young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 64

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Kasey could only barely remember cheering for Renee as she accepted her award, and Daveed, and Leslie. It was amazing. She hugged Pippa when she didn't win, and cheered for the performances.

And then came the Best Musical award.

Kasey wanted them to win. Lin deserved it. He'd gone through so much- they'd gone through so much. The shooting. The sabotage. The illnesses. The citizenship ceremony. The deaths. It had all been so much.

And yet, the cast had stuck together. Kasey felt like she finally had a family again. She had Carleigh, and Alaina, and her fellow ensemblists.

It was more than Kasey could have ever dreamed of. Being in a Broadway show, winning an Audience Choice Award, becoming a citizen. It was the stuff of dreams.

As she sat there, waiting, it felt like an eternity since that first preview in the Public and their first look at the Richard Rodgers. They'd come so far since then.

They'd become family.

It was surreal. Being onstage, performing in Hamilton, everything. It had been the craziest couple of years of Kasey's life.

So much had changed. She'd lost family, but she'd gained some, too. She was glad she'd taken the housing offer when Carleigh offered it.

And Kasey had learned so much. She'd become a better dancer, a better person. She owed it to her cast members. Especially Carleigh.

She didn't know what she would have done without Carleigh. They were like sisters now, but they never thought. Kasey had missed having an older figure to look up to. When her brother died, there had been a hole that no one had been able to fill.

Carleigh may not have filled it, but she made up for it in her own way.

And she'd met Jace. Sweet, caring Jace. She was glad he mistook her for Araella that one night. It had started something new. And she didn't want their relationship to end anytime soon.

Kasey didn't want the night to end, either. Everyone was so happy, they were together. There was nothing more Kasey could have asked for.

She looked toward Alysha, and Ariana, and Thayne. And then she looked to find Pippa, Renee, and Jazzy.

These were the people that she'd want to be around all the time. They were her friends.

Everyone was on the edge of their seat. Kasey held her breath as the presenters introduced the Best Musical award.

The tension and excitement in the theatre was real. Everyone was motionless. Kasey's heart was pounding

After two years, they were here. All the tears, time, blood, laughs, everything came to this moment.

Kasey thought they'd earned it. Lin, and Lac, the Schuyler sisters, Daveed, Oak, Anthony, Jonathan, Carleigh, Ariana, Thayne, Jon, Betsey, the pit, the techies, the ensemble, Andy, everyone. This was their show. They'd made something beautiful, and they'd shared it.

They might have been hurt because of their faith in Hamilton. The shooting had changed them all. But it had turned out okay. And Kasey knew that the cast could face whatever happened in the future.

Because they had already been through a lot together. Nothing could tear them apart now. And Kasey hoped that the Tony results would reflect the love that they'd felt over two years.

Kasey squeezed Carleigh's hand.

Everyone was silent. No one moved. No one breathed in the Hamilton cast as the presenter moved to open the envelope.

Please. Kasey thought. She wanted it, for Lin, for everyone sitting around her. She wanted it for Pippa, and Carleigh, and all the ensemblists that she'd worked with. Even Megan.

"And the Tony Award for Best Musical goes to..."

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