Chapter Text
You bowed with your castmates as the curtains drew close and the audience roared with applause. Standing upright, you wiped the sweat from your brow and headed to the back with a large smile on your face.
“Attention everyone, I wanted to make an announcement!” Jasper, the stage manager called. You grabbed a cup of water and turned to listen as you took a drink.
“I wanted to congratulate everyone on our final night, you all did absolutely amazing out there! And I am happy to announce that we raised $201,965.96 in sales! Just enough for us to keep our small theatre going!”
Claps resonated throughout the room. Earlier in the week, nobody was sure if the play would bring in enough money to keep the Saegner open. Romeo and Juliet could only be told so many times, but it seemed like God had smiled down on you and your coworkers and blessed you all in sales. You knew your friends would be excited to hear the news, and you had to make sure to thank a certain radio friend of yours for helping with the advertisement,
“Isn't it great Y/N?” Helen, your “Juliet's nurse” asked. “We get to stay open! We get to keep our jobs, not to mention how great you were this week, I'm surprised you aren't already a big Hollywood star right now!” she laughed, clearly giddy.
“You're too kind Helen,” you smiled. “Hollywood is the goal, but i dont think im nearly good enough to compete with Gish or Swanson, not to mention how difficult it must be to get an agent.” you admitted sheepishly. You had confidence in your abilities, but you knew that Hollywood was the real deal. People lying and cheating and stealing to get where they needed to go, you would get stomped all over if you went now, especially without an agency or manager.
“Well I think you would do great. You've got the looks and the talent, California won't know what hit them!”
You laughed and thanked her again, making your way to the changing rooms.
In the middle of getting dressed in your street clothes, you realized you had a letter sitting on a small table waiting for you.
“Y/N, I hope this letter finds you well. I am so proud of you! You were an absolutely stunning Juliet, stunning I say. Once you have finished changing and have left the theatre for the day, stop by the radio station, Mim and I have a surprise waiting for you.
Take care darling.
-Alastor.”
Smiling, you neatly folded the note up and placed it in your handbag. Those two were too much and too good for you. What on earth do they have planned for you?
You finished changing and rid your face of your stage makeup. Leaving the dressing room and bidding farewell to your work friends and hugging you stage manager, heavens knows he needed one, you made your way out of the building to catch the next trolley.
It was dark by the time you made it to the radio station. Soft chatter filled the streets and music was heard throughout the city. Finally making your way into the building,Mary, the receptionist, noticed you and motioned you towards the stairs. “They’re already waiting for you hon.” she said, her lips smacking from her chewing gum.
“Thank you Mary, have a great evening.” you responded.
Making your way up the stairs, greeting the occasional late night worker, you finally made it to Alastors office. Knocking once, the door swung open, revealing the large smile of your dear friend. “Y/N! I'm so glad you were able to make it!” he exclaimed. He motioned for you to walk in and shut the door behind you. Inside the office was filled with streamers and your friend mimzy, who was holding a comically large cake.
“Congratulations sweetie!” she cried out. “You were great up on stage! I don't know how you did it but you moved half the crowd to tears, myself included! Oh and when you cried out when finding Romeo's body, oh dear, I felt my heart break along with juliets, it was so touching and real.” she gushed.
You laughed and thanked your friend as she set the cake down in front of you.
“Yes, you were stunning up there, a real professional.” Alastor praised and sat down across from you.
“Thank you, the both of you. Also i can’t thank you enough, Al, for promoting the play as much as you did, I know it was a huge favor on my part.”
“Nonsense!” he cried. “It was the least I could do for you and your shrinking new theatre.”
You smiled gently and lowered your gaze to the floor in embarrassment. They were so kind to you you didn't even know where to begin. If mimzy hadn't caught you acting out a scene from a book, you wouldn't have been here in the first place.
Alastor interrupted your train of thought with a clap of his hands. “One more thing! We wanted to give you this.” He got up and walked around to his desk and pulled a large, rolled up sheet of paper from one of the drawers. “For you dear.” he said.
Curiously, you took the parchment from his hands and unfurled it to reveal a poster of the play with your likeness on it. It was you and your co-star painted on so realistically and had your names listed at the bottom.
“Oh my stars, i love it, but how did you-”
“An acquaintance of mine is quite the talented artist, and I commissioned him to create a poster for you to keep. I figured a star on the rise such as yourself deserves a keepsake of their first big role.” He explained.
Mimzy nearly tackled you with a hug. “Isn't it great? You are that much closer to becoming a real star! Playin’ in films and maybe even havin’ a singin’ career hmm?” she teased.
Your friends have always been supportive of your interests and you couldn't have been more thankful. To have them believe in you as much as they did, it made you feel like you could take on the world.
“Thank you. A million times thank you, you two don't realize how much this all means to me, what this means to me.” tears brimmed in your eyes and you curled in on yourself. Mimzy stroked your hair comfortingly and alastor gingerly placed a hand on your shoulder. You felt at home with them.
The next morning came quicker than one would hope for. Sunlight filtered through the slivers of your blinds and you sat up and stretched until you cou;d feel your joints pop. making your way out into your yard to retrieve the paper, eager to see any reviews of the play, your eyes settled on a few grim words.
“Third Body Discovered, Killer on the Loose?”