Our Romantic Horror Story

VII

Alex

My entire body was surging with excitement. As soon as I saw him up on stage my body lit up like Christmas and I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. The shock had set in at first and I couldn't quite believe my eyes that he was actually on the stage in front of me. Coming here on a whim had paid off almost instantaneously.

His voice was perfect. His performance was even better than when he was singing in the park. Being able to hear him give it his all was awe-inspiring and I was hooked. I could listen to him sing for hours and not get tired of his voice. Not to mention, he played the piano. That was impressive, too. I figure he's probably a music student.

From where I was watching in the wings of the stage, I had a full view of his face. He had closed his eyes once the spotlights hit him, and seemed to just be lost to the rhythm of the music. He was beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes away from him. He looked like he belonged on that stage.

When he was done, he visibly became jittery and it wasn't long before he snuck off of the stage and into the wings opposite from where I was stood. There a guy met him with a hug, but he didn't seem too happy about being hugged. A frown tugged at my lips and it registered within me that there was a chance he had a boyfriend already. Stupidly, I hadn't even considered that that could be a possibility.

Well, fuck.

That dampened my little burning flame, but I pushed it down. It was never good to jump to conclusions and I wasn't going to let a possibility put me off because there was a chance that they were just friends and I was just being irrational. Before I could see where the guy went, however, I was being ushered onto stage and being placed in front of a lectern with Jenny's notes placed in front of me.

"The talent at this school is breath taking." I began, "Thank you for such a warm reception and I'd like to begin by saying a quick thank you for having me here today."

As I organised my notes and began my speech, I pulled on my tie. I wasn't even sure if the people in the audience were here for the right reason, or not. Were they actually interested in a career in film or was it just the appeal of having a celebrity come to the university to talk? I was getting paid either way, so it didn't really matter, but it was at the back of my mind as people filmed me and took photos as I spoke.

Jenny had written a pretty comprehensive lecture and had left time at the end for any questions that the students had. The questions quickly diverged from professional questions about acting and the movie industry to some pretty personal questions about my general life. For example, 'are you seeing anyone right now' was asked, followed by a rumble of laughter throughout the auditorium and a collection of anticipating eyes.

"No."

What else was there to say? It wasn't exactly appropriate.

Thankfully, the allotted time was over before I knew it and I was leaving the stage as everyone clapped. Standing outside the exit door, however, were more hoards of students that had been waiting for me to leave. Random pieces of paper for me to sign, which were most likely torn out of a textbook or class notes, were being thrust in my face.

I declined, flashes going off in my face as people took photos and videos of me leaving. Fern was doing her usual blocking of people and pushing through the crowd, but they were being pretty persistent. As she finally pushed her way through, I got to the edge of the crowd and saw a familiar face sat on a bench next to his friend.

The guy, whatever his name was, had finally noticed me back.

They were both staring at the commotion, but the shock on his face proved to me that he had no clue who I was prior to right now. My heart pounded as our eyes briefly made contact before his shot down to the floor again, flitting to the crowds of people and to anywhere other than my own.