vanish from my mind | shaymien

01 | auditions

it's the first day of theatre practices, and damien can clearly tell that he's slightly sweaty. he needs this role more than anything in the entire universe, even if it means getting a little sweaty before auditions even start.

his eyes scan over everyone in the room. some of his friends are sitting at the same location of him, talking quite loudly, while the others are talking to the director. the air inside the room was quite cold, actually, and it was amazing that damien was still sweating.

finally, wes caught his attention. "hey, you alright?"

damien's head shot up and he nodded easily, pushing some of his hair off his forehead. "of course i am," he replies, "you know how much i want this role."

"i wish i didn't," boze whispered from beside him, eyes wide. with a laugh, he shoves her side and she bursts into laughter.

it's normal friendship. it's the best kind he could ever have. wes turns back and continues his conversation with joshua, and boze falls to the floor and stares back up at the ceiling.

after twenty more minutes of waiting, the director calls everyone to look. damien immediately perks up, his eyes widening and filling with happiness.

she goes on to explain how there are three main roles. there's some minor roles, but for as many people that are there, not everyone will get a role. this makes an alarm go off in the brunet's head, and worry washes over him for a quick second. she does cover it though, saying whoever doesn't make it can help with the set and anything behind scenes. this calms him down.

one at a time, students are called up to audition. damien can feel his anxiety eating away at his stomach as he waits for his name to be called. it's crazy how anxious he can get over this when it's the thing he loves the most. acting has always been his thing.

it's always helped him getting over things. acting became a quick coping mechanism; if he was upset, he would read lines from a broadway play with his own voices and emotions. it helped him calm down when everything became so much.

"damien haas?" she pronounces his name wrong, sending some kind of anxiety shooting through his veins, but he stands up and walks around the stage to enter.

reaching the center, he smiles at the director. "hi. i'm damien haas and i'm auditioning for the lead role."

annoyance flashes through her eyes. "typical. prove to me why you should get it."

and with that, damien is off. he's got the lines memorized, the words coming to him easily. he displays every emotion that feels correct in that moment, walking around the stage and projecting his voice so it bounces off the walls.

boze, wes, and the rest of his friends are staring wide eyed. they all know what an amazing actor he was- he's always been amazing, but he always exceeds expectations. he gets better with every audition, every small practice here and there. it continues to blow everyone away.

when he comes to a close, his friends are clapping and a smile etches onto his face. he clasps his hands behind his back as he rocks on his feet. the director claps for him.

"splendid," she compliments. "i think you might just get the role, damien."

now, instead of anxiety, excitement shoots through him. his features light up and stars are twinkling in his eyes. it's like some cliché scene from a movie. "really?"

she nods in response and damien clambers off the stage, a newfound glory playing over and over in his brain.

he goes home that night with everything good buzzing through him.

— 🌻 —

it's a month into practices. damien has his lines almost fully memorized, and he continues to blow everyone away. he's the lead role of course, and everyone thinks he's deserved it.

right now he's in a scene with a girl named courtney miller, and when he reaches his line, he can't help but laugh under his breath. it's a comedic scene and he can't help but let his laughter interrupt.

when it's announced that practice is over, damien hops of the stage and to grab his backpack. there, standing by his backpack, is another boy who damien recognizes as being part of the painting crew for the set.

the boy's hair is blond and messy, and the flannel he's wearing is wrinkled. he's staring down at his phone, an amused look on his face, and his backpack is slung over his shoulder.

damien also takes note in the rolled up ankles of the jeans and how they're ripped. he gingerly picks up his bag and turns to the boy who's face is still buried in the screen of his phone.

"hi," damien cheerily says, gaining the boy's attention. "i'm damien haas."

he holds out his hand which gains a laugh from the other boy. "i know who you are. you're the lead role, of course. i'm shayne. shayne topp."

"topp? top of what?" damien tries to joke, but it's weak. yet shayne laughs like it's the funniest thing in the world. damien now takes note of how there's a paintbrush in shayne's pocket, sticking out and ready to be used.

when he stops laughing, he smiles sweetly at damien. "i'm at the top of life, man." his eye twitches slightly. he swallows hard when his phone buzzes.

"me too," the brunet replies. "so, you're part of the set crew? do you enjoy it?"

now shayne's eyes light up. "of course i do! i've always loved painting. this is just another reason to do it."

shayne's eyes shine like they're the brightest thing in the universe. his voice is cute, slightly high pitched, and damien already knows that he likes shayne. he wants the boy to be his friend, he wants to hang out with him. he wants him to know everything about him.

they continue to talk. damien learns that shayne's parents aren't too happy about how much time shayne spends painting. apparently they think his grades will suffer. shayne learns that damien wants to be an actor when he gets out of school.

a small hand suddenly appears on damien's shoulder, making him jump. shayne starts to laugh and boze, the one behind him, giggles as well. "come on, dawg, we gotta head home!"

damien's eyes shoot to meet shayne's. "hey, where do you live? you could walk home with us if you wanted."

"i, uh," suddenly shayne grows uncomfortable. he doesn't want to be rude but he can't. he has to get home by himself and soon, too. "sorry, i just can't today. maybe tomorrow?"

damien struggles to find words. he really wanted the boy to meet his friends and hang out with them all. he has an urge to give the boy all his support and help, but sadly, he now can't. instead, he just nods with a smile.

"it's cool! and that's totally fine." the words come out soft and sweet, and beside him, boze also nods her head.

she says, "also, nice to meet you. i'm ericka, but my friends call me boze."

"hi, boze," shayne waves his hand at her.

boze and damien leave the auditorium, and anxiety is washing over damien. he's just met the blond boy, but something about how he was acting was off. he seemed uncomfortable and out of place, and damien wanted to hug him and reassure him.

"you okay?" boze asks as they're walking down the sidewalk.

"i'm okay."