RICKY COULDN'T find his hoodie for the life of him. He had dug around some boxes and couldn't find it. The specific orange hoodie he always had attached to his hip. Ricky was also in a rush, desperately trying to find the hoodie as he stood shirtless in his bedroom with his girlfriend sound asleep in his bed.

Ricky let out an exasperated sigh and faced his bed. Shiloh's head being covered by the random blanket Ricky had found in one of his boxes.

He made his way back over to his bed and gently removed the blanket from her head to reveal that she had been wrapped up in his orange hoodie. Getting up in the middle of the night to slip it on.

Ricky grabbed her hands and pulled her forward, her eyes still shut, "You gotta get up, Shiloh. Jonathan brought your clothes."

He sat Shiloh upright and joined her side of the bed. Her head instantly hitting his shoulder.

"Come on, Shiloh."

Ricky held her head in his hands. Shiloh's eyes still shut. She was exhausted. She couldn't tell you the last time she slept for that long and not woken up to work on Love Club stuff.

Shiloh took in a deep breath as she fluttered her eyes open. Everything was a little blurry, but the warm hands cupped onto her face pulled her away from that.

"There she is." Ricky smiled, "Good morning."

Shiloh sighed, "Good morning."

Ricky grabbed her glasses from the bedside table and placed them on her face. She blinked a few times before finally waking herself up.

"Where's your shirt?"

Ricky glanced down, "You're wearing the hoodie I wanted to wear today."

Shiloh let out a soft "oh" before grabbing the hem of the hoodie to take it off.

"No, no. It's okay." Ricky smiled, "It looks better on you anyway."

Ricky began to lean forward and Shiloh placed her hand on his bare chest.

"My breath stinks."

"I don't care."

"I do."

Ricky playfully rolled his eyes and stood up from his spot. Looking through the boxes again for a shirt to wear.

Shiloh stood up behind him, a blanket thrown around her, "What if we skipped today?"

Ricky furrowed his brows, "What?"

"What if we just stay here and sleep." She yawned, "I don't think it's the worst idea I've had."

"It's not, but I'm pretty sure you have a busy day ahead of you and in case you forgot... I'm Beast, can't miss out."

"Just this once?"

"What's up with you? There's a reason why you don't want to go to school today."

"I'm just tired."

Ricky sighed. It was obvious that Shiloh was hardworking and didn't take no for an answer. That was last semester. She was still this hardworking teenage girl who had her club go viral on the internet. She was now being shoved into interviews and helping ten times more people than before and even though she wasn't doing the work alone... no really knew how anyone in the club felt.

"Go get ready. I'll drive and we can stop and get coffees or something. After rehearsals, we can sleep all we want."

"I'll be fine." She smiled, "I promise. Where's your bathroom?"

"Down the hall, first door on the right."

Shiloh nodded and grabbed her clothes from one of the boxes. She exited the room and peaked her head back inside, "I think you look very nice without a shirt." She smiled.

Ricky returned the smile, "I'll keep that in mind."

He watched as Shiloh ducked out of the room. Ricky had a lot going on and Shiloh did as well. The only difference was the Shiloh was more vocal about what she was going through. The two of them always knew what was wrong with the other, but sometimes, they felt that it was best to keep it locked away.

EVERYONE WAS gathered in the bomb shelter that afternoon. Shiloh was tired and completely in and out of focus the entire time. She rested her head on Ricky's shoulder with her eyes shut.

The club had just been interviewed yet again and each and every one of them were exhausted out of their minds.

Evie and Madison had just walked into the bomb shelter and saw Shiloh sleeping, Jenna pacing, and Ashley scrolling through her phone. The two of them had just finished their interviews. The two of them also tired but definitely not as tired as Shiloh.

Evie made her way towards the small metal risers and gently slapped Ricky on his shoulder.

"How'd the interview go?"

"Tiring. They ask you the same questions over and over again." Evie answered, "How was Valentine's Day for the Newlyweds?"

Ricky had no issue talking about his relationship with Shiloh with Big Red. That was his best friend. When it came to talking about his relationship with Shiloh with her best friends... it was a little different.

Ricky felt Shiloh shift from beside him, "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Why are you so tired?" Ashley asked.

Shiloh sighed, "Love Club stuff. No big deal."

It was actually a very big deal. Everyone knew how hard Shiloh worked on this club and it seemed like she had to work ten times hard to keep the originality of the club. It was like something had shifted in the club. Not the people in it, but the entirety of what the club stood for. People seemed to come for the popularity of it. Shiloh had to fight to keep her club the same and it was very draining.

If Ricky hadn't pulled Shiloh away from the club yesterday, the club could've expected Shiloh to be up all night just working to get stuff done for the club.

Soon, Miss. Jenn walked into the bomb shelter, "We have a two-hour window before the storm is expected to hit, and I intend to use every minute of it. Big, splashy group numbers always succeed at the Menkie Awards. So, we need to workshop a punchy, breathtaking number that will put us in the number one spot."

Carlos stepped forward with a smile bright on his face, "As our head choreographer, I am so happy to announce that today we will, at last, begin rehearsing one of the most showstopping, iconic, and bar-raising numbers of the entire show."

"Be Our Guest." Gina said, stepping forward, "Yeah, it's Be Our Guest, guys. What?"

A beat of silence passed. Shiloh glanced over at Jenna. It was evident to everyone that something had been going on between Gina and Carlos; some feud about the choreography they could assume.

"Before we begin, just a reminder, the Love Club is here to help. Even with Jenna as our lead, I'm sure she'll be around for help." Miss. Jenn smiled, "Finally, I'm going to tell you a little story about hospitality."

"Maybe we should-"

"Once when I was a little girl, my mom and I heard a clatter from the kitchen. We thought it was a burglar. So my mom ran over, hog-tied the man, and promptly called the police. As we waited for the cops to come, I watched my mother place a blow of iced tea next to his face. "Because," she said, "until the police come and get him, he's still our guest.""

"So, did he, like, get arrested or..." Kourtney questioned.

"No. Turns out, it wasn't a burglar at all, just a repairman who entered the wrong unit. But the point remains the same. Just like our intruder, we need to make Belle and our entire audience feel welcome. And with that, Carlos and Gina, take it away."

There was a sudden knock on the door. Everyone taking notice of Mr. Mazzara standing between the frame.

"Can I borrow Shiloh?"

Shiloh stood up from her seat and followed Mr. Mazzara outside.

It didn't take long for Gina and Carlos to start going back and forth and again and they were quickly cut off by Miss. Jenn, who now wanted to work on Gaston, which was also a bust because no one had seen EJ.

"Yo! I think the feather duster brigade sounded cool." Ricky reassured.

"Really-really?" Gina asked.

"Yeah. What, do I need to send you a random box of chocolates to prove it?"

"Sick burn."

That "sick burn" didn't go unnoticed by Evie, Ashley, Madison, Jenna, or Ashlyn. The Love Club members non-verbally arguing with each other about who was going to bring up the joke and figure out what it meant.

"OMG." Evie chuckled awkwardly, "That's so crazy. My Abuela rented Die Hard again this year for Valentine's Day. So crazy... you got Gina chocolates on Valentine's Day, Ricky?"

"No." Ricky laughed, "She thought I sent her chocolates. I was with Shiloh for the majority of the day."

"It's nothing." Gina smiled.

It was something. It felt too awkward for it to be nothing. Shiloh wasn't the jealous type per se. She had her moments, of course, but nothing crazy. She wasn't Dylan, but Shiloh knew when she had a good thing, and Ricky Bowen was the best boyfriend she had. She wasn't going to let Lily, Gina, or anyone ruin the relationship she held the closest to her heart. So, if she found out about this "joke", "sick burn", or whatever from someone that wasn't Ricky or Gina... Hell might freeze over that day.

"Oh... haha." Madison smiled, "So crazy when you get a cute gift on Valentine's Day by someone who isn't your significant other... haha."

"It's not a big deal." Gina said.

"In the nicest way possible, it's not us you need to be telling that to." Jenna said.

Before any other conversation could be had, Miss. Jenn had let out an exasperated sigh, "Okay, well, if anyone sees EJ, would you please tell him that rehearsals are mandatory."

Meanwhile, back in the hallways, Shiloh stood with Mr. Mazzara.

"Principal Gutierrez has signed the club up for more interviews. He wanted me to give you the list."

Shiloh sighed and rested her head against the wall.

"Just say it."

"Say what?"

"No."

Shiloh grabbed the sheet from Mr. Mazzara. The same one she had received before, just with slight changes.

"California?"

"Paid flight during Spring Break."

Shiloh was supposed to go to Chicago for two days to meet Ricky's mother in a more appropriate manner. Her fathers trusting the teen girl enough to go that far with her boyfriend and knowing there would be another adult waiting for them.

"These are back-to-back interviews. We can't do that."

"Then say no."

Mr. Mazzara wanted Shiloh to say no. He wanted nothing more but for her to turned each interview down and go back to whatever happy-go-round mood she had always been in.

"I can't. Not without letting the others know first."

Shiloh pushed her glasses up as she felt the very sudden tears form in her eyes.

"Shiloh-"

"You know what?" She smiled falsely, "Tell Principal Gutierrez that I'll talk to him tomorrow, you know, since you're delivering messages for him."

"Ms. Molina."

Shiloh pushed herself off of the wall, "Trust me, Mr. Mazzara. I'll be okay. I've been okay for far too long to let this ruin my day."

Shiloh had re-entered the room and saw that everyone had been gathered around the opposite entryway. She didn't bother with seeing what the commotion was and sat right back down in the small, metal risers. She let out a small sigh and rested her hands on her face.

Nini, who had been visiting from YAC, nudged Ricky's arm.

Glancing her way, she pointed indiscreetly towards Shiloh. Ricky's small smile had quickly vanished and he separated himself from his friends.

"Hey," He whispered, resting his hand on her lower back, "can we talk outside?"

It took Shiloh a moment to look but once she did she made sure Ricky didn't catch how she looked. She wasn't crying or anything, but she was beyond annoyed and frustrated to the point she might just start.

Ricky followed her out of the bomb shelter. She had made her way further down the hall to at least get herself together before Ricky beat her down with questions.

"You know, just because you have this "influence" on people. Doesn't mean you're not allowed to be frustrated or upset." He said.

"Why would I be frustrated?" She laughed, "Frustrated because I don't have my free time anymore or frustrated that I'm can't make slight mistakes anymore? Why would I be upset? Upset because my club doesn't feel like my club anymore and that it's a business or-"

"Shiloh." Ricky sighed, "It's okay to cry sometimes. I would really hate to see you cry but I would rather you cry right now than keep all of that bottled up."

Shiloh only nodded as Ricky wrapped his arms around her. He felt Shiloh take in a deep breath before she buried her face into his chest, staggering cries following out.

She was tired, stressed, and upset, but, she wasn't going to lie. Crying right now had been one of the best feelings she had had in a while.

Ricky rubbed circles on her back. Like he said, he hated to see Shiloh upset, especially about something she cared about, but if she wasn't letting anything out, there wasn't much he could do. He didn't want her to be upset, but, here she was.

She backed away from the hug. Ricky's arms still around her torso as she rested her hands on her eyes, her glasses being pushed up as she did so.

Ricky glanced up and saw Nini suddenly stop near them. Shiloh had felt Ricky tense slightly and wiped any tears remaining.

"Nini!" Shiloh smiled and pulled the girl in for a hug.

Nini glanced over at Ricky, "Is she okay?" She mouthed.

Ricky let out a deep breath before shrugging his shoulders.

Shiloh held her small smile as she pulled back from Nini's hug, "How's YAC?"

"It's definitely not East High. I miss everyone. It's great to be out on my own and doing my own thing, but I miss my friends."

"I get that."

Miss. Jenn spotted the three from down the hall, "Ricky, Shiloh, I need you both back inside. Nini, I'll be ready in just a few."

Nini nodded and rested one hand on Shiloh's shoulder, "I'll catch you guys soon."

The couple nodded and headed back inside the bomb shelter.

"Listen up, everyone. I am going to step out for a little while to make sure that Nini catches her bus." Miss. Jenn announced, "Please go back to workshopping Be Our Guest concepts until I return, and find a path forward. I've asked Mr. Mazzara to pop in. And make sure that you don't get too rowdy while I'm gone."

With Miss. Jenn gone and Mr. Mazzara only popping his head in and out the bomb shelter every now and then, Gina and Carlos had finally come up with a compromise.

"Everybody, listen up." Gina called.

"Great news." Carlos smiled, "Gina and I agreed to joint custody of you all."

"Oh, so who gets us on weekends?" Kourtney joked.

"We're gonna workshop our Be Our Guest visions on you guys separately before adding dancers. We have each picked two out of the four remaining Love Club members to help things go as smoothly as possible. The winning version will then be decided in an anonymous vote. Fun and easy." Gina instructed.

It didn't take long before Carlos and Gina began arguing again about which Love Club member was going to work with who. Evie began growing frustrated and spilt herself and Ashley with Gina and Madison and Shiloh with Carlos.

Separating Shiloh and Gina from the unforeseen was for the best, especially when Ricky and Gina saw no issue in not telling Shiloh about this "sick burn".

Carlos ran a quick summary about his routine with Madison and Shiloh before facing the others.

"This number was inspired by mg second-oldest sister's quince. Theme, sultry jazz. Sebastian, you may begin."

Seb held a bright smile on his face as he turned and faced the piano. His fingertips barely touching the keys before the electricity crackled around the room.

"Oh, what was that?" Ashlyn questioned.

"Maybe a power line went down."

"Oh, no, you guys. I missed an alert from my Farmer's Alman-app." Seb started, "Salt Lake just got half a foot in half an hour."

Ricky scoffed, "My dad says the roads are completely closed."

Shiloh pulled her phone out of the hoodie she had taken from Ricky. Her message from her fathers and Jonathan reading the same. Get home safe or get to Ricky's. No Love Club this afternoon. Well, it was too late for that.

"Oh, my gosh, you guys get out here!" Carlos shouted from the halls.

The teens quickly left the bomb shelter and out into the halls. The snowstorm outside crashed against the windows as they looked from the inside.

"I bet AV didn't have to see this from inside the school." Ashley said, "I bet AV club actually got to watch Stranger Things-"

Evie quickly hit Ashley to shut her up. Ashley had always been afraid of any type of storm, no matter what it was. She would rather get sunburn ten times in a row before hearing the sound of harsh rain hit her windows at night.

"This is insane! Are we the only ones stuck at school?" Ricky asked.

"Every other club ends before ours." Shiloh said, "It's most likely just us and Mr. Mazzara."

"Should I check on Nini?" Kourtney asked, "I'm checking on Nini."

"I don't mind the idea of being stuck together all night." Big Red not-so-subtlety whispered to Ashlyn.

"Well, I do!" Jenna cried, "I was supposed to meet up with my Valentine's Day date today after he ditched me for his mother's birthday party. I can't be here with you guys and he's sitting in my driveway."

"Okay, you guys." Ricky shuttered.

Gina sighed, "Listen up, folks. We need to act fast and gather supplies in case this gets worse."

"It can get worse than this?" Ashley asked, "What's worse than this?"

Carlos scoffed, "Love the commitment, Gina, but I don't think it's that serious."

"We're stuck at school with no electricity and the only other adult here is Mr. Mazzara. This is probably one of our lowest points." Shiloh said, "I'm sure we have stuff in the club room, Gina."

"Contact your parents every half hour, but conserve your phone batteries. Water, flashlights. Let's move, people."

Ricky held his hand out for Shiloh to grab and as she was reaching for it, Evie grabbed her hand instead.

"You know what they say, clubbers before huggers." Madison laughed.

"I've never-"

"We'll catch up with you, Lover Boy, we'll be in the club room if you need anything." Evie rushed out.

The four of them pulled Shiloh away and the girl glanced back at her boyfriend, shrugging her shoulders.

If Shiloh had to find out about this "sick burn", the club could only hope the snowstorm would be the only thing holding Shiloh back from letting her jealousy show.

- lucy has something to say!!

lol that last part has me gripping my seat i ate that part up.

bye :))))