ten.

WHEN NATHAN SAID, "I have a really bad feeling about this," he actually meant that he could already imagine the stage strewn with broken glass or any type of sharp shit.

And now, standing like ordered right at the stage's threshold, Adelaide beside him and possible pain in front of him, Nathan realized that fate really liked conspiring against him (probably as punishment for all the shit he used to steal from hotel rooms).

"Hell," Nathan mumbled, turning his face slightly towards Adelaide but keeping his eyes on the stage. With how hard he squinted, his temples throbbed, though he managed to catch a less blurry sight of little dark things scattered over the planks. "Are these nails?"

"Uh, don't panic, but yeah they're nails." Adelaide kept a hand out as if to balance Nathan's reaction. "But like, don't panic, yeah?" she quickly repeated. "If you pay attention, you won't step on them."

"You've got to be shitting me." So either Nathan could jinx himself too easily or the Director really knew his way around his head. "How much attention can we pay to them while acting, considering our faces are gonna be shoved into each other? We need to push the nails-"

"Hush, my actors," the Director interrupted. "Prepare yourselves on stage."

Nathan didn't bother finishing his sentence. He carefully stepped on stage, neck hanging at a painfully strained angle as he focused on his pathway. Minding the nails. He peeked around him. Above him. Then, Nathan stealthily pushed the nails out of the way with the tip of his toe until he created a safe circle.

Adelaide must've noticed. "Good idea," she whispered, pushing aside some as she walled to their marked spot.

There, the awkwardness skyrocketed. For a second they didn't even know how to do it. Who to make the first move. Adelaide looked like she'd stay stunned like that for ages, so Nathan broke in first, extending a hand out to point at her waist. "Um, can I?"

"It's not like we have another choice." Adelaide adjusted her position so that she was face-to-face with Nathan, then gestured him to go on. As he slipped his hands around her waist, she placed hers on his shoulders.

Barefoot against heels, Adelaide almost towered above Nathan. Almost. Now they seemed the same height. Nathan clasped his fingers together around her waist so that they wouldn't end up splayed on her lower back.

Sighing, Nathan finally glanced forward, only to regret doing that because in this position Adelaide's face was too weirdly close. He looked away. But in the split-second he'd seen her, he noticed the acne scars riddling her cheeks. The freckles had been camouflaging them, or maybe his sight was just that useless.

"This is awkward," Nathan finally said.

"Yeah." It felt like Adelaide was having a hard time figuring out how to place her hands on Nathan's shoulders without bothering him; she kept readjusting, fingertips constantly sliding an inch down and an inch up. "I'm . . . I'm sorry. I'm not sure how to do this without anno-"

"You're not annoying me," Nathan assured. He lowered his voice. "Don't worry. Just focus on where we're dancing, okay? We have a limited circle. If we step out, it means I'm gonna step on the nails and trust me, I'll scream."

Adelaide nodded, glancing around as if to memorize the radius. "Alright. We can do that."

"I'm sorry for the wait, my actors. I was just aiming my shotgun better at my villain," the Director said, breath heaving in between words as if he'd been exerting energy. "Act Three: Acceptance."

While the curtains pulled apart, force of the air filling in their hearings, Adelaide and Nathan gave each other a look. A silent apology folded in wordless breaths. In fidgety fingers.

The curtains stopped moving. But this time silence didn't dominate, and instead the soft melody of a (probably recorded, judging by the static) piano sounded across the stage.

It made sense. They weren't about to dance to nothing, were they? Apparently the Director was more professional than that. Donning Dolion's character, Nathan looked up at Adelaide but he found her frowning like all the worries of the world fell upon her suddenly.

Nathan wondered if it had to do with the music. "Tell me, Luna," he said, gently swaying with Adelaide around their spot. "What's the first thing you thought when you first saw me?"

Blinking at least six times, Adelaide zoned out of her trance and forced a twitchy smile, the epitome of nerves. "I wondered why you'd help me."

Nathan hummed. "Have you figured out an answer yet?"

"I did," Adelaide said, this time maintaining painfully awkward eye-contact. "Why would we be dancing otherwise, Dolion? Why would we be here?"

"But that's not enough reason." Nathan's heart-rate spiked as he pushed Adelaide closer, fronts touching, noses less than an inch apart. Their shaky breaths mingled. "You have to like me too to allow me to touch you."

"Can't disagree." Adelaide tried to do the scripted bullshit thing where she'd try to look at Nathan's lips-temptation or whatever-and the action, even with utmost dishonesty, made Nathan uncomfortable. "I'll confess your smile's beautiful. I'll confess I love how you treat me, how you speak to me. I'll confess I fell in love with you even though I shouldn't. But the rest is for me to keep, Dolion."

The rest is for me to keep. Luna had to be hiding something as well. Cocking one brow, Nathan said, "What do you like about my smile?" and leant in, aiming his mouth to Adelaide's even as his knees trembled with disapproval.

"I like the dimple about your smile, Dolion." Adelaide's voice turned out perfectly dismissive, probably because subconsciously she didn't want to kiss him. With one hand threaded through Nathan's hair, she guided his head to her shoulder. "I think we should wait before doing this . . . I'm not ready."

Nathan moved with the gentle force and rested his chin on her shoulder, one hand clutching his opposite arm a little further up around Adelaide's waist. "Why aren't you ready?"

"Because . . ." Adelaide shrugged the shoulder Nathan wasn't leaning on. "Because I'm just not ready."

"Was there another man in your life before me?"

". . . No. Was there a woman in yours?"

It didn't require a smartass to tell through script alone that Luna was lying here. Nathan said, "You know what? Just drop this subject. We're together now and that's all that matters." And if this didn't scream that Dolion was cheating, Nathan didn't know what did.

Silence. Nathan pulled his chin off Adelaide's shoulder and he felt a pang in his heart. It'd been vaguely comforting-all he wanted was a shoulder strong like his sister's to lean on, assurance genuine like his dad's to rest. Not lips to kiss or a girl to love.

But now wasn't the time to nag like a brat. So Nathan straightened, this time leaning in until the proximity allowed him a glance into Adelaide's eyes, a small trip through desperate fear.

Gritting his teeth, Nathan splayed a palm along Adelaide's back, his muscles moving only with the knowledge of pain behind failure and a bullet behind disobeying. I'm not like this, he wanted to scream. I swear I'm not like this. I'm sorry.

Nathan shoved his mouth on hers and the way Adelaide's hand flung out, her palm pressing onto his chest with the intention of pushing away, made every bone in him weep.

"Dolion," Adelaide breathed, finally pushing him off. Watery eyes. Nathan's hand trembled. He made her cry this time. Not Dolion. Not the Director. He did it. "I- I . . ."

"Tell me what it takes for you to trust me." Nathan caught the side of Adelaide's head, but he couldn't find it in him to do it roughly. His fingers numbed. Nerves withered. Make this stop. "Tell me what it takes for you to be ready."

"What would you do for me?" Adelaide quickly said with breathless anticipation. "Answer me right and I'll love you. Answer me right and I'll trust you."

"For you?" Nathan forced a laugh, moving an assigned step back, careful to remain in the safety of his circle. "For you, my love, I'll take the moon off its throne and make it bow to your highness. For you, I'll make stars rise mid-day and suns shine midnight. I'll make the world twist off its axis and follow the path you draw."

Adelaide stayed silent. Nathan let out a breath, keeping an inch between them. "I'll be anything you want. But give me what I want, Luna. Give me what I crave."

Give me what I crave. Everything about Dolion was too materialistic. Nathan patiently waited for Adelaide's final move.

For the second time, Adelaide looked at his mouth-this time deceitfully confidently-and cupped Nathan's jaw with a trembling hand, thumb grazing his bottom lip.

Adelaide mumbled, "Pretty words out of pretty lips," then leant in first and pecked Nathan's lips, the action a symbol of Luna (foolishly) giving Dolion her trust.

"End of Act Three," the Director said, his voice oddly strained. Or more like simmering. Angry.

Nathan and Adelaide pulled apart faster than the speed of light and looked away, breaths shaky and lashes downcast. They walked a little to the front, careful on the nails, and quickly bowed to the audience.

As Nathan straightened again, he purposely avoided Adelaide. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Adelaide looked at Nathan with a faint smile, almost encouraging. "Just be happy you didn't step on-" Her eyes sprang in another direction, past Nathan, and he understood.

A shadow dappled the planks, stretching forward in an elongated shape of the Director until he appeared, flesh and bones, and stood silently on stage with his hands menacingly behind his back.

Adelaide moved an inch closer to Nathan and another inch to the front. Nathan stilled. Silence-the type to hang like a noose around their throats. Then, then the Director finally decided to move another step forward.

Patiently gesturing Adelaide aside, the Director stood in front of Nathan. He stared at him with ice-cold eyes. The threat radiated off the ugly scowl before he even spoke: "Did you enjoy this act?"

Nathan decided not to respond; the Director's jaw muscles seemed tight. Furious. Any wrong move and he'd get himself killed.

"Of course you enjoyed it. But you know who didn't enjoy it?" The Director angled his chin downwards but kept his eyes on Nathan. He cocked his head towards Adelaide. "My heroine."

Nathan's heart quaked as the Director gripped his jaw hard enough to crack the bone. "Which part of 'I'm not ready' didn't you understand?"

The Director's breath suffocated Nathan's lungs as he swiped a hand along his mouth, rubbing off the red lipstick that'd stuck when he'd kissed Adelaide. Nathan watched the Director stare at the stain on his finger, then trailed his gaze back to him.

Nathan knew. He knew it was coming. Felt it before it happened. Heard it before it touched his skin. The Director punched him.

The powerful force made Nathan crash to the floor. He landed on his palms. A nail tore his hand and another pierced the side of his foot. Even with the twinges killing his nerves, Nathan quickly scrambled for balance but the Director had already stood close, towering above him. He kicked him just below the ribs.

"You son of a bitch," the Director shouted, stepping on Nathan's hand where he was bleeding, eliciting a wretched whimper. "You sick bastard. She told you she's not ready. She told you!"

Nathan lost his breath among a sharp cry, turning over to the other side as he held his waist. The pain radiated like ripples in watter-from hipbone to rib to rib. Adelaide. Screaming. Adelaide was screaming. Something like: leave him alone, please!

Nathan didn't know how the hell he managed to catch Adelaide's silhouette through his blurry vision, but when he did, he desperately mumbled, "Stay away from this, please stay away from this-"

Reality came back into correct focus when something jabbed Nathan's stomach. He opened his eyes, found the Director still above him, holding the shotgun into his flesh. The metal pushed in further. Nathan's breath hitched. He clutched the barrel, tried pushing it away.

The Director crouched by Nathan's side, hunching over until he was looking right over his face. "Tell me, my villain," he said, his voice epitome of melancholy braided with rage, "did you taste death when you kissed her?"

Nathan coughed, chest aching with the effort. His head felt light. Like clouds, or cotton-candy, or-he didn't know. Still, he fought. For his life, at least an indefinite extension of it.

"There's no show without a villain," Nathan said, his voice straining. "You won't find a better villain so fast. You need me. You said it, we don't have time to lose."

It was a gamble, the entire attempt. But it worked. The Director smiled-as if he hadn't just been kicking Nathan, the most violent he'd been so far-and pulled the gun off his stomach. Nathan wheezed for a proper breath.

"You're right." The Director patted Nathan's shoulder almost proudly. Gripping his arm, he laughed. "You're absolutely right. No one can ever play Dolion like you do. Now come with me."

_________

a/n: first off, in case you're worried, it won't get worse than a kiss. obvi what's happening to nate and adelaide is abuse, it will not be glorified or romanticized.

Also, thoughts on where he's taking nathan?

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