Ben Tyler Cook Imagines

Lights Up

"You are going to be fine Y/N, don't overreact," you spoke to yourself in the mirror of your tiny apartment. 

You had moved to New York to star in Broadway shoes and so far you had been in the ensemble of two. It paid the bills and you were pretty damn good at it. You were hoping for better than ensemble at the audition today, but you knew not to get your hopes up. You had stand out vocals, all that needed a bit of work was your dancing. It's not like you couldn't dance, you were just a little rusty. 

You got in your Corolla, driving it down the winding roads. You lived in the outskirts of the city, so you felt like you lived more in the suburbs. The drive to the audition only took you an hour surprisingly. It was a nice drive, taking along more of the 'older' sections of the city. 

As you walked you in you were a bit underwhelmed by the turnout for the audition. There were only about maybe 100 people. 

You got into stretching, hoping today some magical dance spirit would help you out and get you out of the rut you were in. 

As you started stretching you realized there was a guy staring at you. This was pretty typical at auditions, you would always catch a pair or two of drifting eyes. This boy caught your eye as well, which was different for you. He reminded you a lot of one of your brother's old friends. A doppelganger. 

They started calling pairs out. Usually an even and an odd number. You were 87, sat next to the same boy who had been staring at you, 88. 

"I'm Ben," he introduced, sticking his hand out for you to shake. 'Bold' you thought as you shook his hand. 

"Y/N," you replied. 

His hands were calloused. Rough. Not a scratchy rough, just tough. 

"So, you in shows often," he questioned pointing down to your audition binder. You had to admit it was pretty thick, a majority of it being referrals from previous shows.

"Um yeah, I just finished up a workshop, but I don't think it's going to go too far. It didn't catch a lot of attention," you admitted. It was an unfortunate fact because it was a pretty good show. 

"I can see you've been in some big-name shows,"  you said looking at the dividers of his binder. The two big ones that stood out to you were Billie Elliot and Newsies. 

Ben's cheeks were slightly covered in blush, but before he could say anything you two were called into the audition. 

It went pretty well. Or so you thought. Thankfully your stomach calmed down enough for you to actually sing without the fear of fainting. 

"Great job in there," Ben said patting your back. 

"Thanks, you too," You said smiling brightly. You were starving, and you could practically smell the bagels down the street as you stepped out of the theatre. 

As you and Ben started to walk in your separate directions, he turned around, shouting a quick "Hey!" to grab your attention. You obviously turned around to face him, and his cheeks had that blush running against them again. "Do you wanna grab a bagel with me? I could really go for one and they smell really really good" he admitted honestly. 

"What's the harm," you said. You walked with him down to the bagel shop.

It was odd sitting in the bagel shop with him. It felt cozy. You two sat there for hours just talking about the shows you had been in and your dream roles. You two had eventually made your way to Central Park, walking around while sipping on some coffee. You didn't even realize how much time had passed until the sky started to yellow. 

Ben walked you back to his apartment, pulling out a business card. "I know this isn't the ideal method, but it at least has my number on it. I guess this is goodbye Y/N..." he said a hint of sullenness in his voice. 

"Goodbye Ben," you said, turning into the brave one, kissing him lightly on the cheek. 

As you watched him fade out of view you walked into your apartment. Once you got back inside you quickly entered his number into your phone texting him. 

Sorry, this was so short, I've been pretty busy this year because I started driver's ed and plus I have finals next week so I've been slammed in the school department. I hope you all enjoyed this request from evpsd10. I really enjoyed writing it, and I'll try to get some longer stuff out after finals! I love all of you so much! K