Catlynn's POV

It felt awkward walking into a theater where everyone was in costume but me. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Elle dragged me to a group of girls. One was wearing red, the other green, another blue.

"This is Catlynn." Elle said. "Catlynn, this is Jessica, Alice, and Barrett." Elle whispered to the girls "Go easy on her. She's been through a lot."

Barrett stared at Elle, and said, "Then why is she at a theater playing a show that mentions...sensitive things?" I backed away, and almost crashed into someone. I turned around, and it was a girl wearing all pink.

"Hi. Sorry about that. My name's Catlynn, I'm not trespassing."

"Catherine?" said the girl, and I almost cried. Elle rushed to my side and said, "Don't call her Catherine. That's what her father called her."

"Oh, sorry." said the girl. "Anyway, my name is Katie and I play Martha. I assume you met Elle, she plays Heather McNamara. That girl in green is Alice, she plays Heather Duke. That's Jessica, she's Heather Chandler. And that's Barrett, she plays Veronica."

"I met them already." I said to Katie. "I just didn't know who they played...I don't know much about this show other than what you told me."

"Oh?" said Alice, finally joining the conversation. "Well, welcome to Heathers!"

"Don't tell her too much..." Barrett said, concerned. A man wearing a trench coat walked up and tapped Barrett on the shoulder.

"You're on." he said. Barrett got up and waved, and then the man said, "Who's the new girl? She seems awfully young to be in a show like this."

"That's Catlynn." Elle said. "I'm taking her in. Catlynn, that's Ryan. He plays JD."

"Catlynn?" Ryan said. "Does anyone call you Cat or Katie? Because we have a Katie in this show."

Katie laughed, and said, "I never thought about that! Name twins!"

"Not really. I've never had a nickname." I said.

Jessica whooped, and said, "Let's get this girl a nickname before we hit the stage!"

Elle looked troubled, and Jessica said, "What's wrong?"

"Catlynn, didn't you say you had sensory issues?" Elle asked. I nodded, and I saw Ryan look at Jessica. "This is not the best place for her..." he said under his breath.

"Catlynn, can you step outside for a minute?" I did, but I put my ear up against the door so I could eavesdrop. I was a master at that.

"You make a good point, Ryan." someone said. I think it was either Jessica or Elle.

"Not only does she have sensory issues, she's dealt with abuse. I'm going to be careful." Now that was Elle. She was the only person here who knew that about me.

"I have an idea. Keep her somewhere where she can't really hear the show. Also, have one of us stay with her at all times, so we can hug her and explain things to her if she gets scared." another girl said.

"Great idea, Katie. I'll stay here for the first half of Beautiful. Ryan, switch with me when I have to go on." Elle said.

"What about when I have to go on?" Ryan whined.

"Ryan, stop being selfish." someone said, and they all laughed. "Seriously, most of us are on during Candy Store and Fight For Me, so we can try leaving her alone during those, there's nothing that would really scare her." someone said.

"Wait, are we making a Catlynn comfort schedule for all of Act 1? Because we don't have much time before the show starts." Ryan said.

"You're right. So it'll go me, then Ryan. We'll play it by ear after that." Elle said, and opened the door. I was kneeling down, staring up at her. "I assume you heard most of it?" she asked.

"Yeah. Sorry." I said. Elle laughed, and said, "I'm staying with you until I have to go on. Then Ryan's staying, are you okay with that?" I nodded, and Elle ushered for the rest of the cast to leave.

We sat down, and Elle started touching up her makeup. I pulled out my now scratched-up phone and started playing a game. From the distance, I heard someone say "September 1st, 1989. Dear Diary..." and then music started playing.

"Oh, the show's starting." Elle said. "You okay there?"

I sighed, and said, "Do I have to leave here? I really like it here. You guys are so nice to me."

Elle sighed as well, and said, "Well...um, one of us might try and foster you once we get to know you a little better. I take it you do not want to go home."

I shook my head, and Elle got up and said, "Well, I have to go on. Ryan will be here in a bit. If anything scares you, tell me when I come back."

I wish Elle was my mother or something. Well, I've only known her for an hour, but I really like her. A few minutes later, Ryan came in and sat next to me.

"Hey, Ms. No-Name-Kid." he said, laughing. I assume it was a joke, but I didn't get it.

"You know my name..." I said, slightly hurt.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you didn't know the show. Veronica says 'Hey, Mr. No-Name-Kid' in Fight For Me. I sorta changed it to fit the situation. I hope you don't mind."

I turned towards the stage and heard people sing "Veronica! Veronica! Veronica!" and then heard loud cheering.

"Beautiful's over. I gotta run." Ryan said. "Are you okay being alone for a little bit?" I shrugged, and Ryan passed me a book. "Here's a copy of the script so you can follow along." He flipped through the pages and pointed towards one of Heather Duke's lines. "We're right there." He waved and walked out.

A few minutes later, I heard loud music and I covered my ears and cried a little bit. I turned to look at the script and realized we were on a song called Candy Store. After it was over, I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey." Katie said. Noticing the tears in my eyes, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's fine. Just the noise." I said.

"Yeah. Candy Store's not the quietest song in the show. Don't worry. Fight for Me's a little better. I'll be here for a while, I'm not on until Big Fun."

Big Fun didn't seem all that quiet either. Katie noticed this and said, "Hey, I have an idea. Are you okay with hugs?"

I nodded and Katie put her arm around me, covering my ear with her hand. I pressed my other ear into her chest.

I eventually fell asleep like that until she had to get up.

AN: Wow...2 chapters in one day? And possibly 3? I am on fire! And yes, I have a copy of the script. I was IN THE SHOW. Not the original cast, obviously, a virtual production. I played Martha. Anyway, enough about me. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!