home ➝ ricky bowen

22- act 2

"  Ricky!" Alexis shouted in half anger, half relief, when she found him sitting against the wall in the hallway. "What are you doing, come on we have to go on soon."

"No," he said. "No, I can't. My mom brought her new stupid boyfriend and I kind of want to punch a wall and I just can't... I can't go back."

Ricky slipped off his Wildcats basketball jersey and tossed it into her lap. "Give it to EJ. He can do it better than I can."

"What?" Alexis frowned. "No! Ricky put this back on right now!"

"No! I can't do it. You deserve a better Troy than me, everyone, deserves a better Troy than me."

"No!" She argued.

"Yes!"

"Come on we have to go!"

"No, you do! I can't do it, I can't ruin it for you!"

"You'll ruin it for me if you don't do it!" Alexis screamed back.

"No it's better for you to have someone who can actually play the part well and not mess it all up! I always do that, mess things up..." Ricky trailed off.

"Ricky..." said Alexis softly. "I can't... I can't do this without you. Like me and Gina said to you the first rehearsal, we're all outsiders and have to stick together. You promised. You can't just... you can't just back down on your word like three months later. On opening night. When it really counts!"

Ricky continued to look down.

"Look at me," Alexis said quietly. He looked up and met her eyes, on the verge of tears. "I need you. We have to do this together. Ricky, you make me feel safe, you're like, everything to me, and I need you, and plus, I kinda love you."

Before processing what she had just admitted, Carlos burst into the hallway. "There you two are! You're on! Go now!"

Ricky put his shirt back on and him and Alexis ran back to the gym.

"Wait," said Ricky breathlessly, pulling Alexis' hand just before she went back on stage. "You love me?"

She nodded and went back out without giving him a chance to reply.

From there, they finished the last of the show and to both of them it all felt like a dream.

The song for the bows began to play and Ricky and Alexis were the last ones up. They ran in from opposite sides of the wings next to each other center stage. They were supposed to hold hands and then bow, which they did, but after that Ricky turned to Alexis and pulled her into an embrace.

She hugged him back and they were both crying and everyone in the audience was clapping, and their friends behind them were laughing and crying too and it was just a perfect moment. Then, the curtain closed.

Alexis pulled away and they looked each other in the eyes for a long time, but it didn't feel like a long time. It was like time stopped for them, actually.

Miss Jen called everyone over and there was a mess of congratulations and laughter and just... happiness radiating from everyone.

Eventually, everyone had went their separate ways behind stage to change and get their stuff together.

Most everyone had left, but Ricky was looking for Alexis. He needed to see her before things got all crazy. Luckily he found her in their makeshift dressing room, she was all by herself putting things away that other people had left around. Still so selfless, Ricky thought to himself.

"Hey," he said, announcing his presence. He stood next to her and began cleaning things up as well. "I was wondering where you went."

"I'd feel bad leaving this mess," she admitted.

Ricky nodded and they worked in silence for a minute.

"Oh!" He said quickly, grabbing a small box from his pocket. "This is for you."

She opened it and inside was a guitar pick that said, "to freaky math girl". She smiled and hugged him.

"What are the odds?" They laughed, thinking of her gift to him earlier. "Thank you. I love it."

"So I..." Ricky cleared his throat. "I wonder what happens now. I mean, I've never opened a show before. Or closed one. So..."

Alexis shrugged. "Well, me either. But Ashlyn said we go to Denny's," she chuckled.

An awkward silence followed.

"So, about what I said earlier," said Alexis, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I mean, that I... love... you.... yeah I shouldn't have said that I-"

"Lexie," Ricky cut her off.

"No, I shouldn't have because I know that word is like... a weird subject for you or whatever. And it was dumb for me to even say it because obviously you don't even like me more than friends wise and it just made things weirder and I just-"

"Lexie stop!" Ricky said louder. She was taken aback by his sudden change in volume and locked eyes with him. He took a deep breath.

"I kinda love you too! Before the show, what I was saying, was that we kissed in the show but I didn't want our first kiss to be, like, fake, or staged, or whatever. But you didn't wanna listen to me! And yeah I shouldn't have walked out on you when you admitted to liking me, I realize that. I just got scared. And before you even think it, this isn't like what happened with me and Nini last summer, because I couldn't say it to her because it wasn't true. I didn't love her. I thought I did but I didn't, I didn't know what love was until I met you!

I mean, it seems a little dramatic but you're just so perfect. I've loved you since I saw you sitting on the curb putting grip on your skateboard and we went to that one skate park and got slushees and barely talked. Your lips were all red from the slushee and when you smiled your teeth were too. But you still looked beautiful."

Alexis blushed.

"And I loved you since that day in the school when we sat out in that hallway and talked about everything and nothing at the same time... I never opened up to people you know. Until that day, with you, I never connected with anyone like that. You're the only person who's ever got me talking.

And then I mentioned perfect families eating waffles together on Sundays and what did you do? You made me breakfast on a Sunday. And I was like, oh my god, I love her.

Oh, and homecoming? Felt like I was in a movie. I got to dance with the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. To the most perfect song I ever heard. I wanted to kiss you that night. Really bad. But I was too scared. And that night in the car, I thought you were gonna kiss me and then you didn't and I wanted to cry but I couldn't and it was like... ugh! It doesn't matter. I just, I love everything about you and I..."

Alexis cut him off by pressing her lips to his.

It was like magic. Like literally, someone should've called the fire department because sparks were flying.

They pulled away for a breath and smiled.

"If only we both hadn't been so scared," said Alexis. "Cause this could've happened sooner."

"Doesn't matter," Ricky brushed it off. "All that does is that you love me and I love you and... that's enough for me."

Alexis smiled and they kissed again. What a perfect way to end the night.