Falling Slowly

Pt.2|Ch.6

This chapter contains actual reactions that I had while watching West Side Story for the first time, so just heads-up: they are realistic.
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•••••Benjamin's Perspective

"How's that?" Austyn asked breathlessly, turning to Mr. Calhoun.

He shrugged. "There's nothing more to practice. You've got the entire thing memorized."

"So, am I..." she bit her lip hopefully.

He laughed. "Done? Yes, you can go home now."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Calhoun."

He gave her a nod and stood from his chair, patting me on the shoulder before exiting the room.

Austyn let out a small groan when he was gone, leaning back against her chair and covering her face with her hands.

"How're you feeling?" I asked, moving to stand next to her.

She laughed, looking up at me with exhausted green eyes. "Tired. Very tired."

I handed her the water bottle that sat at her feet. "Does your throat hurt at all?"

"You mean, because I've been singing nonstop for the past three days, and because I only got five hours of sleep last night?" She unscrewed the plastic cap and took a sip before continuing. "Actually, no."

"That's good." I held out my hands, pulling her to her feet. "And you'll start to feel better, now that you're done rehearsing."

"True, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm about to fall asleep on my feet."

"Do you still feel up to going over to Aiden's tonight? I think Josh finally chose what movie he wanted to watch."

She nodded. "I'm not missing that. If I fall asleep, then I fall asleep, but I'm going."

I shrugged. "Okay. You ready to go?"

She nodded again, gathering up her sheet music and slipping her backpack straps onto her shoulders.

Her walking pace dragged a bit as we made our way from the rehearsal room to the back door, and by the time we'd reached the parking lot, she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Alright," I stopped walking.

"What?" She looked up at me, puzzled.

I tipped my head back. "Climb up."

A soft smile managed to make its way across her lips. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She stepped behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders.

"One, two, three,"

She jumped up on my back, holding onto me so I could hook my arms under her knees.

"You good?"

She nodded, slipping her arms around my neck and pressing a kiss to my cheek. "Thank you."

"Try and get at least a little rest before we get there, yeah?"

"I'll try." Her phone then went off, and she laughed lightly. "I bet that's Josh."

As she predicted, Josh's contact photo displayed itself across the screen as she held onto me with one hand, holding her phone in the other.

"Hi, Josh." She said, answering the call.

"Hi," He replied, his voice sounding slightly discouraged. "How are you?"

"I'm a little tired."