Theatre Is A Lie ~ Joshua Burrage

Chapter 11

When the first show ended, Ami ran up on stage for her final bow. So far the performances she had seemed pretty okay, but she was thoroughly shocked that when she ran on stage, majority of the audience stood up, cheering. She couldn't hold back her smile as she curtseyed and ran to Josh. Josh had his arms open for a hug, which she gratefully accepted.

They hadn't noticed Dan watching them from the wings as he waited for his cue to bow, a knowing smile on his face. Ami looked up at Josh, "Joshie they stood up for me!" Josh smiled, "Indeed they did, Ames."

After curtain call, Ami rushed through stage door as quickly as she could without being rude to the fansies. She got a few questions on if she was dating Ben, Sky, or Josh, due to her countless posts with them on Instagram. She merely blew off these questions with a simple no, avoiding it if people tried to pry.

She quickly signed the last playbill, waving goodbye to the fansies and rushing to her dressing room. She pulled out her phone and FaceTimed Beau again. When he picked up she smiled, "Bo Bo! You won't believe it! I got a standing ovation after the performance." Beau beamed from the other side of the screen, "That's great! I'm so proud of you! Austin would probably flip out if he wasn't in bed."

Ami laughed, spending a bit catching up with her theatre brother. Halfway through one of their conversations, a knock sounded on Ami's dressing room door. She got up to answer it, Beau watching curiously from the phone screen. When she opened it, she saw Josh, "What's up Joshie?"

Josh smiled nervously, "Just heard you talking to someone and was curious..."Ami beckoned him in, turning back to her phone, "Beau, this is my best friend Josh, Josh this is Beau. We did theatre growing up together and he's practically my older brother." Beau waved from the screen, smiling awkwardly.

Josh smiled, "Well, Beau, you've got quite the little sister! She's such a great actress." Ami's face turned red, "Joshieeeeee" Beau laughed, "Oh trust me, I know," his face grew serious, "And I see that look in your eyes. Ami can I talk to your friend for a moment?" Ami shrugged, walking out the door and deciding to go see if the boys dressing room had any food she could steal in it.

Beau glared at Josh through the phone, Josh nervously scratching the back of his neck. Beau cleared his throat, "Listen, man, I saw how you looked at her a minute ago. I'm totally chill with you dating her and stuff, I just want you to know that if you hurt—" Josh interrupted, "If I hurt her you'll hurt me, trust me I know I've had the talk about a bajillion different times. No need to give me the talk."

Beau shut him up, "No. You don't seem to get it. Ami has so many friends and family back here at her old theatre group. She means the world to us and seeing her up on that stage, performing? That brings so much hope for the younger students. She means the world to us and is the beacon of light for theatre kids down here in Texas. And as her older brother, blood or not, we did everything together. Seeing how her ex boyfriend treated her hurt all of us. Seeing her move to New York hurt all of us. I did everything with her. We would take trips to New York together when we were younger and save up so much of our allowance just to see one broadway show together. We celebrated anti prom every year, dressing up and messing around. We did everything together. If you hurt her like her ex did, it won't just be me after your head. She's got about 50 other people who've been her friends for forever who are watching your every move because each step you take could be towards hurting her."

Josh nodded, remembering the stories she told him of her ex on those nights where she would have nightmares and ask him to come to her hotel room. He could see Beau tearing up behind the camera, "She was in a fucking terrible place before she joined the tour. I hate to even think about how many times I had witnessed her cry. You better take care of her because I've certainly never seen her this happy."

Josh nodded, "I'll do anything for her... I promise" Beau nodded, wiping away the few tears on his face, "Thank you for taking care of my little sister.."

Ami walked back in, waving a bagel around, "Zach gave me a bagel!" Josh laughed, pulling her in for a hug as she stuffed the bagel in her face. Beau smiled, "I think I should give you two some alone time, eh?" Ami blushed furiously, "Beau Krell don't you dare."

"Du liebe Josh," he smirked and then hung up. Ami buried her face in Josh's chest, hiding her red face, "Dummkopf Junge!" Josh looked at her, confused as to what the two were saying, "What was that? What did he say? What did you say?"

Ami looked up at him, her short hair messy from trying to hide her face, "W-Well... um... you see... He speaks German... and I speak a little bit because his family is German and it was a little difficult for them to speak fluent English so I learned a bit," she began to ramble.

Josh chuckled, "Yes, but what did you say?" Ami swallowed, her throat dry, "Well... he said 'You love Josh' a-and I called him a dumb boy..." Josh's eyes widened, blushing red, "Well... um.... That's interesting."

Ami teared up, "Listen I'm sorry he just likes to jump to conclusions and he has been so desperate for me to find someone ever since Erric and-and—" Josh interrupted her with a tight hug, "It's okay, you're okay. I understand. I'm here to protect you, if there's anything you need, I'll be here for you. It doesn't matter if I'm your boyfriend or just your friend. I want you to feel safe."

Ami began crying and Josh texted Ben to get the understudy for Katherine to take over and have someone fill in for him. He sat down, still hugging her tightly as she sobbed into his chest. Josh kissed her head, rocking her back and forth to settle her down.

Ahhhh sorry I'm a bit late on my guaranteed update time because I had promo pics for my show and my brothers wanted to go out for dinner since we rarely get to see each other outside of theatre. Thanks for being supportive though!