-Chapter 2: Forced Alliance
Ivy stared at the rehearsal schedule like it had personally offended her.
**MONDAY – SCENE 3: Ivy & Luca (chemistry focus)**
**TUESDAY – SCENE 5: Ivy & Luca (emotional beats)**
**WEDNESDAY – FULL RUN-THROUGH: Ivy & Luca opening monologue hand-off**
Every. Single. Day.
She crumpled the paper in her fist and groaned, just as Luca strolled into the rehearsal hall sipping a cold brew like this was a café and not the battleground of her mental health.
"Didn't peg you for the type to get stage fright," he said, nodding toward the crumpled paper in her hand.
"I don't have stage fright. I have Luca Vance fatigue."
He grinned. "Catchy. You should trademark it."
Liam, who had clearly developed a sixth sense for maximum chaos, clapped his hands from the front of the room. "Alright, lovebirds, front and center. Let's work on the rooftop scene."
Ivy's stomach dropped. The rooftop scene. The emotional core of the play. Where Juliet and Romeo confronted their trauma, their pasts, their fears—and shared their first kiss.
"Liam," she said carefully, "we haven't even blocked Scene 2 yet."
Liam waved her off. "We'll circle back. You two have raw energy that works best unfiltered. Let's see what happens."
Luca gave her a mock bow. "Shall we, my lady?"
"I will murder you with a spotlight."
They took their marks. The rooftop was represented by nothing more than a few taped lines on the floor and a rusted metal railing pulled from storage. Ivy paced, script in hand, trying to find her rhythm. Luca sat on the edge of the "roof," legs dangling, as if he were already in character.
For a moment, it was quiet. Ivy found her breath, stepped into Juliet's shoes, and began.
"I don't want to be saved, Romeo. I want to be seen."
Luca's reply came low, steady. "Then stop hiding."
The words hung in the air, heavier than they had on the page. Ivy felt the shift—Luca's voice, suddenly stripped of bravado, was serious. Real.
She looked at him, not the script. "You don't know me."
"I do. You wear your anger like armor."
He moved closer. The line was meant to end with a kiss. Ivy felt her heart race—part nerves, part fury. He was too close. Too convincing. And worse, she didn't hate it.
"I'm not Juliet," she whispered, barely audible.
He stepped in. "And I'm not Romeo. But we're here anyway."
Silence.
Liam clapped once. "Beautiful. We'll stop there. Give me ten percent less hesitation next time, Ivy, and Luca—more of *that*. That rawness."
As they broke, Ivy yanked her script from the floor. "You planned that."
Luca raised a brow. "Planned what?"
"The… voice. The proximity. The *stupid eyes*. You're playing with me."
He shrugged. "It's called acting."
"You're not that good."
He smirked. "You keep telling yourself that."
As he walked away, she realized something horrifying.
Luca Vance wasn't just tolerable today.
He'd been... almost magnetic.
She shivered. It was going to be a long semester.