Torn Down The Middle Chapter 48: The Play – Act 1

The day of the play arrived and everything was set and ready to go.

You were still suffering that strange feeling every now and again but the hand flicking seemed to work and you used it at every available opportunity.

“You ready?” Bakugou asked lowly as he walked up beside you at back of stage.

You were nervous as all hell but you just nodded silently and walked away to your allocated start point.

Bakugou eyed you as you left, his nose scrunched slightly with concern. He could tell something wasn’t right but just put to down to pre-stage nerves.

People had started filing in to the hall and taking their seats and your heart beat increased. Instinctively you started flicking your hands.

Shouto, who was over at the back of the hall, could see you slightly through the break in the curtains and knew that something wasn’t right.

He had started to put two and two together by now and knew you were suffering from mild anxiety attacks every now and again.

He pushed off the wall and walked silently and quickly down the side of the hall towards the door that led to back of stage.

……………

You were trying desperately to calm your breathing and keep yourself from getting overwhelmed but the more you tried to calm down the worse it got.

“I…I can’t control it…I think I’m going to have a heart attack…what’s wrong with me?”

All these internal questions only worked you up more and your hand flicking increased.

“H-hey, Y/N? Are you ok?” Momo asked softly as she approached you.

“I’m fine, I’m ok, I’m fine, I’m ok, I’m fine, I’m ok.” You blabbered on repeat, trembling and flicking your hands rapidly.

“Y/N?” She said with concern. “Please…take a deep breath.”

You tried but the harder you tried to take a deep breath the more shallower your breathing became.

“I…I can’t breathe.” You stammered, tears pricking your eyes as you started to hyperventilate.

You tried to scream but nothing came out.

Just then strong arms enveloped you and you grabbed onto the person, burying your face into their chest.

They smelled like campfires and wind in the snow….

“Y/N.”

Their low voice reverberated through you.

“Focus on me.”

You looked up into the beautiful mismatched eyes of Shouto. He pulled you closer and held you against his chest.

“Focus on my heart beat.” He said softly, pulling your head to his chest. “You’re going to be ok.”

“What’s happening to me??” You almost sobbed.

“You’re suffering anxiety right now, Y/N.” He said as he pulled you back a bit so he could look at you. “But I know you can do this.”

You nodded and he let you go.

You reached out and clung to him. “No, Shouto I need you here…I…I can keep calm when you’re here.”

Shouto looked from you to Momo, who was standing slightly behind you.

“Momo, make me a Romeo outfit.” He said authoritatively to her.

“Shouto? What are yo—.” You interjected.

“Please, Momo. This is for the sake of Y/N and the sake of the play.” He said again, still focusing on her.

She pursed her lips and nodded.

“S-Shouto? What are you doing?” You questioned him again, still in his embrace.

“You said you can stay calm with me around correct?”

You nodded.

“Then I’m standing in as Romeo.” He said firmly. “Keep your eyes on me.”

His dominant decision left you no option then to follow his orders, not that you minded of course.

“Shouto, do you know the lines?” Momo asked as she turned her back and opened the front of her blouse, making an outfit for Shouto.

“Yes. I know the play well.” He replied confidently.

Momo turned around when she had finished  and handed the outfit to him.

“Excuse me.” He said politely as he stepped over to a quiet corner to get changed.

You caught a glimpse of his sublime physique as he lifted his shirt up over his head and you quickly looked away and blushed as you looked back out to the gathering crowd.

“I should get Kirishima to be with me when I tell Bakugou he needs to stand down from the roll.” Momo said apprehensively as she walked off to go and change the actors, last minute.

Shouto was back by your side as soon as he changed and you stepped back to get a good look at him.

He looked like he was made for the part, his duel coloured fringe falling across his face as his heterochromic eyes shone.

The white shirt fit him just as well as it did Bakugou and the pants were again, tailored to perfection.

Your mouth hung open as you feasted your eyes on him.

“Make sure to keep your eyes on me and me only.” He said softly as he took your hand. “I will be across the stage from you to begin with but if you start to get anxious I will be right back here beside you in an instant.” He reassured you before walking across to his start point.

You just nodded, still spellbound by his look.

You have no idea what happened with Bakugou and just assumed that Momo and Kirishima had taken care of business, plus the play was about to start.

The more people filed into the hall the more your anxiety rose and you started to shake your hands a little.

Remembering Shouto’s words you quickly looked across the stage to where he was standing on the other side, out of view of the audience.

He was watching you and raised a hand to let you know he had seen you and was still there, then placed his hand on his heart.

You closed your eyes a second and just tried to breathe.

It worked and you smiled slightly, opening your eyes to look at Shouto and he nodded proudly.

Just then the lights in the auditorium dimmed and Kaminari took to the stage, announcing the play and a few other house keeping rules before bidding the audience a good show and walking to the side to take his place.

The prologue started, narrated perfectly by Kaminari and you had to be honest, you were impressed with how well he was suited for the part.

Act 1, Scene 1 commenced and the play was underway.

Everyone remembered their lines and looked amazing in the outfits Momo had made. Then Romeo entered, striding confidently up to Benvolio who was being played by Aoyama.

“Good-morrow, cousin!” Aoyama said flamboyantly.

“Is the day so young?” Shouto replied in his velvety deep monotone voice.

You heard a significant amount of the girls in the audience sigh and fangirl. Shouto was indeed the perfect fit for Romeo and you smiled. 

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Torn Down The Middle Chapter 49: The Play – Act 2 >>>