Chapter 11: Thy Face Is Much Abused By Tears
I sat there, alone in the theatre, watching the space where Kevin had left for about fifteen minutes, before an obviously stressed Ms Pea came into the theatre. She looked at me with surprise.
“I thought you and Kevin were going for food?” She asked, putting down a huge stack of papers. I could see that they were the handouts for tonight’s show.
“Yeah, so did i.” I said. She looked confused.
“What?”
“Kevin…well, I think he just quit.” I said, still staring at the door. She looked to where I was staring, and after not seeing anything, looked back at me.
“What do you mean, he quit? He can’t just quit.”
“That’s what I said, and he said yeah he could, and just walked out of here.” Ms Pea sat down in her chair, and reached for her phone. She called the office.
“Can you make an announcement, that Kevin Jonas needs to come to the theatre NOW?” She asked. She nodded, and then hung up the phone. A few seconds later, the secretary’s voice came over the intercom.
“Excuse the interruption. Will Kevin Jonas please report to the theatre immediately. That’s Kevin Jonas, to the theatre.”
“How could he just quit? The show goes on tonight! We can’t do Romeo and Juliet with out Romeo!” She said, throwing her hands up in frustration. I sighed.
“I’ll be back. Call my cell if he comes. I need to go get something to eat.” I grabbed my bag, and left the theatre.
Absent-mindedly walking, I somehow ended up in the auto body hall way. I wondered if Kevin would be here, and I just walked in to the auto body room. There was a class going on, and they all stopped to stare at me. I smiled at the teacher, who now knew who I was, but I still didn’t know his name.
“Has Kevin Jonas come in here?” I asked. He nodded, and pointed towards the stairs at the back of the classroom. These stairs led up to the storage room, where extra parts, grease rags, and broken tools were kept. I climbed up the stairs, feeling all eyes on me as I did. I could hear the teacher’s voice ring out for people to get back to work, and I just continued climbing.
As I got to the top, I could hear light guitar music, and someone singing quietly along. I knew instantly it was Kevin. I looked around, and saw his curly mop-top behind a stack of rags. I stopped, and listened to him play for a bit.
They come and go
But they don't know
That you are my
Beautiful
I try to come
Closer with you
But they all say
We won't make it through
But I'll be there forever
You will see that it's better
All our hopes and our dreams will come true
I will not disappoint you
I will be right there for you
Till the end
The end of time
Please be mine
I'm in and out
Of love with you
Trying to find
If it's really true
Na, na, na, na
How can I
Prove my love
If they all think
I'm not good enough
But I'll be there forever
You will see that it's better
All our hopes and our dreams will come true
I will not disappoint you
I will be right there for you
Till the end
The end of time
Please be mine
I can't stop the rain from falling
Can't stop my heart from calling you
It's calling you
I can't stop the rain from falling
Can't stop my heart from calling you
It's calling you
I can't stop the rain
I can't stop the rain from falling
Can't stop my heart from calling you
It's calling you
But I'll be there forever
You will see that it's better
All our hopes and our dreams
They will come true
I will not disappoint you
I will be right there for you
Till the end
The end of time
Please be mine
I saw him sigh, and put down his guitar. He put his hands in his head, and just sat like that for a bit. I decided to tell him I was there.
“Kevin?” I whispered. HE turned around to see me there, and then turned back around. I got up, and walked over to sit beside him. We sat I silence for a bit, before he spoke.
“I’m so sorry Chelsea.” He said.
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“But I do! I got involved in your play, I promised you I wouldn’t ruin it, and now look what I’m doing!” He said, putting his head in his hands again, his shoulders slumping down. I placed a hand on his cheek, and pulled him so his forehead was touching mine. I could see tear streaks down his face. He left his eyes closed when I pulled him into me.
“Kevin, no matter what, you haven’t ruined this play for me.” I said, as he opened his eyes. He tried to speak, but I shushed him.
“I have had the best time ever doing this play with you. You have become my best friend, and I wouldn’t trade anything for that.” I said, looking him deep in the eyes. “If I had to choose between having you in my life, or doing Romeo and Juliet perfectly, I would choose having you in my life.” He looked at me, confused.
“But acting, this play, drama, that’s your life…” He said. I nodded.
“It is. And I’ll always have acting and drama. Always. And I thank them for giving me you.” I said.
“Chelsea, I honestly don’t know if I can go on stage.” He said, the tears starting again. I could see how much this hurt him, so I just stayed silent, and listened.
“I have no problem going on stage, in front of thousands of people, and playing my guitar for them. But the thought of going on with out it, with out my safety net to hide behind, I just can’t do it.” He said.
“Kevin, I know you can do this. I’ve seen you step on stage, and glow. I’ve never met someone who can handle Shakespeare as well as you can.” I stopped, and rolled my eyes. “well, aside from me that is.” He laughed a little when I said that, and I smiled.
“I believe in you Kevin.” I said. “I believe that in everything you want to do, you will do. I know you can stand on stage, and be Romeo. I know it.” He nodded.
“But what if I can’t? What if I get on stage, and I freeze up, and I break the promise I made to you? What if I screw up?” He asked.
“And what if, Kevin, you get on stage, and you blow the audience out of their seats? What if you do the best Romeo ever, and some big shot holly wood director comes and asks you to be in there movie? What if you have a heart attack on stage, and die? What if you eat a poisoned fruit, and end up in the hospital? What if is the stupidest way to think Kevin.” I said. He laughed a little.
“Ok, I get it. But I’m still afraid.” He said.
“So am I Kevin.” I said. “I’m afraid for a lot of things. But we can do this. I’ll be beside you the entire way.” I grabbed his hand, and squeezed it with mine. He smiled at me.
“Thank you, Chelsea.” He said, giving me a hug.
“I would just like to say, that I am starving, and if you made me miss my only meal chance I am skinning you alive.” I said, standing up. He looked at his watch.
“We have 15 minutes before we have to be in hair and make up. Lets go get food.” He grabbed my hand, his guitar, and lead me down the stairs. We went to the fast food place near our school, before heading to the make up room. Ms Pea was in there, and she sighed a huge sigh of relief when she saw both Kevin and I.
“KEVIN JONAS I WAS READY TO KILL YOU!” she yelled, hugging him.
“I’m sorry Ms Pea.” He said, taking a seat in one of the chairs. A bunch of girls started doing his hair right away, styling the curly mess into a neat, classy do. I was soon seated beside him, as him and Ms Pea continued chatting.
In about half an hour, people starting coming in, and Kevin and I started getting the finishing touches. My hair was pulled back into a half up/half down hair style, braided across the sides of my head slightly, and then it cascaded down in soft waves. They had put two sprigs of baby’s breath flowers in the braids, where the two came together at the back of my head. I was wearing a ton of stage makeup, but it had a soft look to it. My eyes were done in soft shades of brown, and my lips just had gloss on them.
Kevin’s hair had been left curly, just tamed a bit more then he usually wears it. They had asked him to grow small side burns, which he had. Turns out, he liked them, and was planning on keeping them after the show. His hair was hair-sprayed flatter to his head then he usually wore it. He too wore stage makeup, with a little bit of eyeliner put very close to his eyes to bring them out. Not that his eyes needed the extra help, I thought, watching him get his makeup done. He must have felt me staring, because he opened his eyes. He smiled at me, and I smiled back.
Kevin and I were both finished around the same time, and we walked to the theatre together. We were both handed our first costumes when we got there, mine was a simple brown dress, with gold trimmings, and a pair of gold slippers. Kevin’s was an all black ensemble, with a black button up shirt, black pants, and black boots. The only colour in his outfit was a white belt holding his pants up.
Kevin came up to me, after we both had our first costumes on. We had about fifty minutes to wait, until the house opened, so we sat backstage. Kevin sat there, wringing his hands the entire time.
“Kevin, don’t be so nervous.” I told him. He looked up at me, and gave me a nervous smile.
“I cant help it.” He said, still wringing his hands. I grabbed his hands to stop him from doing so.
“You’re gonna do amazing. Just take a deep breath. And if you ever need help, just come to me. I’ll be there the entire time.” He nodded at me, and took a deep breath.
“20 minutes till house opens!” The stage manager yelled back stage. Kevin’s eyes got big, and he went back to wringing his hands. I sighed, as I tried to calm him down yet again.
