𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘆 || 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺

☾ ⋆One

Scarlett sat in her Jeep just outside the studio, a half-empty iced coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. The script was splayed out on the dashboard, pages slightly curled from the sun. She was texting her best friend, fingers flying over the screen as nerves bubbled in her chest. She had passed the first round of auditions—something she was still trying to process—and now came the chemistry read. It all depended on how well she clicked with the actor playing Zed.

When she checked the time, Scarlett took a deep breath and gave herself a mental pep talk. She tucked her phone and script into her bag, grabbed her coffee, and climbed out of the Jeep.

As she walked toward the studio entrance, she noticed someone else heading the same way—a tall guy, maybe 5'10, with floppy brown hair and warm brown eyes. She wasn't sure if she should say hi, but he beat her to it.

"Hey," he said with an easy smile, glancing over at her. "I'm Milo." He held out his hand as they continued walking.

Scarlett smiled and took it. "Hi, Milo. I'm Scarlett."

She noticed right away how much taller he was—though, to be fair, she was only 5'4". His grip was friendly but brief, and when he let go, his eyes flicked down to the sidewalk.

"You here for the audition?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Yeah, I am," she admitted, glancing up at him. "I'm really nervous, actually."

Milo gave her a look of reassurance, his smile still lingering. "Well, from what I've seen so far, you're the best one out of all of them."

He winked before veering off to a different entrance, leaving Scarlett standing there with a small grin tugging at her lips.

She headed through her designated door and checked in at the front desk. After that, she took a seat in the lobby with the other girls who were waiting. Scarlett pulled out her phone and started scrolling through Instagram, still thinking about Milo. Curious, she did a little digging—just enough to find his profile.

Her nerves hadn't gone anywhere, but now there was a flicker of something else—intrigue.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Scarlett looked up when the door opened, expecting maybe a casting assistant or someone's mom—but instead, it was Milo. He gave her a wide smile like he'd been looking for her.

"Scarlett Vennia?" he said, snapping his fingers in her direction with a playful grin.

She nodded and stood, slipping her phone back into her bag before walking toward him.

As they made their way down the hallway, Milo spoke quickly, clearly trying to sound casual. "So I guess by now you know the role. Um, there's a spot back there if you need to warm up and stuff. But for now we're going to go into this room with the casting directors."

Scarlett glanced over at him. The way he rambled—it was kind of cute.

When they stepped into the audition room, the space was quiet and cool. A long black table sat near the back wall, three middle-aged women seated behind it, flipping through papers and watching them closely.

Milo motioned for her to place her things in a chair near the door, and Scarlett followed him, then straightened her shoulders and approached the table.

"Hello, you must be Scarlett," one of the women said, reaching across the table.

"Yes ma'am," Scarlett replied with a polite smile as she shook her hand.

"I'm Stephanie, that's Danielle, and Amber," she said, gesturing to the other two women.

Scarlett gave them each a smile in return. "It's really great to meet you."