Chapter 02: A Kiss Is A Kiss

A week had passed, and Abby had already read the script once per day every single day. She was still turning it over in her mind, examining the story and characters from every possible angle. The more she read it, the more she understood what it was trying to say, but she wasn't really comfortable with telling her mom what it was about. She had no idea how she would react, it was just easier to say she was a star in the play and leave it at that. She didn't like hiding it, but it would come out on its own eventually.

"Well, good luck, Abby." Ty told her with a smile and a wink. "You have a long way to go before you're ready for the big stage, but I know you can get there."

"Thanks, Ty." Abby smiled. "I appreciate that. I'll let you know how it went when I get home." She flashed him a smile, then with a wave turned to head into the auditorium in the center of town where the show was going to be put on a long time from then. They had a long way to go indeed, but Abby knew her position in the play wasn't sealed quite yet. She had to keep up her performance standards, or her understudy would step up to take her role from her.

The auditorium was already filled with kids from Ringworm Middle School up on the stage with scripts in hand, reciting lines to one-another in loud, dramatic voices while the director stood off to one side, watching with what seemed like a lazy gaze, but which Abby was sure was the critical eye of a master director.

Abby approached the director with a broad smile on her face and an eager bounce in her step. "I'm here, Director! Ready to start my path towards understanding this part to be the best Rose I can be!"

The director chuckled and shook his head. "Glad to hear it, Abby, but please, kissing up isn't going to make things go any smoother. In fact, I'd prefer if you just be straight with me… and call me Charlie, I hate formal titles."

"Sure, whatever you say." Abby smiled.

"Great." Charlie smiled. "Now go ahead and do any last minute readings you want to get out of the way before we start proper rehearsals. We're just going to be doing initial runs today, to get a feel for how the scenes should play out. Costumes and sets should start coming in in a few weeks."

"Yes sir!" Abby gave a quick salute and a grin, then turned to head toward the stage, rushing up onto it.

Once everyone was gathered for the scenes they were scheduled to rehearse, the rehearsals began in earnest. There were many pauses and questions about how things should be done, a fact that seemed to please Charlie immensely. He was very patient with them, explaining how and why they were doing everything. He even paused several times to explain what the characters were thinking and why the scene was playing out the way it was. The more Abby watched him work, the more excited it made her. This guy knew what he was doing. He could carry them all the way to the top, she was sure of it.

"There is nothing to fear, Rose." Paige placed a gentle hand on Abby's shoulder, turning her toward her to meet her eye-to-eye. "We need not fear the barbs of hatred that the world may hurl, for I am your shield, and you are mine." She closed her eyes dramatically, squeezing her hand softly on Abby's shoulder.

Charlie clapped his hands lightly and stepped up towards the stage. "A brilliant performance, Paige, I could practically feel your comfort out HERE."

Paige grinned. "I always do my best, sir. Er, Charlie."

"You too, Abby. You looked like you were in agony." Abby flashed him a smile and a slight blush. "Now I'd like to see one more scene before we wrap up for the evening. Scene 5 in Act 3." Abby and Paige both whipped out their scripts and opened them to the appropriate page, then paled slightly. He wanted to do one of THOSE scenes already?

"Alright." Abby forced a calm smile onto her lips and approached the small loveseat they'd dragged in to use when the scene called for a bed or chair. She laid down across the arms of the loveseat, getting as comfy as she could and closing her eyes, since she was supposed to be sleeping here.

"Okay, and… go." Charlie said.

Abby gulped and listening to Paige speak to one of the other actresses on set in a harsh, angry tone. Abby stayed where she was, blissfully oblivious to what was going on, as she was supposed to be until the very end of the scene. She stayed where she was, daring to crack her eyes only slightly when she heard the exchange between Paige and the other actress come to an end and a pair of footsteps approached the love seat.

"Oh Rose, my heart weeps. I am so sorry I've brought this down on you." Paige closed her eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh, placing one of her palms gently against her forehead. "To see you in pain was the last thing in the world I ever would have wanted." She took a deep breath, stroking her palm from her forehead down to her cheek. "If only your eyes hadn't captured my heart…" She leaned down slowly, bending at the waist to move closer to her.

Paige seemed to hesitate about halfway down, her eyes shooting nervously around at the watching actors around them and Charlie, who was watching intently from the front of the stage. She glanced down at Abby again, who remained stock still, her lips halfway open in her imitation of sleep. Paige moved slightly closer, pursing her lips as her face slowly moved closer to Abby's. Abby could see the nervousness in her eyes. She didn't think she'd ever seen the girl like this… wait, this couldn't be her first kiss, could it?

Suddenly Paige stood up straight. "You know, I was thinking maybe this scene doesn't call for a kiss, maybe a hug or a pat on the shoulder would work better."

Abby's arm shot up from the loveseat. "Agreed!"

"Uh-huh…" Charlie stroked his chin with one hand, watching them with a critical eye for a moment before gesturing for them to approach him. "Can I talk to you two for a second?" Abby and Paige exchanged a worried glance, then Abby rose from the loveseat to approach the director with Paige right beside her. "Alright girls, let's talk. Do you two have a problem with parts of the script?"

"A problem? No no!" Paige insisted. "It's just… um…"

"Some parts seem a bit… unnecessary?" Abby added with a nervous smile.

"Well, I respect that viewpoint, and I respectfully disagree." Charlie nodded. "The right of two people to express their love without fear of the world is entirely what this story is about." Abby and Paige exchanged another glance and a gulp. "If you two don't want to do it, I most certainly can't make you, and if this is going to be a continuing problem going forward I need to know right now so I can find other roles for you two and cast others who are willing to do these roles. You'll be in the play either way, I just want to make sure you're comfortable."

"No!" Paige insisted instantly. "I want this role! I wanna keep this role!"

"Yeah, me too!" Abby nodded emphatically. "I think I'd be really good at it!"

Charlie sighed and ran one hand through his hair, giving them an understanding smile. "Then I don't mean to pressure you, but I need you two to go a little extra distance for me if this play is going to be everything I envisioned it to be." He looked back and forth between the two girls with a soft gaze. "We'll be rehearsing again in two days, and I expect you two to be ready to rehearse these scenes by then. If you decide that it's not worth it, that's okay too, I have other roles you can fill, so there's no shame in refusing to do this. I just need an answer soon so that I know my stars are comfortable with everything I'm asking them to do. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Abby and Paige both looked down slightly in shame. It would have been easy to be indignant if he tried to make them do it, but he was being so understanding about the whole thing it just made them feel bad for letting him down.

"Charlie." Charlie smiled and gave them a wink before standing up straight, speaking loud enough to address everyone present. "Alright, good job today everyone, I think we've really started to get into the spirit of our characters, and what the story is all about. Rest up, enjoy your day off tomorrow, and we'll be back in two days to get right back to work again."

Abby and Paige left the building in the fiery orange light of dusk, walking together for perhaps the first time in their lives while the rest of the actors filed out around them in clumps, chattering excitedly among themselves. They turned to walk down the sidewalk, both of them looking down at the pavement until finally Paige broke the silence.

"We're going to have to get over this, unless you're willing to step down and let me keep my role."

"Not a chance." Abby smirked.

"Then we'll spend tomorrow practicing." Paige nodded firmly, as if that decided everything.

"Practicing?" Abby blinked. "Practicing… what? Kissing? All day?" The thought of spending an entire day doing just that made her blush, no matter who the person on the receiving end was.

"If that's what it takes." Paige nodded firmly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not losing this role because of something so stupid, so… come over to my house tomorrow and we'll work on it." With that, Paige sped up, walking ahead of her and leaving her behind as if what they were going to be doing was already decided. Abby stared after her dumbfounded, and a bit annoyed that she'd just been TOLD what to do. Well, she knew Paige was right this time, anyway. If they wanted to keep their parts in the play, they had to get over this…

***

Abby had never been to Paige's house before. It turned out the girl had to have been loaded with money, because her house was easily double the size of Abby's, with a sloped roof that glinted in the bright afternoon light, and a cement walkway that led around the side of the building to a backyard that must have been as big as Abby's entire house. After she finished gawking at the sight before her, she made her way up to the large front door and pressed the doorbell.

Paige opened the door in a few moments, wearing a different outfit than usual. She was wearing a pink spaghetti strap tanktop that hung off of her bone thin frame. Beneath that she wore a more flowing miniskirt that flowed outward from her thighs as she moved.

She was fanning herself with a paper fan as she looked out at Abby, raising one of her eyebrows. "What are you doing wearing that sweater in this heat?" She asked. "Take it off, you're making me hot just looking at you."

"Thank you." Abby huffed and quickly slipped her sweater off as she stepped inside, leaving herself in a plain white T-shirt. She was about to head further in when she heard Paige cough. She glanced to the side and saw the blonde girl pointing at her shoes. Paige herself was already barefoot. "Oh, sorry. Didn't know there were so many rules here." She hung her sweater neatly on the coat rack by the door and knelt down to pull her shoes and socks off, setting them under the coat-rack with several other pairs.

"Mom says either I follow the rules or I fix them when I break them, and I hate cleaning." Paige shrugged and turned to head inside, walking across the thick white carpet that blanketed the living room and adjacent den. "Easier just to keep the shoes off the carpet than to clean the mud stains."

"Yeah, I can agree with that." Abby smiled and followed, actually gasping lightly at how soft the carpet felt between her bare toes. It was like walking on cotton candy. She couldn't help putting a little extra bounce in her step just to feel the carpet spring beneath her.

"Mom, Abby's here, we're going up to my room!" Paige shouted further into the house.

"Okay, have fun with your little friend!" A woman's voice came back.

Paige mumbled something under her breath that sounded like 'yeah, right, friend' and turned to head up a flight of heavily carpeted stairs, gesturing for Abby to follow. "Come on Archer, and don't touch anything." Abby frowned at her curt manner, but followed her up the stairs anyway. She couldn't afford to start a fight, they had to get ready for their rehearsals tomorrow. Just focus on the play, she thought to herself, focus on the play…

They moved down a luxurious white hallway with smartly placed windows up to one of the bedrooms in the far corner of the house, which Paige opened for her. Abby went in, then gave an appreciative whistle. The room was decorated with all sorts of different fancy fabrics, which even hung from the bedposts. It would be really awesome if it wasn't so very… pink.

"You really like your pink, don't you?" Abby smirked.

"Yeah, so what?" Paige replied. "At least I know HOW to color-coordinate." Abby looked back at her and stuck out her tongue. "Real mature."

Abby pulled her tongue back into her mouth with a smirk, then suddenly she remembered exactly why they were here. She blushed again and turned away from Paige, clasping her hands in front of her. "Hey, I have a question…" Abby coughed. "Have you ever… kissed, before?"

"Not really…" Paige replied with a thoughtful tone. "You?"

"Uh-uh…" Abby turned to look back at Paige with a half-smirk. "Heck of a first-time, huh?"

"Bah, it's no big deal." Paige shrugged.

"Seemed like you thought it was a big deal during the rehearsal yesterday." Abby pointed out.

Paige blushed slightly and forced another furious shrug. "I said it doesn't matter, it's just a stupid kiss!" Abby wasn't sure she believed that. If that was really Paige's attitude, she wouldn't have hesitated yesterday. Was she just posturing to look tough? "Let's just get it over with, we have to be comfortable with this or we lose our spots in the play."

"Right, so… how do we do this?" Abby chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "We could use a little music, maybe some flowers, chocolates…" Paige's eyes narrowed dangerously, so Abby stopped and shook her head. "You don't have to be so intense… we should just relax, that's how it works best, right?"

Paige blushed and grumbled, clearly agitated by something. Abby thought for a moment the girl was going to try to slap her, but instead she put her hands on her hips commandingly. "I've got it, we'll rehearse the scene we were doing. Lay down on the bed." Abby wanted to complain about being bossed around again, but truthfully, she just wanted to get this over with. So she approached the bed and lied down, closing her eyes as she was supposed to do.

She heard Paige pad up next to the bed, stopping above her. Abby cracked her eyes slightly to watch the girl staring down at her with an almost worried look on her face. This was definitely troubling her, Abby thought to herself. Why wouldn't she just admit it? This would probably be a lot easier if she wasn't so deadest on looking tough and commanding.

"Oh Rose, my heart weeps. I am so sorry I've brought this down on you." Paige gulped and took a deep breath as her hand moved to Abby's forehead, just like before. "To see you in pain was the last thing in the world I ever would have wanted." She took another deep breath, stroking her palm from her forehead down to her cheek. "If only your eyes hadn't captured my heart…" She leaned down slowly, her hand softly pushing Abby's cheek to one side to make her head face straight up towards her.

Even through cracked eyelids, Abby could see the blonde girl shaking. Abby closed her eyes to wait for Paige to do what she was doing… but their lips never touched. Instead she felt something sit on the edge of the bed beside her with a heavy, almost defeated sigh. Abby opened her eyes and half sat up, looking at Paige curiously. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands clasped in her lap.

"Paige? Do you have a problem with kissing?" Abby asked in a soft, concerned voice.

Paige glared back at her for a moment, then seemed to lose it, shaking her head and turning to face forward again, her shoulders slumped. "I don't want to kiss you…"

"Why not?" Abby asked. "Besides the fact that I'm me, of course." She smiled at her own attempt at a joke, but Paige's lip didn't even twitch. "I won't tease you, I'm actually kind of worried. I've never seen you like this."

Paige looked back at her with a calmer look this time, then turned to face her, resting her knee on the bed in front of her. "I don't know, I just… mom always said that I was a princess and that I would meet a prince someday… a prince who would be my everything, my first everything, my first kiss… kisses are supposed to be special. Princes are supposed to be special…"

Abby blinked in surprise, giving Paige a curious look now. This was something she'd never expected… but then, her own mother had always told her not to judge people by how they look, or even how they act. So many people put on an act for others to hide what they really were… heck, Abby knew about that better than anyone. Was this what Paige really was? A girl who was so full of herself because that was what her mother told her she should be? A princess?

"Stop looking at me like that." Paige huffed. "I can see you laughing at me inside."

"No, I'm not." Abby shook her head. "And kissing is special… that's why it means so much to Charlie. It's something people do when they know they really like each other."

"I don't like you…" Paige replied.

Abby crept up closer to her and placed a hand on her knee, putting a hand on her cheek to make her meet her eyes. Paige looked at her in surprise at the bold moves. "I've never liked you much either, Paige… but you're stronger than this. You're strong enough to do what we have to do to make this play work… and it won't take anything away when you finally do meet the right person for you. Because my mom always told me that when you meet that person, it will always be special… no matter what came before, or what comes after."

"Abby…" Paige didn't seem angry or cocky for once, instead she seemed almost… grateful. Steeling herself for just a moment, Abby leaned forward and pursed her lips, pressing them against Paige's with a gentle touch. Paige didn't pull away, or gasp, she just left their lips together for several moments, her hands finding Abby's between them and clutching them tightly, as if still a bit afraid. Abby didn't let go of them for a few moments while they held the kiss, and soon, she let it come to an end, moving back and looking at her.

Paige was panting, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she stared at Abby's eyes. "Th-that…" Abby panted as well, feeling something rising in her chest, an almost electric feeling that was unfamiliar and a bit startling, but not unpleasant. "That… didn't happen." Paige pushed her away suddenly, sending her reeling back on the bed away from her. "It didn't happen, it… none of it happened."

Abby sighed. "Yeah, you're welcome…"

Paige stood up from the bed, her face still bright red after the kiss. "Well, I think we've gotten over our issue, I'll see you at rehearsals tomorrow."

"Already? I thought you wanted to make sure we were comfortable with-"

"I don't think that's necessary." Paige looked almost panicked, pointing towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right…" Abby slid off the bed and stood up straight on the carpet, turning to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Paige…" Abby turned to leave, heading downstairs to slip her shoes and sweater back on, then making her way out the front door.

She was having trouble figuring out what Paige was thinking… but it definitely gave Abby something to stew over. There was more to the girl than she'd ever guessed before, of that she could be certain. What was she so afraid of…?

To Be Continued