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(okay boys give me a heart attack from this gif won't you?)
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Katherine left behind her notepad the next day, which was very uncharacteristic of her. One thing she did bring, however, was the sketch. Katherine had spent most of the night admiring the sketch. Every intricate detail swallowed her into a world of poetic masterpieces, and she felt as if she were looking at a mirror of her true image. It was rare for that feeling to come up, but Jack Kelly wasn't a common person. He was different; with arms open for her and she didn't know if it was her place to respond or simply turn her back. All she knew was that she wasn't going to turn away without information on Jack Kelly.
Katherine stood in front of Irving Hall, the exact same building she had been in the previous day. Their first performance was the next day, meaning everyone would be a chaotic mess today. The only thought Katherine had in her mind was: Jack couldn't have come up with a worse place or a worse time.
She pushed open the large front door, finding several people attempting to hang Christmas decorations or tape posters of their show onto the walls. Katherine didn't know where else to go, so she stepped into the house of the theater, greeted with several people fixing decorations and props, rehearsing lines, or practicing vocal warmups. She couldn't spot any familiar faces except for Medda, who was giving orders to a group of boys.
"A little more to the left! No, Albert, your other left! There, perfect!" Medda clapped once, looking up at a banner hanging to the left of the audience and below the box seats. "Now, Boots, carry the other banner to the other side and center it just like that one."
"Miss Medda!" A voice called from the right side of the auditorium, "We're already carrying the banner over there!"
"Well then you're just one step ahead of me. Hang it up, boys." Katherine was lost in the chaos, wondering if there was a reason Jack brought her to the theater at such a chaotic time for Medda and the others.
Katherine approached Medda, rubbing her arm awkwardly. Medda didn't seem to notice her approach, so she simply said, "Busy day, huh?"
Medda turned her head to find Katherine standing there, a wide smile playing on her lips, "Katherine, dear! What brings you here?"
"I got an invite. Speaking of which, have you seen Jack?" Katherine asked. As if on cue, buckets on top of the stage toppled over and scattered paint brushes everywhere. Voices immediately erupted from the sounds.
"Skittery, I told ya not ta touch those!"
"It wasn't me! It was Specs!"
"Well Henry stole my glasses!"
"Only 'cause Mush dared me to!"
Katherine exchanged a glance with Medda. She expected Medda to be annoyed, but she simply chuckled underneath her breath and placed her hands on her hips. Katherine looked back at the chaos happening on stage, "I have my answer." She paused, watching as a boy with glasses attempted to charge at a shorter boy who was mocking him by curling his fingers into circles and placing them in front of his eyes. "Shouldn't you be upset with them?"
"Not really," Medda sighed, adding a soft chuckle. "This is the norm. Those boys don't know how to calm down when it's necessary. So long as they don't damage the props, there's nothing I can do."
One boy's foot slipped on one of the paintbrushes still rolling on the floor, causing him to fall onto his back. Several of the boys broke into laughter, causing the boy who fell to turn a furious shade of red.
"Come on, guys! I leave for one minute an' dis happens?" Katherine recognized that voice. Her eyes scanned the stage where she found Jack hitting one of the younger boys over the head with his cap, his eyebrows twisted together in irritation.
Katherine left Medda's side, standing in front of the stage where she rested her elbows on the wood, her chin in her hands. She watched in amusement as Jack ordered the boys to pick up the mess they made, seemingly not having noticed her standing there watching them. It wasn't until he turned to say something to one of the taller boys that he noticed her.
"Ah, Plumber! Glad ta see youse could make it!" He stepped over towards her, crouching down so he could look at her easier.
"I've remained entertained while I've waited. Are these your friends?"
Jack looked back at the boys, on then back to her. "More like brothers. But yeah, youse could say dat."
"They seem like a handful," Katherine laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit out of place in the room.
"They sure is," Jack said. "Why don't ya come on up an' I'll introduce ya to da boys."
I'd like to talk about you but I guess this is fine.
Jack held a hand out to help her climb onto the stage. It seemed like an inconvenient way to get onto the stage seeing as all she had to do to get on easily was walk ten feet, push a curtain aside, and climb up a staircase. But she was already climbing onto the stage and standing up by the time the thought left her mind.
"Why, Jack! When'd ya get youse a goil!" The tall boy from earlier expressed, walking over to observe Katherine. This caught the attention of several of the other boys, causing them to look in her direction.
Katherine stuttered, looking between Jack and the other boys, "We aren't—I'm not—"
"Come on, doll face!" One of the younger boys, who seemed to be in his mid teens, exclaimed. "What're ya doin' with a guy like Jack? You could do much better. For example, me!"
"Lay off, Romeo," Jack said to the younger boy. "She's just a friend."
Friend. Such an interesting word choice. If Katherine remembered correctly, he had called her beautiful just twenty-four hours ago. And forty-eight hours ago, she found his sketchbook with the sketches of her. She could recall his anxious motions as she returned the sketchbook, and it didn't seem like things were just "friendly." But she supposed she couldn't say anything because she, too, didn't know what was going on between them at the moment.
"So dat means she's available?" Romeo questioned, placing an elbow on Katherine's shoulder.
Katherine didn't think when she said her next words, they just escaped her lips like a flood breaking through a barrier. "No, I'm not available." Of course, that was a lie. Katherine was too focused on her schoolwork to even think about relationships. Yet for some odd reason, she felt drawn to say those words without an ounce of self-control. She shocked herself just as much as she shocked Jack, who had an inquisitive look in his eye.
"Well, who's da lucky guy?" Jack asked, causing Katherine to bite her lip.
What would she say? Katherine had no male friends except for Bill and Darcy. Wait. Darcy. Katherine was eternally grateful when she saw that Darcy was walking by the stage, engrossed into his script. She grinned to the boys crookedly, calling out to Darcy and catching his attention.
