A/N: Oh, loyal readers! I'm so incredibly sorry for not having updated this in months. I lost my drive for writing this, and it wasn't until I got a review last night from Princesshannah12345 saying that "this is the best story ever!" that inspired me to keep going with this one. Thanks so much, Princesshannah12345!

Disclaimer: I don't own Spring Awakening.

Chapter 7: Please Don't Leave

~~Moritz Point of View~~

I watched as she approached our spot by the stream. God, she looked so beautiful with her hair in two braids and a brown dress that matched her beautiful brown eyes. She ran up to me with a smile that seemed like it would split her face in two. It was the most wonderful sight I had ever seen.

"Moritz!" she cried, flinging her arms around my neck.

"Martha, what's happened?"

"You remember Ilse Neumann?" she asked. I paused. I hadn't seen Ilse in so long. I used to play Pirates with her, Melchior, and Wendla Bergmann. Oh, how I missed those days! Ilse was undoubtedly the most free-spirited of us all, and I admired her for that. I smiled. "Yes, I remember her," I told Martha.

"Well, I've just run into her, and she's offered for me—and for you, Moritz, you too—to come to Priapia with her!"

"Priapia? The artist's colony?!" I gasped in horror.

"Yes, Moritz. We could stay with Ilse, and some other people, and make a living of our own. We could…we could…we could be free."

"Martha, are you out of your mind? PRIAPIA? We could get killed!"

"But if I stay," she said slowly. "My Papa could kill me anyway".

I knew this was true. I'd been up against Herr Bessell before, and he was no picnic. I knew that what he did to me, he could do tenfold back to Martha, and especially now that he knew that we were involved. He'd made it quite clear that if I were to even be seen with his daughter, he'd kill me, and then go back for Martha.

Still, I couldn't just let her go like that—and Ilse! I couldn't just let Ilse suffer from such a dark and sure fate. "Martha," I began. "I can't let you go. You and Ilse."

"Moritz, I have to! And so do you! You and I can be together without worrying about either of our Papas! Without worrying that we'll get caught together! You know the consequences if they catch us. I love you, Moritz, and I'm not about to let you go. Please, please, come with us!"

"And what about Ilse? Why is she running in the first place?"

"Let's just say she's like us…"

I stood there stunned. Ilse too felt the fury of her Papa? My free- spirited childhood playmate suffered the same fate as my darling Martha? No; it couldn't be. Ilse never showed it. She was too cheerful and full of life to have been abused. Surely one of us would have noticed that something was wrong. How could we have been so blind?

I turned back to Martha. "Ilse will get hurt. I know her, Martha. She and I were best friends in our childhood. I know that she's tough, but I also know that she's vulnerable. I can't count the times that I've held her while she's cried. I can't count the remarkable times we had hiding in our wigwam, with Melchior and Ilse. Of course, this was all before I even knew you. Still, I can't let Ilse get hurt, too."

Martha had slowly been turning to stone. "Well, if you won't come with us, we'll just go without you!"

"Martha, no. Don't leave. Please, don't leave!" I pleaded.

"I have to, Moritz. I HAVE to. Ilse and I both."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Martha. We can just get by until we come of age, and then we can be free to get away from here and marry and have children…we'll raise our children to be free. We'll teach them right from wrong, and we'll never lay a hand on them. We'll give them everything we never had and more. Please, Martha. Give me a chance!"

"I can't, Moritz. I love you, but I can't stay here. I really can't. I have to go. I'll come back for you, I promise."

"No, Martha. You have to promise that you'll stay right here."

She didn't say anything. She just stared off into the distance blankly.

"Promise me," I said again. Still no response. I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at me. "PROMISE ME," I said firmly.

"I can't promise you anything," she whispered fiercely.

I let go of her. "Fine, Martha. Go ahead, then! Go ahead and put your life at risk! Just don't come crying back to me when your life is falling apart and there's no one who can fix it but me. I love you. I want to protect you. But obviously you won't let me." I stormed off, tears in my eyes, and left her standing there like a rock.

I got to a path in the woods, leaned against the trees, and started shaking. What had I done? I didn't mean anything I'd said to her, except that I love her. I do love her, like I've never loved anyone. And I do want to protect her from the rest of the evils in the world. But how can I do that when she won't let me? I sat and cried and cried. My beautiful, wonderful Martha. My dearest childhood friend, Ilse. What would become of them?

Could I save them before it was too late?

~~So this was fun to write. It's interesting to get into the other character's heads. I may do an Ilse POV chapter eventually, just because she would be an absolute pleasure to write as. Please read and review!