Anderperry Oneshots Collection

A Face to the Name

"Alright, you ready?" Neil said with stars in his eyes.

It was the first time Todd let his boyfriend drag him to one of his rehearsals, and Neil was not taking it lightly. 

Neil had been waiting for his opportunity to show Todd his skills on stage. As humble as Neil could be, even he was well aware of how he lit up on stage, like he had been made with acting as his purpose, like he was fulfilling some great sort of prophecy.

"Yup," Todd lied. In reality, he was terrified, but couldn't bear to say no when it was clear how important this was to Neil.

Neil swung open the doors with a flourish and led Todd to the theater. "Isn't it great?" He said, breathing it all in.

Those weren't the words Todd would've chosen. True, it was beautiful--half-painted sets of trees and ambient lights over red chairs---but it was all fast and loud.

Everyone was doing something, from the actors onstage to the crew swinging stage lights.

It was rather overwhelming, the sudden bustles of movement, but Todd felt Neil by his side and forced himself forward.

"Neil!" A girl called out, and hopped offstage to run over and hug him. She was very pretty, with messy brown hair wrapped in a ribbon, and dressed in a haphazard pink dress with a comfortable pair of sweatpants underneath. 

"We missed you last week!" She said, and let go of him.

"I had a History test I couldn't get out of," Neil explained. 

"Wait!" she said, eyes drifting to Todd. She looked him up and down, then she gasped suddenly. She lowered her voice but widened her eyes. "Is this your boyfriend?" she said, giggly and mischievous.

Todd blushed a smile, but Neil nodded good-naturedly. 

"Oh my goodness!" the girl said, shaking his hand. "I feel like I know you already, Neil talks so much about you. I'm Ginny, by the way."

 "Pleasure to meet you," Todd said in his usual quiet tone.

Ginny took the hint, lowering her energy just slightly. "Pleasure's all mine. Gosh, I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity."

Ginny then whirled around, gesturing wildly at the stage. "Guys," she called. "Todd's here!"

Neil leaned in, talking to Todd quietly. "I have to go change, you have fun with...them. I'll be right back." He then pressed a kiss to Todd's cheek and hurried off.

Ginny was already leading Todd towards the stage, introducing him to everyone she saw. 

"So you're Todd?" A kind-looking boy with glasses asked. "You're something of a legend around here."

"I was beginning to think Neil made you up," said a snide blonde girl.

If Todd had ever doubted Neil's frankly terrifying obsession with him, this dispelled it immediately. Neil had been talking about Todd so much and so often that every one of the theater kids knew him as personally as a brother, and if put on the spot, could recite facts about him like a trivia game.

Ginny introduced him to some of her closer friends ("Aren't you the one with the desk set?") and found him a seat backstage.

Todd never thought he'd be in this situation: surrounded by theater kids, smoking cigarettes, completely alien in his surroundings, but somehow met with more kindness than he could've dreamed.

"Teresa," the director called, "Will you come work on this scene?"

The blonde girl from earlier put out her cigarette and made her way to the stage. 

She was graceful as a swan, with long legs and a full face of dark makeup that only added to her swan-ness. Todd made a mental note to look up another word for swan-ness, as it might make a good addition to a poem.

"God," Ginny said finally. "I was starting to think she'd never leave."

"You don't like her?" Todd asked, confused. 

"She's a total brat," Ginny explained. "We all take this play very seriously, but she likes to treat it like...well, like it's some hobby she picked up. She hardly ever actually shows up to rehearsal, and when she does, she spends the whole time bickering with the techs."

"Oh yeah! 'Get that light out of my eyes!'" The boy with the glasses, Henry, jumped in.

Ginny laughed, tart as a raspberry. "Exactly. And worst of all," Ginny pulled back a curtain, revealing the girl not-so-subtly flirting with an in-character Puck. "She's got this huge crush on Neil."

"Do you think Neil knows?" Todd asked, ducking behind the curtain.

"There's no way he doesn't," said Henry. "Just look at him."

As Todd got a better look, he realized Henry was right. Neil shot down every one of Teresa's advances with an uncharacteristic coldness. 

This went on for a while, the two repeating the scene until the director was satisfied, right down to the blink. Finally, Neil was free, and walked offstage with a tenseness that melted away as soon as he laid eyes on Todd.

He made a move towards Todd, but Teresa stepped in front of him. 

"You were so great up there, Neil!" she said in a breathy voice, trying and failing to serenade him. 

"Thanks, Tress," Neil said, avoiding eye contact. He moved as if to walk around her, but she blocked him, stepping to the side almost as if she'd rehearsed.

"I mean," she lowered her eyelids, "you were really great. Do you think you could give me a few tips sometime?"

"I'm not interested. Thank you, though," he was starting to look obviously uncomfortable. 

That just about did it for Todd. He blinked the stage light out of his eyes as an idea began to form.

Todd ran, full speed into Neil's arms, almost knocking him over in the process. 

"Woah, Tod-" Neil began, but he never got to finish. Because Todd cut him off by pulling him into a prolonged kiss that left him gasping for breath. 

The couple could almost feel Teresa's stare on them, but paid it no mind as Todd smiled wide. "You're doing so well, honey," Todd said, drawing it out. 

Neil, being the number one Todd fan, could only nod, spellbound. Wishing desperately that Todd would kiss him again.

Ginny began to whoop, teasing playfully as they walked hand-in-hand out of the wings.

"What sort of stunt was that?" Neil whispered, when they had a moment to themselves. 

"I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Todd asked, the nervousness finally starting to take hold. 

"Of course not," Neil said. "But, that's just so out of the ordinary. You're not getting jealous, are you? Because you're invited to all my rehearsals, if you want."

"I'm not the one getting jealous," Todd shook his head. "Teresa is charming, isn't she?"

Neil scoffed. "That's a word for it. I've never meant someone with less of a capacity to take 'no' for an answer."

"I might just have to sit in on your rehearsals more often," Todd leaned in. "You know...to keep her away."

Neil smiled. "I wish you would."

And Todd made a mental note: drag yourself to Neil's rehearsals. That smile was worth it.