┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥
chapter six:
cosmic !
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
ATHENA WALKED WITH Ricky down the path Maddox was leading them on, one hand holding the strap of her back on her shoulder and the other holding her sleeping bag. She was explaining to him the plot of Frozen so he could at least have some background on who he was playing and what everything actually was about.
Finally, they all stopped at a clearing in the woods with some logs sitting around a stone pit for a campfire. Athena placed her bags down on the ground, laughing slightly at how Carlos had placed his hands on his knees to breathe heavily.
"Now, everybody, sometimes there are snakes," Maddox told them. "Most of them are not poisonous."
"Most of them?" Kourtney repeated.
Maddox pointed at her. "Yes."
Kourtney shook her head and walked off in the direction of the trail that had walked on. "I can't. I can't. I can't."
"You can't really do that, you have to come back."
Athena leaned in closer to Ricky. "No, but seriously, most of them?"
"What, you afraid of a little snake?" Ricky teased.
"You literally told me one of your biggest fears was snakes."
"How do you even remember that?"
Athena smiled. "I know a lot about you."
Ricky sighed. "You're so right."
Maddox then instructed them all to find a place to set up their tent. Athena and Violetta had found a space, but they hadn't done anything. All they were doing was staring at the disassembled pieces of their tent on the ground.
"You got any idea on how to do this?" Athena asked.
"Absolutely none," Violetta responded.
"You know, I'm all for women being strong and independent, but all the feminism leaves my body when it's time for physical labor."
"Same."
She nodded. "Okay, we got this."
It took some time, and with some advice from Gina — who had set up her tent rather quickly — and Ricky giving Athena a kiss on the cheek in encouragement, Athena and Violetta finally managed to put their tent together. They stood there, admiring their work.
Athena placed her hands on her hips. "Wow, we did that."
"We should've never doubted ourselves," Violetta stated. "We're unstoppable."
Athena held up her hand for a high-five, and Violetta obliged.
When the sun dipped down below the horizon and the stars appeared in the sky, the campfire got lit. Athena stepped out of her and Violetta's tent, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. They had been setting up their little space in there for the night. And to be honest, it was pretty cute, decorated with some string lights that the camp had.
She started to walk over to the logs, looking for one specific person in mind. Athena found him walking out of the woods with Jet. She reached up and squeezed Violetta's shoulder, telling her she would be there in a minute. Athena then approached the two.
"Oh, hey," Ricky said, grinning. "Attie, you're never going to believe what I just found in the woods."
"Please don't tell me it's a bear," Athena stated.
"No, it's way cooler than a bear. And Jet knows about it too."
"Oh, does he?" Athena turned to Jet. gave him a small smile in greeting. "I know I just started randomly playing the piano with you at auditions, but I never actually told you my name. I'm Athena."
"Oh, I know your name," Jet responded. "Ricky talks about you all the time."
"Okay—" Ricky started to protest, his cheeks flushing a vibrant shade of red.
"Does he?" Athena cut in, looking up at Ricky with a smirk. "What does he say?"
"Something about my girl's what it's all about. Also, he was talking about an Athena one night and kept mentioning her pink hair, so I kind of assumed that was you."
"Huh," Athena commented, but she felt her heart soar — Ricky talked about her! "Interesting. Also, the High School Musical 2 quote is incredibly cheesy."
"Dude," Ricky complained to Jet. "I'm never going to live this down."
"Sounds a lot like a you problem," Jet responded.
"Welcome, folks, to your very first Newbie Initiation Campout Night!" Maddox exclaimed, cutting their conversation short.
Athena sat down next to Ricky on one of the logs as the others clapped and cheered. She took the blanket off of her shoulders and instead spread it over both of their legs.
"Now, to kick off the night, let's give it up for our very own Rocket Man!"
EJ came out of his tent, a guitar slung over his shoulder. "All right, everyone, pay attention, 'cause I don't have much time to waste tonight."
Athena didn't miss the way Violetta's face so visibly fell.
EJ placed the guitar on his leg. "I'm gonna need a little help singing parts of this, 'kay?"
"Shake your money maker, Caswell!" Carlos shouted, shimmying his shoulders a bit.
"Not helpful, Carlos. All right, here we go. This one is called the Ballad of Shallow Lake, and every word is true."
Violetta looked over at Athena with wide-eyes at how EJ's voice turned spooky. Athena shrugged, letting out a small laugh as EJ started to play the guitar.
"Gonna tell a story about Susan Fine, she lived two hundred years ago," EJ sang. "One night, she heard a whistle, the spooky kind, the sound can make your blood run cold. They say she got swallowed by Shallow Lake, never to be seen again, till her ghost says, come on in."
Ricky then reached over and started to drum against Jet with two Twizzlers — how he had them, Athena didn't know. Jet started to laugh and tried to push him away. Athena watched them fondly. It seemed like Jet was really warming up to Ricky.
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na," EJ and Maddox voiced together. "She lost her soul and she lost her mind, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, don't get caught by Susie Fine."
"So pray you find your way back home," EJ recited. Athena looked over at Ricky, getting even more confused at how he was eating a Twizzler and had even more in his pocket. "Oh, oh."
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, she'll drink your blood like it's werewolf wine, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, you better run from Susie Fine."
With one final strum on the guitar from EJ, the song ended. Athena clapped for him and Maddox before wrapping her cardigan around herself a little more.
Kourtney raised her hand. "Um, um, is that really a true story?"
"Oh, that song is basically a documentary," Maddox answered.
Kourtney chuckled, but it was clearly fake. "Quick follow-up—"
"I actually have a lot of homework, but the amazing Maddox will explain it all," EJ cut in.
Athena frowned slightly. Violetta's eyes were trailing after EJ as he went back to his tent, taking off his guitar in the meantime. She made a mental note to talk to her about it later.
"Let's see," Maddox began. "Who here likes ghost stories?"
Ricky instantly got a big smile on his face and raised both of his hands in the air. Athena placed her elbow on her knee and put her chin in the palm of her hand, looking at him. Okay, he was adorable, but Ricky definitely did not like ghost stories, or any horror stories. He liked to pretend he did, but whenever they tried to watch a horror movie, he always buried his head into Athena's neck and they never ended up finishing any.
"Then it's time for you all to hear the story of . . ." Maddox shined a flashlight underneath her chin. "The Woman in the Woods."
"See, that's a no for me," Kourtney said.
"Camp Shallow Lake was founded a long, long time ago by a married couple, Mr. John Fine and Mrs. Susan Fine. Everybody loved Mrs. Fine. She was kind. Had a voice like an angel. And she had a sweet tooth, unmatched. She always had a bag of Twizzlers in hand."
Ricky slowly lifted his head up. He had been eating another Twizzler straight out of his pocket. Athena was confused.
Athena blinked at Ricky. "Why do you have a full pack of Twizzlers in your pocket? Where did you even get those?"
"I'll show you later," Ricky whispered. He took one out and held it out to her. "Want one?"
Athena rolled her eyes playfully, but took the candy nonetheless and bit into it. Ricky grinned at her and slung an arm around her shoulder, bringing her in extremely close to his side and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Maddox stood up. "But tragedy struck on a night a lot like tonight. It was the very first Newbie Initiation Campout night. Legend says Mrs. Fine heard a faint whistling sound deep within the woods." Athena stopped chewing her Twizzler for a moment when a faint noise sounded from somewhere in the woods. "So, she wandered out there. All by herself."
Kourtney yelped as Maddox suddenly shined the flashlight on her. She gasped, gripping onto Violetta's arm. Violetta patted her shoulder comfortingly.
Ricky raised his hand. "Wait. What did she find?"
"Was it Corbin Bleu's helicopter?" Jet suggested, and they all laughed.
"No," Maddox stated. "She was out in the woods for so long, she never came home."
"I know the feeling."
Athena looked at Maddox expectantly. She wanted her to continue the story, even though all the others were starting to giggle and chat among themselves. It was evident Maddox really enjoyed this story, and she deserved to have someone listen to it.
"Uh . . . well, wait," Maddox continued. "No. Um, okay, so this all happened twenty — I mean, fifty years ago. And, uh, and ever since that night, uh, Mrs. Fine has been wandering the woods, hungry, lost, and angry."
"You guys, am I Susan Fine?" Jet questioned.
They all started to laugh again. Athena, however, sat up straight again, causing Ricky's arm to fall off of her shoulders and go around her hips. Her eyes were on Maddox. The girl was clearly upset from not being able to tell the story how she wanted to.
"Um . . ." Maddox trailed off. "Sorry, this isn't how I — it's scary. It's supposed to be scary. Never mind. Sorry."
Maddox then turned around and walked off into the woods. Athena watched after her in concern.
"Maddie, wait," Jet called after her, standing up.
That made Athena's eyebrows knit in confusion. Maddie? And why did Jet sound so upset?
Athena let out a sigh and sunk back into Ricky's side, her head falling onto his shoulder. She had a feeling this night was going to be interesting.
--- ☆ • ♫ • ♪ • ♫ • ☆ ---
SHARING A TENT with Violetta was a good thing, but Athena couldn't help but let her mood get dimmed from how quiet Violetta was being.
The two of them were in their sleeping bags, side-by-side. They were just staring at the roof of the tent, not a word being said between them. That wasn't them. Athena and Violetta always had something to say to each other. But, Athena knew Violetta. She knew her best friend would retract into herself whenever something was wrong. Athena had an inkling of what it was.
"So . . ." Athena began. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or will we just keep laying here in deafening silence?"
"I actually enjoy sitting in silence," Violetta insisted.
"No you don't. You talk all the time about how you hate the quiet. And when it is quiet, you always put in your headphones."
Violetta paused for a moment. "It's stupid."
Athena rolled her head over to look at her. "It's not stupid if it's upsetting you."
"It feels like EJ's forgetting about me and focusing everything on this new director job of his."
Athena went silent, thinking it over for a minute.
"Hello?" Violetta urged.
"No, no, I heard you," Athena told her. "Just . . . processing."
"And?"
"I think that EJ's extremely stressed because he's thrown into a new job, not to mention one that's being overseen by Corbin Bleu. He doesn't want to make any mistakes. I'm not excusing his behavior of being shut-off, but Vi, EJ loves you. He would never forget about you. You're literally unforgettable."
"I just hate how he's basically pushing me away," Violetta added.
"And you should tell him that," Athena stated. "Have a conversation with him when you get the chance."
"Chances are impossible when all he sees is his script right now and not me."
Athena shook her head and got out of her pillow case, slipping on her Converse. "Come on, let's go see what the others are up to. Get your mind off of things. Maybe we can even convince EJ to look away from his stupid script."
Violetta scoffed. "Doubt it."
"Who knows? Maybe he'll listen to you."
"'Thena, EJ never listens to me."
"Okay, maybe, but it's worth a shot," Athena responded. "Put your shoes on, let's go."
Violetta put on her sneakers and the two of them left the tent with their flashlights. They heard voices coming from EJ's tent, and as they got closer, they heard it was EJ — duh, Ricky, and Gina.
"It's literally the spookiest thing I've ever seen," Ricky was saying. "And I've seen Hereditary."
"What was?" Violetta interjected, lifting up the flap so her and Athena could go inside. "Your report card?"
"Shut up, Violetta."
"And you didn't watch Hereditary," Athena added. "I watched Hereditary. You watched my neck, because you had your face buried there the entire time due to you getting scared."
"Oh my God, she did not hold back," Gina commented.
Ricky shook his head. "She never does."
"We should go, Eej," Violetta said, walking up to her boyfriend and placing a hand on his shoulder.
The flap of the tent then opened again. Athena turned to see that it was Ashlyn, her face illuminated by her flashlight.
"Don't mind me," Ashlyn voiced. "Just having a teeny, tiny identity crisis. EJ, do you remember when I was born? I just need to know if it was eleven-thirty-seven A.M. or eleven-thirty-seven P.M."
"Everyone stop," EJ ordered. He looked at Ashlyn. "It was eleven-thirty-seven A.M. I know that because my mom always tells me how you forever ruined the eggs Benedict. Remember? Eggs Benedict is a strictly morning dish." He looked at Ricky. "No, I can't come see the shrine tonight. I have to finish marking up the script before Corbin comes tomorrow. I have a lot on my plate, okay?" He then looked at Violetta. "And V, I really—"
"No, I get it," Violetta cut in, even though Athena could see her eyes were swimming with a hint of sadness. "You have to focus."
"Come on, guys," Gina encouraged.
Violetta looked over her shoulder before she left. "Love you."
"Love you," EJ responded quietly, but she had already left the tent.
Athena stared at EJ. Guilt was written all across his face. She knew he didn't mean to snap at them, snap at Violetta, but he was also under immense pressure from being the director and having the Corbin Bleu's eyes on him at all time. Athena could see that he was having a tough time dealing with the stress.
She reached up, ruffling his hair a little, trying to comfort him a little without saying anything verbally. This was just telling him that she understood and was there for him if he needed. EJ shook her hand off of his head and looked up at her in a playful glare. However, underneath the glare, Athena saw his eyes swimming with thanks. She gave him a small smile and a nod in return.
And yet, neither of them noticed Ricky's watchful eyes.
"Come on," Athena said to Ricky, who snapped out his weird trance, the strange feeling leaving his body as he looked at her.
She left the tent. Athena felt Ricky grab onto her hand and lace their fingers together as they joined the others outside. Ashlyn wasn't there, clearly devastated by the fact that she was a Leo Rising and not a Capricorn Rising like she thought. That only left Athena, Ricky, Gina, and Violetta.
"So, the shrine," Ricky announced. "I can lead you guys there."
Violetta shook her head. "You three go ahead, I'll go wallow in my tent."
"No, you will not," Athena argued. "I'm not going to allow you to wallow. This is supposed to be fun."
"Come with us," Gina pleaded. "Please, V, I don't want to third wheel."
Violetta let out a deep breath. "Fine. Lead the way, lover boy."
Ricky led them into the woods. Him and Athena walked further ahead than Gina and Violetta, who were talking quietly amongst themselves behind them. Athena had instead opted to link her arm around Ricky's instead of holding onto his hand. She shone her flashlight around at the dark trees. Ricky insisted he knew where he was going, but right now, they just seemed lost.
"It's quiet," Ricky voiced.
"Wow, really?" Athena replied. "Didn't notice."
"Check this out." Ricky grabbed onto Athena's wrist and placed her free hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat. "Heart's racing."
Athena smirked at him. "You sure that's not from me?"
"I think you're letting when Jet told you get to your head."
"Oh, I definitely am. You talk about me. That means you love me."
"Unfortunately," Ricky muttered, but he was obviously joking from the mischievous glint in his eyes.
Athena scoffed and bumped their shoulders together, making him laugh. "You know, I'm surprised you wanted to do this. You're kind of a scaredy cat."
Ricky's head whipped over to her, an offended look on his face. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, baby, you know it's true. You're very jumpy when it comes to scary things." Athena looked around the woods, an uncomfortable feeling rising up her spine. "I swear, Ricky, if you're bringing me to a spot in the woods to murder me, I'm literally going to be so upset."
"Now why would I do that?"
"I don't know, revenge for me exposing you, I guess."
Ricky suddenly screamed. Athena jumped with a small shriek. However, there was absolutely nothing. Athena slapped his shoulder lightly.
"You did that on purpose," Athena complained.
"Ricky, why don't you let the leading lady lead you through the woods?" Gina suggested from behind them, although nobody except one specific person could hear the slight resentment in her voice.
Athena nodded. "Yeah. Allow me."
"Attie, you don't even know where the shrine is," Ricky protested.
"And apparently you don't either, so we're in the same boat. But I can lead better than you."
"Then go ahead."
They wandered for a little while longer, just getting more and more lost in the trees.
"The shrine thing was around here somewhere, I swear," Ricky voiced.
"Can we go back now?" Violetta asked, her voice shaking just the tiniest bit — unnoticeable to others, but noticeable to Athena.
"Don't tell me you're scared, Vi."
Suddenly, they heard a pretty voice singing in the distance. Athena tightened her arm around Ricky's arm, instinctively moving closer to him.
"Is that . . ." Ricky trailed off.
"The Woman in the Woods?" Gina finished. "Maddox said she had a voice like an angel. Angel voice."
"What do we do now?" Violetta questioned.
Athena's eyes widened and she looked up at her boyfriend. "Do not say—"
"Follow the sound?" Ricky offered.
"Oh, you mean do the thing that everyone says not to do?" Violetta inquired. "You know what? I'm in."
Gina pushed before all of them, leading them confidently straight towards the sound. They eventually ended up at the barn, where the voice was definitely coming from. Athena could also hear the piano being played.
"This song is incredible," Athena said. "I want to see who's singing."
"I mean, we've come this far, right?" Ricky responded.
Violetta nodded. "We go as a unit."
The four of them, moving close together, walked up to the barn slowly. Everything went silent for a moment — no more singing, no more piano. They all shared a glance.
They opened the doors to the barn, and screams instantly rang throughout the barn — from Athena, Ricky, Violetta, Gina, and Ashlyn. Athena jumped backwards slightly, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Ricky instantly turned into her and buried his head in her shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist. Athena's heart pounded as she reached up and held the back of his head, her fingers threading through his curls as her chest heaved up and down.
"Jesus, Ash," Athena commented.
"Athena?" Ashlyn cried.
Ricky picked his head up and looked at Ashlyn. "You're the Woman in the Woods?"
"What? No. I was just singing a song about my identity crisis."
"Okay, you've mentioned that twice. What identity crisis are you talking about?"
"Ashlyn's birth chart is wrong," Violetta explained. "She thought she was a Capricorn Rising, but now she's a Leo Rising, like Maddox guessed earlier."
Ricky stared at her. "Vi, I have no idea what that means."
Ashlyn stood up from the piano. "I'll explain it to you."
Athena sat on the stage next to Violetta and near Gina and Ashlyn, her legs crossed underneath her. Ashlyn was explaining everything about astrology to Ricky, who was pacing in front of the stage and trying to remember as much of the information as possible. Athena watched him pace, her heart beating against her chest at the concentrated look on his face.
"Okay, I think I get it," Ricky revealed. "Because of an optical illusion, right, it seems like Mercury's going backwards?"
"Right," Ashlyn confirmed.
"And when this is happening, bad things happen."
"It's science."
"Right," Ricky said. "And Mercury's in retrograde? Right now?"
"Honestly?" Ashlyn replied. "Honestly, no. I just . . . I — I wanted to blame the whole Val ensemble casting thing on something out of my control."
Gina scooted forwards and hugged Ashlyn. "It's okay, Ash. You were bummed. You wanted an explanation."
"Last semester, I didn't think I could play a character who sings in opera. And tonight, I found out I was born at brunch time. Guess there's always something new to learn."
Athena looked over at Ashlyn. "You sure that's it, Ash?"
"This, um, Corbin Bleu TV show thing, I thought it was gonna be, like, my big break," Ashlyn admitted.
"Who says it can't be?" Violetta countered.
"Nah." Ashlyn looked over Gina and Violetta to look at Athena. "But I think it could be yours, Anna. And you deserve it."
Athena smiled at her. "Thanks, Ash. Love you."
"Love you too." Ashlyn stood up and gave a fist-bump to Ricky. "Goodnight, cool kids. Leo Rising out."
"Don't let the Woman in the Woods get ya," Ricky told her.
"She won't," Violetta insisted, standing up as well. "I'll be there. She can't get both of us."
"Or three of us," Gina added. "Just like Violetta said, we move as a unit."
With that, Ashlyn, Violetta, and Gina left the barn. That left Athena and Ricky alone. Athena moved to the edge of the stage, extending her legs out so that they hung over the side.
Ricky looked down at her. "She's right, you know. This could be your big break."
"I never really thought of it that way," Athena said quietly. "I mean, sure, I'm playing Anna, but in reality, I'm just some girl who likes to play the piano that has pink hair." She hesitated for a moment. "Do you really think this could be something big for me?"
"I know so." Ricky turned his flashlight on and shined it in her face. "I'm really proud of you."
Athena smiled softly up at him. "I love you a lot, you know that? Like, I don't think to the moon and to Saturn even encompasses it anymore."
Ricky held out his hand to her. Athena took it and allowed him to help her stand up from the stage. He let go of her hand and instead placed it on the side of her face. Athena instantly leaned into his touch.
"I love you, so, so much," Ricky responded. "And even if it may not encompass it anymore . . . to the moon and to Saturn."
It was always going to be their promise. Even if their love stretched beyond the stars, the length of the moon to Saturn would forever be symbolic to them, and they didn't need anything else, because they were cosmic.
═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═
TELL ME A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF RICKY AND ATHENA
there's a lot but I think my main ones are what my world spins around by jordin davis, you are in love by taylor swift, I don't care by ed sheeran and justin bieber, wings by birdy, & of course perfect harmony from jatp <3
pls go listen to them and tell me I'm fucking wrong (unless you don't like yeehaw music like me . . . then you don't have to listen to what my world spins around)