love can't be lost

chapter seventeen

Mackenzie POV

I woke up really excited, because today is auditions day!!!! last night Johnny texted the group chat the directions to the theater, so everyone knew how to get there, and I planned on getting there early so I could talk with Johnny and Lauren.
I know the theater means so much to them because their parents took them there a lot when they were little kids. so not only is it a place of childhood remembrance, but it's one of the only parts of their parents that Johnny and Lauren have left.
I woke up Maddie and told her to shower quick because we needed to get to the theater early. she groaned and rolled over, because of course she doesn't want to get up. I literally forced her out of bed, and she finally slapped my hand and went to the bathroom to shower.
I took a quick shower myself, then got dressed and put on make up.
I went downstairs to get breakfast and saw that Maddie was already down there, her hair in a messy bun and her makeup perfectly done, like always. what is her secret???
she slid me a glass of orange juice.
"excited to see your boyfriend?" she smirks and i roll my eyes.
"excited to see yours?" i fire back.
"touché," maddie winks and i drink my orange juice and put a pop tart in the toaster.
"kenz, i know we fight all the time and pretty much hate each other, but i love you and i'm your sister so you're kinda stuck with me. so hah," maddie sticks her tongue out at me. "but if you ever want to talk about johnny or anything, i'm here, okay?"
i roll my eyes playfully. "okay, mads. no need to get all cheesey on me."
she softly punches my arm and goes to her room. i grab my phone and go on snapchat, looking through stories when i see john's story.
it was a video of lauren sleeping and john waking her up with an air horn. the noise is super loud and lauren wakes up and starts cussing at johnny loudly. i laugh. my favorite siblings ever. 
"kenz! let's go!" maddie yells, standing by the garage door, jingling the keys.
i race past her, screaming, "shotgun!"
"damn it," i heard her mumble as i jump into the car, laughing.
she gets in and i turn on the radio, and we start jamming out to a bunch of different songs.
when we get to the theater, we hop out of the car and rush inside.
johnny and lauren are the only ones there, surprisingly, because i thought for sure the director would be here.
"hey," maddie and i say at the same time.
i give lauren a hug and kiss john on the lips.
"get a room," lauren pipes and i hit her gently.
"so, where's the director?" maddie asks, basically reading my mind.
"he quit," lauren said with no emotion.
"WHAT?" i yell.
"he said that this theater was already doomed, and that he would just be wasting his time here. so he quit," johnny says.
"well who's going to direct?" i ask. 
"i said i would—" johnny starts.
"no," lauren interrupted him. "you have a good voice, you need to be in the show."
john grins, and i kiss his cheek. "she's right. i can direct."
lauren sighs. "no, you and maddie are amazing dancers, we need you two in the show for choreography. so that also rules out all of the dance moms girls."
i could tell lauren was thinking really hard about what to do.
"in fact, everyone needs to be in the show. all the people who are coming to help out either
a) have an amazing voice,
b) have great dancing skills,
c) are models and we need their looks for the show.
so that leaves..." she trails off as she comes to a realization. "me. i'll direct."
"are you sure, lauren? i mean, you were so excited to be in this play and i know you really wanted to," johnny says.
"no, i'm sure. i can't sing, i can't dance, and i'm definitely not a model, so i guess director is the best spot for me. besides, i can be bossy. my favorite," she smirks and i nod. lauren would be a perfect director.
"at least the old director left the script," maddie says and picked up a bunch of scripts that were on a nearby chair.
lauren flips through them. "shit!"
"what?"
"there's only eight characters! and there's no dancing!"
maddie does a double chin. "looks like it's props for me!"
"you sure, mads?" lauren asks and maddie nods.
"yeah. i've never done backstage stuff before. it'll be fun."
lauren gets out a big piece of paper and divides it into three sections.
cast-
crew- maddie
director- lauren
"great!" lauren claps as more people start to walk in.
i chat with some friends, then the door slams open and we all turn to see who walked in. "paige?" i ask with my mouth open wide. "you came!"
she nods and gives me a hug. "i convinced my mom to let me be a part of the show! my schedule is gonna be totally crammed, but who cares! i'm super excited to do something good for a good cause."
i thank her and we talk for a bit, then when everyone arrives, lauren gets on the huge stage in the front.
"hey! everyone!" lauren yells as people quiet down. "hey guys. thank you so so much for being here today. none of you had to do this–except hayden–" she blows him a kiss and he pretends to grab it. "so thank you so much again. i know with all of your hard work we can raise enough money to keep this theater alive!"
lots of whoops and cheers come from the crowd.
"okay, so, our director quit on us. he said that this theater was already doomed and that even with his help, it'll never stay open. and you know what i say to him? i say, screw you!" lauren raises both middle fingers and i chuckle. typical lauren. "alright, so i'll be taking over as director. today is auditions day, so i'll be casting everyone. there's only 8 characters in this play. here they are:
Alli (lead)
Sam (lead)
Brooke (alli's best girl friend)
Cam (Alli's best guy friend)
Lucy (sam's ex-girlfriend)
Charles (sam's guy best friend)
Eliza (narrator)
the people who don't get a role get to be either tech (lights and sound), stage manager, costume crew, makeup, or props. and we already have a brave volunteer for props. everyone i give you, maddie ziegler!" lauren points to her and maddie gets on a chair and waves like a princess. everyone cracks up and turns their attention back to lauren.
"okay, so we'll just go alphabetically. everyone, when you come up here, say your name and what part you're trying out for, then read a bit from the script. let's get to it!"
lauren sits behind a table with a list of all of our names, a script, and her big piece of paper from earlier.
"okay so first up is... kalani!"
The auditions go by pretty quick, and soon enough it's my turn.
i rush onstage. "hi i'm mackenzie ziegler and i'm trying out to be alli."
"that's my girlfriend!" john shouts from the back of the theater and i stifle a laugh. reading from the script, i start my monologue.
"i don't know what to do brooke... i'm a mess. i can't believe he would do this to me, after all we've been through. i though he loved me and after all this time i was just proved wrong. i loved him, and i still do, but he doesn't feel the same. do you know how heartbroken i was that night, to see him there with another girl? kissing like i meant nothing to him? and i didn't. i meant nothing to him. i mean, you're supposed to break up with someone because you don't love them, not because you love them too much. i just want to die, and the one person i love the most isn't here to stop me."
wow. that was emotional. i look at lauren and she's furiously writing things down.
"if you ever break her heart i'll kill you!" she yells over her shoulder at john. i laugh and walk off stage. everyone just talks for a bit while lauren makes her decisions.
"okay everyone!" lauren is standing onstage with her big piece of paper.
"alright, listen up!" lauren yells and we all get quiet immediately. "this was really hard, because all of you are so freaking talented. but i had to make decisions, so here they are.
Alli: Mackenzie Ziegler (a/n: ofc) (understudy- kalani hilliker)."
kalani and i hug.
"Sam: Johnny Orlando (a/n: ofc x2) (understudy- Brandon Rowland)."
johnny and brandon high-five and i kiss johnny for a long time. we both got leads!
"Brooke: Annie LeBlanc (understudy- Tate McRae)
Cam: Hayden Summerall (understudy- Jack Kelly)
Lucy: Sophia Rose (understudy- Chloe Lukasiak)
Charles: Ashton Rowland (understudy- Jacob Sartorious)
Eliza- Paige Hyland (understudy- Brynn Rumfallo)
Costumes- chloe, nadia, carson
Makeup- brynn, jojo, maisy
Tech:
Lights- jack, kalani
Sounds- brandon, ruby
Props- maddie, jacob, nia
Stage Manager- Tate
Director- lauren." she finishes and looks up at all of us.
we all are really happy with what we got and are hugging and high fiving one another.
brynn, jojo, and maisy were all especially happy because doing makeup is basically their passion.
"okay, it's june 3rd. the show day is September 14th," lauren says and i nudge johnny. "that's our 5 month anniversary," i whisper and he nods and puts his arm around me.
"so that gives us 4 months to rehearse, memorize lines, build props, get makeup and costumes, and figure out the lights and sounds. we can do that, right?" lauren says.
everyone looks a little taken aback.
"ummm... yes?" tate says from the back and lauren pumps her fist.
"Yes we can! rehearsals start at 8 in the morning. be here or you're out."