Friday night had my nerves completely fried before I had even walked onto the stage.

Sat in the wings I passed the time by reciting my lines and hoping that things went smoothly. Across from me stood Spencer, on his feet and pacing like a madman. The highlighter Bella forcefully applied to the cheeks of all the actors glowed in the low lighting, a sharp line down his face pulled tight due to the nervous frown. He was shitting himself, which meant I had to look calm or else both of us would tank the entire play. Realizing I had to step in, I grabbed ahold of Spencer's wrist when he circled past me.

"Wanna dip outside for a smoke? Calm the nerves down a little?" I whispered, nodding toward the back exit.

"What if we get locked out? Or miss our cue?" he asked, nervously pulling on my hold of him.

"I doubt we'll get locked out," I waved off the idea, getting to my feet and tugging him towards the doors. "And with how slowly Astrid is saying her lines, we could be gone three hours and she still wouldn't have gotten to the forest yet."

"Woods." Spencer corrected, a nervous grin on his face before he nodded. "Okay. You're right. Some fresh air will do me good."

"I doubt smoking qualifies as fresh air, but sure." I shrugged, edging the door open enough for the pair of us to slip out.

In the light of the alley, I took a moment to enjoy how ridiculous Spencer was dressed. Given the concealer had not come out of his old shirt, Bella had upgraded it to one significantly more camp. The puff sleeves dwarfed Spencer's natural muscle, and the billowing lapels looked more Shakespearean than Brother Grimm.

I barely held back a snort when I noticed a smudge of mascara under his right eye.

"What?" Spencer asked, kicking over a nondescript paper bag and revealing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "Hid them here in the morning. No hiding shit in these tights."

"I can see that," I smirked. The fabric was pulled taut against his thighs in a way I couldn't help but appreciate before turning red when Spencer shot me an annoyed look.

"At least I'm not wearing lipstick," he said, lips closed around the end of the cigarette he was failing to light.

"Hey, some of us are severely dehydrated," I frowned, crossing my arms against the surprising chill of the evening.

"Rouge suits you," Spencer smirked and I kicked his calf.

"Don't make me smudge your mascara even more before we even hit the stage," I warned and Spencer groaned.

"I fucked it up already?"

"Just a little bit," I said, pinching my fingers together in an estimate of how badly he messed up Bella's hard work.

"You got your phone on you so I can wipe it off?" he asked, giving up on lighting the cigarette long enough to reach up to wipe his face.

"Whoa, wait!" I cut in, grabbing his hand and redirecting it to his side. "Look up and I'll wipe it off."

"I don't know if I should trust you," he murmured, but squinted up as I ran a finger under his eye. The skin there was alarmingly smooth, enough so that I spent a little more time than I needed to rubbing it.

"Is it gone?" he asked tightly, trying not to move his face too much.

Snapping out of it I nodded, taking a step back.

"Yeah," I said, voice a little breathless and I cleared my throat. "Yeah, you're good."

"If you can get this thing started, you'd be a lifesaver." Spencer redirected, tossing me his lighter. I fumbled to catch it, flicking the wheel a few times before the spark caught.

"Like I said, miracle worker," Spencer cheered, lighting his cigarette before letting out a small puff of smoke over his shoulder.

"I thought I was a lifesaver."

"Same thing," he shrugged, squatting down. "Upside to these tights are that they're comfortable to squat in."

"I'm afraid these will rip if I attempt anything like that," I scoffed, running a hand down the material as Spencer barked out a laugh, choking on an inhale of smoke.

"And I thought mine were snug," he smirked, tapping his wrist on his knee, knocking off loose ash.

"Don't be a pervert," I said, rolling my eyes before glancing up at the sky. It wasn't too dark out yet, enough light though it was leaning towards nine in the evening. The stars were barely out, the light pollution high enough that they stayed hidden. I went to comment on them when Spencer let out a low curse, throwing his cigarette to the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just realized I shouldn't be smoking tonight." Spencer ran a hand over his mouth.

"You shouldn't smoke any night," I corrected and he ignored me, getting to his feet.

"I can't make you kiss me tasting like an ashtray," he explained, a guilty look in his eyes that had me taken aback.

"Don't worry about it man," I played it off, ignoring the sudden thump in my chest.

"I know how much Gillian hates it, and you don't even smoke," he rambled and I raised a hand to cut him off.

"Dude, it's cool. Honestly. I won't have dragged you out here if it was an issue. You're not the first ashtray I've kissed, don't worry."

"Way to make me feel special," Spencer said, offering a sheepish smile.

"Shut up. Just keep your lips pursed together and I think we'll be safe," I added, going so far as to pinch his lips together.

Spencer laughed, batting my hands away but by then my heart rate had increased tenfold. His mouth was so soft, the faintest hint of stubble to his cheeks as my hand dragged down them.

"Fuck off, and you were worried I would ruin my makeup." He said, still laughing as I tried to play off the trembling in my hands. "Good thing I'm still gorgeous underneath all this mess."

"Keep telling yourself that," I played it off and Spencer butted my shoulder with his own. Losing my footing I grappled for his sleeve, pulling him down with me. We collapsed in a heap onto the cold concrete, Spencer groaning when my elbow connected with his side.

"Why is it that you always end up elbowing me in some severe way," he wheezed out, shuffling until he hovered over me. I blinked up at him, stammering for a response as his grey eyes stared down at me with amusement.

"At least you're on top," I blurted out and Spencer's eyebrows pinched together in confusion. "Last time this happened, I was jumping over a fence and ended up driving my elbow into your face. Least this time I cushioned your fall."

Laughing Spencer nodded, shrugging a hand through his hair that flopped back into place due to the entire tub of pomade Bella slung through it. "Very true. View's much better on this end."

"Shut up," I said, shoving his shoulders until he got to his feet, extending a hand my way.

"Let me help you out, Charming," he smirked, wagging his fingers in my face. I slapped them away before grasping his hand, pulling myself up.

"We should head back inside before Bella blows a gasket at our disappearance."

"She probably thinks we're 'necking it' behind the dumpsters," Spencer said, casual as ever and inclusive of air quotes while I choked on my breath.

"Dude," I stuttered out and Spencer laughed, louder than ever, and threw an arm around my shoulders.

"Good thinking on the cigarette, I think my nerves having finally died out," He said, shaking me lightly before making his way to the door and wrestling it open.

"Whatever you say, Ashtray Mouth." I managed to get out, ducking under his arm and back inside.

"Hey, you said that wasn't a deal-breaker earlier!" Spencer called after me, earning a sharp look from Kyle as he strode past. "Sorry."

"Shut the door before we get into any more trouble," I whispered back, taking a seat on the floor, Spencer joining my side after silently closing the door.

"My mom said she's filming the whole thing," he said, hugging his knees. I jerked my head to face him, offering a small smile.

"April said she's going to scrapbook her favorite parts... meaning every time I fumble a line."

"I can't wait to see how it turns out," he chuckled, resting his chin on his knees, smiling.

"The kiss will probably make the cut," I added, not entirely sure why.

Spencer's eyebrows raised for a split second before returning to normal height.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then let's hope it at least looks good. God knows we don't need my double chin immortalized."

"What double chin, you look perfect Spencer," I said, rolling my eyes to fight back the blush growing on my cheeks. Rubbing my hands on my thighs I tried to remove some of the sweat growing there, almost missing Spencer's whispered thanks.

The audible thud of Astrid hitting the stage floor jolted both of us back to the present. I scrambled to my feet in time to catch the stage lights going out and the applause of the audience. A pair of stagehands bumped past me, stealthy as they slipped onto the stage and helped Astrid into her glass coffin. Seemingly out of nowhere Bella appeared, attempting to walk quietly in her large wedged heels.

"Showtime boys," Bella whispered behind me, pressing against my back.

I craned my head to make out her devilish grin.

"You sure you don't want to have an intermission. Keep the suspense running," I whispered, earning a bored look.

"I'm sure the audience can survive another forty-five minutes." She prattled on, shoving my shoulders when the lights tipped back on. "Showtime, Beauregard."

| | | | |

"You've shown yourself as a worthy adversary in combat, but I doubt such loose lips can overshadow my own for Snow White's affections."

"Watch your tone when addressing me, commoner. If my lips are loose then yours are practically hanging from your face." I stammered over my line when Spencer's hand hooked itself under my chin, all the words he said fading to noise as I realized that he was truly about to kiss me.

This was actually happening.

The guy who I fell on all those months ago, who had somehow become one of my friends, was about to lay one on me in front of our friends and family. Out of the corner of my eye, I made out Tommo in the front row, looking far too pleased with whatever Spencer was saying.

The audience laughed, hard enough that Spencer's lip quirked in a faint smile before his eyes fully met mine. His pupils were blown under the stage lights, blobs of black ringed tightly by a flash of grey that I could feel myself being pulled in by. I barely felt when his hand slipped to the back of my head, tilting it back until I was forced to drop my gaze to his mouth. God, had his lips always been so plump or was I going insane? Suddenly my body was a live wire as Spencer drew even closer, barely an inch between us.

And then he said it.

"You may be charming in name, but I know the allure I hold. And soon, Snow White will too."

And then he was coming at me.

The flash of blue in his eyes so close that if it weren't for the tight hold he had on me I would've melted to the ground. Without my explicit instructions my hands came up, grasping the ridiculous lapels of his shirt just as his lips closed over mine and my eyes fluttered closed. They were softer than when I had touched them earlier, slightly wet from the nervous way Spencer ran his tongue along them between lines. The ashy aftertaste of his cigarette was there, though barely, and I couldn't stop myself from truly getting immersed in the moment.

I found myself sighing into the kiss, loud enough for the audience to jeer back at us. Spencer either didn't notice or was too focused on acting to respond. Instead, he gripped my hair tighter, tipping my head to the side as he kissed me a little more desperately, his free hand circling my back and drawing me impossibly closer.

I scrambled to keep a hold of him at that, peeking an eye open only to find a closed set staring me back, ignoring the cheers from the audience and the very loud applause that I could only attribute to April. When we did pull away for air slightly Spencer reeled me in close again, the brush of his lips against my own had me falling forward, sucking against his lower lip in a way that made Spencer shudder hard enough our mouths dislodged. Clearing his throat, in a husky tone Spencer spoke his next line.

"Dare I say, that did not go to plan."

I opened my mouth, only to let out a low pitched whine that the audience ate up.

I knew in that moment I was royally fucked.

Big time.