Belong - an adopted by Hamilton fanfic [Hamilton]

11. To worry

Lin suddenly grabbed my right arm, looking at me, a bit worried.
I inhaled in panic of not being able to tap.
Desperately looking around the room.
"Why do you keep on doing that for?"
---
Lie, Ruth.
Desperately looking for a lie in my mind as his serious eyes stared into mine, worrying.
"U-um, I, I was just counting the stores me & V were in, I promise, she's dragged me into every one in that area...", nervously laughing.
Good work, you're finally learning.
"Aha! V basically loves taking people shopping, and because I'm not that interested, she took her chance today", chuckling.
He believed me, blankly.
I could finally breathe again, after holding my breath for almost 30 seconds.
"I've really gotta go, though. You can be here or just look around a little, you're a free bird! Just don't leave the theatre okay? And be back here when the first act's over"
I nodded, reassuring him that I wasn't planning on that.
"Okay, also... quiet time starts now. See ya in one and a half hours!", whispering with a finger covering his lips, leaving the room after finally letting go of my arm.
Tap. Now.
Frantically counting, I sat in their dressing room until it was over. I couldn't leave until then.
This is your fault, you put yourself in this situation!, I told myself as the tears seemed to run down on my cheeks.
Hearing the opening, singing words filling the quiet, hopefully making my silent crying fading into the blur.

When the final tap touched my stomach, my heart immediately stopped racing. Exhaling from what I think was a few long held breaths, drying my tears away.

Soon I could walk out from the room, after checking that the scars in form of red eyes and running mascara from what had just happened wasn't something you could recognise.
Stepping through each little corridor or room, making sure a crack wasn't even near my feet, smiling at the people I met.
Now and then I touched a few items, because I knew what happened otherwise.
I always told myself what could happen.

Isn't it great to be on the safe side, Ruth?
Tap that lamp.
Or it's not right, and if it's not right, someone will die.

Soon I reached the costume section, and my curiosity was unstoppable as I peaked my head inside.
The man and woman inside looked up, the guy, who looked to be in his twenties, smiling.
"Hi there!", his words sounding like they were on a low volume, like it almost always did for me.
"H-Hi, I don't think I've met you, I-I'm Ruth", waving from the point I was standing in the doorway, looking at the big, costume-filled room.
"Oh yeah hi, Lin's foster kid right?", I nodded. "I'm Nico, nice to meet ya!", he said, and he walked up to me, shaking my hand.
"And I'm Amanda!", the red-haired, forty-year-old looking woman said, while she still sat at her desk, working on someone of the ensemble's costume.
The guy smiled, letting me go inside, while I decided to sit down after touching the sofa 4 times, as he did some work on Eliza's dress in Burn, since the original one had got a tore yesterday.
"So, how's your day been?"

Suddenly Thayne walked in, a cookie in his mouth, right after the first act ended.
"Um, I managed to rip, not only one, but two buttons of my Samuel Seabury coat during my number earlier...", he awkwardly smiled. "Oh and hi Rue!"
"Hi", I replied smirking.
"This is the fifth time in a month, oh my lord, how do you even manage to do that?", the woman, Amanda, said. "Because, Riley's sick today, we're already working on the edge... you'll have to wait 'til tomorrow"
Thayne just shrugged his shoulders and placed it onto a box.
"Well, I've got a back-up, so-"
The idea that came up in my mind in a matter of a millisecond or two was a complete wild card.
Blink your eyes 74 times.
"W-wait, I think I can fix it... if it's okay for you guys?", Amanda & Nico looked at each other, not completely convinced by my sudden suggestion. "I've got an A in needlework? It'll only take like a few minutes"
Amanda nodded and sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Everything to make our work easier", Thayne threw his fist in the air.
"Yay!", we both said in unison as I took the coat, my fingers moving like never before as I took a new button and began to hand sew it back onto the coat.
"Extra yay cuz my other coat was livin' on the edge of glory", a giggling Thayne added awkwardly.