SF Chapter 152: David Letterman
A few days passed, and everyone was gathered at Monica's apartment that evening.
Chandler, Joey, and Ross were sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, while Phoebe was sitting on the floor, leaning against it.
Rachel was sitting in one of the armchairs, while Dani occupied the larger one, with Prudence curled up against him.
Monica walked in with more popcorn, handing a bowl to her cousin. "Here."
"Thanks, Mon."
"This feels like déjà vu," Phoebe commented.
"That's because we were doing the exact same thing a few days ago, except it was at Chandler's mom's interview," Ross said with a grimace.
Everyone was waiting for The Late Show with David Letterman, where Daniel and Amanda Seyfried had appeared together for an interview.
"No, that's not it," Phoebe said, dismissing Ross's idea.
Rachel shushed them as the guests came on. "Hey, hey, hey. They're on."
"Oh, there it is!" Phoebe pointed, but she was referring to what Rachel had said.
Ross made a tired face.
On screen, Letterman asked the usual opening questions before getting a bit more pointed.
"Daniel, when Easy A was announced, some critics wondered if this was just Mean Girls again... another high school comedy to make more money."
"What did you think when you heard that?" he asked.
Daniel made a face. "That's absolutely..." he began, sounding offended, but then quickly changed course.
"Correct!" He turned to the girl with a grin. "Mandy, they got us!"
The audience burst into laughter.
"It was for the money!" he confessed, "but-" he paused, making a gesture.
"It was also to make me more popular with beautiful chicks!"
"How does that make any better, Dani?" Amanda pointed out sarcastically.
Rachel chuckled, "God, you just say whatever's on your mind, don't you, Dani?"
"Yeah, and to make it worse, there's usually not much good going through his head." Monica added.
The host then turned to the other guest. "Amanda, I saw in another interview that you said you turned Dani down at first, and only later realized he was actually offering you a movie role."
"It's true," Amanda confirmed, a little embarrassed. "I knew he was a playboy."
"Me?" Dani turned to her.
"You shamelessly flirted with me when we first met," Amanda said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Just to clarify," Dani said, drawing everyone's attention, "it was at the Mean Girls premiere - after she had already filmed everything and the movie was done."
"But the flirting part is true!" he said, almost proudly.
Amanda chuckled. "Anyway, back to the story - I thought Dani was interesting. I accepted his lunch offer, but I made it clear from the start that I wasn't 'that kind of girl.'"
"Only later did I find out that what he actually wanted was to pitch me a script," she finished.
"Yeah, it was a very embarrassing moment for Amanda Seyfried. I was there, with all my seriousness and professionalism."
"And what I got was an unfair rejection after a simple hello." He made an outraged face, making the audience laugh.
The host commented, "Amanda, I'm seeing that you two get along well. So after the rejection, did you become friends?"
"We did!" Amanda nodded. "After I accepted the invitation, I stayed in touch with him."
"And he treated me..." she paused for a moment, "...like a dude!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Letterman asked.
"He treated me like a guy. Like a bro. Dani even called me Bro-manda!" she revealed, making the audience laugh again.
"It was only while she was filming the movie," Dani said. "Now I'm back to treating her like a pretty chick."
Amanda just shot a mocking smile at him.
After a few conversations with David Letterman, the host said, "Now we'd like to see one of the best scenes from the movie. Amanda, if you would."
Amanda glanced at Dani before she started singing.
♫♪I got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, no ♫♪
Then Dani continued.
♫♪I got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Wish that you could, but you ain't gonna own me
Do anything you want, you can't slow me down, no ♫♪
And she continued even louder, getting up and making dramatic gestures with her hands just like in the movie.
♫♪Take me away
A secret place ♫♪
Daniel got up as well and sang beside her, the two of them alternating the song.
♫♪A sweet escape
Take me away
Take me away
To better days
Take me away ♫♪
They high-fived after finishing the song. The audience loved it, applauding and whistling.
In the room, Phoebe and Prudence were doing the same, singing.
"Wow, I knew Amanda could sing, but you, Daniel, were a surprise," the host said, looking at the young man.
"It's starting to become one of my hobbies. I like singing," Dani replied.
"How about one more song?" Letterman proposed.
Amanda accepted with a nod. "How about Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!?" she asked, glancing at Dani.
He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "By ABBA?"
"Yep."
"You already have an angelic face. You don't need that to make moms and grandmas love you, Mandy," he joked. "But fine. Ladies first."
Amanda gave a small smile and started singing as soon as they began playing the background music.
♫♪ Half past 12 and I'm watching the late show
In my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own ♫♪
The audience went wild.
♫♪Autumn winds blowing outside the window
As I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer ♫♪
She turned to Dani with a playful smile.
Daniel picked up on it and continued the song.
♫♪ Gimme, gimme, gimme Amanda after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the chicks away? ♫♪
"Ohhh," could be heard from the audience.
♫♪ Gimme, gimme, gimme Amanda after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day. ♫♪
After he stopped singing, Amanda made a half-mischievous smile, half 'really?' expression.
"I think the correct lyric is 'gimme a man after midnight,'" she said mockingly, glancing at him.
"A man??" he snorted. "I prefer my version."
"And what do you mean by 'chase the chicks away?'" Amanda narrowed her eyes.
"That I have a henhouse," Dani replied shamelessly.
That made the audience chuckle.
"Wow, wow, wow," Prudence exclaimed.
Everyone looked at the girl's reaction.
"'Gimme Amanda' - that was pretty clean!" she praised. "And she didn't give you a single kiss after all that chemistry?"
"No, not a single one," Dani denied.
On the other side, Rachel muttered to the guys, "I'm confused about their relationship," she said, gesturing toward Dani and Prudence.
"I'd rather not know. Something tells me I'd only get envious," Chandler remarked sarcastically.
On the screen, Letterman fake-coughed. "I'm feeling like the third wheel here," he joked, earning another reaction from the audience.
Dani replied, "Don't worry, David. After this, I'll take Amanda to the best restaurant in this city!"
"Oh, yeah?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah. It's called Alessandro's. They've got an incredible new chef," Daniel revealed. "She's the one who did the catering at our premiere here, Mandy."
She smiled. "I loved it!"
He stared straight at the camera. "So, if you want to go there, it's on-" he glanced at what was written on his hand and read out loud, "-or if you want to hire the chef for events, contact Monica Geller," he finished, reading the contact number out.
Letterman looked at him. "By any chance, is she your family?" he asked, a little dryly.
"Of course she is. Monica is my incredibly beautiful cousin!"
"Aww, that was sweet," Monica said as she went over to give her cousin a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
-----------
Author's Note: Amanda Seyfried sang "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" in Mamma Mia! She was incredibly good.
If you enjoy it, please leave a Review and Power Stones
You can also support me on patreon and read up to 25 chapters ahead, plus 32 chapters of Modern Family: Francis Jacob Pritchett
[email protected]/Japa_Madri