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The moment Tobey McCallister III stepped on the stage, Becky Botsford was almost snapped out of her daze over her lack of knowledge about the play and her own rushed audition.

"Tobey?" Mr. Dudley said, sounding just as surprised as she felt. "You're here to audition?"

"Of course!" her blonde rival scoffed, crossing his arms. "Why else would I be here?"

"I just never..." The teacher didn't finish his thought. "Alright, go on."

"Oh, good for Tobey!" Violet whispered. "I'm glad he's stepping out of his comfort zone."

Becky managed a nod. "Yeah...comfort zone." Her inner Word Girl was chanting to be vigilant (a word meaning to be watchful, alert) in case he had some kind of plan. She could just imagine him using his robots to do the play, maybe wrangle Word Girl into the role of Juliet...

Tobey cleared his throat. "Tobey, reading for the part of Romeo." Before anyone could react, he continued. "What lady’s that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?" He paused for a moment, as if to allow the servant to speak. "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear..."

His voice was shaky or stiff in places, but he was doing a really good job. He clearly seemed passionate, his cheeks faintly flushed as if he was imagining someone.

Was he?

Mr. Dudley allowed him to read to the end of the little speech, blinking. "That...was surprisingly good, Tobey!" Mr. Dudley said, clapping. Despite her thoughts on the blonde, Becky found herself also clapping. "Good job!"

"Yes, yes, thank you- wait, what do you mean it was a surprise?"

"Next!"

Tobey, without a proper response, went over and sulked in one of the auditorium seats. Becky kept an eye on him, but he didn't immediately pull out a remote control. After a bit, she relaxed, just in time for Hunter Throbheart and his beautiful face to take the stage. She melted a little as he smiled, sparkles gleaming around that perfect face.

She had to get the role of Juliet! Then she could act next to Hunter and wow him and maybe ask him out afterwards...

"Juliet's understudy?"

"Wow!" Violet gasped, eyes sparkling as she took in her name, right next to Juliet's name.

A weird mixture of envy (a word meaning to desire strongly, usually surrounding what another person has) and delight lit up Becky's chest. This was such a good role for her usually shy friend! But also, it was her dream role!

"Hunter's playing Romeo!" Violet squealed next, right before her eyes drifted down to his understudy. "Wow. He did a really good job at rehearsal. I'm glad he got the role of understudy."

Becky was tempted to ask who. However, Mr. Dudley was right there. "The understudy is an important part of the play, Becky. If something goes wrong, you two will swoop in and save the day. Like…Word Girl!"

A noise of disgust came from behind her before she could dig in deeper. "Seriously?!" Tobey scoffed. "A role like that?! I deserve much better!" Becky tensed, ready for him to pull out the remote. Instead, he gave a "HUMPH!" and walked off, nose in the air.

She didn't see him until lunchtime rehearsal, until after Mr. Dudley had ordered her backstage. Tobey stood there in the wings, arms crossed, with a grumpy expression. The stage crew was walking around him, like he was an iceberg in the sea. Becky sighed as she stood next to him, trying to look at least a little friendlier. Captain Huggy disappeared to go help, leaving them alone.

And then there was the hiss: "Upset your silly plan got ruined, Botsford?"

"I had no plan," she lied, her fingers clenching into her skirts. "I was just…" She glanced up. Tobey's scowl had disappeared, replaced by that grin. The one where she revealed that she was a little more similar to him than she was comfortable with. "Stop that. I should be doing better about this."

"Yet, you aren't."

"I'm surprised you aren't doing worse. What even is your role anyway?"

"I'm-"

Before he could finish, Hunter's lovely voice rose up as he and Violet held hands. The blonde girl's face was bright red, and she was grinning as though the gates of Heaven had opened up. Becky couldn't blame her, even with the mixture of envy and guilt burning hot in her chest. She was faintly aware of Tobey looking away with a grumble.

And then it happened.

"And-" Hunter paused. "And-" He paused again. "And- ACHOO!"

Violet made a noise as Hunter sneezed in her face. Cries of disgust welled up as both blondes stumbled back, Violet wiping her face while Hunter pulled a tissue out. "Sorry," he said, voice slightly stifled (a word that means that a sound sounds muffled or distorted). "I've been sneezing all day. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," Violet said, trying for a smile. Someone pulled out a tissue and hand sanitizer and offered them, the blonde quickly wiping off her face and scrubbing her hands. "I'm okay. Shall we continue?"

The rehearsal continued on, even as concern rose up in Becky's chest, swallowing up the negativity. Something had felt off about that.

Her answer came a bit later, when she, Violet, and Scoops were heading to class.

"Anyway-" Becky looked at her best friend and did a double-take. "Hey, are you feeling okay?"

She had looked fine this morning before rehearsal, but now Violet looked… unpleasant (a synonym for gross, meaning not giving pleasure to the mind or senses). She had gone pale, and each step looked shakier than the last. Scoops glanced over and, just like Becky, did a double-take. "Sheesh, Violet. What happened?" He grunted as Becky elbowed him.

"Oh, I'm fine, I promise." Just as she spoke, Violet both coughed and sneezed. It was a weird sound that led to snot dribbling from her nose. Becky resisted a look of disgust and instead pulled out a tissue, which Violet took with soft words of thanks before she blew into the tissue. "I just feel a little gross."

Becky pressed a hand to her forehead and hissed at the heat that met her. "You feel hot. I think you're…sick." The word came out with a strange mix of delight and concern.

On one hand, if Violet were sick by the time of the play, then Becky could act in her favorite play and play with Hunter!

On the other hand, Violet was sick, and that was no fun.

"Oh no!" Violet did another weird cough-sneeze again. "I feel fine though!"

"Let's get you to the nurse, just to check, okay?"

"…okay…"

The nurse confirmed Becky's suspicion after checking Violet's temperature and had Violet's mom pick her up. Becky waved her off, barely managing to swallow a happy skip. Hopefully, Violet wasn't that sick and would be back by tomorrow at the earliest! But…if she wasn't…

"I really need to act better about this," she huffed to herself.

The next day, Violet was still out.

As it turned out, so was Hunter.

"What?" Gasps and whispers rolled through the auditorium. "Hunter and Violet are both sick?!"

"Yes, yes," Mr. Dudley said. "From what it sounds like, Hunter was dealing with something and passed it to Violet during rehearsal." He clapped his hands together. "Hopefully, both of them will be better by tomorrow, but right now, Becky and Tobey, we'll need you both ready to take over!"

"Yes, sir-" Realization hit. Wait. "I'm sorry, did you say-"

"YES!"

All heads turned to see Tobey McCallister III cackling at the ceiling. Dread made her stomach sink, right before Tobey blinked. "I'm sorry, did you say Becky? As in, Becky Botsford?"

"Yes," Mr. Dudley sighed, reaching up and rubbing his temples. "Tobey is the understudy for the role of Romeo, and Becky is the understudy for the role of Juliet." Tobey opened his mouth, and the teacher held up a hand. "No, no switching roles. I have enough stress from both leads suddenly getting sick."

Becky nodded and heard Tobey faintly groan.

"Okay! We're gonna take a quick break and then meet back up here, okay? I need to talk to the costuming department about resizing the costumes."

The play cast dissolved into groups, muttering among themselves. Becky stood and glanced back. Tobey looked a weird mix of pleased and annoyed as he stood up and walked out.

She wasted no time in following him.

Outside, Tobey was grumbling to himself as he pulled out a pack of papers. It looked like the script he had been using during auditions. Becky cleared her throat. The blonde jumped, whirling around. "Botsford, don't sneak up on me like that!" he said, fumbling his script. "What do you want?"

Okay. She took in a deep breath. "I know this is awkward, especially for me, since I was thinking of another blonde English boy when I imagined Romeo."

"Geez, stop flattering me."

"But, I think we can both agree that we want to do our best when it comes to this play."

Tobey scoffed. "You're bold to assume that. I only auditioned because Mother wanted me to have more "social interaction", but considering my role, I...have to agree."

"Good! Give me the remote control."

Tobey gasped, placing a hand to his chest in theatrical shock. "How dare you assume-!"

The motion drew attention to his pocket. Without a word, Becky snatched the remote. She held it up, even giving it a little shake. Tobey crossed his arms with a groan, looking away. "Great. Now, give me the rest."

"What on Earth makes you think-"

"Tobey." Becky set down the remote to press her hands together. "My best friend, who was supposed to be Juliet, is sick." She smiled at him. "I need to do a good job in this play, not just because it's my favorite play, but because she is relying on me doing a good job, and I can't have you doing that if you're off causing robot attacks. We both just agreed that we want to do a good job in this play." She stood up on her tiptoes, just to glare him down. "So, hand them over."

Tobey stared her down, as if that would make her look away. Becky stood firm, channeling her inner Word Girl, and stared right back.

After a moment, he groaned, pulling away. He pulled out another remote from his back pocket, and another remote from his back pocket. He pulled out another remote from his front pocket, handing them all over.

"…all of them."

"But what if I need them?!"

Becky raised a brow. "For what?"'

Tobey groaned, pulling out a few more remotes from seemingly nowhere. Her arms were starting to get full, and other students were stopping, staring at the scene like it was a strange magic act. After a moment of thought, Tobey pulled off his shoe and gave it a few shakes.

A small pile of remotes dropped out. How had he even walked?

"…Tobey?"

"Don't say it, Botsford."

"I think you have a problem."

Despite her concerns about Tobey's supposed addiction to building robots to do everything (and a little bit of disappointment that she couldn't act with Hunter), rehearsal proceeded smoothly. Once she had time and space with less panic, Becky found her lines coming out easily. Tobey actually loosened up, his voice coming out smoother and more realistic with practice.

He even had Romeo's soft looks for Juliet down, even though it felt weird whenever she looked at him to see him staring at her as though she hung the stars in the sky.

"Who are you thinking of?" she asked once.

"Hmm...Word-" Tobey straightened, pink dusting his face. "NOBODY!"

And then it was the day.

The play arrived faster than Becky thought. She peeked through the curtains as the hall filled up, trying to ignore the nerves twisting her stomach. She could see her parents, her dad wielding a camera, as well as Scoops' parents. Oh, there was Tobey's mom, looking proud as she settled next to her mom. Becky couldn't help it- she felt proud of Tobey too. He had gotten more remotes from somewhere, but he hadn't attempted to sabotage the play. He hadn't even attacked the city once!

"What's that grin for, Botsford?"

Tobey actually looked rather nice in the costume. Becky reached up and tugged on his hat, ignoring how he lightly smacked her hand. "I'm proud of you."

"Oh, good, I'm proud of me too..." He paused, blinking. "I'm sorry, for what exactly?"

"You didn't need those remotes! No robot attacks happened!"

"Of course not!" Tobey huffed, looking away with his nose in the air. "I was busy rehearsing! Do you know how much time that would've eaten up?"

Before Becky could answer, there was a call for places.

"Break a leg," she whispered. Tobey paused, a look of offense once again darkening his brow. "It means good luck, Tobey."

"Oh, ah- break a leg, I guess."

Huh. That was a good interaction.

And then it was time.

Even though Violet was sick, was supposed to be here, she felt her heart rush the moment she stepped on stage. In that moment, she was her favorite heroine. She knew how Juliet's life ended, yet that did not matter. Right now, she was a girl who was preparing to be wed and was about to fall in love.

For a moment, for a long moment, she existed.

And then the moment arrived.

Tobey actually looked dashing in that moment. His hand was warm as it took her hand, his other hand gently rubbing it. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." He kissed her knuckles carefully and delicately.

Becky laughed, because it felt right in that moment. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this." She gently pushed his face away. "For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss."

Tobey's eyes gleamed, just like whenever they got into a spat that felt weirdly playful. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

His hold on her hand shifted, becoming more of an actual handhold. "O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

Why did nobody ever discuss this scene? Sure, the balcony scene was the height of romance and was Becky's favorite part, but this felt nice. At this moment, Romeo and Juliet were two teens, flirting and unaware of what was going to happen. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake."

"Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take."

They had been practicing for this. Mr. Dudley and an assistant had shown them how to do a stage kiss.

Still it felt nice when Tobey leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Irritation wanted to well up. That was her first kiss! Still, it felt nice as she leaned in. As they parted, there was a loud "AWWW!" from the crowd.

Tobey smiled at her, right before he blinked. She watched the realization settle into his face.

His face exploded into red. For a moment, he stared at her as though he was unsure whether to be awestruck or horrified. Becky lightly kicked his ankle. They were still on stage!

"Thus from my..." His ears were even turning red. "Lips, by thine, my sin is purged."

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," she said, relaxing slightly.

"Sin from my..." Once again he paused, his words stiff. "Lips? O trespass sweetly urged!"

This time, she leaned in.

Her lips tingled the rest of the play. The following kisses were proper stage kisses, but the audience had seemed to like the first one the most. Still, that didn't stop them from exploding into applause as Becky, mouth open with her tongue sticking out, was carried off stage, and when she returned for the final bow.

The moment the curtains fell, cheers and applause erupted from the rest of the cast and crew. "Great job!" Mr. Dudley said, clapping with a huge grin. "Becky, you did great! Tobey-"

"Not. A. WORD." Without another word, the bright red boy stalked off.

Becky felt a laugh escape her.

"Aww, I wish I could have seen it. I know I practiced a lot, but you probably did a great job."

"I think my parents recorded it, and I can read the lines for you!"

Violet, now feeling much better, beamed. "Thanks. Do you think Tobey would want to do it too? I heard he did a really good job in the beginning."

Tobey came down the hall. He looked up from his book, did a double-take at the sight of Becky, turned red, and turned right around. Once again, Becky felt a laugh escape her.

"I think he's still flustered."