Cheeky ➻ Louis Partridge

3 | On Purpose?

Y/N

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"YOU'RE NOT going to like this," Sadie said, striding out of the black stage curtains.

She had a clipboard in her hand, a pencil tucked behind her ear, and a sympathetic look on her face. Caleb and I were in the middle of rewiring a spotlight when she walked in, and we both looked up in interest.

"What am I not going to like?" I questioned, handing the screwdriver to the boy next to me.

"Director just announced this summer's play."

"What is it?"

"Something you won't like."

"Hamlet?" I guessed, standing up and dusting off my black shorts, "Henry V?"

"Nope," she said, handing me the clipboard, "Romeo and Juliet."

As I stared at the page in my hands the name in bold letters, I felt my heart drop. Don't get me wrong, I admire Shakespeare for his brilliant poetry and scriptwriting, but I hated his endings.

They were miserable.

"Nooo!" I yelled out into the theater, attracting some other people's attention, "I can't stand that play!"

"We know," Caleb laughed.

"The ending!"

"Is horrible," he finished for me, "you've told us that a million times."

I slumped onto my knees, a frown on my face. This was not a great way to end off my shift. Out of all the plays the Globe Theater could have chosen this summer, they chose the one that everyone knew, and the one that had the most anti-climactic, unhappy, and unfair ending.

I felt personally attacked.

"I am sad," I announced, letting out a sign "how could the Universe do this to me?"

Sadie laughed, plopping down next to me, "don't you mean, how could Shakespeare do this to you?"

Before I could respond to her, Caleb smirked, "Well, Shakespeare was known for his plays having dismal endings."

"I know, and it's disappointing."

"But that's just one negative thing," Sadie grinned, nudging me with her elbow, "think about all the good stuff about him!"

"What good stuff?"

"He wrote plays about magic, mystery, love affairs, and other various oddities."

She was right. I didn't hate Shakespeare, I just hated that one specific ending. Not to mention, I wasn't going to be acting in the show, just helping produce it. Maybe I could respect the playwright with all of his various oddities.

Oddities.

Odd.

Very odd.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, slapping my hands on my knees. "I forgot to tell you guys!"

They both looked up at me in interest, "what?"

"Something very odd happened this morning."

"Oh?" Caleb said, stopping what he was doing to listen, "do tell."

Pushing my hair behind my shoulders, I cleared my throat, and prepared to tell my two friends everything that happened. I couldn't believe I had forgotten to mention it earlier, because Louis was supposed to meet me outside in less than 15 minutes.

Thinking of it now, it's a little strange to be meeting a stranger outside of the place I worked. Gah.

"Remember the boy I told you about yesterday?" I began, "the one from the train?"

Sadie gasped, "the tea man?"

"Yes, the tea man," I nodded, "but guess what happened?"

"What?"

"I ran into him again this morning when I was going to get breakfast, and he knocked my Panini onto the floor."

"On purpose?" Caleb hissed, narrowing his eyes.

I laughed, "no, on accident."

"That's strangely coincidental," Sadie said, scratching the bottom of her chin, "on both occasions, he accidentally screwed up your day, both cases involving some sort of food. Are you sure he's not following you?"

"Why would he be following me?"

"To purposely spill tea on you."

"Sadie, that's ridiculous," I chuckled, "and no, he wasn't following me."

Glazing at my watch again, I realized how fast the time had passed since I last checked. Louis was supposed to be outside in a few minutes.

"Anyways," I said, standing up, "I'm supposed to be meeting him right now."

Sadie looked taken aback, "why?"

"I have to give him back the sweater he lent me."

"Fair enough," Caleb cut in, "but are you sure you're okay with going home with a stranger?"

"Yep."

"We can ditch to walk with you."

I appreciated that they were looking out for me, but I don't think Louis was that kind of guy. There was something particularly interesting about him that I noticed, but it wasn't a bad thing. He was just incredibly polite and well mannered (with the exception of the tea and the Panini).

"I'll be fine," I nodded, "I know Tae Kwon Do."

Giving them a farewell nod, I hopped off the stage and grabbed my bag, heading towards the door with a quick pace.

It was 4 o'clock, and I had to meet Louis.