The trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, the delicious scent of flowers dominating the air in every last corridor of the school. But any student you might stop to ask if they could smell the roses would hurriedly explain that they're far too busy to discuss metaphors with you, and would quickly rush away. The Summer Festival is the only thing on anyone's mind; it's the biggest event of the year for any high school, and this high school was no different.

"We have to be different this year, guys!" Hori shouted over the din in the theatre as the entire club population darted about, putting pieces together for the very important play they would be presenting in only nine days.

"President!" a first-year scrambled over three girls, two buckets, and a wooden horse to make his way to the centre of the stage, where Hori was standing. "Someone spilled black ink all over the princess' corset!"

"What? Can it be washed out?" Hori barely finished his question, barely registered the already shaking head of the first-year, before another student arrived with a complaint, rolling under a cabinet that was being carried across the stage and vaulting a pile of props, before breathlessly informing Hori that the microphones had all suddenly stopped working in the preliminary sound test they'd just carried out.

Hori opened his mouth to offer reassurance that the equipment was simply temperamental and there was another student, Macchan, who knew exactly how to handle it, but was interrupted by yet another club member shouting across the room.

"President! We're short a costume for the Trio of Flirtatious Knights!"

"How did that even—?"

"President, we can't find the instructions for the new lighting system!" a girl was frantically tossing paper out of a nearby crate.

"There's a creaky floorboard over here!" a boy cried hysterically from the side of the stage.

"EVERYBODY, SHUT UP!" Hori shouted before anyone else could throw a problem at him. The room stared silently at their leader, all frozen in place. "Get someone from the art club to paint patterns over the ink stains, or dye the entire thing black. Ask Macchan about the microphones. Ask the actors about the costumes; they were last to see them last night. Bethany has the instructions for the lights, she's upstairs. Put a label on that floorboard so no one will step on it during the performance."

Hori took a deep breath and continued. "We have to be different this year. No falling backdrops or broken limbs, this play is going to go off without a hitch, and we, The Drama Club, will be the highlight of The Summer Festival! We will be the only thing anyone remembers! We will entertain them! Because we are the best club in this school, and with our magnificent leads, we will prove it!"

With a flourish he indicated Kashima and the highly talented girl beside her, who would be acting as the prince and princess respectively. The club cheered for them, and for their fearless leader. Kashima grinned, glad for the attention, and Hori decided that that was enough.

"Alright, back to work!"

Two days later, the princess fell into the orchestra pit and broke her leg.

-oOo-

Six days from The Summer Festival, the only room in the school that wasn't bustling was the auditorium. A few students still made valiant attempts to prepare details for the play, though the vast majority were sitting motionless, crushed by the certainty that they could not perform without a lead character. Hori glanced again at the paperwork in front of him, a form to declare that the Drama Club would be removing itself from the festivities. He didn't want to sign it. He kept thinking, there must be a solution, some way for all the work they'd done to not be wasted. But there were no other actresses in the club who knew the role or were capable of learning it fast enough, performing it well enough…

Kashima gasped loudly and Hori looked up at her, daring to hope.

"President, you could play the princess," she said seriously. Instinctively, he rolled up his papers and slammed them into the top of her head. Then he considered her idea while she lay on the floor, clutching her head.

"That…could actually work," he muttered, thinking fast.

"So why did you hit me?" Kashima moaned.

Hori ignored her and stood up. "Do we have a wig fit for a princess?" he asked loud enough for the entire room to hear.

One of the girls in charge of costumes called back after a quick rummage through a box. "Yes!" She held up a curly light brown wig. Others in the large room began to stir, looking at their leader, anticipating.

"The dress, the princess' costume, what size is it?"

The girls caught on quickly. "Your size!" one called back after a quick visual assessment. The air in the room was still, the moment seeming full of unreleased energy.

"Then, I have an announcement to make. The show will go on! I will play the princess!"

The raucous cheering and sudden flurry of movement as the club came back to life and recommenced preparations for the performance may have confused any passers-by who would have thought that the room was empty until that moment.

-oOo-

Rehearsals were vigorous and occasionally violent as Hori had to remind Kashima often of the importance of their roles, as well as direct the entire club in every aspect of the performance so that on the day, everything could go off without a hitch. Finally the first day of the Summer Festival arrived and it was time for the club to prove itself.

Backstage, as the auditorium filled up, Hori gave a final speech of encouragement, before placing his tiara gently atop the wig he was wearing, and turning to Kashima, Bethany, and Macchan.

"Lights?" he asked, and Bethany nodded, promptly turning to give a thumbs-up to the students visible in the booth beside the stage. "Sound?" he questioned and Macchan solemnly flipped a switch on an electrical board he was holding and nodded too.

"Good, then, Mac, Beth, you should both—" Hori stopped speaking as Kashima and several others gasped, looking scandalised. He realised what he'd said and wanted to hit someone, but Kashima wasn't at fault for once, so he let his hands remain at his sides.

"I didn't mean to say that," he said, shocked, and angry at himself for breaking the one rule of theatre. They might have all stood there for much longer, seriously considering giving up the performance for all the bad luck they'd just invoked, if one of the stage crew with a clipboard and a headset hadn't slipped behind the curtain and whispered to Kashima that it was her cue.

Camera shutters were audible and bright lights shone all around as Kashima stepped onto the stage, and began to perform.

The story played out perfectly, with not a thing going wrong. Before they knew it, it was the final scene and the princess had finally escaped her flirtatious knights and gone to declare her undying love for the prince. The play was to end with a passionate kiss between the prince and princess, which Kashima of course had practised with the previously cast princess, but she and Hori hadn't had a chance to act out this scene properly given the limited time they'd had for him to learn the role. Neither one hesitated in front of the crowd however, professionalism driving Hori into the awaiting arms of Kashima, who put one hand on Hori's face and leaned down with a princely smile to gently touch her lips to his.

A second passed, and Hori mindlessly pushed forward. Kashima responded, moving her lips against his. Recklessly, Hori threw an arm around Kashima's neck and pulled her closer. Kashima's other arm wrapped around his waist and tugged his entire body towards hers, kissing him roughly, endlessly. Hori's entire world was the dazzling sensation of Kashima's lips connecting with his. He allowed her to lean into him as they kissed, tilting him back and holding him tight. Wrapped up in each other, the claps of the crowd and the awkward whispers were ignored as they continued to kiss each other helplessly, long after they were reasonably expected to stop. Neither noticed the hurried orders or the curtain dropping beside them, cutting off the spectacle that was Kashima and Hori from the population of the school.

One of the stage crew cleared her throat loudly upon walking onto the stage, but still they didn't break apart. The few students looking on from just beside the curtains were torn between trying to gain the attention of their leader and avoiding the sight of him wrapped up in his favourite actress, especially since said actress' hand had just pulled off his wig and was intimately running through his hair, finally coming to rest at the base of his neck to hold him closer still.

All Kashima wanted at that moment was for Hori to be closer.

Eventually someone had the bright idea to smash a glass against a wall, which startled the actors enough for them to separate. Hori and Kashima dazedly looked around at the members of the club who were mostly blushing and staring. Hair was sticking up in all directions, faces were red, clothes crumpled; the pair looked like deer caught in headlights.

"Good show!" Hori declared bravely, leaving the stage. Kashima merely grinned and wobbled, following him.

Note: I must acknowledge the contributions of my friend Georgia, for I would not have known a single thing about theatre without her help.

Also I should probably mention, I've also published this on Ao3.

(EDIT: I later changed a character's name to better suit the canon.)