Mathew had quietly and professionally stormed his way to the car without further incident, he had hopes of making it home so he could throw an adult tantrum in the privacy of his own home. But Shemar was leaning against his car. "Hey man. Letts get a beer."

"That's a better plan then I had. But you drive. I'm gonna get wasted."

"Deal."

20 minutes later, they were seated in some shitty chain restaurant that served alcohol and didn't look too busy, so with luck they wouldn't have to deal with any pesky fans.

Matt had taken down his first beer like a pro and wasn't babying the second one while Shemar made not-so-idol chat.

"I can't believe they did this to you, man. I couldn't even imagine if it were me…I'd have to quit."

"I can't quit."

"Money troubles?" Shemar quipped, smiling.

Matt retuned it with a dismissive laugh. The money wasn't extraordinary, it was only daytime television, but he made a good chunk and was a wise investor. Financially speaking, if he was modest, he never had to work again. "No, but you know I live for it- I never expected to be an actor growing up but, now, I love it. I can't really see myself doing anything else outside of the industry."

"Are you kidding me? What about all your projects, the art and the modeling?"

"The art is just a hobby. Between you and me, don't tell my investors, but I'm no—"

"Picasso? You could have fooled me. Those wired ass paintings."

"Shut up," he tossed an empty peanut skin in Shemar's direction, not really hurt, his art was wired and he knew it.

"And, yeah, I made a living modeling. And had some great times, but it was never meant to be a career. Once you hit 30 your pretty much done, unless you're playing a dad…in a fucking Old Navy commercial." He pictured Marco and sighed finishing off his second beer and waving over the waitress. "Hi, beautiful. I'm gonna need some stronger stuff. Can I get a… Bloody Mary with like extra vodka, a double? Thank you."

"Ok, first, mixing that with beer is going to be disgusting; also I thought you didn't drink, man?"

"Extreme times call for extreme measures. Hence you driving me here. Thank you."

"See that's what I'm saying, Matt, if this is bugging you this much, say something. They aren't going to get rid of the amazing Dr. Reid."

"No, not right now, but this character is well on his way to being a 30 year old virgin and the fans may get sick of it soon. You saw what happened with the Mauve incident. And the poll speaks for itself, the fans want what they want." The waitress dropped off Matt's drink.

"Fine man, don't say anything. Let you actions speak for themselves."

"What does that mean?"

"That scene today." Shemar laughed, "If all your acting is like that when your with him, they'll drop the gay thing like that." He snapped and bobbed his head in an effeminate manner for emphasis, laughing at his own homophobic joke.

"Was it that bad?"

"It was the worst—Do you remember when you came in with that really bad flu that time?"

"Oh, don't remind me. It wasn't that bad. They had to rewrite the script so Reid could be sick."

"This was worse. They're gonna have to rewrite several scripts."

"Shit." Matt slumped down even more.

"Naw, man, it's good! This whole thing will blow over in no time. Let's not even think about it anymore. Alcohol is not the way to fix this, we need women!"

"Women?" Matt looked hopeful.

"Many, hot women. Let's go"