* Josh's POV *
Being an international superstar is not easy. I never feel secure dating anyone, because it feels as though girls only ever want to date me because of my fame, or my vocal talent. And that's flattering, sure, but I want someone who can appreciate me as a person. I mean, I spent New Year's alone and drunk with my dog, Sweeny. I love the guy, but I need to hang out with some... you know, people. So, it was great when Chess auditions came around. The auditions were pretty much a formality- my agent called me up and said they wanted me to play Anatoly, but they'd have to hear me sing. It was only fair. I'd heard word that Aaron Tveit was going to be playing Freddie. I gave him a call the night before the "audition" to see if it was true.
"This is Aaron Tviet," he said when he answered.
"Hey, man! It's Josh," I said, "Josh Groban."
"I know who you are, come on, don't be ridiculous. I haven't spoken to you in ages though. How've you been?"
"All right," I replied, and then a little sheepishly, "Lonely."
"What about Januray...?"
"Uhm... Yeah, no we..." I sighed.
"I'm so sorry man."
"It's... it's okay."
"I didn't know, or I wouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's all right. We kept it quiet for both of our sakes."
"Hey," Aaron said, his voice noticeably lighter, "let me take you out for a drink or something." I paused.
"I don't know, we have to audition tomorrow, don't we?" Aaron laughed a little bit.
"Yeah, I guess we do... But one drink won't fry your vocal chords."
"Mm, you're right. And anyway, we have some catching up to do."
"Awesome," he responded, laughing, "Want me to come grab you in a few minutes?"
"Sure," I replied, grinning, "See you in a bit."
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I don't exactly remember how I ended up there, but at some point during the night, Aaron had gone home, and I was at a strip club. I remeber having a beer with him, talking, but then... It goes fuzzy until I see this girl. She was incredibly beautiful. Her hair hit just at her shoulders; it was pin straight and black as a raven's feather. Her crimson costume complimented her mocha skin beautifully. I looked into her chestnut eyes, and my heart began to beat faster.
"Y... you're beautiful."
"Yeah, so you've told me."
"What?"
"You just paid for a private fuckin' dance, do you honestly not remeber that?"
"...No."
"What's your name, buster?"
"What?"
"I said, what's your name?"
"...Josh?"
"Correct," she said, with a sharp edge to her voice, "Now, get out of the damn club. I don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Yes, that would be nice!" I exclaimed, confused. I could see her blood boil, and regretted the outbust immediately.
"I dance for boys, I don't fuck 'em."
"I never meant..."
"Just leave before I call security."
"I..." I didn't want to upset her any more than I already had, so I got up to leave. "I'm so, so sorry." I said. She just glared at me and didn't say anything. Once outside, I called Aaron up, even though it was 3am.
"...Yeah? Josh, you okay?"
"Yeah, I just... I'll tell you tomorrow."
"All right man, just get some sleep. We've gotta be there by 5pm, okay?"
"Okay. That's... thank you." Grateful that it was a late audition, I called a cab and went straight to bed. If I screwed up with this girl, I wasn't going to screw up the audition, too.
