Shattering Me

23~ the Fitful Rehearsal

"No."

"I love you so—"

"No!"

"I love you—"

"No, no, no!" Julie stormed onto the stage. Her long curls bounced with each furious step she took. "What the hell are you doing? You are supposed to be selling the love part, not anything else. You need to sound like you are in love with him, not just in love with him. Damn it, Mindy!"

"I'm trying okay! But come on..." she shuffled closer so that only Julie could hear her. "Have you seen him!? I'm not in love, but I very well could be with a guy like that." She gestured to Kyle, who she was supposed to be rehearsing with.

Julie looked him over and had to sigh in defeat, she couldn't help but understand. Kyle was truly becoming dangerously attractive. His hair had been styled to perfection in order to play the part of a prince. He wore an extravagant old-fashioned light-blue suit and a pair of tight slacks that hugged every curve like polished aquamarine. He'd put on a bit of weight since she first met him, but it was literally in all of the right places now.

He no longer looked pale or sickly as if he was dying a slow death.

"Leave it to Ryan to turn my lead into a liability," she grumbled and started stomping down the steps. "I don't care how you do it, just say the lines properly, Mindy!"

Julie may only have been the assistant director for the production, but she considered herself the first line of attack when it came to instructing. If Jack- the man in charge- had to step in and start barking orders, then she wouldn't feel like she was doing her job.

They began the scene again.

"My dear, tell me again. Tell me the words that I have chased for all my years," Kyle said his lines well. There were some people who were just naturals when it came to acting. It was typically the mischievous and deceitful ones that could become the greatest actors. Julie knew that as a personal fact.

"Oh, dear Marcus. I love you so much!"

Julie was ready to throttle her female lead, but Jack put an arm on her shoulder. He was the head of the drama department and had quite a few years to his credit. "Mindy, take a moment and find yourself. Distance yourself from the girl that you are, and try to visualize the love that Elizabeth feels for her beloved.

"Once you've found that image, we'll start again."

She nodded and they continued running the lines again. This time in a way that both directors could appreciate.

From the seats a few rows back, Arden Lou giggled next to Ryan. "I can't believe how mad she looked. She seemed like such a sensitive girl when I met her yesterday, but now? I thought she'd punch that actress.

Ryan gave a weak smile and said, "No, she would have done it alright. The way I see it, Julie Ortega has every emotion in the world on speed dial. Whatever Mindy whispered up there was probably the only reason it didn't get physical."

Arden laughed, trying to keep it down at the same time. "You've made some unique friends Ryan. I mean she's so lively and gorgeous that it's hard not to be jealous of how much time she's gotten to spend with you."

This time it was Ryan's turn to laugh. "You have nothing to worry about. Julie acts more like my sister than anything else. Kiara loves her for that, and Carman...well you may need to help me keep them apart."

She bounced in her seat and put a hand on his chest to prop herself up while she looked at him. "Are you kidding me? Did you say there's a decent woman in the world that is into your brother? Rye! That's amazing. She doesn't even have piercings, we should be shipping them so hard," she beamed.

Ryan's eyes flicked over to his girlfriend before training back onto the stage. "I guess. I'm not sure how much I like the idea of my best friend and my brother being in a relationship. You can imagine how badly that can end."

She sighed softly and plopped back into her seat, facing the stage again. "I guess you're right. But wow, I'm surprised to see you so into a play rehearsal. You haven't taken your eyes off the stage for more than a second."

Ryan's body tensed like a steel coil with an electric charge. He hadn't even realized that he was staring. "Well, I am supposed to be keeping on high alert. I told you that the Helix are after Kyle and I have to be careful."

Just then, music started playing softly and the two main performers got into position. Arden sat upright, "Oh god, Rye, I know this song! Are they singing it in the play?" she asked, but he just shrugged.

When Mindy started singing the familiar lyrics, Arden was ecstatic. It was one of her favorite songs of all time after all.

They watched Kyle open his mouth and her jaw dropped when she heard his voice. It was like warm silk forged into a steady harmony, both deep and calm. "You didn't tell me he could sing."

Ryan shrugged. "I didn't know. He doesn't really do it at home." There was a bit of hostility in his voice that was not lost on her.

In the few days since she had come to be with Ryan, she had noticed slight changes. He was still as gentle as always, but it was like there was irritation resting under the surface now. Especially toward his roommate.

She wondered if they had some sort of falling out, but the boy seemed nice enough. Almost abnormally nice from what she could see. Before she could work up to asking him if there was a problem, his phone rang violently.

"Superboy! Silence it or get out!" Julie shouted from up front.

With that, her question would have to wait for another time.

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So, I realized that I've been slacking on quite a few things recently and i'm not happy with that. I haven't been writing much recently and I think part of it is because I had so many chapters ready to upload. To put some more pressure on myself, i'm going to start posting a chapter every day or every other day so that the story on wattpad catches up with the chapters on my laptop! 

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