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???. prelude

It technically was unprofessional to develop a crush on a co-star. But who would seriously hold this against her? First off, he was Kel Mitchell and damn near every teen girl thought the same. Secondly, the entire cast had developed a close bond with each other. They had to work grueling hours with no breaks in between at times. So of course this was bound to happen. Inevitably, someone was gonna catch feelings for someone. It wasn't like it was anything serious anyways. It was just a small little crush and there was no harm in that,

She lightly leaned into his touch and asked, "So it's okay for me to call you, Kelly, then? I feel like that's a fair trade."

He laughed and looked down at her, "Okay! Now you're bugging, at least come up with something better than that."

"What's the matter, Kelly? You don't like my nickname?" She asked as she looked up at him,

"Uhh...hell no!" He exclaimed with a bop of his head,

She laughed and responded, "Well, that's too damn bad!"

The two teens giggled at each other as they walked further away from the stage. The brief moment of relief that she felt quickly subsided as one of the crew walked up to her,

"Nyla, your manager wants to speak to you. She's in your trailer." He said as quickly as he walked off. A wave of anxiety instantly hit her,

"Dang! Why is Angie always on your ass?" He asked with a laugh,

She sucked her teeth and responded, "I don't even know but hopefully it's nothing bad."

"Don't even trip, it's probably nothing. Want me to walk to your trailer?"

"Yeah, that would be nice, Kelly." She said with a sly smirk on her face,

He shoved her side and exclaimed, "Yo! Quit it with that dumb stuff!"

"Now, you know how I feel!" She laughed as she pushed him back,

"I'm still gonna call you 'Ny-Ny', Ny-Ny!" He said as they continued to make their way to her trailer,

"Whatever, Kelly!" She said as she stuck her tongue out at him,

He shook his head and laughed at her. A cloud of silence hovered over the two teens as they finally reached the front of her trailer. Before she could step inside, Kel pulled her closer,

His voice was more quiet than she'd ever heard. His eyes looked everywhere but at her, "So...uhh...I've been meaning to ask you something."

She furrowed brows and titled her head, "What is it?"

He scratched the back of his head, "Well, it ain't nothing too important. It is actually a little, well, I wouldn't call it dumb but-"

"Boy, just tell me!" She said as she playfully pushed his shoulder,

"Girl, stop playing! I just wanted to ask if you were doing anything tonight." His gaze still remained on the floor,

She smiled and leaned against the trailer, "You mean like sleeping?"

"My bad! Did I say tonight? I meant to say Friday night, are you free then?" He finally looked back up at her with a shy smile on his face,