#miss jenn x mike

[cannonball5]

I’m convinced Miss Jenn knew about Ricky and Gina the entirety of season 4. If Mike didn’t tell her immediately I’m pretty sure she would’ve seen the TWO framed pictures of Gina in Ricky’s room since she probably was over at their apartment quite a bit. Like I know the end of episode 4 is kind of emotional but I kind of wished Miss Jenn and Ricky’s ending scene played out like this:

Ricky: Gina and I have been dating since the beginning of summer.

Miss Jenn: I know, Ricky. I’ve known for months.

Ricky: How? We haven’t told any-…my dad told you.

Miss Jenn: Almost immediately. He was very happy for you. But even if he hadn’t, I’ve been over here a lot and the two framed photos you have of Gina would’ve given you away there honey.

[dwrotesomething]

if the hsmtmts were smart with jennzzara's setup this season, they would make up smth like jenn finding out mike blocked ben's number on her phone and thats why she didnt get any of his texts/ he didnt get hers during the summer + she could say smth like "i kinda get this behaviour from your teenage son, but youre a grown man, so act like one" (kinda shadowing the way ricky deleted that comment off nini's phone or ej deleted the voicemail)

[fbfh]

rocks at your window pt. 10 - ricky bowen x reader

disclaimer: this series contains smut and chapter by chapter warnings, so as with all nsfw works, ricky is aged up to 18+!! ricky and reader are 18 and in their senior year

additionally, we're working towards a ricky x therapy plot so he's going to start expressing some symptoms of mental illness and bpd but he does get therapy eventually and has a good support system but he gets worse before he gets better yk. Obviously I'm not a professional and this is for entertainment so while I have done my research pls take this with a grain of salt!! or several!! /lh

!! contains some spoilers for season 1 of hsmtmts, and previous chapters of this fic !!

wc: 10.1k

genre: angst, hurt/comfort, more high highs and a lot of low lows, tooth rotting fluff

pairing: ricky bowen x (afab she/her) reader

warnings: saucy flashbacks, nini and ej are very unprofessional, more fake texts, more coping through the arts, ricky realizes he's a real theatre kid, ricky is simping for you, seb being seb/a good friend/an absolute sweetheart, ricky distancing himself from lynne (slay), spilling tea (after getting permission to do so), conflicted feelings, nini (and ej but mostly nini) ruins the show, three seperate nini pick me moments, reader is about to snap, ricky and reader are mvps, one playful 'babe' from reader to ricky, nini is one delusional bitch!, brief mention of reader's trauma (jumpy at loud noises, flinches when someone raises their voice), ricky and big red are bros, big red has good opinions bc he stans dr phil, minor big red x ashlyn, kourtney and ricky do not get along lol, reader DOES snap, nini is terrible idk how else to rephrase it she's just the worst, nini gets yelled at by both you and ricky (slay), realizations happen, jones BIGASS love confessions and neck kisses.html, flowery descriptions, ricky picks you up briefly, making out, ricky is good with kids and it's adorable, nini is the only one who calls it YAC, theatre kids at denny's jumpscare, mike is a good dad, you wear one of ricky's shirts, saccrine amounts of love declarations, tooth rotting fluff

summary: after the disaster that was act one, act two also finds some way to go unplanned, causing you to be completely fed up with Nini's unprofessional behavior. you turn a night of confrontations around as you realize something and ricky finally gets something important off his chest.

song recs: entr'acte (hands clean) - jagged little pill obc, smiling - jagged little pill obc, what am I to you - rm, you stupid bitch - crazy ex girlfriend cast, first - niki and gabi, for a pessimist, I'm pretty optimistic - paramore, I hear a symphony - cody fry, something to believe in - newsies obc, let's go to the movies - annie (1982), sunrise - in the heights obc

a/n: fangz again 2 cici for beta reading, prepz fuk off. I'm watching american horror story murder house so uh. i'll let you know how that goes. it's hilarious so far tbh i love basement babyman. also this is ricky at you

tags @yesv01 @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @hopefullhearts @pikzel @demirunner @brinaslittlefreak @girlfriendwhoseawitch @matiere-detoiles @ifilwtmfc @uselesssapphickitten @nxstalgicnxbxdy @ggclarissa @n-slayaaaaa @stormi-ames @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @rainforest-daisies @sunshineangel-reads

You had heard the first part of their argument from your dressing room. After that it was muffled yelling - most of which you hoped was Ricky’s. When Natalie called for places, they were still going at it. You found Miss Jenn as quickly as you could, worried about Ricky, unsure if he was still okay to perform. 

“EJ is already getting ready to go on.” She tells you. It’s the only answer you need for how ugly things got. She ushers everyone to their places, trying her best to squash their questions and speculations of what’s going on. 

“Nothing you need to worry about, just find you places, get in character, get ready for act two…” she instructs. She pulls you aside before you enter the wings. 

“Mr. Mazzara is escorting her out as we speak.” she informs you quietly. 

“Wait, Mr. Mazzara is here?” you ask. She pauses.

“Uh, yes. He’s been… helping run the lights up in the control booth. It was a last minute-” she shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. The point is, the… shrew is leaving and Mike is on his way back to check on Ricky.” You’re relieved that his dad is here for him - and Miss Jenn. You look around momentarily. 

“Where is he?” you ask. 

“That dusty storage room we shoved the creepy mannequins in.” 

The one with the piano. The one where he helped you come down from a panic attack your first day at the El Rey, and… 

“...So they’re probably going to wait until the show is over, then head home.” You snap out of the onslaught of memories that stirred up at the mention of that storage room, catching the last half of what she said. “You can keep your phone in the wings to stay in touch, just make sure it’s not a distraction.” 

“Okay,” you agree, already feeling it buzzing in your pocket. She nudges you toward the wings as the intro to I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You starts playing, Nini and EJ’s voices should be floating through the house. 

“Now, go be Sharpay!” she says with a smile, and you start to turn the corner, then pause. 

“Miss Jenn!” you whisper-yell, and she looks back up at you. “Thank you! For everything.” you say sincerely. She places her hands on her chest, smiling, and you finally find your place backstage. 

“Like, full on screaming,” you hear Zeke say to Martha. You try to ignore them, and everyone else talking and whispering. You knew it would spread like wildfire, backstage drama always does. You pull out your phone, blowing up with texts from Ricky and his dad. You keep switching between the two text threads, trying to figure out what happened, to make sure Ricky’s okay. As you type out replies to both him and his dad, you look out onto the stage. Something doesn’t sound right, the gaps between the dialog are too long. 

Your brow furrows, trying to figure out what’s going on. EJ’s hand comes up to his collar and he leans forward. Nina delivers her next line more stilted and awkward and out of character than anything you’ve ever seen. You watch, confusion turning into disbelief as Nina covers her mic with her hand, and whispers something to EJ. Being so close to where they’re standing, you’re able to catch most of what she says - ‘seriously, EJ, where’s Ricky?’, or something to that effect. 

High pitched feedback whines at the disturbance to her mic, and for a moment you think you must have imagined it. There’s no way, no chance in hell she covered her mic with her hand, broke character onstage, and got EJ to break character too. You take a few breaths, reminding yourself that you’re not the director. Miss Jenn will have to deal with that one. Your phone buzzes as you get more texts from Ricky, and you check it again. 

Ricky stares at the little gray box on his screen, letting your words sink in. He still has four shows to perform in. He has more than just tonight to look forward to. All of those shows, every single one of them, is going to go just fine. Even now, through the worst possible nightmare of a thing that could have happened, the show is still continuing; the show must go on. And it will. It is, right in front of his eyes, as he and his dad enter the auditorium, taking two empty seats, Ricky’s right on the aisle. EJ and Nini harmonize, dancing around the stage - like he was supposed to. They finish the last verse of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, as the audience applauds. He claps politely as the lights go down. 

He mentally runs through what he would be doing if he were back there with you guys. You’re probably getting ready for the scene at Sharpay’s locker with Zeke, standing center stage in the dark, looking at the prop accessories in the pink locker, while Zeke mentally goes over his lines and blocking in the stage left wing. The lights go up, and he’s right. He knows this whole show inside and out, he realizes, and it makes his chest squeeze. Instead of dwelling on that, he leans forward, watching the scene begin to play out. He realizes suddenly that he gets to actually watch you perform. Not just from the wings or during rehearsals or in a grainy camcorder video, but he gets to watch you live. 

He smiles a little, realizing how special that is. You deliver your lines flawlessly, bringing a chuckle from the audience with your attitude right when you want one. It’s crazy how you play the mean girl so well, when it couldn’t be further from your real personality. He figures you’re just that amazing. You let out a shrill, frustrated scream, then storm off stage with Zeke trailing after you. When the lights go down, he claps loudly, letting out a cheer. He lets out a shaky breath, knowing you’ll be in the next scene, too - you’re probably quick changing for it right now. 

He’s right again, and backstage, you pull on your jacket, relieved to be done a little earlier than usual. It’s probably nerves from everything that happened tonight making you go a little quicker, but you’re not complaining. 

“So,” Seb says quietly next to you, bending over to tug on his heels, “what happened earlier? It sounded bad…” You let out a slow, frustrated sigh. He gets the sense it wasn’t just bad, it was really bad. 

“Just…” you search for the words, “some personal stuff. Family stuff, I guess.” 

“Bad enough for him to leave halfway through the show?” he asks, and you can tell he’s concerned. You pause fixing your belt, looking up to the catwalk and praying for the strength to get through tonight. Seb is one of the sweetest people you’ve ever met, and you know he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but the last thing you need to do is add to the whispers, the desire for someone to spill the tea on what happened during intermission. 

“It’s really not for me to say…” you trail off, glancing at the other groups of castmates waiting to go on and techies listening for their cues. ‘Later’, you mouth to him. You have to go on any minute, and you want to text Ricky about it before you tell anyone anything. It’s really not your place to tell anyone what’s going on in his homelife. You pull out your phone, sending him a quick text that says some of your friends are worried about him, and does he want you to say anything or keep it under wraps for now. You turn your phone on silent and hide it in your bra before making your entrance on time. 

Seb lets out a huff, then follows you off stage as the ensemble runs in from the wings and the music for Wildcat Cheer reprise starts playing. As the ensemble begins dancing, Ricky checks his phone again, seeing a new text from you. ‘What do you want me to say?’ He pauses, staring at the screen. What does he want you to say? Nothing, at first. For a painful, fleeting moment, he wishes none of this had ever happened in the first place, he wishes he didn’t have to keep making up excuses and brushing things off. He doesn’t have to, he realizes. He doesn’t have to keep covering for her, and overcompensating for her shitty decisions. He bites the inside of his cheek, then texts you back. 

Backstage, you return to the stage right wing, ready for your next scene. You check to see if Ricky has texted you back, and he did. ‘Tell them she showed up unannounced and we got in a fight. I’m not trying to make her look good anymore.’ You agree, and a part of you is glad he’s not making himself responsible for his mother’s emotions anymore. When your scene is over, you rush to your dressing room to get ready for Bop to the Top. You have a full costume and hair change, and you need to tweak your makeup a little, so it usually takes you the longest to get ready for. Once you’ve applied enough body glitter to choke a bratz doll, you leave your dressing room, meeting Seb on the way to the wings. 

Most of the cast is onstage right now, so it’s not very crowded backstage where you stand, waiting for the current song to end. Seb moves a little closer to you and lowers his voice.

“I know it’s probably not a good time to ask, but what in the Mount Saint Helens happened with Ricky?” He asks in a hushed, worried tone. You bite back a smile at his turns of phrase, and sigh. You think back to Ricky’s text, how he said he’s done covering for her. 

“His mother showed up…” you say slowly, pausing at the shocked expression on his face. 

“She what?” he exclaims quietly. 

“And she tried to corner Ricky during intermission,” he gasps, and you continue, “and they got into a huge fight.” 

“Oh my god.” he says, thinking back to the yelling he’d heard. 

“Mhm.” you confirm, “Miss Jenn had to kick her out so she wouldn’t cause more of a scene.” 

“Oh my god!” he gasps in disbelief that it got that bad. He feels like he’s on an episode of Real Housewives. Or maybe Dance Moms. 

“Poor Ricky… Is he okay?” His mind constructs different images of Ricky’s mother ambushing him while he tries to get ready for act two. He can’t imagine how terrible that must have been. 

“As much as he can be right now,” you say. Seb can see how worried you are about him. This night took a toll on you, and he’s sure Ricky’s dad and Miss Jenn can’t be doing much better. It makes sense, and he’s glad to at least know what happened. 

“That’s pretty much it, but I’ll give you the details later.” you say, noting that you have to go on soon, and walking over to Ashlyn so you can enter together. 

The music starts, and Ricky has never been more excited for Bop to the Top. He’s never had the opportunity to see you and Seb perform full out like this from the audience, he’s always been just out of view before because of the blocking and where he was supposed to stand on stage. But now, he’s front and center, watching the light bounce off the glitter scattered across your chest and arms. You’re in a gorgeous, glittering teal dress that bounces and moves with every step you take. Your silver sparkling heels match your bracelets, and your hair is pinned up with big pink and white flowers on the side. Seb begins to dance with you, wearing a coordinating outfit that’s just as flashy. 

As the music cuts between the basketball game and science decathlon, you and Seb continue to steal the show. Your singing is gorgeous and your choreography is flawless. You harmonize as you spin around, totally in sync. Your attitude, your charisma is overflowing. The two most important events of the show are happening on either side of you, and you’re keeping all eyes center stage. He’s never seen a number with this much energy, this much flare, and based on the way the crowd is reacting, they feel the same way. 

As the tension builds, as the time to score the winning shot runs out and the science questions get harder and harder, as the music builds, Ricky’s breath is taken away. At the climax of the number, the East High Wildcats win the championship basketball game, and the science decathlon at the same moment. You and Seb hit the final note, holding it out as you strike your ending pose. Right as you’re done, Taylor kills the lights. 

Ricky is stunned at how good the show looks from the audience. But in spite of how amazing it’s been, he can’t ignore the gnawing in his chest anymore. He’s been trying so hard to focus on you, to not be jealous of EJ standing up there reciting his lines, singing his parts and doing his choreography. Seeing EJ up there, seeing Carlos struggle to fill in as Chad makes his stomach sink. It’s supposed to be him up there. He’s supposed to be the one scrambling to make it to callbacks on time, just like he did in real life all those months ago. He turns his attention back to you, as you begin your biggest Sharpay diva moment of the show. 

You storm off with Seb at your heels, and you both begin to get changed for the finale. As you get dressed into your white and red outfits, you can’t resist telling him a little more about what happened during act one and intermission. 

“...And she just stormed up to me, demanding to see him. Like, I told her, ‘you’re not cast or crew, you are so not allowed to be back here’, but she didn’t care!” Your voice is intense, but hushed. 

“Are you kidding?” he demands, shock evident on his face. 

“I wish I was…” you laugh softly, just as flabbergasted by the recent turn of events as he is. You inch closer to the curtain, and see Ricky wave to you in the audience - or more specifically in the general direction of where he knows you’d be right about now. His eyes are still a little pink and puffy, and it’s obvious how much everything that happened tonight has fucked him up. Your chest squeezes at the sight, and you wish you could hug him or do something to help. You sigh, trying to think of something encouraging to text him when you get a spare minute to. You snap out of your train of thought when you realize it’s quiet onstage. Your stomach sinks as EJ repeats his line, trying to cue Nina.

“Oh god,” you mutter next to Seb. 

“Did she forget her lines?” he asks. Her head turns, and you see what she’s looking at - who she’s looking at. You’re minutes away from the finale of the show, and she’s staring at Ricky. EJ begins speaking again, reciting his lines, but he just keeps going.

“Is he improving?” you ask rhetorically. “Why is he improving?” 

You have no idea what’s going on, but this show is going off the rails so fast. It’s like a slow motion trainwreck, and you find yourself unable to look away as Nina whispers to him out of character, for the second time in the last hour. You can feel your blood pressure rise as she breaks character too, the both of them floundering onstage and deviating from every rule of theatre Miss Jenn has been drilling into your heads for the last three months. Again, EJ speaks up, not even trying at this point. 

“I’m not the Troy you want,” he says melancholically. 

“What the fuck are they doing?” you hiss, and Seb can tell that after everything that happened tonight, this is really the last straw for you - you’re out for blood. You watch in disbelief as EJ just… walks offstage. And that’s it. You think it’s a really good thing he exited to the other side of the stage, because you sure have some choice words for him right now. 

“What is he doing?!” you question again, more pissed off than Seb has ever seen you. As if things couldn’t possibly get worse, you can’t believe what you’re seeing. Nina picks up her mic and begins to walk toward the edge of the stage, singing acapella. 

“She better not fucking do what I think she’s doing.” your voice is quiet, dangerous, and Seb is momentarily worried on her behalf. Even though you’re like, the nicest person ever, he doesn’t think anyone would want to be on your bad side.

Your hand flies over your mouth in utter disbelief as she walks into the audience and right over to Ricky, signaling for Big Red to follow her with a spotlight. Just when you think this couldn’t be more of an amature hour shit show, she pulls out her phone, turning her flashlight on him. You have no idea what she thinks that’s going to do, and thank god when she puts it away after a minute. She grabs Ricky’s hand, trying multiple times to pull him out of his seat. His heart is pounding, and he can feel himself freezing up. He has no idea what’s happening or why she’s doing this, and he has even less of an idea what he’s supposed to do. 

“I’m… really not at my best right now…” he manages to choke out. She doesn’t listen, and grips his hand, limp in hers. 

“Just look at me, Ricky. Right at me.” She smiles, like that will fix anything. He shouldn’t go up there, he shouldn��t go onstage when he’s like this. He and his dad had a whole conversation about it after intermission. But with everyone staring at him, Nini begins to sing. When she holds out the mic for him to finish the verse, he does, almost on instinct. He can’t leave her hanging, not like this. He panics, and next thing he knows, he’s letting her drag him onstage. He doesn’t know what’s happening, why she’s doing this, but he moves automatically and lets her drag him onstage. 

He’s struggling to keep his voice level, using all his effort to push past the pain, and smile at her. As she finally brings him center stage, taking his shaking hands in hers, he fights with everything inside him to make this work, to make it convincing, and be the finale it was supposed to be. He just has to keep it together for this last number, work through the pain, the ache in his chest and stomach that’s killing him as he stands up there, just for three minutes. As the rest of the cast begins to hit their cues, the energy has never been higher. They’re giving it everything they’ve got to hype him up, give him something to hold onto. He can feel them reaching out to him, singing and dancing their hearts out to lift him up. 

He’s trying so hard to be Troy, to seem convincing, to smile sincerely - not at Nini, but at Gabriella. He holds her hands, beaming, thinking about how badly Troy wants to kiss her. He clings onto this moment, the music, this role like a lifeboat. Troy has a great relationship with both his parents, Troy doesn’t come from a broken home. Troy is okay, he’s never been better, which means that Ricky gets to be okay vicariously through him, just for a little while. Just for a few minutes. He holds onto this catharsis as tightly as he can. He’s not going to let this moment be taken away from him too. The audience is cheering louder than ever as they make their way to the end of the song, incredibly confused at the cast changes and Nini’s actions, but they cheer everyone on - especially Ricky - nonetheless. 

He smiles at her through misty eyes, holding her hands and gazing at her in adoration. ‘This is it,’ Nini thinks, ‘my Ricky has come back to me. It’s always going to be us.’ He caresses her cheek, and looks at her like he really wants to kiss her as they harmonize. She knows he wants to kiss her, he’s always loved her and he’s always going to. They’ve had their ups and downs, but she knows that Ricky will always be hers. She was his first love, his first everything, and that’s what really matters. They have history, and you can’t fake that, you can’t manufacture that. 

The song ends and she drags him into the wings away from you and Seb, shoving his finale costume at him. He fumbles to take off his jacket, desperately trying to stay in motion, to keep moving, keep smiling, keep being Troy. He throws the sparkly white and red tracksuit on over his remaining clothes, and has seconds before he’s going to get dragged back out for the finale of a show he was only able to half participate in. He hates her so much for ruining this for him. He hates Nini for dragging him back up here, for literally putting him in a spotlight in the aftermath of the worst event of his life. He sucks it up, putting on a smile and getting hyped up to sing along to the megamix. 

It takes one look at your face for Seb to know just how bad this is. He can feel the rage, the disbelief radiating off of you, and he has no idea what’s going to happen after this. He thinks it’s nice that Nini tried to include Ricky, but she definitely didn’t go about it the right way. He’s sure you’d feel that’s probably the biggest understatement that could be made about the situation. 

“Are you okay?” he asks quietly, really worried. There’s already been so much drama tonight, he knows your bullshit tolerance is in the negatives right now. You stare at Nina across the stage, watching her whisper something to Kourtney with an expression on her face that infuriates you.

“Not sure yet.” You answer quietly, voice dangerous. Finally, you hear your cue, and you and Seb enter the stage.

He watches you change on a dime, transforming into a sassy, fun, reformed mean girl. You dance with him, and flirt with Zeke effortlessly. He can’t find a trace of your previous rage once you’re past the curtain, singing and dancing as Sharpay. There’s a light, fun, playful energy around you, and it’s infectious, making Seb and Zeke and everyone else around you have even more fun out there. For a moment, he forgets how ugly this is going to get once the lights go down. 

You make your way over to Gabriella, doing a little dance with her, just like you’re supposed to. You flash her a thumbs up, and wink at her supportively when Troy pulls her closer to dance, just like you’ve been practicing at every rehearsal leading up to this moment. Nina smiles at you when you do, interpreting yours and Ricky’s behavior as more than just stage directions. She feels a sense of benevolent camaraderie with you in these fleeting moments. Maybe she will be the bigger person, maybe she will extend her friendship to you, because even though you did try to steal Ricky from her - unsuccessfully at that - fighting over dumb boys is stupid. 

She and Gina run off to pull Miss Jenn onstage so she can deliver her infamous deleted line. It was your idea initially, but you made sure to tell the rest of the cast before tonight so the surprise could be from all of you. The cast and house cheer as she delivers her line, and you can see how much it means to her. You get a minute to dance with Ricky, and make your way over to him as quickly and naturally as possible. You couldn’t seem happier or more care free, but when you speak, your voice is strained. 

“I am so sorry that happened…” you say, barely loud enough for him to hear over the swell of the music and the rhythmic clapping as the audience keeps time. He can see it, the frustration being masked by your energetic, jovial nature. You’re doing the same thing he is, he realizes. You’re using this moment onstage and in character to keep the real world at bay. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt closer to you than he does right now. He wants to say something, he wants to feel horrible - he’s sure it’s justified - but when he looks at you, he can’t 

You’re onstage together at the end of your opening night performance, with a full house clapping and cheering and singing along with you both, with the whole cast. And in this moment, you’re worried about him. You’re worried about him. He’s so overwhelmed by this feeling of being onstage with all his friends, an audience full of people who came here and bought tickets and watched the show and are now cheering them on for this, the penultimate moment of all their hard work and dedication and doubts over the last three months culminating to this. He knows you know this feeling well, that this is the first show you’ve done in so long and how badly you’ve missed it - and you’re still up here, worried about him. 

“There were some… hiccups, but…” he starts, locking eyes with yours, looking at you that way that he does. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt more strongly for you than he does right now. “This is kind of the best, right?” You smile suddenly at his words, relief evident on your face. You feel like you can breathe a little easier knowing he’s doing okay - or at least, better than he was. 

“This is just the tip of the iceberg babe,” you chuckle, nudging him playfully. You’re still livid at that… stunt Nina pulled, that hasn’t slipped your mind. But for now, Ricky is okay. That’s what’s important. You’ll deal with her later, if you get the chance. 

“Just wait till you see what I have picked out for the spring musical!” you both look over at Miss Jenn as she smiles, drawing an excited laugh from you and Ricky. 

Nina looks over, hearing you laughing with Ricky. It makes her stomach sink. She scoffs, figuring it must be platonic. He’s probably just giving you closure, or something. She looks back out into the crowd, and stops dancing as she watches the scout from YAC leave. Her mouth hangs open in disbelief. If she doesn’t get into YAC, the performing arts school of her dreams, what was the point of all this?

After everyone runs forward in groups, then individually to bow in front of the audience, You, Nina, and Ricky are the last to go. He stands between you, lined up with everyone else, holding both your hands as you and all your friends bow as a cast.  He snaps to attention as he hears a certain part of the music, squeezing your hand in warning. Confetti cannons go off from the wings moments later, drawing out a new wave of cheers and applause from the audience. You’re grateful for the warning, and you squeeze his hand back as a thank you. Your heart is warmed that even now, after so many difficult things happening back to back in one night, he still remembered that loud noises can make you jumpy. 

When Nina goes to share a look with Ricky, her smile drops. He’s already looking at you. There’s a certain type of joy in his eye, the kind you can only find amidst the ashes of misery, as he realizes that through everything that happened, he’s still okay. You’re still here. That’s the important part. You’re still right here with him, holding his hand. He made it to bows. Everything is going to be okay. In sharing this eye contact with him, you can’t help but reflect on how pretty he looks in the blue cast of the stage lights as he looks at you that way that makes your stomach twist. 

The curtains begin to draw closed, and you all wave at the audience until they’re out of sight. Sporadic cheers are let out around you as hugs are initiated here and there, and everyone begins flooding to the dressing rooms to get changed. As you make your way to the back, Ashlyn already leading everyone in a very loud, high energy reprise of We’re All in This Together, you squeeze Ricky’s arm. When he looks at you, he seems to be doing exactly as well as you’d expect - okay for now, the massive high from the end of the show keeping him afloat for now, but you know it won’t last forever. 

“I’m gonna go get changed real quick, I’ll say hi to my mom then we can go home, okay?” you say quietly, and he can tell from your tone of voice that you’re here for him, he just needs to hang in there a little longer. 

“Okay,” he says with a shaky breath. He doesn’t really need to get changed since he has his street clothes on under his tracksuit, so after hanging it up in its place, he waits in the hall outside the dressing rooms. A few minutes later, everyone who got changed the fastest are in the halls and on the stairs outside the dressing rooms, talking and congratulating each other before they go to the lobby. There's a silent understanding that you're all waiting just a few more minutes before you have to leave, before you have to acknowledge that the show is over. Big Red runs over to Ricky as soon as he spots him. 

“Are you okay, dude?” he asks quietly, clearly worried about him. Ricky lets out a breathy laugh. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Ricky realizes how stressed he must be, having no idea of anything that was going on until half way through the show. "There’s a lot to fill you in on." Ricky nods his head, and they move to a more secluded area so Ricky can begin catching him up. He goes over the series of events from earlier tonight quickly, trying not to get worked up over all of it again. Soon he's wrapping up his summary of the horrible things that happened in such a short span of time, and his eyes are much less misty than he was worried they'd be. 

"Oh. My. God." Red states, laughing in disbelief that his mother would do something like that. 

"Yeah." Ricky nods, still in shock. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, dude," Red says tentatively, "but that does sound like something she would do; the guilt tripping, mind games, all of it." Ricky can't help but agree. In retrospect, Red does remember her using a lot of language that read as passive aggressive or guilt  tripping. There’s no way they could have picked up on that as kids, but hindsight is 20/20. Ricky loses Red's attention real quick as Ashlyn walks toward her friends, no longer loitering outside the dressing room she shares with you and Nini - and soon, Gina. She holds up a piece of paper from the mystery bouquet she'd been inspecting more closely. 

“We found a card!” she says excitedly. Ricky nudges Red, encouraging him to tell Ashlyn that he was the one to send the flowers. He looks at Ricky, nervous, and gets an encouraging nod. Big Red takes a breath, steadying himself, then stands up and walks towards Ashlyn. 

"Actually…" he starts. He doesn't need to say anything else, watching the realization hit. They walk a few feet away, talking animatedly and seeming to have a good time. More people start to filter out to see their friends and family, and as they dissipate, he realizes he still hasn't seen you since you went to change. He spots Kourtney passing by a few feet away and runs over to her. 

"Hey, uh," he starts carefully. He knows Kourtney hasn't been too fond of him for a while. "Do you know where Nini is?" He knows where Gina and Ashlyn are, and he really just wants to grab you and get out of here without even more drama. Kourtney sucks her teeth, considering how to respond for a moment. She could say something, she always has something to say when it comes to Ricky, but she knows tonight was hard on him. She doesn't know the details, but she's sure the last thing she'd want in his position is more animosity. 

"The scout left, and she's taking it hard. I think she's with her moms, but I don't know for sure." He waits a beat, realizing there's no other shoe that's going to drop, no glares or snarky comments.

"Thanks," he says quietly, before making his way to your dressing room. You're probably just having trouble getting everything back in your bag. He thought you had way over packed when you showed him the huge tote bag you got ready for tech week, but by the end, every 'just in case you had brought had been needed more than once. You really know your way around a theater, he thinks. 

When you first enter your dressing room, all you want to do is get changed and get out. Ashlyn talks a little - mostly to herself - about how excited she is for the next show. You reply as politely as possible, doing everything you can to avoid Nina, ignore her as much as you can. You just have to get changed and get out. You have bigger issues to deal with, bigger fish to fry than to chew her out for what she did back there. 

"Yeah," she replies, a faux chipper tone to her voice "hopefully we won't have as many last minute cast changes tomorrow night," you pause, gripping the empty plastic hanger so hard your knuckles turn white. "But who knows, right?" 

You've tried your best, you really have, but you can't take her bullshit anymore. The hanger snaps in your hands with a loud crack. Ashlyn's eyes widen in surprise, and now out of costume, she makes her way to the door. 

"I'll give you two a minute…"

The cacophony of voices get louder for a moment as she opens the door to leave, then it's quiet again. You turn away from her to tug on your shoes, praying to god she'll just leave it alone, let you get out of here quietly. 

"Sorry," her voice is dripping with a passive aggressive ignorance that grates on your ears. "Did you have something to say to me?" Before she can scoff and drop a yeah, that's what I thought, you turn, looking over your shoulder at her with a stone cold glare. When you speak, your voice is so deadly, so sharp she feels like she's been stung. 

"Count yourself fucking lucky that I don't have time to hang around right now, but I swear to god, Nina, if you pull shit like that again-"

"Wh-" she sputters, "excuse me? Pull what? Including Ricky, and helping him?"

"You think you were helping him?" You repeat, turning to face her. You roll your eyes scoffing. "Wow." She starts to say something, but you cut her off. 

"Look, I don't know why you're here, but some of us actually take this seriously. This actually means something- this matters to some people, and nobody needs you turning it into a little three ring Nina circus, and ruining it for the people who actually want to be here!" Your voice rises as you continue, driving your point home, and refusing to let her interrupt you. By the time you’re done, her mouth is hanging open.

“I don’t care what you do in your free time,” you continue decisively, “I really don’t, but don’t ruin everything for the people who actually give a fuck!” you say, a humorless laugh at the end. You don’t know who’s been coddling her up until now, but you are sure as hell are not going to let someone get away with a stunt like that. It’s clear from her reaction that no one has ever spoken to her like this, and you think it’s long overdue. “That was the most unprofessional load of bullshit I have ever fucking seen! And I’ve been around the rodeo a few times.” 

Nina blinks hard, fighting tears prickling the corners of her eyes. She feels like she’s just been slapped. Her? Unprofessional? Wow. You’re really reaching now. She’s the most professional person at this whole school, she just… She freezes as it hits her in a split second of clarity, that she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. She broke the cardinal rules of theatre; she broke character, went into the audience, broke the immersion. She ruined opening night. You can see the moment of lucidity where she realizes she’s in the wrong, and it’s gone just as fast. 

“You’re one to talk about being a professional.” She spits. You look at her incredulously. Once again you have no idea where she’s going with this. When you don’t react, don’t instantly get it, she continues. 

“You had a Broadway career handed to you on a silver platter, and you threw it away!” she searches your face for shock that she figured out your secret, continuing, “And for what, so you could slum it at some midwestern high school full of amateurs?” 

You figured it was a matter of time before someone found out you’ve done professional theatre before, so if she’s waiting for a reaction from you, she’s not going to get one. The only reason you didn’t tell anyone, the only reason you kept quiet about it is because you didn’t want to come across as cocky or seem like you were bragging. Plus, with how hard things got towards the end, you don’t really want to go around and dig up memories from that time in your life. Besides, you’re not in New York right now, you’re at East High. You’re here with all your friends, finally getting a little piece of normalcy. You’re exactly where you want to be, so why would you waste it living in the past?

Before you can answer, she continues.

“The point is, you need to stay away from Ricky and stop lying to him. Okay?” she demands. Her voice is muffled through the door, but right outside, Ricky hears her loud and clear. He didn’t hear you two before, but now the halls and dressing rooms are mostly empty.

Is she still seriously going on about that? You let out a breath, trying to regain your composure. 

“I really do not have the time to keep having the same conversation with you over and over - or explain to you that you can’t tell people who they can and can’t date!” you exclaim. You’re about to drop it, but there’s one more thing you need to get off your chest. “And for the fucking record, you don’t know jack shit about what else was going on in my life when I left New York. And I don’t owe you an explanation either.” you say coldly. You’ve said your peace, the only thing you need to do is fucking get out of here and find Ricky. 

“I can’t believe I actually used to look up to you!” she exclaims. “Look. It was cute, or whatever, at first, but this little game of yours has gone on for long enough. He’s mine. Now can you leave him alone, please?” she demands. She’s dripping that passive aggression you’re really starting to get sick of. You look at her in the mirror, illuminated with lights. 

“Seriously? You seriously want to do this right now.” You say, exhausted. She either doesn’t hear you or pretends not to as she continues.

“I knew him first! I dated him first, I kissed him first. Everything he’s done with you, he did with me first.” she states. She doesn’t know how else to get it into your head that she was his first everything, and you’re just a rebound or something. What they have isn’t something you can just get over like that.

“You weren’t… every first, Nini.” You both look over at Ricky, and you wonder how long he’s been standing in the doorway, how much he heard. 

“Ricky… what?” she whips around at the sound of his voice. He stares back at her, teary eyed and serious. 

“You weren’t every first.” he repeats. You both look at him in disbelief. Nina furrows her brow. She can’t believe he’s disrespecting their relationship like this. You stare at him, thinking back, reanalyzing your memories. He can’t be saying what you think he’s saying. There’s no way you were his first time. That couldn’t have been his first time. There’s no way that Ricky Bowen was a virgin before he showed up at your house that night, there’s no way that you took his virginity. ‘Oh god, I did, didn’t I?’ you think, remembering the way he looked at you, how nervous and desperate he was. Heat floods to your cheeks. You have no idea what to do with this information.

“How could you say that?” she demands. She was his first crush, his first kiss, his first date, girlfriend, heartbreak. She was all of it. 

“Because it’s true!” he exclaims. “The only first I care about, the only first that matters, is right there.” he gestures to you. 

Oh yeah, no, you definitely did take his virginity. You did not expect this, much less that it would make you feel so… tender? Flattered? Warm and fuzzy maybe? You hold back a flustered laugh. Whatever warm thing it is, you’re sure feeling a lot of it. You stare at the ground, cheeks hot, butterflies fluttering in your stomach as you process this in the back of your mind. The majority of your attention is still on Ricky. You’ve been so worried, but he seems okay, which is a huge relief. He catches your eye, and your stomach twists. He’s looking at you like that again, and you’re sure you must be looking at him the same way. Anyone could see it. You snap back to attention, remembering Nina is still in the room with you. 

“We should get going-” you start quietly, reaching for your bag.

“Stay out of this!” she snaps, and you recoil at the sudden sharpness to her voice. “This is between Ricky and me.”  She turns to him, continuing, “And we are not done talking about this.” 

“Don’t talk to her like that.” He says quickly, more defensive of you after what happened earlier. He walks over to you, standing in between you and her. “Anything you have to say to me, you can say it in front of her.” Even though his voice wavers with emotion for a moment, Nina can tell he’s not backing down on this. She weighs her options. 

“Okay.” she starts, sucking her teeth. “I think she’s manipulating you.”

He lets out a breathy laugh with a bitter edge. He rolls his eyes, looking away for a second.

“That’s… hilarious, coming from you…” he mutters. 

“What? She’s been lying to you this whole time! She’s been doing professional theatre for years, Ricky, she-”

“That’s what this is about?” He realizes. “Oh my god, I already knew that!” he yells. Relief floods him as it clicks that all the bullshit she’s been spewing is nothing he didn’t know about already. She really was just trying to get into his head. “She’s not manipulating me, Nini, she’s there for me! There’s a difference! She actually cares about me - unlike you, and Lynne, and everybody else.” 

“That’s not fair-”

“She’s actually there for me, and she doesn’t just bail when shit gets hard. Not like you’d know anything about that.” he says the last part quieter, but she still hears it. She doesn’t have a comeback, she doesn’t have anything she can say to that. 

“I don’t have to listen to this.” She grabs her bag, brushing past him. Before she leaves, he turns to her, finally saying something he never thought he’d be able to. 

“I’m starting to think I wasn’t the problem in our relationship.” 

She freezes, turning to him slowly, eyes glistening.

“What?”

“You heard me.” he states. 

“You know what?” There’s nothing she can say, no comeback, no way to defend herself. She lets a single tear fall. “Screw you, Ricky.” She leaves quickly, huffing at what he said. He turns to you, still staring at where she left in disbelief. You exhale for what feels like the first time since this confrontation began, then immediately turn your attention back to Ricky. You’re grabbing your stuff as quickly as you can, desperate to finally get out of here, laughing nervously. 

“I can’t believe this night keeps getting worse. Look, we can just go home, we don’t have to go to Denny’s or anything if you don’t want to, I just want to make sure you’re okay, because obviously a lot of-” 

“I love you.” 

It tears from his throat with more raw emotion than you’ve ever heard, stopping you in your tracks. Your eyes widen as his hands come up to hold your face. He wants to kiss you so badly, more than he’s wanted anything, and you can feel it. He keeps going.

“I love you so much, I wanted to say it before. I’ve wanted to say it since that first amazing night we spent together. Ever since you snuck me into your room, and we talked and watched old episodes of cartoons, and you took me in when I needed you, I have loved you. And then you got those little plastic rings when we were running late for rehearsal, because we stopped for coffee and peach scones, and- and we traded colors, I felt like my heart was going to explode.” 

His thumbs caress your cheeks, and it makes you light headed. 

“I wanted to say it when we were dancing at homecoming and you were so beautiful I thought I’d die, I wanted to say it every time we kissed, and every time you laugh so hard your nose scrunches up, I wanted to say it. You made me fall in love with theatre, and this beautiful place, and with you. You love everyone around you so selflessly,” his voice breaks, “please, let me love you. The way you deserve to be loved. Even if you don’t want to say it back-” 

“I love you too.” You can’t help interrupting him, unable to ignore how true they are any longer. He’s stopped dead in his tracks. “I would have said something sooner, but the last thing I wanted was for you to feel pressured, so I… figured I’d follow your lead.” The room is quiet as he tries to get the air back in his lungs. 

“You love me?” he breathes.

“Yeah,” you confirm, nodding, “I do.” 

He takes one look at you, holding you intensely in his gaze, confirming that you really just said that. In one swift motion, he pulls you close to him, dipping you, and finally connects his lips to yours. He kisses you more passionately than anything he’s ever done. He kisses the air out of your lungs, kisses away the little space between you, desperately kissing everything he feels for you onto your lips. You lose yourself for a beautiful moment in that kiss. You’re not sure how long you stay like that, holding each other as close as you can get, with kissing as the only means of expressing the depths of your feelings, but it’s long enough that your lungs burn when you finally pull away. He barely moves his face away from yours as you attempt in sync to catch your breath. 

“Say it again,” he murmurs against your lips. 

“I love you,” you say, soft and sincere, that beautiful smile on your lips where his ache to be again. He reacts instantly to your words, picking you up, and kissing you again and again. You wrap your legs around his waist, giggling in surprise. He sets you on the table in front of the big dressing room mirror where Ashlyn’s character shoes still sit. The mental note to make sure she doesn’t forget them flies out of your mind as Ricky kisses you again and again, mouth open against yours. His lips are all over your face and your neck, turning you into a giggling mess as he holds you tight. He mutters sweet nothings against your skin that turn sensual very quick, but mostly he keeps telling you how much he loves you between kisses, mumbling the three words into your skin over and over. 

“Ricky…” you trail off as he bites your neck playfully, causing you to let out a flustered noise. “We have to go upstairs…” you start to forget what you were saying as he runs his tongue over your skin. “Our parents are waiting!” you laugh, desperately holding onto the train of thought. 

“Let them wait…” he murmurs, “You said we could kiss after the show, and… it’s after.” The flustered look on your face is too much for him, and he presses his lips to yours again, pushing his tongue into your mouth. You feel so good, your skin is so soft and you smell so sweet, and it’s all so much more now that he’s said it, now that you said it back to him. He squeezes your thigh and bites your lip and moans into your mouth, loving every noise you make, every tug of his hair and grab of his shirt. He’s so desperate for you and your touch, he would fuck you right here if he could. He considers it for a moment. 

After eavesdropping too long for her own good, Nina feels a solitary tear roll down her cheek. Ricky’s words ring in her ears. He loves you. He didn’t just say it back, he initiated it. She didn’t stick around too long, just enough for it to hurt. She reaches into her bag, pulling out her songwriting book. She’s sure this will give her plenty to write about, she thinks bitterly. She could probably get a whole album out of it. ‘At least then the pain would be worth something…’ she muses, taking one last look over her shoulder before leaving the dressing rooms - and Ricky - out of her sight.

Eventually, you and Ricky manage to drag yourselves upstairs and greet people in the lobby. Mike finds him quickly, pulling him aside to check on him. He looks back over at you, accepting flowers from your mom and pulling her in for a hug. 

“Yeah,” he says. “I’m okay.” He doesn’t look away from you, and Mike doesn’t miss this. His son is a lot of wonderful things, but he sure wouldn’t describe him as subtle. Ricky watches you as a girl in a pink dress walks up nervously to you with who he presumes is her sister. He’s too far away to hear your conversation over the chatter from people milling about, but your face lights up after she speaks. You pull a hot pink sharpie out of your bag and sign her playbill before handing it back to her. The sight makes his chest squeeze. He didn’t know you were good with kids, but it makes total sense - you’re good with everybody. 

Mike nudges him toward you.

“Go ahead,” he smiles, so Ricky does. 

“Hey,” he starts, pausing when a woman walks up to him, a little girl hiding behind her leg, looking up at Ricky in admiration. 

“Excuse me,” the woman says, getting his attention. “You were fantastic. She really loves High School Musical, and we wanted to know if you’d sign her playbill…” 

The girl looks up at him nervously, and he smiles, letting out a flustered chuckle. He didn’t expect this, he doesn’t even have a pen - but luckily as always you’re right behind him, extending a sharpie his way. 

“Yeah,” he smiles, “sure, of course!” He scribbles his name across the front before handing it back. “What was your favorite part?” he asks. She considers. 

“We’re All in This Together.” she decides, singing out the song title. 

“No way, that’s my favorite song too!” The way her face lights up is something he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget. She jumps excitedly that someone as cool as Troy Bolton has the same favorite song as her before hiding behind her mom’s legs again. The mom thanks him again before picking up her daughter. Ricky turns to you, not even needing to say anything. 

“I know,” you smile, “it’s the best, right?” 

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It is.” Your eyes light up that way they do when you remember something, and you reach into your bag. You pull out Ashlyn’s character shoes - thank god you remembered to bring them out with you - and gesture down the hall to where Ashlyn is talking to some of her friends that came to see the show. 

“I’m gonna give these back to Ashlyn, and I’ll meet you and our parents by the doors in like, two seconds.” He agrees, and you part ways. 

“Thank you!” Ashlyn gasps when you hand her the shoes. “I was looking everywhere for these.” 

She pauses, remembering how tense things got between you and Nini earlier before she left. 

“Was everything okay with…” she trails off, jogging your memory. 

“Oh,” you start, a little unsure of how to answer. “Yeah. Everything’s fine now.” You look off to the side, and she follows your gaze to Ricky. He’s talking to his dad and seems to be doing a lot better now, and you seem to be doing better too. 

As you make your way down the hall and across the lobby you’re stopped by a woman you don’t recognize, but she seems to know you, addressing you by name as she introduces herself. 

“I’m Kalyani Patel, the dean of the Youth Actors Conservatory in Denver. I’ve been following your career for some time, and I have to say, I’m very impressed. You’re incredibly talented and have a lot of notable credits for someone as young as you are. We have one more available place available for the upcoming semester, and we would be thrilled for you to attend.” 

“Thank you so much, Kalyani. I’ve heard a lot about Youth Actors Conservatory, and I’m so honored by your offer, but I’m not planning on switching schools at the moment.” You say as graciously as you can. 

“Of course, I understand.” She smiles. 

“Thank you again for the opportunity, and I hope we can work together in the future.” You smile back, saying goodbye, and making your way over to Ricky and your parents. 

After returning to the dressing rooms to write sad song lyrics and watch herself cry in the mirror, when Nina finally finds her moms in the lobby, she has a piece of good news for once.

“The dean of YAC!” she exclaims. 

“I thought they were full, sweetie.” Carol says. She and Dana had gotten a rejection letter addressed to Nini a few days ago, and were trying to find the right time to break the news. 

“She said a spot opened up,” she beams, “which means I’m going to YAC!” 

Her moms hug her, congratulating her on the good news, and that they’d discuss it in detail at home. Nina looks over to where you and Ricky are standing. He holds your hands in his while you talk quietly. You have no idea that soon she’ll be out of here, and you’ll never see her again. She was on the fence, but after what he said to you, she’s made up her mind. She’s leaving this town, and going somewhere that she’ll be appreciated, somewhere she’s wanted. If that happens to be a boarding school in Colorado, then so be it. ‘Take a good look’, she thinks, ‘because that’s the last you’ll ever see of Nini Salazar-Roberts.’ 

 After more mingling, congratulations, flowers, and playbill signing, you turn to Ricky.

“You ready to go home?” you ask, walking toward your car. He stops, turning to look at you. 

“You know what? No.” he lets out a breathy laugh. “I don’t want to go home. I… want to go to Denny’s! I’m a theatre kid, and I just finished my first show, and it’s like, tradition to go to Denny’s, so I want to!” You smile at his sudden enthusiasm, laughter matching his. 

“Yeah, okay,” you smile, “let’s go!” 

You both walk over to your castmates, who are trying to figure out a carpool to get everyone there before it gets any later. You nudge Ricky.

“So, does anyone need a ride to Denny’s, or should we just meet you there?” he asks. For what feels like the millionth time, everyone erupts into cheers. You know all your friends were worried about him after what happened, and Seb instigates a group hug, that everyone quickly jumps on to. You think it’s important to end the night on a good note like this, spending time with your castmates, cramming into booths and singing obnoxiously in an empty restaurant. It’s sort of a rite of passage, and you’re glad that Ricky’s able to participate, especially after opening night of his first show. 

You sleep over at his place that night. After everything Ricky’s been through, after he seems to finally be okay again, the last thing Mike wants to do is not let him spend time with someone he’s so close to - especially considering what a good influence Mike thinks you are on him. From what Ricky told him, you didn’t instigate any drama tonight, and spent every spare moment off stage trying to help Ricky through what was going on. It’s not the first time you’ve helped Ricky navigate the ups and downs of growing up in the time you’ve known him, so when Ricky asked if you could stay the night, he agreed. While you’re brushing your teeth, Mike pulls Ricky aside to talk. 

“I spoke to Nini’s moms,” he starts, and Ricky braces himself. “They’re going to talk to her, and I said I’d talk to you to make sure these last shows go smoothly, alright? So, no more fights, no arguing, no more of this… reality tv stuff.” 

“Believe me,” Ricky sighs, “I don’t want any more drama. Especially at the expense of the show.” 

“I know,” Mike agrees. “So just… it’s only a few more shows. Try your best to…” he looks for the words.

“Politely avoid each other?” Ricky supplements.

“Exactly.” Mike nods. “Just politely avoid each other for a few more days, and all this will blow over.” 

When he finally reenters his room, he hands you a t shirt to wear. He knows you probably brought pajamas, but he wants to tell you he loves you in as many ways as he can, like wearing his clothes. When you come back in and sit on his bed in his big shirt and your little shorts, he doesn’t think you’ve ever looked more beautiful. 

“Do you want to talk about anything?” you ask tentatively. 

“Not really,” he chuckles. “I feel like I’ve kind of talked it all to death by now.”

“You know what we haven’t talked about?” you ask, a look in your eye that immediately has his attention. “How Nina and EJ - but like, mostly Nina - ruined the finale of the show.” 

“Yeah,” he starts, remembering how stunned he was. “What the fuck was that?” 

You talk shit until you have nothing else to say about it, and soon you’re curled up under the covers together. You’re laughing and talking, and things almost feel normal again. It’s like every bad thing never happened tonight. He doesn’t know how you do it, how you make things feel so okay again, but he holds you tight, clinging onto the feeling. He was going to say it earlier, but he was so distracted by you, by how beautiful you are. 

“I love you.” he says, pressing a kiss to your forehead. He feels you smile against his chest. 

“I love you too, Ricky.” 

You sound so content, so comfortable with him, and he feels like his heart is going to burst. 

“I love you,” he says again, running his fingers along your waist. 

“I love you too,” you giggle sleepily. Every time you think he’s asleep, he says it again, and again, and again. He can’t help himself, he loves the way you blush and giggle, loves how warm you are against him, loves the way you say it back to him. It’s quiet for a little while, but you feel his hands still tracing little shapes into your skin. You glance up at him to find him staring at you  in that way that makes your stomach twist. 

“Close your eyes,” you mutter, drowsy. 

“But I love you.” he replies quietly, and you can hear the smile in his voice. “I love looking at you. I love everything about you.” 

“I love you too,” you answer groggily, and he doesn’t think he’s ever felt better than he does when you say it like that. “But we have a full day of school in the morning, then homework, then another show to perform in, so we have to get at least a little sleep.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, eyes growing heavy as the day catches up to him. “As long as we have time for coffee and peach scones.”

“There is literally always time for coffee and peach scones.” he chuckles at how quickly you respond. You lean up, pressing a kiss to his nose, then snuggle back into his chest. It’s his favorite time of day again, he realizes, where he gets to sleep next to you, and kiss, and cuddle. Except this time, it’s better than it ever has been, because right before you fall asleep, he gets to say it.

“I love you.” he breathes, kissing your forehead.

“‘Love you too.” you mutter, barely awake. Your words reverberate and replay in his mind as he closes his eyes, finally drifting off. He doesn’t know how the next shows are going to go, he doesn't know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about what will happen when the sun rises,  he’s just excited for it to happen with you. He sleeps better than he has in a long time. 

[girll-almightty]

i haven’t seen the entire show so i haven’t checked what everyone is saying about it in fear of getting spoiled.

but does it feel odd to anyone else? the characters, the relationships, the arcs, the dialogues, the situations… they all feel so much more unnatural than before, and the realisticness that it had in the first two seasons was one of my favorite things about the show.

i mean sure, they had dance-offs or musical numbers out of nowhere. but they also had Gina having a weird idea about fake dating EJ which didn’t make sense but it sort of brought some sense of truth to the character, or nini having to write a song that was never gonna end up in the show anyway, or ricky singing bet on it in his room in front of big red and being super cringey and cute at the same time; and they were worried about who played the lead in the musical, not about mrs. darbus’ monologue in high school musical 4. (call me a bitch but the corbin, monique, lucas, etc. situation feels SO UNNECESSARY)

and i understand shows evolve and can’t stay the same forever, but that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of what gave the show relatability. and that was the characters, and their emotions, their personalities, the fact that they weren’t all just a two-dimensional version of what they started as. and definitely not some gen x/millenial writer trying to give them gen z dialogues to make them relatable instead of real life, common people, high school student problems.

i swear to god they were nailing it through seasons 1 - 2. and then everything got so rushed. (they added great stuff tho! like ashlyn’s sexuality’s exploration, and kourtney’s anxiety and being Elsa on the show?! i’m immensely proud of a lot of things they introduced)

it feels like they are trying to kick seb and big red off the show? and they’re making drama with miss jenn and mike just for the sake of it? i don’t know. it’s weird. i miss when i enjoyed the show and didn’t cringe every ten seconds.

maybe i’m a hater. maybe i should go out and get some sunshine, or maybe i’m right, who knows? that’s all i have to say for now, i’ll be back when i finish the show.

[waterisntreal]

I hate how the hsmtmts writers just get me on board with every relationship they come up with

[apocalypto-sane]

TIM, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS?!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?! 😭 Not him scrapping this pairing for the weak one...

[firefly-fez]

Okay, okay, WHO ships Miss Jenn and Ricky’s dad. Like….. I just want to talk. There’s a literal enemies-to-lovers plot between Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzarra, which starts as a rivalry fuelled by the fact that there is exactly one (1) teacher who is just as overly zealous about their extracurricular as you, but then they BOND over working together on their passions??? I mean HOW DO YOU NOT SHIP THAT

[insomniactalks]

Do you think they will do a love triangle between EJ, Gina and Ricky in Season 3 why or why not? I think it’s possible but I don’t want it to happen. I am trying to be hopeful that it won’t happen.

Short answer anon? No. I don't believe the show is gearing up to give us a third season in a row of a love triangle. They have already done that in S1 with EJ/Nini/Ricky and S2 with Nini/Ricky/Gina [love triangle adjacent] and Mike/Jenn/Mazzara. Another love triangle involving the Core 4 characters would be boring and repetitive storytelling. Besides, don't you think Ricky, EJ, and Gina already have a lot on their plates going into next season besides being in a love triangle? Ricky is still dealing with his parents' separation and trying to find happiness again (tho he's looking for it in the wrong places and for the wrong reasons😔). He's just not ready at this point in his character arc by S3 to be in another relationship with anyone. EJ and Gina both have major decisions to make (individually and together) about their futures by summer's end😅. EJ has to decide what comes next for him post-high school. Gina has to decide between moving back in with her mom or staying in SLC. Neither of these characters deserve to be tangled up in another love triangle. There's more important issues for them to tend to. 🤔🤷🏽‍♀️

[sarcasticsunshine123]

ehehe I wrote down my thoughts for the caswen secret relationship au that I was blathering about in the tags on one of my incorrect quotes I am. so sorry you have to see this <33

so,,,, basically ricky and ej get together but they decide they don't really want everyone knowing about it just yet, and that's how the Secret Relationship starts.

ashlyn was the first person they told

it was only a week into their relationship but ej knew he needed someone to talk too and he wasn't used to keeping secrets from ashlyn anyway

(she totally knew something was up, ej would start a sentence and then stop and change the subject too often for him to actually have 'forgotten what he was saying')

they would've told big red at the same time but ricky got too nervous and it took him little longer

(ashlyns reaction definitely helped)

((also I imagine big red trying to keep the secret to be something like charles in b99 after rosa told him she was bi))

the next person they told was nini

it was a bit more awkward but they thought she should know separately since it was her ex-boyfriends dating

she took it as well as anyone could and promised to keep it a secret

gina figured it out

she's close friends with both the boys so of course she noticed

(that's what she told ricky and ej but the truth of the matter was she noticed nini acting different and looking at them a lot which led to her also paying more attention and maybe seeing them kiss once)

mike walked in on them kissing

it was really awkward and ricky never wanted to think about it again

(mike thought it was hilarious but made sure to let ricky know that he was happy for him- in the most embarrassing way possible of course, ricky wouldn't say but he was secretly really happy his dad was okay with it)

this leads to ricky having to tell lynne

it happened over text and was somehow even more awkward than with mike, she tried to do the same embarrassing but proud routine but it didn't really come across the same

ricky was happy she tried though and that's all that really matters

ej hadn't meant to tell kourtney

and maybe if he hadn't grown so used to calling ricky his boyfriend as much as possible since they got together it wouldn't have

(it was one of his favourite things now that they were dating, up there with the kissing and the cuddling and the dates and okay, there might not be anything ej didn't like about him and ricky finally dating,,,, but this was still pretty far up there)

it just turned out that saying it as often as he did mean it just sort of... slipped out

kourtney wasn't really sure what to do with it but she smiled and moved on without bringing it up again so they were thankful to her for that

carlos found out next, he asked them straight (🏳️‍🌈?) up what was going on between the two of them

of course, he never would have guessed that they were dating but he had been worried that they were fighting again

this is mainly because of how often they looked at each other and how weird they acted when they had to work together (which was actually because they wanted to hold hands but had to keep reminding themselves that they were a. not out and b. playing their roles)

they end up telling him because he seemed genuinely worried

they also agreed he could tell seb if he believed that he could keep it a secret

(this is way longer than I expected I haven't even got to the part I wanted too djfjd)

no one was really sure if miss jenn knew or not but one time she made a comment and at least 3 of their friends were jumping in with excuses and the others were all suddenly extremely interested in their phones

it was then (and only then) that ricky and ej realised that they had already kind of told everyone in their friendship group

only problem now was that everyone they told didn't know that everyone else knew

this meant they had to somehow let everyone know that everyone knew

so obviously they just started kissing at a party and left it there

(everyone tried to act shocked but soon it was just everyone doing the pointing spiderman meme and trying to figure out who knew last)

this is Much longer longer than I had expected,,,,, if you're still with me then you deserve an award skdjs

[sunset-bobby]

you know what imma say it....I think we’re being too hard on Ricky

obviously, he is having a hard time adjusting to change, and while he’s still trying to figure out the first thing (his mom moving and divorcing his dad) everyone else is still changing too

but instead of trying to catch up he’s trying to make it stop, but not doing anything

he tried to keep his relationship with nini the same because it’s familiar

he talks to gina about nini because he counts that as them having conversations like they did before not noticing the topic is obviously hurting her

he wants nini to be in the play because it reminds him of last semester when he had finally adjusted only for things to change again

and i think the reason we’re being too hard on him is because none of the people around him, are truly talking to him, so he’s not gonna be able to adjust or fix his mistakes because he’s so focus on trying to stop/slow down the changes, and no one is telling him “hey man, you’re hurting a lot of people”

I just think we can’t just sit here and shit on ricky when no one except miss jenn last episode has made an effort to talk too him and have like a genuine conversation....rather than hoping he’ll figure it out himself and being upset cause he isn’t

[queenlizzie-xo]

WHOOP now that Mike is out of the way (bless him) JENNZZARA CAN THRIVE 💅

[rinisbowen]

Anonymous asked:

Hi! What do you think is going to be the arc of each main couple (or possible one) in season 3??

(i accidentally prematurely posted this ask, so i’m gonna post it like this as a text post. oops...)

--

oh gosh... arcs for the main couples / possible main couples in season 3 is... a TALL order haha.

i will say this- i truly don't know with any actual certainty what disney has planned for us. i'd feel a lot more able to speculate on what might be a focus for particular characters than i am for the ships solely because i think that's very much up to a lot of different circumstances that might befall them.

(all of the discussed ships are in the tags in my usual tag format. just like- i always try to not spell out ship names unless it’s 100% positive content to keep searches clean for people. also if i’ve missed a ship in this post, someone please let me know. i tried my best.)

i need to put this under a read more bc it's excessively long, but for those who dare, here is my like- ideas of possible things... more than actual predictions. because like i said, i don't know what's going to happen. i don't think we're going to really know much of anything in this regard until we get the actual episodes. (besides what can be gleaned from the trailer, but that can also be misleading)

--

returning characters:

howie is someone who i just don't know why they'd put such an emphasis on resolving his and kourtney's issues with in the finale if they weren't bringing him back, but also he's a character that i feel like doesn't need to come back necessarily. it’d be odd to just have him cease to exist, but i don’t see it as out of the question. 

it's just complicated bc some of these potential ship arcs really do depend on whether or not the other half of them is coming to camp or not.

i think characters like big red, seb, and mazzarra, will probably be in the season regardless of whether they come to camp. for mazzarra, it makes way more sense that this man wouldn't be at a theatre camp. i'm honestly still confused at how miss jenn will be operating at a professional theatre camp in california, but i'm going to just assume that maybe she needs a summer job bc she's canonically not doing well for herself financially, or that the kids for whatever reason register with the group and they need a chaperone or something. for big big red helping his family at the pizza shop, and seb helping his family at the farm, it's easy enough to justify them not going.

but whether they're at camp does help to determine where they take their respective ships. not because i think them not going means that the ship is over, or that i think them going to camp means they absolutely won't break them up, but it's a lot harder to fight and reconcile within a limited time frame if they're not around each other a lot.

extra caveat: 

i do want to note that ships where neither member is in the core four characters aren’t likely to carry the weight of any stronger portions of the show’s major relationship conflicts, so unless things get reshuffled in that sense (which other than maybe nini if they’re getting ready to phase her out for season 4 seems highly unlikely), it’s likely that ej and gina and ricky and lily (and possibly nini depending on how they execute this whole ordeal), are going to bear the majority of the burden for the “drama” again this season. 

it’s not that i think all the ships won’t have issues, they all did in season 2 and i’d expect that to continue, it’s just that my considerations i explain them here don’t mean that i think it’s a) what necessarily will happen, or b) that it’ll be as necessarily thorough as i’m laying it out. 

seb and carlos:

this is something that could be interesting for this season. regardless of whether seb comes to camp or doesn't, i think it's important for us all to note that the season long conflict seblos had wasn't ever entirely resolved... i know the easiest thing would be to just say well in a heartbeat did just represent them fixing all their issues, and it's possible that the writers do just go that route and say that all is in fact well between them, but i don't think it's over. i think in season 3, they could very well play with both bigger aspects of the seblos conflict.

if seb is staying home to work on the farm, it's kind of a perfect way for them to continue the money plotline that was particularly not addressed. if carlos nonchalantly says oh my family can pay/could've paid for you to come too it's not that big of a deal... just like they were going to pay for seb to come on that vacation, and seb has to tell him it's not just about that part, it could be a really good extension of something that for me just- didn't feel wrapped up. (what i mean here is that it’s not just the cost of the camp, but the cost of not having seb’s labor around the farm, plus the fact that while seb wants to spend time with carlos, seb potentially doesn’t want to leave the farm.)

regardless of seb coming to camp or not though, i think the insecurities about not having other options would be the other big part of the seblos conflict that could come up. this is a summer camp in a whole other state. there will probably be at least one other guy who 'watches drag race canada' as big red/ashlyn put it. (as a side note if disney could remember to just say the word gay that would be great.) it could give carlos an opportunity to actually choose seb, even in the presence of other options. 

i don’t expect a huge seblos conflict this season, because it’s just- not how the show is set up, and i do anticipate (unless joe’s leaving after season 3), seb and carlos to stay together, but i did want to lay this stuff out because i think if they’re getting a broader conflict it’d make the most sense for it to be one of the two bigger ones that they already have. 

big red and ashlyn:

gosh i wish we knew definitively what was going on with the unconfirmed regulars, bc that would definitely help here. but- i think something they could do with big red and ashlyn is just like- continuing learning how they work together and things. building them up more as a couple because they don’t face a ton of external strains. their issues are mostly internal. i don’t know if the thing i’m talking about here specifically will come up in season 3 bc it would be a bit repetitive, but it’s something i wanted to discuss. 

i think the main issue for big red and ashlyn (as individuals but also in their relationship) is not feeling “enough” in some way or another. i went on a ramble that i deleted about their 2.08 storyline bc- it’s way too much to get into on this post, but maybe another day haha. for this post, i’m just going to say that the being enough thing is probably going to be where their continued issue comes into play.

big red faced not feeling like he was enough for ashlyn in 2.03 with the belle thing, and again sorta in 2.08 with the career day thing. they could do something with that again in season 3. i don’t know that they will, bc it’s been twice now and they kinda did put it to bed both times, but- insecurity is often a hard pill to swallow, so maybe it comes up again. ashlyn not feeling like enough is a repeating theme for her... in season 2 she questions herself as belle a good number of times. so they both have that kind of motif going. that makes it a compelling argument for something to play with that in season 3. 

kourtney and howie:

for the sake of this post, i’m going to operate on the assumption that he will be in the season and at the summer camp. if they’re going to use the harness to break up ricky and lily (which i don’t think is a given, but i’d see it as quite plausible), i think that it’s going to come back to bite howie and kourtney’s relationship as well. personally, at this point i’m of the mind that zackey roy is responsible for the plan of the harness theft because he was the one who took the beast mask, and lily and howie (and antoine since we don’t ever see him in the audience, but he was at the show) carried it out on his request. 

i think howie likely was the one who grabbed the harness backstage bc he’s the only one the ehs kids would trust backstage. also this boy was just WAY too suspicious in the hallway for him to merely be caught off guard by kourtney’s being talented. i think the “i was blown away” line from 2.12 can still be true, but i also definitely think he was helping with the harness theft. i can get into details on that another day. 

now on to my actual explanation of what i think is likely to happen between howie and kourtney for season 3. if the harness reveal comes out, i think the most likely answer as to how, is probably howie owning up about it because he feels guilty lying to his girlfriend. kourtney of course feels betrayed again, so this would probably drive a wedge between them, but i think that’s resolved easily enough because it wasn’t like it was his idea to steal it in the first place. (bc zack’s of course not coming back, they might put it all on lily, but i stand by my argument it was zack’s idea.) either way, the blame won’t fall on howie for it regardless of his involvement. he and kourtney have dealt with the fallout of his betraying her trust before, and that’s led to them resolving their issues as well. 

i don’t have a reason to suspect that won’t happen this time too, beyond the possibility of them writing howie out of a season 4 if they get one. if he’s not returning, they will both end the season single more likely than not. if he is, i’m sure they’re going to be happy as ever by the end. regardless of the harness conflict coming up in season 3 or not, i think the issue with kourtney and howie is probably one of trust. she wants to trust him, but she has a hard time, and kourtney’s not someone to ask for any less than she deserves. i think if kourtney and howie encounter any further bumps in the road, it will follow that same type of path as last season with a trust thing of some kind. maybe they’d do something with the ‘intimidation’ aspect from the finale? i don’t know, but i do know i think kourtney’s not the type to let anyone stop her from shooting for her full potential, and she won’t want to feel held back either. 

the miss jenn triangle:

this is probably more than likely going to go in the direction of miss jenn and mr. mazarra unless they’re writing him out after season 3 bc of cal tech. it’s not that i think miss jenn and ricky’s dad aren’t likely to give it another chance potentially, i think ricky giving her his blessing is important for ricky’s character growth, but it also just is something that only ended out of care for ricky which means that they were still interested when it ended which makes it not such a clean break. 

i think unless mr. mazarra leaves for cal tech permanently, he and miss jenn are probably the most likely scenario for the end of the season. i think they’re going to have to deal with the cal tech thing as a big part of their conflict, and then the other is with miss jenn puzzling over how she even feels bc she’s still likely going to be torn between her two suitors. she has some nice moments with mr. mazarra, post 2.06 especially, but she’s definitely still into mike at the end there as well, and given ricky’s down now for that (to the greatest extent he can be anyway), i think she’s going to be likely to want to give that another shot.

gina and ej:

the biggest conflicts for them will imo probably be related to college and val (i consider those one thing for the sake of this post), and then the experience issue. 

ej and gina are in/going into different life stages as he enters college and she has two more years of high school remaining. that’s not something the show seems bothered by at all, so i always try not to use it against them in my analysis necessarily, but it has to create an issue somewhere, particularly if they’re making a point of bringing in a college girl. like- if they don’t touch on it, that’s probably going to bother me.

val is described as a college student and a counselor in training, so my best guess is that she’s probably the year right above ej if she’s not potentially even in his same year. i have two thoughts here. the first being that ej doesn’t know what his future holds as far as college and that sort of thing, because he made a non-decision decision about college in season 2. his actual arc about his future never got resolved, so i think having someone around who is in college will be the perfect way to get that story straightened out. i know that’s more an ej arc thing than a portwell arc thing, but it’s important to this relationship that ej be in proximity to gina. 

i discussed this in another ask, but i think right now, gina would be unwilling to deal with long distance in a relationship. she’s not there yet. but she also doesn’t want to let go of ej. so the fact that his college stuff is so up in the air at the moment will be something that affects their plot arc in terms of their relationship, beyond it just being an ej thing. 

this also (presumably) being the summer camp where ej and nini hit it off, means that it’s important that val’s described as being a “long time camper”, because that means that she and ej have probably known each other a couple of summers at least, if not even longer than that. she’s going to be a fantastic way to touch at gina’s potential insecurities in this relationship, and her being a dancer (and choreographing the show) is also going to pick at gina as well more than likely on top of the whole age and time thing val should bring in. plus of course there’s the carlos factor of him feeling robbed from this thing (choreographing) that was his. (but this post is about ships)

gina’s probably going to become very aware of the fact ej’s had a good deal of relationship experience, and while i don’t doubt she’ll likely be quite excited to share some of these firsts with ej (like she was her first kiss), i think the fact it’s not exactly shared in that same way might weigh on her a bit. his being older adds to that as well even beyond the way he’s presented, and i think if val is seen by gina (even if not actually by ej) as a potential romantic interest for him, i think that age part is going to come in harder. i lowkey would not be entirely shocked if val was perhaps ej’s first kiss or he hers if they really want to play with that aspect. (again, i don’t necessarily expect val to be like- an actual legitimate romantic interest for ej, if it’s a thing i’d anticipate it being more of a omg we were literal children isn’t that so funny thing. for me, val would only pose a chance of being a legitimate romance for ej if ej’s not returning for a fourth season. and even then...)

that said, none of this is to say whether or not they’re going to make it out together. they may quite well make it through the whole of the season. i don’t know what the plan is. i just think there’s a decent likelihood they carry a substantial amount of the couple drama this season. if this is like the more secondary ships on the show, they’re gonna make it out just fine. i think people either understate or overstate their probabilities on here a lot, but what i’m willing to say is, if they think this is their final season, this couple is almost decidedly going to end the season together for closure’s sake. they could have a ‘none of that matters’ type of scene, and it’ll be just fine. 

it’s likely in my mind that if they’re so willing to brush over the concerns in 2.10, they’ll do the same in season 3, but just make them actually face concerns instead of just like ‘oh no it’s not about that’. it’s silly for the show to just say lol no that’s not a problem about every possible issue. they could very well just come out stronger for addressing them. if they break up i don’t really think it’ll be bc ej ‘chooses val’ or anything like that. if they break up it’ll be because gina’s decided to take herself out of the equation more than likely. they’ll be friends. it won’t be an easy decision, but they’ll decide it’s the right one. that way the door is still propped open, but the book is shut. we’ll see. i think there’s decent odds going in either direction, and i think part of it depends on whether they anticipate an additional season, and what they anticipate the size of ej’s role to be in an additional season. 

ricky and gina:

putting these two couplings back to back is maybe odd, but they’re in direct contention for people so i figure it’s easier. 

the biggest thing for ricky and gina in season 3 is rebuilding their friendship, because that’s just a part of their positions in the broader group and then as members of the main four. the other big thing is then also deciding once and for all if this is going to have romantic potential moving forward. imo, we will know in the season finale for a fact if ricky and gina are over as a romantic thing or not. 

i think the priority will be making them friends again, even if only in the proximal sense. gina arguably was putting distance between herself and ricky in the latter part of season 2, and i think they’re probably going to start making up for that decently early on in the season (but of course this also depends on what they do with ricky and lily, because if he’s nonchalantly bringing her around the ehs kids... i say good luck with that.) by mid-season, they’ll likely be interacting more regularly. 

if gina and ej are broken up in the last few episodes of the season (for a non-ricky reason, because that’s very crucial to this being a good decision for the writing of this show. we ALL know that ej losing another girl to ricky because they’re still into him is... not exactly kind to ej’s character arc), and then ricky and gina have a sweet moment in the finale, season 4 would then be ricky and gina’s season to get together. 

this wouldn’t be an explicitly romantic scene, i don’t think they can give them anything this season that is explicitly romantic. if it’s in the cards, it’ll all be about the stares. the missing each other aspect that we really didn’t see in 2b... and tbh should’ve gotten in 2b if they wanted us to anticipate these two picking up again romantically but that’s a personal opinion. and if it happens... it’s going to have to start on ricky’s side of things. that’s where it gets extra complicated. the show is going to have to prove that ricky genuinely likes gina and that it’s not another season 1 situation. it has to be him that does the longing first. i don’t think even if gina decides she’s not over him, that she’s going to be willing to put herself out there again for him, even in the case that she and ej are 100% over. 

i just don’t know. in the same way i don’t know if ej and gina are 100% making it out of this season together, i don’t know if they plan on putting ricky and gina in a place to get together properly. only time will tell. 

can y’all tell i’m pretty indifferent to who gina ends up with? i really just- we’ll see. as long as they’re all happy i don’t care. 

ricky and lily:

this is... a complicated one. i’ve given them three episodes in the past, i’ve thought about it more and considered that it could be likely to be about half the season, if not maybe even a bit longer... i don’t know. i genuinely just don’t know how they’re planning on handling this relationship. she’s definitely his rebound, no one can deny that, but he’s also genuinely trying this time vs. the half hearted effort in season 1. we’ll see what difference that makes. 

i’ve talked about this before, but i genuinely think both characters will be able to get something really good out of this. i don’t claim it’ll be some sort of panacea for lily by any means, but i do legitimately think being with ricky is going to help her quite a bit. there’s several ways they can execute this. one is the like- “i’m not willing to really do this until you can show me you’re the person i see you can be”, another is the “maybe let’s keep this between us for now? so they can start to see what i see”, and the third option is ricky shamelessly trying this out for himself because well- he’s in rebound mode and he’s just here to try his best to enjoy it.

obviously it’s vastly more complicated than that, but well... those are probably the three more likely scenarios.

i don’t know like- the first is how i’ve seen people compare them to simbar from soy luna. like ricky kinda starts getting to know lily properly, but he’s not genuinely giving this a shot romantically until he sees she genuinely is being the good person he sees within her. the ‘i don’t think she’s as mean as we thought’ or whatever the line is in 2.11. this is the option that i think is probably the kindest on ricky’s character arc. i don’t know if they’re willing to be this nice to him tbh. but we’ll see. this is the version of their story that has their arc last the longest. because we’ll have to wait a while to see them even try it romantically. it would make sense given the little “loyal to the last” comment from the hallway conversation in 2.11 for him to wait. this is probably the least messy version of the story.

the second is the tropey delight which is secret dating. or “dating” more likely. i don’t think this is going straight from wow i’m calling you after your awkward confession to now we hold hands and stuff regardless of what route they take it. before it ends, they probably will be properly like- together... but most couples on this show sorta have to establish the relationship in some way. i expect theirs to be the same in that sense. but yeah secret dating... it’s not an unlikely idea, given his little “i’m learning that loyalty can be... complicated” when he and lily see his dad and miss jenn flirting in the hall in 2.11 after she describes him as loyal. maybe his loyalty in season 3 will be complicated in this way, extending past an outright sort of ‘flaunting’ but a betrayal that’s been hidden as well. it adds another layer to the hurt when it comes out. (like the howie reveal in 2.07.)

the third is probably the messiest option. because i mean- yes, ricky is clearly in his rebound era. whether he does it meaningfully this time is what actually matters. i do think lily’s bound to get him out of his rebound era with this relationship of theirs, but him like- oh so casually bringing her around and such just- it isn’t likely going to go over well for anyone involved. could it be fun? sure. will it be positive for his character development? absolutely not. this one has him facing rejection by his friends much earlier on in the plot, and while that means the reconciliation there can happen earlier as well, it’s still not gonna be pretty. they all already don’t like lily. him ‘flaunting’ their new little situation isn’t going to give him any favorable attention. he doesn’t even have to do it intentionally, people are still gonna be angry with him for just existing with her around the others. it’s how this goes. 

or no, the most messy version of the story is the ‘i can make him worse’ version. like “i could fix him” / “i could make him worse” thing? y’all know what i’m talking about. lily makes ricky into a more negative character instead of him improving her. i do not want to have to watch this. it’d be such a waste when they really could help one another, and especially lily could really help him with the family stuff (especially if miss jenn doesn’t immediately choose mazarra the way i suspect she won’t). if lily is solely an “agent of chaos”, i think it’s a waste of the extra characterization they’ve built for her in the back portion of season 2. she will absolutely still be messy in season 3, but i truly don’t think she has to actively act to hurt ricky’s character herself. her proximity will do that alone through the betrayal of sorts he commits against his friends by being with her. plus the harness. if they’re doing the harness thing that’s harm enough on him. 

i really do think lily could be good for ricky, i have an ask answered about it, but i don’t think this arc, regardless of how they handle it, is going to be good for ricky in the sense of his friendships. he’s going to be left alone for a bit, and not in a positive way. bc he’s going to end things with her, and then his friends are more than likely still going to be mad that he did it in the first place. even if he ends it solely out of loyalty to them, the same loyalty he acts on when he rejects her offer for pizza in the hallway in 2.11. (and then he calls her of course bc he tells miss jenn ‘no one should be able to tell anyone who they can or can’t take a chance on’ or whatever that line is in 2.12.) it’s not likely to end well. just saying. that’s the thing i hate about this situation the most is that more than likely it’s just almost certainly going to lead to him suffering more in the end. 

ricky and nini:

to tell you the truth i’m of a few different mindsets for these two... (but i mean that’s true about most of these couples as well). the biggest thing for ricky and nini in season 3 is that they can’t just ignore the fact these two were childhood friends and such, they’re friends before they’re a couple, and i think that’ll be a good thing to use now that the romantic end of things is closed for the moment, like it would be odd if they just downright stopped speaking after the 2.12 card scene in the dressing room gave that transitional moment for them. imo if there’s anything with even the implication of romance between them it has to start on nini’s end (this part is non-negotiable for me ngl), and if something is occurring, it has to fall on the last episode or the penultimate one if they’re gonna draw out the fallout for it. (imo they’ll wait for a final season to give them the implication of maybe having something between them again, because of the space i think there needs to be plot-wise for both of their character arcs, but it’s yet to be seen. i don’t think they’re going to be in a relationship on screen necessarily before the show ends, but i don’t think they’re quite done with each other) 

if something happens between these two romantically in season 3, i think it’ll be more thoughts then actions. (or actions with no clear romantic intent, but maybe undertones. like- an it’s technically a friendly gesture but it reminds me why i love(d) you type thing perhaps?). i just can’t see anything beyond just the kind of lingering looks and possible jealousy and maybe some kind of kind gesture from maybe ricky’s side, maybe nini’s... but the biggest thing for me this season for the two of them is that they’re shown being friends. 

i don’t think we can quite rule them out for a romantic plot in general for the show, particularly bc they broke up while definitely still loving each other, but... for the time being they both have their own plots i’d anticipate their focus going towards. if there’s anything between them we’ll see it in some possible jealousy on nini’s part watching him with lily i’d bet, particularly since he’s having this summer romance she had with ej in this place the previous year, but the main thing will be that their friendship shouldn’t just disappear entirely this season. it’ll frustrate me a great deal if it does. i just want it to be shown that they are friends who care about one another, bc that doesn’t just go away post-breakup.

i’m talking a good deal about what the romantic potential is for them in season 3 bc this post is about ‘relationships’, but again, i don’t anticipate anything actually happening for them that is explicitly romantic. i don’t think it’s the right time for them, because while tim said we didn’t see the treehouse get torn down, the book is closed right now. and closed with good reason. they both have other plotlines for season 3 that aren’t inherently incompatible with their romantic reconciliation, but would be for the way nini’s growth has always been written. ricky’s not over her, but he’s trying to be. we’ll have to see how much success he has. and how much she has to be fair. i don’t expect much of a romantic plot for nini this season (if any at all), but i think that’s for the better for allowing her to actually let her character growth stick. 

ricky has to learn not to need her, nini already knew that in the latter part of season 1. when nini gets back together with him in 1.10, the idea was that she didn’t need him anymore, but she still wanted him, i think he needs to get to that same place before there’s any real possibility between them. like the goal for him (in any relationship he finds himself in as the show progresses) is that you want to be with her, you don’t need to be with her. she can be his calm amongst the storm, but she can’t be his safety blanket.

-

for a quick side tangent, using camp rock songs in the one season where it makes no sense for ricky and nini to have a real romantic plot is sort of a waste to me considering the fact that the connection between music and love is genuinely their thing, there’s a reason they sing “you are the music in me”, it’s one of their tethers. imo trying to give that sort of metaphor to another couple if they use a song like “gotta find you” for narrative- singing about someone being “the song inside of me”, and “you're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing” is just not going to work as well for any of the other couples on this show when it’s a hallmark of ricky and nini’s relationship that songs (and songwriting) are super meaningful to their relationship. i’m completely blanking rn but there’s honestly a good few songs in camp rock (both movies) which use that tie-in, not just “gotta find you”. 

[clarkeysbog]

the vanishing of will byers (hsmtmts x stranger things crossover au chapters)

series masterlist

chapter 1 💜

chapter 2 💜

chapter 3 💜

chapter 4 💜

chapter 5 💜

chapter 6 💜

chapter 7 💜

taglist - @rickysring @satanicalwriter @project-abandc @ghostineleven

[hopefulshipper]

[imogensheaneyy]

hand in hand ; portwell

summary: ej realises that ricky bowen isn't the great guy people think he is, and gina realises that, maybe, miss jenn isn't as fair as she thinks she is. but they don’t say anything, until they do

or: the four times ej and gina stayed quiet and the one time they didn't

pairing: gina porter x ej caswell

word count: 5.1k

warnings: anti ricky bowen, anti miss jenn, anti nini salazar-roberts, arguing

notes: this is not miss jenn, ricky bowen, or nini salazar-roberts friendly so you've been warned. some characters aren’t in character. this is also the first thing i’ve written that isn’t a reader insert so let me know how it went.

read on ao3

ONE

set in episode five

EJ liked to think that he and Ricky Bowen were somewhat friends, he certainly didn’t want to throttle him and he didn’t feel an intense amount of anger or disgust whenever he saw his face. Although, maybe that was more to do with the fact that he didn’t have feelings for Nini anymore, now that Ricky wasn’t trying to steal his girlfriend, maybe he wasn’t that bad.

Or maybe EJ was kidding himself because nothing Ricky had done last semester in his attempt to win Nini back enraged EJ as much as what he was currently hearing. To not notice Gina's (in EJ’s opinion, misguided) feelings for the boy, you’d have to be an idiot and only have one or two brain cells handy but he should’ve known not to underestimate Ricky Bowen.

He had finished up all the interviews for the night, after Miss Jenn finally pulled herself together, and saved the footage, ready to edit it for Carlos when he got home. He watched Miss Jenn dance with Mike Bowen, Ricky’s Dad and couldn’t help but glance at Mazzara’s reaction to the sight. EJ wasn’t an idiot, he had caught the longing stares his teacher had sent towards his colleague. 

He had officially finished for the night so he had wandered off, looking for Gina when he finally heard them. 

“Do you think it’s a crazy idea if I talk to Miss Jenn about getting Nini into the show somehow?” he heard Ricky ask and he had to take a minute to process his words. Gina hadn’t outright told him about her feelings for Ricky but he knew, and he had shocked himself with how protective he was suddenly feeling of Gina, considering that she had only been his cousin’s friend and roommate until recently. Now, he wasn’t quite sure who she was to him, just that what he was hearing was making him want to cause Ricky Bowen an unimaginable amount of pain. 

EJ poked his head around the corner, making sure he couldn’t be seen by the pair, and watched Gina take a deep breath and cross her arms over her chest. How could one boy be so dense? Ricky Bowen was slowly working his way back up to the most hated person in EJ’s life (a title which was currently held by whoever decided that Steve Rogers’ ending was acceptable, EJ has some strong feelings about that). 

“Does Nini want that?” he heard her ask. It hadn’t taken EJ long to notice that he and Gina weren’t that different, even now, he could practically see her compartmentalizing her emotions, trying to keep herself together for the sake of everyone else around her. From what EJ knew, Ricky had all but abandoned their friendship when he got back together with Nini and Gina had found out she was staying, only to run to her whenever he needed relationship advice. He could, reluctantly, admit that he used to be a jerk but he hoped that he never made a girl feel as bad as he knew Gina was feeling in his presence. 

“I-I think she feels weird about it,” Ricky stammered, clearly desperate to hear some sort of validation on his idea.

EJ watched as Gina answered, he could practically see the tension in her shoulders as she tried to be as polite as she could. “Maybe you should make sure Nini’s cool with it before you-”

“I mean, would you be cool with it? Theoretically, if we were dating, but for, like, a good reason, wouldn’t you be flattered.” The. Absolute. Fucking. Nerve. EJ didn’t know how Gina managed to have a conversation with him and not scream. 

“Yeah, Ricky, I’d be flattered,” How could this guy not see the look on her face, newsflash, buddy, that is not the face of someone who is comfortable with the current topic of conversation. It took everything in him not to run over and knock him to the ground. He wasn’t sure when exactly he had become so protective of Gina but he had and he’d be damned if he let Ricky Bowen, of all people, hurt and use her like this.

“Okay, cool, you’re the best.”

“But we’re aren’t.” Gina snapped as Ricky walked away and EJ had to fight every urge not to applaud and jump for joy. 

“Sorry?” 

“We aren’t dating.” She reiterated, annoyance clear in her voice.

“Obviously.” Ricky chuckled, walking back towards her. 

“So,” Gina spoke as if talking to a child. “Maybe there are better people to confide in about Nini.” EJ’s blood was boiling, how was this guy so blind? How could you look at a girl like Gina and not feel anything? How could you use her as your own personal relationship counselor? As infatuated with Nini as he was last year, EJ could admit that she didn’t hold a candle to Gina Porter. 

“Yeah, no, i just-” He heard Ricky try to explain. 

“No, it’s fine, I know what you meant, I'm just saying, tonight’s about Carlos, and I want to go out big.” She said, walking away not long after, leaving Ricky standing there, contemplating her words.

He was going to say something, he had to say something, how could he not. She’s his friend, he can’t let someone think that they can just walk all over her. Just as EJ was about to make his presence known and speak up, Ricky had turned and walked back towards Nini, a confused look on his face. EJ watched as Ricky sat down, frowning until Nini pulled his attention towards an awkward Big Red who was apparently on a mission to make Ashlyn laugh. 

He was going to say something. Sooner or later, EJ was going to say something, no one was allowed to do this to his- Gina, no one was allowed to treat Gina that way. 

TWO

set after episode five

Gina respected Miss Jenn, she really did but when Miss Jenn announced that she was thinking about switching around the casting for Beauty and the Beast, she wasn’t sure how to feel. Would she like to play a bigger part than babette, sure, but she couldn’t fathom the idea that Ashlyn wouldn’t get to play Belle. She knew why Miss Jenn was doing this, everyone did - Nini was back. Miss Jenn didn’t attempt to hide her favouritism in the slightest, whatever Nini wanted, Nini got. Gina dreaded to think what Nini would be like when they were older, if you grow up getting everything you want, you’re going to expect that all the time. Gina chuckled to herself, she was in for a rude awakening. 

When Gina walked into rehearsal that morning, arm in arm with Ashlyn, the first thing she noticed was the look of glee and anticipation permanently etched onto Ricky's face and the thinly veiled excitement on Nini's - that wasn’t a good sign, although Ricky's ideas hardly ever were.

Gina was all too aware that she and Nini were never destined to be great friends, certainly not after last year,  but was it too much to hope that Nini cared about Ashlyn more than she did about being the centre of attention, although part of her knew her hopes were too high. 

And, sure enough, as soon as everyone had sat down, Miss Jenn shot Ashlyn a sympathetic smile. “Ashlyn, sweetie,” She began, and Gina was pissed. she couldn’t be doing what she assumes she is. “We all know how amazing you are but I think we can agree that Nini, now that she’s back, would be a perfect fit for belle, it’s exactly what we need to beat north high.” She is. She’s actually doing it. 

Gina turned her head to look at her friend, to see how she was reacting to Miss Jenn’s sudden decision and that just ignited her fury tenfold. By now, she knew Ashlyn well enough to know when she was upset and she could almost see the tears she was holding back. Gina remembered a night, not too long ago, when Ashlyn confided in her, after the lights went out, about the doubt she felt about being able to play Belle, that she wasn’t the right fit, that compared to Lily, she’d be terrible. It had taken Gina almost half the night to convince her that she was perfect for the part, and now, she could see those doubts slowly start to creep back in. 

“No,” Ashlyn said, her voice uncharacteristically hard, arms crossed across her chest and Big Red’s hand rubbing at the small of her back. “I earned that part, I'm not giving it up, I deserve just as much as anyone else does.”

If the circumstances were any different, Gina would have laughed at the shock that plastered itself across the faces of the three people standing in front of her, and it took all of her self control to not applaud. 

“Ash,” Nini attempted to counter, her voice sickly sweet with a tight-lipped smile plastered on her face. “I know that but we really want to win, don’t we?”

Gina looked past Ashlyn and caught EJ’s eyes. He was just as annoyed as her, she could see him clenching his fists and she noticed the tension in his jaw. They both knew that Ashlyn didn’t need anyone to defend her, she was perfectly capable of doing that herself but it didn’t stop the urge they both had to knock Nini down a peg or two. 

“Ashlyn,” Ricky cleared his throat and tried to speak before Big Red shot him down with a glare that could rival Gina's. Maybe some men do deserve rights after all. 

“Let me be clear,” Ashlyn began, clearing her throat before fixing all three of them with a hard stare. “I rehearsed, I auditioned, and I was cast as Belle. I'm not, I repeat, not giving it up just because you want the pretty, thin girl to replace me. I love you Nini and you know you’re an incredible actress but this is my part, you had your time, your chance, last semester, this is mine, I’ve earned this.”

“Maybe this’ll be good for you, Nini,” Carlos commented. “Not getting what you want will help prepare you for the real world.”

Everyone was silent. Ricky looked shocked. Nini looked sheepish after being reprimanded. and Miss Jenn looked positively confused and taken aback as though Ashlyn giving up her part was just a given and telling her was simply a formality. 

Gina was practically giddy. It wasn’t often that someone actually said something to Nini, most people were happy to let her believe she was in charge, happy to let her have what she wanted if it kept her quiet. Even Kourtney seemed shocked that her best friend would ask for such a thing. Was being the star that important to her that she’d deny her close friend the opportunity? Apparently so. 

Next time, she promised herself, next time she’d say something. Ashlyn didn’t need her to defend her but she did. She needed to prove to Ashlyn and herself that she could be that kind of friend. Gina reached over and held Ashlyn’s hand, giving it a squeeze, eliciting a small smile from her friend. 

THREE

set between episode five and episode eight

“All right! Touchdown in two. Rules of engagement: electric rounds only!” The soldier on the screen shouted commands while Gina rolled her eyes and shared a look with Ashlyn. The two of them were hanging out in Big Red’s basement after rehearsal one day. Ricky and Big Red had had plans to watch a bunch of Big Red’s favourite films but Ricky had bailed at the last minute to hang out with Nini - something that Gina and EJ collectively narrowed their eyes at when they heard - so when Ashlyn found out she had convinced Gina and EJ to join them - just because Ricky wasn’t being a good friend didn’t mean they had to be the same.

Ashlyn was curled on one of the armchairs in front of the television with Big Red sitting on the floor in front of her, every now and then turning around and tilting his head up to catch her gaze and send her a grateful smile. EJ had taken over the other armchair, leaving Gina sitting on the floor in front of him, much to her faux annoyance, with a promise to switch over for the next film. In retaliation, Gina had quickly swiped the bowl of popcorn from the table and placed it on the floor, between her and Big Red, making EJ roll his eyes and ‘accidentally’ bump his knee into her back, prompting a glare from the girl. 

“How have you never seen this film?” Ashlyn asks her after Big Red runs upstairs to refill the bowl of popcorn. 

Gina shrugged, jumping up and hitting EJ’s leg. “Up, time to switch.” She reminded him. 

EJ pretended to think before shaking his head. “You know,” He said, in a teasing tone. “I think I’ll stay here, I’m comfortable.”

She placed her hands on her hips and fixed him with a hard stare. “I’m sitting on that chair, Caswell, it doesn't matter if you’re on the floor willingly or not.”

“I’m stronger than you, Porter, but feel free to try.” He smirked, ignoring the knowing look that his cousin was sending him. 

Gina should’ve foreseen where she’d end up but sitting on EJ’s lap with her head laying against his chest wasn’t something she expected to be doing, she wasn’t going to complain, though, not when she was so comfortable.  

“Are you guys still pretending you don’t have feelings for each other or can we drop the bullshit?” Ashlyn blurted out, a smile on her face as she looked between her cousin and her roommate/friend. When she first noticed how they felt about each other she was a bit put out, feeling an odd sense of protection but she didn’t know who she wanted to protect, they had both been broken before and it was taking a lot for them to open up to someone. She didn’t know if she should protect Gina, she was her best friend after all, or EJ, they were family but, in all honesty, she was thrilled that they were clearly interested in each other - she couldn’t imagine any two people better suited. 

They both stuttered out a pair of unintelligible responses until Gina shot her a look. “What about you and Big Red?”

“What about us?”

“Are you still pretending that you aren’t insanely in love with him? Still trying to play it cool?” Gina teased. She recalled the numerous nightly conversations she and Ashlyn had had about Big Red where she had spent the majority of the time listening to Ashlyn go on and on about all of Big Red’s qualities with a goofy smile on her face before insisting that they weren’t that serious, how new their relationship still was. Gina knew why her friend was trying to act so nonchalant, she was scared that Big Red would realise he made a mistake asking her out and end things so she wanted to ease the heartbreak she would inevitably feel. 

Gina made it clear that she was an idiot for thinking that Big Red could ever get sick of her. Before she could say anything, Big Red came trudging down the stairs, bowl of popcorn in one hand, phone in the other which he was frantically texting as he returned to his space on the floor.

“EJ,” He said as he returned to his seat, noticing their current predicament. “What- why is Gina on your lap?”

Neither EJ or Gina could control the heat that spread across their cheeks. “She, uh, wanted the seat.” He said dumbly.

“Okay, anyways,” He continued. “What film are we doing next? It’s your turn to choose, we’ve got Mulan or Men in Black.”

“Is it even a question?”

“You want to watch Mulan, don’t you?” Ashlyn teased him, earning a glare from her cousin. 

“It’s a classic!” He argued, causing the girl on his lap to dissolve into laughter. “It is!”

“I’m not saying it’s not!” She replied, turning to face him and rested her head in the crook of his neck, ignoring the obvious looks Big Red and Ashlyn were sending each other. “I just expected you to prefer Men in Black, that’s all.”

“While I do love a man in black,” He winked at her. “Mulan is clearly the superior choice here and I won’t hear anything against it.”

“Who were you texting?” Ashlyn asked her boyfriend. “You looked worried.”

“Oh,” He sighed, looking down at his lap, his disappointment clear in his voice. “Ricky and I were supposed to go to this new pizzeria tomorrow but he had to cancel, he and Nini are going to this art exhibit instead.”

EJ and Gina glanced at each other before shooting him a sympathetic smile. It wasn’t their place to critique Big Red and Ricky’s friendship but they could see how much the boy was hurting. Ricky had been bailing on Big Red often since he got back together with Nini, apparently Gina wasn’t the only person he gave up on. Ashlyn looked at them and shook her head before leaning down and rubbing over her boyfriend’s shoulders in a calming motion. “We’ll go with you, right guys?” 

“Sure,” EJ agreed, Gina nodding along with him. “I’m always down for pizza.”

“That’s not saying much,” Gina snarked. “If it’s edible, you’re down for it.”

“Not seafood, can’t stand seafood.”

“You know crab is seafood, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Gina rolled her eyes at his response but said nothing. 

FOUR

set in episode eight

Gina was on the sofa, knitting away, in her own little world when EJ walked in. She turned to look over the back of the sofa and saw her friend-slash-maybe-crush with a conflicted look on his face, one she hadn’t seen before.

“Hey,” She said as she motioned him over to sit beside her. “Sit.” she practically demanded, prompting an involuntary chuckle from the boy next to her. 

EJ didn’t say anything, he just focused on her hands, watching them move with precision, he almost swore under his breath, how could she be good at this too? He, somewhat reluctantly, pulled his eyes away to meet her gaze. The words were on the tip of his tongue, fighting to get out. 

“I got into Duke,” He said finally, not offering much more, it wasn’t until Gina raised a knowing eyebrow at him that he continued. “My dad, he paid them off, I’m pretty sure he did, because they didn’t just change their minds, Mazzara even said so.”

Gina stopped knitting, focusing all of her attention on EJ. “So, how do you feel about it?” She asked. He obviously wasn’t thrilled, she could tell that much already. 

EJ let out a loud sigh. “I should be happy, shouldn’t I? I mean, it’s Duke, it’s everything I've been working towards, it’s what my dad wants for me.”

“But what do you want?” she cut in. “You can’t spend the rest of your life only doing things or going places because your dad wants you to go, you’ll be miserable. What do you want to do, EJ? That's what matters the most.”

“I want a relationship with him,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “It’s pathetic, really, I know I’m supposed to say I want to go to this school or I want to do this career but I have no fucking clue, all I want is for my dad to care.”

“It's not pathetic, he’s the pathetic one if he can’t see how great you are.” She insisted. The idea that he couldn’t see how great he was grated at her, the fact that he thought so lowly of himself when was one of the main reasons she was glad she had chosen to stay. 

Try as he might, EJ couldn’t fight the smile on his face. He had people comment and message him compliments but they never sunk in, he never believed them but coming from Gina, they felt real. That was the thing about Gina, no matter who you were, she made you feel like the most important person in any room without even trying.

Gina was struggling to come up with something else to say, anything to make him feel better. This was EJ Caswell for crying out loud, she wouldn’t have cared a few months ago, hell, even a few weeks ago but he had somehow wormed his way into her heart and she wanted him to stay there.

“Fuck him.”She said. Seriously? That's all she could come up with? She wanted to kick herself. She should’ve said something else. She wanted to say something else. She wanted to be the kind of person that knew exactly what to say and when to say it but she wasn’t. One day, she promised herself, one day she’d say the right thing at the right time, she’d do the right thing, she’d be the friend he deserved. 

But EJ just laughed. For the first time, someone had listened to him, she hadn’t tried to bring the focus back to herself and pretend it was supposed to help, she didn’t roll her eyes and tell him to get over it, she had sat and she had listened and she had been Gina. 

Gina, noticing that he needed some distraction, picked up and threw the television remote at him. “Pick something and I’ll get some snacks.”

When she returned, EJ was sitting, fiddling with the remote, waiting for her. “Are you a child?” She laughed, noticing what show he had picked to watch.

“Hey!” He retorted, offended, clutching at his chest in an overly dramatic fashion. “I’ll have you know that Avatar was, and still is, a favourite show.”

Gina laughed at his reaction as she placed the snacks on the coffee table in front of them and all but threw herself onto the couch beside him, EJ reached behind them and grabbed a blanket, draping it across their laps. It didn’t take long for Gina to fall asleep, the last thing she muttered as she slipped away was a mumbled “Legend of Korra’s better.” EJ laughed until he realised that he was essentially trapped because instead of using the rest of the couch to sleep, like he assumed she would, Gina had decided that EJ’s shoulder would be the perfect place to rest, and, if he’s being honest, he’s not opposed to it.

+ ONE

set after episode eight

When EJ and Gina walked into rehearsal the next day, they could feel the tension in the air. Ricky and Nini were sitting at the front of the class and Miss Jenn was frantically flicking through a marked up script, stopping to add notes every few pages. 

They joined Ashlyn and Big Red at the back of the classroom and exchanged some curious looks. Miss Jenn was always a bit, um, eccentric with her teaching but she usually wasn’t this frantic.

Gina shook her head, turning to focus on the boy next to her. Something had changed after their talk on Friday night, Gina didn’t know how to explain it or what exactly had changed but something was different. Where EJ used to avert his gaze whenever his eyes would catch hers, now they remained; She realised that, now, whenever she got news or anything happened, it wasn’t Ricky she looked to, not even Ashlyn, EJ was always her first choice, she was always excited to see his reaction. She remembered the look on EJ’s face when he told her about his talk with his dad, how happy he was, she remembered wanting nothing more than to be the reason for that smile. EJ was the kind of person that should never stop smiling. She liked him, maybe even loved him. He wasn’t her friend-maybe-crush, she was fully in ‘like’ with EJ Caswell and that thought scared her more than anything had in a long time. 

He caught her gaze, sending her an awkward smile, making her heart skip (even though she knew that physically wasn’t possible) and stomach turn. She didn’t know how it had happened but slowly and surely EJ Caswell had become one of the most important people in her life. He and Ashlyn had saved her in ways she didn’t fully grasp herself but it was a realisation that she welcomed. The idea of liking someone, of being with someone usually terrified her but when she thought of EJ, she felt none of that. All she could think of was the guy who checked in on her every chance he got, the guy who would immediately turn to her for exercises in class, the guy who talked to her and actually listened, the guy who gave her his sweatshirt when she was cold. 

EJ wasn’t doing much better. Unlike Gina, he had been aware of his feelings for her for a while. He wasn’t sure when it happened but suddenly Gina was the first person he thought of when he had news to tell, one of the only people whose opinion he actually valued, and he didn’t mind that as much as he thought he would. When he thought back to the Gina he knew last semester and seeing the Gina he knew now, he never could’ve imagined that he'd feel the way he did about her. But, boy, was he glad that he did, it had been a long time since he had been so excited to simply be in someone’s company. 

“Okay, everyone,” Miss Jenn clapped her hands and brought everyone’s attention back to her. “After last week, I've thought about it and decided that Ashlyn was right, she will keep her role, it was wrong of me to try and take it from her, but I am going to switch a few around. I still stick with part of what I said, though,, since nini’s back, I think we can all agree she needs a role so she’ll be playing Babette. Gina, honey, I think you’d be better off solely working on choreography with Carlos.”

Stunned silence engulfed the room, only a few people daring to sneak a glance at Gina. She was Babette. Sure, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about it and would’ve loved something bigger but Ashlyn was an amazing belle and Gina was fine to have any part, but now she wasn’t even going to have that. 

“What?” Gina said, her voice coming out as nothing more than a shocked whisper.

She looked around the rest of the class to see their reactions, they were, rightfully so, feeling the same as she was, there were a few shocked faces and a couple of people looked downright furious. Ashlyn, EJ, and Carlos looked infuriated. After their argument during the storm, she and Carlos had become closer than they thought. Kourtney was shaking her head, Seb just looked confused. 

Nini didn’t seem as excited as Gina assumed she would be. There was a look of relief on her face but it was overshadowed by the confusion that she surely felt at being given the role. Nini wasn’t that fond of playing Babette, she was certain she should’ve gotten a bigger role, but she couldn’t quite silence that small part of her that was happy to play the role if it meant that Gina wouldn’t get it. 

Besides Miss Jenn, Ricky was the only one that was clearly on board. Gina tried not to take it too personally, she knew the only reason Ricky was so desperate for Nini to be in the show was to try and get their relationship back on track but it still stung to be disregarded so easily by someone that was supposed to be her friend. 

“Um, Miss Jenn,” Carlos began, after receiving a nod of encouragement from Seb. “Gina worked really hard to get that role and, no offense, Nini, but she deserves it more.”

“Carlos!” Miss Jenn admonished him. “Nini deserves a part too!”

“Why?” EJ snapped, drawing the attention to him. “She wasn’t even a student here until a few weeks ago. You could at least pretend you don’t have any favourites.”

Miss Jenn looked taken aback by his outburst but what really seemed to affect her was the obvious agreement from the rest of the class. She looked at Gina and, for the first time, she noticed how quiet the girl was. “Gina-”

“With all due respect, Miss Jenn,” Gina said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I earned this part and I'm not giving it up, just like Ashlyn didn’t, just because you want your shining star on stage. The rest of us deserve the spotlight too, not just Nini and Ricky.”

“It’s not like that-” Miss Jenn tried to interject but Gina was on a roll. 

“It is,” Gina insisted. “It is like that, Miss Jenn, Nini didn’t even audition and you’re bending over backwards to give her a part in the play, and Ricky had, in my opinion, the worst audition I've ever seen. There's a whole list of people whose auditions were much better and who should’ve gotten the part but they didn’t because Ricky's your favourite. I don't know if it’s because you feel bad for screwing his dad or whatever, but, either way, it’s bullshit and you know it.”

“Oh,” Miss Jenn mumbled, looking around the class one last time to see the looks of agreement to Gina’s words. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to figure out another way to get Nini into the show. Gina, you can keep Babette. Time for warmups and then we’ll run through Gaston with EJ and Big Red.” She dismissed them and tried to focus on her binder but she couldn’t stop thinking about the controlled anger in Gina’s voice or the way her jaw was clenched. She never realised how obvious she was with her choices. Ricky and Nini were some of the best performers she’d taught but she didn’t realise that she was leaving the others in the dark. She silently vowed to right her mistakes.

But that didn’t actually mean anything would change. Gina and EJ both knew she would still favour Ricky and Nini over anyone else. Ricky would still be so focused on his relationship that he failed to notice anyone else’s strife. Nini would be too busy focusing on herself to think about the people she stepped on or ignored along the way. None of that would change, not any time soon at least. 

EJ moved his hand over to Gina’s, intertwining their fingers together, and gave her a small nod. They both knew that it would be a long shot that Ricky and Nini and Miss Jenn would ever change but they hoped that one day they’d come to their senses but until then, they’d get through it, day by day, hand in hand, just like they always did. 

[apocalypto-sane]

Nini knows what’s up... 

Nini doesn’t buy Miss Jenn’s mantra “He likes me. I like him”  with Mr. Bowen 👀🤭