Back again with another chapter! I was going to wait until 7PM (when the show was normally on in my time zone) for *authenticity,* and then I thought "screw that, let's publish it now." I hope it was worth the wait! Notes on the location I'm using can be found in the chapter two's AN. This chapter takes place the day after opening night.

To Guest: thank you! To Maggie (guest): Wow, thank you so much!

Thanks for reading, and most of all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Rise or Spring Awakening in any way, apart from caring too much to be healthy, and am not making any profit off of this (apart from any love you decide to show!)

Episode 4: Moving On

When Lilette wakes up, the first things she does is check her phone for texts from Robbie, Simon, Gwen, anyone. As it turns out, there are plenty of texts on the cast and crew group chat. All of them are from within the previous hour, and all concerning the same thing: where to meet so they can all get together and discuss these newest revelations. None of them have any plans for today- they were all booked, expecting to have two performances. Now they're left with their thoughts and a free Saturday.

Lilette scrolls through the texts quickly, scanning over them all. No one has offered a place for this meeting yet, so she offers one: the diner where she works.

How about my diner? I'm not working today, so it's not like we have to plan around my break or anything haha

Multiple people text back at they'll be there at noon for lunch. Lilette glances at the time- nearly ten. She sighs- her mother must have snuck into her room and turned off her alarm. Either that, or she completely slept through it.

She gets ready to go quickly, having texted Simon for a ride. Then she calls in to see if she can pick up the two o'clock shift- might as well make some extra money. Her manager says she can, they're short on workers that afternoon. Her mother is nowhere to be found- Lilette panics for a moment until she sees a note on the counter. Just picking up some groceries. The chocolates are still on the table where Lilette left them the night before. Seeing the crumpled box makes her feel somewhat guilty, so she tries to straighten it out the best she can before leaving as Simon texts her that he's outside.

She gets in the car and after exchanging greetings they drive in silence for a while. "How are you doing?" she asks eventually.

"I'm… alright," Simon replies evenly. "Last night was a wreck. When I got home, I mean. The show was great."

"Yeah," Lilette says, a slight smile forming. "Yeah, the show was great."

They continue in silence until Simon pulls into the parking lot of the diner. They walk inside to find most of the cast and crew already there, claiming a large table. Lilette waves to her coworkers behind the counter as Jolene waves the two of them over.

"You're the last to get here," she says, grinning, as they take their seats. "Alright, everybody order up! We have shit we need to talk about!" Uneasy laughs ripple up and down the table as people start to get their food and drinks. There's mild chatter as they eat for a few minutes before Jolene clinks her knife on her glass.

"Excellent," she says. "Now that I have all of your attention- and please, don't mind my French here- what the fuck are we going to do about this drama department problem?"

The group laughs again before falling back into silence.

"Well, obviously we have to do something," Simon says when no one speaks up. "We can't just sit back and let them destroy everything we care about." He glances at Lilette as he says this, who nods encouragingly. "Some of us have built our lives around this program." He nods to Gwen and Maashous as he says this- they have especially. "Some of us are newcomers and have found our family." Lilette, Michael, Robbie, Jeremy. "It's something that we need to protect no matter what."

"Hear, hear!" Robbie says from Lilette's other side, raising his milkshake glass. The rest of the group raises their glasses to him as well, grinning. Simon flushes under the praise.

"Exactly," Michael says, nodding. "Which raises the question- is there any possible way to do this without getting our directors fired?"

There's silence. Complete silence. Because honestly, they can't think of anything.

"We already know Mr. Mazzu offered his job," Maashous says quietly. "Multiple times. And they weren't having it."

"They wouldn't sacrifice two excellent teachers," Gordy says sourly, as if it hurts himself to admit his father is a good teacher. "They're not stupid. Ms. Wolfe is an asset to them, definitely, she's pulled all kinds of stuff and they'd never get rid of her. And even if no one pays attention in my dad's class, his students have the highest passing rate. They're on thin ice, sure… but I don't think they're going to be fired any time soon, not as long as they keep their heads down and their voices quiet."

"But we won't get anything done if they keep their voices quiet," Annabelle points out.

"Nobody's ever accomplished anything by keeping their heads down," Jeremy adds.

"So we don't," Gwen says with the air of someone taking charge. "We let them keep their heads down and stay quiet. But we don't. We fight this ourselves. They can't expel us over something like this. We could- we could form our own club, find local theaters to perform at."

"This is Stanton," Simon says sourly. "The only theater here is the one we just got kicked out of. Besides, where would we get the funding?"

"We need to take this to the PTA," Lilette offers. "Try and convince them-"

"No," Gwen says. "Sorry, Lilette, but the PTA won't listen to us anymore. Not after they've already made a decision."

"Was it the PTA, though?" Simon says. "I think, the superintendent-"

"It was the superintendent that told Mr. Mazzu they'd be shutting down the theater program," Gordy confirms. "Not the PTA. The PTA was just on board with it."

"There we have it," Robbie says. "We go to the PTA, the next meeting- convince them to give us the department back, or at least convince them to think about it."

"And how are we going to do that?" Michael asks.

"We'll- we'll think about it," Robbie says. "The next meeting is, what, next Thursday? We can have something prepared by then."

"Easily," Maashous adds. "Two nights ago the show was shit, don't mind me saying that, and last night it was spectacular." The cast grins.

"It's decided, then," Jolene says, clapping her hands together. "Next PTA meeting- we'll be there. Agreement to keep Mr. Mazzu and Ms. Wolfe out of it, for now?"

"For now," Simon agrees.

"All in favor?" Gwen asks, two which everyone says yes.

"One more vote," Lilette says. "Consensus to make this diner the usual meeting place? For consistency's sake." Everyone votes in favor of it, too, and they continue eating and talking about trivial things that don't have to do with the fate of their entire high school careers.

Meanwhile, someone else is having a very similar discussion. Gordy had left an hour ago, saying he was going to meet up with some friends. When Gail and Lou had looked suspicious, he confirmed that Maashous would be there, and they let him go without any qualms. Gail could see this sting a little, but left it in the back of her mind for later. Kaitlin and Sadie were practicing on the piano, Sadie trying to teach Kaitlin, when the doorbell rang. Sadie leaps up at the sound, throwing the door open.

"Hi, Ms. Wolfe!" she says. "Are you here for Dad?"

"Hello, Sadie," Ms. Wolfe says, smiling warmly. "As a matter of fact, I am. Is he here?" Sadie nods as Lou turns around the corner out of the hallway, Gail close behind him.

"Tracey!" he says, sounding surprised. "What's all this-"

"We need to get our department back, and we need to do it now," she says, closing the door behind her. Sadie and Kaitlin go back to the piano. None of the three adults notice when their playing fades out into nothing as they eavesdrop on the conversation. "Without getting either of us fired."

"I know, Tracey," Lou says. "I just don't know if there's anything we can do at this point-"

"Convince them to change their minds," Gail says quietly. Lou casts his wife a sharp look. She gives him a pointed one in return. "They've tried to shut you down time and time again, and you've always fought back. This time it looks like they've really done it. Are you going to let them have that victory?" Tracey smiles at her. Lou looks- proud.

"No," he says. "No, we're not."

"The next meeting is next Thursday," Tracey says immediately. "We can go then."

"But what will they think?" Lou asks. "We can't go up there and talk."

"So have the actors do it!" Sadie shouts from the piano. Kaitlin claps a hand over her mouth, but can't refrain from adding, "And the crew, too."

The three adults look at each other, then back at the two girls.

"You know," Lou says.

"That just might work," Tracey finishes, beaming.

Near two, the group at the diner begins dispersing. People start leaving, some of them driving off right away, others choosing to walk around with their friends. Lilette, of course, has to stay and work until six- not a long shift, but better than sitting at home doing nothing but thinking of ways to convince the PTA to give them the drama department back.

"Hey," Robbie says as she turns to go back behind the counter.

"Hey," she says, smiling. "What's up?"

"Did you- ah- did you talk to your mom?" he asks, fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt. She smiles- he looks adorable when he's worried.

"Yeah," she says. "We're staying- for now. For a little while longer, at least."

"Thank God," Robbie says, breaking out into a smile and instantly melting. Lilette laughs as he grabs her hand and kisses the back of it. "Thank God."

"That was my reaction, too," she says, and they laugh again.

"I would hate to lose something so beautiful," he says. "And for so many more reasons than that."

"Robbie, I have to get to my shift," she says, blushing.

"Well, I couldn't possibly bear to lose someone so intelligent," he continues.

"Robbie-"

"Or such an amazing singer."

"Robbie!"
"It's true! And a great kisser," he murmurs.

"Robbie!" Lilette hisses. "I need to go-"

"Suarez!" her manager calls. "Two o'clock."

Robbie looks at her with mock disappointment, but kisses her hand again. "I'll see you later?" he asks.

"After all that?" she replies. "Count on it, Thorne." He grins and waves as he leaves the diner. She makes her way behind the counter, watching his jeep pull away. She glances back at her manager, who just gives her the same look he's always given her since her mother attacked him. She can't blame him- if he talked to her like that, she would've done something long before her mother did. Although, now she supposes it's her mother's rage that's gotten her into this situation in the first place- will they leave or will they stay.

She sighs and takes the first customer's order. No time to reflect now- now is time to work. She sees that a few people are still hanging out inside, waiting for rides or for friends to finish eating. She waves to Simon as he exits, Jeremy close behind him. She wants to shout something but doubts everyone else would appreciate it.

About a minute earlier, Simon realizes that he does not want to go home and face his father. Not in the slightest. His father is going to mass tonight, something about a work trip tomorrow- if he can stall for a few hours, he'll be gone by the time Simon gets home. So instead of going to his car, he turns to Jeremy.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asks. Jeremy has his own car, and it doesn't seem like he would be ditching anybody. Jeremy glances around as they walk out of the diner.

"Where to?" he asks as the door shuts. Simon shrugs. Jeremy, figuring by now it's something to do with his family, nods and starts walking away from the diner, Simon next to him. "Anything in particular bothering you?" he asks nonchalantly, leaving Simon the option to respond or not.

"My dad," he says quietly. "He refused to talk to me. I don't know what he's going to do, if he finds out- if he finds out-" It's just then that everything really comes crashing down on Simon. His dad could do anything. He could force him to go back to St. Francis, he could kick him out of the house, he could make him go to some boarding school- Simon won't be safe in his own home if his father overreacts, he might need to move in with Lilette, but Lilette might be leaving, she told him so, what's he gonna do-

"Hey," Jeremy says quietly, gently. Simon realizes that he's come to a complete halt in the middle of the sidewalk. Jeremy grabs his hand and drags him toward a nearby bench. His eyes are wide as he sits down, Jeremy next to him. "You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

"You can't promise that," Simon says blearily.

"But I will anyways," Jeremy says confidently.

"My dad, he just- he doesn't understand, anything different from what he believes. He refuses to accept change."

"He sounds…"

"Awful?"

"Worse. If you ever need anything-"

"I'll let you know," Simon says quietly. Jeremy offers a slight smile.

"Don't worry about your dad," he says. "Your mom is alright with everything, isn't she?"

Simon nods. "My sister, too," he says, remembering Emma's words from the previous night.

"See?" Jeremy says, nodding along. "They won't let anything happen to you. You're safe." Simon nods again.

"Yeah," he says. He glances down and realizes he's still clutching Jeremy's hand. "Alright. Do you want to-" he jerks his head toward the sidewalk and Jeremy laughs, standing up. Simon is a little bit disappointed when the blond boy's hand slips out of his, and then frowns, but keeps walking.

"So," Jeremy says eventually. "What does the mysterious Simon Saunders do when he's not in the theater?"

Only a block or two away, Michael leans up against the wall of the diner, scrolling through his phone. He's just waiting for his mother to arrive to drive him home- Maashous lives on the other side of town and had something scheduled with his own mother, and Sasha had to run some errands for her father. His normal rides having abandoned him, he just has to wait another ten minutes, and he'd rather do that outside than inside.

"Hey," someone says softly, and he turns to see Gwen. Her arms are crossed and her phone is tucked carefully under one arm. "Are you good?"

"Yeah," Michael says, nodding. "Just waiting for my ride. She'll be here soon," he adds quickly, in case Gwen offers. She nods and leans back against the wall with him.

"I never got to tell you how much fun I had singing 'Blue Wind/Don't Do Sadness' with you," Gwen says suddenly. Michael glances over.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yeah," Gwen says, nodding. "We sounded great."

Michael laughs. "Yeah, we did," he agrees. He slips his phone into his pocket and the two stand there for a while, watching the cars drive by.

He's almost startled when Gwen starts humming the song in question under her breath. But when she gets to the part where Moritz joins in, he starts singing, too. They stand there for the duration of the song, not looking at each other, just grinning and singing and watching the passerby. It's only when the song fades out into nothing that they realize the people walking past them have dropped at least five dollars at their feet.

Michael sees Gwen's eyes light up. Something rockets off in his mind, as well, and it isn't because they just made a few bucks.

"For the PTA meeting," Gwen says quietly. Michael grins. "What if… what if we do what we do best?"

They're long gone when Simon and Jeremy get back. The two walk and talk for nearly an hour and a half, and by the time they've looped back around to the diner, Simon is feeling considerably better about everything. His father should be leaving in an hour, and Jeremy says he should be getting home- Simon can stall for an hour, right?
"It's been fun," Jeremy says, grinning at him. "We should do it again sometime."

"I agree," Simon says before he can stop himself. Jeremy waves as he gets into his car and drives off. Simon steps into his own car and as soon as the door is closed lets his head fall down onto the steering wheel as he groans.

He's screwed. Completely and utterly screwed. One could almost say… totally fucked.

Because he definitely, undeniably, indisputably, unquestionably, for certain, has a major crush on Jeremy Travers. And he may as well dwell on it, because he still has an hour to stall before he heads for home.

Simon isn't the only one stalling. Maashous Evers sits at the counter of the Starbucks near his house, stirring his straw in a long-empty drink. He feels a little bad for leaving Michael stranded at the diner and he knows Michael would have come along with him, but he really doesn't want pity. Nor does he want anyone to know his situation at home.

He's been with his mother for one night. One night, and he already hates it. He doesn't hate her, but…

Maashous is someone who likes to think that people can change. On stage crew, being a silent shadow had its perks- he knew all of the actor drama. He's watched them grow up and grow into better people. He likes to think that people can change… but he knows that deep down, they're really the same. Or at least, his mother is.

He realizes he can't stall at the counter any longer and starts driving for home. He makes his way into the apartment carefully. His mother waves to him brightly and asks if he wants to sit down and talk. He does, and they do, for nearly half an hour, about things that don't really matter. Still just catching up on his life for the last eight years. Something seems off the whole time, however, and it's only when he excuses himself to his room that he realizes what the unmistakable stench in the rest of the apartment was.

It's been a while since his mother left, but he can still recognize the scent of her drugs.

He gets up off his bed quickly and slams his door back open. His mother is still on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV.

"Really?" he says quietly. She turns back to look at him.

"What is it?" she asks. He doesn't respond, just walks into the kitchen and starts opening cabinets until he finds what he wants- a plastic baggie of green stuff.

"What has it been, three weeks? A month?" he says softly, never one for raising his voice. "You can't get into this again, you promised me you were better!"
"I'll get rid of it!" she promises. "I'm just… holding onto it. For a friend."

"Mom," he says, pleadingly. "Get rid of it. Don't bring any more of it in. I can't… you can't go back there. I can't go back to foster care." He knows somewhere it would mean going back to the Mazzucchelli's, really, but he can't risk it. He absolutely cannot risk it.

"I will," she says, nodding. "I promise."

"You seem to be breaking a lot of promises," he says. Then he realizes, as he throws the stuff back into the cabinet, that this is the opportune time to bring something else up to his mother. "Well, if you're risking that… can I keep going to Stanton?"

She looks at him questioningly, confused by his sudden change of tone.

"I know we're far out of the district," he says quietly. "But I can drive. I have my car." It's a battered, beaten thing that's a decade and a half old, but it runs. It took him a full two years of fixing various lighting structures around Stanton and the nearby area to save up for it, and after he bought it he kept it a secret from the Mazzucchelli's- though he didn't quite know why. Maybe because he was used to keeping secrets from the people who let him live with them. Mrs. Mazzu had always said they didn't tell lies… but they never brought it up, so technically he wasn't lying about it.

"Yeah," his mom says, shrugging. "I'm fine with that, if you're willing to make the drive yourself. Do you need to talk to anyone about it?"

"No," he says, breathless. "No, I don't think so." He had told everyone he would talk to administration about leaving Stanton, but he never actually went through with it. He was always holding out hope- but it seems like she doesn't really care.

"Alright," he says, nodding. "Well- get rid of that stuff, okay, Mom?"

She nods and goes back to her television.

Maashous sighs and goes back to his room.

At six o'clock, Lilette is finally ready to end her shift. She's just clocking out and leaving the kitchen when her manager clears his throat. She glances back to see that he's only a few inches from her- not touching her, but much too close for comfort. She can practically feel the blood drain from her face.

"Be careful," he says quietly. "Or you'll end up like your mother."

She practically runs, not even bothering to reply. She just wants to get out of there as quickly as possible. She doesn't realize until she's a block away that she doesn't have a way to get home, other than walking- her mother has always been able to drive her to and from work, because she doesn't have her license yet, and Simon has always been able to drive her anywhere else.

She pulls out her phone and texts the first person she thinks of- Robbie. To her immense luck he's only a few minutes away and before she knows it she's climbing into his car.

"Hey," he says, grinning. "My mom is doing better. Dad told me."

"That's great!" Lilette says enthusiastically. She resolves in that moment not to mention anything about her boss. "Really, that's amazing, Robbie, I'm so happy for you." He grins as he continues driving. She settles into her seat, glancing around. She's safe. Her manager can't do anything to her- she's a minor. Right?

"How was work?" Robbie asks conversationally.

"Fine," Lilette squeaks. She clears her throat. "It was fine."

"Alright," Robbie says, not nothing anything out of the ordinary. "Got any dinner plans?"

Lilette smiles. "My mother would love to have you over."

It'll be alright, she tells herself. It'll be alright.

Next time, on Rise Again: "You're still… with Ms. Wolfe, right?" "Yes… wait, what's going on?" - "If you do this for me… I'll consider living with you. Half the time." - "I will make them get off of that stage right now. And this time we'll be sure they're never on a stage again."