Nicest Kids in Town

"Cut!" Jordan called from the balcony. They were into tech week, actually final dress rehearsal.

"Jordan, we're not filming a movie!" Christine corrected a smile on her face. They had been at the school for nearly two months; at the end of the second month they would be sitting in the house watching their creation come alive. "Let's run it again," she told the kids. The group nodded and walked back stage. The five of them were sitting in the balcony, Christine was sitting in the sound booth with the sophomore would be running them tomorrow night. Jordan and the guys were sitting in the chairs, watching their kids do their creation.

"We have a problem!" Matt's voice rang through the stage managers' head set. "We need Oliver down here." Christine stood up and walked out to the balcony.

"They need you downstairs, there's been a dance catastrophe," she said dramatically. She smiled sweetly as Oliver grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs to the stage. The beat of 'Good Morning Baltimore' pulsed through the speakers and the curtains opened. Ashley was in her place on stage, waiting for her music cue. When it came she jumped up and began the song. Jordan, Zac and Elijah cheered when the music ended. "What happened?" Christine hissed as Oliver scooped Alexis up and carried her to a chair. There was ice on her swelling ankle.

"I ran back here to change for the first act and I tripped," Alexis told her. The familiar sound of 'Nicest Kids in Town' was pulsing through the speakers; 'Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now' was next. "I can't even walk, I don't know how I'm supposed to do these shows," she sighed. "I'm sorry." Christine smiled, reassuring the young star.

"Don't worry about it," Christine said as she walked up to her brother and took the headset. "I need to talk to Jordan," she told the young boy. "Alexis sprained her ankle,"

"What are we going to do?" Jordan asked Oliver walked up behind Christine, taking the headset out of her hands.

"Go get dressed," he told her. "Jordan, have them run the end of 'Nicest Kids in Town,' again," Oliver told her before giving Matt the headset back. Jordan shrugged and watched as the kids on stage panicked as they heard the previous song begin again. Nonetheless they continued with it perfectly. When the song ended Christine took Alexis' place for the scene before 'Mama I'm A Big Girl Now'.

"Alright guys, as you know there has been a change in the cast." Christine was standing with the cast, in Alexis's Penny costume. "Fortunately, Christine knows all the lines and the songs. By tomorrow night she'll know the dances." Jordan explained. The distress on the cast's faces seemed to be relieved when they learned they'd be acting next to a movie star. "Now go home, get some rest and be ready by tomorrow night," Jordan smiled.

"This is going a little differently than expected," Zac muttered as they climbed into the rental car they had been given. "We came out here to visit, end up staying to direct a play and now Christine's in it. What's next?" he griped.

"Don't even say a word." Christine had emerged from the school, still in her costume and make-up. "You'll say it and it'll happen, we can't handle anymore problems. Anyway, I came to tell you that Oliver and I are staying for a bit to work on the dances with the other leads. We'll probably be home around eleven," Jordan nodded, starting the car.

"You need four hours to learn six dances you already know most of," Elijah scoffed. Christine smacked him playfully on the shoulder as Jordan sped away, towards the hotel. "Isn't that a little obsessive?" he asked Jordan.

"You don't know by now? Christine's a perfectionist; she needs to have everything right. The fact that she's going to have to barely know these dances is going to kill her," Jordan explained over her shoulder to Elijah in the backseat. Zac was in the passenger seat, holding her right hand while her left hand was on the steering wheel. "We'll be lucky if she comes home tonight at all," she said as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

"Alright, I'm voting for delivery for dinner," Zac said, walking into the lobby and to the elevator. Every night when they came in there would be at least one girl who hadn't seen them in the hotel, and a few thousand more would show up after they were already in the suite. "I'm so sick of being mobbed everywhere I go,"

"Yeah, well it comes with the fame," Jordan playfully sneered. When they got up to their room, the door was slightly open and the lights were on. "There's something wrong," Jordan muttered, her hand closing around Zac's tightly. She gently kicked the door open.

"Why would a hotel just give out the key to someone's room?" Elijah asked.

"Because I told them I knew you," Kimmy's voice said from behind the front door. "I was going to come to the school but I didn't want to interrupt your rehearsal,"

"How did you know we were holding rehearsal?" Jordan asked as she and Zac followed Kimmy and Elijah over to the couches.

"We've been here for almost two months, I'm sure the people at the set know," Elijah told her. She smiled and nodded.

"Where are Christine and Oliver?" Kimmy asked. "I wanted to say hello," she pouted. Elijah smiled and kissed Kimmy's cheek.

"They had to stay behind; they're still at the school." Kimmy raised her eyebrow. "The girl we cast as Penny broke her ankle, needless to say, Christine's taking her part and she knows the lyrics and the lines, but she doesn't know the dances. We didn't change the posters!" Jordan cried.

"Calm down. I don't think Christine's going to care that her name isn't on the flyer," Zac told Jordan, lying a calming hand on top of hers. "This will be better anyway because people won't expect to see her and when they do it'll be more of a surprise." Jordan grumbled in bitter response to his answer before settling back against him.

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"Alright, start again, from the top!" Oliver called from where Jordan had been sitting on the balcony. Christine rolled her eyes and turned to the other kids on stage. "Now would be good!" he called again. Christine just smirked and stood there. "Don't do this," he warned, a smile dancing on his lips.

"What if I do?" she retaliated, the same smirk on her face. "We need to give these kids a break. We're lucky their parents let them stay this long," Oliver nodded. "Come on down, we'll order pizza or something," she called. A few moments later he was at her side, their hands joined.

"Are we going to make it?" Nathan, the boy cast as Link asked. Christine nodded; her feet were dangling off the edge of the stage. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because when I was here, Baker never finished a show, it was always up to the students to complete the play during tech week. They always did," she reassured. "We'll be fine. Plus you guys know your stuff, I just need to refresh on these dance moves." Christine had stuck to word and ordered pizza, after taking 45 minutes to rest and eat they were up again, working on their final dance before running all six of them. "We're you trying to kill me?" she asked Oliver as they walked out of the school at midnight. She was close to dropping on her feet; his arm was wrapped around her shoulder for support.

"No, I knew you could handle how hard I was pushing you," he smirked. "Plus, we're ready now," he told her, kissing her forehead gently. She nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder and practically sleep walking to the taxi they called. When the hotel door opened Jordan looked up and found Oliver carrying Christine through the door.

"You killed her!" she cried dramatically. Oliver smiled shook his head.

"She fell asleep in the taxi. I'll be right back," he told her, carrying Christine into her room he put her down and she continued to sleep. "She was about to kill me though," he told them as he closed the door. "Kimmy? You're here!" he cried enthusiastically.

"Yeah when you all didn't come back someone thought you might be dead. They sent me to see if you all were alright," she explained.

"She nearly gave us a heart attack. We came home and the door was open," Jordan scowled in Kimmy's direction. Kimmy shrugged innocently. "Well, I'm going to bed, I need to have some energy for tomorrow. Christine will be stressing about two aspects and I can't handle her when she's stressing about one aspect of something," she stood up, kissed Zac goodnight and walked into the room she, and now Kimmy, shared with Christine.

"So you guys are ready now?" Elijah asked with hesitation in his voice. Oliver nodded. "What?"

"I have a bad feeling about tomorrow, that's all," he admitted. "I don't think that we're fully prepared," he admitted for the second time. The three guys were sitting o three different couches as the girls were in the other room 'sleeping.'

"I thought you were asleep," Jordan whispered when she saw Christine sitting up in her bed. "What's wrong?" Christine shook her head. "I know you better than that. What's wrong?"

"I feel bad for Alexis," Christine confessed. "She worked so hard for us and now she can't even be in the show, and what's worseI'm taking her part. It can't feel good to have a paid actress take your part in a school play," Jordan nodded as Kimmy came out of the bathroom looking like a shadow. "Wha?"

"Christine! You're awake!" Kimmy whispered, jumping on Christine's bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Giant gummy bears destroyed the set, they sent me here to tell you," Kimmy answered seriously. Jordan and Christine laughed, not believing her but not having the courage to displace her story. "How was the rehearsal?"

"It was rehearsal," Christine answered. "I don't think we're going to be completely ready tomorrow,"

"NO! You're not allowed to start stressing out tonight! I'm not ready yet!" Jordan cried, diving into her bed and hiding under the blankets. Christine laughed and stopped.

"Alright, I was just saying I think that something else is going to go wrong," Christine said. Jordan reemerged from the depths of the blankets and looked at Christine. "Well, have you ever known a show that doesn't have at least two last minute disasters?" Jordan shook her head.

"Maybe it'll be something small, like a curling iron won't work," Jordan shrugged. "But don't worry about it tonight. That's tomorrow's job, not tonight's." Christine and Kimmy agreed and laid down in their beds, closing their eyes and just awaiting the following night when the curtain would creak open and the lights would blind.