"Come on." Heidi speaks in a frustrated tone as she pressed the button to the elevator. "Ugh, I feel like Elisabeth Shue in 'Adventures in Babysitting'." She comments, handing Libby her phone back. "When the kid she's watching gets stabbed in the foot."

The two best friends and Libby share a look before they all look back at her. "What...Okay, I'm a hundred, Hi. I'm a hundred years old." Heidi rolled her eyes.

"Heidi?" An older woman called out, walking out of a room where the sign by the door read 'the stick wife'. 

Heidi turns to face her with a gasp. "Oh my gosh! Don't look at me. I'm a mess."

"You disappeared yesterday." The woman frowns and as she continues to speak the elevator dings. "I hate when good people disappear."

The two best friends and Libby walk into the elevator while Heidi walked over to talk with the woman. Anthony had his hand on the door to stop the elevator from closing. "'A Solitary Woman' is a major play, Heidi." Heidi nods in agreement. "It's been a bear to cast."

"I'm sorry." Heidi apologizes, she gestures at the teens and Libby. "Family emergency." The two best friends and Libby waved at the woman.

"Look, I just got a last minute no-show." The woman explains. "And the director hasn't liked anybody this week. Can I slot you in?"

Libby clears her throat. "Is this an out-of-town job or straight to Broadway?"

"Alright, that's a really good question, actually." Heidi realized.

The woman smiles. "Straight to Broadway, baby."

"You're doing this audition." Libby told her with a smile.

"Break a leg!" Analyn smiled.

"Meet us at the Amsterdam Theater!" Anthony waved goodbye at his aunt as he walked further into the elevator, letting go of the door so it can close. 

"The New Amsterdam Theater!" Analyn corrected and Anthony rolled his eyes.

"Anthony, it's not a famously liberal city in Europe. It's a Broadway theater." Libby commented and Anthony rolled his eyes again while the elevator closed.

****

"Let's go! Let's go!" Anthony ushered, opening the door to the New Amsterdam Theater. Analyn and Libby ran in, followed by Anthony. The trio get to the seats up top when someone called out,

"Okay, whenever you're ready, Nate."

When Nate didn't walk out yet and there was no reply, the same man calls out, "Hello?" 

Analyn sits on the right side of Anthony as the trio sat down off to the side in the upper level. "Nate?" The man called out.

Nate finally walks on stage, covering his eyes at the bright spotlight shined on him. When he stands in the middle of the stage, he lowers his hand and holds the music sheet with both hands. "Okay." The director of the show said. "Do you have any questions before you sing?"

"Just one." Nate replies. "In the movie, Stich can't really speak sentences, so, how does he sing lyrics in the musical?"

Analyn frowns when she heard some of the kids laughing at his question. He asked a good question, she didn't understand why the kids were so mean to him. "Because, you know," The director speaks up. "Musicals allow us to say things we can't really say in real life."

Analyn smiles at her answer. She glances to her left when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, her smile widening when she saw Heidi sit down beside her. Nated ooks nervous, but he glanced at the upper level, noticing his brother, Analyn, Libby, and his aunt and he smiles. He takes a deep breath as the piano player started playing Analyn shared a worried look with Anthony when Nate didn't sing at the time he was supposed to. The piano player started over again and Nate finally sang, but in a quiet voice.

"I'll admit I don't know much about this life. I've spent a long time on the outside looking in. Never feeling accepted thinking that's just the way it was. But something happened. Somehow life brought you to me. And I think that's when I realized I belonged. My family's been here all along and boy, it's good to have a friend so...Maybe I don't always need to feel so small. Maybe this planet ain't so bad after all."

Analyn grew more worried at how nervous he sounded. This side of Nate was much different than the one she saw in the viral Tiktok video. She knew that he could do this, that he could nail this audition and get it. He just needed confidence in himself. 

In an off-key voice he sings, "From here on out..."

"Thanks, Nate." The director interrupts. "I think we're good."

Nate drops his shoulders in defeat as the spotlight turns off. Analyn watched with sadness along with the others. Analyn knew that he had the talent to nail this audition. His nerves just got the better of him. Then she noticed Anthony standing up out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at him with confusion. Then she smiled at what he said. 

"You don't embarrass me!" Anthony admits. Nate stops walking off the stage when he heard Anthony. "I promise." Anthony adds, his voice echoing in the theater. "You don't embarrass me, Nate."

As if his words inspired him, Nate looks at the music sheet, taking a shaky breath. "So from here on out," He sings in the right key, but still in a quiet voice. "I'll never let you down. I won't be perfect all the time, but I'm always gonna try, yeah." The piano player then starts playing, smiling at Nate. "I don't care where. I'll always be right there. 'Cause I've got a family to call mine and family means no one gets left behind." He finally turned around, walking to stand in the middle of the stage.

The spotlight turns back on him as he continues to sing and the more he kept going the more confident he got. "You bet I'll try to bring you all the sunny days." 

Anthony sits back down, smiling while his brother sang. Analyn glances at him with a soft smile, putting a hand on his and squeezed it gently as a way of telling him he did a good thing. He returned the soft smile as he locked eyes with her. When she pulled her hand away, he grabbed it, intertwining their hands together with a light shade of blush on his face. Analyn blushed faintly at the action and her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't try to move away. 

"And if you cry, I'll be there all the same." The two best friends glance back at Nate, watching with a proud smile. "So bring the thunder, bring the rain, 'cause you know," Analyn laughs a bit along with the others when he threw the music sheets. "From here on out, I'll never let you down. 'Cause I've got a family to call mine and family means no one gets left behind. Yeah, oh. Left behind, yeah. Oh!"

Nate walks to the right side of the stage, his eyes locked on his brother, aunt, best friend, and Analyn. "From here on out, I'll never let you down. Can't claim I'll do everything right."

"Find your light." Heidi encouraged with a proud smile on her face.

"But I'll love you all my life." Nate sings this line with more power, pointing at the four before the turns around to walk back to the middle of the stage. "Yeah, I don't care where. I'll always be right there. 'Cause I've got a family to call mine and family means no one gets left behind. Yeah, oh. Left behind. 'Cause family means no one gets left behind. Yeah, oh. Left behind, yeah. Oh. 'Cause I've got a family to call mine and family means no one gets left behind."

Anthony lets go of Analyn's hand to clap immediately, smiling proudly when Nate was done, and he even went to stand up, but he quickly stops clapping and sits back down, glancing at his aunt and the girls with confusion when they stopped him. "You don't do that," Libby tells him. "It's inappropriate."

"But it's very sweet you wanted to give him a standing ovation." Analyn commented with a smile. "'Cause I agree, he deserved one."

Nate chuckles lightly, smiling widely as he put a hand over his heart. He lowers his hand, glancing at the people in charge of the play when one of them speaks. "Okay, Nate. I think that's all we're gonna need."

****

The group stops walking towards the exit when they heard Nate speak to them. "Hi." They all stopped and turned to face him. Analyn gave Anthony an encouraging smile and gently pushed him forward. Anthony chuckled a bit, sending her a small smile before he walked over to his brother.

"I didn't know you could, like, do all that." Anthony admitted.

"You don't let me sing in the house." Nate pointed out and Anthony sheepishly smiled.

"Wow, your comebacks have gotten sharper in New York." Libby said proudly.

Heidi raises her eyebrows at her. "Really?'

"What?" Libby shrugs. "They have."

"It's a crime you don't let him sing in the house 'cause he's, like, insanely talented." Analyn interjects, earning a smile from Nate. "Really," She tells him and smiles at him. "You did amazing at your audition."

"Thanks, Lyn." Nate replies, smiling from ear to ear. "I dropped the sheet music like you told me to." Nate grinned, walking over to his aunt.

"I saw." Heidi grins. "Yeah, I actually had...I had just left my own audition, and let me just say, you should be giving me tips." Nate chuckled at her comment and smiled.

"Uh, my mom just sent me an all-caps text saying, 'Why aren't you at your dad's? I'm worried' sick." Libby explained nervously after she glanced at the recent notification she got. Analyn and Nate glanced at her worriedly. 

"Perfect timing." Anthony comments and Analyn snickers at the next thing he said. "I'm double parked. Let's go."

"Oh, Nate. Here." Heidi stops Nate, handing him something as the others stop by the door. "It's a gift. I picked it up on my way at some, like, dumb tourist trap in Time Squares. So..."

"Um, Anthony, someone's putting a ticket on your truck." Libby noticed and Anthony's eyes widened, glancing in the direction she was looking at.

"I told you that wasn't a good parking place, Anth." Analyn clicked her tongue as she shook her head.

"I know, I know." Anthony rolls his eyes playfully. "Should've listened to you." She grinned at him and nodded in response.   

"Go now. You go now." Heidi gestured for Anthony to leave.

 Anthony nods and as quickly he could he left the building with Analyn and Libby following him. "My bad, officer!" Anthony called out.

After getting things settled with the officer, Anthony then got a call from his parents. "Oh, no it's my parents." He panics. He looks at Analyn worriedly. "What do I do?"

"Answer it, obviously!" Analyn replied in a ushered tone. She didn't want him to wait any longer with answering the call, that could possibly worry his parents more. 

Anthony nervously answered the call and well, let's just say it's not a good talk with his parents. 

****

"Can I pick the songs?" Analyn asked excitedly, turning in the passenger seat to face Anthony with a grin. Nate and Libby sat in the back of the truck with Anthony at the driver seat and Analyn in the passenger seat. 

"No show tunes or I drive off the highway." Anthony remarked with a teasing smile.

Analyn rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on, Anth!" She smirks. "I know you secretly like them." 

Anthony scoffs. "I do not." 

"You really have learned nothing today, have you?" Libby inquired.

"Uh, baby steps." Anthony smiled.

"Oh," Analyn beams at him. "I'm so proud of you." He grinned at her, a light shade of blush forming on his face. 

****

The group just drove past the 'welcome to pennsylvania' sign during the chorus of 'Defying Gravity', all four of them belting at the top of their lungs. And yes, even Anthony, who seemed to enjoy it. "So if you care to find me, look to the western sky!" The two best friends in the front turn to face each other with grins, holding onto their hands dramatically while singing. "As someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to fly!'" 

A/N please i love the part where it cuts to them belting to defying gravity, its so funny