Theatre Is A Lie ~ Joshua Burrage

Chapter 18

"I-I love you."

How could I be so stupid.

"..."

Why does it always go downhill for me.

It was a year later, 2015, the tour was still going. Ami still had the time of her life singing and dancing onstage, slowly growing more attached to her life as an actress once more, but there was always the anxiety hiding in the back of her mind. Ever since she said those words she and Josh grew more distant, Josh going off to hang out with people other than her, Ben and Sky. Ben and Sky didn't mind it, they didn't care if he made other friends because they would always be his best friends. Ami was more troubled because, despite them not being very public, Josh was her boyfriend.

She would always see him at the end of the day, for he would never sleep in his own hotel room and instead with her in her own, but he wouldn't say very much and even sometimes wouldn't make any contact at all. She grew worried, scared that those three words had scared him off, that he didn't feel the same way. Was it possible he could've even found another girl in the time he had been so distant from her? It could've possibly happened, though she could've sworn he'd never be the type to cheat. This haunted her every night and every time he'd go off to hang out with another group. She tried not to think about it, focusing on performing and hanging out with Sky and Ben.

One night though, Josh didn't show up at her hotel room door. She stayed up later than normal, thinking he would eventually knock on the hotel door, but he never did. When she woke up from falling asleep she realised he was still nowhere to be seen. It was that day that she finally let the idea of him seeing someone else take over. She told Stephanie that she would take over for Katherine tonight and then went out. She had to be anywhere but the hotel. She knew Josh was most likely in the hotel and just being there reminded her of him. She walked off to a park, knowing her way around since they were in her home city of Houston, Texas. They were performing shows at the Hobby Center, a place where she saw her first live stage performance with Beau.

She sat on a bench, admiring the old park where she could remember constantly running around with her theatre friends. It felt good to be home, deciding she'd go visit the Minute Maid Park. As she walked along she pulled out her phone, texting her brother. Her brother had worked for the Houston Astros when he was younger and needed a job. Slowly he had worked his way up in the ranks and managed, after 10 years of playing baseball, to snag a spot on the team. She texted him to let their dad know she was on her way. She showed up, security recognising her almost immediately and letting her down into the clubhouse. When she showed up her dad, who was the clubhouse manager and the one who managed to convince the staff to hire her brother, gave her a big hug. She met up with her brother, who she never really got along with but they had a mutual respect for each other, and he led her out to the field. They played catch, Ami explaining the whole issue with Josh and why she was even here. He gave her some decent advice and her dad threatened to "beat him up" which she didn't doubt because her dad was silent but very deadly.

When she finally left, she ventured off and explored the old parts of the city from her childhood. It felt nice to finally get some fresh air and enjoy the city where she grew up. She was stopped by a few fansies here and there who wanted pictures and she gladly complied. A few mentioned going to see newsies tonight and she apologised that she was taking the show off but convincing them that Stephanie was just as great of a Katherine. When she finally ended up back at her hotel, she ran into Josh. Josh looked up at her, eyes wide, "Oh um... Ami, hey."

Ami smiled weakly at him before brushing past and heading up to her hotel room. Josh watched guiltily from where she left him, knowing he shouldn't have been so distant with her. He felt very bad for how he had acted the past year and after moments of thinking, decided that he would apologise tonight. He nodded to himself before heading out of the hotel, not entirely sure how to really plan out exactly what he would do tonight to apologise.

My rehearsals got cancelled tonight because stupid rain flooded the studio so have a chapter wooo