I've Loved In Shades of Wrong

Chapter 2: Mastermind

And the touch of a hand lit the fuse

Of a chain reaction of countermoves

To assess the equation of you

Checkmate, I couldn't lose

*******

Kate tapped her foot nervously on the ground, waiting for auditions to start. The old theater room hadn't been used in years, and it was dark and slightly dusty.

"Kate Bishop," Yelena snapped, turning around in her seat to face her. "Stop tapping your foot or I swear to God, I will just cut it off."

"Yelena," Natasha reprimanded her lightly.

"What?" Yelena hissed. "She is driving me insane."

"Seems like a you problem," Kate said. She kept tapping her foot.

"Kate Bishop—"

"Kate Bishop!" Gamora shouted from onstage. "Auditioning for Romeo! You're up!"

"Get up there!" Rocket echoed.

For some fucking reason, the school had decided to let Gamora, Peter Quill, Rocket, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Sylvie run the play. Gamora, naturally, was the only one who actually got anything done−Nebula refused to listen to her sister, Peter and Mantis did their best to help but mostly got in the way, and Drax and Rocket hung out in a corner playing some kind of complicated game involving cards, dice, and yelling. Sylvie was the odd one out−she hovered in the corner, offering advice when it was needed and occasionally giving Drax and Rocket one of her Sylvie Glares™, which could probably have literally frozen over hell.

Kate made her way onto the stage. Gamora handed her a sheet with a few lines of text on it. "Just−read the thing," she sighed, rubbing her temple. "Preferably with some amount of emotion."

"I am too sore enpierced with his shaft," Kate read from the script. "To soar with his light feathers, and so bound

I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe

Under love's heavy burden do I sink."

Gamora looked relieved. "Great. That was...that was good. Next is Tony Stark, auditioning for Romeo..."

Kate exited the stage and returned to her seat.

"Good job, Kate Bishop," Yelena told her. "But..."

"Yes, yes, I know, you'll do better," Kate snapped. She snatched her bag by the strap. "Goodbye!"

Before Yelena could say something else, she nearly ran out of the theater.

Peter was waiting for her outside. "How'd it go?"

"No idea," Kate admitted. "They're telling us the parts tomorrow."

"You think you got Romeo?"

"I hope so. If Yelena gets it..."

"Yeah."

When Kate got home, her mom looked worried. Again. She always did, these days.

"How was your day?"

"Fine," Kate said. "We had play auditions."

"Yeah?" Eleanor managed a smile. "What play?"
"Romeo and Juliet. I'm auditioning for Romeo."