Of Stalking and Tomatoes

Chapter 7

How could he have missed it? Missed all the signs? They were right there. In front of him. Mocking him. They were right there all this time! The subtle hints. The mannerisms. The gestures. So how was it that he didn't notice? How did he not notice that Ren was a girl all this time?

Nyx took a deep breath as he walked down the stairs. He and Jul arrived at the theatre earlier than planned. There was barely anyone here. He hadn't even seen Rose yet. Maybe there are two, three people here, from what he can see. Jul was already talking to two of them. Rodney and Erzè.

"Good morning," said Rodney.

"Morning," he replied.

That was the end of their conversation. Nyx didn't really had a chance to talk to Rodney last time. Jul had the poor man occupied with Erzè eventually joining them. The three talked about music. Not that Nyx didn't know music but the three of them were talking about classical music. Nyx knew next to nothing about that. Long story short, he left them alone.

"Are you looking for Ren?"

Nyx turned to Rodney. He didn't even say anything. Not yet. He was planning to ask him where she was, though.

"You've been looking around for quite a while now." Rodney continued, "Right up the stairs near the door."

Nyx blinked. Rodney turned out to be an observant guy. Had Rodney been looking at him all this time? That's somehow creepy. Although, he has no right to say anything when he, himself, had been doing the same to Ren.

Rodney smiled at him, "Good to know that you're aware of your actions."

Did he say his thoughts out loud?

"No. You did not say your thoughts out loud."

This was beginning to weird Nyx out. How was Rodney figuring out what he was thinking? He took a half step backward and Rodney laughed.

"I'm not a mind reader," Rodney said, "Your thoughts are written all over your face."

Nyx took a moment to process that. Rodney was guessing his thoughts by the expressions he'd been doing? That's a little far fetched not to mention that if it were true then Rodney should have known what he had been thinking all this time.

Nyx turned to Rodney, hoping that he was just joking but Rodney just smiled knowingly at him. It wasn't a lie. Rodney wasn't lying to him. Nyx held his head in his hands as he heard chuckling. This is embarrassing.

"Ren's at the back if you need her." There was a pause before Rodney continued, "And I think you do. In various ways."

Oh god. If Nyx didn't think he was red before then he was sure he is now. He made a mental note to avoid Rodney in the future. Or should he attempt to be closer to him? They do say that 'you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. Not that Rodney was an enemy but—

"Get moving." Nyx turned his head back to Rodney at this, "Or did you want me to read you again?"

Nyx left without a second thought and as he walked towards the stage he could hear Rodney chuckling behind him. He decided that he should never make an enemy out of Rodney. That would be fighting a losing battle.

The backstage was dimly lit, a contrast to the audience sitting area. Nyx could barely see anything in here. Thankfully, there weren't any props or cables to trip and get caught in. He got caught in a bundle of cables once. It didn't go very well for his ankle.

Exploring the backstage got Nyx reminiscing. There were days when he used to run around theatres. Some times it would be him helping with the back drop. Other times he'd be rehearsing with his fellow actors. Those were fun days. But it had to end.