Perfect | a Jonathan Brandis fanfic

chapter three

The rest of the school week droned on. I tried to refrain from thinking about Jonathan, but it proved to be a difficult task. Each day in drama, my gaze would wind up directed at him. Thankfully, though, we had been performing little improv skits and I hadn't had to work with Jonathan. Until today. It was the last class of the day on the last day of the week. I was ready to be done. But Mrs. Kramer had chosen for me to kick off today's improv, and I needed a cast mate.

"Do you want to pick your co-actor?" Mrs. Kramer asked.

"Oh, no, definitely not," I replied. "Surprise me."

Mrs. Kramer smiled. "Jonathan, how about you come join Katie?" I froze. Jonathan made his way to the front of the classroom and stood next to me, facing Mrs. Kramer. Still frozen, I tried to relax, but my heart was pounding so loud I was almost certain that Jonathan could hear it. I saw his head turn to look at me out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to look back at him, he smiled. Ugh, how was that smile so perfect? I smiled back, despite all the butterflies flitting about in my stomach.

"And your prompt is... Halloween!" Mrs. Kramer exclaimed.

Oh that's good, I thought. Something easy. Jonathan and I headed to opposite sides of the "stage," which was really just an open space in the front of the classroom.

"Action!" Mrs. Kramer called.

"Honey, I'm home!" Jonathan said in a cliche voice. Still, him referring to me as honey made my stomach churn with a feeling I couldn't explain.

"Oh, splendid! The kids should be here any minute, and-" I looked up at Jonathan and gave him a horrified expression. "Oh my gosh!" I cried, backing away. For a second there, Jonathan looked genuinely concerned, as if he actually believed there was something wrong with him.

"What is it?" He asked, taking a step closer. I kept backing away.

"Tim, your skin is a ghastly white!!" Jonathan looked down to examine his skin.

"Linda, you're right!" Jonathan put on a scared face and continued slowly walking towards me. I kept backing away, but I eventually hit the wall and couldn't go any further.

"And, and, your eyes! They're a crimson red!" I stammered. Jonathan turned to face the audience and pretended to look at himself in a mirror. After a few moments, he turned slowly to look at me again. I thought I could see actual fear in his eyes. Our eyes locked.

"Honey, what's happening to me?" He half-whispered to me in the most frightened voice I had ever heard. Part of me wanted to reach out and rush to him, to hug him and tell him it would all be alright, but I knew better.

"I'm sorry, but you have to stay away from me," I told him, tears forming in my eyes. Jonathan, still walking toward me, said, "Honey, it's me. It's Tim. The same ol' Tim you know and love." He forced a smile.

"Tim, you have fangs!" I cried. The tears came pouring down my face as I looked at him helplessly. Suddenly, Jonathan's frightened face turned evil.

"All the better to eat you with, my dear." The class gasped as I pretended to faint.

"Cut!" Mrs. Kramer called. "Great job!" Smiling, Jonathan offered me his hand, and I took it. He helped me up off the floor and we bowed to our classmates applause. Jonathan held my hand up in the air triumphantly, as if we had just won the olympics, before letting go and heading back to his seat.

No matter how hard I tried to concentrate for the rest of class, I couldn't stop thinking about Jonathan and his stellar performance. I looked over at him a couple of times, and each time, he was looking right back at me. Finally, after 45 excruciating minutes, class ended. On my way out the door, I felt a hand grip my bookbag and hold me steady. I turned, only to see Jonathan standing there.

"Hey," he smiled at me.

"Hi," I exhaled, smiling back.

"Your performance today was incredible, Katie." Hearing him say my name made my heart flutter.

"Oh, no. You carried the entire performance," I insisted.

"Well, even if I did, I couldn't have done it without you." He looked deep into my eyes before continuing. "Anyways, I'm on this show-"

Of course. Jonathan was perfect enough to be in any and every show.

"And I was wondering if you'd want a guest role." I stood there in shock. Here he was, the prettiest boy I had ever met, asking me if I wanted a role on his show.

"Of course!" I exclaimed after the shock faded. Jonathan laughed.

"I can pick you up and take you to the studio tomorrow," he offered.

"That would be great." It took every ounce of strength in my body to resist the urge to hug him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." He winked at me before turning and walking away.

I stared after him in awe until I realized that the school was nearly empty. I scurried to my bike, wanting to get home so I could plan a look for tomorrow.