𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢) | ✔

thirty-one

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thirty-one: be our guest
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      Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. Ricky was already in his position in the middle of the stage, dressed as a handsome prince, and the courtain went up. Everyone else observed from the wings, their hands sweating from both the excitement and the worry. The awareness that there were people on the audience scrutinizing every single one of their movements made them all uneasy, the thrilling feeling of their first production long gone.

     E.J. side-hugged Juliette as they both watched her ex-boyfriend pretending to be cursed and turned into a gruesome beast while Mr Mazzara read his script with his best British accent. 

     Before the expected, they were all in the backstage and the scenario was getting changed for their next scene.

     "Wildcats!" Miss Jenn called them. "This is going fine, I am mostly proud. And I heard Big Red has not thrown up in over 20 minutes. Every great performance needs and X factor, something special that puts it over the top. A little birdie has just told me where our Menkies judge is sitting and I'm thinking that, with just a few minor adjustments, we can make this gentleman feel every bit as welcome as the intruder that my mother clubbed over the head when I was a girl."

     "I thought she just hog-tied him," Seb noted, but was quickly ignored.

     "When the next song begins, I have directed Benjamin Mazzara and his lighting-ists to spotlight our judge. And then I need you all to make him feel especially and uniquely welcome."

     "Do you want us to change the whole number on the spot?" Juliette asked, fidgeting with her hands. They had spent hours on end rehearsing, to the point that even their breaths were choreographed, and Miss Jenn now wanted them to improvise?

     "Doesn't that feel a little desperate?"

     "It feels that way for a reason, Sebastian," Miss Jenn clarified. "Besides, Carlos is a seasoned professional who can roll with anything, right?"

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     Juliette stood on the right wing, her costume on point and her prop on hand, ready to go on stage and perform. Or so she wanted to convince herself of. The truth was that the girl was scared shitless and only wanted to hide in the backstage until the number was over. Miss Jenn asking them to improvise had thrown her off and now she did not know what to do.

     "Ready for your big moment?" a voice she knew all too well whispered on her ear.

     "If my big moment is to faint on stage, then yes," she replied, turning around to look at Ricky as Carlos began his lines.

     "You'll do great. We haven't been up until three in the morning rehearsing in your room for nothing," the boy laughed, hugging the girl. In the middle of their hug, however, he pushed her to the stage, just on time for her cue, because he knew that she would never do so out of her own free will.

     Be our guest began to play as all of the followede their choreography and forks and plates began to dance around them. As soon as she started singing, all of Juliette's nerves faded away and she focused on doing what she enjoyed most: performing with her friends. Kourtney, Gina, Ahslyn, Seb and Carlos sent her approving and encouraging smiled as she delivered her verse, but all she could focus on was Ricky looking at her from the wings.

     That moment took her right back to the first time she had had to dance on stage, no prior preparation except for ten very frantic minutes with Carlos. As she danced to the rhythm of Stick to the Status Quo, she had caught Ricky's eyes, to the point that she had even tripped with her own feet. The only difference was that, now, they had broken up.

     "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a 15-minute intermission," Natalie announced through the speakers as Juliette continued lost in her thoughts.

     She walked out of the stage and ran to the bathroom. She wanted to hide from everything and everyone, convinced that she had failed a note and had skipped a step. In the meantime, however, she ran into Nini, who took her hand and accompanied her, trying to convince her that she had done amazing.

     "I've embarrassed myself in front of everyone," Juliette breathed. "We're going to lose and it's going to be my fault."

     "Hey, Jules, stop," Nini held both of her hands, while Juliette's breathing continued to accelerate. "You were born for the stage. You step there and all the lights could go out because you make everything brighter."

     "Yeah, well, perks of being a redhead," the girl tried to joke. "I just want this to be over with."

     "We only have to go through one more act and then we'll get together and eat pizza and gossip all you want. You can sleep at mine's tonight," she suggested with a bright smile. She knew how much Juliette loved sleepovers, "you can even bring your sisters."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     The music for Something there began to play as Gina squeezed Juliette's hand, both of them seeing Ahslyn and Ricky perform. Truth be told, the play was going amazing, nothing had interrupted it and they really felt all their work was paying off. Ashlyn was a literal angel on stage, turning everyone's skins into goosebumps as she sang, while Ricky was portraying his character perfectly. 

     Juliette send a reassuring smile to E.J., placed at the other wing. He had absolutely crushed it as Gaston and Juliette could only pray that her sisters or parents had recorded her best friend's performance because it was something worth watching over and over.

     She stepped up the little stairs placed on stage, a surprised face as the saw the "Beast" slowly falling love with Belle. 

     "Well, who indeed?" she sang when it was her turn. "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?"

     "What, Mama? What's there?" Seb spoke as the music faded, making the audience laugh. Nini's talk had really paid off and now Juliette got downstage with a huge smile on her face, convinced that she had done great. Nothing could go wrong, the play was going to finish off strong and they were going to have a chance at winning the Menkies. 

lxngbottom speaks!

hey everyone! long time no talk

this story is, sadly, near its end already.

i won't lie, i have struggled through itjust because of how little i liked season 2but i am still not ready to say goodbye tomy babies, just because we don't know where season 3 will air

i hope you are liking this story so far and
be sure that this is not the end of Juliette
and Ricky, there is much more to come

don't forget to vote and comment what
you thought of the chapter 

xx