Hayden stopped me. ‘Aurora, I have to tell you something before this next scene.’
Based on his urgent tone, it had to be about the kiss. Maybe he had issues with PDA too.
‘I have to tell you something too.’
‘I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now,’ he went on.
‘You have?’ I couldn’t believe this was turning out to be so easy. ‘So have I!’
‘But I was afraid you would react unfavourably.’
‘So was I!’
‘But now that things have changed between us and we’re friends —’
‘I’m so glad we’re friends,’ I cut in. Having this conversation with an enemy would have been impossible.
Hayden’s face melted into a smile and he squeezed my hand, which he still held. His chest rose as he took a deep breath. ‘I want to tell you that I —’
‘What are you two doing?’
Hayden leapt about a foot and I let out a startled gasp. Jelena stood in front of us, her whole face a scowl.
‘The cast is lined up and the audience is sitting in there waiting!’
She yanked both of us round the corner before we could say a word. Any chance of me talking to Hayden had just been destroyed.
‘Hayden, you’re at the front with the other best man and the groom,’ Jelena ordered.
Hayden paused. ‘But —’
Jelena ignored him. ‘Aurora, you’re next to the bride.’ She pushed me towards Claire, who stood shimmering in her wedding gown and veil.
Jelena turned to Benjamin, Alex and Hayden, who was still looking at me urgently. ‘Boys, you’re up,’ she said. ‘Scene start!’ And she threw open the auditorium door.
I walked slowly up the aisle in front of Claire, smiling serenely at all the wedding guests/audience members, but secretly panicking. Hayden and I might have agreed on the PDA thing, but we had no plan in place for what would happen at the moment of the kiss. Would we just skip over it, or look at each other lovingly, or … I had to talk to him. If we made a mess of the scene, Mr Peterman would commit himself to a mental institution.
As we assembled at the altar, girls on the left, boys on the right, I tried to get Hayden’s attention by waggling my eyebrows.
‘You come hither, my lord, to marry this lady?’ the friar said.
I gave Hayden a subtle wave, then glanced nervously into the audience to see where Mr Peterman was sitting. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed my attempts at non-theatre-related communication.
‘No,’ Benjamin said strongly, stepping away from Hero.
The wedding party stared at him in surprise.
‘Psst!’ I hissed.
Hayden’s head finally turned my way.
‘I have to talk to you,’ I mouthed.
‘What?’ Hayden mouthed back, looking shocked. He took a step towards me.
‘Wait!’ I mouthed.
If he waited till everyone reacted in shock to Claudio’s foul accusation of Hero, then his movement closer to me wouldn’t be as obvious.
Claudio glowered at Leonato and his daughter. ‘Would you not swear, all you that see her, that she were a maid, by these exterior shows? But she is none: she knows the heat of a luxurious bed; her blush is guiltiness, not modesty.’
Claire wavered in an almost faint and half the wedding party rushed forward.
Hayden edged over to my side. ‘Thank god. I really have to tell you something.’
‘Don’t worry. I know it’s about the PDA,’ I murmured, doing my best to look concerned about Hero.
‘PDA?’
‘Yes. What are we going to do about it?’
‘Do?’ Hayden’s eyes registered complete confusion. ‘What on earth does a public display of affection have to do with what we were talking about?’
‘What?’ It wasn’t about the kiss? What on earth was so important then?
Just then I saw an outraged Mr Peterman staring at Hayden and me. Uh-oh.
‘Never mind,’ I said.
‘But, Aurora, you have to know that I —’
‘Mr Peterman is watching us!’
Hayden glanced at the director, whose eyes were bulging at our audacity for talking during a pivotal moment in the play. Hayden quickly moved back to Don Pedro’s side before Mr Peterman could have a megaphone moment.
What on earth was I going to do? For once, my mind wasn’t working fast enough. I spoke my lines and tried my hardest to look convincing, but time sped by and my idea slate was still sickeningly blank.
Before I knew it, Hayden and I were alone in the candlelight once more.
‘Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?’
Oh god, I felt like weeping. Why hadn’t I discussed this whole thing with Hayden earlier? I should have been straight up from the beginning, instead of assuming that my Stop Kiss stunts would work.
I could ad-lib. Say something like, ‘Stop, my love, I have the flu — a terrible malady — do not commit your sweet lips to mine.’
No way was the audience going to buy my version of Shakespeare. It had to be more subtle. Maybe if Hayden registered how unwilling I was, he’d pick up my subliminal ‘no kiss’ messages.
As I looked up at him to communicate unwillingness, the fire in his eyes reduced my thoughts to ashes.
I registered myself reciting my lines, but all I knew was Hayden. His dark hair and the way the locks in front swept over to the left, like a wave falling above his eyes … eyes that were alight and holding a thousand secret messages. As my eyes traced his straight nose and cheekbones, I felt I’d never really seen him before.
Hayden gazed into my eyes, just as we’d planned. Here was my last chance to pull away.
‘I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest,’ I whispered.
Hayden put his hand on my waist and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I wanted to be close to him, closer than anything, in his arms. I wanted to give in to this fainting, falling feeling that had possessed me. This was it.
Hayden’s eyes searched mine for several centuries. My heart drummed.
He slowly lifted my right hand and drew it to his lips, and placed the softest, most tender kiss upon it.
CHAPTER 26
No-Show
The NAD beamed at me. ‘You were wonderful!’
I smiled and used all my willpower to focus on the scene around me. I wasn’t going to think about what had happened onstage.
‘All you girls were amazing!’ Cassie’s mother, Celeste, raved. ‘Cassie, your backdrops were so beautiful!’ She gave Cassie a resounding kiss on the forehead.
Cassie and I stood with her mother, father and brother, along with the NAD and Ms DeForest, in a swelling crowd of similarly enthusiastic parents.
‘My daughter, the next Meryl Streep,’ the NAD said and smiled.
‘Dad, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.’
I’d hardly been in the moment during that final scene. Instead, I’d been worrying about a kiss that hadn’t happened.
‘Well, you even made your old dad think you were Beatrice,’ the NAD gushed.
‘The chemistry between you and Hayden was wonderful,’ Mrs Shields said.
‘Yes, the boy next door,’ the NAD said. ‘Much as I hate to say it, that chemistry was already —’
An excited-looking Sara and Jelena raced up. ‘Sorry, Mr Skye, but we have to drag Aurora away for a moment,’ Jelena said. She gave my dad a smooth smile. ‘Important production information.’
‘I’m sure you can discuss it here,’ I said. I knew what she really wanted to talk about.
‘Impossible,’ she said.
I gave a sigh. It was either go with Jelena and Sara and discuss the non-kiss, or stay and listen to the NAD discuss Hayden’s and my supposed relationship. I followed Jelena, Cass coming too. I’d rather talk reality than fiction.
We were barely ten rows away before the onslaught started. I dropped into a seat, unable to cope standing up.
‘So what happened with the
kiss?’ Sara sat down next to me and gripped my arm like the machine that doctors use to measure blood pressure. ‘It obviously didn’t happen, so —’
‘How do you know it didn’t happen?’
The moment the scene had finished I’d steered well clear of my friends, curious cast mates and Mr Peterman. I hadn’t wanted to discuss anything.
‘I was watching. Everyone in the cast and crew was,’ Sara said matter-of-factly.
‘Travis Ela even pulled out a video camera to film the big moment, which I smartly confiscated,’ Jelena said, propping her legs up on the empty seat next to her.
‘The big moment that was incredibly disappointing,’ Sara added.
Cassie shook her head. ‘No way was it disappointing. It was the sweetest moment in the whole play.’
‘I’m assuming that your take-off-before-a-major-sceneand-cause-Jelena-a-nervous-breakdown moment was when you and Hayden planned the whole kiss thing?’ Jelena pressed. She took a jumbo bag of jellybeans out of her purse and opened them without taking her penetrating gaze off me. ‘So what story did you spin him?’
‘I didn’t spin anything,’ I said, breaking her gaze.
‘But how did Hayden know not to kiss you then?’ Cassie asked.
‘He didn’t know. He just didn’t kiss me.’ I shrugged in what I hoped was a nonchalant way and took a red jellybean from the packet.
The three of them stared at me. Jelena was so surprised she dropped the jellybean packet.
‘I can’t believe it!’ She squatted in the aisle, trying to round up jellybeans. ‘That’s two guys who’ve backed out of kisses tonight. Is there something in the air?’
‘That is so weird.’ Sara shook her head as she scooped handfuls of jellybeans from under the seats.
‘Look, I don’t get the big deal,’ I said impatiently. ‘I got my wish — the kiss didn’t happen. So let’s drop it, okay?’
I got up from my seat and stalked back to the NAD and Cassie’s family.
‘Sweetie,’ Mrs Shields asked Cassie, who was right at my heels, ‘who’s that nice-looking boy who keeps looking over here? Do you know him?’
We all turned to see who she was talking about. Scott gave an embarrassed smile.
‘Oh, that’s Scott,’ Cassie said quickly. ‘I worked with him on the backdrops.’
‘Why don’t you call him over?’ Mrs Shields said.
‘Yeah, Cass.’ Andrew winked at his sister. ‘Let’s meet the boy who can make you blush that much.’
‘Andrew!’ Cassie frowned at him, but gestured at Scott to join us. ‘Scott, I’d like you to meet my parents,’ she said.
‘Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Shields,’ Scott said, and shook their hands with a genuine smile. But as he turned towards Andrew the smile became slightly forced.
‘And my brother, Andrew,’ Cassie said.
‘Your brother?’ Scott’s wary look fell away and was replaced with a big grin as he pumped Andrew’s hand enthusiastically.
Suddenly I knew why Scott Ryder had been acting so strangely for the past fortnight.
‘Scott thought Andrew was your boyfriend!’ I whispered to Cassie as we headed for our parents’ cars. Jelena, Sara and Lindsay were still taking care of things backstage.
‘What?’ Cassie stumbled slightly on the car-park gravel.
‘Careful, honey,’ Mrs Shields said. ‘The ground’s a bit uneven here.’
‘He saw you get on Andrew’s bike that day we tailed him to his sculpture class.’ I grinned. ‘And presumed you and Andrew were dating.’
‘WHAT?’ Cassie yelped, looking at Andrew in horror.
I laughed. ‘That’s why he was so odd around you. He thought he’d made a fool of himself by sending you a rose when you were already attached.’
‘So the whole mess-up was to do with my brother,’ Cassie groaned.
‘It wasn’t Andrew’s fault,’ I reminded her. ‘Anyway, it explains the non-kiss — that’s why Scott cried, “I can’t do this!” and raced off. But now that he knows you’re single, I bet my left arm there’s going to be some K-I-S-S-I-N-G going on soon!’
Cassie grabbed my hand and we joyfully skipped past the adults.
‘Aurora, I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but how are you really feeling about Hayden not kissing you?’
I stopped skipping. ‘Dad’s starting up the car. I’d better get going before Ms DeForest convinces him to leave me behind.’
‘But, Aurora, I can tell you’re feeling —’
I jumped into the backseat, cutting her off with the slam of my door.
‘So, where to, future-Academy-Award-winning daughter?’ the NAD asked as he pulled out of the car park. ‘Shall we get a post-celebratory drink — meaning a mocktail, of course — or stop for ice-cream?’
I saw Ms DeForest, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, frown. ‘But, Kenneth, you promised me you’d come to the moonlight gathering up on the headland.’
I imagined the NAD in druid’s attire, battling the coastal winds as he took part in a chanting circle.
‘I thought we could go for a quick drink before dropping Aurora off,’ he said.
‘But then we’ll miss the induction. We’ve already been to the play; I’m sure Aurora won’t mind if you and I have some personal time this evening.’
‘We could make it a very quick drink,’ I suggested.
I didn’t mean to be insistent, but I did want to spend some time with Dad. I’d hardly seen him during the madness of rehearsals over the last month.
‘I’m sure you don’t mind.’ Ms DeForest turned in her seat to give me a sharp look. That look was dangerous. If I wanted the car ride to stay harmonious, I’d better play it safe.
‘Well, I guess not,’ I said.
‘Fabulous!’ Ms DeForest said, reaching for the NAD’s left hand. ‘So it’s back to your house, Kenneth, to drop off Aurora, and then on to the gathering.’
‘Well, I feel kind of bad about taking Aurora straight home,’ Dad said, looking at me in the rear-view mirror. ‘I know! I’ll pull into that ice-creamery coming up. Aurora, pick the most decadent sundae you can think of as a reward for that fabulous show. Wasn’t it great, Dana?’ He turned to smile at Ms DeForest.
‘Well, I suppose it could be considered entertaining,’ she replied, tossing her long brown ringlets. ‘But it was completely devoid of any real message. In my opinion, theatre should address issues.’
‘But it did address quite a few,’ I said. ‘Mr Peterman set the play in the fifties to highlight male–female power dynamics then and now. He was asking the audience to consider how far we’ve really come —’
Ms DeForest let out a laugh. ‘Oh, you can’t really believe that piece of fluff actually made the audience think!’
‘It might have.’ I tried to keep the edge out of my voice. Piece of fluff? You could say the same about her lessons. ‘And I don’t see the problem with theatre being enjoyable.’
‘Well, you wouldn’t, would you?’ Ms DeForest said. ‘You’re a teenager. Life is all about enjoyment. None of you worry about anything beyond your own little world.’
I felt the seatbelt tighten as my chest swelled with barely repressed indignation. ‘That’s a bit of an assumption. And Shakespeare’s work is hardly fluff.’
‘Well, you’re entitled to your opinion.’ Ms DeForest sniffed. ‘Not that I expected anything revolutionary from an overindulged teenager.’
A what?
The NAD looked from Ms DeForest to me and back again with concern. ‘Now, girls …’
‘You probably shouldn’t call Ms DeForest a girl, Dad.’ The words shot from my mouth like a charging army. ‘Seeing as she’s aeons away from being mistaken for an overindulged teenager.’
‘Aurora, you will not speak to Dana like that — damn it!’ the NAD yelled. I jumped in my seat. ‘I missed the exit for the ice-creamery.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ I muttered. ‘I’m more than ready to go home.’
&nbs
p; I leapt out of the car the moment it pulled into the drive. ‘Have a nice evening,’ I said, feigning politeness. The NAD was obviously on edge.
I stomped up the stairs to my room. If Ms DeForest was going to call me an overindulged teenager, then I might as well act like one.
As I threw myself down on my window seat, a flash of headlights caught my eye. The Parises were arriving home. The mood in their car would be joyful, I was sure, not sickeningly tense like my ride home.
I shut my curtains, but I couldn’t shut off my thoughts. Now that I was alone, the autopilot mode I’d been in since the end of the Beatrice–Benedick confession scene dropped away. Why hadn’t Hayden kissed me? What had stopped him?
Like I’d told my friends, I’d got my wish. I’d escaped the kiss. And, as I’d heard Mr Peterman raving to Hayden about the ‘beautiful delicacy’ of the kiss on the hand, it was safe to say that the scene would stay the way it was and my first kiss was once again mine to keep. I should have been dancing around the room in delirious happiness. But all I felt was confusion.
How had I gone from being so vehemently against the kiss to accepting it? Perhaps even more than accepting it, if I dared to be honest with myself.
Hayden’s eyes … the burning way he’d said ‘I love you’ to Beatrice … It had been like getting too close to an actual fire — I’d started melting inside, transfixed by Hayden’s face. And then the heat had consumed me, and I’d given myself up to its intensity, allowing it to transform me into someone who wasn’t Aurora Skye at all. Someone impulsive and reckless, someone who leapt off cliffs without hesitation. Someone whose face had probably screamed, ‘Kiss me! Kiss me!’
I buried my face in a cushion. My embarrassment was colossal. Could Hayden have seen this abandonment of reason? Oh my god! Was that the reason he hadn’t kissed me? Had he backed off because he was terrified by my wild, all-consuming passion?
I let out a shriek and tossed the cushion in the air. It landed on my bed and Snookums, who’d been snoozing on the quilt cover, let out an outraged meow.
‘Sorry, Snookums!’
I had to get a grip on myself. All-consuming passion? Hardly. Okay, so I might have gone a bit silly and momentarily thought I wanted to kiss him — but who could blame me? Just about any girl would have felt the same if she’d heard him making wildly romantic statements in that deep voice of his and he’d looked at her with those eyes …
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You Page 27