You And I

Chapter 46: Final Act; Dual Confession

The crowd burst into laughter after the unexpected twist, but Mei quickly climbed up to the balcony, seamlessly continuing the play. Her focus brought everyone back into the mood of the performance.

"O Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" she began, her voice soft yet filled with longing. I slowly climbed the ladder, moving toward her while she continued her lines.
"If only you weren’t Romeo, the son of the Montagues, nothing and nobody would get in the way of our love. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself."

I reached the balcony and took my cue, answering, "I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized. Henceforth, I never will be Romeo, my beloved Juliet."

I bowed and offered my hand to Mei. She took it gracefully, her eyes meeting mine with an intensity that made my heart race.
"Yes, I love you too, Romeo," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

As we prepared to descend from the balcony, Mei pulled me toward her, closing the distance between us. She kissed me—a soft, lingering kiss that sent a rush of emotions through me. When she pulled away, she whispered, "I love you, Levi."

I froze for a second, blushing, caught off guard by the sincerity in her voice. "I... I love you too, Mei," I finally managed to say.

Ryan’s voice boomed from the stage,
"Looks like we’re not done yet, folks!"
The crowd erupted into laughter once more, enjoying every twist and turn.

We descended the ladder and stood before the audience, who were still clapping and cheering. Together, we bowed to the crowd, the moment feeling surreal, as though the line between the play and reality had blurred.

After the play, we returned to our classroom, where we were met with cheers and congratulations from everyone.
"Woooh, congrats to the stars of the show!" they shouted. Ryan, ever the jokester, came up to us with a smirk.
"Hey! I thought you were gonna follow my plan!" he teased.

I laughed, replying, "Well, Mei and I got a bit excited out there." Mei chuckled beside me.

Ms. Romero, our teacher, approached us with a proud smile. "Congratulations, you two! The play was a hit. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from the audience. And by the way," she added with a knowing grin,
"I’ve known about the spark between you two since the camping trip."

Mei and I blushed at the comment, but before we could say anything, Liya dragged Kris and Jane into the room. She looked utterly exhausted, with the two still babbling nonsensically. "Could someone kindly help me with these two?" she groaned.

I couldn’t help but laugh. "Did you witness their RPG cosplay adventure on stage?" I asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Are they like this every time they’re drunk?"

I nodded. "Pretty much, and just wait until you hear Yvonne's freestyle rapping!"

"Hey!" Yvonne shouted, "That’s supposed to be a secret!"

We all burst into laughter, the celebration filling the room with joy. The success of the play brought a lighthearted atmosphere, and soon after, we moved to the café to keep the celebration going. After a while, Mei nudged me."Hey, wanna go explore some stalls?" she asked with a smile.
"It’s free for me since I won the pageant, after all."

We headed out, holding hands as we strolled through the hallway. Along the way, we passed by groups of students who couldn’t help but notice us. "Hey, look! It’s Romeo and Juliet!" someone called out, "Congrats, you two!"

We smiled and thanked them as we wandered through the stalls, enjoying the food and each other’s company. Fried chicken, takoyaki, sweets—we tried it all, making the most of the last day of the festival.

As the afternoon sun began to dip, Mei turned to me with a soft smile.
"Wanna go to the rooftop?" she asked.

I followed her, and soon we were standing at the rooftop, watching the sun set on the horizon. The breeze was gentle, the golden light casting a beautiful glow around us. Mei turned to face me, her expression serious yet warm.

"Let’s do this properly," she said, stepping closer. Her eyes locked with mine.
"Levi, I love you."

My heart raced, but I knew exactly how I felt. Without hesitation, I replied,
"I love you too, Mei."

It was simple, but it was everything. In that moment, all the years of dreaming, hoping, and waiting finally came to fruition. This was the start of something new, a beginning that felt like a dream come true.

And as we stood there, hand in hand, watching the sun set, I couldn’t help but smile. This was only the beginning of our story.