Trouble in Paradise

"Can you deliver these to the rest of the staff, please,” the older man hands the long-haired girl a stack of flyers.

“Annual Paradise staff musical. All are invited to audition for this year’s show, ‘Rock of Ages,’” Jane read aloud with a hint of mischief behind her eye.

She waltzed into the employee break room at shift change, handing out the flyers and announcing she needed help to put on a good show since Mr. Clarke had assigned her to be the music director.

“A staff musical,” Jonathan questioned, eyes scanning over the piece of paper once more.

“That’s so cool, man,” Argyle chimed in, clapping his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“What do you say, Stevie? You gonna audition with me,” the metalhead smiled widely. “You could be the Constance to my Stacee Jaxx.”

“I don’t know, Eds. You know how I get when I’m on stage.”

“Yes, but as Constance we’d be together in about every scene…And besides don’t you want to know what love is,” his eyebrows dance above his deep brown eyes, causing the tanned man to chuckle.

“Emerson, Harrington,” the loud voice echoed throughout the kitchen as the boys punched in for their shift. 

Steve sighed, knowing who the voice belonged to. He knew he fucked up royally going for a night swim with Eddie, so he was prepared to face the wrath of the boss man. 

Deep breath was all he could think as he parted from his boyfriend to find the man with thick glasses and a deadly glare. 

“You two have been requested as dance partners.”

“Dance partners,” the younger curly-haired teen questioned. 

The older man’s face took on a new expression, one that should have been a happy, joyful look, but it instead left a bad taste on Steve’s tongue. But it’s not like he had much time to stew in that because the next thing he knew, he was sent to the locker room to change and meet none other than Nelly Hargove on the dance floor. Will beamed from the front of the studio when he saw the two new students, particularly the younger boy. 

“Mrs. Hargrove, lovely to see you again,” Steve drops his head to place a gentle kiss on her hand. 

“Oh, come on, sugar. Call me Nelly like you used to,” she smiled, running her hand up his bicep before giving it a good squeeze. He twirled her into a proper dance hold, earning a small giggle from her shiny pink lips. 

Baby Byers took the floor to start the lesson. They began with tango basics.

“Mom, Steve plays basketball and baseball, and he’s the captain of the swim team at Hawkins High,” Billy butted into their little moment, pulling his complaining sister with him. This was the Hargroves’ weekly family time. 

The couple swished around the room, moving in sync with their partners while going from the basic to a promenade. Everyone appeared to have it down, so the scrawny boy offered a new step, a dip.

“That’s impressive. Heard from any college scouts yet?” She twirled as she talked, allowing her neck to elongate as he held her up. The column of her neck was littered with hickeys. Some were old, some new, and they traveled all the way down her chest into the shirt. Steve flushed at the thought.

“N-not just yet. I’m hoping maybe next year.”

“You haven’t even heard the best part,” the long-haired teen spoke up again. “He has THE most incredible voice. I’m hoping to utilize it for our show this year.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Steve tried to protest, but it was too late.

“You know, Susan and I know a few of the board members at IU. Maybe we could get some of them down here for opening night, see how well-rounded you are,” the older woman offered as they started learning a new move.

Gareth watched and listened from a not too far away distance as he paraded around with Susan Hargrove. The redhead had two left feet and kept stepping on his toes. The one dip they tried was a bit disastrous. Her silky top slid right out of his hand, and the teen was forced to catch her before she ended up on her backside. To be fair, he was a little more interested in hearing Billy’s mother offer Steve a scholarship on a silver platter if he performed in the musical. It wasn’t that he didn’t deserve a scholarship. He was a gifted athlete, but how it has come up rubbed him the wrong way. Eddie should know what’s going on, and as Will brought the lesson to a close, Gareth decided if Steve didn’t tell him then he would. 

🌈

Audition day was here, and the whole group was ready to go. They agreed that if they did it together, then it would sure be a really fun summer. Who cares if not all of them were theater or musically inclined. They were having the time of their lives with their friends by their side. The biggest problem they faced was finding monologues and songs for everyone. The good news was they were able to audition in pairs. So, that morning they all got together and practiced before heading into work. Everyone had a 15-minute time frame to do their whole audition. That way they weren’t all being pulled away from their job at the same time. 

Jane had rehearsed with Mike a million times before, but the boy was still nervous. He had made friends with one of the lifeguards, Lucas, so they decided to audition together. Both boys were hoping for maybe a small talking part or part of the ensemble. 

Once on stage, Lucas broke out some unexpected dance moves while the pair sang “Wanted Dead or Alive.” The scrawnier of the two then tried some moves of his own, but he panicked and wound up doing the sprinkler and the robot. The long-haired girl behind the piano was beet red as she tried to contain her laughter. She’d never let her poor boyfriend live that down.

The best thing about Mr. Clarke directing the show was he was willing to change things up, so anyone could play any part regardless of gender. That inspired Robin and Chrissy to audition for Dennis and Lonny, the two best friends who after years of pining express their feelings for each other. 

“I Love Rock n Roll” blared through the speakers, and the girls got to work. The blonde moved with a precise clumsiness that the character asks for, while Robin took a more stoic and I can’t dance that well approach to the song. Her vocals were the star as her girlfriend’s funny antics made everything that much more entertaining. The pair received a standing ovation from Mr. Clarke, Jane, and Will who was set to choreograph the whole show. 

The day continued like that. Jonathan messed up his lines during his monologue, cursing himself afterward. Gareth froze during “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” but Nancy coaxed him through it. Even Dmitri and Alexei auditioned.

The last pair to go was Steve and Eddie, and to say they were nervous was the understatement of the century. 

“Hey, you two have this in the bag,” Robin rubbed soft circles across the tanned man’s back. 

“Maybe once you’re done we can go down to the beach for a little double date?” Chrissy offered, and everyone agreed it was a good idea. 

This was it. Their whole day came to this exact moment when they were on stage with the bright lights overhead and an eager audience in front of them. Eddie started the song, pulling the other man’s attention to him. As long as Steve had his eyes on him, he’d be alright. 

“I gotta take a little time, a little time to think things over,” he sang. “I gotta read between the lines in case I need it when I'm older.”

With a twirl, the metalhead ended on his knees as he continued singing. “In my life, there’s been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again. Can’t stop now. I’ve traveled so far to change this lonely life.”

Steve was enamored. He loved watching the metalhead perform. His skin always looked shiny as his hair would bounce around. It was mesmerizing, but he couldn’t let that distract him at the moment, so he got onto his knees and began crawling toward his boyfriend as he belted out the chorus.

“I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me. I wanna feel what love is. I know you can show me.”

Their performance sent electricity coursing through their veins, and the need to get their hands on each other immediately was all that mattered. The girls wouldn’t mind an impromptu makeout session keeping them a little later, right?

🌈

“I wonder what’s taking them so long,” the freckle-faced girl chewed on her bottom lip. She was nervous for them. Steve’s anxiety always made hers a little worse. But thankfully, her amazing girlfriend knew that and was quick with a distraction as they waited for the boys.

“Do you remember our first picnic?”

The other girl glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

“You mean the one where I tried and failed miserably at asking you out?”

Chrissy giggled as her ponytail bobbed up and down along with her head. 

“What about it?”

“Whenever we have a little picnic, it reminds me of that time.”

The two of them had gotten close after doing a partner project together for the science fair. Robin had invited Chrissy to lunch to celebrate the end of their disastrous volcano that never did erupt. She took her to the picnic table in the woods behind the school. The basket she brought seemed larger than life, and there was enough food to feel a family of five.

“Did you see the annoyed look on Mr. Johansen’s face when it never did erupt,” the bubbly girl squeaked as she dug into the fruit tray. 

“Someone should’ve snapped a shot of it and framed it in the yearbook,” Robin cackled. 

A silence fell between them as neither knew what to say next, but it wasn’t an awkward situation which was a relief for the strawberry blonde. After what felt like years, Robin decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

“Chr-Chrissy, I-umm…I wanted to ask you if…uhhhhh…m-maybe one day s-someday you’d like to you know…” she trailed off, mad at herself for not making it through this without sounding like a complete idiot. 

“I’d like to what?”

“You know…”

Searching the girl’s face, she must’ve found the answer she needed to answer the not-asked question.

“Yes, I’d love to go out with you,” she beamed. 

Robin’s face turned 12 different shades of red, and then the rest is in the history books. 

“I thought it was cute.”

“Cute? It was mortifying,” she threw her hands in the air. 

“I think you’ll be okay,” Chrissy patted the other girl on the head like you would a small child. That earned her a swat and a raspberry.

“How you girls doing,” Steve called from a few feet back. His hair was messy, and his lips were swollen. 

“Not as good as you I see,” the blonde rolled her eyes as they cuddled up on the blanket together.