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fbfh · 1 year

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dad!ricky bowen hcs

wc: 1.7k

warnings: afab/pregnant reader, ricky is a good dad, ricky x therapy, ricky has mild white guy with a guitar syndome, mildly questionable but still cute baby names, TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF AND LOVESICK RICKY ("op that isn't an au")

a/n: I have been sturggling!!! the good news is I'm going to see barbie movie tomorrow which will be fun. I had a fashion crisis then realized I can just. go as weird barbie. I feel her in my soul.

tags @yesv01 @magcon7280 @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sunshineangel-reads @strawberry-cake1 @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @pikzel @demirunner @brinaslittlefreak @girlfriendwhoseawitch @2manyobsessions @almostjollypizza @mystic-writings @babiesimagines @fictionalcomforts @lizziebitch33 @urmum-xoxo @lubsana @cowboylikekelsey @legramilis @if-only-i-was-fictional @mrscarolscaramoucheplease @isaentremundos

Oh boy oh my god

If you thought this boy couldn't love you anymore than he already does???

You thought Ricky Munch McSimp Bowen couldn’t get anymore irrevocably in love with you and hopelessly utterly devoted to your very existence???

You think he’s bad now?????????

Just wait till you get pregnant

His entire world changes

And all his priorities shift to you

And that little bump growing on your belly

If he doesn’t baby trap you

Which let’s be real, there’s a pretty decent chance he would try to baby trap you if he gets back in his Toxic Ricky Era

Aka best era

But that’s a story for another time

Let’s assume that it actually was an accident

That the condom really did break or you really did forget to take your birth control

So this is just as much of a surprise to Ricky as it is to you

He’s reeling at first

He has no idea what to do, he can barely process this

It’s not that he doesn’t want kids, it’s just that you’re both still so young, he’s never really thought about it too much before

Let me rephrase that

He’s never practically considered it before

Sure he’s had plenty of hazy starry eyed daydreams about you two being parents together

Of how cute and sweet you would be all pregnant with his baby

Of how clingy and affectionate you’d get with a ring on your finger and a baby in your belly, how you’d sound calling him your husband

But now, actually standing there in the bathroom looking at all the tests with the little positive lines

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t freaking out a little

Not in a bad way

It’s just a lot to process

Then he hears you on the phone in the other room with your mom or sister or best friend as you break the news to them

“Yeah… yeah, Ricky’s the dad.”

Ricky’s the dad

He freezes in his tracks

He feels like he’s just been wacked cartoonishly over the head as your words ring in his ears

He’s the dad

Of the baby

Of your baby

He walks out of the bathroom looking for you while you wrap up your conversation

He keeps staring at your stomach

He knows it’s probably too early but he still hopes you’re showing

As soon as you’re off the phone you’re a little surprised and a lot relieved and comforted to see him pull you in for the tightest most meaningful hug of your life

He kisses your cheek and cradles your head and holds you so tight

And god you were doing your best to hold it together but you’re already so hormonal and he’s holding you so reassuringly

You can’t not cry

And he gets a little misty too

He makes sure you know from that moment that this is going to be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you both

The first ultrasound changes his brain chemistry

He looks on that screen at the fuzzy image of your baby and GOD he never wants to look away

He will be making it his wallpaper and getting wallet sized pictures

By the time your baby is born Mike has tons of ultrasound pictures hanging on his fridge

He’s constantly taking pictures of you bc he thinks you look beautiful all the time

And you look unfathomably beautiful carrying his baby

“Ricky, if you post me anymore often you’ll have to start a spam account…”

You’re joking but he thinks that’s actually a good idea

You’re barely able to talk him out of becoming a daddy vlogger

I could go into heavy detail about how supportive he is during your pregnancy

And how motherfucking DOWN he is to be a dad

And I will (at some point. If y’all want future dad!ricky x pregnant!reader and/or ricky being an amazing dad/husband especially during new born days lmk. I have ideas.)

But I’ve gotten sidetracked with that enough for today

Bc after your baby is born and Ricky is holding you in the hospital while you hold your newborn baby

Your precious little bundle of joy

In that moment you become parents

And he watches you care for your baby

You heal his mommy issues

God watching you be a mom

Be a loving patient kind mom

Who always makes time for your baby and makes sure they feel loved

Who would never ever ever even think about leaving them

Suffice it to say he’s really glad he’s already in therapy

Because watching you be a mom, even becoming a parent himself has really made him realize how horrible his mom was

And it’s made him so much closer with his dad

Picking out names was a bit of a process

You end up settling on Sonny, short for Sondheim for your first born son

Then when your second comes along, a little girl

You see Ricky playing guitar for you and Sonny and your baby bump one night when you notice the name on the side of his guitar

“What brand is that?” You ask sleepily

“What, my guitar?” Ricky smiles, watching you play with your son’s soft curly hair that looks just like his dad’s

“It’s an Epiphone.”

You can’t get the name out of your head after that

When you pitch it as a baby name to Ricky, he loves it

Like he can’t think of a more perfect name

So two years after Sonny is born, you welcome Pippa into your family

And now you have a daddy’s boy AND a daddy’s girl on your hands

Half the time, anyway

The other half they’re die hard mommy’s kids

Usually you can swap, one of you taking each kid

And that system works pretty well

Ricky has like

Deeply, chemically bonded to you

He is so excited for extracurriculars and hobbies

He’s so fucking ready for basketball and little league and skateboarding and guitar lessons

And all the ballet recitals and gymnastics and soccer and cheer tryouts

And of course theatre

Oh my god when Big Red found out y’all were pregnant?????

You could hear the entire Redonovich family screaming and celebrating across the entire state

So obviously Uncle Red is over all the time

Aka uncle pizza guy

He knows not to show up to your place without pizza

Or at least some cinnamon twists or salt lake slices stickers

He was highkey scared that your kids wouldn’t like him

But he is literally their favorite uncle

For Red’s first birthday after your oldest is born, you give him a shirt that says “official bisexual pizza uncle”

He wears it all the fucking time

He loves it and wants a million more

And of course

All kids birthday parties are at Salt Lake Slices

Because fuck chuck e cheese

If you even propose throwing a party somewhere else???

Expect a tantrum

Even when your kids get older and want to start celebrating elsewhere, Salt Lake Slices will always be an integral part of all birthday traditions

Every birthday plan has a silent (and then we go to Slices after) attached to it

Pool party aka pool party + slices

Laser tag (then slices), trampoline park (then slices), six flags (then slices)

Grandpa Mike is over a lot too and he couldn't be prouder

He keeps every single memorabilia

He still has your oldest’s first ultrasound picture on his fridge

And he has a bookshelf that’s filling up with boxes of craft projects and photos and drawings

He’s proud of you and proud of your grandkids

And he’s especially proud of Ricky

The kid has had his ups and downs, but Mike really can’t believe the amazing man his son has grown into

And Miss Jenn aka fairy godmother

The literal godmother of your children

Is equally obsessed with them

She’s still directing shows at East High as well as at a local community theatre

“My theatre family… my children… I am beyond honored to announce our first official theatre baby.”

She will hold up your baby in front of both casts and sing a slow, soulful, emotional rendition of the circle of life from broadway lion king

It’s a canon event you can’t interfere

Ricky is so relieved that Pippa is still too little for school by the time Sonny is getting ready to start pre-k

He can’t imagine having both his babies out of the house all day at the same time

“So every couple years we’ll just… have a new one?”

He’s barely joking

Their first sleep away camp at camp shalow lake crushes you both

It’s so hard but you’re so proud and so excited for them

Besides

Uncle EJ aka uncle rocketman aka uncle stinkyman has them in good hands

Ricky called him stinkyman once and your kids LOST it

He's running the camp now btw

So yeah every kid under 10 now refers to EJ with his new camp nickname

Stinkyman

Ricky promises to talk to the kids and tell them not to call him that

As soon as EJ leaves you’re like “Are you actually-”

“Yeah no I’m not gonna discourage that.”

God you can’t get enough of him

Ricky either works at a skate shop downtown or a music store these days

If yall are still doing shows you absolutely take the kiddos to rehearsal with you

You spend most of rehearsals hyping each other up to your babies

“Look, daddy’s about to say something really funny.”

“Isn’t mommy’s singing and dancing so pretty?”

Your kids basically have free rein at the threatre

They’re the unofficial mascots and get playbill mentions for shows they’re not even in

They make up new good luck rituals for every show

And all of them work

God Ricky just loves you so much

He loves you and your kids

And his dad and miss Jenn and his friends

He loves every bedtime story and post cry hug and scraped knee bandaid request

He loves all of it

And he loves doing it with you

#ricky bowen #ricky bowen x reader #hsmtmts #hsmtmts x reader #dad!ricky bowen #this boy is just.... hm....#need him rn #hes such a fuckin golden retriever

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wishcamper · 8 months

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All in the Family: ACOTAR and Bowenian family systems theory, PART I

CW: addiction, family trauma, dog death

Creds: licensed therapy person and member of a dysfunctional family

There’s a lot of parts to this and a lot I’m excited to explore, so we’ll start with an overview and introduction of some core concepts. I'm going to take a look at the IC as it's own family system, the subsystems within it, and what these dynamics tell us about the culture of the IC.

The Basics

Murray Bowen created Family Systems Theory to explain the interconnected dynamics and emotional patterns within families that can span generations.

All members play a part in how the system functions, through both action and inaction, and members influence each others’ behavior.

In dysfunctional systems, members project and displace their emotions onto others, feel responsible for the emotions of others, and/or cut off and suppress emotionally to avoid conflict and instability.

The same strategies tend to get used over and over.

Of note: there are many criticisms of this theory, including lack of depth regarding gender disparity, pathologizing of regular emotions, and a very Western (and ableist) goal of complete personal emotional independence. I have found Bowen’s techniques not very helpful in practice, but his ideas provide a great framework for conceptualizing how energy moves in a family and the interconnectedness of the system through generations. So, take all this with a grain of salt given those limitations and that these people are fictional and often contradictory in their words and actions.

Core Concept 1: Differentiation and Enmeshment

The main goal in Bowen’s theory is for all beings in the system to achieve differentiation, meaning they are able to hold onto their sense of self even when emotionally intimate with others. The opposite of differentiation is enmeshment, where members emotions are dependent on and influenced by one another in ways they are not aware of or have no control over. Some people also call this ‘codependent’, aka ‘we are both dependent on your stability to feel emotionally safe’.

Example: Partner A feels anxious taking off work for vacation, and tries to micromanage their family during the trip to attempt to relieve it. In a well-differentiated system, Partner B can recognize the behavior has nothing to do with them, and set a boundary about how Partner A engages with the family. “I appreciate that you’re stressed, A. I need you to figure out a way to handle it without being all over me and the kids.” The anxiety becomes Partner A’s to process instead of being displaced on the others.

In an enmeshed system, Partner B might mirror Partner A by micromanaging the children too, or monitoring themselves very carefully, or trying to create conditions that will not upset A. Partner A avoids dealing with their anxiety because everyone else is doing it for them. In an enmeshed system, members take inappropriate responsibility for managing the feelings of others.

In the opposite system, where emotions are suppressed to keep the status quo, Partner B may act like everything is fine, leaving the children to bear the brunt of the anxiety. B might retreat emotionally from the family and appear aloof or cold. The balance is the important part, because whatever the status quo, families tend to repeat the same emotional processes over and over in different situations, like variations on a theme.

These cycles lead to feedback loops:

Enmeshed: Partner A abuses alcohol and Partner B helps them cover it up. A is shielded from natural consequences of their drinking, and B is relieved of the fear of having to confront it and create conflict in the relationship. Both partners use the other to regulate their uncomfortable emotions.

Suppressed: Partner B leaves the room every time conflict arises, and never addresses it later. A stops bring up problems because B will leave anyway. Tension is never resolved because everyone is invested in pretending they don’t exist.

Core Concept 2: Triangles and Displacement

One of the most important concepts in Bowen’s theory is the power of the triangle. I’m going to go into this more later when it comes to Cass/Az/Mor, but within the IC we see a number of compelling triangles.

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel

Feyre, Nesta, and Elain

Cassian, Azriel, and Mor

Rhysand, Feyre, and everybody else lumped together

Bowen says triangles happen because they provide a way for dyads to relive unaddressed tension without direct conflict. We see this a lot in divorces with children, where parents will try to recruit the child to “their side”. Dyads can displace their conflict onto a third party, which provides emotional relief. Triangles are particularly compelling because the shifting of alliances is ongoing and can be used to access power and meet unmet needs.

Think about the Archeron sisters. There’s a certain power in being the two sisters closer to each other and not the one left out. Up through ACOWAR, Feyre often remarks on Elain and Nesta being the closer sisters, which Nesta leverages to protect Elain. Nesta communicates her anger at Feyre and the world she believes Feyre brought to them by directing it through concern for Elain’s safety, which Feyre is unable to argue against. We see the same pattern in ACOSF when Feyre and Elain are getting along, and how they use it as a tool to pressure Nesta into conforming. We are able to be close, so if you can’t it’s probably because there’s something wrong with you, so we don’t have to feel badly about you falling apart. Nesta becomes the scapegoat for unresolved guilt about the effects of the war.

In the Rhys-Cass-Az triangle, the goal seems to be more about enforcing the rules of the family as the ‘safe place’ for all of them. Pre-ACOTAR, after the Cass/Mor incident, Az and Rhys punish Cassian emotionally for breaking the dicks before chicks code that threatens the stability of their relationships. Conversely in ACOFAS, Rhys and Az agree not to tell Cass about the scope of Illyrian unrest to *checks notes* not ruin his Christmas. They externally manage Cassian’s emotions for him, and by extension their own worry, by leaving him in the dark (a favorite strategy of Rhys) so they can all have a nice holiday together, like they always do. Rhys says over and over he needs this happy time, then extends that need to everyone else and recruits Az to make that happen.

I’m not commenting on whether these triangles are healthy or unhealthy, just pointing out that they exist to leverage power and get needs met.

Core Concept 3: Homeostasis and the Nuclear Family Emotional Process

Tiny storytime.

When I was in college, my mom called me one day and said they put my dog to sleep the week before. I was devastated, and furious given it had been planned beforehand. I felt robbed of the opportunity to say goodbye in any meaningful way. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized this is the status quo in my family - we don’t look hard things in the face. We use avoidance as a strategy to not deal with our own and each others emotions. We don’t talk about dad’s drinking, or why mom is blank and locked in her own head, or my sister’s compulsive perfectionism, or my one-woman mission to self-destruct in as many ways as possible. We are a family of avoiders. We don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about it.

Bowen call this dysfunction the 'nuclear family emotional process' , and explains that there are four major patterns that emerge in families:

Marital conflict

Dysfunction in a spouse

Impairment of one or more children

Emotional distance

These patterns can and do play out at the same time, to varying effects. The particular combination a family has dictates where and when problems tend to arise in the system, and how they're dealt with.

As an adult, I’ve tried really hard to break out of the pattern of my family. Through my own darkness and recovery, I’ve worked to honor my own needs and emotions as valid and worth spending time with. When I go home I still get sucked into that pattern, because resisting means being the one who makes everyone look at their problems, a thing they really don’t want to do.

Because, as Bowen asserts, system resists change. Systems are carefully balanced and want homeostasis. So when someone tries to change the system, the others compensate to bring them back in line and restore balance.

Think about Lingerie-gate from ACOFAS. Mor sees Cassian emotionally invested in Nesta, which draws away from the emotional investment he has in her and the rest of the IC. She makes a move to reassert her significance in his life as a woman, and scores a double hit by showing Nesta that Mor is higher status in the system and she should back off (so much more on this in another post).

When Azriel pursues Elain in ACOSF, Rhysand pulls rank hard with the rationale of political implications, but I think it’s because it could create conflict between his loyalty to Feyre and to the rest of his family. If Azriel and Elain get together and it goes badly, Rhys would be forced to choose between loyalty to Feyre’s sister or to Az. And I think he’s made it clear he’ll always choose Feyre. He would have to maintain the system by casting his brother out.

The Archeron sisters throw the system out of whack because loyalties are realigned and power hierarchies are being disrupted. I think a lot of the drama we seen on and off page comes from this upset and the way the IC tries to rebalance their dysfunctional system.

So that’s where I’ll leave it for now. I’m still puzzling through the power structure, because while it’s clear Rhys is at the top, the others are less clear to me. Mor is definitely above Cass and Az, but Elain jumps the queue at some point during ACOSF and idk what the hell to do with Amren.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, class dismissed! You can find PART II here.

Source: Brown, J. (1999). Bowen family systems theory and practice: Illustration and critique. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 20(2), 94-103.

#prythian university #acotar #family systems #family dysfunction #Murray Bowen #putting my master's degree to WORK honey

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sometimes-online · 27 days

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Favorite omori ships?? 👀

This ones really hard for me to answer lol theres a lot of ships out there I like! Kel x Sunny Hero x Mari Hero x Bowen Kim x Aubrey Vance x taffy Everyone x Therapy Rococo x Spaceboy are the main ones I can think of :D

#response #omori headcanons #omori ships #omori #<3 #ships #fandom ships

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watermelon-jooce · 1 year

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RAUGHHHHHHH friendship things(sunny and kel are very in love)

Sunny/Aubrey are literally the siblings ever i love them sm,, sunnys mom adopting Aubrey ,,, they are,,,, siblings,,, sunn y finally has older sister again,,, cries so hard the word turns into 3 bits

Also Hero and Sunny father/son dynamic..cries...they are....😭 Hero cooking and Sunny just watching like a little cat hes a little cat and Hero just :) at him😭 THEY ARE LITERALLY THE SILLIEST Hero should adopt Sunny

BASIL / SUNNY....hmm..i dont like Sunflower much, im more of a melonbread/suntan man myself, but i think theyre.okay. BASIL AND SUNNY are friends but they are usually :/ of eachother

KEL/SUNNY theyre pretty much making out the entire game, they are so in love its insane, they spend time communicating their issues and such so they communicate and keep healthy in the relationship. Kel relearned ASL just for Sunny. Did I mention Sunny is mute? Yeah. Mute Suntan. Mute Caprisun. DAMN.

for other relationships ill write my opinions down from here so just ignore this if you dont wanna see ;

Hero × Bowen || Shortbread

LITERALLY OTP I LOVE THEM SM. bowen scared man whos dealing with many many things. hero is so in love with him. they are so in love. hero and bowen are both very shy and bowen been in love with hero since he was 10. took him 9 years to actually tell him. they bake stuff together.

Basil × The Maverick || Melonbread

RAUGHHHHHHHH they are so real if you ship it ily sm please int i need more Melonbread in my life..

Scared blonde boy × loud anime raven haired boy

THEY ARE SO IN LOVE. THEY ARE ACTUALLY SO IN LOVE.

Sunny × Kel || Suntan / Caprisun

if they didnt exist i wouldnt either. if all suntan fans went to zero i am dead. They are actually so cute its insane and i will expldoe. Sunny drawing and Kel just watching him draw over his shoulder and bein like:D that looks so good omg ur such a good drawer and sunny just ^^👍

Basil × Aubrey || Photobomb

LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVS. they are so silly literally the silliest and tho they might need a bit of couples therapy they are so in love ohmy god.

aubrey jokinly pins basil to the wall and he turns like beet red😎

Sunny × Basil || Sunflower

Not my thing, but if you like it, literally slay omg tell me your hcs

No longer a Sunflower DNI kindof person💪just dont expect to see it from me

Uhh ships like Sunnysideup or Pink popcorn or Omosun/Mindfuck are a big nono on my page and I will 100% block any sort of pr0shippers that come near. Im sorry but im not a vile human being.

ANYWHO thats abt it ill cya all next time

Buhbye :3

#omori #omori fanart #omori fandom #omori sunny #omori sunkel #omori suntan #omori kel #omori basil #omori hero #omori game #omori aubrey #omori art #fanart #indie games #indiegameart #artwork #art #omori shitpost #omori ship

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angsthology · 6 months

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when my card declines at therapy so they bring out the ej caswell losing his girlfriends to ricky bowen pipeline

? this been sitting in my inbox for a while now what do u want from me

#tine answers #new format #val ft. noelle

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homoeroticgrappling · 7 months

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Max and Bowens being the chillest about being left out of a match because they've been to family therapy with their adoptive father

#aew #aew lb

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cyberneticatoms · 1 month

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WHERE: University of the Metroplex WHO: Owen Bowen (@miketroplex)

"Hey dude, got you a boba tea," Copper said setting one in front of Owen before sitting across from him at the picnic table. He set his textbook down and took a sip of his own drink. "Remind me again why I choose to go into therapy? Feel like my eyes are gonna melt out of my head."

#thread: copper and owen

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hrtbrkwthrs · 1 year

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Second Chance: In My Head...

Ricky Bowen x OC

This is episode three of my series Second Chance.

Summary: Unexpected tension leaves both Blake and Ricky confused. Ricky leaves Nini a voicemail and ends up hurt. Trouble in paradise for Nini and EJ.

Trigger Warnings: Talks of (Blake's) BPD and therapy (like healthy coping skills), mentions of not having food at home, pills/addiction

"Five, six, seven, eight!"

The words echoed through the black box. Carlos pressed the play button on the music, starting 'Get'cha Head in the Game' from the original High School Musical soundtrack.

A group of background characters in the play, Blake included, started to bounce basketballs, attempting to bounce in sync with the music despite the blindfolds that covered their faces.

She lifted her leg up, bouncing the basketball to the other side and trying to catch it with her other hand. She was supposed to do a twirl next, but the ball bounced away from her before she could try.

Judging by the sound of other basketballs bouncing away and the squeaking rubber shoes against the floor, nobody else had much luck with the moves either.

"Alright guys, come on, get 'cha head in the game," Carlos joked as everybody lifted their blindfolds and chased after their own basketballs.

"Carlos, when can we take these blindfolds off?" A boy with white hair chuckled, basketball in hand.

"When you're able to dribble and pirouette at the same time," Carlos smiled, stating his response as if it was obvious. Blake took a second to breathe after picking up her basketball, giggling softly at his answer.

"Alright," Carlos clapped his hands together, "good reheasal today, everybody! I'll see you all tomorrow, and don't forget to read over your scripts!"

She put her basketball down in the designated bin, grabbing her backpack and waving goodbye to Carlos. She was met with Ricky outside the door of the black box waiting for her.

"Hey, how was practice?" He nodded towards her with a smile as the two of them began walking through the halls.

"Rehearsals," she corrected him with a smirk.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Okay, how was rehearsals, smartass?"

She let out a quiet laugh, "it was fun. We learned to bounce a basketball blindfolded."

"I don't even want to ask."

She shook her head, "I don't know why he's trying to get us to learn the dance blindfolded, I think it's something about making it impossible to learn at first? I don't know," she giggled.

"Hey, okay, so... do you remember how I told you I think Nini and I had a moment earlier?" Ricky quickly changed the subject as the two of them started walking down the stairs.

She hesitantly nodded, "yes...?"

"Well... I think I'm going to call her real quick," he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, stopping on the stairwell.

Blake sighed, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Ricky..." She sat on the end of the stairs and watched.

He shrugged, "what do I have to lose?" He started dialing the number in his phone.

She groaned quietly, putting her face in her hands as she listened to the little beeps of the numbers being entered.

She heard the faint sound of Nini's voicemail through his phone, "this is Nini, talk to me, me!"

"Hey, it's me. Your... buddy, Ricky. Sorry to bother you, I know we don't really do voice convos," he used his free hand to animate his words as he spoke them, "but I saw you singing that song with Ashlyn today and I felt like we kind of shared, like, a moment... or a thing? I don't know, maybe a moment is kind of a thing?"

Blake scrunched her nose, an automatic reaction to the words that poured from his mouth. It was clear he didn't think this through.

"Why am I still talking?" He asked himself, whispering underneath his breath, "Anyway, whatever. if this voicemail is too much, or too soon, or you're just not into it... we can just ignore this whole thing and pretend like nothing ever happened, okay? Poof. Gone. Okay... bye."

Blake looked at him, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in as he pressed the button to end the call.

He clicked his tongue, finally moving his gaze from his phone and over to Blake, "Nailed it."

She stood up, the two of them finishing down the stairs and finally leaving the school as he continued to hype himself up, "Crushed it."

She shook her head with a laugh, but denied saying anything when he asked what it was she was laughing at as they skated home.

Instrumentals to the song 'Stick to the Status Quo' from the original High School Musical soundtrack played over the speakers as Blake and the the other extras practiced through a dance number around a cafeteria table that Gina danced on, their moves simply accenting Gina's routine that she was showing off.

Thankfully, Blake was no stranger to dancing. She had a history of ballet when she was younger, thanks to her mom, but as she grew older, she decided that dancing was more her style. Blake went to dance classes four times a week starting when she was eight years old. Just like many other things in her life, the dance classes stopped when her mom passed away. Still, it felt good to get back to her old hobby, if only for a second.

Gina finished out the last bit of the number in a pirouette with a smile as everyone quickly dispersed for a water break. Blake made her way over to Big Red, sitting next to him while he read through a script.

She took a big swig of her water, ignoring EJ sitting next to her and staring. Thankfully, his attention was pulled away from her as Nini walked through the door. Ms. Jenn quickly moved to meet her in the middle of the room.

"Nini! Where were you? We've been here for an hour."

"I'm so sorry," she stumbled, spilling out her explanation, "I lost my phone and basically spent last night living as a hunter-gatherer which, by the way, did you know that there are things that are only on TV at a certain time?"

Ms. Jenn looked at her with wide eyes as she rambled.

"Anyway, I finally picked it up at the lost-and-found and... wait, did you say an hour?" Nini's face fell.

"Gina sent you and me a text asking if we could come in early so she could talk through a new idea," Ms. Jenn explained gently, "you didn't get it?"

"No because my phone was missing..."

"Well, honey," Ms. Jenn began, "you've gotta keep better track of your stuff."

Blake noticed the way EJ's lips turned into a frown, the way he swallowed, looking down at his lap.

Before she could think about it, her attention was soon averted, her gaze now following Ricky. He walked across the room and over to Nini, who finally finished her conversation with Ms. Jenn.

"Hey, Nini, how was your night?" He asked her with a smile.

"Um," Nini pulled her jacket off, "not so hot, actually. Excuse me," she sat her jacket down and pushed past him without a second look.

Blake walked to Ricky's side, "Oh, okay," he cleared his throat as he watched her walk away.

He turned to Blake, whispering "'Not so hot'? Was that about my voicemail?" He raised his eyebrow, a sad chuckle escaping him, "I mean, is that her answer...?"

She shook her head, her mouth opened slightly. She was going to say something, she really was, but he moved on too quickly before she could respond.

"Yeah, that was her answer..." He frowned and walked away, leaving Blake standing there.

"Yo, earth to Blake!"

She had zoned out, but was quickly pulled back to reality when a small foam ball softly bounced off of her face.

"Huh?" she looked to the culprit with slight annoyance. Ricky.

"Are you even listening?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, Ricky."

"Dude, what's up with you? Where'd you just go?" Big Red's voice caught her attention.

"Was thinking about the homework I have to catch up on," She lied. She honestly just didn't want to hear any more about Nini.

She took a second, trying to think up a way to change the subject, distract them, find any thing to get them off the topic. So she looked at Ricky, figuring why not throw the ball back at him? He threw it at her first, after all.

"...What?" He asked hesitantly as he noticed the mischievous grin on her face.

She raised up her arm and threw the little foam ball as hard as she could at him. He flinched, "Hey!" It bounced off of his chest and onto the floor.

"Payback," she smiled innocently.

The three of them giggled together for a moment before Ricky started up a game of 'catch' — which was just the three of them tossing the little ball to each other in a circle from each side of Big Red's basement that they sat in.

"Okay but seriously, did you hear any of that?" Ricky asked Blake with an eyebrow raised and a smile.

"Yes, don't worry," she lied again, catching the ball from Big Red and quickly tossing it to Ricky again.

"So... what do i do?" Ricky asked both Blake and Big Red.

"Dude, just be yourself," Red looked at Ricky, "be the bigger man."

Ricky caught the ball from Blake, "Okay...." he tossed the ball up in the air and caught it, "pick one?"

Red looked at him, slightly dumbfounded, and sighed, falling backwards onto his bed.

Blake snickered at Ricky's reply, "At least you're self aware," she was only half-joking, "throw the ball!"

Ricky shook his head at her with a smile on his face, proud that he had made her laugh. He sighed and threw the ball to Big Red, "So, you think maybe it's time to move on...?"

Big Red caught the ball, "I mean, I wouldn't. But you also have that other thing..." he threw the ball to Blake, "pride."

She caught the ball and shook her head. While the conversation was undoubtedly silly and made her giggle, she couldn't deny that she was annoyed, too.

"No. Nini clearly isn't into you anymore, Ricky. She deserves to have her boundaries respected. You're just gonna push her away more," Blake sighed, tossing the ball to Ricky before standing up.

She looked away from the two boys, walking to her skateboard, backpack, and helmet.

"Where are you going?" Red sat up, the boys looked at her curiously.

"I'm outta here. Got homework," she shrugged.

"I - Wait..." Ricky tried to stop her, but she was already halfway up the stairs.

It didn't take but a moment before she had swiftly waved goodbye to Red's parents and headed out the front door. Her skateboard hit the ground.

Before she could get her helmet on, Ricky's hand was on her shoulder, "Blake..."

She sighed in frustration, but turned to face him with a smile on her face nonetheless. "What's up, Bowen?"

"What happened?" He genuinely seemed to be concerned, but she shook it off.

"Nothing, it's just late," she assured him.

She could tell he wasn't buying it, but he slowly released his hand from her shoulder and nodded. "Uh, let me go grab my stuff and I'll go with you?"

She shook her head, "don't worry about it."

"Come on, you know I hate it when you skate alone at this time of night."

Blake sighed, "fine."

He smiled at her and ran back inside to grab his things. He usually skateboarded along with her when they left Red's place, he says he hated for her to be alone in the dark. 'It's not like I have to go out of my way for it', he always argued when she'd try to protest.

When the two of them finally arrived to their houses, she kicked up her skateboard, catching it and grabbing her keys from her pocket. "Bye," she tried to be as quick as possible.

"Your dad still isn't home?"

She sighed. "Guess I'm on my own for dinner tonight again," she shrugged, the joke a little more sinister than she meant for it to be. As if she somehow wouldn't be on her own for dinner, even if her father was home.

She was about to turn away, walk inside, do her homework, shower, and sleep. She didn't have time to care about any of this. But Ricky stopped her... again.

"Come over tonight. You know Dad wont mind."

She puffed out a short, sarcastic laugh and looked to the ground beneath her feet. "Yeah, I think I'm good, Ricky. I'm not really hungry anyways," she shook her head.

His worried expression on his face evident, he spoke up, "Look, I don't..." he looked at his house and then back at her, lowering his voice a little bit, "I don't want to be alone tonight, anyways. It just feels so... empty in that house. Like something's missing."

He wasn't lying. But he also wasn't telling the full truth. He was worried about her, he was worried she was starting to isolate again. He knows her history with BPD, and he feared for her. So he told her the half-truth. He knew it'd persuade her to stay, so he said it.

Besides, something was missing. His mom. Hiding away in some other state, neglecting to be there for her son who very clearly needed her. Blake knew how much the past few weeks of this mess had been bothering him. So she sighed, she hesitated but her eyes met his again and she caved.

"Fine."

Ricky unlocked his door, letting her step inside first before following and closing the door behind them. His dad, Mike was asleep on the couch, the tv running Breaking Bad and a box of takeout noodles sat on the coffee table in front of him.

Ricky sighed at the sight of him. "C'mon," he lead her to the kitchen and grabbed two plates, opening up his fridge and pulling out frozen chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs.

Blake giggled, "The dino nuggies!" she cooed, a smile on her face. She was reminded of back when they were kids. Her mom would make dino chicken nuggets for the two of them after school every day and bring it out to them in the treehouse. Blake hasn't had any since she was little.

Ricky smiled at her, "you remember the dino nuggies? Your mom used to make them for us all the time..." he began, and Blake finished his sentence along with him.

"...and we would make them fight before we ate them," they said in unison before laughing with each other. He picked up one of the dinos and looked at her expectantly.

She chuckled at his antics but didn't hesitate to join in, picking up a dino and play-fighting with Ricky's. It was silly, but it had the two of them laughing together as they both relived those memories.

"Okay, I think it's time to cook them," she finally stopped, trying hard to contain her laughter in hopes that it wouldn't wake Mike.

Ricky nodded and put them in the microwave, he leaned back against the counter after pressing start on the six minutes. Blake moved over, pushing herself up to sit on the counter next to him, her legs swinging back and fourth softly.

The quiet between them almost became awkward, but Ricky's sleepy father interrupted it when he walked in groggily. "Hey, Ricky," he nodded towards his son, "hey, Blake, you spending the night?"

As if she hadn't agreed to it already, she looked to Ricky for clarification. He looked at her expectantly, hoping she hadn't changed her mind.

Her lips curled up in a small smile before she looked back to Mike and nodded, "Yeah."

Mike only gave a thumbs up in response, yawning as he walked out of the kitchen and to his bedroom.

Blake and Ricky laughed at the awkward encounter right as the microwave went off. When their laughs settled, he turned to the microwave and pulled out the hot dino nuggets, separating them onto two plates.

He went to the fridge and grabbed the ketchup, turning back to the plates and squirting some onto each plate.

"How'd you know I wanted ketchup? What if I wanted mustard?" Blake teased him with a grin, her legs swinging back and forth.

He gave her a knowing look. "I've known you since we were babies. We grew up on dino nuggies. Why wouldn't I know if you wanted ketchup or mustard?"

She jumped off of the counter, grabbing her plate of nuggets as he poured two glasses of lemonade. He grabbed his and they moved to the table.

The two of them sat in mostly silence as they ate, the nuggets being one of the only meals Blake has had the past few days. She hadn't had the time to sneak a few bucks from her dad and buy some groceries recently.

After they both finished their food, they cleaned up and put their dishes in the sink to be washed tomorrow.

Ricky looked at Blake with a smile, "I got you something."

She tilted her head in question, smiling back. "What?"

"Follow me," he said as he led her out of the house and to the backyard, into the tree house.

The two of them climbed up the ladder, only to be met with a box.

"What's this?" She asked him curiously.

"Well I figured since we finally got the tree house cleaned up, but none of the lights worked anymore... maybe I could get some new lights? I got the LED kind, too." He began unpacking the box, grabbing the little remote that came with the new lights, showing it to her. "You can even change the colors," he told her excitedly.

She giggled, taking the remote from him and looking at the colorful buttons on it. "Ricky, this is so fun," she smiled.

He started to unpack the lights, unraveling them and not hesitating to get to work, putting them up on the walls.

She moved quickly to help him and when the two of them finally finished setting the lights up, they plugged them in and used the remote to turn them on. Blake switched through all the colors they could be set to.

"We are actually children," she laughed as they both reacted a bit too excitedly at the different colors. He laughed too, grabbing the remote from her and finally setting the color to a nice blue.

She sighed, "I think it's time for me to take a shower. Mind if I use yours?" she asked him, knowing he wouldn't want her to go home right now anyway.

He nodded, "always."

She smiled at him as he turned the lights off, both of them climbing down the ladder of the tree house and heading inside.

She grabbed some of her clothes from the pile in Ricky's closet that she left for nights like these, and stepped into the shower.

Ricky fell back onto his bed, letting out a small groan of frustration. He tried to focus on the noise of the running water from the shower, or the sight of the ceiling fan whirring above him. Anything to distract him from his mind.

He thought about the other day, when Blake held his hand as she wrapped it up, taking care of his bruised and swollen knuckles. When his stomach turned as he watched her. The way she smiled, or her feather-light touch as she focused on him. He was captivated by the way she made him feel. Safe, loved, cared for. Captivated by how much he wanted to kiss her right then and there. To hold her in his arms with his lips pressed to hers, giving in to his impulsivity.

He could have sworn it was just the moment, just the overwhelming thoughts and feelings from a rough day. He could have sworn it didn't mean anything. So why couldn't he shake the thoughts?

Blake ran her fingers through her hair, washing out the conditioner she just scrubbed into it. The refreshing feeling of the water running down her back made her sigh in relief. Something to focus on that wasn't Ricky.

Ricky.

He didn't make this easy for her. The way he protected her from EJ, albeit in an incredibly stupid way, or the little things he did, like buying new lights for their tree house. The way he noticed that she was sad, insisting she didn't skate home alone. He made her feel safe. He made her feel loved. He made her feel cared for.

It was the safety that scared her. She hadn't been safe since the day her dad decided to take pills, opioids, after her mom died, washing it down with a bottle of vodka. Not that he'd ever hurt her, but the neglectful nature that followed his addictions had clouded any sense of safety she could ever find within him again.

Ricky being the only person left that she felt safe with after she lost both her parents was terrifying, to say the least... because what if she lost him, too?

She finished washing the soap off of her body, turning off the water and grabbing the towel she picked up on her way in. After drying off, she brushed her teeth and got dressed in fresh clothes, discarding her dirty clothes in Ricky's clothes hamper. He'd just add it to the pile again, anyway.

Turning the knob, she opened the bathroom door, the steam flowing out and no longer suffocating in the bathroom. She saw Ricky, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

"You okay?" She asked him gently, running a hand through her wet hair as she started to braid it.

He sat up, slightly alarmed at her voice, as if he hadn't noticed that she had already left the bathroom. He nodded, "I'm fine. How was your shower?"

The exchange was confusingly awkward as she answered quietly, "refreshing," she shrugged, sitting on the edge of his bed and continuing her braiding.

Ricky moved, sitting next to her as he watched her fingers move swiftly through her hair, perfectly lacing her locks in a delicate pattern.

"What is it?" She asked him softly, and he didn't even realize he was staring until she spoke.

He opened his mouth to say something, to say anything, but nothing came out. Not a few seconds later, his phone chimed. 'Saved by the bell', he thought.

He didn't hesitate to grab it, reading the text he had just received.

"It's Nini," he informed Blake, the confusing tension that once filled the air was gone in an instant.

"Oh," she breathed out as she finished braiding her hair, wrapping a hair tie around the end to hold it together.

"She said 'hey'... What does 'hey' mean?"

She shrugged, "Not sure. I wouldn't think too much on it, though," she advised him.

For a moment, she almost thought that he'd taken her advice, but she was quickly proven wrong when he began typing, then promptly deleting his own message. He tried again, but his message was gone once more. She watched his thumbs slide across the screen of his phone as he had written out multiple different messages, every single one of them seemingly not up to Ricky's standards.

She sighed, "I'm going to sleep, Ricky. You should, too."

He didn't look from his phone, standing up and saying, "alright, goodnight," before walking over to the futon in his room.

He kicked his shoes off, haphazardly taking off his shirt and discarding it somewhere on the ground, lying down and throwing a blanket over himself.

Blake had to remind herself to breathe, the sight of her best friend shirtless in front of her was nothing new, but it still gave her butterflies all the same. That, paired with the frustration of him actually responding to Nini, however... Well, it was a confusing mixture of emotions, to say the least.

So she crawled into the bed and turned off the lamp on Ricky's bedside table. She bundled up underneath the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Can you believe she actually told EJ about the voicemail I left her?"

Ricky paced the halls as he let out his anger while Blake leaned up against a wall and listened.

"That's really fucking disrespectful," she replied, matching his frustration.

"Right? You know what? I'm gonna go tell her that right now," He almost yelled.

It was evident that his anger was building more and more, and she knew that the best thing to do to help him was to help calm him.

Ricky didn't realize it, but she knew exactly what to do when he's upset. It's been the same routine since the two of them were young. It wasn't exactly difficult for her to figure out, considering she was the same way.

There were step-by-step rules to it:

1. Match his energy; get angry with him (while staying calm).

2. Validation; remind him that he's allowed to be upset.

3. Breathe; remind him to take a breath, to not let his thoughts consume him (which really isn't easy).

She pushed herself away from the wall, walking towards him. "Okay, Ricky, hey," she stood in front of him, stopping his pacing. Her hands went to his shoulders, "breathe."

His eyes met hers as he complied. He sucked in a deep breath, slowly releasing it.

"Good," she nodded. "I know it's infuriating that she betrayed your trust like that," she spoke calmly, sympathizing with him, "and you are one-hundred percent allowed to be angry. I'd be angry, too. Hell, I am angry. What she did wasn't at all fair to you. But you have to remember to breathe. Exploding is only going to make you feel worse. Don't let this consume you."

Blake and Ricky were similar in that aspect. Easy to let thoughts and emotions take over every inch of their minds.

He nodded at her words, his breathing had calmed down at the sound of her voice. Her sympathizing had worked in making him feel less alone.

"Now that you're calm, if you still want to go and talk to Nini, you should. State your boundaries, tell her that what she did wasn't cool, and then walk away. Alright?"

He agreed, flashing a small smile at her as a silent 'thank you'. She followed him through the halls as the two of them set off to find Nini. They watched as she exited through the front doors of the school, and Ricky dashed to catch up to her.

He pushed through the doors with Blake following closely behind, "Hey! Nini!" He called out to her, "I have to say something to you."

He finally reached her as he began his speech. "I know we're not a couple anymore, okay? I get that. You've been very clear," he sighed, "but... I thought there was a little trust left between us. I thought that I still meant something to you."

Nini sighed at his words, "I just can't do this right now..." She tried to walk away, but Ricky stopped her.

"Fine. Okay. But the next time I spill my guts out to you in a voicemail, do me a favor and keep it to yourself. I don't need to be hearing from EJ that it's wrong and stupid."

"Wait," Nini raised her eyebrow in confusion, "what voicemail?"

Blake wasn't standing far behind when she heard her question him, remembering Nini telling Ms. Jenn that she had lost her phone, and seeing EJ's reaction to the news.

"What do you mean?" Ricky asked her.

Nini answered his question with another question, "you heard this from EJ?"

Ricky's eyebrows furrowed as thoughts flowed through his mind but for Blake, it had already clicked. EJ stole Nini's phone.

. . .

To Be Continued...

#💫TAGS:#ricky bowen x OC #ricky bowen x BPD!OC #ricky bowen fanfic #ricky bowen #high school musical #high school musical the musical the series #hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series fanfic #hsmtmts fanfic #bpd!OC #fanfic #series

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