Idle Fears

Theo had just finished editing his latest dance cover video and was waiting for it to finish uploading so he could finally go to bed and get some sleep. As he turned off his computer and got in bed, he suddenly got a notification on his phone. Sighing due to being exhausted, he turned off his phone. He already had to wake up early for an audition and decided to check the message in the morning.

The next couple of hours were terrible for Theo, unable to sleep due to worry about failing yet another audition. All he wanted was to sing and dance, but the universe seems to have a cruel sense of humor; every group and label he applied to in the last three years has rejected him. "Maybe I'm just not meant to be an idol. I could always go back to working at Cammie's clothing store. Hmm, no, retail is horrible."

Theo looked at his alarm clock; it was already four in the morning, so he gave up trying to sleep. "One more all-nighter couldn't hurt, right?" He grabbed his phone, deciding to check the message; it was from another cover dancer named LunarDance.

Message from: LunarDance
Received at: 11:00pm
"Hey, Theo. I'm Alex; I'm a dancer from midtown. Although you probably already knew that because of my username. Anyways, I've been watching your videos, and they're amazing, editing included. It seems we're both applying to the same audition, and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to work on something together? I know we don't really know each other, but I think our styles would work really well together. If you're interested, let me know; I'm renting out a rehearsal space this weekend."

Theo stared at the message; Alex seemed like he was a pretty cool guy, but he was definitely wrong about their styles working together. Theo had seen some of Alex's stuff, and he seemed far too carefree and improvisational; he'd probably spend half of the rehearsal time just playing around and not taking things seriously.

Message from: SolarEclipse
Received at: 4:30am
"Hey Alex, I'm sorry for replying at this hour, but I was editing all night and failing to get any sleep. Anyways, I'm happy that you like my videos. Honestly, I wasn't sure if anyone real was watching them or just a bunch of bots, so it's nice to know at least one human has seen them. I've seen your videos as well; those SFX you add must take HOURS. I could never have that much focus. It would be cool to maybe work together on something in the future, but right now I'm really busy working on my own audition; I don't think I can afford to change it so soon. I do wish you the best; maybe we could meet and hang out sometime?"

Theo raised his arms above his head, stretching before staring at the ceiling. Without fail, he always started feeling more nervous on the day of an audition. Knowing he wasn't going to get any more sleep, Theo got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It doesn't hurt to be prepared early, even if it is nearly five in the morning. After showering and getting dressed, Theo checked his messages again; unsurprisingly, there wasn't a response yet. "He's probably sleeping like a normal person." Theo lightly shakes his head. "Why do I care? I have more important things to focus on right now."

Theo makes his way downstairs and to the kitchen, planning to make himself some breakfast when he is startled by Cammie, who is just sitting at the table in dim lighting. "Good god, you scared me. Firstly, why are you in barely any light? Secondly, why are you in my apartment creepily lurking in barely any light?"

"That was kind of the same question." Cammie grinned and waved at her brother, getting up to hug him before patting his head. "Sorry about scaring you; my roommate was being a pain in the neck, so I thought I would just hang out here until it was time to go to work. I assumed you would be asleep by now, but I forgot you had an audition today."

"I wish I could forget I have an audition; at least I would get some sleep. Well, since you're here, want some French toast?" Theo asked, turning on the kitchen lights and grabbing the loaf of bread.

"Theo's famous French toast? Yes, please, make mine with the coconut and chocolate coffee creamer, please!" Cammie requested excitedly. "As payment for the food and an apology for scaring you, I'll come by after work later and cook dinner."

"Okay, I'll allow it. Oh, by the way, that dancer Alex, or LunarDance, messaged me last night. He wants to do a collab with me, but he was talking about it like he wants to do something today at the audition." Theo was mostly focused on cooking, so he couldn't see Cammie's reaction, but all he heard next was a squeal.

"You absolutely need to collab with him; he's so cute, but a last-minute one the day of the audition is a bit odd. Maybe he wants to do something you've both covered?" Cammie questioned, trying to think of any dances or songs the two may have both covered.

"Maybe?" They couldn't possibly have a cover in common, Theo thought to himself. He wasn't even sure if he'd ever heard Alex sing before. He is a bit cute, though even a work-focused person like Theo couldn't deny that. "I wouldn't think too hard about it; I already turned him down. Besides, it's impossible to put anything together now. I'll just go, do my thing, and hopefully I won't have to have an awkward conversation with him."

Cammie sighed, shaking her head. "It's like you hate any possibility of fun and friendship." She grabbed her phone to search through Alex's socials. "Oh my god, he has a puppy. I'm more of a cat person, but this puppy is adorable; it kind of looks like you."

"Are you saying I look like a dog?"

"I was mostly talking about the fluffy hair, but yeah."