yuki, blade, and riley were peeking through the red velvet curtains seeing the upper and lower seats were completely full. they all began growing nervous seeing this many people here for their little play. there has never been a crowd this enormous especially when it pertains to theater

the first three rows for assigned for family and friends, all the students clearly had big support systems. they all saw bree scooting past people to sit by her parents, she just arrived in town. her eyes beamed seeing three of them, she quickly waved, they returned the favor all smiling happy they she came to support rowyn who has no idea she is here

riley gasped suddenly, "hold up.... is that..." they all saw ms. olive escorting two people to two chairs in the very front row. yuki felt excitement creep upon her, blade could feel a lump starting to form in his throat. it was elsa the same scout from juliard with alice oseman by her side... the woman who created heartstopper and also the executive producer of the tv show

they both took their seats, the three teens shutting the curtain before they were able to see them. the three of them began jumping up and down like kids who just ate a bowl of candy, everyone lost as to what was going on. luke walked up to them interrupting their moment, "what in the world is going on?"

they all stopped cheering, smirking knowing that luke is a die-hard heartstopper fan, blade pointed towards the curtain, "look to see who is in the front row." he suggested

luke frowned at them starting to playfully laugh, he peeked then gasped loudly when he shut the curtain. both his hands covering his mouth, luke was trying his best to stay calm and stay focused. scarlett and rowyn exchanged looks while stretching their bodies out. luke ran over to them, "guess who is out there?!!!" he asked excitedly, rowyn shrugged at her cousin not caring enough to answer

scarlett didn't feel like guessing, "who?"

"alice oseman—-" scarlett gasped dramatically and loudly, "NO WAY!!!" she started screaming which startled everyone, her and luke grabbed each others hand swaying around in a circle screaming together sounding like some fangirls

"shhh!!! shhh!!!" riley shushed them, they both stopped, "sorry." they both said simultaneously 

"everyone huddle in!!" yuki yelling in a whispering voice, everyone formed a circle, all their hands touching each others backs. they were united, a team. they scooted in closer, looking like a football team.

riley decided to go first, "alright guys! you all have worked so hard leading up to this moment, go out there, have fun and be yourselves!!"

they all looked around at each other smiling. all their hard work and dedication was about to be put on display to the whole school and community. this past month, they have all spent the most time together starting off rehearsing early in the morning transitioning to also rehearsing at night. all lot of blood, sweat and tears have been put into this all

many of these kids growing unexpected bonds with each other, nobody could have seen it coming. students seeing chase getting along with the theater kids was a weird sight. a lot of them completely misjudged chase, weren't happy when they saw his name on the list. him being announced as being apart of the cast left a bad taste in many of their mouths considering they have seen how he acts at school

chase has definitely done a significant 360 since school started a few months ago. he still is somewhat of an asshole, used to be one of the class clowns but now is very serious about his grades. he sometimes shows his soft, sweet side to students but always makes sure not to get too close

the person within the cast who was most surprised to see a nice side of chase was gigi. she suffers with transphobic comments majority of the time when at school, chase's buddies always calling her derogatory words. but surprisingly chase never has, he isn't homophobic nor is he transphobic or racist. he doesn't like his parents at all but he attest that they have raised him up to respect everyone who crosses his path, teaching him that love wins, to see more than a person for their race or sexuality.

but if there is one thing gigi has learned, it is that you are who you surround yourself with. but that opinion stood on halt after a few days ago, the two of them were both in the library. gigi was struggling to reach for a specific book she needed for her history class

a flock of jocks were sitting around the computer lab area of the library, also sitting at the wooden tables scattered around watching her struggle. many of them mocking a deep manly voice making sure she heard them, gigi confidently ignored them. they started to laugh seeing her face begin to strain while on her tippy toes. chase couldn't stand to see her struggling anymore, the annoying laughs of his teammates started to annoy him

chase got up heading over to gigi standing behind her, his clothes brushed up against her back. he grabbed the book with ease handing it to her then grabbed his backpack heading out of the library, gigi tried to understand what just happened.

"alice oseman the creator of heartstopper is sitting in the front row—-" yuki announced not being able to hold it in, she would rather the crew know from them than suddenly noticing her while acting. most of them gasped starting to chit chat excited to hear the incredible news

blade brought them back to their reality, "alright hands in!! team on three...." he brought his hand into the center with everyone following his lead, "alright team on three... 1!!! 2!!!! 3... TEAM!!!!" they all yelled aloud

after a sincere introduction from principal sinclair, the play proceeded. it was a masterpiece, a ten minute standing ovation was in store when the curtains closed. everybody was spectacular, each student brought something special to the play. tears were shed, laughter could be heard throughout the auditorium and the crowd stayed in sync

everyone was surprised not thinking that any of these kids had that in them, only person they expected a great performance from was scarlett since she has made it clear she wants to become an actress someday

chase and rowyn really took everyone off guard. they both portrayed their characters so beautifully, rowyn even had an act where she sang and dance so melodically. seeing her sing was like a secret being revealed, nobody ever knew that she could sing except for scarlett. not even her family knew. chase stood backstage next to his classmates seeming to be bewildered watching her string her guitar on stage

when rowyn was on that stage, it seemed like another person had been born. rowyn was no longer that awkward and shy girl. she was secure in herself, seemingly assertive in her craft. bree was in awe of her beautiful baby sister, she clearly belongs on the stage.

after the play, alice and elsa went backstage while everyone else began leaving the auditorium. they gave all of the kids some words of encouragement telling them that they did her adaption of heartstopper pure justice which is the best compliment to ever get from a creator

both women talked individually with each student, rowyn tried her best to sneak out but scarlett and luke refused to let her leave. scarlett knew that her talking to elsa again and now alice could be a big deal for her

elsa was happy to see rowyn yet again, everytime she comes across the teenager, it seems that she sees a new talent within her. rowyn is a girl who has been blessed with multiple talents, something that is very rare

alice praised the sixteen year old, telling her that she has the potential to purse an acting career and become successful within hollywood. while rowyn appreciated the kind words, she knows deep down she wants nothing to do with hollywood.

elsa was able to have a more in depth conversation with rowyn when her parents aren't by her side. rowyn was more calm, relaxed when they weren't around. elsa had informed scarlett and rowyn about a camp that juliard throws every year. elsa has the privilege of choosing twenty students across the united states for this prestigious program, all expenses are paid for when getting chose making it a great opportunity.

she slid them both some folders that consisted of papers that went into more detail about the program that is being held next year. rowyn handed her folder to scarlett asking her to take it home with her knowing that if she brought it to her residency, her parents would most likely find it then put it in the shredder

for some reason... she was actually interested in the program and plans on doing more research when she goes over to scarlett's again.

anna walked towards the dining table with a glass dish pan in her hands that were covered by oven mitts. the food hit all of their noses with taryn ready to dig in. anna sat the dish pan down then walked back to the kitchen to take her apron and mitts off. after washing her hands, she went to sit by her husband.

they each grabbed each others hand with rory leading them into prayer, when done they all started filling their glass plates with various foods. bree didn't hesitate to dig in, her mouth was yearning for a home cooked meal and has been for months

rory was eyeing his daughter, "so bree? why has it taken you so long to come home from college?" he asked earning complete silence from everyone, they all stopped eating looking at bree who awkwardly chuckled

the last time she was at home was for rowyn's purity ball, which was a long time ago. "i've been busy with college dad." she answered calmly

"don't lie to me bree. i know you have had a couple of days off due to labor day and many other events at your college." rory called out getting upset, bree tended to get nervous. she came home to support her sisters, not to get into an argument with her father

"what is that about bree? you think you are better than all of us because you got a little scholarship plus you are out of the house?" anna added onto the conversation

bree scanned her eyes at her mom clearly feeling like she is getting jumped, "i don't think i'm better than anyone. i'm a freshman in college, plus i also have to work to provide for myself. i'm busy. i don't always have the time to come home like you two want." bree chuckled feeling scared

"plus this is a tough time of the year for all of us, especially rowyn." bree said in seriousness, rowyn nervously licked her lips looking down in shame and pure defeat

anna and rory glanced at on another, silence was there for a moment until they both began to laugh loudly. rory was laughing wholeheartedly, anna was banging her hand against the table causing clanking to be heard from the glass and utensils. the three sisters weren't even surprised by their parents disgusting behavior pertaining to what bree just said. each of them exchanged looks of sorrow trying to stay afloat with each other

they both were able to bring themselves to stop laughing finally, "this isn't a tough time for us at all, bree. plus rowyn is totally fine."

bree looked at her sister seeing how miserable she clearly is, "she's clearly not fine."

"watch yourself bree." rory warned

"i'm just saying she isn't okay! and that is clearly fine! the problem with this family is that you guys have infused within all of our heads that not being okay is a sign or form of weakness. well, it's not. that is exactly why all of us are messed up and the way we are, especially ellie." bree finalized

rory ignored everything his child just said to him, "go upstairs to your room bree." he warned pointing to the stairs

"i'm not a child anymore." bree tested his patience, rory clenched his jaw. "then get out of my house."

"gladly." bree retorted getting up slamming her chair under the table. she went to grab her things heading out of the house not caring about slamming the door so hard that a picture frame fell on the floor, glass shattered everywhere

the now family of four began to eat their dinner in silence

i love you all!!!!