Nathan’s entire life changed the second he arrived in Los Angeles. It had been a huge risk, a big move that had terrified Nathan so badly that he almost didn’t get on the plane. He was only nineteen, still a baby in the eyes of many, especially his parents. They told him that moving to a different state all by himself, to attempt a career that wasn’t a sure thing, was an idiotic move. They had no faith in him, which caused the faith he had in himself to waiver. Acting and performing was his passion though. His entire life, he’d done school and community theater, and had even gone to a theater camp for a few summers. Nathan spent a lot of time second guessing himself, but he never doubted that this is what he wanted to do with his life. So ultimately, despite his parents’ lack of encouragement, he made the move to Los Angeles. He used all the money he’d saved, with a little extra that his parents gave him (they didn’t approve of his choice, but still they didn’t want him to suffer and be homeless), and found an apartment. He also got himself an agent. Nathan was told that he had a natural talent, and charisma that couldn’t be ignored. Did Nathan agree with the things his agent told him? Not completely. But, he wasn’t going to argue when he was being complimented. Nathan went to his first real audition ever, and was a complete mess. He was nervous and kept screwing up his lines, but the casting director only laughed. (Nathan was later told that he thought Nathan was charming, whatever the hell that meant.) Nathan was no stranger to auditioning. He was used to acting and singing in front of people, but this was a whole new ball game. This was the big leagues. He left the audition feeling certain he’d screwed up. “I bet a party would make you feel better, huh?” his agent had asked him, clearly hinting at something. There was a young Hollywood event happening that night, and his agent had scored Nathan an invite. He was young, but he was certainly not Hollywood. He hadn’t acted in a damn thing yet. But, his agent insisted he should still go. Why waste the chance to make connections? Nathan figured he was right.
Nathan was drunk within an hour of being there. The bar was closed to minors, but somehow everyone ended up with a drink in their hand if they wanted one. Nathan had never been a huge party kid in school. He’d had alcohol before, but never enough to get him drunk. The theater kids once all shared a bottle of wine that someone had gotten their hands on, but there were so many of them that no one even got a full glass. It was good and fun, and Nathan felt rebellious, but he wasn’t drunk. So, not shockingly, Nathan was drunk after only a few drinks. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe this person was just that amazing, but Nathan was pretty sure he fell in love that night. He met this girl, her name was Haley. They spent hours talking to each other after realizing they’d both auditioned for the same show that week. The alcohol made Nathan a lot braver than usual. Brave enough to make a move on her. Nathan wasn’t a virgin, but he wasn’t very experienced either. He wasn’t the type to randomly hook up with girls after knowing them for one night, but that’s exactly what happened. It was just so hard to resist her. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and she was actually having a conversation with him, and actually kissing him back, and actually accepting his offer to go back to his place. He woke up the next morning convinced that it hadn’t happened at all, and it had just been a vivd dream. But even he knew he could not have dreamed up a girl that perfect. The only bad thing, he had no way of getting in touch with her. Things had moved so quickly, he hadn’t gotten her phone number or even her last name. He just knew that she was an actress named Haley, she was perfect, and he’d probably never see her again. Before he could get out of bed and begin his extensive online search for her, his phone rang. It was his agent, telling him he had gotten a callback for the show. So far, Los Angeles was proving to be truly magical.
Nathan got the role of Carl King after a memorable, charming audition and a soulful performance of ‘Let Me Love You’. He was casted a month before rehearsals began, so he spent that time going to other auditions and looking at projects to shoot once they wrapped the pilot. It was a busy month for him, and he hadn’t been anticipating how crazy things would get. But, everything was amazing. It was exactly what he’d wanted in life. As the rest of the cast was announced for the show, he looked at the names, but didn’t do much more research on them. He knew that if he didn’t recognize a name immediately, he’d google it, see how much more experienced everyone was than him, and be intimidated immediately. He did recognize a couple of names, like Lorelai Baldwin and Spencer Trevino, who had been on this old show that he liked to watch reruns of. But other than that, he didn’t know any of the faces that went with names, and he didn’t want to. He wanted to meet everyone authentically, in person, at rehearsals. Nathan was nervous about starting filming, because he’d never been on a set like that before. But, he had no anxiety thinking about dance rehearsals. Nathan had always loved dancing, and was comfortable doing so in front of people. He loved to sing, dance, and act. He’d never call himself a triple threat, but that’s more or less what he was.
Nathan spent a week in and out of the recording studio. He had a 30 second solo on the show, which was his character’s audition for the glee club. He also had a few parts in a couple group numbers that he had to record. On his way in and out of the studio, he bumped into a couple cast members. He’d met a girl named Chloe Lawrence, who he’d talked to for a few minutes and instantly liked. As well as Spencer Trevino, who he’d had a minor fanboy moment in front of, telling him how much he loved the show he’d been on when he was little. He’d quickly calmed down though, and they got along well, too. When it came time for rehearsals, he was excited. Not so pleased with the early call time, but it wasn’t an issue. Up until the year before, he’d been waking up even earlier for school. His body was used to it. He got there right on time, walking into the dance studio with a bag slung over his shoulder. His eyes widened at the sight of who was in the room when he walked in. There were a few other people, including the choreographers, Chloe, who he recognized from the studio, and a serious looking brunette, but Nathan wasn’t looking at any of them. Standing there, was Haley. The girl from the party. Haley Mayoff. He knew the name from the cast list, but he’d never thought that it was his Haley. He made his way over to her straight away. “Hey,” he greeted. She’d remember him, right? He didn’t know if she was the kind of girl who slept with a ton of guys, but maybe she was. Maybe she didn’t remember him. Maybe his face was just a blur to her. But, he sure as hell remembered her. “You’re Haley Mayoff,” he said, still in disbelief. “I’m, um, Nathan Watson, if you don’t remember...”
