Doing alright // Hardzello

Chapter 25

Joe went from audition to audition to keep himself busy. He was more than happy that he got a call from his agent to tell him that he had been cast in a project that would start filming soon. Since he moved back to Los Angeles, he had done everything in his power not to dwell on the fact that he was alone once more. A lot of his friends lived in the area and he went out with them a couple of nights a week. During the day he would prepare for the project coming up or for some new auditions. 

Ben was the opposite. His agent had just left Rami's house after telling him that there were two projects that had auditions soon. Those projects would normally really excite Ben. Currently, it had the opposite effect. Rami is sitting next to him on the couch.
"I think you should do it," Rami says. Ben shakes his head.
"I can't," Ben mumbles. 
"Ben, look at me. Lucy and I are going to help you, okay? We are going to run lines with you as much as you could possibly want," Rami says. Ben shrugs.
"I don't know, Rami. This is really hard," Ben mumbles. Rami runs his hand through his hair.

"What do you have to lose?" Rami asks. Ben is quiet for a moment. 
"My career?" Rami chuckles.
"Ben, you are not going to lose your career over a couple of failed auditions. And I am sure you won't even fail them if we prepare them well," Rami says. Ben shrugs. 
"I don't know if I can be on set all day. I look like shit. I sleep all day," Ben says. 
"These movies both start shooting in a few months. You have enough time to build up to that. You are going to do those auditions. If you fail, you fail. But at least you gave yourself a taste of the job again. If you get the role, I am going to do everything in my power to get you through that," Rami says. Ben looks up at him.
"Promise?" Ben asks. Rami nods.
"I promise."
"Alright, then I guess I'll do it."

Every day after Rami came home from set, he would run lines with Ben. Both of them knew that Ben already knew all the words inside out. But it helped him greatly to keep his mind off everything else. On the day of the auditions, Ben was more nervous than Rami had ever seen him.
"You've got this, mate. You really do," Rami says. Ben nods slowly.
"We will see." He mumbles. Since living with Rami and Lucy, Ben was gaining his weight back. Rami went to the gym with Ben a few times just to get him to work out again. Because he knows how much that usually helps Ben. 

Ben tries to ignore his gut feeling when he walks into the audition room. An actor who had already been cast was waiting for him in the room to play his opposite character. Ben shakes his hand while he hopes that his sweaty palms aren't noticeable. 
"Good luck," The actor says. Ben smiles at him.
"Thank you, you too."

When Ben comes home, Lucy and Rami are waiting for him in the living room.
"How did it go?" Rami asks. 
"I think it went okay. We'll see. They said they would call me later this week or early next week," Ben says. 
"Well, they didn't turn you down immediately. That's a good thing," Lucy says. Ben hums. 
"I guess so." 

"I have been thinking for the past few days. I think I want to try to stay at my own house for a few days. Just to see how it goes," Ben says. Rami nods.
"You should. As long as you know that you are more than welcome to stay longer," Rami says.
"I know. You guys have been too kind to me. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you," Ben says. 
"Ben, honey, you don't. We are friends and this is what friends are for. We care about you a lot and we want you to do well. I am really glad to see that you have been doing better in the past few weeks. I really am," Lucy says. Ben smiles sadly.
"I love you guys," Ben says.
"We love you too," Rami says.

The next day, Ben packed up all his belongings. Rami made him promise that whenever he felt like his mental health was getting worse again, he would come back immediately. Now he was in front of his front door. Ben takes a deep breath while pushing the door open. One part of him was glad that he was home. The other part was immediately filled with all the memories he shared with Joe in this house. Immediately he makes his way over to his bedroom. He takes all the bedsheets off the bed before throwing them in the washer. He gets rid of all the empty bottles of water that were spread through the room.

While blasting music, he cleans the entire apartment. He moves some stuff around to fill in the emptiness that was created after Joe took all of his belongings with him. He spreads his clothes out so they fill both sides of the closet. He puts some stuff on Joe's nightstand and on Joe's side of the sink to make sure it didn't look as abandoned. 

Satisfied he lets himself fall onto the couch. He turns to tv on. His breathing gets stuck in his throat when he sees that Bohemian Rhapsody is running on the tv. Before he is able to switch to another channel, Joe's face appears on the screen. Ben takes a deep breath while he tries to keep himself calm. For the first time in a few months, he manages to stop the flow of tears from coming. He has to accept that this has happened. Even though that is really hard. 

**************

Hey guys,

I hope you guys are doing well?

I recently uploaded a new one-shot. Make sure to check that out! If you have any suggestions for one-shots (Bohemian Rhapsody actors only). Feel free to leave a comment or send me a dm!

Take good care of yourself and others. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe