"This is not good," Big Red said as Ricky and Megara sat in his basement — where Megara had been spending a lot of her time recently — catching him up on the day's events.
"I know," Ricky agreed while Megara nodded from her spot on the loveseat.
"No, this is really not good. But it's not news, either. You broke her heart, you crashed her play, you bugged her, and then you left her a sad voicemail."
"For all we know, she's sitting at home laughing at you right now," Megara added, throwing a piece of popcorn from the bowl in her lap into her mouth.
Big Red turned to Megara appalled. "What a big help you are being."
"You think it's time to move on?" Ricky asked, ignoring both of them.
"I wouldn't, but you have that other thing," Big Red sat down so he and Megara were both facing Ricky, who huffed. But while Megara was definitely more relaxed, Big Red was resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. "Pride."
"Okay, tell me what to do," Ricky crossed his arms.
"Just be yourself. Be the bigger man."
"Okay, pick one," Ricky said, earning a chuckle from Megara, but still, Ricky didn't budge.
"Definitely bigger man. You're the lead in the play. It's time to act like it," Big Red threw a small ball at Ricky's chest. Megara watched it softly hit the floor.
"You're right," Ricky nodded.
"It's like that scene where Troy tells his teammates, 'You're my guys, and this is our spam'."
"When does he say that?"
"I just realized that my allergist keeps the sound off in the waiting room and I can't read lips."
Megara groaned. "It's actually 'you're my guys, and this is our team. Gabriella is not important'," Megara pointed her eyebrows, which Ricky heard loud and clear as he nodded sheepishly. "We have to start kicking the plan up a notch."
"How much?" Ricky asked.
For once, Megara wasn't sure. She turned to Big Red. "What do you think?"
Big Red smiled. "You need a classic high school rom-com entrance, slow-mo, and everything," he nodded enthusiastically as his grin widened. "A The Duff moment."
"Did you just call me Ricky's Duff?"
"Fine. How about She's All That?"
"What are you guys even talking about?" Ricky asked, clearly annoyed and confused by his friends' interactions.
Megara waved her hand. "Never mind the movies, Red is right. We need to turn this around for you and really start playing on the idea that we're..." she trailed off, unable to find the right words she was looking for.
Ricky raised his eyebrows. "That we like each other?"
"Yeah, that. So, we need to walk into school tomorrow with the agenda to make everyone believe we're attached at the hip," she said, throwing the last piece of popcorn past her plump lips.
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