Disclaimer: As of the previous chapters.

Author's Notes: I know I used to update everyday, but semester has started for me and studies calls. Not to worry, however, because I want to see myself finish this fic. Oh, and I couldn't resist taking that stab with Kai's cologne/scent. No ill-meaning intended. It was all in good fun. Hope you enjoy this chapter. :D Thank you all for reading and surviving this far!

Chapter 9: Hath Kisses Stolen, Not Given Free

Even before the invasion of posters along the corridors, in the canteen and on the back of every toilet cubicle door; even before members of the Drama Club came around with their flyers and verbal advertisements, Kai knew that the first day of performance was drawing near. The number of times he walked home with Tyson grew less and less. Soon, he was walking home alone almost everyday.

It ought not to be anything new. Kai had been walking home alone for years. Yet, it did not sit well with him how the spot beside him was empty as he trudged down that known road, thinking of nothing but how Tyson was going to be like on stage as Juliet.

Surely, it was a natural curiosity. After rehearsing the script with Tyson, it was normal for him to be curious, right? He thought about it, but couldn't really picture Tyson in a dress. He could see, however, Brooklyn in tights of scorching red and a cap with a huge feather in it fawning all over Tyson right in front of everybody in the audience. As much as he tried not to think about it, the image was not a favourable one.

Kai had to constantly shake himself mentally for thinking thoughts he ought not to think about. He thought them anyway and then his mental shaking became jarring.

"Hey, Tyson!" called Tala when he spotted the bluenette walking down the corridor.

"Oh! Hey, Tala!" Tyson called back cheerfully as he trotted over to the redhead.

Tala stood with Bryan and Ray smack in the center of the corridor, the crowd giving them wide berth as it passed. A certain dual-toned gentleman was significantly missing but no one in the trio seemed to be bothered by it.

"On your way to rehearsal, pretty boy?" Bryan asked playfully.

"Yeah. Oh, say…do you guys want to buy tickets for the play?" asked Tyson in turn.

Tala leaned down and said, "That was exactly why we were looking for you!"

Tyson perked up at that and promptly produced a booklet of tickets from the pocket of his blazer.

"Cool!" he cried. "And for that you get an early-bird's discount."

"Tala's a closet Shakespeare fan," Bryan revealed, extracting his wallet almost reluctantly. Tala grinned rather evilly as Bryan threw him a telling sidelong glance. Tyson noted that Bryan was paying for two.

"You know the drill, Bry!" Tala sang. "Tops pay!"

"Two, for me and Spencer, Tyson. Thanks. Um…I am paying on his behalf," Ray spoke up, tucking his file under his armpit so that he could pat his pockets for his wallet. "Is it free-seating?"

"Nope," Tyson told him, shaking his head and tearing off a ticket. "But since you bought the tickets early, you got some of the best seats in the theatre and you are all also sitting next to Max and Kenny."

At the mention of the blond's name, Ray's hand suddenly faltered and the money fell from his hand to the floor. He picked it up hastily and upon straightening up said in a voice too contrived to be real, "That's cool, Tyson!"

Tyson said nothing until he had handed Ray the tickets. When Tyson's hand did not let go of the tickets, Ray looked up to see the bluenette smiling at him all too knowingly. "Max talks about you all the time."

Tala and Bryan snickered as Ray blushed a deep crimson.

"R…really?" Ray stammered. "I…I didn't know…"

"Yeah," replied Tyson, letting go of the tickets. "He does."

Tala clapped a hand on Ray's shoulder.

"You hear that, Ray?" Tala asked.

"Say, I need to get going," Tyson cut in, regrettably. "I'm glad you guys are coming. It's too bad Kai isn't though. But still—"

Tala was always one to be sharp and it did not escape him that the bluenette's countenance turned wistful for just a split-second when he spoke.

"Kai isn't going?" Tala asked as if to confirm it. Tala didn't know why but he was starting to feel a little annoyed. Bryan noted this and backed away a step, as did Ray.

Tyson had his head down as he replaced the ticket booklet and the money in an envelope. For the length of time it took for him to do that, no one could see his expression.

"Yeah. Said it was not his thing," Tyson answered, looking up at the taller redhead. With a laugh, he added, "Typical Kai."

Tala peered down at the younger boy for a while, but not too long to make the other feel uncomfortable. Then he said, "Say, Tyson. I suddenly remembered that I have a friend who said he was interested to watch the play. He's from another school you see. So could I have one more ticket, please?"

Kai knew something was not right when he opened the mansion's front door to find his friends, Tala and the gang, at his doorstep, all spiffily dressed. Kai knew there was to be no argument when Tala strode past him into the mansion and up the stairs. Kai knew there was to be no escape from whatever Tala had planned for him when Spencer and Bryan—the burlier guys of the group—each took an arm of his and led him in Tala's trail.

They got him past a most surprised Albert and into his room, where they locked the door and, after throwing him unceremoniously on the bed, proceeded to strip him. Ray got hold of his slack's waistband and tugged. Bryan got him out of his shirt while Spencer clamped him down with little effort.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kai demanded once he found his voice, struggling against Spencer's amazing strength.

Tala strode over to his wardrobe and threw it wide open.

Scrutinizing the selection, he answered absently, "You're going out, Kai my boy."

"Out? What do you mean, 'out'?"

"Ah, these will do," Tala murmured, pulling out a black T-shirt, a purple jacket with large brass buckles and a pair of dark jeans. "I'll bet you'd want your white scarf?" And he threw this article on the bed along with the rest of the clothing he'd chosen.

"Tala!" Kai barked, boxer clad and still struggling against Spencer's hold.

"You're going with us to appreciate some Shakespeare," the redhead replied, continuing to poke around in Kai's wardrobe. "Now put those on. Let's all get going before we're late. No entry once the performance starts until the break is called for the next act, you know! We'll miss the whole of Act I!"

Kai went still. Glaring up at his friend, he gritted out the words, "I am not going."

Tala crossed his arms then and Bryan looked up to see eyes that he knew, from years being with the redhead, told him Tala was in a mood that was not to be messed with. For a while, the whole atmosphere was tense as two of the most headstrong people around tried to stare each other down.

Finally, Tala broke the silence.

"Why are you so averse to watching the play?"

"I'm not!" Kai cried, then as if catching himself a little too late, muttered, "It's just not my thing."

"Yeah, sure. Ray, get him into his pants. Kai, I shall assume you've showered," Tala said, turning around once more.

He surveyed Kai's toiletries and pulled out a red glass bottle. It read 'Dranzer', to which Tala lifted a skeptical brow. "Hm, must be some new scent," he murmured. He sprayed a bit onto the inside of his wrist and sniffed, before grimacing. "Kai, has your olfactory organ gone blind?"

"I'm not going."

Tala whipped around from his search for cologne, still holding the bottle.

"You aced that test on Romeo and Juliet and you are secured an 'A' as your final grade for this class, without having to write a research essay. The least you can do is go for Tyson's play. He's helped you enough," he said, tossing the bottle onto the pile of clothing articles.

Kai went silent and still. There was yet another pregnant pause before he quietly said, "Let go. I can dress myself."

The three other boys looked over at Tala. At the redhead's nod, they let go of Kai and got off the bed. Tala crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Kai sat up on his bed, rubbing at a wrist. He did not flinch when Kai lifted glowering eyes up at him from under slate-grey bangs.

"You're an asshole, you know that, Tala? A fucking asshole."

Tala only grinned and said, "Why, thank you and I'm sure Bryan will agree with you." As Bryan grinned, he spun on his heels and walking away said, "Oh, be grateful, Kai. I don't even pay for my own tickets most of the time."

The door closed on Tala and the rest of the gang. Kai felt like spitting at it. Trust Tala to be spoiling things for him like this. Kai was trying to avoid this day, avoid going for the performance on all the days it ran, because he knew some things were going to be destroyed for him, within him. He was going to be hurt; he was going to wish he'd never gone. But right then, with his friends waiting on the other side of his door and the drop from his room to the ground a good enough distance to be breaking something should he attempt it, there really was no way out of it.

Of course, it wasn't going to make a difference whether he went or not. He was already neck deep in something and sinking deeper still every day, every hour, every minute.

Kai dressed himself in the clothes that Tala had picked out for him, but decided to replace the jacket with a plain black leather one out of spite and remained sullen throughout the whole journey to the school's theatre house.

The theatre was bathed in a warm orange glow when the gang was ushered in. Max and the bespectacled boy, Kenny, were already seated and looking through their programmes when they arrived. Max spotted Ray and immediately waved the older boy over. Ray was hesitant but when the rest of the gang (excluding Kai, who trudged like it was the last place on Earth he wanted to be) clambered about behind him and practically pushed him into his seat, he had no choice but to sit there.

Kai was seated right at the edge of the row, directly beside Tala. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the plush seat. It was going to be a long, long night.

"I am so excited! This is the first time I'm watching a play in a theatre!" Max whispered loudly to Ray, unable, as always to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Me too!" Ray was heard replying, simply happy to be sitting beside the blond and basking in the full glow of his attention.

Kai wanted to just close his eyes and drown out their voices. Well, at least there was one happy camper around, love struck fool that Ray was. Kai frowned at the thought. Why did he feel like a hypocrite thinking that?

"And you know what?" Max whispered again, sounding both conspiring and gleeful. "Tyson is going to have his first kiss stolen on stage! By another boy!"

Kai almost bolted upright. He couldn't help but turn his face towards the (inappropriately) excited blond. He could be thankful, at least, that everyone was also looking at Max.

"You mean the first time Juliet gets kissed by Romeo, in that scene?" Tala demanded.

"But rehearsals," Bryan added, leaning so far forward that he was almost spilling into Spencer's lap (much to the chagrin of Tala). "Surely, they'd practiced it during rehearsals."

Max continued grinning and shrugged.

"I think Brooklyn has a thing for Tyson, you know. And knowing how Brooklyn loves drama, he would not want to steal that kiss any other way. Frankly, I am excited."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Tyson looked up from the script, which he'd already memorized actually, and found that he was feeling very nervous. Brooklyn was looking down at him, as if gazing down at a fond plush toy, and if that was not bad enough, the orange-haired senior was leaning down towards him reciting:

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.

Thus from thy lips, by thine, my sin is purged."

It was all part of the play, which was why Tyson ought not to flinch when Brooklyn's hand found its way to his cheek or when their noses touched. Yet, Tyson still scrunched up his eyes tightly as he waited for the kiss to come, the kiss he found he dreaded.

Brooklyn's chuckle came as sporadic puffs of warm breath on Tyson's cheek, making him open his eyes again. Brooklyn drew away just far enough so that he could look at Tyson properly but not far enough for the intimacy to be broken.

"We'll just pretend to kiss, okay?" Brooklyn whispered very close to Tyson's ear so that only the latter could hear the words.

Tyson was about to feel relieved when the senior added with a suspiciously evil smile, "The actual kiss will take place on stage. Save those lips till then, yeah?"

Romero cleared his throat then and the two pulled away, with Tyson still feeling more worked up than he ought to be.

Tyson found himself in front of the mirror again. This time, he was sitting down in his petticoat and corset having his hair curled and styled. He had to endure a manicure and a pedicure on Julia's whim just before, and had to be careful about his nails. He found it most inconvenient and despite everything, wondered why any girl would want their nails so pretty. The script lie wrangled in his hands and he found that he was having a mental blockage. No words from the play could come into his head and he was frightened that he would forget everything.

A light poke on his right cheek startled him out of his musings. He looked up to see Julia looking at him through the mirror.

"Hey, lighten up! You look tense!" she chirped, poking him again. "Juliet is supposed to look innocent, not fretting like some mother waiting for her kid at the door."

Tyson had not realized the extend of his facial expression until he caught sight of it himself. He had to laugh.

"Yeah, you're right. I am just a little…no, make that a LOT nervous for the performance."

Julia went back to doing his hair. Of all the actors, she paid particularly close attention to Tyson. She liked the boy, not in the romantic way but as a person. There was something utterly magnetic about his personality and he was always sure to give anyone a good laugh. It was not common to see Tyson like this…no, not simply in a petticoat and corset, but tense and unsmiling.

She leaned down to place her face beside his and patted him on both his shoulders. "You will be fine, Tyson. Raul told me you were superb during the rehearsals. Even the seniors were impressed."

Tyson just snorted a laugh at that and watched as Julia carefully curled another bit of his hair.

"Anyone special coming to watch?" she asked, intent on her work.

At the question, Tyson immediately thought of Kai. Mentally shaking himself off the thought, albeit unsuccessfully, he replied, "Gramps and Daichi are coming tomorrow."

Julia took up another section of hair and giggled. "I don't mean that kind of special, Tyson…"

"Oh," Tyson said, laughing in kind, only goofily. "No. No one in particular."

Julia noted that Tyson sounded a little sad but mentioned nothing. She completed the rest of Tyson's long hair and proceeded on to the make-up, claiming that she could not trust anyone else to Juliet's make-up. They did not speak another word. Tyson watched his transformation in Juliet and felt calmer.

When all was done and Tyson was in the dress, Julia gave him a playful slap on his ass and said, "Make the audience go wild, Tyson!"

The announcement for all in the audience to turn off their mobile phones was made. Backstage everyone in the cast told each other to break a leg, since wishing each other good luck was a sort of taboo for theatre. Tyson got a lot of appreciative once-overs and playful bows from those playing the male roles in the play. He looked across the backstage area and met Brooklyn's eye. The senior winked at him and Tyson smiled back. He wanted to grin his usual grin but he could not find it in himself to do so.

A hush had overcome the audience.

Backstage, Tyson closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

Those in the first act took their places centre stage.

The curtain rose to reveal a perfect rendition of the elaborate multi-storey stage of the Elizabethan Globe Theatre where Shakespeare's plays used to be performed. The Chorus, all of them wearing the same nondescript black cloaks and expressionless masks, stood together like a choir.

"Two households, both alike in dignity…"

With that so began, Act 1.

Next Chapter: Where's this girl? What, Juliet!