Chapter 4
The cheesecake and chocolate mousse turned out to be every bit as mouth-watering as they had appeared and Adam and Kurt found themselves struggling to maintain their usual standard of good manners and eat slowly and politely while their hostess continued to happily chat with them. When her phone rang and distracted her from the conversation, however, two pairs of blue eyes exchanged a questioning glance and then both young men grinned and abruptly bent to the task, gobbling down their treats as fast as April's distraction would permit.
"Larry, thanks for calling back!" She tittered playfully at whatever was said in response. "Grab a chair and hang on because I've got some great news that's going to knock you flying. I have just landed you the perfect Ronnie and Vince."
Noticing that she had regained the boys' attention, April playfully rolled her eyes and made talky motions with her hand. "I wouldn't joke about a thing like this! We haven't liked any of the fellas that came in to try out for those roles, but now I know it was because the good lord just hadn't turned his flashlight in the right direction yet. That's why I texted you to call me. When I was on my way to lunch today, I just happened to have this beautiful pair of men fall right into my lap!"
Kurt choked as he recalled April literally falling onto Adam's lap earlier, coughing around his cheesecake when eating and innuendo turned out not to mix well. Adam helpfully thumped him on the back, his mischievous smirk revealing that he too had picked up on the apropos wording.
"Well now, calm down honey," April continued. "I know this isn't the way these things are usually done, but when have I ever been one for boring and average? I'm going to bring them down and have them audition today, just like everybody else has. You guys deserve to put in your two cents' worth, so I want you, Jack and Pauline to get your cute little heinies back down to the theater ASAP and we'll meet you there. Yes, right now! If you don't agree that these two boys are just as cute as a basketful of puppies and amazing singers to boot, I'll eat a pair of Spanx without sauce!"
Nose wrinkling, Adam mouthed, 'Spanx?"
Kurt gave his best rendition of sad, soulful eyes and returned, 'Puppies', so adorably that Adam nearly spewed a mouthful of mousse back at him before he could stifle the unexpected burst of laughter into his napkin.
April laughed as well, sounding delighted. "Well, that's more like it! We'll be down in half an hour." As she hung up the call, April beamed at her companions and energetically waved her arm to catch their waiter's attention for the check. "You're on your way, boys! Are you excited? All you have to do is sing something pretty and read a couple of passages from the show for my director, producer, and casting agent and you're home free."
Suddenly, the amusement drained out of their faces. "Wait," Kurt said, hands rising to clasp nervously beneath his chin. "You just said we'd be back at the theater in a half hour. You seriously want us to get up in front of actual Broadway casting people, and just wing it?"
His voice was beginning to squeak as it rose higher in panicked protest.
Adam reached over and rested a soothing hand on his arm, the touch instinctively causing some of the tension in Kurt's body to uncoil. "You'll be fine, love. Half an hour is practically an age compared with the time you were given to prepare for last year's Winter Showcase, and look at what you did with that. This will be nothing in comparison."
The steel gray shade of Kurt's anxious eyes softened to a gentler ocean blue as he returned Adam's gaze, taking his hand and giving it a grateful squeeze. "You sound so sure."
"I am sure," he said firmly. Then his resolute expression twisted as he scratched his free hand through his tousled hair. "I only wish I felt as certain about my own fate. Should I even be trying this? I can sing but I'm not a musical theater major. I'd hate to bollocks this up and have it reflect poorly on you."
Kurt hastened to offer comforting words of his own. "That would never happen. You're a wonderful singer, Adam." One corner of his mouth lifted into a teasing smirk, causing his dimple to pop into view as he squeezed Adam's hand. "And even if we're both a disaster, even if I freeze up and go mute with stage fright and you trip over your own feet and fall flat on your face while singing a passionate rendition of Man, I Feel Like a Woman, I'll still be proud to be doing this with you."
Adam gave a quiet little "aww", then laughed and pecked his boyfriend's cheek. "Same, love. Same."
Kurt kissed him back. "However, that is not going to happen. I have been preparing for this moment my whole life," he reminded himself, taking a deep breath and straightening his spine. "And you, Adam David Gethin Crawford, are a talented performer and actor, as well as being the director and lead of NYADA's only glee club. If anyone can pull off something like this on the fly, I know it's you."
Watching this exchange with her chin in her hands and virtual hearts popping from her eyes, April heaved a dreamy sigh. "You two are going to be so good together." Then, surprising both of them, her tone became unusually solemn. "But you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I know what I said, and I absolutely believe that you two are exactly what I've been looking for, but me feeding you a fancy lunch and a shovelful of flattery doesn't obligate you to do anything. I know what it's like to feel pressured into doing something you're not ready for."
"But you believe we can do this?" Adam said, filling in the blank that could be heard hovering at the end of her sentence.
She nodded, a lovely sincere smile lighting her features. "Absolutely. I'm just sorry that this comes at such short notice. I'm afraid that if we wait until Monday, the others will pick somebody who isn't nearly as right for the parts. I feel it in my gut that you are perfect and if there's one thing I've learned over the years it's to never second guess a gut feeling."
Kurt and Adam looked at one another, telegraphing questions and reassurances with their eyes. "If we don't even try, I know we'll both regret the 'might have beens' for the rest of our lives. We're in," Kurt said. Adam nodded his agreement.
The tiny woman squealed and jumped up to her knees on the padded restaurant bench, practically climbing the table in order to hug them. "Ooooh, I just knew you wouldn't let me down!" she gushed. "Now, come on. Let me pay for this and we'll get the hell out of Dodge before either of you has the chance to change his mind."
In no time at all they had arrived back at their starting point. Both young men were quiet as they followed April meekly through the doors of the small but lavishly appointed theater.
Kurt had only been inside a professional theater once before, not counting the show he had seen with he dad last Christmas. Visiting the Gershwin with Rachel had been an adventure, sneaking in to stand where the greats stood each night and allowing themselves to dream lofty dreams of stardom. This was different; a genuine audition that had the potential to be a life-changing opportunity. From the sweaty feeling of the hand tightly clenched in his, Adam was feeling that pressure as well.
They let go of each other as they approached the stage, wanting to look like professionals and not like a pair of frightened children clinging to each other for safety.
A large balding man turned to watch them approach, knocking on the back of the seat next to him to catch the attention of two rather disgruntled looking people who had been whispering animatedly over a script. A man with a waifish build and high perpetually surprised looking eyebrows, and a stout gray haired woman who observed April and her companions the way one would an insect that had unexpectedly made an appearance in one's dinner.
"April!" the first man boomed, his sonorous voice echoing through the empty theater and making both Kurt and Adam jump. "This had better be good, dragging us all the way back down here after we've already sat through an entire morning of auditions. We were supposed to be done for the day!"
Unruffled by his disapproval, April just sashayed up to him and pinched his flabby cheek. "Now, Larry, you know perfectly well that we left the call sheet open until noon. It's not these boys' fault that you decided to shut down early for lunch!"
"That's because there was no one left on the sign up sheet for today," the other woman cut in sourly, her tone making it clear that she considered it a grave insult that hopefuls were not beating down the door to get involved in any production that she was a part of.
April just rolled her eyes. "Now, Pauline, you agreed that we would start small and see how word of mouth treated us before spending all our money on advertising."
"You agreed," the woman grumbled.
The final person ignored the repartee between his partners and April, moving toward the newcomers with an exaggerated sashay. He flashed a flirty smile at Adam and announced, "Jack Winters," presenting his hand in a way that suggested he was expecting it to be kissed.
Adam merely grasped the tips of his fingers and gave them a little shake. "Adam Crawford."
"My, my, I can certainly see why Miss Rhodes was drawn to you, big, blond and beautiful. You would make a delicious Ronnie Stone."
Kurt's jaw tightened in annoyance at both the assumption that Adam would be playing the sexually confused jock, and the way this man was so blatantly flirting with his boyfriend. "Actually, Mr. Winters," he said in a clear, cold tone that carried in the empty theater and drew the eyes of everyone to him, "Adam is here to try out for the role of Vince. My name is Kurt Hummel and I'll be auditioning for the role of Ronnie."
The man blinked at him as if only just noticing that he was there. He seemed surprised by the correction but not, much to Kurt's surprise, displeased by the interruption. The man looked him up and down, noting the firm posture and stubbornly squared jaw as Kurt returned his scrutiny without a trace of intimidation. His dark green eyes lit up with a spark of genuine interest.
"How intriguing." He turned to April and smiled, drawing surprised looks from Larry and Pauline. "I can see why you were drawn to this one. He doesn't scare easily and he's got a certain fire to him, doesn't he?"
April was grinning. "He does. My script is meant to suggest that the brother character has hidden depths, and this boy is a regular diamond mine. In fact, it came to me over lunch that these two best friends have probably been questioning their sexuality for a long time. They just hadn't recognized the answer in each other because they're too close."
Excitement flared in the small man's eyes. Something about the searching quality to his gaze told the two hopefuls that this man was no stranger to the experience she described.
"I do believe you're right," he said slowly. "It would absolutely give those characters the focus they were lacking in your earlier drafts. It would put a fresh spin on them both and possibly elevate this relationship into a major plot point. The disrespect the choir gets before they prove themselves, the jealous girlfriend, the choir teacher's bumpy relationship with her football coach boyfriend … yes, the brother's forbidden romance absolutely has the potential to pull it all together."
The other man, Larry, also looked thoughtful, but the woman looked as if she had bitten down on a very sour pickle. "You're planning to turn a story about outcasts striving to belong and find their place in high school into nothing more than a farce," she snapped. "I didn't agree to that when I agreed to pour a significant chunk of my money into this production."
"It's not a farce," April shot back hotly. "We'd just be telling a different kind of love story, and if sexual awakening isn't the very foundation of outcasts figuring out where they belong in high school, then I don't know what is! I've even come up with the perfect song for Vince and Ronnie to recognize their mutual feelings. Well, to be honest Kurt came up with the idea, but I'm going to write the song as soon as I can get my hands on a pen and paper! It's called, Not So New Jersey, a love ballad."
The other three looked a bit confused by the title. Adam cleared his throat. "I'm afraid the title is my fault. I'm not exactly the New Jersey type," he explained in his distinctive British tone. The puzzled looks faded and Pauline very nearly managed to look amused.
"Well, I suppose there's no reason why we can't give these two a chance," Larry decided, pulling out a note-pad and a pair of glasses, clearly ready to get everyone back on track. "Let's get you up there and see what you've got. Do you have a number prepared for us?"
After a quick consultation, the two NYADA students took the stage together and sang I See the Light from the Disney musical "Tangled", Adam changing the pronouns of his half of the song to reflect his masculine partner and both of them putting every ounce of the feelings they shared into the performance. They wanted to convince the panel of the veracity of two young men exploring their burgeoning sexuality, as well as show off their individual talents.
Apparently their plan had merit. Each was asked to sing a second short solo from a Broadway musical, so Adam gave them As Long As You're Mine whileKurt decided to show off his range and perform a song he had not done since the early days of high school. His shortened version of A House Is Not a Home had April clasping her hands and bouncing in her seat with delight.
Afterward, they were asked to read a scene from the in-progress script. It was difficult to get the context, but they did their best with the cold reading of what appeared to be a heart to heart between the two friends about the fate of the show choir. It wasn't difficult for Kurt to get back into the mindset of his New Directions self and since there were a lot of funny lines written in for Ronnie, he found himself blossoming to life as he delivered the wry, witty dialogue. Adam, whose character as currently written reminded Kurt rather amusingly of Artie Abrams, matched him as well as if they had been performing together all of their lives.
There was a bit of murmured discussion from the casting committee when they finished, keeping their voices down this time to avoid letting the two actors know what they had thought. This was followed by a cool sounding, "Thank you, gentlemen. We'll be in touch," from Pauline.
Wilting under that less than encouraging reaction, Adam and Kurt thanked them for their time and left the stage. Before they could reach the back door of the theater, April came hurrying after them and gave each a parting embrace. She jotted down their phone numbers, which they had all forgotten to exchange in the rush to get here earlier, and said, "Don't worry. You both did great and I'm sure you're a shoe-in. Those three just have to go through the motions." She gave Kurt an excited punch in the bicep. "You were especially amazing, kid, and Jack will definitely fight for you. He recognized you while you were singing and I know that he wants to work with you."
Kurt's brow scrunched. "Recognized me from where? As far as I know we've never met before."
April waved her hand. "Oh, I don't know. Some Christmas concert, apparently." She perked up, pointing a sharp fake fingernail at Adam. "Hey, I wonder if it's that same winter thingamawhosit you were talking about earlier."
"The Winter Showcase," Adam agreed, a broad grin stretching across his face. "Quite possibly. It's a combination concert and competition, very exclusive invitation-only performances. I was lucky enough to attend as the plus-one of a friend in the theater wing and Kurt made a strong impression on everyone with his performance of Being Alive. He very much earned the standing ovation he won and if he'd already been a student, I'm convinced he would have won the entire showcase."
Kurt's face was blushing redder with every enthusiastic sentence. "Oh, come on now. Rachel got an ovation too and she was wonderful. She deserved to win."
April's grin faltered. "Rachel?" she said flatly. "Please don't tell me you mean that arrogant little girl that Will was so enamored of back in Ohio."
A small laugh escaped Kurt. "The same. Rachel Berry, former New Directions lead and current NYADA student. Also, my roommate, along with Santana Lopez. Do you remember her too?"
She pondered the name for a moment. "That saucy little chili-pepper cheerleader?" The slightly racist description was softened with a cheerful laugh. "Of course I do! She reminded me of me back in my show-choir days. The original ones, I mean. She didn't drop out of school to run off with her boyfriend and get knocked up in a threesome, did she?"
Adam and Kurt exchanged an alarmed look. "Uh, no …" Kurt ventured. "She broke up with her girlfriend, dropped out of college and moved here to New York to figure out her life's passion, though."
The smile went slightly wistful. "Ahhh, dem's the good ol' days."
Not even wanting to ask what she meant by that, Adam broke in, "April, thank you. For everything. No matter what happens next, this has been a truly worthwhile experience. Meeting you has been an absolute delight and this audition was an excellent ice breaker into the world of professional theater, even if your friends ultimately decide to go a different way."
April made a fluttering motion with her hand as if fanning back tears, and then she gave him a hug. "You too, honey. Now that we're neighbors I expect to see you boys now and then. Don't you go forgetting about me if things don't go the way they ought to. Though they will, of course!"
Deciding not to comment on the hasty correction, Kurt just gave her a farewell smile and then he and his boyfriend departed for home. Walking back down the now much busier sidewalks of Broadway, they remained silent for a few minutes, trying to absorb the reality of what had just happened.
Abruptly, Adam laughed. "Well, wasn't that an experience! I don't know how on earth I'm going to appear sober and interested for my students this afternoon, when I feel like shouting and singing and doing backflips with all of this excess energy! Kurt, when we got out of bed this morning, if you had told me that we would be meeting the April Rhodes, having her buy us a delicious lunch that probably rivaled my quarterly tuition cost, and be tossed up on a stage to audition for a brand new Broadway musical, I'd have thought for certain you'd gone barmy."
Kurt grinned. "When you put it all together like that, it does sound kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? Do you think either of us will get a call-back? I mean, I know that April's in our corner and it's her show and all, but I really doubt that she's got the power to just give us those roles if the rest of those people don't share her enthusiasm."
Adam pursed his lips thoughtfully, reaching out his hand to clasp Kurt's and swinging their joined hands between their bodies. "I suspect you're right about that, but we shouldn't let our spirits fall. Even if we don't get the roles we auditioned for, or only one of us does, it was still a worthwhile effort. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised to be offered a place in the ensemble regardless of how the main casting goes. I suspect April could swing that much and it would be quite an accomplishment for a couple of first-timers who are still attending theater school."
Feeling his spirits lift at this philosophical attitude, Kurt smiled. "You're absolutely right, and that would be amazing too. After all, we can't all be Fanny Brice."
The two of them grinned at each other, remembering Rachel's try out for "Funny Girl" that had ended in her being asked to understudy for the second-lead. A position she had turned down flat in a fit of insulted pique, having been absolutely sure that she would be offered the lead without so much as a question on the part of the audition panel. Upon discovering that the director had no intention of changing his decision, she had cried and flailed and yelled and thrown things, putting on a tantrum that had made her legendary New Directions storm-outs pale by comparison and had subsequently been tossed out of the production entirely.
"Oh my gosh," Kurt said, suddenly stopping in his tracks. Meeting Adam's confused gaze he said, "Rachel. What are we going to tell her? Will she be glad that I got an audition, or angry that it didn't happen to her? Especially once she finds out that April Rhodes was involved. She and Santana know April too, after all."
Adam looked uncomfortable, as if he were weighing his answers to find the least offensive option, but finally he shrugged his shoulders and said, "They're your friends. Rachel is your best friend, or so she's always telling us. If that's true then they should be happy for you getting such an incredible opportunity. After all, it isn't as though you undercut anyone or kept the auditions for this show a secret. You simply happened to be in the right place at the right time and fortune favored you." He bopped his head in a small sideways motion. "Well, might have favored you. Us. If things go well."
Kurt disengaged his hand and slid his arm around his boyfriend's firm waist instead. His voice held a note of foreboding as he replied, "I hope you're right. I guess all I can do now is go home and see." He walked silently for a minute, then asked hopefully, "Any chance your music students wouldn't mind a gate-crasher?"