Ten Minutes Ago // Ben Tyler Cook

Part One / Chapter Two

"Marlee! If you don't get your butt out of the bathroom right now, we're gonna be late!" Noelle exclaims as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.

"I know, I'm coming." I put on my shoes, grab my phone, and meet my roommate at the door. "Sorry. My hair took longer to curl than I thought it would."

Noelle grabs my hand and pulls me outside. "Let's just hope the train isn't late." We hurry to the station, and the train pulls up just as we arrive. We have a few stops, so we grab a pair of seats. As we near the stop, I stand. Noelle follows me to the door, and when they open, we exit the train.

At least it's not as cold as last night, and I had a proper jacket with me. Noelle pulls me in the direction of the Nederlander Theatre, where Newsies was being performed.

After going through security and wandering around for several minutes, we finally find our seats. I have to admit, I'm more excited than I thought I'd be. Newsies is going to be my first show since I've moved to New York. I had seen a few shows back home, but the theaters there are small compared to this one.

As I'm taking in the size and design of the theater, I hear Noelle gasp next to me. "What?" I ask, glancing at her.

"No way!" She exclaims a little too loudly. A few people around us turn and give her a glare. The show hasn't even started, and they're already bothered by Noelle being loud.

"What is it?" I ask again.

My roommate holds up the playbill, opened to a page about the cast. "I know him!" She points to a name.

"Who, Ben Cook?" I ask, reading the name she's pointing to. Noelle nods excitedly. It says he's playing the character Racetrack, whoever that is.

"Yeah!" She chirps. "I can't believe he actually made it to Broadway! That's insanely awesome! You know, he once told me he'd be here, but I doubted it. Tons of people want to be on Broadway, and not very many make it. I told him that the odds weren't-"

"Noelle!" I cut in. "Don't forget to breathe, please. You were rambling. Just answer my question, please. How do you know this kid?"

"Oh, I went to this theater camp in middle school. I met Ben there, and we became friends. We kept in touch for a little bit, but then we just stopped. I wonder if he still remembers me," she says wistfully.

"Guess we'll never know," I say quickly, hoping she won't pull me into something that's going to make me stay out later than necessary.

"We will! We can go see if he comes out of the stage door after the show. And that'll give us the chance to get our playbills signed!"

At that moment, the lights flicker gently, indicating that the show would be starting soon. Before long, the orchestra begins to warm up, and the lights dim as the overture begins.

~ * ~ * ~

After the applause subsides, Noelle and I grab our things and make our way out of the theater. The show was a lot better than I had planned, and coincidentally, my favorite character happened to be the one played by Ben Cook, Noelle's old friend.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Noelle says quickly as we rush out of the building and around to the stage door. We snag a good spot in the line, although we're towards the end. "So, how'd you like it?" She asks me as we wait.

"It was really good, actually. Thank you for the tickets." I give her a smile. "Which song is your favorite?"

"Oh, that's hard! I like Once and For All, especially with that key change. Ah! Chills!" Noelle giggles softly.

"I like King of New York," I say with a small nod.

"That doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Ben is in that song, does it?" She asks with a smirk. "He's pretty cute, huh?"

"Noelle, I couldn't see his face very well. How do I know if he's cute?"

"Oh, come on. He's cute. Admit it," she persists. I just shrug. She's about to press further, but the door opens and a group of cast members step out, earning cheers from the fans. As we're getting our playbills signed, Noelle keeps scanning the actors. When she spots who she wants to talk to, she practically screeches, "Ben Cook!"

The blonde boy looks up, searching the fans. His eyes light up when he sees Noelle. "Noelle Carson!" He calls, grinning happily. Ben slowly makes his way to us, signing playbills and taking pictures. "Hi!" He exclaims, enveloping my roommate in a hug.

"It's been so long, how are you?" Noelle asks happily.

"I'm really great." He nods, and then he notices me.

"Oh, this is my roommate," Noelle says, motioning to me.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ben Tyler Cook." The boy shakes my hand as he introduces himself.

"Middle name, and all, huh?" I smile. "In that case, I'm Marlee Jane Granger." I glance at Noelle, who's watching us with a smirk. I inwardly groan.

"So, how'd you like the show?" Ben asks, taking my playbill and signing it as he speaks.

"Um, it was incredible. You were really good." I feel my cheeks heat up for no reason at all.

Ben's smile grows. "I'm glad you liked it. Noelle," he says, turning to her. "I had no idea you were here. How much longer are you in New York for?"

"Actually, we live here," Noelle corrects.

"Really? We should hang out sometime," he suggests. "Here." He takes her playbill, writing something down. "Text me, and I'll let you know when I'm free." He hands it back to Noelle.

"Thanks, Ben." She nods. "It was good to see you again."

He smiles. "Yeah, it was. And it was good to meet you, Marlee Jane Granger." He laughs softly. "Hopefully I'll see you guys soon." He gives us a nod as he moves on down the line.

After meeting several other cast members, Noelle and I begin the walk back to the train station. "I told you he was pretty cute, didn't I?" She grins at me.

I shrug again and nod with a small smile. "Yeah, you weren't wrong."

~~~~~
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