𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

2nd Dimension

"Tu pure, o princess," Julian said, his eyes boring into mine as we held each other. He eagerly leaned in, and his lips engulfed mine in a passionate kiss.

The audience roared with cheers and applause as the curtain closed for intermission. Julian allowed the kiss to linger, his breath tickling my lips as he basked in the feeling of us being so close. It was the only scene in which we were affectionate because the play ended with a twist in which Julian's character runs away in the last scene only minutes before the wedding, leaving behind a heartbreaking note that read that — deep in his heart — he knew he wasn't worthy of the princess.

"Julian," I muttered, pushing him off me as the crew hustled around us, setting up the next scene. He pulled away bashfully, and I left his arms. During the intermission, he and I had time for a short break before wardrobe change and a makeup retouch. Julian and I, as per usual, sat at our vanities next to each other backstage, lighting up a cigarette and practicing our lines between taking puffs.

"Father would be so pleased to know I've taken a liking to you," I said, flicking my ash into the trinket tray next to my makeup brushes. I always practiced my lines during intermission while staring at myself in the mirror, enunciating and making sure my lips were clearly pronouncing every syllable. I swiped a fingertip under my eye to remove the faint smudge of eyeliner.

"As would mine," Julian said putting out his cigarette, though his words were said with a warm — almost honest — emotion in them. I chalked it up to him being a method actor. As I exhaled my smoke, Julian stood up, and I looked over inquisitively. He had a small smile on his face while holding out his hand for me to join him. "Princess," he bowed. I nearly chuckled, seeing he wanted to actually rehearse the scene as if we were on stage. I crushed the lit end of my half-smoked cigarette into the small, porcelain dish and held the sides of my dress as I stood up and placed my hands in his. "When, in our short time together, did you know we should marry?" he asked, holding my hands tightly as if he didn't want to let go.

"When I realized you were the only man I wanted to fall in love with," I gazed into his eyes. Instead of a smile, Julian looked almost nervous. He heaved a shaky breath, his eyes glancing at my lips. "I should get ready for the wed-" before I could even finish my line, Julian leaned in, his lips meeting mine. "We just did the kissing scene," I pulled away, confused with how he'd forgotten which scene we were doing. Then I realized he must have been testing me to see if I was paying attention. I immediately dropped my arms from him. "Julian..." I laughed, knowing he couldn't best me.

His eyebrows furrowed at my reaction, "Do you not feel anything when we kiss?"

I was taken aback by the question, gently pushing his arms off me, "We're just acting."

"I'm not," he said, "I know you feel something. There's no way we could have kissed night after night without you feeling at least something."

"Where is this coming from?" I asked, my brow cocking.

"Our first kiss made me fall for you," he admitted desperately, "Please tell me you feel something, too."

"We're just acting," I repeated in disbelief.

"What is acting but emotions on a stage?" Julian tried to convince me.

"What is it but scripted lines and memorized moves?" I retorted, trying to make him realize that our words and actions held no weight in meaning to us, only the audience, "A kiss is but a kiss. It has no meaning unless you so give it, and you've evidently given it too much."

"You block out the emotions as if you hear what you want to hear. And, if a kiss is 'meaningless,' it's because you've given it no meaning," he said, heartbroken, his eyes watering at the rejection.

It took me years to finally have my big break, and, when I did, I was always warned to not fraternize with those I worked with and to save the emotions for the stage. To go against these wise words would only distract me and put my career at risk. But, Julian was a beautiful man with an amazing personality. Though he was the biggest thing in show business, he never let it get to his head. He greeted everyone who helped set up the scenes and even took time to personally thank the man who worked the lights every night. From my experience doing other plays, even smaller actors and actresses acted as though they were better than everyone -- even their costar counterparts.

The wardrobe crew rushed us towards the racks of clothing off to the side, putting us behind separate dividers and helping us shimmy into our new outfits for the next scene. We were then taken back to our vanities where the makeup crew quickly began touching up our makeup. As they did, I could hear Julian sniffling off to the side.

It was a lonely road to the top, and I realized Julian was the only one who could ever understand that as well. The only social life one could have were the PR events while trying to find work and autograph signings after each play. A dating life was entirely nonexistent for my days were spent rehearsing and performing. With Julian and I both having a residency at the theater, it may as well have been a match made in heaven.

"Father would be so pleased to know I've taken a liking to you," I said, giving Julian a warm smile as we stood in the flimsy gazebo in the castle garden set up during the last portion of the act. I decided to go against the advice I was given and let myself believe everything that was happening was truly happening to me. I was honestly feeling as though I was giving my best performance to date, and I couldn't ignore the fact that I could feel myself really allowing to fall for Julian instead of putting up a wall to block out the emotions he put into the scenes. Julian's lines weren't just repetitions of last night's and the night before. His words held so much more meaning -- at times, giving me butterflies which completely took me off guard.

Though his eyes drooped with sadness, he forced a returning smile, "As would mine." He grasped both of my hands. "When..." he trailed off, losing his train of thought and blinking dumbly as he stared at me. He gulped, his slightly watering eyes darting around, trying to remember his line. I gave his hands a small squeeze as if telling him to focus, and he turned his attention back to me, "When..."

"When, in our short time together, did I know we should marry?" I asked myself his line, giving him a stern look. He heaved a heavy breath, looking as though he knew he wouldn't be able to complete the play without messing up again. And it hurt to know exactly why. I could feel him wanting to give up. "When I realized you were the only man I wanted to fall in love with," I said, pulling him off the gazebo and to the center of the stage, looking up at him hopefully, urging him to commit himself into the scene as he used to. We took our place center stage, and he let out a shaky breath, his eyebrows furrowing as though he was going to have a break down at any second. "I should get ready for the wedding," I said.

I released his hand and should have walked away as the curtain closed. But, instead, I wrapped an arm around his waist as my other hand cupped the back of his neck, gently pulling him towards me. He stared at me doe-eyed as I glanced down at his lips and softly closed the distance. I could feel him melt into the kiss. The crowd, once again, cheered and applauded as the curtains closed. Julian and I didn't pull away as the kiss deepened. His lips engulfed mine passionately as though he'd been waiting an entire lifetime for permission to kiss me off-script. The stage crew rushed around us, clearing the scene and setting up the next. We both pulled away breathlessly. Julian kept his eyes closed and leaned his forehead onto mine, the smile never faltering from his face.