Denial

Chapter 2: First Date

Eliza Cameron got a callback. 

She returned to The Arena the next day at 3:30pm, wearing the same purple jacket and black boots. It was a beautiful day outside, though the snowstorm from the night before had caused the buses a lot of trouble. 

The performance went smoothly, as usual, though Eliza felt like the judges were still thinking about a previous auditionee. They seemed distracted, flipping the pages of their notepads without really processing anything Eliza said or did. 

But that didn't matter. Because as soon as Eliza stepped out of the audition room, she felt her heart rate increase and she immediately forgot about everything except her date with Lloyd Garmadon.

It was disturbing to think about how fast she had fallen for him, and Eliza briefly wondered if he was a wizard from Harry Potter. A wizard who could enchant people to immediately fall for extremely handsome but potentially terrible actors. Perhaps the unknown brother of Draco Malfoy? Or the lost son of You-Know-Who?

Eliza shook her head, disgusted by love's ability to play with her mind. She was going absolutely bonkers. The date would have to be a quick one, or else she'd have to get herself a therapist.

Eliza quickly raced down the stairs and stepped outside, forgetting to put her jacket on before she did. She shivered and her teeth chattered uncontrollably, though that soon stopped when someone wrapped their arm around her shoulders.

Lloyd Garmadon. 

He was even more handsome than Eliza remembered. His soft blonde hair peeked out from a lime green beanie and his beautiful eyes warmed her up even more than his hug did. His cheeks were surprisingly pale, giving no indication of the freezing weather. 

"Hey," he said softly. "You cold?"

"A little," Eliza admitted. She gently moved away from Lloyd, doing her best to act like he'd never touched her. She slipped on her own jacket and smiled at the ground.

"How's it going?" she asked. Usually, Eliza could make eye contact with the chilliest of people. She had a way of threatening them with only her gaze. But with Lloyd, it just couldn't happen.

"I'm okay," he replied. "How're you?"

"Fine," she said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere's okay," Lloyd said. "Do you have a place in mind?"

"Not really," Eliza said, even though she knew exactly where she wanted to go. 

She needed to head into a recording studio for a singing session. And she really wanted Lloyd to hear her singing.

Of course, she could go somewhere else first, leave him, then go by herself. After all, she was signed up for 5:00. Or maybe it was tomorrow at 5:00. This whole LG (she was not going to think about his name) thing had messed up her memory. Still, for some awkward and not justifiable reason, Eliza wanted to sing for him.

"Hey, I forgot, I um, have something for you," Lloyd said, trying his best not to stammer. 

Eliza looked at him curiously, pleasantly surprised by his kindness. She half expected him to produce a large rose from under his thin jacket. 

But that didn't happen. Instead, Lloyd handed her a bouquet of green leaves.

"I figured you aren't the type of person that likes flowers," he explained, his fingers brushing Eliza's as he let go of the bouquet. "So I got you the next best thing."

At that moment, Eliza Cameron wanted to squeal, jump, thrown her arms around Lloyd's neck, cry, run away, and do a million other embarrassing things.