overture | newsies imagines

ben fankhauser || terribly lost

You followed along with the steady stream of people moving down the sidewalk, gripping tightly to the back pack straps over your shoulders. Your eyes searched frantically above the crowd for the building, but you could not find it amidst the thousands of other ones around the city. You stepped out of the crowd and found a bench outside a small cafe. You sat down quickly, before anyone else could take the seat, and pulled out your phone.

Of course you had no wifi, so your phone would do you no good in this situation. You sighed in anger and pushed the device back into your bag. The only you could now was wait for rush hour to pass and the streets to clear up. You leaned back against the bench and crossed your arms, staring up at the building across the road from you. You tilted your head in amazement at the architecture, your eyes flickering back down to the crowd.

You couldn't just go up to a speed-walking businessman and ask for help. He was in a rush and didn't need a twenty-something parasite to screw up his momentum. You looked around for someone else, but came up empty handed. You stood from the bench and opened the cafe door, finding a seat in the back corner.

The other table filled was one across the room, which sat eight people- boys, to be specific. You set down your bag, grabbed your wallet, and crossed the room to the counter next to the table. A barista greeted you warmly, taking your order quickly and turning away to make the coffee. You rocked on your heels and fumbled with the pocket of your jeans as you waited. She came back with the order a minute later, and set it on the counter in front of you.

"Thank you," you retrieved the drink and spun on your heel. However, a thought appeared in your mind and you turned back around. "Excuse me, but I'm actually terribly lost. Can you help me?"

The barista gave a solemn smile and shook her head, "I just moved to the city a month or two ago. I have no clue where anything is. Sorry."

"It's alright. Thank you anyways," you walked back to your seat and plopped down with frustration.

A moment later, footsteps approached your table. You peeked up to see who it was, and met soft brown eyes. He smiled brightly at you, his hands pressed together in front of him. His hair was the same tone as his eyes and swept across his forehead. You grinned up at him, tilting your head in anticipation for what he was going to say.

"Hello," he stuck his hand out into the air, shaking yours carefully, "I'm Ben."

"Y/N," you replied.

"I heard your mishap over at the counter, so I decided I could help you." He nodded his head once as if he were reassuring himself. "Where are you going?"

"Oh," you recited the name of the hotel.

He took the seat across from you and thought for a moment. "I know exactly where that is, lucky for you. The only thing is, I can't explain how to get there."

You frowned somewhat, "Well, that's alright. I'll just find someone who can. Thank you, though."

"Wait-" he stood with you, and you refrained from zipping your coat. "I can take you there."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Let's go," he pointed towards the door and then both of you began walking out of the cafe. He waved goodbye to his friends, who hooted and hollered at the two of you.

You glanced at him and saw color spread across his cheeks. "Your friends are very spirited."

He sheepishly nodded. "They try to set me up with every girl that comes by."

"I don't see how that's a bad thing." You bumped your shoulder against his and quickly changed the subject, "How far away is the hotel?"

"Ten minutes." He shrugged. Ben thought for a moment before speaking again, "Why didn't you take a taxi or look the address up online?"

It was your turn to blush, "My phones signal sucks, and I barely have money as it is."

"Oh," he was silent from here on out, meandering through the busy streets. He latched a hand around your wrist, pulling you around a group of tourists.

A few minutes later, he stopped in front of five-storied hotel building. "Well, here we are."

"Thank you, so much," you replied, fumbling with the cover of your phone. "Would it be too much to ask for your number? You know, in case I need a tour of the city?"

He grabbed your phone smoothly, and turned it on. His slick moves ended when he saw it was locked. You typed in your password and he quickly found the contact app. He handed you your phone when he was done and reached for a hug. You thanked him once again and entered the hotel. Ben waved at you through the window [heheheheehhehe] before spinning on his heel and crashing into someone.

He stood from the ground, helped the lady collect her items, waved, and, embarrassed, sped away.