We're Only Watching The Skies

Time seemed to fly by when Fallon willed it to stand still. She wanted the hands of the clock to stop ticking and time to stop, so 6:30 would never come. However, she lives in the real world, and time doesn’t just stop.
Fallon started for the auditorium, her mind racing. Why did I have to audition? I don’t want to have to work with this prick. He’s just going to be rude, like always. God, why?
Her internal pity party continued until the auditorium came into view, looming over the girl like her death sentence. People were piling in one by one. Across the sidewalk, a guy was laughing loudly. Fallon’s eyes followed the sound and she rolled her eyes. Louis was walking with his “clique” if you will, cackling obnoxiously about something that probably wasn’t even that funny. Fallon finally reached the doors, and to her dismay, got to it at the same time the group of boys did.
“Well boys,” Louis crooned, c losing in on Fallon, “looky who we have here. Little Wendy.” Fallon tried to open the door, but Louis leaned against it. “In a hurry?”
Fallon sighed. “Seriously, move.”
“I don’t think I will.” His stubborn attitude mixed with the sickeningly sweet smirk on his face urged Fallon to slap him silly, but she refrained. Louis’ blue eyes sparkled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Fallon was not immune to his charming looks, and her heart flipped involuntarily. He was so beautiful that Fallon felt she shouldn’t mar it by staring at him too long.
His friends were crowing around them, getting a kick out of seeing the girl falter under Louis’ gaze. A curly headed boy elbowed a blonde one, looking like he was going to fall over in tears. A darker skinned boy stuffed his hands in his pockets of the varsity jacket he was wearing. The only one that didn’t look like he was enjoying the show was short haired boy. He didn’t find the situation half as funny as the other boys, and looked at Louis like he disapproved of the actions.
Louis groaned, “Whaaaaat Liam?”
“Just let her go,” Liam stated firmly. Finally, someone with some sense. Fallon liked this guy.
It seemed like the boys snapped to attention and suddenly didn’t find the bullying funny. Louis faltered for a second before moving away from the door, eyes still locked on Liam. The other boys walked in, but Liam walked to Louis’ ear and whispered something. Louis groaned almost like a pouting child who didn’t get his way, causing Liam to shoot him a look before walking in.
“Liam said I have to apologize,” he muttered resigned.
“Whatever,” Fallon shrugged, trying to walk in. A warm, soft hand grabbed her wrist.
“I just apologized and that’s all you have to say?” His eyes bore down on her, making her squirm uncomfortably. His beauty crushed hers in comparison. This imperfect person shouldn’t be anywhere near someone so flawless.
“You... didn’t apologize,” she managed to mutter. Realization cross his face.
“Oh... yeah... well sorry.” The sincerity was almost noticeable. Fallon shrugged.
“It’s ok.” Louis’ blue eyes locked with her brown eyes, and she noticed something. For a moment, the Louis she had known wasn’t there. The boy in front of her was actually a good person. He looked like he didn’t have a mean bone in his entire body, and could actually be a friend to her.
But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. He gave one snarky laugh at her, pushing past, and walking through the door. A sigh escaped her lips as she followed him into the auditorium. The room was empty other than chairs lining the walls. There was a ring of chairs placed on the stage, all of the seats taken except for two. Louis sat down, and Fallon sat at the last chair, directly across the circle from Louis. The director suddenly burst through the backstage curtains, clapping his hands together.
“And here you all are! My cast and crew!” His eyes traveled around the circle as he grinned. “First thing’s first. Introductions! Tell us your name, who you’re playing, and anything interesting you’d like us to know. I’ll start. My name is Jason Stiller and I’m the director at this wonderful university. I graduated from this college many, many moons ago with a bachelor’s in Fine Arts.” Then, it continued around the circle, everyone telling their life story. It finally was Fallon’s turn, and she was instantly nervous.
Fallon gulped slightly. “Um... My name is Fallon. I’m attending New Bedford for a degree in Fine Arts, and I’m playing Wendy...” Her voice trailed off weakly without any bit of pride.
Jason stared at her incredulously. “Are you not happy with the role I blessed you with?” Fallon opened her mouth to speak, but he continued, making her look like a fish gasping for breath outside of the water. “Because I’m sure any girl here would kill to be in your spot. Not only are you playing Wendy, but you are Louis Tomlinson’s Wendy. Do you not get how excited you should be?” Fallon’s face turned bright red as she caught Louis sneering at her. “If you want, I can hand that role over to someone else. Someone more grateful. Girls, who would like the role of Wendy?” A wave of hands shot up, girls eager to jump at being close to Louis. Mr. Stiller’s eyes fell back on Fallon, proving his point. “I think you should be a little more accepting. I picked you for a reason. I picked all of you for a reason. That reason is because I know you can portray your character amazingly. If you don’t have enough respect for yourself,” he said motioning to the entire group, “you can leave right now. Door’s right there.” Nobody offered to move an inch. “Good, now let’s continue.”
The activity started again as Fallon died internally from embarrassment. She tuned out most of the people’s answers, until it reached Louis. “Well, you know my name already,” he said, shrugging. “I’m playing Peter Pan. And God, I’m excited to see how Wendy holds up.” Everyone laughed as their eyes fell on Fallon. Her hands shook with emotion, and she wasn’t sure if it was anger or embarrassment. Probably a bit of both.
Turns out, Louis’ friends were on the stage crew for the scene changes. And of course, they would be backstage at every performance, and at every single practice. How much more of this could Fallon take? Usually, she was able to control her emotions, but now, she wasn’t so sure.
The night ended quickly, but not near soon enough for Fallon. When they finished, she hustled to the door, beating everyone out. The cool autumn air hit her face and she was finally able to breath. Her pace slowed slightly as she savored the feel of the wind on her hot cheeks.
Suddenly, a yelp escaped her lips as a large hand grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, her hand making contact with the face, creating a loud “smack.” The person gasped in shocked and brought their hands to their face. “You... you slapped me?” a man’s voice asked surprised. It was Liam, the boy she met earlier who saved her.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” The boy laughed.
“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that. I just... wanted to apologize for Louis’ behavior earlier. He can be a real immature twat sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Fallon asked. The words dripped with sarcasm.
Liam laughed softly, forcing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “He’s the oldest five-year-old you’ll ever meet.”
“What’s his deal anyways? Why does he pick on me?”
“He knows he has an effect on you.” Fallon raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“He has that effect on all the girls. Even some of the guys.” Liam smiled and shook his head.
“No, not like that,” he replied. “You let it bother you. It’s no fun if you don’t react, and you give him a fight. He likes to know he can affect people like that.” His head turned as he heard someone yelling his name. It was Louis, bounding towards Liam and Fallon.
“Hey, come on man,” he said, slapping Liam’s shoulder, “we’re all going for pizza.”
“Alright, go ahead. I’ll catch up.” Louis looked over at Fallon, sneering slightly. Before he could make a crude remark, Fallon turned to walk away, hearing Liam chastise Louis heavily for his behavior.
Fallon finally reached her dorm and walked in, slamming the door behind it. Arlie was still chowing down on the left over eggrolls from supper. “Rough night?” she asked, covering her mouth as she chewed.
Fallon just moaned in reply. “I really don’t want to do this. Louis’ awful. Our director thinks he is the best thing to ever happen to this school.”
Arlie shrugged slightly. “It’ll get better. Maybe he isn’t as bad as you think.”
“No, he’s not,” Fallon replied. Arlie began to smile, but then her roommate continued. “He’s worse.”
“There is no way!”
“Yes there is! I swear! He wouldn’t even let me in the building when I got there.”
Arlie smiled mischievously. “You know teasing is a sign of a crush, right?”
Fallon shook her head to disagree as she sat down on her bed. She laid back and stared up at the pictures they had lining the walls of places they wanted to go in the future. The Eiffel Tower, Roman Coliseum, and the London Eye were just a few of the monuments that they longed to visit. “It’s worse than that. He bullies me. And I talked to one of his friends today, and he said he does it just because he can get a rise out of me.”
“Well just don’t give him the satisfaction. Just let it slide off your shoulder.”
Fallon laughed and rolled her eyes. “Easier said than done.”
“What about if I come to practice tomorrow, and hang out? See if you’re exaggerating.”
“Well, I’m not exaggerating, but come on out. You can see what I’m talking about.”
Arlie clapped her hands together, finalizing the plan. “It’s a date then!”