Ty couldn't take his eyes off of the boy on the stage. He acted as if he were the character himself. The smallest change in facial expression; the slight inclination of the head; the the way he parted his lips for the tiny breath that lasted so long.

"Fifteen years of sweating in a living hell on a false charge," the boy muttered, loud enough for the whole auditorium to hear but low enough so that it fit in perfectly with the scene. "Fifteen years dreaming that I might come home to find a loving wife and child..." He lowered his head the smallest bit to stare into the projected fire as if it were real. He trembled.

The girl onstage next to him let out a low chuckle, a humorless half-smile accompanying raised eyebrows. "Well, I can't say the years have been particularly kind to you, Mr. Barker, but you still-"

"No, not Barker," the boy said in a low voice that had the tone of a decision and a hint of madness. "That man is dead. It's Todd now. Sweeny Todd..." Ty could see the glint of insanity in his eyes as he smirked coldly, dangerously, at the girl. "And he will have his revenge."

The play continued on. Ty was becoming more and more inspired by the boy onstage, but even though he was his peer, he couldn't remember his name. They had never really talked, but now Ty wished that they had.

His reason for being so enraptured in this boy? Ty was a writer. And a good one, at that. His stories had received much praise from those who had managed to get their hands on the spiral-bound notebooks that he so fiercely protected. He never liked the complements, though, because he didn't like his writing. In his eyes, there was something it was missing.

But maybe the boy could help him. If he acted as the characters, just little actions to make them human...yes, yes! That would allow Ty to capture the gestures and emotions that made a character truly a character.

The play eventually came to an end and there was polite applause throughout the audience, as called for in theatre etiquette. People began standing and leaving once the cast had made their bows, and Ty rushed out the door to try to intercept the boy.

He ended up in the parking lot, shivering in the cold weather. Ty wrapped his coat tightly around himself, his breath billowing out in front of him. His lungs were stinging from the freezing air and the dark night around him, despite being occasionally pierced by street lights illuminating the lot, made him paranoid.

He didn't know how long he had waited (pretty much everyone had gotten in a car and left) before the boy emerged, his hands stuffed in his pockets. The frizzy black-and-white wig that had covered his scalp was gone, revealing short, messy brown hair. Squarish glasses rested on his face and a plaid scarf was wrapped around his neck.

Ty's breath caught. His stomach tied itself in a knot as he slowly approached. The other boy looked up at Ty, alarm lighting up his eyes but fading a bit when he saw a classmate. They smiled at each other—nervous and questioning.

"Hey, I'm so sorry to bother you," Ty began, speaking quickly. "But we go to the same school and I was just wondering—I'm really sorry—if you could help me out with a creative writing project?" Surprise lit up the other boy's eyes and Ty hurried on, heat creeping into his cheeks. "I know this is really weird and awkward but you're an amazing actor—I hope you know that—and I just need someone to help me out with my character actions. I just need someone to perform...as the character?" He cringed and averted his eyes when the other boy gave a laugh.

"Yeah, sure," he grinned, his breath like a cloud around his head. "That sounds like fun. Meet before school tomorrow in room 203?"

Ty was dumbfounded. He had expected an awkward rejection. So, mutely, he nodded, a smile slowly spreading across his freezing face. "Yeah...yeah! Sure! That's perfect. Thank you so, so much!"

"It's no problem, dude." He pushed his glasses back into position.

"I'm Tyler," he said, "but everyone calls me Ty."

"Nice to meet you, Ty," the boy said, shaking his hand. "I'm Adam." He then gave Ty a warm smile that completely melted his insides and banished the cold that stung his skin and turned to walk to one of the two remaining cars in the parking lot. He raised a hand in farewell. "See you tomorrow!"

He drove off and Ty was left standing in the cold.

He was not cold.

At 7:14 am, Ty was in room 203, one of the four unused rooms in the school building. It was simply a storage space for extra desks and textbooks and a place for those who were skipping class to hang out. He sat at one of the desks, anxiously reading over the material he had prepared for Adam. What if he didn't like it? He probably would think it was ridiculous. Why did he ask him to do this? Why had Adam agreed?

His thoughts were interrupted by the boy who caused them. Adam wore a grey hoodie that was too big for him and faded jeans that fit fairly snugly around his legs. A pair of black-and-white sneakers completed his look.

He looked great.

"Yes, yes, I know I'm fabulous; now let's get started." Adam laughed, making Ty avert his eyes and he was embarrassed to feel his cheeks go warm. He shouldn't have been staring.

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, scooping his notebook off of the desk. "Um...can we start with this? It's...it's just a few lines and actions." He hesitantly handed the notebook to Adam, who scanned over the page, eyebrows raised. "Sorry, it's kind of stupid-"

"Are you kidding? This is really well written!" Adam turned the page, which was unintended by Ty. "This is all I've seen of it and I can already tell it's good." He peered at Ty. "Start anytime?"

"Oh-yes," Ty replied, and backed away to lower himself back into the desk. Adam slowly stepped to the front of the room, reading and re-reading the same page. When he stood in front of the whiteboard, he turned to face Ty and suddenly launched himself into the character role.

Ty stared at him in awe. He executed every action perfectly, capturing and exploiting the very being of the character. The story came alive in him and instantly Ty saw the final additions to the portion of the story that Adam was performing and had become.

Adam finished his presentation and glanced expectantly at Ty, a light red dusting his cheeks. "Was that okay?"

Ty could only stare. "That was perfect," he breathed, slowly rising from the desk. "Thank you so, so much, Adam. That was...that was incredible!"

"Ah, not really," Adam replied, looking away—but a small smile had appeared on his face anyway.

"It really was!" Ty couldn't help but be excited. When he was handed his notebook, he grinned at Adam and pressed it to his chest. "Do you...do you want to meet tomorrow? I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine-"

"Sure," Adam said, putting his hands in his coat pockets. "This was really fun. And," He winked. "I can't wait to see what else you have written." With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving Ty speechless.

"I am dying to know what happens next," Adam announced as he entered room 203. This was their nineteenth practice. "How does our hero save the world and get the girl?"

"Saving the world will have to wait until next time," Ty laughed. "But here's what we have today." He handed Adam the notebook.

Ty's writing had improved drastically since he had begun these sessions with Adam. Because of his friend, his story was a wild adventure woven from the threads of creation and perfection. His story was a fantasy, but because Adam had demonstrated the actions and dialogue of the characters, Ty had been able to re-spin the story so that it seemed like it could be real. His hero was so mortal, so human, despite his abnormalities, and Adam had created that.

Sometimes, Adam would request for Ty's assistance in a scene because it required two or more people. And though Ty knew little about acting, he had learned a lot from the boy he had dared approach in the parking lot.

"I'll...need two people for this," Adam said quietly, a nervous and apologetic smile on his face. Ty knew why he was nervous because the pang of anxiety had struck him as well. He was very conflicted about whether or not he had wanted to perform this with him because this was the climax of the romantic subplot.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry," he muttered, and Adam, as usual, dismissed it as 'perfectly fine.' "We don't have to do that part," he added, pointing to a particular section.

They faced each other, falling silent. Ty took a deep breath. "They wanted to have you executed, you know."

Adam gazed into his eyes. Ty had to remember to keep acting. "I know."

"No, Keno, you don't know." Ty clenched his fists, drawing in what he hoped was an angry breath and looking down. "I sacrificed everything to keep them from hunting you down and killing you. My honor, my status, my home, and almost my life. Yet you had-had the nerve to challenge the Council, and now it's all gone, and how are we supposed to-"

Adam put a hand under Ty's chin and forced his head up to make Ty look him in the eyes. "It doesn't matter," he said softly but firmly. "It truly doesn't. The Council will fall soon. I've made sure of it." Ty portrayed surprise on his face and Adam put a hand on his cheek. Ty realized how close Adam was to him.

"How can you be so sure?" he breathed. "I don't even know what you've been doing these past few months. You tell me you love me and that you care but then you disappear for days at a time with no explanation other than 'trust me.'" He gritted his teeth. "How can I trust you any more than I already have? Is it even the right choice? You'll never tell me-"

Adam took his hands and moved closer and Ty's breath caught. "I will," he murmured. "I'm going to tell you everything. Starting with this."

This is where Ty expected him to act to. This is where they would stop and laugh with each other with pink cheeks and then maybe talk for a bit and then part ways.

But Adam didn't stop. His grip on Ty's hands loosened, a signal that he could retreat at any time, but the boy leaned forward the smallest bit and placed the softest of kisses onto Ty's lips.

Ty did not pull away. He did not panic. Instead, it was almost a sense of relief that he felt when this occurred. And it was more than just that; this was way better than what he had written. He closed his eyes and Adam ran his fingers through Ty's hair, a gentle touch to match a gentle kiss and a wild ending to Ty's story.