Welcome back to another monthly installment of 'Starburst'. A bit cheesy opening title that's a nod to Pokemon, but basketballs are a core element here. Or in other words, time to read about the monthly drama Ten is roped into the Theater Club by Cress and EJ.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' or Ten from "Weightless". Ten and Jeonghan belong to my friend @zealous_light. I only own my original characters. Enjoy the chapter.
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It was time for another after school rehearsals.
Apparently, EJ is planning to apologize to Nini for stealing her phone after the rehearsals are over, so Cress is hoping time could fly by sooner. That way, she can either congratulate EJ for doing the right thing or be there to console him if Nini refuses to take him back.
"Troy and Chad. Scene 45." Miss Jenn announced as she started the read-through for the day.
Ten put his books aside to join EJ for the scene. Cress placed down the basketball prop she and Big Red were making.
Big Red got assigned as one of the Prop Makers, and honestly Cress was grateful to have an extra set of helping hands. She'll be graduating next year and it'd be nice for someone else to take over, after she guides them through in setting budgets for the ingredients as well as making the props.
Big Red honestly seems like a fantastic candidate, Cress is aware that his family business focuses on food retail so he could be somewhat experienced in craftswork. She's seen him fold pizza boxes before, he's awesome!
(Yes, Cress may suck at a lot of things, Math surprisingly isn't one of them. She's somewhat decent at basic accounting because she usually keeps track of her weekly expenses)
"Let's take it from the top. And remember: these two are best friends. It's a sacred thing for reasons I'll never understand. Ready?" Miss Jenn reminded the two actors to stay in character as EJ and that Rat began their scene.
"We had a meeting about how we haven't been acting like a team, Troy." EJ began, "Us. Not you. And the singing thing..."
"I don't want to talk about it." Ricky replied, reading from the script.
"We just want you to know that we're gonna be there, cheering for you." EJ responded, playing as Chad.
'Nah dude, if the male lead is anything like that, I vote for throwing stuff in his general direction!' Cress bit back an insult, her amber eyes focused on the prop ball in her hands.
No matter how tempting it is to throw it at Ricky Bowen. But she's sure Ten would glue her limbs together before it can happen.
Yeah the acting between the two male leads are very stiff considering they're both enemies and love rivals. And who would blame them? Have you heard how irritating Ricky's voice is? It makes Cress want to bleach her eardrums with plutonium.
"Huh?" Ricky responded stiffly, as if he was lost or caught off-guard by EJ's lines.
'Seriously, how was he even casted as Troy Bolton?!' Ten frowned.
'Frogging Hell, this guy is hopeless!' Cress dug her nails into her skin in irritation.
"Win or lose, we're teammates." EJ sent a seemingly friendly punch at Ricky's shoulder, "Even if you turn out to be the worst singer in the world."
"And you're not going to hear me sing, cause Gabriella won't even talk to me, and I don't know why."
Well at least those lines kinda have some level of semi-emotional connection from a Jilted Ex.
"Ok," Miss Jenn interrupted and gave her feedback, "That was alright, but a little stiff. Let's try to loosen up."
Miss Jenn gestured to the (real!) basketball Ten was holding, "Use the ball and improvise."
Now, Cress (who was making the props) would have lent EJ the prop balls; but even then, she refuses to waste such a work of art on the skater.
Ten handed the ball over to EJ and mouthed at him not to do anything rash, before returning to his seat. Once he was done mouthing off EJ, it was Gremlin-I mean Cress's Damage Control duty.
"Troy, you are the best player we've got." EJ said, bouncing the ball towards Ricky, "We're so lucky."
"Wouldn't be anything without you." Ricky replied, rebounding the ball back to EJ.
"The way you pretend to play basketball is really inspiring." EJ threw the ball towards the curly-haired teen.
"Thanks Chad. And the way you dance is totally normal and not at all weird for a regular high school kid." Ricky gritted his teeth and hurled the ball (and thinly veiled insult) back.
There sure is a lot of passive-aggressive 'compliments' going on here. Is there room for one more, Cress would like to know.
"You deserve everything that's coming your way." EJ aimed the ball with a little bit more force now.
"Back at you." Ricky refuted with a fake smile.
"Back at you times two."
"4" "8"
The ball throwing is growing more and more aggressive.
"Back at you infinity times one!"
EJ didn't even have time to prepare himself for that impact as the basketball crashed into his nose.
The moment Ricky hurled the ball (and hit) EJ in the face, Cress just instinctively threw the ball in retaliation. Good news! The ball whacked Ricky Bowen right in the gut.
Don't worry, this is one of the prop balls. If it were the real deal, let's just say Ricky would have suffered more.
'Mess with my friends, mess with me!' A cold smirk curled on Cress's lips, but she immediately hid it.
"Whoops, sorry! The prop slipped from my hands!" Cress lied with a plastered smile, hoping to look sincerely apologetic. "I also thought it was Dodgeball for a second."
"We're literally practicing basketball. How could you mistake it for dodgeball?" Kaison asked out loud.
"Well, you start by throwing the ball at someone and hope it hits something. You also get points if you hit the ball at the target." Cress pointed out.
"She's got a point there." Marisol thought for a moment and nodded sagely at Cress's remark.
"Take five, people." Miss Jenn sighed. "EJ, honey, you should get some ice."
"If you don't mind, Miss Jenn, but Ten and I need to check in on our friend." Cress quickly grabbed Ten by the arm and lunged him towards the boys' bathroom.
"Did you have to throw that ball at Ricky Bowen?" Ten whisper-yelled at his friend.
"You are LUCKY it wasn't my damn fist!" Cress cracked her knuckles.
"I'll get the ice pack." Ten had dashed off to the infirmary.
"And I'll grab the first aid kit." Cress headed to her locker. She carries her own first aid kit in her bag because she's prone to getting paper cuts when doing arts and crafts.
— — — — — — — — — — —
EJ was just minding his own business in the washroom, using the sink tap to scrub off the bloodstain on his shirt...when his two best friends showed up.
"E!" Cress kicked open the door, a first aid kit in one hand and her jacket in the other.
EJ was truly unprepared for his friend barging in that he lets out an (almost) unmanly scream.
"Cress, this is the guys' bathroom! And I'm not wearing my shirt!" EJ exclaimed in shock, attempting to cover up whatever's left of his dignity in front of his female friend.
"Eh, I don't give a figurative crap about where I take a crap. You're one of my best friends, so if someone hurts you, you know I'll be by your side." Cress hissed.
"That, and I've seen you walking around shirtless many times. The physical appeal has worn off since we were 14." Cress retorted.
"Wow, way to lift my spirits." EJ responded drily. He is glad to see his friend cares about him a lot, but still somehow finds a way to roast him.
"Aww, thank you." Cress smirked, "Nobody messes with you but us."
"But you're still not off the hook for stealing Nini's phone. Even if you make mistakes sometimes, you're still our friend." Ten added.
"There's no need for you two to be so overprotective of me." EJ commented. He knows they mean well, but sometimes these two get over-the-top at looking out for him.
"Well to be fair, out of the 3 of us, you have the least life skills." Cress cheekily grinned.
"W-what?!" EJ looked...insulted by her remark. He looked at Ten who actually NODDED with Cress.
"There's the time you wore your shirt inside out." Ten remembered.
"I was 7 and rushing to school." EJ grumbled.
"The time you and Ashlyn set my kitchen on fire when you stayed overnight." Ten reminded.
"We were trying to make breakfast for you and your family." EJ replied in a defensive tone. He was 9 at the time, ok? In his kid logic, you put food over the stove and something edible comes out of it!
"And the time you got lost at IKEA on our Freshman year." Cress hummed.
"That was YOU." EJ refuted. "Ten and I had to go to the Lost Child center to find you."
"I was 15, how the heck did they think I was 9?" Cress bemoaned at the memory, Ten placed a supportive hand on her back to comfort her.
"At the very least you're apologizing to her right?" Ten sighed but noticed EJ's body language seems to tell another story. "Caswell, are you kidding me?!"
"Why? Why can't I just not tell her." EJ mumbled, averting eye contact with both of them.
"No, not telling her the truth is just as bad as whatever Cressie did to Tatiana after you two broke up." Ten refuted.
"Hold up, you did what?" EJ paused, registering whatever Cress had done behind their backs after his ex left him.
"Up, up, up, this isn't about me right now." Cress redirected their attention towards EJ. "You need to apologize to her and tell her the truth. I know it'll hurt but relationships aren't healthy if you keep secrets from one another."
"Pot meets kettle." EJ pointed back at her, hinting at whatever secret she didn't tell him about his ex.
"Running away from the truth isn't the answer. You need to take responsibility for your actions," Ten tried to reason with his friend.
Right at that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Ricky Bowen came in.
"Hey, how's the lip?" Ricky took small steps towards the Senior.
"All good." EJ replied curtly, not sparing Ricky a glance.
"Listen, I don't know what happened there, but it was an accident." The curly haired boy tried to approach EJ but felt two glares directed at him.
"Really? Infinity plus one sounded quite real." Ten scoffed quietly.
"That's not even a number." Ricky trailed off but noticed the shortest Senior with an extra hostile glare.
"Kindly: go screw yourself." Cress immediately flashed a fake smile at Ricky Bowen, crude gestures slowly forming on both her hands.
Before she could even flash said gestures at Bowen, Ten quickly restrained her hands behind her back from attacking anyone. But even then, Ricky got the message.
"Unhand me, Chittaphon!" Cress barked at her friend. She must be really mad if she's using Ten's full name.
"Not today, Chihuahua!" Ten hissed back at his friend. He begrudgingly dragged his friend further away from Ricky Bowen while they both listened in on their conversation.
"So much for no hostility." EJ murmured, looking at Cress and Ten standing a bit further from them in the bathroom.
And despite his dislike towards Ricky, Ten (and EJ to an extent) also thinks Ricky's not ready to deal with an unhinged Cressida Chaos Kormos (yet). [Yes, Chaos is literally her middle name]
"Do me a favor and just stay away from me and Nini, okay?" EJ warned the Junior.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't act like you're my best friend, or her boyfriend." EJ told Ricky, "Just stop acting."
"Hey, I'm just..." Ricky's voice sounded weak, "Look, I'm trying to make the best out of a bad situation-"
"Just stop trying, Ricky." EJ spoke, refocusing his attention to removing the stains on his shirt.
"I'm trying to say I'm sorry." Ricky's voice was small. Ten felt some level of sympathy towards the Junior because unlike EJ, at least he's trying to correct his mistakes.
Cress, on the other hand, didn't feel much sympathy towards him. She just doesn't like Ricky Bowen, and not even anything in the world could change her mind.
"EJ..." Ten said slowly, attempting to intervene before his friend could do or say something he'd regret.
"You want to apologize? Then you can start with that thirsty voicemail you left for Nini." EJ finally blurted out, "She doesn't want to hear from you anymore."
And just like that, the cat's out of the bag.
"What did you just say?" Ricky was caught off guard.
"Just stay away from us." EJ warned him. Ricky sighed sadly and left the bathroom.
The minute Ricky Bowen walked out of the bathroom; something flew at the door's direction but hit the wall.
"Did you just kick your shoe off?!" Ten looked down at Cress's bare feet.
"Sorry, I was aiming for his hair. But the door shut." Cress scowled. "Ten, you can let me go now."
"Right." Ten nodded, freeing Cress from his grasp so she could retrieve her shoes.
"You can probably use my jacket to cover up, E." Cress untied the jacket around her waist and passed it to EJ.
"It's gonna look like a crop jacket on Caswell though." Ten pointed out. His tone was a little bit playful now.
"Hhm, I think I can pull it off." a playful smile tugged on EJ's lips. "It will highlight my abs in great detail."
"Oh gross." Cress threw her head back and chortled, her hands pressed onto her stomach. "I've seen your abs, and they're nothing compared to mine."
"Why are you two like this?" Ten shook his head with a fond smile. "Could we please take it away from the men's bathroom before anyone walks in."
"So does this mean you'll be apologizing to Bowen for smacking a prop into his gut later?" Ten reminded his friend.
"Aww, I was hoping you'd forget." Cress whined in dismay.
"If Caswell is gonna apologize to Nini, it's fair you apologize to Bowen too." Ten reasoned with his two friends.
Honestly, Ten wasn't even sure if EJ could dig himself out of this mess. Fingers crossed that it'll be alright, right?
— — — — — — — — — — —
And we're done with episode 3! (Wow, I have a VERY long way to go) There are a few Big Scenes from HSMTMTS that I've been meaning to write into Starburst. The Basketball scene is just one of the big moments that establishes Cress's unwavering loyalty to her friends.
Chapter Talk: -
(1.) Cress and Big Red are the Prop designers for this semester's play. Big Red is established to be the Prop Guy in Season 1, so Cress is more than happy to show him the ropes and guide him.
(2.) Things will get progressively worse when it comes to Cress's opinion towards Ricky as the story/seasons go on. This is just ONE of the many examples of what she will do to defend her friends. She's not shy of voicing her dislike towards him. Yes, Ricky's a nice person and an ok protagonist, but I just wanna make Cress dislike him because why not? I've seen lots of fics where OC is friends and/or shipped with Ricky; Cress is the Anomaly.
(3.) Ten will bring up old memories or dumb stuff EJ's done when they were younger. I may work on a separate prequel series of sorts later on dabbling on the Golden Gremlins' misadventures. I'm also planning on making a separate book to list out ALL of the Original Characters I have for Modern AU (#Love Is In The Air, Summer Wind AU, The Siblings Squad, Wellard Route that all took place in the same cinematic universe), it's better to categorize everything that way.
(4.) Cress sees ZERO romantic and physical appeal in EJ Caswell (despite him being one of the most attractive people at school) or Ten. Ten's ok with it that he doesn't bat an eye with her charging into the men's room. She's definitely done this before, I'm sure of it.
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< Random Flashback >
EJ when they were 14: (changing his clothes in the bathroom)
Cress: (charges in because EJ invited her and Ten to bake at his home) EJ. EJ, stop screaming! It's me, Cress! Where's the baking flour?
EJ: (Still screaming)
Ten: dang it Cress! (pulls Cress away) It's in the pantry!
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(5.) Trust me, nothing will pale in comparison to future scenes like Homecoming, or the Aftermath of EJ's viral confessions (because realistically those confessional videos severely affected his chances of getting into Duke or other Ivy Leagues if/when your potential alma maters find out your past secrets). EJ's getting those extra Angst moments here but it's balanced with sprinkles of the friendship fluff.
That's all for October. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Have a great day, until next time!