**Comet's POV**
"Oh my God!" Casper greeted me at my locker when I arrived.
"What now?" I laughed. I swear, if I'm the Janis in our relationship, he's the Damion. He's even got the gay part down.
"What's this?" Casper held up my phone and showed me the picture of me and Erika in front of the Cady picture in the subway station.
"How'd you get into my locker?" I changed the topic, motioning to the open door.
"I know your combo," Casper brushed it off quickly, "What's. This? You never told me you knew Erika Henningsen!"
"Shh!" I clasped my hand over his mouth, "Say it louder, would you? I don't think they heard you in the theatre department!"
"Mmpphh!" Casper said through my hand and pushed my phone toward me again.
"I'll explain in a minute," I took my phone from him, released his mouth, and called Erika as I stuffed up my backpack. Erika didn't answer, so I called Taylor.
"Sup, kiddo, it's Barrett."
"Oh, hey, Barrett."
Casper's eyes bulged and he started scrambling for my phone, but I pushed him away.
"Taylor's off being an idiot with Erika's blogging camera and left her phone in my dressing room. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah, I have this friend that found out about, well, us, and can I bring him by?"
"I'm not Erika, but I'm sure it's fine. As long as you guys stay quiet. What's his name?"
"Casper."
"Like the ghost?"
"Really, Barrett? But, yeah. So... Can I?"
"Sure, kid. Though, I have to ask: Are you and Casper, like, a thing?"
"No!" I exclaimed, shrugging my backpack straps over my shoulders, "Barrett, why would you think that? He's the Damion to my Janis, per se."
"Okay, I was just asking. Oh, Comet, shoot, sorry, I have to go do my job. I'm gonna pass you off to someone."
I heard Barrett's voice vaguely say, "It's Comet and she's bringing a boy over. Talk to her" to someone.
"Hey, Comet, this is Kate."
"Hey, Kate," I closed my locker and rested my head on the door as Casper started banging his head into the door next to me, "Can I bring someone over."
"Ask Erika."
"Erika's on stage."
"Oh yeah," I heard Katie shout to Taylor, "Tay! Can Comet bring someone over?" I heard Taylor's voice faintly in the background, "Who're you bringing over?"
"Casper. He's the Damion to my Janis, per se."
Kate repeated what I said to Taylor and then replied, "Taylor says sure and that she can't wait to meet this boy. Erika's going to flip, you know."
"I'm counting on it."
"See you soon, Comet."
"Bye, Kate."
I hung up, grabbed Casper's satchel strap, and dragged him out of school and onto the subway.
"Can I ask you something, Comet?" Casper was saying.
"Sure," I braced myself for the explosion of Mt. St. Casper.
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?" he shouted and I was thankful that there weren't very many people in the car, maybe four others.
"As you know, I was recently put into the foster system," I explained slowly, "And Erika found me outside Junior's Restaurant on Broadway when my father was taken to jail. She went through all the foster parent protocol and I'm being fostered by her."
"How come you didn't tell me!"
"Because I knew you'd react like this."
Casper seemed to accept that answer because he stayed quiet. I dragged him off the subway at 8 Avenue and West 52 Street and around the corner. I heard Casper squeal when the bright pink marquee came into view.
"Jeez, Cas, calm down," I rolled my eyes as we were buzzed in and the doorman handed me a bag full of mail.
"Is that all yours?" Casper asked, staring at the bag.
"No," I shook my head, "I act as the mail-delivery person. I'm going upstairs anyway so it makes more sense."
I decided to surprise Casper and brought him to the stage after making sure he knew to be silent. Everyone was in mid-show jitters and Kate and the female ensemble were singing Sexy out onstage. I lead Casper to stage left and found Gray watching from the wings and Barrett and Kerry standing and talking in hushed whispers.
"Sup," I whispered, stepping up between them.
"How was school?" Kerry hugged me.
"Normal," I shrugged.
"You must be Casper," Barrett addressed my friend, who was standing behind me looking like an idiot with his eyes wide and jaw dropped.
I heard him stumble to find his voice and eventually managed to say, "I'm gay."
Barrett shrugged and nodded, "Cool. So's he," she pointed to where Grey was giving his rendition of the Someone Gets Hurt dance out of view of the audience and lip-syncing along. When Grey and Barrett had to get ready for their entrance before Revenge Party, I dragged Casper upstairs, ducking into dressing rooms and leaving mail behind me.
I brought Casper into Erika and Taylor's dressing room and watched with amusement from the couch as he gaped and looked at every detail. Then, his brow scrunched together when he found Erika's Be the Buffalo sign on her dressing table.
"What does that mean - 'Be the Buffalo'?" he pointed to it.
"I honestly don't know, but you should ask Erika when she comes up for intermission."
Kerry checked in on us and helped a little bit with homework and tossed Casper and me each a bag of food she and Barrett had gotten from a fan, then she left to do whatever.
"Look, Casper," I began preparing him for when Erika and Taylor came up in a few minutes, "Erika and the others are going to be coming in really, really soon because it's intermission and they hang out in their dressing rooms. Just, prepare for that."
Barely a minute after I'd warned him, Taylor came into the room and fell into her chair, kicking her feet up onto the counter and letting out a large sigh.
"How was act one, Tay?" I asked, standing up from the couch and helping her take off her wig.
"Oh, you know, the same," Taylor shrugged, spinning around once the wig was on its weird foam head on Taylor's part of the dressing table, "My life got ruined by the girl I was trying to help and my only friends left me because I put on a few pounds - no big deal. How was school?"
"The same," I answered, sitting on the table.
"She got in a fight," Taylor and I both turned to Casper, who had finally found his voice.
"Comet?" Taylor looked back at me at the same time I said to Casper, "Now you choose to talk?"
"You got in a fight?" Taylor sat back and crossed her arms.
"It wasn't that bad," I shrugged.
"Hey Comet, welcome back. Oh, and you must be Casper," We turned to see Erika come into the dressing room.
"Hey, Erika, thanks," I quickly replied, eager to change the subject, "How was the show?"
"I-"
"Comet got in a fight today," Taylor brought out the topic I was trying to avoid.
"It wasn't an actual, like, fight-fight," I dropped off the counter and lay on my back on the floor.
"What kind of fight was it?" Erika sat down on the couch and I rolled my eyes as Casper's eyes bulged.
I gave them the quick version of my little 'run-in' with Zachary, making an extra effort to point out that I never actually threw a punch or did anything.