Why Don't We Imagines & Preferences

A Laugh Like Sunshine- Jack Avery

Description: In which a curly haired boy adorned in all black, falls for the laugh of a passerby

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My jet black Doc Martin's echoed against the hot pavement with a deafening thud as the boys and I trapesed the boulevard of Santa Monica Pier. We'd been location scouting with management and a few publicists for several hours now, something most musicians won't share with the public, though it's a very real and painfully monotonous part of the job. I sighed, running my fingers absentmindedly through my shock of hazel curls that perched atop my head, damp and not nearly as pompous as they'd been at the start of the day, after several hours of constant sun beating down on them.

"Yo dude, how much longer do you think we're gonna be out here?" I muttered in frustration to the blonde boy beside me. He shrugged, chuckling dryly as he rolled his eyes.

"Beats me, I voted for the first location- ya know, the one we visited 4 hours ago?!" I laughed, nodding as I patted him on the back sympathetically. The locations scouts and publicists walked ahead of us in rigid business suits and pursed lips, clutching a hefty red binder and a clipboard, where locations would either check off their requests, or not. So far- not. Finally, we stopped walking. The publicist who seemed to be leading the pack, Wendy, turned to us, her greying-blonde hair pulled tightly into a bun behind her head and her dark pencil skirt as unyielding as cement when she walked. I sighed.

"Alright boys, Walk across the street to the boardwalk and strike a few poses against the backdrop just there." She gestured mindlessly towards the boardwalk, which overlooked the unending and admirably peaceful ocean. We nodded begrudgingly, making our way aimlessly across the bustling street towards the boardwalk. Don't get me wrong, we love music, and we love creating music videos for our fans to watch- they've done everything for us. In fact, the first handful of locations and "poses" we viewed, we were more than excited to do whatever our management asked. But at this point, it was bordering 6pm after several hours out and about in the grueling Los Angeles heat, and we hadn't eaten since around 10am, unless you count the stale, gluten free granola bars Wendy gave us a few hours ago, which I don't exactly count as a sufficient meal to give five teenage boys.

As we stood on the boardwalk, trying our best not to be overcrowded by the dozens of people admiring the sunset on this Saturday evening (which in retrospect, doesn't seem like a great day to go scouting for Los Angeles beaches, considering the crowd is literally insane) the noise that once filled the boardwalk of screaming children, frozen yogurt vendors and surfer repartee suddenly began to fade. I glanced to my friends beside me, but they only continued striking less than mediocre poses as the publicists and managers across the street discussed camera angles and lighting restrictions. I continued to glance about, the bustle of the foot-traffic around me softening somehow, similar to the way sky goes silent before the grandest of storms. Everything grew quiet, though only for me, and then I heard it. A piercing, radiating laugh, that rang in my ears with a melody and eloquence of a thousand symphonies- and I was mesmerized. My head turned frantically, desperately scanning the crowd, but I couldn't manage to place the source of the sound. I glanced toward the other boys, and I knew they'd heard it too- though it was doubtful it rang in their mind the way it had in mine. I turned my head again, listening intently to the laughter as it grew quieter. It was enthralling, and beautiful- the kind of jovial and intense laughter that's contagious, spreading like butter over the soundwaves with which it travelled. I smiled, biting my lip as I glanced across the street towards our managers, who were clearly very preoccupied with paperwork to have their eyes on us at the moment. I ran my hair haphazardly through my hair as I smirked, turning back quickly towards the boys beside me.