It's harder than they expected, not all getting to see each other every day. But they're going to make it to the other side together, right? Right?
A season 7 rewrite that continues from Lost in the Middle, my season 6 AU
(Final word count: 29,397)
AN: Upon realizing that I have season 7 starting in late October I had to write a Halloween chapter. And then it had actual plot relevance as I started writing more. Gotta love some angst.
Halloween classes are always fun. It's not an A-Troupe rehearsal since the season hasn't officially started yet, just a ballet technique class, with some of A-Troupe, and a lot of others at the studio. Daniel likes to pretend he doesn't like seeing them all dressed up, but Richelle knows he's still going to insist that they get a picture of everyone in costumes at the end of class.
Richelle wears the same leopard ears and tails she's been wearing to Halloween classes for the past 5 years, and only because she had to replace her first set when they got too small. She even begrudgingly let Jacquie do her makeup that afternoon before class and she keeps having to remind herself not to scratch her nose. Jacquie on the other hand has a face full of war paint and a red cape pinned to the left strap of her leotard, after arguing with Daniel about whether or not she could dance in it. (He only let her keep it on once she proved she could dance in it and when she promised to take it off once they were done at the barre.) Most of the other kids their age have costumes more like Richelle's but a lot of the middle schoolers are wearing modified versions of what they wore to school so they can dance, like Jacquie.
Once class is over Daniel pulls a bowl out of somewhere full of Halloween candy and almost everyone grabs a piece with a "Thanks Daniel" (or "Thank you Mr. Daniel" from the younger kids).
Since it's a Tuesday, and they both have school the next day, they don't get to hang out much after class. Noah meets them at The Next Steep, sans his gender-bent Clarke to Jacquie's Lexa from their A-Troupe Halloween party the previous weekend. Apparently hanging out with them for an hour in the cafe below the studio didn't warrant his effort. They only tease him a little bit for it.
When they finally part ways Richelle has to look away when Noah and Jacquie kiss good-bye. Even though it's been almost 5 months and this is something they've all agreed upon, it's still hard, having to see the affection they can show each other in public. And she has to pretend that she doesn't love them (even if she hasn't said it yet) as she tangles her legs with theirs under the table. She knows she should probably talk to them about it soon, she's the one who's always been so vocal about communication. But they've been back at the studio now for 2 months and with Noah no longer at TNS she felt like she could relax more with Jacquie.
The drive back to her building is quiet except for the Halloween music playing softly though the truck's speakers. "Hey, are you okay?" Jacquie asks when she parks in front of Richelle's building.
Richelle shrugs but doesn't say anything. Because no, she's not okay, but she wants to talk to both of them about this, it doesn't seem fair to only tell Jacquie how she's feeling. And it's hard enough to even think about, let alone have two separate conversations about.
Jacquie reaches out and squeezes Richelle's hand. "You know we're here for you, right?"
"Yeah," Richelle mumbles. And then she gets out of Jacquie's car without saying anything else. She knows her girlfriend is going to worry, but she's not sure she won't blurt out something she regrets if she stays longer.
***
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[An iMessage style text, the contact name reads "Sandwich Thief". There are two outgoing messages from Noah, "Did you notice anything weird with Richelle during class today?" and "She seemed ok at The Next Steep but she closed herself off when we were getting ready to leave". Then five messages from Jacquie "She was fine in class", "Even hanging out with some of the j-troupers", "But she was really quiet on the drive home", "She didn't even sing along to that stupid purple people eater song", and "And she kinda brushed me off when I asked her about it". And finally one message from Noah, "Maybe the day just caught up with her."]
Noah puts his phone away when a few minutes later Jacquie hasn't said anything else. His mom is making dinner so he answers the door when the trick-or-treaters stop by. But even with the distraction of adorable little kids in costumes, it doesn't do much to keep his mind off Richelle. He knows it's probably nothing, her sensory processing capabilities reaching their limit, but there's a nagging feeling that it's something more. Especially since she's been singing the monster's lines from Purple People Eater constantly for the past few weeks. Even emotionally exhausted he's never known her to forgo a stim like that.
AN: Hopefully it's obvious why Jacquie's contact name is what it is. As with the last short chapter I'll have a bonus chapter over the weekend. (And yes, when it was Halloween time I was constantly singing "I wanna get a job in a rock 'n roll band".)
