Harmonize

Screen Time (2)

^^ Emma Stone as Shelby

Don't Call Me Angel – Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey

MAYA POV

Theo blinked once, twice, shocked from my change in denamour before straightening up from the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, patting myself on the back for sounding stronger than what I'm currently feeling. Fake it til' you make it, right?

The corner of his lips quirked up slightly. Not quite smirking but still allowing me to notice his amusement. "I could ask you the same thing." Taking a small step towards me, daring me to hop down from my high horse.

He was right to question my presence; I never did theater in school. Or anything including public speaking for that matter. Although, I am curious as to why he's here either. Theo made it clear to everyone that actors are just wannabes that are hungry for fame – that it isn't a real occupation because anyone could do it.

"I asked you first." I argued, cocking an eyebrow.

Eyes still wide in shock, he muttered, "Fair enough," Theo fixed himself before continuing, "I'm the new male lead."

My face might've said "calm and collected" but my mind had transferred into a state of panic. I thought I listed off all the worst case scenarios regarding my potential co-star but I failed to recognize the one that could change the game completely.

Theo's questioning expression reminded me that it was my turn to answer.

"Oh," I stated. "Well, looks like we'll be sharing the spotlight." I told him, turning my gaze towards the mirrors so I wouldn't have to gage his reaction. I was ready for him to burst out in hysterics but the silence that followed was more deafening than the laughter ever could've been. 

Why wasn't he laughing at me?

Why wasn't he patronizing me?

Maybe he needed a second to digest. Wouldn't be the first time.

Theo has always been pretty slow, especially when it came to consuming new information.

Back in hell, he asked me why I was absent the previous day. The day before I had just found out that I was adopted and needed some time to take it all in. I mean, my already weakened ten-year-old self wasn't going to accept it straight away, skipping through the school gates with a smile etched on her face.

Natural instincts held me back from telling him the truth, already knowing that I'd become the laugh of the school. I did my best to shield my true emotions but unfortunately, he could read me like an open book. No matter how hard I tried, his piercing orbs could view my soul like it was his own. That's how he gained power over me – that's how I became defenseless to him in the first place.

It didn't take him long to crack down my wall of lies and practically force me to confess.

After notifying of the life changing news that I had only found out twenty-four hours prior, it took him a full minute to realize what adoption actually meant. I would've found the small pout that played on his lips and furrowed eyebrows adorable if I wasn't already terrified for his reaction. By the next day, I received a mixture of disgusted and tantalizing looks. Hateful words were thrown my way, how my real parents didn't want me. That not even my real parents wanted me.

Adding that onto my apparent "heroin" addiction, you can understand why I had no friends.

A few moments passed without either of us speaking, only pricking my curiosity further in his lack of reaction. I slowly turned my head back towards him, only to find him looking at me as if I was the most difficult math equation on earth. Deeply mixed with the intense interest in his smoldering hazel orbs was a barely detectable admiration.