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“Hey!” Ashlyn exhaled, smiling brightly, standing just outside of Big Red’s locker.
“Um, hi?!?” He chuckled, his pleasant confusion etched all over his face as closed his locker, having retrieved his biology text book. It’s not as if he was opposed to seeing his girlfriend. It was just that usually between 4th and 5th period they would text sweet little nothings, but their classes were so out of the way that seeing each other wasn’t the norm.
“So Listen,” she started, keeping her voice and eye level suspiciously low. “I was wondering if you’d maybe want to come over after school tomorrow? My parents are going out of town for some family reunion with EJ’s parents…”
“Oh!” His eyes lit up excitedly. “Another drama department party? I’ll let Ricky know and-“
Immediately, Ashlyn’s hand flew to grab Big Red’s wrist as he was trying to type out his text, stopping him. “Uh, not quite what I was getting at.”
“Oh.” Big Red merely blinked, then slightly maneuvered his arm so that he was holding Ashlyn’s hand, and then smiled. “So another movie night with Gina, then? I was thinking, with Nini in Denver, maybe we could invite Kourtney this time-“
“Gina actually found a cheap flight out east so she’s visiting her mom this weekend…”
“So, you’re going to be completely alone in the house?” He raised an eyebrow, seeming concerned.
With a very serious face and tone, Ashlyn attempted to spell out. “Yes. Which is why I thought that you might want to come over. Alone.”
“Ohhhh.” Big Red nodded, still not quite getting it.
And then.
He DID get it.
“OH!”
“Yeah.” Ashlyn nodded shyly, before stammering out “Y-you don’t have to if you don’t want to-“
“No!” He interjected immediately. “No no no no! I want to! I’d like that. I’d, uh, I’d REALLY like that.”
“Sorry.” Big Red broke away from the kiss on Ashlyn’s couch, hands still tangled in her hair, giggling “I’m sort of still brand new to this.”
“So am I.” Ashlyn chuckled. Still cupping his face in her hands, she stroked his cheekbone with her thumb, promising. “It’s okay. We can figure all this out together. We don’t have to get totally crazy tonight, or anything.”
“Cool.” Big Red’s smile reached from ear to ear as he nodded in relief. Though the relief was short lived, a new anxious tension creeping in as he found himself suggesting “but maybe tonight…we could try getting just a little crazy?”
Cheeks flushing pink, Ashlyn could only ask “Yeah?”
Nodding again, Big Red grinned nervously. “Yeah.” Before blurting out “If that’s alright with you?!?”
She didn’t answer him verbally, instead bringing her lips back to his, but moving her hands from his face down to the zipper of his hoodie, gently pushing it off of him. From the way his fingers made it back into her hair right afterwards, but gripping at it more tightly, she took it that he understood her response.
Things continued in a decidedly less giggly direction, Big Red having just worked up the nerve to try to slip his tongue in, when the door slammed.
“Hey Ash!” EJ cried from the kitchen, already rooting through the fridge. “Mind if I help myself to a soda?”
“EJ?!?!?” she cried from the couch, immediately separating herself from Big Red. “What are you doing here?!?”
“Keeping up family tradition!” he cried from the kitchen, still rooting through her fridge for a drink. “Remember when we were kids and our parents would go to this reunion every year and all the cousins hung out while Aunt Marley babysat?”
“We haven’t done that in five years! We were the youngest anyway-“
“Well excuse me for trying to make some memories with my favourite cousin before I go away to some state school next year-“
“State school?” Big Red questioned out loud. “What happened to Duke?”
“Is that Big Red?” EJ asked, the twinge of sadness in his voice becoming more noticeable with each question. “Ash, are you having a party? And you didn’t invite me?”
As he slammed the fridge door shut, Ashlyn attempted to explain “EJ that is absolutely NOT what’s going, I promise-“
And as EJ stepped into the living room area, it clicked. Years of theatre made his eye for makeup keener than most white cishet men his age. And while he knew his cousin typically wore very little makeup, he also knew for sure that Big Red didn’t wear a light peach lipgloss, especially not smudged around his face the way it was. “Oh, holy shit…my bad…uh…use protection! And, uh, remember that your body is-“
“OH MY GODDDD,” Ashlyn groaned, rolling her eyes, and throwing a pillow at EJ “you’re so embarrassing!”
“I’M embarrassing?!?” EJ called back, though he was still slowly walking backwards, trying to distance himself from the situation he’d barged in on. “YOU’RE the one who literally pulled the ‘come over, my parents aren’t home’ move!”
“And I didn’t expect my ANNOYING COUSIN to be here, either!”
“If I’m so annoying then maybe I should just text Uncle Nick and Aunt Charlotte and tell them you’re alone in the house with your boyfriend…”
“After all the times I covered your ass-”
Glancing back and forth between the bickering relatives, Big Red threw his hoodie back on over his t-shirt, starting to rezipper it as he muttered “Maybe I should go...”
“I’m sorry,” Ashlyn pouted. “EJ totally killed the mood.”
Throwing his arms in the air in a not-out-of-character dramatic moment, EJ cried “Well excuse me for living!”
Big Red’s genuine, happy chirp of “you’re excused!” fell on deaf ears.
“EJ, you’re welcome to stay, you know.” Ashlyn offered, though she did roll her eyes. “The mood has been sufficiently killed, so you may as well stay and chill.”
Nose scrunching up a little, he asked “You sure?”
“Of course.” Ashlyn waved a hand dismissively. “You’re always welcome here. Even when you’re off at some fancy university.”
“I’d hardly call Ohio State ‘fancy’.” he put air quotes around the word, letting out a soft chuckle as he shook his head, before sighing softly. “But thanks.”
After reaching for the remote to turn the TV on, Ashlyn turned to Big Red, offering “I’m gonna grab a root beer. You want anything?”
And with a smile and his “I’m good for right now, thanks!” she was off.
Waiting to make sure his cousin was in the kitchen, EJ soon leapt from the chair he was hovering near to the couch, voice low, as he began to interrogate “So what exactly are your intentions with my cousin?”
Big Red blinked once. Twice. Three times. “Huh?!?”
“You and Ashlyn. Planning on making this a long time thing?”
Wringing his hands together out of nervousness, Big Red stammered out “W-well, y-yeah. I mean, I hope so.”
Eyebrows furrowing, EJ simply said “Good.” in a very deep voice. He shifted slightly, before admitting. “I’m a little worried. I’m not gonna be around as much next year to keep an eye on her.”
“I really, really like Ashlyn.” Red found himself asserting, suddenly. As if he needed to prove himself to EJ. “I would never do anything to hurt her.”
With a shake of his head, EJ confessed. “I’m not worried about you, buddy. But if you’re serious...do me a favor, and really look out for her when I leave. You’re already doing a better job of it than I ever did.”
“Um, sure? I guess?”
“Hey,” His voice was stern. “I’m being serious.”
“What are you so serious about?” Ashlyn questioned, reappearing with the drink she’d gone to grab just moments prior.
“How Gaston and LeFou are going to steal the show!” EJ lied quickly. “No offense, your Belle will be fantastic, but our number is a crowd pleaser.”
“Mhmm, and Kourtney belting out one of the most iconic ballads of all time is what? Nothing?” she teased.
“Don’t forget Carlos and Gina’s Be Our Guest choreo!” Big Red piped up.