Stage Fright

Chapter 44 ~ Tech Week

Josh

"So, you finally kissed her did you?" I ask Owen on our way into rehearsal on Monday.

It was the start of tech week, usually I'd be sad that a show was drawing to a close but I couldn't wait to be done so that Heather and I could really be official. This was going to be a long week, but we both had a schedule worked out for our homework. The plan was to alternate around, one night at hers, one night at mine. 

But of course the nearing of tech week meant that Owen and Mandy couldn't keep putting off their kissing. Just like Heather and I, they were shoved into a room to work it out on Friday. I wondered if it was awkward, Owen had stayed pretty quiet about it after rehearsal. 

"Yeah, I did." He mumbles and I nod. 

"Was it okay?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows. 

"I guess so, why?" He answers and I shrug.

"You just seemed pretty quiet afterwards, I was wondering if something was wrong." I say nonchalantly and he shakes his head.

"Nope, just a kiss. It was more normal than I was expecting to be honest." He admits and I laugh. "She's been a lot less.....insane lately."

"I know, Heather's got the touch." I agree and he laughs.

"Are you ever going to tell me about what's going on between the two of you?" He asks. "I see you together, I know it's not just a friendship."

"I can't." I sigh, feeling a little defeated. "But I will soon."

"Fine, keep your secrets." He teases. "Did they sort out that shit with her car? It's all I heard about all week, people are saying it was Zeke, is that true?" He asks and I nod.

"It is." I tell him. "They took him, Callum and Roger into custody. They're being held right now. She was really worked up after it, she lost her car and I think it really scared her." I sigh, pushing open the doors to the auditorium. 

But luckily, Zeke was off the streets. He couldn't hurt her anymore, I didn't want to watch her look over her shoulders all the time anymore. The second I heard that they were taken into custody, Heather said they had more than enough to charge them. They didn't even try to hide, they didn't know that the school had outside security cameras.

"Fuck, she's been through a lot hasn't she?" He asks and I nod, watching her go over some notes with Miss Young. Blonde hair flowing down, face alive with interest and expression. "It's incredible that she's as okay as she is."

"That's just the way she is." I mumble. "She's pretty resilient, there isn't anything that breaks her spirit."

"Well that's good news for tech week." He jokes and I laugh with a nod. Heather catches my eyes then and gives me a smile. "She fucking likes you doesn't she?" Owen says snapping me out of my day dream. "Miracles are possible." 

"Fuck off." I laugh and he chuckles.

"Alright everybody!" Miss Young calls, walking up the steps and onto the stage. "I have some quick announcements before we get going, so if you could please come and sit on the edge of the stage while I give some notes!" I drop my bag and sit on the edge of the stage next to Owen.

"Perfect! So, this will be our first day running with lights and sound, our props and sets have been practiced for weeks by our stage crew but with the tech it can take some time to fix and set up properly. We'll be running act one today, we'll have to stop and start a whole bunch of times so please bear with us while we work out the kinks and bumps!" She says and I nod quietly. Most people looked ready to go today.....I'm sure it wouldn't take long before that fizzled out.