Automatic Eyes

Audrina stood in front of the mirror in Ryan’s bedroom, adjusting her golden chandelier earrings as the pair got ready to go out for the night. She was the epitome of beautiful with her head of tousled brunette curls and her striking hazel eyes, which varied between shades of earthy olive and golden brown.

Tonight they were tiger-eye marbles.

Ryan sat on the side of the bed, pretending to be entranced by some basketball game on the television. He was secretly observing Audrina from the corner of his eye, wondering what had went wrong, wondering why she had kept the same cold, distant expression on her face for days. Beautiful but completely devoid of emotion, she was like the marble angel statue that acted as the centerpiece for the courtyard of his new home in the Hollywood Hills. If Ryan craned his neck slightly, he could see the statue from the balcony.

“Ryan, are you ready to go?”

Audrina was staring at him with those automatic eyes.

“Yeah, sure. I’m ready whenever you are.” He smiled, but there was nothing behind it.

What had he done wrong? What did he do to deserve this?

His girlfriend had been acting strange for some time now, but her behavior had really hit home when he’d returned from a short weeklong tour. Something had shifted, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

She had told him that maybe the week apart would do them good, but of course, now things were worse than ever.



Audrina had been begging him for weeks to make an appearance with her and her friends, and every time Ryan had brushed it off, simply saying that it “wasn’t his scene.” She knew her friends could be drama, but if he loved her enough, he would want to go out with her and be a part of her social life.

Things with Ryan were strained. She just didn’t feel that spark that she used to feel. Being together had become work, and Audrina wasn’t completely sure that it was something worth working for, and Justin wasn’t exactly making things easier.

Justin had reentered her life unexpectedly, as he tended to do. Audrina had been scouting a band for Epic Records at the Viper Room with the girls, and Justin’s band happened to be playing afterward.

At first, Audrina was overcome by waves of awkward. She needed to get out of there. She and Justin had history, and their last encounter hadn’t gone well. Justin was fooling around with one of Audrina’s friends, and even though they weren’t together, it had still hurt Audrina.

But after the show, everything changed. Audrina decided to go up to him after the show because it would be rude not to say hi. Justin had been really chill about it, even Lo (who despised Justin) said that he was being friendly.

Audrina couldn’t help but wonder if Justin had finally changed.

It was the mixture of seeing Justin again and Ryan’s absence that made Audrina feel emotionally drained.

She had never been more confused in her entire life. Usually things were just so straightforward with her, and she didn’t know how to handle the emotional concoction that was bubbling up inside of her.



Audrina spent the car ride to Les Deux absentmindedly staring out the window at the streetlights as they passed. She was still utterly and completely blank, there was no other word to describe it.

Ryan thought she’d at least be a little happy that he was finally spending some time with her and her friends, but if she was, she sure didn’t show it.

They spent the entire ride in silence.

Les Deux was filled with activity, as always, and Ryan couldn’t keep himself from feeling a little out of place. Audrina held onto his hand, pulling him through the crowd.

When she spotted her friends Lo and Stephanie at a table, her flat-lined lips transformed into a brilliant smile, a smile Ryan hadn’t seen in weeks.

“Hey Audrina!” Stephanie called, her bright blue eyes flashing with recognition. “Hey Ryan,” she greeted him as they sat down in the booth.

“Hey,” Ryan replied with a nod. For some reason, all of Audrina’s friends intimidated him, but they had such influence in her life that he couldn’t avoid them forever.

A few drinks and a few club mixes later, Ryan heard Lo nudge and whisper to Audrina.

“Justin just walked in.”

Ryan had heard about Justin from just about everyone in town, apparently he and Audrina had had an off-and-on thing going before Ryan came into the picture. This meeting was something Ryan had been dreading.

And he couldn’t ignore the way Audrina’s golden eyes lit up as Justin leaned over to shake her hand. Suddenly he realized why Audrina’s feelings toward him had begun to shift.

“Hey, I’m Justin,” he grunted, pulling the hood of his jacket back.

“I’m Ryan,” Ryan said, reaching over to accept his handshake.

Justin shot Audrina a glance with his ice-blue eyes before ducking into the opposite end of the booth. Ryan noticed him talking to another two of Audrina’s friends, and he just knew they were talking about him.

The club scene in Los Angeles was no different from high school, everyone talked shit about each other and every move resulted in some sort of drama. That’s one of the main reasons why Ryan tried to keep to himself. Audrina just wasn’t the type to stay out of the limelight.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, touching Audrina’s arm.

“We just got here!” she whined, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. “Can’t we stay for just a little bit longer?”

Ryan was silent for a moment, as if contemplating her suggestion. “Let’s go now,” he repeated, a slightly anxious edge to his voice.

So Audrina picked up her clutch and followed him out of the club. She silently swore that this would be the last time she let him embarrass her in front of her friends.

Something had to give, and apparently she had to be the one to give. Give up.