#sorry again if its inaccurate in any way… i tried T_T

[pinkmilkyblue]

Sonnet 34: A Rotten Prequel (Nick's P.O.V.)

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter… Now here’s the second one! Sorry if anything is ooc or inaccurate (especially the play scene that I’ll talk more about later). Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions! It would help me a lot. This is the fun and silly chapter so enjoy!!

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 2

Soon enough, it was morning. The skies were clear and the birds were chirping; a great way to start the day. I got up and I was instantly greeted by our newest member. “Good morning, Mr. Bottom!”

“Morning, William. How was your sleep?” I asked, still trying wake myself up. “It was fine. Didn’t really get much sleep. I was too nervous for my first day in the troupe.” he confessed.

“You’ll do fine.” I reassured him, despite not being the best at advice. He seemed to take it though. Once Nigel woke up, we had a light breakfast and headed downstairs to the theatre.

After a couple of minutes, the rest of the troupe arrived. They all gathered around me as I passed a copy of the script to each member. Then, I cleared my throat so the troupe could settle down. It worked. I had their full attention.

“Hello everyone. I’m glad you could all make it today.” I said. “As you can see, we have a new member.” I added before pointing to Will who was standing beside me. All eyes turned to him. “He will be part of this production from now on, so I think it would best if he introduced himself.”

William took a deep breath. He flashed a confident smile and said, “Hello, fellow actors. I am William Shakespeare, but you may call me Will. I come all the way from Stratford-upon-Avon and I am now sixteen years old. It is an honor to be a part of your troupe and I cannot wait to begin rehearsing.”

The actors started whispering, mumbling and even nodding in approval. They took turns to shake Will’s hand as he grinned before joining their circle.

Once that was over, I began to assign roles. The play was in two weeks, and we had to get started. We were doing a little play that I wrote called, The Tale of Thomas and Celeste. The two main roles of Thomas and Celeste went to Will and troupe member Robin respectively. Both actors were thrilled to hear they got the leads.

Then, we started reading lines. Nigel sat on a chair to watch while playing with some of the props.

As expected, the entire troupe gaped in awe of William’s acting. Though, what I didn’t expect was how much they would admire him. It was only his first day yet it seemed like he’d been acting for years.

Everything was going well so far. At this rate, we would surely be ready to open in two weeks time.

We took a lunch break at around noon. Nigel joined us on stage to eat. He went up to Will and commended him on his first reading. The young actor smiled and told my brother it was nothing.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” I said, leaving Nigel with Will before answering it.

I opened the door and in front of me was a man carrying a huge crate. “Delivery for the Bottoms.” he announced.

“That would be us.” I led the man inside.

“Please sign here.” he said, handing me a quill and a piece of parchment which I took and signed. The delivery man thanked me and left as I returned inside.

The rest of the troupe, on the other hand, noticed the big crate in front of me and began to gather around. “Our costumes are here!” someone shouted, causing everyone to crowd around the box. 

Immediately, all the actors were passing and throwing their costumes around. It was like a marketplace! I had no control whatsoever. Whatever title of leader I possessed was ignored completely. I just stood there and hoped none of the costumes would get damaged.

Once everyone finally had their costumes, I let out a sigh of relief. The troupe settled down and started trying them on.

To my surprise, I spotted Will near the crate still searching for his. I approached him and said, “Is something wrong?”

“I can’t find mine.” he frowned.

Then it hit me. I forgot to let the tailor know that we had a new member! But, I couldn’t just tell him, “Hey, Will. I forgot to get you a costume because you didn’t exist before. Oops!”

I didn’t want him to feel bad. The poor guy had only been here one day. He needed a proper welcome. So instead, I turned to him and said, “Actually, your costume isn’t here right now.”

He raised a brow. I had to think of something and fast. Since the rest of the troupe obviously had no plans of continuing rehearsal any further, I decided to dismiss them. Then, I went back to Will and smiled, “Come on, William. We’re going shopping!”

“I want to come! Please!” Nigel exclaimed, tugging on my sleeve. I laughed, then carried the child.

“Wait. Shopping?” Will asked, confused.

“Yes. You heard me correctly.” I answered. “Since you’re new here, I thought it would be best to let you choose your own costume.”

William’s face lit up. He grinned widely and happily skipped upstairs to get his jacket. Nigel also hurried to our room to retrieve his satchel, while I reluctantly grabbed some of our theatre savings and got ready to leave.

We proceeded outside with Nigel on my back. The three of us strolled down the streets of London. It was a nice day. Last night’s storm seemed like it never happened. The weather was just perfect. Nigel even got off my shoulders to chase a butterfly. Will and I ran after him too until we eventually reached the store. It wasn’t too big, but there was still a lot to choose from.

“Hello, Mr. Bottom. How may I help you?” the store clerk greeted.

“We need a costume for this young man.” I said, gesturing to William who was beside me. The clerk brought us to the fitting room and offered various outfits.

William seemed to enjoy modeling and posing in front of us. Nigel enjoyed this immensely. So did I. Will came out with a different look each time. From a jester, King, peasant to even a witch, he certainly entertained us with all his goofing around. It had been a while since I let myself have fun for once. I was on all fours laughing when he came out with a donkey’s head. Our laughter was so loud, that we may have annoyed the clerk…

Finally, William chose a costume. It was a black Prince outfit with a matching crown. We spent nearly an hour joking around and it was unfortunate that we had to go. I paid the clerk and thanked him for his service.

However, before exiting the store, I spotted a collar on one of the shelves. It was made of white lace and it was very frilly. In fact, it was really quite silly. I never understood why most people chose to wear one…

The other two exited the door as I stayed behind for a while. I quickly purchased the collar and caught up to them outside. Nigel was now on Will’s back and they were still laughing about what happened earlier. I called out to them. They turned around and stopped to wait for me. “What took you so long, Mr. Bottom?” Will asked.

“I bought you a little something.” I replied, handing him the collar.

He laughed. “You didn’t have to buy me a… um… silly looking collar.”

“Exactly. This should remind you of all the silliness we had to go through just to find you a costume.” I grinned slyly.

Nigel put it on his neck and giggled. “It looks perfect!” he concluded.

“Yes it does.” I agreed, laughing slightly.

Will smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Bottom. This means a lot.” he said, stroking his new collar fondly.

“Seriously?” I frowned. “I just gave you a present… How many times do I have to tell you to call me Nick?” I rolled my eyes.

Will did the same. “Fine. Thank you, Nick. I’ll cherish it forever.” he smiled. I smiled back. With that, we headed home.

Will and I began to get along from then on. The next two weeks were tiring, but still fun. Will started to gain lots more confidence being in the troupe. Maybe it was all their admiration, or constant praises. Who knows? But all rehearsals went smoothly and Will was part of it all.

However, the day before opening night, I entered the theatre with the troupe in chaos. Everyone was either panicking or complaining to one another as I stood there, very confused. I could barely hear myself think. To settle this, I stepped on a stool and shouted, “QUIET!”

The room went silent.

“Thank you.” I said, relieved. “Now, can somebody please tell me what on earth is going on?”

Then, a member of the troupe stepped out of the crowd and said, “Nick, I’m afraid Robin is ill. And no one else can replace him. Nobody knows his lines.”

Great. Now what? Where are we going to find another actor? I thought to myself.

Suddenly, from behind me, as though he read my mind, I heard Nigel say, “Nick can do it!”

My eyes widened and darted to Will, who was just as shocked as me. “Wait. What?!” we both chorused.

“I said, Nick can do it! He wrote it, so he memorizes every line.” my brother repeated.

“B-but, I-”

“The play is tomorrow! We don’t have time to look for another actor.” another member pointed out.

I thought about it for a while. From the corner of my eye I could see Will. I could only imagine how uncomfortable he was with the situation at hand. I looked back at him, but he quickly turned the other away to avoid eye contact. The show had to go on, right?

“Alright, I’ll do it.” I groaned.

Everyone cheered.

“But,” I added as the cheering immediately stopped. “Only if it’s okay with Will.” I finished.

They all stared at William who now had to make a decision. After a few seconds he sighed in defeat and shrugged, “It’s fine with me.”

We both exchanged looks. What had we just gotten ourselves into? “Alright then. Let’s do this.” I said reluctantly to the troupe’s delight.

We first rehearsed the scene where Prince Thomas and Princess Celeste meet. The lights dimmed and the background set twinkled to represent the evening. William got into his costume, while I put on a curly blonde wig along with a periwinkle gown and some make up. I had played women in plays before, but this was all so sudden. And I was paired up with someone who I’d only known for two weeks. Sure, we were much closer than the rest of the troupe, but was that really the problem?

Nigel gave the signal, and both of us entered the stage to start rehearsing.

I bumped into Will after supposedly running from thieves.

“Madame, why art thou running?” he asked me in concern.

“Good sir, thieves desire to taketh my things. Will thou help me?” I asked in a high-pitched voice.

“Of course, fair….er….maiden. Follow me.” William offered, trying very hard not to break character. Then, he took me by the hand and we rushed off stage.

After the set changed, we entered the stage which was now the palace garden. “Thou may stayest with me o'er here in this sweet rose garden.” said William.

“What is thy name?” I asked him.

“Prince Thomas. And what is thine, fair lady?” he charmed, kissing my hand.

“Celeste. Princess Celeste.” I replied.

“Thou art more beautiful than all the stars in the sky.” he declared.

“Thou art too kind, sir.” I said, pretending to blush.

“Will thou give me the pleasure of a dance?” William asked, offering me his hand.

I froze.

“Sorry, what?” I said in disbelief.

“Will thou danceth with me?” he repeated, trying to keep the rehearsal going.

“N-No!” I refused, completely ignoring the girly-act.

“Nick! It’s part of the script, remember?” Nigel whispered loudly from the wings of the theatre.

I soon realized he was right. “Sorry… I just panicked a bit.” I apologized, scratching my head in embarrassment. What was wrong with me today? I never messed up that bad.

“It’s alright, Nick. Just continue when you’re ready.” my brother smiled encouragingly.

“Alright.” I said as I turned back to Will who was laughing. “Stop it.” I frowned.

“I hope you know how to dance.” he smirked.

“The question is, do you?” I smirked back.

We got into position and he repeated his line, “Will thou give me the pleasure of a dance?”

“Most certainly.” I answered with a slight grin.

I took his hand, curtsied and began to waltz around the stage. We spun, twirled and danced to the music. Luckily, no toes were stepped on. He was quite the dancer. Finally, the last note played and we stopped.

“That was most delightful.” I panted, grinning widely. Will smiled.

Then, to my complete and utter shock, he leaned in closer. And closer and closer until his face was only a breath away from mine. I could feel my face turning red. 

A smile crept up his face as he softly whispered, “Indeed it w– Nick! Are you blushing?” Will pulled away incredulously.

I blinked several times to get myself back together. “N-no I’m n-not.” I stammered nervously.

“Yes, you are!” he teased.

I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Whatever. I freaked out alright!” I defended. “Why didn’t anyone warn me?!” I asked.

“It’s in the script!” he snickered.

“No it wasn’t!” I argued.

“T-Technically, it was Nick.” Nigel pointed out.

“The lights were supposed to turn off the moment I said my line, but I guess some people,” said Will, glaring at those in charge of lighting, “thought it would be funny if I kissed you.” he explained.

“Thanks a lot…” I said sarcastically. Will laughed again for before ruffling my hair and walking away looking very pleased.

“Let’s take a break.” I sighed, still very shaken by the whole thing. The troupe agreed and began to disperse from the stage too.

After the break, the rest of the scenes went pretty well. That’s probably because this time, I actually re-read the script. I couldn’t understand why I had forgotten it all in the first place! No more surprises. Except for the final scene.

Will was lying on the floor, ‘stabbed’ by a jealous suitor, while I rushed to his aid. “Thomas!” I cried, kneeling beside him.

“My love, thou must leave. Thy safety is far more valuable.” he coughed hoarsely.

“I cannot. Thou will die.” I told him.

“I shall not die in thy heart. Spreadeth our love where it may live for eternity.” he smiled weakly.

“I will.” I promised.

“I love thee.” he said, before closing his eyes.

This was the time where I supposedly cried and kissed him on the forehead. So I bent down slowly and kissed his forehead lightly. Suddenly, Will woke up with a start. He stared at me in astonishment.

“Is that supposed to happen?” I asked in confusion.

“I-I didn’t think you’d actually k-kiss me!” he flustered, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. I laughed. So did Nigel. “Well, now you know how I feel.”

Will rolled his eyes and said, “Whatever. Let’s just end this rehearsal.” before lying back down to his original position.

Once he was ready he repeated, “I love thee” again and closed his eyes. I bent down once more and kissed his head then said, “I will always love thee,” before hugging him closely.

The curtain fell and the lights went out. The second the curtains touched the ground, Will and I separated instantly.

“We did it!” I cheered.

“That wasn’t even the final play…” he groaned.

“But we did it!” I grinned happily.

“Yeah… I guess we did.” he grinned back.

“We should really have backup actors.” I pointed out. “Actually, I think all theatres need them.”

Will nodded profoundly.

From out of the wings, Nigel ran towards us and wrapped us both in a big hug. “You two did great!” he exclaimed excitedly. “I mean Nick could’ve tried harder at first, but it was still great!”

“Thank you, Nigel.” we smiled.

“You did well today, Will.” I told him.

“You weren’t bad yourself.” he replied with a grin. “Not bad at all, Nick…. Or shall I say, Nicky.” he added, smirking.

“Nicky?” I raised a brow.

“Nicky the sweet fair maiden.” he laughed.

Nigel snickered too. I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ever call me that.” I frowned.

“Too late, Nicky. I think making you blush has just become one of my greatest achievements as an actor. Sorry!” he teased.

I sighed in defeat. There was nothing I could do about it, so I just let him be. I thanked the rest of the troupe as they all left the theatre. It was very late. Almost midnight actually.

I yawned. “We should probably head to bed… ” I told Nigel. But when I turned around, to my surprise, he was already asleep on Will’s lap.

“Oh.” I said.

“He just fell asleep immediately.” Will chuckled.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” I whispered.

“It’s not a problem at all.” he replied.

“Why don’t you stay at our place again? I’ll bring the sleeping bags and mattress down here. We can camp on the stage.” I shrugged.

“That would be wonderful.” he agreed.

I rushed upstairs and brought down the mattress and sleeping bags along with blankets and pillows. Carefully, we placed Nigel on the mattress and tucked him in. Then, Will and I got into a sleeping bag each and gazed up at the ceiling.

“Will?” I whispered.

“Yes?” he answered quietly.

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For being here. It has always just been me and Nigel. He’s all I’ve got. But now, at least I can count on someone else to take care of him when I’m not around.” I replied with a smile.

“Anytime, Nicky.” he smiled back.

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face, knowing I had found my best friend. I could tell this was the start of a new friendship. One that would last a lifetime…

NOTE: So a few notes… First, I clearly don’t have the best knowledge of Renaissance plays and the Renaissance period in general. If I were to use an actual Renaissance play, I wouldn’t be able to write the scenes well due to my limited context and background… So I made up a random little play (The Tale of Thomas and Celeste) to make up for that, but it probably isn’t all that historically accurate and stuff (especially the dialogue lol idek what I was doing anymore hehe). I hope it still made sense though! Besides, what matters is they had a show together and it was adorably hilarious :)

Which brings me to my next point: that entire part can be seen as romantic, platonic or whatever you want! It’s completely up to you. I personally read it as platonic with a bit of implied Bard Romance, and maybe even some intimidation, but that’s just my view! You can view it all sorts of ways…

Finally, before this gets way too long, thank you again for reaching the end of this chapter! There’s one more left to come so get ready for that. It’s the last chapter, but I’d love to hear your comments on this one! Tell me what you think, talk to me about my precious sons and don’t judge me too hard on the play part… I really tried T_T

Thanks for reading again!!