****************************
This week has flown very quickly; it is already Saturday; Auditions and HSM4 rehearsals are taking place today; Ricky and I are officially in private relationship mode.
Mack follows close behind me as we explore the school.
"Are you auditioning?" He assumes.
"I am," I confirm, nodding.
He nods in approval, "With what song? That movie has a great selection. It's iconic."
"Right!" I agree, huffing a laugh, "Our teacher's kinda non-traditional, though, so we all audition with the same song. My guess is Right Where I Wanna Be."
"You know," He suggests, stopping in his tracks, so I halt, "I'd love to watch, if that's cool with everyone."
I tilt my head, pursing my lips while narrowing my eyes, "I don't know. It's kinda confidential." I tease.
Mack huffs a laugh, catching on that I am quoting him, "Ouch!" sarcastically.
I wave it off, smiling in amusement, "No, but, um...I don't wanna make anyone nervous. My friends kinda love you."
"That's cute." He admires, nodding confidently.
"Oh," I blurt as realization dawns on me, "What did you wanna tell me when you first got here, about Damian?"
"Love that dude! I have to see him." He declares, practically beaming.
I raise my brows and nod enthusiastically to match his energy, though I want to burst out laughing at how obsessed he is with my brother.
"But I was gonna say," He claps his hands together, ".. was, since he got laid off, maybe he can keep busy working on the movie?"
"Hm," I hum in both consideration and disagreement, glancing up, "I don't know. He didn't love the cameras this past summer."
"I watched the doc. You were both amazing!" He compliments in awe.
"I appreciate that." I grin.
"You have to convince him to join!" Mack insists, proceeding down the hall, "I've sent him, like, a million DMs, but he never responds."
I had to shut my eyes, press my lips together, and step back to contain my laughter, before clearing my throat and catching up, "He's not that active on social media."
The little shake in my voice betrayed my attempt to hold back laughter, so Mack turned around and looked at me, curiously.
"But he was super happy to hear that you're in town." I inform, more casually as I nod.
Mack hums cheerfully, delighted by the information. As he opened his mouth to speak, however, shock crossed his face, "Oh, no, is that a fan?"
My brows furrow as I turn around, only to find Ricky; he seemed annoyed by my friend who turned around nervously. When our eyes met, my boyfriend's features softened.
The corners of my mouth quirk up joyfully, so he returns the smile and raises his brows in greeting.
I shake my head to break our intense eye contact, "No, no. It's fine, Mack." I assure.
My friend turns around with a sigh of relief.
"This is Ricky Bowen," I introduce as he draws near.
"I've heard about you." My boyfriend greets, firmly, though holding out his hand politely.
Mack seemed taken aback, but returned the handshake, "I don't doubt that."
I uncomfortably glance between the boys, puzzled and concerned, especially when Ricky drags Mack's hand down to firmly shake it, catching my friend by surprise.
"Okay," I dismiss and gently push their hands away, laughing uncomfortably as Mack lets out a pained, yet casual, "Ah!" along with a sarcastic chuckle.
"I'm Bianca's good friend- best friend." Ricky continues, nodding assuredly.
"Yeah," I agree, placing a hand on my boyfriend's shoulder.
Mack hums in acknowledgment, waving his hand forcefully to ease the discomfort from the rough handshake, "I thought your best friend was that dude all over your Instagram?" No doubt meaning Carlos.
I shrug, huffing a laugh, "I have multiple."
"Hey, I'd love to meet him." He suggests, pushing past Ricky to put an arm around my shoulder and lead me away, only to irritate my boyfriend.
Anger shadowed Ricky's features as he tensed, but he eased up a little when I reached back for his hand. He smiled and intertwined our fingers, while simultaneously reaching with his other hand to push Mack's arm off me.
My boyfriend swayed his head while glancing around, acting clueless as to what happened, as Mack glares. I stifle a laugh, gently nudging my shoulder into Ricky's side to silently scold him. Ricky raises his brows proudly.
"Didn't realize the tour included guests." Mack sarcastically mutters.
"So, dude," Ricky mockingly blurts, "Do you still keep in touch with the dog from the show?"
My boyfriend completely ruined my famous friend's mood. He was stone-faced and spoke dryly, "There were seven of them over the years. They all retired to a farm upstate."
"Oh, that's-"
Mack cut off Ricky before he could sarcastically continue.
"They're dead." He firmly informs.
"Jeez," Ricky blurts, wide-eyed, halting.
I nod, shutting my eyes to contain my laughter, "Yeah, the farm is heaven, honey." I quietly inform, dragging his arm to continue.
************************************
Auditions began, and the song chosen by our drama teacher was Like Me, one of my favorite sequences. It was held in the rehearsal room—since the HSM4 crew was setting up the auditorium—and was our smoothest audition process yet. It almost swung by much like a real sequence, because the students appeared to be in a rush to get to the set of the movie.
Now, we are currently heading to the movie rehearsal, but oddly, I am more anxious about the cast list for the musical.
Hand in hand with my boyfriend, alongside Carlos, Seb, Ashlyn, Kourtney, Gina, and EJ, we reach the auditorium and find that the door is marked with a yellow sign that reads: "HOMECOMING: Private rehearsal. Do not enter."
"This is so official!" Ashlyn admires, after a moment of freaking out in excitement, "There's a sign on the door. Do we knock? Do we make a grand entrance? What do they do in Hollywood?" She panics.
"You guys!" Gina beams, "We're actually rehearsing for High School Musical 4." We cheer.
"My bone structure was built for the big screen!" Carlos brags.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Seb agrees, kissing his cheek. My best friend's boastful expression faded as the corners of his mouth quirk up in a wide grin.
Meanwhile, I nod in agreement and squeeze Carlos' shoulder supportively, "The documentary proved what we all knew!" His confident look returns as we nod knowingly.
Ricky stifled a laugh, already proud of his own joke, "Hollywood? More like Holly-will!"
Our smiles faded as the hallway fell silent.
"Sorry, guys," He blurts as his face falls, feeling the weight of our judging stares, "I'm really excited."
My eyes soften as I squeeze his hand, puckering my bottom lip because compassion overtook me.
Ricky's smile returned as his brows raised, hopeful upon noticing my reaction.
I spoke gently, "How have you spent so many months around me and Carlos, and you're still not funny?" then finally teasing and firm at the latter. His smile falls.
Carlos and I burst out laughing and high-five.
"It's okay, Ricky." Seb soothes, "It took me a year, but I'm there!" He nods assuredly, grinning.
As my boyfriend smiles appreciatively and fist bumps the blond, my best friend and I practically side-eye each other as our laughter comes to a halt.
"Oh," Carlos blurts, playfully taken aback as he motions with his palm to his boyfriend, "This.. is there?"
Shock crosses Seb's face, taken aback, so Ricky pats his shoulder supportively, as I pull away to laugh loudly with Carlos.
My boyfriend waves it off, "Carlos and Bianca are just mean." He teases, with a mocking smile, making the blond chuckle gently.
Meanwhile, EJ is gushing over how Hollywood is where his multi-talented girlfriend belongs; Gina melts, and they share a sweet kiss. Kourtney is bragging to Ashlyn about college, and how being an actress will look good among all of her accomplishments. We all know that she is anxious, and that her apparent confidence is fake, but keep quiet because we know that she will nonetheless get into the college of her dreams.
Suddenly, the auditorium door opens, and I grow nervous as everything sinks in. My best friend and I take hands.
"Featured Background?" The choreographer—as seen on the card around her neck—joyfully assumes, grinning.
All of us nodded and yelled out a variety of "yes,".
Her smile dropped, leading us to believe it was phony, "You're late. Why didn't you knock?" Puzzled.
"Funny story," Ashlyn blurts.
I hum in agreement, "Should've gone with your thing, Ash." She nods.
The choreographer cut us off, "Time is money." She spoke firmly, before going back into the auditorium.
We were astonished, but quickly followed behind. Ricky, though, held me back by grabbing my hand and spinning me around to pull me into him. I gasped in surprise and smiled wide, but had no time to speak as our lips met in a tender kiss. I melt, leaning in closer to deepen it
"I'm gonna miss you." He admits, pulling away to put his forehead against mine.
"We're going into the same room, Bowen!" I tease.
"I'm allowed to stand next to you?" He questions, sarcastically puzzled as he steps back: our fingers intertwine in the process.
I playfully roll my eyes, "As long as it's just our friends around. No other students, no choreographer, no director,"
"No Mack." He adds, nodding knowingly.
I tilt my head as my face falls, still curious as to why Ricky is jealous of my childhood friend.
"Or his girlfriend, Dani, and all the other actors?" I firmly remind.
"Right." sarcastically.
"Are you seriously jealous of Mack?" I press, taken aback, "We just spent a whole summer with Corbin Bleu, and you're the one I fell for,"
The corners of his mouth quirk up as mine do, both amused by the joke.
"That should prove that literally nothing could ever get between us, Bowen!" assuredly.
He huffs, nodding, "I know nothing could ever get between us, Sweeney, and I'm not jealous. I just don't like how close that..has-been, extremely former sitcom star,"
I playfully shake my head in shame as he rolls his eyes and waves it off, continuing, "..is to you. That show wasn't even good-"
Confusion crosses my face, "I thought you've never seen it?"
The corners of his mouth quirk up in a guilty smile, "There's a chance I fell down a rabbit hole and hate-watched all of season 1 last night after you left.."
My brows raise as shock shadows my features, nodding along.
"Plus, significant episodes of seasons two through six." He blurts.
"Bowen, I haven't even watched all of that show!" I remind, stunned, "Only some odd episodes, and the Halloween special."
"Right?" He judges, shaking his head with disgust on his face, "It's awful."
I nod in agreement, judging just as much, "Terrible!"
We share a laugh, then I reach up to capture his lips in a tender kiss. He cradles my face in the process.
Alas, it was rehearsal time. My number tag was 15. The choreographer, Krystal, was an amazing dancer; but harsh teacher. Carlos and Gina showed her to not underestimate them by outshining all of us—because they are the best dancers at East High—but we kept up as fast as we could with our ex-co-choreographers.
Krystal was impressed and, to my admiration, is a very kind person when she is not in choreographer mode.
Then, Quinn Robbins, the director, showed up. We all stayed silent, first out of shock, then confusion when she ranted about having never seen any of the High School Musical films, and all of her past projects. Just as she began complaining about the lack of PAs, the doors opened, revealing Mack, who was early.
He waves, "Hey! I'm here early."
I smile and playfully roll my eyes as my friends look at me in shock. Meanwhile, Ricky rolled his eyes sincerely.
"You weren't called for another two hours." Krystal reminds, puzzled.
"Yeah," Mack shrugs confidently, approaching the stage, "But whenever I'm first on the call sheet, I always like to hang out on set, just in case somebody needs any help. Gotta stay humble and all. The legendary Wyatt Sweeney taught me that." He winks in my direction at the mention of my dad.
Quinn nods and hums in agreement, "He's one of the greats." as she exits the auditorium.
My eyes widen, unintentionally, because it has been so long since I have been around anyone who is complimentary of my father. My friends reacted in the same way, while Ricky was entirely judgmental.
If only they knew, I thought to myself as I nodded along.
"Take five. Hydrate." Krystal politely instructs.
Mack approached, with his arms out in greeting, with a wide smile, "Hey Bianca. Bianca's friends."
"Blanche," Carlos grins, linking his arm with mine, "Introduce us to your friend!?"
They all gathered around me, as a jealous Ricky stayed behind.
I opened my mouth to speak, but a shocked Mack cut me off, with his hand out dismissively, "Oh, she's not Blanche anymore. She's Bianca."
"Okay," My best friend snaps, taken aback, "She's my best friend, only I'm allowed to call her by her birth name."
Ricky raised his brows mockingly and approached, relieved that someone finally stood up to Mack. I awkwardly smile as this unfolds.
"Sorry, sorry," Mack blurts, "I'm just so used to correcting her dad, who just.." He waves it off and huffs, deciding not to continue speaking about my dad.
I uncomfortably glance off and press my lips together, as all of my friends are now puzzled.
"Yeah, he's the worst," Mack settles on instead, as if he can finally be honest now that the crew are gone, "But the best in the game, taught me everything I know!"
"Can't argue with that." I quietly blurt, before stepping away to stand next to him, "Okay! Now, Mack, these are my friends. Literally every single person at East who likes me." sarcastically.
Mack bursts out laughing, making all of my friends uncomfortably join in. I offer a smile to Ricky, who cannot hide his hatred for Mack.
My boyfriend quickly raises his brows, "This guy." as if admiring Mack, but it was completely sarcastic.
I tilt my head with a serious look, one that reads: "Be nice!"
**************************************
Carlos spends the evening at Slices because I am working the closing shift. After wiping down the tables and then switching the sign from open to closed, I joined him in a booth.
"So," I start, smiling proudly, "I've heard whispers around, from Big Red's family, that there's a major change happening here soon with staff. Am I being delusional to think they wanna promote me?"
Carlos shakes his head and hums dismissively to back me up, while digesting strawberry lemonade, "No way, Blanche! Kourt quit, Howie went off to college, and Big Red's away doing.." He trails off, puzzled.
I tilt my head as confusion crosses my face, since we both forgot where Ashlyn said her—for some reason still—boyfriend went.
"Whatever," I add instead, nodding.
He nods in agreement, "Off doing whatever! And you have stepped up." He brags.
I shrug and smile with self-satisfaction, "You know, all this change has been so good for me. I love it!"
His eyes narrow, with a hopeful grin, "Even moving!?"
My smile falls weak, then I lean back as I cave in, "I know it'll be a nice change. A refreshing new start. But, like.." I sigh, sitting up, "Does this mean I'm letting go of my dad completely? Because our names carved on the pavement outside from when I was a kid, feels like the only thing I have of him."
"Blanche," He soothes, reaching over to hold my hands in his.
I glance down to fight my emotions and hold back tears, "It's, like, I keep blaming it on my mom and Mr. Mazzara, but I know it's not their fault. It's because I'm almost 18, and he finally has a way out. But he's never going to truly leave me. I'm always gonna wake up every day hoping to find a text from him. I'm always gonna look at the crowd while I'm on stage..." I pause as tears escape me, "..wishing he was there-" My voice breaks.
Shock crossed my best friend's face, since I hardly ever cry in front of anyone- even him. So, without a second thought, he raced to my side and wrapped his arms around me, allowing me to cry. My arms are tight around his middle, while practically laying down in the booth.
"And it's, like," After a moment, I sniff and regain my breath to continue ranting, "All of the people from Hollywood saying how great he is!? It's making me angry because I don't agree anymore. There's no part of me that thinks he's a good person anymore."
"That's a good thing." Carlos assures, "It's difficult, but you're healing. I can see it."
I shut my eyes, squeezing him, "I love you."
He squeezes me back, "I love you, Blanche. So much."
After a moment of comforting silence, I pull back slightly, "So.. the director: wears all black, chipped nail polish, is a raging bitch,"
The corners of his mouth quirk up, huffing a laugh.
"Is that me?" I blurt, "Like, ghost of Christmas future type vibe?"
"Oh, Blanche," He spoke gently then paused, caressing my back, "Yes." in the same tone.
We burst out laughing as I pull away, "Oh!"
"If you keep waiting around for your dad!" He elaborates, "Who cares if last he knew, you didn't like jewelry? You've grown so much, don't let that be the only thing holding you back."
I take a deep breath, glancing up, "I hate how much I like jewelry and..sparkles now." I pretend to shudder in disgust.
Carlos grins and claps in excitement, "Your first time actually admitting it! I knew I'd break you!"
"Oh, you did." in horror, playfully.
"Let's go shopping tomorrow?" He suggests, hopeful.
"Thrifting?" I give in, shrugging.
Disgust crosses his face with wide eyes, "Other people's clothes.." He trails off, placing a hand over his heart, "I think I feel faint!"
"Sorry!" I blurt, holding back a laugh as I squeeze his shoulder supportively, "Sometimes, I forget you're rich."
**************************************************
************************
The corners of my mouth quirk up as I stare at my reflection. I feel like myself; dark makeup and clothes, though still shining with hints of glitter throughout.
"Blanche," Carlos admires in awe, holding my shoulders beside me, "You look so beautiful!"
I nod assuredly, "You know what? I feel beautiful."
He squeals in excitement as his eyes soften, putting his head down on my shoulder. I laugh lightly and rest my head on his.
My smile fades as an ache overtakes my chest, "What if..I look stupid to everyone else tonight? Like, they say it's not me. Last time, I had the "it's prom and this is Maddox's" excuse-"
Carlos raises his brows challengingly, shifting me to face him, "Then they don't know."
My eyes soften, wrapping my arms around him and shutting my eyes to sink into his comfortable embrace. He holds me tightly.
I huff in contentment, "Thank you for knowing me."
"Always." My best friend promises, in awe, "And likewise."
********************************
I shut the door behind me and smiled wide upon finding Ricky holding a bouquet of daisies, waiting by his best friend's car. My eyes soften in awe as shock crosses his face upon drinking me in; he appears speechless. He makes me feel safe and beautiful, but I am still a little insecure about being glammed up.
"I know, this is kind of ridiculous on me-" I playfully roll my eyes, motioning to the sparkles.
"No, it's not." Ricky disagrees, shaking his head, "It's right. It's you."
My eyes soften, approaching closer to take the flowers, as my free hand cradled his face, "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He assures as he continues to drink me in, "But...does that lipstick mean I can't kiss you?" His face scrunches as he awaits my answer.
Without a word, I pull him in to crash my lips into his quickly, catching him by surprise, but he melted into and chased my lips as I pulled away. I held back and wiped my thumb across his lips, to reveal that it is completely clean. His eyes were wide, surprised—and admiring—the suddenness of it all.
"Smudge-proof, baby!" I proudly announce.
He raises his brows and nods in approval, holding my waist to pull me in for another kiss.
I smile against his lips, before pulling back slightly, "Just, like, be careful. It won't last all night."
Ricky throws his head back with a groan of annoyance, playfully, making me laugh gently.
"So," I question, stepping back as he opens the door for me, "Where are we going!?"
He smiles proudly, shutting the door before racing over to the drivers side of Big Red's orange beetle.
Ricky clears his throat to appear serious, settling in, "Slices?" Work.
Immediately, my grin fades, trying to find any humor, "Bowen," as if saying: Seriously?
"I'm kidding!" He assures.
My eyes widen, before playfully shaking my head and rolling my eyes, then shoving his shoulder gently as he starts the car.
"Guess!"
"Um," I hum curiously and glance around, before smiling smugly, "Your place?" flirtatiously.
If the car hadn't stopped at the stop sign leaving my neighborhood, I'm certain he would've slammed the brakes in shock, as his head snapped in my direction; or the gas peddle to race to his house, as he swallowed harshly. Either way, the flirtatious comment had him flustered, so I lightly laughed to ease the tension.
Ricky clears his throat, "The place where my dad is with our drama teacher?" He huffs a laugh, "Unless that's-.. Unless you want to-"
I pretended that my fake laughing blocked out the last thing he blurted out, only to hide how flustered I am, "What did we do in a past life for the teachers-at-our-house thing to happen?"
That did not make much sense, I blurted it out nervously to appear casual.
He nods along in agreement, "Something terrible."
I hum before silence can creep in, glancing out the window, "School rooftop?" I guess again to avoid the heavy tension.
His eyes narrow, "It's 6pm, honey." Ricky reminds, teasingly as he interlocks our fingers.
"Right," I nod knowingly and act as if realization dawned on me, "I forgot you don't like to break any rules." I tease.
He hums dismissively, caressing my hand with his thumb, "You won't be saying that later." confidently.
"Oh?" taken aback and intrigued.
Ricky turns his head at me momentarily, to wink and place a kiss on the back of my hand. The corners of my mouth quirk up wide as butterflies fill my stomach.
******************************
With a green bandana covering my eyes—loosely, without ruining my makeup—and Ricky narrating and guiding my every step, we journeyed through a building, and I curiously guessed.
"Opening a door," He informs.
"Uh, movie theater?" I guess, though completely puzzled when the door creaked loudly; it was almost familiar.
"Close," He teases, stepping back to remove the blindfold.
I gasp in surprise as my eyes soften upon finding that we are in the room where we should have been practicing HSM, but instead fought and created a plan to pose as a couple, in the El Rey Theater.
"Surprise!" He puts his arms out in showcase at the room that is much nicer than last time; decorated with a plaid picnic blanket, ice chest, and numerous fake candles lit the space.
"Bowen!" I beam, turning around to capture his lips in a gentle kiss.
He smiles into it, proud of himself, and holds my waist while my arms are looped around his neck.
I pull away, still in awe, "Awwe, did you bring me to the place where our fake relationship started, so you can admit our real relationship is fake, and murder me here!?" I jest, in the same amazed tone.
Ricky tilts his head, a bit taken aback while still admiring me, "You're so romantic...and scary."
I hum joyfully and leap to kiss him again.
"Seriously," I began, sincerely, turning my head to gaze around, "This is perfect, and so thoughtful! Bowen, thank you."
"Kind of broke a rule, right?" He shrugs confidently.
"What, getting Carlos to get his uncle to let us in?" I tease, eyes narrowed knowingly.
He raises his brows, in a playfully challenging manner, reaching into his pocket to pull out keys, "He handed over the place."
I hum and nod in approval, "Excuse me, then." as if taking back when I teased him.
He nods assuredly, "Right?"
We burst out laughing, then I cradle his face as our lips meet in a gentle kiss.
*********************************************Third-person POV*
Carlos is holding the cast reveal at Kat and Damian's apartment, so it is crowded with drama club members. There are snacks and beverages on the table, while the TV plays a Broadway music channel.
The couple loved the company; she stayed on top of refilling cups to show it, while he gave them all a 9:30 curfew to hide it.
However, Damian had forgotten about that rule until the clock struck 10. His sister and her boyfriend were late; later than Gina and EJ who had an adorable date meeting puppies.
When realization dawned on him, Damian curiously checked his watch, "Start the search party. Bianca Sweeney is late." He jokes, dramatically.
"Ricky, too." Kat reminds, passing by with a bowl of snacks.
His brows furrow, shrugging cluelessly, "Who?" humorously, before stealing a small pretzel from the dish.
She playfully shakes her head in shame, "Stop it!"
*********************************************Bianca's POV*
"Andrew Garfield, and it's no competition!" I protest, in the hall as my boyfriend walks backwards in front of me.
"Really?" Ricky blurts, taken aback, "Tobey Maguire is right there. We even got that iconic rain kiss scene."
"Well, Andrew is a theater kid, very multi-talented,"
He glances up and shakes his head playfully, as if disregarding my words.
"Plus, I like how his version centers around Gwen Stacy!" I conclude, assuredly.
"I agree there." He caves in, interlocking our hands, "Spider-Girl was one of my crushes. We have to add her and Spidey to our list of potential Halloween costumes."
I gasp happily, "Yes!" I agree, practically jumping into his arms as we halted in the hall.
We laugh as he catches me and our lips meet; he holds my waist as my arms are around his neck, legs curled behind me as he twirls in the narrow hallway.
I had removed my lipstick earlier, so I would not have to worry about it staining as it got later.
Suddenly, the door opened, and it dawned on me why we stopped; we had reached my brother and sister-in-law's apartment. Our head snapped in that direction, wide-eyed and fearful in embarrassment. Thankfully, however, it was only Carlos.
"You're lucky I'm not Damie." My best friend points out, opening the door further.
"Thank you." My boyfriend blurts, relaxing.
Ricky and I are relieved, as he set me down to the ground and let me go into the apartment first. I sigh in relief, squeezing Carlos' shoulder while passing by.
The drama club was intrigued by my brother's dance moves; You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray played on the TV. They were gathered around him.
Shock crosses my face, "I see he's busy."
"Yeah," Carlos agrees, putting an arm around my shoulder, "It started off as him being all nonchalant about dancing, then someone getting a move from this number wrong, and now, here we are.."
As Ricky and I nod in approval, I sneak a glance at Kat, who is leaning on the counter with her chin in the palm of her hand, admiring her husband with soft eyes. The sight made me smile, as did seeing how happy my brother looks. Maybe Mack was right, I should talk to Damian about being in the movie.
************************************
"Everyone, sit!" Carlos instructs, waving the envelope, "Everyone, breathe." He pauses to demonstrate, then continues: "Today was big. We rehearsed for a Hollywood movie!"
The drama club and I cheer while assembled in the living room. I am perched on Ricky's lap, on the gray bean bag chair that we are sharing.
"But, in my humble opinion, the following is even bigger." My best friend declares, shrugging.
I nod in agreement, pointing at him proudly, as does Seb.
Carlos squeals upon scanning the list, "Okay, okay. Let's get serious." He clears his throat, "Cheechee with the good hair will be played by... Kourtney Greene!"
She gasps in excitement and bows as we cheer, before touching her hair as the character does.
"Giggles will be played by...Gina Porter!" He motions to her.
EJ cheers loudly as his girlfriend squeals and mimics the character's iconic dance move.
"The iconic Struts will be played by...Ashlyn Moon Caswell!" He emphasized the character dramatically, before proudly announcing.
She gasps in admiration, with a hand over her heart, "Struts has, like, the best 'dark' feminine energy ever. I can't wait to tap in." assuredly, with a smug smile.
"And now," Carlos pauses for the dramatic, "..for the core four." My best friend takes a deep breath, taking hands with his boyfriend.
I exhale deeply, standing up while still holding onto Ricky's hand; he squeezes supportively.
"Tanner will be played by..featured extra number two, AKA Richard Bowen!" Carlos proudly announces.
"Let's go, Seniors!" Ricky cheers, free arm overhead. I shake his hand in excitement, squealing.
"Miss Lela will be played by..the only person in the world good enough to play her: Blanche Sweeney!!" His dramatic attempt was overtaken by his excitement, so he rushed it out.
I scream in surprise, beaming with happiness, "My dream come true!"
"I told you!" Ricky brags as everyone cheers, embracing me in a hug where he twirls me. I laugh, then capture his lips gently.
Carlos smiles proudly, eyes soft as he announces, "Brady will be played by the versatile Sebastian Matthew-Smith!"
"What!?" The blond jumps up, completely shocked and relieved. His boyfriend nods in affirmation, and they share a kiss as we cheer.
I applaud, "Yes!"
Ricky cups his hands over his mouth, "Whoo!"
"And now," Carlos takes a deep breath, "The moment you've all been waiting for...McKenzie will be played by.. moi!" His voice was dramatic until announcing; while glancing up and shrugging assuredly. Seb kisses him.
I scream in excitement, making my best friend do the same, as I run into his arms.
We pulled away to take hands, "We're Lela and McKenzie!!" I began speaking first, so Carlos caught on and blurted it out, too. We loudly announced it in unison.
As everyone cheered, I noticed that Ashlyn was sending a voice memo to Maddox, so as Seb got Carlos' attention to finally have a moment of freaking out about being the leads, I snuck over behind the couch to snatch her phone.
Ash is surprised, then chuckles gently at my eagerness.
"Mads," I beam into the phone, "I'm Lela! Also, please text me back, you're not going to explode if Ashlyn isn't the only person you talk to," I tease.
She gasps and snatches her phone, playfully taken aback, though a tad flushed.
"Byeee!" I extend, grinning while leaning into the device.
"Wait, wait," Gina earns the attention, "Who's playing Butchy?"
"Oh, right," Realization dawns on me as I rejoin the group, "My brother." I recall the relation to my character, nodding.
Confusion crosses Carlos' face, scanning the list once again, "Buchy is.. not cast yet." He shrugs cluelessly as we are all puzzled.
Seb hums curiously, pointing at the paper, "Neither are Seacat and Rascal."
Confusion crosses Gina's face, "I'm sorry, how do we not have enough people to fill out a Teen Beach Movie cast?"
Carlos shrugs, puzzled, "It appears the movie sucked up all other potential drama kids. They're getting 100 bucks a week, plus all the kettle corn they can eat. We can't compete with that."
"Eej?" She hopes, gazing softly at her boyfriend, as their arms are linked.
We agreed and became optimistic, while EJ smiled nervously and swiped his girlfriend's chin gently, "I'm sorry, guys, but I just started at work. Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dennis aren't really letting me stay for free." He huffs uneasily. Ashlyn nods in agreement with wide eyes.
Just as we felt defeated again, suddenly, my brother walked in; cluelessly snapping his fingers to the tune of Cruisin' for a Bruisin'.
"Hey," He starts, as if realizing something, "The musical you're doing? I think I remember the choreo to that song you used to listen to a million times, Bianca."
The drama club did not seem to catch on to what Carlos and I were gawking at each other about.
Confusion crosses his face upon noticing the sad faces thinking we do not have enough members, "Tired of my dancing?" sarcastically taken aback.
"It's not that, Damie," Seb assures, shaking his head, as they all inform them that they love his moves.
"Damie," I blurt, in a sing-song tone, as Carlos and I approach my puzzled brother.
"How would you like to be in the musical with us!?" My best friend grins.
The drama club catches on and cheers encouragingly, while Damian is taken aback.
"Wait, what?" He blurts, eyes narrowed, "Like, as choreographer?"
I nod, counting on my fingers, "As- as choreographer, direct alongside Miss Jenn, star in the musical as Butchy!" Carlos claps in excitement beside me.
Damian gawked at us, shaking his head, "Guys, I'm 26, and obviously not a student-"
"Babe!" Kat beams, emerging from their room, "This would be amazing for you! Say yes." She encourages, shaking him supportively.
"Please, Damian!" Gina pleads.
As we all cheered my hesitant brother on, Kourtney held up her phone, "Hey, it says here that the actor who played Butchy was twenty-seven in the movie!" She grins.
"A sign." Carlos declares, assuredly.
"Yeah," Ricky agrees, "You're insanely talented, dude."
"Damie, Damie!" I began to chant, so everyone joined in.
"Hey," Damian dismisses, catching us by surprise, "Does this mean I'm a theater nerd?" He downplays a smile.
We all cheer, relieved, which leads to a group hug.
Kourtney's phone chimed, so she pulled away first with a gasp, since her screen was still lit up. She earned the attention and sat on the couch, then announced: "You guys, Dani just posted something really cryptic on Instagram."
We are all curious, especially because of her dramatic delivery.
"It reads: "Hollywood is brutal. Stay grounded out there, babes." Kourtney reads, then gasps, "Mack commented, "Shit's messed up." Ooh, what kind of tea they got going on there!? Bianca, you have to text Mack and get the tea!"
The drama club agrees and encourages me, while Ricky is disapproving. My brother and sister-in-law watch curiously as this unfolds.
"We're not that close," I start, pulling out my phone from my pocket, and then it buzzes in my hands. Confusion crosses my face upon noticing the unfamiliar number, "Wait, guys, what area code is 310?"
Shock crosses my best friend's face, "That's Hollywood, baby!" Carlos grins, linking our arms.
Damian shakes his head, humming dismissively, "It's midnight, might be spam." He warns, full brother mode.
"Or it's someone from the movie crew!" I put forth, stunned.
"Look," Ricky encourages, "If you're fired from the movie, you're still Lela."
I turn my head, taken aback, "I don't like how that's where your mind went." playfully.
Guilt is clear on his face as he opens his mouth, but I cut him off and offer a reassuring smile, which he returns with a huff, as I answer my phone.
"Hello?" confidently, while putting it on speaker.
"Bianca Sweeney? Hi. It's Quinn, the director." She blurts politely.
We are all stunned, especially Carlos and me, who termed her as my ghost of Christmas future.
I was silent for too long as we gazed in shock at one another, so she mistook that for confusion and informed: "Sundance runner-up for Where Has All The Money Gone?"
"Hi, hi!" I blurt, nodding, "Yes, of course. What can I do for you?"
She laughs lightly to ease the tension, "Why didn't you tell me that your father is Wyatt Sweeney!?" completely intrigued.
My smile falls, even my friends are uncomfortable. Damian threw his head back in annoyance.
"Oh, uh.." I struggle to respond.
"It's okay!" Quinn assures, "Because I spoke to your friend, Mack, tonight, and he said that you have the range, talent, and ambition to really make a mark—which I believe because your father is legit—and not just in the background."
Shock and confusion shadow my features, "What-.. What are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is," Quinn informs, assuredly, "How would you like to replace Dani in High School Musical 4?"