55 ☽

⋆ Chapter 55 ⋆Showtime

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          It was finally the day that Adaline and baby Aurora could leave the hospital. The brunette couldn't have been happier.

Adaline was super excited to have Aurora home. She couldn't wait to get the baby all set up in her crib and everything.

Nate had previously set the crib up in Adaline's room. The family all decided that it would be easier for Aurora to sleep in Adaline's room for the time being.

Nate obviously was a little upset that he wouldn't get to sleep in the room as well. He wanted to spend as much time with Adaline and the baby as possible. His plan to win her back was still in full swing.

He was already one step closer to sorting out all of the drama that seemed to follow him. Nate had gotten the tape back from Maddy and destroyed it. He was thinking about giving it to Jules but ultimately decided against it.

His next few steps to the plan would all be taking place this week. He was going to do as much for Aurora as he could so that Adaline could go and see Lexi's play.

Nate promised the girl that he'd take care of everything. He'd already asked his mom to watch after Aurora and on the day of the play Nate kept his promise.

Adaline was shocked to see that he'd already give Aurora her bath and he had her dressed and ready for bed by seven. The two were meant to be at the play by seven thirty.

While Nate was taking care of Aurora's night routine, she was getting ready to go out. It felt nice to get dressed.

Adaline kept it fairly simple. She decided to wear a cute pink striped sweater that was loose on her stomach. She paired the sweater with a pair of loose white jeans. Her hair was just left naturally and her face was complete with a few coats of mascara on her lashes.

Before, they knew it they were off to the play.

Both Adaline and Nate were nervous about leaving Aurora alone but it was only going to be for a few hours. They knew Marsha would look after her. It was just weird leaving her after they'd spent basically every moment in the past week and a half with her.

The auditorium was crowded when the couple arrived. Unfortunately, for them the only seats available were directly behind Cassie.

"We don't have to sit there if you're going to be uncomfortable." Nate assured Adaline as he held her hand leading her down the stairs.

"It's fine. I'll live." Adaline mumbled walking to her seat.

Cassie quickly glanced behind her at the sound of Adaline's voice. She froze as she made eye contact with Nate. The Jacobs boy of course looked away from her as quick as he could and cursed himself for making eye contact with her in the first place.

Adaline could see Rue sitting across the aisle from her and Nate. When she caught the curly haired girl's eye she smiled and sent her a small wave.

Rue had stopped by to visit and apologize to Adaline two days ago. It was safe to say that she was quite shocked to learn that Adaline had the baby. But Rue was happy for her friend and proud of herself. She was proud to say that she met Adaline's daughter sober.

"I think Maddy is sitting down there." Nate suddenly spoke catching both Adaline and Cassie's attention.

The blonde couldn't help that she was entranced by his voice. As soon as she heard Nate speak she was hooked. There was no way for her not to listen to the couple's conversation.

"I'll talk to her after the play." Adaline said as she noticed the lights in the auditorium starting to dim, signaling that the play was about to begin.

The play started out with Rue's father's funeral. During the whole scene, Adaline had kept glancing at Rue to make sure that she was okay. She knew how bad his death affected Rue.

"I knew Jade had been doing drugs, but it wasn't until that day, at her dad's memorial, that I realized they were a greater comfort than I ever could be." Lexi began narrating. "Maybe that's a silly observation, but I was only 13. It was the summer before I started ninth grade... back when we thought we'd all be friends forever."

The scene quickly changed into a blank backdrop and a stool. There was someone pretending to be a photographer. Adaline was a bit confused as to where the play was going but continued to watch.

"There were five of us." Lexi smiled sitting in the chair and posing for the camera. "There was me, Grace..." A blonde then took Lexi's place. "My sister, Hallie..." The next to sit in the chair was a dark haired girl that was a dead ringer for Maddy. "Her best friend, Marta..."

"Holy shit." Adaline mumbled to no one in particular. She had just realized that the play was about them.

"Marta's best friend, Luna." Adaline guessed this was supposed to be Kat. "My best friend, Jade." The curly haired Rue lookalike was the next to come on stage. The Kingston girl was hoping she'd be left out but that wasn't the case. "And everyone's best friend Abby."

And there she was. Her lookalike was tall with long flowing brown hair. The girl was wearing a teal flowered dress, that Adaline was sure she had somewhere in her own closet.

Nate was equally as shocked as Adaline to see the girl on stage. The resemblance between the two was crazy. Lexi had even given the girl a similar sounding name.

"And this is life. Not everyone's life..." Lexi announced as the group held up the giant letters. "But our life!" The crowd was silent as they watched one of the letters fall.

"Oh, that's fucking cool." Someone in the crowd laughed.

"Wait, is this fսcking play about us?" Maddy could be heard asking over the loud laughter.

"Okay, this might kinda be a weird and embarrassing thing to admit, but I think the most defining moment of my adolescence was when my sister went through puberty." Lexi spoke coming back out on stage.

"Uck, I look disgusting."

"Hey, Hallie, I'm in the middle of somethin'." Lexi mumbled looking at the fake Cassie.

"It's just this dress is so not flattering."

"Hallie, I'm kinda puttin' on a play right now."

Hallie suddenly gasped looking around the stage. "What?"

"Like, there's an entire audience waiting for me to continue talking."

"Where?" The blonde asked. The audience including Adaline laughed at the actors portrayal of Cassie.

"Right here." Lexi whispered pointing towards the crowd.

"Oh." She chuckled fixing her hair. "Hi."

"Whatever." Lexi rolled her eyes continuing to talk as Cassie's lookalike disappeared from the stage. "The point is, I couldn't wait to go through puberty."

A scene of Suze gushing over Cassie's new body was soon acted out. Adaline could tell by the way that the real Cassie was shifting in her seat that she was uncomfortable.

"Look, I know being informed, smart, hardworking, and curious are all very important qualities, but imagine having all of those qualities and also being hot." Lexi ranted earning some laughs from the crowd. "So, if Hallie was 433 days older than me, then all I would have to do is wait... 433 days, and I'd look just like her."

The scene changed and Lexi came back on stage dressed in a revealing pink dress.

"Damn!" Someone in the audience whistled.

"I'd be the girl... no one ever... could get." Lexi smiled dreamily. "And I'd imagine my former classmates... sitting around at barbecues in their dirty, dirty backyards 20 years from now.

"Man... I really wish I'd boned Lexi Howard." One of the actors sighed.

"Yeah, you and the rest of East Highland."

"All I had to do was wait." The Howard girl finalized leaving the stage for the scene change.

"Look, Lexi, some guys prefer smaller boobs." Cassie or Hallie said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah?" The younger sister wondered. Adaline knew that Lexi was always very self conscious about her body especially when she compared herself to her older sister.

"I mean, if you and I could trade bodies, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Well maybe they're still growing." Lexi pondered earning a shake of the head from Hallie.

"No, they're not."

"Well, sometimes, it takes..."

"No, they're fully formed." The blonde cut her off.

Adaline wasn't sure if it was Lexi's goal to make Cassie seem like a bitch in this play but that's what she personally thought was happening.

"To be honest, I'm not really the kind of person who wants to be known for their body. But I also didn't want the troubles that came along with it." Lexi spoke to the audience. "I feel like I've lived most of my life in my imagination. Taking the smallest moments and dreaming them up into something bigger." Looking sadly at the ground as the next scene began. "But reality always finds a way of pulling me back."

This scene showed the reality of what it was like with Lexi and Cassie's father. Adaline knew all about their dad and his struggles. The Howard man's absence affected both of the sisters differently.

The Kingston girl was wondering when her lookalike would make an appearance but was pleasantly surprised when she appeared in the next scene.

It showed Lexi sitting on a roof between her and Rue's lookalikes. This was a memory that both Adaline and Rue remembered vividly. It was right before everything in their lives went down hill.

"I think before high school we should think about all the things we don't like about ourselves... and then change them, so we can be, like, like, different, cooler people." Lexi spoke looking at her two best friends.

"I don't think we need to be cooler." Abby shrugged eating the fake ice cream.

"Well, we should at least try and know what's cool."

"Yeah, but that shit, like, changes all the time." Jade mumbled fiddling with her jacket zipper.

"That's what makes it hard to follow." Lexi continued.

"Yeah, but I think it's a good thing."

"But... what if we get excluded from things?" Lexi asked looking at Jade.

"That's also a good thing." The curly haired girl shot back causing Abby to laugh.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Jade nodded. "My dad says he refuses to be a part of any club that would have him as a member."

"Well, that's cool." Lexi said amazed.

"My dad is like the complete opposite." Abby cut in. Adaline already knew where this was about to go. "He has to be apart of literally everything." The brunette shrugged. "But he's like super miserable so is it really worth it?"

"See, Abs gets it." Jade and Lexi both laughed at the girl's rant.

"Jade and Abby were the first people who made me feel okay about not being cool." Lexi narrated. Adaline and Rue were both looking at each from across the row with small smiles on their faces. "The three of us would talk and laugh for hours about the most random things..." She trailed off. "I miss those days. It was before my dad left and Jade's dad died. Before Abby left and Jade got into heavy drugs, and before I got inside my head. It was before we grew apart, and before I started doubting myself every time someone would ask me if Jade was my best friend."

Nate could see some tears gathering in Adaline's eyes so he reached over and grabbed her hand. The brunette sent the boy a small smile before looking back at the stage.

"I sometimes think about how my sister and I had so many of the same wishes growing up... and how different we became."

This time it was Cassie who had tears in her eyes as she watched the different scenes.

"At that age, we all thought we knew what love looked like. And we had our suspicions of what it felt like." Lexi paused as she looked out and tired to find Fez in the crowd. "But that's also what made it so intoxicating. None of us had any idea what it actually was."

"I don't think there's anything more beautiful than dedicating your life to loving someone." Cassie's lookalike could be heard saying. Adaline found this hilarious. It just showed how messed up her perception of love is.

"My whole life, I've always had this feeling that at any moment, something horrible was about to happen." Lexi didn't know just how real those words were.

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^ Adaline's Outfit ^