How To Love An Actor

{V} New Acquaintances and Fried Nerves

I woke up in the morning in a cold sweat. My hair is plastered to my forehead and my heart is beating wildly. I had a nightmare that I barely remember. There were hundreds of hands, each reaching for the same thing I was. I felt terrified, and furious, and anxious. I felt like I had to get whatever we were after first. Everything was hazy and shadowy. As I rolled out of bed and ran a hand through my unruly hair I did the best I could to forget about the dream. Today was the first day of auditions and although I wasn't auditioning, I got second-hand anxiety from Patton. I've never seen him this worked up before, but he's much calmer than I would have been.

I head to my closet and put on the same thing I do every day. A black turtleneck, because hoodies are in the stupid dress code, and a pair of skinny black pants. If you looked at my closet, you could probably say it's identical to a cartoon characters'. Just duplicates of the same thing. I change and brush through my hair as best I can. A few times a knot of my hair gets caught in the brush and I let out a small yelp. I grab my contacts from the bathroom sink and rinse them quickly. Now for the worst part of my morning, putting them in. After a few failed attempts and a poke in the eye, I finally have both contacts in. I brush my teeth and yadda yadda yadda morning stuff.

I run outside to the bus stop after cramming a few packs of Poptarts into my bag and hope anxiously from foot to foot. I hate bus rides, especially in the morning. They fry my nerves and it's ten times worse when I'm tired. After waiting a few minutes, I realize the bus must be running late. I'm about to head back inside and call somebody to see if we can carpool, but then the yellow vehicle filled with screaming kids rolls right up. The mechanical doors swing open and the bus driver motions for me to get in.

"Sorry we're late," the uninterested person mumbled. Their orange bean covers most of their features, and I can't tell who it is. They must be new.

"Thanks," I manage as I walk towards the back to my usual seat.

With a start, I realize there is somebody there. Curled up underneath a large black coat there is a guy. I almost scream when I register someone is in my seat. I must have made some kind of sound because in an instant the person's head shoots straight up. His hair is disheveled and a few delicate curls fall in his face. There is something different about him though. The whites of his eyes are yellowed, and his skin has a faint yellow hue too.

"I uh... Seat," I dumbly manage.

"English please?" the boy snapped. He quickly turns his face away once he catches me staring.

"Nevermind, I just usually sit there and..." I begin as I can't help but look at his eyes once more.

"Stop. Looking. At. Them," he hissed as he moved his stuff over and leaned his head against the window. He pats the seat beside him softly and quickly pulls his hand back.

"I'm sorry," I say as I slide into the seat. I try to keep my distance. I would have sat anywhere else but the other seats were either full or filled with people who would gag at the sight of me. "I just thought your eye was cool."

"You thought a medical condition was cool? Real classy," he spat.

"Not like that," I groaned. I can't seem to say anything right with this kid. "It was a thing called a compliment."

He sits quietly, but removes his face from the window and faces forward. A few times I see him glance at me through the side of his eyes. It's really awkward and I'm considering jumping out of the bus, but then he speaks again.

"I'm sorry I was in your seat," the boy said.

"It's really not a big deal. At all. I just am a creature of habit," I say with an awkward laugh. "And no one else likes me enough to sit with them."