Alice's POV

I woke up the next morning feeling jittery and excited. I got up early and showered. Today we weren't doing any dancing. All we were going to do was a meet-and-greet and run through the songs.

I made sure I looked nice before I grabbed my bag and left. I put my headphones on as I walked down the street and headed towards the Subway. I smiled to myself as I played the Newsies' soundtrack.

As I got onto the F Train, I played the one song that I was excited yet nervous for at the same time- Watch What Happens.

I mouthed the words as we got to Times Square. I stepped off the train and jogged up the stairs. As I turned to walk towards the theater, I bumped into someone. I gasped as I almost fell to the floor. Two strong arms quickly wrapped around me, pulling me into a hard chest.

"I am so sorry." I looked up to see a boy a few years older than me, biting his lip scanning me for injuries.

"It's fine. You can umm you can let me go now," I laughed as he did so, his cheeks turning red. "See, I'm fine. No harm, no foul," I laughed as I readjusted my bag on my shoulder.

"Well, it's good to know that I didn't damage. . ." I raised my eyebrows waiting for him to continue. I laughed as he opened and closed his mouth. "I didn't. . . You. . . I. . . I should probably shut up," he said looking down at his feet. It was then that I could take in his appearance. He had dark black hair with eyes that drew you in. He was actually pretty good looking.

He looked back up at me when he heard me laugh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive."

"It's okay. Really, I'm. . .flattered." I hesitated. I looked down at my watch and panicked.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that I'm late for. . .work. I should go." I said before fixing my bag again. I turned around and quickly walked into the theater.

When I walked into the theater, I gasped. It was amazing. The seats were red, lights lit up the floor, and the stage was bigger than any stage I have ever worked on.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" I couldn't help but jump at the sudden voice behind me. I turned around to see a tall boy with black hair smiling down at me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I was just," I paused.

"Taking it all in?" He finished for me, making me nod. "Well I should warn you, that feeling? It never goes away." He laughed as he playfully bumped my shoulder with his as he passed by me. He looked over his shoulder and gestured for me to follow him. I gripped my bag as I followed him.

He held out his hand for me to take as he helped me onto the stage. "So, I'm guessing you are our Miss Katherine?" He said with a slight smirk on his face.

"Maybe," I smirked back.

"What's you're real name?" The boy said clearly amused.

"Alice Baker," I said reaching my hand out for him to take.

With a smile he took my hand and shook it. "I'm Ben Fankhauser. I play Davey."

"Well, nice to meet you." I smiled.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to the other guys." We walked backstage to where a group of boys were either sprawled out on the floor or on one of the random couches.

"Boys! I would like you to meet our Katherine." All eyes snapped towards us.

I raised my hand and waved awkwardly. "Um hi. I'm Alice." They all said their hellos as Ben went around and introduced me to all of them.

"Don't worry about remembering all of our names. It took me a month to remember everyone's names." Smiled Andrew Keenan-Bolger, the last boy Ben introduced me to.

"So where are you from Alice?" Asked Ben Cook as we sat down on the stage and sat in a circle to talk.

"Vegas."

"Viva Las Vegas!" Ben Cook laughed as he made a gun with one hand and pretended to have a lasso in the other.

"Sure. If it was 1920." I joked, causing the guys to laugh.

"So, did you do a lot of musicals back home?" The other Ben asked.

"I guess so," I shrugged.

"What was your favorite?"

"Senior year of high school I was Christine Daae in our production of Phantom of the Opera. It was actually one of the hardest roles I've ever done. The notes I had to hit were insane." I smiled remembering how hard I worked and how amazing it felt after each show.

"Oh!" We all turned to see a man walk in. "Good. You guys have all met. I'm Dan Fields, for the new Newsies," he said with a wink making us laughs.

"Hey Dan!"

"What's up Crutchie?"

Ben leaned over to me and whispered, "Andrew takes being Crutchie very seriously. I'm not kidding. If you call him Andrew, he'll hit you with his crutch."

"Noted," I laughed.

"We're missing Jack." Andrew- I mean Crutchie- yelled out.

"And be prepared for him to only call you Katherine." Ben said leaning over once again.

"Strangely, I'm okay with that."

"I'm here!" Yelled a voice that sounded strangely familiar. I turned to see a boy running down the isle. It was the boy I had bumped into just a few minutes earlier. My cheeks reddened when I recognized who he was.

I turned around and played with my fingers ignoring Ben's questioning look. "Well, welcome Jeremy." Dan laughed.  I kept my head down as Jeremy jogged up stage and sat between Andrew and Ben Cook.

"Okay, so one major change to the cast other than a few new Newsboys." Dan said smiling at me, making all the boys turn and do the same. Jeremy, on the other hand, looked around confused. When his eyes landed on me, he smiled.

"Our new Katherine!" Dan said pointing at me. "Alice, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

"Oh ummm," I laughed looking around at the smiling boys. "Not much to tell, really."

"I doubt that," Jeremy said softly but loud enough for everyone to hear and laugh at.

I cleared my throat, avoiding his gaze. "What do you guys want to know?"

"What were you doing before this?" Tommy Bracco asked from across the room.

"Well, I spent the last four years getting my degree in Theater Production with a minor in English Literature at UCLA."

"I thought you were from Vegas," Andrew said with a hint of questioning to his voice.

"I am, but I went to school in LA."

"Theater Production and a minor in English. Wow," Dan smiled.

"Why both?" Jeremy asked.

"Why not both?" I asked, making the guys laugh. "In all seriousness, I got a major and minor because of "what if". You know? I have always wanted to end up on Broadway, but I also realized how little a chance I had at actually making it. So, English was my backup plan." I shrugged.

"Well, you don't need that backup plan." Ben said, playfully bumping my shoulder with his own. I looked over at Jeremy and for a brief second saw a weird expression on his face. It quickly disappeared when he saw me looking at him and replaced it with a smirk.

Author's Note- So I don't know if this is how Broadway actually works so just go with it. ;)