Your Choice (Book Three)

Shakespeare and Arguments

It is a Saturday afternoon and everyone has worked hard all day rehearsing for the play in the dusty old theatre stood next to the school. Max and Emmy are on stage reading their scripts ready to perform the rest of the scene while the rest of the cast are sat on the chairs in the audience gossiping away not paying much attention to what is happening on the stage in front of them. The crew are busying themselves in the wings and backstage making preparations and trying techniques out so they can make the final decisions about lightning etcetera within the coming days. Danni is sat amongst the cast but she is not participating with the chatter, her eyes are focussed on the stage while her hand works at some delicate needle work on Juliet's corset. Emmy has of course told her about what happened with Max a few weeks previous so Danni is watching their every move fascinated about their relationship. They were made for each other. "Okay! Can everyone quiten down for the scene!" Miss Higgins yells and the chatter dies down as the two performers discard their scripts, "Thank you!"

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." Max falls into the role of Romeo effortlessly and speaks the lines like a true actor would.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." Emmeline's lines roll of her tongue after hours and hours of practice with both of her fathers. She paces closer to Max who is also closing the distance with his steady steps.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." It is strange, you would think that because of the way they are performing the scene that they have practiced this over and over on this bare stage but it is quite the opposite. It is the first time they have performed or even practiced this scene but everyone; the cast, crew and Miss Higgins are entranced by the magic that is being performed on the stage. It seems real. That is because it is.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Max annunciates every word clearly. When he acts he turns into his character easily and loses his natural Americanisms he has learnt from his dad.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." Emmy sweeps back her hair with her finger tips, her eyes are locked onto Max's.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." He whispers the last line in a way that still echoes around the auditorium but still has the delicate sound of a whisper.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took." She breathes and now they are both standing directly opposite each other only inches apart.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." He leans down and she stands up taller on her tip toes so their lips can meet for a few moments before they can retract. The audience would think that this is acting but they know different.

"You kiss by the book." She states when the teacher starts to applaud loudly from the audience urging the rest of the cast to join in, which they do with shocked expressions on their faces. Originally it was discussed that all kisses in the play would be done on someone's cheek so they are surprised some of their peers properly immersing in their roles.

"Well done!" Miss Higgins shouts enthusiastically. "That was incredible! You should be very proud of yourselves." Both Emmy and Max grin as wide as they possibly can with the fingers entwined proudly on stage in front of their peers. "In fact... I don't think we can do anything better than that today so... Everyone go home!" Some whoop with joy others groan but Emmy and Max walk out of the theatre hand in hand with their rucksacks on their backs, leaving the grudge of rehearsals behind.

"Where to next Hiddleston?" Max asks as they walk further away from the theatre.

"I thought we could go back to mine and play video games." She suggests as they cross the road getting closer to her house by the second. Emmeline is fortunate in the fact that she lives only a short walk from her school, Max lives further away so he gets dropped off at school and sometimes drops Emmy off too.

"Sounds cool." They walk around the corner and the house comes into view so they jump over the gate – feeling too lazy just to open it – and skip to the front door. She sticks her key into the lock but pauses when she hears raised voices...

"It is not just about us anymore Ben! It is about Emmy as well!" Tom shouts loudly making Emmy gasp, her grasp tightening around Max's hand as she feels her chest constricting.

"I know it is!" Ben retaliates. "But why can't we come first for once?! Our career!" Max brings Emmy closer to him in a silent way to persuade her to just turn around and leave until whatever commotion is going on inside stops. She is not having it.

"Are you listening to yourself?!" Tom yells, "She is settled here!"

"Come on Em..." Max pulls her away from the doorstep but she just shrugs him off and shushes him.

"I want to be where the work is and that is currently in the States!" Tears start to fall down Emmy's cheeks as her breathing becomes ragged. She doesn't want to move! Not now when she is finally starting to be happy with her mum and brother and Max. "She could always stay here and board at some school." He unhelpfully suggests.

"We agreed when she was a baby that we would never send her to a boarding school after we both had some quite horrific experiences at Eton and Harrow!" She doesn't want to go to a boarding school with strange people she doesn't know without any familiar faces, without Max.

"Then she can stay with her mum."

"Ben no! I am not just ditching my daughter... our daughter because she want to work in the States semi-permanently. And there is loads of work over here! The BBC keep offering you stuff, there are lots of stage productions which could do with a little bit of Cumberbatch as Elli keeps on saying to you! Why can't you just pick one of those?!" Tom rants. Emmeline has never heard either of her dads so fired up especially at each other and all because of her existing.

She didn't realise she was having a panic attack until she hears her boyfriend's voice saying, "Come on Em, calm down Hun. I love you so much, please take deep breaths for me." She looks at him while trying to steady her breathing, her eyes are watery and her lips are quivering. It has been a long while she has been in this kind of a state.

"We have both been offered incredible Oscar winning roles in Los Angeles Tom! And I want to take that chance." Ben stomps away.

"Where are you going?"

"Out!" He yells as he pulls open the front door to be met with an emotionally distressed Emmy and worried boyfriend Max. Benedict's expression turns from hard and angry to anxious in only a split second. "Emmy..." He trails as it all becomes too much for her as she drops to the ground, darkness taking over her. "TOM!!!" Ben calls loudly and moments later Tom is at the door seeing the mess in front of him.

Max has laid Emmy's head in his lap while Benedict kneels down to try and get some sort of response from his daughter but she is not awakening. Tom feels his whole world crashing around him.

A/n hey guys I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The Shakespeare text in this chapter is from Act One Scene Five of Romeo and Juliet. Please remember to comment your thoughts on this chapter, I love reading your comments.

But lastly there is something I just want to say...

This morning it was announced that Daniel from the YouTube channel 'Cyndago' (who work quite closely with Markiplier and live with him) took his own life on the 16th. I am very sad about this news and my thoughts are with Ryan and Matt from Cyndago, Mark as well as the friends and family of Daniel. I complete understand the decision of the termination of the YouTube channel and I hope that everyone else does also. R.I.P Daniel Kyre xXx