Rehearsal
Crystal woke up the next morning absolutely dreading having to rehearse with Kyle and Jaida during free period. What would she say to Kyle? How could she possibly tell him, "I don't like you like that. Or anyone of your kind really. In fact, I like someone else. And that someone else just so happens to be Gigi Goode." She laughed to herself at the thought. There was no way she could avoid him. She would have to think of some sort of explanation that seemed realistic and kept them civil.
She threw on the most boring outfit she owned; maybe if she blended in more she would at least avoid Kyle in the hallways today. She then quickly ate her fruity pebbles and dragged herself out of the comfort of her house.
Her dad dropped her off at school just like he had every other day, and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight of the blonde girl getting out of her pink convertible. After coming to her little realization last night, Crystal had dreamt of the girl...what her hair smelled like...how it would feel to hold her hand...but she would never know. Because Crystal hadn't even known she could feel this way about a girl until 12 hours prior, and Gigi was as straight as a pencil. Even if Gigi wasn't straight, these feelings were so new to Crystal that she didn't know exactly what to do with them. That didn't mean she couldn't look though.
Crystal spent all of drama class trying to avoid Kyle's gaze and think of an excuse for why she had left the roof like her life depended on it yesterday. After lots of considerations and some pretty stupid ideas, she decided on the one that would cause the least amount of truthful explanation on her part.
And so after drama and science, Crystal was on her way to the music room to face the person that had made her so incredibly uncomfortable just the day before.
Jaida was already waiting at the piano with some music sheets when she walked in, but Kyle wasn't there yet.
"Where's Kyle?"
Before Crystal could answer Jaida's question the door swung open and in walked the subject of discussion. He had a very bothered look on his face, and Crystal guessed it was because of her presence. She decided that if they were going to talk, it would be after rehearsal. Alone.
Jaida handed them both their sheet music and they stood at opposite sides of the piano, Crystal looking down while Kyle stared at her expectantly. The two sang the new song together pretty much perfectly, only being pulled out of the zone when they heard a bang from outside of the door. Nobody should be in the hallway at this time, so a concerned Jaida stood up and peered our the little window in the door to investigate, but nobody was there. At least not that she could see...but a certain blonde was thin enough to fit inside a locker. Jaida resumed her position at the piano and the pair continued practicing like nothing had happened. Soon the bell was ringing and Jaida was packing up her stuff, saying she couldn't be late for her next class. And then it was just them in the music room.
"So...what was all that about yesterday?" Kyle broke the silence immediately.
"You kissed me without consent and nearly bit off my tongue and I hated it" her mind said, but she decided to stick to her original plan and instead said:
"Oh I just wasn't feeling the best yesterday! I ran because I thought I was going to be sick," technically this was not a lie. He didn't need to know the true manor of her nausea.
"Oh! I knew you liked me!" Kyle huffed a sigh of relief and Crystal cringed. "So we can do that again some time yeah?"
"I'm still not feeling the best! I don't want to get you sick, I'm definitely contagious!" Crystal blurted out quickly. Clearly she had not thought this through completely. She cursed herself for making him think that if she was not "sick" then they would be kissing again. Guess she'd have to be "sick" for a while.
"Okay Crys, there's no rush," Crystal felt her skin crawl a bit at the nickname, and only to feel it nearly disintegrate when Kyle leaned towards her and placed a kiss on her cheek. And then he was out the door. What on earth had she just gotten herself into?
Not wanting to go to class just yet, she sat down at the piano bench, which was still warm from Jaida, and buried her face in her hands. She was overwhelmed and needed to talk to someone about her situation with Kyle. Should she tell Jackie what was going on? How could she explain to Jackie why she didn't like Kyle without mentioning Gigi? The creaking of the door snapped her out of her thoughts. Knowing it was probably Kyle coming back for something he forgot she chose to keep her head down; she could just say she was feeling nauseous again if he questioned her.
She heard loud, clacking footsteps coming her way and could suddenly feel a stare burning through her.
"So you guys are rehearsing for callbacks huh?"
Crystal's heart stopped beating. She knew that voice. She looked up to see none other than Gigi Goode, staring down at her with her arms crossed over her chest and a thin eyebrow raised. Gigi did not look happy. If looks could kill Crystal would already be in a coffin.
"Uh..yeah..."
There was a beat of silence before Gigi said, "I told you you didn't have to lie to me about Kyle." Her arms were still crossed and her lips were now pursed with something that seemed to be disgust.
"I didn't! I swear Gigi! I just...I couldn't tell him the truth." Crystal buried her face back in her hands in embarrassment.
"And what would that be exactly?"
"What?"
"The truth. What would be the truth?" Crystal uncovered her face to see Gigi looking at her expectantly.
"Oh. Well the truth is what I told you yesterday. That I don't like him like that. But I can't tell him that." Crystal failed to mention the rest of it.
Gigi's brows furrowed into a confused expression now.
"Well if you don't like him then why would you let him kiss you on the cheek?" Gigi questioned with a hint of something Crystal couldn't quite distinguish in her tone. Crystal shuttered at the girl's suddenly louder voice and felt cold when she realized how what Gigi had seen must have looked.
"You..you saw that? Were you spying on us??"
Gigi's face flushed a light pink and she looked down at her heels.
"I- um... yeah i guess so. I heard singing from outside and my curiosity got the best of me..so i just watched through the little window in the door," Gigi confessed because she had already said too much to try to cover it up with a lie.
Crystal's mind faltered at the thought of Gigi watching her sing. And seeing Kyle be so affectionate.
"I let him do that because if I told him the truth he would have too many questions. And it would be so awkward to rehearse with him everyday."
Gigi scoffed at that. She should've known it was just Crystal being nice, but her jealous instincts had kicked in and made her overreact. She laughed at how pathetic she was for being jealous over someone who didn't even like her back.
"I thought you were done with this whole laughing at me thing."
"I wasn't laughing at you! I just..." Gigi trailed off not knowing what else to say, but an idea suddenly popped into her head. An idea that she would probably regret voicing later.
"I know you want to avoid Kyle as much as you can...and that you still need to rehearse for callbacks so...whatifIhelpedyourehearse?" Gigi blurted out before she could stop herself.
Crystal's eyes widened, locked on the blonde's thin face. Gigi would not only be hearing her sing but also be singing with her. Feelings aside, it would be helpful to have someone else to practice with so that she could avoid Kyle as much as possible. She considered it for a second before speaking up.
"Okay."
"Okay? Really??" Gigi accidentally let a small smile spread across her face which made it impossible for Crystal to change her mind now.
"Yeah, can we start during lunch tomorrow? I know Jaida normally does homework during lunch so I'm not sure if she'll be able to come, but I can ask her for a recording of the track or something."
Gigi tried not to let her mind wander at the thought of being alone with Crystal for longer than 5 minutes. "Never gonna happen Gigi," she had to remind herself to keep in touch with reality. Crystal just needed a singing partner to practice with that wasn't an asshole guy, that's all.
"Sounds good to me. Don't tell anyone about this, by the way...we can meet in here tomorrow during lunch."
Crystal nodded rapidly and Gigi was exiting the room before she could say anything else in response.
Now all she needed was an excuse as to why she couldn't rehearse with Kyle during free period anymore. She whipped out her phone and texted Jackie, hoping she could tag along with her to whatever she usually did during that time.
Crystal: jack, what do you usually do during free period???
Jackie: art club meets every day so im there why
Crystal: perfect. im joining the art club.