New York and England

2

PJ's POV

"Chris!" I shouted.

"Yeah?"

"It's lunch!"

The door opened, and I was greeted with my friend, half asleep, in his underwear.

"I'm not hungry." He said, going to close the door.

I stopped it, tugging the door open.

"What?" He sighed.

I raised my eyebrows. "You should be working!"

He opened his mouth, then closed it, staring at his shoes.

"Chris, I need answers."

He looked me in the eyes again, fumbling with his hands. "I, um, got fired."

I let go of the door, and he opened it wide, leaning against the frame. I groaned, running my hands through my brown hair.

Back in 2015 I gave him a part in my show, Oscar's Hotel. He played the main character, and I thought it's give him a start in his acting career. It did for a while, but it was obvious he was just looking for a job, looking for money. That was reasonable, he needed to pay rent, buy food, and clothes. But you need to have a passion for something to keep at it. He got small parts, starting off like any actor. He was in a couple commercials, a side character in a couple underrated shows, but it suddenly stopped.

He threw in the towel for a year. 2018 was a mess. He started living with me. He didn't pay rent, he didn't pay for food. The thought occurred to me that I babied him too much when he was going through rough patches, but I didn't want anything to happen to him. He seemed to get back on his feet, for a whole second. He tried, but got fired left, and right. He'd come home with a frown, kicking over shoes, and cursing. The life of an actor was not an easy one, but that was no excuse. He'd have to find some way to get money.

Silence strung between us, Chris reached for the door. He pushed it back, and forth, the hinges squeaking against the pressure.

"You didn't realize I was home?" He asked.

"No, I thought you'd left earlier this morning. Then I realized your shoes were still here." I said.

"It's not really lunch, is it?"

"Nope, it's around 4:30pm."

"It is not." He turned, and walked into his room, I followed.

He picked up his phone, which I also payed for, and he clicked it on. His eyes went wide as the time appeared on the screen.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I slept so late." He put his phone back down.

"Whatever, just get dressed, and do something." I walked out of his room.

"Do what?" He shouted after me.

"Anything!" I replied.

I made my way to the lounge, taking a seat on the couch. My tea was on the side table, and I grabbed it. I'd already picked a show when Chris came in. He was wearing a green shirt, along with jeans. A bowl of cereal, and milk in his hands. He sat beside me.

"You need a job." I said.

"I have a job, I'm an actor." He said, shoving a spoonful of food into his mouth.

"For fucks sake Chris, you know what I mean."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't follow." His mouth full as he spoke.