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harryleatherfit · 1 year

Text

Upper East Side || AU

Chapter 1: The Letter

word count: 3740

warnings: mentions of unavailable parents, smoking, mentions of bad sex (BYE)

if i’ve missed any let me know!

authors note- hi!! first chapter is finally up! this may take me a while to plan but this whole plot i have makes me so excited to write. this is my first fic but pedro pascal has taken me off my harry styles feet and wow. god bless the met gala seriously.

🪩Main Master List 🪩 Series Master List🪩

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“Hey have you checked the mail? You have a big ass envelope saying NYU on it!”

You immediately sprung from your bed.

You and and your best friend Laylah have been roommates all throughout college, deciding to stay in the dorms of UNCSA for summer because you both couldn’t commit to an apartment or afford moving back in with either of your parents.

Your senior years were 3 months away, and you both took this last summer to work, study, and humanly live. Laylah was majoring in Wig and Makeup Design, as you were majoring in Acting for film. The last three years have been a buildup to your applications for senior year at Tisch. The School of the Arts at NYU in New York City. Known for its alumni and seriousness in the performance world. You guys both decided to apply just to see what would happen, against all the odds. With no idea how to pay for it, it’d only be one final year for the both of you. No matter what jobs would be found, money would be made.

Before the previous school year ended, you played Sally Bowels in Cabaret and Laylah did the makeup for the whole company. A team from Ticsh came down to North Carolina to see one night of the show. It was the most exhilarating experience. The audience was packed, and you never let yourself slip up once, feeling the character in your heart. You were genuinely proud of your work, but the following day was your Spring Concert Recital and you had a feeling that the whole team from the awaiting college was going to go to that as well.

They did. You could see the bunch in the corner of the theater. Your eyeline was just catching them in the blinding light.

It had made you really fucking nervous but your voice teacher, Ms.Kim, let you know they left some comments, you didn’t care to listen.

Luckily Laylah already got in, she found out 3 days ago and this was the best news. Your best friend got into NYU Tisch. She’s fucking best of the best. You were truly happy for her, no matter if you didn’t get in.

“Go on, open it.” Pushing the envelope towards you.

You take the envelope and slowly, slicing it with your fingernail, pulling the paper out slowly.

You blanked and could barely speak. “Congratulations on your acceptance TO NYU TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS.” You yelled.

Cheers and fits of screams came from you and Laylah. This was happening.

“Holy shit. Holy fucking shit, you realize what this means? We’re moving to New York City, TOGETHER! We're going to college with the pretentious shits at the best arts school in this damned country!” She cheered.

You couldn’t believe it, all your dreams and hopes bundled into one piece of paper, so much could happen in that city within one year. The year of growth and connections.

“We have to immediately start packing, oh my god. Make the long haul with all our shit. Goodbye North Carolina!” She skipped around the tiny room.

You weren’t too sad about leaving either, you’d miss Ms. Kim, but she would always be at your hand in a call. You’d need to meet with her to talk about the practicalities about what needed to happen in your year, but that can wait. You wouldn’t miss anyone, you had Laylah. She was the only person you needed. Your parents didn’t care about any fucking thing you did. You were independent and free from them. You would possibly call them during Christmas to catch them up, but that was if you were feeling generous.

Your dreams are finally real.

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“Ms. Kim! Over here!”

You were meeting up for the last time at a coffee shop. Your last day in this wretched town. Winston-Salem was not for the weak. Fucking red-necks.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m so proud of you! I knew you’d get accepted. Laylah get in?

“Yes!”

“Oh my sweeties, the dynamic duo! You��re the best actor this school has.”

“Please, I’m physically not and could never be.” You laughed.

“Well you’re my favorite so I can say that.” She smiled.

“I’m nervous Ms.Kim.” You felt tears start to shed. “I feel like I don’t deserve this, I know I worked hard and my years here are paying off but I’m so scared. What happens after college? Where is this money going to come from for the both of us? How are we going to be able to properly care for ourselves if we don’t immediately get into the industry?” You felt defeated.

“Do not let this get in the way of your determination. Do not let money hangover your head. Show that hoity toity school what they're worth. You’re truly the best talent I’ve seen in years of my teaching. I’m not just saying that honey, you will have the world at your feet.” Her southern accent shining through. “Did you ever listen to those comments I sent to you?”

“No, I couldn't. I was going to feel physically sick if I did. I also seriously couldn't bare to hear myself in the background.”

“Enough of that nonsense. You have the voice of an angel. Don’t worry I listened and you seriously have nothing to worry about. They all loved you, I’m serious.”

“Okay okay I believe you!” You giggle.

“Good. You have to believe in yourself, New York will be brutal. You can’t shut down or shut anyone out. You have to see yourself at the end. Let Laylah bring you back to life when you’re feeling down. You have to audition for everything and anything. Try to get into those school shows. Be nice to your professors and don’t build an ego.”

“I know I know.”

“If you need anything, I can always fly up and help you with anything.”

“Ms. Kim, thank you for everything. After high school, and my parents I was so lost but you helped me find my path. You were the one that helped me decide my future. I owe this to you.” You hug her.

“No honey, you owe this to yourself.”

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You owe this to yourself.

“You okay?” Laylah looked over. She took over the driving, you were tired from crying.

“I don’t know I’m so damn emotional, I’ve lived here for like forever and I’m scared for the good change.”

“See.” She poked you. “It's a good change. You can come back one day and feel proud. Who knows we could end up staying in New York for forever. Start living there. We could be 23 and be able to show this city up.”

“Don’t get too hype, we have to move in first and meet people, introduce ourselves. Everyone already knows each other. First week of classes will be hell, those professors probably already know all of them.” You reply.

“Oh my god, we have to check out the hotties, there has to be so many. All those rich parties we could get into.” Laylah said.

“No, they’re all gonna be weirdo theater kids stuck in their hometowns. Just watch.” You smile.

You did theater, but you were not an obscenely obsessed Broadway kid growing up. You acted because it was the only way you could express your feelings.

“You're right but just you watch, someone will sweep you off your feet in no time and you won’t even realize it. It could possibly be a weirdo theater kid that you fall madly in love with.”

“Oh yeah and you could fall in love with a sound and lighting engineer, just our luck.” You laugh out loud.

Maybe this was your chance to branch out. Open your heart.

Previously in college you had a fling with a film major, but it felt too real and you couldn’t commit. You didn’t want to waste his time and you were too caught up with the show you were in for school. You felt like there was someone else out there for you. If you committed to him, that was it and you still felt too young to date. High School you only focused on your studies and couldn’t give less of a fuck on teenage boys. You only wanted to focus on your GPA and your friends.

You couldn't put your finger on it but New York just felt like a magnet to you. You wanted love. You wanted it to engulf you, make you feel heavenly, feel sick. You wanted to feel butterflies. You wanted the love of a relationship to feel like this person was your best friend, like you didn’t have to hide anything. No matter what state of life you were in, the value of love was always there.

You watched your parents' marriage fall apart as a young girl and it broke you. If you were to get married it would be a one and done deal. If you were ever cheated on, you would vow to never date again. Seal yourself off to your work. It’s what you already know what to do best.

You kept thinking it all over. You also wanted good fucking sex. Your fling was lame and boring. He could never make you cum like your vibrator could. His dick could never get you off, you felt guilty, but you just wanted more. You wanted the best sex that would make your body convulse, make you see stars. You wanted to be worshiped and praised. And you fucking needed someone who shared your sex drive.

No one these days can make a girl squirt. It’s fucking annoying. It’s not computer science. Stick your damn fingers up there, or watch a youtube tutorial.

“Remember Liam?” Laylah asked. She pulled out her dab pen and handed it to you.

“I was literally just thinking about him, holy shit.” You took a hit, this was going to be a long drive.

“Yeah he’s an example of what not to date, he bored you out. He wasn’t good for you. He didn’t match your passion and level of love.”

Passion.

“Life is gonna be real good in about 9 hours.” You giggle. Everything felt bubbly and surreal.

Due West by Kelsey Lu was blasting in the and you dozed off watching Laylah’s hair blow in the wind.

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You’ve gotten food on the road. Stretched out at Gas stations, but you finally arrived at your big destination. Laylah parked your car, you both had to go to the admission office to figure out your dorm situation, get your keys. Figure out the whole school.

You walked into the big historic building, you were taken aback at how beautiful the architecture was, you were even shocked by the city it was- it was later at night and all the lights were twinkling. You didn’t care if you looked like you were a tourist. This was one of the moments you could pocket.

You looked up through the school and there was a man staring down at you from a level above. You caught a glimpse of him before he walked away quickly. You feel like you’ve seen him before. That was weird.

“Come on, they close soon, they're probably waiting for us.” L rushes.

You both walk through a door and are greeted by a lady at a desk.

“Hi my name is Laylah, we’re the transfers coming in from North Carolina.” That perked the woman's interest.

“Oh yes! We figured you two would be coming in any day now. I have everything laid out, a map of the school. Your cards for meal swipes, parking spot tag, dorm room keys. Now with the dorm room you both are in a suite with 2 others, but these girls are fantastic, they aren’t in your majors so you won’t see them much but this was approved by the dean.” She smiled.

Just great, you thought. Meeting people right off the bat. How fucking lovely. You needed more sleep, and a joint.

You chime in, “Excuse me where’s the bathroom.”

“Just to the left there sweetie.” She replies.

You had to severely piss from the gas station diet coke. As you were walking you passed by the same man you saw on the second floor. Your eyes felt too heavy but he looked interesting. You give a smile and walk on without thinking much of it.

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“Before we knock we need a game plan.”

But before you could think of anything the door to your suite opened and you both were entranced with hugs.

What? You couldn’t get a good look at the girls.

“We haven’t seen you guys in so long! How long has it been?”

Now you see, it was Hannah and Rose from the high school over in your hometown. You all knew each other through theater of course. You didn’t think about them going to Tisch though. They were their school's own duo.

“No shit!” You yell.

“Come in, come in. We’ll wake up the whole building with our reunion.” Rose says.

How did the dean know? This was the best you could’ve gotten but how could the dean known to put you in a room with the 2 girls you knew from your hometown?

You look around the suite. The living area looks well decorated and smells fantastic. It’s all you could have ever wanted.

“Where's all your stuff?” Hannah asks.

“We thought to just get it in the morning, it's late and we’re exhausted.” Laylah replies.

“I know it’s late but this calls for Wine.” Rose chimes in.”

She gets out the glasses and the bottle, you think this is such a New York thing to do. You don’t want to get used to it.

“What are you majoring in?” You ask, slouching onto the couch.

“I’m going for Stage Managing, Hannah is majoring in Film.” That makes more sense. They went to this school because they both had the money.

“I hear miss Actor and Makeup’s names are being buzzed around the whole school.” Rose says slyly.

“No way, how?” You ask.

“Eh, it’s not common I won’t lie but it’s crazy that two people from the same school are here. We’ve also heard that you're both insanely good so people feel threatened in your areas.” She responds.

Wow. You thought, way to kick off the year.

“Anyway there's a meeting with all the teachers tomorrow morning. All 400 sum of us are required to go, you get to meet the teachers, it’s kinda like a big lecture. You can ask questions but it’s the kick off for a new arts year. Super important. You guys can make your big debut there!” Hannah finishes.

You needed a shower and to get your shit in your room, not a lump meeting with new people you were going to be working with for the whole year. Not to mention most of them were going to be Actors.

“Well in that case we should all go to sleep to look the best then, have to make a good first impression, right?” Laylah asks.

“Right!” Rose and Hannah get up and move to their room and you move to yours with Laylah. “Goodnight.”

The door closes behind you, you don't know what to feel. Happy? Sad? Angry? You want to be able to take control of your situation and just be liked. Not immediately hated. Please for fucks sake.

“Dab pen?” L offers.

“Dab pen.” You agree.

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You and Laylah wake up early enough to perfect your makeup, pick out the clothes you have in your bag you brought up to make a good outfit. You decide with a light lacy dress for the summer, Laylah going with a beautiful dark green corset with black jeans. Hopefully you both fit in with this city's culture.

You and Laylah follow Hannah and Rose through the school grounds. It’s beautiful during the day. Not one person knows you at NYU and you feel reset.

You walk into this building and follow the girls into an auditorium. You immediately see it full in the center. Good you guys can sit in the back. You smell the auditorium. Notice your spatial awareness, look at the catwalk, look at who's on the stage. You immediately feel at home.

More people walk in and as the auditorium fills, you can feel more eyes follow to your area. That’s not good.

“Welcome everyone!” You look to center stage and see a line of people standing. There's the same man you saw yesterday night.

“I’m one of the schools directors, I’m Ms. Roylance, this is your choral director Mr. Miller, this is your dance choreographer Mrs. Cheot, and this is your technical director, Mr. Morales.”

Mr. Morales. That's him.

“We are delighted to kick off an amazing school year! We were looking forward to announcing this year's musicals on Halloween, so don’t get your hopes up just yet!.” Ms. Roylance chuckles. “As you all know this fall play will be Macbeth, and we always do the nutcracker for our dancers in the winter.”

You heard murmurs from around the room. Lady M was a good one, truly. It made you cry. You wondered who would audition and how long you would annotate that script. Shakespeare was no joke. If you master the seriousness of Shakespeare in modern society then you would have respect from anyone in the industry.

“This year, we also have the privilege to put our shows on at a Broadway theater.”

The whole room felt like fire. Everyone was erupting into conversation.

“Please calm down, this is big news. There will be more information in the coming weeks. Now, we wanted to introduce you all to our new transfers for their senior years. Coming all the way from Winston Salem!”

As she calls your names, she tells you to come on up on the stage.

“What!” You look to Laylah in confusion.

You guys get up and walk slowly to the stage. Now everyone was looking at you. You remained your eyes on the floor. You walked up the stairs and your heart started to race.

“Would you guys like to say anything?” Ms. Roylance starts to hand the mike to you, but you side step to let it be handed to Laylah. There was no way you were going to speak.

Laylah looks up, “Hi everyone! I’m Laylah, we're from UNCSA, we’re both really honored to be able to have our Senior year here. I think from the start of time we both wanted to come here and live in New York City.” She laughs.

You’ve been looking down the entire time, holding your hands. The skin of your fingers were going to go raw if you kept picking them. Everyone was looking at you, but the only eyes that mattered were Mr. Morales.

It felt like he was engulfing you with his dark gaze. You wanted to shift your body movement to get a complete look at him but you couldn’t move. You felt stuck. In the corner of your eye you could feel him. Was he smiling or frowning? Was he going to talk to you after this? Were you going to have to talk to all of them after this?

You could see his tall figure, he was in a suit, his brownish gray hair. His hands in his pockets. It unsettled you. Would he be one of your teachers?

Laylah pushed the microphone to you, shit what were you going to say?

“Hi.” You felt like Edward Cullen. The customer service smile was fucking real. “We just came in last night. I’m so excited to be here. This city has been my dream for so long, I think all of ours. I feel honored to be able to work with all of you, and teachers.” You moved to see the adults standing and you got a good look at him. He was breathtaking, it made you blank.

“Um, from a young age acting felt natural to me, making people feel what I feel on stage or through a screen. I’m not really good with words, but I feel emotions really hard and I want people to be able to feel me when I act. I know this will never happen but if there is ever a chance I could change someone’s life up on a stage, then I’ve done my job. I don’t know if that makes any sense.” You laugh. “But seriously we’re both extremely honored to be here. I genuinely would love to meet all of you. Thank you.” You hand the microphone back and the crowd claps for you two.

Your hands felt pruney. That was the longest 5 minutes ever.

Was he still staring at you? You get back into your seat and Hannah and Rose pat you on the back.

Mr. Morales looked like a deer in headlights, he excused himself from the panel. That got your attention.

Why were you so curious about a man, probably 15 years older than you at that, and could possibly be your teacher?

After the teachers finished, people came up to you to introduce themselves, having a slight conversation. There were a few people that would pass you and just glare. You definitely felt like you didn’t belong, but in due time you and Laylah would make your place here.

The money in this room overwhelmed you. It’s all you could think about. They all must have thought that we weren’t good enough to be here. You’d both show them.

You told Hannah and Rose you’d meet back with them in a few hours, you guys wanted to just sit in the House and chat, look around the campus.

Once the whole room was cleared you got up and dragged Laylah to the stage. It was huge.

“What are you doing?” She laughed.

“This is a celebration. I'm gonna sing a loud cheerful song to induct us into this amazing huge popular school.” You smile.

You start The Girl from Ipanema and Laylah starts giggling. You walk around her with her hands interlocked with yours, going in circles.

“Tall and tan and young and lovely the girl from Ipanema goes walking And when she passes Each one she passes goes, “Ah.” You sing.

You continue your little song with banter, and you look up just slightly to see someone watching you both in the back corner of the audience. It was him.

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