Theatre Is A Lie ~ Joshua Burrage

Chapter 8

Ami began to hyperventilate. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she tripped in the middle of everything? What if she forgot something? What if everyone hates her?

Ami proceeded to have a panic attack in her dressing room, biting her hand to try and keep the tears back from ruining her makeup. She let out a choked sob, her hand starting to bleed slightly. Josh ran into the room, "Oh my God, Ami, are you okay?!" He picked her up, hugging her and sitting down with her crying into his chest. He shushed her and comforted her, "You're going to do great, Ames. I promise." She sniffled, not daring to look up and let Josh see her mascara all over her face.

"Hey, hey, you're going to be okay, look at me, Ames," He put his hand on her cheek, forcing her to look up at him. He bit the side of his cheek when he saw her face. She looked beautiful even crying with mascara smeared down her cheeks. No, stop, she has a boyfriend, he thought.

"Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" Josh reaches up to her counter, pulling down the makeup remover wipes. He began gently wiping away her smeared makeup as she sniffled and hiccuped. When her face was all clean, Josh hugged her again. Ami melted into the hug, his steady heartbeat calming her down and the reassuring squeeze making her feel better about herself.

Panic attacks were quite regular for Ami, as Josh had learned when he would visit her house and have to comfort her after a traumatic flashback after a gunshot sound in a movie or any noise that so happened to remind her of her last week with Erric. Despite her beliefs though, Josh liked comforting Ami. He only wanted her to be happy and seeing her feel better after helping her always made him feel better himself.

Ami sniffled, "Thank you, Joshie." She pulled away, "You better get changed into your costume. I'll see you in the wings." Without thinking, Josh placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving. Ami was caught off guard by this but tried to think of it as merely a friendly gesture. As Ami contemplated his actions, a voice rang out through the speakers, "15 minutes till places!"

She pulled on her dress, smoothing out the skirt. She quickly fixed her hair, pulling on her wig and then finally shoving her boots on. The voice rang out again, "Places, everybody! Places!" She rushed to her spot in the wings, Josh greeting her when she arrived. She linked arms with him, smiling. She still couldn't get the kiss off her mind, glad the darkness and her makeup hid how red her face probably was.

She could hear the chatter in the audience settle down as the overture began to play. Ami could feel the anxiety fluttering around her stomach, grabbing Josh's hand and squeezing it. Josh gave her a hug, whispering as Santa Fe began to play, "You were great in rehearsals, they chose you for Katherine and nobody else. You're here for a reason. They're going to love you!"

Ami smiled up at him gratefully, "Thanks Joshie." He smiled back, "Anything for you Ames."

Carrying the Banner came up next and Ami giggled slightly at all the lines, forgetting how nervous she was. She watched everyone dance and do flips, admiring all their talent. She hummed along to the music, clicking her heels. Little did she know that the certain boy next to her was admiring her as well, finding it adorable she was somewhat dancing along and humming to the music.

Ami turned back to Josh, smiling back up at him, her jitters gone and her theatre loving self taking over. It took everything for Josh to not just lean down and kiss her. He felt so guilty for having these flourishing romantic feelings for her. He still tried to suppress it. Deny it. Anything to prevent it from even considering existence, yet nothing worked. She was just too... perfect.

He found it crazy that she didn't realise how beautiful she truly was. She was like a fully blossomed flower who's petals were so wide open for all the world to see that she couldn't see it for herself. He couldn't even force it down at this point though. Joshua Micheal Burrage knew that he had romantic feelings for her. He just wanted them to be hidden from all, including himself.

She had a boyfriend. Josh wasn't good enough. It seemed as though them staring into each other's eyes had lasted forever. Josh finally took the risk. He leaned in and kissed her. Ami was shocked, not expecting this from her friend. She knew this would upset Dan but... something about Dan made her feel wrong and something about this... Josh felt... right...

She kissed back, Josh pulling away not long after. Josh smiled sadly at her and she looked up at him, genuinely shocked, "I-I..." He shushed her, "It's our cue." They stepped on stage, Ami trying her hardest to keep herself from looking shocked.

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"He did what!?"

"She did what?!"

🌘 🌓

A little bit shorter than normal but I'll be back with a longer one tomorrow hopefully (maybe even two if I feel generous 😂) also can I just say almost 100 reads on this book?! Y'all are amazing!