Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

>SCARLETT’S POV<

I studied my face in the mirror, concentrating on what else needed to be done to fix my makeup. Lip gloss, of course! I uncapped the tube, sliding it over my lips. Still, I was unsatisfied, so I decided on redoing my eyeliner. Suddenly, the door swung open, causing me to shriek and drop the pencil on the floor. I turned around and leaned on the sink to compose myself as someone staggered through the door.

The boy I’d noticed in the auditioning room earlier was grabbing his stomach, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. His face seemed to be ever so slightly fading to a pale greenish-yellow color, and he looked sickly. His mouth opened, as if he were about to say something, but stopped when he darted to the nearest stall and threw up.

“Are…are you okay?” I asked him quietly through the open stall door as he finally stopped vomiting. His head was still facing the toilet and he was breathing heavily. I hadn’t realized how truly repulsive it was to witness someone vomiting; I suddenly felt sorry for my sister.

“Yeah, I’m…I think I’m okay…” He turned around, lifting his head to look at me. When his eyes met mine, he instantly twirled back around, vomiting again. I shuddered, trying to compose myself as I tore off several paper towels from the machine. The mysterious unnamed boy tilted his head upward, looking graciously at me as I handed him the towels to wipe his mouth with. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

I nodded, observing his facial features. His eyes were a deep, chocolate brown color, his hair nearly matching, with the exception of a few artificial blonde streaks here and there. He was tall and lanky; he must’ve been at least a full foot taller than me.

“Sorry you had to see that,” he chuckled lightly, looking at the floor. “It was pretty disgusting.”

I smiled. “Yeah, it wasn’t exactly pleasant,” I agreed. “You okay now?”

He nodded. “I think so.” Finally, he looked back up at me, and those eyes…I could’ve gotten lost in them if I wasn’t careful. “So, I saw you audition earlier,” he said softly, creating small talk.

I shrugged, flashing a half-smile. “I could’ve done better.”

“Shit, no, you did fucking great,” he opposed, shaking his head.

“Thanks.”

“So uh, you never told us your name.”

“Scarlett,” I smiled.

“Jack.” He extended his hand for me to shake, and said, “Nice to officially meet you, Scarlett.”

“You too, Jack.” He was nothing if not charming. I had to admit, for only knowing him for about ten minutes, he was already making my heart beat a little faster than normal. Even though five of those ten minutes were spent watching him throw up.

“Well, uh, I guess we’d better get back out there. Most of the participants are probably done now.” He hesitantly took a step towards the door, then looked back at me and smiled. “After you.” He held the door open for me and I grabbed my bag, walking into the waiting room as he smiled and nodded at me before walking to the audition room to discuss with the bands.

I sat back down at my original seat beside the redheaded boy, who tilted his head upward and smirked. “Hey, beautiful. Since I’m pretty sure I’ll be asked to join the band, wanna go do something later? You can tell all your girlfriends you got a date with the guy in The Catastrophe.”

“Um, how about I stick a needle in your head and hope your ego deflates?”

“Ooh, feisty. I like a challenge,” he grinned.

I just rolled my eyes, relieved when the members of The Catastrophe – Darren, Josh and Seth – walked into the waiting room, smiles adorning their faces.

“Okay everybody,” Darren said, clapping his hands together once, “We’ve made our decision. It’s been a long day, and we appreciate all of you who came and tried out.”
“It was a tough decision,” Josh continued, “but after evaluating everyone’s performances, the choice was clear. The Catastrophe’s newest guitarist will be-“ he stopped and turned around, whispering something to Jack as if confirming something. “Scarlett,” he smiled. “Although we didn’t even know your name until about five minutes ago, thanks to this guy,” he laughed, jerking his thumb in Jack’s direction. I blushed, walking over to them as a chorus of “What?!”s and “No way!”s swept throughout the room from the rejects.

I just flipped them off, watching in satisfaction as they all grabbed their guitars and left the warehouse. Josh casually slung an arm around my shoulder and smiled at me. “Well, buddy, I think after that, we like you already,” he grinned, referring to me flipping the bird to all the rejects collectively.

“We’ll get along great,” Darren agreed.

“Hopefully you don’t mind being on a smelly bus for months at a time with a bunch of sweaty, stinky boys,” Seth laughed.

“Especially if you’re touring with us,” a tall boy with shaggy brown hair from the other band said, smiling. “We tend to perspire like no one’s business. And I plan on giving you a big hug every time I walk offstage.”

“I’ll love that,” I rolled my eyes.

A boy with a brown buzz cut stepped forward, allowing me to shake his hand. “Since no one here has any manners,” he took a moment to turn around and glare at them, “I’ll introduce everyone. I’m Rian, your new best friend, and I’m the drummer in All Time Low. And even though my stunning good looks are absolutely irresistible, I’m already happily taken.”

I laughed. “Too bad.”

Since I already knew The Catastrophe’s members – Darren, who sang and played guitar, Seth who played the drums, and Josh, the bassist – Rian continued to introduce me to the rest of his band. “That’s Zack,” he pointed at a muscular blond boy, “there’s Alex, and that’s Jack, as you already seem to know,” he chuckled. Jack’s face flushed to a light pink.

“Damn girl, you’ve already got Jack blushing,” Alex joked.

“Stop,” Jack told him authoritatively.

“Anyway,” Seth said, changing the subject, “we should go do something. We’ve got to get to know our little munchkin here before we head out on tour.”

“Munchkin?” I asked, laughing.

“Yeah, you’re a shorty,” he shrugged.

“Okay, who votes bowling?” Darren yelled, already raising his hand. Everyone followed suit, throwing their arms in the air in agreement.

“Alright,” I said. “Time to figure out what kind of trouble I’m getting myself into.”