A Bittersweet Mystreet

{Chapter 24}

{A/N: This chapter was what inspired me to do this Mystreet rewrite all those years ago, so I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Fair warning, though, this one is the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm talking 10k words. Also, to make this more accessible to readers, only the first and last lines of past scenes will be italicized instead of the whole scene.}

"Oh, Irene. Oh, Irene. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to handle this?" Katelyn babbled to herself as she gripped her hair for dear life. Her chest had begun to heave as she tried desperately to take deep breaths amidst the chaos. Yanking her sleeve away from her wrist, she checked the time.

Five minutes till intermission was over.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she looked up at her cast and crew. Two weeks of practice and team bonding all came down to this weekend. The weekend where Katelyn could do what her heart had been set on from when she was just a little girl with a dream, but this? This was the nightmare Katelyn hoped would never come true.

"I'm sorry, Aaron, please!" Aphmau cried as she tried to grab onto the sleeve of his costume.

Aaron ripped his arm away as he took another step back, his eyes brimming with tears as he shook his head slowly.

"It doesn't matter how many times you apologize or say that you want to be with me because I am done! I love you, Aph, but unlike you, my words actually hold some truth behind them!" he swore.

"Please, don't leave me...," she whimpered, her hands clasped against her chest. "You're my best friend!"

Katelyn wretched her head away, unable to watch her friends argue like this. She had to find a way to fix this, but how do you fix someone's relationship problems in time for them to kiss and die together on stage?

She spotted Kawaii~Chan silently crying in the corner as she watched the fight go down.

"My ship," she sputtered to herself. "My ship is sinking."

The backdoor swung open as Garroth stormed inside, Laurance following close behind.

"Garroth, please, believe me on this!" Laurance tried to reason as he grabbed Garroth's arm. Garroth swung around to face him, unable to find it in himself to make Laurance let go.

"Believe what? That you aren't embarrassed to be with me. That you're not afraid to tell your friends, to tell your family? I know for a fact that you and our friends and family are accepting of the community, but for you to turn around and act like this?! It's not that you don't accept yourself, but you don't accept being with me!" Garroth challenged as his heart broke at what he assumed to be the truth.

Laurance loosened his grip on Garroth's arm, unwillingly allowing his partner to slip out of his grasp. His eyes grew wide and glossy at Garroth's perspective on him.

"No! It isn't that at all. I swear..."

Katelyn's mind went blank, overstimulated by the noise and crushed by the problems she needed to face in such a short amount of time. She couldn't do this. There wasn't even enough energy in her to lash out. Stepping back till she hit the wall, she slid down and sat with her knees held against her chest.

Starting this project meant wearing her heart on her sleeve, something she wasn't used to doing for a very long time. Now, her hard work, everyone's hard work, was ruined right as they were about to reach the end.

Despite knowing that everyone could see her, she cried. She was supposed to be the director, the leader, and instead, she became another person adding fuel to the flame of her destruction.