Three's Company

2.21 | Double the Trouble

Double the Trouble

almost: [awl-mohst, awl-mohst]; adverb; very nearly; all but.

    "Places, people!"

    If it were any other scene, Ethan would have become absolutely sick of running it as many times as they had over the past few weeks. But it wasn't just any scene; it was the scene from his audition for the musical in the first place: the scene where he and Nova kissed.

    He took his place on the stage, feet placed in the same exact position that they had been the hundreds of times before that the cast had run this scene. He could see Nova out of the corner of his eye, lounging and waiting for the scene to begin.

    "And, action!"

    "Why don't you love me?" Ethan began his lines, "Why don't you let me hold you in my arms, let me run my fingers through your hair, let yourself cry against my chest when the going gets rough? Why am I the one constantly tossed to the side, the one left to cry on a park bench?"

    Nova returned Ethan's gaze, her eyes matching the passion that Ethan was sure he was showing as well.

    "Do you think this is easy for me?" She cried, "I hate this. I hate every second of not being with my true love." She turned her head away from Ethan, breaking their stare.

    "True love." Ethan scoffed, "I am nothing but a pastime to you."

    "That isn't true and you know it." Nova returned, spinning back to face him as she stepped closer. Ethan couldn't remember if that was in the stage directions.

    "Then why do we quarrel like this? Why do we fight until our throats dry up, why do we never acknowledge the feelings between us?" He stepped closer to her this time, "Why do you never let me hold you, kiss you...love you?"

    He grabbed Nova's hand in his and pulled her closer, eliminating the remaining space between them.

    "I can't." Nova whispered, looking up at him. "You know I can't."

    "But why?" Ethan shouted.

    "Because!" Nova returned, and Ethan realized they were too close; she was supposed to take another step towards him during this line. "Because," She repeated, softly, ignoring their obvious mistake, "I can't lose you again."

    They allowed a brief silence to permeate the auditorium, and Ethan could see Mrs. Freedman furiously scratching in her notebook on the floor.

    "You haven't lost me." He whispered, "Not now. Not ever. I'm here for the long run."

    Ethan leaned in and kissed Nova, despite the fact that his heart wasn't in it. He pulled away just as Mrs. Freedman yelled her favorite word.

    "Cut!"

    The entire cast let out a collective sigh and returned to their starting positions; they had been walking around in the background of the scene.

    "Ethan and Nova, we can't go over this again." Mrs. Freedman sighed, defeated. "You need more passion. I need to feel your love for each other coming off of the stage. But we cannot run this again, because it's already past 5:00 and people need to get home to start their Christmas break. So you two need to work this out together over the break, because when we get back I expect perfection."

    "Yes ma'am." Nova and Ethan both nodded together before climbing off the stage and heading to their bags.

    Ethan knew exactly why they were lacking this passion that Mrs. Freedman wanted so desperately: he was terrified of giving it. The moment he let himself go and truly look at Nova in the way he wanted to, he risked everyone else seeing the way he felt about a girl who was not his girlfriend.

    And with his luck, it would end up being the one day Scarlet showed up to watch rehearsal.

    He would have to figure out a way to fix this issue without making things worse in his personal life, but it would take time.

<><><>

    "I'll get it!"

    Ever since Nova had opened the door to find Ethan Meek on the other side, she had developed a sort of love for answering the door to the Brannon home.

    So on the first evening of her first winter break in West Virginia, she flung open the front door to find none other than Ethan Meek standing there, shivering in the biting December cold.

    "Ethan?"

    "Hey, Nova. I just wanted to talk real quick about rehearsal."

    "Of course. Come on in."

    Ethan stepped into the house, dusting off his jacket and removing his shoes immediately.

    "Let's go to my room, it'll be quieter." Nova suggested as her younger sister and cousins could be heard yelling from the kitchen.

    "Sounds great." Ethan nodded. "Lead the way."

    Nova walked up to her bedroom with Ethan a few steps behind her, before both of them took a seat on her bed.

    "So what's going on?"

    "I just wanted to apologize," Ethan began, "I feel awful about the way rehearsals have been going. I'm just off, with basketball season starting and everything, and I wanted to apologize if I was bringing you down in any way."

    "You're totally fine." Nova shook her head. "I didn't think you were messing anything up." What she was certainly thinking about was just how close Ethan's leg was to hers on the bed.

    "I'm glad you think that." Ethan smiled, "Because I wouldn't want anything to mess up this musical. You're so talented and deserve to have the best show possible."

    "Thanks." Nova grinned, looking up at him.

    This was of course a massive mistake, since he was already looking down at her and their faces were less than three inches apart.

    There was silence from both of them for a moment and Nova could feel Ethan's breath on her face. She had kissed him at least fifty times throughout the course of their rehearsals, but she knew that right here, right now, she couldn't do that.

    And yet it was so hard to look away.

    Something changed in Ethan's gaze and he broke their stare, standing up and off of Nova's bed. Immediately, the spell was broken and Nova felt embarrassed beyond belief; had she almost kissed another girl's boyfriend?

    "I should get going." Ethan grimaced, "I'll see you at Jessica's New Years party."

    "See you then!" Nova nodded, knowing her voice was far too enthusiastic. "Have a merry Christmas!"

    Nova heard Ethan close the door behind him, her eyes still glued to her lap. She took a deep breath, in and out, until her heartbeat returned to normal.

    She couldn't have been the only one out of the two of them to feel that spark. That heat that immersed the three inches between them. She knew she couldn't have been alone in that.

    But if Ethan hadn't acted on it, then that was a clear sign: he was not interested in Nova. He never would be. And that was alright.

    For now.