Title: To Be or Not To Be

Written for: Cruiz107

Written By: MarieCarro

Beta/Pre-Readers: Alice's White Rabbit/LaMomo

Rating: NC-17

Summary/Prompt used: Enemies to Lovers. Two people with a common passion should get along fine, right? Unfortunately, classically trained actor Edward Cullen and self-taught actress Bella Swan didn't get that memo, and the two are notorious enemies. But what happens when they're both cast in the same stage production as lovers?

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CHAPTER 1

I took my seat at the table before pulling out my water bottle to take a generous drink. My mouth always filled with an excessive amount of saliva when I had to read a script out loud—an annoying quirk of mine that I'd had to discover the embarrassing way—so nowadays, I always came prepared.

"Edward!"

I turned when my name was called and saw Emmett McCarty approaching, and I stood up to accept the greeting hug he gave me.

"Good to see you, man!" he said with a wide grin. "It was about time you booked a job and landed here."

I snorted in good humor. "Tell me about it."

Emmett knew all about my struggle to get my career off the ground. He and I had met shortly after I graduated when I managed to snatch the role as George in a small off-Broadway production of Our Town.

"I didn't know you were designing for this production," I said. "Why didn't you tell me when we last met?"

Emmett shrugged innocently. "I didn't know then. I applied months before they held auditions for you guys, and when I didn't hear back, I thought the job went to someone else. I got the call a month or so ago."

He was distracted by something over my shoulder, which, of course, got me curious enough to turn my head to see what he was looking at. But what I saw forced me to hold in my displeased groan.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" I muttered under my breath.

"What?" Emmett asked.

"That girl who just walked in? That's Isabella Swan. Or 'Bella' as she tells everyone to call her. She and I aren't exactly on the best of terms," I explained. Then I watched as Bella chose a seat on the opposite side of the table from me.

Perhaps she sensed my eyes on her, but she suddenly looked up. When she saw me staring, she visibly tensed and squirmed to look the other way.

"She also happens to be my neighbor across the hall," I added, and Emmett laughed.

"Oh, wow. I already anticipate this will become one hell of a show," he said.

All I could do was mutter angrily. I had hoped my Broadway debut would be filled with happiness and excitement, but now, as it sank in I'd have to work with one of the people I tolerated the least, I felt my blood already boiling.

Why was she there? Did she have to stomp into every area of my life?

When a man I recognized from my audition and callback stood up, everyone quickly found a seat, and the room settled down.

"Welcome, everyone! Let me start by saying how excited I am to see us all gathered for the first time. If you've somehow missed who I am, my name is Carlisle Cullen, and I'm the producer of this project. Without a doubt, you'll have some sort of interaction with me on a daily basis, but the woman I really want you to give most of your attention to is my dear friend and your director, Esme Platt."

The entire cast and crew politely applauded as Esme stood up next to Carlisle and smiled across the table.

"Hello," she said. She was a graceful and elegantly dressed woman, but there was still that slightly eccentric aura of an artistic soul surrounding her. Many of my past drama teachers had been the same. "Some of you I've met, and others I haven't, so before we start this table read, how about we go around the room and introduce ourselves?"

Esme gestured toward the person sitting on her right side, and I immediately recognized her from her pictures online—Rosalie Hale, the playwright. She had written several plays centering women as well as quite a few intended for a younger audience that were particularly popular among high schools, but this would be her first time on Broadway, just like myself.

"I'm Rosalie Hale. I'm the playwright, and this is a dream come true for me, so don't screw it up!" She mockingly glared and pointed at us all with an amused smile before passing the word along.

The next woman was small, and her clothes looked tossed together with an abundance of colors, but it all worked so well that she couldn't be anyone other than the head of the costume department.

"Hi everyone! I'm Alice Brandon, and I'm in charge of costumes." I was right, I thought triumphantly. "Actors, I will get to know you all quite intimately, but if you have any concerns at all about sizes or the fittings, don't be scared to tell me. My goal isn't just for you to look good on stage but also for you to feel comfortable so you can do what you need to do."

"Hi, I'm Jasper Whitlock," the blond man following Alice said. "I'm in charge of hair and makeup. You'll mostly get yourselves ready for shows once you know the looks, but I'll also work closely with our sound technicians to figure out if you'll wear your mics under your wigs or over your ears."

The sound technicians introduced themselves as Charlie and Billy, and after them, there was a whole group of stage crew members. I knew I would have to talk to them individually to remember all their names. The only two I immediately committed to memory were Emily and Leah because they were the only girls of the group, so it was easier to remember.

Then it was my turn, and everyone looked at me. I immediately felt a surge of anxiety. I hated talking about myself, and I'd always seen the irony of an actor hating being the center of attention. When I was on stage, in a role, it was just different. That attention fed me. This one didn't.

My heart pounded hard against my rib cage when I opened my mouth to speak.

"I'm Edward Masen. I moved here to New York six years ago when I was accepted to Stella Adler, and I play the role of Dennis."

Movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention to Bella, who'd crossed her arms and looked down at the table with clear dissatisfaction.

My entire body tightened, and I could hear every breath of every single person in the room. Who was she to be dissatisfied with my role in the production? I belonged there. I deserved to occupy a seat at that table. Unlike her.

I quickly had to look away to remove her from my line of sight, hoping it would calm me down, but I still missed the introductions between myself and Bella.

"Hi, it's nice to meet everyone," she said with what felt like disingenuous sweetness. I'd had more than one encounter with her in the hallway of our building to know she was a person with her thorns out. "I'm Bella Swan. I've been acting for about a year, but this will be the first time I'm on stage. I will play the role of Norah."

A heavy numbness spread throughout my body as I tried to process what I'd just heard, and I looked down at the script in front of me, then back up at Bella.

Her only purpose in life appeared to be making my life miserable with every step she took. There was no other explanation for it. Or perhaps the universe just hated me. Maybe I was atoning for an earlier life where I was an awful person.

If that was the case, I would've preferred being reborn as a dung beetle.

Emmett had been right. My Broadway debut would become one hell of a show but not in a good way. Because for the foreseeable future, I would have to play madly in love with Bella Swan.