#hsmtmtsimagine

[mellowmadds]

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

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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.

#ricky bowen #ricky bowen y/n #ricky bowen/reader #ricky bowen x reader #ricky bowen imagine #joshua bassett #joshua bassett y/n #joshua bassett x reader #hsmtmtsimagine #hsmtmts season 3 #hsmtmts #fanfiction #fanfic #oneshot #imagine #disney+ #disney fanfiction #high school musical the musical the series #high school musical the series #ej caswell #gina porter #ashlyn caswell #y/n #reader insert #reader imagine #reader is female #reader included

[mellowmadds]

When you take a chance | Ricky Bowen

ricky bowen/fem!reader oneshot

fluff :)

summary: the musical has been casted and the cast list has been posted however when miss Jenn is in search for pianist Ricky Bowen your childhood best friend and secret crush insists that you push your fears aside and join the wildcats with putting on a musical.

warnings: mentions of divorce, sad ricky

word count: 3064

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

“You do realize that auditioning for the musical means breaking out into song and dance in front of the entire school, right?” You laughed, while sitting down in between your two best friends Big Red and Ricky.

“Except this is my one chance to win back Nini, I need to prove to her that I’m serious about our relationship.” Ricky sighed as he turned his head towards the one thing he’s been avoiding all day.

“Why don’t you just try talking to her?” Big Red said while gesturing over towards the two lovebirds Ej Caswell and the one girl Ricky could confide in.

“No offense but the one person I go to for advice is currently on her honeymoon in the cafeteria.” Ricky pushed the rest of his lunch towards Big Red while grabbing his skateboard and storming off.

“At least I get the rest of his fries.” Big Red said before chugging down the rest of his soda.

You gave Big Red a small smile and handed him the rest of your chips. While getting up from the table and gathering your belongings out of the corner of your eye you see Kourtney staring back and forth between you and Nini. You were never really jealous of Ricky’s relationship with Nini because at least before she went off to camp they were oddly the perfect couple. You would never admit the feelings you had towards Ricky to anyone except maybe Big Red but only because he was becoming suspicious as to why you always agreed to everything Ricky had said or done.

The rest of the day seemed to pass by. You walked down the familiar hallway to your locker to grab things for the after school club your parents forced you to participate in. While walking back down towards the classroom you heard faint yelling coming from Mr. Mazzara’s room which you ultimately ignored thinking it was just the robotics team arguing over who gets to control the remote. But the last thing you expected to see was Ricky Bowen bolting past you towards the theater.

“He’s really going to audition.” You said to yourself shocked. Not wanting to be distracted by the thought of Ricky trying to impress Nini you continued to walk to the classroom you should have already been at ten minutes ago.

Instead of actually paying any attention to the club you signed up for, you found yourself reading over your music sheets so you could practice the new song you were learning on the piano when you got home.

Wanting to go home a bit earlier than the actual time your after school club ended you made up an excuse and started gathering everything into your already heavy backpack. While walking out of the classroom you couldn’t help but be distracted by the commotion coming from down the hall.

“What’s going on?” You asked approaching Big Red as he stood there with nothing but a shocked expression on his face.

“Your crush, our best friend just scored the lead in the play with no acting experience whatsoever.” Big Red announced to you with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on him.

“Okay first of all lower your voice, second of all how?” You questioned while laughing. Walking over to the cast list taped to the wall you see Ricky Bowen written in all caps playing Troy Bolton. While you were incredibly happy for him below his name was Nini’s also in all caps playing Gabriella.

You congratulated Ricky and gave a small smile to Nini seeing that she was obviously frustrated with the whole situation. You couldn’t blame her though she seems happy being in a relationship with Ej and doesn’t want anything or certainly anyone ruining it for her.

It’s been a few days since Miss Jenn posted the cast list and since then Ricky has been practicing non stop. On the other hand Big Red had gotten stuck reading stage directions for Miss Jenn. Having both of your best friends being so busy spending time with the drama club meant that you had way too much time on your hands which led to feeling a bit lonely.

Instead of heading home for the day you thought it would be nice to sit in the music room and play the piano for a little while. Feeling lonely at school felt a little less lonely than sitting all alone at home, if that made any sense.

“Hey Y/n.” Of course the one boy you’ve purposely been avoiding wants to interrupt your peaceful piano playing. Instead of saying some sarcastic comeback to him you look up from the piano keys to see that instead of his normally happy go lucky smile he was upset.

“What’s wrong Ricky?” he gently sat down beside you on the piano bench without making any eye contact. Instead of forcing him to talk you turned back to the piano keys and started playing little soft tunes instead of having to sit there in silence. You knew he’d been having a hard time at home due to his mother leaving his dad and moving away to Chicago.

“Nina is in love with Ej.” he admits out of the blue while nervously tracing his finger along the keys of the piano.

You stopped playing for a second to collect your thoughts. You have never actually heard him call her Nina. It was like he was speaking a foreign language. You wanted to comfort him and tell him that everything would be okay but you were at a loss of words and when you tried to speak nothing came out.

“But I’m okay with that, it hurt at first watching her fall in love with Ej but she’s happy and I don’t want to ruin that for her.” Ricky spoke in a soft tone almost as if he had lost his voice. Before you could speak he cut you off again.

“At first I auditioned so I could show her that I was serious about our relationship and maybe that was a stupid move but now I realized that a part of me also did this for myself.” You smiled to yourself knowing that Ricky finally found something he’s passionate about.

“So why are you sitting here with me right now instead of up on that stage practicing?” You asked while turning to face him. He pressed his fingers down on the piano and started playing random keys, which sounded awful together.

“Because Miss Jenn doesn’t have anyone to play piano for us, Ashlyn is focused on making sure Ms. Darbus’s solo is perfect.” Secretly hoping he isn’t about to ask you to play piano in front of everyone you start putting your music sheets into your folder and shoving it quickly into your backpack.

“Y/n can you please play the piano for us just for rehearsal?” Already preparing to say no you look down at your shoes.

“Ricky-”

“Please Y/n, just this one time?” He’s not going to stop until you agree to play.

“I know you know the songs you used to watch high school musical on repeat.” Ricky continued to ask you to play the piano. Feeling bad you finally give in and say yes even though deep down you really don’t want to do this.

Following closely behind Ricky down the hallway towards the theater was the last thing you thought you’d ever be doing today. You had secretly been wishing in your head that you had gone home right after school today.

“You okay Y/n?” Ricky stopped walking and turned to face you.

“Yeah I’m alright, just nervous.” You tried giving him a smile but he could tell you were really anxious about playing the piano in front of anyone that wasn’t him or Big Red.

“We can practice alone first in front of Miss Jenn, I’m sure everyone else is busy doing something.” Ricky spoke in a soft loving tone to try and calm your nerves. You only gave him a forced smile as you continued walking towards the theater.

As you both stepped foot in the theater Ricky called out for Miss Jenn just for her to randomly pop out from around the corner.

“Ricky you're finally back” Miss Jenn said while clapping her hands together.

“I found someone to play the piano for us, but is it cool if we could just practice in front of you for now? She’s a bit nervous.” Ricky asked only to receive a nod from Miss Jenn.

“Yes of course we could do that. What is your name sweetheart?” Miss Jenn asked, approaching you with a hug.

“Y/n” You said quietly and accepted her hug. She waved and motioned for the two of you to follow her.

As she brought you guys over to the piano you could start to feel your heart race until you felt a familiar hand start tracing circles on your back. You tried your best to keep your composure but to actually be this close to Ricky in the moment it just felt right. But you knew he didn’t feel the same way you did, not after just recently getting over Nini.

“Here’s the sheet music for ‘Start of Something New’ don’t be nervous there's no judging here. This is a safe space sweetheart.” Miss Jenn told you.

You set the papers down in front of you quickly looking over the notes and preparing yourself. You felt Ricky sit down next to you and quickly put his hand back on your lower back. As you started playing the song Ricky quickly started singing.

‘Livin’ in my own world’

‘Didn’t understand’

‘That anything can happen’

‘When you take a chance’

You continued playing the song until it eventually came to an end. You could feel Ricky staring at you but interrupting the sweet moment Miss Jenn applauded the two of you.

“Have you ever thought about being in a musical sweetheart? Because you have the talent for it.” Miss Jenn stated while grinning ear to ear.

“Oh, no I don’t really sing or dance or act for a matter of fact.” You said nervously just wanting this conversation to end right at that very moment.

“How would you feel about playing Kelsi? We need someone as talented as you are to go on for her and play the piano.” As much as you wanted to say no the expression on Ricky’s face wouldn’t allow you to.

They both stared at you for what felt like hours you had no choice other than to say yes. You also didn’t want to crush Ricky’s heart by saying no. And it seemed like Miss Jenn really needs your help with this.

“Sure I’ll play Kelsi and help out at rehearsals with the piano.” You said quietly almost instantly regretting what you had just said.

You turned back around to face Ricky and were greeted with the biggest hug he’s ever given you. Not wanting to interrupt the moment Miss Jenn walked out to the rest of the theater kids to make sure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

“I’m so proud of you!” Ricky yelled while you shushed him.

“No really I am Y/n, you just faced one of your biggest fears and now you’re in the musical with me.” You couldn’t help but think now all the time you’re going to have to spend with Ricky playing the piano. The thought of getting to spend time with the person that I love while doing the thing I love the most made you instantly feel butterflies.

“Thank you for pushing me Ricky. Now let’s hope I can handle it and not get stage fright.” You said as you turned back to the piano to gather all of the sheet music for the songs you now need to learn and practice.

You introduced yourself to the rest of the drama club minus the people who already knew who you were due to your friendships with Big Red and Ricky. Everyone welcomed you with open arms and you couldn’t have felt more comfortable around any group of people before. After many rehearsals you had made many new friends and eventually grew even closer to Ricky.

You’ve been practicing all of the songs that Kelsi performs during the musical. Your parents are incredibly proud of you for coming out of your shell and finally showing your talent off. You have no distractions getting in your way except for one, Ricky Bowen.

Big Red continued to tease you about your crush on Ricky every single day insisting on the fact that he feels the same way. You didn’t want to risk your friendship with Ricky just in case it didn’t work out between the two of you. Ricky’s past relationship with Nini is a big part in making you afraid over nothing. Even though he and Nini were total opposites they just were a perfect couple but despite everything they didn’t work out in the end and they barely talk to each other anymore. That is what you were afraid of, losing him.

Many weeks had gone by with a lot of things all happening at once. Ricky would compliment you here and there and maybe you two would share a moment every once and a while but you always just brushed it off and thought of it as him just being a good friend.

It was finally opening night, the night everyone had been working so hard for. Despite the anxiety building up inside of you you knew you couldn’t quit or give up now it was too late for that. So instead you went to find the one person you trust only to find out that Ej had gone on for him during act two and nobody could find Ricky. You knew you couldn’t run around and look for him knowing you had scenes in the musical with nobody to go on for you. As you took a deep breath you walked over to the piano to start playing ‘Breaking Free’. In your head you knew Ricky should be here on stage singing not Ej you couldn’t help but wonder where he was.

After the musical was over and everyone exited the stage you approached Ej to confront him about Ricky.

“He wanted me to go on for him Y/n. I don’t know what happened but he insisted that I would go on as Troy.” Ej explained to you. You knew Ej wouldn’t lie to you as everyone had grown a close bond over these past couple of weeks.

Carlos and Seb walked and noticed how upset you were.

“He’s in the rehearsal room Y/n” Carlos spoke with a gentle tone. You thanked them and walked down to the rehearsal room.

You quietly opened the door and shut it behind you.

“Ricky, What's going on? What happened?” You asked while taking a seat next to him. He didn’t say a word all he did was pull you closer into a hug and quietly sobbed. You've never seen Ricky cry but you knew instead of questioning him you needed to comfort him. As much as you tried to put your feelings aside for just a moment you couldn’t help but think about the way he held onto you but that didn’t last long as he stood up and started apologizing for seeming weak and crying in front of you.

“You don’t have to apologize for crying Ricky, it’s okay” You said as you stood up and walked closer towards him.

“My mom brought her boyfriend here and when I saw him put his arm around her I didn’t know how to feel. Why would she think it’s okay to bring him around? I thought that this would be an opportunity for her to talk with my dad.” Ricky said while holding back his tears because he didn’t want to cry in front of you again.

“You know it’s okay to feel that way and it’s okay to cry. You’re allowed to be mad at your mother. She should have asked if it was okay to bring him.” You said as you tried your best to be strong for him.

“She said she wanted me to meet him” Ricky repeated what his mother had previously said to him as he looked down at his shoes.

“But you should be the one to decide when you want to meet him, not her. She should have asked for your permission to bring him. She’s the one who messed up, not you Ricky.” You said as you crossed your arms hoping that he would agree with you.

“This is why I love you.” Ricky admitted looking back up at you. Taken back a bit you were once again at a loss of words in front of Ricky Bowen.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, but I love you Y/n.” He said once again. Not wanting to mess this moment up you walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I love you too, Ricky.”

As you looked back up to him he smiled down at you. His hand gently gripped your chin as he leaned in but before doing anything he asked.

“Can I kiss you?” and without even having to think for a second you replied with a yes.

He gently pressed his soft lips against yours and you instantly felt the feeling of butterflies all over again. You placed your hand on his cheek as you slowly rubbed your thumb against it as you pulled away from him.

“If you want you can stay with me tonight, so you don’t have to be at home.” You said trying your best not to kill the mood but you wanted to make sure he had a place to sleep in case he didn’t want to face his mom tonight.

“Thank you Y/n, I appreciate it so much.” He replied back pulling you into a tight hug. Not ever wanting to pull away you laughed and said

“Come on we're going to be late to slices, don’t want Big Red getting suspicious of anything.” You said as he grabbed your hand and walked outside to join the rest of the wildcats for a well deserved after party at slices.

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