Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a beehive, people running around in pursuit for friends and locating a free place to stand without being knocked over. Chatter and laughs filled the air, light snickers about the rain were accompanied with high-pitched squeals. Solid sounds of footsteps pattered against the smooth, dark floor, contrasting the marble ceiling. A coral banner with the phrase AUDITIONS stretched over the top of the two pillars at the entrance. Carnelian curtains blocked the downpour from being visible, yet the pandemonium of the rain could patently be heard.

A blonde seated himself on an indoor bench, checked the watch on his tanned wrist and glanced up to the door.

Ten minutes passed as the commotion increased, energy brimming to pure chaos. Clicks of cameras reverberated and cries of glee penetrated the air. Mixtures of people mingled while others decided to chant old nursery rhymes. The faint words of ' Eenie-meenie-minie-mo, suck my dick and swallow slow,' infiltrated Elizabeth's ears as she plucked earplugs out her ears. Peering over swamps of multicoloured heads, she noticed a cluster of boys huddled together and yelling. It wasn't her business, so she shrugged and unlocked her phone with her fingerprint, confirming the time.

11:15

Perfect.
The sound of a whistle-though it was more of an unholy screech-cleaved through the air, through conversations and any communication in the seat-less theatre. A deafening silence echoed in the room. Elizabeth shivered, the area too tense for her liking.

A man tucked a whistle into his pocket. He was of medium height, white hair and a moustache with a forming beard. He wore chino pants and grey trainers, a light green polo-shirt covered him, edged with gold rimming, an ebony diamond sown onto the middle. An obtrude label etched over his heart, the words 'Cain Barzard' scrawled onto it. His brown eyes buzzed with electricity as he assessed the space, a small nod soon following.

"Hello, everyone!" he said, waving his arm in the air, "I'm your instructor-" he pointed to the badge on his chest "-you can call me Cain." Even though the air around him fizzed and popped with zeal, his voice boomed, somehow reaching the corners of the room and gripping the attention of those inside. "I assume you're all here to audition?" He questioned; the people near him nodded. Cain brushed past them to stroll to the modest platform that stretched to cover half the room. He walked up the three steps smoothly, humming a lighthearted tune that nobody else could recall. A microphone stood on its stand, but Cain was Cain, he didn't need it. "It's a bit different this year," he started, turning to face the puzzled expressions of his audience, "the audition process has changed."

Elizabeth sighed, nibbling the inside of her cheek, what did she expect? For everything to work out and for her to immediately become an actress? Life was never that kind to anyone.

"We have two stages," Cain declared. He paced across the platform, footsteps ringing. "The Second Stage is a group performance where we will hand you a script. However, you'll receive more information about that on a later date...you will only be part of the second stage if you pass the First Stage," he smiled at the mob. Though he was explaining something that was life-determining to heaps of people, his face and tone remained welcoming. "Once you've left this hall, you have two weeks until your first performance."

Mutters instantly washed over the area-murmurs of 'performance?' and 'two weeks?' congested Elizabeth's thoughts. When Diane recommended visiting a website that was holding auditions, nothing about already performing was mentioned.

"Ssshhhh," the group hustled down to view Cain, who had a finger over his smiling lips. Elizabeth felt a grandfatherly vibe exude from him as he grinned fondly at everyone. "Please don't worry, it won't be in front of a crowd. You and your partner will need to execute your work to a judge...and myself. That judge will decide whether you're skilled enough to move towards the Second Stage."

Drinking his words like they were wine, the cluster listened attentively as the man continued. "For the first stage, you will be in partners. The two of you will have to produce a script on a topic, which I'll reveal in a few minutes. Both of you will have to agree on when you'll rehearse; that is your responsibility. However, this drama room and the one opposite will be free for use if you wish."

As soon as Cain paused for oxygen, the majority of heads glanced at somebody, creating eye contact and a single word was conveyed without a sound, 'Partners?'.

Elizabeth gulped. She'd come alone, the only one in her friendship family who was interested in taking part, and she regretted it now. But, Diane had told her a while ago that regret won't get you anywhere! The past is the past and, yeah, it teaches you a lot, but you gotta focus on the present. Live in the moment!

Yeah, live in the moment. Ellie scavenged the lobby for a lonely face and, after scanning multiple factions, eventually spotted a girl with taffy-coloured hair and a similar fringe that covered her forehead. She smiled, and maybe the girl would've smiled back; maybe she would've scowled and averted her gaze, but a voice interrupted them.

"Now now," and as they all turned to watch Cain, something different was settling on his face. "I am very sorry to tell you this-" though he didn't seem very sorry-"you will not be choosing your partners."

As groans and grumbles resounded, their instructor smirked. Elizabeth concluded that she didn't like his smirk, not at all. It gave her the impression that he had more up his sleeves.

Which he did.

"I will be assigning you into pairs."

You could hear a pin drop.

"At random."

Cain Barzard progressed to each person standing in the gargantuan hall, handing each of them a single piece of paper and moving off once again. At this rate, it wouldn't take long for him to be back on the stage to announce the rest.

Elizabeth regarded his swift actions. He was speedy, smiling at everyone and off to someone else. Though, she did notice him stopping at a guy for a few seconds longer. She swore she had spotted Cain nodding lightly-it would've been inconspicuous to anyone else. And then he went off as if nothing unusual had occurred.

Not that it was unusual.

His smile curved up briefly before returning to its neutral state. His hands also fumbled as he reached for another slip of paper. She brushed it off and thanked him, leading it to her usual over-thinking.

"Alright, guys!" Cain jumped onto the platform and span, "On your piece of paper is a number. One other person in this room has the same number as you and I'm giving you seven minutes to find them."

No-one moved.

"Well? Off you go! Chop-chop!"

They bustled about, flocking into bunches to try and discover their number match. Ellie glanced down at hers too see a number in black-1109. In a crowded hall where you couldn't turn without bumping into someone, she was lost as to how she could find her partner.

"Excuse me?" A boy(who had to be a few years younger than her) with spiky white hair and teal eyes passed her. "Do you have the number 1476?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh, it's alright!" He beamed, eyes kind, "Have you seen a green-haired girl anywhere?"

How many times would she have to say sorry today? "No, I'm really sorry."

He shrugged, moving nimbly into the bustle behind her, "Don't apologise." After a wave in Elizabeth's direction, he vanished into the horde of people, somehow navigating his way through utter chaos.

She groaned, clutching her paper tighter, crinkling it even further. Maybe waiting until the last person who couldn't find a partner would be easier than searching through this. As much as she loved performing, she adored entering the role of an entirely new person, the idea of acting to a crowd wasn't as welcome.

"Hey! Elizabeth, we have the same number!" And she recognized the voice, she knew it from somewhere but couldn't place her finger on it. It had the same upbeat tone she'd heard a year and a half ago from someone, but who...? ...How could anyone here know her name?

She peered behind her to respond to the person who called her and had assumed they had the same number, because how could someone know without seeing it?

When she saw those eyes, those eyes that she'd sworn to never look into again, time and humanity stopped for her to soak the information. It was him. Her jaw slacked, taking in the sight in front of her. Dark trainers, black jeans, white shirt and messy hair-his typical style.

Out of all people, it had to be him?

For the love of God-

"Soooo~" He grinned, holding his piece of paper which undeniably had the number 1109. "We're partners!"

Fate had to be joking.

"We. Are. Not. Partners, "Elizabeth accentuated each word, her nostrils flaring. "I do not want to work with...with you." She attempted to place all her distaste in a sentence, trying to come off as threatening.

"We don't have much of a choice," he continued, either not noticing or ignoring the death-glare she was sending him, "you're stuck with me." And he resumed his grinning.

"..."

"..."

"Aren't you over what happened?"

"Over? Meliodas-! She cried for weeks because of you."

"Isn't she over it?"

"Even if she is, that's not the point! The damage was done."

He shrugged, grin slackening to a smile, "The past prepares you for the future." As Elizabeth gawked at his audacity to just move on from the past, Meliodas swiped his phone from his jean pocket. He lazily typed something out with one hand, pressed the send button and tucked it away like it was second nature. His face returned to the silver-haired girl's hardened expression, and he grinned, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Attention!" All types of chatter stopped as their gazes averted to Cain's yell. His hand seemed to be flattening something on his jacket, "you're topic will be romantic couples-"

No.

No no no no no no-

"It could be anything you want; in any circumstance imaginable. My advice would be to make the script first. Make sure it's not too long but, it can't be too short. Show off your acting skills! Add in emotion, make sure it's raw, it's all down to you. Remember, you can practice in this hall or the one opposite this corridor if you require space. And your two weeks start..."

Cain leapt off the stage, landing on the balls of his feet, hands still in the warmth of his pockets. A dodgy smirk overcame his features,

"...now."

As pairs hurried out the door, smiling at a new friend they'd gained, Elizabeth only glared at Meliodas, at his stupid hair that was never well-presented and his stupid grin that was always on his face. She grumbled a 'goodbye' that was loud enough for him to hear and stormed past, clutching her phone tightly, towards the exit.

Seven billion people in the world and it just had to be him.