The weekend did nothing to aid Kael’s rapidly growing obsession with Isis. He worked hard on the script, hoping that would take his mind off of it; he watched mind numbingly boring daytime TV in the hope that it might send him to sleep… but every time he closed his eyes, he felt the haunting sensation of her delicate lips upon his. Every time that he thought about Juliet, he imagined her kissing Callum and wanted to shoot him. Or congratulate him on the delightful experience he was about to enjoy. Though the congratulations would be rather forced.
He arrived at school on Monday tired, and rather irritated with himself. He knew that he had no chance of bringing up the subject with Isis, and, as he had no idea of what she would say if she ever found out just how strongly he felt about her, he was left lingering between bursts of hope that she might one day feel the same, and periods of utter misery as he contemplated the fact that she was probably going to end up dating a nice, responsible boy who would treat her with the utmost respect, never kiss her without permission, and would probably marry her.
Kael frowned. Maybe not marriage. They were still a bit young for that.
He wasn’t sure at what point his feelings for Isis had suddenly escalated from mere lust to actually liking her for her personality too, but he knew now that this wasn’t just his hormones rather fancying the look of her body. He’d felt attracted to her before he’d even seen hide or hair of any curves about her, and, now that he’d gotten to know her better, his lust had been matched by admiration, respect and just plain like as he realised he got on better than well with her.
But that was what had happened. He was just dealing with it as well as he could, which, admittedly, wasn’t very well. He was nearly being driven insane with a desire to just hold her in his arms: not even a desire to kiss or more with her. It was madness.
Kael dragged himself into his first class. The day had started badly, with his car making strange noises as he sped along the roads to school, and had continued badly, as he’d left his wallet at home, so he only had a few paltry coins of loose change to buy his lunch with.
‘Everyone get your books out!‘ called the teacher, setting something up onto the screen. Kael went to his bag and cursed. Oh bloody brilliant. He’d forgotten his Maths book. Even better.
His mood wasn’t aided when he looked down and saw odd socks peeking out of his shoes. This wouldn’t have mattered on any other day, but today it seemed like the end of the world. He’d got odd socks on, he’d forgotten his maths book and his wallet, his car was making weird noises, and it looked like it was going to rain. It just wasn’t his day.
And it didn’t improve as it worn on. Kael had half expected to look upwards and find a small rain cloud hovering solely over him, pouring rain down on him wherever he went at lunchtime, when he stepped outside to find the rain dripping down unceremoniously down onto him, sliding down his neck uncomfortably.
The after school rehearsal was at least a chance to see Isis. She had her hair down again, hiding that alluring neck away from temptation, and was hurrying about the stage busily, on for several scenes. He watched her perform a scene with Callum, the pair of them genuinely looking in love as they acted out the most famous scene from the play. After some discussion, they decided to keep in the well known lines: ‘Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ seeing as it was so famous, but despite the old fashioned language being a distraction, Kael found himself slightly mesmerized by the way that Isis performed onstage.
As he watched, she took Callum’s hands in her own, looking up to meet his eyes with a trusting gaze that made Kael’s knees feel a little weak. He couldn’t help but wish that she would look at him like that. He wondered what it would take to get her to blink up at him, wide eyed, her expression filled with such utter belief and trust in him. He resolved to find out.
She was doing more than a good job: she lived and breathed Juliet. You could almost feel as if you were there, as if you were the one falling in love with her, and you were the one willing to die rather than live without her.
They went back to the beginning again, Isis pretending to be up on a balcony, Callum down on the ground.
‘Oh, you angel,’ murmured Callum, who was acting like one entranced. Kael could see that that would be extremely easy. Had he been playing Romeo, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop. ‘You truly are like a winged messenger of heaven, sailing upon those dreamy white clouds.’
Bit over the top, but then again, they were dealing with Romeo and Juliet- a pair who ended up dying quite, thought Kael, unnecessarily.
‘Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?’ Isis called, her hands clasped to her chest, looking just like a lovestruck young girl. She caught Kael’s eye, a half dreamy smile on her face. ‘If only you could get rid of that name; deny your father!’ She stopped, sitting wistfully down, looking out amongst the area of the stage where Romeo was. ‘Or, if not… be mine, and I won’t be a Capulet.’
Callum turned, eyes wide with surprise. ‘I will!’ he called, making Isis jump. They’d decided to change around the order a little, rather than having Romeo talk, and Juliet somehow not hear.
‘Who are you?’ she called, pretending to hide. ‘Show yourself!’
‘I don’t know how to tell you: I hate my own name!’ Callum protested. ‘If I could write it down, I would tear it up. I hate it because it’s your enemy.’
Isis’s entire face lit up. ‘I haven’t heard you say even a hundred words yet, but I recognise your voice. You’re Romeo, the Montague.’
‘I won’t be either, if you dislike it,’ Callum said, walking up to where she stood, eyes raised as if he was looking up.
As Kael continued to watch, Callum pretended to help Isis down from the balcony as they continued to talk. They were doing a remarkable job; you could almost think that they were a couple.
‘It’s not you that’s my enemy,’ Isis was saying softly, her face upturned to Callum’s. ‘It’s your name. And your name isn’t consequential at all- a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.’
Callum smiled, gently, Isis reaching up to cup his cheek in one hand. The gesture was so natural, so unrehearsed that Kael felt a little mind blown. She truly was a sensational actress.
‘Romeo, get rid of your name, and have me instead! Surely then it’ll all be alright?’ Her tone was perfect- innocent, yet seductive. Well, to Kael’s ears at least. But then again, anything Isis did seemed to be seductive to him.
Mrs Robson clapped her hands from the wings. ‘Would it be natural for the two to kiss at this point?’ she asked no one in particular, addressing the question seemingly to everyone.
No, thought Kael, wishing he could see anything but that.
‘I think so,’ Lydia piped up. ‘If I was Juliet, I’d be all over him by now!’
Isis laughed. She turned, bright eyed, and looked straight at Kael. He almost melted beneath her gaze. She smiled at him, a dazzlingly beautiful smile, and turned back, looking up at Callum. ‘If you want to try, we might as well get it over and done with?’
Callum laughed. ‘Ah well, why not?’
Kael almost felt the need to squeeze his eyes shut. The pair of them ran through the last bit of dialogue once more, and then, Callum reached out, and, putting one arm around her waist, pulled her to him, their lips meeting. His other hand trailed up to her neck to hold her mouth to his, slipping a little into her hair.
It only lasted a few seconds, but to Kael, it felt as if it had gone on for a lifetime. He liked Callum, but right then, he wanted nothing more than to use one of those plastic swords to clobber him to the ground for doing that to Isis.
Callum smiled at her. ‘Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’
Isis smiled back, shaking her head. No, it wasn’t bad, but neither was it mind blowingly brilliant, either. Kael’s kiss had sent electric shocks sparkling from her toes to the crown of her head, and this had just been… nice. She wasn’t particularly eager to do it again- not that it had been unpleasant, but she just didn’t have that achy feeling in the base of her stomach which made her want to leap onto Kael and devour his lips. Not that she really wanted to do that. Only a teeny, tiny bit.
Kael’s day was just getting worse and worse, he realised. After all the things that had gone wrong, now he had to watch the girl he liked being kissed by another boy. Fantastic. Fan bloody tastic.
When Isis and Callum’s bit was over, Kael began rehearsing his own little speech- a speech he did before the Montagues gate crashed the Capulet’s party. It was quite long, and was hard to understand, so it was taking him several goes to work out how to do it properly.
This didn’t take his mind off of Isis. But then again, nothing much did.
Lydia tapped him on the arm, grinning at him. ‘So, you can’t take your eyes off Isis, huh?’
Kael tore his eyes from the aforementioned girl, and looked at her, eyebrow raised. ‘Excuse me?’
Lydia laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Kael, I can see you!’ She nudged him. ‘You weren’t happy about that kiss, were you?’
He shook his head. ‘Lydia, you’ve got me all wrong, alright?’
Lydia shoved him. ‘Don’t deny it. I’m not entirely thick.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re being annoying. I find Isis attractive, okay? But I don’t-’
Lydia seemed to be performing a victory dance.
‘What?’ he asked irritably. ‘What are you doing?’
‘You admitted you find her attractive!’ she cheered, victoriously. ‘That’s one step in the right direction!’
Kael frowned. ‘What the hell, Lydia!’
‘Baby steps, Kael, baby steps,’ she told him, with a sage expression. Kael didn’t think she was particularly sage at all, just good at reading lustful stares. There was no wisdom about that.
‘Lydia, I do actually find a lot of girls attractive.’
‘But do you mind them kissing other guys?’ Lydia countered.
Kael hesitated.
‘Ha!’ she said, triumphantly.
‘Don’t ha at me!’ Kael retorted, starting to get seriously annoyed. ‘Leave your nose out of it, Lydia, or I might just have to strangle you!’
Lydia laughed again. ‘Calm down, love!’ she said, holding her palms up in a gesture of surrender. ‘I’m trying to help! See, I got that first kiss to happen!’
‘How do you know about that?!’ Kael inquired.
Lydia smirked. ‘I can read Isis like a book.’
Kael laughed, unable to help himself. ‘You’d think she’d be a good liar, being such a fantastic actress.’
Lydia looked smug. ‘So I may just throw you together again,’ she murmured.
‘Lydia, please?’ Kael pleaded. He had a feeling that she could do more harm than good if she carried on barging into situations and doing very little to help.
It didn’t seem to do much good, however. Lydia looked exceptionally determined. Glancing at the clock, she grinned wolfishly. It was time for rehearsals to end.
‘Isis!’ she called. Kael attempted to bolt, but Lydia was too quick, reaching out to grab his wrist, digging her sharp nails into his flesh, rather more viciously than perhaps was necessary.
Isis headed over, looking, Kael noticed, through the throbbing pain in his wrist, exceptionally stunning. He’d noticed this about her. After being on stage, she was usually glowing and starry eyed, as if she’d just had the time of her life. And she’d just been kissed, Kael remembered, feeling a little bit nauseous.
‘What’s up?’ she asked innocently, smiling at Lydia, then up at Kael.
‘I was just wondering how the script was coming along,’ Lydia asked, sweetly. ‘Perhaps you and Kael should transcribe that bit you just did now, Isis; then it’ll still be fresh in your mind.’
Isis frowned, glancing at the clock. ‘I’m not sure I can,’ she said apologetically. ‘I have to get home.’
‘Me too,’ Kael said. ‘Sorry. Another time?’
‘Oh, definitely.’ Isis beamed at him. Lydia practically exploded with a smile herself, looking very proud.
‘Ah well. Just a suggestion. See you all later,’ she said, cheerily skipping off.
Isis hitched her bag up, looking to the side at him.
He smiled at her, not sure what to say. ‘So, off home?’ Of all the stupid things to say. She’d literally just mentioned that.
She nodded. ‘Yep. You are too then?’
He nodded as well. Awkward. They walked out of the school gates together, the other cast members heading off into the darkness around them. Isis shuddered in the cold breeze, wrapping her thin coat around her tiny frame. Kael almost offered her his jacket, but then thought better of it. It might scare her off. Jacket lending was a bit coupleish.
She carried on walking the same direction he was going, and somehow, they managed to keep up a light conversation about the play, about the cold weather.
Kael reached the garage his car was parked in, and went to reach for his keys. Unlocking it, he saw Isis’s eyes widen. ‘You have your own car?’ she said, in disbelief. ‘Really?!’
He nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. ‘Er, yes I do.’
‘Whoa,’ she said. ‘That’s, well.’ She looked, as he slid the garage door open, and her eyes widened more as she saw the shininess of it, and how clear it was that the car was extremely expensive. ‘That’s, er, very lucky,’ she finished, limply.
He smiled at her awe, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. ‘Uh, would you like a lift home?’ he asked, suddenly.
Isis shook her head, looking surprised. ‘Oh, no,’ she said. ‘I’m probably miles out of your way.’
‘You walk?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘In the dark?’ He suddenly felt alarmed for her safety. ‘Isis, you shouldn’t walk in the dark on your own!’
Isis laughed at him. ‘Thanks for your evident belief in me, Kael, but I can look after myself.’
‘Even so.’ Kael reached down, and impulsively gave her a hug. ‘Sure you don’t want a lift?’ he said, as he went to get into the car.
Isis nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
‘Alright.’ Getting into his car, Kael started the engine. It spluttered. And gave up. He glanced out of the window, to see Isis, huddled into her clothes, chuckling at his predicament.
He tried it again. It spluttered once more. Three more tries, and he was seriously panicking. Hopping out, he lifted the lid of the bonnet, trying to see if anything was amiss. He may as well have been attempting to perform open heart surgery for all he knew about cars.
Isis looked at him. ‘Oh dear,’ she said, struggling not to laugh. ‘What’re you going to do?’
He shook his head. ‘I have no idea.’
Isis twisted her lips. ‘Ring your parents?’
Kael shook his head. ‘No, I couldn’t. They’re out tonight.’
She frowned. ‘What about the AA or something? Some sort of company could come out to get you?’
‘I don’t know their number,’ Kael said, mournfully.
‘Well.’ They stood there in silence. ‘This is a pickle,’ Isis commented.
‘Maybe I’ll just sit here in my car until my parents can come and pick me up,’ Kael said unenthusiastically.
‘When is that likely to be?’ inquired Isis.
‘After midnight,’ Kael admitted, reluctantly.
‘You can’t stay here for all that time!’ Isis protested. She looked at the car. ‘You could come back to my house, until you can be picked up?’ she suggested.
Kael shook his head. ‘No, I couldn’t do that-’
‘Oh no, it’s fine!’ she said, smiling up at him, her face lit by the orange light of the street lamps. ‘We could do that script Lydia was bugging us about.’
‘Won’t your mum mind?’ he asked, realising he‘d lost the battle, having been won over by that smile.
‘Not at all,’ she said. ‘Come on.’
Locking up the car, slamming the garage door shut, Kael followed Isis through the streets, rather unable to believe what was happening. He was going to Isis’s house? Oh dear. This could all end rather interestingly.