EARLY UPDATE! See, I'm awesome. :) Kay technically it's 12:55 am here but - fineeee. lol.

Dedicated to @BookLover6473

Dave Franco as the new guy :) Pic above!

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Chapter 10 - ❝You Couldn't Have Chosen Better To Set Me Up.❞

"Come on, Tatum!" Angier didn't let go of his grip on Tatum's arm, stubbornly refusing to give in.

"No, Angier. Seriously. I said, no." Tatum grabbed ahold of the doorframe with all her strength as she dug her foot firmly into the ground, not ready to let go either.

They'd been at it for the whole morning, Angier arguing that Tatum should go, and Tatum refusing the entire time. Now, after tricking her into walking in the direction of the auditorium by lying about an apparently new coffee shop that'd been opened nearby, Angier was trying to drag her into the room and make her enter her name.

Into what, one might wonder.

Into the auditions of Romeo & Juliet.

"Tatum, just trust me on this, alright?" Angier's voice softened to a crooning note, "You'll love it, I promise. Remember how much fun we had in middle-school, when we were cast against each other as rivals in that Christmas play? It's right there on top as one of the best times I've ever had. Just do this." He loosened his tight grip on her arm slightly, his thumb rubbing up down unconsciously as he tried to convince her.

Tatum ignored the way her skin quivered pleasantly under his touch.

She had to make sure she had her game face on, especially since she didn't want to clue Angier in on her innermost thoughts. And also since Francesca Blythe was less than half a feet away, looking at Tatum with an empathetic expression as if she could totally relate to the emotional turmoil Tatum was in.

Tatum didn't understand what that was about. After all, the whole reason for Tatum's heartache was wrapped around the little finger of Francesca Blythe. If she wasn't in the picture, Tatum might've been half-excited to do this play.

Truth was, Tatum used to love acting as a kid before she stopped doing everything she used to do after The Night. She loved being in the skin of someone else, doing things and falling in love and even being killed. It felt so liberating to her. But after all the emotional hell she'd been put through, she couldn't face the social interaction she'd have to at rehearsal. And thus, like every other extra-curricular activity, she'd dropped that one too.

Now, after all these years while she still wasn't keen on doing a play, the reasons had drastically differed. She just didn't want to watch Angier and Francesca suck face on-stage and off-stage and prove to everyone that they're better a couple than Romeo and Juliet. Tatum didn't think she could take it.

"Angier, please." She was almost desperate now, "I can't do this, I can't—" She stopped her next words, feeling oddly vulnerable because of the extra pair of eyes watching her. So she broke all social etiquette and just switched into the tele-link, because seeming to be an ill-mannered person who disrespected people by excluding them from the conversation was better than seeming like a vulnerable, little-girl Alpha.

'I know I say that romance doesn't bother me, but you know very well that it does. I'm tired of pretending that it doesn't. I'm surrounded by happy couples all day and I need some alone time, too. I don't think I can stand watching people being in cheesy, pretend love during the only time I get to go and hide somewhere and suffer in silence.' Tatum burst out, leaving out the part about said happy couple being him and his Mate. Trivial details like those don't matter.

Angier inhaled sharply in momentary shock, and Tatum took advantage of it to take a step back and rub her quickly healing, slightly bruised forearm. She thought that now that she'd finally let him in on an inkling of what she went through twenty-four seven, he might finally feel guilty enough to let her go and steer clear of her for another week like he'd done when his Mate had arrived in town.

Although, she'd grossly miscalculated.

In hindsight, she should've known.

Angier's cobalt eyes lost their brightness; his shoulders drooped and misery enveloped his features, turning them down as his downcast eyes looked at his hands uncomfortably. After a couple of seconds, he finally looked up, his eyes painted with anguish, 'Tatum . . . I . . . I—'

'It's alright.' Tatum tried to put as much emotion as she could in those two words to convey the fact that he wasn't to blame, "You don't have time now. Go have fun playing Romeo and Juliet, you two."

"Yes, Angier. It's getting late. You can't force Tatum to do something she can't." Francesca Blythe—okay, from now on I have to stop using her full name in my head, Tatum decided—said, shooting her a smile as she tugged a bit on her Mate's arm.

"Um, excuse me?" Tatum was thrown off.

"Oh! It's fine, Tate." Tatum was positive she didn't like her calling her 'Tate', "We all have our little fears. I'm arachnophobic, you're glosso-phobic." Francesca Bly—Francesca shrugged, "It's no big deal."

Tatum was utterly flabbergasted, "Are you implying that I have a fear of performance? That I have stage fright?"

"Uh, Fran. Listen—" Angier started, but Francesca spoke over him, "Yes, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's cool, Tatum. No one is pressuring you to do anything you aren't comfortable with."

Tatum wondered if the girl really was clueless about her despite hanging out with each other for a while now, or if she was maybe baiting Tatum into trying out. Whatever the case was, she didn't care. She had to prove her wrong.

"You know, what?" Tatum clenched her jaw, narrowing her sky blue eyes at the blond couple, "I'm in."

Francesca Blythe's eyebrows flew up in surprise, but she nodded slowly, gesturing with a wave of her hand in the direction of the auditorium. Angier seemed to be torn about what his reaction should be, and Tatum ignored his lack of reply, stalking forward with determination.

I'll prove you wrong, she thought, inhaling deeply.

I can do this.

~

They'd all been in unanimous agreement to have something greasy and were just on the way to that pizza place Ezra loved when Seneca had noticed it.

"What's with all the excitement around the notice board?" She observed, making Tatum look up from her phone curiously. There were a bunch of people craning their necks to look over the others' heads at something pinned up, and on closer examination, Tatum realized that a lot of the faces were familiar.

"I don't know," Micajah replied, although he didn't bother to look up from his newly upgraded phone.

In fact, those faces were the ones with whom she'd auditioned, the previous day. Tatum froze, and everyone else stopped.

"Oh, Goddess. It's up already?" She reached forward and blindly grabbed at someone's arm beside her, too nervous to take a step forward in the direction of the impending results.

"We just tried out last evening. Whoa, that was quick." Francesca remarked, but Tatum was too nervous to reply. All she could do was stand there, immobile.

"Yes! They're up! C'mon, let's go check it out!" Angier cried out as he started walking towards it, and Tatum realized she was being dragged forward with him because it was his arm in her death grip.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't . . ." Tatum muttered, dropping Angier's arm, but even as she said those words, she found herself walking along with the starring couple, wondering who she was gonna be cast as.

Probably as the nurse or Rosaline, because despite having given a kick-ass try and receiving a very awkward "okay, that was good" from Francesca the previous evening, it was common knowledge that only people who're part of the drama club get the lead roles. And of course, Angier and Francesca were active members, so it was clear to her what was about to happen.

Still, she pushed people out of the way and started going through the long list from the bottom, hoping to see her name somewhere in there.

"Tatum, you're Juliet!" Angier shouted gleefully from right beside her ear, and Tatum's eyes shot up to the top of the list in shock. What she saw there almost made her stagger back in surprise.

"And I'm . . .Romeo?" Angier didn't sound as ecstatic as someone who'd just landed the lead role would, "Carson is playing Mercutio? I wanted Mercutio! Mrs. G promised!"

Tatum pushed herself out from between the bodies of several people, ducking under someone's arm to finally get out of the crowd. She could understand Angier's emotions right now. Obviously, anyone who's asked to play the part of being in love with a best friend they treat like a sister, would not be hyped about it. Although, it still was the lead role in a play that thousands of people would be watching. The least he could do was pretend to be excited.

"Lady Capulet. . . great." Francesca announced as she stepped out a moment after Tatum, followed by Angier who looked a little happy, disappointed and overall like he didn't know which emotion to settle on.

Well, well. Tatum decided that she shouldn't let his lack of reaction ruin her happiness.

Because yes, she was indeed glad that she was cast as a lead role in a play that was the most classic tale ever, and she was going to enjoy every moment of pretending to be someone else, someone who was in love with a guy who loved her back with every fibre of his being, enough for the idea of her death to be so unbearable that he kills his own self.

Tatum wished she could've been as selfish as Romeo was. If her conscience didn't remind her constantly of parents and friends and a whole pack that needed her, she just might've followed in Romeo's footsteps.

"So . . . ?" Seneca grabbed Tatum's elbow and twisted her around, searching her eyes.

"I'm playing . . . Juliet." Tatum finally said out loud, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I'm gonna play Juliet!" She repeated with much more enthusiasm this time, his smile turning into a full grin.

"Goddess, that's amazing!" Seneca pulled Tatum into her arms in a brief hug, pulling back to grab her shoulders and shake her, "Congratulations! You're gonna be one helluva Juliet."

"Uh, thanks." Tatum couldn't control the heat spreading across her cheeks as she bit her lip shyly, "I hope I do her justice."

"Oh, you so will! Your performance will have Shakespeare waking up from his grave to congratulate you." Micajah exclaimed as he took Tatum's hand and pulled her into a side-hug, not giving her a second to reply, "You are gonna be so aweso—"

"Hello." There was a light tap on Tatum's shoulder, and Micajah pulled his arm away with a smirk as he looked at the person behind her and stepped back. The voice was undeniably musical, a deep baritone that was just so rich with the perfect amount of gravel to it.

In short, it was one of the sexiest voices Tatum's heard all her life.

The guy she saw the moment she turned around was downright gorgeous. She had seen him before in the auditorium, but he'd already given his audition before they'd entered so she'd missed his performance. He had bleached blond hair that was swept slightly to the right and spiked up, perfectly complimenting his rectangular jawline that he was rocking with just a hint of a stubble. Dark brows slant over smiling emerald eyes, along with a strong, Roman nose and a set of full pink lips that were currently stretched in a slightly shy, yet very friendly smile.

He was wearing a simple jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie combo, but the way the outfit stretched along his lithe, swimmer's body was just the perfect amount of hot, yet freakishly cute.

"Hi." Tatum waited for the guy to speak up as she looked at him curiously, and he hurried to continue, "Yes, I, uh, I just wanted to congratulate you, Tatum. Although it must not be such a big surprise to you since everyone knew it'd be you, anyway."

"Uh, wow. Thanks. I'm actually very surprised, to be honest. It was quite unexpected . . ." Tatum looked at the beautifully sculpted masterpiece in front of her expectantly. She couldn't believe that she'd never noticed his existence before.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Lou." He grinned, extending his arm.

Tatum's stomach dropped, "Llew?"

"Yes, Louis Carson." Not Llewellyn Carter. He still didn't retract his arm, and Tatum finally exhaled and reached forward, taking it. "I'm Tatum Karas."

"Yes, I know. Oh, and I'm playing Mercutio."

"Wow, that's amazing. Congratulations to you, too."

"Thanks, I'm looking forward to rehearsing together." His smile was endearingly good-looking, with dimples that new just too cute. "See you around, Tatum." He bade farewell as eyes roamed around the group for a moment, "Ezra and Angier, see you. You too, guys." He gave everyone a parting nod as he spun around, walking away.

Tatum stared a little at his retreating back, and even she had to admit, that was one sexy bottom.

Once he was out of earshot, Seneca let out an excited squeal, "Ugh, those dimples." She almost groaned, and the growl Micajah let out in response startled Tatum. She wouldn't have guessed that he was the jealous type, at all. Seneca quickly stepped closer to her Mate and pressed a kiss to his pouting lips. "Aw, Cage, babe. Your dimples are on a league of their own, obviously." Micajah chuckled, dragging her back into another quick kiss.

Cage? Interesting. Tatum was about to ask about the nickname when Seneca turned back to her lightning quick, interjecting her with a lecherous grin, "So Louis and you are playing Romeo and Juliet, huh? That's a very romantic situation you've got yourself, there."

"Uh, actually. No. Angier is Romeo." Tatum shrugged, unsure of how she should act while delivering such news. Would it be kinda suspicious if she acted glad? Because she really wanted to. Will the other students in her class figure out her secret, too?

"Oh." Ezra's mouth lingered on the 'O' shape for an extra moment as he looked around the corridor one last time almost like it was a habit now, probably still looking for his Mate who's yet to return from wherever she was—his tone suggesting that he was definitely disappointed, "That's . . ." He shot Angier a look, before quickly rearranging his features into an awkward smile, "That's awesome, man. I'm happy for you."

So weird.

"Uh, yeah!" Micajah agreed, finally pocketing that phone of his to nod with overly exaggerated fake happiness. "It's super cool! You two are the leads!"

Okay, seriously, this is getting weirder.

"Um, thanks." Angier shoved his hands into his pockets, sighing, "Thanks, guys."

Now, Tatum was a hundred percent sure that something was going on. Her friends were not the type to be unhappy about something like this. Angier's disappointment can be explained away, but the others?

Nuh uh, Tatum wasn't buying it. Two plus two was not five.

She observed the slightly dejected expressions on all four of their faces—Francesca seemed to be dejected about something else entirely, and finally, everything seemed to click in place in her head.

Those meddling bastards.

"You guys set me up!" She stated loudly, and the guilty expressions they were all sporting at her accusation was evidence enough.

Oh, Goddess. She'd known that this would happen but not this quick. They'd been so insistent that she audition in hopes that she and Louis end up playing Juliet and Romeo—so that they can date. "Wait! Did you do something and rig it? Is that why I'm playing Juliet? You said Mrs. G promised." Tatum glowered at Angier accusingly, a nasty emotion slowly creeping up her insides at the notion that she might not have actually earned this little victory.

"Goddess, no." Angier looked scandalized by the thought, "I would never. You got the part because you deserve it. I said that because I just wanted to play Mercutio so badly and Mrs. G agreed with me that I'd be good at it."

Tatum scanned his face for any traces of lies but couldn't find any, so she turned to face his Mate, checking her too.

Finally, she nodded. "I know I should be pissed," She paused, glancing at all their guilt-filled expressions as she whirled around and started walking, "But damn, you guys couldn't have picked better."

"Phew, thank the Goddess." Seneca breathed out, speed-walking to catch up with Tatum as she slung an arm around her shoulder, "We were kinda worried about overstepping."

"Oh, you should be." Tatum nodded, shooting her a side-long look, "I'm just high over landing Juliet. You guys will pay later."

"Oooooh, I'm quaking in my boots." Ezra's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Aren't you, Angier?"

"Dude, don't push it," Angier muttered sourly, and Tatum couldn't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed at his reaction.

No, she told herself, there's a hot guy who's looking forward to rehearsing with me, and I'm gonna focus on that.

And the way her heart did little flutters whenever she thought about the play was only because of Louis Carson, she decided. She was going to ignore the smallest possibility that it might also be because of a certain blue-eyed dramatic best friend who's gonna be forced to be in close proximity with her. Or a huge possibility.

Ugh, Tatum was most certainly in trouble.

She just had to make sure to not hurt herself in the process.

~ * ~

QUESTION: Louis Carson? Llewellyn Carter? Sound similar? Coincidence? Who knows. *evil grin*

(Llewelyn Carter is the guy who died on the night she felt that pain. He supposedly killed himself due to excess bullying. So Tatum thinks there's a huge possibility that he was her Mate. Mentioned in Ch 1!)

NEXT UPDATE: JUNE 26, 2018

Credit for the idea for the play goes to @NM3425

thanks a lot for reading! xx

if you're looking forward to Tatum's romance like me, please do

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