Bittersweet Serendipity

Chapter 7 - Driving and Distractions

This afternoon, I go to my theatre rehearsals, like I do everyday. To be honest, I've been in theatre for two years, since I was sixteen, but I was only using it as a form of profit; I never knew I'd get in because I don't really have a passion for acting, nor am I talented. But it is one thing I have learned to love within those two years, though stressful and tiring.

My mate in theatre, Allison, greets me as I settle my belongings backstage. Allison is one of my closest friends in theatre and she used to go to my school but hse's a year older than me, so this year is her gap year which means that she gets a year off from school and does whatever the hell she wants and prepare herself for her college Uni next year. And soon, I will be in my Uni, too.

I remove my jacket before I feel the humidity twined with the hustle-and-bustle of the busy atmosphere, and let loose my hair from its bun. I check to make sure no one was looking and hurriedly covered the marks with my hair. But unfortunately for me, Allison sees them.

"Ooooh," she says with a smirk. "Got a bit of sexy time eh? Mason got you good? Well, it's about time! You're eighteen and you've never had your first kiss until, maybe last night, and you got a bonus!" She laughs and puts an arm around my shoulders.

Awkward. "Uh... Fortunately, or unfortunately, they're not from Mason."

Her eyes widen. "What? Really?! What happened to you?! Like, one moment you're Little Miss Virgin-Lips, Little Miss Faithful, Little Miss I'm-Not-Gonna-Have-Sex-Because-I'm-Waiting-For-The-Right-Fucker. And the next, you've got shark bites all over you, oh my God, you little slut!" she says jokingly (I hope). "From who then?"

I say one name and nothing else. "Jay McGuiness."

 "Jay Mc- holy shit! Fuck, are you for real?" she says, her eyes widening, and I nod. "No fucking way! You lucky little bitch!" She tackles me and ruffles my hair.

My cheeks flush from all the flattery, yet a few chuckles escape me. "Thanks, love. And if you're going to ask, the concert last night was amazing. It was more than what I expected."

She shoots me a sly grin. "Hmm. Obviously. You're covered in lovebites, and you almost lost your v-card." I whack her on the arm. "Okay! Okay, I'll stop," she surrenders, giggling. "So. Tell me everything."

Allison is not really a fangirl like me when it comes to The Wanted, but she's a casual fan. I sort of blame myself for dragging her into this mess because I, according to her, am contagious. So I do tell her everything (or everything I remember, at least) before the director calls us for the rehearsal of the first scene of our adaptation of the play Romeo and Juliet.

Insufficiently, I am Juliet. Allison portrays Juliet's mum, Lady Capulet, and this new lad, Scott Marx, is my Romeo. We rehearse the first scenes, the whole Act One, with scripts so we know what things to change, what voices to use, what intonations to use, and what facial expressions to use. We rehearse until six in the afternoon, and I try to keep the marks as hidden as possible.

Sweat beads my forehead. As usual, waves of exhaustion wash over me. I wipe off the perspiration with my towelette and start the engine of my car. And on my way home, my phone plays All Time Low to signal a call. Jay's name lights up my screen and I pick up.

Me: "Hullo. What's up, Curly Ballsack?"

Jay: "Curly Ballsack? Really? That's my official nickname? You could've chosen a better one, Cales. You wanna come over to the studio? We're writing songs for the next album."

Me: "Send me the address. I'm currently in the car. If you're lucky and I know where the place is, I'd probably come over, but if I don't know where it is, then I probably couldn't go."