School's Out: an Alex Brightman x Reader

4) Like Always!

"Andrew! I'm so glad you could come!" 

"Me too, Sierra. I have quite a full agenda, but you know I always find a way to make time for you, right?"

"I do. Thank you", Sierra smiled back. 

I had watched the interaction from a distance, but now my best friend turned to me and gave me an encouraging look. 

I hesitatingly stood up from my chair and went over to them.

"Hello, I'm Y/N", I introduced myself.

Andrew gave me a polite smile but frowned soon after, wrinkles forming on his forehead as he thought. Suddenly, a small grin appeared on his face. 

"I believe I've met you before, haven't I?" he asked me.

"That's right", I answered, "I went to see the premiere of Phantom Of The Opera. Sierra had bought me tickets and showed me around backstage, so I encountered a lot of people that night."

"Ah, now I remember! It's good to see you again", he smiled. 

I opened my mouth to return the compliment, but a yell from the other side of the restaurant cut me off.  

"Sierra!" it sounded.

Four tall men and a tiny but enthusiastic woman walked up to us. Sierra introduced me to all of them and they greeted me with a handshake and a kind smile. Sierra had been right, these were all really nice people. 

We sat down at the table and a waiter came over to ask if we would like to drink something. When we were done ordering and the waiter disappeared, I noticed I hadn't seen Alex yet. Perhaps he was just late? Sierra saw the frowned look on my face and rose an eyebrow.

"Y/N, is something wrong?"

"No, it's just, wouldn't Alex be here?" 

Sierra let her eyes roam over the people present and copied my frown when she didn't find him.

"Yeah, where is he?" Sierra wondered. 

The question had raised the attention of the others sitting at our table.

"Who?" Andrew asked.

"Alex", Sierra said.

"So he's late again?" Andrew sighed.

"Like always!" Julian, one of the actors chuckled. 

Apparently, Alex didn't have that good of a reputation when it came to punctuality. So Andrew, Sierra and the rest, who were used to him not being on time, soon started talking about another topic. But not me. However, when I noticed I was thinking about him, I quickly moved my attention to the conversation going on between the people next to me.

About seven minutes later, we heard a voice shouting behind us.

"You can call off the search parties, I'm here!" 

"You're late, again", Sierra pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..." Alex looked at us with a glimpse of guilt in his eyes, stepping closer.

"Traffic", he added when he reached our table, an apologetic smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He spotted the only empty chair at the table, right next to me, and quickly took a seat. Most of his colleagues rolled their eyes at that lousy excuse, some even shot him a disapproving look. Alex, however, didn't seem to notice the glares he got from the others, but he did notice me. 

He looked at me for a while, and then tried to say something, but stopped. He had a funny look on his face. Like he tried to remember something. A frown formed on Alex's forehead and his head tipped sideways a bit as if seeing me from that angle would refresh his memory. 

"D... Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked me. 

"Uh, yeah..." I anwered shyly. 

"I met you at the stage doors of Big Fish", I added, my voice sounding a little more confident this time. 

Sierra had noticed us talking and before Alex could comment, she winked at me, mingling in with our conversation.

"I see you two are getting along quite well. Do you remember Y/N? She was with me the first time I met you." 

Alex's eyebrows rose. 

"That.. that was you?"

"Uh, yeah", I smiled, my cheeks slightly flushing, for no apparent reason.

How I hated when that happened. 

"So, that must mean you're the best friend Sierra can't stop talking about, right?", he guessed.

"I suppose?" I replied, glancing at Sierra, who answered with a gentle nod. 

"Oh..." was the only thing Alex could bring out, turning away to clear his throat. 

When he faced me and Sierra again, his eyes met mine, a nervous smile forming around his lips. 

"Well, it's nice to see you again", he spoke, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you too", I nodded. 

While we kept on talking, Sierra just observed us from a distance and probably enjoyed herself, watching how we both struggled to find words to say to each other. Now, we'd run out of them and a slightly awkward silence fell over us. Alex turned his attention towards the swanlike folded napkin on his plate and I let my gaze wander over the fish tank. 

Thankfully it didn't take long until the waiter appeared to bring our drinks. He apologized that it had taken him so long and when Andrew assured him that it was no problem, he thanked us for our patience. Andrew proposed a toast so we clinked our glasses together and took a long gulp out of our drinks. Thereafter the waiter took our orders for the main course and headed back to the kitchen. 

The second the waiter left, Alex turned to one of the actors and started talking to him. I figured he wanted to avoid the awkwardness that surrounded us, so I didn't try to engage in their conversation. Honestly, I didn't know what to say to him, so I was glad he switched his attention. 

Sometime later we got our plates. I silently enjoyed my meal and tried to mingle in with other people's conversations, but rarely knew what to say. I was still quite intimidated by these guys and eventually, I decided on just listening. What was I ever gonna say that would interest them anyway? Since Alex sat right next to me, I occasionally caught some jokes he made and I had to admit, he was pretty funny. At first, it just made me laugh, but as time went on, it made me realise I didn't really belong here, among these funny, smart and talented people. 

"Hey... You're so quiet tonight. Are you okay?" Sierra whispered, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Hmm? Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" 

I was lying. And Sierra knew. But she didn't question me any further, she figured I just needed some distraction. So when the waiter cleared the table, she grabbed the dessert menu and flipped through. 

I watched her with big eyes.

"I thought you said you'd had enough?" I raised my eyebrow. 

"Yes, I did, but... Just look at this!" she explained.

I threw a look at the pages and read some of the descriptions. My mouth instantly began to water. I had already eaten too much, but maybe I could fit in just a few more bites. I turned towards Sierra and smiled as I shrugged, agreeing with her.

"You're right, while we're here we might as well enjoy it."