I rushed out of the dorms and called Chloe to explain what had just happened. "Chloe?" I panted, struggling to catch my breath, but she didn't seem too thrilled to hear from me.
"Aiden? What do you want?" she replied, sounding really annoyed. I asked if she could come over to the dorms, and I quickly filled her in on the situation. She said she would come but needed to borrow my car to get there faster. I agreed; I just wanted her to arrive as soon as possible.
I sank down on the dorm stairs, my head pounding as I held it in my hands. Blood from my nose smeared my palms, and I never thought getting beaten up would hurt this much.
"Aiden?" Chloe called out, making me look up at her. She was clearly shocked by how messed up my face looked. "Holy shit, Aiden! What the fuck happened to you?" she shouted as she rushed over, gently holding my face.
"Damon Merritt fucking did this. He beat me and Drew North because he wanted his money," I replied, flinching from the pain. "We need to get you to the hospital, Aiden," Chloe insisted.
I reassured Chloe, saying, "I'll be okay. Rachel wants to see me before the play begins," as I nudged her away a bit. She looked at me and asked, "Are you really sure?" I replied, "Absolutely! Do you want to join me?"
"Sure," she responded, giving me a hand to stand up. I smiled at her, and together we headed to the theater where the play was taking place. Just then, I received a text from Rachel.
R: Hey, how's that errand of yours going?
A: Well, some crazy shit just went down in Drew North's room. All hell broke loose.
R: Oh, shit. What happened? Are you okay?
A: I got my ass kicked by Damon Merritt. My face is bloodied. But I'd be lying if I said I was fine.
R: Bloody? Are you serious?
A: Yeah. I'm backstage. Where are you?
R: I'm on my way. Wait there.
"Rachel's on her way and should be here soon," I told Chloe as I tucked my phone away. My head was spinning from the hard kick Damon gave me, making me wobble a little. "Whoa, let's get you seated before you faint," Chloe said, guiding me to a dressing room that looked like a tent.
As we turned the corner, we spotted Victoria Chase messing with some teacups. Chloe and I quickly ducked behind some curtains, but I could still see her. I watched as Victoria added some powder to one of the teacups. What a fucking bitch! She was actually trying to drug someone just to get a role in the play? That's so low, even for her.
Rachel looked at us with her eyes wider than normal. "Wow, that's… not surprising at all. What should we do now?" she asked. "Just watch," I said, leaning in to switch the teas.
"If anyone's going to relax during this play, it's definitely her," I added, leaning back. "What would we do without you, Aiden Price?" Rachel said, hands on her hips. "Probably be in a coma," I joked, and we all laughed.
When Victoria came back with Mr. Keaton, we saw her and Rachel sipping the swapped teas. I almost burst out laughing when Victoria took a sip that was way too strong. "Anyway, I'll see you out there! Break a leg!" Victoria called as she left.
"Well, that just happened. Are you sure you're okay, Aiden?" Rachel asked, placing her hand on my cheek again. "I'm fine, Rachel. Just focus on your play," I said, smiling at her. "Chloe, I'm really sorry about what happened at the junkyard," Rachel said to Chloe.
"It's all good," Chloe replied with a smile. "I'm heading home now. See you later, Aiden?" Chloe asked. "Yeah, see you later," I answered with a smile. And with that, Chloe left the tent.
"Sweet tarnations! We're ruined! The show is ruined!" Mr. Keaton shouted in a panic. "Guess that's our cue," Rachel said. I followed her out of the tent to see what he was upset about.
"My dear young artists, a terrible misfortune has struck us. Juliet is stuck. That awful fire is the reason, closing down roads and taking away our Ariel. If only she could appear at her master's command like a true spirit. Alas..." he said, putting a hand on his head.
I wish this guy could just speak normally because I don't get what he's saying at all. "Without an understudy, the situation is very serious. I'm afraid we may have to cancel," Keaton said, sounding frustrated.
When he finished, we all heard the sound of a very drunk Victoria Chase coming from the back. Guess that pill kicked in fast.
Victoria was being confusing when she claimed that Rachel had drugged herself and loved drugs. This made Rachel step back until her shoulders touched mine, and she just looked at me with a cheeky grin without saying anything.
I wondered why she was giving me that look, and then it hit me that she wanted me to take a role in the play. "No fucking way! No chance!" I yelled, waving my arms.
"Aiden can take Juliet's place. Does it really matter if Ariel is a girl?" I insisted. Rachel placed a hand on my back and said, "I know he can do it."
Mr. Keaton approached me and asked, "Have you ever acted before?" I replied, "Not a chance." Rachel jumped in, saying, "He's just being humble. We do improv all the time, and he's really good at it."
Keaton then said, "What if I told you the whole production depends on you?" I replied, "That sounds super fucked up," trying to show I wasn't interested. Rachel pleaded, "Please, do it for me, Aiden," and I couldn't help but let out a sigh.