Luke was conflicted as Adam dropped him off to his interview.

After leaving the bar last night with Michael, Luke went right to bed, telling Michael he was nervous and needed to sleep before the audition. Michael didn't protest, saying he was tired also, and they went to bed.

Luke got up early, printed his resume, gathered another set of headshots (which were getting a bit old, but it's what he had) and practiced his song. He only went over it a couple times before he needed to leave. Adam sent a text saying he was outside. Luke got up from the piano, knocking over the bench and spilling all of his other sheet music out and knocking his folder with all his information in it over.

He quickly gathered it all up, putting his important papers in the folder, and leaving the rest of the papers in a heap on the bench to put away later because he didn't want to be late.

Making sure he still had his headshots, resume, and his music for the pianist—which he made sure was secured with the green paper clip it always was—he took one quick look in a mirror on his way out and got into the limo.

Once he was seated in the car, he realized he had about 25 minutes to sit and ponder what happened last night.

He'd been so happy with the last couple days, on such a high he'd never wanted to get off. Then Ashton had to come around again and ruin everything, like usual.

It was always Ashton's fault, that's the conclusion Luke was ending up with. His life had been fine until Ashton showed up, his week had been going great until Ashton showed up, he'd been content with Michael until Ashton showed up and started talking nonsense.

He had no right to hit on Luke like he did, and say all those confusing things in his ear and make him feel all warm inside.

He had no right.

Luke knew that he needed to stop listening to Ashton. The man was insane; Michael loved him and he showed it in his own way. Maybe it wasn't the way Ashton thought he should, but it was all right with Luke, and that's what mattered, wasn't it? Love could be expressed in a variety of ways. It didn't always look the same. Luke loved Michael, Luke was the one who had to live with him, and Luke was happy, wasn't he?

Last night he wasn't.

But not every day was going to be fantastic. There were highs and lows in relationships all the time, he wasn't expecting it to always be perfect. What was Ashton on about all the time? Everything was fine.

He needed to clear his head before he got to the audition, so he put his headphones on and listened to his song a couple times, just an accompaniment, to make sure he knew the words and the tune. It had been a few months since he'd sung it, and it never hurt to be prepared.

Adam pulled up in front of a red brick building and let Luke know they arrived.

Luke took a deep breath, gathering his folder before opening the door and exiting. Adam pulled away, knowing Luke knew to let him know when he needed a ride back, and Luke walked inside the building.

Inside was the same as all the other auditions he'd gone to. A table set up near the door where actors signed in, submitted headshots, got their number, and sat in whatever space the venue offered until their numbers were called.

This space was a long hallway with little couches and end tables spread around. Luke saw a bunch of people gathered in different clusters, talking to each other, a few in a corner with headphones on, the random loners, and then there were his friends, sitting together in a corner.

"LUKE!" Calum called when he saw him, yelling across the entire hallway. Calum jumped up, almost falling over except Niall caught him, and ran over and crushed Luke in his arms. Luke welcomed the hug, glad he could see his friends again.

His heart felt heavy knowing he neglected to tell Michael about seeing these guys again, but he'd just gotten so upset last time. As long as nothing happened, Luke didn't need to tell him, right?

"Hi Luke, how ya doing?" Niall joined the two of them, grabbing their arms and guiding them back to where they'd been sitting before.

"I'm okay, how are you guys? I haven't seen you in forever."

"It's been too long," Niall agreed.

"You've been really busy, huh." Calum said, he looked innocent, but Luke couldn't help but hear the words accusatorily.

"Yeah, things have been crazy at the bar." He unconsciously brushed his chin where he'd covered up the bruise again this morning. "I haven't had much time for anything lately."

Niall hummed, looking at him understandingly.

"What have you two been up to lately? You hang out a lot, right?"

"Yeah, we're best roommates!" Calum grinned, and Niall rested his head on Calum's shoulder. Well, Luke had been fishing to see if the two of them were a thing or not, but that didn't help any. Oh well.

"What number are you?"

"156." Luke replied.

"I'm 143 and Calum is 144."

"Aw, we probably won't be in the same group." Luke frowned, it helped calm his nerves last time having his friends with him, but he'd just have to go it alone this time, like he always used to. He'd be okay.

"What song did you choose?" Calum asked him, stretching his legs in front of him, which caused him to lay across Niall.

Opening his folder, Luke began, "I always pick the same song, it's my lucky—oh my god." Luke's heart dropped straight through the floor as he looked at the sheet music in his hands. It wasn't "Any Dream Will Do" like he'd been expecting, rather it was "The Games I Play" from Falsettos.

"What? What is it?" Niall asked, sitting up straight to pay attention to his friend.

"I...It...piano bench..." Luke couldn't believe it. He grabbed the wrong packet when he dropped everything this morning. All he'd looked at was the green paper clip he recognized from every other audition, not even bothering to check if there was another packet clipped with the same color paperclip. He struggled to take in another breath, feeling very light headed. "Grabbed the wrong sheet music." He whispered, hands beginning to shake.

"Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry."

"That's awful, buddy."

Luke saw the concern on his friends faces and took another deep breath.

"It's okay. Haven't sang this song in months, but I listened to the cast recording the other day."

"That's good, at least you remember it."

"I mean, who wouldn't remember Andrew Rannels, he's amazing." Niall muttered.

Luke gave him a confused glance.

"He was my first celebrity crush,"

"Still is," Calum sang and Niall flushed and elbowed him.

"Shut up, so what? He's handsome and so attractive and his voice, oh."

Calum rolled his eyes.

"He was my first crush too," Luke admitted quietly. Niall's face lit up and he squealed.

"Aww yay! Crush buddies!"

Luke looked at Calum, wondering if he'd admit to it too, if he was even gay, but he just smiled happily at his friends.

"Numbers 140-155 come with me please, it's almost time for your slot."

"Luke, we have to go." Niall and Calum scrambled to get up, checking to make sure the other's number was pinned to his shirt and that he looked okay.

"Good luck, buddy, if anybody can do this, it's you, okay?" Niall patted his head since Luke was still on the floor. "Want us to wait for you after we get done?"

"Nah, that's okay, I don't want to hold you up." Was what Luke said, but he really meant yes, he wanted them to stay.

"Okay, we'll see you after you shock the judges with your amazing audition."

Luke laughed.

"Okay, good luck, mates!"

They walked away, leaving Luke to panic.

No, he didn't have time to panic. He had to practice.

He knew he had at least ten minutes, so he went to the little courtyard across the room and went outside to sing the song through once. As he went outside, someone called him.

"Are you 156?" A girl asked as he opened his folder to get the music out.

"Yes?"

"Number 152 didn't show up, so they want you in now."

Luke squeaked in fear, he didn't even get the chance to warm up or run through the song.

He took a deep breath and a professional face before nodding.

"Be right there." He gathered his papers with shaking hands and followed her inside. Everyone was looking at him, but he ignored them, keeping his head up as he followed the girl inside the auditorium.

"Take a seat with the others up at the front. The judges know what's going on, they're explaining what they're looking for in the role."

"Thanks,"

Luke quietly slipped to the front couple rows, sitting in the seat left open on the end. He noticed Niall and Calum in the row before him.

"Great, everyone's here now so I'll explain what we're looking for. This is a new show, and we're looking to cast the leading man today, and maybe some other characters if we think you're fit for something."

The director went through the description and what they'd be willing to accept, the range they'd have to sing, and a basic plot outline.

"I hope you all saw in the email that we were looking for a slower, melancholy song today, because the main character is distressed during the show more often than cheerful. With that, let's begin. 140 please take the stage."

The director hopped down and the first guy took his place on the stage, looking sheepish.

"I uhm, didn't see that part of the email, so I'm singing "Hard to be the Bard" from Something Rotten." Luke looked back at the judges and saw them murmuring and shaking heads at this guy. He suddenly felt much better that his song got switched. His usual song was a hopeful, wishing number. This new song was the embodiment of melancholy. What amazing luck.

Luke tried to block out all the other auditions and remember the tune to his song.

"Number 156, it's your turn!" someone nudged him and he looked, realizing he'd been so into his singing in his head, he missed all the other auditions.

He got up, taking his sheet music with him and climbed up the steps to the stage. He forced his hands to stop shaking and smiled brightly as he turned around to address the judges.

"Hi, I'm Luke Hemmings and I'll be singing "The Games I Play" from Falsettos." He saw head nods from the judges and got a "Continue," from the director. He turned around to the musician and nodded for him to start, making sure that when he faced forward again, he had a solemn face.

"I don't look for trouble

I do not accept blame,

I've a good and a bad side

But they're one and the same," Luke sang, really trying to feel the song. He remembered how Michael made him feel that night when he got angry, how confused he felt when Ashton complimented him, how much he'd been going through in general and put his entire heart and soul into the song.

"It's tough with love

Love's tough to show

Let me face the music

It's a song that I was waiting to hear so long

So long ago"

He remembered how in love he felt back when he and Michael first got together, how happy everything felt. It was like nothing could stop them, as long as they were together. But now...

"It hurts not to love him

It hurts when love fades

It's hard when part of him

Is off playing family charades

Ask me if I need him

Get him out of my way

These are, these are the games

These are the only games I play"

Luke finished singing, moving the hands he'd raised for dramatics back down to his side, wiping a tear from his eyes, hoping no one noticed.

The entire room was silent, everyone staring at him, no one moving, blinking, breathing. Luke felt like he was going to throw up before everyone stood and clapped, cheers filling the entire auditorium, despite there only being about 20 people in the room. He smiled and bowed, sighing in relief as we went to collect his music from the pianist, who gave him a thumbs up, and going back to sit down.

"Thank you, everybody, we'll get back to you by 5pm today if you've got a part."

Luke waited for Niall and Calum to catch up with him, nervous about what their response was going to be.

"Luke, where are you? Have you been replaced by the most talented person I've ever heard in my life?" Calum asked, looking around and pretending like he couldn't see him. Luke laughed, still feeling a bit jittery from that strange reaction from everybody.

"Seriously, Luke, where did you go during that performance? It was like something came over you and you weren't actually Luke anymore. It was amazing." Niall said.

Luke shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe since it was something different, it just clicked."

"Whatever it was man, if you don't get that part I'm never going to audition for anything ever again, because then there's no point anymore."

Luke laughed, grabbing his coat from the coat rack. He held it in his arm as his friends were already heading out the door. He didn't want them to wait too long. They were standing outside on the steps when Luke's phone rang, drawing everyone's attention.

It was an unknown number, and Calum and Niall looked at him with a hopeful grin.

"It's probably a telemarketer, there's no way." Luke shook his head.

"ANSWER IT!" They encouraged him.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed accept and listened to the voice on the other end.

"Thank you, thank you so much." He said, ending the call and looking at his friends. He let out a small scream and Calum and Niall hugged him and jumped around and screamed with him.

He got the part.

"Thank you everyone for auditioning today, but the directors have everything they need for this show. Have a good day." A voice said over the intercom which they could hear through the open door. Everyone outside looked at the three of them in confusion and disgust, but Luke didn't care. He got the part. He actually got a part. The lead role in a new show. He couldn't believe it.

"You guys..."

"Luke, this is amazing!" He really had some great friends whose first thoughts were to celebrate with him, not be jealous they lost the opportunity. They were genuinely happy for him.

"I can't wait to tell Michael. Oh, he's not going to believe it!" Luke said, stepping outside with his friends.

"I'm so happy for you, friend." Calum gave him a hug, then Niall, and they took off down the road while Luke got in the limo that had pulled up moments before. He told Adam he was going in for his audition right before his number was called, that way he'd be there when Luke had finished.

"Adam, guess what! I got the part!" Luke gushed, opening the door without even looking inside.

"That's wonderful, Lu." A cold voice said from the back seat.

"Michael?"

"I'm so happy for you, baby." He said, but he didn't sound like it.

Michael must have seen him hug his friends.

"Uh, th-thank you." Luke got inside the limo, mood tanking as he sat in the back with his boyfriend and his suffocating glare. "What are you d-doing here?"

"I thought I'd surprise you and ride back home with you after your audition." He said, then leaned in and whispered, "Seems I didn't need to be here."

"Michael-"

"Don't. Not now."

Luke's breath hitched, remembering what happened the last time they argued.

Michael promised he'd never do that again, there's no need to worry, Luke. Remember how happy you were moments ago, you got the lead in a show.

But Luke couldn't focus on that, he could only replay a slow-motion image of Michael raising his hand and--

"We've arrived, Mr Hemmings," Adam said, having already walked around and opened Luke's door. He only did that when Michael is around, because Luke didn't need that special treatment, but he would get in trouble if he didn't do it for Michael.

"Do you want to come inside?" Luke asked Adam. "W-we can make coffee and talk about the show?"

"Don't be silly, he needs to go back and put the limo in the garage, Luke." Michael interrupted.

Adam nodded sadly.

"Thanks for the offer, Luke, I appreciate that.  Maybe another time. Good day." He nodded at Michael and smiled at Luke before getting into the limo and driving away.

"The limo driver too? Who else have you charmed?" Michael grumbled, walking up the steps to their apartment. Luke really didn't want to follow him, but knew making him wait would only make it worse.

Once inside, Luke kept his distance.

"I can't believe you lied to me."

"I n-never lied,"

"You didn't tell me they'd be there." Michael crossed his arms over his chest, moving from the hallway once Luke had hung his jacket. They entered the kitchen and Michael sat down at the stool in front of the island. Luke stayed away on the opposite side of the room, not hiding, exactly but...staying away.

"I didn't know. I can't control where they show up, Michael, they were just congratulating me. I landed the lead role in a show."

"Yeah, great job, now you're going to spend time with other guys and not me. It's like you don't even love me anymore."

Luke gasped.

"What do you mean? Of course I do, you're the only person in my life. I swear those hugs meant nothing."

"Why did you tell Adam about your role first?" Michael looked sad. Luke knew now that he wasn't angry, he was hurt. That made this situation much different.

"I was just about to call you, I had my phone ready to press speed dial." Luke unlocked his phone which indeed showed that he was about to call Michael, who was the only person on his speed dial. "I just got a little ahead of myself and I just wanted to say it to whoever was there at the time. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you first, that wasn't right."

Michael bit the inside of his cheek, extending his arms for Luke, wanting a hug from him.

"I'm sorry, baby. I just got jealous. I shouldn't have ruined your big moment with my insecurities." Luke relaxed into his arms, finally feeling relief when Michael rested his head in Luke's hair. "I just thought you getting a role would mean you'd find some other actor you might like better than me."

"That could never happen, Michael. You're mine, and you're not getting rid of me ever." Luke looked up at him, and they smiled at each other.

"That makes me very happy." He kissed Luke long and slow, before pulling away. "Let's get dinner and celebrate. You deserve to be excited about getting the roll. Let's party!"

Luke laughed. This is more like it.

***

Yay for Lukey finally landing a lead role! (Sorry about all the lyrics in there, I generally try not to put song lyrics in my books, but this was just so fitting I thought it had to be in there).

Anyway, hope y'all are doing well, I have been very busy lately but still managed to find time to write so I can't complain too much!! Love you all <3

~ashtonfortherwin