Ben's condition improved steadily overnight, and he suggested being let out of the house the next morning.
Josh and Sky turned that decision over to me, and Ben's request was immediately shot down.
Although he grumbled a little bit, he survived being cooped up indoors while Sky and I were at the matinee.
But as the evening show drew nearer, he began to get restless, and again tried to get me to let him go.
"Please?" He begged. "I feel fine!"
I rolled my eyes. "That's what you said last time."
"Yeah, but this time I—"
"Save it, Ben." I set my hands on my hips. "You're staying in and off your feet today."
He stuck his bottom lip out. "Please?"
"No."
His begging ceased at the sharpness of my voice, and he lowered his head in disappointment.
"I really do feel fine." He mumbled. "I'm a grown man, you know."
I raised an amused eyebrow. "You sure don't act like one."
He shot me a glare.
"Hey," I raised my hands in surrender, "if our roles were switched, would you let me go anywhere?"
"Pssh, no," he scoffed. "I'd tie you down and never let you out of my sight."
"Then my point has been made. Now," I gave him a stern look, "Behave yourself for Josh."
"Why can't you stay here with me again?"
"Because I have to go kiss Joey."
Ben grimaced. "Okay, ouch."
"You are currently unarmed and helpless." I smirked. "Did you expect me not to fire as many shots as I can?"
He let out an irritated whine. "Can you at least kiss me first before you go kiss him?"
"Gladly." I replied, moving forward and pressing my lips to his.
"That was nice." He smiled. "Can you do that again?"
I rolled my eyes and kissed him one more time. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Break a leg, Songbird." He said, before turning his head and calling, "Try not to mess up tonight, Sky!"
"Ha-ha," he replied, walking into the living room from the kitchen. "I love how you're so shy and sweet with her, but you never hesitate to insult me."
"I live to disappoint." Ben said, satisfactorily leaning back against the couch.
"We're leaving, Josh." Sky announced as he and I stepped out the door.
"Have a good show!" Josh responded. "Make me proud!"
"Can you hail the taxi cab?" I asked as Sky and I stepped out onto the street. "It still makes me nervous."
"Sure." He replied. "But you're gonna have to do it yourself again someday."
"But today is not that day because my favorite cousin is being super nice and doing it for me."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, nerd."
I looked up at him with a confused gaze. "Why'd you call me that?"
"Because you're way smarter than me."
"Oh, so you're deprecating me to feel better about yourself?"
He nodded. "Yep."
"It would work better if I took 'nerd' as an insult, but," I patted his shoulder, "good try, kid."
It took a little while for us to find a taxi, due to the evening traffic, but Sky eventually flagged one down.
"You and Ben seem friendlier than usual." He remarked as we climbed into the back seat.
"We're dating, Sky."
He shrugged. "Just an observation."
"I didn't know you were observing my relationships."
He propped his elbows up on his knees, holding his chin in his hands. "So, are you and Ben being friendlier than usual?"
I rolled my eyes. "Why do you want to know?"
"Oh, you know, just checking in." He shrugged. "I noticed that you guys seem to be going somewhere."
"Maybe we are—I hope we are—I don't know."
"Have you ever talked about it?"
I shook my head. "Once, but we might be due for an update."
He shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to think about it now, it'll slap you in the face later."
"Is that how it happened with Aiden?" I asked, laughing. "You were just minding your own business and then decided you wanted to marry her?"
"Yeah, pretty much," he smiled, nodding, but his grin faded, and he ran a hand through his red hair. "I don't think I can take it anymore."
"What? Her being gone?"
"No, well, yes, but no." He shook his head. "I don't think I can stand not being engaged to her anymore."
"Oh, really?" I exclaimed in mock incredulity. "Hmm, you probably wouldn't have that problem if you'd just ask her!"
"Alright, alright!" He raised his hands in surrender. "You're so bossy!"
I shrugged innocently as the cab pulled to a stop next to the theater. "I'd rather be bossy that hesitant. You know, like you?"
Having no clapback, he stuck his tongue out at me, paid the taxi driver, trudged ahead of me into the theater.
Over the past day or so, what with all the commotion regarding Ben's health, the shows had been flying by faster than I could blink.
But for some reason, that night's show seemed to drag on as slowly as it possibly could.
Every song was longer, every line was delivered slower, and every minute was stretched out as much as possible.
It was as if someone had messed with the metronome that counted every song and choreographic sequence, and had bumped it down five or six notches.
Even final bows took longer than they usually did, and I was seriously beginning to suspect that some of the boys had added extra flips to make it last another ten agonizing minutes.
It was the first time that I truly, desperately wanted Newsies to be over.
But even when it finally was over, I was not granted the pleasure of going back to the house with Sky.
I was slipping my backpack into my shoulders, thinking about how excited I was to go to sleep, when Mr. Calhoun found me.
"Austyn," the director said my name as if he'd been looking for me for a while. "Could you do me a favor?"
I bit my tongue to stop myself from begging him to let me leave. "Of course. What do you need?"
"There's been some confusion with some of the sheet music for the orchestra. Apparently, our second violinist is not as organized as Aiden. Somehow, the pages got all mixed up, he's confused himself beyond repair, and I have to go—"
"I've got it." I didn't even know I'd interrupted him until I had, but every bone in my body was ready to give out, and I found myself incapable of worrying about being rude.
He blinked in surprise, but didn't call me out on it. "Oh, well, thank you."
"Mhm." I nodded in return, before making the trip from the dressing rooms to the orchestra pit.
Once I'd made it there, I pulled out my phone and texted Sky.
Sky
«Hey, I'm gonna stay a little late tonight»
«How come?»
«I need my taxi buddy»
«Mr. Calhoun asked me to do him a favor.»
«Something about organizing violin sheet music»
«HA»
«Sorry. Have fun with that.»
«Make sure everybody's eaten dinner for me?»
«Yes ma'am.»
«I can play Mama Flaherty for a couple hours.»
I slid my phone into my pocket and made my way to the violinist's chair, where a folder of sheet music sat, disorganized and disowned.
"I see," I muttered to myself, assessing the damage. "He's got act two where act one should be, and he mixed up all the reprises."
Despite my annoyance and exhaustion, I couldn't help but have a little sympathy for Jerry—the poor guy had flipped the entire show around.
How he played during that night's performance, I had no clue.
'Maybe he mixed the pages up after the show, if not during,' I shrugged, moving 'King of New York' to its rightful place behind 'Letter from the Refuge'.
I had almost every song organized and neatly inserted into Jerry's folder, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Hello, gorgeous."
I took a deep breath, turning around and facing him. "I'm busy."
"Organizing violin music?" Chase laughed. "Who put you up to that?"
"Just doing a favor." I stated, returning my attention to the folder.
"How's Ben?"
I felt my blood begin to boil underneath my skin. "He's doing really well. Begged me to let him out of the house today."
He took a step closer to me. "Did you?"
"Maybe." I shrugged. "Why do you care?"
"No reason." He smirked, and I knew my pretense had failed. "Have you been considering my offer?"
I scoffed. "What makes you think I would?"
He shrugged. "Pretty girl like you, I thought you knew what you deserved."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, who would you prefer? Him or me?"
"Him." I stated without hesitation. "He loves me."
"Who says I couldn't love you?"
I fit the last page of music into the folder and set it back on Jerry's music stand. "I just don't think we're suited for each other."
"We're perfectly suited for each other." He insisted, taking another step towards me. "You deserve better than Ben."
"Why are you the expert?" I asked, quickly moving past him and walking towards the stairs that led out of the pit. "You don't know me or what I deserve."
I had just reached the first step, when I felt his hand close around my arm.
My heart stopped.
"Did you know you're beautiful?" He asked. "Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Ben's told me that." I said, struggling to breathe as my heart pounded against my chest.
"Everything about you is beautiful." He continued as if he hadn't heard me. "Your appearance, your personality, and your voice,"
I didn't answer; it's hard to think when your head is spinning. My mind ran at a hundred miles an hour, trying to figure out a way to escape.
"I've never heard a voice like yours." His grip on my arm tightened, no doubt leaving bruises on my skin. "It's so strong and free, but it's also soft, kind of like a bird,"
I tried to jerk my arm out of his hand in one feeble attempt, but he only held me tighter.
"Like a Songbird," He turned me around to face him and got that look in his eyes again.
Except, this time, Ben wasn't there to knock on the doorframe.
I was by myself.
In one swift movement, he moved forward, and tried to place his lips against mine.
He almost succeeded, but in a split second of panicked reflex, I lifted my leg and brought my foot down on his as hard as I could.
He grunted and loosened his grip enough for me to break away from him and dash up the stairs.
I ran across the stage as fast as I could, darting out of the auditorium and through the building toward the front door.
There was a women's bathroom just a couple hundred feet from the entrance.
I threw the door open and went into the nearest stall, locking the door behind me.
Choking back tears, I slid to the ground with my back against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest.
My heart raced, beating painfully fast, and no matter how deep my breaths were, I kept gasping for air.
I wanted to go home.
I wanted to go home and see my mom.
I'd feel safe there, with her.
But both of those things were impossibly unattainable.
Suddenly, my phone began ringing, making me jump in surprise.
I pulled it out of my pocket to check the caller.
Joshy B.
"Hello?" I answered, my voice shaking.
"Austyn?" He replied, his voice trembling nearly as hard.
Suspicion itched at the back of my mind. "What's wrong?"
"I need you to come back to the house. Now."
"Why?" I stood up. "What happened?"
"Ben has a fever."
"Yeah, the doctor said that would happen."
"No, you don't understand," his voice broke.
If possible, my heart pounded faster. "Josh?"
"It's bad." He said, his words quivering. "It's really bad."
"Okay, okay," I rummaged through my bag, pulling out Aiden's emergency envelope.
"Austyn, I don't know what to do."
"Hold on," I left the bathroom and ran out the theater's front door. "I'm coming,"
If I could just find a taxi...
The realization that I had to hail a cab by myself made my pulse race even more, and I was almost certain that it would stop if it went any faster.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped up to the street.
Thankfully, the first cab that drove by was the first one that stopped for me.
"Here," I said breathlessly, handing the driver the slip of paper that had he house's address written on it. "I need to get there as fast as legally possible."
"Will do, ma'am." He nodded, taking his foot off the brake and making his way down the street.
I inhaled deeply, tapping my fingers restlessly on my knee.
The driver glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. "Everything alright, miss? You look like you saw a ghost."
"I've had a long evening." I replied.
True to his word, the driver drove as fast as the speed limit would permit him, and got me back to the house in under five minutes.
"Thank you," I hastily paid and tipped him, before climbing out of the car and racing up to the front door.
I inserted my key into the lock and stepped inside, closing the door behind me and setting my backpack on the ground next to everyone's shoes.
At the sound of the front door closing, Josh suddenly appeared, running down the hallway toward me. His eyes were red and his face was pale.
He took my hand roughly and dragged me into the living room.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"In here." Josh answered, his voice hoarse. "It got worse,"
The living room was dark, aside from the light from the side-table lamps.
But there was enough light for me to see Sky hovering over the couch that Ben had been sitting on the last time I'd seen him.
He still occupied the couch, but he wasn't sitting up.
He was laying flat on his back, trying to push Sky's arm away as the redhead attempted to calm him down.
Ben's dirty-blonde hair was wet with sweat and sticking to his forehead, but he was shivering and shaking so hard that he was almost thrashing.
His breathing was heavy and labored, as if he was fighting for air, and it was clear that exhaustion was about to take over, nearly forcing him into surrendering the battle.
Exhaling slowly, I stepped forward and knelt beside the couch.
I placed my hand on his arm, feeling the heat burn underneath his skin. "Ben,"
He tried to push my hand away, still taking in short and shaky lungfuls of air.
"Hey," I took ahold of his hand with a firm grip. "Calm down, it's just me,"
Struggling further, he tried to pull his arm away, but I was stronger than him.
"I need you to relax, okay?" I touched my fingertips to his cheek. His skin felt like it was on fire; there was no way his temperature was under one-hundred degrees. "Panicking is only going to wear you out."
But he didn't listen to me. It was almost like he couldn't hear me at all.
For a moment, the emotion rose up in my throat, and I wanted nothing more than to break down and cry.
But Josh and Sky were standing behind me, waiting and watching with baited breath.
So, closing my eyes, I pushed the fear out of my mind and steadied my thoughts into a prioritized sequence. "I need the washcloths out of the freezer, and one of those bottles of Tylenol."
"We tried to get him to take the medicine." Sky protested. "He wouldn't do it."
"He's doesn't know what's happening, he's just scared." I said. "Go get the medicine, I'll calm him down,"
Josh and Sky returned with everything in less than 30 seconds.
I unrolled one of the cloths and pressed it to Ben's forehead.
The ice melted on contact, sending beads of cold water running down his face.
He still shivered, but his respiring slowed to a more reasonable speed.
"There we go," I breathed, unscrewing the Tylenol bottle's cap and taking out two pills. "I need you to sit up for a minute."
Motioning for the boys to help me, I picked up the first pill. "It'll probably hurt your head a bit, but we'll lay you back down as soon as we can, okay?"
He didn't say 'yes' or 'no', but he didn't have a choice anyway.
Sky and Josh each took ahold of one arm, gingerly holding him upright.
My suspicions had been correct, and Ben winced at his newly discovered headache.
"Ow," he muttered.
I laughed softly, placing my hand under his chin. "Can you open your mouth?"
He nodded, accepting the first pill. One sip of water and it was down.
As soon as he'd swallowed it, I gave him the second one, trying to make the process go as quickly as possible.
When both of the pills had been consumed, Josh and Sky eased him back down onto the couch.
"The fever should go down pretty soon." I said, thankfully feeling my heart rate slow back down. I looked up at the boys. "I can take it from here if you two want to go to bed."
"Are you sure?" Josh asked, each of his words resembling a sigh of relief.
I nodded. "I'm sure."
"Make sure you get some sleep too." Sky advised, booping my nose with his finger. "You've gotta be tired after working magic like that."
"Not magic," I smiled, "just my mom."
"Your mom was magic." Josh returned my grin. "See you in the morning."
When they had gone, I sat back down next to the couch, removing the wet cloth from Ben's forehead and replacing it with a new one.
His eyes cracked open.
•••••Benjamin's Perspective
Feeling a fresh trickle of cold water making its way down my cheek, I slowly opened my eyes, and found her gazing back at me.
"Hi," she whispered, offering me a small smile. "How do you feel?"
"Am I dying?"
She laughed. "No, you're not dying."
"Oh."
"Does your head still hurt?"
I tried to nod, but it sent a pounding pain up to my temples. "Yes."
"That medicine'll kick in soon." She said, resting her hand against my cheek. "And sleep will help."
"You were right again." I mumbled. "About everything."
"I know I was, but I won't make fun of you for this one."
I gingerly turned my head, nuzzling into her hand like a child. "How was your show?"
She traced her thumb across my cheek. "It was okay."
"You don't sound like it was okay." I glanced up at her. "What happened?"
"Not now." She shook her head. "I'll talk to you about it tomorrow."
I shrugged. "Okay."
"It's getting pretty late, Ben."
"Do I have to go to sleep now?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"That's okay. I kind of want to go to sleep."
"Alright." She gently slipped her hand out from underneath my head, gathering the washcloths and standing to her feet. "I'm gonna go to bed too."
"Do you want me to go back to my room?"
She shook her head. "No, I think you should stay in here tonight."
My gaze shifted to the lamp on the side-table beside the couch. Once it was switched off, the room would be completely dark.
Feeling more helpless than I had in a long time, the thought of being alone suddenly didn't sound very appealing.
"Wait," I reached out for her, holding onto the hem of her shirt. "You won't leave me, will you?"
She looked down at me.
I looked up at her, and my eyes began to sting.
She almost gasped when the first tear made its way down my cheek.
She was scared.
I didn't know why, but I'd scared her.
She knelt down beside the couch again, catching my tears with her fingertips. "Do you want me to stay?"
I nodded, almost begging her. "Please,"
"Let me go change clothes real quick, and then I'll come right back, okay?"
I nodded again, taking a deep breath and letting go of her shirt. "Okay."
She pressed her lips to my forehead, before standing and making her way down the short hall, stopping at the laundry room to deposit the washcloths into the washing machine.
She returned a moment later, in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a bath towel under her arm.
"Just in case you start sweating again." She explained, having me sit up slightly so she could lay it underneath my head, neck, and shoulders. "There,"
"Thank you." I muttered, resting my head against the towel and gazing up at her.
She turned out the light of the lamp and began running her hand through my hair. "You've had a rough night, haven't you?"
I shrugged. "I'll be okay."
"Yes, you will. Just give it a little time." She took my hand in hers, lightly pressing her lips to my knuckles.
"You're cold." I remarked.
"I am?"
I nodded. "Mhm."
"Here," she moved forward, resting her cheek against mine. "Does that feel better?"
Exhaling, I closed my eyes, letting the cool of her skin combat the heat of mine. "Yeah,"
She reached up, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "What did you and Josh do today? Before you got sick."
"We watched a movie."
"What movie?"
"Um," I squinted, trying to recall the title. "I don't remember."
"That's okay." She said with a small laugh. "You look tired."
"Should I go to sleep, then?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"You won't leave, though, right?" I asked, biting my lip. "You'll stay here all night?"
She pulled back so her vibrant green eyes could stare into my bright blue ones. "Do you remember when my mom died?"
I nodded.
"Do you remember how I didn't see you for almost two weeks? How I didn't leave my apartment, how I stopped eating and couldn't sleep?"
I nodded again.
"Do you remember what you did?"
"I asked if you were okay." I answered.
"And I lied, didn't I?"
"Yeah,"
"But when I called later, and asked you to come to me, what did you do then?"
"I came to you." I said. "Like you asked."
Austyn nodded, smiling softly. "You took care of me, didn't you?"
"Mhm," I murmured, finally starting to drift off.
She leaned in, gently pressing her lips to mine. "I'm going to take care of you, okay?"
Maybe it was the fact that I was near sleep, or the fact that I wasn't thinking straight, but my stomach flipped all over itself, and I felt my cheeks color deeply.
I managed a sheepish, "Okay," before hiding my face in the towel and wondering what on earth had come over me.
Neither one of us stayed awake much longer, but I fell asleep first.
I remember opening my eyes one more time, and seeing Josh drape a blanket over Austyn's shoulders, whispering, "And the award for girlfriend of the month goes to..."
Her light laughter was the last thing I heard before I dozed off.
•••••
When I woke up the next morning, the sunlight had just begun to turn from a pale blue to a pale yellow.
The towel under my head was dry, and it still smelled like laundry detergent, leading me to suspect that I hadn't contracted another fever in the night.
After the towel, the second thing I noticed was Austyn.
She was still kneeling beside the couch, asleep with her head resting on her arms.
Her body rose and fell with each breath, steady and calm, completely free of any doubt or worry.
The only thing about her that wasn't peaceful were her dark curls. They'd pulled free from their braided restraint, and fell untamed about her shoulders, framing her face in a tangled mess.
I lifted my hand to her cheek, my fingertips dancing across her skin. My thumb slid from her cheek down to her jaw, and I gently traced it to her lips and back, just looking at her.
It was a face that I could imagine waking up to every morning.
The only face I could imagine waking up to every morning.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled, taking in a deep, happy breath. "You slept well, I'm assuming?"
"Why do you assume that?"
"Because you didn't wake me up." She held the back of her hand to my forehead. "How do you feel?"
"Better." I replied. "Much better."
She rubbed her eyes. "Good. Maybe you could get some more sleep today."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes." She said firmly. "And if you try to leave your room, I will drag you back in by your ankles and lock the door from the outside."
I tilted my head. "You can't lock that door from the outside,"
"Watch me."