Chapter Text
it all started with the cast list being emailed on a chilly fall evening.
sophia and megan were studying in their dorm for their upcoming chemistry test, the two munching on cookies sophia had made after getting back. their typical tuesday nights usually consisted of walking back to their building together after going to their respective after school clubs, sophia being in both student council and on the debate team, and megan being on the esports team. their one day a week that happened to consist solely of extracurriculars, yet it was unanimously agreed that it was the most draining.
sophia's eyes widened when she saw the email notification for the spring musical. megan considered sophia one of the world's biggest theatre nerds, yet it was both of their first times auditioning. "cast list is out," sophia said, without bothering to look up from her computer.
"what's it looking like? you get the lead?" megan asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
"actually, yes. and looks like you'll be my all-rounder." sophia replied.
"i knew years of listening to you nerd out on broadway stuff would finally pay off," megan laughed. "good thing you're an overachiever too."
meanwhile, two floors above them, daniela walked back inside the dorm she shared with lara, her body getting more and more sore by the minute from a long dance rehersal. she had seen the email about the cast list during a water break, but chose to ignore it. she had never auditioned for any sort of musical, but the thought of such a talented, likable girl like herself not having a lead role scared her, so she pretended she didn't see it. lara, however, wasn't going to let that happen.
"email? did you check it?" she asked, as soon as daniela closed the door.
"can i breathe for a second at least?" daniela rolled her eyes.
"no, ma'am. open that email!" lara sat up from her bed and chanted.
"did you open it yet?"
"i was waiting for you, now quit stalling and lets go before i open it myself."
daniela rolled her eyes once more while sighing as she took her phone out. she hesitated a bit, but continued to open the email.
"looks like i'm the main dancer and you're lead vocal. nice." daniela smirked. she knew lara would get a lead role. her instagram account had more followers than their small, private collage, the casting directors would have to be idiots to ignore that.
"who with?" lara asked.
"manon's gonna be with us. and some other girls i don't know. yoonchae, megan, and sophia."
"i think sophia's in one of my classes, and megan's that cute girl that's always hanging out in the gaming lounge at the student center. the one with the pink bangs."
"you seem to know a lot about her?" daniela raised her eyebrow.
"i know a lot about everyone, dani." lara rolled her eyes. the two suddenly jerked at the loud knock at the door. daniela went and opened it, and manon stood there with her art supplies in hand.
"okay, i really wasn't expecting that." manon said as she walked straight past dani. "i don't know anyone we're with!"
"i think the only girl i'm still stuck on is yoonchae. manon, do you know her?" lara asked.
"oh yeah, she's in my wednesday art history class. she has really nice sketches," manon said.
"do you know anything else about her?" dani asked.
"guess we'll find. out next week."
☆★☆★☆
once rehearsals began, the six girls meshed together almost immediately. whilst everyone seemed to have great chemistry, someone in particular caught sophia's eye. sophia, being the leader she was, appreciated the way daniela was a true professional. she showed up early every practice and stayed late, always giving her all. the musical wasn't in dire need of a group of professionals, especially considering all were full-time students, but it's not like it gave sophia anything to complain about.
the other side of sophia focused on daniela's beauty. the way she'd smile so big that her canines showed when she laughed, the way she'd scream when she got excited, the way she liked to touch sophia more as they got closer with one another. she liked working with daniela, but not as much as she just liked being around her.
and dani couldn't help but feel the same way. the group had started hanging out with each other even outside rehearsals, and daniela often found herself wanting to be closer to sophia or her eyes watching sophia for longer than usual. daniela almost couldn't contain herself the first time megan invited everyone to their dorm to practice. they were just hanging out as a group in the living room, so realistically there was nothing too exciting about it. what dani liked was that it was sophia's living room in sophia's dorm.
thankfully, dani was extremely good at hiding her feelings, especially in a group, as was sophia. lara, on the other hand was also extremely good at reading people. after all, she did tell dani that she knows a lot about everyone. she noticed the lingering eyes, the way daniela's eyes would only focus on sophia every time she had something to say, the way dani's arm would purposely graze against sophia's body whenever she needed to walk past her.
but lara could also see the way daniela didn't realize that the feelings she had towards sophia were mutual.