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 5
Esme sighed with barely restrained frustration. "Thank you. We're gonna stop here for the day," she said. Next, she threw her copy of the script down on the floor next to her chair.
I was mortified by the pile of horseshit I'd delivered with my performance. I was better than that—much better than that—but Bella was the most difficult co-star I'd ever acted opposite of. It didn't matter that her acting wasn't the problem.
"Esme, I'm sorry," I said, but she just waved me off.
She clearly wasn't interested in my reasons, and I couldn't even be mad at her for it. After all, I was cast because of my stellar reputation as a great actor with an amiable personality. Not to come up with every reason under the sun why I was ruining the play.
"Alice!"
"Yes, Ms. Platt?"
"Take Edward and Bella down to the vault to try on shoes with their costumes. We're starting dress rehearsals next week." She turned to me and Bella on stage. "Once you're done with that, you two can go home. I don't see this getting any better today, so, please, rest, then come back tomorrow and give me what I know both of you are capable of, okay?"
I hung my head in shame and nodded. How could I call myself an actor if this was all I could deliver?
Bella and I followed Alice when she waved us over. As we walked through the stone-walled corridors toward the costume vault several floors underneath the stage, neither of us said a word to each other and the tension slowly grew.
"I know it feels horrible right now," Alice said. "But you'll get there. We all know this is a process. Art isn't created in a day."
"We've been at this for weeks, Alice," Bella said, her tone defeated.
"Yeah, at this point, the scenes shouldn't be this stale," I agreed.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Bella's shocked expression. After all, we hadn't agreed on a single thing since she moved across the hall from me.
Alice shrugged. "Maybe not, but some things take longer than others." She unlocked the heavy, metal door to the vault and heaved it open. "Look, Esme forgot that I'm supposed to run a few errands today that can't wait, so can you two do me a favor? Just pick out a couple different shoes on your own, and I'll approve them later."
The thought of being left alone with Bella for any period of time wasn't exactly appealing but picking out shoes seemed safe enough.
Bella glanced at me and held in a visible sigh, which caused me to clench my jaw. I was fine with her not liking me, but I hated how her dark brown eyes appraised me every time she threw me a look.
"Sure," she said. "Do you want us to lock up as well?"
"No need. The door locks automatically when it's closed, so just make sure it stays open as long as you're down here."
"Okay," I said, leaning against the open door to keep it open. "We'll see you in the morning then."
"Thanks!" She went to leave but paused and turned back around. "Seriously, don't let today bring you down. There are both good and bad days in this business, and now you know what not to do."
Alice gave us one last encouraging smile before disappearing back down the corridor we came from.
I turned to Bella. "Can you find something to prop this open with?" It was a neutral, civil question. It was a safe question. It was the only kind of question I could ask without possibly causing another heated discussion.
"Sure," she said and headed inside the vault to search around. "Is this good?" she asked when she returned with an old sword prop made out of wood.
It looked sturdy enough to me as I examined it. "I think it'll do," I said and wedged the sword between the door and its frame.
The door stayed open, and we headed inside the vault together in complete silence. Unfortunately, the shoes, both mens' and womens', were all disorderly placed on the same shelf, and we had to stand very close to each other as we searched for what we wanted.
There was an uncomfortable energized current between us, and every time either of us accidentally bumped into the other, we both tensed. When it happened for what felt like the fiftieth time, Bella sighed with frustration.
"How the hell are we supposed to manage this?"
I didn't want to answer her. Mostly because I didn't have an answer to give. Also because as long as I kept my mouth shut, a fight couldn't erupt.
"So you're just going to ignore me then?" she pushed.
I closed my eyes to keep my temper from rearing its ugly head and started to count backward from ten.
Bella huffed and turned from me. "That's just perfect. I finally booked my first stage play, and my co-star hates me," she said under her breath. "Just living the dream."
"Look, I'm not here to coddle your feelings," I said before I could stop myself. "This is a job. We're both getting paid. We don't have to be best friends, okay?"
"You're right. We just have to act in love seven days a week for six months or so if we're lucky enough not to get canceled after the premiere." Bella stopped looking at the shoes and turned to face me. "I don't know about you, but I'm finding it difficult to act in love when all I see in your eyes is disdain."
I gave up on finding shoes and mirrored her. "For the record, I don't look at you with disdain, so if you can't set your personal issues with me aside when you're acting, then perhaps this isn't the business for you." I brushed past her and headed for the door to take a breather, but apparently, Bella wasn't in the mood to let the discussion go this time.
"You're such an asshole, do you know that? And don't tell me shit about putting personal issues aside. You need to take a long hard look in the mirror first."
She wasn't wrong, and it was probably why I blew up.
I whirled back around and glared at her. "I give what I get! I've trained for years to make this into my career! I've sacrificed everything to do this, and if you think I'm going to let someone like you ruin that, you're beyond mistaken!"
Bella narrowed her eyes. "Someone like me? What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't act stupid. You know exactly what I mean."
"No, Edward. I really don't, so why don't you enlighten me with all that wisdom you've gained from all that fucking training?"
I stepped closer until we were almost on top of each other, and lowered my voice from screaming to make sure she'd catch every word. "People who've had everything handed to them. People who've never struggled. People who think that acting is easy because they've got natural talent."
A sharp thud followed by a heavy metallic slam interrupted our fight, and my stomach sank like a stone. That sound could only mean one thing.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" I ran to the door only to find it exactly as I'd feared. Closed and locked. I still tried to push it open with my shoulder, but it didn't budge an inch. "Fuck! No! This can't be fucking happening right now!"
We were locked in. In a vault, in the basement, several floors below the stage. The walls were of solid concrete. The door metal. The entire room we were in was filled with clothes, effectively sound proofing the entire area. No one would hear our knocks or calls for help.
Bella stood behind me, just staring with her mouth open in shock.
"Do you mind?" I spat at her. "Don't just stand there."
"And what am I supposed to do?" She threw her arms out helplessly. "It's locked, and it doesn't exactly have a lock that can be picked. I left my bag in the changing room, so I don't have my phone either."
A tiny sliver of hope grabbed me, and I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, but that hope was quickly crushed. "Of course, there's no service down here." I held it up toward the ceiling to find a signal, but there wasn't even a flicker of a bar. "Dammit! What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"
"You swear a lot when you're angry," Bella said and heavily sat down on a stool tucked into a corner.
"Yes, and?" I asked. I looked at her over my shoulder and wondered what she was getting at. "Don't you think this situation more than justifies that?"
She shrugged. "It was just an observation. I haven't heard you swear before, so I'm guessing you keep yourself under strict control except when your emotions are heightened."
"Okay. Stop that." I narrowed my eyes. "Why are you analyzing me?"
Bella just shrugged again, and it immediately annoyed me. "I don't know. You tell me. You clearly know everything about my life since you felt sure enough to make such crass statements before. Why am I analyzing you?"
I rolled my eyes. She was being petty, and I wasn't in the mood for it. "Oh, give me a break. You really want to continue that discussion right now? Perhaps you haven't noticed, but we're in an emergency." I gestured toward the door, but she remained seated on her stool.
"I did notice that, but thank you for always questioning my intelligence." She leaned forward and locked her eyes with me. "We're most likely stuck here for a while. Could be hours, or worst case scenario, all night. So let's hash this out."
"I don't have the energy for that right now," I said, heavily sliding down the door until I was sitting on the floor. "This is just the perfect ending for an already craptastic day."
