Chapter 26: Misunderstandings
Hello guys! Looks like it's about time for another chapter! And hooray~ 300+ reviews! :D Thank you all!
Rin's POV~~~
Okay, so I guess I'm not surprised that I didn't get any characters in the play. But since I am helping decorate the set and paint, maybe this experience can help my art skills a bit. I sigh and start walking towards the auditorium by myself, slightly tugging my skirt. Luka wasn't too happy that she didn't get any role either. But I think she was even madder at the person who was casted as Prince Charming…
"First rehearsal is this afternoon- just an hour for today."
Just as I walk down the hallway, I see Len talking to two young girls-probably freshmen-who are giggling at everything he says. I quickly look away as he meets my eyes and head towards the auditorium doors. Opening the doors, I see almost everyone already inside and getting scripts.
"Rin! I was beginning to think that you weren't coming!"
And then Teto's twin drills and her small body come running up the steps all the way to the top where I am. She grabs my arm and starts running back down. I stumble at first, about to lose my balance, but I start running at her pace.
"I'll show you the plans for the sets and the flats!"
She seems a little too excited for this… did she get a role? Or is she helping the theatre teacher?
Teto leads me up to the stage and waves over at a couple more people to gather around her. I hear the auditorium doors open once more and see Len walk in with his hands in his pocket. Why does he have a smug look on his face?
"Everyone! Listen up to the director!" a familiar voice yells-Neru's voice, that is. Everyone stops talking and looks up to the director who smiles at Neru and she just rolls her eyes.
"Thank you all for coming! I can tell that this play is not only going to be successful, but a lot of fun to do!" he announces and we all clap a bit. "I hope you are all happy with your roles! Remember, every part and role helps! Now, let's introduce our wonderful Cinderella-the wonderful and charming-
Kaito steps out from the curtains with Miku and smiles at everyone.
-Kaito!"
"Although Kaito doesn't look very feminine, when he auditioned, I was overwhelmed with this warm personality. It was like a lamp, shining even in the darkest of places!"
"This guy is an idiot…" Neru mutters under her breath, but still listens.
"Which is just like Cinderella! She's so kind and caring and positive!" he exclaims, "and now, our Prince Charming!"
And that's when everyone turns their attention to Miku who is waving at everyone and bowing at their applause.
"Now I think it's obvious why I chose Miku," the director says, "she instantly charmed me when she walked onstage. And as you all know, Prince Charming is charming. Plus, she already knows all her lines! How wonderful is that?"
Freaking wonderful. Although I don't really favor Miku, I clap along with the crowd.
"Now, will our evil stepsister, stepbrother, and stepmother come up?"
Wait, stepbrother? I thought there was two stepsisters…
"Teto later decided that it would be a nice change to add some variety so there could be more females in the cast," he says and Teto bows proudly.
Aito walks up with annoyance on his face as does Neru. Oliver stands beside Neru and the three look at one another.
"Oliver and Neru will play as Cinderella's evil stepsister and stepbrother. And since the original two stepsisters love the prince, Oliver's character will too."
"W-what? !" Oliver yells, surprised. His face grows red as some of his fan girls start squealing and clapping, exclaiming "yaoi". But that really doesn't make sense since Prince Charming will actually be a girl… He looks over and sees Teto covering her face as her whole body shakes with laughter and growls. Poor boy, getting sucked up into Teto's plans.
"Aito will play as the evil stepmother," the director states and Aito groans. I can't help but laugh a bit at his expression.
"Since no boys exactly fitted the role of being the Fairy Godmother, Teto volunteered."
Teto cheers and takes a sparkly wand from her back.
"It's not that much of a difference! I cause all the magic in this school-now I'll cause magic in a play!" Teto yells and swings her wand around. I have no clue where she got that out from. Her jeans don't have any back pockets.
The director starts blabbering about the minor characters and how we'll all be extras in the background of the ball. I hear him say good luck to us all and then I return my attention to my group. To my surprise, I see a fluff of pink hair in front of me.
"Luka? You came?" I ask, looking at her troubled blue eyes. She tries to give me a smile, but it comes off a little weak.
"So what if I didn't get the part? At least I can watch Kaito and his acting," Luka says and we both look over at him to see him studying his lines alone. "Say… Rin?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think… that he.. Um.."
"What is it Luka?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"Nothing," Luka laughs and looks behind me. "Oh, Len, you've got decorating duty too?"
"Len?" I ask and I quickly turn around so he can't sneak up behind me. Too bad he was just a few inches away from me and when I turn, my face hits his chest. I awkwardly step back but he takes another step forward.
"Yeah, apparently I'm not warm and caring like Cinderella," Len laughs and pushes his bangs aside. "But it's alright because I really didn't want to crossdress."
"Do you know how to paint or draw?" Luka asks.
"A bit."
A bit? A bit? Well, maybe he's just trying to be modest.
"Why are you frowning, Rinny?" Len asks as he looks back over at me. Gosh, that stupid smirk is on his face again. "Are you troubled that I was with those girls outside?"
The idiot's trying to humiliate me in front of my friends! I can just tell from that look in his eyes.
"Everything's fine," I state but Len decides to push it. I wish he would just go along with it and drop it.
"We don't need to get roles in a play," Len says, grabbing my right hand, "because you're already my dazzling Juliet."
"You do know that she died, right?" I point out, taking back my hand.
"Well, as Socrates once said, "The hottest love has the coldest end"," Len quotes. Seriously, where does he pull these things out of? I've got one good theory..
"Well Romeo, we need to go and talk to the director with the others who are helping to see how we're going to decorate the sets," I say, ignoring his lines and leading him away.
Kaito's POV~~~
I can already tell this is going to be all sorts of awkward. I mean, we've tried doing a simple project together, and look at how horrible that turned out. And then just right after that, the whole Halloween party incident really stirred up old feelings. After that, all I've done is shoot casual glances her way, but she would always be staring at Len or taking notes.
I don't know. Am I still hung up on her? I thought I was beginning to like someone else. I mean, Luka's a nice girl and she's certainly very pretty…
But whenever I look at Miku, my stomach instantly starts turning and I feel my face heat up. It's stupid, but then again, I'm known for my stupidity, I suppose. And not to mention that she likes my freaking best friend. She's DATING him. And he's really only playing her, because I have a feeling that his attention is more on Rin… Anyways, she doesn't like me anymore. I doubt she ever did in the first place. Maybe the rumors were true. I mean, it would make sense that she would only hang out with me to get closer to Len.
But… all those talks and everything that we did… could all that really have been faked?
Snap out of it Kaito! You need to focus on learning your lines or else you'll look like a total idiot onstage!
I mentally slap myself and look back down at my script and continue highlighting my lines.
Neru's POV~~~
Stupid play. Stupid Teto. Stupid gender bent ideas.
"Oliver, since you're Anastasia, you get to wear the pink/ purple dress!" Teto yells with excitement and pulls one out of a box.
"How did you make it so quickly? !" Oliver yells, confused and embarrassed.
"I was excited for the play so I decided to stay up and make all the costumes last weekend!"
"I am NOT wearing a dress!"
"Embrace your feminine side already!"
"I DO NOT HAVE ONE!"
And then Teto proceeds to chase Oliver down to try on the dress. Those two look awfully close, even if they do argue a lot. Now that I think about it, almost every time I see Teto now, that blonde boy is right by her side. I know Teto has some minions out who get information for her, but she rarely talks to them in person in order to keep everything top secret. But it's different with this boy… can she actually be romantically interested in him?
"Teto! Don't just take off my shirt! S-stop!"
"It sounds like someone's getting raped in there…" Rin says and Luka and her step back from the curtains. Teto is pushed out and she dusts off her jeans. And is that a slight blush on her face? She catches me looking and quickly turns her head away, probably trying to hide her blush.
So the "Amazing Teto" does have a weakness after all.
Oliver steps out from behind the curtains with a pink dress on and frowns at all the squealing fan girls. Teto grabs his hand and leads him away.
"We need to go stuff your chest part~" Teto laughs and Oliver groans yet again.
After all these years of reigning over Yamaha High, Teto can finally be brought down. If I do this, she might just stop stalking others and trying to mess with peoples' lives. I smirk to myself as I look back down at my phone. A plan so simple is just bound to go my way.
Now I can teach Teto a lesson after how she embarrassed me that summer…
Day Two of Rehearsals~~~
Thursday
Oliver's POV
I think Teto is finally done trying to dress me up as a girl. Well, for the moment at least.
"Now walk towards center stage with Drizilla," the theatre teacher says and Neru and I nod. She doesn't bother to look up from her phone though. And just like I predict, she bumps into me while we walk. She cracks a smile and looks up from her phone.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," she says and laughs. Her laugh is actually kinda nice and sweet, which is a contrast to her normal stoic expression.
Oh crap, I've been standing at the same place and staring at her. "I-it's alright," I quickly say and awkwardly laugh along with her.
Gosh, I must look like a total idiot now.
"Let's try that again- this time Neru, can you put away the phone?"
Neru waves her hand meekly and continues looking at her phone. The director sighs but doesn't say anything about it.
A familiar redheaded girl is watching us from the back, and for some reason she's glaring daggers at Neru.
"And start this scene again!"
After Rehearsals~~~
Friday
Len's and Oliver's House
Normal POV
"I swear, all this painting is killing me," Rin whines, poking her right wrist.
"Already? But it's only been three days," Len laughs and takes her hand. Then, that famous smirk crawls up his face. "Want me to make it better with a kiss?"
Rin frowns, retracts her hand, then slaps the back of his head. Len yelps and rubs it, glaring at Rin.
"There, I think it's better," Rin says with a smile. "Thanks, Len."
"You're welcome," Len groans in response.
"So…" Rin starts, scratching her right cheek.
"Yeah?"
Rin sighs and places her hands back down, looking away.
'Damn you, Luka. Why do you always make me ask the awkward questions?'
"Do you like… by any chance… think that Miku likes Kaito?"
"Where the heck did that come from?"
Rin fumbles with her words and growls at Len. "T-the play! The two look really awkward onstage!"
"They've only been learning their blocking so far…"
"It still looks really awkward!" Rin yells, feeling herself flush. She grabs her paintbrush and plays with it, still a little nervous. "She's your girlfriend, and you're my friend, so I just want to make sure…"
"Is that really why?" Len asks, raising an eyebrow.
"O-of course! What other reason would there be?"
"Well, I don't really know," Len replies and scratches his head. "I don't really talk about these things with her."
"Aren't you supposed to be close with your girlfriend?" Rin asks, trailing her brush along the paper.
"I don't think of them that way."
"Oh right… the famous Kagamine, known for his hot looks and ability to pick up girls everywhere. Then he just drops them off and breaks their hearts."
"Hey, I'm not that bad," Len says, slightly frowning.
"I know, but it's still not good," Rin points out.
"Psh, and who are you to tell me what to do?" Len says, starting to get a little defensive.
"I'm just saying the truth…"
"Says the girl who helps her best friend get with her other friend although she's crazy in love with him and can't see that he'll never like her that way."
Rin stops painting and looks up, narrowing her eyes at him. "What did you just say?"
Len shrugs with a smirk. "Just saying the truth. Who would like a flat chested girl like you?"
Len stops laughing and looks over at Rin's face to see her face red and her eyes full of venom, threatening to spill with tears. He stiffens up from the look and turns pale.
"I didn't mean that!" Len yells as Rin lifts her left hand up. "I was just joking! Really!"
And then Rin's fist connects with Len's face and sends him flying to the other side of the room. Oliver walks down the stairs just in time to see Len fly.
"Oh great, what did he say or do this time?" Oliver sighs as he sees Rin's mad face.
"I'm leaving, you stupid jerk!" Rin yells.
"Rin! No! I'm sorry!" Len yells, but is answered with his front door being slammed closed. But then, the front door opens. Full of hope, Len looks up. "Rin?"
"Hey guys," Kaito says, holding a bucket of vanilla ice-cream, "and my name is Kaito, not Rin."
Oliver laughs as Len flushes with embarrassment and turns away.
"So what happened?" Oliver and Kaito ask at the same time.
"Nothing! Rin is being an idiot!" Len yells, mad that she didn't accept his apology.
"Really? Is that why you were begging and pleading for her to stay?" Oliver laughs and Len shoots him a glare. Just then, Oliver's phone starts ringing and he checks it.
"Another girl?" Kaito asks as he casually sits on their couch and takes a spoon out of his pocket.
"I love how you just walk in here…" Len mutters as he sits beside him.
"Yeah," Oliver answers as he texts back. "It's Neru."
"Neru? Like as in, Akita Neru?" Kaito asks. "How did you get her number?"
"She just gave it to me while we were rehearsing," Oliver says and his phone goes off again. "She texts back quick."
"Hm, well that's odd," Kaito says and begins digging into his ice-cream. He looks back at Len who is staring at the floor and nudges his side. "If it bugs you that much man, go talk to her."
"I do not care what happened with Rin!" Len yells in defense.
"I never said anything about Rin~"
And then Kaito's face becomes good friends with a couch pillow.
Saturday~~~
Lunch
"Why are the two of you so depressed?" Teto asks her two friends who are staring at the pieces of cake on their plates. "I brought you strawberry shortcake and you're just staring at it! That's not how you eat cake!"
Teto grabs her fork and places it on the cake. She proceeds to wave the piece in front of their faces.
"You pick it up like so," Teto explains and raises it up to her lips, "andd then you eat it."
And there goes the piece of cake into her mouth. The two girls just sigh and poke their pieces of cake.
"It's not that we're not grateful," Gumi starts.
"Or that we forgot how to eat," Miki completes.
"I'm just still kinda sad about not getting a part in the play," Gumi says and smiles slightly. "I'm just being stupid is all."
"Well then start being smart!" Teto yells and turns to Miki. "What about you?"
"I have no clue," Miki grunts and rubs her temples.
"Well, aren't you and Piko getting married already?"
"Why the heck would you think that?" Miki asks, getting even more annoyed.
"You went on the date with him, right?" Teto says.
Miki bites her lip and looks away. "Actually… I kinda rejected it…"
"WHAT?!" Teto yells and the table nearly flips over from her abrupt movement. She grabs Miki's shoulders and starts shaking her violently. "Do you know what I did to put you two together in that show? And after all this- you just decline the offer?"
"Gumi! Help me out here!" Miki yells and Gumi grabs Teto's waist and tries to help the petite redhead. Teto lets go and looks down at Miki.
"I want an explanation!"
"I told him that I liked someone else!" Miki yells as she looks up at Teto. "I don't like Piko as much as I like the other guy!"
Teto turns to her left to see Piko looking over at their table. He quickly looks away as his the corners of his mouth fall down.
"Besides… Piko likes Miku. I always see him looking her way at class…" Miki says softly, starting to frown.
"Who is this other guy?" Teto asks, turning her head back to Miki.
"He's this guy that I text a lot. I don't know his name, and I haven't even seen him, but every time I talk to him I feel comfortable with myself. I can truly be myself with him," Miki says. "So I decided that I like him more than I like Piko."
Teto slams herself into the table and continues to do so until Gumi stops her by grabbing her head.
"Teto- your forehead is red!" Gumi yelps and lifts her friend's face lightly. "Miki, I'm going to take her to the infirmary, okay?"
Miki nods and watches Gumi lead Teto away although Teto is denying that she is hurt. She sighs again and stares down at her cake.
'I've been sighing way too much lately…'
Cough, reference to song for the next chapter, cough. I hope you liked this chapter~ The next one won't have much of Rin and Len, I think. Gotta focus on Miki and some others.
Thank you all for those who reviewed :D I know I usually reply on my chapters, but I've realized that they've actually gotten really long over the last few chapters. It all started out with a few to show my appreciation, but it's been growing ^-^; No worries though- I'll reply to all of your reviews by PMing you. And if you review as a "Guest", well, I really can't reply to them like so…
Anyways, thanks for reading- we've gotten so far now! Review if you'd like down below. Bye bye~!
