#ch: ashlyn caswell

[hsmtmtsnet]

AN EPISODE A DAY → 4x08 – Born to be Brave

This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

[nixiesrec]

pls this is perfection, their dynamic is so cute! beginning to end, i love every single word of this <3 i am such a sucker for a good family dynamic, their interactions were so fun!

parachute - one shot

prompt(s): dealing with his father during career day left him spiraling down with no parachute to land ej and his thought process safely. luckily for him, someone unexpected cushions the fall pairing(s): familial! oc! joel caswell x ej caswell fandom(s): high school musical: the musical: the series genre(s): lil angst, mostly fluff warning(s): cash caswell, college talks (if there are any more, please feel free to point them out!) other notes: i'm alive ! now for storytime: i got sucked into newsies in between watching hsmtmts episodes every week, which made me think about how north high should have done newsies if they strived to win, then i dreamt of jeremy jordan as zack roy and said goodbye to canon as we know it. so not only is season two rewritten in my head, but i have a storyline for season four with no context on our summer season. with that being said, i indulged in newsies and gave into my love for ben fankhauser. so meet my oc joel :) lmk your thoughts, questions, and everything in between ! it keeps @bright-molina, @lxncelot, @amortensie, and myself alive

from being the co-captain of the water polo team, to the treasurer of the associated student body, to the record breaking senior star of east high’s theatre department, ej caswell was known best as salt lake city’s resident boy next door. but if anyone actually knew ej caswell, they’d come to realize that his achievements were just surface level compared to who he really was. so who was the real ej caswell? truth be told, that was a question not even he knew the answer to. but he did know that he needed to get away, leading him onto an empty road with no destination set in stone. or so he thought, until he pulled over just a few feet away from a little green house. he took in the warm feeling of home that instinctively spread through his veins; a feeling he could never get in his own household. yet this comforting feeling wasn’t enough for his uneasiness to wash away into the tide of accumulating problems on his plate.

groaning loudly, ej snatched his things from the passenger’s seat. he was able to keep his facade up long enough to drag himself to the patio. once the door closed, it was like his body was being controlled by a mind of its own. the lafayette green walls painted with vintage vinyl records, the bookshelf filled to the brim with jubilant journals, and even the succulents besides the kitchen windowsill; while they were the things that normally made him happy, he couldn’t help but ignore the simpler things in life while he spiralled. sighing in relief, he finally made it to the room that served as his sweet escape. but ej’s conflict was far from over.

shrugging off the outer layers of his outfit, the facade crumbled before his feet as his jacket hit the floor. he paced around in his socks until it felt like he wore a hole into the floor, for while he had managed to settle down his mind, his body was as active as an athlete’s. still itching to do something once more, he plopped down onto the queen sized bed. while moving to press his back against the wall, and bouncing his legs, he grabbed the first thing he could; the thin neck of the acoustic guitar on his bedside.

almost like muscle memory, his calloused fingers strummed the melody to a song about a dream of no more running and no more lying. half heartedly humming the lyrics, it was like he was suffocating under the pressure. ej was living trapped under a future that never wanted to be his. he shook his head fervently as to rid himself of the thoughts before they could manifest themselves into his mind once more. with a large sigh, the playing momentarily came to a stop. leaning his head back onto the wall, ej just wanted to close his eyes and go; and that’s exactly what he decided to do.

hours had passed by like minutes as ej unexpectedly fell into a slumber. the resting of his mind and heart from the exhaustion only cut short when the booming baritone of ej’s ringer startled him into a wake. with a whine, ej kept his eyes closed as he sluggishly maneuvered around the instrument still in his hold to feel for the annoying device. as soon as he found it, he brought it to his face with one tired eye open to see the contact super friend 🎼 awaiting his answer. the fatigue wore away in an instant as he realized who was calling. straightening up, he didn’t even need to adjust to the low dusk light seeping into his room when all he could focus on was the blank stare he was giving his phone. the device continued to beg for ej’s attention, but there remained a sense of hesitance on his part to give in. even after his rest, the intrusive thoughts still lingered.

as the call faded to black, ej began to hate himself for feeling unsafe around one of the only people he could truly feel safe around. finally rebelling against himself, he made an attempt to call back. while his fingers were ghosting over the button calling out to him, a slam of the door and several soft thumps cut him off. ej’s eyes widened while he tried his best not to freak out. standing up with shaky breaths, his hero complex began to spring into action.

silencing his phone and pocketing it with ease, he scanned the room for any form of weapon. his old sports equipment was, unfortunately, donated to the local thrift shop just the week before, leaving only his heavy acoustic guitar as the only practical weapon lying around. his heart hurt thinking about the damage the sentimental instrument would ensue, but sucked it up in order to save his life. grabbing it, he stepped lightly as he carefully perused the halls. he made it to the living room with no threats in sight. while staying behind the furniture as an extra precaution, he noticed how quiet it had gotten; almost too quiet. his intuition caused him to tread more carefully than the time he had to avoid an ex that wasn’t over him just yet.

keeping the instrument lifted above his head, out of the corner of his eyes were several suitcases. before he could make his way out of the corn maze consisting of couches and coffee tables, another slam of the door caused ej to jump and a figure to emerge from the shadows. instinctively, ej swung and hit pure air until the familiar wardrobe and thick black rim of glasses gave away his identity. softly dropping the instrument onto the loveseat, ej screamed.

“joel?!” the man in question whipped around at the sound of his name. in an instant, his tired eyes shined like the stars when he caught sight of ej. the boy’s smile widened, unable to resist engulfing him into his arms. practically melting into him, joel chuckled at his enthusiasm before settling into the embrace himself. they both drank in the moment until ej was able to bring himself back to reality. pulling away, he slapped joel’s shoulder. “i almost hit you with my guitar! and what are you doing here? shouldn’t you be at work or something?”

“you have nothing to worry about. my job is super chill and they’ve got three other directors on standby. i’m absolutely certain they can survive at least one day without me.” joel quipped. ej watched as he twisted the thick los feliz class ring. catching ej staring at his hands, joel created a barrier as he held his hands behind his back. ej squinted in suspicion, letting the gears turn in his brain. although he appreciated joel’s sudden appearance after the day he had, he knew there was more to the story than he would let on.

“it still doesn’t explain why you’re here. did my dad send you or something?” ej pushed for an answer. crossing his arms, he craved nothing more than a taste of transparency. noticing his voice grow bitter at the mention of his father, joel swiftly shut down the idea with a shake of his head.

“as if i’d listen to cash.” he scoffed. “i came here on my own terms. when i was on the phone with ashlyn last week, she mentioned you guys having a career day coming up. to be frank, i didn’t think cash or dennis were going to show up. so as a last resort, i offered myself as a backup presenter. but as you can see, i didn’t make it in time considering my flight was delayed.” he gestured to his luggage scattered around him. ej grew baffled while the words settled into him. all throughout his life, ej never expected anyone to go at such lengths to see him and ashlyn. yet joel did it time and time again, and it never ceased to offer a burst of joy within him.

“so that’s it? you flew here in the hypothetical situation that neither of our parents would show?” was all ej could muster.

“well someone has to be the stable family member; mentally and physically.” joel joked, in an effort to lighten the mood. and it worked as ej cracked a smile. joel nodded towards him, “but you look like you could use a bit of stability. you wanna talk about what’s going on inside that big head of yours?”

“i was actually thinking of calling you to talk about it earlier…before you broke into your own house of course.” joel rolled his eyes and grinned halfheartedly. slinging his arm over ej’s shoulders, leading the boy to the living room furniture.

“of course. well, now you’ve got the real deal. come on, i have a feeling we’re gonna need to sit down for this.” ej made a move to jump onto the large lounge couch with joel right behind him, taking a seat at the edge of his feet. once the two felt comfortable in their spots, it didn’t take long for ej’s thoughts to run wild. no detail was left behind as joel nodded along, adding his own commentary into the conversation. wrapping up his worries within the duke debacle, ej sat up abruptly to wrap his arms around a pillow to seek out joel’s words of wisdom.

“how did you do it? find the courage to just turn down duke so casually and pursue what you really wanted?” he asked. joel pursed his lips at first, opening his mouth and closing it with a frown. staring distantly, he did that repeatedly until ej put it to a stop. clapping his shoulder, he attempted to capture his attention. “hey joel? you good?” he straightened up and quickly nodded in response.

“yeah. yeah sorry. i was trying to come up with something poetic about my departure…but i got nothing. to be completely candid with you; i had no idea what the hell i was even doing. heck, i still don’t know what i’m doing half the time!” joel explained as he flailed his arms in the air.

“aren’t you literally a poet? you’re supposed to be philosophical and great at advice like all the time! there has to be something you can give me.” ej raised, with an eyebrow.

“ej, i’m suffering from a common writer’s block. leave me alone.” joel huffed playfully. ruffling ej’s hair, his perfect do slipped through his fingers. ej’s nose scrunched up as he pushed joel’s arm away and hit him where it hurt most; his age.

“maybe you’re just suffering from memory loss.” he teased. joel gawked, letting out a noise of offense.

“i’m only thirteen years older than you!” caught up in the moment, joel ultimately declared war. grabbing a pillow from the closest seat, he began to swat at his nephew. ej’s shrill shriek was heard for miles as he retaliated. laughter filled the air as more pillows were thrown and egos were hit, ej’s worries melting away. as the senior surrendered to catch his breath, he realized that he didn’t need advice; he needed someone to lean on. and joel was that someone. while his uncle was distracted cleaning up any remaining evidence of their altercation, he sent a grateful glance his way. his train of thought broke when the wind was knocked out of his chest by another pillow. fluffing it up, he laid it down on the neighboring loveseat. as joel called for his attention, he hummed to let him know he was paying attention. loudly clearing his throat, ej finally looked up to see him pushing his glasses up and a firm look painting his face. “i know i don’t have any wistful words for you. but if you’d like my opinion, i think that you should confront your dad as soon as possible. as welcome as you are here, this isn’t something you can simply walk away from.” ej knew he was right. but a part of him didn’t want to leave just yet.

“so i’m not welcome enough for the traditional joyous joel caswell welcome of free dinner and a movie marathon?” ej asked cheekily. joel instantly saw through his ways, sending him a glare.

“i see you. that’s a distraction. you’re distracting me and you’re running.” he deadpanned.

“just think of this as a quick pitstop then.” the senior shrugged. joel gaped slightly, running a hand over his face in bewilderment.

“fine. you get free dinner and one movie. you’re on your way home after that.” joel compromised, waving a finger in his face.

“perfectly fine by me. you wanna order the food while i choose the movie?” ej beamed. coming to an agreement, they began to part ways to ensure a smooth hangout. while ej picked onward with no doubts, before joel had gotten the chance to pick up his phone, a noisy whir in the wind lulled them away from their evening plans.

“did you plan on inviting anyone over?” ej denied doing so. sauntering over to the windows, joel pressed a finger to his lips. ej nodded, picking the guitar once more. poking his head through the sheer mesh curtains, joel could faintly make out the model of a bright orange beetle leaving his driveway as soon as they came. the unfamiliar vehicle didn’t arouse suspicion in any way which earned a sigh of relief from the man. letting his guard down and turning to let ej do the same, he shot him a bewildered look when he zoned in on the stringed instrument in the senior’s grasp.

“you have got to stop weaponizing my guitar like that.” joel commented.

“i hate to say it, but if i feel like my life is in danger? all bets are off.” mentally taking notes to buy his nephew a baseball bat in the near future, another knock and the familiar ringing yell of ej’s name from behind the door had him tightening the grip on the makeshift weapon. “like right now.” walking over fearlessly, joel caught a glimpse of red hair and snickered.

“it’s just ashlyn, eej.”

“yeah, the same ashlyn who’s had it out for me since i accidentally shredded the sheet music to her newest song! she’s just gonna wanna talk to me about this as payback and it’ll be torture.”

“you know what? i’m gonna let her in.” the smirk could be heard in joel’s voice from a mile away when he made a move to unlock the door. ej’s eyes widened, dropping the guitar on the couch with a thud. he immediately lunged forward trying to stop him.

“what?! no! you’re supposed to be on my side-!” his protests went unheard, falling silent with joel in his arms when the door clicked open. untangling himself from him (hitting faces and several limbs in the process), he made a move to lean against the wall. they watched as she typed away at her phone. glancing at each other, the two stifled a laugh awaiting for her to notice them. with a large sigh, she pocketed the device.

“i’m surprised. you didn’t even try to deny that you were here-” readying herself to speak, she cut herself off when she realized that the tall, bespectacled man in her presence was definitely not her cousin. her eyes widened, a grin growing on her lips once the shock dwindled. “wow hi. you’re…not ej.”

“no, i’m not. but i am going to order food if you’d like to come in.” he encouraged her to enter the humble abode. ashlyn entered gingerly, but not before attaching herself to his side as a warm welcome. eagerly returning her affections, ej pouted at the lack of attention from his favorite (and only) cousin.

“why don’t i get a hug?” ashlyn opened her mouth, most likely to list the numerous issues ej had on his plate, joel gave her a tight squeeze and spoke in place of her.

“weren’t you just cowering in fear at the mention of her name five seconds ago?” he furrowed his eyebrows. ej was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze to go along with it and nodded slowly.

“don’t you have takeout to order or something?” ej emphasized. feigning exasperation, joel attempted to bring ashlyn to the coffee table in hopes of distracting her with the takeout menu. but when she requested that she talk to ej for a moment, he knew there was nothing more he could do. clapping ej’s shoulder, he made his exit all while the senior’s eyes darted frantically across the room in hopes of finding an opportunity to avoid the conversation. it felt like his feet were planted to the floor and a rain cloud hovered over his head when ashlyn’s honey brown eyes stared into his soul. but the gloomy mood left as quick as it came when she pulled him into a bear hug.

“you’re on thin ice, but we’ll talk later. and just so you know, i love you anyway and you’re gonna be okay.” offering one last reassuring smile, ashlyn left ej alone to gather his thoughts. although there were no thoughts to consume when his cousin’s boisterous laughter echoed throughout the living room. with stars in his eyes, he watched as joel and ashlyn lit up the room. ej grinned to himself as he couldn’t help but think about how fortunate he was to have them. the feeling of freefalling with the fear of no parachute dissipated with every second he spent with them. as long as they were there, he didn’t need a parachute to cushion the fall and the pain of his hurt. and it didn’t matter in that moment who ej really was or needed to be. because ashlyn was right; as long as he had his small family to lean on, he was gonna be okay.

[ginaporterr]

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL: THE SERIES | 3x01 – Happy Campers

[seblos]

there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach - ch 2/10

chapter title: let’s stop swirling, and start twirling

word count: 3,351

[one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine (coming soon)]

read on ao3

Carlos now has a hall pass to miss the last 15 minutes of study hall so he can get to rehearsal early. He probably would have been allowed to leave without one, considering everyone in the cast had been excused half an hour early for costume fittings, but he has Mr. Mazzara to thank for the small yellow paper he clutched in his hand now.

Miss Jenn was already in the bomb shelter by the time he gets there, quickly typing away at her phone until she notices Carlos standing in front of her.

“Carlos, perfect, just in time!” Miss Jenn says as her phone made a fwoosh noise, confirming some order that Carlos couldn’t see. “I left the box of scripts in my office, so can you set up the desks and name cards for the read through? I’m thinking a circle for all the named roles, plus me, you, and our stage manager, and then the ensemble and the rest of tech can just be grouped together behind.”

He was about to ask why not just put everyone in a circle, but Miss Jenn had already made her way out the door towards her office. He shrugs, not caring enough to argue with her judgment. Miss Jenn knew what she wanted; he might as well follow her agenda.

Carlos arranges the desks the way she had asked, then quickly slides over the top of one as he begins putting down the name cards for everyone. He starts with his own choreography card (keeping a mental reminder to take a photo with it later) then director, stage manager, Chad, Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor.

The next card stops him though. Carlos reads over the neat printed “Sharpay” as the conversations he had with Seb from auditions washed over him, warming his heart.

 He glances over at the desk he had left off on, almost directly across from where he was sitting. Instead of putting it there, though, he bit his lip and turns, dropping the card on the desk next to his instead. 

With that, he kept going around the circle acting as if nothing happened. He makes sure to put the Ryan card next to Sharpay just in case anyone decides to ask why Seb was all the way on the other side of the circle from the other leads. Miss Jenn came back in a few minutes later with the box full of scripts.

“Oh that looks perfect!” she tells him, looking at the arrangement. Carlos sucks in a breath, expecting her to say something about the out of place Sharpay name card, but she doesn’t say anything about it.

The theatre kids begin filing through the door just as the bell rang for school to end as Carlos swipes through the few notifications on his phone as Miss Jenn calls for everyone to take their assigned seats. Nothing important, just a new post from Ashley Tisdale on Instagram, a few new twitter followers (he was surprised to see EJ Caswell was one of them) and-

Carlos groans, showing Miss Jenn the text he had gotten from Natalie.

“Who is Natalie Bagley and why do I care if her glands are swollen?” she asks.

“Our stage manager. Guess she’s not coming,” Carlos says, switching off his phone.

Miss Jenn immediately called out Ricky’s friend, Big Red, and asked him to read the stage directions. Part of Carlos is upset that she didn’t just ask him to do stage directions since it wasn’t like he had any lines to read, but it was fine. They needed more tech kids anyway, maybe this would convince him to join backstage.

Or so he thought, considering the next near-hour and half was spent painfully listening to Big Red read the stage directions. Carlos at one point had shot Miss Jenn a pointed look, who looked stressed out of her mind as she asked him to read the punctuation. Unfortunately, Big Red had taken that seriously, and no one had the heart (or the energy) to correct him after he started reading “Sharpay comma heads for class period.” This, plus Carlos’s ADHD made him feel like he needs to take a lap around the school. Maybe around all of Salt Lake City before he’s ready to come back to this.

Instead, he chooses to glance over at Seb to his left, who looks just as spaced out as everyone else did. An idea pops into Carlos’s brain, and he quickly scribbles down an SOS on the blank sheet of paper he had been using to take choreo notes (in which there were none, yet. He couldn’t focus like this anyway.) He then folds up the note and tries to make eye contact with Seb.

Unfortunately, the farm boy was still spaced out as ever, staring at the pages which he turned while everyone else did, although his eyes weren’t moving along the words. 

The universe decides to apparently help him out, though as while Carlos was trying to get Seb’s attention, he doesn’t notice his pencil rolling off the table until it was too late. It clattered on the floor, not catching the attention of anyone except for the boy sitting next to him. 

Seb breaks from his trance, reaching down to grab the pencil before handing it to Carlos with a grin, and Carlos uses it as his shot to quickly hand the boy the note as he takes his pen back. 

He takes the piece of paper in surprise, cocking his head at Carlos for a moment as he unfolds the paper as quietly as possible. For a moment, Carlos wonders if it had been a bad idea.

Until, Seb reads the note and a smile grew on his face, grabbing a pen from his backpack nonchalantly so he wasn’t writing back in highlighter. Carlos noted that it was cow print and wrote in shimmery light blue ink, which, aw. 

He passes it back a moment later, and Carlos grins as he reads the response. Underneath his SOS in round, loopy writing is Seb’s bubbly ikr? big red is the sweetest but this plus my adhd my brain is GONE.

Carlos grins when he reads it. He didn’t know Seb had ADHD too (it’s not exactly something he advertises either, to be fair) but it’s always nice to see someone who can relate. He quickly scribbles back same! im all for new tech kids but i think miss jenn should just let me read from here on out. and i hate reading out loud. (and i have adhd too, crazy lol)

He passes it back to Seb, who’s brow furrows he writes, passing it back a moment later. It now reads she really should. why didnt she? i mean, youre capable of anything, even reading out loud. (and that’s cool! i mean, not cool, but cool that you can relate :) ) 

Carlos smiles. It’s sweet that Seb thinks that about him. He writes not sure. perks of being the unpaid choreographer i guess. 

When Seb gets it back this time, he smiles. well, someone should pay you then. btw have you done the chem hw yet? mr mazzara is killing me

They continue passing the paper back and forth, veering off topic from the show and just talking about school and their families. It’s never been this easy for him to make friends, but something just seems right when he’s talking to Seb, even if its through a piece of paper.

They end up covering the paper, only pausing when Seb has to read lines. They have to move onto the back at one point before Big Red finally reads the last sentence of Act I, and Miss Jenn calls for a break. Carlos is about to scootch his desk closer to Seb’s when Miss Jenn gestures for him to come talk to her. He shoots Seb an apologetic look, who just waves him off with a smile before adjusting his jacket and instead moves to talk to Ashlyn, who looks surprised when he drops down in the seat next to her.

As he follows Miss Jenn over to a corner of the bomb shelter, he worries for a second that she’s going to call him out for not only not paying attention to the script but distracting one of the leads in the process. Thankfully, it seems she didn’t notice and instead starts asking about Ricky and Nini. (As if Carlos has any idea what’s going on between them. Again, hetero drama that he doesn’t completely care about.)

“Should we think about recasting?” Carlos offers. 

“Absolutely not, my instincts are impeccable.” Miss Jenn replies, then adds, “and I’m not scared of a challenge.”

“This one might be impossible. She won’t even look at him.”

“Don’t underestimate me. I come from strong stock. My mother bounced back from an autopsy.”

Okay, not the reply he was expecting, but Miss Jenn was already calling them back together, which meant another hour of listening to Big Red read Act II. 

When he sits down, though, Seb smiles at him again, and Carlos pulls back out the paper.

—

Carlos was packing up his backpack after they ended early rehearsal that day. Ricky stormed off, and maybe it wasn’t necessarily Carlos’s fault that he was quitting the show, but he could feel his chest getting tighter the more he tried to ignore it. If he had just pushed Ricky a little less or cut all the dance talk and tried just a little harder to get him to stay, they wouldn’t be in this mess. 

“Hey, do you need a ride home?” Carlos hears footsteps approaching. He hadn’t realized that anyone was still in the bomb shelter, but when he turned around Seb was standing there. They had talked before rehearsal and in classes, but during rehearsal, Carlos was barely able to spare a glance at the boy playing piano while he tried to teach choreography. Not that rehearsal was about interacting anyway.

“Don’t you live on a farm?” Carlos asks, even though he knows the answer. It’s more of a question of why are you offering a ride if you live so far away?

“Yeah, but don’t worry! Your house is on the way!”

Carlos squints at him, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. “You don’t even know where I live.”

“No, but I’m sure it’s on the way,” Seb is grinning at him, and Carlos doesn’t want to say no. Besides, he told his mom they would be done at six, and it’s barely even 5 o’clock, so he nods.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. That would be good,” Carlos returns the smile and Seb beams. He finishes zipping up his backpack, swings it around his shoulders as Seb finishes sending a message on his phone, and the two walk out the door of the bomb shelter together. 

“By the way, I like your shoes,” Seb says without even looking down, and Carlos feels the slightest bit of heat rushing to his face. The shoes in question are cow print, and even though he bought them before his conversation with Seb at the read through, he did think of the boy this morning when he put them on. 

“Thank you,” Carlos says. He’s quiet for a moment, before asking “how are you so happy all the time?”

Seb looks surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re always so smiley and nice, even when everything is crazy stressful, like right now. I feel like I’m just snapping and brushing people off.”

“Well, first of all, you’re definitely more stressed than me,” Seb says, turning his head towards Carlos as he speaks. “I barely played today, considering how much everyone has been arguing with you about the moves. I mean, just because Miss Jenn isn’t there all the time doesn’t immediately give them the right not to listen to you.”

“I think it’s that, plus being an underclassman,” he sighs, pushing open the doors to the main entrance of the school. “I mean, Gina respects me but she isn’t exactly the friendliest with everyone right now either.”

“Well, it’s not fair of them,” Seb says, and Carlos bites his lip. He already knew deep down what Seb had said was true, but just hearing someone say it out loud made it so much more real. 

When Carlos doesn’t say anything else, Seb continues. “Besides, it sort of seemed like you weren’t having the greatest time, so I was hoping if I was a little happier, you would be too. Is that stupid?” he asks.

“No, it’s not stupid. It helped. Thanks,” Carlos smiles, because it did genuinely help. Well, either that or the venting. 

Seb smiles again, and Carlos feels his heart flutter just a little bit. Something about Seb’s smiles always made him feel warm. They never feel fake, and they’re always just as bright as the last.

They stop in front of a car, and Carlos opens the door to the back while Seb goes to the front seat. Behind the wheel is a girl a few years older than them who he presumes is Seb’s sister.

“Carlos, this is my sister, Georgie,” he introduces, and the girl turns to smile at Carlos. She has the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Seb.

“Nice to meet you, Carlos,” Georgie says. “Seb texted saying you need a ride, so where am I going?” 

For the most part, the car ride is silent. There’s music playing, a mix of old 2010’s pop and musical theatre, and Carlos can’t tell who’s playlist it is as both Seb and Georgie sing along. It’s not uncomfortable though, and he smiles as he watches the two of them together. He only has step siblings, and he’s not nearly as close to any of them as Seb is. 

“Do you have other siblings?” he asks out of nowhere, and both Seb and Georgie laugh.

“Too many to keep track of,” Seb shakes his head. “I’m a middle child of seven.”

Carlos’s eyes widen. “Seven? And they’re all fully blood related to you?”

“Yep. four sisters, two brothers. Josephine is the oldest, then our brother Cohyn, then Georgie, then me, then Sophia, Paisley, and Isaac. We’re all two years apart, starting at 21 with Josie, except for Isaac who’s 5 and was a bit of a surprise,” Seb explains, and Carlos feels his head spinning.

“How do you remember all that?” he asks, causing both the Matthew-Smith’s to laugh again. 

“Years of practice. To be fair, I don’t know like, half of their birthdays,” Seb says, earning a punch in the arm from his sister.

“Do you have any siblings, Carlos?” she asks.

“Two stepsisters on my mom’s side, both older. Isabella and Victoria,” Carlos says. “Isa is in college and Vic is about to graduate, but she goes to West High. I have a lot of cousins though, which are basically my siblings.”

“Us too,” Seb smiles softly. Carlos is expecting the look that people give him when they realize his parents aren’t divorced, but there’s no change in his expression. It’s nice to not have people ask about it for once (not that he remembers a time before they were divorced anyway. He was three, it doesn’t really affect him anymore.)

Georgie pulls into the driveway of Carlos’s house, and Carlos opens the door. 

“Thank you for the ride,” he says.

“Anytime, Los.” The nickname hits Carlos harder than he’s expecting it to, and he stops for a second, registering it into the mind as his heart swells. Only family members had ever used that nickname on him before, and hearing Seb use it felt… different. But good different.

“See you tomorrow,” he says, closing the door and waving goodbye to the two before running up the steps to his house. He can see them driving away as he closes the door.

“You’re home early,” his mother steps out from the kitchen, and Carlos turns. 

“We ended early. Sort of a dramatic day.”

His mother laughs. “Always is in theatre,” and Carlos can’t help but laugh too. “How did you get home? You could have texted.”

“A… friend gave me a ride. Seb Matthew-Smith, he’s our accompanist and he’s playing Sharpay.” 

He can see a twinkle in his mother’s eye as she nods. “Got it,” she says, stretching it out as she gives him a look.

“Not like that, mamá, just a friend,” he rolls his eyes with a smile. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re making friends. Dinner will be ready in an hour, I’m going out to play bunco tonight, so make sure you and Victoria clean up,” she tells him, and Carlos nods, taking that as his cue to go upstairs.

As he reaches his bedroom, though, his phone dings with a text from Seb (they had swapped numbers at the end of the readthrough) about the chemistry homework. Carlos sets down his backpack, pulling out the homework in question, and sets it on his desk while he texts back. 

His mother’s voice rings in his head. I’m glad you’re making friends. It’s the first time in a while that he’s had a close friend, and it fills his chest with warmth. 

—

“Where do you sit during lunch?” Seb asks Carlos out of nowhere, plopping down on the seat next to him during study hall. He’s in the library, researching other school’s performances of High School Musical so he can try and get inspiration for their show. When Seb sits down, though, he pulls out an earbud.

“I mean, here, usually,” Carlos glances around the library. “Why do you ask?”

Seb shrugs. “Dunno, I’ve never seen you at lunch before and I was wondering who you sit with. I thought we might be in different periods, but we have gym and chem together sixth and seventh, and you mentioned to me yesterday that you have algebra fourth, so the only option left was fifth unless you take an extra class like some kinda psycho.”

Carlos blinks. “You kept track of all of that?” he asks.

Seb suddenly blushes slightly. “I mean, I don’t know the rest of your schedule, I was only really paying attention because like I said, I was wondering who you sit with. But I guess you sit with… no one…?” he trails off.

Now it’s Carlos’s turn to blush. “I mean, my mom plays bunco with the librarian so she always let me sit in here. The only other person I really talk to is Gina, but she has seventh period lunch. And I guess I could eat in Miss Jenn’s office, but sometimes she stresses me out and I can watch videos in here. Plus it’s a lot quieter than the cafeteria, although I did run into Ricky today-”

Seb cuts him off. “Would you want to sit with me and Natalie? It’s only us at our table.” 

“I- uh. Yeah. Sure,” Carlos says.

Seb nods with a smile. “Okay, cool,” he says, then turns in his seat and logs into the computer next to Carlos.

“Why do you keep inviting me to things?” Carlos asks suddenly, gnawing on his lip.

Seb turns back to face Carlos again. “What do you mean?”

“You offered to drive me home, now you’re inviting me to sit with you at lunch.”

He cocks his head, smiling, although still clearly confused. “Because we’re friends, dummy,” he tells Carlos.

“Oh,” Carlos smiles. “Okay. Cool.”

Seb nods. “Cool.” 

They both go back to doing their work silently until Seb turns around again. 

“Did you say you saw Ricky in here?” he asks.

“Yes! You’ll never believe what he did.”

“What?” “He told me he’s joining the show again! And then, he started dancing. Like, in the middle of the walkway!” They both laugh.

As Carlos continues filling Seb in on all the details of his previous conversation with Ricky, he can feel his heart fluttering. He doesn’t know what is with the other boy in the long run, but hey, at least they’re friends.

[hsmtmtsnet]

AN EPISODE A DAY → 4x06 – Trust the Process

You gave these universally strange children a space to be themselves.

[hsmtmtsnet]

AN EPISODE A DAY UNTIL THE 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY → 4x01 – High School Musical 4

Is it woke? Is it throwback? What if it's both? What if it's High School Musical 4? Well, guess what? It is.

[hsmtmtsnet]

AN EPISODE A DAY UNTIL SEASON 4 → 3x06 – Color War

When I heard that the camp that’s putting on Frozen for Disney+ has a day that’s emotionally similar to the 2006 to 2008 Disney Channel Games, I and the folks at the Mouse HQ jumped at the chance to include this in our docu-series.

[hsmtmtsnet]

AN EPISODE A DAY UNTIL SEASON 4 → 3x04 – No Drama

We’re all good friends. Yeah, like, really good friends. We’re basically a drama-free zone.