Seven

Katherine kept repeatedly asking Kay-Lee if she felt all right for the entire car trip home from the hospital. No matter how many times Kay-Lee told her mother that she felt fine, Katherine kept asking over and over, worry clear on her face.
When they got back to the house, Katherine sent Kay-Lee straight to bed for rest, much to Kay-Lee’s protest, and Adam went home to work on some songs for the school play. Play rehearsals were scheduled for the next two weeks and the performance would be in three weeks time. Kay-Lee was excited for rehearsals to start, but Adam was feeling a little nervous. The biggest jerk in school, Josh Williams, had managed to get the male supporting role in the play, as Adam’s best friend. If Adam wanted an acting challenge, he certainly got one. Pretending to be Josh’s best friend was definitely going to be difficult.
Kay-Lee wasn't entirely thrilled about who had scored the female supporting role either. The annoyingly persistent chatterbox, Leah Smart, had got the female supporting role as Kay-Lee’s best friend. Kay-Lee almost laughed out loud at the irony.
Leah Smart was a funny sort of girl. She seemed like friendly, nice person, on the surface, but Kay-Lee knew her true intentions. She knew that Leah and her friends gossiped about everyone at school and she had been a victim to their menacing glares. Kay-Lee chose to ignore it, and avoid Leah and her entourage at all times, where possible. Being in the play with her was going to make Kay-Lee’s avoiding scheme, somewhat difficult.
Kay-Lee thought she could at least be civil to Leah for the duration of the play, there was a fine line between decency and just plain rude, after all.

* * *
It was Monday morning and it was the first day that the play rehearsals was scheduled to begin. Kay-Lee practically jumped out of bed and knocked Adam’s door down in the rush to get to school. The day flew by, and before Kay-Lee and Adam knew it, they were in the auditorium, on-stage, going through their lines. The director told the cast that they had a lot to get through, because two weeks wasn’t very long for rehearsal time.
Adam really liked the plot of the story and the script. He could relate to it so well. He had been in love with Kay-Lee for as long as he could remember, but he knew how she felt about him, and he didn’t want to go and wreck things when they were perfect the way they were.
Sure, Adam wished that Kay-Lee could be his girlfriend, but he figured it was better to keep her as a friend then to lose her completely because his feelings had gotten in the way. It was a hard line to walk, but Adam felt he could do it; after all, he had already had plenty of practice.
The script was really getting to him. The words meant so much to him because they were exactly the words he had wanted to say to Kay-Lee for so long, but hadn’t, for fear of losing her.
Kay-Lee and Adam were rehearsing the most important scene in the play, where Adam’s character, Jake, admits his true feelings for his best friend, Ashley, played by Kay-Lee. Everyone in the auditorium was drawn into the performance. Adam had a look of pain on his face as he struggled to say how he felt. Kay-Lee had a look of confusion, as she tried to understand what Adam was trying to say. They were both throwing themselves into the performance, and the other cast members couldn’t keep their eyes off them. Kay-Lee and Adam had an electric presence on-stage, and it was hard to look away.
Adam held Kay-Lee’s face in his and said his lines, pouring his heart and soul into the performance, and meaning everything he said.
“I don’t want this to wreck our friendship but I have to tell you. And if everything gets ruined and it gets awkward and weird I don’t know if I can do it. And I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help falling in love with you” Adam said to Kay-Lee, looking into her eyes.
The world seemed to stand still at that moment for Kay-Lee. She knew it was just his lines, what he was supposed to say, but she could’ve sworn it meant more than that. A part of her wished it did mean as much to Adam as it meant to her. She was slowly falling for him but had to keep her mouth shut, otherwise she would send him running, and she was afraid he’d run away forever, without looking back.
“I love you too, Jake, with all my heart. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this moment, for those very words to come out of your mouth when I was too scared to say them myself”. Kay-Lee delivered her lines, looking into Adam’s blue eyes, and meaning what she said.
Adam leant his face in closer to hers, and their noses touched briefly. Kay-Lee’s heart started to beat faster and faster as Adam tilted his head a little lower and she leant in closer.
“CUT!” the director suddenly yelled, jerking them out of the moment. “That was fabulous, simply fabulous! Let’s save the kissing scene for the performance night, to make it more special. I want to really feel the electricity! Fantastic job guys! Keep up the good work!” the director exclaimed, the cast erupting into cheers afterwards.
Adam smiled at Kay-Lee and she gasped, taken aback. It was the first time she had looked at Adam, really looked. He was amazing. His pale smooth skin, clear blue eyes, cheeky smile. His long, straight, black hair with streaks of bright red at the end. Adam was simply gorgeous; Kay-Lee couldn’t believe he was her best friend. The best thing about him was not his appearance; it was his genuine smile and his kind heart that Kay-Lee loved the most. He could look like Frankenstein’s monster, but Kay-Lee wouldn’t love him any less.
“Are you alright?” Adam asked now, looking at Kay-Lee with worry clear on his face. “I’m fine, just fine” Kay-Lee replied, a smile slowly spreading across her face as the cheers from the crowd continued.