A/N: Hello there, welcome to Comix's first ever fanfiction that was actually for a living, thriving fandom! The concept is simple: combine two things I adore, theatre and APH. This is the new edited version released on July 25th, 2012 – the original went up on July 25th, 2010. But don't worry, nothing really changes apart from some added segments and reworking of phrases! The plot and events will stay the same.

Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.
West Side Story belongs to Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein.

With a grunt, Arthur shoved the last thumbtack onto the last poster and into the last bulletin board, then stepped back to survey his work. He'd spent the better part of an afternoon trudging around Hetalia High School putting up these notices by himself. It wasn't the most exciting task, but now every hallway and classroom displayed this announcement prominently:

CASTING CALL: WEST SIDE STORY

We are looking for ACTORS, SINGERS, and DANCERS for HHS's student-run spring musical. This is the only the first round of auditions, so you will only need to prepare a short song. Please DO NOT sing a song from West Side Story. There will be a short cold read provided, so you do NOT have to prepare a monologue. Dance auditions will be conducted at callbacks. If you are selected for a callback, we will contact you individually. If you have any questions, contact us at . Break a leg!

Sincerely,
Arthur Kirkland - Director
Wang Ho Kam - Assistant Director
Roderich Edelstein - Music Director
Maddie Williams - Stage Manager
Francis Bonnefoy - Choreographer

He sighed. It would have to do. A glance up at the hallway clock told him that if he didn't make it out of there in three minutes, he'd miss his bus.

Hightailing it down the hall, Arthur threw himself against the heavy front doors of the school. The only thing that the extra theatrics served to do was to have him slip on the steps, where newly fallen snow had been lying in wait.

"DAMNIT!"

He got to his feet and brushed the melting snow off his pants, just to see the back of the public bus cheerfully rumbling away.

"GODDAMNIT!"

A few blocks away, Lovina Vargas kicked open the front door to her house, not caring about the muddy smudge the tip of her boot created on the wood. Stomping indoors, she dropped her coat onto the floor and made a beeline for the living room. Throwing herself into the largest, squishiest armchair, she buried her face into the armrest and groaned.

Lovina hadn't enjoyed the first half of the year at her new school, and the first day of winter semester hadn't thrilled her, either. That past summer, her mother had received an unexpected job offer all the way back in Italy, to help some literary journal get started. It was something stable, well-paid, and irresistible to Ms. Roma's penchant for being involved in daring new projects, regardless of whether they succeeded or not. The only problem was that there was no accommodation for two teenage girls included in the deal. So Lovina and Feliciana had packed up their things, been shoved into a car, and then deposited on their grandfather's doorstep four hours away in the city.

"You'll like it," their mother had assured them. "There are always a lot of things to do there. I'm sure both of you will end up being too busy to call me anyway."

Lovina, having claimed shotgun, rolled her eyes skeptically. Feliciana, lodged between boxes that hadn't fit in the trunk, bounced up and down.

"Mama, will Francis and Auntie Monica be nearby too?"

Lovina gritted her teeth at the mention of her cousin. All he ever did was tease her whenever there was a family reunion. Now that they'd be in daily visitation distance, she could only see misery in the near future.

"Not exactly. They have a flat downtown. Grandpa's house is quite a walk from there. But you'll be going to the same school."

And it was this school, Hetalia High, which Lovina had now been attending for about four months. She still didn't care for it, but Feliciana had been quick to make friends – she'd even found a best friend. Given a couple of weeks, he might have even reached boyfriend status, but Lovina had threatened that blond dumbass with bodily harm if any evidence of inappropriate doings were to be found. She had also decided that she would be the sole judge of that.

Lovina had also found the city to be quite daunting and full of things she didn't particularly care about. Feliciana, always the innocent and trusting half, had dived into everything headfirst. She was always skipping out of the house, excited to spend a day with her friends at art galleries, fashion boutiques, concerts, or any other event happening downtown. Feliciana often begged Lovina to join her, but the elder sibling did not want to endure the company of "that macho potato." When Feliciana suggested a few school clubs to participate in, Lovina had covered herself in a blanket and hummed loudly until Feliciana gave up and left her alone.

Feliciana's busy schedule and social life more than fulfilled their mother's expectations, so Lovina became a recluse. Every day, as soon as the last bell rang, she took off in the direction of their house, not stopping for anything until she kicked in the front door. Settling down in Grandpa Roma's huge armchair, she would read a book…or, as it was more likely, take a nap. School was already so exhausting; how could her mother and Feliciana expect her to get involved with even more crap afterwards?

No sooner had Lovina snuggled into a corner and closed her eyes when the door burst open again.

"Hello! Feli, Lovi? I'm home!"

Leave it to her boisterous grandfather to jolt her from her snooze.

"Lovi, are you there?"

"Yes!" she yelled back, lifting her head irritably. Her grandfather was kicking off his shoes, cans of food clinking loudly in the rustling plastic bags. "No thanks for ruining my nap."

"Ah, you can't just lie about the house all the time." He nodded at her as he shuffled by with the groceries, heading towards the kitchen. "Where's Feli?"

Feeling resentful about being forced into conversation, Lovina chose not to answer. Luckily, she didn't even have to – a jangling of keys, then a scrabbling at the handle, was followed by Feliciana popping the door open again, gasping excitedly through her scarf.

"Lovi, guess what! You'll just love this –"

"Unless it's a jumbo sized bag of ketchup chips, not interested."

"But, but, hear me out!"

"Feli, weren't you going to your friend Kiki's today?" Lovina spotted Grandpa Roma unloading his groceries, across the way in the kitchen. Now that she'd spoken of ketchup chips, Lovina realized that a snack wasn't a bad idea. She watched him more intently as a pair of tomatoes were placed onto the tabletop.

"It's Kiku! Her name is Kiku! Not Kiki! Oh, but Lovi -"

Lovina was not at all pleased at having her attention diverted from the food.

"Look at what they're doing at school! It's perfect for you."

CASTING CALL: WEST SIDE STORY

"NO! I don't care what mama said, I don't want to join any stupid club! And you think anyone is perfect for anything."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad!" Grandpa Roma walked over to them, a pear in one hand. Lovina grabbed it from him and took a ravenous bite. Feliciana handed the poster over to him, and they peered down at the words together. "Who knows, it could be a lot of fun. You'll finally meet new people – and hey! Francis is helping out! Maybe he can get you a good part."

"I've been meeting new people all year, Grandpa Roma. Since, you know, I didn't know anyone here. And I don't want to spend more time with Francis. Every time he sees me, he steals my headband and messes up my hair!"

"Maybe...he thought you looked better that way?"

"You're so clueless sometimes, Feli."

Grandpa Roma ignored the complaints and handed back the flyer to Feliciana. "Are you going to audition?"

"No way! I can't act. But guess what, when Ludwig saw it – " Lovina frowned. "- he said that maybe later they would need people to play instruments, and then he and I can be part of it too!" Feliciana's eyes shone as her excitement rose. "But I still brought it back for Lovi, since it says that they need singers."

Grandpa Roma blinked in surprise. "You sing?"

"Yeah, she does! Actually, we were both supposed to learn violin together...but after Lovi managed to snap all the strings one go, mama decided that – " Feliciana made air quotes with her fingers. "- that if she is going to be so irresponsible with her instruments, it's better if she's her own instrument!"

"Oh, how wonderful! You could do duets, vocal with accompaniment!"

"I know, right?"

Lovina groaned again. No, she did not do duets. But yes, she did like the singing. In their old town, her music teacher once remarked that Lovina had "very strong lungs." Whether this was from being exceptionally gifted in vocal performance or exceptionally obstinate in her arguments with the teacher, neither could really tell, but one thing was for sure: Lovina had liked the singing. She now realized that she hadn't practiced any of it in months. Coming to the city had made her incredibly lazy.

"Well then, I think it's clear that you must try this."

"What's with the 'must'? I don't have to must anything. Why can't I just do what I'm doing now?"

"Because you're not doing anything productive by being home all the time. At your age, you need to go out and experience life. Have fun! Make friends! You don't have to be lonely all the time."

"Who says I'm lonely and I don't have fun?"

"I do." Grandpa Roma folded his arms across his chest and looked down at his granddaughter sternly. "Who knows what might happen if you're here all by yourself? What if Feliciana or I don't come home until it's really late, and you get in trouble?"

Lovina eyed the poster warily. "You're being overdramatic."

"Okay, then how about this?" Feliciana clapped her hands earnestly. "We're going to have to send college applications next year! And you don't have any extracurricular stuff at all! That might look bad!"

Lovina groaned. It was just an audition. Who knows, maybe her reputation preceded her and they wouldn't cast her on the grounds of being anti-social. The only problem was that being anti-social meant that nobody knew her well enough to realize this. Well, there was Francis, but he probably wouldn't say anything. He was an ass, but unfortunately, he was a very fair ass.

"Fine, I'll audition for your stupid play! But you know that you can't count on me actually getting in!"

"That's good enough for me! Yaaaay, Lovi!" Feliciana pounced on her sister and began squeezing her tightly.

"Geez, Feli! Get off me before I pass out!" Lovina struggled to break free, standing up, but lost her balance and fell back into the chair.

"But I'm so happy for you!"

As the sisters tussled, Grandpa Roma returned to the kitchen, chuckling.

A/N: Thus ends the first chapter of the revamp! Let me know what you think, everyone...not much was changed – in fact, the main changes are additions. C:Please don't forget to R&R! Thank you bunches!

Since I don't think there are email alerts for replacing a chapter with new content, I suggest people to check up every Saturday or Sunday night...just like old times! xD