Chapter Text
Tick.
Hank tapped his pen anxiously against his notebook, staring at the clock intensely. One more minute and he could race out of History and head straight to the bulletin board posted right outside of the school’s theatre.
He was a man of science, not one for acting, but him signing up for the school play was something he needed to do. The explanation was simple: He heard that Raven wanted the main lead as Juliet and well, Hank was sure as Hell going to be her Romeo.
He read the play himself from cover to cover countless times and had Romeo’s lines memorized like the back of his hand so he knew he had to get this part.
Tock.
The bell rang, ending yet another day at school and Hank bolted right out of the room and raced down the hall. He excused his way through the flooded hallways and was winded by the time he got to the theatre hallway, coming to a halt as he saw Raven by the bulletin.
“Be cool,” he told himself as he ran a hand through his hair, taking in a deep breath as he walked over to her. As he got closer and closer, butterflies started to swarm his stomach and he couldn’t help but feel flustered as he approached her. “Signing up for the play?” He cracked a small smile as Raven turned to look at him, his breath catching in his throat.
“Of course. I was born to play Juliet,” she grinned, turning back to the bulletin to sign her name on the sign-up sheet. “What about you, McCoy?”
“You know my name?” Hank blurted like a fool, wanting to smack himself in the face for being such an idiot.
Raven giggled as she looked at Hank with a bit of astonishment. “Of course I know your name. You’re the smartest kid in our grade, probably the whole school really. You’re in my Chemistry class too.” Hank nodded, getting lost in Raven’s emerald eyes as she continued to speak. “Are you signing up for the play too?”
“Yes,” he replied in a dazed like state before clearing his throat and regaining his composure. “Yes I am. I’m hoping to get the role of Romeo.”
Raven looked him up and down, her gaze settling on Hank’s face. “I hope so too,” she handed Hank the pen she was holding which he took instantly. “See you in Chemistry,” she gave a small wave goodbye before sauntering off.
“See you,” Hank smiled at her backside, internally cheering as he signed his name on the line right below Raven’s.
***
As Logan’s class cleared out, thank fucking God it did since he was far from done today, he started to erase whatever rambles were on his board. He enjoyed teaching some days but some days were certainly not today.
He was tired of repeating the same lesson over and over again which he did every single day but that was his job. And sometimes being employed sucked. It got the bills paid, but was it truly worth it?
The ping from his computer snapped his attention away from the board and he went over to his computer. He groaned quietly as he saw it was an email from Principal Xavier. Logan had nothing against the guy and for a boss he was pretty nice, but it still wasn’t peachy to receive an email from him, especially at the end of the day.
Maybe Logan was getting fired. The idea excited him and terrified him at the same time.
He opened the email.
Mr. Howlett,
It has risen to my attention that Mr. LeBeau has gone on a temporary leave for the next three months.
As you are aware, he is the Theatre teacher and had the school play, Romeo and Juliet, all planned out. The scripts have already been written, it is only a matter of casting the students and putting the whole play together.
That is where you come in. I believe that you are best suited for organizing the school play and doing your best to put on the show.
If you have any questions you are more than welcome to come see me in my office or email me back.
Have a good day,
Principal Xavier
Logan ran a hand over his face and let out a deep sigh. He didn’t have to worry about getting fired, he was going to quit.
He slammed his fist on his desk as he stood up abruptly, causing his desk chair to fly back and hit the wall behind him; Logan didn’t give a damn what school property he damaged in that moment. He stormed out of his classroom and stomped down the hallways till he approached Principal Xavier’s office, barging right on in.
Principal Xavier was on the phone and gave Logan a soft smile, holding up his finger as he indicated for him to wait. Logan huffed and slammed the door to his office, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared down at the other man, waiting for his phone call to end.
“Alright, thank you again for your troubles,” Principal Xavier said kindly as he hung up the phone, turning his attention towards Logan and smiling at him kindly. “What can I do for you, Logan?” After school hours were when Principal Xavier thought it was most appropriate to use first names. How professional.
“What the fuck was that email, Charles?!”
Charles didn’t even flinch by Logan’s hollered question as he continued to look at the other man gently. “About the school play? Logan, this should not be a surprise to you. You express interest in them, don’t deny it. You have gone to every school event since you started working here. I think it is about time you take the reins, my friend.”
“That’s not the point,” he huffed. “The point is that I am the least qualified person to do that job.”
“I highly disagree. You know how to keep the students in line, which is very helpful when it comes to taking cues, and students listen to you.” Charles leaned back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head as he continued to go on and on about how Logan would be the best Theatre teacher.
He knew he entered a fight he couldn’t win but him teaching Theatre? What kind of alternate universe was this?!
“And the pay for your time will be added on to your income as well,” Charles concluded and Logan let out a heavy sigh, knowing he was going to regret the next words he spoke.
“Alright, I’ll do it. But just this once and if this shit happens again, I’m quitting.” Charles chuckled at his half-empty threat and Logan left his office and stalked back to his classroom. When LeBeau got back from his honeymoon, Logan was surely going to kill him.
***
Erik stared blankly at the student across from him, checking his watch for the fifth time in the past two minutes to see it was still ten minutes after school and he was not getting paid for his time right now and to top everything off, the student wasn’t talking.
“What seems to be the problem, Alex?” Erik asked for the third time, hoping this time he received an answer. “Your grades are fine, GPA is above average, I don’t see the need for you to be in my office.”
Erik bit his tongue as Alex looked up at him, more of a glare really, and crossed his arms over his chest. “My brother.”
“That requires the guidance counselor’s advice, not mine.”
“I need to do an extracurricular or else my brother will sign me up for….Boy Scouts,” he visibly cringed and Erik hummed in understanding.
“Aren’t you a bit old to be in Scouts?” Alex shrugged; Erik wasn’t sure if he truly didn’t know or he didn’t care, probably the latter. “Well this school has a lot of things to offer, what interests do you have?” Another shrug and Erik turned to his computer, trying to find something that suited Alex’s interests, if he even had any. “Chess club?” He suggested and Alex shook his head. “Track?”
“No.”
“Why not? My son is on there and he loves it,” Erik boasted, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t like your son,” Alex grumbled and Erik shrugged, that was fair.
“Well the only option left is the school play. It never hurts to dabble in a little acting.”
Alex scoffed. “You’re joking, right?”
“Those are the only three after school activities that seem to be available. Take your pick or have fun collecting badges in Boy Scouts,” he teased, receiving yet another glare from Alex.
“Fine, I’ll do the stupid school play.”
Erik forced a fake smile. “Great. Sign up sheet is outside of the theatre. Know where that is?” Alex rolled his eyes and nodded, grabbing his book bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
As Alex was leaving, Peter came right on in, waving at Alex and grinning at Erik.
“Hey Havok,” he greeted to Alex, who looked like he was about to stab him.
“Don’t call me that,” Alex growled as he brushed past Peter. Peter shrugged off the encounter and plopped down in the chair Alex was just sitting in.
“What’s up, Daddio?”
“Shouldn’t you be at practice?” Erik scolded, turning to his computer to clear out his emails for the day and do whatever work he had to do before leaving.
“It got cancelled.” Erik shot Peter a look then and Peter groaned. “Okay fine, I ditched, but with very good reason.”
“Which would be-?”
“It got boring. Coach keeps making us run and jump hurdles over and over again and I can do that in my sleep! I want to do something fun and exciting for a change, you know?”
Erik nodded, his eyes wandering back to his computer screen. “How about the school play?” He teased, knowing Peter would never want to do something like that. He never expressed interest in doing anything outside of running and video games.
“Dad, you’re a genius!”
Erik looked back at his son, confused. “Peter, I was kidding.”
“But that’s like the best idea ever! I’m trying out for the school play!” Peter enthused as he jumped out of his seat and raced over to Erik, giving him an enormous hug. “I’ll see you at home! We can run lines together!” He sped out of his office then and Erik sighed. Well, he hadn’t seen Peter that excited since he bought him a year's supply of Twinkies last Hanukkah. That had to be a sign, right?
***
Alex stared up at the sign up sheet like he was signing his life away. Would Boy Scouts really be that bad? He would be in the woods, have to bond with other people….
He shrugged his backpack off and dug around for a pen, feeling nauseated as he signed his name up on the list. Alex didn’t even know what the school play was about or let alone knew his school even did plays. He knew they had a Theatre class, but Alex never signed up for it or knew anyone in it.
“Havok!”
“Ah shit,” Alex sighed as he turned to see Peter racing towards him. Quickly, he shoved his pen in his bag and kept his head down low as he started to walk away.
“Hey, wait!” Peter called out and before Alex knew it, he felt an arm on his shoulder and halted; damn Lehnsherr’s kid was fast. “Did I just see you signing up for the play?”
“Unfortunately,” he muttered.
“Awesome! I’m signing up for the play too because track is starting to get really boring.”
“Great,” Alex replied unenthusiastically, not caring at all.
But of course, Peter continued to follow him and talk his ear off.
“I just love plays, you know? My dad doesn’t know but sometimes when I read, I read plays because plays are really fun and dramatic and funny. You like plays? Well, of course you do since you wouldn’t be signing up for them otherwise,” he laughed and Alex wondered if Lehnsherr would kill him if he socked his kid in the throat. “Romeo and Juliet is my favorite though and I’m glad that the school is putting that one on versus Cats, but then again, Cats is a musical, not a play. Have you seen Cats?”
“No,” Alex lied, wanting the conversation to cease. The only reason he saw Cats was because Scott was a theatre-junkie when he wasn’t going on and on about Boy Scouts and soup.
“Me either, so I’m glad we’re putting on Romeo and Juliet. I would love to be Romeo but I’ll be excited to get any part, you know?”
Alex halted again, turning to look at Peter fully this time. “Did you say Romeo and Juliet?”
“Yeah, that’s the play we gotta perform.”
Oh fuck. If Alex knew that the school play was Romeo and Juliet, he would’ve never signed up for it! Maybe he should try his luck with chess, or track even. Hell, Boy Scouts sounded more appealing than Romeo and Juliet!
“Hey man, are you okay? You look a little pale,” Peter frowned and Alex realized he’d been staring at the kid with his jaw slacked open for at least a couple of minutes.
“I-I gotta go.”
Alex pushed past Peter then and started to run down the hallways, not seeming to pay attention as he ran face first into a locker door.
“Fuck!” He hollered, clutching at his nose and leaning back as he felt the pain starting to spread along with some blood.
“Oh my god! Are you alright?” Alex recognized that voice and he tilted his head up to see it was that kid from his Chemistry class. Alex didn’t know his actual name, he only called him Bozo since he was a Grade A Teacher’s Pet, and was frankly too smart to be in high school. “Alex?”
“What?” Alex barked, sounding nasally. “How do you know my name?”
“You ran face first into my locker and that’s your question?” Alex saw that Bozo was smiling and Alex simply rolled his eyes. “And you’re in my Chemistry class, of course I know who you are. And um, wait right here, I’ll be right back,” he excused.
Alex leaned up against one of the closed lockers next to Bozo’s, sinking down to the floor as he kept his head tilted back and his hand firmly on his nose. Leave it up to him to run face first into a locker, that will be a fun one to explain to Scott.
Bozo returned seconds later with a paper towel in hand, crouching down to Alex’s level and handing it to him. Alex pressed it against his nose and Bozo made about three more trips to the bathroom until Alex’s bleeding stopped.
“Would you mind if I looked at it?” Alex made a weird face at the question. “To assess it, I mean. I’m planning to be a doctor so,” he explained as he gave Alex a small smile.
“Yeah, whatever.” Alex moved the paper towel away from his nose, wincing at the amount of dried blood he saw. He let Bozo look at his nose for more than a minute or so and Alex kept his gaze focused on the ground. Bozo was too close to him for his comfort level, but to make the situation less awkward than it was, he kept his gaze on the ground. “Is it broken?”
“No, but it’s surely going to be tender for a couple of days.” Bozo stepped back and reached his hand out for Alex, which he took as he was helped pulled up. “I’m really sorry that happened though but if you don’t mind me asking, how come you were running?”
“Just wanted to get home.” Bozo nodded in understanding. Alex should really stop calling him that but he didn’t know his name. “Thank you though, for helping.”
“Yeah of course and they tell us to not run in the hallways for a reason, you know,” he teased and Alex let out a faint laugh.
“Yeah well, I wasn’t expecting a locker to be open.”
Bozo shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to run into it,” he laughed fully. “But be careful next time, okay?”
“I’ll try. See you in Chem.” Alex gave a nod as he turned around, smiling to himself. He didn’t know why, but he was.
“See you, Alex.”
***
Scott was humming to himself as he stirred his large pot of soup, throwing in pinches of salt every now and then to get the right taste. He loved soup and he always tried out new recipes too. Right now, he was making a cream of potato soup that he knew he was going to love, and hoped Alex did too. If he didn’t, well, more soup for Scott!
He heard the front door close and Scott smiled to himself.
“How was school?” He called out, hearing Alex’s footsteps walk closer. “Would to try some-What happened to your nose?!” Scott abandoned the stove completely and walked over to him, taking his face in his hands. “Did someone hit you? I swear if you got in another fight then I will have to tell Mom and Dad and then it will lead to them saying that you moving in with me was a horrible idea,” he rambled and Alex rolled his eyes.
“No one hit me, I just ran into a locker.”
Scott knitted his eyebrows together and frowned. “How did you do that?”
“I was running, not paying attention, and someone had their locker door open and I hit it. I’m fine though, just had a bloody nose,” he moved out of Scott’s grip and went over to the freezer, grabbing a bag of frozen vegetables and resting it against his nose. “It hurts like a bitch.”
“Language,” he scolded as he went back to his soup, lowering the temperature on the stove. “And what were you doing running in the hallway anyway?”
“Long story.”
“Were there kids chasing you?” Scott flashed him a concerned look at Alex rolled his eyes again. “Alex, if you keep rolling your eyes, they’re going to end up on the floor.”
“Scott, no kids were chasing me, alright? People are nice at this school, too nice really.”
“Good to hear,” Scott smiled at him then and looked back at his soup, giving it another taste before throwing some pepper in there. “Doesn’t answer the question, though. Why were you running?” He persisted, receiving yet another groan from Alex.
“Because this kid kept pestering me about stuff and I got a little annoyed so I said I had to go,” he explained and Scott laughed.
“Maybe he wants to be your friend, you could use some of those.”
“Gee thanks,” Alex snapped.
“I’m just saying, it doesn’t hurt to have friends. That’s why when you join Boy Scouts, you will meet a bunch of boys your age, maybe younger, and get to be friends with them,” he enthused to Alex’s unhappy look.
“I’m not joining Boy Scouts. I signed up for an after school activity instead.”
Scott turned the stove off and looked at Alex fully, intrigued. “Oh really? What did you sign up for?”
“Well, there were only three options and they all sucked, so I picked the one that sucked the least.” Scott gestured for Alex to go on. “It was either track, chess club, or the school play. So I chose the school play.”
Scott cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really. It’s Romeo and Juliet.”
Scott’s eyes widened in excitement and he heard a squeal, it most likely came from him. “Alex! That’s amazing! What role do you want?” Alex shrugged. “I bet you could be Romeo! You would make a really good Romeo too. You know, when I was your age, I was Romeo in my school’s play,” he sighed happily, reminiscing on the memory. “I’ll help you prepare and everything!”
“Thanks, but I don’t have high hopes.”
“Oh nonsense! I’ll help you nail down Romeo better than Shakespeare! I’ll be like your acting coach!”
“Why not go the extra mile and help produce the thing to?” Alex chuckled and Scott gasped.
“Alex, that is an excellent idea! Who’s the teacher in charge? I’ll have to write them an email!” Alex shook his head and left the kitchen, leaving Scott alone to rejoice. He would be at Alex’s school tomorrow and find out everything about the play that he could!