AN: I had two weeks to finish this chapter, and I still finished it this morning. As of a couple chapters ago this is officially my longest fic and I'm very proud of that fact.
Richelle zones out on the bus ride back to the hotel but as they approach Jacquie gets her attention and gestures out the window. She barely stays seated while the bus pulls to a stop and she definitely doesn't run off the bus, if anyone asks. But once she's in the street she sprints to the door of the hotel and launches herself at her sister.
"Surprise Kid," Natalie whispers in her ear.
Richelle wraps her arms tighter around Natalie, probably soaking her sister's shirt in tears but she doesn't care, because Natalie is here.
"I missed you so much Nat," Richelle says when she finally stops actively crying. Pretty much everyone else has gone inside by now, a few errant A-Troupers have stayed behind and Richelle catches a glimpse of Emily, so they're probably talking to her. But she's not moving from her sister's side for anything right now.
When she's composed herself a little more, Richelle takes Natalie up to her room. Richelle curls into her sister's side as they fill each other in on everything that didn't fit into phone calls and texts. She usually gets home from school and/or dance and sits at their kitchen island telling Natalie everything about her day while her sister works on lesson plans or her latest script. She tells her about The Lionettes and the horrendous group round and that even if they aren't back on friendly terms at least the team doesn't hate her anymore and some of them are actively trying to spend more time with her.
"I think there's someone else you'll want to see," Natalie tells her when they're done catching up.
Richelle brushes it off, "Yeah, I saw Emily, but I figured she'd still be talking to A-Troupe."
"Not her, although I'm sure she'd love to see you. She sent me screenshots of your choreography dump, didn't make any sense, but it seemed very you."
Richelle pulls away from her sister slightly, "Who is it then?"
"Why don't you go down to the lobby and see?"
She barely resists the urge to roll her eyes, "I understand what you're trying to do, but I'm not really in the mood for any more surprises."
Natalie jokingly heaves a sigh (Richelle can tell by her sister's facial expression), "It's Noah. He came out early with us. I think Jacquie's still down there with him."
Richelle sits up a little more at that, but she doesn't otherwise move from the bed. Sure she's excited to see her boyfriend, but her sister is her sister.
"C'mon, why don't we go down together. We can eat some snacks, you can catch up with you, and you can introduce me to your friends."
When they get down to the lobby they find Jacquie and Noah in the middle of a round of Kings Corner. Alex notices her first and waves her over. As usual she's standing beside her chair rather than sitting in it.
"I was wondering where you were. Is that your sister? I asked Jacquie why you weren't with her, since you guys are almost always together, and she said you were with your sister, 'cause she surprised you flying out," Alex rambles at her.
The other three pause the game and Stevie looks up slightly expectant, seemingly also hoping for an answer.
"Yes, this is my sister, Natalie. And I see you also met my other best friend, Noah. He's the one I used to play Kings Corner with."
Richelle feels Natalie squeeze her shoulder so she looks up. "I'm going to go talk to the other 'parents'." She puts parents in quotes because Richelle knows if it came down to it, Natalie would probably consider herself a parent, having helped to raise Richelle even before she moved in with her, but she doesn't really like claiming the label.
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Even When You're Gone
FanfictionIt's harder than they expected, not all getting to see each other every day. But they're going to make it to the other side together, right? Right? A season 7 rewrite that continues from Lost in the Middle, my season 6 AU (Final word count: 29,397)