"Why are you here?" Scarlet asked. Even though Wolf was just sitting on his stool in the corner, it was bothering her. So what if she like the version of Wolf that was eight? She hated the Wolf she knew now, and wished he would just leave her alone.
It never occurred to her that he could want to be in here. He was probably staying to irk her. Which made her despise him even more. Well, the new him.
"Like I said," Wolf began. "Because I can be. And ... everywhere else, someone is being a little to .. annoying."
Scarlet smiled to herself. "I can understand that." She felt Wolf's stare turn up to her. For the first time in a long time, she'd finally agreed on something with him. Though she felt strange about it, even if it was just a short joke he'd made, it made her feel closer to the time they'd been friends. Back when they agreed on everything.
"I miss it," she whispered under her breath.
"What?"
That breath suddenly caught in her throat. "Nothing," she wheezed. Thankfully, he didn't seem to care, and went back to reading his script. But really, it wasn't even close to nothing. And Scarlet hoped she never had to admit that.
...............
Winter felt completely content on reading her script by herself. And she couldn't help but imagining all of the birds and forest life flutter and prance about the stage. Making merry of themselves, gracing her presence.
"Hmm Hmm, Hmm, Hmm," she lulled to herself. "Fluttering flowers and dancing deer, birds flying in the sky. Listen to all of the sounds you'll hear, when you only try. Sing along and learn the song, of animals all around. The only place that I belong, is among them on the ground."
"What a beautiful voice you have, Winter." She hated the owner of that voice almost as much as she hated Levana. The person who owned it was almost as cruel to her as Levana.
"Thank you," she said politely. "But I'd like to be alone right now."
He stepped out from behind the curtains, into her view. Winter did her best to hide her distaste at the fact that he was annoying her ... again.
"What do you want, Aimery," Winter asked, quite annoyed. He strut around, and sat down just a few feet from her.
His smug smile was almost to sickening to even look at. "Practicing lines with you would be nice. After all, you are the princess."
"And, in the play, you're the Evil Queen's guard."
"So? Why does that matter. We can still practice lines together." His tone was so unnerving. And what scared her even more was him reaching to grab her hand.
"Hey!" His hand clutched her wrist. She struggled against him and pushed her heels into the ground.
"Why do you keep resisting me?" Aimery asked, squeezing her wrist tightly.
Panic ran through her veins and her platelet manufacturing plant. She saw red streaks forming on the walls around her. Blood.
"HEY!" a voice bellowed from the front of the auditorium. Both of them jerked their heads to see who it was.
There might as well have been a heavenly light glowing behind him, which was what she was imagining. Her prince, her knight in shining armor, came gallivanting down the aisle toward her and the evil man holding her prisoner.
Suddenly, Aimery's grip on her arm released, and he pushed a few inches back from her.
"What do you think you're doing to Winter?!" Jacin demanded. He stormed onto the stage with a deadly look in his eyes. Enough that he could have killed anyone who tried to deprive him of what he wanted, especially Aimery.
She scuttled away from the man she despised and to her best friend since she was a little girl. "Jacin," she grinned. After all, it was hard not to. She ran into his arms and he gladly accepted her.
"What happened? Did he hurt you?" he questioned. All Winter could respond to was the warmth she felt from her childhood best friend.
A subtle laugh began to rumble in Aimery's throat. "Nothing happened, Jacin. We were just having a conversation."
The grimace on Jacin's face grew. "I don't think grabbing someone by the arm is part of a normal conversation." He dodged passed her and started to reach for Aimery's neck.
"Stop!" The call came from the back of the stage. It was Dr. Erland. He trudged up to them and Jacin instinctively backed over to her. "What in the name of Luna is going on here?"
"Nothing," Aimery announced. "Right, guys?" A clean, rehearsed expression graced his face. "We were just ... performing an exercise. For that play. For the scene where I'm fighting with the prince over here."
The good doctor didn't even question it. He simply glanced between the three of them, and then, walked back out the door he came. Aimery's sickening smile found it's way back to Winter, and Jacin took her hand. Not the way Aimery had taken her wrist, harshly. But kindly and softly, out of caring and an urge to protect.
"Until the next time, Princess Winter," he sneered. With that, he walked down the aisle Jacin had come, and vanished from the room, and Winter's current despair. For a moment, the world stood still. Until ...
"Are you okay?" Jacin asked, urgently. He took her by the elbows and stared into her eyes, Looking over her for anything that could be wrong.
"I'm okay, Jacin. You came just in time." Like a prince to save her princess, she almost added. The walls around her stopped bleeding, if only for a moment.
"Stars," he mumbled, clearly angry at himself. "I never should've left you by yourself." It took Jacin a minute to notice that he was holding her to his chest. He released her awkwardly and slowly, like he didn't want to let her go. If that was the case, the feeling was mutual.
Whenever Winter was near Jacin, her platelet manufacturing plant fluttered like a butterfly and her diluted mind cleared up a bit. Actually, she didn't think there was ever a time when she didn't have not-so-platonic feelings for him. But he was always to much of a gentleman to show anything for her, if he even liked her that way.
Still, since the day she learned to walk, which he taught her to do, they'd been the best of friends. It wasn't until elementary school that she finally knew she cared for him the way she did. Sadly, she doubted that he ever feel the same.
................
Practicing lines with Kai hadn't started out too weirdly. Or even as any form of uncomfortable. It was actually kind of fun to act out these lines with someone who wasn't going to judged her.
Then things took a turn for the absolute worst.
Once they'd gone through the whole first scene, Kai asked, "Why have you never been in drama before?"
A bit of confusion came over her. "What do you mean."
He waved is script in the air once. "You're a natural at this!" he exclaimed. "It's like you already know what you're doing. And you said you've never been in theater before now."
A small tugging formed in the space between her lungs. "I-I don't know. Anyone can read from a page," she murmured.
"Maybe, but you put feeling in while you do it. You're a natural born actress. It's in your blood!"
When Cinder looked up, she wasn't in the auditorium anymore. She was sitting in a corner of the hall near the drama department door. "When did we move?"
Kai looked at her quizzically. "We moved about half an hour ago. You didn't notice?" Cinder shook her head. "I guess you must have been really into the script."
If he'd been about to say anything else, the sound of the D.D. door cut him off. And out came the director, Mr. Rikan Huang.
"Hello, Kaito," Kai's father smiled. Instantly, Kai froze in alarm. "How are your lines going?"
"Fine," he coughed. The director looked back and forth between Cinder and Kai, and a large grin grew on his face.
"I bet your glad this lady came along." Mr. Huang pointed a finger to Cinder. "Or else Ms. Blackburn would be the girl you were going to 'marry' in the play," he joked.
While Kai went bug-eyed and blushed, Cinder had to use a hand to prevent a laugh. "Dad," he slurred. "Please stop."
"What?" he asked, feigning confusion. "Why is that weird? It's just that she would have been the main girl in the play that would be your princess. And you'd both live happily ever after."
Cinder hiccuped a laugh, and looked a Kai with apologetic eyes. The poor guy appeared so embarrassed, and Cinder felt guilty for laughed. But she couldn't help it.
"Then you'd have to practice your lines with her instead of this girl. But lucky for you, you get to be around Ms. Linh instead, and she's the one you have to kiss."
Abruptly, Cinder stopped giggles, and froze just like Kai. Only now, both of them were petrified.
Not seeing the damage he'd done, the director went back into the D.D. office. But Cinder couldn't feel her heart beating.
"Cinder, I'm really sorry for that. My dad .. he's just .. not, very-" he reached for her hand, and she retracted in fear. The last thing she needed now was a reaction to make matters worse.
For a minute, Cinder held Kai's gaze, which was now hurting and sad. It almost felt like she was taking too long to get up.
Cinder pulled her script together in her hands and stood up against the wall. Kai came up after her and tried to apologize, while Cinder could hardly hear him.
"Bye, Kai," she said. She put all of her strength in her legs and power walked out of the hall and to her bags. After reading to herself for just under in hour, she reveled in the fact that rehearsal was now over, and left to prepare for the sleepover she'd prepared with her friends for that night.