Ryan was tired. It'd been a bloody long day, but now it was over. Time to relax.

Tossing his bag over his shoulder, he made his way out of the theater. Digging his ipod out of the front pocket of his rehearsal bag, he wove his way through the throng of dancers in the tight quarters backstage. He put it on shuffle and wedged the earbuds into his ears. Humming along with David Bowie, he pushed open the stage door that lead to the back alley and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Daylight. Finally.

He'd been in the theater since about 8 o'clock this morning and it was now edging in on 4 pm. The company was starting a new production and there were long hours to put in. Hours of music and memorization and choreography. Lots of long, hard, draining hours. Just the thought of what the next few months would be like made Ryan's legs ache.

If he'd known that this is what the life of a London stage actor entailed, he might have just stayed at Juliard. Well, that's not entirely true. He knew that. He knew that this was the life he was meant to lead and he loved every second of it. As much as he complained to his mother and sister on the phone, he loved being on the stage. And if hard work is what it took to get him there, and subsequently keep him there, then he was ready for it.

Being a stage actor had been his dream for as long as he could remember. There had never been a time when he didn't want to act and sing and dance. This was it for him. Even if he never became a huge star, with his name in lights and people waiting after shows for his autograph.

Deciding to take a the long way home, Ryan walked passed the Euston Street tube entrance and headed toward the park across the street. Walking home would mean getting home about an hour later, but today Ryan just felt like it. Besides, the park was lovely this time of year, why waste it?

Getting home about an hour later, Ryan started up the stairs to his flat. He knew his flatmate, Chad, was home even before he opened the door. And if the music blaring from the flat was any indication, Chad was in a good mood. Good. Maybe Ryan could convince him to go round to the local for dinner and a pint. After the day he'd had, all Ryan wanted was a steak and ale pie and a pint of lager.

Opening the front door, Ryan yelled, "Hey Chad," hoping to be heard over the music.

"Oi Mate! Ya alright?" Chad emerged from his bedroom rubbing a towel over his springy curls.

"Yeah man. You?" Ryan walked through the small living room to his bedroom. He threw his bag on the bed and bent to take off his trainers. Chad came in and sat on his bed.

"Yeah mate. Had a great day. That fit bird from work agreed to go out with me." Chad was also American, but he'd lived in London longer and had picked up more of the lingo than Ryan. But that was partly cause Ryan was holding onto his American traits with an iron grip. Didn't want to lose himself completely to his adopted culture. Plus, keeping his American sayings and whatnot made him unique. He liked it.

"Cool. When you guys going out?" Getting a whiff of himself, Ryan started to undress for a shower.

"Next week. Oi! No getting naked in front of your straight flatmate." Chad had no problem with Ryan's sexuality, but he himself was fully straight.

"Chill. I'm not getting naked. Wanna go round to the local tonight? I need to relax." grabbing a towel Ryan went into the loo, leaving the door cracked so he could still talk to Chad.

"Sure. Rough day at rehearsal?"

"Not really. No more than usual. Just tired." Ryan turned on the shower and stepped in. The water hitting his skin felt amazing.

"Okay. We'll go when you get out, then?"

"Cool." Chad shut the door and Ryan started getting cleaned up. A nice relaxing night at the local pub is exactly what Ryan needed to recuperate from the day. He was looking forward to it.

*Hello again. Sorry this took so long to get up. To be honest, I kinda forgot I'd been writing this. A review I received reminded me, so I'm back. I know this is moving kinda slow, but I wanna set it up right. Things gotta make sense. And I don't want it o be too coincidental, so I'm taking my time to make it seem plausible.

*I know I'm switching back and forth with the vernacular, so if there's anything you don't understand, just let me know. I'll clear it up for ya. As for today's chapter, a "local" is the neighborhood pub that everyone goes to.

*K. Guess that's it. I'll try to get another chapter up in the next few days.

Thanks for reading,

Gesika