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#that's my dolly levi
coolseabird · 3 months
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I love how much they were influenced by Dolly Levi for Rosie's character. Her sassily giving her card to the cannibal put the biggest grin on my face They nailed her voice too! She sounds a ton like Barbra Streisand.
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susiephone · 1 year
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I wanna feel my heart coming alive again Before the parade passes by...
BARBRA STREISAND as DOLLY LEVI in HELLO, DOLLY! (1969)
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cornaby · 9 months
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cornelius
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Costume worn by Bette Middler in Hello Dolly
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When I say enemies to lovers I mean Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder
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nunalastor · 3 months
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Thoughts on Alastor’s affiliations/associations with social class? Particularly domestic work? (And I guess by extension customer service) But more importantly the “old fashioned” (air quotes because sadly it’s not extinct) upstairs-downstairs separation/segregation of working class and employer class? Just things I noticed:
- niffty is very domestic-housewife, and is stationed by alastor as a cleaner,
- husk (despite being an ex overlord) is stationed as a bartender and concierge,
- Rosie, despite being an overlord, positions herself as providing a service- customer service in the emporium, and Dolly Levi-esque services like matchmaking, advice (personal, financial etc), and general Arranger Of Things, a networker.
- alastor doesn’t give any grief to Angel about his profession, possibly because he sees him as also working to provide a service
- I think he even treats the egg bois with more respect when he’s working with them than he does sir pentious
- Vox essentially provides the public a disservice with all his ads etc greatly outweighing his news broadcast service, (which is less news, more diss tracks) so there’s obviously loss of respect for him
- in contrast to Alastor’s radio station, which he might view more as a public service provided to all regardless of whether they have money to spend. People often listen to radio while working, it lessens the tediousness. And provides music, which would otherwise be financially inaccessible- eg live orchestra, live performances, or buying records and a record player. Radio provides those for free! (Providing you have access to a radio, but most working class do, whether it’s their own or their workplace’s)
- mimzy is implied as working class, and says that alastor spent time at what is also implied to be a working-class establishment, and “drinking like a sailor” is definitely not “polite society” behaviour, which suggests the establishment commonly saw that type of behaviour from its patrons. Mimzy also makes a point of chastising alastor for not informing her that they were in “mixed company”, to which he looks irritated. Probably because she’s outed him as lower class, in front of Lucifer and Charlie, which leads onto
- Lucifer is The Big Boss, the boss of the bosses. Alastor’s reactions to Lucifer pigeonholing him as working class; busboy, waiter, etc. He was pretty rankled! Instead reasserting himself as the hotelier- the manager/owner, and not beholden to anyone. Which leads into
- his notable upset at husks reminder that he is in fact very beholden to someone
- my hc is that Alastor’s mother worked as a domestic servant for upper class, so he was exposed to both classes and could “pass” as a higher class than his mom. Perhaps having access to different establishments to procure or purchase music and broadcast equipment, or access to potential victims targets. On radio he’d be perceived by voice only, so perfecting a transatlantic accent would obscure his societal class also, see “this face was made for radio”
- saying that his face was made for radio suggests to me that there was some secrecy? anonymity? to his radio station in life. (I don’t know if there’s any supplemental word-of-god about his radio career, I’m new 😅) If he was also privy to local gossip and issues from mixed classes, then I could see this being a possible appeal for listeners to tune in.
- do you think there are influences from “The Help” in his backstory?
i honestly don't have anything to add and don't know enough on the subject to really delve into it but this is all SO FUCKING GOOD!! these observations anon 🤌🤌🤌
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crag-dreams · 1 month
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Y’all. I have been listening to Cowboy Carter almost all day, and Beyoncé has created a masterpiece. I usually do a vibe listen first time on albums, and she said “absolutely the fuck not” by having Ameriican Requiem be the opener. Hooked immediately. Jesus. Random thoughts:
Ameriican Requiem: oh, this is a really pretty start, wait, is that For What It’s Worth (Stop Children, what’s that sound) but her version? Holy shit, it is. And then she does like three other things in the same song, with incredible lyrics to set the entire album up.
Blackbird: my god, it’s gorgeous, and she included incredible artists on it.
16 Carriages: already super familiar with it, and it remains one of the most beautiful songs.
Protector: imagine being sung a lullaby by Beyoncé as a kid, and she’s just being a dope mom in the lyrics.
Having Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton and Linda Martell do the enthusiastic intros to multiple songs is fucking genius.
Texas Hold ‘Em: also been out for awhile, remains a banger.
Bodyguard is gonna be playing everywhere for months.
The decision to turn Jolene on its head and have her warning Jolene? So smart.
She just casually drops in some Italian opera on Daughter???
Angry Beyoncé rap is always fun.
II Most Wanted (Miley) and Levi’s Jeans (Post Malone) are also going to be everywhere. Great duets.
Ya Ya is wild as fuck. I love it and can’t believe we get to be alive as she releases this art.
Tyrant is 100% horny Beyoncé, and good for her.
Amen is one of the best outros ever. When she sings “trumpets blare”, it’s almost enough for me to believe god exists.
Anyway, that’s barely scratching the surface of this album. She’s a legend. I can’t believe this album exists.
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unboundprompts · 9 months
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Character Name Ideas that have Cottagecore Vibes
-> feel free to comment suggestions, I'll do my best to add them to the list.
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Male:
Milo
Aspen
Asher
Ambrose
Atlas
Levi
Covyn
Colton
Arlo
Julius
Caspian
Bellamy
Oliver
Everest
Percy
Alcott
Huntley
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Female:
Indigo
Eloise
Evadine
Daphne
Faye
Dahlia "Dolly"
Luella
Ophelia
Persephone
Seraphina
Esther "Essie"
Lyra
Calliope
Aria
Emory
Amber
Ginger
Lily
Willow
Ivy
Marigold "Goldie"
Calla
Ginny
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Gender-Neutral:
Fox
Kai
Navi
Naemi
Eden
Juniper
Robin
Juno
Poe
Fawn
Thorn
Oak
Honey
August
Sparrow
Clover
Briar
Prairie
Wren
Darcy
July
Scout
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stuckasmain · 2 months
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Beetlejuice musical thoughts
These are going to be really jumbled and disconnected but here’s some particular moments that made me loose it in the show
“I’m invisible just like a gay republican”
*while burning the guide* “I thought they only burned books that turned kids gay!”
Adam’s “Dad?” Almost believing he was his father
“Take off your shirt” “…why?” “Becauseeeeee🥺”
Flash dance chair (honestly all the Beetlejuice/Adam moments)
“I’m sorry I yelled it’s just… you make daddy so angry”
The Dolly Levi card
*things that scare them* “the electoral college!! … sorry it’s just… why does Ohio have so much power.”
“You guys” *he pauses at the door* “fuck you guys”
The guacamole story
“It’s a green card thing!!!”
*deadpan* “you’re all going to die” -> something along the lines he’s going to kill everyone
“Hate is a strong word but I…. *long pause* like him.”
Barb punches a hole in a painting and Adam just 🫢
“See you in hell Kevin”
Adam being a little bit too into kissing Beetlejuice as a distraction
Beetlejuice has so many great deadpan moments I loose my mind
“I’m a very sexual being”
“You guys don’t look like orgy people!”
“It’s because I see myself in you… later tonight, heyo!” *heckling audience member*
“Now we both have dead moms… Lydia look” *he’s holding a severed leg and tries to get her to look for several minutes*
“Mr.Juice”
*Charles explains he has changed after being told not to* “okay go fuck yourself”
“You do smell really bad” “yes… I know that now”
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chaifootsteps · 4 months
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We talkin' about Viv just blatantly ripping shit off? How about how Rosie's audition sheet just admits she's Dolly Levi from Hello, Dolly! because I'm never getting over her not even trying to hide it
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I just love that she listed "I Put My Hand In" as being "by Hello Dolly." Not Carol Channing, not Bette Midler, not "from Hello Dolly," by. It always makes me think of this.
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mageofseven · 1 year
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The Brothers Kiss MC, Who Faints
Basically what the titles says. This is how the Brothers react to kissing MC for the first time just for the human to faint.
•▪︎▪︎◇°●♡●°◇▪︎▪︎•
Lucifer:
This man was a gentleman all night and ended their date while taking a stroll in the garden with them.
As they finished talking about how beautiful the sky looks at night, Luce put a hand on their cheek before slowly leaning in for a kiss.
The kiss lasted maybe two seconds before he felt the human tip backwards.
He stopped the kiss and effortlessly swung an arm to catch them.
Luce was pretty confused, but decided to carry them to their room for now and talk about it tomorrow.
When he learned that MC was just so nervous and excited for his kiss and that's why they fainted, the pride demon gives a small smirk and says "Well, as long as you are alright..."
Mammon:
The two just got back from their date
And because of him basically having a side job of him being the "Avatar of Consent", he asked the human first if he could kiss them
Which they gave a shy nod in response.
The man anxiously leaned in and pressed his lips to theirs
...just for the human to topple to the floor.
Yeah, he didn't catch them 😅
"Shit!" He scrambles to get them off the floor and checks if they're breathing; they are.
He honestly thought his kiss killed them for half a second.
Carries them to bed before running to Lucifer, just to be told that they fainted and should be fine.
After hearing MC explain just how excited they were for his kiss and that was why they fainted, Mammon couldn't stop himself from gloating.
"Hell yeah! My kisses are just that good!"
Leviathan:
This boy was shaking
Like, there is no way MC was more nervous than this man right here.
The two were laying in his bathtub bed watching anime
When Levi suddenly found the courage to just go for it!
When his lips met theirs, the human's eyes went wide
...before essentially falling to the back of their head and passing out.
This man didn't even realize at first till he pulled away and they were...asleep?
Was his kiss really that boring?
The man pouted, but still pulled the blanket over them to make sure they weren't cold.
When the human woke up a few minutes later and explained what just happened, Levi was embarrassed that he didn't realize
But was grateful that they enjoyed his kiss...
Satan:
The two were cuddling in bed, each reading their own book.
MC was all cosy in his arms and laying against his chest.
A small, mischievous smile came to his face before he leaned down and kissed his Kitten
...just for their eyes to go wide a second before they slumped against him, their book falling to their chest.
Satan raised his eyebrows. He knew what just happened but not why.
Takes their book and closes it neatly before putting it aside and holding them close.
They wake a few minutes later and talk about it.
The fact that the human was so happy about their first kiss that they passed out made Satan blush
But it didn't stop him from teasing his Kitten about it.
Asmodeus:
He was in the middle of doing their hair--he saw this one style in a magazine that he thought would be too cute on them!
When he brushed the last piece of hair to the side, this man was just so overwhelmed by their cuteness that he couldn't help it.
He leaned in and gave his Dolly a sweet peck
...just for them to collapse on top of him.
Asmo just smiled and carried them to the bed to rest for a bit.
After all, this wasn't the first time someone fainted from a kiss by his fabulous self 💕
When they woke up a few minutes later, the lust demon explained what happened but made sure they knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about!
After all, it was a kiss from him that we're talking about~
Beelzebub:
The two were eating wings when the gluttony demon noticed some some sauce on the corner of the human's mouth.
Somehow, this man lost the ability think when he saw this and instead of telling them or grabbing a napkin
He leaned down and brought his lips to theirs in order to clean the sauce up.
He quickly snapped back when he realized what he did and the human tumbled back.
Beel managed to catch the human before they hit anything and just held them close for a couple minutes, stunned.
When MC came to, the man apologized with these big sad eyes
But MC told them that it was okay, that they enjoyed the kiss and was just a bit surprised and overwhelmed 😅
Belphegor:
Class had just ended and the other students quickly dispersed
Except for Belphie, who was still asleep at his desk.
MC sighed sighed and shook the shoulder of the man next to them.
The two had only been dating for the last two days and things were pretty much the same as they always were.
The sleepy man groaned, but otherwise didn't stirred.
"Belphie, we gotta go home."
"Mmm. MC."
"Huh?"
"Closer."
The human leaned in closer to their boyfriend's face.
"Closer."
Eyebrow raised, the human leaned in even closer.
That's when the sloth demon brought his lips to theirs. Just a small peck and then he pulled away, smirking
Then the human fell forward, right on top of him.
Panicking, the demon wrapped his arms them and checked to make sure they're breathing; they were.
The man breathed an exhausted sigh of relief. He didn't quite understand what happened, but all that really mattered was that they seem (?) okay.
Belphie got up and carried his Human out of the classroom and out of RAD.
MC woke up in their boyfriend's arms on the way home.
The human seemed a bit confused so Belphie explained what happened
MC blushed in embarrassment when they heard that they passed out from their first kiss
Which made the situation all the more satisfying to the demon.
Smirking, he leaned in and kissed their forehead.
The human stayed conscious this time around, but their boyfriend will still never let them live this down.
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coolseabird · 3 months
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Just leave everything to Dolly ✨💳
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raven-nerd4life · 13 days
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TV character voices to match nevermore students
Annabel- rarity (my little pony)
Lenore- marceline\harley quinn ( adventure time) (dc anything)
Duke- Lafayette (hamilton)
Pluto- Charlie (heartstopper)
Morella- Ariel (the little mermaid)
Ada- karen ( mean girls)
Prospero- levi ( attack on titan)
Montresor- yosemite sam ( looney toons)
Eulalie- entrapta ( she-ra)
Bernice- tiana ( princess and the frog)
Plus little extra character
Nurse dolly- edna (incredibles)
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pepsispook13 · 17 days
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Playing dolly dress up with my ocs and a sweet kiss between boyfriends, Jasper belongs to my friend !
(Left to right)
RADAX (he/him)
Felix (he/him)
Dmitri (he/him)
Levi (he/him)
Elijah (he/him)
- in the lone picture - Plonk (he/him)
- kissing picture - Jasper and Levi (he/him both)
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cressida-jayoungr · 5 months
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Coeli's Picks: Gold, part 2
(Multiple movies listed left to right.)
One Dress a Day Challenge
The Rebel Princess / Zhang Ziyi as Wang Xuan
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My Man Godfrey (1936) / Carole Lombard as Irene Bullock
(Movie is black and white, of course, but the dress is so gorgeous in color!)
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Wonder Woman (2017) / Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) / Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna
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Into the Woods (2014) / Anna Kendrick as Cinderella
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Overboard (1987) / Goldie Hawn as Joanna Stayton
To Catch a Thief (1955) / Grace Kelly as Fracey Stevens
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Hello, Dolly (1969) / Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levi
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The School for Good and Evil (2022) / Kerry Washington as Professor Dovey
Gossip Girl (s6 e10) / Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
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fbfh · 2 years
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rocks at your window pt. 4 - ricky bowen x reader
disclaimer: this series contains smut and chapter by chapter warnings, so as with all nsfw works, ricky is aged up to 18+!! ricky and reader are 18 and in their senior year
additionally, we're working towards a ricky x therapy plot so he's going to start expressing some symptoms of mental illness and bpd starting in this chapter but I promise he does get therapy eventually and has a good support system (he gets worse before he gets better yk) and obviously i'm not a professional and this is for entertainment so while I have done my research pls take this with a grain of salt!! or several!! /lh
!! contains some spoilers for season 1 of hsmtmts, and previous chapters of this fic !!
wc: 11k I know
genre: smut, slice of life/coming of age, one sided pining, fluff
pairing: ricky bowen x (afab she/her) reader
warnings: NOT PROOF READ AT ALL, more facebook messanger texts we'll politely pretend aren't facebook messanger, protecting carlos and seb during hoco (+ one use of the word homophobia), you're the dolly levi of the friend group, a LOT of hello dolly references??, TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF, ricky's falling HARD, antagonist!nina, one sided rina angst (like BIG gina angst), big red is ricky's temporary therapist, ricky has bpd, ricky kind of splits on gina??, ricky has anxiety too, dr phil and big red and natalie's emotional support hamster are the only consistant things in anyone's life, drama/general messiness, oral (m + f recieving), sneaky quiet late night don't wake up the parents sex, making out, ricky thinks you smell so good he has to bang you right now, "stay quiet or I stop", switch!ricky, switch!reader, calling ricky a good boy, praise kink, giggly sex, waking up the morning after to an empty bed but not at all on bad terms (and no ghosting)
summary: ricky works up the guts to ask you to homecoming. if you can navigate all the drama, maybe he'll get to rearrange yours after dancing together all night.
song recs: old friend - mitski, 10 minutes ago - cinderella (1997), dancing - hello dolly (1969), in love on valentine's day - paul sandrone, daniel farrant, james knight (spotify link bc it's literally not on youtube??? tracking down this song was a nightmare /lh), you turned the tables on me - billie holiday, born to be brave - nico iaciancio cover (bc that's what I think the original sounds like in canon), soulmate who wasn't meant to be - jess benko, perfume - new hope club
a/n: could I have split this up?? yes but I'm not going to. also congrats 2 me bc I'm officially in the 10k one shot girlie club!! this is the longest thing i've ever written and my eyes are burning. ricky has bpd, I knew from the moment I saw this motherfucker I was like "yup bpd and mommy issues" and I was RIGHT why is no one talking about this also go watch crazy ex girlfriend
EDIT: I FORGOT TO ADD THE LINK TO THE VAMPIRE DIARIES VIDEO YOU REFERENCE IN THE BEGINNING (obvious spoilers for vampire diaries lol)
tags: @yesv01 @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @hopefullhearts @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @matiere-detoiles @ifilwtmfc @uselesssapphickitten @nxstalgicnxbxdy @ggclarissa
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There’s no reason to be nervous. Ricky has literally no reason to be nervous. You’ve been together practically 24/7 since… all this began. He ducks his head down and his eyes land on the smooth counter top of the booth you’re sitting in. Heat rushes to his cheeks as it so often does around you, as he remembers all the time you’ve spent together. He tries to pay as much attention as he can to your summary of the video essay on vampire diaries you’d watched while doing homework last night, even though his thoughts are racing, and all centered on you. On asking you something really important - but also like, totally not a big deal or whatever.
“So apparently they just regularly bring characters back from the dead,” you inform him with a laugh, and take a sip of your coffee. He didn’t think people could look particularly cute while sipping something until he met you… until he got close with you. 
“Yeah, that’s pretty crazy,” he agrees, hoping he sounds normal. You glance up at him to make sure he’s okay. You can tell he seems a little distracted, and he knows he has to ask you. It’s now or never. 
“So…” he begins.
“Yeah?” you lean forward, already invested in what he has to say. God, he loves that. He loves the way you care, really care about what he has to say. He lets out a small, breathy laugh, that you mirror when you hear his.
“So, homecoming is soon,” he smiles, and is pretty sure you know where he’s going with this. Your eyes widen in moderate surprise.
“It is? Already?” you ask, pulling out your phone to check your very messy calendar. “Jesus, I thought we still had a few more weeks…” you muse, and Ricky smiles. God, how can you make everything - even being a little scatterbrained sometimes - so fucking cute? 
You look back up from your phone, snapping him back to attention. His breath is shallow.
“So…” he says again, and rubs the palms of his hands up and down his jeans. Why is he so nervous? He has no reason to be nervous. You’re silent, waiting for him to continue in a way that feels patient, encouraging even, instead of critical like it would be from someone else. 
“...Do you want to go? To homecoming?” 
His heart is in his throat.
“Like, together?” You take another sip. He’s so choked up, so worried you’ll say no. He nods. You smile. 
“Hell yeah,” you lean back and pull out your phone to text your mom, who is currently at a PTA meeting, about dress shopping this weekend, biting your lip as you type. Relief turns to elation as you discuss plans, coordinate rides with your friends, and get a plan together. He bounces his leg, getting really excited for all this. He’s never been one for school dances, but with you… it’s a whole different story. He can’t stop looking at you. 
“So, what color is your dress going to be? You know, so I can get a tie to match.” A light, happy chuckle dances across the table and you hum in consideration, glancing down at the scone in your hand, your favorite flavor that’s become somewhat of a signature with you and Ricky.
“Peach.” 
You both giggle.
“Perfect.” he smiles. You’re going to look so pretty in a peach dress. At homecoming. With him. A burst of kinetic energy waves through him at the thought. The atmosphere is nice, comfortable. It always is with you. You finish the bite of pastry in your mouth.
“You know,” you start, “maybe you should go suit shopping with your dad. It might be nice to have a guy’s day together.” 
His mom has been gone for a few weeks now, and he told you how badly his dad is struggling. He means well, it’s just… been hard on him. It might be nice, he thinks, really nice to go out and spend some time with his dad, have some fun. He doesn’t remember the last time they had a day like that together. He’d really like that, if his dad wanted to.
“Yeah,” he agrees, wondering when a good time to bring it up will be, “that would be nice.” 
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Around the time you’re ready to head home, your phone lights up with a text from your mom, informing you everything at the PTA meeting went great, and she’ll fill you in on the details at home, and you thank her, informing her there’s a hazelnut coffee coming her way. 
It’s Friday night, and you have less than 24 hours to homecoming. You’re not sure how you were able to find a dress you actually like in the right color on such short notice, but somehow you managed. You and Ricky have been texting all day, filling each other in on how last minute shopping had been going for each of you. He was shocked at how well today went with his dad. He was bracing himself for the worst for a lot of the afternoon, but the day progressed and nothing bad happened. They even got dinner afterwards. 
Now, you’re sitting at your desk, finishing some homework while you facetime each other and fill him in on the whole cast’s plan to be there for Carlos and Seb tomorrow night. 
“And, like,” you continue rambling as you wrap up your science worksheet, “it’s so ridiculous that that’s even necessary, you know? Out of all the living things in the world, humans are the only ones who thought to make up homophobia.” 
“Right? Worst idea ever,” he muses. 
“Exactly!” you exclaim in agreement, looking up at your phone. You mutter something about how stupid people can be, eyes moving down and skimming your paper, double checking your answers one last time. Ricky watches you do this. Your desk light casts a warm glow over you, and he can see some of your posters on the opposite wall from  where you have your phone propped up. He knows exactly which ones they are, too. He has every detail of your room - and of you - memorized by now.
He’s supposed to be finishing his english homework, that’s the whole point of facetiming each other this late, to keep each other company while you work. Instead his papers lay discarded on his desk as he watches you, a look of fondness dusting his face. You tap your pencil against each question on your worksheet, eyebrows scrunched, mouthing the answers to yourself as you go. Occasionally you’ll stop, turning to your book to check a chart or vocabulary word, then erase your answer and select a different one. 
“And that’s why we proofread,” you mutter to yourself, and Ricky giggles. You look back up at him, smiling, then back at your paper for one last once over. 
“Okay, I’m just about done,” you say, putting your homework in your bag to turn in later, with a satisfactory sigh. Ricky glances at the time. It’s getting late already. He’s torn between wanting to make sure you get enough sleep, and wanting to talk to you all night. He watches you rub your eyes, suppressing a yawn. 
“We should probably go to bed now,” it’s more of a question, but you agree anyway. You pick up your phone and walk into your bathroom, grabbing your toothbrush as you say your drawn out good nights. 
Ricky thought he was nervous asking you to homecoming? Turns out that’s nothing compared where he is now, waiting for you in your foyer. Somehow your house had become the unofficial get ready spot for the girls and Carlos, and meet up place for everyone else. So that’s where Ricky finds himself, barely unable to socialize or talk with his friends, all his thoughts preoccupied with you. He hasn’t seen you all day; you and the girls have been getting ready together, and he’s been trying to teach Big Red to dance all day. 
Ashlyn comes down first. Her bubbly presence immediately eases some of the tension in the atmosphere from Ricky and EJ having to wait together in such close quarters. She waits with them for the others while they finish getting ready. It doesn’t slip past Ricky how nervous Big Red suddenly gets when she comes down the staircase. 
Natalie is next - almost. Half way down the stairs, a snap resonates off the walls, and she freezes. She looks down at her left shoe, the heel of which has completely snapped off.
“Oh my god,” she mutters, and walks carefully back up to your room. A minute later, presumably after she informs you about her wardrobe malfunction, Ricky hears your voice, faint and bouncing off the stairwell. 
“It’s okay, that’s the risk you take with stilettos,” you say, trying to calm her justified panic. He hears you say something about how Margot Robbie broke a heel at an award show a few years ago as your bedroom door closes again. 
The door opens, and Carlos appears at the landing. His face falls slightly as he realizes Seb isn’t here yet.
“It’s okay, he’s probably going to meet up with us at school.” Ricky comforts. 
“Yeah,” he agrees with a laugh at his own nervousness, “yeah, you’re probably right.”  Carlos takes a deep breath, and Ricky notices the swirly, metallic red pattern on his suit. 
“You look great, man,” He says, hoping to take Carlos’s mind off the unexpected radio silence from Seb. The comment is appreciated, but seems to catch him off guard. 
“Thanks,” he replies, “dude,” he punctuates with a friendly - very awkward - punch to Ricky’s arm. It’s more of a nudge, but he appreciates the sense of comradery nonetheless. 
Footsteps echo down the stairs, and Ricky looks up, stomach twisting in anticipation. Natalie emmerges, much more carefully this time. She greets everyone, then starts talking to Ashlyn about the shoe incident. Ricky is trying really, really hard not to look like he’s waiting for you, but it feels almost impossible to focus on anything else. 
Finally, several painfully long minutes later, he hears the click of high heels approaching the steps. He walks to the bottom of the stairs, heart thumping as you round the corner, and all the breath is pulled from his lungs at the sight of you. You descend the stairs, hair and dress flowing and bouncing with every step, glowing under the chandelier light. Your dress, mid length and flouncy, a peachy champagne that compliments your hair and skin tone perfectly, shimmers subtly when you move, glistening like starlight. 
Your makeup is understated and glowy, bringing out every beautiful feature you have - which is all of them. Your hair is perfect, glossy and voluminous. Your earrings look like little pink silk flowers, and there are matching, larger silk flowers on the side of your heels. Your nails are manicured a soft peachy pink, with little sparkling accents. You even smell like peaches, he realizes, subconsciously taking a step closer to the bottom of the stairs as you get closer. You seem to descend in slow motion as Ricky takes in every detail.
Your expression mirrors his the moment you see him. You did not expect him to look that good in a suit. It couldn’t fit better, the cut and seams of the dark fabric perfectly accentuating his physique. His tie matches your dress, the same shade of peach, and you bite back a smile. The expression on his face can only be described as a breathless wow, and it’s something you'll never forget. Your cheeks are warm and suddenly it all feels real. You find yourself very excited to have fun at homecoming with him tonight. 
You finally float down to the bottom of the stairs, stopping in front of him. It’s quiet for a moment, as you take each other in, face to face. You’re both struggling to find the words, thrown off guard by the energy in the air, by each other. Behind you, Ashlyn claps awkwardly.
“Alright, everyone ready to go?” 
You and Ricky both giggle at the same time, and his chest warms at how in sync you are. 
“Yeah,” You confirm, smiling over at Ashlyn and grabbing Ricky’s arm in a way that makes his heart palpitate, “let’s go.”
Standing with you on the dance floor, his hand on your waist as you attempt to teach him how to waltz, Ricky is so thankful for homecoming, for an opportunity to be close to you like this. 
“I told you,” he laughs, enamored with your optimistic determination, “I can’t dance.” 
“Yes,” you smile, “you can. You just haven’t had the right teacher.” His cheeks flush at your words, the feeling of your hands on his, and he’s hit with the sudden memory of the last time your lips were on his neck. 
“I think you’re probably right about that…” he mutters under his breath. You bite back a smile, adjusting the position of his hand on your waist. You step closer, and his heart beats faster. He watches your face closely as you explain the basics of a waltz, a box step. 
“Like in ‘Dancing’ from Hello Dolly.” you smile, eyes widening at the blank look on his face. “Oh my god, it’s a musical classic! Carol Channing played Dolly in the original broadway cast in ‘64, then Barbra Streisand in the film adaptation in ‘69.” 
“Wow,” he smiles. He loves when you talk about theatre and Broadway, loves the way your eyes light up. “They’re like, really famous, right?” You let out a light hearted scoff.
“Broadway legends.” You smile, “The movie was directed by Gene Kelly, too, it’s amazing. We should watch it this weekend, if you want to,” you look up at him, eyes glittering under the soft twinkling lights. 
“Yeah,” Ricky laughs, “definitely.” 
After a moment, you remember why you brought Hello Dolly up in the first place. 
“Right,” you say, memory jogged, “there’s a song called ‘Dancing’ where Dolly is teaching Cornelius and Barnaby how to dance so they can impress these girls who work at a ladies hat shop-” 
“Cornelius and Barnaby?” he asks with a laugh. 
“It takes place in 1890!” you say, jokingly defensive. 
“Right,” he agrees, “so a… ladies hat shop…?” 
“Totally era appropriate.” 
You’re both giggling, trying not to be too loud. You lean your head forward, resting it on his shoulder. The sound of your laughter, the feeling of your head resting against him brings back that warm feeling he always gets around you. It takes you a moment to regain your composure. It’s been like this all night, the conversation flowing like a river, always making each other laugh over something or other. 
“So,” you begin, once again ready to dance with him, “put your hand on her waist and stand.” You recite, moving his hand from your back to your waist and adjusting your posture. 
“With her right-” you hesitate, making sure you have the correct hand, then continue, “in your left hand. And…” You step back with your left foot, motioning for him to follow, then back and out with your right, then together. 
“One… two… three…” 
You repeat the steps.
“One… two… three…”
And again.
“One… two… three…” 
You look up at him, your smile blinding.
“Look, you’re dancing!” 
He looks up at you, excited, disbelieving that he got it so quickly.
“Wait, that’s it?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah,” you nod, “see? I told you you can dance.” You start to move again, and he follows, hesitant but slowly getting the hang of it. After a second, he says your name, voice quiet and still watching the ground. 
“Can you keep singing? It’s making it a lot easier…” he chuckles, hoping you can’t tell how much he loves hearing your voice. 
So you do. You sing quietly, just enough for him to hear, about dancing and how it’s the perfect excuse to hold someone you like close to you, as you waltz carefully around the room. An electric, intimate feeling ties you together as you weave through the room. It's like something clicked, he thinks, because it makes sense. This, dancing, makes sense. He’s pulled from his epiphany by your melodic voice. 
"We should do Hello Dolly, it would be so fun!" You giggle.
"Yeah?" He asks, smile mirroring yours, "Who would you play?" You let out a light hearted huff, considering. 
"I would love to play Dolly," you admit. You had always hoped to portray the classic role, dreaming of being able to follow in the footsteps of other iconic actresses like Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand. You barely get the sentence out when Ricky nods, agreeing. 
"You would make an amazing Dolly." You laugh, cheeks warm, flattered by his response. 
"Who do you think I should be?" He asks, that playful energy flowing comfortably between you as he raises his arm, spinning you around. 
"Well," you begin with a laugh, "if you played Cornelius we’d get to waltz together. But if you played Horace and I played Dolly we'd get married at the end." 
His heart squeezes at your words, imagination already taking off like a wild horse. Again, your melodic voice pulls him back down to earth. 
"But playing Irene would be fun too…" you sigh, twirling in his arms again, your dress glittering under the soft lights. Your hands return to their previous position resting on his shoulder and your waist, free hands clasped together, and you begin to move in tandem. You twirl and float around the room, feeling the music wrap around you like a warm blanket in autumn. 
In that beautiful moment between the two of you, he doesn’t just understand dancing, he realizes, he loves it. Like, a lot. He loves this, being close to you. He loves the connection between you, and he wants to keep dancing with you all night. 
He giggles, twirling you around in his arms again. On your way around, you see Carlos behind you at your table holding up his phone, a smile on his face. You’re glad he seems okay; Seb still hasn’t shown up and everyone’s been worried about both of them. A split second later, you’re back in Ricky’s arms, and your heart soars at the smile on his face. You’d been hoping dancing together at homecoming might help him in rehearsals. Based on how well he’s doing - and how much fun he seems to be having - you can tell your hunch was correct. 
After a few more songs, you begin to make your way back to your table. Ricky’s hand settles on your back, guiding you through the crowd. Two more people are seated there than when you left, and your eyes widen. 
“Oh my god.” you say quietly, “Gina and EJ came together?” 
Ricky glances up, gaze almost immediately turning back to you as you get closer.
“Oh, they did? I didn’t notice.” 
Fighting to maintain her poker face, Gina’s stomach drops at his words. Her eyes dart between you and Ricky, the way he’s looking at you. She grips her clutch tighter. This is really, really bad for her. Gina barely had a plan for making Ricky jealous and freaked out so he’d quit the show to begin with. She definitely did not plan on you waltzing into the picture - literally - and stealing away all of his attention. He can’t get jealous if all of his focus is on you. A sinking feeling begins to invade the pit of her stomach. 
Ricky’s phone buzzes with a text from his dad. 
“Hey,” he says, showing you the screen, “which shirt do you like better?” 
He’s been filling you in on his dad’s hot date he has tonight, and you’re both very relieved to see that he’s doing okay, putting himself out there. You look at the pictures, and consider.
“Hmm… the second one.” you conclude. 
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” he agrees easily. He loves how you always seem to be on the same page. 
“Wow,” comes EJ’s voice from across the table. He sounds really stiff. “I had no idea you were each other’s dates to homecoming.” He states, sharing a quick look with Gina he hopes no one notices. 
“Yeah, we are,” Ricky smiles, “we’re each other’s dates.” He doesn’t think it would be too far fetched to say you’re… dating. 
“Yep, partners in crime.” You smile, showing off your plastic ring. Ricky holds up his, kept on a chain, sitting right over his heart. 
“Aw,” Carlos says, an almost bittersweet undercurrent to his voice, “you guys are so cute.” He gestures for you to lean closer to each other. “Let me get a pic for my story!” 
Ricky does not need to be told twice. He throws his arms around you, pressing a kiss to your cheek as you hold his arm and giggle. It’s the perfect shot, the sincerity of the fun you’re having evident in the photo. 
Gina runs her tongue over her teeth. She really does not like that. 
Across town, sitting at a table in a shitty karaoke spot, Nina scrolls through instagram while Kourtney rants about the bitch who criticized her costume suggestions. Something about a lime green sweater? She’s not really paying attention, she’s too distracted by the hideous dress that Gina’s wearing. And the fact that she went to hoco with Nina’s ex boyfriend. 
“Look at this,” she says, showing Kourtney her phone. “She looks like she’s wearing a bedazzled tablecloth.” Kourtney looks at her phone, disapproval written all over her face. 
“And,” Nina says, gearing up to point out the obvious jab at her, “she’s with EJ.”
Kourtney knows where this is going. Before Nini can go off about how obviously Gina has it out for her, she takes a sip of her drink. 
“Is there anything on their stories?”
She taps EJ’s story and it’s just a boomerang of the food. 
“No, just-” Carlos’s story plays next and Nina almost pukes. Right there on her screen is Ricky, kissing your cheek, leaning into you like a cat. You’re in an unfortunately gorgeous dress, grinning so sincerely, your nose effortlessly scrunched. Next is a video of you two dancing. Like, really, properly dancing. She can’t believe you got him to dance - he doesn’t even dance in rehearsal when he’s supposed to! She watches the two of you ballroom dancing around the gym, breath speeding up slightly at the realization that he’s actually good. The sick pit forming in her stomach grows as she rewatches the video again. She wants to know why, after all the practice, all the failed attempts and his reluctance, why it works when you do it? Why isn’t she good enough? She dwells in the feeling for a few minutes. She scrolls through a few more hoco posts before finding one that has your account tagged. It’s private. 
“Kourt,” she says, showing her her phone, “you need to follow her.” 
“Why?” Kourtney asks.
“So I can see what’s on her instagram.” Nina says. She can’t let you know she’s lurking, so the obvious solution is to lurk through Kourtney’s account. Kourtney sighs. She requests to follow you. 
A few feet away from your table, Ashlyn gives you a look, gesturing subtly to Carlos, then to the hallway. Seb still isn’t here. 
“Hey,” you say quietly to Ricky, “I’ll be right back.” you smile, eyes flicking over to Ashlyn and Carlos. 
“Yeah, sure,” he says, watching you leave with them to give Carlos a pep talk. A soft smile kisses the corners of Ricky’s mouth, watching you in utter adoration. He lets out a small sigh, gaze lingering on where you stood even after you’re out of sight. 
Gina watches him watch you, his dark auburn hair glowing in the warm twinkle lights strung up throughout the gym. His eyes seem to sparkle with joy when he finally tears his gaze away, staring absentmindedly at the table. 
“EJ,” she says, “could you get me some punch, babe?” 
“Uh,” he says, clearly unused to the term of endearment, “sure… babe.” He heads over to the drinks, the tension between them thinly veiled. This seems to snap Ricky out of whatever his train of thought was, and he scoots closer to Gina. She watches him lean closer to her and begin speaking in a low, almost strangely intimate tone of voice. 
"Hey, you know EJ went through Nini’s phone before they broke up, right?” 
She raises her eyebrows. 
“Just… you know, be a little careful around him.” 
“I can take care of myself, Ricky.” She states incredulously.
“Yeah, of course you can.” he says, head tilted to the side with a little smile, like it should be obvious, “You’re so talented and ambitious, and - honestly, way too good for him.” He mutters the last part, but she definitely hears it. 
“You’re way too cool to get your heart broken by a guy who plays water polo.” He says, drawing a reflexive laugh out of her. 
“Just… take care of yourself.” he concludes, locking eyes with her before moving back to his seat. It’s only for a moment, but long enough for her to commit the color to memory.
“Right.” she says, working harder than she usually has to to keep her expression neutral. 
Later, between dances, you and Ricky catch your breath at the snack table. You take a sip of your drink, eyes landing on Gina and EJ, who are very obviously arguing. You nudge Ricky, motioning over to them.
“What are they saying? Wrong answers only.” 
He considers, then begins to narrate in his best EJ impression. 
“Ugh, Gina! Stop moving! I haven’t posted on instagram in 35 seconds and blurry so doesn’t fit my theme.”
You try to stifle the loud, beautiful laugh that brings warmth to his cheeks and a smile to his lips as your eyes lock, sharing a look so close he never wants to look away. 
“I said wrong answers only…” you say through muffled giggles. He stares at you, fixated. He’s blinded by your warmth, your beauty, and he can’t look away from you. His attention is snapped back to where it had been when you gasp dramatically, shock written all over your face. He follows your gaze to EJ, who’s dripping with punch, and Gina, who’s storming away from him.
“...Oh my god.” you say, already dissolving into laughter again, Ricky following suit. 
Soon you’re dancing again, pressed up against each other, swaying gently to the oldies playing softly over the speakers. Ricky can feel your body heat, smell your shampoo, and the way it mixes with your sweet peachy perfume. You smell so good, he thinks he could probably get high off you alone. His hand rests firmly on your back, holding you close to him, and his fingertips brush over the exposed skin peeking out over the straps of your dress. He traces your shoulder blades, your spine, feeling how close together your hearts are beating. One of your arms is wrapped around him, your head resting on his shoulder. Both your free hands are intertwined, and he loves the feeling of your fingers intertwining with his. He’s steeped in a hazy sort of ecstasy, spurred further on by your warm little breaths tickling his neck. 
He lets out a soft sigh, more content than he’s probably ever been. He feels you smile against his blazer when he traces the outline of the back of your dress. You hum softly to the music, singing along to a few of the words. He’s not surprised that you know this song, of course you would know a song this pretty and romantic. He hopes he’ll remember to ask you the name of it later. Dancing, he realizes, isn’t just fun - it’s amazing. He loves dancing. He loves dancing with you. After a few moments, he realizes there’s not many people on the dance floor. He doesn’t get why so many guys don’t like slow dancing; when you really love someone, isn’t any reason to hold them close to you a good one? He thinks it is. His heart flutters when you let out a breathy sigh against his skin.
You adjust your head on Ricky’s shoulder, watching Carlos across the room. He looks so… melancholic. You should go check on him. And Gina. And probably EJ. Christ, tonight has been a lot. You adjust your head again, facing towards him. 
“We should check on Gina,” you say reluctantly, murmuring into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. He loves when you do that, loves how you know when people are hurting and what to do about it. But right now, he really, really does not want to let go of you for anyone or anything. Maybe it’s selfish, he thinks, maybe it’s selfish for wanting you all to himself like this, but he just can’t bring himself to let go of you yet. Maybe he deserves to be a little selfish sometimes. Maybe he should just give himself permission to do whatever makes him feel better. He holds you tighter, face burying into your neck. 
“After this song,” he breathes, eyes fluttering closed in your embrace. You nod gently.
“Okay,” you agree, voice so low he can barely hear it. 
Eventually the final piano chords sound, and he holds you tight as the last few, painfully bittersweet notes reverberate through the room. The song ends, and he lets go of you slower and more reluctantly than he’s done anything. 
You sigh, tracing your hands on his shoulders, slowly coming out of that cozy trance like state you’ve been in together.
“Okay,” you start, “let’s split up. I’ll check on Carlos, you can check on Gina, and I’ll have Ashlyn check on EJ cause they’re cousins.” 
He agrees, hit with a sudden wave of nerves about the confrontation. You can sense his hesitation.
“What should I say?” he asks, with a chuckle. He’d told you about how he warned Gina about EJ earlier in the evening, which you had agreed was totally the right move. He told you how she seemed irritable after the interaction, and wondered if he’d done anything wrong, if he could have handled it better. “I don’t think so”, you had said with a sad shrug, “some people just refuse to acknowledge the person they’re dating is kind of shitty.” 
You’re right, he realized, now ready to approach this with more compassion and less confrontation. You think for a second, then reply.
“You can apologize if what you said before came off wrong, that you didn’t mean anything bad by it.” 
“Okay,” he nods.
“And try to relate to her - you’re new to theatre, she’s new to east high, you gotta stick together, you know?”
“Right.” 
You send him a thumbs up as you part ways, looking for Carlos. After chatting with Carlos, he left to get some water. You see Ricky approaching you through the crowd, and stand up from your table, meeting him halfway.
“How’d it go?” you ask. He seems hesitant.
“She asked for a ride home.” Your eyes go wide with understanding. He knew you’d get what’s going on, you always know just what to do. 
“Oh, dude, the last thing she probably wants right now is to get in a car with EJ.” Ricky thinks that’s the last thing anyone would want. “If you want you can give her a ride, then come back and we can keep dancing.” He smiles, and agrees. Any plan that ends with dancing with you more sounds like a good plan to him. You quickly fill him in on how things are going with the Carlos/Seb situation in spite of its anticlimactic nature - no one can get a hold of Seb, and Carlos is really, really regretting this whole thing. You and Ashlyn are going to try and hype him up and turn the night around for him so it’s not a totally horrible memory to look back on, and Ricky agrees that’s a good plan. 
“I’ll be back really soon so I can help you guys out,” he says, hoping to extend the conversation a little, to stand close to you and talk confidentially with you just a little more. You smile, looking relieved at his support, and it makes his heart flutter. You touch his arm, sending him a knowing look.
“We need all the help we can get, so thank you.” you state with a chuckle. He tries not to be obvious, but he knows he can’t hide his flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. He hopes you don’t notice. 
You really didn’t expect to be the glue holding everyone together tonight, but you love your friends, so you’re not complaining. After a lengthy conversation with Carlos about how amazing he is regardless of who he is or isn’t seeing, and that there will be so many guys throwing themselves at him after high school, you finally get him out of his funk a little. You were about to go dance together and have a good time, because he shouldn’t let anything ruin his homecoming, when Natalie scurried over to you holding the side of her dress. 
“It snagged on the back of a chair and my whole leg is out, Angelina Jolie style.” She says in a rush, clearly getting more freaked out. You and Carlos share a look.
“It’s okay,” you say gently, “I have a sewing kit in my bag and I can have you fixed up in two minutes flat.” You look over at Carlos again, making sure he’ll be okay. He confirms silently, nudging you two towards the doors. 
“You go fix this wardrobe malfunction,” he says, already trying to pull out of the funk he’d been stuck in all night, “I’m going to warm up the dance floor. When you get back, get ready to dance your heart out.” 
He’s not all the way there, but he’s trying. You both agree, and you send him one last encouraging look before moving carefully to the hallway, trying not to let Natalie’s dress rip any more than it already is. You look back one last time as you pass through the doors, and finally, Carlos is out on the dance floor. You smile, excited to dance with him once you get back.
“God, I wish I had my hamster right now…” Natalie mutters, and you know if she needs her emotional support hamster, it’s pretty bad. 
A few minutes later, you have your sewing kit and Natalie’s dress is back to its former glory. She has on a fresh coat of lip gloss, just finished showing you pictures of her hamster, and is ready to head back out. You stay behind to touch up your makeup a little, telling her you’ll be right behind her.  As you’re walking back out, someone turns the corner at the other end of the hallway. You freeze in place, eyes growing wide as they land on none other than Seb. He smiles nervously, raising a hand to wave at you. Before he can, you let out a shocked squeak, scurrying back into the gym. His heart sinks. He hopes you don’t hate him, and he’s really worried Carlos is going to. 
When you enter, you see Carlos dancing his heart out. You don’t have time to be relieved, weaving your way through the crowd to Mr. Mazzara. You slam your hands on the table, avoiding the sound and light equipment he’s managing. 
“Mr. Mazzara!” He looks up at you, startled, as you begin to explain in a rush. He looks at you, a pleading puppy dog look written on your face, and sighs. 
“I suppose that’s fine…” he says, making a few adjustments to the switch board in front of him. 
“Thank you!” you say quietly, before running onto the dance floor. Carlos is finally in his element. He dances beautifully to the music, free and expressive. Right when the beat drops, a circle of spotlights go up. One lands on him, the other lands across the room on Seb, and they lock eyes in a moment that can only be described as magical. Ashlyn looks at the scene, straight out of a movie, then over to you. You high five her. 
“Nice!” she whispers. You can see it between them, the energy, the chemistry, the electricity. You look at Ashlyn, nodding toward your table. You both sit down, giving them some time to talk and catch up. You try to be subtle as you watch them talk, not close enough to eavesdrop, but watching their expressions, gaging how it's going. They're smiling, then they're laughing, and soon they're dancing together. It's going well, you think. You can't wait for Carlos to fill you in later. 
Sitting in Gina's driveway, a surprisingly more comfortable energy in the air than either of them had expected, Ricky tries to think of how to say what he wants to say. 
"Not quite the evil mansion with wrought-iron and gargoyles you were picturing?" She asks, a hopeful playfulness to her voice. She almost sounds nervous. 
"What? No…" he says. The comment takes him by surprise, snapping him back to attention. "...Well maybe some gargoyles." His joking tone and comforting energy has her giggling. She doesn't remember the last time she giggled. She feels his eyes on her, and tries not to look over at him. She does anyway. 
"You're not that bad, you know." He muses. She tries to control her breathing. She doesn't say anything. 
"Also," he continues, looking back over at the windshield, "I should thank you for that night at the skatepark, keeping me in the show. It means a lot, it's… a really big deal to me." He looks up and left at the top of the car window, mind already wandering about how if he had quit, he never would have gotten close to you like this, never would have fallen in… your arms the way he had that night. He can't imagine you not being in his life, and he has Gina to thank in part for that. He feels a sense of gratitude blooming for her. They talk a little more, and the feeling grows; Gina really is not that bad. He can feel a friendly bond growing between them, a sense of comradery. 
"So… now is probably a good time to ask about the whole drink thing," he starts with a chuckle. She ducks her head, equal parts embarrassed at her actions, and that he saw her at such a low moment. She lets out a sigh. The gesture reminds him of something you might do. He thinks you two would be good friends. He’s already imagining what you’ll say when he fills you in on all this, he’s excited to get your opinion. 
“...My mom moves around a lot for work. Like, a lot…” 
Once she starts, she can’t stop, and it’s not long before she’s unintentionally spilled her guts and her life story to him. She wishes she could stop talking, but it’s like she totally lost her filter with him. She’s always been so reserved, so calculated, and now she doesn’t even have time to think before the words are already spilling out. It’s a new feeling, being so candid with someone, and an unsettling one. 
She risks a glance over at Ricky, who’s just… listening to her. Taking in what she says. That somehow makes her more nervous than if he’d just ignored her or told her to shut up already. She wishes someone would tell her to shut up, she wishes she could. She finally gets to the end of her never ending stream of consciousness, and she’s stunned as they sit in the silence, Ricky really absorbing her words, her feelings. He reaches over and grabs her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze before letting go - a mannerism he picked up from you. Heat floods her chest, prickly and almost painful, hyper aware of where his skin just touched hers.
“You know, you-” She’ll never know what he was going to say, his words are cut short by the porch lights flashing through the windshield. Gina’s stomach sinks. She doesn’t want to go inside yet. She doesn’t want this moment to be over, but she has to listen to her mom. She reaches for the door, then hesitates. She turns back to Ricky, desperate to try one more time, to put herself out there, to plant some roots. 
“I meant what I said at the skate park… about you having your own style.” 
He smiles, looking down with a breathy chuckle. His leg is bouncing slightly, he can’t wait to get back to school and dance with you more, spend the rest of this magical night with you. 
“Thank you, that’s-” He’s cut off again, this time by the kiss Gina presses to his cheek. She’s out of the car and inside before he can look at her face. She holds her coat tight around her against the chilly rain beginning to drizzle down, and a second later, the front door closes and she’s inside.He lets out another chuckle, different this time. ‘That was weird.’ He thinks. He barely has the thought before his stomach drops, a sick, cold fear clutching him. What if you find out Gina kissed him? What if you find out and you hate him, what if he breaks your heart into a million pieces without trying? Or worse, what if you lose interest in him because you think he likes Gina? He can feel himself panicking at the idea, unable to stop the onslaught of all too real feeling anxieties wracking his mind, creating a pit in his stomach as he peels out of the driveway and makes his way back to school. 
No, no, that’s not going to happen. He’s not going to lose you because he’s not able to express how much he cares about you. He’s not going to let that happen. Trying to hold this panic at bay, he pulls out his phone as he walks through the parking lot towards the school again. How to show someone you love them. He types the words into google, skimming article titles, reddit threads, quora responses, until he finds himself at the gym doors. He sees you across the room, dancing in a group with Carlos, Ashlyn, Natalie, and Seb. ‘Oh, Seb’s here. That’s good,’ he thinks, a momentary relief that at least one or two fires had been put out tonight. He spots Big Red on the opposite side of the room, and makes his way over to him carefully, trying not to be seen by you. He can’t be around you until he figures this out, he can’t hurt you like this. 
Ricky approaches Big Red with an intense energy he has trouble reading, before Ricky starts to speak. 
“Dude,” he says, voice intense and hushed, “Gina kissed me on the cheek.” 
“That’s great!” 
“No, it’s not!” Ricky says, clearly very frazzled. Okay, that’s where this is going. 
“That’s awful!” Red course corrects as Ricky fills him in on the car ride with Gina. As he tells Red everything that happened, Ricky finds himself kind of hating Gina right now. Why would she do this to him, why would she put him in this position? Does she hate him or something? He thinks she must, there’s no other reason for her to sabotage his relationship with you like this. She must hate him if she’s trying to ruin the most important thing in his life. 
“Listen, I really, really like her…” his eyes keep flicking over to you, gaze magnetized by your presence, “like, a lot. How can I make sure I don’t fuck this up? Because I can not fuck up with her.”
“Woah, man,” Red starts, trying to help Ricky ground himself a little, “chill out. In all fairness, cheek kisses can be platonic.” 
“Right,” Ricky nods, starting to feel assured, and Red continues. 
“So, if Gina wants to date you when you’re… kind of seeing someone, she has to make that more clear to you.”
“Right.” Ricky states, agreeing. He really hopes she doesn’t. 
“I think you’re okay,” Red says, sensing his energy changing already, “just make sure she knows how much you like her. Make it really, objectively obvious.” 
Yeah. He just has to make it obvious. 
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says to Red, his eyes locked on you as you laugh at something Carlos says, making his stomach twist and tingle, “I just have to make sure she knows how much… I like her.” 
Red watches him make his way over to you, a spring in his step and a plan in his mind. Thank god for Dr. Phil, Red thinks, or else there’s no way he’d be able to help his friends navigate all their drama. He chuckles at the thought, watching Ashlyn fix the strap of your dress. 
Ricky checks his phone one more time on the way over, looking over a chart of love languages one more time. He’s not sure what your love language is, so he’ll just have to try all of them and see what you seem to like best. Gift giving and acts of service aren’t really options right now, so tonight he’ll focus on words of affirmation, physical touch, and quality time. If he has to drown you in all five love languages at once to make sure you know how he feels about you, he will. 
“Hey,” he starts, watching your reaction nervously, scared you somehow already hate him. You turn around at the sound of his voice, eyes lighting up. 
“Hey!” you smile, “You’re back!” you grab his arm, pulling him in closer to the group. 
“Seb’s here,” you say, and he smiles, relieved at your reaction. 
“Hey, man,” he smiles. 
“Fill me in later,” you say quietly, referring to giving Gina a ride, and he nods, a little bit ready to forget the whole thing. 
Now that all the drama, wardrobe malfunctions, and late entrances are out of the way, you and what remains of your friends spend the rest of the night like you intended; dancing, laughing, and taking great pictures together. Later on into the night, everyone’s just about had their fill of fun and the party starts winding down. You split up, most of your friends piling into the Salt Lake slices delivery van so Red can drop them off. After some more hugs and laughs, you finally part ways, climbing into the passenger seat of his orange Volkswagen Beetle. 
His heart is thumping as you grab his hand and squeeze it a little once you’re on your way back to his house, causing a fresh wave of heat to rise to his face, and god he's nervous right now. His mind is still screaming at him that you're going to hate him, that he has to prove his feelings to you. He lets out a small little laugh at the gesture. 
“Well,” you start, tired from the night, but thriving off the energy between you, “that could have gone way worse…” 
“Yeah,” he laughs, nodding in agreement. You talk for the whole drive back to his place. You’d planned on staying over tonight since Ricky was driving and you figured it would be late, plus your mom’s car is at the mechanic so she’s using yours until some time tomorrow. You exchange sleepy chuckles as he parks. He checks his phone one more time as you leave the car, opening an article of women submitting stories about how they knew a guy loved them in a new tab. He sees a text from his dad - the date went well, he hopes Ricky and you had a good time at homecoming, and he’s going to bed so try to keep the noise down when you get back. 
“My dad’s asleep,” he says softly, unlocking the door. He guides you inside, hand resting low on your back, and closes the door quietly behind him. Walking quietly from his foyer to his room shouldn’t have been a problem, but standing in the darkness with Ricky, you both suddenly find it hard not to start giggling. Hushing each other, you quickly sneak up the stairs past Mr. Bowen’s room, down the hall to Ricky’s room. He barely closes the door and flicks the lock closed before dissolving into giggles. You kick off your heels, glad to finally take them off, and grab a makeup wipe from your bag. He digs through his clothes for a second before handing you a big t-shirt to sleep in. 
“Thanks,” you say, throwing away the makeup wipes. He gazes at you, watching you transition from formal and made up to casual and comfortable, your beauty unwavering. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen anyone as pretty as you before. You watch him take off his jacket and tie, and undo the first button or two of his shirt. The action sends butterflies to your stomach and heat to your core. You glance away. You stand up, seeing if you can reach the zipper of your dress. Before you can ask, you feel Ricky behind you. 
“Need some help with that?” He asks, closer to your ear than you’d expected and resting his hands on your waist. You both chuckle.
“Yeah,” you state, voice low and soft. He moves slowly, unzipping the back of your dress, careful not to snag the delicate fabric. You feel the bodice loosen around you, the end of the zipper stopping at the small of your back. He doesn’t move away. You can feel his breath fan over your shoulder, hand still resting on your waist. 
His face is so close to yours, and he mutters your name softly before pressing a kiss to your jawline, then another and another. He moves down, burying his face in your neck as he continues to press hot, open mouthed kisses against your skin. He breathes in your perfume, peachy and sweet and intoxicating. He nips at your neck causing you to gasp, his hands moving below the draping fabric and directly onto your warm skin. You sigh at the contact. He pulls you closer to him, holding you tight as he sucks on your neck. Your dress is slipping off your shoulders, barely on at all anymore, as he begins to feel you up, touching you and caressing you so tenderly. 
“Ricky,” you sigh. Your voice sounds so pretty when you’re like this. 
“God, I-” he breathes, barely catching the words before they’re out. He lets out a nervous laugh, causing you to giggle in his grasp. He shushes you through his own laughter, his hands never ceasing the way they rome over your body. 
"We have to be quiet," he says, turning you around in his arms, pressing himself up against you, trying so, so hard not to kiss you yet. 
"I can be quiet…" you state, a jokingly incredulous tone in your voice. You stare each other down, and he tries not to break first, tries not to smile or laugh, but god, it’s impossible not to smile when he looks at you. Before he can crack, before he loses all composure and bares his soul for you, places his heart eternally in your hands to do as you please with, he pivots. 
"Yeah?" He asks, and you feel the energy change, growing electric between you. "Is that a challenge?"
His tone is dangerous and he watches your eyes get wide. A second later he has you pinned against his mattress, pressing playful nips and kisses against your skin as muffled giggles and sighs escape your pretty mouth. His hands move down, grabbing your exposed skin as he kisses you harder and harder, riling the both of you up. You tear off the little remaining clothes either of you has on and he begins to roll his hips against you, grinding his hot, throbbing member against your heat. You let out a breathy moan, louder than before, as he continues to rock his hips against yours. 
“That wasn’t very quiet,” he murmurs into your ear between kisses to your cheek and jawline. Your chest vibrates against his, and a wave of relief washes through him. You don’t hate him. He loves that feeling he gets when he makes you laugh, he wants to make you do it again. 
“I can stay quiet,” you insist, already swept away by his touch, distracted by the warm kisses and bites he’s planting on your neck and chest. You’re even more distracted by the feeling of his fingers making their way down, brushing against your clit as they come into contact with the arousal dripping down your folds. He smiles, realizing if he can get you this turned on, this touchy, you must like him. He pushes his fingers in, finally met again with the cathartic feeling of your cushy, bumpy walls squeezing and folding around him. Arousal gushes, dripping down his fingers as he begins to stimulate the tight, sensitive muscles stretching around his fingers. He dwells on the feeling for a moment, maybe two, before you’re moaning again. It makes him laugh. 
“I sure hope you can,” he says, another dangerously playful look on his face, “cause if you get too loud…” He watches you for a split second, hanging on his words, anticipation written across your face, “I’m gonna stop.” 
Your stomach flip flops, exploding with butterflies at his words. Before you can look at his face, before you can gauge how serious he is about following through on his threat, his lips are on yours again. He kisses you, mouth open, tongue already prodding into your mouth. You’re lucky, you think, that he’s unintentionally muffling your noises with his mouth. You’re really lucky, because he quickly finds your g-spot, and there are a couple moans you couldn’t hold back if your life depended on it.
Every sigh, every gasp, every beautiful heart pounding moan Ricky elicits from you sends a fresh wave of relief and reassurance through him. You don’t hate him, and you’re not going to. You could never when he’s this good, this devoted to you. It’s impossible for him not to be when you’re so good to him. You’re so responsive to his touch, you’re totally on the same wavelength. 
You must know what he’s telling you through his actions, through the way he looks at you, the words he’s had to bite back from spilling out more than once. You wouldn’t be dripping down his fingers and moaning into his mouth and grabbing at him like this, you wouldn’t be in his bed if you didn’t feel the way he does about you - or even something close to it. He’ll happily take whatever you want to give him. Of course he wants it all, he wants to completely take over your heart, but just a little bit will keep him happy until he can.
“Right there,” you whine against his lips, “fuck, just like that… feels so good…” you mutter. 
‘See?’ he thinks, ‘You don’t say stuff like that if you don’t like someone a lot, much less moan it…’ 
It’s working. His plan to not lose you is working, he just has to make you cum so hard you can’t think straight, as many times as possible. And he’s going to, because there’s no way he can risk losing you. So he brings up his thumb, rubbing it over your clit as he curls his fingers against your gummy walls. It’s euphoric and overwhelming, and you barely have time to tug his hair before you’re cumming and pulsing around his fingers. 
You squeeze and clamp tight around him, and he can’t resist anymore. He needs his tongue inside you, he needs to taste you, feel you squeeze his tongue and cream into his mouth. So he pulls away, already missing the feeling of your mouths against each other, and gazes at you, breath fanning across your cheeks, eyes locked. He takes you in, thumb caressing your cheek while the other continues to fondle your clit. After a moment he’s able to break his gaze away, and he moves down, pushing your legs open. You heart thumps in your chest in anticipation as he begins to lick and suck on your heat, tongue flicking into your drippy hole. 
As soon as he gets a taste, he wants more. He stretches out his tongue, going to town on your cunt. Every sigh and tug of his hair, every attempt to muffle your moans makes him more eager to have you gush your sweet sticky cum all over him. This time he has some experience, and he’s making the most of it. He finds those spots inside you that make your eyes roll back, switching between them, bumping his nose against your clit, drawing stifled moan after stifled moan from you. One slips out, for real this time, and he pauses. It takes all his willpower; your scent is intoxicating and your taste is addictive, but the look on your face when you realize he’s standing by what he said is totally worth it. 
“I told you,” he murmurs against your core, the vibrations and tone of his voice sending electricity through you, “we have to be quiet…” Your hand is clamped over your mouth, and you nod. Your timing couldn’t be better, because you don’t have time to finish the gesture before he dives back in. After that, it doesn’t take much to send you over the edge. 
You give him everything he’s wanted all night, squeezing and gushing all over him while he laps up everything, holding down your hips while he shoves his tongue deeper inside you. It’s always surprising how far inside you he’s able to get it. You whine and moan, choking out praise as he already begins building up another high. He’s throbbing, desperate for anything you’ll give him, and he wants to make you say more shit like that. He wants to be good for you. 
“Oh god- fuck, Ricky!” you choke out in a whisper, one hand tangled in his hair, the other clamped over your mouth. You’re already close again, he can feel it. He knew this would work. He knew he could prove to you how much you mean to him. He doubles his efforts, squeezing your thighs and grinding his face against your pussy, still dripping from the last times he made you cum. His eyes are half lidded and locked on you, watching your face, the way you squirm below his touch, the way your tits bounce with every movement. You’re not sure how long it is until he has you absolutely gushing and convulsing around his tongue again, but every moment is filled with ecstasy. 
“Fuck you’re good at that…” you murmur, hand now playing with his hair instead of pulling it. “You’re one of the good ones, huh?” 
You probably could have knocked him out with a feather. Your words reverberate in his mind, and his cheeks flush. One of the good ones. Yeah. 
He’s throbbing harder than before, almost painfully turned on. He climbs back up over you, but before he can reach into his nightstand for a condom, you flip him over, straddling him. You look down at him with those beautiful eyes that hold every star in the night sky, biting your lip in that endearing way of yours. Your hands are warm on his shoulders, and he’s stunned at the suddenness of your action, and really eager to see where you’re going with this. He could watch you like this for hours, freezing this moment in time forever, eternally content with you, the way you touch him and look at him. You lean down closer to him, breath tickling his cheeks. 
“My turn.” 
You smile, the words coming out in a hushed giggle. Before he can blink, you’re grabbing his rock hard cock, squeezing it in your hands and teasing the tip as you spread around the precum already dripping down the side. He watches you, eyes wide and excited as you open your mouth, wrapping your lips around him. Your mouth is velvety soft, warm and wet, and he has to try not to cum on the spot. You pump the base of his cock, taking more of him in your mouth, and he tries not to buck his hips. He tries so hard not to move at all, tries to be good for you while you work your magic on him. He lets out a long, low moan. Suddenly you freeze, popping your lips off with a small wet noise as you look up at him. 
“Stay quiet or I stop…” you tease, throwing his own conditions back at him. He nods, panting at your words. “Good boy.” You murmur under your breath, but he definitely hears. Good boy. He can feel the oxytocin flooding his brain, and you barely get your lips around him and start bobbing your head before he feels it.
“I’m close,” he chokes out, and you look up at him. He watches a smirk appear at the corners of your eyes before you drag your tongue along the bottom of his cock. It’s more than enough, and he watches in utter awe as he shoots his load into your mouth, and you swallow all of it. The sight is enough to have him throbbing again. He bites back more moans, desperate for you to keep going, for you to call him a good boy again. You bob your head along his length, tongue dragging along the vein on the underside of his cock. 
One hand comes down to fondle his balls, and a choked moan slips out. He never knew he could feel this good. He never knew one person could make him like this. You continue to lick and suck, squeeze and pump and rub, and soon he’s fighting another orgasm, hoping to bask in the feeling of your mouth around him for just a little longer. His prayers are in vain, he realizes, as he shoots another load of sticky, salty cum into your mouth. You have no trouble taking this one either. You continue to suck and lick, riding out the last of his high, before finally releasing him with a soft pop. 
Thoroughly fucked out, he watches you climb up next to him, awestruck. You grab a blanket, pulling it over the both of you, and moving his face to press a few more kisses to his lips. Your tastes mingle as your tongues connect, and Ricky doesn’t think he’s ever tasted something that delicious. He wants more of it. It’s only when you eventually pull away that your eyes land on the clock behind him. 
“Christ, it’s late,” you murmur. You blink heavily, Ricky mirroring the action, and you trace your thumb over his cheek, just looking at him a little longer. You tug the blanket up a little higher, snuggling up next to him. He holds you close on instinct, still trying to process everything that happened tonight in spite of how exhausted he is. It hits him suddenly, and he struggles to stay awake so he can appreciate the kiss you press to his jaw, the warm feeling of your hand on his chest.
He tries so hard to stay awake, to look at you for a little while, because no amount of time with you feels like enough. He refuses to acknowledge the heavy way he blinks and squeezes his eyes, trying to force them to focus on you, but he can feel himself losing the fight against the deep sleep he’s about to slip into. This night was a success, he thinks. He did a good job.
Late morning sunlight streams through his window, finally dragging Ricky back into the waking world. He looks over, missing your presence, and finds his bed empty. As he rolls over, he’s struck by the sweet, intoxicating scent of your peachy perfume. It’s all over his pillow, his sheets, his blankets. His whole room smells faintly of your scent. He buries his nose in the pillow where you’d slept, breathing it in, taking him right back to last night. 
Eventually, he checks his phone. It’s later than he’d expected, but he’s greeted with a text from you, bringing an immediate, even bigger smile to his face. 
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He sighs, lovestruck. He doesn’t want to get out of bed, doesn’t want the scent of your perfume to fade. He just wants to bask in it. 
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