❝𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮❞ | A Richozzy One-shot book

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩

This chapter is exploring a bit of Richelle's character development through season 8. It's short and really angsty but I gotta get it out of my system.

"Hey, what's up?" Ozzy asked, walking through the doors to studio A. "Nothing..." Richelle replied hesitantly, staring at her feet. "Honestly Richelle, you gotta stop playing this game with me. You know I can tell when something's up with you. What's wrong?" His brown eyes swimming with concern bore into hers as he sat down next to her. "It's just... I don't know. Everything's..." Her voice trailed off,  her gaze avoiding his absentmindedly. "You can tell me, I know." His own voice was a mere whisper while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"Do you want to know why I was so bossy and well... rude to everyone when you guys first started in A troupe? I know now's not an excuse for what I've said before, and I've realized that." She kept her gaze on him this time. "I just thought you were wonderfully determined, and you were a great leader... but there's more to it than just that isn't it?" Ozzy asked, keeping his hand on her shoulder. 

"I never really had anyone to care about when I was in A troupe, I was an only child, and my parents were at work most of the time for money, which they thought would make me happy when in reality, I never even wanted their money. I wanted them. To spend time with someone. To care about someone." Ozzy nodded, taking his hands off her shoulder to keep a grip on her knee. 

"While you, on the other hand, had Izzy and your friends in your world. I just think that if you have one person in this life to care about, then that's world enough for me. But for me, my friends had already left the studio ages ago." Richelle's mind flashed back to when Jacquie and Noah left the team, leaving her alone. 

"Did you ever think that maybe, it could be that one person's world enough?" Ozzy suggested, his words lingering in the air. 

"That's when you come in. To suddenly change the perspective of everything. Flip my world upside down." Richelle let out a laugh, jokingly punching him on the shoulder. "You... cared for me when nobody even looked in my direction, even when I didn't believe in myself." She thought back to Regionals when he'd taken the time to sit down with her in her hot mess of a state after Elliot had broken up with her. 

"Yeah well, you had to have someone show you just how amazing you are when you couldn't yourself. You know I'll keep saying that right? To get those other thoughts out of your mind, because you don't deserve to have them." The confidence in his voice said everything. "Thank you for that," Richelle whispered, entwining her hands with his. Ozzy was the one person she cared about, her home, her happiness, everything. Every time his eyes got lost in hers, every time he'd taken the time to raise her spirits...

That was world enough for her.