The casting room inside Blackwood Studios was a disaster zone.
It was day three of the *Teen Wolf* auditions, and the room looked exactly like what happens when you lock five exhausted people in a freezing room with too much coffee and not enough sleep. The long wooden table was covered in scattered headshots, half-eaten donuts, and colorful highlighters.
Jake Gyllenhaal had his face buried in his arms, resting on the table like a defeated soldier. Beside him, Chris Evans was carefully building a tall tower out of sugar packets, fighting a losing battle against boredom.
On the other side of the table, Sarah, the studio's veteran casting director, was massaging her forehead. Next to her, Mark, a studio executive, was staring at the ceiling and rethinking his life choices.
And right in the middle sat Donovan.
Running a massive studio, managing the manga releases for Rogue Entertainment, and sitting through days of terrible auditions was definitely mentally exhausting. His brain felt heavy with the sheer amount of things he had to manage. But he didn't mind it. Honestly, he was just enjoying hanging out with his best friends and watching the chaos unfold. He leaned back in his chair, took a sip of water, and smiled at Chris's leaning tower of sugar.
"Okay," Sarah said, her voice sounding raspy. "Please tell me the next guy can actually act."
"It's another guy reading for Jackson," Jake muttered, his face still planted on the table. "I have zero hope left."
The heavy door opened, and a teenager walked in. He was wearing a tight tank top and had enough gel in his hair to stop a bullet.
"Whenever you're ready," Mark sighed.
The guy nodded. He looked at Jake, clenched both of his fists, squatted slightly, and let out a loud, aggressive roar. It didn't sound like a high school bully. It sounded like a bear choking on a bone.
He stomped his foot, pointed a finger directly at Chris, and yelled, "I am the captain of this team! Me!" He spit a little bit on the floor for extra dramatic effect.
Chris jumped, his elbow hitting the table and destroying his sugar packet tower completely. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"Thank you," Sarah interrupted quickly, her eyes wide. "That was... very loud. We will let you know."
The muscular guy smiled proudly, adjusted his tight shirt, and walked out of the room.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Chris exploded. He threw his head back and laughed so hard his face turned red. "What was that?! Was he challenging me to a fight in a parking lot?"
"I think he was trying to be an alpha," Jake laughed, finally sitting up and wiping a tear from his eye. "This is a nightmare. Every guy we bring in thinks the character is just a screaming gorilla."
"Don't forget the guy who tried to do a literal wolf howl on all fours," Mark added, rubbing his eyes. "I think my ears are still ringing."
Donovan chuckled, shaking his head. "We can find our Jackson later. Right now, we have a bigger problem. We still don't have a Lydia Martin."
Sarah nodded in agreement, looking at her messy notes. "He's right. Lydia is the anchor of the high school. She has to be the typical popular girl, but the actress needs to be smart enough to show that Lydia is secretly a genius hiding behind makeup. It's a really hard balance."
"Who is left on the schedule today?" Jake asked, picking up his pen.
"Just one more girl before we break for lunch," Sarah said. "She flew in from New York. She mostly does theater and some indie movies. Her name is Scarlett."
"Let's bring her in," Donovan said, leaning forward. "Hopefully, she doesn't try to bite us."
Jake pressed the button on the table intercom. "You can send the next actress in, please."
The heavy wooden door opened again.
A fifteen-year-old girl walked into the cold room. She was wearing a simple denim jacket over a white t-shirt, and her blonde hair fell naturally over her shoulders. She didn't look nervous. She walked in with a quiet, natural confidence, carrying her script under one arm.
When Donovan looked at her, the noisy room just seemed to fade away for a second.
It wasn't a crazy magical shock. It was just a deep, sudden warmth in his chest. His soul recognized her instantly. It was his wife from a lifetime ago. She was right here, standing in a casting room in Los Angeles, looking completely normal and beautifully human.
Donovan didn't freeze. He just felt a genuine, peaceful happiness wash over him. He couldn't help but smile. The universe had a funny way of working things out.
"Hi," the girl said. Her voice was slightly raspy, sounding older than fifteen. "I'm Scarlett Johansson. I'm reading for Lydia."
She looked at the casting table. Her eyes moved past Mark, past Sarah, past Chris, and finally landed on Donovan.
For a second, her polite, professional posture broke. Her eyes went wide, and a look of pure surprise crossed her face.
"Wait," Scarlett said, pointing a finger directly at him. She let out a small laugh. "The kid from the arcade?"
The entire room went quiet. Jake looked at Scarlett, then at Donovan, extremely confused. Chris raised an eyebrow.
Donovan's smile grew wider. He loved that she remembered.
"I told you I was going to beat your high score," Donovan said smoothly, leaning his elbows on the table.
Scarlett laughed out loud, a genuine, bright sound that immediately changed the energy in the freezing room. "You got lucky on that last level of Pac-Man, and you know it. I can't believe it. You're the boss of this studio?"
"Something like that," Donovan joked. "It pays for the arcade tokens. It's really good to see you again, Scarlett."
"Good to see you too," she smiled, shaking her head in disbelief before remembering where she was. She quickly cleared her throat and stood up straight again, putting her professional mask back on. "Anyway. Sorry. I'm ready whenever you guys are."
Jake was still looking at Donovan with a silent 'we are talking about this later' look, but he picked up his script. "I'll read the lines for Stiles. It's the classroom scene on page twelve."
Scarlett closed her eyes for a single second, took a deep breath, and opened them again.
The transformation was instant. She wasn't the fun girl from the arcade anymore. She was Lydia Martin.
She looked at her fingernails, projecting an aura of absolute boredom and superiority.
"Hey, Lydia. Did you understand the homework?" Jake read his line, using his natural, awkward charm.
Scarlett slowly looked up. She gave Jake a look of complete disgust, but if you looked closely at her eyes, you could see a tiny, hidden spark of extreme intelligence calculating everything around her.
"What is a Stiles?" Scarlett delivered the line perfectly. Her voice dripped with teenage sarcasm. She made the character look completely superficial, but she subtly shifted her weight, showing that she was actually paying attention to the entire room.
They ran the scene for three minutes. Scarlett nailed every single emotional beat. She was intimidating, funny, and completely captivating. She made the dialogue sound like a real conversation.
When she finished the final line, she instantly dropped the arrogant posture, let out a breath, and smiled warmly at the table. "And scene."
The room was completely silent.
Chris looked at Jake with his mouth slightly open. Sarah looked at Mark, and the nervous executive actually smiled and gave a thumbs up.
Donovan looked at Scarlett, feeling incredibly proud of her talent.
"That was amazing, Scarlett," Donovan said softly. "Your timing is fantastic. You found the exact balance the character needs."
"Thank you," Scarlett said, her cheeks turning slightly pink from the praise. "I really love the script. It's not just a dumb monster show. It has heart."
"Are you staying in Los Angeles for a while?" Sarah asked, writing furiously on her clipboard.
"Just for the week," Scarlett explained, fixing her jacket. "My mom and I are waiting to see how the auditions go before flying back to New York."
"Well, definitely enjoy the city while you are here," Donovan said, giving her a respectful nod. "We will be in touch with your agent very soon. And seriously, I owe you that Pac-Man rematch."
"I'll hold you to that," Scarlett smiled. "Thanks guys. Good luck with the rest of the casting."
She turned around and walked out, closing the door softly behind her.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Chris threw his hands in the air.
"Dude! Are we done?" Chris yelled happily. "She is literally Lydia! Nobody is going to beat that."
Sarah circled Scarlett's name three times with a red pen. "I have been casting shows for twenty years, and Chris is right. She has the perfect mean-girl energy, but she looks smart enough to build a rocket in her garage. She is an absolute star."
Jake threw his pen on the table. "Okay, yes, she is perfect. But excuse me? You play arcade games with her?"
Donovan laughed, feeling the heavy mental fatigue of the day completely vanish. He was surrounded by his friends, and the final piece of their cast had just walked through the door.
"It's a long story," Donovan smiled, standing up from his chair. "Jake, call my dad's legal team. Tell them to draft a multi-year television contract immediately. We found our Lydia."
The core pack for *Teen Wolf* was officially ready. And for Donovan, life just kept getting better.