NS: I begin this chapter while 'Hello' and 'Taking Over Me' by Evanescence plays in the background...I sincerely hope that doesn't make my writing depressing...
.:(insert name here):. is POV
Scenes from the playStart Date: 4/25/07
Finish Date: 6/6/07
Inspiration: Reviews! Thanks, Katraa!
Chapter 2: Cold Reading
.:Sora:.
Mondays have always sucked. I've been a happy morning person all through my entire life, but sometimes Mondays still managed to get to me. Practice had been cancelled the previous Saturday, and I didn't have many details about it. All I really heard was that Ansem had been in the hospital that day.
I pushed my auditorium-style chair bottom upwards and sat on it, getting a height boost. Riku was looking quite bored by the whole situation, as we were doing nothing and a tiny voice from the back of my mind chose that moment to comment on how cute he looked with his lips poked out and his mouth slightly ajar...
...however, I promptly squished that part of my mind with big yellow shoes.
Closer to the front, Cloud really was a mess. He hadn't heard from Leon in three days and it was really affecting his concentration and nerves. Ever since that date or whatever it was Leon missed on Friday, Cloud couldn't stay still. As a matter of fact, none of us had heard anything about him at all. Cloud was usually our only update to Leon's life unless we were in the middle of a production.
No one had even noticed that I was yet to speak a word. I sat quietly alone, sulking and not breaking any rules. The other actors present were sitting in seats near the stage, chatting noisily. I didn't care. Riku looked just as dejected as I did, though. Roxas and Axel were on either side of him, smiling and trying to have a conversation, but he looked completely uninterested. Curiously, I wondered why he was so upset; afterall, he didn't have any real connections to Leon, though it could've been something else.
"What the fuck! Sephiroth!" Bellowed by director's voice across the theatre. The young man he beckoned for spun around in his seat.
"What now, Dad?"
"Where the hell is Leon?" Beside Sephiroth, I saw Cloud wince.
"Why do you expect me to know?"
Ansem fumed and crumpled a script in his hand. "Find out!" he commanded. "I have to run things here, so YOU go and find him! Or you're cut from the show!"
Sephiroth rolled his eyes, I'm sure knowing he'd never be cut. I smiled a little, thinking the same thing. Nevertheless, he obeyed and stormed out of the theatre. Ansem strode to lean on the apron of the stage, massaging his temples.
"Here's the deal." He began. I was glad he had such a naturally loud voice or I would have never been able to hear him from so far away, "As I'm sure some of you are already aware, Squall is apparently missing."
"Leon." A small, but firm voice muttered from the audience. I was sure it had been Cloud.
"Yes, well, Leon is missing and has been for a few days. I'm guessing none of you know anything about where he may be, but if none of you hear anything by tomorrow's practice, we're going to file a missing persons report." Ansem took a breath and clapped his hands together, "Now, then, on with practice! Axel and Kairi, get to work on the Bar set. The half that's already built, Kairi can paint, the rest is Axel's job. I wan that set done today. Not tomorrow and not next week. TODAY." He made a 'move along' motion with his hand and the two stood and headed onto the stage to get started.
"What color is the backdrop going to be? I've gotta paint the wood to match it." Kairi questioned before deciding on a can.
"Brown, genius. Wood is generally brown. Make the wood the same color." Kairi narrowed her eyes, but picked up the can and brush and set to work. Ansem turned back to us.
"We'll work on the scenes in order. That means Roxas and Riku, you're up for the scene they're working on. You'll have to do with chairs by themselves for this practice. I want the rest of the actors to sit in the first three rows of the middle section of the house. Quietly, or else." He snapped his fingers three times. "Move it!" Everyone, including me (to my extreme dismay), moved to the correct stations and after only a moment of confusion, the scene began.
Riku strode up to Roxas and took a seat at the 'bar'. "Hey." He sighed and pretended to signal the bartender for a drink. Roxas patted him on the shoulder.
"Woman troubles, eh?" Riku ran his hand up through his hair and chuckled.
"How'd you know?"
"It's in your demeanor(sp?), brother. I can see it," Roxas promptly thumped Riku in the head, "in your eyes."
"Ah, stop reading my eyes. I suppose I will do it tonight, then. I believe you know what I mean."
Roxas laughed. "Aye. I do. Good luck with it then."
Riku rolled his eyes and glanced up at Ansem while Roxas left the stage. Ansem clapped his hands.
"Terrible! The scene needs a ton of work! However, it will have to wait until another day, for it is time for the Proposal! Actors to your places! Sora and Riku, that means you!"
I shot to my feet and skipped down the isle, giving Axel and Roxas high-fives as I passed. That was one of the many things that had become a DI tradition, and those two always seemed to be nearby to execute it. While Ansem had his back turned, I climbed up onto the stage, avoiding the stairs at all costs. That was another tradition; to find out who could get away with not using the stairs without getting caught the most times before a production was finished.
"That's three so far!" I boasted. Riku winked at me and I stuck out my tongue, looping my arm into is while waiting for further instruction. The house settled down and Ansem waved his hand, letting us know to begin. We stood center stage and strode slowly forward.
"My dearest Nathan. Perhaps there is not. Perhaps within our love, we hold the best of life in our own hands." We paused in our steps and he turned me to face him.
"And why shouldn't we? We deserve it all! More! We should be married!" his voice boomed. I gasped and brought a hand to my lips.
"But are you sure...that we can?" I asked uncertainly.
"Don't you want to?"
"I do! Oh, believe me, Nathan; I do! It is only that...I am...a member of such a high class and...would we be allowed to...?" Riku took my other hand in his.
"My being a peasant makes no difference in the face of our love! Come and let us be married, Christine!" A graceful smile came to my lips. I nodded.
"Alright, Nathan. And so we shall be married."
One of Riku's hands came to hold my face. He pressed our foreheads together. I knew that it was acting, that itg was all just a show, and still.. a rush of pink danced across the bridge of my nose.
"And I will make you the happiest bride." Riku leaned in, but did not move to perform a stage kiss...
EEP! I was really about to get kissed!
My eyes slid half-closed and I played along, and as his lips were hovering less than an inch above mine, I could feel the steady exhale of his breath and it tickled my cheek. His hair fell over into his eyes and...
...BAM!
The door to the front entrance of the of the theatre slammed open. Water poured in from the steady beating of the rain outside and pooled at the feet of a figure who was darkened by the shadowed glow of outside colliding with the bright light above the house. The door closed back and as the figure came came stalking down the isleway and we all got a glimpse of who it was. Riku leapt away from me and ran to the edge of the stage.
"Leon!" he annouced, then spun back around to me. "Sora! It's Leon!"
I nodded slowly. No dip. I know Leon when I see him. You know, leather jacket, huge scar across his nose. Yeah, kinda hard to miss once you've met the guy... Then I pressed the back of my hand to my cheek.
Oh, man was I burning up!
Don't get me wrong, I was glad Leon was back (now maybe Cloud could settle down a little), but...what the hell! I was in the middle of a very important scene...
Cloud hopped from his seat in the middle of center house and ran to his boyfriend, nearly tripping own his own pant legs that were far too long on the way. He grabbed two fistfuls of Leon's jacket and clenched down. Water dripped from the man's hair and clothes and ran in streams down the skin of his face and neck. If I didn't know Leon better, I'd have even said he was crying.
"Oh my god, where were you? No one could find you and I was so worried! I even--"
Leon clamped a hand over Cloud's mouth. He stared him down and it was in that moment I was certain I watched a tear fall.
"Don't. Cloud, I can't..." he took a deep breath and released the blond. "We're over."
The look on Cloud's face alone sent chills to my neck and dropped my stomach to the floor. Riku flew off the stage and I was close behind him. Cloud's eyebrows turned downward and his face twisted into a confused smile. His hand brushed Leon's cheek and pushed away some of the hair matted to his skin.
"What are you...talking about?", he sputtered, swallowing hard.
I leaned against the stage and gaped at the scene. Riku started forward, but my arm shot out, holding him back. His gaze met mine and I shook my head 'no'. Riku fell back next to me.
"Cloud-" The brunette began, but was stopped by the director coming up behind them and seemingly unaware of their previous conversation.
" are never late, Squall. I will not tolerate this foolish tardiness a moment longer. And there is certainly no excuse for worrying all of us to death. You gave Cloud such a scare...anyways, you completely ruined our scene. You get to work with Axel and Kairi on the set. Just consider yourself lucky you haven't got any scenes until tomorrow!"
I let my arm drop and gaped at Riku as Ansem forced Leon to the stage. "What...was that...?" I asked in a hollow voice. Riku shook his head slowly, then hit my shoulder with the back of his hand and pointed between the isles where Cloud still stood, completely unmoved. I drew in a breath and trotted up to him. My arm found its way around him shoulders and he found his voice, finally.
"No...no. NO! Leon!" he called after the brunette and about-faced towards him. The seemingly most unlikely person stopped him. Ansem took him by the forearms and held him still.
"Cloud. Stop. Do you really think you'll be able to do anything about it even if you chased him? Do you want what chance you have left to be hindered?" Cloud struggled for a few moments longer, then gave up and sank to the floor. Riku and I kneeled on either side of him.
"Cloud? Will you be okay?" Riku asked in a small voice. Cloud nodded slowly, then sucked in a huge breath and stood shakily. We thought, perhaps, he was going to be fine when he halted and staggered for a second, then rushed towards the bathrooms.
"I'll go," I offered and headed in the same direction.
I pulled Cloud's hair back against teh sides of his head as he lurched forward in front of me. His clammy hands gripped the white porcelain, half of his actions naught but dry heaving, as all he contained had been discarded in the beginning. I closed my eyes and tried to sooth him while attempting not to become sick as well.
"Shh...Cloud, it's okay. It'll be alright. You'll be fine," I repeated time and again. Finally, he was able to rest, and when he did, he lay his cheek on the rim of the toilet seat.
"No, Cloud," I murmured and sank to the floor, turning him to face me. He curled into a ball and I pulled him into my lap. He didn't cry; just hiccuped over and over. Once I thought he had murmured 'Leon', but I wasn't sure.
It was ridiculous what Cloud was being forced to go through. He worried himself weak for three days while Leon was missing. That brown-haired bastard even missed their anniversary. The two of them had been together for five years and always seemed so happy. Everytime I saw either of them, they were in each other's arms, so entirely open to the world about their relationship.
So what went wrong? I couldn't comprehend. Last Friday, things had been perfectly fine. They were flirting all through Ansem's 'new production' speech, but something must have happened with Leon between Merlin's and the trip home that no one else knew about. It seemed Leon himself was the only one who had the whole story.
I sighed heavily and pushed a sweaty lock of hair from my forehead. I would just have to do some investigating myself.
Thesbians: The olde, technical term for actors.
NS: Welll...this wasn't as long as I wanted it to be, but at least you have your update. I know it seems like I get them out slow, but it's because I don't pick one story to work hard on until I update. I work a little on them all slowly...and that's why a lot of them end up updating at once. But anyways! Whatcha think? I don't really have much of an A/N on this one, but oh, well. R&R!
Ja ne!
TBC