New Hope

Chapter 12

Sliding in next to Rachael, I noticed Ethan struggling to keep his eyes open. He had blue bags beneath his eyes, similar to mine. Poor guy's been rehearsing his lines endlessly; he seriously needs a break.

Luckily, I've perfected the art of concealer. It really is a Godsend, if only it could hide all of my other imperfections.

"What are you guys talking about?" I said, joining their conversation.

"Nothing much, we were just running lines with Ethan to prep him for his performance this Friday," Rachael quickly responded, glancing between Ethan and Jeremy, a clever lie evident in her eyes.

"This Friday, really? That's come around so quick!" I said, playing along, assuming they were discussing my abrupt exit yesterday.

"Yep, all the tickets have sold out too! It's gonna be huge. How about you, though? Are you feeling any better this morning? You seemed pretty beat yesterday," Ethan asked, concern in his voice.

"Feeling much better, nothing a few extra hours of sleep couldn't cure," I replied.

"Yeah? That's good, hate to see you looking so down," Ethan said, offering a warm smile that hit my chest amiably, leaving me momentarily speechless.

"Hey, can I check out your new phone now? I want to compare so I know if it's worth upgrading mine or not," Jeremy interjected.

"It's not set up yet, haven't had a chance," Ethan replied, shifting awkwardly in his seat, clearly hesitant about offering his phone to Jeremy.

Knowing Ethan, he's protective over his phone, like most people, and Jeremy has a knack for stumbling upon private information without even looking for it.

"Justin, you're coming to my performance, right?" Ethan asked, seeking my assurance.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for anything," I replied gleefully, genuinely excited to see the final result of Ethan's hard work. Practicing lines and scenes with him is slightly different from actually watching the performance.

"I can't wait for you to see it. You'll be sitting in the front, right?" Ethan inquired.

"Front and center... so you better not fuck it up," I teased, accompanied by a wink. But my words seemed to hit a soft spot as he suddenly looked somewhat crestfallen.

"There are a few scenes I still need to work on. I'm not quite emoting the essence yet," Ethan admitted, his self-criticism evident.

"You're too hard on yourself. There's a reason you got the lead, and it isn't just because you have a pretty face," I reassured him with a smile.

"Haha! Try telling that to my understudy... I'm sure he's already tried to off me a couple of times this week. The other day, I found this strange package on my doorstep. When I opened it, I nearly had a fit... peanuts full to the top, all looking at me like little demons," Ethan shared, a mix of humor and concern in his voice.

"I still think you should go to the head with that. You could have had a serious allergic reaction," Rachael chimed in, worried.

"Nah, I want to handle this myself. We have a plan of revenge in the works, don't we, Jer!" Ethan exclaimed, determined to take matters into his own hands.

As the conversation unfolded, secrets and hidden tensions began to surface, promising an intriguing turn of events in the upcoming chapters.