeans when she told him to strip."

"Did he mean to threaten her?" Lyn asked.

"Lyn, this is JAFFAR. Use your head. What do you think?" Matthew asked her, giving her a sideways look. Lyn blushed at looked at her feet.

"Ok, Ok, dumb question." She mumbled. Hector glared at Matthew a little, who wasn't paying much attention, before slamming his locker shut.

"I guess we may as well go, huh?" Hector sighed to Eliwood.

"May as well," Eliwood didn't look any happier than Hector felt and they walked with Matthew and Lyn down to the gym.

"I'll see you after," Lyn promised Hector before leaving. Hector nodded before entering the gym.

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask you Hector," Eliwood said. Hector winced; he knew what was coming. "Is there something with you and Lyndis?"

"Look who's talking, Loverboy," Hector shot back, suddenly irritated by the turn in the conversation.

"Ouch. Point Hector," Matthew grinned. Somehow, he'd been appointed referee in the impromptu "fencing match".

"Shut up, Matthew," Hector snapped. "And just let it DROP Eliwood, I'm in no mood for it right now, got it?"

Eliwood nodded. "Got it."

Hector stalked to his regular placed and flopped down. This wasn't gonna be a pretty afternoon. Eliwood and Matthew seated themselves by him and were mostly silent, for which he was grateful. He was confused as it was, and he didn't need chatter interrupting his thoughts. Not that it really mattered. Regardless of whether Erk or Serra talked about it, his and Lyn's behaviour were probably more than enough signs that something was happening. They needed to work on that.

They waited for about 5 minutes before Ms. Spencer entered the gym, followed by a man who seemed familiar. Hector took a second look and almost swore.

"What's up, Hector?" Matthew asked.

"That guy! He's Karla's brother!" Hector said, pointing at the guy behind Ms. Spencer. "That's Karel!"

"Oh joy," Matthew said sarcastically. "I heard he was a holy terror."

"I don't doubt it," Eliwood nodded.

"I think we're all screwed." Hector said with a sigh.

"Amen," Matthew agreed.

Whitney: and that's the end of another chapter. I won't ramble on today, so R&R!