Meet You Halfway

Neil Perry

   Todd handed me my copy of The Complete Collection of The Brothers Grimm. "Why's it so morbid? I thought these were children's stories." I laughed as I rested my legs on his lap and leaned against the wall. "Who told you that?" 

   "Disney." Of course. "Disney has just altered the stories so they are appropriate for children. They've completely changed them." He pushed my legs off so he could stand. "Disney's a whole lot less creepy than that shit." He walked over to his desk and I followed, leaning against it as he sat down. "Remind me how old you are again."

   He rolled his eyes brushing off my comment. Todd was probably my bestest friend in the entire world. Is bestest a word? The door creaked open and in walked Neil, closing it behind him. "Hey, Y/n." No greasing for Todd? "Hi." Todd pushed away from the desk and walked over to the door. "I'm your roommate, dammit." Neil turned and shouted just as Todd left. "Sorry, Anderson."

   He turned back to me. "Yeah, Neil. He's your roommate, dammit." I shoved his shoulder in mock disappointment. "My bad." He put his hands up in defense with a grin. Neil walked over to his bed and layed down, crossing his ankles. "What were you and Todd up to?" I grabbed the book off of Todd's bed and tossed it over to Neil who failed to catch it. He picked the book up from where it had lightly pelted him in the side. "I was showing him The Brothers Grimm." He started to flip through the pages. "Good stories. Did he like 'em?"

   I made my way over to him and sat on the edge of his bed. "Nope. He prefers Disney." Neil sat up, pulling a knee towards his chest. "Not that there's anything wrong with Disney, of course." I nodded. "Oh, yeah. Of course." Leaning forward, I looked out the window. "Is the weather nice?" I asked. "Yeah, not too hot." 

   "Bridge?" "Sure"

   We both took a seat on the edge of the bridge connecting the east and west wings. "You know that desk set on Todd's desk?" I nodded. "Yeah, the one he gets every year." He had told me about his recurring gift. "Mhmm. Well he threw the latest one over this bridge." I giggled at the thought of Todd launching a desk to its untimely death. "Is that why the stone down there was stained with ink for weeks?" He nodded, smiling as he thought about it.

   The weather was really nice. The birds seemed to be enjoying it as well, chirping and singing. "Do you think you'll act again?" I turned to look at him. "You're really good, you know." His features dropped slightly as he considered his answer. "I'd like to. I guess I'm just not too sure how to go about it since it wasn't really an option." Seeing him on that stage and how happy he was at that moment. I'd do anything to see that again. 

   "I heard something about New York being the center for actors. I don't know too well what you'd have to do, but you could move there and start auditioning." He smiled, looking down at his lap. "Maybe. I don't know. It's been a while." I wasn't going to tell him this but I had been researching shows and auditions nearby. "Why not start small?" I got up and offered my hand.

   We pulled up to the theater in my dad's car. 'Stirling Theater' was displayed in large letters above the entrance. Neil looked out the car window, reading the words on the signs. 'Open auditions for Macbeth'. "So this is what you meant by starting small."

   By this point I had gotten out of the car and made my way to his side. I opened the door and he stood out of the vehicle. "Yeah. I don't want you to audition if you don't want to. But it can't hurt to take a look, right?" He started to make his way inside and I followed a few steps behind. Upon entering, Neil's hand found mine. He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the theater. Once he opened his eyes again, he walked into the auditorium, still holding my hand. 

   A young man stood on the large stage, reading from a script. The memories flooded back. Neil had tried to forget it all. But he was starting to remember why he loved it. As if possessed by some unknown source, he followed a sign to his right reading 'Sign up and holding this way'. I let him go.

   I found a seat in the audience, a few rows behind the directors. After a couple more people came on stage and read from the script, an older lady came out and handed the directors a paper. One of the directors, a young man, maybe 30, read from the paper. "Mr. Neil Perry? You're up."

   Neil walked onto the stage, script in hand. He found his spot center stage and began to slate. "Hello. I am Neil Perry. And today I will be auditioning for the part of Lord Macbeth." The director sat down the paper. "Whenever you're ready."

   Neil nodded and took a deep breath. Our eyes locked for a split second before he lifted the script and scanned over the lines. The audition seemed to fly by, Neil hardly needing the script since he had studied the piece in Keating's class. Having the chance to see a few others audition, they did not compare. Despite the grim theme, Neil's heart was filled with joy as he took on the character, bringing forth a display of true emotion.

   To put it plainly, it was beautiful. He thanked the directors and exited stage left. I got up and made my way to the foyer to wait for him. After a minute or two he ran into the foyer and practically lifted me off my feet. He hugged me tightly as he spun around. Neil finally put me down with a big grin. "That was amazing! How do you think I did?"

   I took his hands in mine with a smile. "You were great. I'm glad you did it." His smile changed into a softer one. "I wouldn't have if you didn't suggest it. So, thank you." His brown eyes met mine.

   "Oh, don't thank me-" "No. Really, thank you." He was overfilled with gratitude, and another feeling. His eyes drifted down to my lips for a split second before meeting mine again. His face inched closer as his eyes searched mine. His warm breath tickled my face as he asked, "May I?" All I could do was nod. His hands gently cupped my face before he closed the distance, pressing his lips against mine. 

Author's note:
Was that cute? I hope so lol. Auditioning is so fun. Anyways, Neil's cute♡. My neck just crunched so good😫