Esther, Nico and Kayden decided to go to a local café together.
Kayden walked back to their table, two hot chocolates in his hand.

"Are you sure you don't want anything, Esther?", asked Kayden.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"This week's been crazy, hasn't it?", remarked Nico.
"I've missed not having Camryn nagging at me."

"Isaac always checks in on me before he leaves for school.
Some days he'll even wait outside my door until he hears my alarm go off", said Esther.

"Best little brother out there", said Kayden.
"Amie hasn't called or anything, except to tell me that something important to us got deleted."

"Your Mum's song?", asked Nico.

Kayden nodded.
"Still.
I've seen some posts online and she looks like she's having fun."

"She's probably worried about re-living it all, so she doesn't want to talk about it", suggested Esther.

"I guess."

"Anyway, we're all sitting together for the show, right?", asked Nico.

"Definitely!", grinned Kayden.

"Your Dad can sit with my parents, if he wants", said Esther.

Kayden frowned.
"Actually..."

"I don't like that tone", frowned Nico.

Kayden sighed.
"...he's not coming."

"What?", the pair said in unison.

"He has to go!", exclaimed Esther.

"Yeah, wasn't it his idea for her to join the club anyway?", asked Nico.

"Yeah, it was.
He's just got a lot on his mind.
He's never really been one to go to club events or to look over work that isn't homework."

Nico and Esther noticed the sad look on Kayden's face.
As much as they wanted to berate Kayden's Dad, they knew that, despite his Dad never taken an interest in him, Kayden still loved him.

A mischevious smile appeared on Nico's face.
"Hey.
See that man over there?", he whispered.

Kayden slyly looked behind him, before turning back to face his friends.
"Yeah?"

"He's always taking money from Eric when he's not looking", said Nico.

"The homeless man?", questioned Kayden.

Esther nodded.

"That's awful", frowned Kayden.

"I think it's time he gave it back, don't you think?", asked Nico.

Kayden smiled.
"What's the plan?"

______________________________

Leonie's Mum, Kennedy's Mum and Maxon's Mum met up for their usual cup of coffee at Leonie's house.

"Kennedy's never been happier", said Kennedy's Mum.

Eva smiled.
"Maxon's always had a gentle soul, but Kennedy really brings it out of him more."

"Young love is so... raw, isn't it?
I remember my first boyfriend.
I thought my world was ending when he held Sally Morrison's hand in the park after school."

"Oh, the cheek of him!", exclaimed Kennedy's Mum, a laugh escaping her lips.
"We completely forgot about growing up, didn't we?"

Eva nodded.
"When we loved, we loved so intensely.
Oh God, I hope they grow up and get married one day."

Kennedy's Mum, Joy, nodded.
"So do I.
I don't think I could handle Kennedy's heart breaking."

Eva turned to Leonie's Mum.
"What about your Leonie?
How are things with Camryn?"

Leonie's Mum shrugged.
"I don't know.
Leonie says it's going well, but... the only time I met Camryn was at the Hospital."

"Maybe she's just nervous", said Kennedy's Mum.
"She'll bring her to meet you soon enough."

"I suppose so.
I'll definitely see her at the show", said Leonie's Mum.

Eva nodded.
"You will!"

"And we'll be sitting together, of course", added Kennedy's Mum.

_______________________________

Darius walked towards Eli, who was standing in Camryn's usual hang out spot outside.
"You wanted to see me?"

Eli nodded.
"I spoke to my Dad."

"About what?
How is he doing anyway?"

"Better.
He's seeing a therapist, but it's still early days.
Anyway, I spoke to my Mum too, and they both agreed that it's a good idea."

"What is?"

"We want you to come and live with us."

Darius' eyes widened.
"Wh-what?"

"Well, you said that your family tends to fight more when you're there.
If you moved in with us, things might get better for them.
And, you'd be in a better environment", explained Eli.

Darius thought about it.
A lot had happened to Eli, so Darius assumed he'd value his time away from the club.
But now he was saying he wanted Darius in his home?

"I feel awful that I didn't notice you weren't happy sooner.
You only live 10 minutes away from me, so you can see your family whenever you like."

Darius thought about what this would mean for the business.
What would people think if they knew the heir of his parents' tech business left them?

Did he see this as his way out? Yes.

Did he want a way out? Yes.

But he couldn't stop thinking about his family.

"No thanks."

"But Darius-"

"- I appreciate it, man.
Things aren't even that bad any more. I was just being dramatic."

________________________

With two days left until the show day, the group came into school on a weekend to perfect the performance. "This is our dress rehearsal, ok?", reminded Miss Laine.
"I know we're tired.
I know Maxon's battered and bruised from falling over in every dance."

"Cheers, Miss", said Maxon, a laugh escaping his lips.

"But we can do this!
The finish line is so close", continued Miss Laine.
"But please know that it doesn't matter if we win the money or not. Each and every one of you have done everything that you could to keep Theatre alive.
I'm so proud of you all."

A series of slow claps caught the group's attention.

Amethyst rolled her eyes when she saw the person.
"Great.
I thought I could smell desperation."

"Well then you must be smelling yourself", replied Carrie.

Miss Laine sighed.
"What are you doing here?"

"That was a beautiful speech, Addy. Too bad it's a load of cr*p."

"Isn't this harrassment?", asked Maxon.

Carrie rolled her eyes.
"Keep your pants on.
I just came to wish you all luck."

"You did?", questioned a confused Leonie.

Carrie nodded.
"You'll need it."

Meredith couldn't help but smirk as Carrie walked away.
From the corner of her eye, Amethyst noticed that Leonie saw this too.

Miss Laine sighed, before collapsing on to her chair.
"I need a coffee after that."

"Hey, don't stress, Miss Laine", said Stanley.

"Yeah, we've got this in the bag", said Darius.

Maxon nodded.
"Dumb and Dumber are right.
We'll definitely win this.
And that's coming from a realist."

"I'm confident that we'll succeed", said Eli.
"We've worked so hard."

"Oh good.
I thought they'd never have their boyband moment", smiled Amethyst.

Miss Laine smiled.
"Thank you all.
Now let's rehearse.
We'll knock their socks off!"

_____________________

Hi.

I got too excited to wait until the weekend, I'm sorry! I'll most likely save the finale for tomorrow or Saturday.

Have you noticed a shift in the group dynamic since the beginning of the book?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

kurookensimp

-cherrysvalanxe

CaptainHermioneSwan

The_Slytherclaw

gillioddities

DoodleYeet

starryeyedturtle