Behind the Curtains

+Five+

The energy had died down almost entirely by the time rehearsals had ended. Everyone was tired, and the one thing on their minds was getting back to their dorms and getting some much needed sleep. Annabelle would've fallen asleep entirely if A.J. hadn't woken her up.
"Hey, Sleepin' Beauty, it's time to go," he whispered, gently shaking her arm. She sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes and stretching.
"Christ, is it six already? I swear I looked at my watch three minutes ago and it was only four," she groaned, standing from her seat. A.J. helped her stand, laughing to himself at how tired she was.
"You're pretty exhausted. Maybe you should stay in my dorm tonight. Dylan's my roommate, so it wouldn't be anyone you don't know, and I drove over with him, so we could just take your car," A.J. offered. Annabelle only had enough energy to nod in response and give him her car keys so he could drive.
"I'll take that as a yes. Let's get out of here."
~~~~~~~~~~
Annabelle fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, which amused Dylan to no end.
"Hey, I'm really glad you got her to come today. She's pretty cool. That whole thing with the piano? That was great," he said as he threw his shoes to the corner of the room. A.J. sat on the edge of his own bed and smiled. He looked at her and somehow smiled even wider.
"Yea, that was. She really didn't know how to play until a few months ago, but I'm pretty sure she's either been learning on her own or taking lessons or something secretly to surprise me. I think she was waiting until next month for my birthday, but somehow I think today might have been more special."
"So you guys aren't dating, right?"
"Oh, no. Just friends. I think friendships, especially close, personal ones like ours mean more than relationships because you don't need to get married to know how much you love each other..."
"Right on, man. That's pretty great. I'm glad you've got someone to love that much. Watch out for Jeff, though. Buff Boy might sweep that friend of yours off her feet and away from you," Dylan said, only half joking.
"Honestly, as long as she's happy and stays in my life, I couldn't give a rat's ass who she dates."
"Good on you, brother. Ay, I'm gonna get some sleep. I'd do the same if I were you. 'Nother big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"I will, I just need to change my clothes. Night, man."
"Night buddy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annabelle had left by the time the boys woke up. Dylan had heard a door open and shut at some point, but decided it wasn't of any importance and went back to sleep. A.J. woke up to an unread text on his phone.
'Sorry to ditch you so early. Was almost late to class. See you at rehearsals tonight x'
He smiled, seeing the little 'x' at the end of her message, and quickly responded.
'No prob. Go get it, english major. See you tonight x'
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It went on like that for the rest of the year. After Annabelle finished her classes, she would head straight to the theatre, sometimes bringing A.J. coffee and other times getting coffee from him or just exchanging it. By the time they were in their sophomore year, she was about as common to see as the floorboards. She came to every show and rehearsal, even going so far as to bring flowers for almost every cast member. The middle of their sophomore year was marked with their most popular show yet: A Very Potter Musical.
A Very Potter Musical was exactly what anyone would suspect. It was a musical somewhat loosely based off of the novel and movie series by J.K. Rowling. The musical became so popular within the limited amount of shows they had that they ended up adding another showing last minute just so everyone could see it.
The cast included about seventeen people, so by the end of it, Annabelle had spent almost $400 on flowers and had gone to two of the showings, which cost another almost $25. She made sure she was able to catch the cast in the lobby after the shows to shower them with her admiration.
"I could literally watch every single performance, but I'm already out $365 and rent is due next week," she admitted to Darren when she finally caught his attention. He took the flowers she was handing him and gave her a small side hug.
"You are gonna go homeless, Fischbach. You need to prioritize."
"I am prioritizing! I'd rather go broke buying everyone flowers than, y'know, not do that. I'm sappy. I have to get y'all things."
"You're amazing. I appreciate you so much. Thank you, Annabelle."
"Of course, Darren. I'll catch up with you later, alright? I've gotta find Joey before he disappears. Later!" She hugged Darren once more, making sure to protect the bouquet in her other hand. As soon as she turned around, she crashed directly into someone and ruined the flowers.
"Jeff, you bastard! My flowers! God, now I have nothing to give to Richard," she pouted, looking at the now crushed and wilted flowers in her hand.
"Shit, I'm sorry. I'll get new ones to give to him and tell him they're from you. I'll get you some, too, to make up for it," he apologized, picking off the scattered bits of flowers that were on his clothes.
"Thank you. I'd appreciate that," she sighed. She looked at the flowers one last time before walking over to the first trash can she could find and throwing them in.
"Hey look, I know this probably isn't the greatest time to ask, especially considering I just crushed your flowers, but I was wondering if maybe you'd like to get dinner sometime? I know you're like super close with A.J., but..."
"Actually, um... y'know what? Sure, I'd love to. We could go tonight if you want."
"Oh wow, yea, that'd be great. Mezes?"
"Sounds good. Meet you there at 10?"
"10 it is. See you in an hour, Fischbach."