Page 19 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

“Fine, whatever. I don’t want to waste any of my brain cells on him.”

“I really need to get to practice,” Rylee says. “I don’t need Coach Abberton yelling at me for being late.” She makes a face. “She’s quick to scold me when I do something wrong, but does she ever compliment me when I do something right? Nope.”

“Looks like I’m in the same boat as you,” I mutter. “Having to spend my afternoons with someone whose guts I hate.”

Zoey beams. “And I get to spend my afternoon with the love of my life.”

Both Rylee and I sigh heavily. She because she no doubt misses Mason like crazy (even though they saw each other all day at school) and me because the love of my life only exists in my dreams.

“See you guys later,” I tell them before heading to the auditorium. The theater kids are either chatting or running over their lines. Gianna’s focused on her script.

“Off book yet?” I ask as I lower myself next to her, reaching into my backpack for my script.

“Almost. What about you?”

“Halfway there. Hey, I’m glad you’re playing my best friend. It’ll be fun.”

“Totally! Elle is such a unique character. The play is so serious, so it’s nice to have some comic relief.”

“And you’re perfect for the role because you’re so funny.”

“Thanks. You’re funny, too.”

I shake my head. “I’m super dramatic. There’s a difference.”

Miss Lane walks inside with a humongous smile on her face. I haven’t seen her smile that hard since our last performance. I’m so happy for her because she must be extremely relieved that she found her perfect William. Though I once again question the Universe why, out of all the teen actors out there, it has to be Declan Hart.

“Is everyone here?” She gazes around the room. “Declan isn’t here yet, is he?” She glances at the time on her phone and frowns. “Let’s wait a few minutes. I hope he finds his way to the auditorium.”

While we wait for Mr. Charming to arrive, Miss Lane gives us some notes on the play and I continue memorizing my lines. It’s not long before we hear a crowd at the doors.

“Thanks!” I hear Declan say before he steps into the auditorium. “I don’t know if I’ll ever learn my way around the school. I’ll catch you all later.”

“One more selfie!” a girl cries before rushing to his side and pressing her cheek to his. After she snaps the photo, another girl pushes herself, and then another. The crowd isn’t too rowdy, but there sure are a lot of girls vying for his attention.

“Declan?” Miss Lane calls. “We have a lot of work to do. Can you please join us?”

“Of course, Tor—Miss Lane.” He faces the crowd with that charming smile. “I’ll catch you later.” He waves before striding into the room with a charismatic walk that turns heads. Seriously, every single person in the auditorium watches him.

“My gosh,” Gianna breathes as she fans herself. “He’s so sexy. Doesn’t he make your heart race just looking at him?” She fans herself again and swallows hard.

I press my lips tightly together as I continue watching him. My heart isn’t racing like every other girl in the room, but I definitely remember how fast it sped when he and I met on our first day on the set of The Beat of My Heart. And how it pounded in my chest every day after that. Until the horrible kiss.

He finds an empty seat in the first row and sits down. Some of the kids in my row—the one behind him—bend forward as though they can’t remove their eyes from him.

Miss Lane steps on the stage and grins widely at everyone. “Welcome to The World Above’s first official rehearsal. Normally, I like to have my students sit in a circle so you can introduce yourselves and get to know one another, but it seems every person here participated in last semester’s production. Other than Declan. Declan, I hope you’ll get to know your fellow castmates and crew very well and will be part of our close-knit family. Now, I’d like to start with you, Declan. Do you mind coming up here and performing Act One, Scene Three? You can grab a script from my seat. Tyler? You’re in this scene, too.”

“Sure, Miss Lane.” Declan sweeps a script into his hand and makes his way up to the stage. What is it about that walk that has all girls going gaga over him? And ugh, why am I staring at him, too? I quickly drop my gaze to my script.

Once Tyler is on stage, Declan opens his script. “Act One, Scene Three?”

“Yes,” Miss Lane says. “You haven’t had a chance to read through the script yet, so I’ll give you a quick background.”

This is a scene between William and his best friend, Antony. They’re taking a break from patrolling and are talking about William’s grandfather, who he was very close to before he passed away.

“Remember, it’s an emotional scene,” Miss Lane says before walking off the stage.

With a nod, Declan faces the audience, his eyes on his script. “Aren’t you ever curious about what’s down there, Antony?”

---