The first thing Kathy saw after she jumped out of that giant cake was Don Lockwood's stupid face, grinning devilishly at her. She was petrified, a chill running through her as she remembered the events that happened earlier, that same night.

"Well, if it isn't Ethel Barrymore!" He mocked her, also amazed by the coincidence.

That same night, he jumped into her car while trying to escape from his fans, and after recognizing who it was, Kathy decided to give him a ride. However, they didn't have a nice conversation after that, which resulted in Kathy insulting the actor, so she was hoping she wouldn't have to see him again. She was a big fan of his, and she felt ashamed by how she acted.

Kathy stared at him speechless until the music started playing, reminding her she was there to dance. The actor helped her out of the dessert, and she joined the other Coconut Grove girls. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, and much to the young woman's dismay, the actor followed her.

"I do hope you'll favor us with something special." Don continued to mock her; Kathy tried to ignore him and focus on the guests. "Say, Hamlet's soliloquy..."

...She was now starting to realize that the dreamy actor Donald Lockwood wasn't the kind of person she had imagined he was.

"Please." She stopped at a corner.

"Or the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet?"

"Listen-"

Don shushed her.

"Don't be shy, you'd make about the prettiest Juliet I've ever seen." He smiled slyly, and Kathy didn't know whether that was a compliment or not. However, before she could think in a comeback, the music signaled she had to run to the other girls to start their 'All I Do is Dream of You' dance number. When they finished it, Kathy attempted to leave but Don stopped her once more. "I just had to tell you how good you were."

"Excuse me!" Kathy said, attempting to leave, but the actor kept blocking her way.

"No, no, no, don't go! Now that I know where you live, I'd like to see you home." Don pointed at the cake Kathy had jumped off.

...Out of all cars, why did he have to jump into hers?

"Now listen, Mr. Lockwood-" She started, but was interrupted by a high-pitched, strident voice.

Kathy was surprised to see that annoying voice belonged to Lina Lamont, Don's co-actress. She always looked so impeccable in the pictures, so Kathy would never have guessed she actually had such a screechy voice, with a weird intonation - however, a certain actor didn't let her have much time to ponder about Lina's voice.

"Say! Who is this dame anyway?" Lina asked.

"Someone lofty and far above us all," Don said, referring to what Kathy had told him during the car ride about theater being superior to motion pictures. "She couldn't learn anything from the movies. She's an actress on the legitimate stage."

That was the last straw. Kathy wanted to go home and didn't want to stand any more of Don Lockwood's mockery, so she grabbed the first thing within her reach — a cake with strawberry topping.

"Here's one thing I've learned from the movies!" she said. She threw the dessert, hoping to hit Don, but he dodged it; the cake hit Lina's face instead. The two stayed silent for some seconds, not knowing what to do or say — until the actress started screaming.

"I'll kill her!" Lina yelled but Don held her back, giving Kathy an opportunity to run, which she did.

"She was aiming at me!" Don tried to reason with the actress, who was hysterically trying to get free from his grasp.

"You never looked lovelier!" Don's best friend and childhood friend, Cosmo Brown, appeared, amused by the commotion. Lina looked pretty ridiculous with white and pink whipped cream covering her face. He didn't have a good relationship with her — neither Don or he did — so it felt satisfying seeing her like that.

"It was an accident," Don said.

"It happens to me six times a day!" Cosmo joked.

Don suddenly looked around, realizing Kathy was missing. "Where is... Cos, go after her!" he yelled.

"Her who?" the pianist asked, at a loss.

"That girl!" With his head, he pointed at the direction Kathy had run off to. "I need to calm Lina down!"

"Which girl, at least tell me her name!" Cosmo started panicking, quickly noticing by his best friend's voice that it was something important.

"Selden!" Don's voice became more impatient, so Cosmo hurried up.

The pianist ended up entering the Coconut Grove Girls' changing room, and they all squeaked when he suddenly opened the door. Thankfully, they were all still fully dressed. He had to admit he felt like a creep as he didn't even exactly know who he was looking for — he just thought about having some laughs when he saw Lina's face was covered with cake topping, yet suddenly he was at a dressing room belonging to ladies — but hey, it was a favor for his best friend, so it was for a good cause, right?

He surely hoped so if Don was going to make him play the goofy.

"Ehhmm... Excuse me, is miss S-Selden here?" he asked.

"She grabbed her things and bolted. Could you leave now? We're trying to get changed," one of the girls said with indifferently. That was the curse of being nothing more than a famous actor's best friend - everyone went nuts when they saw Mr. Lockwood, but as for the humble pianist Mr. Brown, he was a nobody who didn't even deserve respect - not that Cosmo was bothered by that.

"U-uh. Thanks. I'm sorry. Uh, it's an emergency, my best friend's life is at stake," Cosmo stuttered, before clumsily running to the back door. When he left the building, Kathy was already driving away. "Miss Selden! Miss Selden! Wait, Don wants to talk to you!"

As soon as Kathy heard the actor's name, she decided to ignore whoever was calling for her, so she just stepped on the gas pedal.

"Hey!" Cosmo ran to the middle of the street and watched her car until it vanished into the night. He stood there for a moment, wondering who she was and what the hell had happened between her and his best friend to the point she left like that.

...Then he remembered he failed that same best friend.

The pianist sighed, looking back at the building, where the actor was expecting him to be back with that Selden girl.

"Don's going to kill me..."

(A/N) I think I'll be adding traits of Melvin's from I Love Melvin, another of Donald O'Connor's roles, in Cosmo's personality. I Love Melvin was my inspiration for this AU, since I think Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds make a cute on-screen couple. Anyway, I hope you like it! I know this chapter is literally the events of the film, but it'll differ in future chapters, promise!