@bentylercook: what the heck i gotta do to be with you?

    tweet deleted.

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a few weeks after receiving jared's message, ben was still unwillingly following his instructions. he blocked mair on almost every social media and had turned off his read receipts so mair wouldn't know that he had read jared's texts. guilty was an understatement and useless was as well. every part of him ached for mair, longed for mair, missed mair; but what else was he supposed to do? forget her? try to help her? ben had no doubt that jared's threat was legit, and that he was not the kind of guy ben wanted to get in a fight with. and that he was not the kind of guy that mair belonged with.

"benji," sky said for the fourth time in a row, trying to get a reaction out of his friend, who has been lying motionless on the hotel bed for hours "watching" the tv. ben rolled onto his side and looked at sky, momentarily dragged out of his thoughts.
"dude, are you feeling ok? it's a new city, we can go get some lunch and explore until call tonight."

"i'm alright with staying here." ben said flatly, his voice emotionless in a way that was new to everyone. no one, not even josh, knew what had happened that was making ben act such a way. like he had been broken.

"alright, ben. i'll catch you later i guess," sky murmured walking away and turned to josh standing in the doorway, " you gotta talk to him, man. something big happened and i'm almost positive it has something to do with you - know - who, and you're the only one who can get him over it." before josh could answer sky added, "i'm going to be in the hall for the next 15 minutes. if you and ben come out together, we'll go to lunch. if not, i guess i'll starve to death. good luck man," and with that, sky patted josh on the head and closed the door behind him, leaving ben and josh alone.

"hey ben." josh said quietly, slowly making his way over and sitting in the bed opposite ben,

"hey." ben replied in the same emotionless tone. josh reached over to where the tv remote was resting on the side table and pressed the off button, "we have to talk man. it's been weeks since whatever happened happened and you haven't even told anyone about it."
"it's nothing," ben lied, not making eye contact with his best friend.

"you and i both know that is bullshit, benjamin," josh's voice was stern, something that rarely happened.

"it's stupid." ben sighed slightly, making eye contact with josh for the first time. "but i know you, and you won't leave me alone until i tell you. it all started with jared.."

"jared mcryan?" josh interrupted. of course he knew it had to be that specific jared, but ben certainly didn't need to know all the details.

ben winced at his name said aloud, as if someone had just touched an open wound. "yes. him. anyway, that one day when i got mair's number he answered the text i sent and gave me some crazy ass threats, and like if i didn't leave mair 'alone', he would beat my ass. so i blocked mair on every social media and blocked her number, and i just feel, i don't know, just kind of guilty, i guess. it's not like i really know her, but like i kinda miss her. which is completely fucking stupid because i barely know her and like we've never even met or anyth-"

"ben." josh cut him off, "breathe, man. you're rambling."

"thanks." ben followed josh's instructions and took a breath. "i just don't know what to do," for the first time since the incident, ben felt tears well up in his eyes, but he couldn't tell if they were sad, angry or both. josh's face melted. he had only seen ben cry less than a handful of times, and never over a girl. he got up and sat next to his best friend on the other bed, wrapping his arm around ben's shoulder. "if i were you, i would talk to mair. somehow find a gentle way to say 'your boyfriend is a dick and he threaten to kill me'. i feel like she would need some explanation of why you literally blocked her on everything and why you've been a distant little shit."
"i hate when you're right." ben said, revealing his first glimpse of a smile in weeks.

"come on, cook." josh said, a cheeky grin appearing on his face "we've got a hungry sky waiting in the hallway, and we all know how he gets when he is forced to wait for food." ben smiled and reached from a hug from josh, surprising his friend. "no homo man," josh laughed and pushed his friend off of him. as the pair made their way to the door, josh wrapped his arm around ben's shoulder once again. when they opened the hotel room door, they were greeted by sky seated on the floor, scrolling on his phone. when sky noticed the door was open, his eyes lit up. "rejoice!! the prodigal son returns!" with a huge grin on his face he jumped up from his seat on the floor. "come friends, there is a pizza joint down the street with my name on it."

as they made their way towards the elevator, josh discreetly pulled out his phone and sent a long overdue message.

Joshua Burrage
ro, we need to talk

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rosiechristine

liked by mair_reynolds, joshuaburrage and 4,143 others
rosiechristine: forget the breakfast club; the brunch club is much better.  (starring @derek_klena and yours truly)
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derek_klena: we will find the best brunch in new york by christmas, i swear.
broadwaysss: fuck you guys are the cutest??!?? otp.

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rosie felt her phone buzz in her coat pocket but chose to ignore it. it's probably just mair asking me to pick something up from the store on the way home she convinced herself, trying to push down the other thoughts bubbling their way to the surface.
it's not josh. he hasn't texted you in weeks. he obviously doesn't care.

rosie swallowed and looked across the table at derek. his head was buried in the menu but ro could see the top of his hair. he always took forever to decide what to get but ro didn't mind, she actually found it kinda cute. and like it or not, she had become accustomed to the top of derek's head the past few weeks, ever since she had derek had made a pact to discover the best brunch place in new york city. rosie always ordered chocolate chip pancakes with syrup with a side of applesauce and orange juice, but derek was intent on finding something new at every stop.

"you take forever," ro joked, nudging derek with her foot under the table. derek raised his eyebrows over the menu before dramatically closing it and setting it down, "well not all of us are vegetarians miss o'neil."
"well no need to say it like such a dirty word," rosie pretended to be annoyed. derek gave a fake gasp, "who me? never?" which set rosie into a fit of giggles. she stopped abruptly when the waitress appeared to take their order. derek gave ro a wink across the table after a handing the waitress his menu and she felt a smile burst out of her from her core.

"so what would you rate this?" derek asked ro as she licked the last bit of syrup from her fork. "hmm..mm probably an 8 or 9 to be honest," ro murmured between licks, "this is the best syrup i've ever had. how were your sausages, not vegetarian ?"
derek flicked one of his eyebrows in concentration before answering," probably a 6.5"
"you're so tough!"
"i'm just saving my high scores for the absolute perfect brunch, and will not stop until i find it."
"okay fair enough."

derek cleared his throat and motioned slightly with his head, indicating for rosie to turn her head. she did so, and noticed that hovering at a table near theirs stood a teenage girl with bushy black hair, gazing at the pair with admiration and terror. rosie gave the girl a friendly smile to let her know that it was okay to come over. heathers had been a smash hit for two months now but rosie was still shocked and honored anytime she met a fan.
an older woman behind the girl, most likely her mother, pushed the her towards rosie, and rosie smiled even bigger,
"hi," the girl practically whispered once she got nearer to rosie and derek's table.
"hi there! what's your name?" rosie beamed down at the girl with genuine excitement.
"kimberly."
"hey kimberly how are you?"
"i'm g- good. would you guys mind signing this?" she handed rosie one of the restaurant's napkins with a shaky hand.
"of course!" rosie smiled and signed, ignoring the glowing look she could see derek giving her out of the corner of her eye.

after kimberly and her mom had left with autographs and pictures, derek turned to rosie with a huge smile on his face. "what?" rosie laughed," stop staring at me like that."
" you're just a natural with them and it's so sweet and inspiring."
"oh hush now," rosie gushed, swatting at derek's arm as they left the restaurant, wondering all the while how this came to be her life.

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thebaileyrogers

liked by joshuaburrage, bentylercook and 764 others
thebaileyrogers: super duper pumped to be the newest girlsie joining the first national tour of newsies!! can't wait to meet all of you and see all your shining faces in real life !!
joshuaburrage: welcome aboard ;)
pulitzerspoodles: can't wait to see you in person omg
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sky pushed open the door to the dressing room after the cast meeting, a giddy smile present on his face. "guys i miss ginna already, but i gotta say i'm really excited for this new girlsie."
"dude me too," ben, agreed, sounding like the most like himself in weeks.
"she's hot," sky smirked, climbing atop the counter. laughter filled the room and sky smiled, soaking in all the attention.
"how do you even know what she looks like?" chaz questioned, causing everyone in the room to pause.
"i looked at her instagram," sky answered casually, shrugging.
"we literally just found out her name five minutes ago?" nick twisted his body around from his position on the floor to question him.
"i have my ways," sky shrugged again, flicking one eyebrow up.
"you inspire me," nico said in awe amidst more laughter.

a loud creek interrupted the conversation and the boys turned to face the door, where josh was discreetly trying to close it behind him. as josh turned around he made a valiant (and not very successful) effort to hide his look of surprise and terror.
"..oh..hey guys."
"what took you so long burggie?" nick asked innocently as the other boys looked on.
"uh i was just you know.. talking to the big guys."
demarius snorted, "dude you're literally the worst liar i've ever met."
"no i'm-" josh attempted to argue, giving up after seeing the expressions on the other boys' faces. he winced, causing ben to lose his chill and begin giggling. "just give it up joshy, you gotta tell em'."
a chorus of "ooo"'s rang throughout the room and the boys nearest to josh started to swat at him.
"yeah burrage tell us," sky demanded, his eyes daring josh to spill a dirty secret.
"wait we should guess what it is first," anthony suggested.
"i bet that he's leaving the tour because benji's feet smell too bad," jeff guessed, shrugging his shoulders and biting back a smile. the room once again filled with "ooo"'s and sky gave ben a slugger while demarius ruffled his hair.
"aw whatever you guys," ben squeaked, his voice even higher than usual as he returned sky's slugger.
"no i bet our man joshua finally lost his v card," sky suggested, his tone suggestive. more "ooo"'s.
"okay but to who?" jordan added with a laugh.
"hey!" josh protested.
"a fansie?" sky snorted.
"for the last time i am not bribing the fansies to like me with nudes or sex."
"aw man,don't worry," ben consoled with a evil smirk,"skybelle is just jealous that the fansies all like you more than him."
"OOOOOOOO" even sky couldn't help but join in as the room erupted in laughter and cheers.
"okay i hate to break this up," zachary practically shouted amongst the laugher, "but i for one would love to know what josh is actually hiding since i doubt it's either or those things."
"hey!"
"no offense josh."
josh stuck out his bottom lip to mock pout, but only to waste him. he sighed once before continuing, "okay fine but you guys have to promise not to let the fansies find out or freak out about it either." he watched his friends with an eagle eye as they all crossed their hearts and pumped their chests, a symbol of secrecy. he continued," okay so you know the new girlsie, bailey rogers?" the boys all nodded.
"okay, well she is sort of... my ex girlfriend."

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mair_reynolds

liked by jared_mcryan, rosiechristine and 4,875 others
mair_reynolds: our love is god.
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jared_mcryan: let's go get a slushie ;)))
lickitupbb: OMG MY FAVES!!!!!! IM DEAD. #MAIRED IS MY OTPPP

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"great show tonight guys!" rosie called excitedly after jenny and steven as they got into their cab. "have a nice night!" mair added, the late october air whipping her hair around.
"i can't believe tomorrow is halloween," brandon said coming up behind the girls, "it's already so cold."
"god i know right," mair rolled her eyes at the wind, "could you fucking chill please?"
brandon cleared his throat, a smile creeping up the side of his face. mair turned quickly to see a girl about 13 nervously clutching a playbill and a sharpie, standing with her mom (who looked none too happy that mair had just sworn in front of her.) ro rushed forward in an attempt to fix in the situation and mair felt a weight lifted off her chest. god bless her.
"hi i'm rosie! do you want a picture?" the girl smiled nervously and nodded. just as mair watched rosie with the fan and contemplated why she could never be that  fucking nice, another young fan nervously approached her.
"are you and jared really dating?" the fan gushed and mair smiled. "why yes we are." the young girl squealed and then clasped a hand over her mouth, "oh my god, i am so sorry." mair laughed and gave the girl a hug, "never apologize for being excited darlin." "you're the best!" she squealed before running off to rosie.

"rosie!"
"hi! what's your name?"
"paige," she gave a small smile, "can you sign my playbill?"
"of course!" rosie smiled and began to sign, remembering how great it felt to stagedoor her first sho-
her thoughts are cut off by another fan behind her "rosie, are you and derek really dating?"
rosie spun around, her head spinning. "wait what?"
"oh did you guys not see? it's all of the fan blogs" paige came up beside rosie and pulled out her phone.
the newer fan held out her phone for rosie to see, her face mirroring that of a child who just said something they shouldn't have. rosie's eyes scanned the screen quickly, her stomach skipping with every breath she took. pictures of her and derek at brunch that morning adorned a fan page called "ro and derek 4ever." she quickly skimmed an article written by the same fan she and derek had taken pictures with that morning, claiming to have seen she and derek "flirting, laughing and playing footsie while eating a romantic meal."
rosie's thoughts stood still. was derek into her? was that a date? has she been not seeing the bigger picture this whole time?
"ro are you okay?" mair came up behind rosie, her voice concerned.
"um yeah.. i'm fine." she looked down at the fans, who were still waiting for her answer.
"um yeah, we are."
and with that her stomach fell into the dirt.
shit.