A Perfect Broadway Cover Up (Alex Brightman/Beetlejuice x Reader)

Chapter 5

I stirred the mac n cheese, practicing choreography as I did so.

"One two, step, turn," I mumbled to myself, the soundtrack playing in my brain.

It had been about a week since I had gotten the part of an ensemble member in Beetlejuice, and I was honestly loving it, even if things were a little weird with Alex and practice was slowly taking over my life. I just had to ignore all that and push through. Do my best.

I was so caught up in cooking and choreography that I didn't hear my phone ring. The stove fan was too loud for me to hear my "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing" ringtone.

In a couple of minutes I heard some frantic knocking on my door.

"One second!" I called, trying not to burn myself when draining the noodles.

The knocking sped up. I huffed and put my noodles on hold, stomping over to the door and throwing it open.

"Malcom I swear-"

However, the person standing wide-eyed at my door was not my neighbor, but actually my younger sister Elizabeth.

"Oh my gosh! Lizzy!"

"Hi!"

She quickly pulled me into a hug, and I helped her carry her stuff into my living room.

"It's so good to see you!" I said, going back to my mac n cheese. "How was the trip?"

"It was pretty good, but I'm super drained," my sister replied, slumping onto my couch and throwing her phone to the side.

I nodded. "Mom and Dad chill when you left?"

She laughed.

"Yeah, I figured."

"Mom was pretty okay," she said, taking off her sneakers. "But Dad? Oh my gosh you'd think I was going off to war or something. Not to mention the hour long lecture he gave me on being safe and listening to you or whatever."

I laughed. "Yeah, I've noticed that the older Dad gets, the more emotional he becomes."

She nodded. "Oh, definitely."

"You want some mac n cheese?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. I had some Chikfila on the way over here."

"Oh, okay."

"So. Who's Malcolm?"

"Oh, he's my neighbor. You'll probably meet him in a bit. He usually comes by after he gets off work."

"Oh really~"

I rolled my eyes. "Liz, it's not like that."

"Whatever you say~"

I sighed. "He's literally like a brother to me. We both made it very clear early into the relationship that we were only friends and were going to stay only friends for the foreseeable future."

I could tell by her smirk she wasn't buying a word of what I was saying. I rolled my eyes again.

"You're impossible."

"No, you're just a bad liar."

"..... BUT I'M NOT LYING???"

She laughed. "Mkay. Sure."

I groaned before shoveling some mac n cheese into my hungry mouth.

I heard a light tapping on my door and Malcom's familiar voice.

"Hey, Tiny? I think you might have dropped a sock out here in the hallway..."

I went over to the door and opened it, staring at the purple sock in his hand. "Uh, that's not mine...." I took it from him and waved it at Liz. "This yours?"

Recognition flashed across her face as she looked up from her phone. "Oh yeah! It must've fallen out of my backpack, somehow."

As I handed it to her, I could see her eyes shift to Malcolm, and see that, yup.

She was already totally head over heels.

I smiled to myself.

"Malcolm, I'd like for you to meet my younger sister Elizabeth. She's coming to live with me while she goes to Juilliard."

He smiled at her, stepping over the threshold to shake her head cordially. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh-huh," was her star-struck response.

I giggled a bit to myself.

"Well, I've got some bills to pay, but it was really great to meet you, Elizabeth!" Malcolm said as he waved us goodbye.

"Oh, call me Liz!" she called after him. He flashed her a grin and gave a thumbs-up in response.

I had barely closed the door before Lizzy started rambling.

"THAT was Malcolm?? He's so hot, oh my gosh! How old is he?? You said he works at Ellen's, right??"

I laughed as I held up my hands. "Woah woah woah, there! Chill out for just a second! One question at a time, please!"

She took a breath. "Okay, first, you said he works at Ellen's when you talked about your neighbor over the phone. That's him?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he's been working there for a little over a year, now. He's really good. I have no doubt he'll make it to the big stage, one day."

She grinned. "That's so cool. Okay. Second question. How old is he?"

"Twenty-one."

She perked up. "Wait, seriously???"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"Oh my gosh! He's only like 3 years older than me!"

I laughed. "Yes, that is correct."

My sister brushed her shoulder-length, strawberry-blonde waves out of her face. Her light green eyes flashed up at me excitedly. "Is he single??"

I nearly choked on my mac n cheese I was laughing so hard. "Lizzy! You literally JUST met him! You barely said ten words to him!"

She crossed her arms defensively. "So? You know him. Is he or is he not someone you think would make a good boyfriend?"

Gosh, she was actually asking for my honest opinion. I looked up the ceiling, thinking. After a few moments of pondering, I smiled back at her. "Yeah, I think he really would. And, to be honest, I really like the thought of the two of you. I think you would balance each other out. Also, you both love musical theater and dance, so that's a plus."

She lit up and threw herself at my waist, giving me a suffocating hug. I laughed a bit, giving her a squeeze back. She glanced up at me, arms still wrapped around my waist.

"Put in a good word for me?"

"Oh, definitely."

I thought she was going to die of excitement right on my living room rug.