Even When You're Gone

Six

AN: Mini time skip because I just need to get to DanceMania or I'm going to lose all motivation for this fic.

After the solo auditions apparently Nick had arranged a mini-workshop which led to a small group of dancers finding out they had been invited to audition for DanceMania, a dance reality competition show that a lot of the dancers in the studio like. Richelle has mixed feelings about it, on the one hand it's a really exciting opportunity, but on the other they're all splitting their time now between learning all the Nationals dances (and rehearsing the small groups and solos that have been assigned) and learning the dance Emily put Summer in charge of choreographing for the DanceMania audition. At first Richelle had been upset that Emily didn't ask her to choreograph the DanceMania audition piece, but between working on the big group number for Nationals, helping Amy, Finn, and Piper refine their small group dance, and working on her own solo piece, she's kind of glad that she doesn't have to choreograph a whole other group dance.

About a week after they all find out about DanceMania Noah stops by the studio during a Saturday rehearsal to surprise them during their lunch break. Jacquie comes back from checking what seems like every room in the studio twice and she finally has to admit defeat. She can't find Richelle anywhere, she disappeared at the beginning of their break but she's not in any of her usual lunch hang out spots.

"Sorry, I was trying to find Richelle. I'm not sure where she went."

"It's fine. I was just saying hi to everyone. But I think I know where she is. Come on," he says as he starts leading her through a maze of hallways.

Jacquie looks over the door Noah stops in front of, "The closet we keep the crash mats in?"

"This is kind of like her quiet space at the studio. She likes to hang out here with the lights off and listen to music sometimes, when everything gets too loud." Noah knocks on the door, not that it'll help if Richelle's listening to music, and turns the flashlight on his phone on. The lights are actually on when Noah opens the door and Jacquie is completely surprised by what's on the other side.

***

As soon as Nick calls for their lunch break Richelle makes a beeline for the crash mat closet. It hasn't necessarily been a bad day, but she's not really in a mood to be making small talk with her teammates on their break. She stops at her locker long enough to grab a granola bar and her book before continuing to the solitude of the closet.

She flicks the light on before pulling a chair closer to the six-foot stack of mats near the door. It's not her final destination, but it's certainly easier to climb onto than the eight-foot stack behind it. Finally though, she makes it to the top and she curls into the corner to read her book.

Richelle double checks the time on her phone when she hears a knock on the door. She might not be the best at keeping track of time but there's no way it's been an hour yet.

"Noah! What are you doing here?!" She asks as she gets down from her perch as fast as she safely can.

"I wanted to surprise you guys. With all the DanceMania stuff we haven't seen each other a whole lot."

"I missed you." It's hard being able to see Jacquie practically every day and it's been a few weeks since they've been all together, not since their conversation after the small group auditions. They've had a few calls to catch each other up on things that are hard to convey over text, but it's not the same. Especially since they were able to see each other every day last year.

"What was she—what were you doing up there?" Jacquie asks, finally getting over her shock.

Richelle shrugs, "I like being up high."