A/N: Thank you to my RP partner KouiiJah for RPing this concept with me and inspiring me to work on this story again! : )
Lordd… this chapter was hella awkward for me. It's 'cus I usually don't write people falling for each other. Usually, the seme just rapes the uke & then we get on with things… I tried to go slow but I might be inspired to come back and edit this later. This chapter covers about a 4 week time period.
CHAPTER 4
"Which play is it?" Sora was sitting across from me, a shit-eating grin on her face.
"…. Romeo and Juliet…," I groaned, face planted on the table and shaking my head in denial.
Joe had been mid-sip when he heard the news and he ended up half-choking on and half-spewing out coffee all over the place. I whipped my head up and sent him a dirty glare; he held up his hands in apology as his face turned red from laughter.
"So you're Juliet then." Sora stated it as if it was the most obvious thing.
"What? No! Why would you assume that?" My eyes widened in horror. "I won the coin toss for Romeo, thank god! The big blond bimbo will be the one in the dress!" I couldn't help the gleeful smirk on my face – if I was going to face this agony, atleast I would see someone in worse pain than me. Then a disturbing thought crossed my mind: that fruit-cake might actually like wearing women's clothes. I pictured the bastard's broad frame in one of Sora's lacy teddies and puked a little in my mouth.
"Eh? So… you're Romeo?... and Yamato Ishida is Juliet…?" Joe had a skeptical look on his face. He had managed to get his laughter under control but he still had to take big gulps of air to get his words out.
"Yeah – why is that such a shocker?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"… It's just… hun... well, don't take this wrong way," Sora mumbled, trying to find her words. "It might look a little … funny…," she finished vaguely.
"Funny… I see… and you think it'd look right if I was playing Juliet?" I ground out. I may love this woman but at the moment, I certainly didn't like her very much.
"What Sora means is Matt's over 6' – it'd just be weird to see him playing the female lead," Joe explained helpfully. Sora nodded.
I could feel the vein in my forehead start to throb. "I don't believe this – I try to get a little sympathy from my girlfriend and my best-friend and all they can do is worry about the aesthetics of a ridiculous play put on by a ridiculous school!"
Yes, if you haven't guessed, Odaiba High-School is putting on its yearly production of Romeo and Juliet. Unlike ordinary schools, OHS actually wanted to foster a good relationship between the teachers and the students. So every year, it was mandatory for the faculty to put on a play for the students in the hopes of creating a more relaxed, open atmosphere. For the last 5 years apparently, the play chosen was Romeo and Juliet. Mostly because OHS already had the costumes and the sets and no one wanted to bother spending time and energy to come up with something else. The play was going to have 6 weeks of rehearsals and then 1 night where the entire student body and parents would be invited to watch the teachers make a fool of themselves on stage. This would've all been slightly annoying but bearable enough if not for one fact.
As new blood this year, Matt and I were expected to take on the starring roles.
Gennai had called us into his office and told us the news, a smile on his face like he was talking about the weather instead of announcing our impending humiliation in front of hundreds of students who were supposed to respect us. At first, I laughed out loud, thinking it was a joke. Then when Gennai didn't laugh along, I realized he was serious.
"I wonder if I could quit my job," I grumbled, trying to think if our finances would allow it. Maybe if we started living in a box under a bridge… but really, would that be so bad? It was only fall – not cold yet…
"Cheer up, honey," Sora smiled. "You've only gotta do this for 6 weeks and then you can go back to life as normal."
That was the first encouraging thing I'd heard from her this entire time.
"You're right," I nodded my head resolutely. "I'm going to make this work."
O.O – The Third Rehearsal
(Tai reading Romeo's lines, Matt reading Juliet's lines)
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
"Wow, I really felt Romeo's desire leaping right off the pages when you read those lines in that monotone voice," Matt smirked. He was standing across from me on stage with his script in hand at our third practice, the first one we had alone. We were doing the scene were Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and unfortunately, we were all alone; none of the other teachers had to be in this part and they certainly weren't going to stick around. Matt and I had finally settled into an uneasy truce where we could atleast work together but insults were still freely traded.
"Hey, be happy I can read them at all without puking all over your shoes – I can't believe I got stuck with you as my Juliet," I groaned for the umpteenth time.
"We could always switch – I think you'd fit the Juliet costume better anyway." Those infuriating blue eyes smirked down at me again and I barely held myself back from punching him in the nose.
"Just read your lines, jackass," I said.
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
Ok. I had to admit it. He did sound better than me. But I would burn in hell before I said that out loud. I didn't understand when he stretched out his hand expectantly towards me. "What the hell are you holding your palm up for like that? Are we supposed to shake here?" I asked him.
"Palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss – you dumbass," he said slowly, obviously having a hard time controlling his temper also. "We're supposed to touch our palms together here… Do you even have a brain under that big bush of a hair?"
"Goddamn it – I'm a soccer coach – not some kind of poet," I yelled back, insulted. Slightly uncomfortable, I brought my palm up to meet his. My hand was smaller but rough and bent out of shape from years of playing soccer; his was soft with long, elegant fingers. I quickly pulled my hand away and looked at the next line on the script.
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.
I paused. "Lips? Why do they keep talking about lips?" The blood started draining away from my face. "Are they supposed to k-kiss in here or something?" I could hear the squeak in my own voice.
"Yea – after your next line," Matt replied, obviously irritated. "You didn't watch the Leo DiCaprio movie like I told to you, did you?"
"I tried!" I defended myself. "But I couldn't understand anything – it's not even in English!" It really wasn't! No one talks like that anymore!
But there was a more urgent matter in my mind right now: "Anyway, I don't want to kiss you! Fix it! Change the lines!" I declared, as I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped back from him.
For a moment, I thought I saw a pained look pass over those blue eyes. But it was gone in a flash and replaced by the same irritating smirk. "Change Shakespeare? Did you just get beaned one too many times on the head with a soccer ball?"
"I-I don't care if it's Shakespeare! I'm not going to kiss you!" I stepped back further, my face turning red. Wasn't he supposed to be just as grossed out by this as I was? Matt was definitely straight and as far as I knew, happy with Mimi.
"Ok. Listen, kiss me on the cheek or something – ok? French people do this all the time – it's not gay."
"Ok...," I nodded, still feeling a little doubtful but seeing no other alternative that would allow me to keep my job. "J-just don't try anything f-funny…" I added.
Matt rolled his eyes. "You're the Virgin Mary as far as I'm concerned."
I didn't like the tone he said it in but atleast I knew I was safe. I continued reading, dreading what was to come but just wanting to get it over with.
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.
This was it. I moved towards Matt, leaning up with my eyes wide open. Up close, Matt was even more handsome – his face was perfectly symmetrical and balanced. As I brushed my lips across his cheek, I couldn't help but notice the feeling of his 5'o clock stubble against my lips – so different from Sora's smooth skin but certainly not unpleasant. I could feel his eyes staring at me as I quickly pulled away an odd lightness settling in my chest, blushing and stuttering, "W-was that ok?"
"Yeah, fine." He said, his voice a little gruffer than usual, that unusual light back in his eyes.
We were both a little uncomfortable as we went back to running lines, going through the scene again and again. When Matt finally called it a day, I let out a sigh of relief. I was eager to go home back to my beautiful girlfriend and did my best to push thoughts of Matt's large hands and rough stubble out of my mind.
I almost did it too.
O.O – WEEK 4 (around 8th practice session)
Sora squeaked when I pulled her tightly into my arms just as soon as I saw her. It was dark outside and the lights were on in our bedroom; but she was still beautiful under the harsh halogen bulb.
"Hi honey," she sighed, wrapping her arms around me. "I'm happy to see you too."
"Let's make love, baby please…" I begged her. I guess she could hear the urgency in my voice because she stopped me all of a sudden, searching my face.
"Is… is everything ok, Tai?"
"Yes," I nodded my head firmly. "Everything is fine. I just need to be close to you." I leaned over and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss. As I felt her press her slender, womanly frame against me, I tried to push away the recent memory burnt into my brain.
But the image wouldn't go away no matter how much I tried to force it out. It was me, in Matt's arms with my hands clenched in his shirt. Our faces inches apart, a blush on my dark skin and a possessive fire burning in his eyes as our gazes held, unable to tear ourselves away. And then he was lowering his mouth down to mine in a bruising kiss, leaving me breathless and quivering against him.
It would've been scary enough if I imagined the scene. But this had happened just hours before and I wasn't sure how...
Actually that's a lie. Over the last month, my truce with Matt changed into… something else. It wasn't friendship exactly but instead of hating the time I spent with him, I found myself looking forward to our practices, especially the ones where we were alone. I began to crave his eyes on me, the seductive smile that played on his lips as we read our lines, the feel of his skin against mine as we exchanged the brief touches our parts required.
And no matter how much I tried, I couldn't bring myself to tell Sora. I knew it was a betrayal even though Matt and I didn't do anything.
Correction. Hadn't done anything before today.
I pulled her tighter into me and I was relieved to find that I still loved her soft feminine curves. But it didn't light the fire inside me that feeling Matt's hard body did when it forced me to yield against him. I groaned and started making love to my girlfriend, flopping her down on the bed and lowering myself on top of her. I found myself distracted from the pleasure though, wondering how things had gone so wrong.
We had our 8th practice this afternoon – a rehearsal for the balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet declare their love for each other. And somehow, the thing that had been building between us for the last few weeks boiled over and when he kissed me, I kissed him back, timidly at first but then pressing my smaller body against him in complete surrender.
The noise of someone outside the theater had startled us apart and I had run home as fast as I could to Sora. But even as I moved inside her, I could only picture Matt – telling me in that gruff voice to wrap my arms around his neck. I don't know if we would've stopped if we hadn't been interrupted.
Minutes later, as I came inside I had to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming out his name.