With the Theatre Club being shut down, the group carried on with their day to day lives.

After school, Maxon headed straight to the Hospital to see Kennedy. He looked into the room. She looked so peaceful as she slept. Maxon entered the room, a nervous look on his face. "Hey, Kennedy?"

Kennedy's eyes slowly opened, though she didn't turn her face to see who it was. "Who's there?"

"Oh it's uh, me. Maxon", said Maxon.

Kennedy's eyes opened and she pulled the blanket over her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I came to see you... why are you covering your face?"

"I-I... I don't want you to see me like this. All... weak."

Maxon shook his head and gently pulled the blanket away from her, reaching for her hands and holding them tight. "Kennedy Kingston, you're the strongest person I know."

Kennedy shook her head. "No I'm not. I'm the reason Leonie's in a coma."

"No you're not!"

"If I hadn't gotten st-"

"- Stop, Kennedy! I blamed myself too, ok? But it's none of our faults. You went back to save Eli. You're not the reason Leonie's in a coma, Kennedy. But you are the reason Isaac was able to find Eli in time."

"Isaac found Eli?", questioned Kennedy, grinning like a proud parent when Maxon nodded.

"Yeah, dude did good", smiled Maxon. He reached out and wiped away Kennedy's tears, making her blush.

"I was so scared before. I-I just started to panic and fainted. The next thing you know I was back here. Feeling suffocated."

Maxon gently squeezed her hand. "I won't let you go through this alone. It's ok to feel scared but when you do... I'll be there. You're gonna be ok, Kennedy. And so is Leonie. And Eli."

"I thought you weren't an optimist?"

"No, I'm not. I'm a realist. And I know you're all gonna be ok", said Maxon.

Kennedy smiled, before frowning when she realised something. "Do you think they'll let me see Leonie?"

"Don't worry about that right now. Focus on getting better. But I'm sure they'd let you."

-

Darius called Stanley into the Theatre Room, though he looked less than impressed when he arrived.

"What's up?", asked Stanley.

Darius lunged at the boy, knocking them both to the ground. "What the h*ll, man!"

Stanley squirmed as he tried to get Darius off him. "Wh-what the... get off Darius!"

Darius listened, though his face was red with rage. Stanley sat up. "What did you do that for?", asked Stanley.

"Would you have gone in that building if it was me?", asked Darius.

"What? Darius come on m-"

"- WOULD YOU?", he yelled, tears forming in his eyes. "Because you were ao ready to go in for Rhys, a boy you barely know."

"Where's this coming from?", asked a confused Stanley.

"What's so special about Rhys that you almost risked you're life, Stanley?"

Tears started to form in Stanley's eyes. "Darius..."

"Tell me!", screamed Darius, hitting at Stanley's chest. "Why is he so important that I almost lost my best fr-"

"- I LIKE HIM!", yelled Stanley, his voice hoarse. 

Before he could fully process what he just said, Darius took a few steps back from him. "You...you like Rhys?"

Stanley tried to think of a way to get out of this but couldn't think of one. He sighed. "Y-Yeah."

Darius stayed silent for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to process everything. "So... is this the first time you've liked a boy?"

Stanley felt fresh tears form in his eyes and he looked up to try and compose himself. Unable to speak, he just nodded.

Darius' eyes widened. "Yeah? You kept this from me? For how long, Stanley? How long?"

Stanley sighed. "A long time."

Darius took several steps back. "It's like I don't even know you anymore."

"Yeah, ok, I'm gay. If you have a problem with that I'll get out of here and never come back. Just please, don't tell my Dad", begged Stanley.

Without warning, Darius rushed towards him, pulling him into a hug. He rubbed his back gently and closed his eyes, tears staining his own cheeks. "Why would I have a problem with that?"

Stanley hugged him back, surprised that he wasn't angry. "It's just... the way you've been acting."

"Oh, mate... I was angry at how reckless you were. Stanley you're my best mate. I can't lose you. Everything in my life can go to sh*t but I can't lose you", said Darius.

Stanley smiled. "I am pretty amazing, aren't I?"

Darius playfully rolled his eyes and pulled away from him. "Yeah, yeah. But look, are you sure you don't want to tell your Dad?"

Stanley shook his head. "I can't! Do you know how long it took him to be ok with me liking Theatre? Please Darius... don't tell him."

Darius sighed. "Alright. I won't. Not if you ain't ready."

Stanley smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Darius."

Stanley thought he'd worry a lot more, but knowing that Darius didn't see him differently and still wanted to be his friend meant the world to him.

-

Leonie's Mum ran her fingers through Leonie's hair, fresh tears spilling down her face. "Come on, sweetheart. You need to wake up. Your Mum needs ya."

Leonie's Mum looked at her daughter, hope in her eyes. As time flew by, and Leonie remained still, her hope diminished.

"Oh!", said someone. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was in here."

Leonie's mother wiped her tears and turned to see Camryn. "Oh, no, it's ok, love. Are you one of Leonie's friends?"

Camryn nodded. "Yeah. My name's Camryn", she said, holding out her hand.

Leonie's Mum's face lit up and she pulled Camryn into a hug. "I've heard so much about you. All good things, I promise."

Camryn smiled shyly as she pulled away. "Really? I-I didn't know that."

"Well you didn't come here to see me so I'll leave you alone for a bit. I'll get some drinks... fizzy drink alright?"

Camryn nodded.

Once her Mum left, Camryn allowed herself to properly look at Leonie. She looked so... still. Like a delicately drawn picture stuck in its frame.

Camryn didn't want to come. Her aversion to Hospitals prevented her from seeing Eli. But she decided to brave it and saw him just before she came here.

She was yet to see Kennedy but she knew she'd be better than Leonie. Taking a deep breath, Camryn reached for Leonie's hand and gently squeezed it. "H-Hey. I uh, I don't know if you can hear me but um... everyone is thinking about you. And... and Kennedy's ok. Well, not ok but... you saved her."

Leonie's unresponsiveness scared Camryn and made her feel uneasy. She was physically there but... in a way, she wasn't.

Camryn sighed. "You know what? I don't think you'll hear this so I might as well say it. I... I think I like you. The way you like me. Well, hopefully you still like me like that. Or hopefully not. I don't know. Relationships in general are hard for me to navigate- mainly because I've never been in one. I'm scared telling you how I feel will mess up our friendship. I don't want to lose you as a friend, Leonie."

Camryn could feel the tears form in her eyes but didn't wipe them away. She hoped Leonie would wake up from her coma.

But she didn't.

-

Hi!

Ok, I just want to take a minute to appreciate the friendship duos that are Darius & Stanley and Kennedy & Leonie.

Friendships will strengthen and grow between a lot of different people but I think it's safe to say that these friendships that were formed way before the Club formed, are pretty amazing.

In your friendship group or closest friends, do you have a Kennedy & Leonie friendship or a Stanley and Darius one?

And what do you think about Stanley coming out to Darius?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

-cherrysvalanxe

ATHENA-yeonnie

CaptainHermioneSwan

DoodleYeet

gillioddities

LiaHook_Descendants

starryeyedturtle