Stage Fright

Chapter 45 ~ At The End Of The Day

Heather

I'm so over these practices it's insane. Tech week is testing every last ounce of my patience, Thank Jesus himself that this is the last day of it. I'd done these scenes over and over again, spent all day at school for four days straight. I was tired, but Josh was helping me cope.

In the morning, he'd bring me to get a coffee before class. He'd text me to check in, help me with my work load, give me a kiss in the darkness behind the stage walls after school, hold my hands and give me a pep-talk before we'd start. He'd eat his dinner with me and drive me to either his or my house afterwards where we'd finish our work and then crawl into bed for the evening.

He'd whisper nice things and run his fingers through my hair every night, it always made me fall asleep. I'd dream about him all night, about our showers together and me helping him take off his make-up. Then we'd wake up the next morning and do it all over again.

It was exhausting to say the least, my friends were complaining that I was never free anymore. I had to keep assuring them that once the show was over, that everything would go back to normal.

The saddest part was that I didn't want that normal back. I liked how easy my life and days felt now, of course they were my crowd and I was supposed to be friendly with them, but the drama I couldn't fucking handle. It was nonstop, someone was mad at someone else and they weren't talking, but instead of apologizing they'd just try and cook up the most underhanded shit to do to each other. 

It drove me nuts, I tried to stay out of it for the most part. What would happen when I stopped having an excuse to turn down going out with all of them?

"Heather!" Taylor calls from across the table. "Are you going to draw your name for secret Santa or not?" She asks and I snap out of my thoughts, looking at the baggie of folded up pieces of paper. Right, this bullshit. Every year, my friends would all pretend to like each other and Taylor would host an obnoxious party at her house where we'd all exchange presents. "That bag has been sitting there for like, ever. Pick a name and keep passing it." 

I smirk and shove my hand into the bag. Please let it be Julia. I sigh and retrieve a name from the bag before passing it to Julia on my left. I open it and sigh, Noah. It could be a hell of a lot worse than that. At least I could spend time with Noah without wanting to kill myself. Josh got along with him pretty well, maybe I'd brainstorm with him about what to get him.

People usually figured this out before the party, everyone knew who had who. Sometimes I wondered why these were my friends, I was very sure ninety percent of them didn't like me very much.

"Are you alright?" Julia asks quietly. "You seem deep in thought."

"Just tired." I tell her and she nods. That was pretty true, it wouldn't really let myself think things like that if I wasn't worn out. "I don't mean to be a grinch." She just smiles a bit at that and shrugs.

"Well at least it's almost over." She says and I nod. "Has anything more interesting happened with Josh recently?" She asks and I smile, feeling sad. I couldn't tell her about the things I wanted to, that he trusted me or that I'd fallen in love with him.

"We're getting closer." I say quietly.

"Do you think he'll be your new boyfriend soon?" She asks and I smile.

"I don't know." I mumble and she shoves me.

"Your cheeks are turning red." She insists and I press my lips together. "You like him, I knew you did!"

"You might be right." I sigh and she squeals.

"I'm so happy for you." She says excitedly. "This is the first good guy you've ever been interested in."