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fbfh · 2 years

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rocks at your window pt. 4 - 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 starting in this chapter but I promise he does get therapy eventually and has a good support system (he gets worse before he gets better yk) and 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: 11k I know

genre: smut, slice of life/coming of age, one sided pining, fluff

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

warnings: NOT PROOF READ AT ALL, more facebook messanger texts we'll politely pretend aren't facebook messanger, protecting carlos and seb during hoco (+ one use of the word homophobia), you're the dolly levi of the friend group, a LOT of hello dolly references??, TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF, ricky's falling HARD, antagonist!nina, one sided rina angst (like BIG gina angst), big red is ricky's temporary therapist, ricky has bpd, ricky kind of splits on gina??, ricky has anxiety too, dr phil and big red and natalie's emotional support hamster are the only consistant things in anyone's life, drama/general messiness, oral (m + f recieving), sneaky quiet late night don't wake up the parents sex, making out, ricky thinks you smell so good he has to bang you right now, "stay quiet or I stop", switch!ricky, switch!reader, calling ricky a good boy, praise kink, giggly sex, waking up the morning after to an empty bed but not at all on bad terms (and no ghosting)

summary: ricky works up the guts to ask you to homecoming. if you can navigate all the drama, maybe he'll get to rearrange yours after dancing together all night.

song recs: old friend - mitski, 10 minutes ago - cinderella (1997), dancing - hello dolly (1969), in love on valentine's day - paul sandrone, daniel farrant, james knight (spotify link bc it's literally not on youtube??? tracking down this song was a nightmare /lh), you turned the tables on me - billie holiday, born to be brave - nico iaciancio cover (bc that's what I think the original sounds like in canon), soulmate who wasn't meant to be - jess benko, perfume - new hope club

a/n: could I have split this up?? yes but I'm not going to. also congrats 2 me bc I'm officially in the 10k one shot girlie club!! this is the longest thing i've ever written and my eyes are burning. ricky has bpd, I knew from the moment I saw this motherfucker I was like "yup bpd and mommy issues" and I was RIGHT why is no one talking about this also go watch crazy ex girlfriend

EDIT: I FORGOT TO ADD THE LINK TO THE VAMPIRE DIARIES VIDEO YOU REFERENCE IN THE BEGINNING (obvious spoilers for vampire diaries lol)

tags: @yesv01 @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @hopefullhearts @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @matiere-detoiles @ifilwtmfc @uselesssapphickitten @nxstalgicnxbxdy @ggclarissa

There’s no reason to be nervous. Ricky has literally no reason to be nervous. You’ve been together practically 24/7 since… all this began. He ducks his head down and his eyes land on the smooth counter top of the booth you’re sitting in. Heat rushes to his cheeks as it so often does around you, as he remembers all the time you’ve spent together. He tries to pay as much attention as he can to your summary of the video essay on vampire diaries you’d watched while doing homework last night, even though his thoughts are racing, and all centered on you. On asking you something really important - but also like, totally not a big deal or whatever.

“So apparently they just regularly bring characters back from the dead,” you inform him with a laugh, and take a sip of your coffee. He didn’t think people could look particularly cute while sipping something until he met you… until he got close with you.

“Yeah, that’s pretty crazy,” he agrees, hoping he sounds normal. You glance up at him to make sure he’s okay. You can tell he seems a little distracted, and he knows he has to ask you. It’s now or never.

“So…” he begins.

“Yeah?” you lean forward, already invested in what he has to say. God, he loves that. He loves the way you care, really care about what he has to say. He lets out a small, breathy laugh, that you mirror when you hear his.

“So, homecoming is soon,” he smiles, and is pretty sure you know where he’s going with this. Your eyes widen in moderate surprise.

“It is? Already?” you ask, pulling out your phone to check your very messy calendar. “Jesus, I thought we still had a few more weeks…” you muse, and Ricky smiles. God, how can you make everything - even being a little scatterbrained sometimes - so fucking cute?

You look back up from your phone, snapping him back to attention. His breath is shallow.

“So…” he says again, and rubs the palms of his hands up and down his jeans. Why is he so nervous? He has no reason to be nervous. You’re silent, waiting for him to continue in a way that feels patient, encouraging even, instead of critical like it would be from someone else.

“...Do you want to go? To homecoming?”

His heart is in his throat.

“Like, together?” You take another sip. He’s so choked up, so worried you’ll say no. He nods. You smile.

“Hell yeah,” you lean back and pull out your phone to text your mom, who is currently at a PTA meeting, about dress shopping this weekend, biting your lip as you type. Relief turns to elation as you discuss plans, coordinate rides with your friends, and get a plan together. He bounces his leg, getting really excited for all this. He’s never been one for school dances, but with you… it’s a whole different story. He can’t stop looking at you.

“So, what color is your dress going to be? You know, so I can get a tie to match.” A light, happy chuckle dances across the table and you hum in consideration, glancing down at the scone in your hand, your favorite flavor that’s become somewhat of a signature with you and Ricky.

“Peach.”

You both giggle.

“Perfect.” he smiles. You’re going to look so pretty in a peach dress. At homecoming. With him. A burst of kinetic energy waves through him at the thought. The atmosphere is nice, comfortable. It always is with you. You finish the bite of pastry in your mouth.

“You know,” you start, “maybe you should go suit shopping with your dad. It might be nice to have a guy’s day together.”

His mom has been gone for a few weeks now, and he told you how badly his dad is struggling. He means well, it’s just… been hard on him. It might be nice, he thinks, really nice to go out and spend some time with his dad, have some fun. He doesn’t remember the last time they had a day like that together. He’d really like that, if his dad wanted to.

“Yeah,” he agrees, wondering when a good time to bring it up will be, “that would be nice.”

Around the time you’re ready to head home, your phone lights up with a text from your mom, informing you everything at the PTA meeting went great, and she’ll fill you in on the details at home, and you thank her, informing her there’s a hazelnut coffee coming her way.

It’s Friday night, and you have less than 24 hours to homecoming. You’re not sure how you were able to find a dress you actually like in the right color on such short notice, but somehow you managed. You and Ricky have been texting all day, filling each other in on how last minute shopping had been going for each of you. He was shocked at how well today went with his dad. He was bracing himself for the worst for a lot of the afternoon, but the day progressed and nothing bad happened. They even got dinner afterwards.

Now, you’re sitting at your desk, finishing some homework while you facetime each other and fill him in on the whole cast’s plan to be there for Carlos and Seb tomorrow night.

“And, like,” you continue rambling as you wrap up your science worksheet, “it’s so ridiculous that that’s even necessary, you know? Out of all the living things in the world, humans are the only ones who thought to make up homophobia.”

“Right? Worst idea ever,” he muses.

“Exactly!” you exclaim in agreement, looking up at your phone. You mutter something about how stupid people can be, eyes moving down and skimming your paper, double checking your answers one last time. Ricky watches you do this. Your desk light casts a warm glow over you, and he can see some of your posters on the opposite wall from where you have your phone propped up. He knows exactly which ones they are, too. He has every detail of your room - and of you - memorized by now.

He’s supposed to be finishing his english homework, that’s the whole point of facetiming each other this late, to keep each other company while you work. Instead his papers lay discarded on his desk as he watches you, a look of fondness dusting his face. You tap your pencil against each question on your worksheet, eyebrows scrunched, mouthing the answers to yourself as you go. Occasionally you’ll stop, turning to your book to check a chart or vocabulary word, then erase your answer and select a different one.

“And that’s why we proofread,” you mutter to yourself, and Ricky giggles. You look back up at him, smiling, then back at your paper for one last once over.

“Okay, I’m just about done,” you say, putting your homework in your bag to turn in later, with a satisfactory sigh. Ricky glances at the time. It’s getting late already. He’s torn between wanting to make sure you get enough sleep, and wanting to talk to you all night. He watches you rub your eyes, suppressing a yawn.

“We should probably go to bed now,” it’s more of a question, but you agree anyway. You pick up your phone and walk into your bathroom, grabbing your toothbrush as you say your drawn out good nights.

Ricky thought he was nervous asking you to homecoming? Turns out that’s nothing compared where he is now, waiting for you in your foyer. Somehow your house had become the unofficial get ready spot for the girls and Carlos, and meet up place for everyone else. So that’s where Ricky finds himself, barely unable to socialize or talk with his friends, all his thoughts preoccupied with you. He hasn’t seen you all day; you and the girls have been getting ready together, and he’s been trying to teach Big Red to dance all day.

Ashlyn comes down first. Her bubbly presence immediately eases some of the tension in the atmosphere from Ricky and EJ having to wait together in such close quarters. She waits with them for the others while they finish getting ready. It doesn’t slip past Ricky how nervous Big Red suddenly gets when she comes down the staircase.

Natalie is next - almost. Half way down the stairs, a snap resonates off the walls, and she freezes. She looks down at her left shoe, the heel of which has completely snapped off.

“Oh my god,” she mutters, and walks carefully back up to your room. A minute later, presumably after she informs you about her wardrobe malfunction, Ricky hears your voice, faint and bouncing off the stairwell.

“It’s okay, that’s the risk you take with stilettos,” you say, trying to calm her justified panic. He hears you say something about how Margot Robbie broke a heel at an award show a few years ago as your bedroom door closes again.

The door opens, and Carlos appears at the landing. His face falls slightly as he realizes Seb isn’t here yet.

“It’s okay, he’s probably going to meet up with us at school.” Ricky comforts.

“Yeah,” he agrees with a laugh at his own nervousness, “yeah, you’re probably right.” Carlos takes a deep breath, and Ricky notices the swirly, metallic red pattern on his suit.

“You look great, man,” He says, hoping to take Carlos’s mind off the unexpected radio silence from Seb. The comment is appreciated, but seems to catch him off guard.

“Thanks,” he replies, “dude,” he punctuates with a friendly - very awkward - punch to Ricky’s arm. It’s more of a nudge, but he appreciates the sense of comradery nonetheless.

Footsteps echo down the stairs, and Ricky looks up, stomach twisting in anticipation. Natalie emmerges, much more carefully this time. She greets everyone, then starts talking to Ashlyn about the shoe incident. Ricky is trying really, really hard not to look like he’s waiting for you, but it feels almost impossible to focus on anything else.

Finally, several painfully long minutes later, he hears the click of high heels approaching the steps. He walks to the bottom of the stairs, heart thumping as you round the corner, and all the breath is pulled from his lungs at the sight of you. You descend the stairs, hair and dress flowing and bouncing with every step, glowing under the chandelier light. Your dress, mid length and flouncy, a peachy champagne that compliments your hair and skin tone perfectly, shimmers subtly when you move, glistening like starlight.

Your makeup is understated and glowy, bringing out every beautiful feature you have - which is all of them. Your hair is perfect, glossy and voluminous. Your earrings look like little pink silk flowers, and there are matching, larger silk flowers on the side of your heels. Your nails are manicured a soft peachy pink, with little sparkling accents. You even smell like peaches, he realizes, subconsciously taking a step closer to the bottom of the stairs as you get closer. You seem to descend in slow motion as Ricky takes in every detail.

Your expression mirrors his the moment you see him. You did not expect him to look that good in a suit. It couldn’t fit better, the cut and seams of the dark fabric perfectly accentuating his physique. His tie matches your dress, the same shade of peach, and you bite back a smile. The expression on his face can only be described as a breathless wow, and it’s something you'll never forget. Your cheeks are warm and suddenly it all feels real. You find yourself very excited to have fun at homecoming with him tonight.

You finally float down to the bottom of the stairs, stopping in front of him. It’s quiet for a moment, as you take each other in, face to face. You’re both struggling to find the words, thrown off guard by the energy in the air, by each other. Behind you, Ashlyn claps awkwardly.

“Alright, everyone ready to go?”

You and Ricky both giggle at the same time, and his chest warms at how in sync you are.

“Yeah,” You confirm, smiling over at Ashlyn and grabbing Ricky’s arm in a way that makes his heart palpitate, “let’s go.”

Standing with you on the dance floor, his hand on your waist as you attempt to teach him how to waltz, Ricky is so thankful for homecoming, for an opportunity to be close to you like this.

“I told you,” he laughs, enamored with your optimistic determination, “I can’t dance.”

“Yes,” you smile, “you can. You just haven’t had the right teacher.” His cheeks flush at your words, the feeling of your hands on his, and he’s hit with the sudden memory of the last time your lips were on his neck.

“I think you’re probably right about that…” he mutters under his breath. You bite back a smile, adjusting the position of his hand on your waist. You step closer, and his heart beats faster. He watches your face closely as you explain the basics of a waltz, a box step.

“Like in ‘Dancing’ from Hello Dolly.” you smile, eyes widening at the blank look on his face. “Oh my god, it’s a musical classic! Carol Channing played Dolly in the original broadway cast in ‘64, then Barbra Streisand in the film adaptation in ‘69.”

“Wow,” he smiles. He loves when you talk about theatre and Broadway, loves the way your eyes light up. “They’re like, really famous, right?” You let out a light hearted scoff.

“Broadway legends.” You smile, “The movie was directed by Gene Kelly, too, it’s amazing. We should watch it this weekend, if you want to,” you look up at him, eyes glittering under the soft twinkling lights.

“Yeah,” Ricky laughs, “definitely.”

After a moment, you remember why you brought Hello Dolly up in the first place.

“Right,” you say, memory jogged, “there’s a song called ‘Dancing’ where Dolly is teaching Cornelius and Barnaby how to dance so they can impress these girls who work at a ladies hat shop-”

“Cornelius and Barnaby?” he asks with a laugh.

“It takes place in 1890!” you say, jokingly defensive.

“Right,” he agrees, “so a… ladies hat shop…?”

“Totally era appropriate.”

You’re both giggling, trying not to be too loud. You lean your head forward, resting it on his shoulder. The sound of your laughter, the feeling of your head resting against him brings back that warm feeling he always gets around you. It takes you a moment to regain your composure. It’s been like this all night, the conversation flowing like a river, always making each other laugh over something or other.

“So,” you begin, once again ready to dance with him, “put your hand on her waist and stand.” You recite, moving his hand from your back to your waist and adjusting your posture.

“With her right-” you hesitate, making sure you have the correct hand, then continue, “in your left hand. And…” You step back with your left foot, motioning for him to follow, then back and out with your right, then together.

“One… two… three…”

You repeat the steps.

“One… two… three…”

And again.

“One… two… three…”

You look up at him, your smile blinding.

“Look, you’re dancing!”

He looks up at you, excited, disbelieving that he got it so quickly.

“Wait, that’s it?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah,” you nod, “see? I told you you can dance.” You start to move again, and he follows, hesitant but slowly getting the hang of it. After a second, he says your name, voice quiet and still watching the ground.

“Can you keep singing? It’s making it a lot easier…” he chuckles, hoping you can’t tell how much he loves hearing your voice.

So you do. You sing quietly, just enough for him to hear, about dancing and how it’s the perfect excuse to hold someone you like close to you, as you waltz carefully around the room. An electric, intimate feeling ties you together as you weave through the room. It's like something clicked, he thinks, because it makes sense. This, dancing, makes sense. He’s pulled from his epiphany by your melodic voice.

"We should do Hello Dolly, it would be so fun!" You giggle.

"Yeah?" He asks, smile mirroring yours, "Who would you play?" You let out a light hearted huff, considering.

"I would love to play Dolly," you admit. You had always hoped to portray the classic role, dreaming of being able to follow in the footsteps of other iconic actresses like Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand. You barely get the sentence out when Ricky nods, agreeing.

"You would make an amazing Dolly." You laugh, cheeks warm, flattered by his response.

"Who do you think I should be?" He asks, that playful energy flowing comfortably between you as he raises his arm, spinning you around.

"Well," you begin with a laugh, "if you played Cornelius we’d get to waltz together. But if you played Horace and I played Dolly we'd get married at the end."

His heart squeezes at your words, imagination already taking off like a wild horse. Again, your melodic voice pulls him back down to earth.

"But playing Irene would be fun too…" you sigh, twirling in his arms again, your dress glittering under the soft lights. Your hands return to their previous position resting on his shoulder and your waist, free hands clasped together, and you begin to move in tandem. You twirl and float around the room, feeling the music wrap around you like a warm blanket in autumn.

In that beautiful moment between the two of you, he doesn’t just understand dancing, he realizes, he loves it. Like, a lot. He loves this, being close to you. He loves the connection between you, and he wants to keep dancing with you all night.

He giggles, twirling you around in his arms again. On your way around, you see Carlos behind you at your table holding up his phone, a smile on his face. You’re glad he seems okay; Seb still hasn’t shown up and everyone’s been worried about both of them. A split second later, you’re back in Ricky’s arms, and your heart soars at the smile on his face. You’d been hoping dancing together at homecoming might help him in rehearsals. Based on how well he’s doing - and how much fun he seems to be having - you can tell your hunch was correct.

After a few more songs, you begin to make your way back to your table. Ricky’s hand settles on your back, guiding you through the crowd. Two more people are seated there than when you left, and your eyes widen.

“Oh my god.” you say quietly, “Gina and EJ came together?”

Ricky glances up, gaze almost immediately turning back to you as you get closer.

“Oh, they did? I didn’t notice.”

Fighting to maintain her poker face, Gina’s stomach drops at his words. Her eyes dart between you and Ricky, the way he’s looking at you. She grips her clutch tighter. This is really, really bad for her. Gina barely had a plan for making Ricky jealous and freaked out so he’d quit the show to begin with. She definitely did not plan on you waltzing into the picture - literally - and stealing away all of his attention. He can’t get jealous if all of his focus is on you. A sinking feeling begins to invade the pit of her stomach.

Ricky’s phone buzzes with a text from his dad.

“Hey,” he says, showing you the screen, “which shirt do you like better?”

He’s been filling you in on his dad’s hot date he has tonight, and you’re both very relieved to see that he’s doing okay, putting himself out there. You look at the pictures, and consider.

“Hmm… the second one.” you conclude.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” he agrees easily. He loves how you always seem to be on the same page.

“Wow,” comes EJ’s voice from across the table. He sounds really stiff. “I had no idea you were each other’s dates to homecoming.” He states, sharing a quick look with Gina he hopes no one notices.

“Yeah, we are,” Ricky smiles, “we’re each other’s dates.” He doesn’t think it would be too far fetched to say you’re… dating.

“Yep, partners in crime.” You smile, showing off your plastic ring. Ricky holds up his, kept on a chain, sitting right over his heart.

“Aw,” Carlos says, an almost bittersweet undercurrent to his voice, “you guys are so cute.” He gestures for you to lean closer to each other. “Let me get a pic for my story!”

Ricky does not need to be told twice. He throws his arms around you, pressing a kiss to your cheek as you hold his arm and giggle. It’s the perfect shot, the sincerity of the fun you’re having evident in the photo.

Gina runs her tongue over her teeth. She really does not like that.

Across town, sitting at a table in a shitty karaoke spot, Nina scrolls through instagram while Kourtney rants about the bitch who criticized her costume suggestions. Something about a lime green sweater? She’s not really paying attention, she’s too distracted by the hideous dress that Gina’s wearing. And the fact that she went to hoco with Nina’s ex boyfriend.

“Look at this,” she says, showing Kourtney her phone. “She looks like she’s wearing a bedazzled tablecloth.” Kourtney looks at her phone, disapproval written all over her face.

“And,” Nina says, gearing up to point out the obvious jab at her, “she’s with EJ.”

Kourtney knows where this is going. Before Nini can go off about how obviously Gina has it out for her, she takes a sip of her drink.

“Is there anything on their stories?”

She taps EJ’s story and it’s just a boomerang of the food.

“No, just-” Carlos’s story plays next and Nina almost pukes. Right there on her screen is Ricky, kissing your cheek, leaning into you like a cat. You’re in an unfortunately gorgeous dress, grinning so sincerely, your nose effortlessly scrunched. Next is a video of you two dancing. Like, really, properly dancing. She can’t believe you got him to dance - he doesn’t even dance in rehearsal when he’s supposed to! She watches the two of you ballroom dancing around the gym, breath speeding up slightly at the realization that he’s actually good. The sick pit forming in her stomach grows as she rewatches the video again. She wants to know why, after all the practice, all the failed attempts and his reluctance, why it works when you do it? Why isn’t she good enough? She dwells in the feeling for a few minutes. She scrolls through a few more hoco posts before finding one that has your account tagged. It’s private.

“Kourt,” she says, showing her her phone, “you need to follow her.”

“Why?” Kourtney asks.

“So I can see what’s on her instagram.” Nina says. She can’t let you know she’s lurking, so the obvious solution is to lurk through Kourtney’s account. Kourtney sighs. She requests to follow you.

A few feet away from your table, Ashlyn gives you a look, gesturing subtly to Carlos, then to the hallway. Seb still isn’t here.

“Hey,” you say quietly to Ricky, “I’ll be right back.” you smile, eyes flicking over to Ashlyn and Carlos.

“Yeah, sure,” he says, watching you leave with them to give Carlos a pep talk. A soft smile kisses the corners of Ricky’s mouth, watching you in utter adoration. He lets out a small sigh, gaze lingering on where you stood even after you’re out of sight.

Gina watches him watch you, his dark auburn hair glowing in the warm twinkle lights strung up throughout the gym. His eyes seem to sparkle with joy when he finally tears his gaze away, staring absentmindedly at the table.

“EJ,” she says, “could you get me some punch, babe?”

“Uh,” he says, clearly unused to the term of endearment, “sure… babe.” He heads over to the drinks, the tension between them thinly veiled. This seems to snap Ricky out of whatever his train of thought was, and he scoots closer to Gina. She watches him lean closer to her and begin speaking in a low, almost strangely intimate tone of voice.

"Hey, you know EJ went through Nini’s phone before they broke up, right?”

She raises her eyebrows.

“Just… you know, be a little careful around him.”

“I can take care of myself, Ricky.” She states incredulously.

“Yeah, of course you can.” he says, head tilted to the side with a little smile, like it should be obvious, “You’re so talented and ambitious, and - honestly, way too good for him.” He mutters the last part, but she definitely hears it.

“You’re way too cool to get your heart broken by a guy who plays water polo.” He says, drawing a reflexive laugh out of her.

“Just… take care of yourself.” he concludes, locking eyes with her before moving back to his seat. It’s only for a moment, but long enough for her to commit the color to memory.

“Right.” she says, working harder than she usually has to to keep her expression neutral.

Later, between dances, you and Ricky catch your breath at the snack table. You take a sip of your drink, eyes landing on Gina and EJ, who are very obviously arguing. You nudge Ricky, motioning over to them.

“What are they saying? Wrong answers only.”

He considers, then begins to narrate in his best EJ impression.

“Ugh, Gina! Stop moving! I haven’t posted on instagram in 35 seconds and blurry so doesn’t fit my theme.”

You try to stifle the loud, beautiful laugh that brings warmth to his cheeks and a smile to his lips as your eyes lock, sharing a look so close he never wants to look away.

“I said wrong answers only…” you say through muffled giggles. He stares at you, fixated. He’s blinded by your warmth, your beauty, and he can’t look away from you. His attention is snapped back to where it had been when you gasp dramatically, shock written all over your face. He follows your gaze to EJ, who’s dripping with punch, and Gina, who’s storming away from him.

“...Oh my god.” you say, already dissolving into laughter again, Ricky following suit.

Soon you’re dancing again, pressed up against each other, swaying gently to the oldies playing softly over the speakers. Ricky can feel your body heat, smell your shampoo, and the way it mixes with your sweet peachy perfume. You smell so good, he thinks he could probably get high off you alone. His hand rests firmly on your back, holding you close to him, and his fingertips brush over the exposed skin peeking out over the straps of your dress. He traces your shoulder blades, your spine, feeling how close together your hearts are beating. One of your arms is wrapped around him, your head resting on his shoulder. Both your free hands are intertwined, and he loves the feeling of your fingers intertwining with his. He’s steeped in a hazy sort of ecstasy, spurred further on by your warm little breaths tickling his neck.

He lets out a soft sigh, more content than he’s probably ever been. He feels you smile against his blazer when he traces the outline of the back of your dress. You hum softly to the music, singing along to a few of the words. He’s not surprised that you know this song, of course you would know a song this pretty and romantic. He hopes he’ll remember to ask you the name of it later. Dancing, he realizes, isn’t just fun - it’s amazing. He loves dancing. He loves dancing with you. After a few moments, he realizes there’s not many people on the dance floor. He doesn’t get why so many guys don’t like slow dancing; when you really love someone, isn’t any reason to hold them close to you a good one? He thinks it is. His heart flutters when you let out a breathy sigh against his skin.

You adjust your head on Ricky’s shoulder, watching Carlos across the room. He looks so… melancholic. You should go check on him. And Gina. And probably EJ. Christ, tonight has been a lot. You adjust your head again, facing towards him.

“We should check on Gina,” you say reluctantly, murmuring into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. He loves when you do that, loves how you know when people are hurting and what to do about it. But right now, he really, really does not want to let go of you for anyone or anything. Maybe it’s selfish, he thinks, maybe it’s selfish for wanting you all to himself like this, but he just can’t bring himself to let go of you yet. Maybe he deserves to be a little selfish sometimes. Maybe he should just give himself permission to do whatever makes him feel better. He holds you tighter, face burying into your neck.

“After this song,” he breathes, eyes fluttering closed in your embrace. You nod gently.

“Okay,” you agree, voice so low he can barely hear it.

Eventually the final piano chords sound, and he holds you tight as the last few, painfully bittersweet notes reverberate through the room. The song ends, and he lets go of you slower and more reluctantly than he’s done anything.

You sigh, tracing your hands on his shoulders, slowly coming out of that cozy trance like state you’ve been in together.

“Okay,” you start, “let’s split up. I’ll check on Carlos, you can check on Gina, and I’ll have Ashlyn check on EJ cause they’re cousins.”

He agrees, hit with a sudden wave of nerves about the confrontation. You can sense his hesitation.

“What should I say?” he asks, with a chuckle. He’d told you about how he warned Gina about EJ earlier in the evening, which you had agreed was totally the right move. He told you how she seemed irritable after the interaction, and wondered if he’d done anything wrong, if he could have handled it better. “I don’t think so”, you had said with a sad shrug, “some people just refuse to acknowledge the person they’re dating is kind of shitty.”

You’re right, he realized, now ready to approach this with more compassion and less confrontation. You think for a second, then reply.

“You can apologize if what you said before came off wrong, that you didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

“Okay,” he nods.

“And try to relate to her - you’re new to theatre, she’s new to east high, you gotta stick together, you know?”

“Right.”

You send him a thumbs up as you part ways, looking for Carlos. After chatting with Carlos, he left to get some water. You see Ricky approaching you through the crowd, and stand up from your table, meeting him halfway.

“How’d it go?” you ask. He seems hesitant.

“She asked for a ride home.” Your eyes go wide with understanding. He knew you’d get what’s going on, you always know just what to do.

“Oh, dude, the last thing she probably wants right now is to get in a car with EJ.” Ricky thinks that’s the last thing anyone would want. “If you want you can give her a ride, then come back and we can keep dancing.” He smiles, and agrees. Any plan that ends with dancing with you more sounds like a good plan to him. You quickly fill him in on how things are going with the Carlos/Seb situation in spite of its anticlimactic nature - no one can get a hold of Seb, and Carlos is really, really regretting this whole thing. You and Ashlyn are going to try and hype him up and turn the night around for him so it’s not a totally horrible memory to look back on, and Ricky agrees that’s a good plan.

“I’ll be back really soon so I can help you guys out,” he says, hoping to extend the conversation a little, to stand close to you and talk confidentially with you just a little more. You smile, looking relieved at his support, and it makes his heart flutter. You touch his arm, sending him a knowing look.

“We need all the help we can get, so thank you.” you state with a chuckle. He tries not to be obvious, but he knows he can’t hide his flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. He hopes you don’t notice.

You really didn’t expect to be the glue holding everyone together tonight, but you love your friends, so you’re not complaining. After a lengthy conversation with Carlos about how amazing he is regardless of who he is or isn’t seeing, and that there will be so many guys throwing themselves at him after high school, you finally get him out of his funk a little. You were about to go dance together and have a good time, because he shouldn’t let anything ruin his homecoming, when Natalie scurried over to you holding the side of her dress.

“It snagged on the back of a chair and my whole leg is out, Angelina Jolie style.” She says in a rush, clearly getting more freaked out. You and Carlos share a look.

“It’s okay,” you say gently, “I have a sewing kit in my bag and I can have you fixed up in two minutes flat.” You look over at Carlos again, making sure he’ll be okay. He confirms silently, nudging you two towards the doors.

“You go fix this wardrobe malfunction,” he says, already trying to pull out of the funk he’d been stuck in all night, “I’m going to warm up the dance floor. When you get back, get ready to dance your heart out.”

He’s not all the way there, but he’s trying. You both agree, and you send him one last encouraging look before moving carefully to the hallway, trying not to let Natalie’s dress rip any more than it already is. You look back one last time as you pass through the doors, and finally, Carlos is out on the dance floor. You smile, excited to dance with him once you get back.

“God, I wish I had my hamster right now…” Natalie mutters, and you know if she needs her emotional support hamster, it’s pretty bad.

A few minutes later, you have your sewing kit and Natalie’s dress is back to its former glory. She has on a fresh coat of lip gloss, just finished showing you pictures of her hamster, and is ready to head back out. You stay behind to touch up your makeup a little, telling her you’ll be right behind her. As you’re walking back out, someone turns the corner at the other end of the hallway. You freeze in place, eyes growing wide as they land on none other than Seb. He smiles nervously, raising a hand to wave at you. Before he can, you let out a shocked squeak, scurrying back into the gym. His heart sinks. He hopes you don’t hate him, and he’s really worried Carlos is going to.

When you enter, you see Carlos dancing his heart out. You don’t have time to be relieved, weaving your way through the crowd to Mr. Mazzara. You slam your hands on the table, avoiding the sound and light equipment he’s managing.

“Mr. Mazzara!” He looks up at you, startled, as you begin to explain in a rush. He looks at you, a pleading puppy dog look written on your face, and sighs.

“I suppose that’s fine…” he says, making a few adjustments to the switch board in front of him.

“Thank you!” you say quietly, before running onto the dance floor. Carlos is finally in his element. He dances beautifully to the music, free and expressive. Right when the beat drops, a circle of spotlights go up. One lands on him, the other lands across the room on Seb, and they lock eyes in a moment that can only be described as magical. Ashlyn looks at the scene, straight out of a movie, then over to you. You high five her.

“Nice!” she whispers. You can see it between them, the energy, the chemistry, the electricity. You look at Ashlyn, nodding toward your table. You both sit down, giving them some time to talk and catch up. You try to be subtle as you watch them talk, not close enough to eavesdrop, but watching their expressions, gaging how it's going. They're smiling, then they're laughing, and soon they're dancing together. It's going well, you think. You can't wait for Carlos to fill you in later.

Sitting in Gina's driveway, a surprisingly more comfortable energy in the air than either of them had expected, Ricky tries to think of how to say what he wants to say.

"Not quite the evil mansion with wrought-iron and gargoyles you were picturing?" She asks, a hopeful playfulness to her voice. She almost sounds nervous.

"What? No…" he says. The comment takes him by surprise, snapping him back to attention. "...Well maybe some gargoyles." His joking tone and comforting energy has her giggling. She doesn't remember the last time she giggled. She feels his eyes on her, and tries not to look over at him. She does anyway.

"You're not that bad, you know." He muses. She tries to control her breathing. She doesn't say anything.

"Also," he continues, looking back over at the windshield, "I should thank you for that night at the skatepark, keeping me in the show. It means a lot, it's… a really big deal to me." He looks up and left at the top of the car window, mind already wandering about how if he had quit, he never would have gotten close to you like this, never would have fallen in… your arms the way he had that night. He can't imagine you not being in his life, and he has Gina to thank in part for that. He feels a sense of gratitude blooming for her. They talk a little more, and the feeling grows; Gina really is not that bad. He can feel a friendly bond growing between them, a sense of comradery.

"So… now is probably a good time to ask about the whole drink thing," he starts with a chuckle. She ducks her head, equal parts embarrassed at her actions, and that he saw her at such a low moment. She lets out a sigh. The gesture reminds him of something you might do. He thinks you two would be good friends. He’s already imagining what you’ll say when he fills you in on all this, he’s excited to get your opinion.

“...My mom moves around a lot for work. Like, a lot…”

Once she starts, she can’t stop, and it’s not long before she’s unintentionally spilled her guts and her life story to him. She wishes she could stop talking, but it’s like she totally lost her filter with him. She’s always been so reserved, so calculated, and now she doesn’t even have time to think before the words are already spilling out. It’s a new feeling, being so candid with someone, and an unsettling one.

She risks a glance over at Ricky, who’s just… listening to her. Taking in what she says. That somehow makes her more nervous than if he’d just ignored her or told her to shut up already. She wishes someone would tell her to shut up, she wishes she could. She finally gets to the end of her never ending stream of consciousness, and she’s stunned as they sit in the silence, Ricky really absorbing her words, her feelings. He reaches over and grabs her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze before letting go - a mannerism he picked up from you. Heat floods her chest, prickly and almost painful, hyper aware of where his skin just touched hers.

“You know, you-” She’ll never know what he was going to say, his words are cut short by the porch lights flashing through the windshield. Gina’s stomach sinks. She doesn’t want to go inside yet. She doesn’t want this moment to be over, but she has to listen to her mom. She reaches for the door, then hesitates. She turns back to Ricky, desperate to try one more time, to put herself out there, to plant some roots.

“I meant what I said at the skate park… about you having your own style.”

He smiles, looking down with a breathy chuckle. His leg is bouncing slightly, he can’t wait to get back to school and dance with you more, spend the rest of this magical night with you.

“Thank you, that’s-” He’s cut off again, this time by the kiss Gina presses to his cheek. She’s out of the car and inside before he can look at her face. She holds her coat tight around her against the chilly rain beginning to drizzle down, and a second later, the front door closes and she’s inside.He lets out another chuckle, different this time. ‘That was weird.’ He thinks. He barely has the thought before his stomach drops, a sick, cold fear clutching him. What if you find out Gina kissed him? What if you find out and you hate him, what if he breaks your heart into a million pieces without trying? Or worse, what if you lose interest in him because you think he likes Gina? He can feel himself panicking at the idea, unable to stop the onslaught of all too real feeling anxieties wracking his mind, creating a pit in his stomach as he peels out of the driveway and makes his way back to school.

No, no, that’s not going to happen. He’s not going to lose you because he’s not able to express how much he cares about you. He’s not going to let that happen. Trying to hold this panic at bay, he pulls out his phone as he walks through the parking lot towards the school again. How to show someone you love them. He types the words into google, skimming article titles, reddit threads, quora responses, until he finds himself at the gym doors. He sees you across the room, dancing in a group with Carlos, Ashlyn, Natalie, and Seb. ‘Oh, Seb’s here. That’s good,’ he thinks, a momentary relief that at least one or two fires had been put out tonight. He spots Big Red on the opposite side of the room, and makes his way over to him carefully, trying not to be seen by you. He can’t be around you until he figures this out, he can’t hurt you like this.

Ricky approaches Big Red with an intense energy he has trouble reading, before Ricky starts to speak.

“Dude,” he says, voice intense and hushed, “Gina kissed me on the cheek.”

“That’s great!”

“No, it’s not!” Ricky says, clearly very frazzled. Okay, that’s where this is going.

“That’s awful!” Red course corrects as Ricky fills him in on the car ride with Gina. As he tells Red everything that happened, Ricky finds himself kind of hating Gina right now. Why would she do this to him, why would she put him in this position? Does she hate him or something? He thinks she must, there’s no other reason for her to sabotage his relationship with you like this. She must hate him if she’s trying to ruin the most important thing in his life.

“Listen, I really, really like her…” his eyes keep flicking over to you, gaze magnetized by your presence, “like, a lot. How can I make sure I don’t fuck this up? Because I can not fuck up with her.”

“Woah, man,” Red starts, trying to help Ricky ground himself a little, “chill out. In all fairness, cheek kisses can be platonic.”

“Right,” Ricky nods, starting to feel assured, and Red continues.

“So, if Gina wants to date you when you’re… kind of seeing someone, she has to make that more clear to you.”

“Right.” Ricky states, agreeing. He really hopes she doesn’t.

“I think you’re okay,” Red says, sensing his energy changing already, “just make sure she knows how much you like her. Make it really, objectively obvious.”

Yeah. He just has to make it obvious.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he says to Red, his eyes locked on you as you laugh at something Carlos says, making his stomach twist and tingle, “I just have to make sure she knows how much… I like her.”

Red watches him make his way over to you, a spring in his step and a plan in his mind. Thank god for Dr. Phil, Red thinks, or else there’s no way he’d be able to help his friends navigate all their drama. He chuckles at the thought, watching Ashlyn fix the strap of your dress.

Ricky checks his phone one more time on the way over, looking over a chart of love languages one more time. He’s not sure what your love language is, so he’ll just have to try all of them and see what you seem to like best. Gift giving and acts of service aren’t really options right now, so tonight he’ll focus on words of affirmation, physical touch, and quality time. If he has to drown you in all five love languages at once to make sure you know how he feels about you, he will.

“Hey,” he starts, watching your reaction nervously, scared you somehow already hate him. You turn around at the sound of his voice, eyes lighting up.

“Hey!” you smile, “You’re back!” you grab his arm, pulling him in closer to the group.

“Seb’s here,” you say, and he smiles, relieved at your reaction.

“Hey, man,” he smiles.

“Fill me in later,” you say quietly, referring to giving Gina a ride, and he nods, a little bit ready to forget the whole thing.

Now that all the drama, wardrobe malfunctions, and late entrances are out of the way, you and what remains of your friends spend the rest of the night like you intended; dancing, laughing, and taking great pictures together. Later on into the night, everyone’s just about had their fill of fun and the party starts winding down. You split up, most of your friends piling into the Salt Lake slices delivery van so Red can drop them off. After some more hugs and laughs, you finally part ways, climbing into the passenger seat of his orange Volkswagen Beetle.

His heart is thumping as you grab his hand and squeeze it a little once you’re on your way back to his house, causing a fresh wave of heat to rise to his face, and god he's nervous right now. His mind is still screaming at him that you're going to hate him, that he has to prove his feelings to you. He lets out a small little laugh at the gesture.

“Well,” you start, tired from the night, but thriving off the energy between you, “that could have gone way worse…”

“Yeah,” he laughs, nodding in agreement. You talk for the whole drive back to his place. You’d planned on staying over tonight since Ricky was driving and you figured it would be late, plus your mom’s car is at the mechanic so she’s using yours until some time tomorrow. You exchange sleepy chuckles as he parks. He checks his phone one more time as you leave the car, opening an article of women submitting stories about how they knew a guy loved them in a new tab. He sees a text from his dad - the date went well, he hopes Ricky and you had a good time at homecoming, and he’s going to bed so try to keep the noise down when you get back.

“My dad’s asleep,” he says softly, unlocking the door. He guides you inside, hand resting low on your back, and closes the door quietly behind him. Walking quietly from his foyer to his room shouldn’t have been a problem, but standing in the darkness with Ricky, you both suddenly find it hard not to start giggling. Hushing each other, you quickly sneak up the stairs past Mr. Bowen’s room, down the hall to Ricky’s room. He barely closes the door and flicks the lock closed before dissolving into giggles. You kick off your heels, glad to finally take them off, and grab a makeup wipe from your bag. He digs through his clothes for a second before handing you a big t-shirt to sleep in.

“Thanks,” you say, throwing away the makeup wipes. He gazes at you, watching you transition from formal and made up to casual and comfortable, your beauty unwavering. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen anyone as pretty as you before. You watch him take off his jacket and tie, and undo the first button or two of his shirt. The action sends butterflies to your stomach and heat to your core. You glance away. You stand up, seeing if you can reach the zipper of your dress. Before you can ask, you feel Ricky behind you.

“Need some help with that?” He asks, closer to your ear than you’d expected and resting his hands on your waist. You both chuckle.

“Yeah,” you state, voice low and soft. He moves slowly, unzipping the back of your dress, careful not to snag the delicate fabric. You feel the bodice loosen around you, the end of the zipper stopping at the small of your back. He doesn’t move away. You can feel his breath fan over your shoulder, hand still resting on your waist.

His face is so close to yours, and he mutters your name softly before pressing a kiss to your jawline, then another and another. He moves down, burying his face in your neck as he continues to press hot, open mouthed kisses against your skin. He breathes in your perfume, peachy and sweet and intoxicating. He nips at your neck causing you to gasp, his hands moving below the draping fabric and directly onto your warm skin. You sigh at the contact. He pulls you closer to him, holding you tight as he sucks on your neck. Your dress is slipping off your shoulders, barely on at all anymore, as he begins to feel you up, touching you and caressing you so tenderly.

“Ricky,” you sigh. Your voice sounds so pretty when you’re like this.

“God, I-” he breathes, barely catching the words before they’re out. He lets out a nervous laugh, causing you to giggle in his grasp. He shushes you through his own laughter, his hands never ceasing the way they rome over your body.

"We have to be quiet," he says, turning you around in his arms, pressing himself up against you, trying so, so hard not to kiss you yet.

"I can be quiet…" you state, a jokingly incredulous tone in your voice. You stare each other down, and he tries not to break first, tries not to smile or laugh, but god, it’s impossible not to smile when he looks at you. Before he can crack, before he loses all composure and bares his soul for you, places his heart eternally in your hands to do as you please with, he pivots.

"Yeah?" He asks, and you feel the energy change, growing electric between you. "Is that a challenge?"

His tone is dangerous and he watches your eyes get wide. A second later he has you pinned against his mattress, pressing playful nips and kisses against your skin as muffled giggles and sighs escape your pretty mouth. His hands move down, grabbing your exposed skin as he kisses you harder and harder, riling the both of you up. You tear off the little remaining clothes either of you has on and he begins to roll his hips against you, grinding his hot, throbbing member against your heat. You let out a breathy moan, louder than before, as he continues to rock his hips against yours.

“That wasn’t very quiet,” he murmurs into your ear between kisses to your cheek and jawline. Your chest vibrates against his, and a wave of relief washes through him. You don’t hate him. He loves that feeling he gets when he makes you laugh, he wants to make you do it again.

“I can stay quiet,” you insist, already swept away by his touch, distracted by the warm kisses and bites he’s planting on your neck and chest. You’re even more distracted by the feeling of his fingers making their way down, brushing against your clit as they come into contact with the arousal dripping down your folds. He smiles, realizing if he can get you this turned on, this touchy, you must like him. He pushes his fingers in, finally met again with the cathartic feeling of your cushy, bumpy walls squeezing and folding around him. Arousal gushes, dripping down his fingers as he begins to stimulate the tight, sensitive muscles stretching around his fingers. He dwells on the feeling for a moment, maybe two, before you’re moaning again. It makes him laugh.

“I sure hope you can,” he says, another dangerously playful look on his face, “cause if you get too loud…” He watches you for a split second, hanging on his words, anticipation written across your face, “I’m gonna stop.”

Your stomach flip flops, exploding with butterflies at his words. Before you can look at his face, before you can gauge how serious he is about following through on his threat, his lips are on yours again. He kisses you, mouth open, tongue already prodding into your mouth. You’re lucky, you think, that he’s unintentionally muffling your noises with his mouth. You’re really lucky, because he quickly finds your g-spot, and there are a couple moans you couldn’t hold back if your life depended on it.

Every sigh, every gasp, every beautiful heart pounding moan Ricky elicits from you sends a fresh wave of relief and reassurance through him. You don’t hate him, and you’re not going to. You could never when he’s this good, this devoted to you. It’s impossible for him not to be when you’re so good to him. You’re so responsive to his touch, you’re totally on the same wavelength.

You must know what he’s telling you through his actions, through the way he looks at you, the words he’s had to bite back from spilling out more than once. You wouldn’t be dripping down his fingers and moaning into his mouth and grabbing at him like this, you wouldn’t be in his bed if you didn’t feel the way he does about you - or even something close to it. He’ll happily take whatever you want to give him. Of course he wants it all, he wants to completely take over your heart, but just a little bit will keep him happy until he can.

“Right there,” you whine against his lips, “fuck, just like that… feels so good…” you mutter.

‘See?’ he thinks, ‘You don’t say stuff like that if you don’t like someone a lot, much less moan it…’

It’s working. His plan to not lose you is working, he just has to make you cum so hard you can’t think straight, as many times as possible. And he’s going to, because there’s no way he can risk losing you. So he brings up his thumb, rubbing it over your clit as he curls his fingers against your gummy walls. It’s euphoric and overwhelming, and you barely have time to tug his hair before you’re cumming and pulsing around his fingers.

You squeeze and clamp tight around him, and he can’t resist anymore. He needs his tongue inside you, he needs to taste you, feel you squeeze his tongue and cream into his mouth. So he pulls away, already missing the feeling of your mouths against each other, and gazes at you, breath fanning across your cheeks, eyes locked. He takes you in, thumb caressing your cheek while the other continues to fondle your clit. After a moment he’s able to break his gaze away, and he moves down, pushing your legs open. You heart thumps in your chest in anticipation as he begins to lick and suck on your heat, tongue flicking into your drippy hole.

As soon as he gets a taste, he wants more. He stretches out his tongue, going to town on your cunt. Every sigh and tug of his hair, every attempt to muffle your moans makes him more eager to have you gush your sweet sticky cum all over him. This time he has some experience, and he’s making the most of it. He finds those spots inside you that make your eyes roll back, switching between them, bumping his nose against your clit, drawing stifled moan after stifled moan from you. One slips out, for real this time, and he pauses. It takes all his willpower; your scent is intoxicating and your taste is addictive, but the look on your face when you realize he’s standing by what he said is totally worth it.

“I told you,” he murmurs against your core, the vibrations and tone of his voice sending electricity through you, “we have to be quiet…” Your hand is clamped over your mouth, and you nod. Your timing couldn’t be better, because you don’t have time to finish the gesture before he dives back in. After that, it doesn’t take much to send you over the edge.

You give him everything he’s wanted all night, squeezing and gushing all over him while he laps up everything, holding down your hips while he shoves his tongue deeper inside you. It’s always surprising how far inside you he’s able to get it. You whine and moan, choking out praise as he already begins building up another high. He’s throbbing, desperate for anything you’ll give him, and he wants to make you say more shit like that. He wants to be good for you.

“Oh god- fuck, Ricky!” you choke out in a whisper, one hand tangled in his hair, the other clamped over your mouth. You’re already close again, he can feel it. He knew this would work. He knew he could prove to you how much you mean to him. He doubles his efforts, squeezing your thighs and grinding his face against your pussy, still dripping from the last times he made you cum. His eyes are half lidded and locked on you, watching your face, the way you squirm below his touch, the way your tits bounce with every movement. You’re not sure how long it is until he has you absolutely gushing and convulsing around his tongue again, but every moment is filled with ecstasy.

“Fuck you’re good at that…” you murmur, hand now playing with his hair instead of pulling it. “You’re one of the good ones, huh?”

You probably could have knocked him out with a feather. Your words reverberate in his mind, and his cheeks flush. One of the good ones. Yeah.

He’s throbbing harder than before, almost painfully turned on. He climbs back up over you, but before he can reach into his nightstand for a condom, you flip him over, straddling him. You look down at him with those beautiful eyes that hold every star in the night sky, biting your lip in that endearing way of yours. Your hands are warm on his shoulders, and he’s stunned at the suddenness of your action, and really eager to see where you’re going with this. He could watch you like this for hours, freezing this moment in time forever, eternally content with you, the way you touch him and look at him. You lean down closer to him, breath tickling his cheeks.

“My turn.”

You smile, the words coming out in a hushed giggle. Before he can blink, you’re grabbing his rock hard cock, squeezing it in your hands and teasing the tip as you spread around the precum already dripping down the side. He watches you, eyes wide and excited as you open your mouth, wrapping your lips around him. Your mouth is velvety soft, warm and wet, and he has to try not to cum on the spot. You pump the base of his cock, taking more of him in your mouth, and he tries not to buck his hips. He tries so hard not to move at all, tries to be good for you while you work your magic on him. He lets out a long, low moan. Suddenly you freeze, popping your lips off with a small wet noise as you look up at him.

“Stay quiet or I stop…” you tease, throwing his own conditions back at him. He nods, panting at your words. “Good boy.” You murmur under your breath, but he definitely hears. Good boy. He can feel the oxytocin flooding his brain, and you barely get your lips around him and start bobbing your head before he feels it.

“I’m close,” he chokes out, and you look up at him. He watches a smirk appear at the corners of your eyes before you drag your tongue along the bottom of his cock. It’s more than enough, and he watches in utter awe as he shoots his load into your mouth, and you swallow all of it. The sight is enough to have him throbbing again. He bites back more moans, desperate for you to keep going, for you to call him a good boy again. You bob your head along his length, tongue dragging along the vein on the underside of his cock.

One hand comes down to fondle his balls, and a choked moan slips out. He never knew he could feel this good. He never knew one person could make him like this. You continue to lick and suck, squeeze and pump and rub, and soon he’s fighting another orgasm, hoping to bask in the feeling of your mouth around him for just a little longer. His prayers are in vain, he realizes, as he shoots another load of sticky, salty cum into your mouth. You have no trouble taking this one either. You continue to suck and lick, riding out the last of his high, before finally releasing him with a soft pop.

Thoroughly fucked out, he watches you climb up next to him, awestruck. You grab a blanket, pulling it over the both of you, and moving his face to press a few more kisses to his lips. Your tastes mingle as your tongues connect, and Ricky doesn’t think he’s ever tasted something that delicious. He wants more of it. It’s only when you eventually pull away that your eyes land on the clock behind him.

“Christ, it’s late,” you murmur. You blink heavily, Ricky mirroring the action, and you trace your thumb over his cheek, just looking at him a little longer. You tug the blanket up a little higher, snuggling up next to him. He holds you close on instinct, still trying to process everything that happened tonight in spite of how exhausted he is. It hits him suddenly, and he struggles to stay awake so he can appreciate the kiss you press to his jaw, the warm feeling of your hand on his chest.

He tries so hard to stay awake, to look at you for a little while, because no amount of time with you feels like enough. He refuses to acknowledge the heavy way he blinks and squeezes his eyes, trying to force them to focus on you, but he can feel himself losing the fight against the deep sleep he’s about to slip into. This night was a success, he thinks. He did a good job.

Late morning sunlight streams through his window, finally dragging Ricky back into the waking world. He looks over, missing your presence, and finds his bed empty. As he rolls over, he’s struck by the sweet, intoxicating scent of your peachy perfume. It’s all over his pillow, his sheets, his blankets. His whole room smells faintly of your scent. He buries his nose in the pillow where you’d slept, breathing it in, taking him right back to last night.

Eventually, he checks his phone. It’s later than he’d expected, but he’s greeted with a text from you, bringing an immediate, even bigger smile to his face.

He sighs, lovestruck. He doesn’t want to get out of bed, doesn’t want the scent of your perfume to fade. He just wants to bask in it.

#ricky bowen smut #hsmtmts ricky #ricky bowen x reader #ricky bowen imagine #ricky hsmtmts #ricky bowen #hsmtmts imagine #hsmtmts smut #hsmtmts #rocks at your window #also your moms pfp is lorelai gilmore cause shes cool not bc its a face claim or smth #yk

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imogensheaneyy · 9 months

Text

it’s the caswell curse ; platonic!ej caswell

summary: when your mom dumps you off at camp shallow lake, you make new friends and ej takes the opportunity to make up for the way he used to treat you

pairing: ej caswell x half sister!reader

word count: 1.6k

warnings: being excluded (except not really), no romance just making friends

note: gina and ej are still together (no rina), I used random names for the roommates so imagine them however you want. I’ve never been to theatre camp so everything is from the minimal about of research I’ve done, also i’m painfully bad at writing endings <3

You didn’t usually dread your birthday. It was usually a pretty good time, something you looked forward to but this year was a bit different because your mom had told, at the last minute, that you would be going to Camp Shallow Lake.

She claimed it was because she wanted you to have new experiences and meet new people but you knew that the only reason she wanted you there was so she could go away with her new boyfriend.

“Have fun, sweetie,” She waved out of the car window, “I’ll be back to pick you up in six weeks, try and make some friends, would you?”

You didn’t have time to respond or to wave goodbye before she was turning around and driving off.

Mother of the Year.

Sighing to yourself, you turned around and faced the entrance of the camp - Camp Shallow Lake - your step-brother, EJ, had been going for years and you had finally given in to your parents’ suggestion of going rather than, in their words, rotting away in your bedroom all summer.

You’re not sure why they thought being around EJ of all people would make you feel better. He was ‘too cool’ to have a little sister follow him around all summer. You remembered when you had stayed with EJ and your dad for a few weeks and they had made it abundantly clear that you weren’t wanted so, from then on, you stayed away.

You looked down at your hands to see them shaking and your breath came out ragged. You didn’t get the chance to plan your escape route because EJ was jogging down the path with open arms and a wide grin on his face.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed and picked up your suitcase, “I’m glad you decided to come, I promise that you’re going to love it here.”

You paused in surprise, the EJ you had come to know would’ve wanted you to stay as far possible from him so as to not risk his precious reputation.

EJ had noticed your silence and the surprise plastered across your face and sighed to himself. He knew he wasn’t the best brother to you but he was going to take advantage of your presence for the next six weeks to try and make up for the lousy way he treated you.

He turned to fully face you, “I’m sorry,” He said, “I was an ass back then but I’ve changed.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” You scoffed, and tore your suitcase from his hands, marching towards the office.

Val, who you had been introduced to at the office, opened the door to, what would be, your cabin for the next six weeks.

“Guys,” She smiled at the other girls that were already settled in, “This is Y/N, it’s her first time so make her feel welcome.”

The door shut behind you and you tightened your grip on your suitcase. There was nothing necessarily bad about sharing a cabin with four other people but you slipped right into overthinking mode. What if I snore? What if they don’t like me? What if they talk about me behind my back? Oh not, they’re going to hate me.

Your spiralling was interrupted by one of the girls stepping forward and introducing herself, “I’m Brielle, it’s nice to meet you.” She seems nice enough but you never know.

She stood beside you and linked your arm with yours, pointing out the others, “This is Veronica, Isabella, and Abiola, it’s their first time too, it’s only my second year coming here so I’m basically a newbie too.”

You smiled and nodded, “Thanks.”

“You’ll be up there,” Abiola said, pointing to the top bunk of the bed she was sitting on, “But we can swap if you want.”

“I’m good, I prefer to up high anyway,” You said.

Brielle took your suitcase when she noticed that you had loosened your grip on it and rolled it over to the end of the bed, “The left side of this wardrobe is yours but one of the girls cancelled last minute so the bed under mine is probably gonna be used for storage so feel free.”

“Sounds good,” You tried to sound as relaxed as possible but you still felt really anxious.

She smiled and climbed up the ladder on the bunk opposite, and you followed her lead. Veronica and Isabella had claimed the bunk on the far side of the room, Veronica was on the bottom bunk and Isabella was on the top.

“So, what kind of stuff do we do here?” You asked, immediately regretting it. Who doesn’t know what summer camps do? I should’ve googled it before I left.

Brielle lit up at the question and the other girls groaned, “Oh, now you’ve done it,” Abiola fell back onto the bed, laughing, “I told you we should’ve waited until the last girl got here, Bri.”

Veronica saw your look of confusion and explained, “Brielle’s basically gone through the Camp Shallow Lake Itinerary for all of us when we arrived so she has it memorised.”

“Well, there’s the average summer camp stuff like regular sports and watersports, but the biggest thing is that there are classes on acting and singing and dancing and everything; then at the end of the summer, there’s a big musical that we put on for parents and families when they come to pick us up at the end.”

The idea of being on a stage in front of people was nerve-wracking and Brielle could see so she continued, “But you don’t have to take part in the musical, it’s completely optional but you could work on lighting and sound if you wanted; plus, one of the junior counsellors have introduced confidence-building workshops to help with stage fright and stuff like that.”

“They’ve got a whole sheet that covers it better than I can on the notice board by the office, come on,” Brielle jumped down and gestured for the rest of you to follow her. Abiola and Veronica rolled their eyes fondly at her enthusiasm and Isabella trailed behind with you, her head stuck in her book and she spared the odd smile when you glanced at her.

Three weeks had passed and you had ended up enjoying being at Camp.

Brielle had calmed down a bit but she had been given the lead for the musical which had ramped her back up. Abiola was killing it at dance and kept trying to get you to join. You couldn’t pull Veronica away from the ‘Radio and Music Production’ classes for the life of you, and Isabella was a dark horse when it came to singing, no one had expected her to be able to belt out numbers as well as she did.

You went to a few of the confidence-building workshops and realised that as long as you had people you trusted and could rely on, being on stage didn’t sound too bad so when you auditioned on a whim and ended up being cast as one of the minor characters, you were pleasantly surprised.

Yet, there was still some part of you that felt like it wasn’t real, that Brielle, Abiola, Veronica, and Isabella weren’t actually your friends, that they were pretending.

You didn’t want your anxious thoughts to ruin the campfire tonight but they had started to slowly creep up on you throughout the day until you were surrounded by some of the best friends you’d made but you still felt completely alone.

Everyone was so entranced by Maddox’s scary story that no one noticed you slip out of the crowd and back to your cabin.

No one except EJ.

EJ looked around and frowned when he couldn’t see you. His disappointment was clear to anyone that looked at him so Gina softly elbowed him, “EJ? What are you glaring at?”

“She’s not here,” He sighed, “Y/N’s not here anymore.”

“Maybe she got tired.”

“I don’t know.”

Gina turned in his arms, “She’s probably in her cabin, go talk to her.”

“Gi-”

“You said you wanted to do better, this is your chance, go.”

“When you’re right, you’re right,” He nodded and stood up, dusted off his shorts and headed towards your cabin.

He opened to door to your cabin and it only took him a few seconds to realise that you were having a panic attack. The tell-tale signs of ragged breathing and shaking were clear for him to see.

He came to kneel on the floor in front of you, pulling your hands into his and asked you to focus on him, “Y/N? Can you hear me?”

You nodded.

“Okay, I need you to take some deep breaths for me, do you think you can do that?”

You nodded again.

“Breathe in for four seconds, I’ll do it with you, now hold it for seven, that’s it, and breathe out for eight seconds…there you go.”

He repeated the instructions a few more times until he could visibly see you begin to calm down.

“Thanks,” You mumbled and he didn’t say anything, he knew that you needed to compose yourself first, “How did you know?”

EJ sighed and manoeuvred so that he was sitting on the floor, “I started getting them at the beginning of the year. A bunch of stuff happened in school at the end of last year and I started spiralling and feeling like nothing I did was-”

“Good enough,” You finished for him.

“It’s the Caswell Curse, I’m afraid,” He joked and you laughed with him.

You knew that this one moment wasn’t going to be a quick fix for the feelings of unwantedness that he had caused but it was a good start.

Maybe one day you’d say “that’s EJ Caswell, my brother” with pride in your voice but for now, you settled on “that’s EJ, he helped me” and that was good enough.

#hsmtmts imagine #hsmtmts headcanons #hsmtmts season 3 #hsmtmts imagines #hsmtmts #ej caswell #ej caswell imagine #ej caswell x reader #platonic imagine #sister reader #gina porter x ej caswell #ej caswell x gina porter #gina x ej #ej x gina #portwell

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inlovewithalotoffandoms · 2 years

Text

'Secrets' Part 1

E.J Caswell x Reader

Summery: You have a secret that only Gina, Ashlynn, Nini, Carlos literally everyone in the theatre club knows. Even miss Jen. The only person that doesn't know is your boyfriend E.J. Your secret is that you work with the Flash and when your watch beeps three or more times it's an emergency. Here's where this gets interesting E.J being E.J asked everyone 'Why does she keep running of." Or even "Is she cheating on me?" So yeah your friends and E.J get kidnapped by one your's and Barry's enemies.

You and Gina were at your locker talking about what happend on your last mission when your boyfriend E.J Caswell came.

"Hey e.j." Gina said.

"Hey ranger rick." You said smiling.

"Hi." He said and kissed you, witch took you by surprise.

"Uhhh, best friend still here." Gina stated in annoyance.

"Right sorry, Gina. Oh Y/N I wanna tell you something?" E.J said to you.

"What about?" You asked your handsome boyfriend.

"Uhhh,"

The ball rung and you said,

"Tell me later. Gina and I have Science, we have Mr Fuller. If we're late he will give us detention."

"Bye." Gina said.

"See you later hotshot." You say while dragging Gina to scince.

"Okay, when are you gonna tell him."

"When the time is right."

"And when will the time be right. How long can you keep it up?"

"As long as I need to Gina."

"Really? This has gone on long enough."

"What has?"

"The secrets. The lies."

"If he knows, Marcus will use him agents me."

"Y/N."

"Look Mr Fuller is here so shut up."

In the middle of class your classmates decided to do a tick-tock joke.

"Mr Fuller? It's hot in here can you please turn the heater off." One of your idiotic classmates asked.

"No. You wanna know why. It's perfectly fine in here." Mr. Fuller said.

Everyone except you and Gina pretended to faint.

"Why aren't the two of you doing it." He asked.

"Mr Fuller. We can tell you're mad and we don't want to make you more angry." You say.

"Yeah. And when they said they were going to do it. Y/N and I thought how you would be feeling so, we decided not to do it." Gina continued.

"We tried really hard to get them to not do it but nothing we were doing was changing their minds." You finished.

"Thank you Y/N and Gina you can go out five minutes early." Mr. Fuller said greatly to you and Gina, and then continued, "As for the rest of you......afternoon detention."

"Urghhhhh." The class compland.

"Wanna make it a Saturday?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You have to tell E.J." Ashlynn said while the rest of your friends nodded in agreement.

"Have to tell me what?" E.J asked while coming to your lunch table.

"Uhhh, ummmm. E.J Uhh." All of a sudden your watch started beeping. Everyone looked at you with a look that said 'Go. We'll cover for you' you gave them a smile that said 'thanks' and left.

"Why did she run off?" E.J asked the group.

"She has something important to do." Carlos said hoping you would come back as soon as possible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what's the big emergency?" You asked Cisco.

"We got a video message." He repiled.

"From who?"

"I think you know."

"Crap. Play the message."

Video message

"Hello Y/N. Now I'm sure you're wondering why I have sent you a video message. Well, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You and me go for ice cream. Or else something will happen to your best friends and your so called 'cute' boyfriend. Okay choi."

"Girl you good? You look pissed." Cisco asked you in worry.

"Call him. Call him now." You said in a mad voce.

"Okayyyy."

Cisco called Marcus and he said,

"I see you got my message."

"Yeah I did and you know what captain eyebrows....the answer is no." You say to him coldly.

"Well I guess we have to do this the hard way." He smirked.

#ej caswell x reader #ej caswell imagine #ej caswell #ej hsmtmts #hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #high school musical #high school musical the series #carlos rodriguez #gina porter #ashlyn caswell #big red hsmtmts #ricky bowen #hsmtmts imagine #hsmtmts x reader #matt cornett

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fubureaders · 1 year

Note

seblos from hsmtmts !

i believe this one's also a request, so thanks for sending one in! again, i only do x woc or black!reader, so.... i am currently working on something i think you might like, and hopefully you get the notification that i'm answering this so you can be sure to hear about when i post the actual fic. but if you have any x black!reader requests, i'd love to hear them!

#x black!reader #x black!fem!reader #x black reader #x black fem reader #x woc!reader #x woc reader #x poc reader #hsmtmts #seblos hsmtmts #seblos #hsmtmts imagine

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mxlti-fand0m-imaginess · 2 years

Text

Ashlyn Caswell Masterlist

none yet!

#imagine #imagines #x reader #oneshot #disney #hsmtmts #hsmtmts x reader #hsmtmts oneshot #hsmtmts imagine #ashlyn caswell #ashlyn caswell oneshot #ashlyn caswell x reader #ashlyn caswell imagine #high school musical the musical the series

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itsmarsss · 1 day

Text

Mars' Masterlists

The masterlist of masterlists ....................................................

Cobra Kai

Dear Evan Hansen

X-Men

Julie and the Phantoms

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Moon Knight (empty for now)

The Bear (empty for now)

Helluva Boss (empty for now)

.................................................... Mars! Who are requests open for? | Request away/let's chat! | My AO3

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frostluvrs · 9 months

Text

sofia wylie is an incredibly talented actress and performer that has been giving amazing monologues and acting performances like she gave in gina’s goodbye speech in 4x08 since forever and instead of appreciating her for that and also appreciating how far her singing has improved since s1 (when she’s never been a singer) half this fandom consistently tries to dim her light and overshadow her because they cannot let go of a Certain actress and a Certain real life relationship they still obsess over to this day. any time without fail she gets shine whether it be a performance of hers or a scene with ricky as character they come out of the woodworks talking about they miss olivia and it could have been her. every time she has a big scene and/or duet as gina with ricky they constantly bring up a duet or scene between rini and talk about how nothing can compare when we All know they’re talking about that certain real life relationship and not the actual characters; especially because the only scene they ever talk about is ricky’s confession and that’s because they’re obsessed with the fact it was improvised bc of that certain real life relationship.

and then they’ll pretend they like sofia and their comments aren’t in bad faith when it happens constantly in so many ways and has been since s1 (trying to convince people that joshua didn’t like her and sending her hate for liking rina being examples). they’ll get mad at you when you tell them to stop spamming every video of hers that has to do with hsmtmts that she “looks like olivia rodrigo” by saying it’s not that deep and it’s a compliment. would you want your comment section obnoxiously filled with how you look like someone else and that be the only thing they focus on? and we all know whenever they try to weirdly say it about gina they really just are trying to think of her as nini because they can’t let go of That relationship.

i love hsmtmts but one of the reasons i’m glad it’s ended is so sofia can eventually move on to a show or movie that doesn’t have a fandom (and unprofessional journalists and news outlets like entertainment weekly who literally is cutting her out of videos and the daily beast with their terrible s4 reviews) that is constantly trying to dim her light.

#it’s so disrespectful like imagine how she feels and these ppl pretend to LIKE her #sofia wylie #hsmtmts #gina porter #rina #ricky x gina

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mellowmadds · 2 years

Text

Candy Hearts | Ricky Bowen

ricky bowen/fem!reader oneshot

fluff :)

summary: attending camp shallow lake wasn’t your ideal summer plan. however getting to spend a few weeks of summer alone with your boyfriend Ricky seemed to make all your nerves and anxiety ridden thoughts disappear.

warnings: anxiety/anxious reader, sad reader, shy reader, ricky bowen has adhd

word count: 3076

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

Attending camp shallow lake wasn’t exactly how you wanted to be spending your summer, but here you are packing all your essentials. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be spending a few weeks of summer vacation with your best friends and almost too caring boyfriend, it’s just that your anxiety usually got the best of you. As you’re trying your best to fit everything into a small duffle bag that Ricky had let you borrow, your mother gently leaned against the frame of your bedroom door.

“Don’t forget your eyeglass cleaner, I know it bothers you even if it’s just a small smudge.” Your mother laughed while walking forward handing you the eyeglass cleaner and a small cloth.

“Thanks mom.” You said while trying to force a smile onto your face.

“What’s wrong Y/n? I can tell when you’re upset so don’t try to hide it.” Your mother stated as she sat down on your bed and grabbed the teddy bear that always sat on your pillow.

“Just nervous. I don't understand why you’re making me go.” Trying your best to not let the tears that filled your eyes spill down your face.

“Because this will be a good experience for you. Your friends will be by your side the entire time, you know Kourtney will be there for you. She understands how you feel so don’t worry she will take care of you. Besides, isn't Ricky also going to be there?” She was right, you knew that Kourt will always and forever be there for you, that's just the kind of person she is. As you looked back up at your mom she had a smirk on her face as she tightly held the teddy bear Ricky had gotten you a while back. You took the teddy bear from her arms and threw it on the pile of clothes you started folding so you could pack them into the duffle bag.

“No mother would ever be this happy that their daughter is spending a few weeks of summer vacation alone with her boyfriend, not to mention camp is also a few hours away from home.” As you stood up grabbing some more clothes to fold your mother also stood up and pulled you into a hug.

“That’s because I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom.” She said trying her best to keep a straight face.

“Okay enough with the mean girls quotes, but sure you're the coolest mom in the world.” You said hugging her back trying your best not to be so anxious about going off to camp.

Finishing up packing wasn’t the easiest trying to fit everything you were taking into that small duffle bag was a challenge however you did succeed without breaking the zipper. You were going to carpool with Kourtney, EJ, Ashlyn, and Carlos since Ricky was helping Big Red at the pizza place and was going to drive Big Red’s car to camp later on tonight. As you waited for EJ’s car to arrive you said your goodbyes to your mother and tried your best to look excited even though deep down you were a nervous wreck. EJ’s car finally pulled into your driveway making your heart skip a beat knowing there's no turning back now, you have no other choice than to attend camp. While throwing your bag in the trunk you hear Gina fighting over who gets to control the music.

“Wait so how are we all supposed to fit?” You laughed while Gina pulled you onto her lap and pushed your glasses up for you.

“Well hello to you too Y/n.” Gina laughed while trying to act as if she was hurt over you not expecting her to be in the car. Of course she wasn’t actually hurt. Gina had become the one friend who gave you the confidence you so desperately needed and the two of you grew closer since you knew she’d never judge you for being yourself. As everyone got settled into the car Gina turned the music back on and ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ from the movie Grease started playing through the loudspeakers and everyone sang along. Gina grabbed your cheeks as you scrunched up your nose as she sang the lyrics ‘But now there’s nowhere to hide’ then Carlos dramatically laid his arm on his forehead and leaned back into you and Gina as he sang the ‘Since you pushed my love aside’ lyric. The whole car ride was full of laughter and singing which made you think maybe camp would be fun. As you guys arrived at camp a girl named Maddox held out a bucket labeled ‘cell phones’ everyone placed their phones into the bucket while talking amongst themselves while you tightly held onto your phone and asked if this was a mandatory type of thing unfortunately it was and everyone had to give up all electronics.

“Camp Shallow Lake has a no electronics allowed policy in place so all campers can enjoy our activities and enjoy the outdoors, it’s only for a couple of weeks you’ll be fine.” Maddox spoke quietly to you as if she noticed how nervous you were. You gently placed your phone into the bucket taking one last look at your lock screen which was just a picture of Ricky holding the teddy bear he gifted you.

Walking towards the girls cabin Kourtney tried her best to make small talk with you as the rest of the girls walked in front of you guys.

“Please at least try to have a little bit of fun, I promise I’m not going anywhere I’ll be by your side the entire time.” She gave you a lighthearted smile and gave you a side hug as you both walked to the door of the cabin.

“Well this is certainly a choice” Kourtney laughed while pointing out every small detail she hated about the cabin.

“Save yourself the time and don’t even step one foot in the bathroom if you think the main room is horrid.” Gina chimed in with a disgusted look on her face while Kourtney covered her mouth with her hand and pretended to gag.

While the girls chatted among themselves you started fixing one of the bottom bunks claiming it as your own. While trying to unpack all the thoughts of having to stay here for a couple of weeks instead of peacefully sleeping in the comfort of your own home filled your brain. Trying to hide your discomfort you told the girls you were going to go for a walk and would be back later on.

“You guys think she’ll be alright and eventually get used to it?” Ashlyn asked worriedly, she had always looked out for you even if you two weren’t the closest of friends.

“I doubt it Y/n has never liked being away from home. It took her months to be able to sleep the entire night at my house when we were younger. She won’t even sleepover at Ricky’s even though Mr. Bowen doesn’t care.” Kourtney explained to the girls while Carlos quietly entered the cabin and joined in on the conversation.

“Y/n doesn’t look like she’s having any fun. I just passed her on the way here and she didn’t even look at me when I asked where she was going.” Carlos told the girls while giving them a sad expression.

“Wait, she really won’t sleep over at Ricky’s house?” Gina asked shockingly.

“Big Red may or may not have told me that Ricky thinks his ADHD and outgoing personality is too much for Y/n to handle.” Ashlyn chimed back into the conversation.

“Are Y/n and Ricky really having problems?” Carlos questioned Kourtney hoping she would spill every single drop of tea.

“Y/n just struggles with really bad anxiety and this is probably the last place she wants to be right now. They aren’t having problems but it just takes Y/n a while to become fully comfortable. Also Ricky has no room to talk because he is constantly getting Y/n in trouble at school for the stupid things he does like skateboarding down the dead silent hallways with Y/n trailing behind him dragging his backpack on the floor trying to get him to stop. Ricky doesn’t exactly help Y/n when it comes to her anxiety, he just makes it worse.” Kourtney says with a straight face.

“So you’re confirming that what Ricky told Big Red is correct?” Ashlyn asked Kourtney with a confused look.

“Ricky just needs to realize that Y/n struggles with being in unfamiliar places and becoming close with people. She trusts Ricky, she just needs more time to get comfortable.” Kourtney explained.

Everyone decided to stop questioning Kourtney because she seemed to be done with the conversation and decided to finish unpacking and talk about the activities happening tonight.

“Hey Y/n I’m sorry but you can’t be over here we have to start setting up for the campfire.” EJ stated while giving Y/n a small smile.

“Sorry rocketman.” EJ glared at you.

“Please don’t call me that absolutely nobody knows my camp nickname yet I’m not ready to be made fun of the entire trip.” EJ laughed. “The girls have been looking for you, you should head back and get ready for the campfire.”

“Sorry if I worried anyone, I was just trying to clear my head.” You explained and gave EJ a wave goodbye while you walked back in the direction of the girls cabin.

When you got back to the cabin none of the girls were there so you took the time to try your best to relax and find an outfit to wear to the campfire since it was going to get cold tonight. Time passed and eventually all the girls came back to the cabin with blankets to stay warm next to the campfire. Gina handed you a fluffy light blue blanket and asked if everyone was ready to start heading out. While the girls headed to the campfire Ricky finally arrived and decided to head to the boys cabin to unpack. While Ricky was unpacking in the boys cabin he quickly made friends with a kid named Jet who finally agreed to come to the campfire with Ricky after some convincing. Before heading out Ricky grabbed the candy hearts he bought earlier and quickly made his way to the campfire with Jet.

“Am I late!” Ricky yelled over EJ’s horrible singing.

“You always know how to make an appearance, Bowen.” Carlos shook his head laughing while getting up from his spot next to Y/n so Ricky could take a seat next to you. EJ continued to sing while everyone watched him and made weird faces.

“Hey love” Ricky quietly greeted you while you let him take half of the blanket. You gave him a soft smile not wanting to interrupt EJ again.

You and the girls have been sharing a bag of twizzlers when out of the blue Ricky reaches and grabs one.

“Absolutely not Bowen go get your own.” Kourtney snaps at him. She had never really been fond of Ricky but tolerates him because you love him for some reason. You looked over at Kourtney while taking the twizzler from Ricky and placing it back in the bowl. Carlos seemed to be the only one to notice your obvious discomfort and sadness that Kourt snapped at Ricky for no reason. Instead of fighting with her Ricky shrugged his shoulders and decided it wasn’t worth it to start an argument, he knew Y/n wouldn’t like that.

“Here” Ricky said while handing you a candy heart that had ‘I <3 you’ written on it. You looked up at him and gave him another smile when he started leaning in you turned to lay your head on his shoulder. The rest of the campfire was filled with laughter and happy memories being made. Although you didn’t talk to Kourtney the rest of the time you still enjoyed your time with your other friends. Eventually the campfire ended and since it was getting late everyone decided it was time to head back to the cabins and get ready for bed. Everyone said their goodbyes. You gave Ricky a hug and said goodnight to him and walked back to the girls cabin with Ashlyn while EJ and the rest of the camp directors stayed behind to clean up.

“Are you okay Y/n? Kourt shouldn't have snapped like that.” Ashlyn asked before entering the cabin.

“Yeah I’m alright I know she doesn’t like him it’s okay.” You said back shrugging your shoulders. Ashlyn just nodded and gave you a tight hug before the both of you headed inside the cabin. It was getting late and everyone was tired so you rushed getting ready for bed so the girls could shut the lights and go to sleep. Some time had passed and everyone had already fallen asleep no matter what you could not fall asleep it felt as if your breathing was getting heavier with every passing minute and no matter what you could not get comfortable instead you were tossing and turning every second. Realizing you weren’t going to get any sleep you grabbed one of your hoodies and made your way over towards the boys cabin. You don’t know where the courage came from. Maybe it was because you were tired or because Kourtney made you mad but you twisted the doorknob to the boys cabin and walked in like you owned the place. Of course the boys were still awake. It was only Ricky, Carlos and Jet since EJ was still cleaning up the campground. Ricky quickly jumped from his top bunk and pulled you into a tight hug.

“Hey Y/n are you okay what happened?” Ricky asked, letting go and looking at you.

“I just couldn’t sleep and Kourt isn’t really being the nicest person right now.” You admitted fidgeting with your hands and placing them in the pocket of your hoodie.

“You can stay here, come on take your shoes off.” Ricky said while taking one of the million pillows Carlos brought along with him.

“My pillows are the most comfortable they are made of-” Carlos was quickly cut off by you telling him thank you and Ricky turning the lights off as soon as he knew you made it safely onto the top bunk. Ricky quickly climbed back into bed and gently pulled you closer to him and wrapped his arms around you. Although this was new for you guys to be sleeping in the same bed you felt comfortable and played with the end of his t-shirt while you slowly drifted off to sleep. Unfortunately that didn’t last long because no more than an hour later the lights were being turned on by a very already pissed off EJ.

“Carlos candles are not allowed in the cabins!” He quickly ran over to the candle and blew it out. EJ was taking his new camp job very seriously which everyone found hilarious.

“We were trying to sleep, shut the lights back off it’s late” Ricky said sitting up to face EJ.

“You guys were not sleeping Jet is playing that stupid video game and Carlos has his face misting thing on.” Carlos just rolled his eyes and continued to ignore EJ. As soon as Ricky sat up EJ saw you laying there next to him.

“Y/n get up you’re not allowed to sleep in here.” EJ said with an annoyed look on his face.

“Just go to sleep EJ nobody else cares, it’s not like we are going to do anything.” Ricky replied back.

“No Ricky it doesn’t matter I’m not getting in trouble for letting Y/n sleep in your bed. Come on Y/n get up I’ll walk you back to the girls cabin.” EJ was serious this time and wasn’t in the mood to joke around or let anything slide. Ricky was starting to get angry but before he could start a fight with EJ you started to quietly explain what was going on to EJ. It was hard for you to talk about your struggles with anxiety and explained that earlier in the day when you had talked to EJ because you were sitting where the campfire was being set up you told him it was because you were trying to clear your head and calm yourself down. After some more talking EJ finally agreed to let you stay and apologized for being an asshole. You accepted his apology, you knew he didn’t hate you and that he was just tired and wanted to go to sleep after a long day. Eventually morning came and the bright sun came shining through the windows. EJ was already up and gone getting the day started with the campers while Carlos was just heading out the door to go get some breakfast.

“Good Morning love” Ricky said while pulling you closer to him. He always called you some sort of name but love was always your favorite. You gave him a quick kiss and hugged him tight while he pulled the blanket up further so you were comfortable. However your sweet but short lived moment was only to be interrupted by the one and only Dewey Wood.

“I see not one but two violations in front of me.” Dewey stated while Jet quickly hid his gaming system under his blanket. Following his actions Ricky jokingly covered you with the blanket.

“Jet, why don’t you get up and go get some breakfast.” Dewey recommended and Jet followed his instructions not wanting to get his games taken away.

“Now that it’s just us, let's have a very nice detailed conversation about why this isn’t allowed.” Dewey said while gesturing his hands towards the two of you.

You may have not had the best first night at camp and while yes having ‘the talk’ with none other than Dewey Wood was intriguing yet embarrassing you had one of the best morning’s ever getting to spend time with Ricky brushing your teeth together while dancing to music on EJ’s record player and then getting to eat breakfast together pretending it was like a mini date. Ricky may be a lot to handle sometimes but he truly does take all your worries away and you couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend than Ricky Bowen.

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starrrbakerrr · 1 year

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High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Bloopers (part 1/?)

#this was so much better than I could have imagined!!!#they're everything #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #high school musical: the musical: the series #Sofia wylie #joshua bassett #rina #gina x ricky #mine #I want to gif a couple more scenes but probably tomorrow hehe #hsmtmts bloopers

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angelhummel · 4 months

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half of the hate for kurt literally just boils down to "a gay kid who loves musical theater?? in MY 'kids who love musical theater' show??? stereotype!!!"

#glee #kurt hummel #my thoughts #that i had while watching hsmtmts and imagining what bad things people said about carlos or seb alsjfslkdf #i dont wanna know #but fr like #yes lots of gay people love musical theater and we're doing a show about musical theater and you dont wanna see any gay characters?#or any gay characters who like musical theater? in the musical theater show? that you chose to watch?#sounds like a skill issue to me #watch a different show #or stop being homophobic #anyway all kurt hate is either that or people insulting chris which also earns you a one way ticket to hell alksjflkdsfd

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leaawrites · 5 months

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Our place

Pairing: Ricky Bowen x gnl!reader Summary: Reader drags Ricky out in the forest to show him a place they found. Warnings: kissing, gender neutral reader, flirting, cliche topics, possible grammar mistakes, mention of murder (as a joke), mention of kidnapping (as a joke)

Masterlist

“Come on Ricky,” I whisper-yelled as we both walked through the dark forest.

“What are we even doing here?” He asked while trying not to fall or trip.

“Just relax and don’t ask questions,” I said, holding my hand out to him. He happily took it and we walked around the tree’s and over the grass.

“Are you going to kill me?” He asked suspicious and I quietly laughed at his attitude.

“Yes, Richard Bowen. I am, in fact going to kill you here out in the woods because I absolutely can’t stand you and really despise your absolute gorgeous face,” I said sarcastic and he stopped for a second.

“You think my face is gorgeous?” He asked and I just continued walking ignoring him completely.

We walked for another five minutes before we were at our destination. I looked to my left at his side profile and saw his eyes light up by the sight in front of us. It was a free landscape with a flower field around half of it.

I bit my lip, trying to push my foolish smile down, before pulling him behind me. We stood on the soft grass. It was a bright color of green that looked like cut out from a picture book. There weren’t any trees hovering over the patch of land, so you could perfectly see the night sky with all it’s stars shining and even the moon.

I put my backpack down and searched for the blanket I had inside of it. Laying it down on the grass and sitting on top of it, Ricky interlocked our hands while I looked up at the sky.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Really beautiful,” He said and I looked at him just to see him already looking at me.

I understood what he meant by what he said and looked down with blushing cheeks and a cheeky smile covering my face. I really couldn’t stop smiling.

“What is it?” He asked his voice getting higher. The tone and change of his voice hinted his confusion. He had no idea what was happening with me in that moment.

“That was very cliche,” I pointed out and now he laughed as well.

“But it is true,” He said and I blushed even more.

He put his hand under my chin making me look up at him. His thumb slid over my cheek and his eyes were focused on my eyes before they slipped down to my lips for a second. He came closer and I did the same.

“All I wanna do is be with you. There’s nothing we can’t do. I just wanna be with you, only you.” He sang quietly before our lips connected.

It was soft and warm like the other times but now it felt more passionate. I felt him smile into it and I did the same, letting out a chuckle our lips left each other for a moment before he shushed me and put our lips together again.

“I like this place,” Ricky said, still holding me close to his body but his lips left mine.

“Me too,” I confirmed to him.

“Maybe it could be our place?” He suggested, lifting his eyebrows in hope of it not making his blush too obvious.

I, however, noticed the red color slowly creeping up his face and laughed at him. “I would like that,” I said. “I actually wanted to show you this earlier, but I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”

“I like everything you show me.”

I started giggling at his odd behavior and knew that he was flirting. He never did it this openly but it was nice. It was really nice.

#ricky bowen #ricky bowen x reader #hsmtmts #hsm the series #hsm the musical #ricky bowen x you #ricky bowen x y/n #ricky bowen imagine #hsmtmts imagine #in the woods #imagine #fandom #hsm2 #hsm3 #hsm #joshua bassett #joshua bassett imagine

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imogensheaneyy · 2 years

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better late than never ; caswen + gini

summary: ricky and nini come to terms with their feelings for their friends but they can never seem to get their timings right

or: ej and gina start dating just before ricky and nini realise how they feel about them, cue teenage angst

pairing: ricky bowen x ej caswell, nini salazar-roberts x gina porter, temporary!gina porter x ej caswell, past!ricky bowen x nini salazar-roberts

word count: 8.1k

warnings: breakup (ricky and nini), bad timing, kind of angsty, mentions of past biphobia (unnamed character towards gina)

note: so about a year later, here we go :) i’m kind of ashamed of how long this took me to write; it’s not my best but constructive criticism is always welcome <3

read on ao3

Nini Salazar-Roberts was a new woman, this much she had decided. She had been through a lot in the past year alone - she had been dumped by the love of her life, got the lead in the play, dated one of the most popular guys at school, dumped said popular guy because he had no concept of privacy, got back together with aforementioned love of her life, only to realise that maybe he wasn’t actually the love of her life.

Cue her current freak out.

“Girl,” Kourtney coached her through the phone, her voice calming. “Just tell him, rip off the bandaid.”

“What if he doesn’t take it well? What if he gets mad?”

“Then you tell me and I’ll kick his ass the next time I see him,” Her best friend said with complete confidence, bringing a weak smile to her face. “I’ve got to go, babe, let me know how it goes, love you.”

“Love you too.” She replied before pocketing the phone. Just tell him, rip off the bandaid, she repeated Kourtney’s words to herself.

Nini closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her fingers playing with the necklace Ricky had given her on opening night. Her eyes opened and she looked in the mirror hung on the door of her locker, focusing on the chain around her neck. That had only been a few weeks ago but it felt like a lifetime had passed, so much had changed since then.

She had called Kourtney in tears the night before. It had taken her friend far too long to talk her down from an impending freak-out. After her brief fling with EJ and the handful of dates she’d been on between dumping the jock and getting back together with her ex-boyfriend, none of them had made her feel the way the aforementioned ex-boyfriend did.

She had broken down over facetime, crying about how she was so sure that Ricky was her future. Hell, they were already married! Granted, it may have happened when they were ten, with gummy rings instead of real ones and the only witnesses were her pet hamsters but the point still stands.

She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as Ricky came stumbling around the corner, his backpack haphazardly thrown over one shoulder. “Hey,” He said, breathlessly, an adorable smile plastered across his face. “What’s up? I was just talking to Big Red about this new video game-”

“I want to break up.”

Ricky stopped.

“What?” His voice cracked and he shook his head, trying to deny the reality. “Why?”

“I,” She took a deep breath, avoiding his gaze, knowing that if she looked at him, there was no doubt that she’d start crying. “You’re really important to me, Ricky, but I don’t think we work anymore.”

“Yes, we do,” He insisted, hands reaching for her. “Of course, we do, we’re Nini and Ricky.”

“I don’t think we’ve been Nini and Ricky for a while,” She admitted solemnly. “I think, maybe, that the versions of us that did work don’t exist anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Ricky asked, his voice desperate. “We still work, we’re always gonna work.”

“I’m not what you need, Ricky,” Nini snapped, though her voice was soft, and calming. “We’re different people now, things have changed with us and with me and it’s not fair to either of us.”

“Yeah,” Ricky sighed and reluctantly lowered his head in defeat. She was right. He knew it but that didn’t mean he wanted to know it. “But…” What was he going to say? He hadn’t wanted to admit it but he had felt them growing apart. It was so much easier to pretend that things hadn’t changed, that they were still the same people as before, that they could easily fall back into the old roles.

But they couldn’t.

He felt comfortable around her and he knew that would never change. He loved rehearsing with her. He loved singing with her. He loved being with her but she was right, things were different now - their love was different.

As much as he knew the truth, he needed them to be Nini and Ricky. He needed something stable, constant. There were too many thoughts bouncing around in his head to have this be over.

“I’m always going to love you, Ricky,” Nini said after realising that he wasn’t going to say anything more. “I just don’t think I love you in that way anymore.”

“Yeah,” He said again, his eyes falling to the chain on her neck, the feeling of his own all of a sudden felt suffocating. “I just don’t want anything to change.”

“It won’t!” She insisted, her hands reaching forward to grab his. “I mean, we won’t kiss anymore and we won’t refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend but nothing else will change. We’ll still be us, just different.”

“Upgraded.” He smiled stiffly, his thumb running over the back of her hand.

“Yeah, upgraded,” She stood in the silence for a beat. “So, that video game?”

That seemed to wake him up, Ricky’s head shot up and a genuine smile spread across his lips, a certain sparkle returning to his eyes, it made her heart ache. “Yeah, it’s not exactly new but Big Red found this video game in the charity shop downtown and it was in pretty good condition so we’re gonna try it out tonight…”

Nini smiled as they both turned and walked down the hallway together. It wasn’t going to be easy to get to a good place with him but she knew she was more than willing to try, Ricky wasn’t someone she was willing to lose. As she listened to him ramble on and on about this new game, the excitement clear in his voice cemented one thing in her mind.

Ricky Bowen was her soulmate, just not in the way she thought he was.

It hadn’t taken long for the reality of his love life to hit him but when it did, Ricky was broken beyond repair (and that was definitely not an exaggeration, as much as Big Red would attest to the fact that it was). To be exact, it had taken him a total of half an hour of being without Nini’s company for him to start crying (which Big Red insists is a feat in itself).

Big Red knew he had to do something. He had come over, buzzing with excitement to play his new video game before heading off to work but as soon as he saw Ricky - red-eyed and cocooned in a blanket - he knew he was going to have to put his expert Ricky knowledge to the test.

“Alright, I let you mope,” He sighed, hands running through his hair, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His heart lurched at the sight of his best friend looking so heartbroken. “Time to get up, Ricky.”

“No,” He pouted, hiding his face in his pillow. “I just want to lay here and die.”

“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Nope,” He said, popping the ‘P’ as he turned his head to catch his best friend’s gaze. “The girl I’ve been in love with since forever just dumped me, I think I’m allowed at least a day or two of mourning.”

Big Red glanced down at his phone, ignoring the texts from Ashlyn and a few notifications from the group chat. “Look,” He said, crouching down by the side of the bed, his face close to Ricky’s. “I have to go to work, Kourt will kill me if I don’t show up, just, I don’t know, eat something, please?” He asked with a begging look on his face. “You’ll be okay, I’ll be back after my shift.”

Ricky hummed in agreement but Big Red didn’t seem convinced.

“Love you, man,” He said, pressing a kiss to Ricky’s forehead, tucking him into the blanket a bit more, before he left. “I promise you’ll be okay.”

Ricky lost track of how much time he spent cocooned in his blanket, it had triggered another flood of tears when he remembered that Nini had been the one to buy him the particular blanket he was using. It had been a birthday present for one year because he’d always complain about how cold he was.

It wasn’t until his bedroom door was thrown (and I mean, literally thrown) open that he was shaken out of his reminiscing to look up at the figure standing above him. “What?” He murmured, hating the fact that anyone was seeing him in his current state, especially him.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” EJ asked, throwing his bag onto the floor next to Ricky’s bed before sitting down next to him, on the edge of the bed. “You wanted to practice for rehearsals, remember?”

“Ugh,” Ricky groaned, turning himself over and hiding his face in his pillow again. “Not today, dude, raincheck.”

“Nope.”

“What do you mean ‘nope’, we’re not rehearsing right now.” He said, lifting his head to send a withering glare towards his kinda-friend-kinda-enemy-except-not-so-much-anymore.

“Fine,” EJ shrugged. “We won’t rehearse; we’ll watch a movie or order takeout or you can show me that movie you’ve been wanting to show me for months now, I don’t care but I’m not letting you wallow here all day like you’re Bridget fucking Jones.”

“Will you go a day without referencing that god-forsaken movie?”

“Probably not.”

“Fine,” Ricky huffed and pulled himself free of the blanket but didn’t move much further. “What if I just didn’t?”

“Bowen,” EJ tries to stifle a chuckle. He knew that Ricky was upset and, as someone who’d been dumped by Nini before, he could definitely relate. But that didn’t mean he had to be nice and sensitive about it. “I get that it sucks but you can’t stop living just because you’re not with Nini anymore.”

“Ugh,” He covered his face with his arms and groaned. “Why?”

“Because it’s not healthy, so we’re going to go do some stupid shit so you forget how bad you feel; besides I’m on strict instruction from Gina to not let you be, and I quote, a depressed little bitch.”

“I love her so much,” Ricky sighed, sarcastically.

“She’s just trying to look out, so,” EJ clapped, standing up. “We’re going on a run.”

“Exercise?” Ricky’s face paled. “Now you’ve crossed the line.”

“Half an hour, then we’ll stop by Slices,” EJ said, ruffling Ricky’s hair.

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Get up first.”

It felt like hours had passed when Ricky caught a glimpse of the finish line (also known as the Pizzeria), he’d never been so happy to see the giant red sign hanging out front. EJ had insisted upon doing at least three laps of the neighbourhood which, to him, may have seemed plausible and even enjoyable; however, Ricky was far from pleased when he was told of the day’s plan, glaring at EJ with an “I hate this and I hate you” muttered under his breath every few feet.

“I want death,” Ricky panted as he pushed the door open to Slices, he felt like his legs were on fire and it didn’t seem to help that EJ looked almost entirely unaffected. “I hate you.”

“I don’t care,” EJ said, laughing. “What do you want?”

“Anything,” Ricky shrugged, collapsing down onto a chair and dropping his head into his arms, his eyes closing. “Bleach if you can get it.”

“Drama queen,” EJ scoffed.

Ricky had finally caught his breath, after EJ had managed to drag him out of bed and convince him to get changed, they had run a few laps around the neighbourhood and, as much as Ricky hated to admit it, he felt a bit better. But there was no doubt in his mind that as soon as he got home, he’d be back in his blanket burrito but running helped more than he thought it would (not that he’d ever tell EJ that).

He looked up towards the cash register and saw EJ joking with Howie and couldn’t help but smile at the goofy grin on the jock’s face. He didn’t know when it happened but EJ had started cracking more jokes and being a bit goofier, with him and in rehearsal, and Ricky couldn’t, in good faith, say he wasn’t a fan.

EJ Caswell used to be the asshole jock dating his ex-girlfriend now he’s his sorta-friend and his ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. Talk about complicated, he thought. Ricky will sometimes find himself trying to find flaws in his friend, anything to make him seem human, there was no way someone as perfect as EJ could exist.

“... Like, I know I had that class last year but I couldn’t remember a thing so it was a disaster from start to finish.” EJ was talking. When did he get back? Now he’s looking at him. Shit, I’m supposed to answer, Ricky thought frantically.

“Um, what?” Great, that’s really fucking eloquent, Ricky.

But EJ just laughed. “I was saying,” He repeated with a roll of his eyes, “I was helping Gina study today but I was so fucking useless, I had the class last year but I remembered absolutely nothing so she spent an hour teaching me a dance from TikTok instead.”

“Yeah?” Ricky chuckled at the image his words had conjured in his head; he had seen EJ attempt to floss once… It hadn’t gone well. “How did that go?”

“Terribly, apparently it was supposed to be an easy one too.”

“Maybe dancing just isn't your strong suit.”

“Clearly,” EJ drawled sarcastically before forcing himself to look serious. “Are you feeling any better?”

“A little,” Ricky had to admit that EJ’s plan wasn’t the worst, he definitely felt better but he wasn’t sure if it was due to the exercise or the company. That’s a problem for another day, he thought to himself.

“I know it’s not going to fix everything but it’ll help when you need a little pick-me-up,” EJ explained, an understanding smile on his lips. “I went on runs all the time after Nini and I broke up.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you were right.”

“Damn right, I was right.” Ricky cursed himself for the way his chest tightened at the sight of EJ’s wide smile and the way his stomach fluttered at the sound of his laugh. He waited until EJ was thoroughly distracted by the pizza to take the time to gaze at him over his soda. EJ Caswell was proving him wrong time and time again.

He watched as EJ swayed happily back and forth as he ate his pizza; he probably didn’t even realise he was doing it but Ricky couldn’t help but smile and his expression softened at the sight. He tries to focus on his own food but his eyes kept falling back to the contented look on EJ’s face, it wasn’t until he heard Gina’s name fall from the older boy’s lips that he pulled himself out of his daydreaming as a strong feeling of guilt washed over him; he would’ve had to have been blind to not notice the glances that EJ had been sending the girl recently.

“Hey!” Nini jumped in surprise at the loud noise, she was pulled from her thoughts at Gina’s voice echoing through the nearly empty hallway. “You weren’t in the library, I had to partner with EJ and, oh my god, he’s terrible.”

“Library?”

“You were supposed to help me study?” Gina reminded her, shaking her head at Nini’s forgetfulness. “Reilly’s essay? EJ tried helping me out ‘cause he had him last year but, honestly, I would’ve been better off just winging it. I ended up trying to teach him this dance I saw but he was so bad, it was funny though.”

“Oh, my god, Gina,” Nini gasped, hands shooting up to cover her own mouth, something about disappointing Gina caused her heart to clench but she decided not to think about that too much. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot.”

“Obviously,” She rolled her eyes but there was no malice behind it or her words, obviously indicated by the teasing smile on her lips. “That’s not like you.”

“Yeah, it’s just,” She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. “I broke up with Ricky.”

“What?” Gina was shocked, she had just gotten okay with seeing them together. After talking with Ashlyn and EJ, she forced Ricky into talking things through with her and she was able to properly get out how she was feeling and they talked through it all. They weren’t exactly best friends but it still felt good to be around him again. Although that didn’t stop the clench of her heart when she saw him and Nini holding hands or when she watched him press a quick kiss to Nini’s cheek before rehearsal.

“I wasn’t feeling it anymore,” Nini smiled although it was clearly forced. Admitting the truth to herself had been hard enough, speaking it out loud to someone else was terrifying “I still love him but, I don’t know, it’s weird.”

“It’s not,” Gina comforted her, grabbing her hand and rubbing her thumb over the back of it. “People change, they grow apart, it’s natural.”

“I know, it’s just….” She trailed off, she hadn’t thought about how to put what she was feeling into words, she didn’t know if she could.

Gina just sat there. waiting, she knew better than to push her. Something Gina had noticed (and had come to adore) about Nini was that she was patient, not only with others but with herself, so she allowed her to find a way to talk about how she felt.

“Ricky has always been a part of me,” She sighed, leaning her head back. “Until we broke up, the first time, it had always been Nini and Ricky, you’d never see one of us without the other but after EJ and YAC, I feel different and I don’t know if we still work.”

“You’ve changed,” Gina said as though it was a fact, not an opinion. “That’s a good thing, take it from me.”

“I know but,” Nini took a deep breath. “Sometimes I wonder whether it would’ve been easier just to pretend I was still the old me; Ricky was familiar and easy and-”

“Safe.”

Nini looked up at Gina, she couldn’t help but smile at the certainty of her friend’s words. It was nice to have someone to talk to, Kourtney was her ride-or-die but Gina was refreshing. It had taken a while but after they had worked through everything that happened last year, Gina had become one of Nini’s closest friends and she knew that, as much as she loved having Kourtney to hype her up, Gina was always going to give her complete honesty.

“Yeah, safe.”

Nini watched as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, she was about to say something when Carlos’s voice rang out through the library. The shout of Gina’s name made the girls turn around to see Carlos running up to them, closely followed by Seb, who was looking as confused as they were.

“Hey, Carlos,” Gina said softly, holding out her hands as if calming a horse. “Deep breaths, what’s wrong?”

Carlos panted and shook his head, Seb stood behind him shrugging. “I talked to Miss Jenn and she needs us to come up with some choreo as soon as possible.”

“How soon?”

“End of school, tomorrow.”

“What?” Gina yelled, mouthing an apology when a group of people sent her scathing glares at the raise of her voice. “That’s not possible, we’d need to practice and revise it and then we’d have to practice again, we don’t have time!”

“It’s doable,” Carlos said, ignoring Gina’s scoff. “I’ve talked to a bunch of our teachers and, as long as we catch up, they’ll let us skip tomorrow to figure something out, Mr Mazzara said something about this being ‘typical Jennifer’ so I assume he’s on board, we just need people to help.”

“I’m not busy!” Nini said, drawing their attention. Why did you sound so eager? She cursed herself as she felt her cheeks heating up - since they had become friends, Nini discovered that she really enjoyed Gina’s company and she wouldn’t allow herself to miss the opportunity to spend more time with her.

“Sounds good,” Gina sent her a grateful smile, making Nini feel unexpectedly giddy.

“So,” Carlos interrupted, making Nini reluctantly pull her gaze away from Gina’s wide grin and she definitely had literal hearts in her eyes at this point. “Meet us at the rehearsal room after school?

Gina nodded, she was too busy sharing a smile with Nini to notice the look that Seb and Carlos exchanged.

“I’m just saying,” Gina laughed, rolling her eyes at the older boy next to her. “It’s not that hard to fake this kind of stuff, remember that guy that was convinced he was seeing dead people? That was just his sister in really bad makeup sleepwalking, there’s always a logical explanation. Occam’s razor.”

“Okay, Einstein,” EJ huffed, shrugging his shoulders. “How do you explain those alien sightings the last few weeks, huh?”

“You mean the tiny light in the sky?” She asked, a condescending tone in her voice, fighting a smile. “Either edited or, I don’t know, a star or a plane, there are plenty of explanations that aren’t aliens.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a sceptic, a muggle one could say.”

“You’re such a dork,” She grinned, rolling her eyes. “You’re way too obsessed with Harry Potter.”

“I’m obsessed the right amount,” He said, sounding offended, holding a hand to his heart.

She hummed, a disbelieving look on her face.

“Says the girl who’s forcing me to go to a Star Wars convention.”

“Um, excuse you, it’s Star Trek,” Gina responded indignantly, shaking her head.

The fact that EJ Caswell had become such an important part of her life was never going to stop surprising her. She had helped him out when he was nervous about talking to his dad about Duke and he had been there for her when she was upset about her mom. It was odd; last year she wanted nothing more than to scheme with him and throw him under the bus but now? It was hard for her to imagine not having him around all the time.

EJ wasn’t faring much better with his emotions. Gina Porter, according to his history, should be the last person he should care about but he couldn’t deny the way his mood boosted whenever she was around and the way her smile alone was able to bring him out of a funk. After Nini, he thought it would be a long time until he was able to feel this way about anybody again but Gina had a habit of achieving the impossible.

A buzzing noise broke them both out of their thoughts of each other and EJ looked down to see an alarm go off on his phone. “I have to go,” He said reluctantly. “It’s family game night, if I’m late again, my dad will actually kill me.”

Gina rolled her eyes at the mention of Cash Caswell, it was a pretty well-known fact that she wasn’t his biggest fan. “Fine,” She exclaimed dramatically. “Leave me here to rot.”

“You’re wrapped up in a cosy blanket with pizza and ice cream, with Netflix on standby, yeah, I’m really cruel,” He joked, pulling the ties on her hoodie to make it scrunch up around her face, laughing at the indignant gasp she let out. “I’ll see you tomorrow, babe.”

“Bye, honey,” She replied sarcastically, smiling when he shook his head at her before walking out of the house.

Gina smiled to herself even as she heard the door slam shut, she knew EJ was important to her but she couldn’t deny the jolt she had felt when Nini had sent her a giddy smile in the library. She didn’t think Nini was the type of person that loved running through choreography but spending the last few hours with her, Carlos and Seb had been, while stressful, one of the most enjoyable times she’d had since moving to Salt Lake.

Ricky had been at Slices all day, thinking over his latest revelation. He had no idea what to do or who to tell so he let his stomach guide him. When in doubt, eat pizza, his dad had always told him that almost any problem could be solved with carbs and who was he to question him?

“Ricky!” He lifted his head from his hands to see Nini rushing towards him, muttering apologies to people she accidentally knocked into on her way, he noticed that she was looking a lot more frantic than she was the last time he saw her and a Nini Salazar-Roberts on a mission is a dangerous Nini Salazar-Roberts. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Um, why? Not that I don’t like seeing you, I never want you to think that I don’t want t-”

“Ricky,” She laughed, interrupting him, as she sat down next to him, dumping her bag onto the chair beside her. “As much as I love your rambling, I actually had a point.”

“Oh, right, go ahead,” He grinned at the laugh she let out. “If it’s about the blanket, I’m not giving it back.”

“You can’t keep it,” Nini said, shaking her head before she took a deep breath. “I think I like Gina.”

“Oh. My. God,” He replied with a completely deadpan expression, sarcastically raising an eyebrow and weakly attempting to smother the smirk that fighting to appear on his lips. “I never would have guessed.”

“Ricky!”

“I’m sorry, Nini,” He laughed, a smile gracing his lips. “But, for the last month, every time Gina’s around, you turn into a giggling, blushing mess; it wasn’t hard to figure out why.”

“Well, it was for me, okay?”

“Fine, serious face is on, what’s the problem here? It’s not like Gina’s a bad person, what’s so bad about liking her?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Maybe because she’s my friend, and she’s never shown any interest in me or any other girl for that matter, I don’t even know if she likes girls!”

“She does.”

Nini’s jaw dropped. “How would you know?”

“Well, for one, she told me, and even if she didn’t, Ashlyn accidentally let it slip that, before she moved here, apparently Gina had a pretty bad breakup with a girl she used to rehearse with.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, apparently this girl was seriously biphobic.”

“Damn.”

“And, um,” Ricky nervously ran his fingers through his hair. “Since we’re spilling secrets; there maybe, kind of, possibly, potentially, might be a slight chance that I like EJ.”

“You what?” Nini screeched with a wide grin. “This is so messy.”

“Tell me about it.”

“When did that happen?”

Ricky shrugged. “I don’t know, after we broke up, EJ was there for me and we hung out a lot, and I got to know him a bit better and now, I’m fucked.”

“You’re not fucked.”

“How’d you figure?”

“He might like you back.”

“Unlikely; even if he was also into guys, I’m pretty sure he’s as into Gina as you are so I’ve got no chance.”

“Ricky,” She sighed, her hands reaching over the table to hold his. “As possibly the most qualified person in the world to say this, EJ is a blind idiot if he doesn’t like you back.”

Ricky tried not to get his hopes up, after all, there was no way in hell a guy like EJ Caswell would be interested in him but Nini’s encouragement had him overthinking every interaction he had had with the older boy; the way that EJ had hugged him for a few seconds longer than Big Red had and the way that EJ had been one of the only people to check in on him when he was getting over Nini.

Nini wasn’t faring any better; Gina Porter was a force to be reckoned with and she knew that if Gina didn’t feel the same, she might have to join Ricky in his blanket cocoon of sadness but she had hope, remembering the way that Gina always seemed to look straight at her whenever Miss Jenn wanted the class to partner up or the way that Gina always remembered her favourite snacks and surprised her with them when she was feeling stressed.

When they arrived at school for rehearsals, they knew that most people wouldn’t be there yet and took advantage of the time to push down their nerves, or at least attempt to (Nini was doing a much better job than Ricky, which he took as a great insult).

Over the weekend, Nini and Ricky had both plummeted down the rabbit hole of second-guessing and self-degradation, both sure that there was so chance their respective crushes could possibly reciprocate their feelings.

“So, we’re actually doing this?” Ricky raised an eyebrow, nervously rubbing his hands on the thighs of his jeans, taking deep breaths and shakily exhaling. “We’re telling them?”

“Yep!” Nini said, forcing as much enthusiasm into her voice as possible. She hadn’t been this nervous in a while. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We could get completely rejected, lose two of the best friends we’ve ever had and live the rest of our lives in shame with our twenty-seven cats,” Ricky said, running his hands through his hair and looking down the hallway, keeping an eye out for Gina or EJ.

“Ricky,” Nini said, an unimpressed look on her face. The more time she spent with him, the more she had started feeling like his mother or an exasperated therapist more than his friend, not that she minded.

“Fine, we can get dogs if you want but I want to get cats and name them after the Beatles.”

“You can do that with EJ,” She teased, linking her arm through his, turning towards the rehearsal room. “It’ll be fine.”

They walked in and noticed that EJ and Gina were standing near the front of the room, looking as nervous as they did. They had been sure that they were the first to arrive at the school but the surprise at seeing them both was overshadowed when they took them in; Nini couldn’t help but notice how cute Gina's hair looked when it was pulled back into identical space buns while Ricky had to fight to drag his eyes away before he started gawking at the sight of his forearms.

“Hey, guys,” Ricky said as he and Nini walked up to them. “Is everything alright?”

“Yep!” EJ exclaimed, nervously rubbing his hands together. “We’ve just got some news that we want to tell people.”

“And what news is that?” They all turned their heads and saw Carlos walk in along with Seb, Ashlyn and Big Red.

“Um, well,” EJ said, looking back at Gina. “We’re dating.”

Ricky was used to exaggerating things, he’d own up to that, but when he heard those words leave EJ’s mouth, he genuinely thought his heart had broken. EJ looked so happy that Ricky felt nothing but guilt; he should be happy too, EJ and Gina were both his friends, he should feel happy for them, so why did he feel like someone had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out. “Wow,” He stammered. “Congrats, guys, how long has this been going on?”

“Not long,” Gina said with a smile. “But, it’s nice, you know, it feels right.”

Nini forced a smile onto her face, “Congrats, guys!”

In that moment, neither Ricky nor Nini had never been so relieved to hear Miss Jenn’s voice.

“Settle down, we have a lot to get through today so let’s make like bunnies and hop to it.”

Nini avoided Gina for the rest of rehearsal, choosing to partner with Ricky had any given time and blatantly ignoring the worried looks Gina was sending her way in hopes of not getting drawn back in. She didn’t notice the pained look on Gina face when she realised what she was doing, she didn’t notice the fake smile Gina plastered on her face as she turned to EJ and focused on him, and she certainly didn’t notice the sympathetic looks Carlos and Seb were sending her from across the room.

Ricky was doing slightly better, mainly because Ricky and EJ didn’t really hang out during class or rehearsals that much, their time together was spent outside of school, going for runs and watching dumb movies. However, that didn’t mean that seeing the way that EJ lit up whenever Gina grabbed his hands didn’t send a sharp pain to his heart.

[5:56 pm] EJ: how many producers does it take to change a light bulb?

[5:57 pm] Ricky: idk, how many?

[5:57 pm] EJ: sorry, a new light bulb isn’t in the budget

[5:59 pm] Ricky: that was bad, probably one of your worst

[6:01 pm] EJ: come on :(

[6:02 pm] EJ: it’s funny bc it’s true

Ricky couldn’t help the smile that grew on his lips as he read EJ’s last text, he tried to muffle his laughter but nothing got past his friends.

“What’s that grin all about?” Ashlyn said, teasing, pausing the show they were watching.

With all the hours he was working, Big Red hadn’t been able to spend much time with Ricky or Ashlyn in the past few weeks so he demanded a whole day with his best girl and his best guy (his words). He had decided that watching tv shows and movies all day would be perfect. They had gone through almost half of his collection before Ashlyn had suggested another show.

“Nothing,” He tried to deny but Ashlyn and Big Red could see his cheeks reddening and gave him a pointed look. “It’s just EJ’s dumb joke.”

“EJ? I didn’t know you two were close?” Ashlyn questioned, tilting her head. She and her cousin weren’t as close as they used to be, or as close as she’d like them to be, so he hadn’t mentioned anything about being friends with Ricky to her.

“It’s a new development,” Ricky admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “He helped me out when I was in the dumps about Nini and he’s dealing with stuff with Gina, so…”

“What stuff with Gina?” A concerned look grew on Ashlyn’s face. “She’d tell me if they were having problems, wouldn’t she?”

“I think it’s more him,” Ricky admitted, not wanting to say much more since he didn’t know how much EJ would like him to say. “He just said he’s thinking about stuff like college and everything, and he doesn’t want to do anything that’ll hurt her.”

Ashlyn stayed quiet as she observed Ricky, they weren’t as close as she and Gina were or as close as he and Big Red was and she figured she should’ve made more of an effort to get to know her boyfriend’s best friend before now, especially after they had spent an entire semester playing love interests but better late than never, she thought to herself.

She watched the way he smiled down at his phone when it buzzed with another text from her cousin, Big Red had already turned his attention back to the TV screen but she couldn’t help but wonder exactly how close Ricky and EJ had gotten. She knew EJ and Gina loved spending time together, it was frankly adorable, but she had never seen such a smitten look on Gina’s face before. It took all of her self-control but she promised herself that she would keep any of her observations to herself, but she was preparing to give EJ the biggest I told you so.

Gina had been sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria for a few minutes, waiting for EJ, when he finally turned up; she smiled at the excitable way he started talking as soon as he sat down, pausing only to lean over a press a quick kiss to her forehead before setting back into his seat and rambling about the new job Mr Mazzara had given him.

“He told me that he barely lets anyone but himself do it because he needs it to be the best but he asked me! Can you believe it?” She couldn’t help but melt at the way his eyes were wide with excitement and the way he gestured with his hands, she wasn’t sure he was even aware he was doing it.

It took EJ a few moments to realise that Gina had stopped responding and it wasn’t until he turned to fully face her that he realised it was because she was so focused on what he was saying. “Hello? Gina?” He said teasingly, waving a hand in front of her face, watching as she blinked a few times before focusing back on him. “You alright there?”

“Yeah,” She smiled, leaning into him. “Just thinking about a lot of stuff.”

“Like what? Anything I can help with?”

“Don’t think so,” She sighed, before shaking her head. EJ wouldn’t understand and, more importantly, he would probably hate her for it; actually no, not hate her, EJ would never hate her, he was too good for that.

“Gina,” He said sharply, cupping the sides of her face and forcing her to look at him. “Friends don’t lie, remember?”

“I never should’ve let you watch that show,” She scoffed.

“Gina.”

“Fine,” She huffed, taking a deep breath. “Do you ever think about us?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, I love hanging out with you and you’re one of my best friends but I don’t think I feel the way about you that I should, you know?”

“I’m trying to feel offended right now,” EJ cracked a smile before settling into a somber expression. “But I get it, maybe we’ve been trying to force something that wasn’t meant to be.”

“Look at you being all poetic,” Gina laughed.

“I’m serious, it’s not uncommon for people to mistake the kind of love they feel for other people, feeling the difference between different types of love is hard.”

Silence enveloped the table, their thoughts were almost drowned out why the sounds of other people talking and wandering around the cafeteria. Gina turned to look at him and a weak smile appeared on her lips, she reached her hand over to intertwin her fingers with his. “I’m glad you were my first boyfriend.”

“Me too,” EJ smiled. He was used to relationships ending in screaming and crying, or the silent treatment, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to move forward but he decided that maybe he could afford to spend some time figuring out why Ricky Bowen had been at the forefront of his thoughts for the past few weeks.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Nini scolded herself when she saw Gina walking down the hallway towards her with a determination that she hadn’t seen in a while. It was too late for Nini to run or duck and hide so she prepared herself for the onslaught of yelling Gina was going to give her for ignoring her. In Nini’s defence, how was she supposed to act around her friend who is slowly becoming a best friend but also someone she, maybe, kind of, might be, sort of crushing on who also had a boyfriend.

“Nini Salazar-Roberts, if you take one more fucking step,” Gina growled.

“Hey, Gina,” She awkwardly smiled and waved. “What’s up?”

“Hmm, let’s see,” She said tapping his chin in contemplation. “What’s up? Well, first, I got an A for that presentation I gave in English, oh, and one of my best friends has been ignoring me for weeks, isn’t that fun.”

Nini flinched at the anger on Gina’s face and she knew she hadn’t been the best friend to her recently but she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to be around her without professing her undying love for her so she had stuck with avoiding her as much as possible and sticking to Ricky or Kourtney’s side every second they were around each other.

Gina was confused, above all else, she thought she and Nini had gotten closer and to a place where they were honest with each other; gone were the days of lying and scheming, of stealing each other’s things, they had moved on from that, they were friends now. Or at least Gina thought they were. “Why?” She asked, and any strength Nini had shattered at the sadness in her voice, she had no idea that her lack of presence had such an effect on Gina.

Now or never, she thought to herself, this was either going to end very well or very badly. “I, um,” She took a deep breath and steeled herself against the possible, incoming rejection. “I didn’t mean to ignore you, I just didn’t know how to tell you that I, uh, kind of like you.”

“I like you too,” Gina said, tilting her head in confusion.

“No,” Nini laughed under her breath, Gina’s innocent response reminding her why she liked her so much. “I mean, I like you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Well,” Gina smiled shyly, she knew she shouldn’t enjoy the nervousness that the shorter girl was exuding but she couldn’t help the confidence it caused her to feel, knowing that someone as amazing as Nini Salazar-Roberts was interested in her and was so obviously nervous to tell her. “I guess it’s a good thing, I like you too then.”

“What?” Nini’s head shot up, she was one hundred per cent sure she had died and gone to heaven because in what world, she felt the need to pinch herself just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.

Gina awkwardly shifted from one foot to another, avoiding eye contact.

“What about EJ?”

“We, uh, we broke up.”

“Really?” Nini was shocked. The past few weeks, EJ and Gina had seemed so happy and loved up.

“Yeah, turns out when you move around a lot, you don’t get to develop real friendships and when you get the chance to, you might mistake platonic love for romantic love,” Gina blurted out. “It could honestly happen to anybody.”

“But it didn’t,” Nini couldn’t contain her smile. She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t seeing or hearing things, she had to make sure she wasn’t just in a very realistic Gina daydream which had become somewhat of a regular thing recently.

“No, it didn’t,” Gina nervously fidgeted with her fingers, still avoiding eye contact with Nini, her shoulders hunched.

“So, are you gonna ask me to be your girlfriend or not?” Nini said with as much confidence as she could muster, and she couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of Gina standing in front of her, slack-jawed.

“I don’t know,” Gina said, waggling her eyebrows, seemingly gaining any lost confidence back. “Is this really the place for it?”

“Gina,” She said, as a warning.

“Nini Salazar-Roberts,” She grinned. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

The words had barely left her mouth when Nini launched herself at the taller girl, almost pushing them both back into the lockers behind them; neither of them noticed, however, they were both far too focused on the feeling of the other close to them; Nini couldn’t focus on anything but the way Gina’s lips felt against hers and Gina wouldn’t allow herself to think about anything but the way Nini’s arms firmly wrapped around her waist.

In that moment, no one else existed, it was just them.

EJ was frustrated and that frustration was slowly turning to anger. He had been looking for Ricky Bowen for almost an hour and had yet to find him. He and Gina had stayed up the night before realising and discussing their newfound interest in Ricky and Nini (respectively) and had both vowed to themselves and each other to find the aforementioned friends and confess their feelings which EJ was finding quite difficult due to the reality of not knowing where the hell Ricky actually was.

When his phone buzzed with a text from Gina in all capitals, raving about how well it went with Nini and how they had ‘so much to talk about’ at the next movie night, he was filled with a sense of anticipation. He had set off to track the boy down but couldn’t find him anyone and he was about to give up and call it quits when he noticed a familiar face speedwalking towards the rehearsal room. I think the fuck not, he thought to himself.

Ricky had thought Nini’s plan of avoiding EJ and Gina until graduation was inspired, he hadn’t considered the possibility of the elder boy quite literally tracking him down. He had walked out of his maths class with a brand-new appreciation for life, mainly due to the fact that he had passed a test and the teacher had cancelled the homework; he blamed Miss Jones for lulling him into a false sense of security because it wasn’t until he was halfway down the hallway that he noticed EJ storming past people with a determination he hadn’t seen before.

It only took a few moments to realise that it was him EJ was so determined to track him down, luckily, he hadn’t been spotted so he quickly shuffled past people and into the rehearsal room, hoping that EJ hadn’t caught a glimpse of him.

“Bowen!” EJ yelled, pushing people aside before muttering a quick apology. “Don’t you dare move another step!” Some people had stopped at the sound of EJ’s voice echoing through the hallway. He waited until he had reached the rehearsal room and slammed the door shut before launching into his rant because how dare you, Bowen, do you have any idea how hard it is to track you down.

Ricky had never seen EJ so angry and he cursed himself for not focusing on the rage-fueled words coming from the boy in front of him but he couldn’t focus on anything except the way that EJ’s shirt clung to his biceps. “What?” He asked weakly when he noticed EJ looking at him expectantly.

EJ just raised his eyebrows. “Are you dumb? Is that what’s happening? Am I in love with an idiot?” He asked sarcastically, revelling in the shocked look that plastered itself across Ricky’s face. EJ was never one for beating around the bush.

“You’re what now?” He stuttered, willing his cheeks to stop burning, especially when he caught sight of the smirk growing across EJ’s lips. “Can we rewind real quick because I’m pretty sure you just said that-”

“I’m in love with you,” EJ repeated, arms crossed and his smirk widening.

“Yeah, that.” He said, mouth agape and his eyebrows raised.

“What’s confusing you?”

“Maybe the fact that, I don’t know, you have a girlfriend?”

“Had, I have an ex-girlfriend,” EJ chuckled, it wasn’t often that he got to surprise Ricky so he was certainly enjoying the experience.

“Huh?”

“We broke up,” Ricky didn’t like the way EJ was looking at him like he knew something he didn’t.

“Clearly.”

EJ had decided that maybe it was time to stop messing with him. “Gina and I broke up because-”

“Why?”

He sent Ricky an unimpressed look. “If you’d let me finish…”

“Sorry,” Ricky said sheepishly.

“As I was saying,” EJ sighed, exasperated. “Gina and I broke up because we realised a couple of things; we love each other but just not in the way we thought we did, we’re much better off as friends and, unfortunately, I found out that I had feelings for an annoying little dweeb instead.”

“I’m the annoying little dweeb?”

“That you are, Bowen, any complaints?”

“Not in the slightest,” He said in a weak voice, a slow smile growing on his face. “How did that happen?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” EJ teased, taking a step forward. “But it happened so…”

“So…”

“Do I have to make all the first moves?” He whined jokingly, laughing when he saw the annoyed glare that Ricky shot him.

“Is this what it’s going to be like now?”

“Oh, one hundred percent,” EJ laughed, taking another step forward and reaching up to cup Ricky’s jaw in his hands. “You have a problem with that?”

“Uh uh,” Ricky smiled, leaning up and letting his eyes fall shut, waiting for EJ’s lips to descend on his, he dropped his backpack and wrapped his arms around EJ’s waist to pull him closer.

Better late than never, they both thought to themselves.

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