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hsmtmts-arrows · 6 months

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(jsyk, i'm keeping ash's pov! maybe we can write maddox's pov of this later on but can we keep ash's hehe)

silence reigns, neither of them speaking. their little camp wakes up, bit by bit, until they're all awake. nini shout-whispers that one of them should've waken someone up, but they'd shrugged in unison.

that's when the guard is finally left alone. the guy that's been staying with him for a while, a thin fuck with black hair, pats him on the shoulder, speaks to him, and leaves.

ashlyn hisses, "alright, he's gone."

"we discussed this, and you all remember the plan?" miss jenn tells them seriously, and they all nod. "alright, let's go!"

nini feeds the horses a few of their apples to keep them busy while they're gone, then mazzara claps ash on the back, jolting her, and away they go.

all eight of them rush across, and somehow the sound of their feet either doesn't register or doesn't alarm the guard (either way, he's stupid), but when he finally turns around, he shouts in alarm as eight people pretty much tackle him. well, mazzara's the one that actually tackles him, getting him on the floor and pressing some handcuffs over his wrists, and the rest stay for just to moment to make sure it's handled before rushing to the captives. ej immediately rushes to val's side, making sure she's okay before starting to cut at the ropes that bind her and ashlyn immediately drops down to her knees to see ricky.

he's not looking good, and the wound looks pretty bad, and he's definitely unconscious. ash instantly checks his pulse and sighs, her whole body filling with relief. gina immediately starts crying and tenderly brushing his hair out of his face while nini opens one of his eyes to see if they're dilated.

ash briefly looks to the side to see jenn, carlos (seb stands nearby) and, most importantly, maddox kneeling by jet's side. maddox holds her brother's face with so much tenderness.

"maddie?" ash can hear him whisper in a cracked voice.

"shh, it's me, jet." she sounds like she's close to crying, clearly keeping it together for her brother. "we're gonna get you safe, okay? we're gonna get you—"

"TAKE COVER!" seb shouts and leaps over to carlos, jenn and maddox, a second before the sound of gunshots fill the air.

ash yelps and she hears her cousin yank a close set of boxes (marked 'for cali hunters', and ash feels sick seeing it) in front of them to sheidl them; the rest pull more boxes and miss jenn hides behind a wooden chair. val herself looks very out of it, gaze distant and pretty lashes fluttering as she clearly fights for consciousness.

"shit!" ej shouts, above the sound of the gunshots, shaking val a bit to keep her awake. she whines at the discomfort of being moved, clearly not knowing what's going on. "shit, val, are you—"

gunshots from their side now, miss jenn and mr mazzara, shooting in sync as if born to fight together, and as ashlyn looks over, northern heights immediately disperse. even when lily screams for them to cover her, none of them do and instead hide behind houses to either, well, hide, or get a better vantage point. one runs away at the sight of mazzara, clearly having known him, and the black haired one sees miss jenn and blanches, dropping his gun and rushing to hide. jenn and mazzara go after those two, while nini shoots someone trying to escape in the leg. these are the people that are so fearsome? seems like in the face of their old enemies (jenn and mazzara), they have no real strength.

it takes ash a second to realize that lily's alone. no one to cover her. her people have abandoned her.

ash knows what maddox is going to do a second before she actually does. carlos shouts, "MADDOX—!" but it's too late, maddox has already set off running. lily, seeing a very angry outlaw captain running full speed towards her, visibly pales and veers off behind a building and just a moment later, maddox disappears behind it too.

ash gets up, but ej grabs her wrist. "ricky." he whispers, choked, and ash looks over and sees ricky's on the ground now, and there's a small blood pool around him and gina's sobbing—

ash swears, glancing at where maddox had vanished before running to ricky's side.

he got grazed during the fight, a tiny thing that had clearly just clipped his lower leg, but he's losing blood. gina's trying to sit him straight.

"let me." she whispers, and gina hesitates for only a moment before relinquishing her attempts. ash rips off part of her shirt (for the second time recently), and wraps it around his injured foot, and good news! it doesn't immediately soak through. ash lets out a deep breath and puts a hand on gina's shoulder. "he'll be alright." she tells her gently.

gina just nods, a second before there's the worst sound ashlyn has ever heard in her life, and one she never wants to hear again.

maddox screams.

(is this alright. bc i can always add more. sorry FHJRHFJHFH sorry <//3)

okay so i’m slightly ill (my head hurts like a bitch) as i type this but i still wanna give u something king JEJDJD <3:

the scream could play a key role in ashlyn's nightmares. it was horrifying. she'd never thought she'd even hear such a scream- especially from maddox. hell, she'd only been this close with maddox in the last few days, but she felt as though she'd learnt more in those few days than she had in the rest of her life so far.

she runs to the sound of the screams, leaving the others in the dust. maddox. maddox.

she didn't know what she had expected to see but fuck, it wasn't this. lily, with maddox against the wall and a hand buried into the same wound that she had stitched up only days ago. lily's hand, now bloody as the consequences of her own actions.

ashlyn doesn't need to think about this situation. no one with more than five braincells, did.

"step away, now." she held the gun in her hands and aimed it directly at lily's face. for a second, it seemed as though lily would do just that. to be in such a position, one wrong move and ash could blow her brains out, after all.

but lily's face that was once shocked, now is one that is smirking. her hand digs further into maddox and she yells again in more pain than ever before. ash holds the gun even closer to lily temple as a warning when seeing maddox's suffering continue. she never should've let her run off on her own, fuck.

"i mean it, lily." ash warns her, the safety of her gun clicking off as each second passed. "step. away." the smile that was printed across lily's face could tell a thousand words to ashlyn, yet she still wouldn't know what it meant.

as she began to move away, her fingers left the wound by maddox's side, bloodstained. maddie can't help but hiss out in agony as it all unfolds, her hand attempting to grab her side, but falling in the process.

as ash goes to move and pick up maddox, lily moves just as quickly at the same time, taking the gun out of her own holester and pointing it. ashlyn goes to hold maddox but stops once again when she sees where lily points said gun. directly at maddie.

“your turn, sheriff.” god she hated it. being the sheriff. being called sheriff. it was meant to be something great, but it was only ever half great when maddox called her it. “back off, i got places to be, and your girlfriend here is my ticket out-”

“she’s not my girlfriend-” a barely conscious maddox says under her breath. she can hardly stand, and ash couldn’t even move to help her otherwise lily could pull the trigger. fuck. shit.

“right.” lily doesn’t believe it one bit. “is that why she came running to your aid quicker than a fucking horse?” lily’s glances angrily between the two of them, “no. you may not see it now but-” a laugh escapes lily at such a terrible time as she then reaches over to grab maddox. ashlyn wants to move and stop her. take her out of lily’s hands immediately. to re stitch her wound and take her back to the village, where she could just nurse her back to health in better conditions.

she couldn’t let lily get away with it. she wouldn’t.

#yh thats all i can get out of my brain but i wanted to give u something king i’m sorry for the delay <3 #western au

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iammyownsaviour · 1 year

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Polyship Week 2023

Post-Season Four - Nini's still in California writing her new album, Ricky and Gina decide to make a surprise visit to her. - Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts/Gina Porter

wc: 365 | ao3 | polyship week (@polyshipweek): day 18, long-distance relationship | fandom: high school musical the musical the series | rating: general | tags: polyamory, triad, established relationship, long-distance relationship, fluff, teen romance, pov nini salazar-roberts, post-season/series 04, california

#polyshipweek23 #polyship week 2023 #rini #rina #gini #gina x nini #nini x gina #ricky bowen #gina porter #nini salazar roberts #hsmtmts #hsmtmtsedit #riniedit #rinaedit #mine: edits #mine: fanfics #my stuff #*hsmtmts #*polyam

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blues-valentine · 2 years

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I will always side eye the takes that Ricky has never done anything for Gina because he didn’t offer her a place to stay or brought her a plane ticket to return to the play because have you been missing the whole plot or is the selective memory on propose? Tell me exactly how Ricky was going to buy a plane ticket. He doesn’t even owns a car. A broke high schooler that has a father sleeping in the couch and has him eating cold pizza every other day – Ricky literally had to move to an apartment because they couldn’t live in a house anymore, unless you want Gina sleeping on the couch don’t really see how he could offer her anything when his family environment is just as unstable as Gina's. Or worst, you wanted Ricky to actively pursue Gina while being on a relationship with Nini. You basically wanted him to be as bad as you claim he is. Let’s apply some literacy skills.

The way you all have been making Ricky the bad guy all this time because he is clueless and confused (as he should be) is astonishing. Ricky may be clueless but he cares about Gina and he probably thinks giving her space was the right thing to do. All those takes really highlight how some people really are being purposefully obtuse about his character arc and I truly cannot wait for Ricky to get his well deserved POV so many of the *wrong* arguments can finally get cleared because it’s always the same. And truly, Ricky is canonically the only person Gina can talk to because what they have is an unspoken connection and that’s something you can’t buy or force. Ricky and Gina rebuilding their friendship and connection on season 3 is going to be immaculate and amazing for them.

Lastly, let’s not forget the reason Gina became friends with the group was because of Ricky, up until 106 everyone wasn’t exactly friends with her and it was Ricky’s friendship that allowed her to break those walls and be herself.

#hsmtmts #ricky x gina #ricky bowen #gina porter #rina

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homemade-ghosts · 2 years

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why do you think some people are saying ricky's feelings came out of nowhere? because i don't really see that (i got into the show for them so i don't get it)

Do you want the nice answer or the mean one? (trick question, I’ll give you both.)

If I were being nice and giving them the benefit of the doubt, I’d say that, prior to this season, it had been a long time since Ricky & Gina interacted. & If they’ve been watching the show as it airs, then it’s been over a year in real time and roughly half a season (which was maybe a few months in the show’s universe?) since we saw them speak to one another -- so, I can understand how seeing their dynamic for the first time in so long could be jarring to the casual viewer.

& I would say that, even though Ricky’s feelings don’t come out of nowhere, I get how it could feel that way because, up until this point, we’ve only really seen their relationship from Gina’s perspective. We saw her confess to Ricky on opening night, saw the tears spilling down her face when she told Ricky she wouldn’t quit on them if she wasn’t moving away. We saw her deflate when Ricky sang with Nini at that New Years Eve party. We watched as she fled Ricky’s apartment after telling him that he should sing that song he wrote to Nini over the phone because “every girl loves a sweet gesture”, knowing that she was thinking of that day he serenaded her with "When There Was Me & You" last fall. We watched as she smiled at the thought of Ricky having gotten her those chocolates on Valentine’s Day and then tried to hide her discomfort and heartbreak when she found out he didn’t (at least as far as we know right now, but I’m still a little bit of a chocolates theory truther lol). My point is, Gina’s feelings for Ricky have always been front and center, until now. Now, finally, we are getting Ricky’s perspective on things. I can only hope that the people who want to claim his feelings came out of nowhere will change their minds as more of Ricky’s POV is revealed this season. Ricky himself said it best, “you don’t know the full story.”

Okay, that was my attempt at a nice, calm and understanding answer. If you want my more...honest opinion, then here's where I start to get a little mean.

If someone says Ricky’s feelings came out of the blue it’s because they lack any media literacy or comprehension skills. They can’t grasp a story until it is explicitly spelled out for them or spoon fed to them. Now that it has been spelled out (via Jet picking up on Ricky’s feelings and calling him out on them & now, by Ricky literally telling Carlos he wasn’t pretending to “crush on” Gina during WDYKAL) they want to cry “bad writing” because they specifically didn’t see it coming. That’s not the show’s fault. The writing, if they paid attention and actually thought about it, has been building up to this for a long time. If they didn’t see it, that’s on them.

I also have to point out that, anytime there’s wildly incorrect criticism like this, it usually comes from pws or Rinis (though I really shouldn’t bother adding the “or” because the venn diagram of people who ship pw and people who ship Rini is a circle) and they actively ignore the story this show is trying to tell in favor of their own misguided narrative. Last season, they claimed that Gina was a homewrecker because she was trying to “steal” Ricky away from Nini, despite the fact that Gina quite literally said she would never “step on what he has with Nini.” and she never did. Same thing is happening this season, except now it’s “Ricky is trying to steal Gina away from EJ.” when we’ve seen Ricky actively go out of his way not to do that because he’s prioritizing Gina and her happiness over his own feelings. They invent plot points and motives that fundamentally don't exist within the show.

I’ve heard it all. “Ricky doesn’t have any feelings for Gina.” *next season* “Okay, so he does, but they came out of nowhere.” *one episode later* “Okay, they didn’t come out of nowhere, but Gina doesn’t like him back. She’s moved on to EJ.” *watches their WDYKAL performance* “...so maybe Gina does have feelings for Ricky...b-but she shouldn’t break up with poor EJ because that’ll break his wittle heart!!” (as if I’m supposed to care about his feelings during their inevitable breakup when he’s the one actively ruining his own relationship by being selfish, non-communicative, insecure + keeping secrets from and not spending time with his girlfriend).

They’re scrambling for a reason, any reason, for Ricky & Gina not to end up together and I’ve yet to hear a single one that wasn’t nonsensical and completely disproven by the show. Just loud and wrong, every single one of them.

#i could've just said 'because they're bitter and dumb' but apparently i'm incapable of writing a short post so you got this instead lol #ricky x gina #rina #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #asks

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libraryofzeglyth · 8 months

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tweet by secretlocked1 | posted Aug 11, 2023

#secretlocked1 #tweet #jennie kim #j:solo #nini #girlfriend!jennie #pov taehyung #vlog queen jennie #jennie edit #layover!taennie #jennierubyjane #jennie in tokyo - part 1 #jennierubyjane: jennie in tokyo - part 1 #artist: v #song: love me again

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brekker-by-brekkerr · 2 years

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listen, I am not even a Portwell shipper but I feel the way they handled it was so disrespectful to the characters and past arcs and feel for the shippers. i hate love triangles and such because writers seemingly don't know how to write them balanced in a way that doesn't shaft one of the characters and in this case it was obviously weighted against Portwell and E.J. From the retcons (they had two months of summer not only the camp), not really having E.Js POV (got more PW through Ricky's eyes than through his), to the conflict being contrary to established dynamics, to the fact that THEY EVEN MADE A JOKE WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING (l love Seb but that was not the moment for that) it just feels so much like they were speed-running towards the break-up. I do think Rina was being set-up from early (even if I don't really ship it either) but the way they handled Portwell is so terribad that I just feel like I can't root for it anymore in good conscience cause they literally hamstrung a good dynamic (and all of EJs S3 character) for it.

Yes! all of this!! Speed-running towards Rina is the perfect description, especially with the way we got Ricky breaking up with Lily, singing one song, and then suddenly ready to be head over heels for Gina instead of continuing the slow burn. We don't even get Ricky apologizing for his crappy behaviour, we just get a "let's forget everything lol" moment, which sucks. Yeah, season 1 and 2 both were pretty fast-paced, but we still got moments to sit with these characters and their relationships, (like the couch scene, which i will always reference), not even just the ships but the friendships too, and this season that felt rare. The whole thing feels like a mad dash towards the end with no care for how we know EJ and Gina would actually act. I agree, Rina has been set up since season 1 (so has Portwell), so obviously it would at least need to be addressed at some point. But just because there was build up before doesn't mean this isn't being rushed in the way its handled, because last season Ricky wouldn't acknowledge any feelings for Gina and he was just dating Lily and we don't get a transition, a slow realisation of his feelings, it feels like, okay i dated Nini i dated lily now onto Gina, not oh I've had feelings for this girl all along and I've been repressing them, let's see those slowly float to the surface. And then treating the Portwell breakup like a joke? What the heck? Especially when the rini breakup was handled so well, do they not even get that level of respect? How did the writers go from treating Portwell so well, with so much care and respect, to this?

It's just such a wild writing decision to go this direction. If I wanted my audience to ship one relationship over the other, I wouldn't alienate all the fans of the other by making the characters in that ship out of character and regressing character development. It makes me feel like Rina isn't as good, because why do you need to destroy the other ship to make them canon? Did the writers not believe it was possible to top season 2 Portwell? Like, if you're going to go with Rina, at least have enough faith in it to write it well and make it better than your other ship.

#thanks for the ask!#portwell #hsmtmts #hsm the musical #high school musical the series #high school musical the musical the series #hsmtmts 3 #hsmtmts season 3 #ej x gina #gina x ej #ej caswell

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rickyandgina · 2 years

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I honestly believe that anybody who thinks that the Ricky and Gina storyline this season has come out of nowhere has not been paying attention to the show at all. Because, you seriously can’t tell me there was no build up to the way Ricky reacted to Portwell this episode. His feelings for Gina have been there since the first season, but because this was the beginning of his character growth and arc he wasn’t ready to admit feelings for someone else and thus went back to Nini. Ricky was so afraid of starting something new with someone new that he ran back to her. When that didn’t work out, and Gina had suddenly moved on to someone else- he took these feelings that he has for Gina and projected them onto someone else- Lily. Lily who was very much like Gina 1A, and said things to Ricky that directly paralleled things that Gina told him in season one. Of course that didn’t work out because Lily isn’t Gina. And now that Ricky is finally in a place to mend his relationship with Gina are we able to get Ricky’s POV on their relationship. That boy was in denial all throughout season two and is ready to face them now, but of course its messy because she’s in a relationship with EJ. I am convinced that Ricky wants to apologize to Gina about everything that happened last season, but can’t because apologizing means admitting his feelings for her and he can’t do that right now. Making his scene with Jet all the more sense.

#Hsmtmts #ricky x gina #Gina porter #ricky Bowen #Hsmtmts season 3

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maddieladner1999 · 8 months

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Bad idea right?

I know I said tomorrow but the ideas were in my head already and I wanted to think about other potential chapters.

Chapter 3.

This chapter is Ricky’s POV of the week between visiting EJ and until EJ meets his parents after the play.

Ricky couldn’t help but think of EJ the whole ride home. But he’s only told Gina about what happened and so he needs to tell everyone else. So he spent the ride home thinking of what to say. They had a meeting today and miss jenn sounded upset.

At the meeting, miss jenn tells everyone the play isn’t happening. No one showed up to rehearsal last night but Emmy and principal Gutierrez decided it was out of the budget. After everyone hashes out some history of why they joined and seb and Carlos sing their song it’s over. Emmy runs off to the auditorium where she sings a song. When they get there they are interrupted by Alyson reed and the guy who plays coach Bolton who decide to donate song of their salary from the movie to the play and it’s back on. Everyone is thrilled. Ricky finally sees his opportunity to talk to everyone.

Ricky: I have an announcement if everyone would like to listen for a second.

Gina: hey everyone listen up

Ricky: thanks Gina. So I went to see EJ yesterday as you all may know and we had a very long important conversation. I realized a few things and felt it was important to tell my friends. Gina and I broke up.

Carlos: wait what?

Seb: why didn’t you say something earlier

Ashlyn: I don’t think he’s finished

Ricky: I’m not thanks Ashlyn. There has been a lot going on today and I didn’t wanna interrupt anything. Gina and I broke up because I realized that as much as we tried to make it work the truth is I don’t love her like that no matter how hard I try.

Big red: so wait you still love nini?

Ricky: no it’s the same when it comes to nini too.

Ashlyn: then what happened?

Ricky: It turns out I spent a long time stealing EJ’s girlfriends because secretly way deep down I was in love with him

Carlos: oh my god. Your gay? Ugh my gaydar is so off

Seb: does EJ know?

Ricky: yeah he does and he feels the same way.

Carlos: EJ’s gay too? Ok my gaydar is officially broken

Seb: so are you and EJ like dating now?

Ricky: yes. We are. And I thought I should tell you that not only as your friend because I know you’ll support me but also because he’s coming opening night and I didn’t want to surprise you. Our shows tend to have issues and I didn’t want it to be one.

Seb: of course we support you dude.

Carlos: so wait are you like gay or bi or what?

Ricky: idk yet. Let’s just go with queer for now and I’ll figure that out later

Maddox: well welcome to the club dude. I definitely need to talk to rocket man though.

Jet: that’s cool I guess.

Miss jenn: I’m so proud of you. And we’ve wasted enough time so let’s go rehearse.

EJ FaceTimes him a few nights later and asks if he told the wildcats. He said yes of course. Then ej asked if he told his parents and Ricky realized he hasn’t. EJ says he should tell them soon and Ricky says he will. He hears his dad come in and decides to go ahead and tell him and his mom is flying in for the show on Saturday so he’ll go pick her up and tell her during the car ride from the airport. He and EJ exchange a quick good night and Ricky gets up to go downstairs and tell his dad. He’s worried but he has to tell him. It’ll be awkward if his dad sees him with EJ on Saturday without telling him.

Mr. Bowen: hey Ricky what’s up

Ricky: I had a long chat with EJ at college and I’ve realized a few things. Maybe you should sit down

Mr Bowen: (sits down) I’m a little worried but ok go ahead

Ricky: me and Gina broke up.

Mr Bowen: oh no what happened

Ricky: I thought going to talk to EJ was a bad idea but he had been in my shoes before so I thought he’d understand. But after we talked and sang a song about our issues, I realized that I didn’t love Gina the way I should. I didn’t love nini that way either.

Mr. Bowen: ok I’m confused

Ricky: I kept stealing his girlfriends and I didn’t get why. But now I do. I didn’t want his girlfriends, deep down I wanted to be with him. And as I’m saying all this I’m realizing why I didn’t truly love nini or Gina. I could never love them because I don’t like girls. I like boys like EJ. I’m gay dad.

Mr. Bowen: well that fills in some questions I had. That must of been a really long conversation with EJ

Ricky: yeah well I did stay the night so I had plenty of time.

Mr. Bowen: well I’m proud of you son. So what about you and EJ? You guys still friends?

Ricky: no. He’s my boyfriend now

Mr. Bowen: oh so he likes you too.

Ricky: yeah I guess I should’ve mentioned that earlier

Mr. Bowen: I hope you guys were safe last night then

Ricky: we didn’t go that far

Mr. Bowen: ok yeah I didn’t need to know that.

Ricky: right well I’m going to bed now

Mr. Bowen: me too. Good night.

When the day finally arrived for opening night Ricky was nervous. He always gets pre show jitters but not like this. He figured it’s because his boyfriend is going to be in the audience tonight.

He texts his mom after tracking her flight to let her know he’s going to pick her up so she gets it even she lands. The plane is almost here but it’s a long drive and she’ll probably have luggage so he hits the road. He gets there in perfect timing. His mom is surprised obviously and thrilled to see him

Lynne: so you barely return my texts but you come pick me up from the airport. What’s going on?

Ricky: I have something to tell you

Lynne: oh well I guess we have a long car ride ahead of us so go ahead

Ricky: me and Gina broke up

Lynne: oh I’m sorry

Ricky: it’s ok. I didn’t love her like I should

Lynne: ok idk what that means

Ricky: it turns out all my fighting with EJ stealing his girlfriends was really me deep down hiding my true self and feelings

Lynne: and what are those?

Ricky: I don’t like girls mom. I like boys. I’m gay.

Lynne: oh sweetie, that’s great. I’m so glad you decided to tell me.

Ricky: well I realized all this when I went to visit EJ last week and that’s not all

Lynne: it’s not. What else is there?

Ricky: I like EJ. That’s why I stole his girlfriends. That’s why I couldn’t get along. I thought I wanted to be him but it turns out I just wanted him

Lynne: and does EJ know this?

Ricky: yes. And he feels the same way. He’s my boyfriend now.

Lynne: is he coming to the show tonight?

Ricky: yes.

Lynne: I’d like to meet him

Ricky: I’d like that too

Lynne: so is that why you picked me up? Didn’t want to tell me this over the phone?

Ricky: no I couldn’t. Didn’t seem like the kinda conversation for a phone call

Lynne: well the timing worked out I guess

Ricky: it did. So I already told my friends and dad obviously

Lynne: well I’m glad you told me. I miss it when you would talk to me. I know I live in Chicago now but I’m still here for you.

Ricky: I know I just don’t like the whole you being with Todd thing

Lynne: well I’m not with Todd anymore if that’s what you’re worried about

Ricky: really?

Lynne: don’t think me and your dad are getting back together though

Ricky: I know you’re not. I just didn’t like Todd.

Lynne: well it looks like we’re almost here

Ricky: yep. You ok with staying with us?

Lynne: of course. Plus it saves me money on a hotel

Ricky pulls into the parking space and helps his mom with her things. He shows her her room and goes upstairs. Ricky gets a call from nini before the show who tells him to check his texts. She’s going to send him what to write on her cards to give out since she can’t make it. He of course would do anything for nini so he does. After he arrives at the school, he hands out the cards apologizing for his handwriting. EJ shows up right after he gives out the last one announcing his arrival and wishing everyone luck. Kourtney stops him from kissing EJ because of his stage makeup so EJ takes his cue to find his seat. Ricky tells him he’ll see him at intermission.

At intermission EJ finds him in the backstage area and Ricky drags him out down the hall to an empty classroom.

Ricky tells him that he told his parents and EJ is happy to hear it. He tells EJ that he’s sure of his sexuality now. He’s gay. EJ tells him he’s bisexual and they are of course so proud of each other. EJ tells him he has 5 minutes left before he gets back so they take the opportunity to make out. Ricky of course hates EJ’s perfect hair so he takes the opportunity to mess it up. After EJ interrupts asking what he’s doing he tells EJ that he likes his hair messy like this summer at camp or last week at college. EJ lets him and after a few minutes it’s time to head back. Ricky goes to get ready and goes to preform the rest of the show for act 2. It’s the best performance they have had to date and he can’t wait to do it again next semester.

After Gina’s movie announcement in the auditorium and the reveal of miss jenn and Mr mazzara being together the gang takes the limo to dennys. Ricky couldn’t help but think of nini when big red asked what happens now. Ricky drives home from the school after the limo takes them back to the school to get their cars. He goes straight home, removes his makeup and gets ready for bed. His dad comes to tell him EJ is here. He goes downstairs to see what EJ wants. EJ tells him he wants to meet his parents given that his mom is actually here. He goes to get his mom and introduces his boyfriend. He tells EJ he’s going to shallow lake again next summer along with visiting his mom in Chicago and asks him to join him. EJ says yes and he’ll join him in Chicago too when he visits his mom. His parents go to bed and EJ asks for a ride home. After dropping EJ off and EJ saying he’ll grow his hair out again Ricky goes home. He texts EJ when he gets home and good night. They go to bed. He can’t wait to see what happens next.

#hsmtmts #ej caswell #ricky bowen #gina porter #caswen #ashlyn caswell #big red #maddox #bad idea right

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rosesradio · 10 months

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hi i saw ur taking drabble requests, this is a bit vague but maybe a really fluffy portbowell drabble please? idk maybe something like telling each other jokes but i don’t mind if you do ur own thing with this one!

hii !! <3 hope you don't mind this is a longer drabble, it's a bit of a think piece on ej's character & leans more into the caswen/queer aspect of portbowell (my longer fic i'm working on has povs with each character & all, but there's only so much you can do with a drabble lol)

warnings: talk of ej's relationship with his dad, discussion of being in the closet, i think like one sex joke/reference but other than that it's pretty pg

word count: 1.1k

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"You will never be truly happy if you keep this whole 'rebellion' act up. If you would just…follow the path I laid out, success would come as easy as breathing, EJ."

EJ could remember, clear as crystal, the words his father had spoke when he'd told him he wasn't going to Duke. For the first time, it wasn't a fight--not a noticeable one, anyway. It was something underhanded, the guilt-tripping. But EJ stood his ground, time and time again. The so-called "self-help" books EJ had received in the mail at camp (that were really just "how to manipulate your minimum-wage employees and make millions")? Return to sender. The letters threatening to send him to the Caswell Success School? Those made a good fuel to the camp fire.

Of course, it was easy to defy his father from the safety of halfway across the country. When he got back, however, and was cut off…that was a little harder to deal with than some hate mail. Luckily, Ashlyn's parents were quick to take him in. The timing was almost perfect--he'd helped Gina move her stuff out to live at her mom's, and she helped him move his stuff in.

A lot of this whole change wouldn't be possible without Gina and Ricky. Ricky was…something new. Over the course of camp, they'd spent a lot of time together; they had water balloon fights, worked together to scare the others on initiation night, roasted s'mores together. EJ never thought he'd ever have feelings for a guy the way he did then, especially not with Ricky, especially not while he had a girlfriend. After a long talk with Gina, EJ found out Gina and Ricky liked each other, too. So, they all three started dating. Their friends were skeptical at first, but it didn't take long for them to be supportive.

It had all been working out really, really well, and EJ couldn't help but be surprised. He thought it was too good to be true, that it'd all fall apart. Instead, they had a lot of fun together watching movies (EJ loved old slasher movies, Ricky was okay with them, and Gina did not like them at all, so picking out movies wasn't always easy), they went out to picnics and tried out different craft tutorials on YouTube. When they did have issues, they talked through them and tried to work out solutions. It was…really nice compared to how some of his old relationships had fallen apart.

Today, however, was their first pride festival together. They were late meeting up and missed the parade, but they were still able to go around to the booths. It was, unfortunately, scorching outside; EJ had no idea how all these couples were holding hands, but he couldn't imagine it was fun, so he was glad Gina and Ricky had silently agreed not to hold hands.

"Oh, what's this?" Ricky stopped at a booth handing out little pride flags, grabbing a bi one for himself and one for Gina--she'd told them during one of their long talks that she had a small crush on Nini at one point, which wasn't surprising, considering most of their theatre group did at one point or another. Ricky grabbed a third for EJ, but hesitated--while EJ was out to their friends, it was still weird and awkward. Once, Carlos asked when he knew he liked Ricky, and EJ blushed so much he almost started sweating and had to leave the room.

EJ wasn't out to anyone else, though, like his aunt and uncle. They'd accepted Ashlyn (where had she gone? She had to be here with Maddox and Big Red somewhere…), but he just wasn't ready. Ricky had only joined the relationship two weeks ago, and EJ didn't want all that attention.

"Sorry," EJ said with a sigh, impulsively glancing around, as if on the lookout for anyone he wouldn't want to see--even though his dad was in St Louis, and his aunt and uncle were out with their book club.

"It's okay, Eej," Gina insisted, going on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for being here with us."

"Yeah, it's fine," Ricky said. "I guess I'll just have to make it up to you with some ice cream."

"You don't have to do that," EJ replied. "I mean…" he looked around. So many people…gay couples holding hands, supportive parents wearing "free mom hugs" and "free dad hugs" shirts, gender non-conforming people, a group of guys in leather harnesses (which, if EJ thought too much into, he'd definitely discover something about himself, holy hell). And everyone here seemed genuinely happy, even the ones waiting to buy a five-dollar lemonade. Even the ones that could be in the closet, not holding any pride flag. There were so many people…he was safe.

"Hey, Ricky?" EJ asked, finally looking back at him. He couldn't help but smile--Ricky was wearing this weirdly cute tank top that said "pride month" until the letters faded into the rainbow phrase "demon". He also had on a rainbow beaded necklace--they'd all made those together while watching Bridgerton (Gina had introduced it to him and Ricky; they had mistakenly called it a "girl's show", but were thoroughly invested five minutes in). All in all, he really liked Ricky. And he liked liking him.

"Yeah?" Ricky replied, smiling right back at him.

EJ then pulled Ricky close, pressing his lips to his in a kiss that lasts only a few seconds, Ricky's hands resting habitually on EJ's biceps (because of course). He then pulled away to see Gina, who appeared happy but confused, as if EJ had just tried to explain the rules of water polo or the lore behind a certain slasher movie franchise.

"What does this mean?" She asked, reaching a hand out to squeeze his for a moment--it was still too hot out for it, but worth it.

"Nothing," EJ shrugged. "Just wanted a kiss, and I figured that was okay here. It's…a start. And I could put the flag in my room, maybe…?"

"Do whatever you're ready for," Gina said. "You know that we're here for you, but…this is really exciting, Eej!" She threw her arms up around him and hugged him, to which he laughed and hugged her back. It was unbelievable to think that they thought of him this way--like he was so cool and brave. If anyone was cool or brave, it was them--they showed him every day that everything would be alright, and things were getting better.

Sure, he wouldn't be the most successful CEO by age twenty-five like his father wanted, but he was happy. Truthfully, seeing how happy his two best friends--his boyfriend and girlfriend--were, he couldn't imagine being any happier.

#hope you liked this ! i haven't posted a drabble--especially a request in my inbox--in a while <33 #my inbox is always open :-)#portbowell #ricky bowen #ej caswell #gina porter #hsmtmts #rose’s asks

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