"Hey, um, they're about to start up rehearsal soon, so I have to go. You're ok, right?" Rachel asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine. Heh. The show must go on," Alex smiled wryly. Rachel wrapped her arms around Alex and squeezed her tightly.
"Ok sweetie. Find me later." Rachel waved and reluctantly headed for the stage, looking, for the first time in all the years Alex had known her, as though a rehearsal was the last thing she wanted. Alex sighed and wandered aimlessly in the lobby; she didn't exactly feel up to working either.
Sam recognized her right away by her hair, which was large and curly and dark and impossible to miss. And gorgeous, Sam found himself thinking. He caught her eye, flashed her a smile, and strode toward her with his hand outstretched.
"Hi, I'm, uh. . ." Sam fumbled; it was much harder to remember the fake names Dean thrust upon him when he was face-to-face with a pretty girl.
"Emile, yeah, I- I remember. Alex," Alex grinned and shook his hand, trying very hard not to blush in front of this very attractive man, "We talked just a minute ago."
"Yeah. Right, um . . . actually, uh, call me Sam, ok? It's, uh, my middle name, and I prefer it over Emile."
"Sure. Sam; yeah, it suits you." They both stood grinning stupidly at each other for what felt like forever. Finally Sam ducked his head and cleared his throat, snapping himself out of it.
"Well – Alex – I'm supposed to hang around and wait for my partner here while he, uh, does some digging. Is there a place I can hang out in?"
"Sure, I'll take you to the green room. I don't have to be at rehearsal, so I can stick around with you," Alex offered, cheeks flushed.
"Sounds great!" Sam fought to keep his smile from growing too wide, and distracted himself by asking, "So, are they seriously still going on with the show?"
"Yeah . . . I know, it makes us sound like terrible people, right?"
"No! No, of course not!"
"That's nice of you," Alex chuckled. She led him into the green room, which was actually designed completely in shades of red, and plopped onto a couch.
"So," Sam began, accidentally sitting a little closer to her than he'd intended, "opera, huh? How did that happen?"