Lin's ears were filled with the faint sounds of what sounded like some kind of Broadway cast album pumping through the loudspeakers and the jumbled murmurings of the audience as he pushed open the doors of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

"General public?" the ticket attendant asked, barely even sparing Lin, Vanessa, and Alaina a second look. 

Lin flashed his note in response.

"My apologies. You'll be in Box Four. It's on the left-hand side, second floor," the attendant said quickly. He handed Lin a program.

As the three of them  wove their way through the crowds and to the more deserted stairwell on house left, Lin glanced at the thick paper in his hand.

Celebration of Life: December 18, 2018

Jace Christopher Reynolds

February 4, 1989 - November 27, 2018

He eventually made his way to box four and pushed the door open, unsure of who he'd find inside.

"Lin," Renee said, standing up. "And Vanessa and Alaina. It's nice to see you."

"Renee. It's... we haven't seen each other in a while. You look good," Lin told her, giving his friend a loose hug before pulling away.

"You too. I just wish that this wasn't in these circumstances."

Lin looked out at the huge theatre, which was filled to the brim with Jace's fans, friends, and family. "I do, too. This isn't an event I ever planned on having to attend."

Renee gave a sad smile.

"How's Kasey holding up?" Lin asked, sitting down next to Renee.

"I haven't talked to her much... I had dinner with her a couple weeks ago. Carleigh says she's getting through it. The funeral's kept her occupied."

"This seems... like a lot. The audience especially."

Renee nodded. "That's what I thought, too. I think it's what his mother wanted, and Kasey just went along with it."

"Who else is going to be up here?"

"Some of the Hamilton ensemble, and I think a few Tangled members, too."

Lin swallowed and nodded. He took a second look at the program in his hand. The paper was simple, in black-and-white. Alaina peered over his shoulder. 

Prelude - Spongebob orchestra

Introduction - Moira Reynolds, mother

Musical Selection - "I See the Light" - Araella Marquis, co-star

Reflection - Jordan Reynolds, brother

Musical Selection - "Tomorrow Is" - Jessica Clarke, co-star

Reflection - Christy Altomare, friend

Musical selections from "Tangled" - Tangled company

Reading - Andrew Reynolds, father

Eulogy - Kasey Winslow, fiancee

Tribute - family, friends & fans

This wasn't going to be an easy funeral to get through. Lin knew that as soon as he looked at the program. A funeral for anyone as young as Jace was bound to be emotional... but he knew that whatever Kasey said was going to make him cry.

That was guaranteed.

Box four had gotten more crowded, with Jace's former cast members. Pippa had joined them, too. Despite the amount of people crowded together, the box was quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Spongebob orchestra gave a nice opening musical selection, with songs from the show that Jace had sung while playing Patrick.

It was a little strange, to Lin, that there were no actors from Spongebob on the speaker's list. He wasn't sure if it was an availability issue... or if there was something deeper going on. 

Moira stepped onto the stage. The projector showed Jace's picture- the one that he'd always put in the Playbills.

"It is so lovely to see everyone here," Moira said, gazing out at the audience. "Jace would be so happy, knowing that all of you are gathered here today. I want to start things out by saying that we want this to be a happy time. I know for sure that he would not want this day to be a sad one."

"Jace loved his work. He loved his family, he loved singing and sharing his talents. Today, his friends and family will be singing and sharing their own thoughts and gifts, the way he did. Thank you for coming."

Then, Araella Marquis stepped forward. 

Lin hadn't really heard her sing Tangled before, ever. He was pleasantly surprised by the soundtrack, which he also hadn't listened to. He could tell that Araella was emotional, but it was a beautiful performance and tribute to Jace. 

Jordan's speech wasn't long, but he was an engaging speaker, for which Lin was grateful for. "My brother was one of the best people I know," Jordan began.

"From when we were kids, I think I always looked up to Jace. He was the perfect son, good at everything. I was even a little jealous. It felt like I was always in his shadow. He was the star swimmer, the best at playing his instrument. Even though he never practiced. It made me so angry, the way that he was amazing at everything he tried. I was that classic bratty younger sibling."

"He used to tease me for trying all the things he did, saying that I was just trying to outdo him. I don't even think that was the reason why I also swam, played in the band, and participated in competition science."

"I didn't want to outdo him. I just wanted to understand how he stayed so humble and so generous. He had every reason to be egotistical and obnoxious. But somehow, he was still the best person that I knew. Everyone loved him. All the guys flocked around him, even when he started the "taboo" activity of theater. Somehow, he made it an okay thing to do. The girls would always gush about him, even around me," Jordan continued.

He swallowed. "Having Jace around made everything cool. He was just one of those people. He drew everyone in. Being amazing at all that stuff helped, but I don't think that was why I was so jealous of him. I just wanted to be as good as he was. I wanted to understand, I wanted some of whatever he had."

"I tried to pretend that it was because I wanted to outdo him, because when you're a high school boy, you don't want your older brother to know that he's cool. You don't want to give him that kind of leverage."

"I realized all of this when I saw him onstage for the first time, junior year of high school in Fiddler on the Roof. I thought to myself, wow, he's really an amazing person."

Jordan wiped his eyes. "I thought we'd have more time together, so that I could tell him. I always thought we'd have more time. You don't realize how quickly that time can disappear."

"Jace, I would give anything to be in your shadow again, just for a moment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

wow this is almost over guys it's so weird. hope you enjoy!