I shift in my Marius costume, adjusting the wire of my microphone. There's an odd jumble of nerves sitting in my stomach, which is weird. I do this every night, for a living, but for some reason doing this on an open air stage in front of crowds is different. I can see the audience for one. Also, the daylight is sort of throwing me off.

"Ready, Grey?" Rosie asks and I nod.

Not only am I partaking in my old college showcase for the halloween week London Theatre display, but I'm also showcasing Les Mis. We're only doing a few numbers, but I could have done without the costume change.

I smile to myself, shaking my head.

I follow Mark onto the stage and settle into position, my nerves seeping away with the familiar opening chords of the song. We harmonise perfectly, the song simply booming out across Trafalgar Square due to the sheer number of us on stage and when we finish, the thunder of applause is incredible.

I slip backstage, squeezing Lily's arm, who plays Eponine and is about to do her 'On my own' solo. She grins back, silently wishing me luck on my next performance.

I change into my masquerade costume, the prince charming suit fitting me like a glove. My old college had decided upon a rendition of the song 'Masquerade' from the production of Phantom of the Opera, and I grin at its seasonal appropriateness.

I weave through my old old classmates, passing butterflies, monkeys and jesters, each of the costumes sparkling and shining in the dim glow of backstage. I spot my old classmate, Carmen, who is playing my Christine counterpart, and sigh in relief.

When it's time, our classmates flood past us, taking their places on stage as the opening notes of the song play out.

Carmen's pink and purple fairy dress makes her look like a Caribbean princess, and she smacks my arm lightly when I tell her so.

"Just because you're dressed as Prince Charming, doesn't mean you have to say the lines." She teases, still watching the stage and I laugh.

"I'm not acting, darlin'." I tease back, grinning when she laughs.

"You're great in Les Mis." She complements and I blush.

"Thank you. I saw you in &Juliet last week, you were incredible." I compliment.

"Thanks, Grey. It's not the dream, but it's a lot of fun and it's good for the resume." She reasons.

I know she's after a bigger role, and I'm certain that it'll find her soon. She's insanely talented.

"Ready?" She asks, glancing at me and I nod.

We run onto the stage together, twirling and dancing as we form part of the masquerade chorus. This number is a lot of fun, and the grins on all of our faces prove that fact. We weave through dancers, singing about our secret engagement and childhood love, and before I know it, the phantom has made his appearance (a very talented second year called George) and it's over.

We flood offstage, all of us remaining in our costumes. The only real perk about this performance is the halloween afterparty, and fortunately for us, we're all appropriately dressed for it. I find Mark and Rosie waiting for me in the wings and Mark and I introduce our Les Mis colleagues to our college friends.

"How come Mark wasn't in your college performance?" Rosie asks and Carmen laughs.

"He wasn't asked. Poor Mark, he's got no tawent." Carmen says, pinching his cheek.

He bats her off with a roll of his eyes.

"I wouldn't have had time even if they had asked, I don't know how black and white over here managed it." He says, jerking his thumb in my direction.

Carmen's eyebrows raise, a small smirk on her face as she recalls the rehearsal I almost missed entirely. Apparently the flush on my cheeks had been a dead give-away that I hadn't merely overslept.

"Are you coming to the afterparty?" Rosie asks and I nod.

This year the afterparty is being held in a club in Clapham and I'm beyond excited to spend the night with my old friends.

"Yay!" She cries and I laugh at her reaction.

"I invited Rex to come too, so you'll get to see him." She adds and I pause.

"Rex? As in, from Starbucks?" I ask and she nods, a vibrant blush painting her cheeks.

"Yeah. He's really nice, we've been texting since we met." She says and I nod, a happy smile spreading over my lips at the knowledge. Rex and Rosie couldn't be more suited in my mind.

"Rose has gotten herself a man at last?" Mark interjects, raising his brows. Rosie and I ignore him.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you." I say and she rolls her eyes fondly.

"When are you going to meet someone, hm?" She prods and I shrug easily.

"You're still single?" Carmen asks absurdly, as if it's a crime and I grimace.

"It'll happen when the time's right." I say, but it feels forced. Rosie merely eyes me knowingly, while Mark laughs at my expense.

When we arrive at the after party , Rosie immediately darts off to find Rex, leaving Mark and I to check her coat into the cloakroom. Mark grumbles the entire time, muttering about the unreasonable women we work with.

"Be nice, I'm glad for her." I say, prodding him in the side. He scoffs.

"Yeah, because she's not coming on to you anymore." He points out.

I feel my cheeks heat a little at that, not feeling able to comment. That might have something to do with it.

"Come on, Prince Charming. We're not back in the theatre till Tuesday and I need a drink." Mark demands and I concede. Getting Saturday night off never happens, except during the Theatre week, so we plan on making the most of it.

I follow Mark to the bar, dutifully downing the three shots he buys for me.

I grimace as they go down, laughing at Mark's obnoxious cheering as I lean against the side of the bar. I scan the crowds of people as Mark attempts to flag down the barman again, eyeing the hordes of people. Most of them are people from other west end stage productions, and I recognise some familiar faces, but we'd been given dispensation to invite friends and family too. I smile as I scan the various costumes in the flashing lights, each of them unique.

I stiffen suddenly at the flash of another Prince Charming outfit, this one topped off with bright, vibrant blue hair. I stand up straight, squinting as I lose sight of them.

It can't be.

"Greyson!" A voice calls and I jump, glancing to my left.

Rosie is stood beside me, grinning with starry eyes as Rex's arm curls around her.

She's still in her Cosette dress, whilst Rex seems to have done a pretty good job of getting a Marius outfit together. I smile endearingly at the effort he's made. He looks like he's the one whose won the real prize though, never able to tear his gaze from the blonde beside him for more than a few seconds.

"Hi Grey!" He says, grinning ear to ear.

"Hi Rex, you look incredible." I say and he laughs.

"That's high praise coming from the guy who plays the actual Marius on stage." He says and I laugh. I suppose it is.

"You look great too, your performance was amazing." He adds and I frown.

"You were there?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah, we both were!" He says.

My throat suddenly feels awfully dry.

"Both?" I mumble, my eyes suddenly drawing to Rex's side where Prince Charming has suddenly materialised.

Blue's outfit fits his toned chest like a glove, his coloured hair melding seamlessly with the dark blue of his costume. The only real difference between our outfits is that mine is black, where his is a deep navy, and I have my jacket tied around one shoulder still from my performance.

He looks regimented, uptight and unbelievably handsome.

I laugh suddenly, Mark also guffawing at my side.

"Hey, Blue. We match." I say cheerfully.

The only thought in my idiotic brain is that Spiderman meme. It takes everything in me to stop myself from pointing.

His eyes scan my body critically, his head tilting to the side slightly as he evaluates the image in front of him.

"I couldn't believe it when we saw you in that second number. What was that from?" Rex asks, and I tear my gaze away from Blue reluctantly.

"Phantom of the Opera." I say.

Rex frowns, a little puzzled.

"Are you not in Les Mis anymore?" He asks.

"I am, that was a performance with my old performing arts college. They do a showcase every year and they asked me to come back and join them." I explain.

"Oh, I see. It was amazing." Rex says kindly.

"We wouldn't know what to do if we lost Black and White." Mark says, clapping me on the back.

"You will soon." I mutter, thinking about the upcoming rehearsals with Eric, my new understudy. They'll be backbreaking and I'm already grimly anticipating the overtime I'll be working as his mentor before he takes over for a week.

Blue's brow creases for a moment, and he opens his mouth to say something when Rosie interrupts.

"I love this song! Mark, Greyson, dance. Now." She demands, dragging us all to the dance floor.

I laugh as Mark twirls me around, moving seamlessly to the beat of the song. I snag Carmen from the crowd and nudge her towards Mark, grinning at Mark's reaction to his upgraded dance partner. But in turn, I am nudged away and fall against the side of someone else.

I turn, swallowing anxiously when I spot Blue in front of me. His hands have extended, wrapping around my shoulders to steady me and I smile in thanks.

He still has that blank look on his face, as though he'd rather be anywhere but here. I'm not certain if it's the booze in my blood or the fact that I'm glad he's here, but I decide I'm not willing to tolerate one more moment of his indifference.

I grin goofily as I extricate myself from his grasp, bowing stiffly before extending a hand to him.

"Please may I have this dance?" I ask pompously.

Blue watches me incredulously, and for a moment, I fear he might actually punch me in the face. But then his lips quirk up in the smallest smile I've ever seen.

He bows back, just as stiff, before mimicking my movements.

"No, please, may I have this dance?" He asks, his voice polite and so alluring that I nearly gape at him.

Instead I laugh, and slip my hand into his awaiting one, completely unable to resist the feel of his hands against mine once more.

To my surprise, his fingers curl around mine almost instantly.

"It would be my pleasure." I say. He smirks.

"No no, the pleasure's all mine." He argues.

"Oh, but good Sir, the pleasure is entirely my own." I insist and he snorts.

The feeling of being in an absurd sort of dream only intensifies as Blue places his hand on my waist, guiding us into a waltz position. I follow suit, my other hand drifting to his shoulder.

"What would Cinderella say?" I tease, the booze in my body loosening my lips far more than I'd ever allow sober.

Blue's lips twitch upward again, his eyes glancing to my left and I follow his gaze, a disbelieving laugh escaping me as I spot Cinderella dancing rather intimately with Ariel.

"I don't think she minds." Blue says dryly, meeting my eyes.

His are shining with an amusement I've never seen before and it makes my heart stutter inside my chest.

I decide not to question this, instead taking the opportunity to twirl Blue around. I laugh at the unamused expression on his face, but he humours me anyway, spinning and twirling to the music as we move to the rhythm of the song as we match the sway of the bodies around us.

Beneath the dim, flashing lights, I could almost believe this is my fairytale ending, and only when I get back home do I realise that not for a moment did his hand leave mine.

-

A/N

I do not love this chapter, but it's Sunday and it's the best I can offer (plus it's seasonally appropriate).
What are you dressing up as this Halloween? Leave a comment, I want to feel spooky 🎃
-F