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mellowmadds · 2 years

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Candy Hearts | Ricky Bowen

ricky bowen/fem!reader oneshot

fluff :)

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

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

word count: 3076

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sorry rocketman.” EJ glared at you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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jimblejamblewritings · 2 years

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luck be a (leading) lady | part 8.

[Posted 2022.09.26]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: I will get back to the Harry Potter series when I finish this one

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

The pizza place meeting resulted in sleepovers at Big Red and Ashlyn’s houses. The boys were obviously at Big Red’s and the girls plus Seb were at Ashlyn’s. You all were running on very limited time to figure out a less egregious beast transformation for Ricky. Kourtney quickly stopped at her house and came back with all the fabric she could find. Her idea of making the beast cape faux fur on the other side was kind of brilliant. It would just enhance the beast look and might distract from if a mishap happens with the mask.

You guys were excited while working, even ordering a bunch of food so Ash wouldn’t have to dirty up her kitchen. Seb being there was also great. He was roughly the same proportions as Ricky that he could be a substitute mannequin. Kourtney practically squealed when she held up part of the cape to Seb’s chest.

“This is so good. Ha, it kind of looks like something Carlos would wear.”

“Yeah, doesn’t he walk around in, like, Armani sweatpants?” Ashlyn joked.

While you all laughed, Seb just mumbled out a response. Everyone put down their scissors and spoonfuls of food. The costume change could wait. Seb’s sadness was more important. Nini was the first to ask the sensitive question. Seb sighed.

“I guess you could say so. He met a group of really really photogenic guys on spring break and he seems pretty happy. So, now I’m sad.”

“If you want to see him happy, that’s with you.” Ashlyn’s words made all of you nod.

Seb flopped onto the couch. “Yeah, but by default, right? He kinda has to be.”

“What does that mean?” Kourtney moved over so he could sit better.

“There aren’t many choices at East High for a guy like Carlos.”

Nini shook her head. “No, Seb. Have you told him how you feel?”

“Not so good at the saying feelings part out loud.”

“It never hurts to put yourself out there,” Gina chimed in. “Or so I’ve heard.”

Nini held up a finger. “Right, do you want to tell us what you and EJ giggling at the pizza place was all about?”

“I also have some questions in that general area,” Ashlyn said.

“It was just a nic—”

“G, he picks you up for school now. You haven’t ridden with me in like forever.” You cut her off, making the rest look at Gina with excitement.

Your almost sister gave you a look. “And Ricky coming over every single breakfast is?”

It was your turn to be stared at. You shrugged your shoulders. “I had a crush on Ricky that died in New York. We’re friends, that’s it.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, no, nothing happened. I just got over him? We’re friends, what good does it do me to look at him any differently? Besides, I’d miss Midnight McDonalds too much if we ever broke up. Flounder and Prima are purely platonic.”

“Flounder?”

“Something stupid he came up with New York.”

“Midnight McDonalds?” Nini asked. She had gotten up, going back to sorting the pins for the cape.

You, and the others, got quiet. Gina shared a look with you. Maybe mentioning her ex-boyfriend was dumb on your parts even if you two were just joking around. Also mentioning you had a crush on him at one point was not smart either. You tried to wave your hand around nonchalantly.

“It’s just something we’ve been doing since homecoming. There’s a park and a twenty-four hour McDonald’s near our houses, we just get burgers and fries and talk if we’re having a tough time.” You looked up in the air in thought. “Or just want milkshakes. I can’t believe he dips his fries in the strawberry flavor… Let’s get back to work!”

You all immediately focused back on the cape transformation. The boys were making less progress. Ashlyn’s text asking them to build a spinning platform for Ricky’s transformation was a lot easier said than done. You all felt relieved that Carlos actually liked that idea. The first test of spinning Ricky wasn’t going terribly.

“I just don’t understand what happened,” Carlos said as they spun Ricky. “Seb doesn’t seem like the jealous type.”

EJ shrugged. “Maybe h—”

“He’s worried you’re only dating him because he’s the only other boy at school into Drag Race. Ash texted me.” Big Red put his phone down.

“What? Why wouldn’t he just say that to me?”

“People are complicated,” EJ said as he leaned against a shelf. “No one has it all together as much as they seem.”

“Some even less than that,” Ricky offered.

EJ jokingly rolled his eyes. “Just cause you're single for like the first time in your life.”

“It’s, uh, it’s not that.”

“Huh?”

Big Red cut in. “Yeah, huh? Why do I not know? Dude, we tell each other everything.”

“Don’t tell me you and Nini are back together?” Carlos got up to start working on the mechanism again.

“No! It’s not abou—” His cellphone started to ring. “Hello? You’re at the door? Uh, yeah. Big Red, your front door.”

A few minutes later, you came down with Big Red. You held up a drink carrier and a very large bag.

“It’s midnight. I got you boys some food too.”

Ricky smiled as you handed him the strawberry milkshake. “How’d you know I was having a hard time?”

“I just had a feeling… And Kourtney requested I make you try on the cape before we keep working on it.”

“She didn’t come too?” He asked while you checked the cape did fit properly.

You puffed up your cheeks. “Kourt is saving Seb and girls’ night by sending me.”

“What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did any— Gina and I may have been… less than aware of our surroundings when joking about her and EJ’s relationship.”

EJ stopped eating his fries to stick his face between the two of you. “We don’t have a relationship.”

“How does Gina and EJ’s lack of relationship almost ruin Seb and girls’ night?”

“Not theirs, ours. Gina tried to insist that if EJ picking her up every morning meant they were a couple, that you coming over for breakfast means we’re a couple.”

“It’s just breakfast.”

“That’s what I said! I said breakfast was like our Midnight McDonald’s and it got kind of awkward with Nini. That’s kind of my fault though. Mentioning I used to have a crush on you was probably not the way to confirm we have no relationship.”

Ricky choked on his milkshake. “You had a crush on me?”

“Yeah,” you said while getting your own food out of the bag. “When we almost got snowed in at the school. I think it’s just cause you help me so much, it went away pretty quickly but G always brings it up like some kind of defense.”

“So she brought it up?”

“Yep and now I’m running errands and returning to a hopefully less tense house.” You dipped one of your fries in his strawberry milkshake. “Nope, still tastes disgusting. So, the cape fits?”

“Ye-yeah, it’s good.”

“Perfect, Kourt’s gonna love the sound of that. Bye, guys. Oh and EJ, please just go out with Gina already.”

“We’re just friends!” He tried to yell but you were already out of Big Red’s house.

Carlos tilted his head. “But why though? The googly eyes are kind of obvious. Is it because you’re graduating?”

“Or because she’s best friends with Ash?” Ricky suggested.

EJ ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, it’s because of Nini. Don’t worry—”

“I wasn’t,” Ricky said.

“I don’t have feelings for her anymore, I just don’t want to get rejected again.”

They all nodded. Big Red even brought up that it was a fair reason. EJ gave them a small side smile before getting back to work on the spinning device.

“You know the only thing I’m really proud of about my time with Nini is letting her go.”

Ricky sort of froze. For once, he and EJ had the exact same thought. But he was supposed to be the heartbroken one. He wasn’t supposed to be over her. That’s what Ricky was all about. No changes. Just staying constant. And staying constant meant that he should have still been in love with Nini. He looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. You took a breath before speaking.

“Wow, Big Red, so glad you don’t take your time locking doors. Anyway, quit with the building. Kourt just called and said Howie gave her the broadway plans for the beast transformation that North High bought as some apology or something for lying. We’re supposed to meet them at the school. Bring the keys for the stage door.”

The boys jumped up with a quickness. You walked over to where Ricky was putting on his jacket.

“Are you riding with me?”

“Actually I need to talk with Carlos about something.”

“See you there then.”

“See you.” He gave a little wave that you didn’t see.

Figuring out the plans for the beast transformation was great but it didn’t help you guys’ confidence after seeing the North High kids perform. They were nothing short of amazing. Their last performance finished the day before your school’s opening night. No one felt like there was enough time between performances to figure out how to make East High’s Beauty and the Beast stand out.

“How are you so calm?” Ricky asked as you walked past him.

“Hmm?” You took out one of your earbuds. “Did you say something?”

“How are you calm? Everyone else is running around without their heads.”

You handed him one of your earbuds. “Audiobook and goldfish.”

Ricky stuck in the earbud to listen while you went to go get your snacks from your bag. He had no clue what you were reading but the voice was soothing nonetheless. You came back quickly with the goldfish, offering it up. Ricky took a few while you fussed that his makeup wasn’t done. He chuckled when you went to apply eyeliner.

“I don’t think our theater’s lights are nearly as good as Saltwater’s.”

“Still, they’ll wash you out… We put the invitations on the correct seats, right?”

“I triple checked the seats were reserved for the scouts.”

“Ricky, Y/N… Here.” Nini was handing out her opening night cards.

You smiled as you took the small envelope. “First one ever. Okay, your makeup looks good. I’m going to try not to freak about our second performance.”

“Second performance?” Nini asked.

“Yeah, for the Berklee scout— We won’t be at the afterparty or we’ll be late.”

You left to go focus on the show. Everyone else was concerned about the judges for the Menkies. All you could focus on was the fact that the Berklee scouts were actually there. You had peeked through the curtain to see them picking up the second invitation. Nothing on their face read disgust or annoyance so that must have been a good sign. Ricky went to catch his breath in the hall before the show started. He didn’t expect to see Lily there. You guys were only aware of one North High member being there and Lily was not that cast member. He was going to just walk away but part of becoming a new, better Ricky meant hearing people out. Still, Lily would only get five minutes before he left to get in his place on stage.

He felt confident performing. Everything was going rather well. Unlike last time, there weren’t any accidents, no forgotten lines. By the time the fifteen minute intermission rolled around, he felt that the cast might actually pull it off and win the Menkies— or at least beat North High. He was waiting in the dressing room with Big Red for the intermission to be over.

“Woah, what’s the problem?” He asked as you walked by with panicked eyes.

“Your harness is missing. Natalie and Ms. Jenn have been looking everywhere for it.”

“If it’s missing, we can’t do the transformation.”

“I know. You’re going to have to do it the old way. They’ll just spin you and you throw the mask.”

“I’ve never gotten that once.”

“First time for everything.”

The rest of the show went okay. But honestly, perfect performance or not, your cast always knew how to have fun. You and Ricky were whispering to each other as you led the scouts to the drama club room when the whole thing was over. The scouts sat down on the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Ricky gave you a smile when the scouts told you that they weren’t bothered at all by the second performance and actually enjoyed the initiative you were taking to show them your talents that didn’t have a chance to shine during the musical. They didn’t say much else. They only told you to expect an email before the next school year before they left the room. You watched them leave, staying perfectly still until the last scout was out of sight. Ricky almost grunted when you basically threw yourself into his arms.

“Thank you.”

“It was fun, maybe more fun than the musical.”

“I know there’s an afterparty at Slices but since Gina and EJ are already skipping, do you want to do something else?”

“Like what?”

“You still haven’t taught me to skate.”

“You want to be a skate rat?”

“I just want to see why you like it so much.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Ricky kept looking over at you as he drove away from the school. Of course, you guys stopped at McDonald’s before heading over to the skate park. He rarely went to the outdoor one but considering it was late, he already knew the indoor park would be closed. The only thing that kept playing in the back of his mind as you guys got out of the car was that night you told him you had a crush on him. Talking with Carlos had given him a lot to think about. He felt a certain way about you that he had ignored because he was so hung up on Nini. And now it was a bit too late.

(part 9)

THIS FIC TAGLIST:

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PERMANENT TAGLIST:

@venomsvl @peaches-n-sunscreen @summerellaz @supernaturallover2002 @sambucky8 @9daykrisr @thebitchinleo @23victoria @scarlets-widow @pagetpagetpagetpaget @lovexnatasha @awesomebooklover17 @1234-angelika @imatrisk @blackreaderatrisk @princess-jules47 @alexloveskili @a-marie-a @siriuslysirius1107

#hsmtmts fic #hsmtmts #ricky bowen x reader

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mickeytheticklee · 7 months

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Jealousy tickles

Pairing: Ler!Gina Porter x Lee!Reader

Summary: You throw a surprise for Gina after a bad night of jealousy

Warnings: Tickling, raspberries, bad flirting?, hsmtmts spoilers if you care about that, writing this I realize there's no mention of Ricky Bowen

An: Based on the one episode where Ricky decorates Gina's trailer

Having a girlfriend makes you do weird things, such as suddenly being an expert on arts and crafts on a Tuesday afternoon.

“Wait Gi I'm not finished.", You say, although Gina enters her trailer. You would stop her from entering but you were too busy setting up streamers and making sure it didn't drop. Sure enough when Gina opened the door it fell again, but with dozens of failed attempts you gave up. But one streamer doesn't matter when you decorated a whole banner, got her a gift basket with all her favorite goodies, and a Build a Bear stuffed animal clothed as a cheerleader in less than three hours. Gina was flabbergasted, not believing the surprise you left in her trailer. It was as if you were throwing a birthday party, even if both of your birthdays landed during second semester. Before seizing a splurge of kisses or a hug you fix one minor detail to your plan.

“Wait!", You say, putting your hand up. You grabbed the red and white confetti from the couch and swooshed it in the air. Yes it made a big mess but it didn't matter, since there's people to clean up the mess. “Okay now I'm finished."

With much energy Gina gave you a big hug. The ones that she loves you a bit too hard that it sucks your soul out. You've gotten better at holding her whenever she leans foward in hugs. Usually when she does your masculine strength can barely hold on and you almost fall over. But not this time. Secretly in your mind you give yourself props for that.

“You did all this?? How??", Gina asks, looking around at her trailer filled with treats. She's never been happier in her entire life. Plus this was perfect timing as she's been having a tiring day from filming scene to scene on HSM4 with costar Mack.

“It took two days, bribery, and some advice from Ashlyn but I made it happen.", You say, smiling at Gina. Preparation was WORK, but it was worth it to see a billion dollar smile from Gina. In one day you were on a mission to get Gina's favorites from the mall and set them up into a basket. As for the cute bear in a red cheerleading outfit you had a friend from Build A Bear to give you a discount (not because you were friends but because your girlfriend is a movie star). As far as the trailer you told your plan to Ashlyn, the only person that knows about you and Gina from an accidental make out in the bathroom during Halloween. She liked it, although complained that it was missing something. That anyone who was dating Gina needed to go big or go home.

Coming from the person who lived with Gina for awhile, you can trust her word.

“You're such a surprise everyday y/n, but why?", Gina asks, having her hands on the back of your neck. She had on a cheerleader outfit on with her hair straightened with a ponytail, such a look that you absolutely love. Gina has been flaunting the hell out of her cheerleading outfits that it had put you in such a lee mood. Which makes you rewind that you set this surprise up from you seeing Gina share a tickle moment with Mack.

“I wanted to apologize for being a dick with Mack and being a downer during the whole. It wasn't me.", You say, apologizing for what happened last night. You two sit down on the couch, discussing of what came from the small gathering at Ashlyn's house.

“I can't be mad, Kourtney was sort of pushing it with the ship questions between me and Mack.", Gina says, holding your hand. A couple of days ago there was a celebration of Gina being the lead role of HSM4, the reunion. As everyone was dancing to hsm songs and eating pizza from Biggie's pizzeria the main event was Mack coming. He came with stacks of Apple cider for everyone to enjoy, all while wearing the matching purple and blue bracelet as Gina. Suddenly that small detail had the party questioning if there was a secret relationship with Gina.

She's in a secret relationship, just not with him.

Thru numerous denies everyone was suspecting that they were a thing. Even though the evidence in question was being in a movie with him and matching bracelets they had to make for a scene. Yet she was wearing the headphones you gifted her and her lipstick being smack dab in the middle of your neck, in the open. Same shade and all. Yet the small photo that Kourtney took of them made them viral in less than twenty minutes, and now suddenly people were asking questions and making ship names for them. MaGi, seriously?

“I know, but I haven't been much of a supportive girlfriend since you've been casted. I'm proud of you for taking this opportunity and that after school you'll go to new Zealand and be a pretty princess.", You say, grazing Gina's chin. Gina giggles, her nose scrunching while looking at you. “I sort of...been jealous of you and Mack. I mean I know we're supposed to have a secret relationship because of the documentary and hiding that you aren't such a mean bisexual but I thought maybe someone could've gotten the hint. Excluding Ashlyn because she's nosy. But I'm sorry, I should've never acted that way."

You were waiting for a response from Gina's big brown eye stare. She stares trying to copy your habit of wandering in her eyes and just smiling. When she stops she leans in for a soft kiss. Feeling the small spark you both kiss again. “I accept your apology, and I understand. Having to idolize Mack and making a movie with him people have seemed to be more delusional than me. But I promise once this musical and movie are over we'll hangout more and hopefully they'll get the hint that we're dating. But Mack is America's puppy, you're my puppy.", Gina says, patting your head. You weren't ever sure if your friends will get the hint of you and Gina dating. They'll still bring up the Mack cutout even if she was wearing your sweatshirt.

“Also...there's a lot of things that I wouldn't do to Mack that I'd do to you.", She says, her tone getting slightly lower while making intense eye contact with you. You make intense eye contact back, almost wanting to break it by how wide your smile was getting. You thought Gina's flirt was another chance to kiss you, but sometimes you never know what she's thinking.

“And what is it?", You saying, leaning closer trying to close the hint with a kiss. As you get closer Gina doesn't budge, but she does smirk. “Why don't I tickle you and find out.", Gina says, not even giving you a five second head start and tickling you. You were laughing with your head back over Gina's probing to your side.

“GIGIGIGI!!", You say, already laughing and barely getting any strength out to release her hand from the grips on your side. Although you say her name in hopes for her to stop you make no effort to push the tickles away. In fact you tried to get in a comfortable position on the couch to get your giggles in from Gina. Even if most of the tickles were done sneaking in Gina's bed at night a small brown couch in the trailer will do. Your laughter melts on the couch, letting your body vibe with the giggles and scribbling of Gina's fingers to your tummy.

“I forgot you haven't been tickled for four days, no wonder why you've been a bit jealous.", She says, teasing you. Still laughing upon the tickles you cover your face in embarrassment. You can sense the pink rising from your cheeks. “SHUTUPUPHAHAHA!!", You say, reacting to the pokes and deep thumb massaging on your side, inching close to your ribs. You were laying down, being surprised that your limbs were under control from the wild tickling. But that's the power of Gina's tickling, to where everything else is calm but your still screeching and wheezing until it stops.

“Shut up? Make me. Use that masculine strength of yours to get me to stop.", She teases you once again. You always brag about being strong and calling it masculine energy by holding the door for Gina or opening the car door her. Yet Gina adores your high pitched laughs whenever her finger squeezes through your armpit. “STOPHAGAHAHAHA!!!", You laugh, trying to use that energy but instead to Gina unlimited access to tickle your armpits and neck.

Gina giggles, loving to tickle you. “Want me to stop? Okay, I will.", She says, not tickling you anymore. Of course she even knows that won't be possible so she circles your palm with her finger. Within a minute you were pouting and clinging onto Gina, wondering when you'll get tickles back. “I was kidding...", You say whining to Gina. Yet Gina can't go one week without teasing you, even if afterwards you get tortured and you feel better.

“You want me to tickle you? Recite the Mark and Spark theme song.", Gina says, insisting you do that as a reward of possible tickles. As much as Gina obsesses over that show you haven't seen a lick of yet. You tried to sing the melody from the times Jet made fun of Gina for liking such a childish show. Once your mind was able to work you had half of the song memorized, with a few mumbles in between. But it was enough to satisfy Gina.

“Okay lay down so I can tickle you.", She says, pushing you back down and using her one hand to scribble your tummy. The other was holding your hand, still lightly grazing your palm with her thumb. You were giggling, looking at Gina and loving these tickles. You took your hands and scrunched them around Gina's face, wanting her to get closer for a kiss. With each small kiss and little pecks trailing off to your jawline and chin became a very unexpected neck raspberry. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!!", You say, bursting into a fit of giggles. It's surprising that such a thing would make you laugh this hard, since this is Gina's first time ever doing it.

“Wait, that was kind of fun.", Gina says, loving the reaction you gave. You were laughing about it, nodding but being too tongue tied in your giggles to respond back. “NONONOGINAHAHAHHW!!", You say until your words get cut off my laughter again of another neck raspberry from Gina. Since you two been dating she's loves to tickle you. But it's only ever soft tickles while you two are cuddling and watching a movie. You love your soft tickles but you wanted to be challenged and get tortured by Gina. She's been procrastinating on her research because of school and extracurricular activities, but you were good up to now about her not knowing the secret of raspberries.

Still Gina was tickling your tummy, having her hands either on the sweatshirt you were wearing or the bare skin exposed from wiggling around too much. You were still laughing, unable to think of a sneaky comeback that'll make Gina tickle you more. “IHAHHAHAHHAHAHNN", You laugh, still hating how your brain can barely form words from Gina having her fingers around your neck and pinching your thighs. You were gasping for any sense of words but it gets tangled in your loud, bubbly laughter. “Let me give you a break before something happens.", Gina says, giving you some water from her backpack to give to you. Even when hydrated you were still whining about feeling empty without your tickles.

“I'll tickle you tonight during our HSM marathon. But for right now let's go before Kourtney goes on a hunt to find me.", Gina says, helping you up and making sure your sweatshirt isn't too wrinkled. By this time practice would've been over and everyone heads down the block for pizza. She fixes your collar with stars in her eyes, giving you one last kiss before you're not allowed to be five feet near each other. “Thank you for this surprise."

“Anything for my superstar."

#random ass short fic bc I'm stressed #i would've done tickltober but I've been so busy 😭😭#i hate stopping by once a month then dipping #tickling #tickle fic #gina porter #hsmtmts

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brekker-by-brekkerr · 2 years

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Live reaction hsmtmts 3x06:

Please the canoe scene is the cutest thing ever they're so cute i love them The way ej said so we can stay together like I'm crying babies please stay together

Kourtney is so iconic i love her and her teaming up with Carlos madox and jet will be incredible

Wait i really love val now and also everyone has been assuming things about ash and telling her how she is but val didn't she was like no I'm not about that. wait im kind of getting on board with this

JET AND RICKY ARE TALKING JET AND RICKY ARE TALKING my jetwen heart is happy

The pizza oven joke was good

Ms Jenn being like EJ my tallest child. Any time the wildcat fam is canonically referred to with familial terms my heart is so happy

Yes a Corbin bleu song let's go

EJ and Miss Jenn scene: stars i love EJ literally my favourite

Dewey says: why do Ricky and EJ give off boyfriends energy every time they interact like you're standing so close together you're so comfortable around each other what is this. Also don't think i didn't see it was EJ pulling you back at the start of the episode like he's your bf

Ricky asking if miss Jenn is tired he's so sweet i love him but also i feel like Ricky's always having to be emotionally responsible for the adults in his life so it’s like habit now :(

When EJ was concerned about the wildcats finding out miss Jenn was there bc he doesn't want them to know he's struggling- i get that, especially bc if the person in charge doesn't have it all together everyone is freaked out, but like can someone tell him that it's okay for him to not have it all together bc he has way too much pressure on him, and that these are his friends so it's okay for them to know not everything's perfect. They can work on this together

I don't like miss Jenn and Mr Bowen it's wack get that away

Jet genuinely cheering kourt on? So cute. Like the little "you got this kourt" I wasn't sure about jet x kourt bc jetwen and also i love Howie and kourt but i could get on board with this. Like her calling his stuffed animal cute that was nice. But i think they would be a cute friendship anyway

"Richard !" And then her throwing the freaking rock at him and Ricky being so confused help 💀

The way Ricky kept looking at jet when he said he was a very committed man 👀👀👀👀

No this is so cute wait we're getting more portwell content

Also Ricky's out here helping everyone with their relationships, romantic and non romantic. Like yeah i get it this is for love triangle spice blah blah blah but i appreciate that Ricky was out here helping seblos with their big moment, and then jet and maddox with their relationship, and now with PW's little moment

Also Ricky guiding in EJ like why is the caswen content there though. The way Ricky looked at EJ. Also they're both wearing converse

STOP IT WHEN THEY WERE WAITING FOR THE FIREWORKS THE WAY EJ LOOKED AT GINA WAS SO SAD IM GOING TO THROW UP

why are they doing this to them

>:(

Also quick tangent i hate that fireworks are always a metaphor for whether a relationship is good or not in media bc some relationships are like fireworks but like Belly's mom says in tsitp some are like campfire some are more comforting and that's not a bad thing and it's just so dumb it's not an indicator of a good relationship i hate this

I get that it's a metaphor for there being sparks but we know portwell has chemistry and sparks why are they doing this hhhhh

No seriously the more I think about it the more Im so tired of the fireworks metaphor. Fireworks are not a necessary component of a relationship. Often you'll feel fireworks or butterflies or whatever but when you're more comfortable with a person and a relationship it feels comforting and right

DUDE WAIT THE FIREWORKS WITH THE VAL AND ASHLYN HUG

Big red and her were cute if i was super invested in them I'd be mad but i like this and redlyn might stay together anyway this is just ash’s queer awakening

That was such a cute moment even if it doesn't go anywhere bc Val's in college and all that it was still a nice little sapphic moment i appreciate it

JET COMING IN THE CABIN WHILE RICKYS CRYING ARE WE GOING TO GET A JETWEN MOMENT

guys you have no idea how much i would love if everything was a misdirect if Ricky got with jet and portwell figured themselves out oh my stars

Ricky calling jet a nightmare that was flirting

No Ricky that was so scary your face was so scary pls don't do a repeat of season 1 what was that

#hsmtmts #portwell #jetwen #ricky x jet #caswen #hsmtmts season 3 #hsmtmts spoilers

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buildarocketboys · 9 months

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whatever happens, happens

I had to write this fic, since Ricky Bowen clearly needs to kiss some boys, and I couldn't find any fics where this particular scenario happened between him and E.J.

Ricky's visit to E.J. at college doesn't go quite how either of them planned.

Read here on AO3

"You know this whole thing...with Nini, and then Gina?" E.J. asks.

"Mmm?" says Ricky, mouth full of pizza. E.J. chuckles for a second before continuing.

"Do you ever think we were...I don't know, avoiding something?"

Ricky swallows his pizza and E.J. watches his Adam's apple bob down and then back up. "Like what?"

E.J. runs a hand through his hair, feeling Ricky's full attention on him now. "Well, not avoiding something, I guess. More like...displacing something."

"Nope, dude, you've totally lost me," Ricky says, chuckling, but does he sound...a little nervous?

E.J. laughs again. "Never mind. Must just be me."

Ricky rocks forward on his knees, staring directly up at E.J.'s eyes, and he's so close E.J. can see the tiny smears of tomato sauce the pizza has left around Ricky's mouth. "Must just be you...what?" Ricky says. Is E.J. imagining it, or did Ricky's eyes just dart down to his lips?

He's pretty sure he didn't imagine it, though, because now Ricky is looking up at him again with that guilty look in his eyes - the same look he has when they talk about Gina. Instead of answering, E.J. follows his instinct and cups Ricky's face in his hand, gently using his thumb to rub off the tomato sauce stains around his lips.

At the exact same time, Ricky leans forward and closes the gap between them, pressing his lips to E.J.'s.

E.J. opens his mouth in surprise, allowing Ricky's tongue to explore deeper into his mouth. Ricky tastes of pizza and his lips are softer than any girl E.J.'s ever kissed, and-

Val.

He pulls back as soon as he remembers that he has a girlfriend, but in his heart of hearts, he knows it's already too late.

Ricky gasps a little when they part, and they both can't speak for a few long moments.

Then they both speak at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I was just trying to wipe the tomato off your face."

"Oh," says Ricky, looking down. "Right."

"That came out wrong. Look, I've...kind of made some discoveries since I've been in college." E.J. gives him a little smile that makes Ricky blush. "When did you figure out you were... what? Bi? Pan? Or are you gay, because that's okay too..."

"Uh...wow, E.J. I guess...just now?"

"Oh." E.J.'s mouth is still hanging open but he can't think of anything else to say, so he shuts it.

Ricky grins a little. "You really have been doing some soul searching since summer, huh? Guess I need to do a little more of that myself."

E.J. shrugs. "Trust you to be late to figuring out your own sexuality."

Ricky chuckles a little. "Touche." Then he sobers. "But E.J....Gina."

E.J. nods, trying to speak past the lump in his throat. "Val."

Now Ricky is definitely laughing nervously, putting space between himself and E.J. Which is definitely a good idea, but also not what EJ's most selfish self wants. "Maybe we could just...pretend it never happened? Laugh it off? Just bros being bros?"

E.J. frowns. "We can't do that, Ricky. We just cheated on our girlfriends. With each other." Saying it makes it feel real, and Ricky's pained grimace shows that he feels the same way. "I can't just keep hiding from my feelings, and you can't just keep running away from them."

Ricky has pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them so he's curled up in a little ball. He's pouting and E.J. has to look away, he's too adorable. "You're right," says Ricky. "God, I hate it when you're right."

E.J. gives a little chuckle and it sounds almost normal. "I know," he says.

"So...we tell them?" says Ricky, and E.J. nods. "And then what?"

E.J. heaves a deep sigh. "I don't know, Ricky. I don't know how Val's gonna react. I don't even know what I want." He looks up at Ricky. "You definitely don't know what you want."

"I thought you had it all figured out?" says Ricky, and he looks so young and lost that E.J. just wants to pull him back in, tell him that everything will be alright, that E.J. will make it alright. But that would be a lie.

He shakes his hand. "I figured out some stuff. Plenty of stuff I've still got to figure out." He stands up, grabbing the plates from the floor and taking them over to the sink, just for something to do with his hands. "So I say we take some time, figure some stuff out."

Ricky nods, like he's OK with this. Then he says, "And then?"

E.J. shrugs. "Whatever happens, happens." He gives Ricky his patented E.J. smile, the one that always made every girl at theater camp swoon. "Even I can't predict the future."

"Right." Ricky stands there with his hands by his sides, curling into fists and stretching out again, curling then stretching, curling then stretching.

Suddenly E.J. can't stand to have him there anymore. "You need to go," he says, then realises how cold that sounds. "Go...talk to Gina. You owe it to her. To both of us."

Ricky nods his head twice, like he's still uncertain, and casts one last long look at E.J. before he turns on his heel and leaves the room.

E.J. closes the door behind him and sits down with his back against it, trying not to panic. He gets out his phone and scrolls to Val in his contacts

He takes a deep breath.

"Whatever happens, happens," he says to himself, and hits the call button.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #ricky bowen #ej caswell #fanfic #bisexual ricky bowen truthers assemble!#truly i have to do everything myself around here #ricky is late to discovering his own sexuality bc of course he is

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organic-guacamole · 2 years

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HSMTMTS SEASON 3 EPISODE 6 REACTION

fully sleep deprived rn let's go

these cameramen snooping around in children's bunks is so fun!

sorry but like, the caswen moment of hugging Ricky from behind to keep him from jumping on Corbin Bleu's head 😍

jet is cute.

the same Kourtney who was scared to leave the tent is running around at night to claim the mental health status of Corbin. love that for her tbh.

"you just have to commit to one side" 🤨🤨🤨🤨

ooo brother trauma share

EJ's sweatpants

they were gonna canoe in a pool? huh??

I love portwell again !

"unless you praise Nickelodeon, it's going in the doc" SEE THESE ONE LINERS SHOUKD NOT BE AS FUNNY AS THEY ARE

dude how am I supposed to believe that Ricky and EJ aren't friends.

woah they actually explained why the other campers don't get any important parts... good for them though, I'm not letting chad film me in the woods for weeks either.

imagine fighting to win sweaty sports to get back your phone....*slips on headband*

at what point did Ashlyn realise that she likes Val? has she yet? why is she running??

I'm still trying to figured out which one is older, Maddox or Jet. what he said about "why does she get to date when I'm not allowed to" implies that she's younger than him? but idk maybe they're really close in age?

the way Ricky talks about joining the show to make her happy as if Nini was not extremely pissed at him for that.

no they did not put that in as a throwaway line

"THERES A THIRD OPTION WHERE THEY BURN THE RESULTS IN A PIZZA OVEN" GIRL WHAT

is she... okay

"EJ my tallest child"

🧍🏻‍♂️"...I've missed you"

the horror part of the season starts now.

I love the part where she says "the local shopkeeper, Susan. Fine selection..."

SUSAN FINE

I actually desperately need sleep

the horror continues, Gina is the first to die.

why is the audio like that-

this is really... Sofia's voice is nice but like, the song and cinematography is not it imo

girlie pops she was just knocked out, take her to the hospital, why are we making her shoot a basketball now?

this EJ and miss Jenn montage is actually the funniest part of the episode I think

"don't use Carlos, Carlos is mommy's" see! funny! (if we ignore the implications)

what is this timing? was the miss Jenn/Nini scene in ep1 like before camp? otherwise how was she back from the cruise?

WHY DID EVERYONE TURN TO JET WHEN HE CHEERED ON KOURTNEY HELP MY HEART

love how miss jenn shuts up a bunch of strangers just by saying "mommy's talking" like this is all really weird, isn't it?

still not convinced Miss Jenn isn't like, a witch of some kind

what kinda hacky sacky wrapping paper wad is that present? it better be something good in there Michael Bowen.

"they're so good" dewey, darling.

the blue team kid with the tutu on is so... scary? horror #2, revenge murder?

portwell what is going on with yall?

the tears in ashlyn's eyes when she realises and the fireworks and everything omg its so beautiful

nice idea for the moon rock but like, anything else? for your only child's 18th birthday??

ricky can you rest for like, a second

I can't believe there are only 2 more episodes. i feel like nothing is happening but also, everything is happening and i don't like 60% of it.

still love the show obviously, for some reason.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #hsmtmts season 3 #ej caswell #ricky bowen #gina porter #carlos rodriguez #kourtney greene #ashlyn caswell #val hsmtmts #jet hsmtmts #maddox hsmtmts

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sapphirebluejewel · 1 year

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I posted 310 times in 2022

That's 90 more posts than 2021!

177 posts created (57%)

133 posts reblogged (43%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@aamirmitchell

@sofiawylies

@luke-skywalker

@mistletoesteve

@thegentlemanstar

I tagged 251 of my posts in 2022

Only 19% of my posts had no tags

#hsmtmts - 136 posts

#high school musical the musical the series - 135 posts

#hsm the series - 131 posts

#high school musical the series - 58 posts

#ricky bowen - 31 posts

#richard bowen - 30 posts

#ej caswell - 28 posts

#gina porter - 24 posts

#jet hsmtmts - 23 posts

#kourtney greene - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 93 characters

#i literally have to look back through my following to see if tumblr didn’t follow them for me

My Top Posts in 2022:

They burn the results in a pizza love how they’re not letting that go

45 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

I’ve seen everyone talking about EJs Sven costume but I would like to mention Carlos Olaf costume. Both are hilarious and the actors look dead inside wearing them

50 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

If Jet and Maddox aren’t there next season I’m going to cry

63 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

Hsmtmts really going through it’s friendship era

79 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

167 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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rvbycruz · 2 years

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you literally cannot tell me that ricky bowen isn’t a natural born stoner . stoner!ricky is the truest form of ricky, the purest form of ricky if you will, because the way this boy has eat three pizzas on his bucket list before he turns eighteen ?? he was born for this lifestyle

#all fanfics with established stoner ricky are automatically my fave i can't lie #it just feels right #des liveblogs hsmtmts #ricky bowen

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meiishu · 2 years

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lthoughts on hsmtmts episode 7 under the cut

i just wanna start by saying this was my favorite episode so far!! i love the pacing and the costumes and how we got so many different character relationships interacting and helping one another out. im gonna talk about each character in their own paragraph rather than try to remember what happened when i bounce around all the time lmao

first off: my boy ricky bowen. first off, ricky stuffing his face with pizza is a solid MOOD. love that he’s just being silly and having a good time. like, in past seasons, ricky has been focused on romance, on chasing nini or finding validation through a partner. im glad that even though he has very obvious feelings for gina that he’s working through, he’s not letting that control himself. he was very selfish when it came to nini, interjecting himself into her hobby when she didn’t want him there, forcing himself as a wedge between her and EJ’s relationship, trying to win her back. then trying to control her feelings when they had their breakup in season 2. i LOVE how ricky has grown from that, and how he’s changed his tune. with gina, he’s not being selfish. he’s looking out for her, he sees her first in the room, but he keeps his distance, because he respects her relationship with EJ. and he values their friendship. honestly, this is the arc ricky needed. i complained in the past about him and his character being too focused on romance. im glad to see his bond with carlos, and jet, and the guys and even his friendships with the girls really take center stage. EVEN WHEN HE KNEW EJ AND GINA HAD BROKEN UP, he refused to admit what he said on camera to gina. which, on the one hand, boy you better tell her because she’s gonna find out, but on the other hand, really shows ricky’s character development. rather than “jump on the oppertunity” so to speak, he feels bad about gina and EJ breaking up. because he cares about both of them. also, his salt towards EJ is real this season. i think he definitely still cares about EJ, but he’s mad that EJ isn’t giving gina the attention she deserves or treating her well. very interested to see how EJ and Ricky’s relationship will go from here, because EJ very clearly thinks/knows that Ricky has lingering feelings, and feels as though gina too has lingering feelings for ricky.

onto my boy Elton john!!!! really loved EJs prom outfit in this episode. love his little elvis dance too!! this episode really showed me how little FUN the writers actually gave EJ this season. like, i get that he likes to be in control and is worried about the play, but he really has no chance to goof off and be silly like the others. there were a few moments this episode (early on, at the end with the ice bucket thing) where we get to see EJ actually having a good time. he was literally set up to FAIL this season and i hate it. i wish they kept miss jenn as the director and let EJ, you know, be a KID. i felt so mad when he was blowing off gina for the script and show and events. when gina had her grand entrance, he didn’t even look nearly as stunned as ricky did, which made me mad at EJ. to be honest i feel like EJ feels like gina still likes ricky, and i think he’s pushing himself away because he feels like it’s easy to blame ricky for why they aren’t working. (when gina brought up certain moments, EJ was quick to say, “i think those two moments had a person in common”, implying ricky). He’s going to blame ricky for at least some of their breakup I can already tell, especially when that footage is leaked. I wish EJ got the chance to be himself this season. the pressure from his dad, the musical, and corbin bleu really got to him and made him revert to how he was in season one -- desperate to prove himself instead of desperate to be himself. Loved his little happy moment with madison though!!! he was so glad to see her. Also, ej still hasn’t had a musical solo.... will he ever get one this season... i suppose we’ll find out. I’m a bit worried that the writers are writing him out of the main group so that he won’t be in season 4, which saddens me.

moving to ashlyn!!! im so glad that she can be herself now. when carlos gave her that pin i literally wanted to cry. so SWEET. im so glad for ashlyn discovering a part of herself!! i did whish that big red would have made an appearance when seb did, but it would’ve thrown a lot of tension for ashlyn that i dont think she needs right now so from a writing standpoint i guess i get it. really hoping that next season she has a conversation with big red!!! also jsut because she’s bi does not mean they have to break up!!!! i KNOW for a fact big red would support his bi girlfriend. in fact i believe he too is bi. they are bi for bi and i will accept nothing less. ashlyn and carlos as best friends just warms my heart to pieces!!! i love that disney+ is showing the younger audience watching this show that while ashlyn is in a relationship and loves her boyfriend, she’s discovered she’s bi, and that’s OK. it’s not like she has to dump big red immediately and date a girl, you know? it’s just a part of her, her joining the community.

i really like how in the last few scenes of the episode, she encouraged kourtney. i remember a common critique in the early episodes was how badly ashlyn took being put in the ensemble, and here’s a moment where kourtney actually asks ashlyn to take her place she she refuses, encouraging her friend instead! I LOVE the friendship between all of the girls. when she started the therapy song for Kourtney it was so sweet! and kourntey’s moment climbing the rock wall was so good, too. I have a feeling next episode is going to have a lot of kourtney-focus, and I am SO READY for it. i want to see her excel as elsa. i want to see her belt let it go so bad.

also, that moment when maddox and EJ were talking about madison and ej says, “so you didnt get distracted by any of the girls this summer” and maddox was staring at ashlyn??? I CALLED IT! DID I NOT CALL THAT MADDOX HAD A THING FOR ASHLYN!!! I DID!!

jet and maddox really shone this episode. I love their musical number -- that weird 70s remix wouldn’t change a thing was a bop idc what anyone says. i love that jet reached out to madison. it really gave maddox the opportunity to really talk to madison, get some closure, and maybe even some hope for the future. also JOJO SIWA!!!!! i love that maddox and jet are moving towards a more understanding relationship. I’m also glad that, while maddox’s texts were exposed to their parents, their parents biggest concern was her ‘texting after midnight’. it makes me think that jet didn’t result in anything super negative for her... like forcibly outing her/getting her in trouble, stuff like that. and that maddox’s anger (totally justified) was just about her messages and relationship being exposed and not about any punishment she received for it. ALSO we have answers, people!! maddox is older!

lastly i want to give my girl gina a section!!! she was absolutely glowing when she and the other girls burst into the scene at prom. i feel so bad for her. gina was so ready to have a good summer with the guy who was always there, and then... he’s never there. feels like their relationship, which we saw built up in season 2, crashed. im glad gina was the dump-er. she deserved to put her foot down about feeling unappreciated and unloved. gina is in for a wild ride next episode i bet -- when she finds out the truth about what ricky said. i loved gina’s moments with maddox, gina, kourtney, and ashlyn. when ashlyn said “you know you’re one of us now right” to maddox, it was so sweet. i love their friendship so much. i hope that when kourtney is struggling with the show next week, gina is able to help her out as her sister-on-stage!! frankly, gina deserves to be focused on having fun outside of her relationship (lackthereof) right now because shes been trying so hard meanwhile EJ has been giving her like, 40 percent effort.

and lastly, my thoughts on the ships still remain: while I do love portwell, i think EJ will have to fight 110 percent for gina to prove to her that his heart is still in the relationship. sadly, i feel like EJ has already given up the second ricky came to came. and i feel like ricky is just fighting more for gina. like i said, not against portwell or rina, but i have a feeling we are heading towards rina in the finale. while i still like the idea of jet/ricky and my bisexual ricky arc, i dont think it’ll be happening this season (perhaps next season)?. BUT!!!! MADDOX AND ASHLYN!!!! my new ship. well, not new. but i really like them. I still love big red though and would only accept maddox/ashlyn developing farther than maddox’s onesided crush if big red got his own arcs/developments and wasnt just mentioned in passing.

ALSO!!!! SEBASTIAN AND CARLOSSSSS! SEBLOOOOOS!!!!! I was sooo happy when i saw sebastian!!! and i loved carlos taking a chance and doing the bucket challenge. also EJ’s supportive “we dont’ do hazing. you do what you’re comfortable doing” was really nice. i want more of EJ supporting the others instead of stressing them out.

also, sebastian interrupting ej and gina with “ELTON JOHN!!?!” killed me. like read the room seb

this got a lot longer than i thought, but i just had a lot of thoughts about this episode i guess.

#hsmtmts #mac speaks #hsmtmts conversations #hsmtmts season 3 episode 7

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youllneverknow28 · 9 months

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stars

ricky Bowen x black!reader

not proof read 😭

After opening night me Gina, EJ, Ashlyn kourtney Carlos, and seb all met up at the local pizza shop still in my clothes I tried my very best not to spill tomato sauce on the white dress. I had seen eyes on me, but not just anyone’s eyes. Ricky Bowen‘s eyes I had had a thing for Ricky since third grade, but I shut those feelings away after he started dating nini and honestly I had kind of felt like an outcast. Gina was with EJ gadget was with Ashlyn Jet was with kourtney. And me and Ricky were the only ones single. my hair was braided curls at the end in the white dress that fitted me oh so perfectly. Every time I laughed, smiled, giggled, or even side eyed I could feel Ricky Bowen’s eyes on me. What the fuck I thought after the show at camp shallow lake I was sure him and Gina would hit it off, but EJ swindled his way back to Gina and now they’re living happily ever after. I wasn’t jealous. Why would I be jealous it’s not like the boy. I’ve had a crush on since third grade just kept getting bitches prettier than me but I’m not nini and they’re my friends now and I don’t have those hateful feelings towards them anymore I just wanna live my life and see what happens next. Go with the flow you know? And that’s what I was truly going to stick with until a walk out of the pizza shop, making my way towards my car when I heard a similar voice stop me “ Hey veah you gotta sec” turning around to see Ricky Bowen “ hey Ricky yeah what’s up” “ nothing at my dads out of town and I was just wondering if you’d like to come back for maybe movies in popcorn?” “ oh yeah, yeah shit let me him. Ask my mom she should be fine with it” I said pulling out my phone turning around and calling my mom after a five minute conversation. My mom asked to talk to Ricky which honestly kind of scary but he was a nice boy “ here my mom wants to talk to you” I said awkwardly mouthing the words. I’m sorry as I handed him the phone. “ Hi Mrs. Wallace how are you?” “ hi Ricky look I’m fine with Nevaeh staying over there, but my daughter better not come back pregnant and she sure as hell better not come back with no bruises and she better not come back with any trace of her being unsafe or hungover so basically, my question is, is my daughter gonna be safe” “she will be perfectly safe I promise” hanging up the phone he gave it back to me as we got in his car and made our way back to his house when we arrived he unlocked his door and made a little couch bed “ so what do you want to watch?” Smirking I said “ high school musical” about 30 minutes into the movie. Ricky suddenly screams “ I mean come on who does barges into song like that” giggling, I told him “ Ricky we’re literally theater kids you can’t hate on the movies that we play” “ ok but what the fuck nobody does that in the real world” “ we do that” He looks at me back at the TV and back at me again. �� we do not do that.” “ ok, Mr. Bowen whatever you say.” After the movie was done he popped in the second one. I asked him if he had any clothes, or I could borrow for the night here me a pair of his boxers and oversize T. As I made my way to the bathroom, I realized I only had my curl cream in the bag that I had brought and usually this wouldn’t be a problem, but it was the only thing I had besides the mini brush I carry all the time my hair was long, but not too long which meant It was hard to manage. I heard a knock. “ Hey, you ok in there” I heard Ricky ask opening the door curl cream all in my hand he suddenly walked in, taking some and running it into my hair “ I hope it’s ok I’m touching your hair” he says, looking at me in the mirror “ yeah it’s fine. I couldn’t do it all by myself anyway.” after he helped me with my hair we cuddled up and continued watching hsm2 and I was out of it in no time

#hsmtmts #ricky bowen #gina porter #kourtney greene #kourtney kardashian #nini salazar roberts

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mummer · 3 years

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hsmtmts s2 is like What if everything is actually, really complicated and life is hard and weird and also mental illness is hard and weird. and everythings kind of shitty but that’s just how life is and everyone’s miserable all the time. And also miss jenn fucks now

#like soooo true #ejgina Bad. nini girlboss empire Good #MEDICATE RICKY BOWEN.#and redky endgame <3 just kidding unless #literally theyyyy can be dirtbag teens with no prosppeecctttsss!!!! theeeyyy can be bisexual singing pizza men!#everyone is: so unwell #deeply amazing that im more emotionally tormented by mr mazzara and miss jenn's will-they-wont-they than a full on rini breakup #so FUCKING true.#anyway those are my kids show thots. this season is unfun but thatsok.

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cadetcama · 2 years

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How about some Ricky + Ashlyn headcanons?

Ask and ye shall receive, Anon!

Specifically, how about some Ricky + Ashlyn headcanons where they bond over Big Red???

Dating Big Red is Ashlyn's first relationship and she's VERY excited but also kinda nervous bc she doesn't know what its like being in a relationship?

But the good news is, neither does Big Red so the early days are a lot of them talking about it, and Red going "well Nini and Ricky..." because he had an up-close and personal seat to the start of that relationship

Ashlyn is a bit hesitant around Ricky for a while because 1) she knows how important Ricky is to Big Red and 2) given the history between the Caswells and the Bowen, she's not sure if there's bad blood

(There isn't - Ricky is aware Ashlyn and EJ are cousin but like... that's not Ashlyn's fault)

But Ricky and Ashlyn don't really bond till like halfway through rehearsals for BatB

It's just the two of them at rehearsal (and Miss Jenn and Carlos, but they're's distracted, so its just them)

Ashlyn's been trying to figure out if Big Red's doing something for their "two-month-iversary" and if she needs to do something to, so she just... asks Ricky

Who is SO EXCITED she asked because Big Red's been driving him nuts about it so he's like "Red's planning on replacing your lucky crystals and making you a special pizza"

Which then turns into the two of them talking about Big Red a lot because he likes putting together surprises for Ashlyn, but she's not big on receiving them, so it works out.

And if Ashlyn decides to throw together something for Big Red, then Ricky and help her with it.

Because Ricky is aware of ALL of Big Red's allergies and medical history.

He's helped Ashlyn several times avoid things Big Red is allergic to.

For Big Red and Ashlyn's "four-month-iversary", Ricky gives Ashlyn a laminated list of things Big Red is allergic to and other relevant medical history.

Which makes Ashlyn cry, because she's happy she's being trusted with the information and the support of Ricky.

(Big Red is only a little mad Ricky's gift beat his on HIS anniversary to HIS girlfriend)

#cama rants #hsmtmts headcanons

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multimetaverse · 3 years

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HSMTMTS 2x06 Review

Yes, And was a messy ep that brings us to the halfway point of the season. Let’s dig in!

Tonight took some big steps towards the Rini breakup. The conflict isn’t quite earned as they did too much too quickly in making Ricky overbearing; to go from Ricky supporting Nini going to YAC and them singing love songs to each other just 3 eps ago to Ricky now accusing Nini of changing because she didn’t get pineapple on her pizza just doesn’t work. Largely that’s because it’s clear that the writers are working backwards from an outline that requires Rini to be broken up before the finale.

The Rose song is great and Olivia’s vocals are wonderful as always but again it’s not quite earned. The lyrics make it seem like Nini thinks Ricky is holding her on a pedestal and holding her back when that’s not what we’ve seen on screen. Ricky and Nini went through a lot as they were finding their way back to each other and they learned not to see each other through rose coloured glasses and while Ricky was sad that Nini went to YAC he was supportive and respected her wishes, notably the only time he admitted how much he wanted Nini to come back to Salt Lake was after Nini had already made up her mind to return.

Rini was always going to break up both because writers struggle with writing happy or stable couples and because Tim became enamoured of Rina after writing 1x05 and will want to explore them at some point. Tim’s claimed that he has future seasons all planned out but I’m skeptical that he’s really thought out how to keep Ricky and Nini and Gina on goodish terms with each other for the remaining 2 seasons of the show while also not completely closing the door on the Rini endgame the show’s been aiming towards since the pilot.

It’s clear that Ricky has unresolved issues from his mom effectively abandoning him which are impairing all his relationships. And while it’s true he could try calling Lynne it’s the parents job to reach out and she is obviously fine living her life without Ricky. Not sure how much closure we can get with Lynne when she comes back in 2x09 but I hope we at least get an apology on her part.

Yet another ep of Gina going through it. That flashback to Gina tearfully telling Ricky that she wouldn’t have ‘’given up on us’’ if she hadn’t moved certainly paints Ricky’s behaviour this season in a worse light. I do hope the show doesn’t take the cowards way out and have Ricky being too stupid to realize that Gina had romantic feelings for him. Though again we run into the problem that these emotions aren’t fitting the story. There really wasn’t an ‘us’ for Gina to fight for, she and Ricky had only been hanging from 1x05-1x08 and never actually dated or went on dates. Also by this point Gina should be questioning her feelings for Ricky and whether he’s worth it; it’s not like he’s done anything nice for her this season like getting her chocolates for Valentine’s Day.

Still Gina did make some strides tonight. She finally opened up to Ashlyn which seems to have lifted a weight off of her shoulders and makes the decision to stay in Salt Lake. She also brushes off Ricky wanting to be improv partners which leads to her accepting EJ’s offer which led to a sweet callback to them being wonderstudies. I’m glad she’s not going to Louisiana but it does mean we were robbed of a HSMTMTS/Secrets of Sulphur Springs crossover.

Kourtney and Howie are finally together. I’m glad they didn’t waste time dragging this out. Kourtney’s confession was very in character and I liked the earlier hufflepuff dragging. As an aside I wonder if say 10 years in the future, shows will still be making light hearted unqualified references to Harry Potter or will J.K. Terfling have completely destroyed the goodwill the series has by then.

Lily continues to act as if she’s in Glee working for Sue Sylvester to take down the One Directions and honestly I’m here for it. I especially liked that she stole some of the condiments on her way out of Salt Lake Slices. Antoine seems alright, the espionage bit was funny. Seems like Salt Lake City would be a pretty shitty place for a French student to study.

EJ remains underused especially since this is his last semester as a student. His Gaston answer was surprisingly thoughtful and hinted at him getting over Nini with Gina as he sat down next to her. His may I have this exercise was just the right amount of smooth and goofy.

Ashlyn had a good ep, she killed Home, Julia has a great voice. And she stood her ground with Gina but was also there for her and managed to help her decide to stay. Loved her line that she was still part Caswell.

Mike Bowen is sweet, thoughtful, and rocking that beard? Must have been hard for Miss. Jenn to let him go but ultimately she made the right decision as it would just be too messy to date the parent of one of your students.

Lots of funny little moments this ep; the camera panning to the exit sign during Gina’s confessional, the group chat with Miss. Jenn and the real group chat without her, Seb hula-hooping with wild abandon.

Looking Ahead:

Well we’re now at the official halfway mark of the season. It’s been an uneven first half, lots of pacing issues, and clear signs of the covid pandemic impacting production. Disney + has announced that future seasons of Disney + originals will be released on Wednesdays from now on so we have that to look forward to for S3 and S4.

Carlos uploading the Rose song will inevitably lead to disaster. Nini is very right to tell Kourtney not to let Ricky know, the lyrics paint him in a very bad light. The song gives us more context for why Lily said to Ricky that his gf needed some space in the trailer. I suspect Lily will end up being the party crasher that Ricky re-evaluates in 2x12, I don’t think Tim is going to keep Lily as a one dimensional antagonist this entire season.

Ricky said in 2x01 that he’s never breaking up with Nini again and I think that’s true because Nini will break up with him. I think it comes before 2x12, maybe them exploring an old haunt in 2x08 is where it happens though the description for 2x11 also sounds like it could be hinting at a Rini breakup.

Well we now know what one of the secrets rising between Gina and Nini will be in 2x10, Nini was already jealous of Gina and Ricky in S1 and I doubt she’ll enjoy hearing that Gina confessed to Ricky in 1x10. Since Gina has already confessed to Ricky it makes it less likely that her speaking her truth in 2x12 is related to her and Ricky.

EJ and Gina doing the morning announcements starts next ep, that should be fun. Especially since Mazzara is aware of EJ’s feelings for Gina. There’s a pretty clear path to end the season with Portwell or at least set it up for S3. EJ already likes Gina, the announcements help bring them closer, Gina starts getting over Ricky and realizes that EJ puts her first, maybe Mazzara helps one or both of them at the cast party, and Gina shares her truth and confesses to EJ. So far the show hasn’t done anything it can’t pull back from but sooner or later the writing will have to commit one way or the other. One thing I’ll say is that it’s already clear that making EJ a senior was a big mistake and I expect it to cause a lot more problems for the show in the remaining two seasons.

There’s also a path for Ricky and Gina to get together but that seems less likely given the clear mess Ricky is right now. Seeing his mom in 2x09 probably helps a bit but it’s hard to see how any relationship Ricky gets into won’t swiftly crash and burn. There’s also the matter of when exactly Rini break up, if it’s too late in the season then there wouldn’t be time to jump right into Rina. There’s also the matter of the unexpected facetime call he gets in 2x10 and the party crasher he re-evaluates in 2x12. Even if they’re not linked it does suggest there will be some curveballs in Ricky’s story and at least the party crasher info suggests there’s some non Rini or Rina related twist being planned for Ricky in 2x12.

Until next week Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Rini #Rina #Portwell #Ricky Bowen #Gina Porter #Nini Salazar-Roberts #EJ Caswell #HSMTMTS Reviews

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rickyxginaa · 3 years

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a wildcat summer

A/N: hello my lovely rinas, i was bored and wanted to make a rina fanfic because im delusional. this is set after season two and i havent gotten my invitation from ao3 yet so i thought i’d post it here. hope you like it !!

CHAPTER ONE

RICKY

“Two months?!”

Ricky exclaimed as he couldn’t believe what was coming from his best friend’s mouth.

Big Red rolled his eyes, popping another Cheez-It into his mouth, “Yeah dude, did you not read the fifty billion page pamphlet Carlos handed out to us like weeks ago?”

“If I read it, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting on this bus right now.”

“Well, that’s what you get for letting Lily fill out all of your paperwork.”

Ricky winced at the mention of the girl who everyone assumed he was dating. To be honest, he didn’t even know what they were, but whatever they had was most certainly not a relationship. But would he really be Ricky Bowen if he had any clue about what was going on in his love life?

The brunette shifted his body towards the window and watched the blurs of green trees.

Two months.

Two whole months??

Ricky thought it was absolute insanity. Big Red was right, he should have paid a lot more attention when Lily was signing him up for the summer camp that Miss Jenn continuously shoved down the theater kids throats. The only reason he agreed in the first place was so he could have some space from Lily.

She was just so… clingy.

Ricky knew he shouldn’t even be complaining considering how exceptionally clingy he was with Nini after she came back from YAC. But if he truly acted like how Lily acted towards him, then he owes Nini another apology.

He shook his head, Nini and Lily were the last people he wanted to be thinking about right now.

“So, what exactly did I sign up for?” Ricky asked a little too loudly.

Carlos popped his head over the seat, by looking at his face you would’ve thought Ricky said he committed mass murder or something.

“Did you seriously not read my very extensive and thorough pamphlet that literally described every single thing about where we’re going?” Carlos was fully standing up out of his seat with his hand clutching his chest.

Dramatic.

“Carlos, that thing wasn’t a pamphlet, it was a fucking novel.”

“Whatever. I don't know why I’m surprised. I forgot you have the reading level of a second grader.”

Seb gasped and tried to pull Carlos back down to their shared seat. Ricky furrowed his eyebrows, confused at where this sudden hostility spurred from. Sure, Carlos tends to throw a snide remark at him here and there but it was mostly about his dancing skills. Rightfully so, he might add.

“Um, is something wrong Carlos?” Big red chimed in. Ricky noticed Carlos glance over to the other side of the bus for a few moments before he composed himself.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Sorry.” And he slowly disappeared behind the seat.

Ricky and Big Red exchanged a look.

The redhead shrugged his shoulders, “Don’t worry about it, he’s probably just stressed about all the work he’s going to have to do this summer.”

“Can you please explain what we’re doing then?”

“Bro, we’re going to a musical summer camp. Basically like regular summer camp, just a lot more singing and a lot more dancing. I guess Miss Jenn wanted us to bond more? I agree two months is a little much but it beats slaving away in a pizza shop back in the most boring town on the planet.”

Ricky slightly nodded his head, he was still a bit lost but he was just going to have to deal with it until they got there. Big Red went back to scarfing down his Cheez-Its and playing some random game he’s been obsessed with on his phone.

Some time passes before he realizes that he had one too many Capri-Sun’s earlier. He nudged his friend to move out of the way so he could get through, which was met with multiple complaints that Ricky ignored.

As he finally moved past Red, he accidentally stumbled into someone once he made it into the aisle. After he saw exactly who he bumped into, he immediately wished he just held it.

“Um, I’m s-sorry” Gina mumbled.

Shocked was an understatement.

He may not know the basic details of their home for the summer but he did know that Gina was supposed to be in New York with her mom right about now. At least, that’s what Red had told him when Ricky had not so subtly asked him to confirm with Ashlyn that the girl standing in front of him was not going to be present at their knock off Camp Rock experience.

“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going.”

Ricky stepped back into his row, this time with Red throwing him a few curse words. Seriously, how big of a deal is that game to him?

Without another word, Gina pursed her lips and quickly made her way to the bathroom.

Even though their interaction couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, Ricky felt his heart pounding against his chest. Ever since their spring musical ended, the two had no communication whatsoever.

No texts. No phone calls. He’s pretty sure she even had him blocked on all forms of social media.

Ricky couldn’t stand it. Nor could he understand the reasoning.

It took him longer than he’d like to admit, but eventually he gave up on any hope that they would magically reignite that spark that once burned between them. Especially when she started dating EJ, of all people. If anything, losing Gina hurt more than both breakups with Nini combined.

But he would never say that out loud.

He sat back down in his seat, mostly because he needed to avoid seeing the pretty brunette again.

“You alright? You look paler than me.” Red mentioned.

Ricky felt stupid for being so disoriented from a meaningless encounter where Gina barely looked him in the eye. She probably thought nothing of it. He doubted Gina thought about him at all.

Which is why he needs to stop thinking about her. There was no logical explanation that he should be on the verge of a cardiac arrest when they haven’t spoken for months.

“I thought you said Gina wasn’t going to be coming to camp with us?” Ricky angrily whispered, giving Red a punch on the arm.

“First of all, ouch. Second of all, ouch again because that actually hurt. Third of all, she wasn't. But I saw her running to the bus this morning so I guess something changed at the last minute.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Red huffs and finally set his phone down, squinting his eyes at Ricky, “I thought you were over her.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“If you really think I didn’t know how much you were pining after her until the musical ended, then as your best friend, I am highly offended.”

Ricky shushes Big Red as he looks around to make sure no one was listening. He wasn’t too fond of the idea of someone like Carlos or Natalie coming up to him later trying to pry into his love life.

“Okay whatever, we will talk about this when we aren’t around the entirety of the drama club.”

“Fine, but I’m only doing it with weed involved.”

“No way, you brought some?”

“Duh, did you forget who I am?.”

As Red responded, Ricky caught Gina walking past the two of them to her seat with who he assumed was with Ashlyn.

Somehow she looked better than she did five minutes ago, if that was even possible.

“And it looks like you’re gonna need it.” Red thankfully interrupted Ricky’s gaze.

This was going to be the hardest two months of his life.

At least now he can go to the bathroom.

*****

It felt like an eternity but they had finally made it to whatever corny name Miss Jenn calls their camp. Thank God, because Ricky was starting to cramp up from sitting down for literally four hours.

From looking outside the window, he could only see enormous trees everywhere. He wondered if this was their drama teacher’s master plan to kidnap them all for weeks. He definitely wouldn’t put it past her, or be surprised for that matter.

Ricky grabbed his suitcase and duffel bag out from under the coach. Of course, that was nothing compared to everyone else’s plethora of bags they were carrying. But when he only had a limited amount of outfits and wore the same three pairs of Vans every day, there was no other choice than to pack light.

His eyes frantically searched for Big Red, it was kind of pathetic but he was the only person he was truly friends with.

There’s Seb and Kourtney.

Natalie, Rico, Steph.

Found him.

He was with Ashlyn, being the cheesiest couple as per usual. It was sickening to the point that Ricky had developed a personal vendetta against any romantic couple purely as a result of watching those two make kissy faces and be lovey dovey 24/7. Don’t get him wrong, he’s over the moon that Red scored himself his first girlfriend. Though he couldn’t help but feel the loneliness start to kick in. Red was inevitably going to be spending an absurd amount of time with Ash.

Maybe this is a sign for him to make an effort with the others.

“What’s up Ricky?” EJ came up and slapped his hand against his back.

This was not what he had in mind.

“Uh, hey man. Nice to see you again.” Lie #1.

“I’ve barely seen you since rehearsals ended, how have you been?”

“Pretty good, just been busy.” Lie #2.

“Well, I’m stoked you’re here. I’m in desperate need of some bro time this summer before I head off to college.”

Why EJ wasn’t spending his last few weeks of freedom with people his own age was beyond him. He wasn’t sure why EJ thought they were “bros” considering Ricky had made it clear there was still some lingering hatred from the past year. Nevertheless, Ricky needed friends. So, he begrudgingly put aside his annoyance of EJ’s trend of going after the girls he has feelings for.

“Same here, we’re gonna make this summer count.”

EJ gripped Ricky’s shoulders with both hands, “That’s what I like to hear Bowen. Now, where are Jenn and Benjamin? We should be on a first name basis since I graduated, right?”

Ricky was growing tired of this conversation so he started to tune out whatever EJ continued to ramble on about. He’ll just make more of an effort later. He was also curious about the whereabouts of their chaperones, they were there this morning to take attendance but disappeared shortly afterwards. Regardless, if he didn’t go somewhere with air conditioning soon, he would most likely pass out from a heat stroke.

The hundreds of trees surrounding him offered no shade whatsoever and he could feel tiny drops of sweat roll down his forehead. Flies buzzed near his ear and the noise of all wildlife was deafening. Sure, in a parallel universe Ricky adored nature and the outdoors. Unfortunately in this reality, that was not the case.

He assumed EJ either got the hint or talked himself to death since he is now striding towards the group. Wonder who his next victim is going to be. The former water polo player made an attempt to speak to Gina but she immediately immersed herself in a conversation with Carlos, completely ignoring him.

That’s strange.

Normally, being as nosy as he is, he would’ve tried to ask around to figure out what’s going on. But that didn’t seem good for his mental state. He’s already had to stop himself from throwing up on one too many occasions when he found out EJ and Gina kissed.

They kissed. Like not even a cheek kiss or a peck, a real kiss.

And EJ was her first.

Ricky felt his heart ache.

Needless to say, Ricky needed to stay out of anything that concerned those two together. So, he left it alone.

Suddenly, a minivan blaring “We’re All in This Together” from its speakers stole his attention. The car drove in a circle around the students as Miss Jenn appeared out of the sunroof with a giant smile on her face.

“Hello my lovely Wildcats! Your amazing chaperones have arrived, and in style!” She shouted and popped a confetti cannon that she pulled out of thin air. Very on brand for her. Everyone clapped and cheered and she took a bow as if she was accepting a standing ovation on Broadway and not from sixteen teenagers stranded in a forest.

Mr. Mazzara parked and stepped out of the driver’s seat, “Good afternoon students. No, I did not choose to be here, I am here against my will.”

Poor guy. Miss Jenn has him on a leash and she doesn’t even know it. Or maybe she does. Or maybe she just romanticizes the idea of being in a constant love triangle with Mr. Mazzara and his father. Either way, that was none of his business. Last week, his dad droned on and on about all of the dates he’d been on with her and how he was contemplating making it official. And now she’s spending the next two months with a guy who confessed his feelings for her. Again, not his business.

Carlos rushed over to Miss Jenn’s side. Most people would find it odd how close they were, Ricky thought it was kind of endearing. It does suck when they join forces to criticize him in practice but that’s besides the point.

“Gather round children! You are about to see the place that is going to be a life changing experience, not only for your musical careers, but for your souls.” Miss J took an awkwardly long pause while she stared out into the distance. It’s safe to say that he and the rest of the group never knew how to react when she had these out-of-body moments.

“Okay then, follow me everyone. Oh, and leave your belongings, someone will be bringing them to your cabins shortly.” She turned and marched forward, leading us to a dirt path with Carlos not too far behind her.

Ricky set down his luggage and followed the crowd. The heat was worsening by the second, and heat brought mosquitoes and Ricky was actively swatting at any that invaded his personal space. He prayed that he packed bug spray.

It wasn’t long before they entered an open field where they were exposed to newly built wooden structures, a sparkling lake, horse stables, tennis and volleyball courts, even an outdoor amphitheater. This place was definitely leaning more towards a five-star resort than an average campground. Not that it mattered to Ricky, it just meant that there was bound to be some sort of air conditioning system somewhere.

Gasps of astonishment and excited murmurs filled the air as everyone took in their surroundings. Ricky was genuinely impressed, he hated that their school’s summer camp was the nicest place he’s ever been to. Seriously, everything looked as if it came straight out of a movie.

“Welcome… to East High Acres!” Miss Jenn announced and popped yet another confetti cannon. Where does she keep getting those? That can’t be good for the environment.

“Miss Jenn, this is truly incredible.” Ashlyn said.

“I’m speechless. Speechless!” Carlos added on.

“Are we really staying here?” Gina asked, her sweet voice full of innocent disbelief.

Miss Jenn nodded her head, “Yes my dear thespians, this is your temporary yet beautiful home. Take a moment to treasure what’s in front of you.”

“Um, Miss Jenn? I thought the drama department didn’t have any money, how exactly did you afford all of this?” Seb inquired.

Valid question.

Miss Jenn glared at the blonde piano player and let out a sigh, “It’s true, our department is financially challenged,” A fancy way of saying broke. “But a secret pair of benefactors were generous enough to create a campground exclusively for the theater club. Wait until you see the recording studio and auditorium. Ugh, I could burst into song right now-”

“No!” Ricky and his peers interjected.

She scoffed, “Fine then. Anyways, the show must go on. Come on Benjamin, let’s give them the tour.”

*****

Whoever the secret benefactors were must be millionaires Ricky concluded. There was no other explanation for how ridiculously luxurious East High Acres was. Funnily enough, his personal favorite had to be the dining hall. There were so many different food stations and there were people wearing those fancy white chef hats, so he knew he was about to be eating like a king. It was going to be a nice change from the usual frozen pizza and takeout he and his dad ate every night back home.

An honorable mention goes to the Wildcat shaped pool next to the cabins. He was sure a lot of his time was going to be spent there or at the basketball court. Don’t judge but being Troy last year unlocked his newfound hobby of playing basketball. Especially since he couldn’t skateboard all summer, he might as well work on his jumpshot.

However, there was one thing Ricky did not particularly like. The horses. He was not a fan. Like at all. He made sure to keep his distance when the tour made its way to the stables and everyone else was petting the camp’s horses. Sure, they’re “cute” until they jump over the fence (which was dangerously low by the way) and trample over you or kick you into the lake. He doesn’t know what childhood trauma caused him to be severely afraid of horses but he won’t be overcoming his fear anytime soon.

Mr. Mazarra and Miss Jenn brought them to the camp’s firepit with red and white benches. The fresh paint smell was overbearing to say the least. During the tour, he eventually reconnected with Red so they sat together on the bench next to Ashlyn and EJ.

Miss Jenn waited until they quieted down, “I hope you all enjoyed the tour, I am so excited for what’s to come. But I’m sure you guys are tired from the bus ride and this annoying heat wave. So, Mr. Mazzara will read out your cabin assignments and you all are free to take a quick nap, shower, change and explore. However, you must meet at the dining hall at 6:00 sharp for an important meeting to discuss expectations and rules for the upcoming weeks.”

Mr. Mazarra cleared his throat and grabbed a piece of paper out of the binder he’s been holding, “There are four cabins, sixteen students. That means there will be four of you in each, simple mathematics. Alright, in cabin #1: Kaden, Rico, Kaison and Buddy. Next, with a special request from Sebastian, in Cabin #2: Kourtney, Ashlyn, Gina and Seb. In cabin #3: EJ, Big Red, Ricky and Carlos. Lastly, in cabin #4: Steph, Natalie, Adeline and Lauryn. Okay, so uh, action! Or whatever it is you all say.”

They all entered their assigned cabins. Once inside, the cool air hit Ricky’s face and he couldn’t be more relieved. Sweat seeping through his t-shirt wasn’t his most attractive look.

He scanned the room. He noticed all of their luggage was neatly placed in the middle of the room. There were four twin-sized beds, two on each side. Similar to the benches, the bedsheets had a white, gold and red color scheme. It wouldn’t be East High if they didn’t force its school colors into everything.

“Ricky and I call this side!” Big Red shouted as he plopped down on one of the beds on the left of the room. Ricky let out a chuckle.

The ample amount of space allowed enough room for a dresser and desk on either side of each bed. On the back wall, there were two doors that he assumed were their bathrooms. Although he was grateful they had more than one, he’s been an only child his whole life so sharing a bathroom at all was a foreign concept to him. Speaking of bathrooms, the shower was practically calling his name.

“I think I’m gonna hit the shower.” Ricky started to grab his toiletries out of his bag.

“Shouldn’t we discuss who’s sharing a bathroom with each other first?” Carlos asked, his arms were crossed whilst sitting on his bed. He clearly did not want to be bunked with them.

“Obviously, Red and I are sharing a bathroom.” Ricky answered.

“Umm, no offense dude, but I think I’m going to share with Carlos.” Red scratched the back of his neck.

Ricky frowned, “What? Why?”

“Well, you’re not exactly the cleanest person. And you know I’m a clean freak. It’s no biggie though, we’re still sleeping next to each other.” That was Red’s failed attempt at making himself not sound like a complete dick.

Carlos let out a laugh, “So you’re a slob, go figure. It matches your whole lazy, homeless look. I’m starting to think you don’t even know how to work a washing machine.”

Yeah, Ricky’s room isn’t spotless but that doesn’t mean he’s dirty. And his “look”, Ricky shows up to school in pajama pants like twice and Carlos apparently thinks he lives in the freaking dumpster. He didn’t know what Carlos’ issue was but if he’s going to keep throwing jabs at him like that then Ricky might end up throwing him in the lake.

“Do you have a problem with me, Carlos? Because if you do, you can just say it instead of insulting me for no reason.” Ricky fired back.

“Guys, guys. Reeeelaaxx. I think the heat is getting to us so let’s just cool off and get ready for tonight, yeah? Besides, Ricky, I'm fine sharing a bathroom with you, I can handle a little mess.” EJ spoke, trying to ease the tension in the cabin as he wrapped his arm around Ricky’s shoulder.

Whatever. Ricky didn’t have the energy to bicker with Carlos or be fake nice to EJ. He just wanted to shower and take a nap. He proceeded to grab his toiletries with a change of clothes and enter the bathroom. The brightness of the white tile and golden rain showerhead was enough to distract him from what’s going on opposite the door. The bathroom was nicer than his entire apartment and he felt wildly out of place. But that didn’t stop him from taking a forty minute shower.

Carlos and EJ were gone when Ricky exited the bathroom, and Red was snoring away on his pillow. Same as the redhead, he settled into his mattress which basically swallowed him as he lay down and shut his eyes. Not before setting an alarm for 5:45 p.m. to avoid Miss Jenn biting his head off.

*****

“Ricky, we know you don’t have that many friends here.” Ashlyn said.

Everyone was really speaking their mind today, Ricky must’ve missed that memo.

Him, Ashlyn and Big Red were sitting together at one of the booths in the dining hall, awaiting the lecture from their chaperones.

“So, we wanted to make sure you knew that you are always welcome to come to my lovebug and I.” Red followed up, grabbing Ash’s hand in his.

“I know and thanks, but I’d rather not be a third wheel. I’ll make other friends.” Ricky reassured both of them. He honestly didn’t want to impose on Red and Ashlyn, as much as he missed having his best friend by his side every second of the day, he didn’t want to be selfish. They needed their alone time. Come on, they’re teens in love at a camp resort, that’s gotta be the plot to some rom-com.

“Okay… I’m always number one though right?” Big Red’s eyes widened as he stared into Ricky’s soul.

Ricky shook his head in amusement, “Always babe.” He blew him a kiss which Red eagerly caught in his spare hand.

He pulled out his phone to check his messages. Two from his dad, too many to count from Lily. He was kicking himself for not being honest with her. They only hung out a couple times and she did most of the talking. And right before he left, she had very clearly tried to kiss him but he started a fake coughing fit to get himself out of it. Not his proudest moment.

Ricky knew he couldn’t wait until he returned from camp to officially break things off, his conscience won’t allow it. In his defense, Lily refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer which is how he got in this mess in the first place. Still, he should've just gone to therapy instead of depending on yet another relationship.

hey lily, i'm so sorry but i dont think this is going to work out. i wish you the best, have a great summer x

And send.

In times like these, Ricky wonders if maybe he’s the problem.

“Attention Wildcats! Attention!” Miss Jenn yelled over the indistinct chatter.

The rules Miss Jenn discussed were straightforward. No one is allowed out of their cabins after their midnight curfew, no leaving the campground, participating in all activities, performing some sort of musical number each week, blah blah blah.

Their chaperones went back and forth for an hour discussing guidelines, what a typical schedule would look like and other expectations that needed to be met at East High Acres. Ricky thought it was a little excessive considering it was only two of them watching over multiple students. He’s glad he doesn’t have that weight on his shoulders.

“Now that we covered all of the boring stuff, there is something else I'd like to announce. Drumroll please!”

Leave it to theater kids to create the loudest drumroll in an instant.

“Our first talent show! This Saturday, we will be hosting a talent show to kick off our summer. Everyone can showcase any of their talents, solo or with a partner. The best act will be determined from anonymous judges who also have a very special surprise up their sleeves.”

The dining hall erupted into enthusiastic conversation. A talent show? Anonymous judges? He doesn’t know who they could possibly be because what important person would come out to the middle of nowhere for a high school talent show.

“Guys, guys. I can finally show everyone my tap dancing skills.” Red exclaimed.

“Oh, I can’t wait for them to see your talent, my love. And I can sing one of the songs I’ve been messing around with.” Ashlyn clasped her hands together, the sparkle in her eyes evident. “Ricky, what about you?”

“Er, I’m not sure yet.” Ricky mumbled.

“Well dude, you can perform with me. I brought an extra pair of tap shoes.” Red wriggled his eyebrows.

Ricky pursed his lips, “I’m good.”

Red shrugged, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Ricky was 1000% sure he was not going to change his mind but whatever helps Red sleep at night.

“More details to come but for now, eat some dinner and then head to the fire pit for s’mores to celebrate our first night.” Mr. Mazzara informed.

He only had a Pop-Tart this morning before he got on the bus so you can imagine what the delicious aromas of food was doing to his stomach right now. Ricky couldn’t jump out of his seat fast enough.

*****

“Dude, your marshmallow is literally black. Take it out already.” Red joked.

The Wildcats had eventually moved to the fire pit to make their s’mores. They all sat in a circle around the bonfire and laughed over Mr. Mazzara struggling to start the fire for the first fifteen minutes.

Red sat to the left of him with Ashlyn cuddled up against him, and Gina surprisingly took the seat to his right. Yeah, that was the only available seat left when she walked out of the dining hall and she was still avoiding eye contact at all costs, but it was a win in Ricky’s book.

“Red, you just don’t know how to roast a marshmallow. The more burnt it is, the better it tastes. You see-”

Plop.

His marshmallow fell into the fire. Perfect.

“Shit.” Ricky cursed, staring at the fire consuming his marshmallow.

Big Red and Ashlyn fell into a fit of laughter and he even heard a few giggles escape from Gina.

God, he missed hearing that sound.

Ricky turned towards her, “You laughing at me Porter?”

Gina cleared her throat and offered him a tiny smirk, “I just think your marshmallow theory is a bit flawed Bowen.”

“Oh really? You think you can roast a better one?”

“Well, considering yours is disintegrating right now, I think the answer is pretty obvious.”

“Ha ha ha, hilarious. Let’s see then. Who can make the better s’more?”

Gina eyed him for a few moments. Her face was lit up by the warm flames in front of them. A few strands of hair were set loose from her ponytail and all the times he used to move her curls behind her ear flooded his memory without his permission.

She’s so pretty.

He was supposed to be over her.

He is over her.

Gina placed a marshmallow on her skewer and when she opened her mouth to respond, Carlos’ voice came out.

“Gina, come get in this picture with us!”

Ricky and Gina broke their gaze and shifted it to Carlos, who was shooting death glares towards Ricky.

Gina left to join Carlos and Seb without another word and Ricky felt a wave a sadness wash over him.

Stop it, Ricky told himself.

There was no reason for him to be feeling the way he did. An accidental run-in on the bus and a little fire pit banter should not be enough for him to think that there was even the slightest chance the old Ricky and Gina could come back.

He watched her take selfies with her friends, acting completely normal. He wondered if anything that happened over the last twelve hours affected her the way it affected him.

What was he thinking? Of course it didn’t.

They were just friends. Barely even that.

He decided it was best to not entertain it anymore, his focus would be strictly on singing a note and enjoying his summer camp experience. No point in dwelling on the past.

“Um guys, you should see this.” Natalie interrupted. Her eyes were trained on whatever was playing on her phone. Everyone gathered around her to see what she was referring to.

The North High’s theater Instagram page was on the screen. Natalie pressed play on their newest video that was posted five minutes ago.

Ricky’s eyes widened as he saw Lily and Antoine walk in the frame.

Lily: “Long time no see, we know you missed us. Now, you’re maybe wondering why we’re making this video when school let out for break two weeks ago. Well, as we all know, the East High Wildcats are away at their mediocre summer camp.”

Antoine: “Where they’re probably making friendships bracelets and singing kumbaya around the campfire instead of working on their acting skills.”

Lily: “Hahaha, they need to work on much more than their acting Antoine. I am curious to see what progress they make over the summer, if they make any at all.”

Antoine: “If only there was a way we could see that. Is there Lily?”

Lily: “Another competition of course. We challenge East High to compete alongside North High at the annual Musical Theater Festival in two months. Everyone in Salt Lake City is bound to be there and we’ll really see which school represents our city.”

Antoine: “Unless you are scaredy cats. Ha! Get it Lily, because they are the Wildcats!”

Lily: “Enough Antoine.”

Antoine: “Sorry mademoiselle.”

Lily: “Anyways, originally, we weren’t going to not interfere with East High anymore but this is what happens when you break up with someone over text, Ricky Bowen. We suggest you sleep with one eye open Wildcats, don’t forget we know all of your weaknesses and where your stupid little camp is located.”

Antoine: “May the best school win.”

The video ended and the screen went black.

Ricky felt his stomach churn as everyone turned to look at him.

Maybe he shouldn’t have sent that text.

#rina #ricky x gina #hsmtmts #gina porter #ricky bowen #hsm the series #rina fanfic #rina au #rina fanfiction

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