Boring, 1997-1998

Auditions (pt. 1)

Emaline sat with her knees curled to her chest on the Messner's couch. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair untamed, and her figure was enveloped in a puffy blanket.
It had been three days since Maddie had been admitted into the hospital, and they been confronted with a very strange situation. The doctors had manage to drain her body of the drugs, but the damage was done. She was being kept alive through machines, and was in a coma that medical professionals said she would most likely never wake from. Emaline hated seeing her sister like that; lifeless, undignified, artificially surviving... and of course she debated taking her off life support, but her decision was altered when she had to consider a new factor. Somehow, her unborn baby hadn't died when Maddie overdosed and it left doctors baffled. Emaline wasn't sure what to do; she felt like a part of her sister could live on through her son or daughter, but that would mean keeping her on life support for six more months and she honestly didn't know if she could bear it.
So there she was. Depressed and sleep deprived, sitting on the couch of the Messner/O'Neil household. Ken and Sherry had been so kind and hospitable to her, and Luke had gone out of his way to amuse her and cheer her up. Even though he failed, she still appreciated the effort. Her girlfriend was visibly struggling to balance giving her space, and being there for her.
Kate stood silently from a distance, half emerged from around the corner. She watched Emaline tentatively as she stared into nothingness. She toyed with the idea of approaching her, but decided against it. She turned around and began to walk away, but a quiet voice broke the silence. "Kate? Can you come here please?"
Kate slowly turned and walked towards her. Emaline wasn't looking at her, but as she got closer she saw that the blonde was absentmindedly fiddling with the marble heart hanging from her neck. She stiffly sat next to her girlfriend. "Do you need something Em?"
"You haven't kissed me in three days... I-I feel like you're barely talking to me, and God! Look at you right now! You don't even want to touch me. Kate, I really need you right now. My parents are MIA, my sister is..." She inhaled sharply, "You are literally all I have. I hate this. I haven't slept in days. I'm actually in touch with my feelings for the first time, no thanks to you, and I'm just so," her whole body was filled with tension, and tears threatened to spill, "depressed." She said quietly.
Guilt flooded Kate's consciousness. She wanted to kick herself for trying to give her space when she so desperately needed love. She wrapped the smaller girl into a tight embrace, and kissed the side of her head.
"Hey, hey. Baby," She said and immediately cringed. Pet names were definitely not her thing. She tried again, "Emaline. I'm so sorry for letting you feel alone. You aren't. I'm here. I love you, okay?" God, it felt so good for her to say those words freely.
"Will you sleep with me?" She mumbled.
"Wow, I never thought I would hear you say those words in an innocent way," Emaline shot her a glare, "No, Em, I'm kidding. If you need me to sleep with you so you can finally get some rest, of course I'll stay."

...

Kate woke up on the narrow couch, with her arms around Emaline, and the smaller girl's back pressed into her torso. She wanted to know what time it was, and she received her answer when she looked to the window and saw it was still dark outside. She slowly tried to take her arms off Emaline, but the girl's steady breathing faulted and her face became laced with worry. It pained her, but Kate continued removing her arms and began to awkwardly get off the couch. She had to go talk to Luke. As she started to leave, she stopped, turned around, and approached the sleeping Emaline again. She was so beautiful and peaceful while she slept, Kate couldn't resist leaning over and gently kissing her cheek. She pulled back and headed for the stairs. Upon reaching the top, she walked to Luke's room.
"Luke! Luke!" She whispered and nudged him. "Kate, what are you on? It is like 5:00, We don't have to be up for another hour," he mumbled.
"I'm worried."
"Let me guess: something to do with Emaline."
"Yeah, yeah. Bingo. But this time it's actually important. Aren't the auditions for An Act of Love today?"
"Shit! You're right! And this year the drama club is gonna whoop my ass if I cast her without an audition. Do you think you can get her to go to school?"
"I'll try. I know this is important to her."

...

"I can't." Emaline said, avoiding eye contact.
"You have to try. I don't even want to work on this movie if you aren't in it." Kate sighed. Emaline sat quietly before mumbling, "I don't know if I'm ready to go back."
"Okay, so maybe you don't have to go back permanently. You just have to show up for the audition. After that, you can come back to this couch, set up camp, and spend the remainder of senior year on said couch. But I know that this is important to you. You have to show up."
The blonde let out an exaggerated sigh, before extending both her hands out. Kate pulled her to her feet, and hugged her. "Hey, you'll be fine. I have to go to school now, but I'll see you at the audition."

...

Kate sat at a table with Luke, pencil eraser between her teeth, and nervously tapping her foot.
"Will you please stop?"
"What if she doesn't show up?"
"Kate. She'll come. Do you think Emaline has ever missed an audition in her entire life?"
"I need to go to the bathroom," she said, rising from her seat.
"Um, no. Auditions start in like five minutes... Kate! Come back!"
She had already pushed the door open and began to briskly walk down the hallway. She walked into the girls bathroom, and immediately recognized the sound of sloppy kisses. She raised an eyebrow and slowly approached the bathroom stalls. She peeked under and saw two pairs of feet, a girl on her tip toes, and a boy wearing knee high socks. Uncomfortable, she began to back up, but bumped into a sink. She made a muffled sound and quickly realized her mistake. She swiftly made her way to the back of the bathroom, and pressed her back against the corner of the wall and the stall, hoping they wouldn't look for her. She had to stifle a scream when first Leslie, then Tyler, emerged from the enclosed space. "Oh God, who do you think was in here?" Tyler said, beginning to walk to the exit.
"Why do you care? Tyler, I want people to know."
"Yeah, well I don't. Besides, I'm going to be late for my audition." He pushed out of her embrace and walked out of the bathroom.
"Tyler, wait!" She called after him and followed his footsteps.
The second they were out the door, Kate stopped suppressing her laughter. She did all but cackle as she began to head for the exit. Leslie and Tyler, she thought, I bet no one saw that coming.
Smile still on her face, she walked past the line of people waiting to audition and took her place next to Luke.

...

After about a dozen people, Luke was beginning to worry. McQuaid had nailed his audition, and was to be cast as a lead, but they hadn't yet found someone to play his costar. And Emaline was nowhere to be seen. Tyler has obviously auditioned, and the lack of talent was astounding. They would still cast him out of obligation and friendship, but neither wanted to.
The door opened, and a tall Asian boy walked through. Kate slowly recognized him as one of the three freshmen who had joined AV.
"Hi, my name is Daniel Lee, and I'll be auditioning for The Stableboy."
"Hey, I thought you were AV?" Luke questioned.
"Yeah, but only because my friends wanted to. This is what I really want to do."
His acting was flawless. He was a natural. As he read the provided lines, Kate and Luke truly felt as though they were in the presence of the character they had created. The second he left the room, they turned to each other and squealed in excitement. "That's the one!" Luke grinned. Kate nodded in agreement.
Their glee came to a screeching halt when a tall figure entered the room abruptly. He grabbed a chair, swung it around to be next to Luke and straddled it.
Oliver lifted his sunglasses and winked.
"Miss me?"

(A/N: Oh my goddd guys this chapter took like three days to write. It's a two parter, so that's always fun. If you like it, drop a comment! Reading them absolutely makes my day)