J.T. sighed and shook his head. “I get the point.”
“So, you’ll stay?” Heidi asked.
J.T. looked over at the stage. They were about ready to do a full cast scene. “I’ll think about it and get back to you after I pack.”
Heidi growled. She stood up from her chair. “Jayson Tyler Sumtrane, I am not going to stand here and watch you throw your dream away! In fact, I’m not going to even watch you at all. If you want to talk to me, I will be in my dorm room studying. Goodbye.” Heidi stomped out of the theater.
J.T. put his hands on his face and let them slide from his forehead to his chin.
“Aren’t you going to stop her?” Ashleigh asked.
“Not in the mood to deal with her right now. I’ve got other thoughts on my mind including that it is time to get back on the stage and earn my keep. Let’s go, Kelso.” He grabbed Kelso’s arm and pulled him toward the stage. Kelso turned to the group and mouthed “I’ll work on him.”
Ashleigh took Heidi’s chair. “Why are we so troubled? We came to this place without any cares and threw caution to the wind. Now, Brady and Freedom are getting way too close for comfort. Heidi and J.T. are star crossed lovers and well, I haven’t really talked to Kelso since he dropped the H-bomb on our relationship. Why the heck did we want to come here again?”
“Dreams,” Court remarked. “And for your information, I haven’t had any problems with all this romance stuff going around.”
“And we’re all very thankful for that,” Sam chimed in.
“Shut it,” Court snapped.
“Just trying to explain,” Sam remarked.
“We have got to come up with a plan to get J.T. to stay,” Freedom thought aloud.
“Well, we can’t very well get any ideas here,” Brady told his girlfriend.
“Yes, we can,” Ashleigh interrupted. “We can all moo at the moon.”
“Huh?” Court asked.
“We’ll all break into his room and hide all of his things and force him to stay. Who’s with me?”
“Got nothing else to do,” Dashelle remarked. “I suppose I can help out.”
“Girls, what makes you think Heidi hasn’t started all of this all ready?”
Dashelle and Ashleigh looked at each other. “We gotta go.”
The gang got their things and rushed out of the theater. J.T. and Kelso looked confused as they saw their friends running out of the room.
CHAPTER 18
Heidi knocked on the door to J.T. and Mario’s dorm. No one came to answer. She knocked again and yelled for Mario to answer the door. He called out that it was open and to come on in. She walked in. Mario was sitting in his yoga pose naked. Heidi turned away quickly while she yelped.
“Oh, sweetie, sorry. I didn’t know it was you. I’ll put some clothes on lickety-split.” Mario got up and walked over to his dresser. Heidi backed out of the room. “I’m just going to wait outside until you’re decent.”
“You’re going to be waiting a long time,” Mario quipped.
“Seriously, Mario. I’ve got some important business to take care of. Let me know when I can come back in.” Heidi walked the rest the way out of the door and shut it behind her. She saw Ashleigh and Dashelle coming up the stairs while she was waiting for the “all clear” from Mario.
“What are you doing, Heidi?” Dashelle asked.
“Oh, I’m just going to disrupt J.T.’s plans, that’s all.”
“Care for any help?” Ashleigh asked.
“Sure.”
Ashleigh whistled and their male and other female counterparts appeared. Mario finally opened the door and let J.T.’s friends enter.
“So, what are you planning on doing to poor little ol J.T.?” Mario asked.
“He wants to leave and we are not going to let him,” Heidi answered.
“Well, have fun. I have a gallery showing to go to see. Toodles.” Mario walked out the door.
“Okay, the first thing we are going to do is get this guy a different room mate,” Sam said.
“Working on it,” Court mumbled. “Mario, the wonder gay can room with Luka, the Lithiuanian.”
“Okay, first things first. We are going to take all of his clothes and take them to my room. His suitcases are in the top shelf of his closet. Get them and get started,” Heidi ordered.
“Boys, you get the heavy stuff and take it across the hall to Sam’s place. J.T. will never know what’s going on when he gets here. We are all going to meet back here and force him to stay in this room until he decided that it’s best that he stays. We’ve got to come together and think of a plan in an hour and a half. Let’s get crackin’.”
“Way to take charge, Heidi,” Court said. “But, don’t you think that if we pack all of his stuff it will be easier for him to leave?”
“Not if he can’t find it,” Heidi sang. “Now, get to work! We don’t have much time before he gets back from rehearsal.”
“Yeah, and I’ve got a date with Kelso. So, quit yapping, Court. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be at the rehearsal?”
“This is more important,” Court said.
“Oh, so you’re blowing off my boyfriend so you could hang out here. What kind of friend are you?”
Heidi stepped in between Ashleigh and Court before they could say anything else to each other. “Ashleigh, deal with it. Our friend, J.T. is confused and he’s trying to run away from it. Your boyfriend and the rest of the RENT cast can deal with one understudy gone for a day. So, buck up and get over it.”
“Whoa. Haven’t seen this Heidi in awhile. Where have you been hiding?” Court asked.
“I was on vacation.” She shoved a box in Court’s hands. “Now, move it.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’d salute but my hands are full.”
Heidi mimicked a laugh and shooed him away. Her phone rang and she looked at the caller i.d. before she decided to answer it.
“Hey, J.T. I thought you would still be in rehearsals.”
“Yeah, well, I am, but I wanted to know if you wanted to go out tonight before I get all of my stuff together to leave. I think I might go back to my flat. The rent has been paid for this month and I can just resign my lease.”
“Sure, I’ll go out with you tonight. When do you think you’ll be done?”
“Oh, by 8:15.”
Heidi looked at her watch. That was only an hour away. She cringed. “That doesn’t give me much time to get ready. So, I’ve got to get off the phone. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”
Heidi yelled to everyone in the room. “We have an hour, people. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!”
***
“So, how are things going with you and Ashleigh?” J.T. asked. He was sitting on the edge of the stage taking a break before they had to get started rehearsing again.
“She’s still scared, but there’s not much I can do about it. I mean I’ve told her what’s going on with me and what I think about her. She seems upset or afraid to get near me every time I try to get close to her.”
“Well, if you told me what you told her like you did, I think I’d be afraid to get close, too.”
“I know, but, I thought she’d be different about it.”
“She’s a very sensitive person. She always has been. You have to be careful with how you handle her,” J.T. remarked.
“I just want to kiss her,” Kelso admitted.
“Ok, number 1: has anyone told you that some of the things you say sound like they are coming from a girl and number 2: you haven’t kissed her, yet?”
“Yeah, well, I have sisters and no, I haven’t really kissed her, yet. I mean a peck on the cheek here and there, but not the kind of kiss I really want to give her.”
“Here’s my advice, ease in to it. Don’t scare her and she’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I guess.” There was a silent pause. “So, have you thought more about staying at Julliard? I know all of your friends are kind of upset that yo
u said you were leaving.”
“I think they took it the wrong way. I’m just leaving the campus. This dorm life is not for me. Especially with the way the dean has been treating me. I’m ready to get my own place back and do what I want to do when I want to do it. If I want to stay out until the wee hours of the morning, I should be able to without having to ask for permission.”
“Maybe you should explain that to the rest of your crew. I’m sure if you told them what was going on they could deal with it. You just blew them off earlier without any explanation.”
“Well, I’m more concerned about Heidi than anybody else. She seems to be so codependent these days that I’m worried about what she’ll do when I leave her behind.”
“She’ll survive. I’ve known types like her. Everything turns out okay in the long run.”
“How do you know?” J.T. asked a bit puzzled.
Kelso hopped down from the stage. “Trust me, I know.”
J.T. followed behind Kelso. “Why are you being so secretive?”
“Why are you so concerned about me? I think you should be more worried about how the next hour is going to be. We’ve got some major work to do. Don’t worry about the mess I’m in and get over your brooding twenty something pity party for me attitude.”
Kelso’s voice rose as he was talking and then it turned into a coughing fit.
“Whoa, man, slow down. I didn’t mean to upset you,” J.T. said.
Kelso waved his hands in front of him as a gesture not to worry about it. His coughing would not stop. J.T. asked if he was okay, but Kelso wasn’t able to answer. He grabbed his throat and stopped.
“Greg!” J.T. yelled. “We need some help here. Kelso’s about to—“
Before J.T. could finish his sentence, Kelso put his hands to his mouth and choked up blood.
“Oh, I did not need to see that,” one of the dancers remarked.
“Do you need an ambulance?’ J.T. asked his friend.
Kelso nodded. He felt his way to a chair and sat down. “Quick,” he barely whispered.
J.T. got on the phone and called an ambulance. He relayed all the information and the ambulance told him what to do while they were on their way.
“I think we’ll call it a wrap for today folks,” Greg announced. “Let’s just get Kelso back in good health.”
The ambulance sirens sounded and finally stopped in front of the theater. They hooked Kelso up to every machine possible for tests and finally decided to take him to the hospital. Before Kelso was shipped away, he asked J.T. to call Ashleigh and tell her to go to the hospital. J.T. agreed and called his friend. He went outside to hail a cab.
“Ashleigh, if you’re not sitting down, you need to be. I need to tell you about Kelso.”
Ashleigh had been helping Heidi pack up clothes. Her face turned pale and she backed into J.T.’s bed before she fell into a sitting position. “What’s going on, J.T? Don’t make me wait for answers.”
“Kelso went to the hospital. He started to cough up blood before rehearsal. He asked me to call you so you would know. He’d like you to come to the hospital if you can,” J.T. said.
“Oh. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Ashleigh said. She looked at her watch and paused. “When do you think you’ll be done with rehearsal?”
“Oh, I’m done now. Greg said that we could wrap it up after Kelso’s incident. I’ll be coming to pack up my stuff in a few minutes.” He finally tracked down a cab to take him back to the dorm.
“Okay, I’ll tell Heidi. And then, I’m on my way to see Kelso. Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Heidi, Dashelle, anybody!” Ashleigh called out into the halls where her friends were playing musical chairs with boxes of J.T.’s stuff.
“What?” Heidi asked.
“J.T’s on his way here. They cut rehearsal early, because . . .because,” Ashleigh took a deep breath. “Kelso had to go to the hospital.” She got those last words out, but hiccupped a sob at the end.
“Oh, sweetie,” Heidi walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. “This can wait. You go and see Kelso.”
“I don’t want to go by myself. I’ll just wait until J.T. gets here, so he can give me more info and then you guys can come with me,” Ashleigh said.
“Are you sure?” Dashelle said. “I mean, I could go with you and the rest of the crew could meet up later.”
“No, I think I need to stay here for a bit before I go face Kelso. I mean, I, um, haven’t been the most consoling girlfriend the past few days. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do in a situation like this. I’ve never had this happen before.”
“We know, girl. We’ll help you out with this,” Court said. He put his hand on her shoulder. Ashleigh gave a half smile.
J.T. trotted up the stairs and saw all of his friends standing in the hallway.
“Well, what a nice going away party,” J.T. remarked.
“Not so fast, mister. You will be staying here and you can’t do anything about it. We’ll discuss more about it later,” Heidi remarked. “But, right now, you need to tell Ashleigh about Kelso.”
J.T. told Ashleigh all he knew about Kelso. “They took him to General Hospital. He looked okay to me, but I don’t know how bad this coughing up blood is supposed to be. I’m learning just like you.”
“I need to go see him,” Ashleigh said. She went into J.T’s room and gathered her things. “Anybody want to come with me?”
Everyone decided to go with Ashleigh, but they all agreed to let her go into Kelso’s room and have some private time with him. They group hailed a cab and made their way to General Hospital.
CHAPTER 19
Ashleigh walked into Kelso’s hospital room. He had an IV poked into him and some machines buzzing and whirring next to him. Ashleigh found a chair and scooted it up to the side of his bed.
He smiled. “Hey, sweetheart. I was wondering if you were going to make it,” Kelso whispered.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to come running or if you wanted me to let you steam for awhile before I showed up,” Ashleigh remarked.
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry, that came out way wrong. I just don’t know what to do, Kelso. I mean, you’ve dropped a bombshell in my lap and now I’m just supposed to sit here and wait for you to waste away. I don’t know how to handle that, Kelso, I really don’t.” Ashleigh’s tears appeared in pools under her eyes.
Kelso reached out his hand and grabbed Ashleigh’s. “Its okay, Ash. I’m going to be fine.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. This has happened before. I just get a little overworked and tend to get panicked and do things like this. Don’t worry about this,” Kelso said.
“You can’t tell me not to worry, Kelso. I’m a worrier. I’m going to worry whether you like it or not,” Ashleigh said.
Kelso guffawed. “That’s what I love about you. You don’t take anything for granted.”
“I try not to. I’m going to worry and I’m going to cry, so you just have to get used to it,” Ashleigh said. She took the back of her hand and wiped the streaks of tears on her face.
“I have no problem with that.” Kelso looked at Ashleigh straight in the eye. “I do have a problem with you sitting in a chair when there is a perfectly open spot right next to me on the bed.”
Ashleigh got out of the chair and sat on the bed where Kelso had put his hand.
“So, what do we do now?” Ashleigh asked.
“Well, I didn’t really make a list,” Kelso joked.
Ashleigh rolled her eyes. “My friends are outside. We could invite them in,” Ashleigh suggested. She got up from the bed, but Kelso pulled her back down.
“No, not yet. I want to talk to you for a bit.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Kelso took a deep breath. “I know that we haven’t had that much time together, but I do know that
I haven’t felt this way about anybody else that I’ve been with. You’re sweet and caring and you always want to please people.” Kelso cleared his throat. “I love you, Ashleigh.” He reached over to the table sitting next to him and handed her a small box. “Open it.”
She did. Inside was a solitaire triad diamond. “I didn’t know when the right time would be, but I think now is as good a time as ever. Ashleigh, will you marry me?”
Ashleigh swallowed the lump in her throat. Her eyes bulged from their sockets. She opened her mouth to say something, but only a high pitched squeak came out.
“Was that a yes?”
Ashleigh got up from the bed and paced the floor. “I need a minute.”
“Ashleigh, dear, I don’t have that much time,” Kelso tried to joke.
“I haven’t known you that long and what I do know about you makes me scared,” Ashleigh remarked. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Kelso directly into his eyes. “I need to step out for some fresh air. I’ll be back with an answer.”
“Okay, as long as it is today,” Kelso remarked.
Ashleigh blew a kiss to Kelso and walked out the door. Heidi walked over to her when she came out.
“You don’t look so good, Ash. Is he going to be all right?” Heidi asked concerned.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine, but I don’t know if I’ll be.” She walked over to a chair and plopped down into it. “He asked me to marry him.”
A chorus of “whats” and “huhs” erupted from the group.
“Well, what did you say?” Dashelle asked.
“Nothing. I can’t make that decision right now. I mean, I’ve still got school to think about and other things. I can’t just throw all of that away and get married.”
“And you don’t even know if he’s worth marrying,” Court remarked. Court hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I’m sorry, Ash, that didn’t come out like it was supposed to.”