As the last day of acting practice came to an end, Wells surprised both me and Kade by saying he wasn’t staying, “I’m confident enough to take a break.”

I wished I was the same.

Kade was fidgety as we walked, all of his conversation skills out the window with Wells here. If he was anxious, I wasn’t sure how I was going to break through it. With all the power vested in me, I reached into my inner well to channel my own social skills to break the ice.

“Were you going for the lead role, Wells?” We’d been so focused on my own poor acting, the conversation had never steered to what he was doing.

“Yes.” It was what I’d assumed.

“You said you didn’t really have an opinion on the play though, right?” He hadn’t showcased either disappointment or excitement, unlike everyone else in the class. When I’d watched him the day of the announcement, he’d only calmly taken a script before passing it along.

He shrugged, “It’s fine.”

“W-what’s the play about, anyway?” Kade jumped in, seemingly finding his footing with words.

Wells gave a two-sentence elevator pitch, and I was glad I hadn’t jumped in. I would have rambled ten times as long as necessary, “I think it’s entertaining, at least.”

“Are you also into action stories?” Wells nodded after a beat, looking like he hadn’t thought of it before. “Huh, I don’t think I would have guessed that. You’re so serious, I would have thought you’d like more…classics, maybe?”

“Believe it or not, Wells used to kick my ass in every fighting game I had.”

“…Oh, you play games?” A note of excitement colored my voice without me meaning to. “We should play something together! It’ll be a break from all the drama stuff!”

“Sure?” The hint of surprise in his voice wasn’t what I was expecting. I looked at him, and while it was hard to tell, I could see the way his eyes had widened just for a second. It was the first emotion he’d showcased around me directly that wasn’t related to a script.

Kade smiled, the awkwardness finally leaving his body, “We should. After the auditions we should all head to my place and hang out. It’ll be fun.”

Wells mulled it over as we headed out into the courtyard, before he finally nodded, “Sure.”

“Then all that’s left is nailing those auditions.” Despite Kade’s brightness and Well’s confidence, I couldn’t stop worrying about my own results. I doubted it would be that difficult to get an extra role. If anything, I was almost certain Jen made the bet because she didn’t even expect me to show up on Monday.

But I was going to, even if I embarrassed myself, “We’ll do fine.”

Wells waved us off at the gate. As we said farewell, I noted Kade looked brighter than he ever had. Wells had agreed to hang out with us after auditions, and it was a start to patching up their friendship. I was feeling happy for him.

“I hope you know I’m going to beat both of you on Monday.” If there was one place in my life I had confidence in, it was in video games. Granted, Abigail and Nia were the only ones I’d ever played with, two people who didn’t care much for games, but I was sure I’d be fine.

The look on Kade’s face was enough to make me smile, “I think I’ll be the reigning champion.”

“Nope! Even if it’s a game I’ve never played before, once I figure out the controls, I’ll defeat both of you.”

“You’re on, then.” He grinned. “Ultimate loser has to buy the other two snacks.”

“Shouldn’t Wells be here to agree to this?”

“He’ll be down to compete. He’ll never show it, but his whole thing is based on winning.” The glint in his eyes said he was the same, too. With something to look forward to, I sunk my nails into the excitement. Was this the first time I’d felt floaty since this all began?

Maybe it was. Maybe I was finally starting to find the right path to the story.

“Alright then! Loser buys the winners snacks.” I held out my hand, and he gave it a firm shake. I noticed for a second, just how small my hand was in his. I hoped my grip was just as firm.

//

“Are you three really going to watch me?” Nia and Abigail were expected, but seeing Kade had decided to watch the auditions was enough to make me squirm. Wells didn’t pay attention to any of us, his attention on his script once more.

Abigail was grinning, “This is your first time putting yourself out there, how could we miss it?”

“Plus, you did this for me. It’s my duty to cheer you on.” Nia took my hand and slipped on a bracelet. Based on the ties and knots, I knew she’d made it herself and my heart swelled. “For good luck.”

Kade stood a little off to the side. He’d reverted into his awkward self, and I knew my friends were to blame. While he’d talked a bit with Abigail, the only interaction with Nia had been the time when he’d hurt his hand.

This was more about being here for Wells for him, I guessed. After how he reacted to Wells quitting the team, he was trying to make up for it by being supportive. Even if Wells hadn’t bothered to interact with his, I had noticed he’d glanced up when Kade had come in. It was another piece being placed to bridge the gap.

Of course, Jen was here too. Even though she’d stated she didn’t have time for the winter play, nor did she care for it, she was auditioning. Based on the highlights I’d peeked in her script, she was going for the main role anyway. I’d expected nothing less. When she’d seen me walk in, her scowl had cut across her face and she’d spun around. She’d ignored me since.

As another person was called up on the stage, my heart rate picked up. Based on them going by last names, I was going to be one of the early ones. It was likely I was next.

I clasped my hands tightly together, trying to imagine the drama teacher and whoever else was with her writing down notes. All I needed to say was that I wanted a small part. I wasn’t there for a major character at all. It’d be easy. There weren’t too many people auditioning.

Abigail reached out and clasped my hands, “Chill, with the two—three of us here, you’re going to do fantastic. We’re giving you all our energy.”

She threw a wink at Kade and he stared without a clue how to react to that. I was about to melt in the ground because of her. Nia pressed her hand to her mouth to muffle her laughs, jamming an elbow into Abigail’s side.

“Don’t tease her before she goes on stage. We’re trying to calm her down.” Nia’s voice was so quiet even I strained to hear her.

Abigail showed no remorse, “Oopsie.”

It was all too soon when I was called onto the stage. My limbs were stiff, my hands had started to bead with sweat. The walk towards the stage was enough to use up all my energy. I’d told myself I’d be prepared, but nothing could have prepared me for actually walking up there.

Wells had looked up at my name being called. As I passed he caught my eye. He mouthed, “Remember what we went over.” And added a thumbs up. Wells had said I’d be fine. I wanted to believe. I just had to follow everything he taught me.

I forced my shoulders to relax and walked out. The lights were so bright to my anxious riddled brain. The teacher sat with her clipboard in hand. When she saw me, she gave a reassuring smile.

“Cinder Chávez. What role are you going to be auditioning for?”

The question made it real. Even more so than it had been. I forced my voice not shake, and my eyes to focus straight ahead. It was something small, but this felt like a leap for me. I opened my mouth, ready as I could ever be.

//

“I’m exhausted.” Nia offered me a granola bar and I broke off half before returning it to her. “…I don’t understand how people manage to do that. And to do it willingly.”

Jen’s audition had been a masterclass, along with Wells. I had suspected it when watching them go over their lines in class, but seeing it on stage with their full force behind it was something else. I’d watched them with awe, trying to keep it to myself when Jen was on stage. It was amazing what the both of them were capable of.

“Results are announced Wednesday, right? I want to be there to see how Jen reacts. She better keep her word.” Abigail had vengeance in her eyes. It was the happiest I’ve seen her look all school year. At least, I figured I was going to be ok. Abigail would get her side of dessert, and hopefully me and Nia would be left alone.

“I hope she will.” I stretched, desperate to leave now that auditions were over. I scanned the crowd, looking for Kade and Wells amongst the faces.

Abigail grinned, “Oh right, you have a date after this.”

“W-what? No, it’s me, Kade, and Wells. We’re just going to Kade’s house to play some games.” She’d been wonderfully quiet about me hanging out at his house last week. If I kept this up, I really would convince everyone I had true feelings for him. I hoped that would be enough.

Nia was also looking at the crowd. When I followed her gaze, I found Jen. She was packing up, not a hint of tension in her body. Whatever role she wanted, she’d likely get with the performance she put on. She must have been used to doing everything perfect.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I’m surprised she’s left us alone now.” Nia paused, dragging her eyes away. “I guess we’re the ones always challenging her first.”

“She’s the one causing problems! Didn’t she ‘accidently’ bump into you one time in hopes you’d hurt your ankle and couldn’t play the remainder of the season? At least once she’s gone, you can finally be captain of the team, just like you already should be.” Despite how Jen treated her, Nia was an exceptional basketball player. She’d been doing it since she could walk, and had kept it up until now. Her and Jen were easily the best on the team, the source of most their tension.

“We have no idea if it was on purpose or not.”

“Little Miss Perfect fucking up a play? So likely.” Abigail’s voice dripped sarcasm, but she dropped it as Nia shot her a look. I hadn’t been there, but with how Jen was, it was hard to say. She was desperate to get to the top, but I always thought she was still the type to play fair. Usually.

“Well, I should head out. Congrats on making it through auditions.” Nia hugged me with one arm before slipping away.

I watched her go and turned to Abigail, “You don’t have to wait up for me if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I want to. I haven’t met Mr. Drama Tutor yet. We’re all going the same way, besides. No point in leaving without you.” She beamed, the bubbly mask slipping into place. I wondered how she’d react to Wells. Somehow, I don’t think she’d be deterred by his one word answers.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting!” Kade popped up in front of us, Wells a step behind him.

“Your acting was amazing Wells.” He only inclined his head at my praise.

“You managed.” He returned, and I was ten times more relieved when he said it then when anyone else had. Years of admiring people on stage and the next thing I knew I was trying to be up there myself.

“I know I keep saying it, but I really do appreciate your help.” There was no way I would have managed to convince myself to go up there without it. His notes and crash course lessons had been the only reason I hadn’t collapsed. Abigail shifted and I quickly cleared my throat. “Right! This is my best friend Abigail. She lives on the same street as me.”

“Wells.”

“Nice to meet you!” With a faux cheer and a smile just mild enough to be seen as genuine, Abigail offered her hand. Wells took it, not a sliver of emotion on his face. She didn’t look put-off in the slightest, as I’d expected. “Well what’re we waiting for? I heard you guys have some game competition to get to.”

Wells sighed quietly, “I didn’t think you’d be the competitive one Cinder.”

“She only has a competitive streak with gaming. Whenever me and Nia are at her house, she refuses to give us a chance. We’re just gathered around the tv teaming up on her.”

“I-I could go easy on you guys—”

“Winning through pity isn’t any fun!” She protested, and as Kade laughed she whirled on him. “You have to beat her, ok? Restore my honor for me.”

Kade shook his head, “It’ll be easy, I bet.”

“Hey…! Don’t underestimate me.” Humor was behind his eyes, and as we walked and bantered, everything felt so cohesive. I’d felt so awkward on my own, but Abigail chased away any awkwardness. It was impossible to notice any strain between Kade and Wells when she took control of the situation.

“If I wasn’t busy today, I’d have loved to come and watch.”

“Maybe next time you can.”

Her eyes slid towards me, a joke in there I couldn’t get, “Maybe next time I will.”

//

Abigail parted ways with a dramatic display of regret. After she reminded Kade he had to annihilate me in whatever we were playing, she had vanished. The energy shift without her was obvious.

“Your friend is…a handful.”

“Do you realize how that sounds Wells?” Kade suppressed a grin as Wells stared blankly at him. “Just say you don’t do well with extroverts.”

“I do fine with extroverts. I’m in drama.” I got the feeling he wasn’t being entirely honest. Abigail was a special case when it came to extroversion. Even when she was holding back, she was still overflowing. Her energy knew no bounds.

“You get used to her after a while.”

Wells stared at me, and I wondered what it was he was looking for, “Come on Kade, let’s go.”

He pulled away, and I watched him go. I wasn’t good at reading emotions, but I knew whatever the look on his face had been was a new one. Outside a smile or a flicker of surprise. What had I seen?

I followed after him and Kade.

Being in Kade’s house the second time around was nowhere near as harrowing as the first. I placed my shoes at the corner of all the other shoes, and I followed him and Wells inside. Wells looked comfortable here, proof he’d visited before. Like last time, there hadn’t been any cars in the front and there were no signs of Kade’s parents.

I tried my best not to hyperfocus on the pictures again, dissecting the distance between parents and child. Kade slipped into the hall, and it took me a whole minute to realize we were going into his room. Static entered my skull, remembering there hadn’t been any game stations out front in the living room. Of course we’d be hanging out in his room. I should have known.

Forcing my feet forward, I half hid behind Wells who eyed me. He opened his mouth to say something, but we came to the end of the short hall and to the door of Kade’s room.

“I did my best to clean up.” Kade started, and whatever Wells was going to say to me was dropped.

He passed through the threshold, “A first for you.”

With all the courage I could muster, I walked inside, too.

Kade’s room was simple. A collection of basic furniture, with a desk spilling over with books. From what I could see, a decent chunk of them were fantasy trade paperbacks or video game tie-ins. Something I hadn’t expected from him. There was a tv set up across from his bed, and tucked away in the corner were a handful of medals and trophies. They were shoved between various other objects and knickknacks. Zero care had been given to them.

Most people would showcase them. It was another detail I tucked away in my notes about him.

Wells discarded his bag and hopped on the bed with zero hesitation. Kade shuffled through a collection of game cases, holding up a few, “Which one are we feeling?”

I couldn’t bring myself to move further in the room. The exchange felt common amidst the two boys. I was an observer, peeking in. The strange feeling washed over me, like I’d stumbled onto the private routine of two strangers.

“Whichever one you feel most comfortable with.” Wells inclined his head to the side. “You can sit down.”

“Ah, right. Sorry.” I walked in, my feet like lead. Discarding my bag where Wells had, I hopped onto the opposite end Wells had taken. Kade’s bed was a lot firmer than mine. The covers a solid dark blue, and smooth beneath my touch. I’d always thought people’s houses were different worlds. It’d been so long since I’d visited someone’s house for the first time or seen their room for the first time, I’d forgotten the specific feeling.

Kade each handed us a controller, the cord just long enough to reach us. He took a space in the middle. The both of them were relaxed, and I tried to mimic them, but my body remained straight, propped on the bed’s edge. The start screen loading in took a moment to register.

I was semi-familiar with the game. Not from playing, but from ads scattered along storefront windows or in the tech section in stores. Most fighting games were the same in the end, once you figured out how movements and timing specifically worked within that title.

“Practice round.” Wells said, and neither of us disagreed. A character menu popped up, and I went with a character who wore a comically large apple hat on his head. Kade’s and Wells’ choices were far more serious in appearance.

Wells may have called it a practice round, but they were at each other’s throats in seconds. Abigail and I may have joked I was the competitive one, but it was nothing compared to the two next to me. It had to be caused by their sports backgrounds, and any sense of sheepishness on Kade’s part or seriousness on Wells part had vanished.

“You still use the same tricks as last time.”

“Because they’ve always worked in beating you.”

Content to let the two of them jump around the stage in a desperate attempt to kill each other, I tested out the controls to the side. Unsure of the combos, I got used to basic attacks first. When the boys’ violence started to circle back to me, I’d jump away, glad they’d forgotten about me.

“Stay still!” Wells damage was exceptionally high now, and he’d taken the defensive side of things. As his character landed on the platform above me, I did the dishonorable thing. I stole Kade’s kill.

With an up attack, a spark of mini explosions threw Wells offscreen. His life counter went down and left him staring at the screen silent for a moment, “Ah.”

“S-sorry. The opportunity was there. And I think I’ve kinda figured out controls?” Wells cut a glance at me, while Kade grinned.

“Stealing kills is rude, you know.”

“Y-yeah?” They were going to team up on me. I could see it in their eyes. With my very limited knowledge of the game I did my best to fend them off. It was a hopeless match, one that landed in my defeat easy. But by the end of it, I felt a lot more comfortable in the controls. “Wait, round two!”

“Round one, you mean?” Wells voice was dry, and I only nodded, feeling my hair fluttered around my face by how quickly I did.

“You don’t want another practice round? We’ll start keeping score now.” The bet was now in play, but I only nodded more. I was sure I’d be fine after this. My fingers were less stiff, along with the rest of my body.

“Wait. Gonna grab water. Give me a sec.” Wells slid off the bed, turning to look at me. “Need anything?”

“No!”

“We’re fine.” Wells slipped out and Kade’s hands let go of the controller and stretched his fingers. “You really are competitive.”

“Me? The both of you are super scary, going after each other so intensely like that.”

“We’ve always been trying to one-up each other.” His hands came back into a resting position on his lap.

“Always?” His head bowed, an attempt to hide an inscrutable expression on his face.

“Yeah. Competition just runs in our blood.”

I couldn’t help but look back at the corner where the trophies were shoved so out of the way, “Really? I never really pegged you as the competitive type, especially when—”

The air twisted, raising all the hairs on my arms. Outside the room, glass broke and there was a muffled swear. I moved to get up on instinct. Kade’s hand fell on my shoulder, keeping me in place. Something was wrong. All the anxiety he kept inside, it was pouring into his eyes.

“I’ll go check it out.” His hand fell away from me and I scrambled to my feet anyway.

What was wrong? I couldn’t ask. My feet hit the floor and stayed there. Whatever had happened slipped me back into the world of unreality. The same one I’d been in and out of since this all started. I didn’t know how we got here or what had triggered the reaction.

“Why do you look so anxious? It’s probably just broken glass.” He smiled, but…There was something wrong with it that I couldn’t pinpoint. The room was filling up with blue. Warning bells were going off in my brain. Like I’d stumbled over the wrong line.

How could I have done something wrong? “W-what if he’s cut?”

Kade paused for a second, his fingers tracing the top of his hand. Maybe recalling his own cut weeks prior, “Let’s check on him together, then.”

Going into the kitchen and finding Wells perfectly fine should have made me feel relieved. The pressure in my chest didn’t go away. He waved Kade off when he tried to help with the glass, saying he’d gotten most of it.

“Sorry for breaking something.”

“It’s just a glass, no big deal. My parents won’t even notice it’s missing.” I searched for the source of wrongness. Their voices became distant as I glanced around the kitchen. It was old wooden cabinets and darkened kitchen counters. The oven showed the time in an obnoxious green light. The only light source besides the sun filtering through windows coated with a thin layer of dust. I could see outside from here. The backyard was the same as the front yard. The grass was half green and there was a slab of concrete where a collection of plastic chairs were laid around a firepit.

There was nothing alarming in sight. The world still felt like I was underwater and the prickles in my skin didn’t go away. Something had changed just now and not for the better. I needed to figure it out. The source had to be somewhere around here.

“I’m fine.”

“What…?” I returned to attention, as difficult as it was.

Wells was staring at me, his expression more serious than usual, “I’m fine.”

“Promise?” My voice didn’t even feel like it belonged to me.

He showed his hands and wiggled his feet. There was no point of damage on him. My shoulders relaxed by a fraction, but it didn’t change anything. I was Fox with his magic, caught in a place in-between.

Wells hands landed on my shoulder and spun around, “Let’s go.”

Like a robot, I did as told. Kade followed, and when I snuck a peek at him, I saw his eyes had gone a little dim. I hadn’t imagined the shift. The issue was I wasn’t sure what it was that had caused it.

Maybe because I mentioned the trophies? A sore spot of sorts. It was the only thing I could think of. But it didn’t make sense how that had caused this kind of effect. I wish Fox had told me there would be worldly shifts when something changed. Ones only I would notice.

“Round one.” Wells announced, either ignorant or ignoring the way both me and Kade’s moods had slipped. “I want snacks.”

It was enough to snap Kade back to reality. The heaviness eased, but only a little, “Ironically, so do I.”

I switched to autopilot, and played along.