Doki Doki Movie Club! - A SM AU Fanfiction!

24: Another Club Meeting Over!

"Wait—really?" Ethan asked, slowly turning his head over to me as I spoke up. I gulped—swallowing down my spit before hesitantly nodding. I knew damn well that this was probably a big mistake considering I wasn't the most confident person, but Kevin still didn't seem all that confident either, so..

"Ye—Yeah. I'm sure." I nodded slowly.

Ethan let out a small hum as he stared at me—before his gaze slowly shifted back over to Kevin, and a small smirk formed on his lips. "Well.. alright. I guess Kevin can go after you then."

Kevin only remained silent, staring at me as ne slowly sat back down with an arched brow. I began to stand up—feeling everyone's eyes on me as I did so. I then turned, and walked toward the front of the room while gripping my paper close to my chest—trying not to let out a wavering sigh.

Once I made it toward the front of the room, I could see everyone else still staring. My eyes darted back down to my paper. With little confidence, I began to read off of the lines of my paper—a nervous frown on my lips as I did so. Everyone listened in silence, and my voice remained slightly unsteady as my face became warmer with each passing second.

After some time, I finished reading—and despite believing I didn't really do a good job at it, everyone burst into quiet applause anyway. I groaned and rubbed a palm against my face, speaking with a nervous smile. "So—Sorry.. I'm not too good at this."

Ethan chuckled softly as I approached the table and eventually sat down back in my original spot. Tilting his head, he reassuringly said, "No worries.. there's nothing wrong with being shy." He then glanced over to Kevin with a calm smirk still on his lips. Seemingly recognizing what Ethan was about to say even if he didn't uttered a word yet, Kevin let out a groan with a frown.

"I know, I know.. its my turn. I'll go now." Kevin replied—folding his arms over the other—before standing up and holding his paper close to his chest. He then shuffled over to the front of the room, and once he made it over there, he turned to face everyone.

"Okay.. this is called.." Kevin hesitated, looking back at everyone before his eyes darted shyly back down at the paper again. His face flushed, he awkwardly uttered, "..this.. this is called 'That Big Leap'."

Kevin then begins to read. And despite the sarcastic nature of his tone as he reads off of the paper, it works kinda well with the way his script is written. It feels almost more believable when spoken aloud by him. And even though he's only reading, he gives a pretty swell performance. I can feel myself smiling from just listening to him speak.

After he finishes, we burst into quiet applause again. Kevin's face appears to darken with a reddish flush, and an awkward frown forms on his thin lips as he hurriedly shuffles back over to where he was sitting before.

"There we go.. not so bad now, right, Kevin?" Ethan playfully asks.

"Ugh.. sure, I guess.." Kevin grumbles. "You're not gonna make me do that again, are you?"

"Heh.. no. You're prepared to read in front of other people now though, right?" Ethan asks with a smile.

"I mean—that's not a problem. I deal with people down at the candy store all the time, so I can put on a smile for anyone. It's just.. when it comes to you guys, I.." Kevin hesitates, before sighing while gritting his teeth. "Nevermind.."

Ethan pauses, before looking back toward everyone with that same calm smile of his—the fluffy bangs of his hair hiding his half-lidded eyes. "Well, anyway.. I wanna thank everyone for comin' around. Now that we've practiced, I'm sure most of you will be able to read what you've written now. I want you guys to be prepared though—because after all, I still put a bunch of posters up. So chances are this place will be a lot more packed than it was last year."