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mnthpprt · 4 years

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Chapter 49: Desperate Measures

[Sorry for the short chapter. My computer is broken and I can’t afford to get it fixed anytime soon, so I have been writing on my phone instead. In addition, life has gotten pretty busy lately and it will probably stay that way. I will still update whenever I can.]

Our laughter dies down when I hear a noise coming from the hallway. As usual, Arthur has managed to turn an awkward conversation into an opportunity to make my sides hurt. He truly has a talent for finding the humor in every situation.

“Was that a knock?” I pant.

He simply shrugs, so I approach the door to open it. On the other side stands Sebastian, his fist up, ready to knock again. I immediately throw my arms around him, jumping on my toes to be able to reach his broad shoulders, but soon become overwhelmed by his scent.

“Nope, bad idea,” I say, pulling away. He tilts his head as he lets go. “Human,” I point at him, and then at myself, “hungry leech. You smell delicious, no offence.”

“None taken,” Sebastian smiles. “We can catch up later, le Comte wants to see you,” he informs me before moving out of the way. I nod and hurry out, followed by Arthur. “He’s in his study.”

We part ways in the hallway, the two men leaving together in the opposite direction. I arrive to find le Comte’s door wide open. I lean on the frame and knock to catch his attention.

“Bonjour” I playfully greet him, making him look up from a book.

“Welcome back, ma chérie,” he says, standing up.

After we exchange two kisses on the cheek, he gestures toward the fireplace. I have been here enough times to know he wants me to sit, so make myself confortable on one of the armchairs as he does the same, across from me.

“So... I know you lied about how the door works.” Le Comte looks worried for a second, but quickly regains composure. “Don’t worry, I get why you did it. I met a friend of yours,” I begin before extending my arm over my head. “About this much taller than me, red eyes, white hair?”

“Vlad is here? I had my suspicions, but I did not think he would have the nerve to show up in Paris,” he muses. “I take it you know about his plans, then.”

“Mhm. Did you know William is working for him?”

“No, I had no idea. I might have to have a word with him,” he adds sternly. “How did you find out?”

“The ball. He had introduced me to Salieri before, and seemed pretty amused by his misunderstanding,” I answer. “At the time I didn’t know who he was, but Antonio was convinced that Mozart and I were a couple. William just added wood to the fire.”

“I don’t understand, ma chérie. You still decided to go live with him?” he asks, confused.

“It started with me not wanting any of you to see me in that state... you know, practically feral, and all. And then I thought I could make something useful our of this little vacation,” I explain. “So I’ve been keeping an eye on him, seeing what I could find out. Which leads me to Vlad. I was introduced to him just a couple hours ago and found out about his plans to conquer the world or whatever. He was... charming,” I conclude sarcastically, rubbing my neck. Though the hand shaped marks have mostly faded, it is still sore from his strong grip.

In a manner completely uncharacteristic of him, le Comte pries my hand away, revealing the faint, finger shaped bruises on my neck. His face contorts into a mask of pure rage, his eyes growing darker, as he abruptly stands up and begins marching towards the door. Luckily, I manage to shoot up and catch the hem of his jacket as he walks past me.

“Sit the fuck down,” I order, pulling on his clothes. He glances at me, still looking furious, and I grab his arm and push him backwards onto his seat. “I am not done here.”

“Forgive me, Anaïs,” he mutters before taking a deep breath. That seems to calm him. “I could hardly contain myself when I saw you have been hurt.”

“It’s nothing, but thank you for caring,” I wave away his concern with a smile. “Anyway, he built his own door and traveled to the future, which horrified him so much he has now decided that humanity doesn’t stand a chance without vampire rule. But you probably already knew this.” le Comte nods slowly. “The point is, I figured out when exactly he traveled to. He ended up in the middle of World War Two. No wonder he’s traumatized,” I chuckle.

“That explains a lot,” he says. “We have been friends for a very long time, Vlad and I. I’d say around a millennium, even. A couple centuries ago, he disappeared. When I met him again, he was... strange. He had changed,” he narrates. “He told me he had built his own door, and that it did not work properly. He also mentioned seeing the future. I believe that is when he started turning new vampires to achieve his goal.” The nostalgia in le Comte’s voice shifts to something akin to regret. “I tried to talk him out of it, to no avail, and we had a falling out. That was the last time I saw him.”

“We both know more about the future now, so maybe talking him out of it is still an option,” I chime in. “When he described his experience, I told him I was born long after that. I explained how much better things are in my time, and why his plan would never work, but he didn’t believe me. Comte, do you think he would keep his word, even after what he went through?” I suddenly ask.

“Vlad is many things, but he is not a liar,” he sombrely assures me. “I trust that aspect of him has not changed.”

“Good,” I smirk.

“What do you have in mind, ma chérie?” he inquires when I get up and make my way around his desk. On a loose leaf of paper, I quickly scribble a note, which I hand to le Comte. “I want to offer you a deal. Allow me to prove you wrong. Meet me Sunday at 9 in your shop to negotiate the terms,” he reads out loud. “Shop? What shop?”

“He sells flowers in town. I don’t have the address but William probably knows where it is.”

“Does he also know what he is helping Vlad do?” he asks. I shake my head.

“I don’t think so. You know how much of a shit stirrer he is, I’m willing to bet he’s just in it for the drama,” I state, rolling my eyes. “I have gotten to know him better over the past week, and I sincerely doubt he would be okay with what Vlad is planning. As far as I can tell, he just knows about the vampires he has recruited. Speaking of-” I remember, “he has two trusted minions. Faust the alchemist-slash-crazy scientist, and Charles. I have no idea who the latter is, just that he is French.”

“Interesting...” he mutters. “Tell me about this deal.”

“I was thinking of showing him the future. Grant him access to your door, and in exchange he has to stop his pursuit for power. What do you think?”

After a moment of thoughtful silence, le Comte shifts in his armchair. He leans forward, caressing his chin as if he had a beard.

“It is risky...” he quietly says. “Are you sure you can convince him?”

“I can and I will. Whatever it takes.”

Le Comte nods slowly, pondering my proposal. He stares at me, brows furrowed in concentration, as I suddenly feel as if his piercing golden eyes could read my mind. I return the gaze with as much confidence as I can reflect back to him. Unless he has a better idea, this is our only chance, and I intend to make it work no matter what.

“In that case...” he finally says, leaning back, “I shall aid you as best as I can and provide anything you need, ma chérie. However, I am not sure about letting him into the mansion. I need some time to think about how that would work.”

“Thank you Comte, I understand. Oh, one more thing,” I quickly add. “Do not tell anyone about this, especially William. If Vlad suspects anything he will kill me.”

“Then why did you tell me about his involvement?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. I shrug.

“You have a right to know,” I simply state, standing up. “Besides, you’re a good liar. Just keep that up and we’re all set, I’ll handle the- Rouge. I need rouge.”

Distracted by the sudden pang of hunger, I shuffle away, mumbling to myself as I count the time that has passed with my fingers. Roughly three and a half hours before I even felt anything, and I have not gone mad yet. That is a personal best.

I stroll into the kitchen sporting a proud grin. I reach over Sebastian’s shoulder for a bottle of rouge, leaning heavily on his back. He turns around, surprised, but I shush him before he can say anything and proceed to down the entire bottle in one go.

Once I am sure there is nothing left, I put it down on the counter with a deep breath before holding onto Sebastian’s shoulder once again. This time, I propel myself up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Did you miss me?” I ask coyly.

“How could I not?” he laughs. “Although the flowers probably miss you a lot more, I’ve been too busy to take proper care of the garden.”

“Oh, Seb, I am so sorry about that...” My apology is genuine, accompanied by a gentle squeeze on his arm. “Sorry I left so suddenly. Should have at least warned you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiles. “You’re here now. I saw you packing before, do you need help carrying all that?”

“I can ask someone else. I’m sure you’re busy enough without me helping out.”

“I am not too busy to listen. What is it like?” he suddenly asks, pulling a stool from under the kitchen isle.

“What?”

“Living with Shakespeare! I want to know everything.”

“Oh,” I laugh.

I sit on the counter, letting my legs dangle beside him as he looks up at me, his brown eyes impatient and full of wonder, almost like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

“Well, he wakes up super early, which as you know I am not very good at,” I humor him. “We spend most days in rehearsal with his troupe. They’re pretty cool. Uh... I’ve also been caring for his little vegetable patch that he keeps in the garden to feed the-”

“Puck, yes?” he interrupts me, making me look down.

“Seriously?” I snort. “You’re taking notes? Man, and I thought William was creepy.” I nudge Sebastian with my foot as I tease him. My voice drops to a whisper when a thought occurs to me. “Do you keep those on everyone? Oh my God, have you been taking notes about me?”

“No! Of course not,” he exclaims, unconvincingly shaking his head. I stare at him. “Okay, fine, don’t look at me like that! When I said I came here to study historical figures up close, I meant it.”

“Can I see?” I don’t wait for him to answer before I take the notebook from his hands. My eyebrows rise higher with every page of diligently detailed information I flip through. “Aw, you do have one about me. Adorable.”

“How do you think I’ve kept track of your schedule the past month?” he chuckles. “I only started writing that when it became clear you were planning to stay. Too bad I have no use for that cordon bleu recipe now...”

“Whoah, stop right there. You know full well I will travel from the Moon if I have to just to taste those ‘libritos’ again,” I state with as much seriousness as I can muster, which, frankly, isn’t much. A self sufficient smile grows on Sebastian’s lips.

“I know.”

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seblos · 4 years

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there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach - ch 7/10

chapter title: honey, not today of all days

word count: 8,826

read on ao3

It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, their last rehearsal before break, and Carlos is using any excuse he has to go talk to Seb.

Homecoming had definitely been a big step in their potential relationship, but ever since the forest of trees incident, he’s felt more drawn than ever to be near Seb at all times. Whether it was the hug, or the text Seb had sent him that day, or his hand on Carlos’s knee in Big Red’s basement, he knew now more than ever he wanted this to be something— that he was ready for it to be something.

The idea of them being in this blissful era and then possibly not seeing the boy for a whole 4 days is painful to Carlos. So, throughout the rehearsal, he’s taken every opportunity he can to go stand near the piano. Every time he does, Seb gives him this smile like he’s pleasantly surprised every time whether or not he was expecting it, and it makes Carlos’s chest explode from the inside.

Carlos was standing there now, pretending to check his choreography notes with the music that Seb has. (He knows the show choreo back to front, and Seb probably knows that too, but neither of them says anything as Carlos keeps one hand on Seb’s shoulder.)

Every once in awhile as Miss Jenn sets up the blocking for the opening song, she’ll turn and ask Carlos for his opinion on something. It always elicits a general “yeah, sure” response from him. No matter what his opinion is, Miss Jenn will most likely do it, and Carlos isn’t exactly in the mood to put up a full argument about it when he can stay here and talk to Seb for the time being. Even when the song starts, he still lingers over there for a bit before retreating back to Miss Jenn for the last few bars.

When he finally sits back down next to Miss Jenn as Ricky and Nini rehearse ‘Start of Something New’, though, he notices a few changes in the choreography. Apparently, the things he accidentally agreed to were some extra props and choreo that... aren’t exactly necessary for this particular song. Oh well. After a couple months of rehearsal, Carlos knows that Miss Jenn will decide in a week that she doesn’t like it and take it out. (By this point he’ll just be happy if they get the show together in time for opening night.)

He marks down some things to discuss with Miss Jenn about removing. (Seriously, he doesn’t think they need cardboard pieces with the song title. There’s a pretty small chance that the audience won’t know the song.) At least the vocals sound good.

Not even halfway through the song, though, the bell signifying the end of all extracurriculars cuts through and interrupts rehearsal. Usually, they’re able to run on for however long necessary, but because of the break, they’re required to have everyone out of the building at a certain time before they can close it down for the long weekend.

A “Yes! Yes! WHOO!” accompanies the blaring of the bell as EJ stands up from the benches, speaking for the first time since the start of rehearsal. He looks around after a moment once he realizes everyone is staring at him.

“Sorry, I really love Thanksgiving,” he admits, sitting back down. A few people laugh, including Carlos, but he wonders if anyone else is thinking that maybe he just did it to stop whatever was happening between Nini and Ricky during that duet. The two of them had been staring and smiling at each other the entire time even with the whirlwind of props and choreography going on around them.

“Okay, hold on!” Miss Jenn says over the chatter as the cast begins to pack up their belongings for the break. She stands up, and Carlos follows her to the center of the room.

“I know everyone is excited for the holiday break, but I’m me, and I have notes,” she continues. “Ricky and Nini— that was good. But it could be better.”

Carlos glances over at her. Out of all the things in the scene and she thinks the vocals need adjustments? They’re lucky that Nini and Ricky will actually sing together at this point.

“She said in the spirit of holiday cheer,” she adds, noticing Carlos’s gaze on her.

He nods. “Good save.”

“Your homework over this break, all of you, is to please go on vocal rest,” she tells them. “And go over your lines too… which is hard to do on vocal rest but make it work. And remember, may nothing block your doorway to happiness!”

Just as she says it, Mr. Mazzara (ironically) steps through the door to the bomb shelter. “Excuse me!”

Carlos gives him the biggest eye roll he can muster, and in doing so, glances over at his backpack next to the piano. He had placed it over there as well in hopes to catch Seb at the end of rehearsal, but unfortunately, the boy had left his back by the risers and was already over there, deep in conversation with Gina.

“Okay, starting now,” Miss Jenn says in response to the STEM teacher.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I just came to return a missing item. Ashlyn,” all of the students watch as he approaches the girl with a giant accordion file-type folder in hand. “Cannot have our robotics team co-captain going home without her binder over break.”

She takes it with a smile, before going over to her backpack which is placed next to the piano. Carlos follows, in hopes that this means the end of the conversation with Mr. Mazzara and that he’ll leave.

Unfortunately, he has no such luck. “Thank you, Benjamin, and I hope you have a lovely holiday with whoever could possibly love you.”

“Oh, well, in fact, I will be enjoying three varieties of peach cobbler with a loving family so large, we’re renting out the Rotary club.”

“Well, I’m sure it can’t compare to the candied yam bake-off that we throw every year in my home, but I wish you joy nonetheless.

“And I wish you had some joy, too,” Mr. Mazzara says before finally spinning on his heel and walking out the door.

Carlos stands up from where he was packing up his backpack, letting out a sigh as he faces Ashlyn. “Cobbler sounds so nice,” he says, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “My family usually has three protein courses and then everybody’s asleep by 6:00.”

“My folks start eating at dawn, and then they barely make it past the Macy’s Parade,” Big Red says, coming up behind them.

“Well at least your folks are sticking around,” Ashlyn tells them, leaning her elbow on the piano next to her. “EJ’s parents are treating my parents to a spa in Park City after dinner tomorrow. They told us to try and have a meaningful night at the movies.”

Carlos immediately turns to Big Red to see if they have the same thing in mind. When he turns back, Ashlyn is looking at both of them with the same look he had given Red.

“Wait…” she says, shifting herself so she’s standing a little taller as she regards them, an idea brewing in her mind.

“I was gonna say,” Carlos nods, egging her on.

“Do you guys want to come over after dinner tomorrow? Like, late night party?”

Next to him, Big Red is nodding enthusiastically as Carlos grins.

“I never don’t want that,” he tells her, making Ashlyn laugh. It feels good to be included with them in something again.

Big Red leans closer, a little quieter this time. “Should we keep it to a small group, or…” he sounded hesitant, so Carlos took it as a sign.

“Party at Ashlyn’s after Thanksgiving tomorrow, everyone’s invited!” he calls out to the room, and immediately people erupt into cheers. After the past few weeks they’ve had, everyone is in desperate need of a little celebration.

After everyone calms down and begins to exit, they begin to finish packing up and exiting the room, including Ashlyn and Big Red, with Red saying something about offering to help set up the party. Carlos is about to follow them out when Seb comes up to him.

He smiles as the boy approaches. “Hey, you going tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he smiles softly. “I was actually wondering, though, if you maybe wanted to come over to my house today? Since you still owe me that coffee. The cows aren’t exactly the best partners to practice my lines with, and I think Georgie is getting a little tired of me bossing her around.”

Carlos laughs. “Yeah, of course. I would love to come over.”

As they’re walking down the hallway together, their hands bump together like they typically do when the two are walking together.

This time, though, he musters enough courage to reach out and take Seb’s hand. It feels like ever since homecoming, Seb has been the only one to initiate anything affectionate, and Carlos doesn’t want him feeling like he’s the only one who wants this, whatever this is. Next to him, Seb squeezes his hand softly, and he can see the tips of the other boy’s ears turning red.

They get in the car together as usual, pointed looks from Georgie at their joined hands ignored. Seb convinces her to stop once at Starbucks, so Carlos can fulfill his promise of buying him coffee (or, hot chocolate, actually) with only the promise of bringing her back a cake pop.

As they pull up in front of a small, off-white farmhouse with a barn behind it, Carlos realizes he hasn’t been to Seb’s house yet. They exit the car, and he follows Seb up the steps onto the wrap around porch.

Carlos is immediately surrounded by noise the moment he steps into the house. A mix of at least three or four different voices overlap the humming of a fan and the blare of the television in another room. There are also a few barks coming from two different dogs, both of which run up to greet the group as they enter. It’s the complete opposite of his own house, and he loves it.

Seb brings him into the kitchen long enough to throw away their cups while he introduces Carlos to his parents, as well as two more of his sisters before grabbing two apples, attempting to escape up to his room. Unfortunately, though, as they reach the stairs, Seb’s mom calls out. “Sebastian, sweetie, can you feed the cows for me?” she asks. “I have to finish making the pies for tomorrow.”

“Can’t Georgie do it? I’m kind of busy,” Seb sighs, gesturing towards Carlos as he faces his mom. Before she can reply, Georgie slips past the two of them and up the stairs, calling “Nope!” behind her.

His mom looks at her, then back at Seb. “Please?”

Seb sighs again, looking over at Carlos, apology in his eyes. “Do you mind?” he asks, handing Carlos one of the apples.

“Not at all,” Carlos smiles in an attempt to make him feel better. “You can introduce me to all of your cows.”

That seems to cheer him up enough fro Seb to lead out, behind the house, and towards the barn that Carlos had noticed when they first pulled up. It’s painted a dark red, almost brown, and the wood is a bit faded. He can already hear the cows inside making noise without having even entered yet.

When they do enter, it’s exactly what he’s expecting. He’s been to a farm before when he was a lot younger, so the stereotypical red barn with each cow in their specific pen doesn’t come as any surprise to him.

Seb goes around, gently pouring food from a bucket for them, introducing them as he does so. It’s cute watching him work, and he has an impressive amount of musical pun names for them, but he feels bad for not helping.

“Is there anything I can do?” he offers after a few more moments of silently following Seb around while he eats his apple.

“Oh, sorry, is this boring?” he turns, blushing slightly. “I should be done soon, I’m sorry for making you wait-”

“No, it’s fine!” Carlos explains quickly, cutting him off. “I just feel bad standing around behind you.”

Seb shrugs. “It’s fine if you’re okay, I wasn’t expecting to have to do chores this early. Is there anything I can get you while you wait?”

“No, I’m good,” he smiles. It’s always good around Seb.

He finishes up, the two of them idly chatting while he does so. Seb even manages to convince him to pet one of the babies, a new calf named Beyonce (courtesy of Georgie, which Carlos of course adored.)

He admittedly was a bit scared of farm animals growing up, but watching Seb do his chores with them was able to ease his mind enough for him to at least pet one. (As for picking her up, which Seb did offer, Carlos thinks he’ll hold off on.)

They walk back to the house together, hand in hand like they were on the way to Georgie’s car earlier. It feels totally natural to just slip his hand into Seb’s at this point, and Carlos wonders what would happen if he just brought the situation up to him.

He’s been trying to figure out how since the night after homecoming, but with the Miss Jenn situation, he never found a chance to do it earlier. It leaves him thinking over every moment they have together at night, wondering how he could naturally bring up the subject. Every moment he spends with Seb alone, though, he forgets himself. All cognitive thought disappears when the boy gets within six feet of him.

He’s pretty sure Seb likes him. No, he’s definitely sure of it, considering the boy’s hand currently in his. More than anything he wants to be able to call Seb his boyfriend. How to get to the point of asking that, though, is where you lose him. It’s unfortunate that he’s not close enough to Nini or anyone who’s actually done the whole relationship thing because he has no one to help him out.

Oh well, though. There are some things he has to figure out on his own, and luckily he’s with a perfect person to do it with. He will figure it out. It’s just a matter of when.

When they enter the house, Seb lets go of his hand in favor of opening the door for Carlos, ushering him up to his room. It takes him a minute to figure out which room was his, considering the five different doors in the hallway, all painted white and slightly chipping. When Seb reaches the top of the stairs, though, he takes his hand again and leads him to one of the last doors in the hall.

He closes the door behind them, and Carlos turns to admire the room. The walls of Seb’s are a soft green. A dark wood-framed bed with an off-white comforter and patterned with little leaves and flowers is pushed into the corner of the room, the afternoon sun streaming in through one of the windows and lighting up the center of the room.

A few decorations hung along the walls; various art prints, playbills from local shows, and printed photos with memories that lined the room. Carlos couldn’t help but admire them for a few moments, laughing silently at younger Seb smiling widely at the camera with his siblings or friends. Nothing about that smile had changed.

There were a few recent ones on the wall as well. He notices one of Seb and Natalie during auditions, as well as one of their failed jumps for the playbill, and even a couple from homecoming. It makes his heart flutter when he sees one of the two of them dancing together, a photo Ashlyn had snapped and sent to the both of them after the dance. Seeing the two of them together like that makes his stomach flip in a good way.

Carlos recognizes a desk on the other side of the room from their FaceTime calls. It’s made of the same dark wood as his bed and dresser are. Currently, it looks like a High School Musical shrine, covered with stuff for their show. He smiles when he notices the ‘Sharpay’ name card that Seb had apparently taken from the read through. (Carlos had taken his home as well, it was currently pinned to his corkboard.)

Behind him, Seb digs his script out of his backpack. “Do you mind reading for Ryan? I want to rehearse page 74. I keep tripping up on it during rehearsal,” he asks.

Carlos pulls out his own script, flipping to the page as he sits down at the end of Seb’s bed. The scene towards the end of the show when Sharpay and Ryan are plotting to change the timing of the callback. He’s already familiar with the script after countless meetings with Miss Jenn for blocking discussion. Plus, as amazing as Seb is when he’s acting, Carlos has noticed him trip over the lines a couple times now that Miss Jenn has them off-book.

Just as they’re about to start, the door bursts open and Georgie leans against the doorway, “You know you’re not supposed to have the door closed when you have a boy over,” she says slyly, making both boys blush despite not even being close to each other.

“We’re running lines,” Seb tells her, doing his best to glare with his face heated up. “So unless you want to join and hear me run the same scene over and over again-”

“I’ll save it for opening night,” Georgie cuts off, rolling her eyes teasingly before turning.

Once she leaves (closing the door behind her,) Carlos opens his script backup to the scene. Across the room, Seb places his open script behind him on the desk before gesturing towards him to start off the conversation.

“Wow, they sound good!” Carlos reads off, doing his best to portray the character as he reads the line out to Seb. He’s admittedly not the best actor, but he manages to at least keep what he hopes sounds like surprise in his voice.

Seb scoffs dramatically, and Carlos can already see him back in his Sharpay mindset. He leans to the side as if he’s listening to Troy and Gabriella practice in the room next door, before turning around to face him. “We have to do something.”

Carlos glances down at the page, but the next Ryan is for another couple of lines. He looks back up at Seb, nodding at him to keep going.

Seb squeezes his eyes shut, tilting his head towards the ceiling as he racks his brain for the lines. “Our callback is on Thursday, and the basketball game and scholastic decathlon are on Friday,” he says hesitantly, rolling his shoulders as he gets back into character. Carlos continues to nod along encouragingly.

“It’s too bad all the events aren’t happening on the same day, at the same time!” he finishes slyly with one hand on his hip, voice dripping with sass and the general fabulous tone Sharpay radiates.

He’s so perfect for this role that Carlos almost forgets to keep going. “That wouldn’t work out because then Troy and Gabriella wouldn’t be able to make the callba…” he trails off, as Seb shakes his head slightly, giving him wide, condescending eyes in perfect Sharpay fashion

“I’m proud to call you my sis- brother,” Carlos corrects himself at the very second, and he can see Seb biting his cheek to keep from smiling.

“I know,” he finishes, then pretends to whip his non-existent long hair, making them both laugh.

The scene goes on for them still after this when Miss Darbus is supposed to go on stage, and while Carlos could easily read for both roles for Seb, instead he puts his script down in favor of clapping softly for the boy. “You’re doing amazing, Seb!”

Seb smiles softly, but it’s soon replaced by a tense half-smile as he drops down next to Carlos. “I’m never going to remember all these lines,” he sighs, laying down back onto the bed. “The last role I played with anywhere close to this many lines was when I was the grasshopper in James and the Giant Peach in 7th grade.”

It makes Carlos smile, remembering one of the photos he noticed of Sebs in a dark green jacket and a top hat with antennas sticking out next to some other kids from what must have been the night of their show. It’s weird to think about their separate histories in theatre before ending up at the same school. Judging by the various playbills with Seb’s middle school on them, he must have been doing shows nearly his entire life.

Meanwhile, Carlos had barely been involved before coming to East High. He had auditioned for a few of his middle school shows, but he was almost always cast in ensembles. He much preferred being behind the scenes of the show anyway, and be able to witness the whole thing come together from every perspective.

Instead of dwelling on that, he holds out his hand to pull Seb back up to a sitting position. “You have nearly all your lines memorized, though!” he says. “Compared to Ricky or EJ, I think you’re doing fantastic. Plus your acting is on point, you would be able to pull off forgetting a line.”

“Really? I’m worried I’m making my Sharpay too nice. I always loved her too much as a kid to remember she’s a villain,”

“Trust me, it’s perfect,” Carlos laughs again. “And I agree, Sharpay is barely the villain in the show. The real villain is Gabriella.”

“Righ?!” Seb agrees, turning back around. “Especially in High School Musical 3! Gabriella already has her scholarship to Stanford, there’s nobody she has to impress with the show. The reason she didn’t get that Juilliard scholarship is because they made a fool of her on stage, and then Gabriella stole the show as always, and now she’s stuck in Albuquerque for the rest of her life.”

Carlos bites his lip, trying to keep from smiling.

“What?” Seb asks when he notices.

“It’s just… I’ve never seen High School Musical 2 or 3 all the way through,” he admits.

“What?!” Seb says again, but this time more distraught. “You’re telling me you’ve only seen the worst movie of the trilogy?”

It makes Carlos gasp and laugh at the same time. “HSM 1 is a classic! I refuse to believe the sequels of movies can ever top the first one.”

“Okay, I agree, but also High School Musical 2 is, like, every reason I ever wanted to be Sharpay.”

“I mean, I watched up until the end of Fabulous, but then I gave up on it,” Carlos explains.

Seb rolls his eyes teasingly, sitting back down next to Carlos. “Okay, at least you’re somewhat cultured. First chance we get after break, though, I am sitting you down and making you watch the second two movies with me,” he says, nudging Carlos’s shoulder with his own.

Carlos grins. “Deal,” he says, and now would be a perfect time to make a move and just kiss him, or bring up the whole situation, or do anything. But with Seb’s eyes locked with his, his heart is racing too fast to think properly at this moment, and the moment passes.

It’s progress, though.

(Kind of.)

—

7:45pm the night of Thanksgiving, and Carlos is just about to leave for Ashlyn’s party when he remembers something that’s been in his closet for years.

Ever since he had watched the movies when he was younger, not knowing he would one day be able to create his own version of the show, he wanted a way to express his obsession with the movies. And with that, High School Musical: the Choosical had been born. Granted, at 5 years old, his summer project was more of his mom’s project.

Still, his family had stopped playing it after he had brought it out every night for weeks until they all memorized every question, so he hadn’t played since that summer he made it. No better night than tonight to bring it out again now that he has his own version of the cast to play it with.

“Are you ready to go, mijo?” he hears his mom call up the stairs just as he’s contemplating whether or not to bring it. Before he can second guess himself too much, Carlos grabs the folded red cardboard off of the top shelf of his closet and heads out the door.

As Carlos walks downstairs, his mom raises her eyebrows amusedly at the game in his hands. “Haven’t seen that one in a while,” she says, grinning at him

He smiles, rolling his eyes at her. “Well, it’s not like I’ve had an excuse to take it out in 10 years.”

“Better them than me. I could probably win an episode of Jeopardy with just High School Musical trivia,” she laughs as she opens the door.

After he’s seated with the Choosical safely in his lap, Carlos pulls out his phone just as his phone buzzes with a text from Seb.

From: Seb Matthew-Smith: everyone’s here! just missing you :) <3

Carlos has to keep from smiling too much at the text as he replies to avoid any questions from his mom.

From: Carlos Rodriguez: omw now! tell ash im sorry im late but im bringing smth

From: Seb Matthew-Smith: oh? should i be scared?

From: Carlos Rodriguez: no!! I think ur gonna like it :)

From: Seb Matthew-Smith: guess i better trust you on this one. luckily- i always trust you! :)

From: Seb Matthew-Smith: text me when you get here!!

Even as he gets closer to the cast, and even after having seen him just yesterday, it still makes his chest tight whenever Seb seems excited to see Carlos. It always instills him with confidence to know he likes Carlos back at least somewhat the same way he likes Seb. Perhaps that confidence could take him a long way tonight…

Carlos has to put his phone down, forcing himself to think about something else as he stares out the window and attempts to stop his cheeks from heating up. As much as he loves to daydream about the possibility of having a relationship with Seb, he’s pretty sure his mom knows something is up between the two of them. He doesn’t want to talk to her about it before he knows for sure that it’s real.

Instead, his mind drifts to the party. He hopes he wasn’t being too forward when he invited the entire drama club to come, but he couldn’t help seizing the opportunity when he saw it. Thankfully, everyone seemed excited, including Ashlyn who has to deal with having two dozen theatre kids all in her living room.

It’s not the high school party like the one in shows and movies, he knows that much already. He’s already positive there won’t be drinking because if anything happens it could potentially endanger the show, and, honestly, he’s kind of happy that there won’t be. (Not to mention that theatre kids with sugar are already bad enough.) But it is his first ever party, which has to count for something. If there’s any night for a couple of firsts, it’s tonight.

The car pulls up to what he assumes is Ashlyn’s house, judging by the cars lined on the street and the lights on inside. Carlos shoots Seb a quick text before leaning over to kiss his mom on the cheek, promising to call her when he needs a ride home. He then carefully climbs out of the car, the Choosical still in hand, and makes his way up to the front door.

Just as Carlos is trying to figure out how to open the door without tilting the game so all the pieces fall out (again, never ended up coming up with a better way to store it,) the door opens. In the doorway stands Seb in a pink button up.

“Long time no see, Rodriguez- oh, do you want help with that?” Seb says, eyes drawing from Carlos’s face down to the box in his hand, playful grin turning into delighted confusion. He offers out a hand, but Carlos waves it away.

“As long as you don’t close the door on me, we should be good.”

“Is that your mom?” he asks Carlos, gesturing behind him.

Carlos smiles. “Yup. I think she’s just checking to make sure this is the right house.”

Seb glances over Carlos’s shoulder, grinning as he waves at the car before he ushers him inside the house. No doubt Carlos would be hearing about that later on.

Instead, he focuses his attention on the rest of the cast and crew that are already seated in Ashlyn’s living room.

“The party may begin!” Carlos announces, Seb closing the door behind him.

“Carlos!” Ashlyn emerges from what must be the kitchen judging by the bowl of food in her hand. She passes it off to Kaden, though, and reaches out to help bring the game in. “Woah, okay, you know it’s a potluck and not catering, right?”

“This is not food,” he promises.

“Oh, good, I thought it was pizza. Too much lactose,” Big Red chimes in, causing a few scattered laughs.

Carlos sets the game down on the table, unlatching the velcro strip his mom had attached to it to keep everything in place. As he unfolds the game, gasps come from nearly every person in the room as they stare at the game.

“What is that?” he hears Big Red say among the excited mumbles.

“This is something I’ve been waiting many long years to share with the world,” he explains while the cast fiddles with all the pieces and admires the different tiles on the board. It boosts his confidence when he finally says, “you guys, this is High School Musical: the Choosical. ”

Ashlyn laughs giddily. “The what, now?” she asks, causing a few others to laugh as well.

Carlos grins, his chest warming as he finally gets to debut his childhood creation. “Okay, so when I was a child, I wanted to go into the movie. But the movie was on a screen.”

“He’s not wrong,” Seb adds.

“So, I decided to create the next best thing: an interactive, hyperactive HSM experience that can be played by children and adults everywhere in the world…” he pauses, then, “as long as they lived in my bedroom.”

“Wait so you’ve had this for ten years?” Big Red asks.

“And I’ve never actually played it,” he says. Well, never actually played it the way he always imagined. It’s not exactly the best game when only two people are playing.

“Okay, we’ll totally play it!” Ashlyn says, and everyone else murmurs an excited agreement.

“I’m gonna cry!” Carlos says, (jokingly, although part of him wants to in a good way.) He then rummages through his pockets, where he had put all the cards and the figurines before he left his house, so they didn’t fall out of the game during transfer.

“There are two teams. The East High Wildcats-” he explains, pulling out the little toy cheetah (the closest thing he could get to a leopard). “-Or the West High Knights,” he says, this time with a knight figurine. “So, sort yourselves.”

Everyone talks excitedly among themselves as they decide who’s on which team. Seb, unfortunately, has to move from where he was sitting next to Carlos, to on the floor with the rest of the Wildcats team— the team Carlos always insisted on being while playing when he was younger.

Meanwhile, he notices Ashlyn shyly going to sit next to Big Red. Carlos vaguely remembers Red offering to set up before the party, and wonders if something happened before the party while no one else was around. He makes a mental note to ask her about it later.

“Wait, who goes first?” Big Red asks.

“Oh,” Carlos says, realizing he never actually figured out that detail. Usually, when he played with his mom, she would just let him go first.

“Coin toss?” Nini suggests. A few people nod in agreement, and after a bit of rummaging around, Ashlyn offers up a quarter to Carlos.

He takes it, then turns to the Wildcats team. “Pick a side.”

“Heads!” Seb calls out.

“I guess we’re tails then,” Ashlyn says in reference to the Knights, though nobody seems to object.

Carlos flips the coin.

Tails.

“West High Knights go first,” he announces, and the right side of the room cheers. Across the coffee table, Seb just smiles as he shrugs, mouthing ‘whoops!’ to Carlos.

Just as they’re about to start, Ashlyn announces that EJ had just texted her that he’s on his way. They decide to wait to start the game until he, as well as Ricky and Gina, arrive. A few people stand up, gravitating towards the kitchen for more drinks or just to stretch their legs. Carlos is tempted to go find a way to squeeze in next to Seb for a bit, but he looks deep in conversation with Steph. He just talked to him yesterday, anyway.

Instead, he decides to strike up a conversation with Big Red, who’s across the coffee table.

“Hey, Red, how’s your day been?” he asks, causing Big Red to look up from his phone in surprise. (To be fair, they’ve never really interacted themselves before if Ashlyn or Ricky wasn’t around.)

“Oh,” he smiles. “It was all right. My parents have been napping on and off since noon, so I’m glad we have this party.”

Carlos matches his grin. “Same. Did you come early?”

“Uh, yeah, I did. Ashlyn wanted help bringing all the sodas in, and I offered to help since crew is basically all about carrying around heavy stuff.”

It makes Carlos laugh. It’s not exactly all that crew is about, but sometimes it does feel a little bit just like that. Plus whenever he brings up theatre without the presence of Ricky, it makes Carlos happy to hear he’s not the only one who found a new family this year.

“How’s Ashlyn?” he asks, suddenly deciding to try and draw some details about her from him. “I haven’t really talked to her since rehearsal yesterday, and just now when I walked in.”

“Oh, she’s good, I think,” he says, flushing slightly at the question. “I mean, I don’t really know, but she seems good.”

“Cool,” Carlos smiles, nodding. Interesting… Perhaps he won’t be the only one this year spawning a new potentially romantic relationship

“How’s Seb? I know you two are like… a thing,” Red says suddenly, and this time it’s Carlos’s turn to blush. He knew Ashlyn thought they were together, but he didn’t realize that other people may have thought the same.

“What do you mean?”

Big Red glances over at Seb, then back at Carlos as he speaks. “I mean, like… you guys are dating, right?”

“Uh, no? I mean, well… no. I don’t think so. But, also, like, kinda? It’s complicated,” he rambles. “We’re not. But, like, yet. We could be. I don’t know really.”

“Oh,” Big Red says, shrugging. Judging by his blank stare, Carlos honestly thinks that his words may have gone through one ear and out the other. “Alright, cool. You would be good together, though.”

“Thanks,” Carlos replies. He’s definitely bright red at this point.

Thankfully, they’re saved by Gina and Ricky walking in together. Excited chatter starts up again as members of the cast call them over to sit with the rest of the West High Knights, who had ended up being slightly smaller compared to the Wildcats. Carlos settles back down in his spot on the floor, pulling each different deck of category cards out of his jacket before calling everyone to attention.

“Okay, okay you guys, okay!” he calls, and excited chatter turns to shushing as everyone quotes down to hear him explain the rules.

He points to each deck of cards as he speaks, each sporting one of his favorite characters on the label. “There are four basic categories. The Getcha Head in the Frame Trivia Challenge, the Bop ‘Till You Drop Dance Challenge, Sync to the Status Quo Lip Sync Challenge, and Looking for Glee, which I thought would be a fun name for the singing challenge because when I was a kid I was obsessed with the show.”

A few people laugh, but not in a judgemental way, including the newly arrived EJ, who tells him, “hey, it still holds up.”

“Oh, good, I thought you guys were gonna judge me,” Carlos admits with a laugh, causing a few murmured reactions, all sounding like it’s obvious that they wouldn’t. (Not that they have exactly the best track record of not judging Carlos, but it’s reassuring to at least hear their opinions on the game.)

He gets back on track, pointing to the left side of the room. “Okay, so Knights, you won the coin toss, so you guys get to pick the first challenge.”

They talk among themselves but eventually surface with Ashlyn being their chosen spokesperson. “We’re gonna Look for Glee.”

“Excellent,” Carlos says in his best dramatic game show host voice. He picks a card from the deck before clearing his throat and reading the question. “As fast as you can, please sing the lyrics to ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’ to the rhythm of ‘Getcha Head in the Game’... go!”

They sputter for a moment before Ashlyn and Red take the lead, rapping out the lyrics while Ricky sings out the ‘Getcha Head in the Game’ rhythm. It’s messy, and half the time they don’t even get the lyrics right, but it’s good enough to complete the challenge and leaves the rest of the cast laughing at the group. They end the song, clearly very proud of themselves, and everyone else still in tears at their performance.

“That was terrible,” EJ wheezes, followed by Seb’s joyful “I’m so happy.”

“Congratulations,” Carlos says, collecting himself as he turns to the team. “You get to move four spaces closer to center stage at East High!”

The Knights cheer as Red leans forward to move their knight across the board, much to the disagreement of the Wildcats.

Ignoring EJ’s “they get four spaces for that?”, Carlos continues the game, turning to the left side of the room.

“Okay, Wildcats. Take a spin,” he tells them.

EJ leans forward, spinning the Game of Life wheel that was attached to the center of the board that decided how many spaces they would move, before settling back in the chair. “Alright, we’re gonna bop.”

“Okay. Pick one member from each team,” Carlos says dramatically.

Both teams turn to talk among themselves, voices growing as they debate who to send up. After a moment, EJ and Ricky stand up at the same time. Realizing it’s already too late to switch them out without it being awkward, the room grows silent except for a quiet “oh, boy,” from Seb.

“Your challenge is to stare at your partner and do the Sharpay and Ryan warm-up thing for 60 seconds straight without laughing…” he trails off, regarding the two boys. “Or killing each other.”

Their competitive nature makes for thick tension between them, as well as all the Nini drama, but Carlos already knows that’ll just make for a more interesting game. (As long as they don’t literally kill each other.

“Okay, go!”

Both of them start the dramatic warm up, making the buzzing noises with their lips, then shouting “Ma!” as they flick their hands at each other like there’s water on them, just like from the movie. It becomes increasingly clear within the first few seconds that nobody can take them seriously like this, including them. Before long, everyone is once again doubled over with laughter.

It’s not even the hilarity of the situation that makes Carlos smile wide. Knowing that his game (and indirectly, himself) brings this much joy and laughter to the cast and crew is enough.

—

After many rounds of Choosical, including Seb doing his best Sharpay impression while reading Chad’s monologue to Troy from the first movie, Gina destroying everyone at movie trivia, Ashlyn giving a dramatic reading of ‘When There Was Me and You’, and Ricky doing as many jazz squares as he could in a minute, which ended in him tripping over himself and collapsing on the floor, the two teams were one tile away from the end of the board. Meaning, it was time for a tiebreaker.

“Okay, you guys!” Carlos says, calling for everyone’s attention, which was working better tonight than it ever did during rehearsal. “According to the Musical Choosical Handbook of Rulesicals-”

“Stop it,” EJ interrupts, though his tone is harmless and everybody laughs.

He continues. “The only way to resolve a tie at the end of regulation play is with a lightning speed round of Getcha Head in the Frame Trivia questions.”

A few oooh’s echo around the room as everybody sits back, preparing to show off their respective HSM knowledge.

“Are you ready?” Carlos asks, holding up the deck. “Because people have been known to cry during this.”

“I thought you had never actually played-” Seb starts, but Carlos cuts him off.

“Honey, not today of all days.”

Seb’s eyes widen, but he gives Carlos a soft smile as a feel people nudge him teasingly.

Carlos doesn’t even realize the pet name he used until he turns to see Ashlyn and Big Red giving him matching pointed looks. It was an accident, really. Ever since working with Miss Jenn, the names have started to slip out without him realizing. He realizes now, with Seb, though, that it means something totally different.

“Okay, here we go,” he starts, fighting back any heat creeping to his cheeks as he reads the question. “Name both jersey numbers Troy wears in the movie.”

Right away, Big Red answers. “Oh, uh, fourteen and ten!”

Carlos doesn’t even register who answered until he looks up, but when he does, he’s shocked. No wonder he and Ashlyn get along so well. Turns out, Big Red is a High School Musical nerd just like the rest of them.

Speaking of Ashlyn, she’s just as shocked as Carlos. “How did you know that? I didn’t even know that!”

“Correct!” Carlos moves on. “How does Gabriella describe herself when she’s complaining to her mom?”

Ashlyn jumps up. “Oh! As the school’s freaky genius girl.”

“And do people usually talk like that?”

“They do not!”

“Correct!” he says with a laugh, before turning back to the left side of the room. “Wildcats! Whose red tie does Ms. Darbus compliment at auditions?”

Expressions drop as everyone falters for a moment, trying to remember the audition scene in the movie since it’s not part of their show.

Just as it seems like nobody will get the answer, EJ speaks up. “Allen?”

Carlos grins. “Yes!”

People turn in surprise to EJ, before breaking out with praise for him.

He holds up his phone. “I looked it up on my phone, you guys. I can’t stop cheating, I’m sorry!”

Praise turns to groans, as everyone grills him on cheating.

“EJ…” he trails off, vaguely remembering seeing a few Instagram stories from him earlier in the day when he was talking about cheating at water polo. Not one of his best moves. Apparently, it’s a common theme for him. Honestly, Carlos is just surprised he never got caught.

“Well, the West High Knights have a chance to steal,” he pulls attention back to the game. “What is the name of the girl who pops and locks.”

Immediately, Gina hops up. “I love to pop and lock and jam and break!” she sings, mocking Martha’s movements from the movie much to the delight of the others.

“Martha Cox!” she answers afterward, dropping her arms.

Everybody laughs, and Carlos reaches for the handful of confetti he pocketed.

“West High Knights win!” he announces, throwing it into the air, and the right side of the room erupts into cheers.

“You, my dear, get this homemade Scholastic Decathlon ribbon,” he presents to Gina. It’s a little prop he’s had for a while, although never had any real use for. “Careful, it’s a straight pin, and was never sanitized,” he explains as he attempts to pin it onto her.

“Ooh, wait, everybody get in!” Gina pulls her phone out of her pocket and holds it up so the surrounding castmates can lean in for a selfie. It’s not the best angle or lighting, but it makes everybody laugh.

Once the photo is taken, she brings her phone back down to type out a number. “Okay, hold on, I need to share this honor with my loved ones.”

“You gotta stop moving, this is the price we pay for beauty,” Carlos jokes as he tries not to stab her while attaching the pin.

Someone picks up on her phone, though, and she holds it up to her ear just as he finishes pinning it. “Mom, mom, mom, okay, two things. One, I was just crowned the queen of crazytown. And two, can I spend the night at Ashlyn’s house?”

“Um, it’s actually the queen of East High,” Carlos corrects, settling back down in his spot on the floor.

She shushes him, then “sorry, mom, I can’t hear you,” she tells her. She pulls the phone off her ear and holds it out, tapping a button. “Okay, mom, you’re on speaker. Say happy Thanksgiving to my mom everyone!”

“Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Oh! Same to all of you!” Ms. Porter says, then a little quieter, “Gina, honey, can you take me off speaker?”

—

“Hey, are you heading out?” Seb asks as Carlos is packing up the game. After Gina left abruptly, followed by Ricky and Nini, the party pretty much winded down. Carlos didn’t know the full story, but from what it sounded like, Gina may be moving again. Already.

“Yeah, I’m just getting everything together,” Carlos says, shrugging on his jacket. “Mood kind of dropped.”

Seb picks up the Choosical carefully and hands it to him once he has his jacket on. “Do you need a ride.”

“My mom is on her way already. We could go sit outside together, though? I think I saw a porch swing out there.”

Seb nods. They go up to Ashlyn together, saying goodbye and thanking her for hosting. Seb allows Carlos to lead the way out the door since he was carrying the game.

“I feel bad for Gina,” Seb says, walking down to the swing at the end of the porch. “I know she had kind of a rough start, but she was starting to fit in well.”

Carlos sets the game down on the porch steps so he doesn’t accidentally drop it while they’re swinging. He then goes to sit down next to Seb. “Do you really think she’s going to move?”

He draws one knee up to his chest. “I don’t know. I mean, her mom is her only family. It’s not really like Gina has another option if she leaves.”

“Yeah. I get it, though. It’s not easy only having one parent.”

“What happened to your dad?” Seb asks softly, glancing at him without turning his head.

It’s hard to make out his features with the porch light all the way at the door as their only source of light, but he already knows what Seb is giving him. It’s the same one everyone gives when they ask. Like Carlos might break.

He takes a deep breath, heart beating hard against his chest like it’s trying to break out and run away. It’s not his favorite topic.

“When I was around three, he just… left. Sent her divorce papers a little while later or whatever. I don’t really know the reason why, but I guess he didn’t want this, with me and my mom.” Carlos says, spreading his hands. “He lives outside of Salt Lake. I think he has kids, but I’ve never met them or his wife. The few times I’ve visited, they weren’t there. I don’t visit anymore, though.”

Seb is quiet for a moment. Then, “Well, that sucks- he sucks. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

Carlos shrugs. “Yeah, well, it’s not a big deal. I have my mom, and I don’t think she has any plans of bringing me across the country at a week's notice, so there’s that.”

It’s enough of a joke to make Seb laugh, or maybe it’s just an excuse for him to take Carlos’s hand. “That’s good because I don’t know how I’d feel about you leaving.”

“Same applies to you,” he says, squeezing Seb’s hand gently. “You still have two High School Musical’s to show me.”

Seb laughs. “And then you can write some new Choosical questions! Although, that trivia kicked my butt! How was I supposed to know who was wearing a red tie in the first movie during the audition scene?”

“By watching the original 37 times instead of wasting time on the sequels.” Carlos nudges his knee.

“Watching the sequels is not wasting time! I think the moment you see ‘I Don’t Dance’, you’ll change your mind,” Seb insists.

“I guess we’ll have to see!”

“Speaking of the trivia…” Seb trails, scooting closer. Instantly, Carlos’s stomach flips. “Or more the moment, really. Um, you called me ‘honey’?” he asks, clearly blushing although acting like everything’s normal and not like he initiated the conversation Carlos had been thinking about all night.

“Yeah, it was kind of an accident, but, um,” he falters trying to find the words. Carlos is suddenly very aware that he’s currently holding Seb’s hand, and that Seb is sitting close enough to him that their thighs are pressed together. If he’s going to do anything tonight, it’s going to happen now.

Finally, he speaks. “What is this?” he asks, nodding his head at his hands.

“What do you mean?”

“Like… what are we?”

Seb glances up at him. “What do you want us to be?”

“Together,” Carlos says before he loses his courage. “Like, dating together, If you want, I mean. Or we can keep doing whatever this is and pretend this didn’t happen-”

“Carlos,” he interrupts. “That’s what I want, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t know how to ask. But that’s what I’ve wanted for a while.”

“Me too,” Carlos breathes. “Since homecoming.

“Maybe a little before then, too,” Seb smiles, making him smile too. He suddenly bites his lip before dropping his head on Carlos’s shoulder, bursting into giggles.

“What?”

“Georgie has been not-so-subtly rooting for us forever. She’s going to freak when I tell her you’re my boyfriend,” he explains.

“Car rides will never be the same Carlos laughs, too, although he can feel his cheeks flushing at the word boyfriend. It’s absolutely everything he could hope for, and they’ve been officially dating for less than a minute

Seb lifts his head after a moment, locking eyes with Carlos. His eyes look nearly black. Their heads are definitely closer together now. In fact, if Carlos just-

A honk sounds from somewhere in the street, and he pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket.

“Oh, whoops,” he laughs, showing Seb the stream of missed messages from his mom that she was here.

“At least she didn’t come up here,” Seb points out, squeezing their still-clasped hands.

They stand up together, having to let their hands go so Carlos can go grab the Chooscial and head to his mom’s car. Before he can make it to the steps, though, Seb grabs his arm and pulls him back.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Carlos,” he says.

Carlos grins, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek like Seb did on his porch the night of homecoming.

“Happy Thanksgiving, honey,” he says, this time purposely using the pet name. Seb blushes, still visible even in the dark of the night. He squeezes Carlos’s hand one last time before letting him turn to pick up his game and get into his mom’s car.

“Sorry that I’m late. I was… talking. I didn’t see your messages,” he explains as he gets into the front seat.

His mom shrugs it off. She’s always been pretty chill about these things as long as he’s safe and lets her know where he is. “Was the party good, mijo?” she asks instead.

“Yeah,” Carlos says, only blue eyes and blonde hair on his mind. His boyfriend. “Yeah, it was great.”

#seblos #seb matthew smith #carlos rodriguez #hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #my writing #not a star

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charanteleclerc · 5 years

Text

you’re in my mind (under my skin)

A/N: This is for sloangreytrash who requested simi! Sorry it’s taken a while, hope everyone enjoys!

The first time Seb saw him, he was wasted. Seriously wasted. He’d been drinking steadily since about midday, flipping between heartbroken, raging and pretending getting dumped was the best thing in the world with every other drink. He’d anticipated the break-up - he’d have been blind not to see it coming - but it didn’t really make it hurt any less.

He’d convinced his friends that going out was a good idea, or maybe he hadn’t, and they’d planned on going out anyway. It was a Friday after all. Dan had abandoned them almost as soon as they’d gotten to the club, and Seb didn’t blame him. He’d seen him hanging off a tall, ridiculously good-looking man. If he’d been quicker, he’d definitely have tried his luck, but the guy seemed pretty preoccupied by Dan now. Jenson and Charles were still with him though, Jenson from actual sympathy, Charles was probably still here because his latest crush hadn’t been spotted yet. Not that he’d admit it, he was kinda glad, in a selfish way. He loved Charles like a little brother (it didn’t matter that Charles was less than a year younger than him, it was still younger), and he didn’t blame Dan and Charles for not wanting to stick with him the entire evening. But, company was company. And company also loves misery, misery such as Jenson also trying to bleach his brain with alcohol.

Break-up’s were hard.

“You know what?” Seb banged his glass down on the table, making Jenson jump. “Fuck ‘em. You deserve better. I deserve better.”

“We deserve better.” Jenson nodded, his eyes a little unfocused. “Why?”

“Because we just do.” Seb explained. “Charles, Charles, go find your boy. Because me and Jenson, we’re gonna pull tonight.”

“We are?” Jenson blinked. Charles looked like he was watching a funny car crash in motion. Part distressed but part hilarious.

“You are?”

Seb nodded. “Yes. Yes we are. We are going to get over our shitty ex-boyfriends, we’re going to get them out of our systems, and we are going to do that by getting drunk, then getting under somebody else.”

“You’re a genius.” Jenson said solemnly. “I’m gonna go. Find someone. To get under.”

“Jenson, Jense…” Seb grabbed onto Jenson’s arm, grinning like a maniac. “I don’t wanna see you until your walk of shame tomorrow.”

“Got it.” Jenson finger-gunned, walking away a little unsteadily. Seb sent a satisfied grin at Charles, who still looked distressed but was definitely struggling not to laugh.

“It’s a brilliant plan!” Seb protested.

“Sure, sure.” Charles snickered, the amused part of him finally winning out. “Whatever, I’m going to find someone interesting.”

“Is it Pierre?”

Seb couldn’t see Charles blush in the low light, but he was pretty sure it was there. “Just somebody.” Charles said, before leaning over to give Seb a quick hug. “Love you. Come find me if you need to.”

“Love you too. Go find your booty call.” Seb teased, ignoring the glare he got in return. He didn’t care, Charles would eventually come to his senses and realise that he’d been head over heels for Pierre since he’d set eyes on him, but it wasn’t his problem. Or more accurately, it wasn’t his problem right now.

He stood up, scanning the room. He needed to dance, and he wanted another drink. He just wanted to forget that Mark even existed, and the easiest way to do that was vodka. Or tequila. Alcohol in general.

“One vodka shot.” He motioned at the bartender. The guy standing next to him made a noise. “What?”

“Do you think you’re up to that?” The guy smirked. Seb glared. Was this guy assuming he couldn’t handle his alcohol? By a look? He didn’t know his life. He could make his own goddamn life choices.

“Totally am.” Seb replied, jaw set. “Are you?”

“Always.” The guy replied. Seb’s drink appeared before him, and he didn’t even stop to think before he was throwing it down his throat, determined to prove a point.

“What do you say to that?” Seb challenged. The guy shrugged.

“Maybe I should buy you another?” He offered. Seb narrowed his eyes, before nodding.

“Double.”

“Brave.” The guy smirked. “But sure. Two vodka doubles.”

Well, at least he was getting the drunk part of his checklist done.

~*~

Seb stepped off of the bus, slowly making his way towards his house. The sun was just about rising, and he looked wrecked. He knew that, he felt it as well. But a one-night stand was exactly what he’d aimed for, and why not? Hard, fast, drunken sex. And he’d only thought about Mark once, and he was pretty proud of that. Small steps.

He unlocked the front door, trying to shut it as quietly as possible. He loved Dan, Charles and Jenson like family (and they really were, to be honest), but he also knew that they’d tease him about this for days.

He snuck into the kitchen, cursing when Dan was already there, making a couple of coffees. Dan grinned, snickering. “Want a coffee?”

“Sure.” Seb muttered, sinking onto a chair. So goes his cunning plan. “What are you doing up at 6am?”

“The question you should be asking is ‘why haven’t you gone to bed yet Dan’?” Dan look very satisfied with himself. Seb rolled his eyes.

“Why haven’t you gone to bed yet Dan?” He parroted back, obediently.

“Because of the incredibly gorgeous guy still in my bed.” Dan replied smugly. “The sex is -”

“I don’t want to know.” Seb groaned, putting his hands over his ears.

“I’m assuming you had a good night?” Dan asked. “As you’re only getting back now?”

“Best way to get over someone is to get under someone.” Seb chanted, making grabby hands at the coffee. “Please Dan. I need.”

Dan took pity on him, handing him a mug. “Is it going to be a ‘might see them again’ situation? Or a ‘person at the right time’ situation?”

“The second.” Seb mumbled, before taking a gulp of coffee. “Go get back to bed. Incredibly gorgeous guy might start to think you’ve found a better option.”

Dan made a noise, a dazed grin on his face. “Seb, this guy knows there’s no-one better.” He grabbed the two coffees, giving Seb a goofy grin. “Don’t interrupt.”

“Don’t give me a reason to!” Seb called after his housemate, focusing on the coffee. Dan was an idiot, but he was also a genius in the kitchen, and he was the only one in the house who could actually make a decent coffee with their demon of a kettle.

He heard the front door open and close softly, and Jenson appeared, his face falling when he saw Seb sitting at the table. “It was your idea.” Jenson warned, attempting to stop the inevitable teasing.

Seb grinned. “Well, you’re unlucky enough that you’re going to have to make your own coffee. You missed Dan.”

Jenson groaned. “I hate you and your insanely good coffee.”

“No you don’t.”

“Can I go and wake him up?”

“Um… not unless you want to be scarred for life by the sight of his butt.” Seb admitted. “He’s still got a guest.”

Jenson made a face. “What time did you get here?”

“About five minutes ago.” Seb yawned. “I’m going to try and grab a nap.”

“Worn yourself out?” Jenson grinned. “If you’re doing that, can I have your coffee?”

“No. Fuck off.” Seb cradled his mug to his chest. “This is mine.”

“I hate you.” Jenson called as Seb stood up, walking off towards his bedroom.

“No you don’t!”

~*~

Seb saw him next at the library, when he was a few hours into an essay and only fuelled by Red Bull and a cheese toastie. The guy dropped into the seat opposite him, the same smirk on his face from the night at the club. It took Seb a few minutes to even notice he was sat there, too focused on the fact he was writing something that was pure bullshit. Hopefully good bullshit. Seb blinked when he looked up, seeing the guy there. What was his name again? Chris? Kevin?

“You look like you could do with a break?” The guy said. Seb just blinked again. Was he beginning to hallucinate? Because he could see his one-night stand telling him he looked stressed. “Do you want to grab a coffee?”

“No.” Seb said quickly. “Er, no, if I have anymore caffeine I might have a heart attack.” He explained, still feeling confused. And a little guilty. The guy’s smirk got even… smirkier? How was that even possible?

“Okay. Would you like to grab a cup of water then?”

Seb nodded dumbly, then shook himself. “I do really need finish this.” He said apologetically. The guy shrugged.

“I can wait.” He said, settling back into his chair. “Wake me when you finish.”

Seb blinked as the guy tipped his hat over his face, and almost immediately fell asleep. Seb turned in his seat, looking around, half expecting a camera crew to jump out from behind a bookcase. It had to be a prank. One-night stands don’t just appear out of nowhere and fall asleep in front of you!

When no camera crew appeared, and the guy - Ken? - still seemed to be fast asleep, Seb went back to his essay, feeling slightly unsettled. He’d thought that they’d both understood what was expected, which really only came down to two things - have mind blowing sex (and it had been mind blowing), followed quickly by never talking to each other again. He was holding up his end so well that he’d even forgotten the guy’s name! He hadn’t even known the guy was a student until now. Unless he was a faculty member. Shit, was he a faculty member? He could really do without the complications that would bring.

He kept dragging the attention back to his essay, only letting himself sneak a glance a couple of times. He could ignore him. It was possible. But he didn’t really remember writing the last bit of his essay. Too preoccupied. Although he wasn’t really sure what he was saying in the rest of the essay either. He packed up his laptop, hesitating a little before leaning over to give the guy a shove.

“Hey, er, hey.” Seb said quietly. The guy started a little, looking at Seb from under his hat.

“You’re finished?”

Seb nodded, looking at his bag. “You’ve been asleep about two hours.” He added. The guy didn’t look fussed.

“That’s okay. Coffee? Or water?” The guy asked again. Seb nodded, still confused about the entire situation, but willing to go along with it for now.

“Lead the way.”

~*~

Okay, so it was less a one-night stand, more a two-night stand. What could he say. The guy was a smooth talker when he wanted to be.

Still hadn’t learnt his name though.

They’d gone for coffee, and they’d lasted about 20 minutes before Seb had fallen for the smooth voice and the calm confidence. And that smirk . That smirk did something to a guy. They’d tried for pretence of actually talking, but Seb couldn’t say what they’d talked about. He remembers him staring, and feeling increasingly turned on, and then he was receiving the best blowjob he’d ever had. He didn’t even care that he was getting sucked off in a coffee shop toilet. With Mark, they’d never do anything so spontaneous. Everything about them had been formulaic, and just the fact that he was doing something risky, slutty even, just made him feel fantastic.

He collapsed onto the sofa, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t tell his housemates. At all. He’d get knowing looks and remarks and he still wasn’t sure what this was. He could hear someone coming down the stairs, and he flung a pillow over his face. Maybe he could just hide here.

“Seb?” Charles sounded like he was above him. Seb pulled the pillow off, staring up. Charles was grinning down at him.

“Hi.” Seb said. He wasn’t going to tell anyone, and Charles wasn’t going to be able to tell from just his face. Hopefully.

“You look like your having a dilemma.” Charles said happily, patting Seb’s head. “What’s wrong?”

“I had a blowjob in a coffee shop toilet.” Seb said, eyes widening and slapping a hand over his mouth. “Shit. No I didn’t.”

“You… what?” Charles looked shocked. Seb just stared up at him, and then Charles burst into laughter. Seb glared.

“It’s not funny.”

“Yes, yes it is.” Charles cackled. “You slut! Who was he?”

“The guy from the club.” Seb replied sadly. “He found me at the library.”

Charles continued to snicker, moving around the sofa and sitting on Seb’s legs. Seb wiggled, making himself comfortable. Charles wasn’t exactly heavy, just a little awkward. “Do you want a hug?” Charles asked, looking serious. Or as serious as he could whilst he kept on letting out little bursts of laughter. Seb nodded, moving his arms so Charles could lie down, wrapping his arms around him once Charles was settled.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Charles asked. Seb shook his head.

“I need to think about it first. But thanks.” Seb replied. “Have you talked to Pierre since the other night?”

Charles shrugged. “A little. Nothing happened, that night. I just crashed there.”

“No judgement.” Seb said quietly. “I mean, I really can’t now.”

“Nope, you can’t.” Charles started to laugh again. “I never thought you’d be such an exhibitionist.”

“Neither did I.” Seb replied honestly. “It just kinda felt right, y’know?”

Charles nodded. “I get it. Just, be safe. Don’t let yourself get broken.”

“I will.” Seb sighed. “I promise.”

~*~

He was a liar. A complete and utter liar, and he couldn’t even start to feel mad. He hadn’t even meant to run into the guy again - Keith? He should really ask him for his name - but the guy had appeared beside him after football practice, leering at him in a slightly sinister but ridiculously sexy way. He really shouldn’t be blamed for anything that happened after. He was high on exercise, and the guy happened to be there, he wasn’t responsible for anything. At all.

Though he was really starting to enjoy sex in semi-public places. Or maybe it was just sex in semi-public places with him. Seb really wasn’t sure.

And now he kind of wanted to find this guy. Maybe even talk to him. He had a right to be curious, he’d had sex with him three times now. Finding out his name would at least be helpful. It wasn’t exactly like he could just wander round campus asking if anyone had seen a really sexy guy with a lazy smile. Well, he could. But he wasn’t going to to.

“Okay, so you don’t know anything about this guy?” Jenson asked, sounding a little alarmed. “Seb, he could be like… I don’t know, a serial killer!”

“I’m still alive.” Seb muttered, blushing a little as his housemates all fixed him with stern looks. “Sorry.”

“You really don’t even know his name?” Dan asked, perplexed. “Nothing?”

“His name starts with K. I wasn’t really preoccupied with his name the first time I talked to him, and then it just became awkward. And we don’t really spend much time talking.”

“Too busy have sex in public places.” Charles teased. “Okay, so we start with nothing. How about someone goes somewhere with you? Then he has to introduce himself.”

Seb could’ve kissed him in that moment. “You’re a true genius Charles. Pierre doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

Charles blushed. “It’s just an idea.”

“A brilliant idea!” Seb exclaimed. “So what, I’ll just wait at my lectures for you guys?”

Dan nodded. “We’ll find this guy. He can’t be that elusive.”

~*~

The problem was, none of them had considered the fact that they were all tied up themselves. Dan was consistently late to meeting Seb, and always with Jev hanging off his arm. Seb tried not to feel jealous, and tried his hardest not to feel like a third wheel, but he didn’t want to get in the way. And Jenson and Charles were both crushing hard, and as far as Seb could see, their affections were being returned, except no-one was saying anything. Nico and Pierre were great guys, and Seb didn’t want to get in the way again. True love was always difficult to achieve when your lovesick housemate was hanging around in a slightly awkward way. So the constant supervision was dropped, and he was back to being slightly lonely, and just waiting for the guy to appear from the shadows.

Except he didn’t.

A week turned into two, then three, and quickly a month had gone by without a sight of the the guy. Not even a whisper. And honestly, he was okay with it. It wasn’t something to mourn, and in reality, had helped him a lot. It’d stopped him moping about Mark, and gave him something to focus on. Maybe he didn’t need it now. His housemates weren’t giving him sympathetic looks anymore, when Seb saw him. He was spending more and more time at the library, needing the excuse to get out of the house. Jenson and Charles had come to their senses, and three couples surrounding him, it became a little stifling.

He was in one of his self-imposed exiles, having found it difficult to concentrate with whatever Dan and Jev would doing above him. He’d fled to the library, and hadn’t even realised he was in his pyjamas until he’d arrived. Thankfully it was nearly midnight, hopefully no-one he knew would see him like this.

So when he woke (he didn’t know when he fell asleep, but a while ago considering the lines of text he’d typed with his head), the guy was sitting opposite him, looking amused.

“Late night?”

Seb gaped, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before nodding. “Yeah, um, all my housemates are having sex.”

The guy raised an eyebrow, grinning. “And you’re not joining in?”

“Not like that!” Seb exclaimed, flustered. The first time he sees this guy in weeks, and he’s camped out in the library like a homeless person, with probably impressive bedhead and in his pyjamas. Someone should really just put him out of his misery. “Not with each other, with their boyfriends. Like normal people.”

“And you’re not because…?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” Seb mumbled. “Or girlfriend. Or friend at the minute.”

The guy just kept on staring, before standing up. “My place is nearby. If you want to be somewhere that isn’t this library.”

“I’m in my pyjamas.” Seb got out. The guy just continued to smirk.

“I can see that.”

Seb nodded, jumping up and packing up his stuff. He hadn’t brought much, and he didn’t pack it with too much thought. He was still having trouble processing that the guy was here, and he’d seen him at his absolute worst.

They didn’t say anything on the walk to the guys house. What did they really have to talk about, really? Seb wasn’t sure why he’d been invited back - well, he had an idea, but still. It didn’t feel like the other times. He vaguely recognised the flat they stopped at, a distant memory from an alcohol hazy night. He hadn’t really had time to actually look at the flat, and it was nice. Cozy.

“Do you have any housemates?” Seb asked lowly. The guy shook his head.

“Don’t get on well with most people.” Came the curt response. Seb nodded, like that made sense. He’d never really had a problem with people, well, most people. He walked around the room, being drawn to the varying trophies that sat on a bookcase.

1st place Karting Regionals - Kimi Raikkonen

“Kimi.” Seb breathed. “I knew it started with K.”

“Do you want a drink?” Kimi asked, and it felt good being able to give him a name. Kimi. Seb shook his head, yawning.

“I’m good, thank you.” He smiled, sitting down awkwardly on the sofa. “You’ve already done enough saving me from the horrors of the library.”

“Well, if you ever need to just get away…” Kimi shrugged. “You’re always welcome.”

“Why?” Seb blurted out. Fuck his stupid ability to never shut up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean -”

“It’s okay.” Kimi smirked. “I don’t know, I like you? You seem interesting.”

Seb nodded, still feeling a little lost. “But, I still don’t understand why? Why me? Why pick me up for a couple of hook-ups and then disappear?”

Kimi shrugged. “I don’t do people.”

“No shit.” Seb grumbled, folding up on himself. He was pissed off, and he still couldn’t go home. He certainly didn’t want to go back to the library. He just wanted to be in bed, pretending that this wasn’t actually happening. “Thanks for letting me stay here, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“I don’t want you to go.” Kimi said quietly. “If you don’t want to.”

Seb frowned a little, looking over at Kimi. “I thought you didn’t do people.”

“I don’t. But I want to do you.”

Seb snorted. “That sounds way worse.”

Kimi gave a small huff of laughter. “Well, in both ways.” He looked over Seb appreciatively. “I’m open.”

Seb blinked, and then jumped over the sofa. He grabbed Kimi’s face, kissing him hungrily, desperate. Kimi hummed, pulling Seb against him, walking them towards his bedroom. “So eager.” Kimi murmured, nipping at Seb’s lip. “Did you miss me?”

“Not at all.” Seb grinned, kicking off his pyjama pants and pulling his shirt off. “I think you have too many clothes on.”

Kimi nodded, following Seb’s lead, watching Seb lie down on the bed. “You look obscene.”

“Look in a mirror.” Seb replied, dragging Kimi down. “Now fuck me.”

“My pleasure.” Kimi smirked, leaning over and grabbing a condom from the bedside table. Seb hissed as Kimi slid a finger into him, slowly. Kimi kissed him lazily, working him just enough to slide a second finger in. Seb might not have remembered much from that first night, but he hadn’t forgotten how good Kimi was with his hands. His nerves were already running on electricity, another spark jolting when Kimi curled his fingers just so. “You feel so good.”

“More.” Seb panted, gripping the bedsheets. “More.”

Kimi grinned, sliding in a third finger, and it was almost too much. Seb started to push back a little, but Kimi just held onto his wrist, shaking his head.

“Not yet.” He said, sliding his fingers out. “You’re not to come until I tell you to.” He whispered, lining himself up. Seb nodded, throwing his head back with a whine when Kimi pushed in.

“Fuck, Kimi, fuck, move it… ”

Kimi was holding onto his waist, hard enough to bruise, but Seb didn’t care. He wanted to move, he wanted to roll his hips, but Kimi was holding him in place, caging him in. He held onto the bedsheets, desperate to hold something. Kimi seemed to have figured out the perfect angle, and Seb was shaking, trying to hold on. “I need, I need to…”

“Not yet.” Kimi breathed, releasing one hand from Seb’s waist. “Not yet.”

Kimi wrapped a hand around Seb’s dick, grinning when Seb whimpered. “Does that feel good.”

“So good, please…” Seb trailed off. His legs were trembling where they were wrapped around Kimi’s waist, he was so close…

“Come for me.” Kimi commanded, and it was all Seb needed. His vision went black, and when he came down from his orgasm, Kimi was shaking, hips stuttering. They stayed like that in silence for a few seconds, until Seb started to laugh, a little hysterical.

“You’re easily the best lay I’ve ever had.” Seb giggled, laughing harder when he saw Kimi’s incredulous face. “Fuck, I needed that.”

“The sex?”

“The sex. Or more specifically, the sex with you.” Seb admitted. He winced when Kimi pulled out, smiling when he caught the soft look on Kimi’s face. “I might take advantage of your bed.”

“Less distractions here?”

“Oh, definitely more.” Seb chuckled, getting up to clean himself off. “But worth it.”

~*~

“So not a serial killer?” Charles asked, squinting a little. Seb laughed, happily accepting the coffee that Dan passed him.

“Not a serial killer. Possibly a vampire though.” He joked. “Tends to hang around places at night.”

“That’s not alarming.” Jenson muttered, grinning when he caught Seb’s look. “I’m happy for you. And jealous, you can enjoy an entire apartment.”

“Well, thank you to all of you for having so much sex I actually ran out of here.” Seb said, giving a little groan of pleasure when he took a sip of the coffee. “But fuck, I’m never leaving, and it is because of your coffee.”

Dan grinned, looking pleased. “And my skills strike again!” He cheered, giving a quick bow. “I thank you, I thank you.”

Seb laughed, listening to his housemates chatter amongst themselves. He’d missed this, but they’d all missed this. But he wasn’t going to disappear, to make them worry and abandon them. He loved Kimi’s place (more the bed than anything), but they were going to take it slow. By Kimi’s own admission, he wasn’t a people person, and having someone hanging around all the time felt like too much. And he didn’t want to give up this, sitting down and joking around, chatting about the most stupid things. They were young, and in love, and maybe it would last. Maybe it wouldn’t. There was no need to worry about the future yet, it’d come for them. But maybe they could enjoy the present. And maybe a bit more of Dan’s coffee.

~*~

#sebastian vettel #kimi raikkonen #Jenson Button #charles leclerc #daniel ricciardo #pierre gasly #nico rosberg #jean-eric vergne #uni students au

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