For the "Meet-Cute Competition"
Prompt: "The lead of our play is sick and I'm the understudy and oh look we have to stage-kiss"
Also for...
Astronomy:
Prompts: Cautious (at first when they're actually meeting and not delirious from exhaustion) and Reckless (when they're delirious from exhaustion and falling all over the stage.
This is a Muggle!AU with Katie Bell and Oliver Wood as actors. Enjoy!
WC: 1,313
Katie Bell slipped into the back of the theater and sighed. This show was her first big break as a Broadway performer, something she had dreamed of being ever since she was a little girl putting on plays for her mum and dad back in London. After four years of smiling in the background, she'd finally landed the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls - and tomorrow was opening night.
Her director had called her, frantic, about something involving Roger Davies, the man who played her opposite, Sky Masterson, and had called her over to the theater immediately. Dropping all plans that she had with her two besties, Angelina and Alicia, whom she'd met in her first ensemble in Little Shop of Horrors (they'd been the three street urchins narrating the show), she instead braved the snow and traffic of New York City to meet her director at the Majestic Theater.
"Mr. Dumbledore? Hello? Are you here?" she called, stamping the snow from her boots as she looked around the dark theater. The ghost light was eerie in the darkness of the house, and she shivered. Clearly she'd arrived before the director.
Katie sat down in a back row seat of the house, tapping her foot impatiently.
Just as she was getting comfortable, she heard footsteps in the lobby.
"Hullo? Anyone around?" A male voice called, but it wasn't the high, flamboyant voice of her director; instead it was deep, sexy and... Scottish.
What?
"Hey, I'm looking for a Mr. Albus Dumbledore?" The voice said, and she realized with a start that she was no longer alone.
"He's not here yet. Who're you?" she asked, sitting up.
"Oliver Wood. Mr. Dumbledore called me here, all frantic-like. Said something about Davies being too hammered to function?"
"Oh, you must be the understudy! I'm Katie, Katie Bell. I play Sarah."
"Aye, I know who you are. We never met, but I was switched into the ensemble of Kiss Me Kate a week before you switched out. I remember thinking you'd have been a great Kate."
Katie bristled. "What, because my name's 'Katie'? Clever. Real clever," she snorted, and he looked a bit surprised.
"Um, no, actually, it was more because you were really energetic and even though you were coming up on contract, you still acted like you hadn't done the show a thousand times already. It was refreshing from other ensembles I'd been in."
"Oh."
He stood their awkwardly before she remembered her manners and motioned for him to sit. "Knowing Al, we might be here a while," she said, and he sat.
"So, Oliver, where in Scotland are you from?"
"Oh, I'm a few miles from Alloa. It's a town not far from Stirling and Falkirk. You? You're English, aren't you?'
Katie grinned. "That's me, the British girl in a town full of people who can't talk. I'm from London. Once a city girl, always a city girl, I guess," she sighed, fiddling with her bracelet.
Oliver smiled back. "Funny, that we got to meet each other even when we're so far from home."
"Right."
They were quiet a few moments. "Do you want to... I dunno, run a few scenes or something? Or just some lines? Make sure we work well together?" Katie asked abruptly, suddenly slightly shy. She was all a lone with a boy; a Scottish boy, a cute Scottish boy, in a dark theater at night when no one was around to watch them.
Surprisingly, instead of feeling wary and unsafe, like any girl who'd lived in New York City for more than a year was wont to feel, she felt... thrilled and excited.
"Sure," Oliver responded, and she smiled shyly, grabbing his hand and leading him through the darkened rows to the ghost light.
"Wait here, I'll go find the light switch," she said, finding it and flipping it on.
They were running through the choreography of the Havana scene when it happened. She hadn't meant to trip - although it fit perfectly in the scene, as she was acting drunk - and she'd stumbled into him, freezing as his arms automatically closed around her to stop her fall.
"You alright?" he asked, and she nodded, heart pounding, still frozen, their faces inches away.
"Uh, yea, I'm fine!" she laughed nervously, stepping back and smoothing out her costume. "Let's keep going. Yea. Let's just... keep going," she muttered, and they kept on dancing.
But now, she was tripping and stumbling through moves she should have been able to do in her sleep, and they were both getting frustrated.
"Katie, is something wrong?"
"No!"
"You were doing these find before. Look, I think I know you well enough by now to know that something's wrong," he said, stopping and folding his arms. The action made his muscles more defined, and Katie swallowed as heat rushed through her cheeks.
"I- well- I guess I've just never done this before!"
"What?"
"No, no, I've done the show before - I know I've got these moves down. It's just... well, I've never done this type of dancing with someone I was actually- never mind," she finished quickly.
"No, hold on," he said, looking at her sharply. She blushed deeper. "Someone you were what?"
She didn't answer, and he started to smirk. "Someone you were what?"
She could tell he'd guessed where her mind was going.
"I... I've never danced a love scene with someone I was actually attracted to," she muttered, crossing her arms and staring at the floor.
He then did the worst thing possible - he started to laugh.
"Hey! Don't just laugh at me!" she shouted, angry and embarrassed.
"Oh, no, Katie, I'm so glad that was the answer. I thought you were going to say something terrible, like that you couldn't kiss me because you'd be cheating on your boyfriend or something."
"You - what?"
"It's a first for me, too, honestly. Most theater girls are too vapid and silly for my tastes, but..."
"But..."
"You're a perfect Betty."
Katie smiled. He'd even referenced one of her favorite musicals! He really was perfect.
"So, do you think we can keep on practicing?" he said, and she nodded.
They danced straight into the choreography for 'If I Were a Bell', skipping lightly across the stage.
"And if I were a Bell... hey, wait, Oliver, I am! I'm a Bell! Why is that so funny!" Katie cried, spinning around on top of the soap box she was standing on. It was four in the morning now, and both of them were loopy with exhaustion.
"Katie, maybe we should stop," Oliver said, yawning.
"Ok!" Katie said happily, her eyes drooping. She went to step off the soap box, missed the step entirely, and stumbled - right on top of Oliver.
"Oh! Oliver! I'm... sorry," she whispered, staring into his deep green eyes. She'd landed on top of him, their faces once again inches apart, but this time, he grinned.
"Isn't this the part where I kiss you?"
"I think s-" she started to say, but he'd already captured her lips in his.
They ended up curling up on one of the set pieces, kissing and laughing and sleepily arranging a proper date for a few days afterwards. And when all finally became still, the man in the back of the theater let out a soft sigh.
His two main characters had chemistry. Albus Dumbledore thought his opening night's show would be a good one indeed.