Chapter 13: Chapter 13

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“Are you sure you’re fine with me being Juliet? I could talk to Mr. Ambrose,” I suggested.

“For the millionth time, I’m fine with it Ash,” Abby said, facing me.

“Are you sure?” I asked again.

She peered at me through her lashes.

“Okay, got the message,” I said with a closed-mouth smile.

“I’m actually quite pleased with my part in the play,” Abby stated, “At least I’m not one of the bad guys. Being the Nurse would be pretty cool.”

“True,” I agreed.

“I don’t understand why Erica is so different, she doesn’t like all of this; dressing up, dances, plays, musicals,” Abby said.

I nodded, “She’s just one of a kind; she would rather stay home in her jammies and watch the most boring movie than go to a dance, all dressed up and enjoy with her friends.”

Abby laughed, “Jammies, that’s a funny word for some reason. But yeah, I have to agree.”

“She’s like coal, it takes a long time to ignite but when she ignites, she burns the whole night,” I said.

“Wow,” Abby breathed, “That was deep.”

Entering the huge auditorium with tall pillars and a lighted stage, we walked towards Ethan and Michael.

“This is just so unfair!” Ethan groaned, “I have to remember all of these dialogues even though I am not Romeo!”

“You are, sort of,” Abby said, plopping down on a chair.

Ethan groaned and slouched on a chair.

“Absolutely dumb,” he mumbled with a huff.

“You might have to act as Romeo,” I said with a shrug.

“I don’t want to!” he exclaimed.

“At least you don’t actually have to perform on stage,” Michael said.

“I might have to!” Ethan responded.

“Or kiss Juliet,” Michael muttered.

I ignored this, pretending that I didn’t hear it. It was not like I was super-excited that I had to kiss a guy I considered as a really close friend. The kiss was going to be very awkward. Just the thought of playing Juliet with Michael felt wrong, on top of that, I have to kiss him? Could things get any better?

Ethan rolled his eyes and continued sulking.

“Come on Ethan! Cheer up! You came to this audition for a reason and now you have a responsibility that you have to fulfil!” Abby asserted.

Ethan stared at her quietly for a moment and then sighed, “Fine, I’ll learn the stupid lines.”

Abby grinned proudly.

I glanced across the room and noticed there were actually quite a lot of people acting. I saw Chris standing amongst a few girls and smiled to myself.

“Hey, I’ll be back in a minute,” I told them and started walking towards Chris.

Nearing him, I gave a bright smile when he glanced at me.

“Look who we have here! Ms. Juliet!” Chris announced.

I chuckled and hit his shoulder playfully, “You’re a part of the play?”

“Yep,” he responded, “I am Benvolio, Romeo’s friend.”

“That’s great!” I gushed.

He nodded, “You must be quite glad that Michael is Romeo since he’s your good friend.”

Not really, I thought.

“Yes, of course,” I agreed with him.

“Listen up everyone!” Mr. Ambrose chided, “Since this is the first rehearsal, I will be going easy on all of you but I want you to put in some effort in order to make this play extraordinary. If you have the time, you could read the book written by Shakespeare, it would help you understand your characters better; especially Romeo and Juliet. We will start with the first scene today, it’s very simple, few Capulets and Montagues get into a fight and the Prince tries to stop them. Ashley and Michael, I want both of you to start rehearsing your lines together today. Alright, any questions?”

I looked around and when no one asked anything, Mr. Ambrose clapped his hands and started guiding everyone.

“Wow, he doesn’t waste a second, does he?” I thought out loud.

“Nope,” Chris replied.

“Well, it was great talking to you, I should probably go practice with Michael,” I said.

“Same here, see you around, Juliet,” Chris said with a grin.

Smiling at him, I turned around and saw Ethan staring at me with curiosity. Slowly, I walked towards them and started flicking through my thick script.

I sighed and lied down on the comfortable bed. My mind drifted off to different things. Erica had to do a group project, so she was at a friend’s place. I got up from the bed and decided to go downstairs. I was about to leave the room when I heard my phone ring. Smiling, I answered it.

“Mom! Hi! How are you?” I asked happily.

“I’m great sweetie, how are you?” she asked.

“Good, good,” I said.

“How’s living with the Wilsons?” she inquired.

“Actually, it’s pretty fun,” I replied honestly.

“That’s good to hear,” she responded. “Ashley, I wanted to talk to you about something?”

Uh-oh. “We’re not relocating, are we?” I questioned, nervous.

“No! No, we just got here,” she said. I let go of the breath I was holding.

“So, what is it?” I asked, confused.

“Your dad wants to have dinner with you tomorrow night,” she answered quickly.

My eyes widened. No. There was no way I was going to spend an evening with my dad and try to bond; especially after my encounter with him the other day. I just couldn’t. What is with him? All these years he never bothered to even call and talk to me and now, suddenly, he wants to take over his role as a father?

“No,” I denied.

“Ashley, please, for me?” she pleaded.

“Mom, it will be very awkward! Plus, what if he gets his wife along? Does he have kids? What if he brings them along?” I protested.

“If I’m not wrong, he did adopt a child,” she answered. “But that’s not the point! I want the two of you to get to know each other.”

I sighed, she was definitely not going to give up, “Can I take Erica with me?”

She hesitated and then sighed, “Alright.”

“Great,” I deadpanned.

After a short talk with mom, I groaned and sat down on the bed. Why?

I had to talk to someone, remove my frustration out. Without thinking, I headed towards Ethan’s room. Knocking on his door, I waited for him to respond. He opened the door and was surprised to see me there. Smiling, he gestured for me to enter.

“So, what’s up?” he asked softly.

“Nothing, I was bored,” I lied. “What were you doing?”

“Believe it or not, I was reading Romeo and Juliet,” he answered with a smirk.

My brows shot up as I chuckled, “Wow, and you say you don’t want to act in the play.”

“I don’t!” he disagreed, “But you know, just in case I have to act with you then I can’t let my Juliet down now, can I?”

I rolled my eyes and blushed.

He grinned, staring at me steadily, “It’s so easy to make you blush.”

“No! It’s not!” I said quickly.

He just shook his head as he laughed.

“My mom wants me to have dinner with my dad tomorrow night,” I blurted out.

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” he questioned softly.

“No! It isn’t! I was so rude to him the other day, not that I regret it, but I just don’t want to spend my evening with him, talking about things that I don’t even care about,” I grumbled, sitting on his bed.

He sighed and sat next to me, “I think you should go. Your dad is trying, let him. It wouldn’t hurt to stay in touch with him.”

I sighed, “I guess so.”

“It’s just a few hours,” he said, shrugging.

“A few hours are a lot!” I cried.

Sighing, he placed his warm, soft hand on mine. I looked up at him with a small smile.

“Trust me, it’s just one dinner; it can’t be that bad,” he said.

I nodded.

“It’s just a few hours,” he said, shrugging.

“A few hours are a lot!” I cried.

I nodded. Giving me one squeeze, he lifted his hand and dropped it on the bed.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he questioned.

"Yes, of course," I replied with a small smile.

He hesiated, "Are you crushing on Chris?"

I frowned, "What? No! What made you think that?"

"Nothing, you guys are really friendly with each other and I saw that you were quite happy that he was a part of the play," he said with a shrug.

I laughed, "Nope, nothing like that."

He nodded, “Guess why I want to be water and want you to be a fish?”

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, “Another one of your pick-up lines?”

He peered at me, “Just ask!”

“Fine, why?” I asked.

“So that you can’t live without me,” he whispered, fanning my face with his warm breath.

A/N: Thanks for readingg! I hope you liked it! Please leave some feedback? Oh and if you have any suggestions, I'll be more than happy to read them! =D

Did you guys know that based on a psychological study; a crush only lasts for a maximum of 4 months. If it exceeds, you're already in love! :O [I'm not sure if it's true or not :P]