Fly With You - TNS Season 7

chapter 7

It was a crisp afternoon when I next returned to the studio. School had been mediocre, as usual. I'd stayed up till the ungodly hours of the morning finishing my paper for English, and after that, sleep had lost its appeal. If Noah was still here, he would've offered to video call me. Our friendship's like that - we can dial the other's number at three in the morning, and they'll pick up. We always made time for each other. 

But not anymore, I guess. 

And that's fine. I shouldn't have expected things to stay the same. It's not fair of me to rely on him, when he's busy or working or at job interviews or just trying to sleep. I'm too selfish. 

So no video call. Instead, I'd just sat up listening to my heartbreak 💔 playlist, the one I'd made after Elliot and I had broken up. Strangely, it had made me feel better. But it also meant I'd had around two and a half hours of sleep, and I was now feeling the effects of that as I drove to the studio. I needed some caffeine. 

There was still ages before rehearsals started, and I was craving Starbucks, so I made a quick pit stop to get my usual. As I approached, though, I noticed a sign that told me the drive-thru was closed for the time being, so instead I parked and made my way inside, to find Heath standing at the back of the coffee queue. 

"Heath?" I said, joining the line behind him. He whipped round, visibly relaxing when he saw it was me. This guy was seriously on edge. Maybe now would be a good time to ask what was on his mind? "Someone's jumpy."

"Oh, hey, Richelle," he said, quirking his lips up awkwardly. "Just... didn't expect to see anyone here, I guess."

I nodded, scanning the queue. There had to be at least ten people in front of us. We'd have to be fast if we were to be on time for rehearsals. On a more positive note, that meant I'd have ages to talk to Heath. 

"How are you finding A Troupe?" I asked casually, turning my attention back to him. 

He shrugged. "It's fine. I mean, I've not been here for very long."

"You've lasted longer than others," I said, making him smirk. And it was true - with Cleo suspended and Summer probably about to face a similar fate, it was something of an achievement just to actually have stayed on the team. 

Heath's face clouded over all of a sudden, and I frowned. "You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry," he said hastily, cheeks turning pink.

I had to be careful as to how I approached this. Scaring him off would not be the smartest play here. "Heath," I said cautiously. "I don't want to overstep, but I've noticed you've been a little... distracted, lately. Is... everything alright?"

He looked at me for a long second, before letting out a hollow laugh. "That obvious, huh?"

"No," I quickly reassured him. "Not at all. But the other day, at the diner, you looked really out of it. And when Ozzy was needling you in rehearsals yesterday you seemed upset. I mean, I don't like talking to Ozzy either, but..." My joke trailed off as I realized he now appeared even more downcast than before. "Sorry, that wasn't funny."

His eyes flickered up to meet mine. "It's fine," he said slowly. "I wish I could tell you what was going on, but..."

"You don't have to," I said, biting my lip. "I just want you to know that if you ever need to rant about Ozzy... I'm here." Okay, maybe I needed to cool it with the Ozzy jokes. That was too easy a target. 

But Heath's face relaxed into a lopsided smile. "I really appreciate that, Richelle."

I smiled back. "I'm glad."