{ Acting Up } HUNTER TOH X GN READER | HUMAN HS THEATER AU

~SIX~

"Alright." You nod, you and Hunter both glancing at each other and then looking away quickly.

"And please, for my sanity, pretend you don't hate each other whenever rehearsals start?"

"Yes ma'am." You nod again.

"Of course." Hunter agrees.

"Alright, up on the stage with your scripts." She stands up. "Can we start from the scene before 'Freeze Your Brain'?"

"Yep.." You say, flipping through your script to find it.

"Where should we stand?" Hunter asks.

"Hunter start on stage left, Y/N start on stage right, but don't worry about blocking." She answers. "I'd like you to move around while you talk, though. Make it feel natural."

"Start?" You look to her for clarification, and she nods.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Greetings and salutations, you want a slurpee with that?" Hunter starts, taking a step toward you.

"No, but if you're nice I'll let you buy me a big gulp." You smile at him, pretending he's the boy of your dreams. Ew.

"That's like going to Mickey D's and ordering a salad." He says like he's spelling it out to a toddler. "The slurpee's the signature dish of the house. Now, did you say cherry or lime?"

"I think I said big gulp." Acting like you're flirting would be a lot easier if you knew what flirting sounded like. Hunter gave an amused smile, looking down for a second. "I'm Veronica, by the way.." You say like a middle school girl twirling her hair. "Are you ever gonna.. tell me your name?"

"I'll end the suspense. Jason Dean, JD for short." He walks closer to you and reaches out his upstage hand for you to shake.

"JD.. That thing you pulled in the caf was pretty severe."

"Well, the extreme always seems to make an impression." He says, smiling at you. God, his smile was dangerous in a way you couldn't explain. You giggle awkwardly, following the script. 

"So what's a Baudelaire-quoting badass like you doing in Sherwood, Ohio?"

"My dad's work. He owns a de-construction company."

"De-construction?"

"The old man seems to enjoy tearing things down. You've seen the commercials? 'I'm Big Bud Dean! If it's in the way, I'll make your day!'" He says it in a way that makes you not have to fake the laugh.

"Then the screen blows up?" You do the awkwardest Veronica laugh you can. "That's your dad?"

"In all his semi-psychotic glory."

"Well.. everyone's life has got static." You look just past him in a way that makes it look like you're looking at him like you've got a massive crush.

"You can skip Heather's line." Ms Arrington says.

"For example, I don't really like my friends." You say like it's some big secret.

"I don't really like your friends either." Hunter exclaims. "Bag the party, hang here."

"Ohh~" You smile. "7-Eleven? Swanky first date."

"Hey, I love this place." 

"No offense, but.." You pause, squinting at him. "Why?" 

"Alright we're not gonna do any songs right now.." Ms Arrington interrupts. "Let's run the scene before 'I Say No' really quick. Starting at 'don't talk over me', and we can end when Big Bud Dean comes in."

"Where do we..?" Hunter starts.

"You can stand anywhere as long as you're close to each other."

"Don't talk over me, okay?" You start, stepping closer to Hunter. "You promised me." 

"I promised.." He says, looking at you, stepping closer.

"Alright, right there is a kiss but we don't need to do that until we get closer to tech week." Ms Arrington says. "You two can be done for today, if you want to hang around for a few hours you're welcome to." She adds, closing her own script and tucking it in a tote bag. "I'm gonna head over to the choir room."

"Okay, thank you!" You say as she walks away.

"Well, that was short." Hunter shrugs.

"Did you wanna spend more time with me?" You mock him.

"God, no. I was just saying." 

"Okay, whatever. See you tomorrow." You walk down the steps offstage and shove your script in your bag, grabbing your car keys out of your pocket. 

"Do you have  to see me tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately." You deadpan, walking out the door before he can say anything else.