#it was always about Gina holding Ricky off until he was ready to say it and it was about him pushing her to open her heart

[rinaforreal]

The journey to saying it, and having it be said.

+ Bonus

[organic-guacamole]

episode 210 here we go

awww seb doing the intro

congratulations to milky white and her baby chocolate milk😌

seb is so funny

but seriously, clean up that milk fast or else it will smell so bad in there....

was that Lauryn just randomly doing cartwheels? idk any theatre kids irl but that seems like it's a common thing...

is it just me or has ms Jenn been getting more harsh to Ricky and Seb mainly-

like what did they do to her

no because I actually snorted with laughter at the "you came back" WHAT IS THAT VOICE-

AND THE MASK OMG

yeah so my throat hurts now

I'm dying over here

KOURTNEY'S FACE

SAME GIRL SAME

Ricky's fake death got the whole place in tears /s

he looks like an asthmatic walrus

Seb's on piano, I love

we all know if he was the beast we'd all actually be crying✋

ok but I listen to Julia's version of home on Spotify when I want to cry-

right so gimme a second

is Ricky scratching his face.....while he's dying?

"belle i-" *flop*

round of applause to Ashlyn for trying to make Ricky's earthworm seizure look less.... yknow

Kourtney's just dying there

WAIT IS THAT NATALIE

did she really just disappear for 9 episodes just to come back and stare dramatically into the camera

WAIT SCRATCH THAT SHES HERE TO MURDER ASHLYN AND RICKY

oh so Ricky's wearing a gay shirt now too

so that's the real reason why Rini broke up, see y'all next season when Gini and caswen become canon /j

wait that was a long intro scene-

what was that look Carlos-

TALK TO MY BOY OR ELSE

carlos' run is so funny to me

therapist Ashlyn to the rescue

"that is...super" son you good?

ms Jenn call Benjamin, he would willingly put his loved ones on a rocket and blast them into Venus for you....

maybe

"I don't want you kids to be disappointed" girl you do realise you're the one that's most invested in this?

"a smooth opening night" wasn't there just 1 show though-

like their opening night was closing night too

"I think I was Troy at one point" PLEASE THATS THE MOST ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE SEASON 1 FINALE

me Jenn looks like a serial killer during that clap and I'm lowkey scared for zacky

"I have notes"

oo if you're taking suggestions, lemme get my list

"mother is freaking out" uhhhhhh

right....'mother"

"is everyone sitting down?"

*looks around awkwardly*

*big red slowly sits*

"no..."

please seb was the only one sitting-

does that mean Carlos looked at Seb as soon as he walked in and assumed that everyone else was sitting too or am I a seblos clown🤡

"is this about the transformation"

WOW MAYBE OT IS RICKY

WOW HES A DETECTIVE FOR FIGURING THAT OUT SO QUICK🤩

YO WHY IS NATALIE HERE-

she just shows up when it's convenient? is she gonna be at the sleepover too?

Seb's heavy swallow after Carlos shouts at him makes me so sad

"I never learned how to lie but I figure if I keep my mouth closed, I can't tell the truth" *nods and smiles at Nini when she asks*

why are they casually standing up all over the pizza shop, just sit at a big table and talk instead of blocking passageways and blocking off at least 6 tables-

"how about I invite myself" WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS FEEL THE NEED TO INVITE THEMSELVES TO ASHLYN'S HOUSE-

YOU CAN ASK BUT JUST FORCE YOUR WAY IN?

so Cash Caswell has a bigger house than... Dennis Caswell.... who would've thought

ah yes there's the good old EJ 1.0

Nini: "boys vs girls"

Gina: *looks devastated and glances longingly at EJ*

way to be inconspicuous

"but north high should be" *cracks her knuckles in the most uncomfortable way*

good for Ashlyn for getting more confident though

oo bossy big red

"i get bossy around the power tools"

is that why Ashlyn was holding up the drill in episode 8 orrrr 🤠

oh

Lily, leave him alone please

she's literally not blinking, is that what makes her creepy?

the diss at big red and his face afterwards is priceless

isn't that similar to what Gina's mom said to her in season 1? hmmmm

but seriously please don't try to redeem lily, let us have a character to hate, or to love because they're evil.

not everyone's a good guy.

"im not liked here and I don't know what to do"

let antoine finish his salad and it'll fix everything

"hug emoji" *gags*

y'all realize Lily's literally 14?

why is she calling a 16/17 year old from another school for personal advice-

"he gets weird around tools"

I shouldn't be laughing so hard

"deja vu maybe?" awkward silence

I'm dying here I love EJ so so so so much

"where's seb"

*cuts to seb being held hostage hoping that they'd notice he's missing and go look for him*

"don't ask"

"oh ok"

"100% real faux fur" as you should queen

sponsored by target

Kourtney is singlehandedly saving the entire show.

Seb making finger guns make me happier than it should

why is this kinda making me want to have a co-ed sleepover with my non-existent theatre friends

YES YOU DO NEED TO TALK/SING TO SEB CARLOS THANK YOU FOR KNOWING THAT

wait what-

you haven't talked to him all WEEK-

Carlos are you stupid /hj

Benjamin is so adorable I can't

he turned around to come back for her instead of going home. you're "what do you want Jenn🙄X act isn't fooling anyone Benjamin 🙃

10101

1+4+16= 21st?

they placed 21st?

or do I just not remember how to convert to base ten

GIRL DON'T BE RUDE TO HIM, HE'S GONNA SAVE YALL

no ms Jenn, the kids are not eccentric 35 year olds.

aww sebby

is he thinking that Carlos is only with him cuz he's the only other openly gay guy at school-

son you are a perfect little bean don't put yourself down

yes they all ship portwell as they should.

they'll be throwing risotto at the wedding.

not the chocolates. stop there are no chocolates. please stop I'm dying.

Gina you don't have to explain yourself to her

it was a misunderstanding and it's in the past

why is Ashlyn still laughing-

exactly it wasn't a big deal please just move on Nini

Kourtney really be out here saving everything

WHY IS ASHLYN STILL LAUGHING

why do I feel like when Gina finally told Ash about it, she didn't think it was that funny but wanted to feel included in the inside joke so now she brings it up randomly to show that she's in on it....I totally don't do that...

"idk, the farmer type" oh son...

Ashlyn and big red are just spilling the secrets back and forth huh?

OOO EJ AND GINA SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-

cmon guys don't look at me like that-

"she is the best" and "we're buddies" don't sound right together

"pretty boy" "sweet boy" best ways to describe EJ

I love him.

and aw he's scared of rejection so he'll hold back just to keep her happy and not awkward how sweet

is Ricky wondering if letting her go(literally his song from last episode) was the best thing he did for Nini because he doesn't feel like it now? hmmm this is getting good

why is everyone so invested in Kourtney and Howie's relationship

PACK UP THE LAZY RICKY THING

oh yes Benji, that's exactly what she's doing

she couldn't follow her dream or whatever so now she's using the kids to gain some of the success she craves. why else would she have that massive hsm poster with her name on it in huge letters in her office.

just casually grab his hand with both your hands and stare at him creepily 🥰

ship jennzzara y'all

the first bump was a missed opportunity to do the baymax "falalala" as a reference to the fact that they watched big hero six while committing arson✋

wait so big red and EJ just left Ricky in the basement and now Ricky invited Carlos when they're supposed to be at the stage?

help no Ricky looks like he's about to tell Carlos he likes him (I know it's about writing the song for seb but still, look at his body language and tell me it doesn't look like that)

Ricky is so mature about this, he really just wants Nini to be happy even though he's hurting-

baby you deserve love, maybe Nini isn't the one for you but don't say you don't deserve it

why does he keep adding bro to the end like he doesn't know how to address Carlos

PLEASE CARLOS HAVING TO ADDRESS THE BRO THING

"let's write a song when we have like 45 minutes to get to the place and help our friends possibly win $50000 at the show in 2 weeks"

"can you hit a high C?"

"that's like the bottom of my range"

why am I laughing

this is so cool to see friendship interactions that we don't normally get to see

Nini why are you being like this-

Gina did nothing wrong??

I saw that, EJ and Gina being the only ones going in the same direction👀

right so obviously Kourtney's waiting until after the menkies to get back with Howie just in case he really is just using her as a way in to east high... obviously... right?

CARLOS

OK ITS COMING GET READY YALL

Why is portwell so awkward all of a sudden

OMG EJ

OMG GINA SAY YES or not, do what you want.

the way she doubts that EJ would genuinely ask so she has to make sure it's not Ashlyn behind it

OH

THE "NOT THAT I KNOW OF"

LIKE WHAT GINA SAID TO JACK ABOUT EJ BEING HER BOYFRIEND

GUYS THEY'RE SOULMATES

I want risotto now please

THEY'RE SO SWEET AND ADORABLY AWKWARD ITS LIKEEK LITTLE KIDS

OOOOOOO what is this place that seblos is in, looks fancy....and secluded

oh wait no Ricky's just standing there

wait is it the bomb shelter

it looks so good what

HSKAGSJAGAJAGWISGSKAUASBWKSVAIWBAISBQKSHIQBWOABWOABDOQBZIQBAIAQBSIWBQISVQKSIANSGOQBSAISBKASBKWBAIABQOSBBSJAHAJAVAJSBAJHSKAHSJAHAJAJAAJAHHHHHHHH

@youranxiousnerd ARE YOU OK?

CUZ IM NOT OK

LOOK AT SEBBY'S FACE

LOOK AT HOW ADORABLE IT IS

THE LYRICS ARE KILLING ME

SEBLOS IS KILLING ME

I AM DEAD

PLEASE SEND HELP

I like to imagine that Frankie and Joe practiced this in their apartment and just had a blast with it.

or maybe that Frankie practiced in secret like what Joe did for the climb

OH THE SUITS

THATS WHERE THAT CLIP IN THE PROMO WAS FROM

AWWW SEBBY'S SO CUTE

HE'S A LITTLE MARSHMALLOW

they're still so awkward with the dance I cant

let's appreciate Frankie's voice though

this episode really was made just for the seblos and portwell stans and you gotta love it

BIG RED GET OUT

WHY DOES HE ALWAYS DO THIS

Seb's little "yeah" IS ADORABLE

you can't tell me that wouldn't have been the best time for them to say I love you....IF FREAKIN BIG RED WASN'T THERE

ok but wait Ricky needs more hugs like that, look at his face

the boy needs love

"bro" please don't let Ricky and Carlos go back to not talking because their friendship is amazing

EJ laughing at Ricky sounding like a cat coughing up a furball is so funny to me

RICKY'S FLOP GETS ME EVERYTIME

I knew it was too good to be true

ok so Ricky's dead, next in line please

this episode was so short but I love it so much. this is what I signed up for for season 2✋

[mediocre-writerr]

brand new [nini salazar-roberts]

nini salazar-roberts x reader

requested: i would really like to read something for Marley or for Nini honestly don't have an exact idea yet but maybe for either of them something where the reader ends up helping them get over their ex or something like that

a/n: this is for an awesome supporter of mine @x--mccrew--x​ , i hope you enjoy and thank you so much for all of the support

*not my gif*

“Soooo...who’re you texting?” you ask.

You and your best friend Nini were lying on your bed. Her head laid on your stomach as you just lied there together in a comfortable silence. But Nini was smiling at her phone constantly texting someone. 

She smiled sheepishly, “Ricky. He really makes me happy.” 

You couldn’t help, but feel happy for your best friend. Her and Ricky have been pining after each other for as long as she could remember. But you’re happy with how this turned out. 

Unfortunately, your happiness turned into despair and anger when Ricky broke up with Nine on their one year anniversary. 

She ran to your house in a puddle of tears unsure of who to talk to or where to go. But you accepted her with open arms and a bunch of love.

“I told him I loved him and he left saying we need to take a break.” she sobs into you shirt. 

You held her close swaying her from side to side. In a sort of dancing way. You always watched when you were younger as her moms would sway her whenever she was upset. So you did it, in hopes that she would start feeling a little better.

“I’m sorry Nini. Let it all out, okay? It’s gonna be okay.” you whisper softly. 

Nini stayed at your house for the rest of the summer. You called her moms to update them and let them know you’re taking care of her the best you can. 

Your parents didn’t mind that Nini stayed for as long as she did. They adored her and thought that she was the best kid ever. 

You would bring up her dinner and play her favorite movies over and over again until it got embedded in your brain. Just so you can hear that beautiful laugh of hers and see the small smile that grazed over her face. 

The first couple of weeks were rough. You could barely get a smile out of her, but the more and more time went by she started to become the Nini you knew and love.

Not that you didn’t love her any less when she was sad. You always loved her for as long as you could remember.

“Thank you for letting me stay here the past month. I know that it was probably annoying taking care of me all the time.” Nini says as she takes a slice of the pizza you guys ordered.

You finished eating the bite you just put in your mouth before shaking your head, “No need to apologize. I don’t mind, I love having you around.”

She smiles sheepishly, “I just don’t want to go to school tomorrow and see him. I don’t think I’m ready for that.” 

“Well, I’m gonna be here for you every step of the way.” you say placing your hand on hers. 

“You’re too good to me.” she whispers, squeezing your hand back.

The Next Day At School

The two of you found yourself at her locker. You wanted to wait for her so she didn’t have to walk to class alone. Kourtney met up with both of you as you just talked about the past month.

“Feminism is all the rage now a days, we need to stand up for ourselves!” Kourtney says as we start walking to class.

Only to be met with the brown-eyed messy hair boy and his best friend, “Hey Big Red.” I say giving him a high five, “Ricky.” I add on with a stern nod.

“Woah scary Y/N.” Ricky mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

“Nini, can we talk?” he asks, “Look I’m sorry, can we just start fresh?”

You three girls look at him incredulously, “Start fresh? Ricky I wrote you a song for our one year anniversary! I told you I loved you! And you walked out asking for a break! You wanted a break, right? Well it’s a break up.”

“Nini no!” Ricky exclaims, “We’re perfect for each other and I didn’t mean to just give me a chance to explain.”

Nini was taken aback and she didn’t know what else to say. She was frozen.

“Ricky,” you say stepping towards the brunette, “I think you’ve done enough. You’ve hurt her in more ways than you know. So take a step back and take a breather.”

He scoffed before storming off. Big Red gave an apologetic look before running after him.

“Are you okay?” you ask, rubbing your hands on her arms.

She nods softly, “I’ll be okay. Thank you.”

The rest of the month the two of you found yourselves growing closer and closer. Even though you were best friends when you were younger you got closer in a different way.

With convincing by Nini, you joined the school musical. You just helped out Big Red with the sound and tech stuff, but helping out no doubt. While Ricky stepped in and played Troy.

But all the time you and Nini spent together caused you to have a flutter in your stomach every time you see her. Wanting to kiss her every time she was near you. Or wanting to hold her hand when she hands you a simple piece of paper.

You kept all these feelings down. Nini was still pining after Ricky. And with him playing Troy and her playing Gabriella wit was bound to happen. Or so you thought.

“Kourt? I can’t just tell her! It could ruin everything!” Nini exclaims, dropping down on her dressing room chair.

“Neens...it won’t! Have you seen the way she looks at you? She looks at her like your entire world!” Kourtney tries to convince the brunette.

But that still wasn’t enough for Nini to grow the courage.

It was opening night and the two of you were in the dressing rooms, along with the rest of your new found family.

You stood behind her dressing room chair and squeezed both of her shoulders, “You okay?”

“Yes just a little jitters.” she replies, putting both of her hands on top of yours.

“Well I believe in you. If anyone can go out there and crush this. It’s you.” you respond.

She smiles at you, the two of you looking at each other through her mirror. The glances shared between you spilling all the words that are left unsaid.

“Nini? Can we talk?” Ricky asks, snapping the both of you out of your trance.

Nini clears her throat, “Uh yeah.” she says looking at him, “I’ll see you after the show?”

You nod forcing a smile, “Break a leg.”

The show goes off and finishes, there were a few bumps, but you were all still proud of how it turned out.

Most of the time though you were in more awe of Nini. The way she sang and the way she acted. It was mesmerizing.

Everyone ran backstage after the curtain ended. Adrenaline coursing through everyone’s bodies. You told everyone you ran into a ‘nice job!’, desperately trying to find Nini.

When you finally found her she was down the hall talking to Kourtney, “Nini!” you yelled.

Her eyes lit up and she bolted towards you. You had your arms wide open as she ran into you with full force. She wrapped her legs around your waist as you almost fell back at the impact.

“You were so good Neen!” you yell, squeezing her tightly.

“Thank you!” she says as you finally put her down onto the ground.

Yet your arms were still wrapped around each other. You didn’t realize how close your guys faces were until that very moment. The moment your heart skipped a beat.

The two of you continued to steal glances between each other’s eyes and lips. Neither of you knew what to do.

“JUST KISS ALREADY!!” many voices rang out through the hall.

You looked around to see Big Red, Kourtney, Gina, EJ, Ashlyn, Seb, and Carlos all looking at the two of you in anticipation.

“Well I think we need to give the audience what they want.” you say with a small smile on her face.

She nods, “Yeah I think we should.”

The two of you leaned into each other. The kiss was everything you dreamed of. She was soft and tasted of strawberry chapstick.

You took her chin in between your fingers when you pulled away. The two of you smiling like idiots.

[ricksbowen]

simply, utterly | pt. 4

IN WHICH: ricky makes your homecoming a whole lot better than you’d like to admit.

INSPIRATION: fair-weather friend — bruno major, prom queen — catie turner

A/N: i really suggest listening to fair-weather friend while reading this. i’m casting harrison osterfield as the harrison in my story because i love him, thanks

pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5, pt. 6, pt. 7

“So that’s it?”

“Apparently,” Ricky groaned, hugging his pillow as he explained his situation to Big Red for what felt like the 5th time. He had explained everything, from the moment the both of you shared while singing to your words after both of you kissed. The redhead’s brows were furrowed in thought and his eyes were staring into blank space. He was thinking; that was never good. “Big Red?”

Big Red shushed him, murmuring, “I’m thinking.” A few more seconds of silence followed until the trance Big Red was in broke. “Yeah, I got nothing. You’re fucked, man.”

“I know!” Ricky stuffed his face into his pillow, letting out a muffled scream while Big Red patted his back. “Why do I like her?”

“That’s what I was thinking about. I thought you hated her, Ricky.”

“I thought so too!” Ricky yelled, his voice quieted by the pillow in his face. Big Red patted his back sympathetically, shaking his head to himself until an idea popped into his head. Immediately, he started hitting Ricky, a smile growing on his face while Ricky only winced at his hits.

“Hey— Red!” Ricky groaned, rubbing the area where Big Red hit him while Big Red ignored his complaints.

“Dude. Homecoming is coming up,” Big red exclaimed, eyes looking at Ricky expectedly. He expected a reaction to come out of him, a sudden realization at what Big Red was trying to imply, only to find nothing.

“Okay. So what?”

“So, you idiot,” Big Red drawled out, rolling his eyes at how oblivious Ricky could be. Did he really have to explain his genius plan? “You take her! Ask her out!” The encouraging grin on his face grew with each word he spoke.

“You’re aware that she wants nothing to do with me,” Ricky deadpanned, raising a brow at Big Red.

Big Red waved his worries away with his hand, blowing a small raspberry as he did. “Just ask her out! What do you have to lose?” Big Red asked, raising his eyebrows at Ricky as if he was challenging him to answer. Ricky already had an answer.

“My dignity.”

—

“Hey, Y/N.”

You turned to look over your locker, the cold look you had kept on throughout that day softening at the sight of Harrison, one of your classmates. You had him in your chemistry class in your sophomore year, when he nearly blew up your lab station because he added too much of one chemical. While Harrison began freaking out, you were practically crying from laughing— who would’ve thought that one of the jocks would react so badly?

“Sorry— I thought you were someone else,” you said apologetically, turning back to the things in your locker. Ever since the day you and Ricky made out, you had been avoiding him like the plague. While you usually went out of your way to mess up his hair or make fun of him, you found yourself making various turns in the halls just to try and avoid Ricky. You saw him try and reach you every time he saw you, yet you always got away.

You didn’t want to speak about feelings— especially when it came to Ricky. In a way, it terrified you to think of him in that way despite your want to think of him as anything other than an enemy. But you didn’t want to make things complicated; the deal was to return to your normal relationship after the musical. Nothing more, nothing less.

Life had been getting in your way too. Ej’s break up with Nini was unexpected, to say the least, and you found yourself sneaking into his room at night to comfort him and allow him to rant to you ( while you subtly called him stupid since you were the more honest sibling ). You had to be there for him.

You looked at Harrison from the corner of your eye, seeing the evident nerves that were coursing through his veins. Grabbing your things and slamming your locker shut, you looked at the boy up and down before speaking. “You’re nervous,” you stated blatantly, watching his eyes widen at your honesty. “What happened?”

“I wanted to ask you a question,” Harrison said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his ( cliche ) letterman jacket.

From across the hall, Big Red patted Ricky on the back and shook him gently. “All you gotta do is ask her to homecoming. It’s simple, alright?” Big Red clapped him on the shoulder, trying to get him hyped up and less nervous. “Nothing to lose other than your dignity, buddy. I believe in you.”

“I can’t go right now,” Ricky protested, turning his head to look at Big Red. “She’s talking to someone— Is that Harrison Dupont?”

“The dude that looked like he fell out of a bad high school movie? The blonde one?” Big Red squinted at you and Adrien, eyebrows raising when he saw you nod and smile brightly at the jock. “Since when did she know him? I swear he’s always reminded me of Harry Osborn,” Big Red muttered to himself, watching as you laughed at a joke ( that probably wasn’t funny— Ricky was funnier ) he told you. You then leaned up on your tip-toes and kissed the blonde on the cheek, a subtle smirk making its way onto your lips. “Oh, shit.”

Hopefully Ricky didn’t see that.

Ricky definitely did.

He felt his heart sink when he saw the action, any small chance he had with you going down to the negatives as his shoulders slumped. Of course, you were serious about what you said after you kissed— you had always been the no-bullshit type. But some childish part of Ricky thought that you were joking, that you realized that you wanted him in the same way he wanted you.

He had to stop watching so many rom-coms.

“It’s okay, man,” Big Red mumbled, patting Ricky’s shoulder while Ricky nodded his head.

“You know what? You’re right. It’s fine,” Ricky said, as if he was convincing himself that it was okay when it reality it wasn’t. How could he think that he even had any chance with you? “I’ll just bring you to homecoming. It is your first dance.” Ricky forced a grin, bumping Big Red gently and ignoring the protests he tried to utter.

You had been enemies from the start— he shouldn’t be feeling like this. Might as well take his mind off of you.

—

“You’re going with Gina? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Says the person who said that she’s going with Harrison Dupont,” Ej deadpanned, fixing his tie in the mirror. He stood next to where you sat, your makeup strewn all over your table as you tried to put your makeup on. “You know that he’s a total di—“

His words were interrupted by Ashlyn, who was supposed to help you with your makeup ( until she gave up ). “Isn’t he that one jock? The guy that’s kinda like Harry Osborn?” Ashlyn asked from your bed, not looking up from her phone as she tried to find your homecoming date on Instagram. It only took her a few minutes, and for his page was the first that popped up. “No way do you know him,” she stated, glancing at you with raised brows.

“Is it really that hard to believe?” you asked, turning to look between Ashlyn and Ej. Both of them gave you nods in response, making you groan and turn back to your mirror.

Your hair was held up with a few white clips, a simple hairstyle that fit your dress: a rose red, a-line, spaghetti strapped dress that went above your knees. Your make up was simple, yet pulled your whole look together with rose red lipstick. Frankly, you thought you looked hot ( and you did ).

“All we’re saying is that it’s a surprise. You can barely exist next to most of the guys on my team without telling them to ‘fuck off.’” Ej gave you a pointed look through the mirror, his face softening when the sudden realization that you were growing hitting him at that moment. He felt like such an older brother as he watched you get yourself ready; you grew up so fast.

“You’re not one to talk; you’re going with Gina!” Ashlyn said, giving Ej a look. “Since when did that happen?”

“Just— Outta nowhere,” Ej mumbled, avoiding Ashlyn’s eyes as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to be hiding something - he was avoiding the questions you and Ashlyn were throwing at him. “Can you do my tie? It’s just,” Ej sighed, his tie coming loose in his hands as he tried to fix it. “Not working.”

You tutted him teasingly, standing up to fix his tie. “East High’s own senior class treasurer can’t even tie a tie,” you tsked, grinning at him and laughing when he rolled his eyes. “I’ll add that onto the list of things I know that you don’t.”

“Must be a short list.”

“Oh, fuck off,” you laughed, Ashlyn and Ej letting out their own laughs at your words. You walked to your window, picking up the purse you planned to bring ( you really had nothing in it other than chapstick and mints ). Your eyes trailed up to the view from your window, immediately landing on Ricky’s dark window. Maybe he wasn’t going to homecoming. You didn’t know whether you felt relieved or disappointed.

But it didn’t matter. You weren’t going to homecoming with Ricky.

—

Ricky saw you walk in.

You were behind Gina Porter and your brother, and while you were usually the epitome of bluntness and independence, you almost looked shy walking into homecoming. Your eyes were searching for someone — Harrison, most likely — but instead of finding the tall jock, your eyes met his.

Of course, he had to sit at a table close to the entrance.

You played it off, rose-colored lips tilting up into a smirk that Ricky didn’t respond to. He was gaping at you, not-so-subtly admiring you to the point where Big Red nudged him.

“You’re drooling,” Big Red muttered, a teasing tone behind his voice while Ricky quickly averted his eyes from you. He saw you walk away from the corner of his eye, the breath he didn’t know he was holding escaping him. Ricky put his head in his hands, trying not to let out a yell. 

“She’s trying to kill me, I swear.”

The night went on. You sat alone, eyes on your phone as you tried to ignore the nagging feeling in your stomach.

“You too?” The familiar voice made you look up from your phone, a tight-lipped smile appearing on your face at the sight of an obviously heartbroken Carlos. You knew how he was feeling.

“Yeah. Where’s Seb?” you asked, watching as Carlos shrugged and picked at his nails. You knew they were going to homecoming together ( you called it from the start ), but seeing Carlos without Seb was odd. Seb wouldn’t stand up Carlos, would he?

“Not sure. I texted and called him.” Carlos sighed, the hurt evident in his face. He leaned forward in his chair, shifting his attention onto you. “How about you, Y/N? I can’t really imagine anyone wanting to stand you up.”

“Harrison Dupont,” you grumbled, listening to Carlos suck in a breath. Now you know why people reacted that way when you told them your date. Your eyes looked back at the entrance for what seemed like the hundredth time, the little amount of hope you had that Harrison would show up replaced with hope for someone else. “Carlos,” you said, a smile on your face as you nodded at Seb, standing at the entrance.

Without a word, Carlos stood up from his spot, walking to Seb and exchanging a few heartfelt words with him. You saw a smile creep up onto Carlos’ face, and you sighed in relief when they made their way to the dance floor ( of course ).

You wanted what they had, but Harrison wasn’t here. You continued to watch the crowd, a chuckle rumbling in your chest at Ricky and Big Red’s slow dancing and a hint of a smile tugging at the side of your lips at the sight of Ej and Gina dancing. But as your eyes wandered, it led you to an image that you didn’t want to see.

Harrison Dupont kissing another girl, his arms wrapped around her as they danced to the music.

You wanted to throw up.

You listened to the song end, sending a quick text to Ej about walking home as you grabbed your purse. You stood up from your chair, ignoring the stupid lump forming in your throat as you made your way to the entrance as quickly as you could.

“See? I told you it wasn’t that bad. The next dance you need to go to—“

“Ricky.” Big Red interrupted him, nodding in your direction as you made your way outside. He had just finished slow dancing with Ricky, ignoring the stares from the others around them. Ricky had nearly made him fall over his own feet while they danced, and Big Red almost body-slammed him into 5 couples when he twirled him. They were a mess, but it was fun.

Ricky shook his head stubbornly, shoving off the want to go follow you as he looked at Big Red. “No. I promised you a good time—“

“And you gave me one. Check up on her, man, I’ll be fine.” Big Red smiled encouragingly, motioning with his hands towards the direction you had gone.

With a grin that screamed, ‘thank you,’ Ricky ran out, head turning to look for you.

He didn’t find you until he saw you on one of the courtyard benches. Hanging lights were wrapped around the few trees, yet no one was around to see just how pretty it was. But you were there, head in your hands as you tried to get the image of your date and another girl out of your mind. You were shaking, and it didn’t take much to know that you were crying.

You never cried.

You were either going to punch him or say a comment to dodge his questions.

You felt someone sit next to you, and you immediately wiped the tears from your cheeks as you looked at who was sitting next to you. There he was: Ricky Bowen, pretending it was a coincidence that he found you outside and sat next to you on the same bench.

You sniffed. “If you’re here to throw me a pity party,” you said, voice hoarse from your crying. “Just go back inside.” Your voice cracked at the end of your sentence, more tears rolling down your face. You avoided looking at him, your eyes set on the concrete ground.

“I just thought you needed some company,” Ricky replied, listening to you scoff.

“I don’t need company. Especially from you,” you grumbled, wiping underneath your eyes and sniffing. You didn’t want him to see you like this; the oh-so-strong Caswell sibling, crying over a jock as if she had fallen out of a high school movie.

Ricky ignored the hurt your words brought him, simply choosing to nod his head. “You don’t have to talk to me,” he offered, looking up at the hanging lights. “We can just.. sit here. You can cry, I can just look at the lights.”

You raised your head from your hands, placing your chin on the palms of your hands as you let out heavy breaths. Silence followed Ricky’s words, the only sound being your sniffles and the faint bass from the dance.

“He was with someone else. He was kissing and dancing with her,” you spat, spite and hurt hidden deep within your words.

The sudden want to confess everything that had happened to him was too strong, your emotions controlling you as you stared blankly ahead of you. “I should’ve expected it,” you wiped the mascara from under your eyes. You chuckled humorlessly to yourself, shaking your head. “You probably think I’m stupid.”

“There’s nothing stupid in believing in someone,” Ricky murmured in response.

“I thought for sure that you’d come out here to make fun of me,” you murmured. “Especially since.. you know..” you trailed off, hoping that he knew that you were talking about the kiss the both of you shared.

“I don’t hate you as much as you think I do, Y/N,” Ricky said softly, his tone sincere as he looked at you. Your eyes were downcast, a useless way of avoiding his eyes like the plague. You felt guilty for pushing him out, for being too caught up in thinking about what you felt that you didn’t think about what you were doing to him. A small part of you wanted to go back to how they once were: arguing in classes and pissing each other off.

A huge part of you wanted to have your hands intertwined with his.

You looked at him with eyes glassy with tears, the faintest of smiles on your face. You had to have looked like a mess with your messy makeup and smudged mascara. But to Ricky, he had never seen you look so pretty.

“Do you want to dance?” Ricky asked, the idea leaving his mouth before he could catch it. He gauged your reaction, watching as you cocked a brow at him as if to silently ask, ‘are you serious?’ “It’s homecoming,” Ricky explained blatantly, shrugging his shoulders. “You deserve to have at least one dance.”

“What if someone sees us?” you asked hesitantly, watching Ricky stand up and take out his phone. He scrolled for a few seconds before choosing a song. ‘Fair-Weather Friend’ by Bruno Major began to play, and he offered his hand out to you.

“Then let them,” he said, and a smile lit up your face at his response. You took his hand, standing up and placing your arms around his neck.

You felt his hands hold your waist, his touch gentle as you both began to sway to the music. “I don’t know how to slow dance,” you confessed quietly, making sure you didn’t step on his toes as you both danced to the beat.

“Just follow my lead.” The chorus came around, and Ricky twirled you, your dress floating up at the move before settling back down. He pulled you flush to his chest, humming the song softly to you as you followed his movements.

Once the chorus came once again, a laugh left your lips as you tried to twirl him around. “Nice moves, Bowen,” you remarked, your comment lighthearted and making him laugh.

“I try.”

You both danced as if you had known each other for forever ( in a way, it was true ). Each small step and each small sway was performed as if you had been dancing with each other for years rather than playing a teasing game of cat and mouse.

You could tell the song was coming to an end. Your head was on his chest, your sadness gone and replaced with content. Quietly, and almost shyly, you mumbled, “Thank you for making this night so much better.”

Ricky could feel his heart pick up. He knew he was in too deep.

“Anytime, Y/N.”

—

TAGS:  @softpeteparker, @jointherebellion215, @l-tt-e, @broken-from-fandoms, @uwupxterparker, @room-3o4​, @eternaleviee​, @hobistigma​, @fangeekkk​, @wcnderwoo​, @myrandom-fandomlife​, @multifangorl​, @tomshufflepuff, @ggclarissa​, @decaffeinated-fangirl​, @religious-pizza-roll​, @rororo06​, @svelby-g​, @sarcarstic-space-weirdo​, @whoseblogsthis​, @hxney-bunches-x​

[lovetorn]

the snack run [ricky bowen]

summary: after an argument between best friends, feelings are resurfaced. and, a certain curly fry can’t explain how angry he is that he didn’t get his snacks.  word count: 3.1k warnings: teeth-rotting fluff (if that's a warning), lil steamy at the end, swearing? 

a/n i was listening to wrong direction by hailee steinfeld and i was in my feels. also, ricky is a bit out of character in the angsty parts. it’s a bit all over the place with a lot of random parts just thrown in but yeah i like it so.. 

{not my gif!! credit to original owner}

Ricky is your best friend, that's all. Well, at least that what you told yourself every time you caught yourself staring at the gorgeous boy; or when hugs became more than hugs, more like tight embraces that made it seem like it was the last time you would hold each other; or when you would grasp each other’s hands when talking about something you were passionate about, or -

The thing between the two of you was nothing and it never would be, you were sure of it. Ricky had been too preoccupied with Nini and Gina’s issues to see that you were the one all along. Yes, the feelings were mutual, you both had talked about the love you two shared once and to say it ended badly would be an understatement. But in cliché teen movie fashion, you agreed to never let the feelings interfere with your friendship, and so, it never did. Until now. Yeah, shit.

~

The harsh squeal of a locker slamming caught your attention, making you spin around, curious who would be making this much noise at 8am. 

It was no surprise when you spotted Nini storming away from Ricky, his head hung in shame and embarrassment as he made a beeline to you. His shoes squeaked on the freshly waxed floors of the school hallway, drawing more attention to himself than he would’ve liked. 

You suppressed a giggle as he threw himself a pity party next to your locker once he arrived, leaning his head against the wall and screwing his eyes shut. 

“What’s up, Sunshine? What did you do now?” you asked, tilting your head at the boy, who was undoubtedly coming up with some sarcastic comeback to your teasing.  

But to your surprise, he didn’t. He only shook his head and sniffled quietly, hoping you wouldn’t notice. 

“Aw Rick, what happened?” he scolded himself for letting his emotions escape, quickly composing himself as he stood up straighter.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, Bub” you knew your heart shouldn’t have leapt at the pet name, but you couldn’t help it! Look at the boy. You just shook your head, 

“You’re such a liar Richard Bowen, you know Nini will tell me” his response was an eye roll and a light punch in the shoulder, something you were expecting. You let out a laugh at him, only receiving a tight-lipped smile in return, your heart sinking.

Your phone vibrated in your pocket as you retrieved it, Nini’s name popping up. holding your finger up at Ricky's face, you answered, 

“Hi Ni!” 

Ricky didn't hear your conversation but it sounded like good news; he couldn’t tell sometimes, I mean, girls could be confusing. 

Hanging up the call and shutting your locker with a smile, you slipped your arm through his, 

“Rick, you have to stop worrying about Nini and Gina, they can handle themselves,” you said, continuing the conversation, whilst ogling your eyes at him, hoping he would agree and move on, but it wasn’t that simple with him. 

“But, I need to make sure Nini’s okay with everything between EJ and his new girl! And I also need to call gina-” you sighed before jabbing him in the rib.  

He jumped from the shock, laughing, finally showing off his pearly whites. You joined in, giggling along with him as you made your way to your first class. 

“Listen, whatever Nini is dealing with, she’s telling me later, these are girl problems, don’t worry about it, Richard” you laughed, holding your backpack strap with your free hand, turning to see his face fall slightly.

“I get it, but she’s my friend too, not just my ex, she’ll tell me. Won’t she?” he threw a questioning look towards you as you shook your head, scoffing playfully. 

You fell silent, eyes forward as you thought about why he was so emotional when Nini walked away from him. You noted that you would ask him at a better time, as you unlinked arms and walked into the classroom.

~

It was at the start of your free period when things started going downhill. 

You were supposed to meet Ricky so you two could go and get snacks but you were nowhere in sight. He sat on the bench outside of east high, phone in hand as he tried to get ahold of you. Bringing his cell to his ear, he was met with your voicemail once again, 

‘Hey, it’s Y/n! sorry I missed-’ he groaned in frustration, you were not going to stand him up for girl problems. Rising from the bench in a huff, he walked, stomped, back inside the school and towards his locker. 

Throwing his wallet and phone inside, he slammed it and turned his back against it, running a quick hand through his coffee curls. 

The familiar sound of your converse squeaking on the hallway floors caught his attention, and he couldn’t help the uprise of anger that bubbled within him. 

“Where have you been?” he asked harshly, facing you with his arms out as you rounded the corner, 

“What do you mean?” confusion clouded your train of thought as you asked, walking closer to your best friend. 

“I waited an hour for you to meet me, and you never showed! A call or a message letting me know you couldn’t come would’ve been nice” he shook his head, annoyed with you. Ricky turned his body towards you, stepping back when you took a step forward. You were bewildered at his actions, almost offended as your jaw dropped. You couldn’t believe he was acting like this. 

The tension was building around you as your skin burned and his heart ached. Ricky hated this. He attempted to avoid situations like these at all costs; although this time, he wasn’t as lucky. He just wanted an explanation, and you were confused as to why he was taking this so seriously.

“Ricky, I’m so sorry, I was talking to Nini-”

He scoffed sarcastically and his hands grasped his stomach as he fell into a fit of fake laughter, and you knew exactly what he was doing as you stood in front of him. 

“Can you please just listen to me?” your voice was steady as his breathing calmed after his little laughing fit. His sarcasm pissed you off, to put it simply. 

“I am! but it feels like I’m always your second priority” he marvelled, hands flying around as reality set in. You felt the need to calm the situation before either one of you did something you would regret as you held your hands out in an attempt to defuse the tension. Jealousy was a foreign feeling to him, but gosh it was powerful and he was ready to fuel the fire with it. 

When he didn’t react to your gesture, you didn’t speak again, finding a spot on the dirty waxed floor. You found comfort in the silence. 

The only sound that cut through the tension was the bell, to which you perked up. But as you went to turn, a crowd of your classmates trampled you, making you run into something, someone. Lifting your head, you saw Ricky gazing down at you, more specifically your lips. Your heart rate increased rapidly, like a cliché movie again, as you copied his actions, staring at his lips that were directly in your line of vision. 

His lips were slightly chapped, but oh god, you could kiss them like there was no tomorrow. Your breath got caught in your throat as you flickered your eyes to his chocolate ones that swirled with an undistinguishable emotion. You leaned forward a fraction unknown to you but pulled back, suddenly aware of your intentions. 

Ricky’s eyes widened as he realised the situation, opening his mouth to apologise. But, he was being pulled back by a pair of hands that were placed strongly on his shoulders, leaving you alone. You spotted Big Red’s firey hair next to his figure before your shoulders slumped. Ricky didn't dare look at you. 

Meanwhile, your heart clenched as you blinked back the tears that were begging to fizzle down your hot cheeks. 

What just happened?

~

You avoided Ricky at all costs since you shared a moment in the hallway; if you could even call it a moment. 

The weekend had officially begun and you were determined to talk to Ricky about the incident. You struggled to wrap your head around what actually happened and how it got so heated, so fast. 

You stepped lightly onto his front porch, eyes going every direction as you finalised your speech for him. You exhaled heavily and swallowed thickly before placing your fist on the front door of his house. You cringed at how pathetic your knocks sounded, lifting your arm again to repeat the action before it swung open.

He sighed when he saw you, your arm raised before it fell to your side. 

“Hi” he breathed, voice so quiet you could barely hear him. moving to the side, he silently invited you in, shutting the door quietly behind you. 

He made his way down to his bedroom where he knew his Dad wouldn’t interrupt. 

“We need to talk, Bug” the old nickname surprised him, 

“You haven’t called me that since 8th grade” he mumbled, swearing his insides got warmer as you said it. 

You only nodded and sat on his bed, his fingers fidgeting as he sat in his desk chair across from you. 

“Nini called me when we were at my locker, remember? And she asked if we could meet up in the free period to talk about her feelings, you know, girl stuff” you begun, not meeting his eye just yet, but feeling comfortable enough to slyly joke around. 

“I’m just trying to help her adjust to what EJ did what he did and she needed a girl best friend to talk to about it” your eyes lifted to meet his, his gaze quickly averting as you sighed lightly. 

“I’m still confused rick, why do you think you’re my second priority?” you questioned, standing up from where you sat,

“You’ve always been my first, and you know that Bug” you continued, voice so sincere, it made his heart jump. 

Ricky was at a loss for words as he shook his head, mouth agape. He placed his hands over his face, hiding his honey eyes, and sighed, 

“I'm sorry I got so angry about you missing our snack run” his sentence was muffled but you got it, smiling lightly at the boy in front of you.

“Also, why were you nearly crying when Nini-” Ricky held his finger up, silencing you as he nodded,

“I just felt like I needed to help. Nini is my friend and I noticed that she wasn’t herself, so I wanted to help her. But she said it was none of my business, clearly” you felt bad, he was just trying to help his friends, and that’s all he ever really wanted to do.

“And~ she also might’ve said something about us that I possibly could’ve taken way better,” he said, face still buried in his hands. 

“Why don’t you worry about your own problems, Bowen?” Nini scolded, grasping her binder from the shelf in her locker.

“What are you talking about?” Ricky's eyes were squinted as Nini scoffed at his confused expression.

“Worry about Y/n! I don’t need your pity and I certainly don’t need your blooming love with her waved in my face when I’m clearly heartbroken!” Nini was frustrated with the boy, he was so clueless, it was unbelievable! 

“Y-Y/n? Nini-” 

“She loves you, Ricky! Oh my god, you are so blind it’s embarrassing” Nini exclaimed, slamming her locker closed and pushing past Ricky as she made her way to her first period. He head hung in shame and embarrassment as he made a beeline to you, shoes squeaking on the freshly waxed floors of the school hallway.

Your body froze before you understood exactly what he was talking about; Nini had said the same thing to you when you were talking in the free period.

“Yeah, I get it” your voice was soft as you crouched in front of him, reaching up to remove his hands from his face. His coffee eyes met yours as you both stood, Ricky a few inches taller.  

The feelings and emotions you felt towards Ricky that you had suppressed were resurfacing, and you couldn’t help the confidence that washed over you as you pressed your mouth to his. But, he pulled away abruptly, 

“No, we shouldn’t” he mumbled against your lips. You brought your hand up behind his neck to pull him closer, reattaching your lips and smiling when he let out a hushed groan. 

You felt like punching him when his lips left yours again, 

“You promise to buy me snacks aft-”

“Ricky!” and at that, you smiled against each other's mouths, finally content. 

~

When you had told Nini about your little rendezvous with a certain curly-haired boy, she couldn’t contain her excitement and aspiration,

“Ugh finally! I’ve been waiting for this for so long, you have no idea Y/n” she exclaimed, smile wide on her cheeks. 

You giggled, covering your face with your palms, eyes peeking through your fingers as you watched Nini do a little dance. 

“I’m so happy you’re happy Y/n/n,” she said softly after she sat down next to you on her bed. 

“And I’m gonna make sure you will be too, Ni. You deserve all the happiness in the world” you whispered, smiling at your best friend, 

“Now listen, we gotta find you a nice boy, with a nice personality and a nice body-” Nini’s small shriek interrupted your little speech, both of you falling backwards onto her duvet as laughter took over your beings. 

“Yeah, yeah, but first we have to focus on your relationship! Has he taken you on any dates yet?” she asked. You nodded, thinking back to last Friday night. 

“He took me to ensign lookout at sunset and we had a picnic on some grassy area on the way up. Then, we went back to his and watched a movie. Pretty cliché if you ask me” you explained, snickering at how classic it was.

“Sorry, if this is weird, we’re talking about one of your ex-boyfriends” all Nini did was shake her head, looking at you as if you had 3 heads.

“Y/n, I knew all along that you two would get together at some point, it was so obvious! I guess I just had to give you a little push, that’s all”

You felt at peace that Nini had no issue with talking about Ricky, despite the past they shared.

“Thank you” hugging Nini tightly, you stood up,

“Better get to Ricky's before I’m too late” you grinned, grabbing your bag and turning towards the door.

“Don’t have too much fun” she teased, causing you to roll your eyes and snicker.

As you got into your car, Ricky's name was displayed on your phone. 

“Hey Rick!” you greeted, smile grazing your cheeks as he spoke.

“Hey Bub, just walk in when you get here, I’ll be in the living room,” he said as you started your car, backing out of Nini’s driveway. 

“Ok, I’ll be there in 10″ you replied, putting on your right indicator. 

“Drive safe, love you!” he called, hanging up quickly. A soft blush dusted your cheeks and your body went numb. 

Your eyes widened as you squealed quietly, you were ecstatic, to say the least from Ricky's words.

~

Parking your car against the curb in front of his house, you hopped out in lightning speed and raced to his front door, letting yourself in before making your way to his living room. 

“I love you too!” you exclaimed, Ricky's eyes were as wide as saucers as was his grin, his heart was melting. 

You ran up to his standing figure and threw yourself at him, his laugh echoing throughout the house. 

“You said it back” he whispered, holding you close before you pulled back abruptly, 

“You’re kidding, right? Rick, I love you so much, oh my gosh” you beamed at him as his honey eyes swirled with adoration.

“Sorry it took so long to say it” you continued, watching tears prick his eyes, you knew how difficult those three words were for him. Ricky pulled you closer, a hand in your hair as your arms were around his torso.

“don’t apologise, okay? we just officially confessed our love for each other” he mumbled, both of your giggles calming the other. Ricky moved to look at your face, moving slowly between your eyes and your lips, pulling you down to sit next to him on the couch. 

Your hands instantly moved to his curls as he went to grip your hips, moving under your shirt to rub circles on your hot skin. 

“Ricky, I will always love you, understand? Don’t you ever forget that Baby” you murmured, lips inches away from each other. 

He nodded, feeling a little emotional at your statement. Both of you forced back your tears as your lips met. 

As it got more heated, Ricky's hands moved higher up your body, his fingertips leaving hot streaks on your neck as you moved your lips against one another. Your hands in each other's hair as teenage hormones overpowered rational thoughts. You stood, rolling your eyes as Ricky moaned about your sudden movement. You pulled him up and brought his face towards your again, 

“Bedroom?” your eyes flickered around his face as it flushed a soft red and he nodded at your request. 

Giggling down the stairs, hand-in-hand, you finally made it to his bedroom, lips together as soon as the door closed.

Ricky had you against the door as his hands grasped your hips again. You pulled away and motioned down to the bed, spinning around with Ricky as you kissed him again. Walking down the stairs carefully, with his hands on your shoulders, you turned to face him, lips together again, your teeth knocking slightly as you smiled.

You lead Ricky towards the bed, or what you thought was the bed and quickly regretted your decision. 

Your hip knocked his desk, causing a few objects to fall, but the laughs that escaped his lips were angelic. Bringing your mouth to his, Ricky was so occupied with how soft and addictive your lips were that he had forgotten about his guitar case that he had placed at the foot of his bed. How convenient. 

And as he was about to push you onto the bed, you stumbled over said instrument and landed awkwardly, half on the mattress, half on the floor. Now, this was a mood-killer, and Ricky couldn’t help the cackles that left his lips. He was holding his stomach and tears were threatening to leak. You just shook your head and giggled at him. 

Sitting up, you pulled him towards you by his t-shirt, making him fall on top of you. And once again, you brought his lips to yours, this time in a sloppy, teeth-clashy kiss that made your heart soar and your stomach flutter. 

Feedback is always appreciated x

[seblos]

love on top

words: 1,387

series: snippets

read on ao3

When Carlos got to the studio that day, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 

Rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast had been particularly rough, especially today. With Nini gone, it left Ricky and Kourtney moping and noncompliant. Meanwhile, Gina was still around and staying at Ashlyn’s house, but she had become distant without her mom around. Not to mention that even after High School Musical, it was clear there was still some divide between him and the cast. It was hard to get their attention, and if Miss Jenn wasn’t around to supervise choreography rehearsals, they hardly listened to him anyway. He had been hoping after the success of their fall show that his position even as an underclassman would have earned him some respect when it came to the show, but shortly after rehearsals for their spring musical, he was crushed with the reality that everything was exactly the same.

Realistically, Carlos knew he could do something about it. He could talk to Miss Jenn and ask her to be there more often, as when she was around, it was easier to get things done. He could talk to his classmates outside of class and try and hint at them that he needed just a little more support when it came to his choreography. 

Or he could just stand up for himself like a normal person. 

Somehow, though, Carlos couldn’t find the courage in him to do that yet. After the forest of boys incident from their fall show, it was going to be a little while before he was ready to stand up for himself like that. The way the entire room turned on him over in a matter of minutes was not something he was looking to experience again.

At least there was Seb. His wonderful, innocently kind boyfriend who always offered to let Carlos vent to him about how he wasn’t taken seriously by the cast. Seb was doing his best to stand up for Carlos as well considering people seemed to listen to him more often. Unfortunately, as much as Carlos appreciates his efforts, it seems as if the rest of the cast isn’t too interested in changing their dynamic anytime soon.

Rehearsal had ended early once again after Miss Jenn had to duck out early for some other emergency, and everyone else seemed to take it as a sign that they could stop too. While he understood the stress of what was going on right now: Nini not being around, prom, SATs, and other standardized testing, as well as the everyday stress of a high school student, it hurt to see everyone not always putting in the same amount of effort that he was. In the end, Carlos knew they would pull it together, that the cast would tighten back up the faster that opening night approached, but did it have to involve him suffering through the slow stages all alone for them to get to that point?

At least for now he could let go of his day and just dance. It always worked well as a creative outlet to be able to just drop his bag (as well as all of his figurative baggage) and forget himself for an hour and half class. He had to adjust his schedule so he wasn’t overwhelmed with dance classes, homework, and rehearsals all in one night. The nights he was able to make classes, though, it was practically therapy. 

It was nice to not be in charge for a little while. He loved choreographing, of course, otherwise, he never would have stuck with the show, but that love stemmed from his love for dance as a whole. His entire dance career could be traced back to this studio.

Once the class ends, Carlos takes a little extra time to pack up. His class was the last of the night, meaning that the room would clear out. Luckily, he had an understanding with his incredible dance teacher, who would immediately understand that he wanted to rehearse alone for a while and leave him to his own devices.

Once the room is empty, Carlos steps to the middle of the room, taking a deep breath. He rolls back his shoulders, plugging his favorite playlist into his earbuds, and just lets himself move.

Some of the songs are musical theatre, others are just pop songs from the past few years that he’s never gotten enough of. Either way, it feels good. Nothing he has to teach, nothing he has to create to set a scene, just dance. He finishes out the last of the song with a messy turn and his arms in the air like a gymnast. It’s nothing he would ever do on stage, but it’s fun, which he can only get so much of right now.

“Is that a new routine? I don’t think I’ve seen that one yet,” a voice comes from the doorway, and Carlos turns to see his boyfriend leaning against one of the bars, two paper to-go cups in hand. “If that’s something for the show, I hope it’s for Gina because I don’t know if any of us are capable of that.”

Carlos grins, going to pick up his glasses which he left in his bag before walking over to Seb. He gestures to the cups he’s holding, and Seb holds one out.

“Hot chocolate,” he smiles softly. “Even professional dancers like you deserve a treat.”

“I’m far from professional,” Carlos tells him, but he takes the cup gratefully. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

“Georgie and I were picking up some stuff for the farm, and I knew you have dance on Tuesdays. Decided it was worth the risk to see if you were here.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow before taking a sip from the cup. “I guess you got lucky, then.”

Seb inches closer, and Carlos reaches behind him to put the cup on the shelf. Once he does, he lets his arm fall onto his boyfriend's shoulder. “Wanna learn a dance?”

“Still up to teach choreography after today?” Seb tilts his head, and Carlos rolls his eyes back at the reminder of rehearsal. 

“Dancing with you is different than dancing with them,” he points out vaguely, not missing the way Seb’s smile twists upwards like he can’t help it.

“Well, you have maybe five minutes before Georgie comes to kidnap me back.”

“That’s all I need,” Carlos says, before dropping his hand to take Seb’s, pulling his boyfriend to the center of the dance studio floor. He clicks off his previous playlist, scrolling through the car playlist they had made with Georgie until he found a song. His eyes catch a song, and he presses play.

Seb laughs as “Can I Have This Dance” from High School Musical 3 plays. “Not tired of High School Musical yet, either, huh?”

“Not yet,” he says, then pulls Seb close to him.

They both know enough of the original choreo from the movie that they’re not completely tripping over each other, although it’s definitely not as swift as the original. It does remind Carlos of their pre-school dance rehearsals together and their night at homecoming. That’s another thing dance has done for him: brought him closer to one of the most important people in his life. 

And then again, maybe he spoke too soon because a moment later Seb’s foot catches on his ankle, and they both fall to the ground.

“So maybe five minutes isn’t enough time to learn a dance,” Seb says, rolling off of Carlos and standing up, offering a hand out to him.

He accepts it gratefully. “Still easier than trying to teach Ricky.”

Seb doesn’t let go of his hand, instead pulling him into a hug. When he pulls back, he presses his forehead to Carlos. “You’ve got this, you know that right? Your choreography is genius and if Ricky or anyone else can’t recognize that then they clearly don’t know what’s best for the show.”

Ignoring the heat traveling up his neck, Carlos just smiles. “I don’t know… personally I think the best part is our very own Lumiere.”

Seb pulls away, rolling his eyes as he grabs Carlos’s hand. “Shush. And get your stuff. I’ll get Georgie to drive you home.”

[hsmtmts-fangir1]

Scared of Happy part 8 (Ricky Bowen x Reader)

Request are always welcome (More now that this is done)

Masterlist / Prompts

Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 , Part 8 

The weeks went by fast. Soon it was the day before the musical and also the day of Julio trial. Mr. Mazzara had told Y/N that he would be in the trial to hear the verdict. He will tell Miss. Jenn, then she will tell Y/N. Y/N hadn’t told anyone about Julio since she knew that it was a sore topic and she didn’t want to worry any of them. She had asked Miss. Jenn kept it a secret until Y/N was ready to tell the club.

Since it was the day before everyone was panicking, they were going over all the dances and the songs. Every once and while Ricky would go to where Y/N be and make sure that she was doing fine and nothing was hurting.

“Hey babe” Ricky whispered into Y/N’s ear, smiling wrapping his arms around her waist as she was sitting on a stool. “Hi” Y/N smiled putting her head in his shoulder. “How’s everything going over here,” Ricky asked as he looked at Carlos and Y/N. “Carlos is losing his mind trying to see what’s he is going to do with Gina’s part in Stick to the status quo” Y/N explains. Ricky nods and kisses Y/N’s temple. “How is she anyway?” Ricky asked looking at Y/N. “She’s not happy but she will pull through” Y/N sighed sadly. “You’re right about that.” Ricky agreed, smiling. Carlos walked up to them. “Troy after you’re done with kissing your real-life Gabriella. I need you and Chad to practice Get’cha Head in the Game.” Carlos order walking away towards EJ to probably tell him the same thing. “Did he just call me Troy and call EJ, Chad,” Ricky questioned amuse. “He’s nervous and getting his head into the musical.” Y/N replied giggle. “Don’t blame him but how are you feeling? Any discomfort or pain?” Ricky questions looking towards where the wound should be but not touching. “Aren’t you supposed to be dancing with Chad or singing with Gabriella or something.” Y/N asked. “One, my Gabriella is in front of me.” Ricky started having Y/N interrupt him. “Cheeky” Y/N comment rolling her eyes fondly. “Two, don’t change the topic.” Ricky finished kissing her forehead. “I’m good.” Y/N replied kissing his neck knowing that was Ricky's ticklish spot.  Ricky let out a small laugh and nod. “Okay, then I will go and get my head in the game if you need me okay?” Ricky said, smiling, holding Y/N hand. “Okay,” Y/N salute nodding. Ricky kissed Y/N’s knucks and went over where EJ and Carlos were standing.

Y/N made eye contact with Miss. Jenn, who was at the door. Miss. Jenn made the gesture to follow her. Y/N quickly looked at Ricky to make sure that he didn’t see her leave. She walked out of the room and saw Miss. Jenn’s back towards her. “Any news?” Y/N asked nervously. Miss. Jenn nods and turns around. “They found him guilty. He’s going away for a long time.” Miss. Jenn smiled, making Y/N let out a breath of relief. Y/N smiled and hugged Miss. Jenn. “You don’t have to worry anymore.” Miss. Jenn whispered knowing that this was weighing on her kids. Y/N pulled away and nodded. “I know.” Y/N agrees. “Are you going to tell the club?” Miss. Jenn asked. “Yes but when?” Y/N asked. “Tomorrow. After the musical, they will be happy.” Miss. Jenn answered smiling. “Tomorrow.” Y/N confirmed nodding and smiling.

That night, Ricky noticed that Y/N looked lighter but didn’t want to comment on it. He saw that for the past weeks Y/N seems jumpy. “I’m going out, work emergency,” Mike said as he was getting his jacket. Ricky and Y/N nod and wave from the couch as he was leaving. “So are you excited for tomorrow?” Y/N asked looking back at Ricky. “Yeah, I can’t wait to perform and see our work that we have been doing for months,” Ricky answered smiling. “Well, I know that you will be amazing.” Y/N comment grabbing Ricky's hand. “Thank you,” Ricky whispers, kissing her head. Y/N smiled and kissed Ricky. They make out for while nothing goes deeper. Until Ricky felt Y/N deepened the kiss that Ricky smile and made Y/N layed down. Ricky’s hand went down to the bottom of Y/N’s shirt but accidentally he pressed a bit too hard on Y/N’s wound that made Y/N hissed in pain. Ricky quickly pulled away. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Y/N. I didn’t mean it. Are you okay? Let me see it. Maybe I made it bleed or reopen it somehow. Do you feel pain? Of course, you feel pain, you just hissed in pain. I’m sorry Y/N, I didn’t mean it. I failed again to protect you,” Ricky started to rant. “Hey, hey” Y/N quickly sit and grab Ricky’s head. “I’m fine. I’m not bleeding. It was a small pinch. I’m not in pain. I’m okay. You didn’t fail anything.” Y/N comfort made Ricky look at her, who already had tears in his eyes and was shaking. “Are you sure?” Ricky asked. Y/N nod and kiss his head. Y/N hugged him letting him calm down in his own time.  

After that Ricky and Y/N went to sleep cuddling. Ricky fell asleep with his head on Y/N’s chest, listening to her heartbeat. He was careful to not go near the wound in fear that he would hurt her again. Y/N played with Ricky’s hair and looked at his face. He looked calm. The calmest in weeks, the last time she remembered Ricky looked this calm was before the kiss between Ricky and Nini. Which was months ago. “I swear that after tomorrow night, He won’t haunt us anymore.” Y/N promised kissing Ricky‘s hair and fell asleep.      

The next day, everything was crazy. People were going up and down. Nini was panicking. But of course, the musical went smoothing with Gina returning and doing her dance in “Stick to the status quo” They all went to Ashlyn’s house. The parents were outside having a cook-out while the club was inside in the kitchen.

“Gina, thank god you came and saved our butts. Mine mostly” Kourtney spoke nudging Gina making her blush and smile.  “You were amazing,” Y/N said smiling “How have you been feeling?” Gina asked. “I’ve been good. I have a great nurse here.” Y/N joked nudging Ricky, who just smiled and kissed her temple. “But there is something that I do want to say.” Y/N continued looking around. “What is it?” Ashlyn asked, confused. “Yesterday was Julio’s court.” Y/N answer making everyone quiet. “What? Why didn’t you tell us?” EJ asked. “Because I didn’t want to put some else on you guys. Especially with the musical being the next day. I didn’t want to drag the mood so close to something that we have been working on.” Y/N said. “Y/N you should’ve told us. We’re your friends.” Kourtney said. “We’re family,” Ricky spoke looking at Y/N.

“I know but I was tired of having Julio hanging over us like a cloud. He haunted you guys for so long. You took care of me to the max. You opened your houses to me and made sure that I was alright. This is something that I wanted to deal with. I want to end it. Julio might have shot me but he hurt all of you. You guys were so afraid of him. Which is what he wanted. He got what he wanted. He got you guys to fear him. Whenever we went out. You guys look over your shoulder. Afraid that he would pop up and do it again. Gina, the first nights that I came out of the hospital and stayed in your house. You didn’t sleep. You would check on me every hour to check on me. EJ and Ashlyn, You guys always texted Ricky to make sure that you guys didn’t mess up and hurt me or something. I know you did because whenever Ashlyn’s parents made dinner. One of you would get out of the room and call Ricky to see if I can eat it. Nini, you would always be careful with me. Whatever I did, you would make sure that I didn’t need help with anything. Everyone is always so careful around my wound even though it’s almost healed. Ricky, you had and still have nightmares about that day. Julio haunts you the most and I don’t want that for you. I don’t want to bring him along in our lives. I want to leave him behind where he deserves to be.” Y/N said leaving everyone in tears not knowing that Y/N had noticed it. No one wanted to say anything.

“What was the verdict?” Nini was the first one to break the silence. “I’m glad that you asked. He was convinced.” Y/N answer. “Then we have something else to celebrate then,” EJ spoke. Making everyone smile and nod.

While everyone was busy, Y/N and Ricky stepped to the backyard. They sat on the hammock that  Ashlyn’s family had. “I didn’t know that you knew about the nightmares,” Ricky spoke holding Y/N’s hand. “I know a lot more than I put out. I know that you avoid touching my wound. Kind of like you’re put off by it.” Y/N replied. Ricky quickly turned to Y/N. Who was wrapping arms around her in an attempt to cover herself. “Is that why you don't let anyone see it?” Ricky asked. “I’m scared that this will scare the guys and you off.” Y/N confessed. Ricky stood up and grabbed Y/N’s hands to make her stand up also. “Nothing is going to scare me off. I will always be here. Next to you.” Ricky said looking into Y/N’s eyes. “Last night  you..” Y/N started but Ricky was quick to stop her. “I was scared that I hurt you. I was not put off.” Ricky tugged softly at Y/N’s shirt in a way to see if she would stop him. Once he saw that she won’t. He raised her shirt up to where he could see the wound. He slowly put his hand on the wound. “I also want to leave him in the past,” Ricky whispered. He let his hand on it for a while. After he put her shirt down. “I love you Y/N. Everything about you.” Ricky spoke kissing her.

THE END

[seblos]

there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach - ch 4/10

chapter title: you’re on, lovers!

word count: 1,995

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

read on ao3

“So,” Ashlyn leans over during history. “You and Seb, huh?”

Carlos looks up from the textbook he was reading in surprise. “What do you mean?” he asked, eyes widening. It wasn’t Ashlyn talking to him that surprised him. They had become closer as rehearsals progressed. Also, when they both had lingered near the GSA poster, Ashlyn had struck up a conversation with him. Turns out she was bi, and theatre queers always stuck together anyway. It was her words, rather, that gets his attention. 

“I mean, you too stare at each other all through rehearsal, you sit together at lunch, he drives you home like every other day,” Ashlyn lists, and Carlos’s heart speeds up. Was it really that obvious? “So are you two together, or…” she trails off.

“No! I mean… not yet,” Carlos feels his cheeks heat up. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind if we were… but no.”

Ashlyn smiles. “Cool. If it helps, he totally likes you too,” she adds.

“How do you know?”

She shrugs. “I just have a feeling.”

“Did he tell you?” Carlos feels his stomach twist. As much as he wanted confirmation that the other boy liked him back, the idea of hearing it from Ashlyn rather than him felt wrong.

“No,” she says, and Carlos lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I mean, I haven’t asked him since I thought you two were already a thing. But we’re in baking club together and when I asked about you he kinda lit up.”

“Oh, okay,” Carlos nods, and his heart swells. “So what should I do about it?”

Ashlyn shrugs again. “I dunno, ask him out?”

He blushes. “No.”

“Alright, that’s on you,” she said. “But you should ask him to hang out or something. Get closer to him, so when you are ready it won’t be awkward.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to ask out Seb,” Carlos mumbles. “I’ve never dated anyone. I don’t know how to be a boyfriend.”

Ashlyn smiles sweetly. “I’m pretty sure he hasn’t either. It’s something you can figure out together, you know.”

After she says that, their teacher scolds them for talking, and the two bend back over the worksheet they’re supposed to be working on. As he stares at the textbook, though, Carlos can’t help but think about what Ashlyn said. They would be figuring it out together. It’s hard to believe that someone like Seb could possibly like him back, but it might just be true, and the idea of it makes Carlos’s heart leap to his throat.

—

“Every time we end rehearsal early, I feel like my life is a lot more like Glee than I think it is,” Carlos says, rolling his eyes as he zips up his backpack from yet another badly ended rehearsal. They had barely lasted half an hour today. At this rate, they’re never going to get the blocking done by the show. 

Seb laughs from where he’s organizing his sheet music over at the piano. Everyone had already filed out of the room, but Carlos purposely had taken his time, knowing that Seb would most likely be the last one out. By this point, it was just routine.

“To be fair, Miss Jenn was definitely a Rachel Berry in high school,” Seb comments, stuffing the folder in his backpack, and Carlos snorts lightly. “So,” he says, swinging his backpack onto his back. “Since rehearsal ended early, I’m assuming I’m driving you home?”

Carlos is about to say yes until he remembers what Ashlyn had told him earlier. Before he can overthink it, Carlos asks, “Or we could hang out? Since it did end so early… could we do chem homework or something together at my house?”

Seb looks surprised at first, and Carlos’s heart is still beating quickly, but the shock wears off quickly and is instead replaced with a smile. 

“Sure, I’d love to,” Seb says. 

As they’re walking out together, their hands brush together for a moment, and Carlos can’t tell if it’s on purpose or not. He debates grabbing Seb’s hand for a moment but ends up just grabbing the strap of his backpack instead to resist the urge.

Carlos swears that he sees Seb’s expression drop for just a second, but it’s so quick he probably just imagined it.

They still end up having Georgie give them a ride, who is surprisingly not upset about having driven all the way to the school just to drive the two of them back to Carlos’s house. Rather, she just gives Seb a sort of half-smile. He immediately blushes, giving her the stink eye, and Georgie just laughs.

On the ride over, though, Carlos realizes what they’re about to do. Seb is about to be in his house, in his room. He doesn’t know the last time he’s had someone in his room since 7th grade. Sure, Seb knows about his weird, split family already, but the idea of him experiencing it is so much scarier for some reason. He tried not to overthink it as Seb stepped into his house. 

“Carlos? Is that you, mijo?” his mother calls as he shuts the door, and Carlos suddenly realizes that he should have checked with his mom if Seb could come over before he invited him. To be fair, though, he’s never really done this before. 

“Hi, mamá!” He says as his mom steps into view. “I brought Seb over to work on some chemistry homework, I hope that’s okay.” 

He’s expecting some sort of disapproving look or passive aggressive comment about checking with her before bringing someone over. Instead, “So this is the Sebastian I’ve heard so much about!” is what his mother says, much to his surprise. 

“It’s great to meet you, Ms. Rodriguez,” Seb says with a smile, and his mom raises a sly eyebrow at Carlos, who only gives her a look in return. 

“Seb, are you staying for dinner?” she asks, turning her attention back to the boy.

“Oh, no, I need to be home to finish my chores. Thank you so much though!” 

“Chores, huh?” Now it’s Ms. Rodriguez’s turn to smile. “You could learn something from this boy, Carlos.”

Carlos just rolls his eyes. “I do some chores!” He defends. “Also, I told you mamá, Seb lives on a farm. His chores are a bit different from mine.”

“Alright, well, I’ll let you two get your homework done,” she dismisses them, and Carlos leads Seb upstairs to his room.

When they first enter it, Carlos immediately goes to his bed. He motions for Seb to sit down, who does so hesitantly. Neither of them say a word for a moment, and Carlos worries that he’s made a mistake inviting Seb over here. 

As if on cue, Seb breaks the silence.”So, you talk about me to your mom, huh?” he teases, and Carlos hits him with a pillow.

“To be fair, she asked about you,” he says, which releases the tension as both of them relax, getting back to their normal selves.

They both take out their chemistry homework, but it ends up lying abandoned on Carlos’s desk in favor of the two of them discussing theater and rehearsal.

“Can I just say, your facial expressions while Nini and EJ were singing were priceless! If I wasn’t so focused on hoping that this rehearsal would actually stay together, I would have lost it watching you.” Carlos laughs, and Seb glares at him harmlessly. 

“Let’s just say I definitely liked out version better! I’m telling you, trying to keep a straight face was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Surprised I can do anything straight, to be honest,” Seb says cheekily from where he’s laying on his stomach the foot of Carlos’s bed.

(The joke doesn’t exactly take Carlos by surprise, but just the casualness of it does. He had only ever made those kinds of jokes with Ashlyn, and had forgotten that he was able to make them with Seb too.)

“I love Nini, I do, but sometimes her ability to jump from boy to boy surprises me,” Seb continues. His phone lights up with a text notification, and he picks it up to read. “Speak of the devil, Nini just texted to tell me that she and EJ have officially broken up. Blocked his number and everything.”

“Wow,” Carlos raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t know you and Nini were friends.”

“Yeah, well, we met when we were young. Only other kid I knew that had two last names, which we decided to be the basis of our friendship, I guess. I ended up transferring schools, and I guess she skipped a grade or something because we didn’t meet again until last year when I got to East High and we got reintroduced during Brigadoon,” Seb explained.

Carlos nods along. He knew that Seb didn’t go to the middle school he had gone to with Nini and Ricky and all the others, but somehow it never occurred to him that he knew them before high school.

“I never really got close to her,” Carlos says, surprising himself. “I mean, we're friendly, but I guess I didn’t really think we had much in common. Plus Gabriella isn’t in any of the huge dance numbers, so I guess that’s how I ended up migrating more towards you and Gina.” 

He’s never really talked about his differences with the rest of the cast with anyone else because, well, he doesn’t really talk to the cast in general. Part of him wants to open up to Seb about the weird balance of being a sophomore who has some sort of authorial power over the upperclassman, but he can’t exactly put it into words and it hurts his head to think about. He files that thought away for later as Seb starts talking again.

“Are you calling me a dancer?” He asks, sticking his leg up for a moment. His tone is joking, but the smile across his face seems genuine, and it makes Carlos’s heart melt.

“Mmm, you could use some work,” he says, looking Seb up and down as if he’s judging his form, causing Seb to blush lightly. “No, but actually, you are a really good dancer. Compared to some of the others at least,” Carlos laughs, and Seb joins in.

“Wow, so kind of you,” he says, rolling his eyes although the smile is still spread across his face. “I’m kidding, I don’t even begin to compare to Gina and some of the ensemble. I would kill to be able to move so easily like that.”

“I think you’re doing fine, considering your lack of dance training,” Carlos says, and now it’s Seb’s turn to hit him with a pillow. “Although…” he starts as he considers how this idea will go over with Seb. “If you wanted to, I could give you dance lessons? Like before school or something?”

He’s expecting Seb to reject the idea or come up with excuses. Instead, the other boy's eyes light up and he props himself up on his elbows. “Really?” he asks excitedly, and Carlos sits up straighter.

“I mean yeah, if you genuinely want to improve and you want extra time practicing,” he says with a smile. “We could do once a week, or non-rehearsal days, whatever is best for you!”

“Non-rehearsal days would actually be perfect!”

“So do you want to start this Friday?” Carlos asks since that would be their closest non-rehearsal day. “Maybe, like, 7:00? Gives us about half an hour before homeroom. Or is that too early?”

Seb shakes his head. “I’m up every morning at 5:30 in the morning anyway, so 7 works fine for me!” he smiles.

Carlos smiles back before he processes what Seb had just said. “Geez, 5:30? That’s so early,” he says disgustedly. 

The way Seb laughs makes his head spin, and suddenly Carlos doesn’t know how he’s going to be able to survive private rehearsals in a few days. 

[seblos]

is this home?

word count: 2,278

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Backstage was silent except for the voices of the actors on stage, a stark contrast from the jittery energy right before the curtain had risen. The show was going well so far, much smoother than High School Musical, and they were nearing Seb’s entrance once again right before ‘Home’. 

Carlos smiles, thinking about how proud he was that Seb had the courage to not only audition for Belle but actually go through with it when they had gotten the role. It was one thing to play one of the side lead females, and another to actually play the female lead itself. 

He remembers when Seb had first expressed their dream to play Belle. The two of them were hanging out watching Beauty and the Beast to prepare for Seb’s audition.

Originally, Carlos had been expecting them to want to audition for Gaston or even the Beast, but ever since they had come out as nonbinary, they had shied away from some of the more hypermasculine roles. It’s not that they couldn’t play such a role (Seb could play any role in the show and still be the biggest star to Carlos); they just preferred not to. 

Instead, Seb had expressed interest in playing Lumiere. So, the two had been watching ‘Be Our Guest’ when they had turned to Carlos out of the blue.

“Who do you think is going to play Belle?” Seb had asked.

It was abrupt, sure, but Carlos hadn’t thought anything weird of it. He had already been debating how the cast list might end up all week himself.

“I don’t know, honestly” Carlos admitted. “I know Nini and Gina are both auditioning again. Ashlyn was thinking about it, but I think she was leaning more towards one of the magical objects. Although she and EJ had been discussing playing Gaston and Lefou together if EJ isn’t the Beast.”

(He could see Seb growing more fidgety with the more people he lists, but he had assumed it was probably just regular pre-audition week nerves.)

“I think Kourtney is auditioning for Mrs. Potts,” he continued. “We tried to convince her to audition for Belle even though it’s her first show, but she said she’s not ready to play the lead yet.”

“So there’s a lot of competition?” Seb had asked, tapping one of their fingernails against the other. It’s one of their nervous habits, and it was ruining the light blue polish that Carlos had just applied on their nails.

He was about to reach for the nail polish again to touch it up when it had actually hit him. 

Was Seb nervous?

“Don’t be nervous,” Carlos had said instead of asking, already being able to identify the signs at this point in their friendship. He had proceeded to take Seb’s hands, which effectively stopped the tapping.

(They weren’t together, officially. Still aren’t. It’s been months of dancing around each other— literally and metaphorically— since that night at homecoming. Both were still too nervous to say anything about the situation. Small, affectionate touches like these, though, they could do.)

“Whatever role you do get, you’re gonna kill,” Carlos continued, and he remembers giving them what was hopefully a relieving smile. “Heck, maybe you should be the one to play Belle.”

“You think?” Seb had said, acting casual. Carlos had felt them tense slightly in his hands, though, and he could hear the same nervous-excitement in their voice after they first told him they wanted to play Sharpay. 

And suddenly, it had clicked.

“Do you want to play Belle?” Carlos asked carefully, and Seb’s face had dropped slightly. 

“Is that dumb?” they asked, and Carlos remembers the words making his heart tug at his chest. As if anything Seb did could ever be dumb.

“I know I don’t have to only play traditionally female roles,” they continued. “Which is why I thought I should play Lumiere, y’know? Since I played a female role last time, and Lumiere is pretty androgynous. And I still would love to play him, it’s just….” they had trailed off, and Carlos had squeezed their hand, urging them to continue.

They had finally turned to face Carlos, taking a deep breath before continuing. “It’s always kind of been a dream of mine,” they admitted. “Going onstage as Belle, under that single spotlight, and just belting out ‘Home’ to an audience made up people, and not of my stuffed animals.”

The last part made Carlos giggle, but everything else they had told him made his heart leap into his throat.

“So, why don’t you audition?” Carlos suggested because, at that moment, he knew Seb needed to. Whether or not they actually get the role, they needed to at least know that they have the ability to go for it.

Meanwhile, Seb was hesitant, like they were searching for an excuse to say no.

“Do you really think I should?” they had said finally.

“I really, really do,” Carlos said, squeezing their hand again.

“What will the others say, though? If I get it? Won’t they think that it would be out of bias because I’m telling you, and you work with Miss Jenn?”

“If I had any say in the cast list, then Ricky Bowen wouldn’t have played Troy Bolton,” Carlos assured them, which had made Seb laugh.

 “But, if I do get a say this time, I promise to do what;’s best for the cast,” he had said. “Let them think what they want, but at the end of the day, we all know that.”

“Okay,” Seb agreed, and that was that. The two had continued to study the movie that night, although this time with a little more attention to Belle’s role.

And while the rest of the cast was extremely talented, Carlos had known Seb was going to play Belle the moment they auditioned, the same way he knew they were going to play Sharpay before the cast list was even posted.

Months later, and Seb was finally on stage for opening night. There had been moments of hesitancy after receiving offhand comments to full-on backlash from ignorant students at the school, as well as some members of the greater Salt Lake region once word got out that Belle wasn’t being played by a girl.

The cast had been nothing but supportive to Seb, though. At the end of the day, it’s what pushed them to work even harder.

Now, they were approaching the moment Carlos had been waiting all night. Ever since Seb had mentioned wanting to perform ‘Home’, one of Belle’s biggest solos in the show, he had been attached to the performance. And after months of Seb perfecting it, he was the most excited for it.

Now was their time.

They had a few scenes on stage that lead up to the actual song itself, but that didn’t bother Carlos. Whenever Seb was on stage, he was captivated watching them in action. It was beyond memorizing to see them become a whole new person, even for a few minutes. If Sharpay hadn’t been enough, seeing them play the lead was damn near magical.

As soon as Ricky left the stage, (he had somehow managed to snag the lead, again) the opening bars began to play. Carlos feels himself take a breath, fixating on Seb as they begin to sing.

Yes, I made the choice.

For Papa, I will stay.

But I don't deserve to lose my freedom in this way,

You monster!

Carlos had already heard them rehearse it maybe 100 times, every time just as flawless. But this time, seeing them on stage with the costume, and makeup, and an audience, and that single spotlight.

It’s real.

More than that. Surreal. Like some sort of real-time fantasy.

As the ballad builds, it becomes more than a song. Maybe not to the audience, but to Carlos, and definitely to Seb.

He can’t imagine earlier in the year when they were doing High School Musical that they ever thought they would ever get to this point, and now here they were, living out their dream. It represents every obstacle they had to overcome to get to this point.

It was beyond inspiring, and Carlos feels so lucky to be able to experience it.

The longer the song goes on, the more vulnerable Seb becomes, and Carlos can see at least half the cast— including himself—on the verge of tears. (He feels bad for the girl playing Madame de la Grande Bouche, who has to make an entrance the moment the song ends.)

Is this home?

Am I here for a day or forever?

Shut away from the world until who knows when?

Watching someone play their dream role is always magical. Even more so now, watching Seb.

Build higher walls around me.

Change every lock and key.

Nothing lasts,

Nothing holds all of me.

The song ends with a surge of applause so loud that for a moment Carlos can’t hear anything, and so long that Kourtney has to pause before entering as Mrs. Potts for it to die down. (He’s pretty sure that it’s their family who is whooping and hollering so loudly.) Seb doesn’t break character of course, but Carlos can see their lips twitching slightly, the sign that they’re forcing away the urge to break out in a smile. 

Eventually, the scene does continue. It’s a short one though, and Seb exits onto Carlos’s side of the stage. Immediately, he envelopes them in the biggest, tightest hug he can give. (Which is a rarity for him; Seb is more of the hugger in their friendship.) It might not have been him on stage, or him playing his dream role, but Carlos’s chest is bursting with so many positive emotions that he can’t even name as he hugs them close. 

He loosens his arms around Seb after a moment, leaning back so he can see their face.

“You did it!” Carlos whispers, quiet enough so their mic won’t pick it up. 

They nod, not being able to say anything, but Carlos can see them almost on the verge of tears. He can practically hear them telling him “I did, didn’t I?”

They stand in silence, arms still wrapped around each other, and Carlos realizes after a moment how close their faces are. If Seb’s mic wasn’t on, and they weren’t wearing makeup, and backstage in the middle of a show, nothing would be stopping him from closing the distance between them right then and there. 

He does have to let them go eventually to prepare for their next entrance, but the thought stays in his mind all the way until intermission. 

As soon as the curtains close, Carlos immediately starts to search for Seb. There’s nothing more that he wants in the world than to sit down with them and talk about that song for hours. Unfortunately, they’re on a time limit, and if Carlos wants to see them at all, he has to hurry.

Carlos finds him after a few minutes in one of the dressing rooms across from the bomb shelter. The room is empty except for the mirror where they’re reapplying hairspray.

The moment Seb spots Carlos, though, they’re back in his arms. This time not as rushed as it was backstage, but the same amount of excitement and sweetness and comfort that makes Carlos want to stay in this position forever.

And before he can get a word out, Seb kisses him. It’s quick, and he can feel the makeup rubbing off onto his face, but his hands immediately go up to cup Seb’s face

Seb pulls away (Carlos wishes they didn’t.) “Hi,” they whisper, smiling.

“Hey,” he says back, still cupping their face.

“That was for you,” they tell him, and Carlos can still feel waves of nerves and excitement coming off of them.

“The song or the kiss?”

“Both,” they say breathlessly. “Everything that I’ve done tonight was because of you.”

Carlos smiles, shaking his head. “That was all you, baby,” he tells them, and Seb blushes slightly from the pet name. 

Then, he leans back in kissing Seb even longer and deeper than before. He can hear chattering from the cast and the tech kids calling out warnings for intermission ending soon, but they’ll deal with that in a second. At this moment it’s just the two of them, both having lived their dreams tonight.

This time it’s Carlos that pulls away. “And that was for you. For your amazing performance, and everything else tonight.”

“Just tonight?” Seb asks slyly.

“For you. Always,” he corrects, and he knows they’re both blushing but it doesn’t matter. 

“You have lipstick on your face,” they giggle, reaching up to wipe it away.

“So do you,” Carlos says, mirroring the action. “You might want to touch up your makeup a bit before you have to get back out there.”

“Okay,” Seb says, but they don’t make a move towards their makeup kit. Instead, they lean in and kiss Carlos again.

“Okay,” they say again, this time actually letting go.

As much as he doesn’t want to, Carlos waves them goodbye. As much as he wants to stay in that room with Seb, they’ve been working on this show for months, and arguably is more important. He needs to check in with Miss Jenn before intermission is over, and he’ll see them backstage. They’ll talk more when the show is over at Denny’s, maybe skip the cast party to hang out together, who knows. 

(And no, he still has no idea what they are or what this means. That doesn’t really matter either though. He’s found a home with Seb, and that’s enough.)

[seblos]

there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach - ch 3/10

chapter title: tornadoes come and go, dance is forever

word count: 1,972

note: it doesn’t occur until close to the end, but italics is carlos, bold is sbe, & both is both!

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

read on ao3

Seb catches Carlos after rehearsal the day after his… interaction with Mr. Mazzara. They had been talking more in class and during lunch, as well as rehearsals whenever they had time to break and if Miss Jenn didn’t need anything. 

It had been their thing, now, to either drive Carlos home if they end early, or at the very least walk out the door and through the parking lot to their respective cars. It gives them a chance to catch up on whatever drama happened in rehearsal in person before they’re forced to text about it or wait until lunch the next day to talk. 

Seb had been absent the previous day though, and when he had asked Carlos about what had happened, Carlos responded vaguely about running through songs and the new Status Quo dance break with Gina. 

Truthfully, what came to mind was not either of those, but instead the conversation he had with Mr. Mazzara pre-rehearsal. Just thinking about it makes Carlos’s stomach sink as he hears the voice of the STEM teacher echoing in his head, reminding him that maybe you should spend a little less time worrying about your drama teacher and a little more time making some friends under the age 35.

He had only been trying to help, as Miss Jenn looked distressed (how was he supposed to read the conversation?) but that comment hit him like a wall of bricks. 

After Miss Jenn had shooed him away from the conversation and into the bomb shelter to practice Status Quo, Carlos’s head was pounding, only hearing those words over and over again. And of course, that had been that day that Seb was absent, which only made everything feel so much more real. He had put on a happy face for the sake of hopefully having the cast actually listen to him, but on the inside, he had felt like he was going to be sick.

“You ready to go?” Carlos asks, breaking his train of thought as he swings his backpack over his shoulders. He begins to walk towards the door, trying to focus on something else, like how Seb is wearing cute overalls today over one of his button-ups.

Speaking of Seb, though, he realizes the other boy is still planted firmly in place across the room. “Seb?”

“Are you okay, Carlos?” He asks. “You were fine on Wednesday, but I was gone yesterday and you just seem… different. If it’s something I did, please tell me because I-”

“It’s not you, Seb,” Carlos smiles slightly, although his chest feels tight. 

“Then what is it?”

Carlos sighs, walking back over to Seb and sitting down in the nearest chair. Seb follows suit, and he has to admit that Seb genuinely caring about him feels really nice. 

“Yesterday before rehearsal, I was just coming to give Miss Jenn coffee, and she was in the hall talking to Mr. Mazzara,” both Seb and Carlos cringed at the name (neither of them exactly loved him as a teacher) before Carlos continues. “She looked upset, or, like, freaked out about whatever he had said. I didn’t have any context to the conversation so I was trying to make sure she was okay, ‘cuz, like, you never really know, and um,” Carlos swallowed, picking at a fray in his jeans.

Seb, who was nodding as he talked, took Carlos’s hand comfortingly, which sent electric currents through the boy’s body. It was enough to make him continue, though.

“When I kept pushing Miss Jenn to make sure she was good, he told me that I shouldn’t be so focused on her, and I should try and actually make some friends. My own age, I mean,” it stung to repeat, even with Seb rubbing his thumb on the back of Carlos’s hand. 

Seb stopped all of a sudden, as Carlos was finally able to make eye contact with the other boy. “He said that to you?” he asked, painfully calm.

“I mean, not in those exact words, but yeah. Basically.”

Seb suddenly grabbed his other hand, fully tuning his body so he was facing Carlos. “You know that’s not true, right? I mean, first of all, you have friends,” he squeezed Carlos’s hands when he said that. Carlos opened his mouth to respond, but he wasn’t finished. “And not just me, I mean. Natalie, and Gina, and honestly Ricky, and Nini, and Ashlyn, and the rest of the cast. We’re all your friends. And there’s nothing wrong being friends with your teachers, as long as you aren’t friends with him. I mean, you and Miss Jenn are basically coworkers since she’s not technically a teacher anyway,” Seb rambled.

Carlos felt his chest release as Seb defended him and tried to make him feel better. For once since that conversation with Mr. Mazzara, it felt like the weight of the words had lifted a bit from his body. 

“I’m serious, Los,” Seb squeezes his hands again. “That was so mean of him, and its absolutely not true.”

Carlos smiles softly. “Yeah, I’m kinda figuring that out. Thank you, though, Seb.”

“Of course,” Seb returns with a soft smile of his own. 

They sit like that for a moment, ignoring how both of their rides are probably already at the school. Carlos tries not to overthink how casually Seb is holding his hands. 

“Mr. Mazzara did walk in while we were running Status Quo, and the look on his face was priceless when he saw us singing. I guess he assumed we weren’t actually good, but it was the best we’ve ever sounded!” Carlos says suddenly, and Seb laughs. “I wish you were here though, so he could have heard you sing. Your solo in the song is amazing.”

Seb blushes slightly, breaking eye contact for the first time and looking down at his overalls instead of Carlos as he responds. “Thank you! No thanks to your impossible choreo.”

Carlos shrugs. “I only give you what I know you can handle. Even without it, though, your voice is amazing. I love to hear you sing.”

“So, let’s sing!”

“What do you mean?” Carlos laughs as Seb stands up suddenly, still holding Carlos’s hands as he pulls him over to the piano and down onto the bench.

“You didn’t get to hear me sing yesterday, and you had a bad day, so let’s sing!”

“When you say let’s do you mean us?” Carlos asks, but Seb is already playing the beginning of What I’ve Been Looking For.

“You wanted to hear me sing, and I need to practice this song,” he tells Carlos, nodding at him to start out the song. Before Carlos can say anything, the song starts, and he sings.

“It's hard to believe that I couldn't see you were always there beside me. Thought I was alone with no one to hold but you were always right beside me”

Seb jumps in when he’s supposed to, still playing piano as he sings, and Carlos relaxes into the song. He doesn’t usually sing in front of people, but he’ll make the exception here.

“And this feeling’s like no other. I want you to know.”

Seb’s voice is amazing, of course, and Carlos is so stunned by it that he almost forgets to join back in. 

“I've never had someone that knows me like you do (the way you do!)

 I've never had someone as good for me as you (no one like you!)

So lonely before, I finally found what I've been looking for!”

As he plays the piano break before the next verse, Seb turns to Carlos with a grin. “I’m surprised you know all the words!”

“It’s what happens when you’ve been listening to the soundtrack for a decade!” Carlos replies with a laugh

“Well, it’s cute. And I like your voice!”

Carlos almost thinks he misheard Seb for a second, but they’re both blushing, so he assumes he did it. Before he can figure out how to respond, Seb starts singing again.

“So good to be seen, so good to be heard! Don't have to say a word!

For so long I was lost, so good to be found!

I'm loving having you around.”

Carlos holds a fake microphone in his clenched fist, mocking the moves of Ryan from the movie that play so clearly in his head as he sings the next lyric. “This feeling's like no other. I want you to know..”

“I've never had someone that knows me like you do (the way you do!)

 I've never had someone as good for me as you (no one like you!)

So lonely before, I finally found what I've been looking for!”

Seb is still smiling at Carlos while they sing, and for the first time, Carlos hears the lyrics. It makes him wonder why two siblings sing it in the show because seriously! Maybe it’s just him, or just the company, but this sounds like the most romantic thing in the world right now. He tries to not think about how close he and Seb are squished together on the piano bench.

They both scat dramatically, still laughing and smiling at each other as Seb finishes the song with dramatic flourish. 

“Too bad there was no jazz square in there,” Seb sighs happily when he hits the last note.

“Oh, don’t worry, there will be,” Carlos laughs. 

Seb sets his hand down on the bench, and for a moment, he glances at their hands merely centimeters apart. Carlos notices it too, and he swears Seb moves his hand ever so slightly closer so that their pinkies are touching. (Which isn't much considering Seb was literally holding his hand a minute ago, but it still makes Carlos’s heart beat rapidly.)

He’s about to suck it up and just grab Seb’s hand, but a notification goes off from Seb’s phone (it’s placed in the front pocket of his overalls. Has Carlos mentioned he’s wearing overalls?) Seb picks it up, glancing at the screen.

“My sister’s here, I should…” he trails off, standing up from the piano and going to grab his backpack.

“Yeah, I’m sure my mom was here, like, 5 minutes so me too,” Carlos grabs his backpack, and they walk out of the bomb shelter together.

They walk down the hallway in comfortable silence as Carlos reflects on the past five minutes. He had never experienced this feeling before, but Seb made him feel dizzy, in a good way. The blonde boy could put butterflies in his stomach just by looking at him, and all of their interactions made Carlos’s heart race and always made him smile.

He thought he had crushes before, but this was so much different. This was so much more real. 

When they walked out the front door of the school, the fresh air hit Carlos’s still burning face. 

Seb turned to him. “Well, this is where I go.”

Carlos nods. “Yeah, same,” he replies, and he’s definitely still blushing. “I’ll probably text you tonight about the chemistry homework.”

“Yeah. Or just text me, like, about anything,” Seb shrugs with a smile, and Carlos feels a little bit better when he notices the pink still dusting the other boy’s face. He reaches his hand out for a second, barely brushing Carlos’s shoulder as he says “See you tomorrow, Carlos!” before he turns in the direction of his sister’s car.

“Hey, Seb?” Carlos calls quickly before he can lose his confidence.

“Yeah?” the boy turns right before he can step into the parking lot.

“Cute overalls!”

Even from the distance, he can see Seb flushing an even darker shade of pink. “Thanks!” he calls back, and Carlos nods, smiling.

And even when he gets in his own car and his mom asks him a million questions about why he’s late, it’s worth it.