Shine, Aaron Tveit

thirteen.

chapter thirteen, it's not right.

AARON HAD LEFT THE MOULIN ROUGE. Okay, you caught me, he didn't leave yet. But, he had left for a little mini vacation. So, this week he wouldn't be preforming and instead his alternate would be.

Rose didn't know how to feel. On one hand, Aaron wasn't there for a week, on the other, Aaron wasn't there for a week.

Rose was good friends with the alternate who would be taking Aaron's place, but for some odd reason she couldn't get past the feeling that it wasn't right. It didn't feel right, it wasn't Aaron. Aaron was prefect for this role, and even as much as she hates it, Aaron and her had great chemistry. They played off one another perfectly, and that was Rose speaking.

So, as the show started, she found herself wishing it would just end. Normally, the show would go by quickly, especially with Aaron there, but tone it just seemed to drag on.

Every time she would look at the alternate, she would feel her heart grow heavy and sad. Why? She didn't know.

As they neared Elephant Love Medley, Rose found herself dreading the fact that she would have to kiss anyone but who she was used to. And that was Aaron.

The alternate brought his hand to the back of her head, dipping her successfully, and planted his lips on hers. Rose hated it. She hated everything about it. The feel of his hands on her, his lips, his eyes boring into her soul. It didn't feel right. It wasn't right. Or maybe, it just wasn't Aaron. Either way, Rose found herself wanting it to end as soon as it started.

Sure, the swing wasn't a bad kisser, but it wasn't to her standard. Maybe nothing was to her standard besides Aaron. Which was strange.

Finally, it was intermission, and Rose quickly isolated herself in her dressing room. But, her peace was soon disrupted. Amber, Robyn and Ashley barged into her dressing room with concerned looks on their faces.

"What?" Rose asked, looking at them in confusion. The three girls looked at each other before one spoke up.

"What's wrong with you today?" Ashley asked in a gentle tone.

"Yeah, you seem completely out of it!" Amber backed up. Rose sighed, truth be told, she didn't have an answer.

"I guess I'm just tired today."

"Rose, we know you. You aren't just tired. Something else is going on," Robyn said, sitting down next to Rose.

"It just doesn't feel right today."

"It's not supposed to feel totally right, it's acting, honey."

"I know, but normally it does." Rose says, sighing. She put her head in her hands, trying to make any sense of what she was feeling in that moment. But she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.

"Maybe it's just an off day?"

"Yeah, it's probably that," Rose confirmed. And as soon as they came in, they left. But Rose wasn't entirely convinced.

"Right? It's just an off day?" Rose spoke to herself, her head going back to its spot in her hands. A headache grew behind her eyes, causing her to groan.

A loud ding came from her phone, causing her to check her messages.

"Missing me yet?" - Aaron

Yes, Rose wanted to reply. But she didn't. She ignored the message completely, along with her feelings and her headache. She quickly left her dressing room, knowing that they were about to start up once more.

Long story short, her off day turned into an off week.