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[royality-and-kittens]

Roles & Rehearsal: Chapter 1

Chapter Description:   Roman is an overdramatic theatre nerd doing his best, Logan his best friend, who’s overextended as heck, and Remy is their drama teacher who will be leaving the school soon.   Drama (get it) ensues.   High school theatre au.   

Warnings: It’s pretty tame.   Remy says one cuss word, and there are is some minor anxiety.  Also Remy is genderfluid in this story. Added note, you should probably read the prologue first if you haven’t already so that this chapter makes sense.

Words: 4.6k

    Roman was vaguely aware of the world around him, and an unfocused voice trying to tell him… you know what, he didn’t care what it was trying to tell him.   Focusing was too hard when his brain felt this fuzzy. He was fairly sure that he was supposed to be awake, but he was much more aware that the lumpy couch under him now felt so soft he could melt into it, being absorbed into a world of fantasy where he didn’t have any bothersome responsibilities like waking up and having to do anything productive…

    What felt like a second later, Roman was rudely awakened from the sleep he had been drifting back into, when the blankets above him were thrown off.   He opened his eyes, only to immediately regret it when his vision was assaulted by the blinding light that had just switched on.

    Covering his eyes with his arm, he flailed his legs, failing miserably in his attempt to find the floor and somehow managing to flop disgracefully onto the floor in his clumsy movements.   

    “Light and gravity, my two most powerful foes, have teamed up against me.  I am no match for their force…” Roman’s voice cracked as he used it for the first time that morning.   He heard a sigh, signaling the presence of Logan somewhere nearby and above him, although he still had an arm over his eyes, so he couldn’t quite be sure.   “I am slain!” he shouted after a moment of silence. “Save yourself, my good friend, run while you still can!”

    Logan still didn’t respond, but from another room, Valerie called, “Good morning, Roman!” clearly unsurprised by both his melodramatic outburst and his presence at her house.

    Finally, Roman slowly opened his eyes.   The light was much less bright than it had seemed at first, and his eyes adjusted rapidly.  On the couch above him, Logan had just finished folding the blankets that had been wrapped around Roman a few minutes before and that had been so thoughtlessly snatched away, leaving him shivering and alone in the dark cruel world.

    “Are you done glaring at me, or should I just leave without you?’

    Roman sighed in a way that was probably louder than necessary, mocking Logan’s earlier one.   “I shall forgive you if you apologize for treating me in this dishonorable way,” he said. Then, he started working on sitting up, so he could have some dignity.

    “I’m so incredibly sorry for letting you stay at my house, explaining to my parents why you were here so they didn’t freak out, making your breakfast and setting out clothes for you so you could sleep in, then waking you up with the offer of driving you to school.  It was definitely selfish of me, your majesty,” Logan said dryly.

    “I’ll take it.” Roman said, deciding to ignore that Logan sounded even more exasperated than usual in favor of being as stubbornly happy as possible.   True, he could remember his breakdown last night. He had initially been devastated when his friend Mariah woke him up by calling him, letting him know that his drama teacher, her aunt Remy, would soon be leaving the school to pursue her dream career on Broadway, moving hundreds of miles to the North.   He also remembered arriving at Logan’s house, although the drive and the decision to go there were mostly a blur. Still, like always, he felt infinitely calmer now, in the soothing reality of the morning. He knew Logan would do everything he could to keep the play going smoothly. All that he had to do was make sure that this year’s play went absolutely perfectly, and everyone loved it.   Then the school would have to keep the drama department going.

Roman leapt to his feet suddenly.   “Oh my heckity heck! We have a drama meeting to get to!”  His head started spinning from moving so quickly, and his ankle whacked Logan’s coffee table, but at least he was awake now.   “And they’re announcing the show today!”

    “Yes.”   Logan said, his tone implying that he had already said this many times to a sleepy Roman who refused to wake up.   Still, Roman decided to continue his streak of stubbornness by not letting Logan’s negativity get to him.

    “Thanks for letting me stay the night, by the way.”   Roman looked around, trying to see if there was anything he could do to help.   Alas, the blankets had all been folded, and breakfast was already on the table.  

    “It wasn’t really the night.”   Logan said, never one to take a compliment if he considered it factually inaccurate.   “You’ve only been at my house for about two hours, and giving you space to sleep on my couch is hardly a gift.   Based on your previous behavioral patterns, you likely would have crawled in through a window and slept in my abode even if I hadn’t invited you to.”

    “First of all, it was one time, be like Elsa and let it go, specs.   Second, I’m getting dressed.” He grabbed the stack of clothes Logan had placed on the coffee table and ran to Logan’s room before Logan could point out that the window incident had happened only last month.   In his defense, how was he supposed to have known that Logan’s parents had so many alarms? Ducking into the bedroom, He quickly replaced his sweats with jeans and a t-shirt (because Florida decided it was a good idea to have summer in the middle of January).   He ran back out, almost colliding with Valerie.

    “Have a splendid morning, V!   Happy drama season!” he half sung, sliding around her to avoid her mug of hot tea.   He entered the kitchen and grabbed the fruit and granola that he assumed was his breakfast, judging by the sticky note that said “ROMAN’S BREAKFAST” in Logan’s neat block letters.   

    “I put my backpack in your car last night, so it’s already there,” he called, knowing that Logan was well past the point of judging him.   He whistled happily, heading for the door, when Logan grabbed his arm.

    “Are you going to be wearing shoes today?” Logan asked simply, nodding towards Roman’s bare feet.   Roman looked down, slightly embarrassed. He was about to think of some snarky comeback when he actually looked at Logan for the first time, and his train of thought stopped suddenly.   Logan was standing with the same impeccable posture he always did, and wore his usual slightly bored look on his face, but his eyes seemed just a little too unfocused, and there were definitely some pronounced bags under his eyes.   Had he slept at all?

    Knowing that Logan wouldn’t react well to his concern, Roman decided not to mention it.   A little more slowly than he had been going before, Roman pulled on his tennis shoes. Within a few minutes, he was in the passenger side of Logan’s car, the two of them carpooling like usual while Roman’s car was left on the Torres’ driveway.   The pre-dawn light, the Florida humidity, and the silence in the car that Logan refused to turn a radio on in (“it’s statistically much safer this way”) made Roman painfully aware of sleepiness creeping back up on him. He also felt something much less pleasant settling in.   Maybe he wasn’t as calm about the play as he had thought. His stomach grumbled, loudly reminding him to eat the food in his hands instead of just playing with it.

    Roman swallowed difficultly.   There would have been a cheerful conversation going on if Valerie hadn’t decided to walk to school, leaving him with only a very tired Logan for company.   Why was he cursed with two best friends who were so healthy and functional?

    After barely surviving the painful drive, Dove High School came into view, looking as mediocre as ever.   He and Logan were the first arrive in the music wing, so every footstep and cough lingered in the air.

    “So…” Roman started, being interrupted by a yawn.   He hated to be interrupted by anyone, even himself, and he was feeling more tired every second.   Naturally, he decided to combat this irritating drowsiness by talking as much as possible. “What show do you think we’ll be doing this year?   I hope it’s something Disney related, like Beauty and the Beast last year. Thomas was such a great Gaston, wasn’t he? It’s so unfair that he’s gone now.   Can you believe he left us to do more school? Why would he ever even consider something so unimaginative?”

“He had already graduated, so it wasn’t as if he could’ve stayed at this school any longer even if he’d wanted to.   Also, pursuing a degree in chemical engineering isn’t what I’d consider a poor life decision.”

    “I was joking, Lo.   It is hard to imagine Thomas as a scientist, though.   I bet you ten dollars he’ll be back to acting as a career within a few years.”

Logan grunted noncommittally.   He was already beginning to set out chairs for the meeting.   Remy must have texted him this morning, asking him to prepare for the first meeting.   In the silence, the sound of metal chairs scraping against hard flooring echoed even louder than usual, and Roman felt the sudden need to help Logan out so he could focus on anything other than the aggravating noise.  

Roman started carefully stacking anything that he could, hoping to create more of a clearing for Logan to work.   The drama room wasn’t the most organized area on campus, but that always seemed to add to its charm. It was the size of two classrooms, with a broken curtain that was theoretically meant to divide it down the middle if the need arose.   The center of the room was matted with layers of old tape, different colors from each year, outlining the shape of the stage and set so the actors could picture the stage around them until the drama club could get access to an actual theater, at another school that had a real theater.   The walls felt like a huge time warp every time Roman looked at them, lined with props, some new and some older than he was.

In his efforts to somewhat tame the chaos, Roman stacked up the old wooden backdrops that had each been painted over countless times, stopping to smile at the castle pattern from last year still on one.   He easily remembered the steps to the dance he had done in front of it, dressed as a fork. He started humming,” Be Our Guest” under his breathe, already nostalgic for last year. He moved on, trying to straighten up (as if he could do anything straight) everything from old prop staircases to a picnic table that had crumpled newspapers hot glued to it for some reason.   Meanwhile, Logan was busy “stealing” the drama class’ chairs back from the band room.

“What’re you guys doing?   It’s the drama club, no one is going to sit in a chair.”

Roman almost dropped the box of Styrofoam apples he was holding.   “Mariah!” He tried to wave with his foot. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“I assure you, his coronary arteries are fine,” Logan said.   Roman couldn’t quite tell if he was joking.

    “Thanks, L,” Mariah responded.   “Anyway, how’s my second favorite dancing fork doing?”

    Roman held a hand to his chest in mock horror.   “Less good now that I know I’m not your favorite!   I practically stole the show with my artful grapevines.”   He started stepping across the floor in time to prove his point.   

    Mariah laughed.   “I think we both know that I was the coolest fork on the stage.”

    “Whatever makes you happy.”

    Mariah was the first of a wave of other students to rapidly arrive.   Valerie showed up a few minutes later, then a freshman girl who introduced herself as Laurel.   After that, it was just a confusing mess of new and familiar faces, actors and crew, laughing and gossiping.   A group of freshmen in the corner had already started singing Hamilton, which Roman took as a good sign. Also, Mariah was right.   Everyone was either standing or sitting on the floor right next to the chairs.

    “EVERYBODY SIT DOWN!”

    The room suddenly got uncharacteristically quiet.   Most people weren’t obeying the command, they were just confused and trying to figure out where the shout had come from.

    “People, I’m glad your quiet, but if you could all like, sit for a cool minute, that’d be great.   I know it’s super early, just try to focus for one freaking second.” Various teenagers sprawled themselves across the floor as the woman continued talking.   Her tone of voice seemed to conflict with her harsh words. “Hey,” she said “I’m Remy, for those of you who haven’t been blessed by meeting me yet. I’m going to be your director/ choreographer/ music teacher/ crew coordinator/ whatever else is needed for the next two months.   I also teach the drama class here. Basically, if anything goes well I did it, and if anything goes wrong you can just blame the school district for not sending me any help.” She took a drink from her Starbucks cup. “Also, I have a few basic rules that the newcomers need to hear.   If you’ve already heard them, you can listen again because life isn’t fair.”

“Okay, so, if you’re going to be late, you need to let me or Logan Torres know (Logan raise your hand!).   That’s Logan. Both of our phone numbers are on the sheet of paper he’s handing out right now. Also I’m gonna need your parents to sign a contract so they can’t sue us, because God knows we don’t need anything else going against this club.   Also, it may feel like you’re moving into this room, but it’s still not your house, so none of you can bring food or drinks in here. We do not want a repeat of last year.”

The new freshman, Laurel, raised her hand.   It was very obvious she was new, because none of the alumni would have thought twice about shouting something out.   “If there’s no food or drink allowed, why do you have Starbucks?” She spoke tentatively, probably afraid she’d get in trouble for disrespecting authority or something.   Roman knew from experience that stage would end quickly.

“I said YOU all can’t, not no one can.”   Remy smirked, taking another drink, then continued with the rules.  “Also, we ask everyone to help out with whatever fundraisers we’re doing.   Legally, I can’t force you, but I can shun you forever if you don’t. Is that all of them?”

“Social media!” A senior named Terrence called out.

“Oh yeah, you’re not allowed to post any pictures of you guys rehearsing on social media without my approval, because of weird copyright stuff.   We can’t have any pictures of costumes or sets going around.”

Remy took a deep breath, and sat on the floor along with the students.   “I also have an announcement to make to all of you students. A few of you already know, but I was recently offered a job as part of the ensemble in Wicked, so this is going to be my last show I’m doing with you guys.”   A few students gaped.

“Don’t leave us, we’re useless idiots!” Mariah called, at the same time as Terrence said “That’s amazing, congratulations!” and a few students just squealed excitedly.   

Remy smiled, obviously relieved that the news had been taken well.   She almost started talking again, but Valerie cut her off by hugging her, and Roman, not to be outdone in semi-dramatic gestures, had to join, too.   In a few seconds, Remy was encased in a giant group hug, with about twenty students surrounding her.

    “We’ll miss you,” Roman said, trying to fight back tears threatening to spill over.

    “Okay, I get it, you all love me.   Please sit back down everyone, I can’t move.”   Despite her words, Remy didn’t seem to be able to stop smiling.   When everyone was mostly settled down, Remy looked at the clock.

    “Shit, I have to get you all out of here in one minute so you can go to class.   Okay, so, this year’s play is going to be Bye Bye Birdie, so that’s cool.   And, um…” she pulled out her phone and started flipping through notes.   “Auditions are going to be… this Thursday after school, let all your friends know, you can sign up in that notebook-” she gestured vaguely to a corner of the room “-it should be here all week.  Or you can just text Logan, he-“ The school bell interrupted her loudly, and most students just ran out of the room immediately. Remy sighed, turning to Roman, one of the few students still in the room.   “You ready to do this show?” she asked.

    “Not really,” Roman said, trying to smile and begging himself not to cry.   He was Remy’s Teacher’s Aid for all of first period, and then he had actual drama class second period, so he’d be here for a while.   “But I’m sure it will turn out fabulously, so I’m not worried.”

    “I think it’ll be utter chaos until the last possible second.”   Remy stared at some of the props on the wall, her face unreadable.   “But isn’t that the best part of it?”

    “Sure?” Roman said, preoccupied by laying the art supplies on a bare stretch of floor, so he could start making posters.   He had only counted nineteen students in the room, and that could not form an entire cast and crew, so he knew they would need to advertise a lot more over the next few days.   

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    “I’m thinking we start by lining each entrance with our glitteriest posters, so any unsuspecting citizen who walks into school is slapped in the face by the glory of theatre!”   

    “While that some rather convoluted figurative language, I do think that putting the posters in a place where every student passes is going to be the best way to effectively advertise.”

    “Excuse you, my figurative language is as perfect as a dragon in a castle made of chocolate chip cookies.”

    “That was, objectively, much worse.”

    The halls were quieting down again, and Roman was once again helping out the drama club with Logan.   This time, there were a few other kids helping out, but they were all in different wings of the needlessly spread out school.   There were a lot of students who never left a specific area of campus, so they needed to have posters everywhere if they wanted to get the word out.   

    Logan blew his hair out of his face, because his hands were full of posters.   “If we can’t attract anyone else to join the drama team, I am going to place the full blame on whatever idiot architect designed this place.”

    “We will get more people, though,” Roman said, hoping that he was keeping the panic in his voice mostly hidden.

    “We usually get a few more this way, but we also usually have a few students drop out in the first week or two, so it’s hard to say if we’ll actually end up with a net gain in number of students.”

    “That’s just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Roman muttered.

“Did you just use that word as an explicative?”

“Anything’s an ‘explicative’ if you try hard enough.”   Roman joked, hoping that Logan didn’t remember the childhood phase where he’d sprinkle the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into conversations whenever he felt stressed, in an attempt to cheer himself up.   It was no use to dwell on the fact that the entire show was doomed if they couldn’t get a bigger cast and crew. Nope.

What could have almost passed for comfortable silence fell between them.   Roman moved to set his stack of posters carefully on a bench. He stopped at the last second when he realized that every bench in the area was covered in a mess of gum and food wrappers.   

“Hold these!” He called, tossing the posters in Loans direction.   He didn’t have to look to know that Logan had the coordination to catch them without bending any.   Roman had a theory that Logan didn’t actually need his glasses, and they were actually giving him some kind of super vision.   Or, it could’ve been Logan’s fourteen years of dance lessons, if you wanted to go with the boring explanation, which Roman never did.   

With his hands free, Roman was able to slip a roll of tape off of his arm, slipping it into his hand so he could actually use it.   

“What role do you think you’ll get?” he asked, starting to cover the back of a poster with rolled-up tape as Logan held it up.   “I think you’re going to be Albert; you can become an adult onstage so perfectly. I bet you and Remy can do some advanced choreography during ‘Put on a Happy Face,’ too.”

“You seem very familiar with the play.” Logan said, sounding begrudgingly impressed.

“We watched the movie in drama class today, well, technically we started it in drama class, and I finished watching it on my phone throughout the day.”

“Are you implying that you abandoned your academic studies for-”

“Shhhh,” Roman melodramatically covered Logan’s mouth with his hand, almost hitting him in the face with the tape.   “What my Calculus teacher doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“It can hurt you, though.   Advanced mathematical skills are necessary to understand how the universe works, they help us to see repeating patterns in nature and our own designs, not to mention how beneficial it can be when working with finances or electricity.”

“Yeah, I know, you’ve told me.”   Apparently Roman had said those words much more sharply than he intended, because Logan looked hurt.   Well, it wasn’t his fault that Logan was practically perfect in every way, always the shimmering star, while Roman was stuck as just being there, cursed by being good but not great.   He wasn’t jealous of Logan, that would’ve been childish and weak of him. He was totally fine with Logan being the best at literally everything he tried. Why would he care?

“Roman, are you all right?” Logan asked.   Before Roman could make up an excuse for his sudden brashness, the two were interrupted by one of the hall monitors blowing her whistle, the sound reverberating through Roman’s skeleton.   

“What are you two doing here after school hours?   Do I need to write you boys up for trespassing?”

Roman huffed angrily.   “What are you doing shoving yourself in everybody’s business?”   He muttered under his breath, hoping that he was quiet enough to not be heard.

“We’re putting up posters for the drama club.”   Logan said, with the mask of patience he wore when teaching dance to small children.

“Without a permission slip?”

“No, we have a permission slip, it’s in my binder.”   He tossed his school bag onto the knees, squatting to look through its contents.   In that second, his phone started buzzing.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this.”    Logan handed a purple binder to Roman as he stepped outside to answer the call.   

Roman quickly showed the pass to the hall monitor, who looked disappointed that she wouldn’t be sending anyone to detention.   As soon as she had turned a corner to another hall, Roman dashed outside, catching the end of Logan’s phone conversation.

“I’m sorry, Olivia, I already committed to help with my school’s drama club today… I’m not sure why you’re contacting me, you know I’m not signed up to come into the studio until the evening on Mondays…   Is there no one else who could step up?… Okay, I can be there in about half an hour.”

    Roman watched as Logan hung up the phone, looking even more defeated than he had this morning.   

    “The modern dance teacher is sick, and Olivia wants me to cover for the class.”   Logan tried to fake a smile, but even his acting skills couldn’t save him. Olivia, the manager of Logan and Roman’s dance studio, was amazing at running the place, but she also had a frustrating habit of taking advantage of Logan’s inability to say no to more work.    

“I’m going to have to drive you home right now, I’m sure the other students won’t mind hanging up these posters for us.   Then I can teach modern dance, I’ll have some leftover time for AP calculus homework and my psychology essay. I can teach my evening dance classes, do ballet and jazz, I’ll probably home in time to start working on…”   Logan’s voice drifted off into unintelligible muttering.

Roman knew that Logan wasn’t bringing up his formidable schedule for pity; he was just trying to do his best to get organized, but honestly that was the thing that made him feel the most terrible.   He had been at least partially responsible in keeping Logan from sleeping, and he had been the one who literally begged Logan to hang up posters with him.

“No.”   Roman said.

“Pardon?”

“You’re not going to be teaching any dance today, you’re clearly more ready to take a nap than Sleeping Beauty.   I don’t even know if it’s safe for you to be driving right now.”

    “I’m perfectly fine Roman, I don’t need-”

    “How much sleep did you get last night, then, Lightning McStubborn?”

    “That wasn’t even a pun.”

    “Don’t dodge the question.”

Logan looked very uncomfortable for very long second, and Roman could practically see him consider lying to convince Roman he was okay, which was not right.   Exaggerating his well-being to seem more put together was Roman’s job, not Logan’s. Almost inaudibly, Logan said “about 15 minutes?”

Roman fought to not look as concerned as he felt.   He knew that he always felt miffed when Logan tried to overprotect him, but he was used to randomly staying up until the crack of dawn whenever he got caught up in a project.   Logan, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten less than seven hours of sleep in the entire time Roman had known him.

“That’s what I thought, you obstinate nerd.   Okay, so here’s what’s actually going to be happening tonight.   I am going to be driving you home. You are going to rest. I am going to text Olivia at the dance studio, and let her know that you are not able to come in today.”

“But I am able come in today.”

    “That’s funny, I know for a fact that your sister will agree with me as soon as she gets the text I just sent, and will physically guard your house, making it impossible for you to even get near the dance studio until you no longer look like you’re seconds away from passing out.”

    Logan looked personally offended.   “Roman, you can’t-”

    But Roman had already pulled up Olivia’s number and started typing, narrating out loud.   “My deepest apologies, Olivia, but Logan has been tragically kidnapped by a terrible dragon witch, and I shall have to cover for him at your dance school until he is rescued.   And, send.”

    Logan appeared physically pained.

    “Relax, Logan, I was joking.   About the dragon witch part, not anything else,” he amended.   “I just told her something came up for you, but I’d be happy to take your place.   I’ve taught a few classes for her before, I know she’ll let me do it again. Now let’s get going, I don’t want to be late for modern dance class!”   He tugged on Logan’s arm, and the two of them made their way back to Logan’s car.

    “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

    “Have I ever been unsure about anything, even when I was wrong?” Roman asked back, shutting Logan up for a few minutes as they drove in silence once again.

    “Roman?” Logan actually yawned, his exhaustion becoming more apparent now that he knew he couldn’t hide it.

    “Yes, my sleep-deprived prince?”

    “Thank you.”   Logan hesitantly smiled, and Roman knew instinctively that he would flail around on the floor with a bunch of elementary school kids a million times if he could see Roman look as genuinely happy and grateful as he did in that split second.   It was really nice to feel needed and appreciated.

    “You’re welcome.”   Roman said, pulling up into the driveway.   “Now get out and go take a break. I’m sure I’ll show up uninvited again tomorrow morning.”

    “Hopefully at a more reasonable hour, and with an actual jacket this time.”

“Don’t count on it.”

With that, Roman pulled out of the driveway, his thoughts already returning to the show.   He wasn’t worried about the dance classes; he knew enough to handle them for a day. He just hoped he could handle the knowledge that this may be his last play.   He pressed play on his phone, starting up the soundtrack to Bye Bye Birdie.   He’d be fine, he decided.   The show would be perfect because it had to be, and because he would destroy any obstacles with his sword.   And Logan’s help. For now, he’d just focus on dance classes, and then he’d deal with whatever happened at the auditions on Thursday.   

Notes: I hope you liked the start of the story.   If you’d like to be added to my tag list, you can message me at any time.   Also, the next chapter is going to focus on Virgil and Patton, I promise I haven’t forgotten them.   Just a reminder, if you reblog this, especially with a comment, I’ll love you forever. Thanks!

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Roles & Rehearsal: Chapter 1

Chapter Description:   Roman is an overdramatic theatre nerd doing his best, Logan his best friend, who’s overextended as heck, and Remy is their drama teacher who will be leaving the school soon.   Drama (get it) ensues.   High school theatre au.   

Warnings: It’s pretty tame.   Remy says one cuss word, and there are is some minor anxiety.  Also Remy is genderfluid in this story. Added note, you should probably read the prologue first if you haven’t already so that this chapter makes sense.

Words: 4.6k

    Roman was vaguely aware of the world around him, and an unfocused voice trying to tell him… you know what, he didn’t care what it was trying to tell him.   Focusing was too hard when his brain felt this fuzzy. He was fairly sure that he was supposed to be awake, but he was much more aware that the lumpy couch under him now felt so soft he could melt into it, being absorbed into a world of fantasy where he didn’t have any bothersome responsibilities like waking up and having to do anything productive…

    What felt like a second later, Roman was rudely awakened from the sleep he had been drifting back into, when the blankets above him were thrown off.   He opened his eyes, only to immediately regret it when his vision was assaulted by the blinding light that had just switched on.

    Covering his eyes with his arm, he flailed his legs, failing miserably in his attempt to find the floor and somehow managing to flop disgracefully onto the floor in his clumsy movements.   

    “Light and gravity, my two most powerful foes, have teamed up against me.  I am no match for their force…” Roman’s voice cracked as he used it for the first time that morning.   He heard a sigh, signaling the presence of Logan somewhere nearby and above him, although he still had an arm over his eyes, so he couldn’t quite be sure.   “I am slain!” he shouted after a moment of silence. “Save yourself, my good friend, run while you still can!”

    Logan still didn’t respond, but from another room, Valerie called, “Good morning, Roman!” clearly unsurprised by both his melodramatic outburst and his presence at her house.

    Finally, Roman slowly opened his eyes.   The light was much less bright than it had seemed at first, and his eyes adjusted rapidly.  On the couch above him, Logan had just finished folding the blankets that had been wrapped around Roman a few minutes before and that had been so thoughtlessly snatched away, leaving him shivering and alone in the dark cruel world.

    “Are you done glaring at me, or should I just leave without you?’

    Roman sighed in a way that was probably louder than necessary, mocking Logan’s earlier one.   “I shall forgive you if you apologize for treating me in this dishonorable way,” he said. Then, he started working on sitting up, so he could have some dignity.

    “I’m so incredibly sorry for letting you stay at my house, explaining to my parents why you were here so they didn’t freak out, making your breakfast and setting out clothes for you so you could sleep in, then waking you up with the offer of driving you to school.  It was definitely selfish of me, your majesty,” Logan said dryly.

    “I’ll take it.” Roman said, deciding to ignore that Logan sounded even more exasperated than usual in favor of being as stubbornly happy as possible.   True, he could remember his breakdown last night. He had initially been devastated when his friend Mariah woke him up by calling him, letting him know that his drama teacher, her aunt Remy, would soon be leaving the school to pursue her dream career on Broadway, moving hundreds of miles to the North.   He also remembered arriving at Logan’s house, although the drive and the decision to go there were mostly a blur. Still, like always, he felt infinitely calmer now, in the soothing reality of the morning. He knew Logan would do everything he could to keep the play going smoothly. All that he had to do was make sure that this year’s play went absolutely perfectly, and everyone loved it.   Then the school would have to keep the drama department going.

Roman leapt to his feet suddenly.   “Oh my heckity heck! We have a drama meeting to get to!”  His head started spinning from moving so quickly, and his ankle whacked Logan’s coffee table, but at least he was awake now.   “And they’re announcing the show today!”

    “Yes.”   Logan said, his tone implying that he had already said this many times to a sleepy Roman who refused to wake up.   Still, Roman decided to continue his streak of stubbornness by not letting Logan’s negativity get to him.

    “Thanks for letting me stay the night, by the way.”   Roman looked around, trying to see if there was anything he could do to help.   Alas, the blankets had all been folded, and breakfast was already on the table.  

    “It wasn’t really the night.”   Logan said, never one to take a compliment if he considered it factually inaccurate.   “You’ve only been at my house for about two hours, and giving you space to sleep on my couch is hardly a gift.   Based on your previous behavioral patterns, you likely would have crawled in through a window and slept in my abode even if I hadn’t invited you to.”

    “First of all, it was one time, be like Elsa and let it go, specs.   Second, I’m getting dressed.” He grabbed the stack of clothes Logan had placed on the coffee table and ran to Logan’s room before Logan could point out that the window incident had happened only last month.   In his defense, how was he supposed to have known that Logan’s parents had so many alarms? Ducking into the bedroom, He quickly replaced his sweats with jeans and a t-shirt (because Florida decided it was a good idea to have summer in the middle of January).   He ran back out, almost colliding with Valerie.

    “Have a splendid morning, V!   Happy drama season!” he half sung, sliding around her to avoid her mug of hot tea.   He entered the kitchen and grabbed the fruit and granola that he assumed was his breakfast, judging by the sticky note that said “ROMAN’S BREAKFAST” in Logan’s neat block letters.   

    “I put my backpack in your car last night, so it’s already there,” he called, knowing that Logan was well past the point of judging him.   He whistled happily, heading for the door, when Logan grabbed his arm.

    “Are you going to be wearing shoes today?” Logan asked simply, nodding towards Roman’s bare feet.   Roman looked down, slightly embarrassed. He was about to think of some snarky comeback when he actually looked at Logan for the first time, and his train of thought stopped suddenly.   Logan was standing with the same impeccable posture he always did, and wore his usual slightly bored look on his face, but his eyes seemed just a little too unfocused, and there were definitely some pronounced bags under his eyes.   Had he slept at all?

    Knowing that Logan wouldn’t react well to his concern, Roman decided not to mention it.   A little more slowly than he had been going before, Roman pulled on his tennis shoes. Within a few minutes, he was in the passenger side of Logan’s car, the two of them carpooling like usual while Roman’s car was left on the Torres’ driveway.   The pre-dawn light, the Florida humidity, and the silence in the car that Logan refused to turn a radio on in (“it’s statistically much safer this way”) made Roman painfully aware of sleepiness creeping back up on him. He also felt something much less pleasant settling in.   Maybe he wasn’t as calm about the play as he had thought. His stomach grumbled, loudly reminding him to eat the food in his hands instead of just playing with it.

    Roman swallowed difficultly.   There would have been a cheerful conversation going on if Valerie hadn’t decided to walk to school, leaving him with only a very tired Logan for company.   Why was he cursed with two best friends who were so healthy and functional?

    After barely surviving the painful drive, Dove High School came into view, looking as mediocre as ever.   He and Logan were the first arrive in the music wing, so every footstep and cough lingered in the air.

    “So…” Roman started, being interrupted by a yawn.   He hated to be interrupted by anyone, even himself, and he was feeling more tired every second.   Naturally, he decided to combat this irritating drowsiness by talking as much as possible. “What show do you think we’ll be doing this year?   I hope it’s something Disney related, like Beauty and the Beast last year. Thomas was such a great Gaston, wasn’t he? It’s so unfair that he’s gone now.   Can you believe he left us to do more school? Why would he ever even consider something so unimaginative?”

“He had already graduated, so it wasn’t as if he could’ve stayed at this school any longer even if he’d wanted to.   Also, pursuing a degree in chemical engineering isn’t what I’d consider a poor life decision.”

    “I was joking, Lo.   It is hard to imagine Thomas as a scientist, though.   I bet you ten dollars he’ll be back to acting as a career within a few years.”

Logan grunted noncommittally.   He was already beginning to set out chairs for the meeting.   Remy must have texted him this morning, asking him to prepare for the first meeting.   In the silence, the sound of metal chairs scraping against hard flooring echoed even louder than usual, and Roman felt the sudden need to help Logan out so he could focus on anything other than the aggravating noise.  

Roman started carefully stacking anything that he could, hoping to create more of a clearing for Logan to work.   The drama room wasn’t the most organized area on campus, but that always seemed to add to its charm. It was the size of two classrooms, with a broken curtain that was theoretically meant to divide it down the middle if the need arose.   The center of the room was matted with layers of old tape, different colors from each year, outlining the shape of the stage and set so the actors could picture the stage around them until the drama club could get access to an actual theater, at another school that had a real theater.   The walls felt like a huge time warp every time Roman looked at them, lined with props, some new and some older than he was.

In his efforts to somewhat tame the chaos, Roman stacked up the old wooden backdrops that had each been painted over countless times, stopping to smile at the castle pattern from last year still on one.   He easily remembered the steps to the dance he had done in front of it, dressed as a fork. He started humming,” Be Our Guest” under his breathe, already nostalgic for last year. He moved on, trying to straighten up (as if he could do anything straight) everything from old prop staircases to a picnic table that had crumpled newspapers hot glued to it for some reason.   Meanwhile, Logan was busy “stealing” the drama class’ chairs back from the band room.

“What’re you guys doing?   It’s the drama club, no one is going to sit in a chair.”

Roman almost dropped the box of Styrofoam apples he was holding.   “Mariah!” He tried to wave with his foot. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“I assure you, his coronary arteries are fine,” Logan said.   Roman couldn’t quite tell if he was joking.

    “Thanks, L,” Mariah responded.   “Anyway, how’s my second favorite dancing fork doing?”

    Roman held a hand to his chest in mock horror.   “Less good now that I know I’m not your favorite!   I practically stole the show with my artful grapevines.”   He started stepping across the floor in time to prove his point.   

    Mariah laughed.   “I think we both know that I was the coolest fork on the stage.”

    “Whatever makes you happy.”

    Mariah was the first of a wave of other students to rapidly arrive.   Valerie showed up a few minutes later, then a freshman girl who introduced herself as Laurel.   After that, it was just a confusing mess of new and familiar faces, actors and crew, laughing and gossiping.   A group of freshmen in the corner had already started singing Hamilton, which Roman took as a good sign. Also, Mariah was right.   Everyone was either standing or sitting on the floor right next to the chairs.

    “EVERYBODY SIT DOWN!”

    The room suddenly got uncharacteristically quiet.   Most people weren’t obeying the command, they were just confused and trying to figure out where the shout had come from.

    “People, I’m glad your quiet, but if you could all like, sit for a cool minute, that’d be great.   I know it’s super early, just try to focus for one freaking second.” Various teenagers sprawled themselves across the floor as the woman continued talking.   Her tone of voice seemed to conflict with her harsh words. “Hey,” she said “I’m Remy, for those of you who haven’t been blessed by meeting me yet. I’m going to be your director/ choreographer/ music teacher/ crew coordinator/ whatever else is needed for the next two months.   I also teach the drama class here. Basically, if anything goes well I did it, and if anything goes wrong you can just blame the school district for not sending me any help.” She took a drink from her Starbucks cup. “Also, I have a few basic rules that the newcomers need to hear.   If you’ve already heard them, you can listen again because life isn’t fair.”

“Okay, so, if you’re going to be late, you need to let me or Logan Torres know (Logan raise your hand!).   That’s Logan. Both of our phone numbers are on the sheet of paper he’s handing out right now. Also I’m gonna need your parents to sign a contract so they can’t sue us, because God knows we don’t need anything else going against this club.   Also, it may feel like you’re moving into this room, but it’s still not your house, so none of you can bring food or drinks in here. We do not want a repeat of last year.”

The new freshman, Laurel, raised her hand.   It was very obvious she was new, because none of the alumni would have thought twice about shouting something out.   “If there’s no food or drink allowed, why do you have Starbucks?” She spoke tentatively, probably afraid she’d get in trouble for disrespecting authority or something.   Roman knew from experience that stage would end quickly.

“I said YOU all can’t, not no one can.”   Remy smirked, taking another drink, then continued with the rules.  “Also, we ask everyone to help out with whatever fundraisers we’re doing.   Legally, I can’t force you, but I can shun you forever if you don’t. Is that all of them?”

“Social media!” A senior named Terrence called out.

“Oh yeah, you’re not allowed to post any pictures of you guys rehearsing on social media without my approval, because of weird copyright stuff.   We can’t have any pictures of costumes or sets going around.”

Remy took a deep breath, and sat on the floor along with the students.   “I also have an announcement to make to all of you students. A few of you already know, but I was recently offered a job as part of the ensemble in Wicked, so this is going to be my last show I’m doing with you guys.”   A few students gaped.

“Don’t leave us, we’re useless idiots!” Mariah called, at the same time as Terrence said “That’s amazing, congratulations!” and a few students just squealed excitedly.   

Remy smiled, obviously relieved that the news had been taken well.   She almost started talking again, but Valerie cut her off by hugging her, and Roman, not to be outdone in semi-dramatic gestures, had to join, too.   In a few seconds, Remy was encased in a giant group hug, with about twenty students surrounding her.

    “We’ll miss you,” Roman said, trying to fight back tears threatening to spill over.

    “Okay, I get it, you all love me.   Please sit back down everyone, I can’t move.”   Despite her words, Remy didn’t seem to be able to stop smiling.   When everyone was mostly settled down, Remy looked at the clock.

    “Shit, I have to get you all out of here in one minute so you can go to class.   Okay, so, this year’s play is going to be Bye Bye Birdie, so that’s cool.   And, um…” she pulled out her phone and started flipping through notes.   “Auditions are going to be… this Thursday after school, let all your friends know, you can sign up in that notebook-” she gestured vaguely to a corner of the room “-it should be here all week.  Or you can just text Logan, he-“ The school bell interrupted her loudly, and most students just ran out of the room immediately. Remy sighed, turning to Roman, one of the few students still in the room.   “You ready to do this show?” she asked.

    “Not really,” Roman said, trying to smile and begging himself not to cry.   He was Remy’s Teacher’s Aid for all of first period, and then he had actual drama class second period, so he’d be here for a while.   “But I’m sure it will turn out fabulously, so I’m not worried.”

    “I think it’ll be utter chaos until the last possible second.”   Remy stared at some of the props on the wall, her face unreadable.   “But isn’t that the best part of it?”

    “Sure?” Roman said, preoccupied by laying the art supplies on a bare stretch of floor, so he could start making posters.   He had only counted nineteen students in the room, and that could not form an entire cast and crew, so he knew they would need to advertise a lot more over the next few days.   

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    “I’m thinking we start by lining each entrance with our glitteriest posters, so any unsuspecting citizen who walks into school is slapped in the face by the glory of theatre!”   

    “While that some rather convoluted figurative language, I do think that putting the posters in a place where every student passes is going to be the best way to effectively advertise.”

    “Excuse you, my figurative language is as perfect as a dragon in a castle made of chocolate chip cookies.”

    “That was, objectively, much worse.”

    The halls were quieting down again, and Roman was once again helping out the drama club with Logan.   This time, there were a few other kids helping out, but they were all in different wings of the needlessly spread out school.   There were a lot of students who never left a specific area of campus, so they needed to have posters everywhere if they wanted to get the word out.   

    Logan blew his hair out of his face, because his hands were full of posters.   “If we can’t attract anyone else to join the drama team, I am going to place the full blame on whatever idiot architect designed this place.”

    “We will get more people, though,” Roman said, hoping that he was keeping the panic in his voice mostly hidden.

    “We usually get a few more this way, but we also usually have a few students drop out in the first week or two, so it’s hard to say if we’ll actually end up with a net gain in number of students.”

    “That’s just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Roman muttered.

“Did you just use that word as an explicative?”

“Anything’s an ‘explicative’ if you try hard enough.”   Roman joked, hoping that Logan didn’t remember the childhood phase where he’d sprinkle the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into conversations whenever he felt stressed, in an attempt to cheer himself up.   It was no use to dwell on the fact that the entire show was doomed if they couldn’t get a bigger cast and crew. Nope.

What could have almost passed for comfortable silence fell between them.   Roman moved to set his stack of posters carefully on a bench. He stopped at the last second when he realized that every bench in the area was covered in a mess of gum and food wrappers.   

“Hold these!” He called, tossing the posters in Loans direction.   He didn’t have to look to know that Logan had the coordination to catch them without bending any.   Roman had a theory that Logan didn’t actually need his glasses, and they were actually giving him some kind of super vision.   Or, it could’ve been Logan’s fourteen years of dance lessons, if you wanted to go with the boring explanation, which Roman never did.   

With his hands free, Roman was able to slip a roll of tape off of his arm, slipping it into his hand so he could actually use it.   

“What role do you think you’ll get?” he asked, starting to cover the back of a poster with rolled-up tape as Logan held it up.   “I think you’re going to be Albert; you can become an adult onstage so perfectly. I bet you and Remy can do some advanced choreography during ‘Put on a Happy Face,’ too.”

“You seem very familiar with the play.” Logan said, sounding begrudgingly impressed.

“We watched the movie in drama class today, well, technically we started it in drama class, and I finished watching it on my phone throughout the day.”

“Are you implying that you abandoned your academic studies for-”

“Shhhh,” Roman melodramatically covered Logan’s mouth with his hand, almost hitting him in the face with the tape.   “What my Calculus teacher doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“It can hurt you, though.   Advanced mathematical skills are necessary to understand how the universe works, they help us to see repeating patterns in nature and our own designs, not to mention how beneficial it can be when working with finances or electricity.”

“Yeah, I know, you’ve told me.”   Apparently Roman had said those words much more sharply than he intended, because Logan looked hurt.   Well, it wasn’t his fault that Logan was practically perfect in every way, always the shimmering star, while Roman was stuck as just being there, cursed by being good but not great.   He wasn’t jealous of Logan, that would’ve been childish and weak of him. He was totally fine with Logan being the best at literally everything he tried. Why would he care?

“Roman, are you all right?” Logan asked.   Before Roman could make up an excuse for his sudden brashness, the two were interrupted by one of the hall monitors blowing her whistle, the sound reverberating through Roman’s skeleton.   

“What are you two doing here after school hours?   Do I need to write you boys up for trespassing?”

Roman huffed angrily.   “What are you doing shoving yourself in everybody’s business?”   He muttered under his breath, hoping that he was quiet enough to not be heard.

“We’re putting up posters for the drama club.”   Logan said, with the mask of patience he wore when teaching dance to small children.

“Without a permission slip?”

“No, we have a permission slip, it’s in my binder.”   He tossed his school bag onto the knees, squatting to look through its contents.   In that second, his phone started buzzing.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this.”    Logan handed a purple binder to Roman as he stepped outside to answer the call.   

Roman quickly showed the pass to the hall monitor, who looked disappointed that she wouldn’t be sending anyone to detention.   As soon as she had turned a corner to another hall, Roman dashed outside, catching the end of Logan’s phone conversation.

“I’m sorry, Olivia, I already committed to help with my school’s drama club today… I’m not sure why you’re contacting me, you know I’m not signed up to come into the studio until the evening on Mondays…   Is there no one else who could step up?… Okay, I can be there in about half an hour.”

    Roman watched as Logan hung up the phone, looking even more defeated than he had this morning.   

    “The modern dance teacher is sick, and Olivia wants me to cover for the class.”   Logan tried to fake a smile, but even his acting skills couldn’t save him. Olivia, the manager of Logan and Roman’s dance studio, was amazing at running the place, but she also had a frustrating habit of taking advantage of Logan’s inability to say no to more work.    

“I’m going to have to drive you home right now, I’m sure the other students won’t mind hanging up these posters for us.   Then I can teach modern dance, I’ll have some leftover time for AP calculus homework and my psychology essay. I can teach my evening dance classes, do ballet and jazz, I’ll probably home in time to start working on…”   Logan’s voice drifted off into unintelligible muttering.

Roman knew that Logan wasn’t bringing up his formidable schedule for pity; he was just trying to do his best to get organized, but honestly that was the thing that made him feel the most terrible.   He had been at least partially responsible in keeping Logan from sleeping, and he had been the one who literally begged Logan to hang up posters with him.

“No.”   Roman said.

“Pardon?”

“You’re not going to be teaching any dance today, you’re clearly more ready to take a nap than Sleeping Beauty.   I don’t even know if it’s safe for you to be driving right now.”

    “I’m perfectly fine Roman, I don’t need-”

    “How much sleep did you get last night, then, Lightning McStubborn?”

    “That wasn’t even a pun.”

    “Don’t dodge the question.”

Logan looked very uncomfortable for very long second, and Roman could practically see him consider lying to convince Roman he was okay, which was not right.   Exaggerating his well-being to seem more put together was Roman’s job, not Logan’s. Almost inaudibly, Logan said “about 15 minutes?”

Roman fought to not look as concerned as he felt.   He knew that he always felt miffed when Logan tried to overprotect him, but he was used to randomly staying up until the crack of dawn whenever he got caught up in a project.   Logan, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten less than seven hours of sleep in the entire time Roman had known him.

“That’s what I thought, you obstinate nerd.   Okay, so here’s what’s actually going to be happening tonight.   I am going to be driving you home. You are going to rest. I am going to text Olivia at the dance studio, and let her know that you are not able to come in today.”

“But I am able come in today.”

    “That’s funny, I know for a fact that your sister will agree with me as soon as she gets the text I just sent, and will physically guard your house, making it impossible for you to even get near the dance studio until you no longer look like you’re seconds away from passing out.”

    Logan looked personally offended.   “Roman, you can’t-”

    But Roman had already pulled up Olivia’s number and started typing, narrating out loud.   “My deepest apologies, Olivia, but Logan has been tragically kidnapped by a terrible dragon witch, and I shall have to cover for him at your dance school until he is rescued.   And, send.”

    Logan appeared physically pained.

    “Relax, Logan, I was joking.   About the dragon witch part, not anything else,” he amended.   “I just told her something came up for you, but I’d be happy to take your place.   I’ve taught a few classes for her before, I know she’ll let me do it again. Now let’s get going, I don’t want to be late for modern dance class!”   He tugged on Logan’s arm, and the two of them made their way back to Logan’s car.

    “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

    “Have I ever been unsure about anything, even when I was wrong?” Roman asked back, shutting Logan up for a few minutes as they drove in silence once again.

    “Roman?” Logan actually yawned, his exhaustion becoming more apparent now that he knew he couldn’t hide it.

    “Yes, my sleep-deprived prince?”

    “Thank you.”   Logan hesitantly smiled, and Roman knew instinctively that he would flail around on the floor with a bunch of elementary school kids a million times if he could see Roman look as genuinely happy and grateful as he did in that split second.   It was really nice to feel needed and appreciated.

    “You’re welcome.”   Roman said, pulling up into the driveway.   “Now get out and go take a break. I’m sure I’ll show up uninvited again tomorrow morning.”

    “Hopefully at a more reasonable hour, and with an actual jacket this time.”

“Don’t count on it.”

With that, Roman pulled out of the driveway, his thoughts already returning to the show.   He wasn’t worried about the dance classes; he knew enough to handle them for a day. He just hoped he could handle the knowledge that this may be his last play.   He pressed play on his phone, starting up the soundtrack to Bye Bye Birdie.   He’d be fine, he decided.   The show would be perfect because it had to be, and because he would destroy any obstacles with his sword.   And Logan’s help. For now, he’d just focus on dance classes, and then he’d deal with whatever happened at the auditions on Thursday.   

Notes: I hope you liked the start of the story.   If you’d like to be added to my tag list, you can message me at any time.   Also, the next chapter is going to focus on Virgil and Patton, I promise I haven’t forgotten them.   Just a reminder, if you reblog this, especially with a comment, I’ll love you forever. Thanks!

[royality-and-kittens]

Roles & Rehearsal: Chapter 1

Chapter Description:   Roman is an overdramatic theatre nerd doing his best, Logan his best friend, who’s overextended as heck, and Remy is their drama teacher who will be leaving the school soon.   Drama (get it) ensues.   High school theatre au.   

Warnings: It’s pretty tame.   Remy says one cuss word, and there are is some minor anxiety.  Also Remy is genderfluid in this story. Added note, you should probably read the prologue first if you haven’t already so that this chapter makes sense.

Words: 4.6k

    Roman was vaguely aware of the world around him, and an unfocused voice trying to tell him… you know what, he didn’t care what it was trying to tell him.   Focusing was too hard when his brain felt this fuzzy. He was fairly sure that he was supposed to be awake, but he was much more aware that the lumpy couch under him now felt so soft he could melt into it, being absorbed into a world of fantasy where he didn’t have any bothersome responsibilities like waking up and having to do anything productive…

    What felt like a second later, Roman was rudely awakened from the sleep he had been drifting back into, when the blankets above him were thrown off.   He opened his eyes, only to immediately regret it when his vision was assaulted by the blinding light that had just switched on.

    Covering his eyes with his arm, he flailed his legs, failing miserably in his attempt to find the floor and somehow managing to flop disgracefully onto the floor in his clumsy movements.   

    “Light and gravity, my two most powerful foes, have teamed up against me.  I am no match for their force…” Roman’s voice cracked as he used it for the first time that morning.   He heard a sigh, signaling the presence of Logan somewhere nearby and above him, although he still had an arm over his eyes, so he couldn’t quite be sure.   “I am slain!” he shouted after a moment of silence. “Save yourself, my good friend, run while you still can!”

    Logan still didn’t respond, but from another room, Valerie called, “Good morning, Roman!” clearly unsurprised by both his melodramatic outburst and his presence at her house.

    Finally, Roman slowly opened his eyes.   The light was much less bright than it had seemed at first, and his eyes adjusted rapidly.  On the couch above him, Logan had just finished folding the blankets that had been wrapped around Roman a few minutes before and that had been so thoughtlessly snatched away, leaving him shivering and alone in the dark cruel world.

    “Are you done glaring at me, or should I just leave without you?’

    Roman sighed in a way that was probably louder than necessary, mocking Logan’s earlier one.   “I shall forgive you if you apologize for treating me in this dishonorable way,” he said. Then, he started working on sitting up, so he could have some dignity.

    “I’m so incredibly sorry for letting you stay at my house, explaining to my parents why you were here so they didn’t freak out, making your breakfast and setting out clothes for you so you could sleep in, then waking you up with the offer of driving you to school.  It was definitely selfish of me, your majesty,” Logan said dryly.

    “I’ll take it.” Roman said, deciding to ignore that Logan sounded even more exasperated than usual in favor of being as stubbornly happy as possible.   True, he could remember his breakdown last night. He had initially been devastated when his friend Mariah woke him up by calling him, letting him know that his drama teacher, her aunt Remy, would soon be leaving the school to pursue her dream career on Broadway, moving hundreds of miles to the North.   He also remembered arriving at Logan’s house, although the drive and the decision to go there were mostly a blur. Still, like always, he felt infinitely calmer now, in the soothing reality of the morning. He knew Logan would do everything he could to keep the play going smoothly. All that he had to do was make sure that this year’s play went absolutely perfectly, and everyone loved it.   Then the school would have to keep the drama department going.

Roman leapt to his feet suddenly.   “Oh my heckity heck! We have a drama meeting to get to!”  His head started spinning from moving so quickly, and his ankle whacked Logan’s coffee table, but at least he was awake now.   “And they’re announcing the show today!”

    “Yes.”   Logan said, his tone implying that he had already said this many times to a sleepy Roman who refused to wake up.   Still, Roman decided to continue his streak of stubbornness by not letting Logan’s negativity get to him.

    “Thanks for letting me stay the night, by the way.”   Roman looked around, trying to see if there was anything he could do to help.   Alas, the blankets had all been folded, and breakfast was already on the table.  

    “It wasn’t really the night.”   Logan said, never one to take a compliment if he considered it factually inaccurate.   “You’ve only been at my house for about two hours, and giving you space to sleep on my couch is hardly a gift.   Based on your previous behavioral patterns, you likely would have crawled in through a window and slept in my abode even if I hadn’t invited you to.”

    “First of all, it was one time, be like Elsa and let it go, specs.   Second, I’m getting dressed.” He grabbed the stack of clothes Logan had placed on the coffee table and ran to Logan’s room before Logan could point out that the window incident had happened only last month.   In his defense, how was he supposed to have known that Logan’s parents had so many alarms? Ducking into the bedroom, He quickly replaced his sweats with jeans and a t-shirt (because Florida decided it was a good idea to have summer in the middle of January).   He ran back out, almost colliding with Valerie.

    “Have a splendid morning, V!   Happy drama season!” he half sung, sliding around her to avoid her mug of hot tea.   He entered the kitchen and grabbed the fruit and granola that he assumed was his breakfast, judging by the sticky note that said “ROMAN’S BREAKFAST” in Logan’s neat block letters.   

    “I put my backpack in your car last night, so it’s already there,” he called, knowing that Logan was well past the point of judging him.   He whistled happily, heading for the door, when Logan grabbed his arm.

    “Are you going to be wearing shoes today?” Logan asked simply, nodding towards Roman’s bare feet.   Roman looked down, slightly embarrassed. He was about to think of some snarky comeback when he actually looked at Logan for the first time, and his train of thought stopped suddenly.   Logan was standing with the same impeccable posture he always did, and wore his usual slightly bored look on his face, but his eyes seemed just a little too unfocused, and there were definitely some pronounced bags under his eyes.   Had he slept at all?

    Knowing that Logan wouldn’t react well to his concern, Roman decided not to mention it.   A little more slowly than he had been going before, Roman pulled on his tennis shoes. Within a few minutes, he was in the passenger side of Logan’s car, the two of them carpooling like usual while Roman’s car was left on the Torres’ driveway.   The pre-dawn light, the Florida humidity, and the silence in the car that Logan refused to turn a radio on in (“it’s statistically much safer this way”) made Roman painfully aware of sleepiness creeping back up on him. He also felt something much less pleasant settling in.   Maybe he wasn’t as calm about the play as he had thought. His stomach grumbled, loudly reminding him to eat the food in his hands instead of just playing with it.

    Roman swallowed difficultly.   There would have been a cheerful conversation going on if Valerie hadn’t decided to walk to school, leaving him with only a very tired Logan for company.   Why was he cursed with two best friends who were so healthy and functional?

    After barely surviving the painful drive, Dove High School came into view, looking as mediocre as ever.   He and Logan were the first arrive in the music wing, so every footstep and cough lingered in the air.

    “So…” Roman started, being interrupted by a yawn.   He hated to be interrupted by anyone, even himself, and he was feeling more tired every second.   Naturally, he decided to combat this irritating drowsiness by talking as much as possible. “What show do you think we’ll be doing this year?   I hope it’s something Disney related, like Beauty and the Beast last year. Thomas was such a great Gaston, wasn’t he? It’s so unfair that he’s gone now.   Can you believe he left us to do more school? Why would he ever even consider something so unimaginative?”

“He had already graduated, so it wasn’t as if he could’ve stayed at this school any longer even if he’d wanted to.   Also, pursuing a degree in chemical engineering isn’t what I’d consider a poor life decision.”

    “I was joking, Lo.   It is hard to imagine Thomas as a scientist, though.   I bet you ten dollars he’ll be back to acting as a career within a few years.”

Logan grunted noncommittally.   He was already beginning to set out chairs for the meeting.   Remy must have texted him this morning, asking him to prepare for the first meeting.   In the silence, the sound of metal chairs scraping against hard flooring echoed even louder than usual, and Roman felt the sudden need to help Logan out so he could focus on anything other than the aggravating noise.  

Roman started carefully stacking anything that he could, hoping to create more of a clearing for Logan to work.   The drama room wasn’t the most organized area on campus, but that always seemed to add to its charm. It was the size of two classrooms, with a broken curtain that was theoretically meant to divide it down the middle if the need arose.   The center of the room was matted with layers of old tape, different colors from each year, outlining the shape of the stage and set so the actors could picture the stage around them until the drama club could get access to an actual theater, at another school that had a real theater.   The walls felt like a huge time warp every time Roman looked at them, lined with props, some new and some older than he was.

In his efforts to somewhat tame the chaos, Roman stacked up the old wooden backdrops that had each been painted over countless times, stopping to smile at the castle pattern from last year still on one.   He easily remembered the steps to the dance he had done in front of it, dressed as a fork. He started humming,” Be Our Guest” under his breathe, already nostalgic for last year. He moved on, trying to straighten up (as if he could do anything straight) everything from old prop staircases to a picnic table that had crumpled newspapers hot glued to it for some reason.   Meanwhile, Logan was busy “stealing” the drama class’ chairs back from the band room.

“What’re you guys doing?   It’s the drama club, no one is going to sit in a chair.”

Roman almost dropped the box of Styrofoam apples he was holding.   “Mariah!” He tried to wave with his foot. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“I assure you, his coronary arteries are fine,” Logan said.   Roman couldn’t quite tell if he was joking.

    “Thanks, L,” Mariah responded.   “Anyway, how’s my second favorite dancing fork doing?”

    Roman held a hand to his chest in mock horror.   “Less good now that I know I’m not your favorite!   I practically stole the show with my artful grapevines.”   He started stepping across the floor in time to prove his point.   

    Mariah laughed.   “I think we both know that I was the coolest fork on the stage.”

    “Whatever makes you happy.”

    Mariah was the first of a wave of other students to rapidly arrive.   Valerie showed up a few minutes later, then a freshman girl who introduced herself as Laurel.   After that, it was just a confusing mess of new and familiar faces, actors and crew, laughing and gossiping.   A group of freshmen in the corner had already started singing Hamilton, which Roman took as a good sign. Also, Mariah was right.   Everyone was either standing or sitting on the floor right next to the chairs.

    “EVERYBODY SIT DOWN!”

    The room suddenly got uncharacteristically quiet.   Most people weren’t obeying the command, they were just confused and trying to figure out where the shout had come from.

    “People, I’m glad your quiet, but if you could all like, sit for a cool minute, that’d be great.   I know it’s super early, just try to focus for one freaking second.” Various teenagers sprawled themselves across the floor as the woman continued talking.   Her tone of voice seemed to conflict with her harsh words. “Hey,” she said “I’m Remy, for those of you who haven’t been blessed by meeting me yet. I’m going to be your director/ choreographer/ music teacher/ crew coordinator/ whatever else is needed for the next two months.   I also teach the drama class here. Basically, if anything goes well I did it, and if anything goes wrong you can just blame the school district for not sending me any help.” She took a drink from her Starbucks cup. “Also, I have a few basic rules that the newcomers need to hear.   If you’ve already heard them, you can listen again because life isn’t fair.”

“Okay, so, if you’re going to be late, you need to let me or Logan Torres know (Logan raise your hand!).   That’s Logan. Both of our phone numbers are on the sheet of paper he’s handing out right now. Also I’m gonna need your parents to sign a contract so they can’t sue us, because God knows we don’t need anything else going against this club.   Also, it may feel like you’re moving into this room, but it’s still not your house, so none of you can bring food or drinks in here. We do not want a repeat of last year.”

The new freshman, Laurel, raised her hand.   It was very obvious she was new, because none of the alumni would have thought twice about shouting something out.   “If there’s no food or drink allowed, why do you have Starbucks?” She spoke tentatively, probably afraid she’d get in trouble for disrespecting authority or something.   Roman knew from experience that stage would end quickly.

“I said YOU all can’t, not no one can.”   Remy smirked, taking another drink, then continued with the rules.  “Also, we ask everyone to help out with whatever fundraisers we’re doing.   Legally, I can’t force you, but I can shun you forever if you don’t. Is that all of them?”

“Social media!” A senior named Terrence called out.

“Oh yeah, you’re not allowed to post any pictures of you guys rehearsing on social media without my approval, because of weird copyright stuff.   We can’t have any pictures of costumes or sets going around.”

Remy took a deep breath, and sat on the floor along with the students.   “I also have an announcement to make to all of you students. A few of you already know, but I was recently offered a job as part of the ensemble in Wicked, so this is going to be my last show I’m doing with you guys.”   A few students gaped.

“Don’t leave us, we’re useless idiots!” Mariah called, at the same time as Terrence said “That’s amazing, congratulations!” and a few students just squealed excitedly.   

Remy smiled, obviously relieved that the news had been taken well.   She almost started talking again, but Valerie cut her off by hugging her, and Roman, not to be outdone in semi-dramatic gestures, had to join, too.   In a few seconds, Remy was encased in a giant group hug, with about twenty students surrounding her.

    “We’ll miss you,” Roman said, trying to fight back tears threatening to spill over.

    “Okay, I get it, you all love me.   Please sit back down everyone, I can’t move.”   Despite her words, Remy didn’t seem to be able to stop smiling.   When everyone was mostly settled down, Remy looked at the clock.

    “Shit, I have to get you all out of here in one minute so you can go to class.   Okay, so, this year’s play is going to be Bye Bye Birdie, so that’s cool.   And, um…” she pulled out her phone and started flipping through notes.   “Auditions are going to be… this Thursday after school, let all your friends know, you can sign up in that notebook-” she gestured vaguely to a corner of the room “-it should be here all week.  Or you can just text Logan, he-“ The school bell interrupted her loudly, and most students just ran out of the room immediately. Remy sighed, turning to Roman, one of the few students still in the room.   “You ready to do this show?” she asked.

    “Not really,” Roman said, trying to smile and begging himself not to cry.   He was Remy’s Teacher’s Aid for all of first period, and then he had actual drama class second period, so he’d be here for a while.   “But I’m sure it will turn out fabulously, so I’m not worried.”

    “I think it’ll be utter chaos until the last possible second.”   Remy stared at some of the props on the wall, her face unreadable.   “But isn’t that the best part of it?”

    “Sure?” Roman said, preoccupied by laying the art supplies on a bare stretch of floor, so he could start making posters.   He had only counted nineteen students in the room, and that could not form an entire cast and crew, so he knew they would need to advertise a lot more over the next few days.   

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    “I’m thinking we start by lining each entrance with our glitteriest posters, so any unsuspecting citizen who walks into school is slapped in the face by the glory of theatre!”   

    “While that some rather convoluted figurative language, I do think that putting the posters in a place where every student passes is going to be the best way to effectively advertise.”

    “Excuse you, my figurative language is as perfect as a dragon in a castle made of chocolate chip cookies.”

    “That was, objectively, much worse.”

    The halls were quieting down again, and Roman was once again helping out the drama club with Logan.   This time, there were a few other kids helping out, but they were all in different wings of the needlessly spread out school.   There were a lot of students who never left a specific area of campus, so they needed to have posters everywhere if they wanted to get the word out.   

    Logan blew his hair out of his face, because his hands were full of posters.   “If we can’t attract anyone else to join the drama team, I am going to place the full blame on whatever idiot architect designed this place.”

    “We will get more people, though,” Roman said, hoping that he was keeping the panic in his voice mostly hidden.

    “We usually get a few more this way, but we also usually have a few students drop out in the first week or two, so it’s hard to say if we’ll actually end up with a net gain in number of students.”

    “That’s just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Roman muttered.

“Did you just use that word as an explicative?”

“Anything’s an ‘explicative’ if you try hard enough.”   Roman joked, hoping that Logan didn’t remember the childhood phase where he’d sprinkle the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into conversations whenever he felt stressed, in an attempt to cheer himself up.   It was no use to dwell on the fact that the entire show was doomed if they couldn’t get a bigger cast and crew. Nope.

What could have almost passed for comfortable silence fell between them.   Roman moved to set his stack of posters carefully on a bench. He stopped at the last second when he realized that every bench in the area was covered in a mess of gum and food wrappers.   

“Hold these!” He called, tossing the posters in Loans direction.   He didn’t have to look to know that Logan had the coordination to catch them without bending any.   Roman had a theory that Logan didn’t actually need his glasses, and they were actually giving him some kind of super vision.   Or, it could’ve been Logan’s fourteen years of dance lessons, if you wanted to go with the boring explanation, which Roman never did.   

With his hands free, Roman was able to slip a roll of tape off of his arm, slipping it into his hand so he could actually use it.   

“What role do you think you’ll get?” he asked, starting to cover the back of a poster with rolled-up tape as Logan held it up.   “I think you’re going to be Albert; you can become an adult onstage so perfectly. I bet you and Remy can do some advanced choreography during ‘Put on a Happy Face,’ too.”

“You seem very familiar with the play.” Logan said, sounding begrudgingly impressed.

“We watched the movie in drama class today, well, technically we started it in drama class, and I finished watching it on my phone throughout the day.”

“Are you implying that you abandoned your academic studies for-”

“Shhhh,” Roman melodramatically covered Logan’s mouth with his hand, almost hitting him in the face with the tape.   “What my Calculus teacher doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“It can hurt you, though.   Advanced mathematical skills are necessary to understand how the universe works, they help us to see repeating patterns in nature and our own designs, not to mention how beneficial it can be when working with finances or electricity.”

“Yeah, I know, you’ve told me.”   Apparently Roman had said those words much more sharply than he intended, because Logan looked hurt.   Well, it wasn’t his fault that Logan was practically perfect in every way, always the shimmering star, while Roman was stuck as just being there, cursed by being good but not great.   He wasn’t jealous of Logan, that would’ve been childish and weak of him. He was totally fine with Logan being the best at literally everything he tried. Why would he care?

“Roman, are you all right?” Logan asked.   Before Roman could make up an excuse for his sudden brashness, the two were interrupted by one of the hall monitors blowing her whistle, the sound reverberating through Roman’s skeleton.   

“What are you two doing here after school hours?   Do I need to write you boys up for trespassing?”

Roman huffed angrily.   “What are you doing shoving yourself in everybody’s business?”   He muttered under his breath, hoping that he was quiet enough to not be heard.

“We’re putting up posters for the drama club.”   Logan said, with the mask of patience he wore when teaching dance to small children.

“Without a permission slip?”

“No, we have a permission slip, it’s in my binder.”   He tossed his school bag onto the knees, squatting to look through its contents.   In that second, his phone started buzzing.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this.”    Logan handed a purple binder to Roman as he stepped outside to answer the call.   

Roman quickly showed the pass to the hall monitor, who looked disappointed that she wouldn’t be sending anyone to detention.   As soon as she had turned a corner to another hall, Roman dashed outside, catching the end of Logan’s phone conversation.

“I’m sorry, Olivia, I already committed to help with my school’s drama club today… I’m not sure why you’re contacting me, you know I’m not signed up to come into the studio until the evening on Mondays…   Is there no one else who could step up?... Okay, I can be there in about half an hour.”

    Roman watched as Logan hung up the phone, looking even more defeated than he had this morning.   

    “The modern dance teacher is sick, and Olivia wants me to cover for the class.”   Logan tried to fake a smile, but even his acting skills couldn’t save him. Olivia, the manager of Logan and Roman’s dance studio, was amazing at running the place, but she also had a frustrating habit of taking advantage of Logan’s inability to say no to more work.    

“I’m going to have to drive you home right now, I’m sure the other students won’t mind hanging up these posters for us.   Then I can teach modern dance, I’ll have some leftover time for AP calculus homework and my psychology essay. I can teach my evening dance classes, do ballet and jazz, I’ll probably home in time to start working on…”   Logan’s voice drifted off into unintelligible muttering.

Roman knew that Logan wasn’t bringing up his formidable schedule for pity; he was just trying to do his best to get organized, but honestly that was the thing that made him feel the most terrible.   He had been at least partially responsible in keeping Logan from sleeping, and he had been the one who literally begged Logan to hang up posters with him.

“No.”   Roman said.

“Pardon?”

“You’re not going to be teaching any dance today, you’re clearly more ready to take a nap than Sleeping Beauty.   I don’t even know if it’s safe for you to be driving right now.”

    “I’m perfectly fine Roman, I don’t need-”

    “How much sleep did you get last night, then, Lightning McStubborn?”

    “That wasn’t even a pun.”

    “Don’t dodge the question.”

Logan looked very uncomfortable for very long second, and Roman could practically see him consider lying to convince Roman he was okay, which was not right.   Exaggerating his well-being to seem more put together was Roman’s job, not Logan’s. Almost inaudibly, Logan said “about 15 minutes?”

Roman fought to not look as concerned as he felt.   He knew that he always felt miffed when Logan tried to overprotect him, but he was used to randomly staying up until the crack of dawn whenever he got caught up in a project.   Logan, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten less than seven hours of sleep in the entire time Roman had known him.

“That’s what I thought, you obstinate nerd.   Okay, so here’s what’s actually going to be happening tonight.   I am going to be driving you home. You are going to rest. I am going to text Olivia at the dance studio, and let her know that you are not able to come in today.”

“But I am able come in today.”

    “That’s funny, I know for a fact that your sister will agree with me as soon as she gets the text I just sent, and will physically guard your house, making it impossible for you to even get near the dance studio until you no longer look like you’re seconds away from passing out.”

    Logan looked personally offended.   “Roman, you can’t-”

    But Roman had already pulled up Olivia’s number and started typing, narrating out loud.   “My deepest apologies, Olivia, but Logan has been tragically kidnapped by a terrible dragon witch, and I shall have to cover for him at your dance school until he is rescued.   And, send.”

    Logan appeared physically pained.

    “Relax, Logan, I was joking.   About the dragon witch part, not anything else,” he amended.   “I just told her something came up for you, but I’d be happy to take your place.   I’ve taught a few classes for her before, I know she’ll let me do it again. Now let’s get going, I don’t want to be late for modern dance class!”   He tugged on Logan’s arm, and the two of them made their way back to Logan’s car.

    “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

    “Have I ever been unsure about anything, even when I was wrong?” Roman asked back, shutting Logan up for a few minutes as they drove in silence once again.

    “Roman?” Logan actually yawned, his exhaustion becoming more apparent now that he knew he couldn’t hide it.

    “Yes, my sleep-deprived prince?”

    “Thank you.”   Logan hesitantly smiled, and Roman knew instinctively that he would flail around on the floor with a bunch of elementary school kids a million times if he could see Roman look as genuinely happy and grateful as he did in that split second.   It was really nice to feel needed and appreciated.

    “You’re welcome.”   Roman said, pulling up into the driveway.   “Now get out and go take a break. I’m sure I’ll show up uninvited again tomorrow morning.”

    “Hopefully at a more reasonable hour, and with an actual jacket this time.”

“Don’t count on it.”

With that, Roman pulled out of the driveway, his thoughts already returning to the show.   He wasn’t worried about the dance classes; he knew enough to handle them for a day. He just hoped he could handle the knowledge that this may be his last play.   He pressed play on his phone, starting up the soundtrack to Bye Bye Birdie.   He’d be fine, he decided.   The show would be perfect because it had to be, and because he would destroy any obstacles with his sword.   And Logan’s help. For now, he’d just focus on dance classes, and then he’d deal with whatever happened at the auditions on Thursday.   

Notes: I hope you liked the start of the story.   If you’d like to be added to my tag list, you can message me at any time.   Also, the next chapter is going to focus on Virgil and Patton, I promise I haven’t forgotten them.   Just a reminder, if you reblog this, especially with a comment, I’ll love you forever. Thanks!

[royality-and-kittens]

An Update on My Theatre AU (which is finally actually happening)!

Feel free to ignore this if you don't want to hear about my life, I won't take it personally.

A lot of people have shown interest in Roles & Rehearsal, which I was planning on writing over summer, but life decided to be an idiot and not let me. I plotted out the whole story (which will be about 20 chapters long) a while ago, and then over Winter Break I looked back over my outline and updated it with new ideas. I wasn't sure if anyone was still interested, but a lot of people seemed to like my the prologue I posted, and my motivation decided to show up again(yay!). So, I've finished chapter 1 (which is 4k words long now), and I'm trying to work ahead a little bit so I can keep updating consistantly. I should be able to post a new chapter every week, probably on either Saturdays or Mondays. If you have a preference, let me know in the comments(or message me). Also, just in case you haven't heard of my theatre au, you can read the prologue, which should be right under this post on my blog (I'd tag it but I'm on mobile). Finally, if anyone is interested in beta reading this, let me know. I'd be happy to have someone helping out, and you'd get early access to chapters. Thanks!

[royality-and-kittens]

@whatamessofwords

@theotherella

Roles & Rehearsal

Notes: This is several months late, but I’ve finally emerged from the void.  This is the prologue to a story I’m currently writing, more information should be in some older posts on this blog tagged theatre au.  Let me know if you want to be tagged in future chapters! 

Prologue

Logan started his routine again, trusting that eventually he would be able to compose himself enough to sleep.  Just as he had the last seven times, he scanned his bedroom, checking that everything was exactly as it should be.  Obviously, he saw what he had seen every other time: The physics homework he had spent hours on was neatly tucked into his backpack, his ballet and jazz shoes sat precisely under his dance bag, with tap shoes in the closet awaiting their day to be used.  Every item on his newly repainted walls, from his collection of periodic tables, to signed Broadway posters, to star charts, to cast photos, sat perfectly straight and orderly.  His phone and laptop were charging, just as they should.  Even his pens and pencils were neatly lined up on the otherwise clear desk, the rest of his work having been painstakingly filed away.   Everything was perfect; Logan was more than prepared to go back to school tomorrow after a busy Winter Break.   So why did he feel so nauseous?  Why was he still awake at- he tapped his phone on- at 3:12 in the morning!

Out of habit, Logan opened up his messaging app, and was figuratively slapped in the face by even more abhorrent emotions.  At least now he knew where they were coming from.  Roman had been texting him sporadically over the last few days, spelling out his overflowing excitement for the start of drama season.  Traditionally, the show would be announced on the first day back (although Logan already knew that their school would be performing Bye Bye Birdie, because he was the one who had secured the rights for it). Auditions would be held within a week, and in the figurative blink of an eye everyone in the drama department would be working full-time to get the play as close to perfect as humanly possible.   Everyone seemed to be counting down the days, especially Roman and Valerie, but Logan didn’t feel anything other than… irritation? Dread? Regret?  He wasn’t sure, but he knew his emotions didn’t match that of his best friend or his sister.

Logan pulled himself out of his thoughts before they could spiral farther out of control.  All he had to do was approach his feelings logically.   There had to be a reasonable explanation and solution.   If he was feeling so perturbed by the idea of auditioning, then the simple answer would be to not audition at all.   Just because being in theatre was a habit didn’t make it the right choice, Logan knew enough about behaviorist psychology to know that.

Yes, Logan needed to do something new this year.  The fact that Logan had participated in some form of theatre production every year, without fail, since second grade shouldn’t change that.  The fact that every person he was close to acted as though the year was divided into performing and waiting to perform shouldn’t change that. He could spend more time reading or researching, or maybe he could join Speech and Debate.   The possibilities that opened up were worth far more than participating in a play he didn’t really want to be a part of in the first place.   Logan was his own person, after all.  It was perfectly natural for him to “go his own way.”  

Logan took a final, steadying breathe.   It felt unexpectedly good to come to this decision.  All he had to do was tell Roman, who would surely understand.   He pulled his blankets over himself, feeling more at ease than he had in- he didn’t even know how long.   Now he could at least get some sleep, so he wouldn’t be completely exhausted tomorrow.  

Then, of course, Logan’s phone started ringing.   He suddenly felt much sleepier and reluctant to get up.   Still, he fumbled for his phone, praying that it was just a very poorly timed sales call.

“Lo? Are you awake?”

Logan didn’t even remember answering the call, but he definitely recognized Roman’s voice, which sounded crackly and weak.

“I want you to take a second and think about what you just said, because it is possibly one of the most stupid questions you’ve ever asked.”   Ouch.  He hadn’t meant to come off that harsh, but blamed his half-awake state.   “Yes, I am awake” he managed to bite back asking how else Roman thought he had answered the phone.  “What do you need?”

“Can you let me in?”  Roman whispered.

It took far too long for Logan to process what Roman had asked, and even longer for him to convince himself to leave his warm, comfortable bed, but a few minutes later he had a shivering, tear-soaked Roman curled up on his couch.

“You couldn’t have at least put on a jacket before coming over here in the middle of the night?”  Logan scolded, as he wrapped Roman up in every spare blanket he could find.  

“I had my car heater turned on!”

“I’m sure that helped when you were standing on my doorstep”

When he finished creating a cocoon around his friend, Logan shuffled into the kitchen and put a mug full of water into the microwave, opening the microwave door as the timer reached 0:01 to avoid waking Valerie. He placed a Chamomile tea bag into the boiling water and then cautiously carried it back into the living room.   He knew from experience that Roman would talk when he was ready, and that pushing him to speak would be counterintuitive, so he sat on the couch next to Roman and waited.   As it turned out, it took until Roman had finished drinking the tea, Logan had washed out the mug and put it away, and Logan had read several long pages of an astronomy textbook on his kindle.

“Remy got in”

Logan tried to make sense of the words as he placed his kindle on the coffee table.  “What?” he asked, his voice distorted by sleepiness.  

“Remember a little while ago when Remy auditioned for Wicked?”  Logan didn’t, but nodded anyway.  “She got in, she’ll be an official member of the ensemble in a few weeks.”

“That’s excellent.” Logan was still not sure why that translated to Roman crying hysterically.   Remy had been taking the train into Manhattan and auditioning for every play she could for a few years now, and it had always been her dream to be an actress rather than their high school drama teacher- oh.

Roman sniffled.  “She said she’s not going to be here as much as she usually is this year, because she’ll be moving into a new apartment in the city, and then after this year…” his words were swallowed by a new fit of tears.  

“I’m sure we’ll get a new drama teacher who’s just as good”

“Will we?” Roman’s eyes were suddenly glazed with anger.  “Because I’m pretty sure that Remy has been the only adult doing anything to keep the drama department from being shut down.  The rest of the school board would happily stop ‘wasting money’ on theatre and-“   He broke down sobbing again.

“I’m sorry” Roman whispered.   “It’s just, theatre has already gone through enough changes recently. The cast sizes are shrinking, a lot of our best actors just graduated, we’re losing support.”   He fiddled absently with the tassels on a blanket.   “At least I know you’ll stay in with me until we graduate, right?”  

Say no say no SAY NO. Logan cursed his friend’s wounded puppy dog eyes.  “Of course I’ll remain in theatre with you.” Sometimes he hated how weak he was.   “And I assure you, the theatre program will no end so long as I’m there, fighting for it.  Now go to sleep, we have school in a few hours.”

[royality-and-kittens]

Roles & Rehearsal

Notes: This is several months late, but I’ve finally emerged from the void.  This is the prologue to a story I’m currently writing, more information should be in some older posts on this blog tagged theatre au.  Let me know if you want to be tagged in future chapters! 

Words: 1.3k

Prologue

Logan started his routine again, trusting that eventually he would be able to compose himself enough to sleep.  Just as he had the last seven times, he scanned his bedroom, checking that everything was exactly as it should be.  Obviously, he saw what he had seen every other time: The physics homework he had spent hours on was neatly tucked into his backpack, his ballet and jazz shoes sat precisely under his dance bag, with tap shoes in the closet awaiting their day to be used.  Every item on his newly repainted walls, from his collection of periodic tables, to signed Broadway posters, to star charts, to cast photos, sat perfectly straight and orderly.  His phone and laptop were charging, just as they should.  Even his pens and pencils were neatly lined up on the otherwise clear desk, the rest of his work having been painstakingly filed away.   Everything was perfect; Logan was more than prepared to go back to school tomorrow after a busy Winter Break.   So why did he feel so nauseous?  Why was he still awake at- he tapped his phone on- at 3:12 in the morning!

Out of habit, Logan opened up his messaging app, and was figuratively slapped in the face by even more abhorrent emotions.  At least now he knew where they were coming from.  Roman had been texting him sporadically over the last few days, spelling out his overflowing excitement for the start of drama season.  Traditionally, the show would be announced on the first day back (although Logan already knew that their school would be performing Bye Bye Birdie, because he was the one who had secured the rights for it). Auditions would be held within a week, and in the figurative blink of an eye everyone in the drama department would be working full-time to get the play as close to perfect as humanly possible.   Everyone seemed to be counting down the days, especially Roman and Valerie, but Logan didn’t feel anything other than… irritation? Dread? Regret?  He wasn’t sure, but he knew his emotions didn’t match that of his best friend or his sister.

Logan pulled himself out of his thoughts before they could spiral farther out of control.  All he had to do was approach his feelings logically.   There had to be a reasonable explanation and solution.   If he was feeling so perturbed by the idea of auditioning, then the simple answer would be to not audition at all.   Just because being in theatre was a habit didn’t make it the right choice, Logan knew enough about behaviorist psychology to know that.

Yes, Logan needed to do something new this year.  The fact that Logan had participated in some form of theatre production every year, without fail, since second grade shouldn’t change that.  The fact that every person he was close to acted as though the year was divided into performing and waiting to perform shouldn’t change that. He could spend more time reading or researching, or maybe he could join Speech and Debate.   The possibilities that opened up were worth far more than participating in a play he didn’t really want to be a part of in the first place.   Logan was his own person, after all.  It was perfectly natural for him to “go his own way.”  

Logan took a final, steadying breathe.   It felt unexpectedly good to come to this decision.  All he had to do was tell Roman, who would surely understand.   He pulled his blankets over himself, feeling more at ease than he had in- he didn’t even know how long.   Now he could at least get some sleep, so he wouldn’t be completely exhausted tomorrow.  

Then, of course, Logan’s phone started ringing.   He suddenly felt much sleepier and reluctant to get up.   Still, he fumbled for his phone, praying that it was just a very poorly timed sales call.

“Lo? Are you awake?”

Logan didn’t even remember answering the call, but he definitely recognized Roman’s voice, which sounded crackly and weak.

“I want you to take a second and think about what you just said, because it is possibly one of the most stupid questions you’ve ever asked.”   Ouch.  He hadn’t meant to come off that harsh, but blamed his half-awake state.   “Yes, I am awake” he managed to bite back asking how else Roman thought he had answered the phone.  “What do you need?”

“Can you let me in?”  Roman whispered.

It took far too long for Logan to process what Roman had asked, and even longer for him to convince himself to leave his warm, comfortable bed, but a few minutes later he had a shivering, tear-soaked Roman curled up on his couch.

“You couldn’t have at least put on a jacket before coming over here in the middle of the night?”  Logan scolded, as he wrapped Roman up in every spare blanket he could find.  

“I had my car heater turned on!”

“I’m sure that helped when you were standing on my doorstep”

When he finished creating a cocoon around his friend, Logan shuffled into the kitchen and put a mug full of water into the microwave, opening the microwave door as the timer reached 0:01 to avoid waking Valerie. He placed a Chamomile tea bag into the boiling water and then cautiously carried it back into the living room.   He knew from experience that Roman would talk when he was ready, and that pushing him to speak would be counterintuitive, so he sat on the couch next to Roman and waited.   As it turned out, it took until Roman had finished drinking the tea, Logan had washed out the mug and put it away, and Logan had read several long pages of an astronomy textbook on his kindle.

“Remy got in”

Logan tried to make sense of the words as he placed his kindle on the coffee table.  “What?” he asked, his voice distorted by sleepiness.  

“Remember a little while ago when Remy auditioned for Wicked?”  Logan didn’t, but nodded anyway.  “She got in, she’ll be an official member of the ensemble in a few weeks.”

“That’s excellent.” Logan was still not sure why that translated to Roman crying hysterically.   Remy had been taking the train into Manhattan and auditioning for every play she could for a few years now, and it had always been her dream to be an actress rather than their high school drama teacher- oh.

Roman sniffled.  “She said she’s not going to be here as much as she usually is this year, because she’ll be moving into a new apartment in the city, and then after this year…” his words were swallowed by a new fit of tears.  

“I’m sure we’ll get a new drama teacher who’s just as good”

“Will we?” Roman’s eyes were suddenly glazed with anger.  “Because I’m pretty sure that Remy has been the only adult doing anything to keep the drama department from being shut down.  The rest of the school board would happily stop ‘wasting money’ on theatre and-“   He broke down sobbing again.

"I’m sorry” Roman whispered.   “It’s just, theatre has already gone through enough changes recently. The cast sizes are shrinking, a lot of our best actors just graduated, we’re losing support.”   He fiddled absently with the tassels on a blanket.   “At least I know you’ll stay in with me until we graduate, right?”  

Say no say no SAY NO. Logan cursed his friend’s wounded puppy dog eyes.  “Of course I’ll remain in theatre with you.” Sometimes he hated how weak he was.   “And I assure you, the theatre program will no end so long as I’m there, fighting for it.  Now go to sleep, we have school in a few hours.”

[royality-and-kittens]

[royality-and-kittens]

RB if you post TS/SS stuff

(esp if you’re a content creator)

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awwww

Olive Garden

plot: When Patton looks up, he sees that his teeth are chewing on the same string of pasta as Roman’s. He giggles, for this is exactly like the scene in Lady and the Tramp. But of course, Roman would never kiss him. It was just a platonic date and why is his heart beating so fast and oh gee, Roman’s lips are getting dangerously close to his and oh my—

(or in which roman asks patton on a date to olive garden. college!au)

genre: fluff

pairings: romantic royality, platonic logince, platonic moxiety

warnings: none! let me know if i need to include any

word count: 1.204

a/n: dedicated to all the people that reblogged that ONE post i made about royality. Special shoutout to @imlovethomassanders​ who wanted some royality confession/first kiss and to @notveryglittery​ for reminding me to do this. might help me get outta my writing slump. not my best work, but i just really love royality, so here we go!

“So, Specs, what do you think of Olive Garden?”

“Roman, you do not even like Olive Garden. May I recount the many times you have proclaimed that Olive Garden is, ehem, ‘fake Italian cuisine’ and that it ‘fails to capture the exquisite beauty that is truly Italy’. Do those quotations sound familiar?”

“But Patton does!”

Logan, without looking up from his textbook, presses his fingers to his temples. Roman’s antics have been interfering with his studies. Why would Roman be asking him of all people for advice on courtship? His eyes skimmed the paragraphs upon paragraphs of content, yet as Roman continues to blabber on, Logan slowly begins to read the same sentence over and over and over and it’s just too much.

“Roman, shut up!”

“You’re killing me here, Lo!”

“Good God! Fine! Just ask him out!”

Keep reading

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PATTON

PATTON: fluffy little art nerd in the crew who helps to paint sets and is friends with the entire cast and crew somehow despite not even being officially involved

·         His 5th grade teacher is tired so she puts him next to Logan, because she knows he’s the only one Patton can’t get to talk in the middle of class

·         And Patton’s just like OH IS THAT A CHALLENGE

·         And he realizes Logan doesn’t really have many friends (except Roman, and the two don’t actually hang out much during school) so he vows to be Logan’s very best friend

·         He finds out Logan’s involved in theatre so he starts going to all of his shows and saying hi/ bringing flowers afterwards

·         Logan never actually takes up his offer for friendship (leave me alone and let me hang out in the library and read!) but he definitely respects his dedication

·         Meanwhile the rest of the theatre kids in town start recognizing Patton every time he comes around and finally someone’s like “hey Patton you should try out for a show sometime” and he’s like “haha I can’t sing. Or dance. Or act. Or be onstage with a straight face.”

·         And that’s how he finds out that the theatre CREW is a thing

·         He can hang out with the cool theatre people, help them out with their show AND has an excuse to go to all the cast parties he’s been sneaking into?? How can he refuse?

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Roman

ROMAN: the lonely ensemble nerd who just wants one shot in the spotlight, but for now he’s just happy to be in the shows

·         He’s always loved the spotlight, and spent his entire childhood writing one man show plays and performing them over-dramatically for his parents

·         Then he became best friends with his neighbor Logan and Logan helped him write plays while letting Roman stay the star of the show so Roman was totally happy with their relationship

·         Until he was 11 and suggested Logan try out for the local theatre company he’d been in for a few years

·         Logan said yes because they were bffs and it would be fun to be in a show together, but then he was cast as a lead and Roman was put in the ensemble so they never really saw each other

·         And since then, Roman’s been trying his hardest to befriend directors, show his dedication, etc., but he isn’t the best dancer or the best singer

·         He’s pretty good at both, and he’s amazing at having energy, staying in character, improv, etc.

·         But the local directors all still see him as the little easily distracted 9 year old who he was like 7 years ago so he doesn’t really have a chance to move up

·         Still, he adores being a part of the theatre, he lives for helping bring the show to life even if it is just in the form of a background tree or something

[royality-and-kittens]

Logan

LOGAN: the dance nerd who got dragged into ballet as a toddler by his older sister Valerie and now could not escape dance if he tried.

·         He’s amazing at dance now because he understands the technique of dance, has amazing coordination and also has been doing this since he was 4.

·         Almost fluent in Italian and French (as well as Spanish) so he understands ballet terminology and music jargon

·         He WANTS to be a physics major and become an astronomer, but he’s better at dance than school, so?? Maybe he should do dance??

·         Then his next door neighbor/ childhood friend Roman convinces him to try out for a local theatre and he somehow gets in? (he still has no idea how talented he is) and all of a sudden he’s getting all the lead roles

·         So now he’s a junior in high school, president of the drama club (despite not even running!), involved in ballet, tap, and jazz, helping teach ballet to little kids, basically running choir club, and he didn’t sign up for any of this

[royality-and-kittens]

Writing is hard so I’m gonna post some character descriptions for my theatre AU for now and I’ll upload actual plot stuff in a few days when my first chapter is edited

[royality-and-kittens]

What’s up guys gals and nonbinary pals!

I have a Sanders Sides fanfiction planned out and a bit of writing done, but I lack the perseverance to ever actually finish things, so I figured I’d post about it online to force myself to be at least a little accountable.  Here goes nothing:

So the general idea is a high school theatre AU with each of the sides learning that they fit into the theatre in completely different ways (cast, crew, etc.) during a school production of Bye Bye Birdie that ends up seeming to crumble into drama.   Angst and fluff ensue, and they get to know each other along the way and form their own theatre famILY.  The endgame is platonic LAMP and romantic analogical/royality.

LOGAN: the dance nerd who got dragged into ballet as a toddler by his older sister Valerie and now could not escape dance if he tried.

ROMAN: the lonely ensemble nerd who just wants one shot in the spotlight, but for now he’s just happy to be in the shows

PATTON: fluffy little art nerd in the crew helps to paint sets and is friends with the entire cast and crew somehow despite not even being officially involved

VIRGIL: shy private school nerd who can sing like heck but will murder you before you can tell anyone because he has crippling stage fright REMY: everyone’s favorite drama teacher

let me know if you want to know more, I have more detailed descriptions of each of the characters planned out that I’m hoping to upload soon.

[royality-and-kittens]

have u seen my url

like/reblog if you ship royality

this is a scientific experiment

[royality-and-kittens]

Welcome to the fandom :D, I'm Viola!

I’m a new-ish Fander and I need friends

Send help

[royality-and-kittens]

This is cannon and nobody can tell me otherwise