The Name Game ➸ Tyrus (COMPLETE)

6

*trigger warning: theatrical suicide (shakespeare)*

Cyrus' POV

It was opening night of the play. I was sitting in front of the fitting room mirror, applying what felt like my fifth layer of foundation. Our theatre teacher wanted each of us heavily made up, even though it already felt like 1,000 degrees under all of those stage lights. I expertly lined my eyes and blended some blinding highlighter onto my cheeks, nose, and forehead. I was gonna look like a fucking disco ball, and I loved it.

As the teacher called 'Sampson' and 'Gregory' to their opening scene places on the blacked-out stage, I couldn't help but feel butterflies over whether TJ was going to show up or not. He texted me 'good luck' earlier, but not much else. I knew my family would be watching, but what about him? Gus and I would not be on stage for quite a while, and it took every ounce of strength to not search for TJ in the audience...

Finally, it was the first scene at Capulet's house.

"Jules!" the Nurse bellowed out to me. I stepped onto the stage, the warm, shimmering spotlight beaming down over me. "How now, who calls?" I began.

"Your mother," the Nurse replied. "Madam, I am here, what is your will?" "Tell me, son Jules, How stands your disposition to be married?" "It is an honour that I dream not of..."

As the show continued, the final scene featuring the kiss drew nearer. The school's parent board was skeptical of showing a scene with Gus and I kissing, fearing we would be bullied or ridiculed. We both figured that showing the normalcy of a same-sex relationship and including the play's kiss would really resonate with our audience and peers. The good it would do was sure to outweigh any negative feedback. At this point, I knew that TJ was watching because I saw him standing by himself during the intermission we had. My family was bombarding me with hugs and questions and tears, and I had no time to squeeze a word in with him.

I was snapped back to reality when the stage went dark and the crew began readying it for Scene 21, which took place in a tomb. I lied down on the stage with my eyes closed and listened through Gus' lines. "Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! And lips, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing Death!"

Gus leaned down and I could feel his breath growing nearer to my face. I felt myself heat up in embarrassment as I wondered what it would feel like if TJ were the one about to kiss me. Just as quick as I felt Gus' weightless kiss brush against my lips, the feeling of his breath was gone and the scene went on as 'Romeo' sealed his fate with a poisonous drink. I thought I had heard a grunt from the crowd, but I'm sure it was only my wild imagination. Now, it was my turn to initiate the kiss with 'Romeo', who was evidently deceased. "What's here closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them."

I leaned down to kiss Gus, and suddenly felt a horrible sense of dread wash over me. I found myself kissing his chin instead of his lips, and Gus quietly responded with a "hmmm...?"

I quickly rose and pretended to stab myself with the closest thing to a dagger the school board would allow: a plastic butter knife. I fell to the stage and the curtains drew as Capulet and Montague decided to sing Kum-Ba-Yah after, y'know, their kids killed themselves. Caitlin, who was playing the 'Prince', closed the show with her final lines.

"For never was a story of more woe, than this of Jules and his Romeo"

The lights blacked-out a final time and there was a beat of silence before the audience erupted into applause. Everybody from the cast and crew raced on stage as the lights came up and the curtains opened, soaking up every ounce of hard-earned praise. It felt really, really great to be part of something so amazing, and to know my crush saw the final product of all my hard work. When I looked out into the crowd and searched for TJ's face, my eyes immediately fell onto his. Although he was clapping, his face look stoic, and his lips were downturned into a sort of...scowl. I mean, a cute scowl, but a scowl nonetheless. He left the room in a hurry and a sense of anxiety took over.

After the cast had taken photographs in costume and exchanged hugs with just about everybody in the audience, I raced to the backroom to change out of my costume and throw on my normal jeans and button-up. I didn't bother to wash off my makeup, although it was probably dripping down my face like a melted candle due to the spotlights.

"TJ, TJ," I called out into the night. I heard a low, quiet voice call out from the curbside beside me, "You don't have to yell, underdog, I'm right here." I ran over to TJ and, without thinking, threw my arms around him. He immediately reciprocated and I felt my heart pick up in pace and deepen in rhythm. It rang in my ears, 'Ba-BUM-Ba-BUM' and I could feel his heart doing something similar. 

"Teej, what happened in there?" I asked, my tone laced with concern. "Didn't you like it?" TJ's eyes widened in response. "Of course I liked it! It's just. . ." He trailed off. "What?" I urged in return. "I-it's nothing," TJ tried to reassure me. I wasn't buying it for a moment. "TJ, something happened during that play that upset you, and I need you to tell me what it was so I can make it better," I explained, looking straight (gay, sorry) into TJ's eyes. They really were the most enrapturing shade of green. "Something DID happen during the play," TJ confirmed with a sigh. "It's just not something you can fix, Cy." "Try me," I challenged in return. TJ stared at me in trepidation, like he was about to tell me something that could change his--or my--life. "Um. . ."