A Secret Romance Louis Hynes x Reader

Chapter Twenty Two

Opening Night...

Louis' P.O.V.

After weeks of rehearsals, the night had finally come. I peeked through the curtains to see the auditorium was beginning to become full of parents and kids. I was nervous, but at the same time, I was excited about this. I wasn't able to show my affection for Y/n in public, but now I could show it since we were performing together, and soon this decade-long feud would come to an end.

"Five minutes to curtain!" Mr. Robertson whispered to us, running around with a clipboard in his hand. I looked over at Y/n to see that her eyes were wide and she was shaking. "Are you okay?" I whispered, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "I-I'm n-n-nervous," She stuttered, looking back at the curtain. "It's going to be okay, don't think about the people out there. Act like nobody's watching," I comforted her. She stopped shaking a little and looked up at me with a smile on her face.

"Thank Louis, I hope after tonight, things go back to the way they were," I nodded and told her I hoped the same. "Alright, Narrator, get out there!" Mr. Robertson gestured to one of the other actors. The curtain rose, and the sound of applause erupted in the auditorium. "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean,"

I looked over at Y/n from the other side of the stage. She looked so beautiful in her Juliet costume, and I couldn't wait to kiss those soft lips when Romeo and Juliet met each other. "The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend," During the brawl scene, from a distance, I could see my parents and siblings were watching this with looks of disgust. I couldn't tell if they were disgusted by what they saw or if they were thinking about Y/n's family.

"She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair. To merit bliss by making me despair. What doth her beauty serve but as a note Where I may read who pass'd that passing fair?" I recited when it was my turn to go onstage. When those words escaped from my lips, I instantly thought about Y/n. Her beautiful h/c hair, those beautiful e/c eyes, and her sweet personality. I couldn't help but smile and blush when she went onstage.

She had a severe case of stage fright beforehand, but now she acted like she had performed onstage before. She was a natural. "If I didn't know any better, by the look of your face, I'd say you have feelings for her," someone whispered. I nearly gasped when I saw it was Malina. "I don't have feelings for her, Malina," I tried to deny, but she shook her head in denial and continued smiling. "Oh, Louis. I've seen this happen to so many guys. I know the signs of when someone is in love," she smiled.

I silently let out a breath of relief, relieved that Malina didn't criticize me for being in love with Y/n. The curtains closed, and everyone quickly started moving things around for the next scene, and the excitement inside me grew as I thought of the ball scene played in my head.

*******

Y/n's P.O.V.

Surprisingly, I didn't stumble over any of my lines while I was onstage. I was happy about that, and I could tell that my parents were surprised by the way their eyes were when I saw them in the crowd. "You did phenomenal!" Louis smiled while the crew did a quick scene change. "Thank you for those kind words, Louis. It really helped out," I said, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before running over to Malina to grab my mask.

 Even though it was just a scene in a play, the ball scene looked and felt so real. It felt like something out of a dream. The only thing that could make that dream a reality was when Louis kissed me. My heart pounded inside my chest when he said his lines. I was trying my best to hide it underneath all the makeup and the bright lights of the auditorium. Louis grabbed my hand and led me to center stage, and my heart pounded, and I nearly stumbled over my words at the thought of us kissing in front of everyone. 

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayer's sake," I smiled. "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," Louis said before leaning in and crashing his lips onto mine. The kiss was only supposed to last for a few seconds, but we kissed for half a minute, most likely making our parents suspicious that something was going between us. But they couldn't say anything about it now, and I was relieved about that.

"My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown and known too late," I said before walking offstage and getting ready for the second act as the crowd burst with applause.