Love Is a Bunch of Stupid Decisions

Chapter 20

From the day that we found out Ben's mom was going to be ok, I started each morning by thanking God for the normal. I'd thank Him for letting me wake up in bed next to Ben, with his messy dark blonde bed head and quiet snores that I would forever find adorable. I would thank Him again later in the day, when we all found ourselves in someone's hotel room, all of the boys making Ava and I laugh over something stupid. I'd thank Him even when I was stressed out to the max with work, because in the end, I got to do what I loved every single day.

Today found Ben and I walking down the streets of Buffalo, trying to find a coffee shop that Ben swore he saw the other morning when he went for a run. With it being late February in New York, we were freezing cold, and I was growing more and more desperate for a hot cup of coffee by the second.

"You're sure it was over here?" I ask, my words muffled behind my winter scarf.

"I swear it was on this corner," He says before chewing on the inside of his lip. "Wait! I see it up there," He continues, before grabbing my hand and practically dragging me up the road.

"It's about time," I laugh, the two of us entering the adorable (and warm) building after a few seconds. There's not many people here, other than two girls sitting in the corner. Their jaws drop when they realize that Ben and I just walked in- and judging by the "Mean Girls" t-shirts they're both wearing, it's pretty clear to see that they're fans.

Ben and I sit our stuff down at a table before making our way over to them. "Hey guys! What's up?" Ben asks, causing their jaws to drop even lower, if possible.

"You're Ben Cook," One of the girls says in disbelief.

"Yep, that's true," Ben says, both of us laughing. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jaycee," She says before looking at her friend across the table.

"I'm Leah," The other says.

"Well it's nice to meet you guys," Ben says, both of us shaking their hands.

"Have you guys seen the show yet?" I ask.

"We're actually going to see it tonight!" Jaycee says, bouncing up and down with excitement as she showed me her ticket.

Looking at her ticket, I got an idea in my head. Sometimes, when there were extra tickets to a show, they would end up with a cast or crew member. Coincidentally enough, two front-row tickets for tonight's show had ended up with Ben and I, since they knew I was planning to sit in the audience and watch the show tonight. Looking at Ben's face, I could see that he had the same idea.
"That's awesome! Where are your seats?" I ask.

She holds out her ticket- Mezzanine row G, seat 6. "They're not great seats, but I'm just excited to see it. Neither of us have ever been to a Broadway show."

"Tonight is your first Broadway show?" I exclaim. Her and Leah nod. "Well then, Mezzanine seats just won't do. But it just so happens that Ben and I have some extra front row tickets on my hands... want to sit with me?"

Their jaws drop again, Leah covering her mouth with her hands as Jaycee's eyes started to tear up. "For real?"

"Yeah! They're yours if you want them." I say, pulling them out of my purse and holding them out.

Jaycee takes them, her hand shaking with excitement. "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!"

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" I smile, grateful I could make their day. We take some pictures with them and chat with them a little more before heading up to the counter to get our own drinks.

"Damn. You're talented, beautiful, and have a heart of gold... how did I manage to get a catch like you again?" Ben asks in line, putting his arm around my waist and pulling me close. I giggle and roll my eyes, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

Once I get home, I check my Instagram to see that I was tagged in the pictures with Jaycee and Leah on their Broadway fan accounts, as well as ones they took of Ben and I when we weren't paying attention. I still couldn't believe that I was well-known enough for people to be talking about me on all those Instagram fan accounts. I don't think I'll ever wrap my mind around the fact that people look up to me when I'm still the kind of person who thinks having a handful of shredded cheese straight out of the bag counts as a meal.

"What are you looking at?" Ben asks, sitting his head on my shoulder.

"Just some posts from the girls we met earlier," I smile. "Look at this picture they took. We're adorable." I show him the picture of him and I in line to get coffee, his arm wrapped around my waist, and the video that Leah had taken of us chatting with Jaycee.

"They love you. You probably made their whole lives by giving them those tickets."

"Eh, it was the least I could do for people who actually think I'm cool," I chuckle.

"I think you're cool, do I get front row tickets?"

"No... but you get me. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. I guess that's pretty cool too," He jokes.

I roll my eyes, shoving his shoulder. "Don't you have a theater to get to or something?"

He looks at the time on his phone, realizing he needed to leave. "Shoot, you're right. I'll see you in a bit?"

"I'll be right in the front row," I smile. "Oh, and I'm probably going to bring Jaycee and Leah backstage after the show, so I'll see you then!"

Ben takes off, and I start getting ready for the show. Not much later, I'm on my way to the theater, meeting up with Jaycee and Leah in our seats. They're both still wearing their Mean Girls shirts and bouncing up and down in their seats with excitement, just like they had been earlier at the coffee shop.
"Are you guys excited?" I ask, both of them nodding in response. We chat for a while about the show- their favorite songs and people in the show and all of that. Before long, the show starts. They're both wide-eyed the entire time, soaking the magic of the show in. Every now and then I'll lean over and tell them some little behind-the-scenes detail about the show, which they think is the coolest thing ever. And when Ben winks at us during 'Do this thing'... let's just say it's a good thing they were sitting down.

After bows, the cast makes their way off stage, and the audience begins to clear out. "We should probably head out to the stage door, just to make sure we get a good spot," Leah says, clutching her Playbill to her chest.
"Oh, I've got something better than stage door." I smile, knowing their day was about to get even better. Both of them looking at me with expectation. "Follow me."
We head backstage, both of them even more in awe than they had been during the show (if that was even possible). I take them around to as many cast members as I could find, letting them get their autographs and take pictures with them.

"Well, how was your first broadway show?" I ask them, once we're done with our backstage tour.

"Oh my gosh. This was the best day ever!" Jaycee squeals.

"Yeah, thank you so much Charlotte!" Leah adds. Their excitement was still written all over their faces as I say goodbye to them, heading backstage again to find Ben.

"Are you done playing fairy godmother?" He smirks, joking.

I laugh. "I suppose I am... for now, anyways." He smiles, taking my hand in his as we start walking back to the hotel.

"Is it weird seeing yourself on fan pages and stuff?" Ben asks.

I shrug. "I mean, it's always going to be a little weird, just because I don't feel like I'm that impressive of a person. But I guess I'm getting a little more used to it."

"Why do you always do that? Talk yourself down?"

I shrug again, something I do a lot when I'm self conscious. "I don't know. I mean, it's not like I'm a super good actor or dancer or singer, like you guys. I'm just the PR girl."

"The PR girl who's beautiful and is an incredible actor, dancer, and singer, despite what she thinks," He says, squeezing my hand. "Don't think I haven't heard you sing in the shower. Dang."

I roll my eyes, blushing hopelessly as I thanked God one more time.

How did I ever get so lucky? 

A/N: GUESS WHO'S SEEING BEN RECTOR TONIGHT. IT'S ME. I'M EXCITED.