#penisstlyes

            “Mad? Of course not!” Niall laughed. “Just as long as you introduce me to some cute girls” He winked, causing Liam to roll his eyes.

            “But how are you going to explain to Peyton about next weekend? Isn’t that when rehearsal is like, super packed? I heard a girl in my class talk to someone about it… her name was… Daniela, I think.” Liam nodded, confirming her name. “What will you tell Peyton?”

            I frowned, inching away from Louis, slightly taken aback. Peyton?

            Peyton was the cheerleading captain, with bright hazel eyes, wavy brown hair, and a complexion that put model’s to shame. According to Kaylyn, the two had broken up a while ago, and that Peyton turned green with envy every time Louis hit on another girl. Guess Peyton finally got him back…

            “I already told her I’m not going with her. I made that promise before I dumped her. If she thinks I’m still taking her to Brandon Ludwig’s party, she’s crazy.”

            Brandon Ludwig name was very popular at the school; known for throwing wild parties that even alumni show up to sometimes; of course supplying the alcohol. People have been talking about this party since last year, saying that this party would be the party of the century.

            Niall chuckled, muttering a ‘told you’ to Liam, before casually strolling to the couch, flopping himself onto him. “So if you aren’t taking Peyton” he paused, kicking his shoes off and resting them on the coffee table. “Who are you taking?”

            “I should be going” I muttered, politely excusing myself as I turned around to walk out the door.

            “Maybe you could take Rose?”

  ***

            “So he just flat-out rejected you?”

            “More like laughed, really. He said he’d rather go alone” I muttered, outlining the rim of my mug with my pinkie.

            Madison shook her head, jumping down from the kitchen counter she was sitting on. “Why I outta-“

            “Calm down, Mads” Cassandra chuckled, sipping on her tea. “The last thing we need is Louis with a broken nose”

            “But it’s Rose! Regardless of who it is, that was a low-blow. Unacceptable” Madison huffed, slumping in the seat next to me. “M’sorry he did that” she mumbled, quieter now.

            I shrugged, trying to play off the fact I wasn’t hurt. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. I’m just a theatre kid, remember? This isn’t High School Musical.”

            But in actuality, I was in shock more than anything. The girls had tried to convince me that he liked me, but what he pulled merely an hour ago showed that he was in no way interested, why am I so upset over it. He doesn’t like me, big deal.

            I looked down at my mug, a small voice in the back of my mind whispering;

            ‘Oh, but I wish he did…’

  Louis’s point of view…

              I am such a moron.

            Rose hasn’t replied to my text messages since I laughed about Liam’s suggestion about Rose. I never meant to laugh at her, but merely because I figured she wasn’t the partying type girl.

            Once I saw her expression, I knew she had misunderstood me, but left before I had a chance to explain myself.

            Fantastic.

            We had made a deal to not speak to each other in the hallways, some stupid rule I made up because I was so scared somebody would find out. As of right now, I didn’t really care about theatre. What’s the worse they could do?

            Something about knowing Rose was upset with me made my stomach church, giving me this unshakeable guilt that keeps me gnawing at my lip. It’s Tuesday, nearly a full four days since the incident, and I’ve been a mess.

            “Why don’t you just go and talk to her, dummy?” Kaylyn asked, meeting up with me on the way to the to lunch. “She has the same lunch period as us, you know.” She stopped in her tracks, tugging roughly on my arm. “Lou, I have an idea!”

            I chuckled, crossing my arms and peered down at my younger sister, an eyebrow raised. “Which is?”

            “Okay, so I know you really like Rose-“

            “Says who?”

            She continued anyways, rolling her eyes as she continued, leaving me blushing. “You should ask for her to be your date to Brandon’s party! That way, you’ll be making it up to Rose and-“

            “That’s the dumbest idea ever” I scoffed, turning away and continuing to walk to the cafeteria. “I told you, I don’t want anyone knowing I’m in theatre, Kay. If I ask Rose, people will be suspicious.”

            “So you do want to bring Rose to Brandon’s party, but you’re too prideful about your popularity? I don’t know what Rose sees in you” she muttered, pushing past me and into the cafeteria.

            “What?” I gasped a little too loudly, grabbing her wrist and gently pulling her back. “She likes me?”

            She shrugged, giving her famous “I know something you don’t know” smirk before walking away. “Only one way to find out, Lou” she called, before joining Rose and the rest of the troupe at the opposite end of the cafeteria.

            Goodness, Kaylyn could be such a pain sometimes.

            I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I made my decision.

            “I’ll show you standards” I muttered, before I made my way to Roses’s table.

            As I approached her table, I noticed Cassandra, Kaylyn, Zayn, Madison and Daniela were all sitting with her, oblivious to my approach.

            I tapped on Roses’s shoulder, and simultaneously gained the whole cafeteria’s attention, one of the infamous perks of being incredibly popular.

            “Rose?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck. I glanced at grinning Kaylyn, who only made me blush harder. “Will you, um… go to Brandon Ludwig’s party with me?” I asked loudly, before swallowing just as audible. “You know… as a date”

            I heard a few audible gasps from behind me, and I grinned to see a light pink dust Rose’s cheeks as she stifled a smile.

            I’ve never made her blush before.

            “Um, yeah, yeah I will” She said, low enough for only I could hear.

            “I’m sorry, is that a yes?” I said, a little louder, pride surging through me as she blushed even harder. “I didn’t quite catch you, Love”

            She bit her lip as she looked around, noticing all eyes were on her.

            “Yes Louis. I’ll go with you” She replied louder this time.

  3rd person’s point of view…

          Peyton sat rigid as her eyes zeroed in on the girl with the curly hair that said yes to Louis, clutching her bright pink water bottle. “No way” She whispered, her eyes bubbling over with jealousy.

            “Louis is going to the party with me.” She hissed, before turning to the other members of the cheerleading squad. “Ladies” She announced, laying her hands palms down onto the table.

“Peachy Keen” I lied, rubbing my eyes to hide the probably visible black circles.

We were in my room, touching up on a few scenes; the usual. Everything had boiled down to the point where I was constantly asking her to come over, getting weird looks from Kaylyn and looks of awe from my mom. My goal was that the time that the show rolled around; she’d be head over heels for me. Time was running out, and I still had another two weeks left.

Ironically, Liam and Niall still didn’t have a clue that I was in theatre, and I still preferred to keep it that way. I was still embarrassed of the fact that I was in the program, and I’m pretty sure Zayn still hates my guts.

Other than that, everything was still going great. Throughout all this, I have managed to still go to parties on Friday nights, get completely smashed, and then be wide awake and fully functioning when Rose came over Saturday afternoon. From someone who used to be barely able to move on the day after parties, this was a big accomplishment for me.

Last night I went to another killer party with Liam and Niall, and had a blast. The two of them wanted to come over again today, considering Kaylyn, Dad, and Mum were gone for the whole day. However, I insisted they came later; after Rose left.

In all honesty, I was terrified of the three of them meeting. The two of them meeting Rose meant I’d have to explain my whole theatre situation, and that was never going to happen. After this show, my contact with Dad will be over and I will be able to go back to my old life… hopefully. Who knows, maybe I would still keep in contact with Rose.

“You’re a bad liar, you know that?”

I shrugged, watching as she came over to me, sitting next to my torso as I lay out on my bed, her hand immediately going up to my forehead. “You look like a ghost.” She murmured, her eyes flashing over my face in concern.

Lately, with these past few weeks, Rose and I have gotten a lot closer. She’d smile and laugh more around me, and I’ve gotten her to blush a lot. Of course, the most we’ve ever done physically was that awkward side arm hug; something I hated but accepted anyways, for her sake. She leaned closer, her eyes going back and forth between mine, her minty breath washing over my senses.

My heart stopped as I looked back up at her, the corner of my mouth twitching upward as she chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re hung-over, aren’t you?”

My eyes widened as she pulled away, the feelings of her warm hand still imprinted on my skin. “H-How’d you know?”

“My Dad’s a doctor, and you’re Louis Tomlinson. My dad gave me a few tips on how to know… and you’re very predictable” She replied, going to the doorway.

I shot up from my bed, the speed almost making my head whirl. “Are you leaving?” I gasped, blushing at how my voice almost came out as a whine.

“No silly. I’m making you some tea. Just sit tight” And with that, she was trotting down the stairs, leaving me a confused mess.

Why was I so infatuated with her? We were polar opposites, her favorite activity was something I despised entirely, and for the longest time Kaylyn always told me how much she despised me. Was she putting on a show? Or was she actually liking me too?

I sighed heavily, biting my lip as I raked a hand through my hair in frustration.

Every girl I’ve ever been with, whether it be one night stands or girlfriends, I was emotionless; never putting so much effort into anything, and breaking it off before it got too serious. I didn’t even know if Rose and I were even legitimate friends! Something about her made my heart rush and butterflies rush in my stomach, and I looked forward to always seeing her. Can guys even get that stupid butterfly feeling?

Apparently so.

I bit my lip, remembering how she had said my name, like it was the perfect answer on why I was hung-over. She doesn’t think I’m a drunk, does she?

Of course she does, she’s not stupid, and word gets around at our school, so she’s probably heard of my constant partying and hook-ups… great. I’ll never meet her standards.

I winced, the war with myself making my head hurt. Why did I like her so much? Why her, out of all people? I could be dating that aspiring model at our school! Her name was… Ashley, right?

The loud slam of my front door made me jump up from my bed in surprise. Was she actually leaving?

Without even thinking, I rushed out of my room and down the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, only to stand in shock at the base of my stairs.

Niall and Liam were in my living room, talking to Rose.

  Rose’s point of view…

          I was in Louis’s kitchen, drumming my fingers on the granite counter, chewing on my lip and waited for the water to heat up.

            Before Louis had joined theatre I would’ve cringed at the mere thought of his name, but now… it sort of gave me butterflies. I hated it.

            I had promised myself I would never go out with that type of guy, ever. I’ve heard the rumors, the truth intermingled with the lies that paraded through the schools. Louis drank a lot, slept with many girls and had many meaningless relationships. His last girlfriend; Peyton, the lead cheerleader was in tears when he dumped her emotionlessly. There was no way I’d set myself up for that. That’d be utterly moronic!

            My mind went back to last night; where Kaylyn was on speakerphone with me as Cassandra, Daniela and Madison were spending the night at my house, dressed in our pajamas as we huddled around my phone.

            “Rose, he totally likes you! He’s non-stop asking our parents on when you can come over, and he gets really excited when you get there. I think I even heard him staying up late the past few nights, practicing his lines!”

            That might’ve been true; he has got significantly better at his line memorization and participation in theatre, shocking everyone in the troupe; Zayn especially.

            “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did like you, Rose. You should see the way he looks at you” Daniela noted, sipping on her cola. Cassandra nodded in agreement, giving an example from when she saw the two of us backstage last week; something about how he couldn’t keep his ‘googly eyes’ off of me.

            Madison had agreed, saying she’s seen the same exact thing, many different times as well. “However, be careful. Remember Peyton?”

            I sighed, heeding her warning and shaking Louis’s face from my mind, searching the cabinets for suitable teacups.

            A loud slam of the door made me almost drop the cups in surprise as I whirled around. Two men were standing in between the living room and kitchen entryway, their eyes wide as they met mine.

            It was Liam and Niall.

            Louis had sworn me into secrecy about theatre, and I had reluctantly agreed, but how was I supposed to explain this?

            “Who are you?” Niall asked, his eyebrows knitting together as his eyes gave me a once-over, Liam doing the same thing.

            “Um, I’m R-“

“Fellas!” Louis shouted, suddenly appearing at the bottom of the stairs. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you guys to come over later?” He was forcing a smile as he hissed the last word, making it obvious that he was just surprised as I was.

            “We were in your neighborhood anyways, and we decided why not? W-we didn’t realize you had brought someone home from the party” Liam explained, glancing at me. “Nice one, she is. Usually none of them make you tea afterwards.”

            Them? I felt sick to my stomach, realizing the dirty rumors were true. “I’m not someone he brought home last night” I said a little too curtly. “I’m just a friend of Kaylyn. I thought she was in bed, so I was making tea for the two of us…” I lied, looking back up to Louis. “Sorry, I shouldnt’ve let myself in like that.”

            A weird feeling panged in my stomach as a sad look washed over Louis’s face before he looked down at his feet. “She’s uh… not home” He muttered, trying to persuade Liam and Niall with the lie.

            “Right. Silly of me” I chuckled, thanking myself that I left my purse by the front door. “I’ll just be going now.”

            I swiftly walked past them, feeling extremely awkward as I shuffled to the door. I had my hand on the knob when Louis’s voice shouted from the stairwell. “Wait, Rose!”

            Spinning around, I watched Louis make his way to the two boys, running a hand through his hair as he sighed shakily.

            “She wasn’t here to see Kaylyn” He started, glancing back at me. I shook my head, letting him know that he didn’t have to tell them, and not to worry about me, but continued anyways.

            “She came to help me with a something…”

            “Something?” Niall pressed, his head tilting to the side.

            Wordlessly, Louis strolled over to me, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.

            Harry is my older brother and some-what of a mentor, being a strong male influence in my life. We had matching curly hair and green eyes, but I have a mix of blue; something I inherited from my mom. He was tall, making me feel like an ant whenever he stood beside me, his tattoos and edgy style sending off an intimidating vibe. However, if anyone were to sit down and talk to him, they’d know he was nothing but a big teddy bear, full of lame jokes, great advice, and a heart of gold that made him the perfect brother. And of course, boyfriend to Madison.

            Our parents were extremely busy people; mom worked as an ESL teacher in Hong Kong, and dad was a doctor, working long nights and didn’t come home until an hour or two before we went to school. The money was nice, but the only catch was we never got to see them. Thus, because of our parent’s absence, Harry became an older brother and father figure, cooking for the two of us occasionally, and him being a senior, me junior, he tutored me in a few classes.

            “Tell me about it” I muttered, rubbing my temples as I stared at the coffee in my favorite mug, watching the steam rise and evaporate in the air. In one afternoon, my day suddenly took a turn for the worst.

            “Now I know how much you dislike Louis” He continued, not looking up as he sautéed some vegetables. “But didn’t you have the biggest crush on him?”

            “Oh goodness. Daniela brought it up today in English! Yes. I had a crush on him, but not anymore. He’s such a nuisance!” I complained, giving him a death glare.

            “Yeah yeah, I’ve heard it all before. But remember when Mum told us about how Dad and her got together? She loathed him for years.” He stops himself, throwing me a glance before he turned back to the stove, humming to himself.

            “What are you insinuating?” I challenged, burning holes into the back of his head. He shrugged his shoulders, before snickering at me. “History has a wonderful way of repeating itself…”

            Once two and two clicked, I jumped up from my seat, my face turning red as I gawked at him. “That’s disgusting!” I shouted, shock in my voice.

            “Mom said that, too!” He laughed, knowing he was getting under my skin. “Why are you getting so worked up, anyways? Why so defensive?” He shot back, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes, slumping back in my chair as my phone vibrated on the table. I checked it, furrowing my eyebrows as a text from an unknown number popped up on my IPhone screen.

            Unlocking it, my heart jumped to my throat in surprise as his name was the first thing I saw.

            ‘Hey, It’s Louis. My mum made Kaylyn give me your number since we’re going to be practicing together and stuff. My mum wants to know if you want to come over tomorrow…’

            My eyes glanced up between my phone and Harry, making sure he didn’t see my red face. Why am I even blushing? I looked down at my stomach, where the feeling of exploding butterflies were taking place, and I bit my lip in confusion. Why am I getting so jittery? It’s a text from a boy I hate! Get yourself together!

            I shook my head and replied, deciding to play it cool, denying the sudden feeling bubbling in my chest.

            Sounds good, 6 maybe?

            I hit send, putting my phone face down. If I wanted to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling, I’d have to have minimal to no contact. I swallowed hard as Harry whipped him and me up a plate, biting my lip.

            “What’s up, buttercup?” He mused, sitting down across from me.

            “Nothing” I lied, taking a bite of the chicken he made.

            Why did I get so excited over one little text message? He didn’t even deserve an ounce of emotion from me!

            Besides annoyance, that is.

  ***

            I sighed, knocking on the large maroon door of Louis’s front door, hoping nobody would see me.

            I tugged on the hem of my blouse, nervousness poking at my sides as I heard someone unlock the door. Blushing, I silently prayed nobody could see me going into his house.

            A lady about the same height as me, with medium brown hair and eyes that matched Louis’s, answered the door. Wisdom and laugh-lines detailing her face, and I knew immediately it must be his mother.

            “You must be Rose!” She exclaimed, a grin on her face as she ushered me inside.

            “I’ve heard so much about you from Kaylyn! I’m so excited that you’re going to be practicing with Louis! Would you like anything to drink? Water? Lemonade? Hot or iced tea? Coffee?”

            “Um, water please” I stammered, caught off-guard at her mile-a-minute talking, but forced a smile anyways. “And that’s a pretty dress you have there, Ms. Tomlinson” I added, nodding at her yellow sundress.

            “Awe, thank you Dear! And please, call me Jay!” She smiled, placing a cup down in front of me. “I’ve always seen you on the stage, but I never knew how adorable you were up close!”

            I blushed at her odd compliment, but thanked her anyways.

            “Oh, you’re probably looking for Lou-bear, aren’t you? I can go-“

            I cut her off on accident, a laugh bursting from my lips. “Did you just call him Lou-Bear?”

            She grinned, nodding proudly, walking over close to me and whispering. “I always called him that when he was younger. He hates it when I call him that, but he’s still my little baby, how can I not?” She whispered, a smile still painted on her lips.

            I giggled, remembering his pet-name for the future. How could someone like Jay be related to an airhead like Louis? If only she knew…

            “Ah, Louis!” Jay chirped, her attention pointing to the stairs.

            Louis came down the stairs, basketball shorts hung low on his hips, and he was shirtless, his chest and arm tattoos fully visible, his toned chest making me blush as I looked away, ashamed of the butterflies back in my stomach.

            “I don’t know why you got all those tattoos, Louis” She tsked, shaking her head. “You’re under-aged. What if you get in trouble?”

            He shrugged halfheartedly, before turning to me. “My room?” He asked nonchalantly. I shrugged back, clutching my purse closer to my body as I followed him up the stairs. With every step I took, my face started to feel more and more heated much to my embarrassment. Besides Harry and Zayn, I’ve never been in a guy’s room before, and I didn’t really know what to expect.

            “Sorry, I tried cleaning up a little bit before you came over” He muttered, opening the door and letting me in.

            Louis was such a stereotypical boy.

            Posters of football stars, medals, trophies, tattoo designs, and models in bikinis were plastered all over his wall, a desk in the far right corner with a very expensive laptop resting upon it, and his bed on the east wall, was unmade; pillows and blankets in a ruffled mess. Besides that, his floor was clean… in need of a quick vacuum, but clean.

            He offered me his desk chair, and I took it, watching him hastily put on a gray t-shirt, and then proceed to throw himself onto his bed, his script magically appearing in his hand. “Let’s get this over with” He grumbled.

***

            It had been an hour and a half, going over lines over and over again, attempting to memorize along the way. Louis was exceptionally good at memorization, but he got too flustered easily, and after so long of listening to his complaining, I decided it was best to take a break.

            “Why do you have posters of women all over your walls?” I asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that quickly danced into the room.

            He shrugged, his eyes closed as he lied on his back, his face directed towards the ceiling with his ankles crossed, hands folded loosely on his stomach.

            “Because they’re hot” He replied, as if that was the most perfect excuse in the world.

            “But they’re barely wearing any clothes!”

            He opened his eyes, his blue eyes boring into mine. “Well, duh” He scoffed. “It’s a lot better than wearing a floral blouse, skinny jeans, and sparkly toms. What are you, Thirteen?”

            I frowned, looking down insecurely at my favorite pair of toms, my cheeks burning as I held my tongue.

            Normally, I’d be on a feminist rant by now, but his comment that informally downgraded me… it stung. If it was anyone else, I’d dismiss it, but his words branded me as if I was some undesirable teenage girl, rather than an attractive woman worthy of tacking onto a wall.

            I gulped heavily, closing my eyes.

            Right, because I AM an undesirable teenage girl…

             I swallowed my pain, before picking my script and bringing it back up to my eyes. “Let’s continue, then” I suggested, straightening my posture.

            He groaned childishly, throwing his hands up to cover his face, shaking his head from side to side. “This is treacherous,” He complained, halfheartedly picking up the book that laid face down on his chest. “Can’t we just take a break? Like, continue tomorrow or something? We could, I don’t know, talk or something?”

            “Or something” I chuckled, putting the script back in my bag. “Very well then, what do you want to talk about?”

  Louis’s point of view…

                          I smiled as I watched her clasp her hands in her lap, her ankles crossed as she sat in a formal position, her lips in a thin line as she stared at me with her bright blue eyes. I smirked, sitting upright and tossing the script to the foot of my bed. “Since I’m stuck staying in theatre and will be spending a lot of time with you guys, let’s get to know each other”

                She raised a curious eyebrow at me, before shrugging her shoulders, brushing her curly brown locks out of her eyes. “What do you want to know?”

                “Why aren’t you interested in me?” I asked, getting straight to the point. If I were to find out, now would be a good time.

                “Define ‘interested” She scoffed. “You’re curious on why I don’t throw myself at you like every other girl at school?” She shrugged again, before smirking. “I have standards. And this” She continued, fanning her hand over her outfit. “I dress like this to repel pigs like you who shamelessly tack pictures of half-naked girls on their walls-“ She cut herself short, closing her eyes to compose herself. I stared back in bewilderment as she opened her eyes again, her quiet demeanor returning. “Sorry, didn’t mean to call you a pig. I just-“

            “How is everything going?” My mom asked, barging in with a tray of cookies. “I made you guys some! Rose, would you like to stay for dinner?” She asked politely, giving me a glance and winking. What was she up to?

            “Oh, no thanks Jay, I really have to get going” She checked her phone, noticing the time, before looking back up at her, a smile highlighting her features. “My brother is expecting me to be home soon. I’d love to stay otherwise” She said politely, before standing up and leaving.

            “See you tomorrow?” I called. She nodded, not even bothering with an audio reply before she left, trotting down the stairs and quietly closing the door behind her.

            “So, how did it go?” Mum giggled, setting the tray on the nightstand and sitting at the edge of the bed, nudging my leg. “Is she your girlfriend yet?”

            “No mom” I groaned, rubbing my eyes. “She’s not even interested in me”

            “But are you interested in her?” She pressed, leaning in.

            I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed with her invasion of privacy. She took the hint, before silently nodding and leaving the room, leaving the cookies on the nightstand.

            I didn’t know what to feel, having her call me a pig hurt a little bit. And standards?  I never had a girl talk to me like that before, being able to talk to me without trying to even get my number once. She has a lot of opportunities a lot of girls don’t, I mean heck, she even has my number! Suzie from Physics class constantly asked me every day for my number…

            I glanced at the wall next to me, noticing the posters that titled me a ‘pig’. Was I really like that? Why didn’t I meet her standards?

            I don’t know what it is about Rose, but her playing hard to get… or whatever she’s playing… well… It’s kind of hot. I’ve always had a thing for independent, non-clingy girls.

            The rest of the night I reorganized my walls, every single one of my half-naked posters of girls ended up in the garbage.

            “I’m not a pig” I muttered to myself. “I’ll show her”

            “What is it, Mr. Roberts?” Zayn called, casting a glance at our director. He was staring intently at a gray platform on stage left, a platform that was temporarily a marker for the backdoor and steps. The platform was large; 8 foot wide and 10 foot long making it moderately heavy.

            “That is way farther upstage than I thought. Can we move it downstage about six feet?” Mr. Roberts pondered, tapping his chin. He nodded, thinking aloud to himself. “Yeah, let’s move it down six feet” He ordered, pointing his pencil to the platform.

            Zayn and I nodded, and I waved Madison and Cassandra over from the seats. Moving this heavy platform was a four-person job, nearly impossible for two. Cassandra and I took one corner, and Madison tried to take one of Zayn’s corners, but he refused. “I got this” He smirked, preparing himself.

            “Don’t be dumb, Zayn” I chuckled. Whether it was to show off to Kaylyn who was in the seats, or Louis, I couldn’t tell, but handing such a heavy end on your own was dangerous, he could possibly get hurt.

            “I’m fine, ladies.” He chuckled, “Now let’s move this”

            Cassandra and I exchanged glances, rolling our eyes as we picked up the platform and began shuffling it down. Glancing at Zayn, I grew anxious as I watched him struggle with the weight, his arms wobbling. “Wait a sec” He panted. “I’m about to-“

            But it was too late, Zayn had dropped his end on his foot, a howl of pain passing his lips as he fell backwards, yanking his foot from underneath the platform, hissing with pain.

            “Zayn!” I gasped, gently putting our end down and scurrying over to him, making room for Mr. Roberts as he inspected his foot.

            “Can anyone drive?” He asked. “That’s not an actor?”

            “Me!” Kaylyn announced, her car keys instantly appearing in her hand. Mr. Roberts nodded, helping Zayn up who was still whimpering. “Louis” He said, his voice firm as it could ever be. “Help Zayn to Kaylyn’s car. Kaylyn, you take him to the hospital”

            The rest of the cast and crew stood in silence as we watched Louis help the limping Zayn out to the car, Kaylyn leading the way. I bit my lip, praying he was okay.

            “Looks like he broke his foot” Mr. Roberts informed us. “He will be wearing a boot for a couple of weeks. Not in time for the show”

            “Could that platform really be that heavy?” Cassandra asked, her eyes wide in disbelief. Mr. Roberts nodded. “That’s why there’s always four people carrying it. I don’t know what went through Zayn’s head, but because of that, we don’t have a Konstantin. With what his part requires, running around in a boot would be miserable for him…”

            Louis came back through the side entrance of the stage, shuffling awkwardly back to his seat, unaware of what to do next.

            “Louis” Roberts called, stopping him in his tracks.

            The entire troupe and I watched in horror as our director went over to Zayn’s script, and tossed it in Louis’s direction.

            “Congratulations. You’re our new Konstantin”       

            I froze in shock as he instinctively caught the script, his face also in a state of surprise. Why him?!

            “Rose, you’re going to need to catch him up on everything. You two go somewhere; we’ll block the rest later. We need to go over the Irina and Boris scene, so you two, get ready” Mr. Roberts called, gesturing to Madison and a boy named Jacob; red hair and blue eyes with a quiet demeanor, but had a stage voice and presence like you couldn’t believe. Why couldn’t he play Konstantin?!

            I sighed heavily, leading him outside into the hall, hoping he’d be somewhat cooperative.

            “This is so stupid! Why do I have to play the lead role? I’ve only been here for two days!” Louis groaned, throwing his blue-and-black flat bill in the ground, a whine tinting his voice.

            “I don’t know why he decided that, but he must’ve had a good reason-“

            “You don’t understand, Rose! I can’t be the lead role, I have off-season football, gym with Liam and Ni-“

            “Look, your highness” I interjected, cutting him off. “I could really care less about what other plans you have. You’re in theatre right now, and from the sound of your dad, you’re stuck with us for a while. Suck it up, and be the actor you said you were ‘predestined’ to be. If it’s as easy as you say, why are you being such a baby over it? Zayn and I spent a good half of our summer to get these parts, and if Zayn could, he’d perform every single one of these shows with every broken bone in his body, no hesitation. I don’t know what your problem is, but knock it off. If you’re going to do it for anyone, do it for Zayn. Regardless of the fact you like him as a person or not. Get over yourself”

            I exhaled heavily, surprised my rant I had kept in for so long, and proud of myself for forming my ranting thoughts into words.

            Louis’s face on the other hand, was taken aback, eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape, probably shocked that someone has ever stood up to him.

            “Stop staring at let’s practice” I muttered, avoiding his stare, blushing slightly.

  Louis’s point of view…

            I stared in awe as she thumbed through her script book, not even bothering to look back up at me.

            Rose was something else, so far, she was the only girl I’ve met that hasn’t shown any interest in me.

            Whether it was from earlier, or now when she just chewed me out, I didn’t know whether to feel attracted to her or ashamed of myself for acting in such a cocky way. Do I really act that full of myself?

            I glanced back at Rose, who’s cheeks were still dusted with a light pink from when she gave her little speech, and I stifled a smile, her disinterest in me only drew me more interested in her. I wanted to find out the core reason on why she didn’t like me, no matter what it took.

            Who knows, maybe I could change her mind?