Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Stephen got back to the apartment real late at night. Drew was relaxed along the black recliner couch in the living room. He had a rerun of the late night live shows that aired in this city. It wasn't one of the interview ones, but the long running comedy show. Drew liked to try and turn all of his late nights into Saturday nights.

Drew looked over his shoulder, upon Stephen's entrance.

"Hey, so how'd tonight go?"

Steve came over and sat on the love seat to the left side of Drew. "Not exactly what I was hoping it'd be."

"Oh, how so?"

"Well, let me just first say that the show was very good, and I did get to meet people afterwards. Which was nice."

"And... what about the girl?"

"It was the girl I've always had feelings for."

Drew withdrew the reclining of the couch and sat up. "C'mon, let's get to the point already."

Stephen sighed. "It was her, but things are just not going to work out."

"And why is that? Don't give up hope. Give me the details of the issues and we can figure something out together."

Stephen smiled. "Aww, thanks bro. I've obviously been needing you. Well, it's two things. First being how she's dating her co-star, the guy who played Dracula. The other being that she remembers our past. She instantly assumed that we wouldn't even be able to be friends, still."

Drew squinted his eyes. "Ugh, she's dating that Travis fellow.

Stephen tilted his head and had a confused look to his eyes. "You know the guy?"

Drew shook his head. He took a moment to turn away but then spun back around soon after. "It's nothing. Let's just say that he may have had major successes to the public but has not landed a touchdown in my point of view."

Stephen crossed his arms and laughed. "Wow, so you're a bit of a geek now aren't you."

"That's besides the point. Let's keep to our main focus here. So, she thinks you both can't even be friends together. You just need to prove her wrong."

"And... how do you think I could do that?"

"First, try something as simple as messaging through social media. See if she'll respond and set up a friendly get together."

Stephen nodded in agreement. It was very late, so he didn't want to try it right away. He thought to himself, “I'll give it some time.” A few days went by. Stephen found her profile and sent her a private message.

Charlotte didn't respond right away. He questioned if it would really be this simple to be able to start getting connected with her. Additional days went by. Stephen was losing hope. However, she finally messaged him back.

Her message stated : Hey, shocked to see a message from you. Sorry, life on Broadway does tend to keep me busy. Makes me hate social media nowadays. Anyways, sure why don't we grab some coffee together tomorrow morning? I like to go to New Pints Delights. Don't worry though, it'll just be coffee in the morning, care to meet me there?

Stephen agreed to do so. He wasn't a coffee drinker but was willing to give it a try for her. Stephen thought, “Lemme go give Drew an update.” It had become the evening hours. His brother wasn't in the living room, and he decided to check the bedroom. The room was slightly open, so he entered.

The bedroom had very different details in comparison to the second bedroom. The window had a thick dark curtain that really blocked the sunlight. The walls had multiple art of both flying bats and bats resting within a cave. Drew had a private desk with a large computer screen off to the side of the room. Stephen laughed and thought to himself.

“Wow, he's a real comic geek resembling his room after that famous vigilante. He even has the latest edition where the cop in the family turned into a vampire.”

The following morning came to be. Stephen took the subway into Manhattan. He arrived at New Pints Delights. Stephen looked around and laughed at the place. While they may serve coffee in the morning, they were obviously much more of an alcoholic beverage location.

New York City has many sports teams. They themed the interior after them. There was art all around. One had a pitcher throwing a beer bottle to the catcher. Another had a football player. The art showed that he managed a touchdown, but with a ton of beverages on top of him.

Charlotte was at a table over at the back corner of the room. The art above her was of a hockey goaltender and with a large alcoholic beverage on the top corner of his net. She waved Stephen over. He came and sat across from her. Their eyes met and Stephen did everything he could to not show his physical attraction to her.

"Good morning," said Charlotte.

"Good morning, how's it going?" asked Stephen.

"Good, but I think I'm the one who should be asking you that." Charlotte took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, but first, I see that you haven't gotten your drink yet."

"Eh." Stephen waved his hand. "It's all good."

Charlotte got up. "Hey, let me grab you one. I'm friends with the owner." She leaned down and whispered into Stephen's ear. "I get free drinks all the time here."

Charlotte leaned back up and turned around. She went over to the order kiosk. Stephen sat there and told himself, over and over again, to pretend to like the drink. Charlotte came back a moment later. She handed him the cup of coffee and he took a sip. Stephen was shocked that he actually liked it and didn't have to fake his response to it.

"So, you like your coffee?"

"Yeah, I do. What flavor is this?"

" I got you what they call the Coconut Dream. Kinda assumed you came to this area to try and pursue your childhood dreams," Charlotte smirked.

"Oh, you bet..." Stephen bit down on his lips. He felt nervous and didn't want to risk any suggestion that his dream was her. "I mean, my reasons for being over here now are a bit complicated."

Charlotte tilted her head to the side and expressed a look of confusion. "Oh, how so?"

Stephen gave her a rundown of his father's passing and how he had met his half-brother. He also included an explanation of his past with his father. How that caused him to have true mixed emotions about his passing. Charlotte felt both care and concern for him. She was honestly surprised by this, due to how happy she's been with Travis these days. Charlotte reached across the table and tapped his hand.

"I'm sorry for all of this. While sad, I'm happy to have a better understanding about our past now. And hey, look at this way. This could now be the start of new beginnings for you."

"Oh, what do you mean by that?"

"I know that you've had the dream since you were little, like me, to perform on stage. I've got a friend who assists in training people backstage. I might be able to assist in getting you participating in that group."

"Oh my god that'd be really great Charlotte."

"Yeah, that'd be great, along with finally becoming the friends that we were always meant to be."

Stephen smiled in response. However, he had mixed feelings about all of this. He was very happy about how she wished to assist him in becoming a live performer. This excited him greatly. The contrast being her statement of becoming friends together. He truly wished for much more than that with her.