BEST FRIEND

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE
WHAT THE HELL?
FOUR YEARS AGO
1 MONTH AFTER ANNE'S DEBUT
ON BROADWAY

✩ ✩ ✩

she hadn't thought of him for years.

to be honest, she couldn't remember the last time she had thought of him. whenever it was, she knew she was too young and too naïve.

she didn't really expect him to come see her.

she probably should have expected someone to see her at some point, anyways. when news stations and magazines ask you for interviews and your face and name are on the side of the theatre, people are bound to notice.

she just didn't expect one of the first people to be him.

he never really noticed her before. however, they were friends, so they would talk and laugh together. the dynamics of their relationship were never easy to navigate. come to think of it, she couldn't remember the last time they spoke.

she, admittedly, had a pretty big crush on him. after she got over it, she questioned why. he would be talking to multiple girls at a time, him being a gemini, as well as his romantic disinterest in her being kind of apparent. her feelings died pretty quickly into her junior year. she listened to "i can do better than that" from the last five years during a candlelit journaling session and it was history.

the point is, is that she didn't care about him anymore. she could handle this like a professional, it wasn't a big deal. just someone from high school seeing her in a broadway show. who somehow snuck into her dressing room.

"so... how have you been?" anne asked michael. all she wanted to do was go home. go home, see her dogs and forget this situation ever happened.

"good... i had a free night in new york before i fly to orlando so i figured why not see a show..." michael explained. he was working as a pilot, mostly based in his hometown, but would occasionally have flights that would require him to spend nights in other cities.

"still live in ohio?"

"yep..." michael has always been a little bit of a mystery to anne. she had always been an open book to everyone, while michael liked to keep his secrets.

the tension in the air was thick. due to a lack of communication and closure, they two shared a mutual almost-hatred. of course, the two had no reason to hate each other. this type of relationship was weird, to say the least. they almost dated, at one point or another, but since neither of them were good at communication, closure never happened, and the two were left with this dynamic. whatever it was, the relationship no longer meant anything to anne. there were more important questions.

"so, um... how did you get in here, exactly?" anne asked, as she grabbed a makeup wipe and started smearing it on her face.

"do you remember when we did that production of les mis?" michael asked.

"how could i ever forget..." anne tried to laugh. it was honestly hard for her to forget. she was eponine, he was enjoras. he was having the time of his life. she got sent to a psychiatrist and walked home with two diagnoses for seasonal depression and anxiety, just days before tech.

"the director's son is one of the ushers. he said that he would let me in to see you," michael answer matter-of-factly.

of fucking course he would.

"oh yeah..." anne honestly forgot that charles' mother was the director of les mis. it wouldn't be surprising to her if they shared the coincidence during their first meeting. she tried to make an effort to at least exchange hellos with everyone she could who worked at the theatre. charles didn't usher the stagedoor often. looks like he did tonight.

the door to anne's dressing room swung open to reveal a taller gentleman, just a few years older than anne. ricky martin was an attractive actor who played the leading man to anne's supporting female.

"hey anne, so- shit..." ricky tried to retract himself from the awkward conversation in the room, "am i... interrupting something?"

"um..." anne stammered, not knowing what to say.

"no, actually. sorry." michael softly said, glancing at the two.

"what's up, ricky?" anne asked, shifting her attention.

"well, some of the cast is heading out to get some drinks... want to come?" ricky asked. anne replied with a small smile.

"i'd love to, just give me a second."

ricky nodded, closing the door behind him.

"i'm sorry..." anne started.

"no it's okay... um, i should probably head out. you were amazing tonight, by the way... just, go have fun."

"thank you so much for coming, it was good to catch up." anne stood up, grabbing her coat from the other side of the room.

"yeah... i'll see you again someday..."