Page 45 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

We stand in total silence again.

“Scarlett,” I say.

He looks confused.

“My name,” I clarify. “It’s Scarlett.”

“Scarlett.” He rolls the word around on his tongue. “I have never heard the name before. It’s a color.”

I nod.

“It’s pretty.”

My eyes snap to his. He turns his head and walks a few feet away from me. With his back facing me, he says, “It’s dangerous for a female to be in The World Above. What’s the real reason you came up here?”

I’m quiet, not sure I can trust this William. He’s a male and he has weapons.

He slowly turns around. “Life in The Underground. Is it good down there?”

I lift my shoulders. “It’s the only life I know.”

“You must not have been happy there,” he says. “Or else you wouldn’t have risked your life coming up here. You thought you could find something…different. Better.”

I take a hesitant step forward, opening my mouth to respond, but at this point, William’s best friend Antony interrupts us.

“I guess we should stop for today?” he asks. “Or do you want to work on other scenes?”

Considering it’s still early and it’s a good idea to get familiar with the next scenes, we work on them, too. William and Scarlett continue to meet in secret over a period of a few weeks, learning about each other and their different worlds. Luckily, Declan and I get through them with no issues, and before I know it, I hear footsteps downstairs.

“Looks like my mom’s home,” I say.

Declan checks the time on his phone. “Oh, wow. Time flew by so fast. Guess we were really into it.”

“Yeah, you’re tolerable as long as you’re not trying to kill me.”

He gives me a look.

“Mia, are you home?” Mom asks as her footsteps sound on the stairs. A few seconds later, her red hair and the rest of her enters my room. Her green eyes widen in surprise when they settle on Declan. “Oh, hi, Declan. Didn’t think I’d see you here.” She throws me an amused look because she knows how much I dislike the guy.

“What?” Declan asks. “I mean, hello, Mrs. Park.” He gets up and holds out his hand. “It’s nice to see you again.” She met him a few times on the set of The Beat of My Heart.

“Nice to see you again, too.” She shakes his hand.

“We’re running lines for the play,” I explain. “Declan was just leaving.”

“Right.” He stuffs his script into his backpack and sweeps it off the floor, throwing it over his shoulder.

“I was just about to start dinner,” Mom says. “Dad will be home soon and told me that he won’t be bringing leftovers home, since it was a busy night.” She glances at Declan. “Would you like to stay for dinner, Declan?”

I gape at her. Is she trying to ruin my life? I eye-signal her, “No! No!” but she gives me a face that tells me not to be rude.

I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not like Declan will accept her offer.

Declan lowers his backpack. “Actually, I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in a while.” He laughs sheepishly. “Neither my brother nor I can cook. We’ve been living off of take-out and frozen meals.”

“Your brother?” Mom asks.

“He’s my manager and is living with me while I stay in Edenbury.”

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