Chapter Text
When Todd woke up, he was sure it had been a dream. But when he checked his phone, all the messages were still there.
All the lame, flirty, funny messages were still there , and Todd’s cheeks flushed pink as he reread them, a smile forming on his face.
Neil was so damn witty, his texts literally made Todd laugh out loud. They could banter back and forth, keep a conversation going. Todd could barely keep conversation with his own parents, but Neil made it feel natural.
Of course, that had been over text and not in person.
If it had been, Todd would have probably stuttered and stumbled over his words like an idiot.
Part of him wondered if Neil would mind. The other part just tried not to think about it.
Finally remembering to put Neil’s number in his contacts (as Neil P, with the theatre emoji, in case you were wondering), he shot him a good morning message.
The reply was quick.
And their little dance continued, conversation spinning and weaving its way into their everyday lives: Todd snuck glances at his phone on his breaks, while Neil stole moments to reply between rehearsals,
message from: Neil P 🎭
i’m about to go on stage, so i won’t be able to text you for a while, but i promise i’m not ignoring you!!
message to: Neil P 🎭
no worries; break a leg!!
Todd remembered watching Neil on stage, and how alive he looked, how incredible he was, how every word and movement looked like it had purpose and meaning, and how the lights shone down on his chestnut hair and tan skin…
Okay, he really needed to calm down, waxing poetic about this guy he had just met. But who could blame him? He’d had a crush on Neil Perry for years, and the fact that all of this was happening felt like a fucking dream.
But no matter how many times he pinched himself, he didn’t wake up. He just kept getting texts from the beautiful boy that lit up the stage as well as every room that he was in.
***
“He gave you his number?” Charlie asked, fiddling with the tie of his costume.
“Yeah, on the coffee cup. Like, straight out of a rom-com,” Neil replied, scouring the desk for a blending sponge.
“Or a stalker documentary,” Meeks, their sound guy, muttered.
“Hey, Meeks, let the boy have his fun!” Charlie cried. “Since when have you been a pessimist, eh?”
“Since I got stuck dating you,” Meeks replied, easily ducking the sock that Charlie chucked at him.
Neil chuckled fondly at their antics. He had known Charlie since college, having been roommates with him even back then, and then Meeks had come into the picture a little later when the three of them worked on an off-Broadway production together, and Charlie had fallen head-over-heels for the techie with freckles and glasses.
Then Pitts, who had gone to school with Meeks, worked in a different theatre on the Great White Way, but he was a great guy, and Neil had at one point considered the possibility of getting with him, only to learn that he was quite straight. Oh well.
But now there was Todd, and Neil couldn’t spare a thought for any other pretty-looking boy in the world.
“Should I ask him out?” Neil asked suddenly. “Like, on a date?”
“When?” Charlie asked. “Eight shows a week, dumbass.”
“Monday,” Neil replied, flipping him off half-heartedly. “Monday night.”
“Very romantic.”
“Now you’re being the mean one,” Meeks pointed out. “I think you should go for it, Neil! If you like him, it’s worth a shot.”
“Thanks, man. I’m gonna text him after the show tonight. Hold me to it?”
Charlie rolled his eyes, but he had a fond smile on his face. “Sure thing. Now, can you stop being so lovesick and get your ass in costume?”
Neil didn’t need to be told twice.
***
The hours that his phone remained silent, Todd didn’t have time to despair.
He had found the manuscript he’d started months back, buried in other barely-started projects, and opened the document back up, and set to work.
Editing, rewriting, correcting, amending.
It was a story he’d thought of a long time ago, but never been able to put it on the page in quite the right way, a story of an English teacher desperate to teach young boys the power of words. It was inspired by a professor he’d had once, who was passionate about poetry and plays like no one else Todd had ever met; he was the one who had opened him up to the whole world that he now submerged himself in.
The main character was a teenage boy with absent parents, who sent him off to a private school to become something that would make him money, and maybe, if he was lucky, put him on the same pedestal that his brother sat upon. At the school, he would meet not only that professor, who would teach him how to pour his soul out in words, but he would meet a boy who ignited that flame of passion in him.
Or, that was the working premise, at least.
He was so invested in his work, that when his phone finally dinged around eleven o’clock, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
message from: Neil P 🎭
would you like to get dinner on monday night? i know it’s a weird day, but it’s the only one i have off, LOL.
Todd could barely believe his eyes, and spent at least a solid minute staring at the screen before typing out his reply.
message to: Neil P 🎭
i’d love to. time & place?
All of a sudden, things seemed to be looking up for him.