Page 123 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

“But what does he think about the kiss? Is he obsessing over it like I am?” I grab Lobsty, too. “He probably isn’t. It was just acting for him. Ugh, how am I going to face everyone tomorrow at rehearsal?”

“Mia, I’m sure no one is thinking much about it,” Zoey says. “Everyone likes to think the world revolves around them, but the truth is that everyone is busy with their own lives and their own problems.”

“Not in high school,” I mutter. “I might be the latest bit of gossip. ‘Breaking news!’” I wave my hands in front of me. “‘Mia Park attacks Declan Hart with her lips.’ You think someone posted a video on Spill It!?” I reach for my phone.

Rylee grabs it out of my hand. “Forget about what everyone else thinks, okay? The next kiss scene will be better.”

My eyes almost fall off my face. “The next kiss scene? Heaven forbid!” I bang my face in my pillow again. “Will I ever get over this embarrassment?”

“Of course you will,” Zoey encourages. “Everyone involved in the play are professionals and understand that embarrassing things happen on stage. And Declan gets that, too.”

“I’m not looking at him for as long as I live.”

“That’s going to be hard to do when he’s your castmate,” Zoey says.

I lift my chin. “Watch me try.”

“Or you can just move on?” Rylee suggests. “Unless you still have a crush on the guy.”

“No.” The words fly out faster than I intend.

They both give me an I-don’t-believe-you look.

“Look, he’s a sweet and charming guy, and we have a lot of fun together. But we’re just friends. We’re better as friends. Although, I’m not sure we’re even friends anymore,” I mutter.

“You’ll get past this, Mia,” Rylee assures me. “Things will get back to normal soon.”

I shake my head. My friends don’t get it. I was all over Declan. He might have kissed me back, but I was the one who was all…

Ugh!

I’m sure I’ll be awkward around him until he leaves Edenbury.

“I don’t get it,” I tell my friends. “When we kissed on the set of The Beat of My Heart, it was horrible. Like, if there was a world record for the worst kisses in the world, we would get the number one spot.”

“How could you know that?” Zoey says. “It’s not like you kissed anyone else.”

“Trust me, it was the worst. And now we kissed again and it was…”

“Heaven on Earth?” Rylee finishes for me.

“Well I wouldn’t…actually, yeah. Heaven on Earth. What’s the answer, guys? It makes no sense!”

They’re quiet as they contemplate it. Then Zoey says, “You told us you were super nervous around him when you had a crush on him, right? You turned into a Mia Popsicle. It interfered with your performance and made you and Declan have zero chemistry. But you’re more comfortable around him. You guys have become good friends and have even greater chemistry now. That must have affected the kiss, too.”

“We were good friends,” I correct her. “Who knows what we are now?”

“You’ll get past this, Mia,” Rylee assures me again. “Soon, you and Declan will laugh about it.”

“Doubt it.”

A part of me wants to believe it’s true because I like being Declan’s friend. I like hanging out with him and joking around with him. But how could I ever look at his face after being all over him like that? I know, I know, I’m once again being overdramatic. That’s just the way I feel. Maybe Rylee is right and I might laugh about it one day, but I think it’ll take me a long time to get there.

How in the world will I handle seeing him tomorrow?

Chapter Thirty-One

Declan

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