Just chillin' (Vanessa Marymount)

[Kaiden Brooks]

Walking down the hall to the theater was almost too long of a walk for Mr. Kaiden Brooks. He was in a lazy-ish mood, so walking too much was just not something he really wanted to be doing. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, because it was buzzing. It turned out to be a txt message from his mother, Lisa. He didn't even bother to read it. He didn't want to have to deal with his family at all while he was in school. He even thought he had banned her phone number. He looked, and saw that it was just his dad's number he banned. He wondered why that was. Not really caring, he just closed his phone, and stuck it back in his back pocket of his jeans. He always kind of felt bad that he never read the txt messages or answered the calls of his family. But, Kaiden was never really close to anyone in his family but his grandparents. His mom and dad didn't even really get the hint about not wanting to even know them. He was thinking so much about this, he was shocked to see that he -somehow- had made it to the theater.

When he opened the door, he saw that it was pitch black. He reached over to the left, and turned on the lights. Being able to see, Kaiden walked down to the stage and sat on the edge. He looked out into the empty seats. He closed his eyes, and remembered when they were all filled with people...watching the show. Opening his eyes, he sighed and reached into his backpack for a notebook. This wasn't a homework notebook, or where he wrote down songs, or drew pictures...it was the notebook that was filled with letters he wrote to his mom, dad, and sisters and never sent. He has had this notebook since his freshman year. This time, he wrote down how excited he was that he was thinking about his last play, and how he wished he could go in the ocean water right now. He never sent them because he never wanted a letter back. The only letters he liked to get from his parents were ones filled with cash.

Kaiden wished that someone -anyone- would join him. He was getting pretty bored. Standing up, he walked over to the light box backstage. He turned on all the stage and house lights so that the room was extreamly bright. He liked it that way, though. All the lights being on him made him feel at home. He couldn't help but think of the Summer play he did, 'Grease'. That was the sixth time that he had done Grease. But, this time he got to be Danny. That was the main reason why he stuck with it. If he was 'Sonny' or 'Rodger' again he might of lost his mind. Kaiden sat back down on the stage. He was just glad he was able to chill in his favorite place.

[S. Vanessa Marymount]

Vanessa had decided that now that it was September, it was about time she visited her favorite place in the whole school-the theater. Granted, every part of GPA was her favorite...but being a theater student, the theater itself definitely won out. She had been there since school had started, yes, but never just to visit and sit in it by herself, imagining she was the star...A frequent guilty pleasure of hers. She smiled a little and picked up her step, glad her white cotton top and light purple waistcoast vest kept her warm enough as a breeze blew by. Around her neck she had tied a silk pale purple and white striped belt, and it blew a little in the wind, tickling her nose and causing her to giggle.

As she approached the stage door, she was a bit surprised that the door was open and the lights were on incredibly bright. The truth was, she normally did that herself in her little games of pretend. She began to worry that she was interrupting a class, even though she was pretty sure there wasn't one at this time. Dismissing this, she then nervously wiped her hands on her white stretch wide-leg pants and walked in. After looking around at first, she really didnt see anybody, but then she got distracted by the stage itself. With the lights all on she could really imagine that she was in a show right now, performing. She wondered what part she should pretend being today. She was actually in a bit of a song mood not a simple acting one, for no apparent reason. While Vanessa didn't take singing lessons at the Academy, she sometimes took them at home and practiced often. In the acting world these days, she knew that you really had to try and be as talented as possible to get recognize.

And so, she opened her mouth and began to sing a little from "Annie". The song she chose was Annie's own opening one, "Maybe". Vanessa casually walked from one end of the stage to the other, not yet noticing Kaiden until the last part of the song,

"So maybe now this prayer's the last one of its kind...
Won't you please come get your "baby"?
Maybe...." Vanessa actually manged to hit the notes, although she had almost lost her breath at "prayer's" due to the fact that she hadn't warmed up. However, she was now breathless for another reason. "Kaiden!" she said, her blue-green eyes going wide. "Why didn't you tell me you were in here?" Vanessa felt a little embarassed, not really because of her singing-although she was less confident in that than her acting-but because he had starteld her so much...and was a lot cuter than she remembered.[/color]

[Kaiden Brooks]

When Mr. Brooks heard someone come into the theater, he didn't bother to even move. He figured it was just some dumb freshman looking for some place to relax and talk on their phone to someone. It happened all the time. It got really annoying, to tell you the truth. He didn't think that the theater was really a place to talk on your phone...and he almost though it was...disrespectful in some ways. Not that the theater could tell...but oh well. It was not meant to be used as a phone booth. So, he didn't really want to say anything, because that meant he'd have to talk to a freshman, and that was one of the last things in the world that he wanted to do at the moment...even if he was getting really bored. He wasn't so bored to deal with that. To be honest, Kaiden was shocked that they hadn't turned off the lights. Freshman never like the lights to be on that bright....or, so he noticed in the past two years.

But, it was then that he heard a voice he knew oh too well. It was the voice of Miss Vanessa Marymount. He happened to think that she had an amazing singing voice. She could have been a singer at GPA...but he was very glad that she picked theater. It meant that he got to spend time with her. He knew that was a little stupid...but hey. It was time well spent. He loved being able to act with her. Not only was she an amazing singer, but one of the best actresses currently at GPA. He knew that he might be being a tiny bit bias, but it was true. She just had the glow about her when she was up on stage. True, she had about a million lights on her, but that didn't matter. She looked like she always belonged on stage. But, because she was singing so beautifully, he didn't want to interrupt her. Also, she was singing a great song. "Maybe", from "Annie". Kaiden thought that "Annie" was a little bit of an over-ratted play...but loved it when Vanessa sang it. She brought the song alive. So, he tried to be as quiet as he could. This was hard for him though.

When Miss Marymount did notice him, he loved the look on her face. It was one of those priceless looks that he guessed he'd never get to see again. "I didn't say anything because you were doing such a great job singing, you goof." She looked amazing today. Not that she didn't look awesome every day...but today she just seemed to stand out. "And how could I stop that magnificent voice of yours midway though a song?" He asked her, and hopped off the stage. He walked over to her, and have her a sweet, friendly hug. "So," He said, and let go of her, "What brings you down to the theater today?" He walked back over to the stage, and sat back down. He shoved his notebook back into his backpack, not really wanting her to see it yet.

[S. Vanessa Marymount]

She smiled, albeit a little nervously. What's with me? Kaiden had never really set her this off of her game before. He was just acting as he always did...and know she was felt different and was somewhat acting it too. But, when he complimented her singing, she was able to slip back into her normal self and give him the slight sarcasm he deserved. "Oh, be quiet Kaiden Preston. It's just all right and you know that. I'm sure you heard my mistake at the end." she said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. When she levelled her eyes to his again, they sparkled with the old familliarity returning between the two of them. "Yeah yeah, you're right. Had you just interrupted, I probably would've been a bit annoyed with you had you messed up all my concentration." she admitted, her smile growing wider as she hugged him and stepped back. She clasped her hands behind her back and looked at the stage again, loving the look of it, and appreciating that before her reply.

"Just wanted to get back here again before all the freshmen really take it over, of course. You know how they tend to think they own the place after a month." Funnily enough, she seemed to recall her and Kaiden doing the same exact thing. Vanessa had decided to leave out the part about her imagining herself as a star, especially since the song she had chosen to be her opening number was "Maybe" from Annie, a role she was a bit too old to play. Which could be slightly embarassing-or at least give Kaiden the opportunity to make it so. "How about you?" she asked, noting a notebook being shoved into his backpack, but deciding that, for now, she wouldn't comment on it.

Vanessa sat down on the stage and crossed her ankles in front of her, moving her clasped hands to her lap. She twisted a ring on her finger as she began: "You know, I should be angry with you for only e-mailing me back every once in a blue moon. Cara and I were starting to suspect that you'd gotten eaten by a gigantic duck or something." she looked up at him and winked with a chuckle to let him know she was joking, although her tone had probably said it all before her actions. Truth be told, the more she thought about their lack of communication, she realized she hadn't had nearly enough response from any of her GPA friends. Well then, we'll have to fix that. I'll get all of them! And since she'd already given Cara a hard time about this, she figured she might as well start on Kaiden.[/color]

[Kaiden Brooks]

Now, if there is one thing that mostly everyone in this whole damn school knows…it’s that Kaiden Maxwell Brooks has had the biggest crush on Serena Vanessa Marymount…and had for two years now. Sure, he’s had his fair share of girlfriends, but he didn’t really like any of them as much as he liked Vanessa. There was just so much about Miss Marymount that he loves. She is a very sweet and gentle person, who is always so compassionate about things and people. Plus, she is a very easygoing and witty person. She’s always so much fun to hang out with. Kaiden knew that he had this huge crush on her when they did Romeo and Juliet in their freshman year at GPA. He had gotten Romeo, and she had gotten Juliet. They had to spend a lot of time together getting a good chemistry. So, it almost felt like they were a couple by the end of it all. Plus, they got to kiss. That was when he knew that she had to be his next girlfriend. Wrong. For some reason, he could never bring himself to ask her out. They were such close friends, that he didn’t want to ruin it. Plus, he never could really ever ask her. She seemed to, like himself, always be with someone. She was mainly always with her best friend, Cara. Not that he didn’t like Cara, but she was just a bit too wild for him. Plus, everyone says that Vanessa and he could make a really cute couple because of their looks. She has the pretty brunette hair, whereas he has the sandy-blond look, both have blue eyes, with different shades of blue, and both have a tan to their skin. Plus, it’s always so adorable to see a girl who is rather short with a guy who is rather tall.

“You be quiet,” said and gave her a warm smile, “You, Missy, are an amazing singer. I did not hear one little mistake. You’re perfe-I mean, it was perfect.” He inwardly groaned at his almost slipup. He had to be more careful with what he said to her. It wasn’t like he was talking to someone about her; he was talking to her about her. “Oh, and you could never be mad at me,” He grinned widely as she hugged him back. It was a great feeling. He really did not want to let her go, “I’m too loveable to be mad it.” When she pulled away, a wave of disappointment washed over his face, if only for a second. He was happy when she followed him to sit down on the stage, though. That meant that she was going to stay and talk to him for a while. Even if she only stayed for a few minutes, that would be ok. Just as long as they got a chance to talk about stuff. He did not even care about what. The weather, or school, or them…anything would do. Kaiden, not so subtlety, moved closer to her. He wanted to be able to tell her that he liked her, but just did not know how to. Plus, there was still like little nagging feeling that told him she didn’t like him back. That would just kill him. “Damn the freshman.” He said, and shook his head, “You’re right. They do seem to think that…and I think you still think you own the place.” He gave her a playful shove, she couldn’t help but smirk. “I think I just came in here to think.” He looked around the huge stage. It was still huge, even if he was getting older; the stage was just as big to him now as it was when he was a freshman.

“I’m sorry.” He now felt terrible for not talking to her more. He really did. But, he wasn’t even sure what to say to her. It wasn’t like he could type Hi. It’s Kaiden. I’m in love with you. Ok? Bye! Yeah, that would go over well. “You didn’t ever e-mail, me though, missy. Or text me. Plus, I figured you were busy with Cara and her family and your family all summer. I wouldn’t want you to give that all up to talk to little old me.” He paused for a second, laughed, and added, “and I do not think Cara would ever think that. We all know she’s scared to death of ducks.”