School's Out: an Alex Brightman x Reader

2) That Dude From Big Fish

I took another sip of my morning coffee and threw a glance at the pile of letters, newspapers and advertising leaflets next to me. Grabbing a rather heavy envelope from the top, I tore it open and started reading the first of what was sure to be a long line of invoices. 

Putting the letters aside after a while, I let out a long sigh. Not that I had any trouble paying for them, I considered myself to be lucky on that end, but no one likes reading how much money they still owe. On top of that, I woke up way too early this morning, which automatically put me in a bad mood. Usually, I slept until 10 am, at least! And I would have, if it weren't for that stupid beam of light falling right between the curtains, hitting me full in the face and thereby ruining my Sunday morning. 

At precisely 8 am I had stumbled out of my bedroom, unable to fall asleep again and hoping a nice warm shower would make me feel a little better. Much to my disappointment the water only partially woke me up, so I had counted on caffeine to do the trick. After brushing my hair, throwing on a hoodie and trading my pyjama pants for jeans, I had switched on the coffee machine and a few minutes later I sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. With a cup of liquid energy by my side and the contents of my letterbox sprawled all over the table, I had finally been ready to start the day. 

I was just about to pick up the newspaper when a sudden buzz from my phone startled me. It took me a while to figure out where I had left the damn thing but eventually, I found it lying on the countertop behind me. 

I unlocked my screen and when I saw who texted me, I couldn't help but smile a little. 

"Hey Y/N, would you mind if some new colleagues of mine would join us tonight at Fuego's?"

The smile slowly disappeared as I frowned, scrolling down to read the following message.

"I can easily tell them not to come, I just thought you'd like to meet them. They definitely seemed excited to see you!"

I hesitated before answering.
Of course, I'd love to get to know these people. From what I'd heard, they were all incredibly talented folks with their heart in the right place. But... because it was such an honour, it was a little frightening as well. I wasn't that good at conversation and I'd gathered some social anxiety over the years that stripped away nearly all my confidence to even start one.
Still, my curiosity won it from my fear and I agreed. It was just one evening, after all. And, more importantly, I wasn't alone, I had Sierra.

"I guess that's fine for me. Who's coming?" I texted back.

It took her only a few seconds to respond.

"One of the producers, some writers, a few actors (including Alex) and the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber, of course :)"

I read her text again. Alex... She'd put his name as if I'd know who that was, but I had no clue.

"Alex?" I asked.

"Yeah, that dude from Big Fish. I forgot his surname."

 "You mean Alex Brightman?"

"Yeah, that's it!" she answered.

Brightman, huh? I had to dig deep in my memory, but I did remember him. Little by little things became clear and I thought back to when Sierra and I went to see Big Fish together. I recalled it had been pretty late when it was over. But, with a persuasiveness bigger than I ever thought imaginable, Sierra had convinced me to stay. Full of excitement she'd dragged me along with her to the stage doors and that's where I saw Alex for the first time, that's where I met him.

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We had been standing in line for a very long time now, but finally, it was our turn. Sierra grabbed my hand and together we walked up to one of the actors.