Chapter
29: Somewhere In Between
Chance sat in front of her computer staring at the monitor and wondering what she was supposed to be researching. She didn’t care much. Instead of doing her homework, she started to do some surfing and stumbled upon her favorite “Roswell” website, crashdown.com. Chance read up on news that she had missed while in recovery and found out some interesting information concerning the show and new characters.
“Darren!” she called out hoping he’d hear her from the downstairs kitchen.
“What?” he yelled back.
“Come up here,” Chance replied. She could hear his footsteps ascending the stairs slowly towards her room. As he peeked into the door, she said, “You will not believe what I just found out.”
“What?”
“They’re having open auditions for a new character on ‘Roswell!’” she screeched. Chance was more than excited about having the opportunity to meet her favorite people in the television industry.
“Is that why you called me all the way up here?” Darren asked, sitting down beside her on another chair.
“Well, I need someone to hold the camera while I read the lines,” Chance answered as she left the room to retrieve the camcorder from her bedroom. As she returned, she found Darren staring at the screen reading the information she found.
“It says here you need it in by tomorrow. Ooh, that doesn’t give us too much time to actually do this. Are you sure you can pull it off before the mail is picked up this afternoon?” he said informatively.
“If I can learn the piano in five minutes, what makes you think I can’t learn these lines?” she retorted as she pressed the print command on her computer. Chance handed her camera over to Darren and plugged it into the wall. He turned it on and began to record a little bit of what was going on around him.
“Chance, say hi to the camera,” Darren said as he turned to her direction. Chance flashed her sweet, innocent smile and waved her hand to say hi. She began to sort the papers of the script she had printed out and was reading over the lines she had to memorize.
“Oh, damn, I need someone else to help me with this,” Chance told Darren. “Honey, sweetie, sugar, can you read the lines for me?”
Hearing those names made Darren feel a little strange. Chance had never acted so weird, but it was funny, so he decided to go ahead and do what Chance told him. He put down the camera, took the script from her hands, and began to read. He mumbled them for a few minutes then said, “Which episode of the show is this from? It sounds so familiar.”
“One of my faves even though I think it sucked for Max and Liz, ‘End of the World,’” she answered.
“Oh, yeah, that one. I know what you mean. It totally killed their relationship,” Darren replied. “This is the scene where Liz gives that big speech to Max trying to get him to fall out of love with her, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Chance said. She rummaged around the back of her couch and found the tripod to her camera. With everything set in place, she asked, “Ready?”
“Wait, where are we starting from?”
“Here.” Chance pointed to his line and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Okay, now I’m ready,” Darren said. “But I only have one line!”
“Shut up. You’re not the one auditioning.”
Chance pressed the record button on her camera and stood in front of Darren where she could only be seen through the lens and he was hidden. “You can start,” Chance said.
“Okay,” he replied. Darren cleared his throat and began. “Liz…”
“Don't say anything, ok? Um,
because I... I came in here with this whole speech, and once you start talking,
my speech doesn't apply, and everything gets changed, and I just want to make
sure that I say everything to you, so just don't say anything. Just don't say
anything. Ok, I... I just re-read ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and you know, the first
thing that I realized is that isn't even the title. It's called ‘The Tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet’. They die. You know, she's this young girl, she... she's
younger than me, and she dies. Look, I think the reason why people think that
it's such a romantic play is they don't know what it's like to be put in that
position... but when your life and… and other people's lives are... are put
at risk, there isn't anything romantic about it. Max, you can't stop what's
happening to you. I mean, your life will always be dangerous, but my life, it
doesn't have to be. My life is only in danger if I am with you. I... I want
to be in love with boys... normal boys. I... I want to see my 21st
birthday. I... I want to have a wedding day. I... I... I want to have children...
and I want my children to be safe. You know, Max, if... if you truly love me,
you'll let me go. I may love you, but I… I don’t want to die for you.”
Chance walked off away from Darren and went back to the camera to stop
recording. She had executed her lines perfectly the first time and knew she
could get this audition if she believed enough in it. After all, she had won
the Savage Garden contest on MTV. Chance pulled the tape out of the camera and
slipped it into a large manila envelope she had on her desk. The address to
the studio was already written on the front and the stamps were placed in the
right hand corner. All she needed to do was mail it.
Darren watched her as she quickly moved throughout the room finding all
the necessary things she needed. He was amazed at how she had been able to memorize
all those lines and not mess up on them. Chance had total control of everything;
even her exit was almost perfectly executed. He knew she’d make the final cut
and didn’t doubt her for a second.
“Damn, you’re really good,” Darren complimented.
“Thank you,” Chance replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a package
to mail.” She grabbed her coat and keys off the couch and headed down the stairs
in a rush. Darren heard the door slam within a few seconds and she was gone.
It would only take her a few seconds to reach the mailbox in front of the house,
then she’d be running back inside, shivering and rosy cheeked.
Darren’s predictions were correct. Chance soon returned, her keys jingling
as she opened the door. She ran upstairs back to her room and threw her coat
onto the couch where Darren sat. And, yes, her cheeks were rosy red.
“Sent,” she said joyfully.
“Great,” Darren replied. “So, when do you think you’ll find out if you
made it or not?”
“They’re going to call me in a few weeks, just before Christmas to tell
you the truth. Wouldn’t that be the best gift?”
“Yeah, but I know you’re going to make it. You did so well on those lines,
I actually thought you were Liz.”
“Aw, Darren. You’re so sweet.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance counted down the days before Christmas. She kept track on a little calendar that sat on her desk beside her computer. As each day passed, she grew even more excited about her audition. She hoped and prayed that she had made it into the final 100. Darren kept telling her she was going to make it in the top ten, but she doubted herself.
On Christmas Eve, Chance and Darren began their search for the perfect tree. After hours of searching, they finally settled on a large evergreen that would perfectly fit the high ceiling of the living room. After it was lighted and decorated, Chance stood back to survey the work they had done.
“This is absolutely beautiful,” she said, her eyes lighting up like the tree.
Darren smiled as he watched the innocence within her radiate throughout the room. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. Chance leaned into his side and stared at the tree, its shiny ornaments sparkling with the lights. She loved this time of year with the snow on the ground and the joy spreading through the house. It made it seem as if her parents were still alive and she was spending the holidays with them.
Chance held on tighter as she thought about spending another Christmas without her family. She missed her mother’s Christmas morning breakfast followed by the usual enormous family get together for lunch. She missed the smell of the special strawberry pancakes and sausages, but most of all, she missed the delectable cake her mother made only on this occasion. It was made of chocolate, walnuts, and raisins.
“Chance?” Darren questioned when he saw the sad look in her eyes appear while she watched the tree.
“Huh?” she replied, looking up at him, her big brown eyes becoming so large it looked as if she were ready to cry.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just remembering Christmas before all of this happened. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since my parents’ deaths. I miss them so much.” Chance stared down at the floor trying not to think about what she would do if he kept the subject going.
Darren kissed the top of her forehead and said, “You’ve still got me. I know I’m not your mother or your father, but I can try filling that empty void if you want me to.”
“You already have. I’m glad I’m not completely alone this year,” Chance answered, a smile growing on her face. Darren kissed her and took her hand to lead her into the kitchen.
“Come on, I’ve got something to show you,” he said.
“Ooh, a surprise!” she replied, closing her eyes.
As they passed the kitchen door, Chance could smell the salty scent of ham, and she sweet aroma of vegetables. She opened her eyes and found a complete dinner in front of her on the table. Two plates were set on opposite ends, and there were candles in between them. Her eyes widened to see such a wonderful gift.
“Oh, my God! Darren, you…you…” Chance started before he interrupted.
“I saw the little notebook in the pantry with all sorts of recipes and thought you might like something from it. I noticed the stars next to each food and picked those with the highest number. Hopefully I picked your favorites. If I didn’t, I’ll get it right tomorrow,” Darren said as he pulled a chair out for her.
“I…I… I don’t know what to say. It’s just as I remember Christmas Eve dinner with all the trimmings. Darren, you didn’t have to,” she answered.
“Yeah, I did, so just shut up and eat. No more talk, unless it’s a compliment on my cooking,” he told Chance with a smile.
“But you went through so much trouble…”
“Zip it.”
Chance gave up and began to eat. It tasted exactly like if it was her mother who had made it. She smiled her appreciation towards Darren and said, “You’re a great cook.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
The rest of the meal they ate in silence, savoring something that wasn’t from a restaurant. Chance’s mind raced with the hopes that she would get the call from the “Roswell” crew telling her she had made callbacks. It was Christmas Eve, and there hadn’t been word yet. She feared she hadn’t made it, but kept her hopes up even though it was getting late.
The phone rang, knocking Chance out of her thinking. She shot up to answer it. “Hello?”
“Hello, Chance?” came a female voice over the phone. “It’s Rebecca. I was just calling to see how you were and to wish you a merry Christmas.”
“Thank you, Rebecca. That’s so nice of you. Merry Christmas to you too,” Chance responded. “I’m doing very well. The album’s coming along great. Darren’s almost done.”
“Could I speak to him for a few moments if it’s not too much trouble?” Rebecca asked.
“Sure.” Chance handed the cordless to Darren and sat back down to eat her dinner.
“Hey, Rebecca. Merry Christmas,” were the first words out of his mouth.
“You too Darren, but that’s not the real reason I called. We need to talk. It’s about Daniel. Are you in the same room as Chance? If you are, please leave. I don’t want her to hear what I have to tell you,” Rebecca said with a serious tone in her voice.
Darren stood up and left the kitchen, heading for the patio. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Daniel’s gone. We can’t find him anywhere,” she answered, her concern becoming quite apparent.
“What? Have you called the police?” Darren questioned. He began to pace around the room, nervous and angry.
“Yes, and they haven’t come up with anything. That’s why I called you. I thought he might have come to the states.”
“But what reasons would he have to come out here?”
“Because he lost his house and everything else, even Alexia.”
“What?!”
“I saw that article you sent him. He confronted her about it and she
told him everything. That’s when he found out she was conning him out of a lot
of money and he had a nervous breakdown. I’m scared that he did something like
Chance did when Scott died,” Rebecca nearly started to cry.
“Sh… Don’t cry. Dan’s probably fine wherever he is. Don’t worry,” Darren tried to comfort her and his own fears for his best friend. He was beginning to feel at fault for what was happening.
“I have to get going. Call me if you hear from him, okay?” Rebecca said.
“Okay,” he replied. “Should I tell Chance?’
“No, don’t. She doesn’t need to be worried just yet. I don’t want her to get stressed out if this ends up being nothing.”
“Okay, I won’t tell. I’ll call you if I hear from Dan. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Darren turned off the phone and headed back to the kitchen hoping Chance hadn’t left the room to see why he had gone. Seeing that she was still there, he sat down across from her quietly and began to eat.
“So, what did you two need to talk about?” Chance asked.
“She wanted to know when to expect the album, that’s all,” Darren replied, but she could see he was lying.
“Darren, tell me the truth,” she said firmly.
“That is the truth! That’s all we talked about,” Darren tried to defend himself. Chance stared at him coldly for a while then decided to drop it. She didn’t want to fight just a day before Christmas. She put down her fork, but just as she was about to stand up and leave the room, the phone rang again. She reached over the table to answer it.
“Hello?” Chance eagerly asked.
“Chance Malone?” a male voice responded.
“This is she.”
“Hi, my name is Jason Katims. I’m the executive producer of ‘Roswell.’ I just called to tell you I saw your audition tape and you did very well on those lines,” Jason said.
“Thank you,” Chance replied. She was ready to hop out of her chair and scream, but managed to contain her happiness.
“I want you to come to LA next week for another audition. You’ll be competing against another 20 girls, so be ready,” he told her. “Thank you for your time and merry Christmas.”
“No, thank you, and merry Christmas,” Chance said as she hung up. When she put the phone down, her face was glowing. She completely forgot about the fight she was ready to have with Darren and stood up to kiss him.
“Let me guess, you made it!” he said.
“I did!” Chance nearly screamed in his ear.
“Congrats!” Darren replied as he kissed her again.
“This is the best Christmas present I could ever get,” she said, holding onto Darren as a way to thank him for his support.
“That’s good because I didn’t really get you anything.”
“No big deal. You can pay for the tickets to LA.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“I can’t believe we’re actually here!” Chance screamed when she and Darren reached the parking lot of the WB studios. She jumped out of the limo before the driver had an opportunity to open the door and pranced around like a ballerina.
“Calm down, Chance,” Darren said as he walked into the warm California sun. “You’ve gone psycho.”
“I’m just so happy to actually be in LA auditioning for a part in a show that I absolutely adore,” she replied, settling down. Darren laughed at her as she skipped towards the door marked “Roswell Auditions.”
Stepping inside, Chance saw that there were quite a few people lined up waiting for their name to be called. She was surprised to see that half of them were blonds, a quarter was brunets, and the rest were everything in between. Darren stepped inside a few minutes later wearing sunglasses and a floppy hat to hide his identity.
The process of pick and choose went quickly. Most of the girls weren’t that good, but some did stand out as real actresses. Chance tried her best the first time around, acing the lines she was given. Darren sat on the sidelines coaching her in what to do even though she was pretty confident about her acting skills. The second round of auditioning was tougher. Chance had to act alongside some of the other chosen few and began to struggle when she realized they were doing better than she was.
Darren could see her slipping and decided to try and cheer her up. He left the studio and came back 20 minutes later with a large bouquet of flowers. He walked into the studio unnoticed and as Chance sat in one of the high director’s chairs, Darren walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder.
“What?” came her irritated voice. Chance turned around and saw Darren holding the flowers in his arms. “Aw, Daz, you shouldn’t have!” she exclaimed, happy that her mood had been altered.
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t give up, okay?” Darren replied trying to sound as native to LA as he possibly could.
“Ladies, the final five are now being announced,” came a voice over a megaphone. Chance stood up, putting the flowers down on her chair and heading towards the group of girls gathered in front of a guy wearing all black.
“If your name is not called, I have to ask you to leave. The final five, please stay here and you will go through one more set of auditions then we will decide on who we want to cast as the new character,” the man said as Chance was making her way to the front of the group.
“Maggie Smith, Becky Michaels, Veronica Edwards, Fiona Jackson, and Chance Malone,” the man called. There were many sad faces that appeared in the crowd, but Chance immediately hugged the other four girls who had made it, then proceeded to jump into Darren’s arms as a way of thanking him for all his support.
“I made it!” Chance screeched.
“I told you,” Darren playfully taunted. She kissed him before he could say anything else.
“I’m gonna go do my last audition. Wish me luck,” she replied, letting go of her hold.
“Good luck,” he said, blowing her a kiss.
Chance left for her last audition with a smile on her face, but came back with a frown. She had done horrible against the other girls, or at least she thought. The lines were pretty hard to memorize in the time she had, but she managed to get most of them down with a few errors here and there. As the audition ended, she took a hold of Darren’s hand in hopes that she would be the chosen one. Chance knew that Veronica, a tall blond haired girl with pretty brown eyes and a thin build, had done very well on her audition, so she was her only competition.
“Okay, final cut,” the man called to the girls. Chance squeezed Darren’s hand and closed her eyes. “Veronica Edwards.”
A scream escaped Veronica’s lips as she hugged everyone in a happy frenzy. Chance held her head down in shame and began to walk out of the studio, her hand slipping from Darren’s. She really didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment. All she wanted was some time to think how she had screwed up.
“Chance!” Darren called to her. “Wait!”
Chance turned around and looked at him with sad eyes. “What do you want?” she asked.
“To give you these,” he responded, handing her the flowers. “Come on, cheer up. You did great. At least you made it to the top five.”
“Darren, I sucked. Don’t try to talk me into thinking otherwise,” Chance bitterly retorted.
“Whoa, don’t get hostile with me. It’s the other girl’s fault. She thinks she’s better than you, but she’s nothing,” Darren said. “Maybe tomorrow she’ll get into an accident and you’ll end up replacing her.”
“I hope so. This was the only thing I ever really wanted to do,” she replied, stepping into the limo.
“I thought I was,” Darren said.
“Yeah, but I already did you,” Chance answered, laughing at her own joke.
“Chance!” he exclaimed. They both laughed as the driver took off for their hotel. Chance stared out the window to see Veronica getting into her blue VW Beetle and heading off in a different direction.
That night, Chance spent most of her time watching TV and wondering how she could have screwed up her only shot at becoming an actress. She turned off the TV, finding it was disturbing to her thought process. Instead, she turned on the radio and found a good station. Chance listened to “Get Over Yourself” by Eden’s Crush and thought about her own recording career. Maybe the reason she didn’t get the part was because of her album with Darren. It was probably better that way because if the album became a huge success, she could tour and not have to leave behind the show. The song changed into a different one as Darren entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed.
“Till my body is dust, till my
soul is no more, I will love you…Love you…” the lyrics went. Darren grabbed
Chance by the hands and pulled her up close to him. She laughed, but soon realized
why he had done that. This was their song and he wanted to dance with her. Chance
pressed her face on his and closed her eyes as his hand slipped down to her
waist.
“I can’t believe you remembered,” she whispered into his ear.
“I’ll never forget, you know I won’t,” Darren replied.
Chance hugged him tight as they danced. She savored these moments that
they shared since they were so few and far apart. Work had been keeping Darren
from spending any time with her, and this trip was serving as a bridge to their
love life. Unfortunately for them, their perfect moment was shattered by a phone
call. Chance was ready to throw a fit at the person who had called them, but
decided to take the friendly approach to make sure it wasn’t someone important.
“Hello?” she calmly asked.
“Chance Malone?” came a male voice.
“That’s me.”
“Hi, Jason Katims again. I saw your audition today, and it was really
good. You were the only other person who was able to pull off those lines besides
Veronica Edwards, and she’s the reason I called,” Jason said. “She’s been involved
in a car accident and is in critical condition. I would like you to fill in
for her since you did so well today.”
Chance couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Of course I’ll fill in
for her!” she anxiously replied.
“Then I’ll send you a copy of the script. You start next week. Bye,”
he answered.
“Bye,” Chance hung up. She put the phone down and stared at Darren. “You
must be psychic.”
“What? How?” he asked.
“Veronica got into a car accident and Jason Katims wants me to take her
place!” Chance screamed as she hopped up and down, her excitement growing to
the point where she had become crazy.
“Damn, sorry I jinxed it for her,” Darren said as he hugged Chance.
“At least I’m getting to play a character on ‘Roswell,’” Chance replied.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next week went by fast. Darren and Chance went house hunting in Malibu and found a nice condo for sale. Satisfied with it, Darren sold his place in New York and bought the condo. He and Chance packed their things and moved to LA within a matter of days. With the new place being settled and everything being done, Darren decided to take Chance out for an evening of clubbing. They didn’t return until three that morning, sober and happy.
“That was so much fun,” Chance said as she and Darren walked down the street to get to the condo.
“I know, we should go to clubs more often,” he replied, wrapping his arm around her.
“Man, my feet are killing me. I’ve never been in so much pain in all my life, but it was worth it,” Chance declared.
“I’ll help you,” Darren said as he picked her up and carried her towards the condo. Large drops of rain began to fall on their heads, and they raced past palm trees and cars to get out of it.
As they got to the door, Chance could see a man sitting on the steps drinking for a bottle of beer. He looked dirty and disheveled, almost as if he had crawled out of a sewer. The water dripped off his face revealing his tired emerald green eyes. Darren let go of Chance and she ran to the man’s side.
“Danny,” she cried, kneeling beside him as the rain poured down. Chance didn’t care that she was getting wet; she needed to get him inside before he got sick. Darren walked up beside her and noticed why she had yelled.
Dan was near death, his eyes giving away the pain he was in. Darren and Chance slowly pulled him up and helped him walk up the stairs and into the warmth of the condo.