Page 13 of The Wrong Costar

“Nice word, Teags.” Evan lifted a hand for a fist bump.

I ignored the offered hand. “I’m being serious here. I wanted to talk to Miss Appleby because I feel like you were robbed of the part.”

“Uh, Liam Black can rob me any day he wants.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course, you’d say that,” I muttered.

He glanced at Liam over his shoulder once more with a dreamy look in his eyes. When I followed his gaze, I could kind of see the appeal. Liam was completely focused on his script. His expression was far gentler than it had been earlier, and he looked kind of innocent as he chewed on a thumbnail while he read.

“I think this might be the best day of my life,” Evan said.

It definitely wasn’t mine. Liam might have been captivating, but I really didn’t know what to make of him. He’d made it clear he didn’t think I was worthy of acting opposite him, and I had a host of other valid concerns about how this would play out.

As more students entered the room, my worry only grew worse. Everyone was watching Liam with stars in their eyes. Girls were whispering to each other and giggling, and guys were looking at him as if they were wondering how to approach him and become his new best friend. How was anyone in this room going to act in our play if they all kept going gooey-eyed whenever Liam was around? This was a nightmare.

Hayley and Madi entered the room and came to sit on the other side of me. “Did you guys see who’s sitting in the back row?” Hayley hissed excitedly in greeting.

“Yeah, we saw,” I said. “And I’m worried Evan’s going to get their names tattooed on his chest if he sticks around much longer.”

Evan slapped a hand against my arm. “I am not.”

“Dude, you totally are,” Hayley said with a snigger. “You look just like that emoji with the love hearts in its eyes right now.”

“I can’t help that he’s even hotter in real life. You guys think he’s hotter in real life, right?”

“He is,” Hayley agreed.

“He looks lonely,” Madi said. “Do you think we should see if he wants to sit with us?”

“No,” I said, as Evan and Hayley both replied, “Yes,” at the same time.

Madi looked like she was going to get up to go invite him over, but thankfully, she didn’t get a chance as Miss Appleby cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the room. She was smiling broadly, and I knew it was because she was excited about our new classmate. She and everyone but me it seemed.

“As you can see, we have none other than the very talented Liam Black joining us this semester,” she said. “I hope you will all make him feel welcome.”

Some people started clapping, but I refused to join in. Were we clapping his very existence now? If he were any other new kid, there was no way the class would be giving him a round of applause.

“We’ll be starting rehearsals this week, and today, we’ll begin by doing a read-through of the script,” Miss Appleby continued. “Now, if you all want to drag your chairs into a circle, we’ll get started.”

Chairs scraped against the floor as people started to follow her instructions. I quickly moved into position, keeping myself between Evan and Hayley. The others in class weren’t hurrying, and it was quite comical to watch as several of the girls waited to see where Liam was going to put his chair so they could swoop in next to him.

He finally settled his chair in a position across the circle from me. It looked like there was going to be a battle to the death as two girls tried to fight for the free position next to him.

I snorted at the spectacle and Liam’s eyes snapped up to meet mine. Their color was so bright and luminous, but I quickly looked away before I could see what he was thinking through his expressive gaze. I didn’t need to know what Liam thought of my laugh.

We started reading the script from the top, and I quickly immersed myself in the experience. As the lead in the play, I had most of the lines, so I found there was little time to worry about Liam while I was reading them. Everything seemed to be going fine, but, as we read, I began to realize that Liam wasn’t putting in any effort.

I knew it was just a read-through, but whenever I glanced at Liam he was slumped in his chair, his eyes barely focused on the script. He missed half his lines because he wasn’t paying attention, and when he did read them, his buttery voice sounded bored. It was clear he wasn’t interested, and he was only confirming my worst fears. I knew this was just some random school play to him, and we weren’t a blockbuster movie or some cult-indie flick. But did he really have to show so much visible disdain toward it?

My voice grew tense as we continued reading, and I couldn’t even look at him when we were exchanging lines. By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of class, I was ready to throw my script at the guy.

He stood up immediately at the sound of the bell and sauntered out of the room, like he hadn’t just decimated his role in the play. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it through. I jumped up, a fire burning inside me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Teags…” Evan said, his voice filled with concern. “Why do you look like you’re about to lose your shit?”

“Because I am,” I growled. “I’ll see you at lunch, Evan. There’s a wannabe actor in the corridor who needs a piece of my mind.”

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