chapter six:
opening night

FRIDAY: October 31st, 2028

"Not exactly my favorite genre for a broadway show but given you helped these kids, it's only fair we go. Even if it's just for the first few acts". The man smiled softly at the woman's words as he drove down the road in silence "those tickets came in the mail, I'm kind of surprised Claire didn't just give them to us".

"She's probably just busy with running the entire thing, she seems like a good kid. Although I gotta admit, it was odd getting those tickets. I mean no return address or name of who it's from". It was getting darker outside and the line to get inside the theater was decently long. "Sid, you're just being paranoid. Claire probably just had someone put them in the mailbox when they saw we weren't home or something. I mean I'd do the same thing".

"Parkings five dollars. That's a bit excessive" Corey chuckled "babe we got free tickets to this thing, I don't mind spending five bucks for parking. I mean these tickets are hundreds of dollars, it's broadway".

"Broadway is expensive, and I don't care what you say, I'm paying Claire back for these". He parked the car and climbed out as Sidney held onto her purse "tell you what, after the show I'll personally pay her back for the tickets. Just hope there's an ATM around here somewhere so I can do bigger bills".

The line was endless and while Alexander wasn't really looking forward to the show he still ended up showing up anyways. He didn't really expect an invitation to show up in the mail, let alone front row seats to the entire production. He would be honored but given the entire show is about ghostface and his past he's not really all that fond of it.

He wasn't surprised to see Kieran sitting in the front row as well, the boy likely came earlier in the day so he could pick the best spot. The theater was slightly lit  but it was hard to see fully, loud chatter could be heard as people found their seats. Alexander looked at the stage, the curtains were massive and a lot bigger than the ones he remembered from high school.

Given those ones burned and were never properly replaced this felt more fitting and oddly comforting to see up close. Part of him missed the club and the moments they all shared but another part didn't. Alexander sighed as he finally sat down, he could see the entire front row clearly. At the end sat Jenna Weathers, the woman writing inside her notepad as Nathan sat beside her awkwardly. The tension was clear and it almost made Alex chuckle slightly.

Benjamin was a nervous wreck, he looked through the curtains as he tried to find his parents in the crowd. Of course he saw Nathan and the spot beside him that was reserved for Benjamin's parents and sister were, of course, empty. He didn't expect them to show up or even pretend to care enough to see his big show.

He saw everyone's friends and family and all he had was Nathan. The seats he saved were empty, he didn't let it bother him; it bothered him. With one final look he closed the curtain and approached Vivian. The girl was looking down at her script as she made sure she remembered all of her lines perfectly.

"You're gonna do good" she looked up and smiled softly at Benjamin as he adjusted his costume slightly. It kept poking into his neck and making the skin feel itchy and irritated. "Wish the costume was a tad bit more comfortable. But given I never sent my measurements I'd say Eleanor and Kendall did decent. Kind of nervous but I think we'll do good".

"I'm gonna run a few more lines by Claire, make sure it's the proper way so she doesn't freak out" Ben smiled as Vivian quickly walked off towards the dressing room. He looked at Eleanor who was helping Selena into her costume, he couldn't see them fully but he knew exactly which costume she was putting on. The ghostface mask still haunted his dreams.

He knew the scene wasn't for at least a few acts but the idea of it still scared him. He would be the first person on that stage, the one everyone looked at the second those curtains opened. He licked his lips nervously as he looked around at everyone as they set up the stage for the first scene.

The chatter outside was muffled by the thick curtains and he knew in less than twenty minutes they would open. He would have to smile and act like he wasn't slowly on the verge of a mental breakdown, not that he hasn't already had one in the bathroom. Then another inside the storage closet for whatever reason, and not to mention the dressing room.

"Elle needs you for the last fitting, apparently the blood bags need to be adjusted so they don't burst early for your opening scene" he turned at the sight of Selena. The girl adjusted her robe slightly, she kept the mask in her hand and the sight of it made Benjamin always wanna vomit. He knew it wasn't real, it was just a part of the show and yet part of him was still gonna freak out over it.

—

The lights had been dimmed ages ago and yet the curtains weren't drawn back yet. It wasn't a big surprise that they were a tad bit behind schedule. It was mainly due to the blood bags being extra difficult and not staying in place on Benjamin's chest. So he ended up just keeping them sort of taped while he walked onto the stage towards his cue.

He didn't realize how bright the lights were till they hit his face slightly. Despite having only one eye he still had the habit of blocking the other one. As if he didn't have an eye patch over it all the time, of course given his character needs to lose both of his eyes in the opening scene. Eleanor spent six hours making a fake eye, it looked terrifying and Kendall helped with some of the painting but it fit perfectly.

Just another prop that would end up somewhere inside a draw or someone's pocket because they stole it. A lot of things went missing around the theater and most of the time they blamed it on whoever was closest. Given Benjamin's only been here for literally a single day, he was lucky and didn't get blamed.

Vivian got the blame half the time due to her always being around whatever goes missing. She did actually steal a cute dress, that one she admits but everything else was clearly someone else. She didn't have the need to steal some random prop, especially when half of the ones they have are fake body parts and endless bags of blood. Don't even mention the damn room full of ghostface costumes and mannequins, she hated that room with a passion.

Selena walked along the back of the stage as she sighed "someone took my mask, I need that for the first scene that's gonna be in like five minutes". Eleanor looked up at the girl as she helped Vivian adjust her blood bags. "There's a bunch in that creepy storage room down the hall, I would get you one.. but the thing creeps me out". Selena chuckled at Eleanor slightly "I'll be sure to wear it then".

She walked off down the hallway "just don't forget my prop knife! I'm gonna grab it on my way back". The music was loud as she walked towards the storage closet. She knew Claire was gonna spend a solid five minutes or even more at this rate to just talk.

She turned the door knob and sighed "locked, great" she moved back and glared at the door in annoyance. She went to walk away to ask someone for the key but to her surprise the door clicked open. She looked toward the figure as they pulled open the door "lost your mask too Dawn? Technically you're in the last act since Gwendolyn doesn't reveal her ghostface till the end. You know the dramatic moment when they all pull off their masks. It's been confirmed Nadia was the one who attacked Vivian first while Andy went after Benjamin. But they're making me do it for whatever reason".

She walked forward and sighed in annoyance "are you gonna move out of the way or what? Seriously Dawn, take that stupid thing off. You're supposed to be wearing your normal clothes for the first act. Elle's gonna be pissed if you ruin the costume".

The figure titled their head slightly and Selena moved past them "you're gonna make me be late for my first scene. We can't mess this up. This isn't rehearsals anymore, it's the real show! I gotta get on stage for the Benjamin attack. He's probably waiting on me".

She grabbed a mask off one of the mannequins "gosh this mask is pointless, you can barely even see out of it let alone get much air". She turned and screamed when a knife was pushed into her stomach. The figure pushed her back into the wall, the girl's cries muffled as their gloved hand covered her mouth.

They smacked her head against the wall, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she slumped into the ground. With one swift movement they wiped the blood off the knife with their glove.

Eleanor turned at the sound of footsteps "perfect, I got that prop knife for you Lena. Made sure it was that shorter one you prefer since it has better grip". The figure grabbed the knife from Eleanor's grasp and the audience clapped loudly as the curtains were pulled back. Claire stood on the stage as she spoke, meanwhile Benjamin held his phone.

"What do you mean you're not coming? I sent you tickets. So you can all come, it's the front row and you don't even have to start for the whole thing, just maybe the first act or even just show up towards the end. It's Broadway mom, this is a big deal".

"I'm sorry Benjamin but we just can't make it, we'll go to the next showing. We really wanted to go but it just felt pointless going the first night when it would have so many people there". The call ended and he felt like throwing up all over his shoes as he sighed and approached the side of the stage.

Vivian adjusted her shirt slightly "you ready? We're on once Claire walks off the stage. I just saw Selena getting the prop knife from Eleanor. I'm nervous but I know for a fact you'll help me". He smiled "yeah, like I'd let you fail miserably on stage in front of thousands of people. Wouldn't be ideal".

She chuckled softly and turned "well break a leg" she walked towards the stage door "right back at you". The lights turned off and Benjamin and Vivian made their way towards the stage as the crowd cheered one last time. Then with one last applause the lights dimmed and Vivian and Benjamin stood on the stage.

Kieran sighed softly as he looked beside him, Alex awkwardly shifted in his seat as the boy smiled weakly at him. Alex ended up sitting beside Kieran when no one else sat down beside him. It just felt right given they were friends once, of course it also helped with the slight ptsd they were experiencing.

It felt weird seeing Benjamin and Vivian on the stage acting their hearts out as they both spoke. It was a giant sense of deja vu watching it all when they knew what happened, they experienced it in real life.

Benjamin felt weird, he didn't enjoy the bright lights or the fact that ghostface kept missing their cue line as he said secretly. If he had to whisper scary movies one more time he was gonna lose his shit. He stepped onto the red x on the stage and just like on cue ghostface ran onto the stage. Him and Selena spent a good hour practicing this and she always tripped over the robe. Which is why Eleanor trimmed it for the girl and yet Benjamin looked at her, he noticed right away the robe was long. Perhaps she had changed last minute or ran out of time, the thing felt odd.

Just like on cue he was ready to scream but then he frowned deeply when the figure pushed him slightly. Making his wrist shake as he felt the blade dig into his skin. "Selena what the fuck are you doing... this isn't how we rehearsed it" he kept his voice low as he moved back and kept the scene going.

He screamed when the knife stabbed into his shoulder, he inhaled so sharply he felt lightheaded. He looked at the figure in front of him with such fear he nearly fainted as he felt the blade dig into his skin.

"Wow that fake blood looks so real, Maya you did an amazing job". Maya smiled "I did my best, but the prop bags kept popping at the worst possible times, thankfully Benjamin knows how to make it look real".

"Almost too real, he's like really good at that" Alix watched the boy closely. Kieran cringed when blood splattered onto his face "gross, they should've made us second row at this rate. Fake blood takes ages to get out of clothes. I just bought this shirt".

Benjamin let out heavy breaths as his shirt was grabbed and he was tugged forward by the figure. "Selena what are you doing?" Benjamin groaned as the knife stabbed his stomach. It had to have been a dream, an endless one that he would wake up from. He would've cried but he felt weak as the knife left his stomach. He let out a weak laugh as blood ran down his chin, he could taste the metallic of it inside his mouth. He fell to his knees, his head feeling fuzzy as the figure grabbed hold of his face.

"Game over Benny" Benjamin slumped forward as the knife hit his back. He could feel the sting and he could hear the loudness of the audience cheering as the curtains began to close. The lights felt brighter than before as he heard the cheering increase.

"Andy" his voice cracked as the figure looked down at him, with that haunting mask as they pulled the knife out of his back. Benjamin inhaled so sharply he could feel himself start to fade as he was dragged towards the side of the stage. Perhaps he was being punished for all the things he did, Benjamin always imagined when he went out it would be of old age.

He didn't think it would be ghostface, not to mention one he didn't even know. He sneered angrily "you're gonna fucking die" the knife slammed into his throat and his eye widened. Blood gushed out of his mouth as the figure looked down at him.

"So why did you join the club exactly?" Benjamin looked up at the boy as he awkwardly held onto himself. "Just felt like it could be home, and don't use that against me because I'll remember it".

Andy chuckled slightly as he looked down at the soundboard in front of him "trust me, I will. I have a pretty good memory, I'll write it down". Benjamin rolled his eyes as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in "you can't get rid of me that easily Andy. I'm like a boomerang and I always come back".

"Not this time...".

Eleanor ran down the hallway so fast she nearly got whiplash when she ran towards Claire. "We need to call the cops! I just found Lena in the storage closet, she was stabbed! And I...". Claire glared at the girl "are you guys pulling a prank again? We don't have time for this, Vivian's doing her first scene and the audience is loving it".

Eleanor sighed "it's not a prank! She's gonna die! You gotta stop the show! Or call the police! I can't lose her". Claire rolled her eyes "sweetie, we get it you want the spotlight. But if you ruin my show with this stupid prank, I will literally lose it!".

Vivian screamed out in horror when Benjamin's body was thrown into her. Claire turned her eyes widening in horror as the figure stabbed Vivian's throat angrily. With one swift movement the girl's body was thrown into the crowd and Kieran and Alex both shouted as her blood mended into their clothes.

Benjamin laid on the stage floor his head weakly moving as he tried to drag himself forward. The boy whined as he pushed his hand into his throat. He could feel the blood and his vision was turning blurry as he felt his head be pulled back by the figure.

The rest was fuzzy, his head slumped into the stage and he could hear screaming and chaos. He felt the world spinning as he heard footsteps running towards him "Ben!" then all that remained was silence.

—
authors notes:
My babies!!!!!!!! BEN!!!! VIV! gosh I dreaded this chapter so badly because I knew this was gonna happen. Also as I wrote this I totally remembered who I made ghostface and why. Just makes this book more exciting to write for. Also given all the new characters I'm struggling majorly with who to write for pov wise if that makes sense. Like... damn! I didn't realize how many characters there were. From the og drama club and then the new ocs not to mention the adults! Makes it more fun I guess, plus I'm aiming to make this book a tad bit longer and have each chapter focus on a certain group of ocs at a time. Then overall in the end they all connect together into the finale. Anyways I'm gonna got to bed and think about this story for endless hours, probably dream about it lol. Bye!

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answer this question (required) x2
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