Ten Minutes Ago // Ben Tyler Cook

Part Two / Chapter Four

Six Weeks Later

When I walk into the rehearsal room, Josh is the first one to notice me. "Marlee!" He runs over, practically crushing me in a hug.
   
I laugh. "Hey, Josh, if you're not careful, you're gonna break one of my ribs."
   
"Sorry." He lets go, smiling. "I just missed you. Welcome back!"
   
"Miss Granger!" Mr. Calhoun says with a smile. "Glad to have you back." He crosses the room to me. "Now, I hope you understand that we won't have you doing anything too taxing today. Your ankle just healed."
   
I nod. "I understand. I'm just happy to be back."
   
"Since you shouldn't be dancing right now, we're just going to run some different songs." He turns back to the group of boys warming up. "Dan! We're going to run Something to Believe In."
   
Dan DeLuca, the actor playing Jack, comes over and joins Mr. Calhoun and I. "Hey, Marlee! Welcome back."
   
"Thanks." I smile.
   
"Marlee, you get warmed up. We'll start when you're ready," Mr. Calhoun instructs, leaving us. I walk over to the piano to begin warming up, catching Ben's eye as I walk past. I give him a small thumbs up and stop at the piano.
   
After warming up my voice and stretching, I tell Mr. Calhoun I'm ready. The pianist starts up the music, and I begin singing.

    Till the moment I found you
    I thought I knew what love was
    Now I'm learning what is true
    That love will do what it does
   
As I sing, I can't help but think about Ben. I glance over at him. He's looking down, obviously avoiding watching Dan and I. When Dan begins singing his verse, Ben glances up and notices me watching him. His ears are red, but he doesn't show any emotion otherwise. I look away, focusing on the song.
   
Mr. Calhoun has us run the song a few more times. On the third time, Ben gets up and leaves the room. Once we finish singing the song for the fifth time through, Mr. Calhoun gives us a break. I grab my water bottle and leave the room to look for Ben. When I find him, he's sitting on the edge of the stage.
   
"Hey." I sit down next to him. "You okay?"
   
He lets out a sigh. "I'll be fine."
   
A smile slowly comes across my face. "Wait, are you jealous?"
   
"No! What are you talking about?" He says unconvincingly, lightly shoving my shoulder. "I'm not jealous."
   
"Your ears are pink," I point out.
   
"No, they're not," he groans, placing his head in his hands. "Not that I'm not happy you're on tour with us, but why do you have to do that song?"
   
I gently take his hands away from his face. "Hey. It's just a song. It's acting, right? You don't have anything to worry about."
   
"I know," he mumbles. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
   
"No, it doesn't," I agree. "We should be getting back to rehearsal," I say after a second. "Come on." I stand up and offer Ben my hand. He takes it and stands. I turn to go back to the rehearsal room, but Ben stops me, his hand still in mine. "What?" I ask, turning back to him.
   
"I haven't gotten a kiss today," he says, sticking his bottom lip out. He pulls me back toward him.
   
"You're so needy." I grin, pressing my lips to his for a short moment. "There. Happy?"
   
"It'll do."
   
"Good, because we need to go." We walk back to the rehearsal room, hand in hand.
   
Once everyone's back in the room and ready to go, Mr. Calhoun claps his hands. "Alright, people! We leave for tour in one week, and we still have a ton of work to do. Let's get right to it. I need everyone ready to run Once and For All!"