She Will Be Loved- Ben Tyler Cook

Chapter 16

Kasey's POV

October 4th, 2015

I was finally starting to feel good again. It was hard to believe that just a little over a year ago I would wake up at 6am, head to school, come home, and do it all over again. Now, I was heading from state to state performing with my best friends. Ben and I were doing great, he took me on the best dates and treated me like a princess. I was the luckiest. However, it had been almost a year since we first opened, and many of the cast had one year contracts, and they had decided it was time to go. Dan, Stephanie, Jacob, Angela, among a few others would be leaving. Many had come and go so far, and it was never easy. I'd grown so close to them, and it would hurt to not spend everyday with them. I would miss singing covers with Dan, and gossiping with Stephanie. Before I knew it, it was the day of their last show.

"Kasey! My girl! You ready for one last show of you playing the younger me?" Stephanie grinned as I entered the dressing room.

"Ouch, don't make me cry already," I pouted, and she laughed as I went to give her a big hug.

"Don't be sad. We'll see each other again. I promise," she told me.

"I know, I'm just going to miss you so much. How about doing my pin curls one more time? For old times sake?" I winked. We both laughed, but she agreed even if she was groaning. She hated doing pin curls. The show went well, and the stage door time seemed to fly by, and it was now time for their going away party. Every time we had to sing "Happy Trails", it was bittersweet. There were many tears and hugs- most of the tears were from me. Dan wrapped me up in a big hug and said goodbye.

"Aww Kasey, you're gonna make me cry. I love ya kiddo. Never hesitate to text," he smiled, and I gave him another quick hug.I turned to Ben to head home, still crying. I was ridiculously emotional for no reason, and we both laughed at my sight.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Mmm no. Come here, you," Ben wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

"I'm gonna miss them a lot too," Ben sighed. Ben had become very fast friends with Dan when tour started, they connected really well. It would be hard for everyone to say goodbye. As they left, we were introduced to their replacements over the next few days. First off, Morgan was now the new Katherine. She found out a few weeks ago, and she had came to me crying. At first I thought something was wrong, but she told me the good news and soon I was crying with her. She deserved this big role. Joey Barreiro was the new Jack Kelly. He was very kind from the start, and very funny, and we instantly bonded. Stephen Langton was Davey, and he was cracking jokes from the very start, making him very likable to all of us. Ethan Steiner and John Michael Pitera were the new Les's, and they were very cute and talented. As we started rehearsing with them, it all came together very well and at the end we were all already very good friends.

-

We were all in the airport waiting for our now delayed flight. Our next stop was Providence, Rhode Island, and I was excited because my family planned on coming to at least one of the shows. I was sitting on the floor of the terminal, and leaning my head against Ben as I observed the rest of the cast. Sky had his big headphones on that he always wore during travel days, and he wasn't paying attention to anything. Morgan and Joey were filling in a Mad Libs book she just bought at a gift store, giggling as Stephen gave them absurd words. Zach was making fun of Jordan for his bright orange slippers.

"Hey, at least I didn't get left behind at a rest stop by my own cast," Jordan shot back, smirking. We all laughed as Zach shook his head and chuckled along. At the beginning of tour, while traveling on bus, we infamously forgot to wait for Zach at a rest stop, and no one would ever let him live that down, including fansies. I closed my eyes, and it felt like seconds later when Ben gently tapped me awake.