"When other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot!"
- Friendship, Anything Goes
CONFESSION NUMBER FIVE: Scarlett has a bit of an addiction when it comes to singing in cars.
Whether it's on the radio or just old-fashioned a cappella, she can't help but sing along with the help of her dad's awesome stereo and the oddly amazing acoustics from the passenger's seat. A trip to the grocery store is suddenly a full-out mini musical when you add Scarlett to the mix, and she's belting out show tunes before anyone can even leave the driveway.
It's a real problem. Alex even held an intervention on it.
Okay, maybe he didn't. Scarlett would probably kill him if he did.
Scarlett wakes up the next morning to the sound of her phone beeping, and drags herself across the room in her bunny slippers to where her phone is perched on her desk, next to her laptop. She turns it on and winces at the brightness, squinting at the screen. Her eyes light up when she realizes who the text is from, and Scarlett resists the urge to happy dance and belt out "I couldn't be happier, thank goodness!" because it's nine in the morning, and her neighbours are already on the verge of filing a lawsuit due to her habit of belting out show tunes from noon to night.
9.41, Chase Marshall: Hey Scar, a bunch of us are getting together for a movie night tonight, wanna join? We're watching Footloose, and we're meeting at six. I'll text you my address if you're interested?
9.42, Scarlett Bright: You had me at Footloose. :)
And thus begins the journey of Scarlett Bright and her car performances - which, ultimately, lead to car troubles, because as usual, Scarlett's forgotten to fill up her gas tank again.
♬
Scarlett's car makes an odd and terrifying rumble before slowing down significantly, evoking a series of annoyed squeaks on Scarlett's part. It takes way too long for Scarlett's eyes to land on the check engine light that's been blinking for far too many weeks now - and that's not even mentioning the fact that the little arrow on her dashboard is pointing well below the empty sign.
Maybe Scarlett should spend less time singing and more time filling up her gas tank.
♬
"You didn't have to come and pick me up, you know," Scarlett mumbles, buckling her seat belt. Parker's car is not at all what she expected it to be - it's actually semi-clean. She'd always pictured a regular teenage boy's car to be a complete mess on the inside - but then again, Parker had proven himself to be far from anyone's definition of a regular teenage boy. He has a large array of organized Broadway soundtracks on the sun visor, as well as a little pine tree car freshener dangling from the rearview mirror.
Parker smiles. "I know," he replies simply, starting his car. The two sit in silence for a few blocks, and just when Scarlett's beginning to think that the ride will be nothing more than fifteen minutes of awkward silence, he puts on some music. She recognizes the opening music immediately and can't bite back even the tiniest smile - Parker's the first boy she's ever known to love the same Broadway songs that she does.
This only makes her grin wider. "Is this the Idina Menzel version?" Scarlett asks, turning her head to the left to look at him. He shoots her a look that's less of-course-it's-the-Idina-Menzel-version-you-geek than she expects, and is more along the lines of an impressed smile that she'd recognized the version so quickly. Scarlett opens her mouth to say something further when the music picks up and Parker begins to belt out the lyrics, making Scarlett jump practically three feet in the air in surprise.
"It seems we've stood and talked like this," he turns to face her suddenly, grinning, "before," he sings, and Scarlett can't help but laugh. "We looked at each other in the same way then, but I can't remember where or when!"
Parker mouths "Jump in!" as if he can do anything to stop her. "The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore," Scarlett sings, grinning uncontrollably, "The smile you are smiling you were smiling then, but I can't remember where or when!" He isn't even looking at the road anymore, and they're laughing at each other so uncontrollably that Scarlett has to punch him in the arm to get him to pay attention. "Keep your eyes on the road!" she yells above the music, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. Maybe 'goofy' really is the best way to describe him.
"Some things have happened for the first time," they continue to sing even after Scarlett's scared him enough to get him to look back in front of him. "They may be happening again! And so it seems that we have met before-"
Scarlett jumps in, "-and laughed, before-"
Parker follows, "-and loved, before!"
"But who knows where," they sing together, "or when!"
The two are so busy laughing and singing to each other that they barely notice the red and blue flashing lights approaching them from behind, and Scarlett has to abruptly turn off the music - evoking some annoyed and very puppy dog-like whimpering from Parker - to get him to stop the car.
Parker rolls down his window. "Is there a problem, officer?"
♬
"I can't believe you made me get a ticket."
"Don't blame me - you were the one behind the wheel!"
"You were the one sitting there singing and being all pre-"
Scarlett arches an eyebrow at him suspiciously, curious about what Parker was about to say before he cut himself off. "Hm?"
"Uh, pretentious. You were being pretentious, and it was very distracting," Parker finishes, keeping his eyes fixated on the road ahead of him.
"Do you even know what that word means?" Scarlett asks.
"Well, no, but-"
"Just keep driving, Parker."
"..."
"..."
"Do you want to turn the song back on?"
Scarlett grins. "Of course I want to turn the song back on."
♬
By the time the two of them have reached Chase's house, it's a quarter after seven, and the popcorn is already finished (April apologizes profusely). Scarlett and Parker stumble through the doorway, laughing like idiots at the fact that they'd basically just serenaded the entire town with the volume level of their car-singing. April, Audrey, Peyton, Chase and Alex are staring at them with wide eyes, looking sufficiently surprised at the sight of Parker and Scarlett actually getting along.
"Sorry," Scarlett says breathlessly in between fits of laughter, "we kind of got pulled over by the cops," she explains, and Audrey arches a brow at Parker, who simply shrugs his shoulders and hops onto the couch across from Chase, who's seated next to Peyton. "Did you guys already start?"
"The movie, or the snacks?" Peyton asks jokingly. "Because if you're referring to the M&M's-"
"I already said I was sorry!" April exclaims, and Scarlett bursts out into laughter again, tugging off her boots and seating herself in between Parker and Chase - bad decision, but whatever. "And did you really think that we'd start the movie without you guys? It's Footloose!" April exclaims, and the whole group bursts into a sudden flash mob of "Everybody cut, everybody cut, everybody cut FOOTLOOSE!" in Chase's living room for a good ten minutes before anyone comes up with the idea of actually putting the DVD in the player.
Scarlett's seen the movie tons of times, but only now does she actually know people in real life that she can relate to the characters. Parker's obviously Willard - he's goofy and sarcastic and hilarious - and Scarlett's definitely Rusty, considering she's basically the girl who likes to stick to the rules and is always looking out for her best friend. She'd say that Ariel (at the start of the movie anyways, when she's with Chuck) reminds her a lot of Mackenna, considering how often she flirts with every guy within a ten-mile radius.
And then there's Alex, who actually played Reverend Moore in a production of Footloose, and is saying all the lines and singing every song at the top of his lungs. Again, you gotta love family.
By the time "Let's Hear it for the Boy" comes around, April, Audrey, Peyton and Scarlett are dancing around the room and singing at the top of their lungs, the boys laughing hysterically from their seats. Pair by pair, Peyton's grabbing Chase and Scarlett's grabbing Parker and pulling them up to dance with them, and Scarlett's nudging April to do the same with Alex.
April shoots Scarlett a look that is somewhere along the lines of please-don't-make-me and Scarlett shoots back something that is definitely not very merciful. So naturally, when April finally musters up the courage to politely - and somewhat shyly, but whatever - extend her hand towards Alex on the couch, Scarlett can't hold back a triumphant smile when he grins up at her and takes it.
"My baby, he don't talk sweet - he ain't got much to say. But he loves me, loves me, loves me, I know that he loves me anyway," the girls sing together between fits of laughter, pretending to serenade the three boys around them. By the time the song is over, Scarlett's only fallen off the couch twice, the snacks haven't been destroyed, and the neighbours have only called to complain once. "Oh, maybe he's no Romeo, but he's my lovin' one-man show, oh, whoa, let's hear it for the boy!"
The credits roll a while later, and Chase turns the lights back on, while Alex is inspecting the empty Ruffles bag with suspicious eyes. "Alright, who ate all of the Ruffles?" he asks, and Audrey and Peyton hold their hands up in surrender.
"April did it!"
April looks horrified. "Wha-"
Scarlett laughs. "Thanks for having us over, Cha-"
"I did not eat all of the chips!"
"You did too!"
"Did not!"
"Yes, you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
Audrey snorts. "Scarlett, would you do us all a favour and tell April and your cousin to stop flirting and get in the car?" she asks (loud enough so that everyone can hear, including April and Alex, who are now blushing with equal intensity and embarrassment). Scarlett laughs and pushes Alex out the door, sending another thank you Chase's way before everyone files off down the driveway. Chase stops Scarlett at his front door.
"Thanks again for coming," he says sheepishly. "It wouldn't have been the same without you here," he admits.
Scarlett fights back the blush that's creeping up on her cheeks. "Well, you know me - I'd never pass up a movie-musical," she replies geekily, adding another mental slap to her to-do-list.
"See you tomorrow?"
"Sure," she says, grinning. She spins around to find that Parker's still at the end of the driveway, waiting outside of his car. "What are you still doing here?" she asks.
"I was uh, I was wondering if you still needed a ride home," he asks, biting his lip.
Right. Scarlett completely forgot about that. "Uh, thanks, I did," she replies, and Parker grins from ear to ear with a mischievous look on his face. "What?" she asks, arching a brow in his direction suspiciously.
"I managed to snag Chase's Footloose soundtrack when he wasn't looking."
And for the next fifteen minutes, they belt out the songs all over again.
♬
Third period rolls around the next day, and after a lunch filled with debates on whether Julianne Hough was better in Footloose or Rock of Ages and frequent bursts of song, Parker and Scarlett walk to class together. They slump into two seats close to the front of the class, and Mrs Levine claps her hands together just as the bell rings, signalling the start of the class.
"Alright, students, I will be handing out your first official project for the semester," she begins, and a select few students in the class groan. "You'll be partnering up and choosing a song that best fits the requirements on the handout in your eyes," she explains, "you'll need to show character, chemistry, vocal technique and add a small routine to your performance."
Mrs Levine hands papers out with the due date of the assignment and general requirements, and tells everyone to find a partner.
And it's the first day of school all over again, because Scarlett's completely lost, and everyone around her is partnering off so quickly, she barely has a chance to get out of her seat before she feels a light tap on her shoulder.
She looks up to find that Parker's still sitting beside her, grinning mischievously. "You know Scarlett, we should've teamed up years ago," he says, and Scarlett beams at his second impeccable Anything Goes reference since she's met him.
She grins, "We're two of a kind, alright," she quotes.
"Partners?" he asks her, not skipping a beat.
"Through thick or thin!" Scarlett jokes.
Parker laughs. "Night or day!"
"Right or wrong!"
The two refrain from bursting out into the rest of the song, because one thing is definitely clear even without a musical number: they're friends. And though Scarlett refuses to believe it, she's really started to like him - not in that way, but you get the idea - and his stupid jokes, his goofy eyes, and his Broadway references that never cease to make her laugh.
It's friendship - just a perfect friendship.
♬
a / n ~ aloha wattpadders! so I'm really happy with this chapter simply because I added where or when into it (I really love that song, and I love to sing it by myself in my room even though it's a duet) and idina menzel and taye diggs sing that at her concert, and it's ADORABLE. so I thought I'd fit it in this chapter because I love singing in the car. next broadway question:
FAVOURITE BOOK-TO-STAGE MUSICAL?
I really love musicals that have been adapted from books (more of them have than you'd think) and I don't know how to choose a favourite! I love into the woods, the wizard of oz, les miserables, the king and I, legally blonde, peter pan, phantom, a very potter musical and of course, matilda! I think that my all-time favourite is going to have to be (insert cheesy drumroll here) wicked! I have all of the books in the series (yes, there's a series, check it out) but I haven't read them all yet. @simjpat and I are working on that.
I'm super excited to tally up all the references and tell you all how many there are, so remember to let me know in the comments! (if it turns out to be five hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred I'll be very happy, rent reference fully intended). ~xoxo, sydney ♥