Be My Romeo

7. Stage Play

Gerard's POV

I stepped into the building, the fall morning mugginess sticking to my skin as I walked. It was so early, rubbing my eyes and slowly dodging the students in the hall until I reached the haven of the theater room. I sat down, opening my sketchbook that had been protectively hidden underneath my arm.

I was early, but only because I was needing some alone time somewhere because as soon as I got home, the patrol of Mikey Way and his good cop Ray Toro began their thousand-question questionnaire. I made myself hidden a bit, sitting behind all the chairs as I started to draw, practicing poses and whatnot. It was quiet in the theater room, looking around, I decided to go practice up on the stage; nobody was even here yet and I wasn't scared of the janitor hearing me if he happened to be on this side of the building.

"To be, or not to be? That is the question," I boasted, laughing at my words and how unlike me they sounded. I don't even think the line was in this play, but it was just so fun to say. I heard footsteps, stopping my laughter and composing myself, grabbing my script to look like I was practicing. "The early bird catches the worm, Mr. Way," I heard Mr. Langly say, turning around to see him smiling. "But that was not the correct play," He chuckled, leaning against the desk behind him.

"I know, just siking myself up for the real thing, but there is no work without play in the theater," I sassed, smiling and moving to jump down from the stage. I felt a little awkward now, having too much confidence with the empty room and not in front of my favorite teacher. "You doing okay there, Mr. Langly? You're usually not this early," I spoke, the empty room echoing a little since I faced the stage. It was a semi-big room, no one was here, and it was still kind of dark since most of the lights weren't on; the clouds outside weren't doing anything to help.

"Hm, yeah, couldn't sleep. Nothing to worry about, I just had too much coffee while grading papers," Mr. Langly sighed out, chuckling and sipping on what I assumed to be more coffee. He happened to be a stand-in for the English teacher for a few days; kind of substitute. "You know what they say about routine, it's helpful in so many ways," I whisper, smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up.

He gave me a thumbs-up, laughing a little as he tiredly smiled back. "How's your art doing anyway? I know I see you with your sketchbook out there during lunch, and in my class," He commented, drinking a little more of his coffee as I stood there. I let out a chuckle, looking back over to my bag, knowing it had my sketchbook in between the binder and notebooks. I turned back around, looking at Mr. Langly that was expecting my answer.

"It's not bad... I haven't found a muse or anything, been kind of unmotivated on practicing because of it," I mumbled, uncertain of my words since I knew it was just the stress of the play coming up that diverted my attention for now. "Take a walk, clear your mind. There is a lot in nature if you know where to go," Mr. Langly said, his wise words sounding familiar, something my grandmother would say. "Well, thank you, I was actually out on a walk yesterday, I did end up drawing my grandmother's favorite flower, tried practicing just a little while ago," I admitted, moving my feet a little so I wouldn't give in to the habit of locking my knees.

"Well, I'm glad you still draw, I've never seen anyone as passionate as you are about art," Mr. Langly confessed, smiling at me. "Well, thank you, sir. I try my best, at the very least," I murmured, smiling a little and feeling a bit better on this gloomy morning. "Well, you're best is always good enough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get another cup of coffee. Feel free to practice on the stage again, just do the right play this time," He joked, getting up out of his chair and taking his thermos with him. He took his keys, turning on the rest of the lights and giving a thumbs-up as he closed the door.

I enjoyed having the space, the quiet room giving off a comfortable vibe as I climbed back up on stage. I was about to practice my lines a little, hearing the door and ignoring it. I thought it was just Mr. Langly coming back for something, or he was back seeing as he was fast when it came to a student being alone in the theater room, though he trusted me. "I see that I'm not the only one that decided to be early then," I hear a familiar voice say, looking up from my script and turning around to see Frank leaning against the wall.

"Good morning, Frank," I sighed out, pulling myself to the edge of the stage before slowly getting off. I walked towards the wall where he stood to get my sketchbook, not feeling like practicing now, but had a sudden idea for a drawing. I saw his eyes, both looked between tired and on edge as I neared him, passing him up as I walked to the back of the room. That was a lot different, I could see past his facade this time, or maybe he wanted me to. "It's not a relatively 'good' morning, but I'll take it," He whispered, pushing off the wall and going to his usual spot.

I was glad he didn't come to where I was as I sketched out a not so... What do the kids call it? Not safe for wizards or whatever; NSFW for short. I sketched out a little bit of the body, the person sitting down on the floor with their legs spread out. I guess I didn't look at the time and I heard the bell ring, seeing Frank walking over and immediately shutting the sketchbook to conceal the sin of what I was drawing.

"Ooooh, what is the bitch boy drawing? You look guilty," Frank teased, chuckling and sitting a little ways away from me. "N-no, I'm not, just drawing another rose. The only guilty I am is the guilt of how bad my hands look that's holding the rose," I snapped, though I was still quiet and sounded calm as I shoved my sketchbook in my bag. "Whatever you say, but you look guilty," He observed, looking me up and down as the students poured into the room. The bell rang, Mr. Langly clapping and getting everyone's attention.

"Okay, as usual, practice your lines, I'd prefer if you guys work together with someone, but if you have a solo part, then I guess you can work alone," He announced, giving everyone the go-ahead to pair off. Some chatter could be heard as people moved around to find partners, though I was just reading the script silently. I read on, past the balcony scene, and realized that the characters were supposed to share a "passionate" kiss. I freaked out, nudging Frank and pointing to it, seeing his eyes widen.

Frank flipped through the pages and tried to find where I was, reading it himself and looking at me with a shocked expression. I got up quickly, seeing him follow me as I reached Mr. Langly's desk, putting the script on his desk in front of him. "We're supposed to do what now?" I asked, exasperated and Frank seemed to be the same way. "Oh yeah... You guys practice pretty fast, I have high hopes for this working out. You don't actually have to kiss, it's called a stage kiss. You put your thumb on the person's lips and pretend to kiss them, keep the thumb out of sight though," He explained, giving us a thumbs up and going back to what he was doing.

"Okay... Um, we're gonna go across the hall then," Frank announced, nudging me as we backed up. I went and grabbed my stuff, going over to the empty room and sitting down on a desk. I sighed and grabbed out my sketchbook, balancing it on my knees after I backed the desk against the wall in the corner. I started on that drawing again, seeing Frank from the limited vision beyond my sketchbook.

"Hey, we're supposed to be practicing," Frank reminded me, holding up the script. I sighed and looked over at him, keeping the drawing out of his view. "I've had enough with practicing, I didn't go to sleep until 2 and all I wanna do is draw. Besides, you have some catching up to do, I saw how ahead of you I was," I speculated, looking over to my drawing as I saw him sit down. I saw him putting in his earbuds, but kept one out. "We'll practice the stage kiss bullshit later," Frank murmured, to which I gave a thumbs up and worked on the drawing for the rest of the class period.