Of Musicals, Makeup and Makeouts [KankrixReader]

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

You immediately started humming the opening number and wrote your name neatly on the audition sign-up sheet. You daydreamed about landing the role of Olive, the quiet, shy female lead. You felt like she reflected your personality very well; she was sweet, soft-spoken, nerdy, and sometimes felt lonely. Not that you didn't have friends or a loving family or anything like that, but you didn't like being by yourself very much.

Andrew put down his name as well. Before he turned his attention back to you, something caught his eye and he gave out a small gasp.

"What?! What is it?!" you asked, gripping on to his sleeve.

He pointed a bewildered finger at a name elegantly written in cursive.

Kankri Vantas.

The two of you gaped at each other, opened mouthed, in complete shock. Kankri Vantas? THE Kankri Vantas?! Kankri seemed like the WORST person to be in a musical ever. He talked non-stopped, got offended by every little thing a person said, and wouldn't let anyone come near him, not even with a 10 foot pole.

All of these were the worst quality traits in an actor, since you have to listen to each other as well as touch each other and make body contact.

"Kankri? Ha! That's a sight I need to see," Andrew smirked.

"Maybe he wants to try something....different..." you tried to defend him, not having much confidence in him or his abilities.

Andrew took your arm and began walking back with you to the cafeteria.

"We'll have to see, ___________. We'll have to see~"




You paced back and forth in the audition room, not caring about the curious stares you received from the other people around you. Your stomach was a hot, churning mess of nerves and it took all of your willpower to not throw up. You had been preparing diligently for this audition, feeling confident all week. But the minute the director pushed you all into the lobby, your confidence faltered and disintegrated into nothing but nerves. 

Andrew sat next to you, his foot nervously bouncing up and down. "Relax, _________. You're gonna be awesome!"

You looked over at Andrew. "Thanks, Andrew. But I'm still really nervous." You gripped your hair in panic. "What if I mess up?! Then I'll be shamed, and I'll never try out for a musical again, and I'll bring dishonor to you, dishonor on your cow-----"

"What're you talking about?" Andrew asked, confused laughter emanating from his lips.

You blushed profusely and rubbed your arm sheepishly. "Sorry. I quote Disney movies a lot. It's kind of habit..."

Andrew laughed heartily and you could feel your nervous tension being diffused. You laughed along with him, feeling more relaxed about the audition.

Your laughter was cut off by a haughty voice asking, "Can you two please be quiet? You are distracting other people from their auditions, which is not only rude, but gives you advantage, as you are preventing everyone else from going over their lines."

You and Andrew turned your heads to the right corner of the lobby. There, nestled in the corner with his arms crossed, was none other than Kankri Vantas. He stared at both of you disapprovingly with his red eyes, a frown set against his grey face. His foot tapped impatiently as his eyes narrowed.

You again laughed sheepishly, while Andrew frowned at the standoffish troll. "Sorry, Kankri," you apologized. "Didn't meant to distract you. We're just nervous-----"

Kankri scoffed and chastised, "Just because you have the privilege of laughter doesn't give you the right to use it to jeopardize others' concentration. You have severely neglected the fact that there are people incapable of laughter, much less speaking at all. If you would refrain from laughing at all and instead be quiet, that would be beneficial for everyone. Also, your pacing is quite distracting and could trigger nervous behavior in every else in this room. Please sit down and stop triggering everyone. #trigger."

You stared at Kankri, put off by his rude lecture. "Kankri, I have to walk when I'm nervous or else I'll throw up." Kankri opened his mouth again but you cut him off, "I will throw up! I will!"

Andrew smirked at Kankri. "You wouldn't want to trigger people who have emetophobia, would you?~"

Kankri's eye twitched in annoyance. You crossed your arms and continued, "I'm sorry, Kankri, but if everyone else was annoyed with me, they would've told me by now-----"

"Don't talk. You're distracting me from going over my lines. That's very rude and inconsiderate, _________," Kankri interjected, holding his hand up in a "stop" motion. You just stared incredulously at the troll and were about to tell him how rude he was being when the director's assistant poked his head through the door and called out, "Kanrki Vantas?"

Kankri stood up and walked into the auditorium, without so much as a word or glance toward you.

As soon as the door shut behind the troll, Andrew grumbled, "That guy sure has a stick up his ass."

You just nodded and sat down next to Andrew, fazed by the troll's rudeness. Andrew's eyebrows furrowed down in worry and he draped a comforting arm around your shoulder. "Hey. Don't let Kankri get to you. You're gonna be amazing! You worked so hard. Don't let him fuck it up."

You smiled at Andrew. "Thanks, Andrew. You're the best."

Andrew returned your smile. "Thanks. Wanna watch Vines? There's this one about doughnuts. It's soooooo funny!"

"Sure," you replied.

As the two of you cracked up over the videos, you almost forgot about Kankri's rudeness.

Almost.




"Oh my god, I can't look! I can't look!"

Andrew rolled his eyes and grabbed your arm. "Oh my god, ________, stop being dramatic. Just go look."

You tried to pry his hand off and shook your head. "Nope. I'll throw up."

"No, you won't. C'mon, I'll go with you." Andrew gently held your hand and walked down the hall with you to the Cast List tacked up on the bulletin board. As the board approached your line of sight, your heart beat erratically against your chest and you felt like you would collapse on the ground any minute.

Andrew scanned the Cast List and a grin lighted his face. He pointed out a name to you and you gasped.

It was yours.

And you had gotten Olive.

You squealed in delight and jumped up and down, tackling Andrew with a hug. He cheered with you and spun you around.

"See? What'd I tell you about worrying?" He let go of you, still smiling.

You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly, "I know, I know. But it's so easy to get worried. Did you get in?" You suddenly scanned the list for Andrew's name and found it. "Cool, you're playing Leaf! You're gonna be so amazing at that part!"

Andrew grinned and draped his arm across your shoulder. "You know it---OH MY GOD!"

You jumped at his sudden outburst and clutched your chest. "Jeez, Andrew, thanks for giving me a heart attack----"

"Kankri got Barfee!" he exclaimed, pointing at the list.

"WHAT?!" you screeched. Much to your chagrin, Kankri's name was printed on the Cast List, right above yours. You exchanged a shocked look with Andrew. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

Kankri Vantas would be your love interest.

Crap.




You walked into the theater nervously. You were afraid of what Kankri's reaction might be when he finds out you're his love interest.

You saw Andrew sitting with a few of the others and approached them. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Kankri sitting on the stage, his legs crossed and bobbing up and down with impatience. He stared off into the distance, his red eyes narrowed.

Part of you was saying that you should just ignore the troll and go to Andrew, but a small part of you insisted that you try and say hello to the prudish troll. Maybe if you were friendly to him, he wouldn't be that rude to you….

You were going to regret this.

You walked over to Kankri and greeted, "Hi, Kankri!"

The troll jumped and snapped his head in your direction. He scowled at you.

"Hello, ______. Why did you sneak up on me like that? I could've had a heart attack! I'm very prone to being scared easily, and you could've caused me serious injury if I had fallen off the stage. Be more careful next time! Some are startled very easily and you should take them into consideration-----"

"Geez, Kankri, I was just saying hello," you defended yourself, put off by his lecture.

You knew you were going to regret this.

"You could've said hello in a friendlier, more approachable manner," he reprimanded, uncrossing his legs.

"But I….ugh, nevermind, just wanted to say hi. I'm going now," you quickly huffed, storming away.

That guy really knew how to bring your mood down.

You reached Andrew's group and chatted with them, your mood brightening instantly. When the director called you all up to the stage, you saw Kankri staring at you. You quickly averted your gaze. If you so much as smiled at him he would probably explode and yell at you.

"Alright, everyone, we're going to practice the opening number," your director announced.

After being given a general walkthrough, you all took your places. The fast piano blared from the sound system as the song began.

The boy playing Chip burst on stage and began to sing.

At the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
My parents keep on telling me
Just being here is winning
Although I know it isn't so

More kids walked onstage as they sang their lines. You looked at Kankri from across the way. He was studying his script intensely. He looked up at you briefly, then walked stiffly on to the stage.

"Returning from last year's tragic setback, William Barfee!" the girl playing Ms. Rona Peretti announced.

Kankri scowled and responded, reading from his script. "It's pronounced Bar-fay. There's an accent aigu!"

Your eyebrows rose up in shock. He said that line so arrogantly and stuck-up, it sounded like he actually meant it. And, knowing the troll, he probably did. Maybe Kanrki would be great for this role after all.

Winner's destination
Washington D.C.

Everyone scrambled around on stage as they sang together.

Plasma T.V. in a fancey hotel
Where they treat you well
All because you love to spell
We spell!

At your cue you walked on stage and walked up to Kankri.

"Hi, I'm Olive Ostrovsky. Do you know where I check in?" you asked.

He shot you the coldest glare you've ever received and barked, "Shut up!" He quickly returned back to his script as the song continued.

You stood still, your feelings slightly hurt. You knew he was just saying his line, but the way he said it made you feel as if he really was annoyed by your presence and wanted you to shut up. You couldn't help but think of earlier when you had tried to say hello to him, how rude he was.

You returned your attention back to the song.

It seems, we're living out our dreams
Which is very nice, very nice
Very, very, very nice
Very nice, very nice
Very, very, very nice
Very nice
Beginning
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!

You all finished and your director nodded in approval. "Great start you guys. Let's run it again."

You didn't think you were in the mood to have Kankri tell you to shut up again.

The next three months were going to be tough.






It was a month away from opening night. You were excited as you walked into the auditorium because you would be singing The I Love You Song today. This was your big number that would showcase your vocals. Not only that, but this was the most serious song in the show and the big tearjerker.

You couldn't wait to make people cry.

You greeted your friends who would be playing your Mom and Dad. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Kankri looking over at the three of you. You looked over at him and he quickly looked away, focusing on a large book in his hands.

You shrugged and turned back to the others as Ms. Snowman gave you guys pointers. She trusted you three to figure out how to stage the number primarily by yourselves.

You took center stage as the song began.

If I go to Washington
Will I be on my own?
Who will be my chaperone?

The girl playing your Mom walked beside you as she sang the lyrics. You looked at her with as much loving and longing as you could.

We always knew, we always knew
You were a champion
I love you
I love you
I love everything about you dear
And I swear it's true

The boy playing your Dad walked to your other side and you tackled him in a hug. You thought you saw a frown on Kankri's face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.

I wrote you a letter
How I found the spelling bee such fun
Mama, mama, mama

You felt your eyes become teary as you sang the next lines

I think Dad is angry Mom
And I do not know what to do
Mama, mama, mama
I think he takes out on me
What he wants to take out on you
Mama, mama, mama!
How I wish you were home

Tears spilled down your face as you were overcome with emotion. You sympathized with Olive's loneliness and you felt those few lines reflected her relationship with her dad and her yearning for her mother's love. You held hands with "Mom" and "Dad" and harmonized the rest of the song beautifully.

Mama
I love you
How I love you Mama
I love…you

As you three finished, the entire cast stood up and clapped loudly, cheering at the top of their lungs. Ms. Snowman gave you all a thumbs up while Andrew whistled loudly. You looked over at Kankri and your jaw practically dropped. His arms were crossed and he was staring at the floor.

That was it. You had no more sympathy for the troll. The least he could do was clap for you three, or give a smile smile, or a thumbs up or something.

The minute Ms. Snowman dismissed everyone, you packed your things quickly and stomped out the door. You accidentally ran into Kankri, the last person you wanted to see right now.

He looked at you, opened his mouth, then closed it again. Your anger quickly turned into confusion. Was he trying to tell you something?

He bit his lip and glanced at you with his intense, ruby eyes. You don't know why, but your breath hitched at his gaze.

"Good job," he mumbled quietly, quickly darting away and disappearing around the corner.

You were stunned. He actually praised you? Gave you a compliment? For a minute you thought you imagined it. But no, the rude troll had actually said something nice to you for the first time.

A small smile lit your face, but you quickly shook it off. One compliment wasn't going to make up for all the rude comments he's directed at you.

But it was a start.




It was three weeks until opening night. Kankri had begun acting strangely around you since the day he gave you a compliment. He stared at you more, sat closer to you, and even attempted to smile at you! His face would also become red whenever he berated you, and his lectures were gentler and brief.

Was he trying to be nice to you? He was two months too late, if that was the case. But you admit that this new Kankri was a nice change of pace from "Kranky Kankri."

Today you would be practicing your's and Kankri's song. The two of you walked onstage and awkwardly looked at each other. Kankri had improved overall as an actor and put more exaggeration into his voice and body language. There were still some things he had to work on, but when he let himself relax, he was an incredible actor.

You and Kankri stood side by side, and you began to sing.

How wonderful it feels
To stand so close to first
I'll make it happen
Cause I will not come in second!

You looked over at Kankri, and he looked straight at you as he sang his lines.

People are scared of me 
And no one really likes me
I won't come in second
Hey Olive, don't think I'm distracted
By your eyes and your smile and
Your hairdo
Oh the things I do not dare do;
My fears are odious and fecund.

You couldn't help but feel that what he sang was directly for you. Not Olive, but you, ______________. Was it true? Was he really distracted by your looks and your personality?

You didn't have much time to ponder as you both continued on with the song.

"You…." Kankri spoke, looking over at you, a blush spreading across his cheeks. You smiled widely at him and took his hands in yours. He flinched but you shot him a warning look. He gulped as the two of you twirled around on stage. You let him go and he scurried away as fast as possible.

Mama I made a friend

Should I come in second?

Yes, second
I will come in second

Should I throw the bee?

Before you knew it, the song finished. Everyone applauded you and you grinned victoriously at Andrew, winking at him.

Ms. Snowman smiled. "Okay, now you two need to hug."

You both paled and stared at each other in horror. If that was how he reacted to holding your hands, what would he do while hugging you?

Kankri opened his mouth and protested.

"I have the right to personal space, and forcing me to hug _________ is a violation of my personal space, which could end up as a lawsuit------"

"JUST. HUG. THE. GIRL!" she yelled, gritting her teeth in anger.

Kankri Vantas was speechless for the first time in his life.

Swallowing his pride, the troll looked over at you, an unrecognizable emotion blazing in his bright red eyes. You tried to smile reassuredly at him, but it came across as more of an embarassed grimace.

Kankri slowly reached out his arms and you walked into his embrace, wrapping your arms around his lean torso and pulling your chest flush against his.

You both gasped at the same time.

The troll was so warm; you could feel his comforting heat radiating through his sweater and seeping into your chilled skin. The softness of his sweater felt good against your cheek. And as his long arms awkwardly wrapped around you, you felt safe and secure, wrapped up in him. You felt like a puzzle piece clicking into place; being in Kankri's arms felt right, like....

You belonged there.

A pleasant tingle shot up your spine and you could feel a blush flare across your cheeks.

Kankri quickly pulled away from you, a bright red flush coloring his face. You never noticed it before, but Kankri blushing was quite adorable and attractive.....

You snapped yourself out of your fangirling. No, you couldn't be falling for Kankri. He was rude and mean to you, always telling you that you were a nuisance and the bane of his existence. You couldn't even begin to like the troll who made you feel so bad about yourself.

And yet...why did the hug feel right? Why did your heart speed up and your face flush?

As you dealt with your mixed emotions, Ms. Snowman told you and Kankri, "Alright, it's a start. But let's do it again. This time, with more emotion."

You froze and looked over at Kankri, who didn't look too pleased.

You didn't think you nor the troll could handle another hug.




Tonight was opening night, the day you had been waiting for. You were dressed in cute blue overalls with a bright pink shirt underneath. The top of your hair was pulled back with a large bow while the rest fell down your shoulders. You were chatting with Andrew when you saw Kankri approach you.

He was wearing a red dress up shirt, black tie, black pants, and black glasses with white tape in the middle.

"____________, I would like to inquire if you would join me outside for a brief chat?" he asked, avoiding your gaze.

You and Andrew shot each other questioning looks. "Sure, Kankri," you agreed.

His posture seemed to stiffen and he nodded his head curtly. He swiftly walked away to the back door. You followed, peering over your shoulder at Andrew one last time.

The frosty winter air bit your face as you two walked outside. You breathed in the fresh, crisp air and felt your pre-show nerves calm down.

"What do you want to talk about, Kankri?" you asked, facing the troll.

His cheeks were aflame as he stared at you. A minute passed before he blinked.

You sighed, looking down. "Look, Kankri, whatever it is, you can tell me. If not, then I'm going to go inside. Sorry if that sounds rude, but it's cold out here and I'm not dressed properly---"

You looked up to see Kankri was only a few inches from your face. This was uncharacteristic of the boy who felt touchy about personal space.

"What---"

You began, but never got to finish, as Kankri grabbed your face in his hands and kissed you. You blinked, startled. You were frozen as Kankri's lips moved against your own. Kankri pulled backed, a sad look in his eyes. You looked up at him, your face blushing brightly and your eyes wide open.

"Look, __________, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I've treated you for the past three months. I'm…I'm awkward around people and I don't know how to explain my feelings very well. I spend so much time trying to tell others how to not be offensive that I become offensive myself. I didn't realize it until I met you. You infuriated me to no end, but at the same time you fascinated me and I began to adore you. I reprimanded you so much because I wanted to talk to you more, but I realized it was just pushing you away from me. You're…you're…beautiful and I want to be with you. You're talented and your voice is gorgeous. I've realized the error of my ways, and if you can forgive me, will you…will you…be my…girlfriend?" Kankri finished, ducking his head shyly.

You didn't know what to say.

You were flattered beyond belief and a little bit excited, as you had begun to develop small feelings for the boy. However, you weren't completely head over heels for him. Nor did you think you could jump straight into a relationship with a troll who had treated you pretty crappily.

You thought about it for a few moments. Kankri's thumbs twiddled nervously.

You smiled at him. "Kankri, I accept your apology. When you're not so caught up in social justice or triggers or trying to correct everyone, you're a great guy. I like you, Kankri."

Kankri's face lit up with hope.

"However, that doesn't mean I'm going to jump into a relationship with you straight away. To be honest, it'll take some time for you to make up all the times you were rude to me. But I do have some feelings for you, so you can make it up to me by going on a date with me tomorrow before our second show. How does that sound?" you answered, a blush dusting your face.

Kankri nodded vigorously.

You grinned. "Alright, let's get inside, Kankri. It's cold out here."

You stood up on your toes and planted a quick kiss on Kankri's cheek, racing inside to join your castmates. You felt much better about tonight's show.

Kankri's face was completely red and a goofy smile lit up his face.

Kankri Vantas was speechless for the second time in his life.