The Theatre

   Avery is a student at Henley Hall and a former member of the arts club. Due to the fact that when the theatre club needed help from the art club with props, Avery fell in love with the behind-the-scenes process enough to leave the art club and become the prop master for the theatre club.
   That is also how she met Neil, an actor with great potential. After his outstanding performance in A Midsummer's Night Dream, he has become an essential part of the cast of Henley Hall's plays. Avery and Neil became close when they found out how much love each of them had for their respective passions. So when Neil invited his friends over for rehearsals, he seeked her out for introductions.

   Avery was going through a list of needed materials when Neil found her.
   "Avie! What are you up to?" He asked and, without waiting for an answer, continued, "My friends just arrived, wanna come and meet them?"
   "Oh, you invited them today? Yeah, yea sure, I will go meet them. Let's go." Avery replied with a smile.
   "Great, because I have been telling them all about how you made my puck crown, and now they are rather excited to meet you."
   Now Avery was not prepared to meet new people, especially ones who already knew a thing or two about her, but since it's Neil's friends they were talking about, she knew not to worry much.
   Little did she know...

   As the duo walked over to the group of friends, Avery noticed how each of the six boys conveyed a different energy. Excitement, mischief, anxiousness, bewilderment... So looking at them as a group, they were simply chaotic. Except for one of them.
   Sure, he looked a bit out of place, but that's because he didn't belong to the theatre. But if one focused a little, he was the only one making an effort to appear calm and collected, and Avery appreciated that effort.

   "Guys! This is Avie, well, Avery, our one and only prop master!" Neil said so as soon as he reached the group.
   "We finally meet, Avie. I am Charlie Dalton. You might not know me, but I sure heard some things about you." A boy who radiated smugness, apparently named Charlie, replied immediately and stuck out his hand confidently.
   "Good things, I hope." Avery took his hand, despite being taken aback by the boy's forwardness.

   Neil went on to list the rest of the boys. Some introduced themselves, while others said simple hellos and let Neil handle the rest.
   "And over here we have our top student, Richard Cameron." Neil finally finished off with the composed boy.
   "It is nice to finally meet you, Avery." said Richard, suddenly breaking off his tranquil demeanour with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
   "You too..." the girl replied softly.

   As Neil trialled off talking about his plan for the day regarding showing off the theatre to his friends, Avery tried to ignore this weird gut feeling inside her. An irrational feeling urging her, daring her to take a peek at this proclaimed top student.
   Subtly taking a deep breath, she dared a glance towards Richard, and to her surprise, he was already looking at her. Then the both of them, with their flushed cheeks, quickly looked away, pretending they actually could hear the boys chattering instead of the loud beating of their hearts.

   It wasn't until Neil asked her a question that Avery broke out of her trance.
   "Avie, do you mind showing us the prop room first? I would show them on my own, but I know you wouldn't trust me." He said it with a bright smile.
   Avery knew that people could hardly resist the boy's smile, which was full of hope, and she was not immune either. Next thing she knew, Avery was ushering the seven boys towards her well organised prop room, silently praying the boys would have enough decency not to mess too much with the carefully made items.

   As soon as they reached their destination, Neil slipped into his role as a self-proclaimed tour guide way too excitedly. He was showing off his favourite props, Avery sharing fun memories, and everyone just joking around. There was a good vibe go—