Neighbors

T H I R T Y

PIPER

One week was all we had left until opening night. By now, I had recovered fully and felt better than ever.

In preparation for the show, I had invited the cast over to my house to run lines, work on some scenes, and practice dances. Since it was Saturday, everyone went straight to my house after our morning dress rehearsal at school. Me, along with Beckett, Cat, Dri, and the rest of the cast that came went out to my back patio to start practicing dances and working on scenes.

As a group, we all rehearsed the routine for Under the Sea, the final scene, and the stage bows. It worked out since most of the cast showed up, only a few missing because of prior engagements. Gabrielle, however, decided that she wanted nothing to do with me and my house since I "stole her boyfriend and her role."

After working for almost two hours, we took a break for lunch.

"Is it just me or is everyone else kinda nervous for the show?" Melissa asked the group. Several people mumbled words of agreement and conveyed similar fears.

"I'm terrified that I'm gonna drop a line or something," Franklin confessed. "Also, the Sebastian voice is starting to take a toll on my vocal cords."

The anxious chatter continued and I watched as Beckett stood up from his seat next to me. "Hey!" he shouted to get everyone's attention, "no matter what happens, we're gonna put on an amazing show. We've all worked so hard and not to mention that we have a pretty great director and an extremely talented cast and crew. We can do this."

I couldn't help but smile at his encouraging speech. As people clapped for him, Beckett sat back down and I made eye contact with Cat who sat across from me. She raised her brow before making a slight gesture towards my house. I excused myself and went inside, being followed shortly by Cat.

"That was a very touching speech," she commented, "where did that come from?" Cat was one of the only people who I told about Beckett almost dropping the show.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea."

"You've changed him," she stated bluntly.

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything," I furrowed my brows.

Cat released a frustrated sigh, "you can't seriously tell me that you don't see the effect you have on him." I shook my head, I had no clue what she saw that I didn't. "While you were in the hospital, he took charge of a lot. He was the first to rehearsal and the last one to leave. He's taking the show pretty seriously considering he didn't wanna do it in the first place."

"That's because he doesn't wanna let anyone down," I reasoned.

Cat scoffed. "More like he doesn't wanna let you down. He's doing this for you. He cares about you."

"You really think so?" I asked her, receiving a nod in response. "I just don't know if I'm ready to try that again with him.

"Are you kidding me?" Adrianna interrupted our conversation. "Sorry for eavesdropping but Piper, I saw you and Beckett at the primary school recital the other night."

"You did?" both Cat and I questioned our friend.

Dri nodded, "sure did. My little cousin is in the 2nd grade and my family went to watch. But I saw you and Beckett, and I was gonna say hi but it looked like you two were having a personal moment."

I blushed furiously, remembering how touchy we were that night.

"Wait! How personal are we talking?" Cat freaked out.