One In A Million

18: Act?

Jake's POV

We sat on the bench at the park nearby. A dead silence was enveloping us, only the sound of children's laughter and the rustling of leaves could be heard. The wind blew giving us a chilly sense that autumn has come and winter will be fast approaching.

"I have to know why and how they knew. Am I that easy to read?" I thought and let out a sigh, a cloud of mist was seen.

"Aren't you cold, Jake? It's chilly today and you're just wearing a light sweater." Lucy asked out of concern, breaking the silence. "I'm fine. I've been in colder places back when I was young so this is just nothing for me." I said bluntly.

"Winter's almost here, huh? I can't wait!" she exclaimed. "What's with that?" I asked. "You'll see." they both grinned. "You guys are a weird couple." I stated, narrowing my eyes at them. They sweatdropped at that and laughed nervously.

...

"Wait! How'd you know?!" they nearly screamed my eardrums out. "It's a secret." I imitated Mark's statement with my index finger on my lip, smirking.

The fire died down eventually and we were enveloped in another silence.

"So? Are you gonna tell or what?" I spoke up. They both sighed and a visible cloud of mist from their breaths could be seen.

Charlotte's POV

"Wait... Is that?" I looked at the poster. "Jake? You took the role... For Beast?" I chuckled. "I-i just wanted to try it! I didn't think I'd get in..." he defended himself, looking away to cover the embarrassed look on his face.

"Why'd you join anyway? Didn't you say you'll be painting the background sceneries?" Mark moved forward to look at the poster. "Blake got in, too. The prince...? They could've just made that for one guy, right?" he thought.

"Doesn't the prince only appear before he turned to a beast and after the spell is broken?" Lucy confirmed. "I guess Jake will get all the stage time." I concealed my laughter. "I change my mind! I don't want to do the play!" Jake protested. "I don't think you can do that." I retorted.

"You have to give a valid reason if you want out." Lucy stated. "Because I don't want to." Jake replied. "That's not a valid reason! And if you didn't want to do the play then why'd you try it in the first place?" she retorted.

"They're isn't a stand in for Beauty, huh?" Mark asked in an amused manner. Jake and Lucy stopped their argument and scanned the paper. "I guess there wasn't much of a competition seeing who got the leading role." Lucy leaned on the wall and pointed at the character for Beauty.

"Samantha?" I asked, looking at the poster closely. "Yeah! She's the popular girl from the other class that has a huge crush on Blake." Lucy exaggerated the 'huge' part.

"I don't really kno--" I was cut off. "Well, well, well. I knew I'd get the part of Beauty." a voice was heard from behind.

Third person's POV

"Move it." Samantha rudely said as she pushed them to the side with her squad following from behind. "Hmph. I can finally have some time with my Blake." she spoke out arrogantly.

"Yeah. I heard that there's a kissing scene in the play." one of her "friends" blurted out. "That's perfect." she turned around and looked back at the four and glared at Charlotte. "I can't wait for that kiss." she smirked and walked off.

"...Eh?" the four tilted their heads to the side. "Was that...?" Charlotte pointed at the disappearing silhouette of Samantha. The three just nodded and replied with a, "Yup."

Mark's POV

"She's..." Charlotte trailed off. "Arrogant and boastful, right?" Lucy finished. "And really rude." Jake added.

I chuckled at their statements. "We shouldn't be saying stuff like that, ya know. It'll hurt her feelings..." I put on a sad look while putting my hand on my chest.

"If she had any..." I snickered. The two bursted out laughing while Charlotte covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Did I miss something?" I heard Blake's voice from behind us and we just continued to laugh.

~Time skip~

We stayed on the rooftop and decided to wait until lunch time was over. We sat on the concrete floor and just talked about different kinds of stuff.

"No way am I acting in that play..." Jake stated with a blank expression. "Don't tell us that, tell the teacher." I told.

"Well... You did act back then, right? So what's wrong with now?" Charlotte asked. "We were kids back then and you were there on stage with me, too." he scratched his cheek.

"You act, Charlotte?" I asked dumbfounded by the new information. "Yeah, before but now I don't think I want to." she admitted.

"You'd make a better Beauty than Samantha, I must admit." Lucy pointed out while Blake covered his blush. "No thanks." she extended her arms to form an "X", rejecting the suggestion."

"Well, who knows... Samantha might get into an accident..." Lucy started. "And someone has to replace her, right?" I finished. "Are you guys planning to hurt her just for some role?" she put on a straight face and we just shook our heads.

"This will be a great opportunity for both of them..." I thought as the bell rang.

Charlotte's POV

We walked back to class as soon as the warning bell rang. The topic of the role of Beauty didn't stop until we reached the classroom.

It's not that I don't want to do it but the way Samantha glared at me let shivers run down my spine. I'd rather not get into that mess.

"Class, as you all know the results for the characters in the play have been posted near the auditorium but as a precaution would anyone like to be the understudy for the role Beauty?" the teacher announced causing the class to be silent.

"No way am I gonna be the understudy for Samantha." "She's someone you don't wanna mess with." "I'd rather not get into her mess." murmurs and whispers could be heard from the girls.

"Fine." the teacher sighed and scanned the room. "Charlotte. You'll be the understudy, you performed in plays before, right?" that caused me to flinch.

"M-me?" I gulped. "You shouldn't fret, dear. You can memorize the lines easily." the teacher encouraged me but I refused, "I don't really--" "It's settled. The rehearsals will start tomorrow." she clasped her hands and started her discussion.

"That's rough." "Yikes." "As long as Charlotte doesn't out stage Samantha she'll be fine, right?" I could hear there pitiful comments.

"It'll be fine, Charlotte. I'll be right here." I looked over at Blake as he patted my shoulder, an earnest smile. "I hope so..." I sighed.