Almost There

The wig was itchy and sometimes it wanted to lean to the side so much Quinn was scared it would fall off. It never did, though and she was thankful for that. She had started at Disney nearly six months ago as a character actor for Meg, the sassy love interest for the handsome hero Hercules. At first, she had been a bit nervous of messing up. She had heard horror stories when she was in high school about the actors messing up and getting fired on the spot. Although she still wasn't sure if that was true or not, she hadn't messed up yet and wasn't planning on it. She loved her job; loved waking up in the mornings and knowing that she could put a smile on a kid's face and make their day. Quinn got to pretend she was a sassy, strong woman when in reality she was a bit more timid and fumbled over her words.

A little girl dressed as Snow White walked up to her along with her parents who asked if their children could have an autograph and a picture. Quinn smiled and nodded her head before crouching down and calling the girl a princess which made the girl's face turn red with a big grin and thanked her. It wasn't until she was signing the little girl's pink autograph book that she noticed a smaller boy hiding behind his mother's legs. He was dressed as Herc, fake muscles and all. She motioned the boy over and he took little steps to her. "You're gonna wanna watch out for Hades today, Herc, he woke up on the wrong side of the firebed this morning," she grinned and posed for a picture with the two before they walked off to find another character.

Noah huffed inside the uncomfortable suit. It was kind of sweaty in here, but at least he knew it was his sweat. He was goofing off with a couple of the other characters but all he could think about was how bad he wanted to get out of the costume. At least it wasn't too hot outside today or else he would have to take more breaks and that meant less money which meant more struggling with the rent. He had an itch on his cheek he would kill to itch. He noticed Carly a few feet away and walked up to her, bowing and holding out a hand to her to ask if she wanted to dance. She helped make this all a little more tolerable.

"He never wakes up on the right side of the bed, Meg," Steve said with a small chuckle. "Phil's trained me up good, I'll be able to handle what he throws at me!"

Steve wasn't, in all honest, overly fond of his job. Sure, he could tolerate it, but he hated having to come in and be happy no matter what. Some days it was just hard to pretend to be happy-go-lucky Hercules. The only thing they really shared was Herc being kinda full of himself for a grand total of two scenes in the movie. Steve was a bit of a dick. He knew that, though. It wasn't like people said it behind his back and he had new clue. He was fully aware that he wasn't a great guy.

A couple of kids came over to them next, and Herc bent down to say hello. He grinned at the little girl and gave the little boy a high five, complimenting his muscles. The pair got a picture, and scuttled off to their parents again.

Carly put a hand over her heart and faked a surprised nod, taking 'Beast''s hand. They did a little dance, nothing too exhausting for Noah in the suit, and settled near their handlers.

"You're getting much better at dancing, Beast!" Carly exclaimed as a little girl walked up to the pair, clutching an autograph book to her chest. "Wouldn't you say he's getting better?" The little girl nodded tentatively and handed her autograph book to Carly. Carly signed it the way she's been taught and handed it up to Noah, her attention still on the little girl. Carly wasn't much like Belle, but she loved pretending to be her. Her job was her life.

"Alright, Lover Boy, if you say so. Just don't come crawling to me when he starts breathing fire or something, wanting me to save your life," Quinn replied with a teasing grin, placing a hand on her hip as if she saved his life all the time.

She didn't really talk to the other actors outside of work often. Usually, Quinn would change back into her clothes and head back home, but that didn't stop her from hearing the gossip about everyone that worked there like how Noah seemed to always be grouchy and how Mary-Beth used to have some residency at John Hopkins, and especially how much of a jerk Steve was. As long as he didn't act like a jerk and break character when they were out here, Quinn didn't care.

"Really?" Noah asked, acting surprised as if he could never have gotten better in his life. "All thanks to your help, Belle." He hoped he didn't sound too worn out. He took the book from Carly and signed his name before handing it back to the girl who giggled and ran off back to her parents.

He had been stuck inside this stuffy suit, sweating up a storm, for what seemed like ages. He was thankful that it was almost time for break where he could climb out and breathe air that hadn't been circulating since this morning.

"I can protect myself," Steve said with a grin, flexing his fake muscles. Steve was a decently muscular dude out of costume, but he wasn't anywhere near Herc. The muscles didn't look real, but it was enough for kids. "I'm pretty strong. I'm a hero, after all."

It didn't take long for the line to end and for the handlers to be escorting Herc and Meg back to the cast only locations. As soon as they were out of sight of the guests at Disney World, Steve reached up to his head and pulled his wig off. It was the end of his shift, thank god. "Jesus, I'm sweaty as hell," he muttered, wiping his forehead.

Carly giggled and nodded to Beast before posing for the picture. For her, time went pretty fast. She knew Noah would be having a hard time agreeing. He was never in the best of moods, but Carly didn't blame him. He was always stuck in the god awful Beast suit, and Carly knew how hot masked characters could be. For a while, she was Mrs Incredible in the dance show at Magic Kingdom, and that got horrible.

Soon, the pair were being whisked off to the cast member location. She didn't need to change out of her costume on her breaks, or even take anything off like she knew Noah had to. Once they were safely behind the lines, she dropped her fake smile and cracked her back. "How you doing in there?" she asked, turning to Noah. She was one of the few people who put up with his constant grumpy attitude.