Touch The Sky: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 3]

Turn Left and Have a Merry Christmas

Turn Left and Have a Merry Christmas

(Turn Left: Part 2)

A/N: In case it wasn't entirely clear, the fortune teller basically created a parallel timeline where Matt never helped start Studio C. Shenanigans shall ensue.

Matt had a feeling Christmas 2012 was going to be a quiet one.

Rachel had been right on one count—the part he auditioned for was in fact a real show on real TV. She had, however, been wrong on the other count. The bit had lasted only a few months before the show, losing views and hemorrhaging money, had killed off his character and let him go.

With a sigh, he dropped the mail on the counter, shrugged out of his jacket, and toed off his boots. Rachel had been here this morning, but for now the apartment was blessedly empty. He cast one glance at the mail before wandering into the living room, unwilling to even look at the myriad of bills that surely awaited him.

A magazine laying open on the coffeetable caught his eye before he could sit down, and he let out a groan. She probably thinks she's being so subtle, he thought to himself, flipping through glossy pages of flowers, diamond rings, and white dresses.

He knew full well that Rachel wanted to get married, and a few months ago, when he was still employed, he had thought to himself it was not the worst of ideas. He had been stable, and it was a good word to describe them as well. Stable, steady, easy...

...boring.

For once, he didn't have the energy to chastise himself as the thought crossed his mind. Matt tossed the magazine aside and settled on the couch. There was no excitement, no fireworks, and there really hadn't ever been. He liked her, even loved her, but he had realized to himself a long time ago that he was not in love with her.

Then again, not everyone got a fairytale romance, did they? Maybe he, Matt Meese, currently unemployed actor, was never intended to have one.

He sighed and reached for the magazine again.

Before he even grasped it, there was the click of a key in the lock and he let out a sigh. He couldn't have even one night to himself?

"You home?" Rachel called, and Matt forced himself to answer back.

"Yeah."

She offered him a smile as she stepped through the door. "Long day?" she asked.

"You could say that," he said, sitting upright. She hummed and headed for the kitchen.

Not for the first time, he wondered what might have happened if he'd stayed with Common Room. When he had unexpectedly got the role that had turned around to bite him, he'd had to back out of the planning. Mallory, Whitney, and Jason had tried to keep it going without him for a short time, but soon Jared was offered a lucrative producing job in California. With both him and Matt gone, the whole thing fell apart. Last he'd heard, Jason had given up on acting entirely and gone to dental school while the two girls were still dabbling in advertising and commercials. Whitney, he'd happily heard, had just gotten engaged a few weeks ago.

"Matt?" Rachel poked her head back in. "Have you looked at your mail yet?"

"No," he said, getting to his feet and bracing himself to take the letter in her hand.

It turned out there was less to worry about than he feared.

"Well?" Rachel prodded.

"It's a job," he managed. "Another TV show."