I was nervous. As usual.

I stood outside the entrance to the Winter Garden Theater, waiting for them to come and open the doors.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying to tame my jitters and calm myself down. It wasn't working. It never really did. Just a nervous habit, I guess.

"They're not open yet, huh?"

I whipped around, a little surprised by the sudden presence of a voice. Standing behind me was a girl who I didn't recognize. She was a little taller than me and had long, black hair, a beautiful light brown complexion, and a wicked cool nose ring. She smiled at me. I returned the gesture.

"Oh, yeah, no, they haven't unlocked the doors, yet," I replied as she sidled up next to me, peering through the glass curiously.

"So," I said, finally working up the guts to be somewhat of an extrovert, "I take it you're a new ensemble member?"

She nodded. "You?"

"Same. They gave me the part yesterday."

"Me too. It was chaotic."

I nodded. "Oh, absolutely. I could barely hear myself think, with everything else going on."

She chuckled lightly. "Amen to that."

After a few moments of us peeking through the glass in the doors to see if we could spot anybody, she turned to me.

"Oh, I'm Mystaree, by the way."

"I'm (Y/N). Also, that's a really cool name." I gave her a toothy grin. She returned it.

"Thanks."

"Well, you two ladies are here bright and early!"

Mystaree and I abruptly spun around to find a tired-looking, bed-headed, coffee-bearing Alex Brightman.

"Oh my gosh, you're Alex Brightman!" Mystaree gasped, an awe-struck look on her face.

He chuckled lightly. "Yup, that's me!" He then turned to me, more composed than the day before. "It's good to see you again. I'm sorry we weren't able to have a proper introduction, yesterday."

I smiled at the ground nervously. "Oh, it's fine. Yesterday was crazy, so I completely understand."

He laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. Well, as you already know, my name is Alex Brightman. Who might you be?"

"Oh, right, sorry. My name is (Y/N), and this is Mystaree," I introduced, motioning to the girl beside me, who waved shyly.

"Well, it's very nice to meet both of you," he told us, smiling.

Mystaree's phone starting ringing suddenly. She looked down at it, then back up at us. "Sorry, it's my sister, I need to take this."

She walked off a little ways, answering the call.

I shifted awkwardly. It was just me and Alex, now. I rocked back and forth on my heels, feeling anxious and jittery again.

"Where ya from, Twinkle Toes?"

I looked at him, blushing slightly at his nickname for me, and how comfortable he was around me. I shook myself mentally and smiled a shy smile.

"Oh, I'm from Alabama, but I moved here to New York a few years ago," I answered, fidgeting with the drawstrings on my Portland hoodie.

He nodded. "Country girl, huh?" He seemed to think better of that sentence, though. "Sorry, that was probably really rude and stereotypical of me to say."

I laughed quietly and shook my head. "Nah, it's okay. I really am a country girl, actually. Had chickens, ran around bare-foot, played in the road, you know, the works."

"That's really cool."

"Yeah."

"You miss it?"

I shrugged. "Not gonna lie, I sometimes do. It's just a wonderful feeling to get by yourself with just nature. It's one of those things I can't quite explain, but just.... being there, surrounded by nothing else but nature.... it just... it makes me feel at such a peace. Not to mention I haven't had a decent country, grandma-approved meal since Thanksgiving last year, so...."

He laughed. "It sounds amazing."

The conversation faded. There was an encompassing silence that surrounded us, but it wasn't awkward. In fact, quite the opposite. I found the more I was around Alex, the more relaxed and comfortable I became.

Just then someone came and unlocked the doors, greeting us with a cheery "Good morning!".

Alex swooped one of his arms in front of him and dipped into a flamboyant bow. "After you, mademoiselle."

I placed a hand over my heart and fluttered my eyelashes at him. "Why, thank you, kind sir!" I gasped as I stepped into the entrance of the theater, Alex following closely behind, and Mystaree trailing after us.

We got into the large foyer when I heard Mystaree say sassily, "Hey, bud, I saw that."

I looked at her in confusion. "What-"

Before I could even finish my question, my new friend was steering me down the hallway to the room the ensemble members were supposed to meet in.

"He was staring at your butt."

My face was immediately bright red, and my glasses slipped down the bridge of my nose a bit. I pushed them back up. "W-what??? A-are.... are you sure???" I stammered.

She nodded. "Dude's obviously got a thing for you."

I pulled the back of my shirt down over my rear, suddenly extremely self-conscious of my curvy body.

As Mystaree and I chose a couple of chairs near the back of the room, I couldn't help but be confused.

This behavior was so out of character for the Alex Brightman that I had adored since the day I discovered Beetlejuice. Everyone who met him always said he was super nice and polite. "A true gentleman," one of my friends had told me in describing him, accidentally running into the Broadway star and his dog Kevin out walking a few months prior.

So I didn't understand why he was acting so differently around me. Was it because of me? Was there something wrong with me?

My train of thought was abruptly derailed when a small, blonde woman at the front of the room was addressing us.

"Hello everyone! My name is Brooke Engen, and I'll be your dance captain here at Beetlejuice the musical! If you'll all follow me down to the studio, we'll start practicing!" She was all smiles and very energetic.

As everyone began to file out, Mystaree turned to me.

"Here we go!" she whispered excitedly, grabbing my arm reassuringly.

And, despite my anxiety, confusion, worry, and a million other uneasy emotions swirling around inside of me, I smiled back at her. Because I knew that as long as I had people like Malcolm and Mystaree beside me to back me up, I could face anything.

************************************************

*Author's Note!*

Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for all the love on this book!!! I was shocked to see that even though it only had three chapters, we've already hit over 800 reads!!! What????? Crazy!!!!

Thank you so much for all the love and support! It means so much to me.

Also! If you're new to my stories, welcome! My name is Smol Emo and I write Beetlejuice the musical and other fandom trash. If you'd like to find out more about myself, I have some of my personal art in my art book, and a little bit about myself in my QnA book! Feel free to shoot me a DM if you'd like to chat ab whatever! Also, if you'd like to see more of my art and stuff, my insta is jazzy_tapper_art !

Okay, so I wanted to give a big shoutout to BigTiddy_GothGf  for being an amazing friend and for writing some AMAZING pieces of literature that keep me alive through this crazy apocalyptic time I swear. The character Mystaree is based off of her, and I wanted to thank her for letting me use her as a reference!! I hope I did you justice, girl!!

(Also for those of you from my other fanfic Timeless, apparently I am now the CEO of unknowingly naming the reader's bffs names that start with the same letter. Ie, Riley and Rita, Malcolm and Mystaree 😂😂😂)

Anyway, more to come! Ciao, bellas!

~Smol Emo