Ten Minutes Ago // Ben Tyler Cook

Part One / Chapter Three

A few days after the show, Ben replied to Noelle's text and asked if we wanted to grab coffee. We settled on this morning because both Noelle and I had the day off, miraculously.

"Oh, Ben said he's bringing a few of his friends along because they wanted to meet us," Noelle says as we walk to the cafe where we're supposed to meet. Once we reach the small cafe, we enter. I let out a sigh when I step into the heated building. Ben and his friends haven't arrived yet, so we choose a table and sit down.

Before long, I look up to see the three boys enter the cafe: Ben and his two friends. "Good morning!" Noelle says as they approach. Ben and one of the boys, one with brown hair, smiles at her. The other, a redhead, looks as if he'd rather be in bed.

"Morning," Ben says back as the three sit down. "These are my castmates, Josh," he gestures to the smiling boy, "and Sky." Ben elbows the almost-asleep redhead.

"Ow, that hurt," Sky mumbles, rubbing his arm where Ben had hit him.

"Hi!" Josh chirps. "It's nice to meet you both." He looks at me. "You're Marlee, right? Your eyes are just as pretty as Ben-"

He's cut off by Ben clearing his throat loudly, throwing a not-so-subtle glare at his friend. "Anyway," he says. "It's good to see you both."

Sky sits up a little taller in his chair. "Okay, are we going to get anything, or was the coffee an empty promise?"

"We told the waitress just before you got here that we're going to wait a little longer," Noelle explains. "So it'll just be a few minutes."

"You're not a morning person, huh?" I ask Sky. He shakes his head, mumbling something about it being too early and too cold. "Who do you play in the show?" I ask Sky and Josh, trying to start a conversation.

Ben nudges Sky to get him to answer. "I play Albert DaSilva, one of the newsies. I'm the one that's usually around Race, actually." He glances at Ben.

"And I play JoJo de la Guerra. He's also one of the newsies. And Darcy," Josh answers with a definitive nod.

"If I ever get the chance to see it again, I'll be on the lookout for you two," I tell Sky and Josh. That seems to satisfy them both. The waitress finally comes back, asking what we'd like. After we all order drinks, and Josh orders a cinnamon roll, she leaves again.

"How long have you been playing Race?" I ask Ben while Noelle talks to the other two boys.

"For a while. I didn't originate the role, but I joined the cast on the tour. We're planning a second leg, but we're in New York for another month or two before we leave," he answers, leaning back in his chair.

"Noelle told me you two met at theater camp years ago. She was impressed that you've made it all the way to Broadway," I comment.

"Yeah." Ben smiles. "I can't believe I'm here. It doesn't seem real, you know? Like, if I pinch myself too hard, I'm afraid I'll wake up, and this will all be a dream." He's quiet for a few seconds. "But, I haven't woken up yet."

As the waitress distributes our drinks, four coffees and a hot chocolate, Ben turns to me again. "Happy late birthday, by the way," he says. "Noelle told me why you two came to see the show," he explains quickly, answering my confused expression.

"Oh, well, thank you." I give him a small smile. That was very sweet of him.

"So, Marlee, why are you in New York?" Josh asks, looking at me.

"I live here, Josh."

"I know, that's not what I meant." Josh shakes his head. "I was asking why you moved to New York."

"Oh." That makes more sense. "I moved here because I love the city. It offers more opportunities than my hometown. My situation is your typical 'small town girl moves to the big city' trope, I think. My goal was to make it big, I guess, but right now, I'm just an assistant at a photography studio. I'm working my way up there."

"Marlee moved here with the intention of going on Broadway, right?" Noelle gives me a look, and the three boys turn to me, interested.

"Uh, n-no. Not really. I mean, it's something I've always dreamed of. But that's every kid's dream when they do theater in high school," I quickly correct my roommate. "Noelle, why don't you tell them why you're here?" I want to get the attention off of myself.

"My aunt owns a bakery here. She needed some help a few years ago, so I moved. That's where I work right now," Noelle says, knowing why I suddenly changed the subject.

~ * ~ * ~

Later that day, I'm cleaning my room when I get a text from an unknown number. It's Ben. I quickly insert his number into my contacts.

Ben Tyler Cook

<< Hey Marlee!
This is Ben Cook. Noelle
gave me your number, I
hope you don't mind. >>

<< Hi Ben! I don't mind
at all, actually. >>

<< Great. Anyway, I
just wanted to say
thanks for coming to
get coffee this morning.
I enjoyed talking with you.
And I know Sky and Josh
did too. >>

<< Yeah! It was fun.
Hopefully we can get
together again soon. >>

Ben's POV
"Who are you texting? Marlee?"

I look up from my phone to see Josh standing in the doorway of my room. "What? Why do you think I'm texting her?" I ask.

"Because you're blushing," he points out, smiling softly. "Your ears are red." He's not wrong.

"Can I help you?" I ask, putting my phone down. "Or are you just here to bother me and stick your nose in my business?"

"No, I'm here to bother you," Josh decides.

"Look, it's obvious you like her. I mean, you talked to me for thirty minutes about her that night you met. Ask her out already. Sky would agree with me if he were here."

I stand up from my bed. "Speaking of Sky, we should get going. What movie are we watching again?"

Josh shrugs. "I have no clue. But I wouldn't be surprised if Sky picked a musical."

"On our day off? From being in a musical?"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Josh moves out of the way so I can walk out of my bedroom. "Oh, that's him calling me now." Josh puts the phone up to his ear, stepping away to find his shoes. "Hey. Yeah, of course we're on our way. Almost there," he lies, hanging up. "We should go, or someone will get upset about us being late."

~~~~~
two chapters in one day, what? yeah, why not :) thank you everyone for reading! vote and comment!