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Chapter Text

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Chapter 4 – The Arrival

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Seb scurried ahead to open the door of the event center for Nini, a happy smile on his face. Since she now understood why he was enjoying playing the role of the dutiful date—and recognized that their “perfect date” would be over as soon as Carlos arrived—she was letting him be as chivalrous as he could.

Even though she’d had to sit patiently in the driver’s seat while he ran around to open her door.

Once inside the venue, Seb politely offered her his arm and together they approached the check-in table.

“Two tickets,” Seb said grandly to the seated chaperone in his most masculine voice. “Under Salazar Roberts/Matthew-Smith.”

“That’s quite a mouthful,” the chaperone teased as she searched for their names. “I hope you don’t plan on hyphenating if you ever have kids.”

“That’s exactly what we have planned,” Seb answered the woman, deadly serious. “The wedding invitations have already gone out.” He turned to Nini, a worried look on his face as he asked, “Whatever should we do?”

Nini tried not to giggle as the chaperone nervously tried to step back her comment. “I’m...I’m sure the long surname will be fine.” She handed him the tickets, saying, “Enjoy your evening...and best wishes on your upcoming nuptials.”

“Thanks!” Seb said, sincerely beaming, before giving a friendly, high-pitched, “Bye,” as he waved to the woman before walking away with his date, who was now openly laughing.

“Wow, I think you totally had her fooled...up until the wave.”

“Too extra?”

“Too...Seb,” she teased as they walked down the dimly-lit corridor toward the doorway where the music was blaring. “And you do know that was kind of mean, right?”

Seb stopped, looking horrified. “It was?! Should I go apologize?” He started to turn back, but Nini held tight to his arm to stop him.

“You’re fine. But I’m pretty sure she’ll be telling that story to her friends tomorrow.”

Seb smiled and they continued on towards the ballroom.

The theme to this year’s prom was apparently “Under the Sea,” which was evident from the blue gauzy fabric and blue and green fairy lights draped along the ceiling. There were tables all around the perimeter of the wooden dance floor, each with an ocean-themed centerpiece surrounded by more fairy lights.

“It’s so pretty!” Seb squealed, all vestiges of the straight boy from the check-in table now gone. He glanced around eagerly, saying, “We have to find the Sebastian table.”

Nini furrowed her brow. “I don’t think there’s assigned seating, Seb.”

He shook his head, saying, “No, I mean Sebastian.” He made claw-like motions with his hands as he began singing, “Under the Sea, Under the Sea...”

Nini joined in as they belted out together, “Darlin’, it’s betteh down where it’s wetteh, take it from meeeee!”

They would’ve gone on, but it was hard to sing against the pounding hip hop beat that was currently playing.

Besides, the prom committee had clearly never heard of The Little Mermaid—or weren’t willing to pay Disney prices—because the decorations were simply various generic fish, with nary a Sebastian or Flounder in sight.

But at least Nini recognized the characters at one table.

“Ashlyn, Big Red!” Nini greeted as they hurried over to the couple. It was clear that Ashlyn had taken their directive of “whoever gets there first needs to reserve a table” seriously because the table was adorned with a folded sign declaring, “Beast and Co.”

Nini wouldn’t have thought anything about the name if Seb hadn’t exclaimed, “Oh, is Ricky joining us tonight, too?”

Luckily Ashlyn had learned from her near slip-ups earlier and quickly explained, “No, I...just thought it might be presumptuous to label it ‘Beauty and Company’.”

“But you do look beautiful,” Seb eagerly complimented. “Both of you.”

Of course, they’d already seen Ashlyn in her long, flowing floral dress back at her house, but it was nice to see the couple together, with Big Red’s dark green tuxedo jacket nicely bringing out the green leaves on her gauzy fabric.

“So,” Nini prompted, “how was dinner?”

Ashlyn shot her date an annoyed look as she answered shortly, “You tell them, Big Red. How was it?”

The ginger boy said nothing, shrugging his shoulders and looking chagrined.

Seb must’ve sensed the awkwardness for he gave Nini a look before saying, “We had ribs...and potatoes...and pie!”

Nini laughed—he wasn’t wrong!

“Sounds good,” Big Red said. “Where’d you go?”

Nini shot Seb a teasing look as she replied mock seriously, “I...don’t quite recall the name. Seb?”

“I think it was...something Scottish?” he suggested before they both broke down into giggles.

“O-kay,” Big Red said, clearly not understanding their mirth.

“So what’d you guys have?” Seb asked once they’d gotten over their laughing spell.

“Italian,” Ashlyn replied shortly.

“Ooh! I love Italian!” Seb said eagerly. “Where’d you go?”

“Giuseppe's,” Ashlyn replied through tight lips, obviously upset about something.

“What’s...going on with you two?” Nini asked, figuring it’d be better just to ask.

“Tell them, Big Red,” Ashlyn said. “Tell them how you used OUR date to check out the competition to your family’s restaurant.”

So THAT was why she was annoyed.

But Seb seemed oblivious to her tone. “So how was the food?”

Ashlyn wrinkled her nose and made a so-so motion with her hand, but Big Red beamed.

“It’s way fancier than Slices, but our food’s definitely better.”

“That’s...great?” Nini replied, not sure what to say.

“At least their free breadsticks were tasty,” Ashlyn said, reaching for her large purse and pulling out a to-go container filled to the brim. “I brought the extras, in case we get hungry.”

“Ooh, I’ll take one,” Seb exclaimed, eagerly reaching for a breadstick.

Ashlyn shot Nini a look, pointedly asking, “So...when are the OTHERS due to arrive, do you know?”

“Oh!” Nini had meant to text Ricky when they got here to keep him informed. The two of them had discussed it and thought it best to wait till all their friends were here so everyone could witness the eagerly anticipated surprise.

So she got out her phone and sent a quick text:

we’re safely inside. redlyn here; still waiting for portwell and kowie. hang tight.

...

As Ricky reached for his phone, Carlos anxiously asked, “Well?”

“They’re inside with Red and Ash.”

And now that they weren’t at risk of being seen in the parking lot, they could actually get out of the car.

Together they headed up to the front of the building, figuring it’d be more fun to people watch while they waited.

Or, for Carlos, tuxedo watch.

Ricky was hoping that, by getting all the shade out of his system now, he’d be kinder to his boyfriend when they finally got inside.

“Number five. ... Number ten. ... Number five. ... Number eight and nine. ...Number five—my God, does no one know not to button the bottom button? Have they never seen a Fred Astaire movie?”

“Or James Bond?” Ricky suggested, thinking that was more likely.

But Carlos had already moved on. “Number three. ... Number six and seven—see what I told you about belt loops on the off-the-rack pants? So gauche! ... Number five. ... Number—okay, that one’s not even a tux.”

Carlos, however, failed to recognize the importance of this latest arrival.

“Hey, dad,” Ricky greeted.

“Mr. Bowen?!” Carlos asked, looking more than just surprised to see him.

“Hey, boys,” the man said. “You both look great. Very...dapper.”

Ricky of course had told his dad all about the date situation, and he’d seemed pleased that his son was willing to help out the two boys.

“Are your ‘real’ dates here yet?” he asked, using embarrassing air-quotes, which Ricky quickly tried to cover with his hands, scolding, “Dad!” as he shook his head.

Carlos explained curtly, “They’re already inside.”

Ricky nodded, elaborating, “We’re waiting till the other drama kids get here to make the big reveal.”

His dad smiled, teasing, “Of course, you’re drama kids, so you’ve gotta have a dramatic entrance.” He looked around awkwardly, asking, “Speaking of entrance, do you know where I...?”

Ricky nodded towards the front door. “I think there’s a table inside—they can probably tell you where to go.”

“Thanks,” he said, starting to walk away. “And if I don’t see you guys again, have a great time tonight.”

“Thanks, dad.”

Once he’d disappeared from view, Ricky turned back to Carlos...who appeared to be seething.

“I’d be happy to tell him where to go,” the choreographer grumbled under his breath.

Ricky was taken about at the sudden venom. “What?!”

“Why is he here?” Carlos asked, his voice no longer angry but instead stressed and scared.

“Uh...they needed chaperones?” Ricky had heard them announce it on Good Morning, East High a few days ago.

“He’s gonna ruin everything!”

Ricky was lost. “What are you talking about, bro?”

Carlos took a deep, steeling breath before turning towards his date. “You can’t tell anyone, but...Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara are here.”

Ricky nodded. He’d assumed that, as teachers, they’d probably have to chaperone.

But Carlos went on, “No, I mean, they’re here TOGETHER.” He gave a pointed look on this last word, making the meaning unmistakable.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’! Mr. M asked her to be his date at the cast party. Tonight’s basically their first official date. They were going to dinner together beforehand and everything.”

Ricky bit his lip, thinking about how he’d told Miss Jenn that it’d be okay if she dated his dad. He’d meant what he’d said—his dad seemed happier when he was with her—and he didn’t want to see his dad’s heart broken again if she was interested in someone else.

But he didn’t actually want to see Mr. Mazzara’s heart broken either. The STEM teacher had become such an integral part of the drama club these past few months, even performing as the narrator in their show, that Ricky was suddenly torn. He wasn’t sure who he’d rather see Miss Jenn end up with, since either way would mean disappointment for someone he cared about.

Just as long as she didn’t end up with that awful director from North High!

“I’m sorry,” Ricky apologized to his friend, feeling bad for encouraging his dad to come tonight.

Carlos shrugged. “I guess it is what it is.” He rolled his eyes, mumbling, “Just more ‘sad’.”

“Huh?”

“S.A.D.? Stupid Adult Drama?” Carlos gave a frustrated sigh. “I never would’ve guessed at the beginning of the school year that I’d end up being a jennzzara stan.”

Ricky couldn’t help but laugh. “Seriously? You came up with a ship name for them?”

“Whatever, Mr. Rini...Rina...Caswen!”

Ricky could understand the first two, but Caswen? “Huh?”

Carlos shook his head. “Whatever! Just...please don’t tell anyone about Miss Jenn and Mr. M, okay?”

“Sure,” Ricky nodded. “Though I’m guessing Seb—?”

“Yes, of course Seb knows!” Carlos snapped, and Ricky couldn’t help but laugh.

Man, Carlos was so whipped!

And speaking of...

“Hey, guys,” Ricky greeted EJ and Gina as they walked up.

Ricky had already seen EJ in his plaid tux the other day, so his eyes were only on Gina. Looking at the statuesque girl, it was hard to believe this was the same girl that he’d told off at Homecoming...before giving her a ride home and getting a peck on the cheek for his troubles. It was as if she was determined to accentuate the difference between that girl and this because her look tonight was the exact opposite of what she’d chosen then. Instead of her hair being straightened and down, it was now curly and up, like she’d worn it for Babette. And instead of a short, garish, sequinned dress, she was now wearing a long, elegant, one-shoulder gown in dark plum. (Ricky had been right—it was definitely in the purple family!)

And her smile tonight was ten times more genuine and joyful than the fake grin she’d plastered on her face that night last October...right up until she’d angrily dumped punch all over her date.

It was clear there was going to be no punch-dumping tonight, as the two kept giving each other bashful, flirtatious grins.

Ricky sighed, wondering what would’ve happened if...

Nope. He wasn’t going to go there. Tonight was supposed to be about Carlos and Seb, and hanging with their friends; this was no time for regrets.

“So?” EJ asked, looking at Carlos. “How do I look? Did I follow all your commandments, Mr. Men’s Style Manual?”

“Oh please,” Carlos said, waving his comment aside. “Who’s even going to notice you, EJ, when you’re with this GODDESS!” he said, gesturing to Gina.

Ricky nodded. “You do look...amazing,” he concurred.

Gina smiled smugly, and EJ patted her on the back, saying, “Doesn’t she, though?”

Ricky once again flashed back to Homecoming, remembering how Gina had spent all evening clinging possessively to EJ’s arm.

Now the two looked almost embarrassed to touch.

Which only proved just how into each other they really were!

Obviously trying to get the attention off of herself, Gina asked with a wink, “So? Are we ready to...mambo?”

Carlos had insisted that they needed a code name for tonight and had chosen the West Side Story reference...

...which Ricky hadn’t thought was the wisest choice, considering how that show ended, but whatever.

“They’re already inside,” Ricky explained.

“But we’re still waiting for Kourtney and Howie,” Carlos continued. “I can’t believe they’re not here yet!”

Ricky frowned. “Didn’t you tell us the other day that it was bad form to show up early to formal events?”

“Not when other people’s happiness is waiting on you,” Carlos replied.

Ricky laughed. He’d been starting to have second thoughts about this whole evening.

But Carlos’s statement convinced him they were doing the right thing.

Even though it meant Ricky was going to be spending his evening essentially dateless...

...and surrounded by an ex-girlfriend and an ex-almost-girlfriend.

Fun!

...

Nini wasn’t sure how much time had passed since EJ and Gina’s arrival when she got the text from Ricky.

Any word from Kourtney?

Nini took a step away from their friends before texting back.

not yet.

Carlos is getting restless. Not sure how much longer he’ll wait.

tell him he’s got to. Kourtney will be crushed to miss it.

nvm here she comes

Nini smiled and stepped back towards the others, quietly asking Seb, “What’d I miss?”

“They’re still talking about dinner.”

Nini nodded as she heard Gina saying, “...scallops were on top of this pile of black...goo?”

“I believe you said it looked like zombie brains,” EJ teased, and Gina playfully shoved him.

“C’mon, Eej, you have to admit it looked super gross.”

“Looked gross, yes. But tasted—?”

“Amazing!” Gina finished with a laugh.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Nini flashed a nervous look towards the door. Ricky had said Kourtney was here...so where WAS she?

“You okay?” Seb asked, noticing his date’s restlessness.

Nini nodded. “Just...waiting for Kourtney.”

Seb gave her a comforting smile. “She’ll be here. Don’t worry. And we’ve got all evening.”

While that was true, the longer Kourtney took to join them, the longer it would be before Carlos could make his grand entrance, and Nini wanted the boys to have as much time together as possible.

Since they’d essentially had NO time at Homecoming.

“EJ has always liked seafood way better than—” Ashlyn was saying before being cut off by her cousin.

“Yeah, right, says the girl who adores—”

“Kourtney!” Nini cried out upon seeing her friend, who was hard to miss in her bright yellow flowing pantsuit, as Seb frantically waved the girl and her date over to their table.

“Look at you two!” Seb enthusiastically greeted the couple. “What a pair! The matching cumberbund is perfect.”

“CumMERbund,” Big Red corrected.

“Huh?” Seb looked confused.

EJ nodded, explaining, “Red’s right—it’s cumMERbund, not cumBERbund.”

Seb tilted his head and furrowed his brow. “Are you sure?”

Ashlyn nodded, adding helpfully, “I think you’re thinking of CumBERbatch.”

Seb grinned. “Ooh, Benedict—”

“Yeah, fun as this conversation is,” Kourtney interrupted impatiently, “I didn’t get to use the restroom at the restaurant before we left so I really need to go.” She gave Nini and Seb a pointed look and the ever-so-slightest nod of her head.

“Oh yeah, me too,” Nini said, immediately catching on. “I could probably use the restroom as well. Seb?”

But apparently some people needed a stronger hint. “No, I’m good for now, but you two—”

Nini knew the instant Kourtney’s foot hit his shin for his eyes momentarily bugged before turning towards their other friends, a forced smile on his face as he said, “I should probably go, too.”

“We’ll be right back,” Kourtney said to her date before the three of them scurried off together.

As soon as they were out of the ballroom and a ways down the side corridor, Seb reached for his shin, saying, “That really hurt, Kourt. Did you have to kick me so hard?”

“If you’d gotten the hint in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to kick at all.”

“Whatever, we’re all here now,” Nini said impatiently before grinning at her newly arrived friend. “So...?” she prompted eagerly.

“So...!” Kourtney began, reaching out and grabbing her friends’ hands before jumping up and down, squeeing.

“That good, huh?” Seb beamed, joining in on her excited hopping.

“That good and BETTER. You’ll never believe it. There was a last minute cancellation so I actually got to take him to Log Haven.”

“Seriously?!” Nini gasped as Seb exclaimed, “Whoa! Isn’t that like super pricey?”

Nini had only ever heard rumors about the fancy restaurant in the Wasatch National Forest, and she guessed that their dessert alone must’ve cost more than her and Seb’s entire dinner.

“I’ve been saving up,” Kourtney explained. “And omigod, it was worth Every. Freaking. Penny.”

“So spill the tea, Kourt,” Nini encouraged.

“Well,” Kourtney began, “we had a seat by the window...overlooking the waterfall!”

“Seriously?! That’s amazing!” Seb gushed.

“It was. And the place had cloth tablecloths and candles for lighting and...it was possibly the most romantic dinner ever!”

“So what’d you eat?” Seb asked eagerly.

“Screw that,” Nini said. “Just get to the good stuff.”

Even in the dim lighting, she could see Kourtney blush.

“Well,” she began, “that’s...kinda the reason we’re so late.”

“Ooh!” Seb squee’d. “Do tell!”

Nini resisted the urge to break into a chorus of “Summer Nights” as Kourtney began, “See, after dinner, we went for a walk in the glen...”

By the time her account was through—and they’d gotten numerous stares for their loud, excited squealing—Nini realized they should probably be getting back to the group.

Unfortunately, their long absence had been noted.

“That took an awful long time,” EJ teased. “What happened? Did you fall in?”

The boy was playfully hit by both his date and his cousin as Big Red asked, “What’s with all the dad jokes tonight?”

EJ shrugged. “I’m the old man here—I figured it’s my duty.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes before turning to Nini, saying pointedly, “I’m just glad you all made it back in time.”

Seb frowned. “In time for what?”

Nini gasped, realizing that Ricky and Carlos were still outside, waiting for her text to tell them it was time for their grand entrance.

“Uh...nothing,” Nini answered Seb vaguely as she frantically pulled out her phone.

sorry for the delay! we’re ready for you now.

...

Carlos had been pacing for nearly ten minutes straight, anxious and agitated, when Ricky finally got the text.

“Let’s mambo,” Ricky announced.

“It’s about freaking time,” Carlos said, rushing inside, and Ricky had to run to keep up, tripping in his slippery shoes.

At the check-in table, the chaperone gave them a happy smile, saying, “My, don’t you two boys look handsome. A couple of lady-killers if I ever saw them.”

“Yeah, well, maybe we’ll start with YOU,” Carlos snapped before grabbing the tickets from her hands and rushing down the corridor.

“Sorry,” Ricky apologized to the woman before hurrying after his date.

Carlos paused momentarily in the doorway of the ballroom before turning and continuing down the hall. Ricky was confused until he saw Carlos duck into the restroom.

So THAT’S why he’s been so restless, Ricky thought with a smile, deciding it might not be a bad idea to use the restroom himself before the dance.

But when he got inside, Carlos wasn’t at the urinals...or even in a stall. Instead, he was frantically pacing back and forth in front of the sinks.

“Hey,” Ricky greeted tentatively. “What’s...going on?”

“I can’t do this, bro!”

Ricky smiled—it was the first time “bro” had ever come out naturally from the boy. “Of course you can, bro.”

“No, I can’t! This was a terrible idea, and I don’t know how I let you talk me into this.”

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t really have to talk you into anything,” Ricky pointed out. He felt a text notification come through but he ignored it, continuing, “And second, why would you think it’s a terrible idea?”

“Because he obviously doesn’t need me.”

Ricky stared at his friend. “What are you talking about? Seb needs you. Seb LOVES you.” While that was obviously clear from the way the blond boy gazed at Carlos, Ricky suddenly wondered if they’d actually exchanged the L-word with each other yet, so he quickly corrected, “I mean, he...adores you, and he’ll be so happy to see you tonight.”

“But will he? Because he’s seemed awfully happy about this whole prom thing thinking I wasn’t going to be here.”

That certainly was true. Seb had been excited since day one to be Nini’s date. So Ricky couldn’t exactly contradict Carlos.

But he had to say something.

“Uh...well...you can enjoy your Whopper, but it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t also like a Hershey sundae pie.”

“Really, bro? Burger King analogies? When I’m freaking out here?”

Ricky tried to think of a musical theatre reference instead, guessing Carlos was more likely to listen to that.

“How about...when Troy shows up at Stanford to surprise Gabriella?”

Surprisingly, Carlos stopped pacing, a contemplative look on his face. “Go on.”

Ricky took a deep breath, not wanting to blow this. He felt another text notification come through, but he’d have to check it later. “Well, Gabriella had decided that going back to East High for prom would be too painful, right? And she’d rather miss prom than have to say goodbye again. But then Troy shows up out of the blue and she’s so happy to see him...so then they...dance together under the trees?” He realized, too late, that this wasn’t really the same situation at all.

But it didn’t matter because it had seemed to calm Carlos down.

Though clearly he was still somewhat anxious.

“Well, I know Seb’ll be happy to see me.” At least the boy was confident. “But he’s happy without me, too. All week, every time he mentioned tonight, he seemed so excited just to be getting to spend the evening with Nini and Kourtney. I...I kinda didn’t want to hear it so I kept shutting him down and changing the subject.”

Ricky frowned. “Why would you not want to see him happy?” He’d come to understand that that was a huge part of loving someone. Nini was clearly happier without him, and he’d loved her enough to let her go.

“I do want to see him happy,” Carlos practically whined. “But...I guess I’m just...jealous?”

“Jealous? Of what? His happiness?”

“No, more...jealous of his friendships? I mean, he and Nini and Kourtney are like some...Cheetahlicious sisterhood. Seb can tell them things he can’t say to me, and I’m his freaking boyfriend. I just...I wish I had friends like that.”

Ricky gave him a look before placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You do, bro.”

Carlos smiled up at him. “Really?”

“Absolutely.” He gestured down at his tux, saying, “You really think I’d be dressed like this if I didn’t care?”

Carlos threw his arms around Ricky, saying, “Thank you!”

Ricky heard the door to the bathroom open and awkwardly gave a welcoming chin jut over Carlos’s shoulder to the guy in the tux who’d just walked in.

Carlos, however, seemed oblivious to the other boy as he pulled away from the hug, repeating to Ricky, “Thank you! I mean it. SO much.”

“Sure, bro,” Ricky shrugged. “It’s what friends do.”

Carlos smiled and started to head for the door. But before he got there, he stopped.

“Wow. I never realized how hard this must’ve been for Seb.”

“What?” Ricky’s phone buzzed yet again but he ignored it.

“Walking into Homecoming late. I mean, there I was, crowd-surfing, obviously having an amazing time without him. He could’ve just...left. Ducked out before I ever saw him. But he didn’t. He walked in anyway, grinning from ear to ear with that adorable smile of his, as if he were genuinely happy that I was so happy.” Carlos smiled. “I didn’t give him enough props for actually showing up...even if he WAS three hours late.”

Ricky nodded. “Though...it probably wouldn’t have been such a risk if he’d shown up on time,” he pointed out.

Carlos gave him a grateful smile. “When you’d get to be so wise?”

Ricky shrugged. After the year he’d had, after all the relationships he’d screwed up, “wise” was kinda the last word he’d use to describe himself.

But he was glad to be able to help out his friend.

“So you ready?” Ricky asked.

Carlos nodded. “Let’s go do this.”

Ricky followed Carlos as he opened the door to the restroom...

...and ran smack into Seb.

...

Chapter Text

...

Chapter 5—The Dance

...

They’d only been back from their squeeing session with Kourtney a few minutes when Seb had quietly announced to his date, “Now I actually do have to use the little boys’ room. I’ll be right back.”

Nini had done everything in her power to keep him at the table with the others so that Carlos could make his big reveal. She had even tried luring him to stay with more breadsticks, but it was clear that the large lemonade from dinner was now calling the shots.

Their only hope was to get Carlos and Ricky to go outside to wait until Seb was back where he belonged. Nini had sent several messages, but since she wasn’t getting any replies, she’d finally agreed to go with her date to the restrooms, insisting, “I have to go, too,” hoping she could stall him along the way.

She kept getting him to pause as she pointed out various items of interest, including Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara at the punch table, in an attempt to give Ricky and Carlos enough time to get back outside. But Seb could not be deterred for long, and before she knew it they were at the restrooms and he was calling back over his shoulder, “Let’s just wait for each other out—“

His sentence ended in an awkward “oof,” and Nini turned to find, much to her horror, Carlos and Ricky standing in the doorway of the men’s room. Nini shot Ricky a frantic look, and he gave a helpless shrug, clearly not knowing what to do either.

In the meantime, Seb was stepping back from the person he’d collided with, quickly apologizing, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—Carlos?”

The Latinx boy just stood there, clearly undone, not knowing what to say.

It was taking some time for Seb to process what was going on.

“What are you...? Why are you...? WHO are you...?”

This last, which had sounded almost betrayed rather than merely confused, seemed to snap Carlos out of his stunned silence.

“Surprise!” Carlos announced awkwardly, waving jazz hands around his face. “I’m your...mystery date for the evening.”

Seb frowned. “You can’t be my date—we’re both sophomores.” At least he had a firm grasp on the way prom worked.

Though not on what was currently happening.

“That’s why I came with Ricky,” Carlos explained, gesturing to the boy standing right behind him. “He’s...basically my prom green card.”

This just seemed to confuse Seb more. “Green card?”

Since his explanation wasn’t helping, Nini stepped up to Seb, clarifying, “Since you guys couldn’t come to the dance by yourselves, Ricky and I thought—”

“Excuse me!” an impatient voice sounded from inside the restroom. The guy clearly wanted to get out but was unable to, since the door was currently blocked.

“Sorry,” Ricky said, shifting over to let the guy out. However, in moving out of the way, he let go of the restroom door, which now bashed into the shoulders of the other two boys. As they tried to push the heavy door off of them, their arms got entangled with the guy trying to exit. Nini took a step back to give them all more room, and eventually the guy emerged, looking annoyed as he scurried away towards the dance.

In the chaos, Seb had also taken a step back, which now allowed him a better look at his boyfriend. “Hey, you’re wearing your tux!” he said with an admiring smile.

“Of course I’m in my tux—it’s prom.”

But Seb still wasn’t quite getting it. “But...why are you here?”

Before Nini could try to explain again, Ricky leaned forward and stage-whispered to Carlos, “Just kiss him, bro.”

The boy didn’t need to be told twice! Carlos stepped forward and zealously pulled his boyfriend into a tender kiss.

It would’ve been the ultimate romantic gesture had Nini not suddenly heard a noise behind her. She turned to see another guy in a tux—one of EJ’s water polo buddies—sliding in his shiny dress shoes as he rushed towards the restroom, his hand over his mouth. Without thinking, Nini frantically shoved the kissing boys against the wall, out of the way. But Ricky didn’t have time to move, and the athlete slid directly into him...before spewing all over!

“Sorry, man,” the drunk guy mumbled, attempting to brush the vomit off of Ricky’s rented tux jacket but instead merely smearing it around.

Nini noticed that Carlos and Seb were now staring open-mouthed in horror and disgust...and Ricky was clearly trying not to throw up himself, so she decided she needed to take charge.

She walked up to the guy, saying, “Hey, Doug, why don’t you go clean up?” She took him by the shoulders and steered him around Ricky before gently shoving him farther into the restroom.

The drunk guy stumbled in his slippery shoes but managed to make his way inside.

Nini then turned to Ricky, trying not to breathe in the disgusting smell of the vomit, as she instructed, “We’ve got to get you cleaned up, too.” She grabbed Ricky by the elbow and started to walk him into the restroom, but he stopped her.

“It’s the men’s room.”

“So? Do you want my help or not?”

Ricky nodded and obediently let her lead him inside without another word.

It took some time to get the vomit off of his tux jacket and vest. The bow tie was hopeless, and Nini suggested it’d be best to just remove it for the evening...no matter how much Carlos complained!

When they finally exited the restroom, Carlos and Seb were standing in nearly the same place against the wall, holding hands with their foreheads pressed together, blissful smiles upon both their faces. However, Seb must’ve seen his friends appear in his peripheral vision for he immediately looked up, beamed, and launched himself at Ricky.

“Thank you so much!” Seb said, his voice muffled by the tight embrace. “You don’t know how much this means to us.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Ricky teased before adding, “And..this was actually all Nini.”

“No it wasn’t,” Seb insisted, finally releasing the hug so he could give Ricky a grateful look. “She may have come up with the idea, but she didn’t have to put up with Carlos!”

“Hey!” Carlos playfully swatted Seb, and the blond boy giggled, defending, “You know what I mean!”

The distant strains of “Hands on Me” could suddenly be heard in the distance, and Carlos grabbed Seb’s hand, insisting, “C’mon! Let’s go! We’re missing Ariana!”

But Seb shook his head, awkwardly freeing his hand from his boyfriend’s. “In a minute.”

“In a minute?! We’ve already lost so much time!”

“I know.” Seb’s cheeks turned pink as he admitted, “But...I really do have to use the little boys’ room.”

Carlos gave an impatient sigh, but Nini laughed, encouraging, “Then go!”

As Seb rushed into the restroom, Nini shared an amused smile with Ricky. While the surprise hadn’t worked out quite as expected, the end result was the same.

Carlos and Seb were now together at prom.

Which meant she and Ricky could simply relax and enjoy the evening.

...

“It’s about time, dude!” Big Red greeted as Ricky and Nini arrived at the table.

“Wait! What happened to the big surprise?” Ashlyn asked as Kourtney looked around anxiously, asking, “Where are Seb and Carlos?”

Nini nodded towards the dance floor, explaining, “They abandoned us for Ariana.”

“Of course they did,” Gina laughed.

But EJ was frowning. “So did we miss the surprise?”

“Be thankful you did,” Nini said. “Doug Cornebise barfed all over Ricky.”

A collective “ew” sounded around the table.

“I wondered where your tie went,” Big Red commented.

EJ, however, was shaking his head. “I’m not surprised that Doug’s already wasted. A bunch of the water polo guys and their dates were having a pre-prom kegger at Casey’s tonight.”

Gina frowned at her date. “You never mentioned that.”

EJ shrugged. “I...wasn’t really interested in going. I was more interested in...risotto.” He gave Gina a bashful look before saying to the rest of the table, “Besides, I’d rather remember my prom!”

Big Red leaned over, whispering loudly to Ashlyn, “Should we have gotten alcohol for the after party?”

Ashlyn shook her head, explaining, “We don’t need alcohol to have fun—we’re theatre people.”

“Actually—” Gina began awkwardly, and her roomie asked, “What?”

“Well, at my last school—actually my last TWO schools—all the drama kids drank and smoked pot and did...all sorts of stuff. I didn’t really participate,” she quickly explained to EJ before continuing, “but yeah, it was definitely a thing.”

“Really?!” Ashlyn asked, obviously shocked.

Kourtney pointed out, “Then they’re clearly doing it wrong,” and everyone laughed.

Ricky had to agree. He and Big Red had never attended one of those classic high school keggers made famous in ‘80s romcoms; they’d always been perfectly happy sitting around eating soy cheese pizza and playing video games. Clearly the drama club as a whole felt the same way, substituting root beer for pizza and High School Musical the Choosical for video games...though Ricky kinda hoped that particular board game wouldn’t make an appearance tonight!

The opening strains of “Born to Be Brave” suddenly started, and Kourtney immediately jumped to her feet, insisting, “Neenerz, it’s our song!” before the two girls rushed off together hand-in-hand.

Ricky also heard the name “Ashlyn!” being called out from the dance floor and turned to see Carlos and his date frantically gesturing for their friend to join them.

“Let’s go,” Ashlyn said, grabbing Big Red’s hand and rushing out to the floor, with Gina and EJ close behind.

“That’s okay,” Howie jokingly hollered after them. “You guys go ahead. We’ll stay and watch the table.”

Ricky nodded at Kourtney’s date. “Sorry you got abandoned, dude.”

Howie laughed. “Yeah, well, I knew what I was getting into.” He gestured to the dance floor, where Seb and Nini were obviously spilling the tea to Kourtney as they danced.

The two former Beasts sat together in awkward silence for awhile as the room was filled with the strains of people belting out the empowering anthem.

Finally, Ricky said, “You did great, by the way. As the Beast? I was...really impressed.”

Howie smiled, replying, “You weren’t so bad yourself. Especially the transformation. All things considered, you managed to really pull that off.”

“Thanks,” Ricky said, unconsciously flexing his wrist, where the cast had only recently been removed. It was still stiff, but the doctor said that should improve in time.

As long as he didn’t crash into a stage floor again anytime soon.

Another awkward silence descended over the table as the song blared overhead.

“So...how’s North High?” Ricky finally asked, feeling like it was his duty to make the non-East Higher feel welcome.

“Fine, I guess?” Howie shrugged. “You know.”

Ricky nodded—he wasn’t really sure what HE’d say if asked about East.

But it didn’t exactly help move the conversation forward.

“So...are you and Kourtney going to North’s prom?”

Howie quickly shook his head. “No, we decided one was enough. And, all things considered, East seemed a better choice.”

Ricky wasn’t sure what he meant by that, though he’d gotten the impression, from talking to Lily, that the North High drama club wasn’t as friendly as East’s.

Which reminded him...

“So, now that the show’s over, do you ever see Lily?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

But Howie frowned. “Why? You worried she’s gonna try to sabotage prom or something?”

Ricky was taken aback by his response. “What? No, dude. Why would I think that?”

Howie shrugged. “No reason.”

But clearly there was a reason, and Ricky was dying to know why the North Higher would say something like that.

Especially because...Ricky kind of liked Lily. They’d been talking a lot recently—in fact, she had been the one to suggest he get his dad to chaperone tonight—and she didn’t seem nearly as devious and manipulating as she had during Beauty and the Beast.

Maybe because their competing shows were over.

Or maybe because North had actually won several Menkies!

She had been genuinely shocked when Ricky had told her they’d pulled out of the competition without even finding out what they’d been nominated for.

“Weren’t you curious?!”

Ricky had shrugged. By the end, all of the Wildcats had been so over the whole thing, none of them really cared anymore.

Except Miss Jenn. He’d seen her having hysterical second thoughts, though Mr. Mazzara had luckily succeeded in talking her out of crawling into the pizza oven to retrieve the Menkies envelope.

Ricky suddenly wondered if that was when Mr. M had asked her to prom.

Which made him wonder how his dad was doing tonight.

He started looking around the room, trying to see where his dad was stationed.

“Looking for someone?” Howie asked.

Ricky shrugged. “My dad. He’s around here somewhere, chaperoning tonight.”

Howie looked surprised...and concerned. “Carlos won’t like that!”

Ricky stared at the boy for a moment, momentarily confused by his comment...until he realized how obvious it was.

Carlos had shared Miss Jenn’s secret with Seb...

...who’d shared it with Kourtney...

...who’d shared it with Howie.

Ricky laughed; he wouldn’t be surprised if the entire drama club knew about Miss Jenn’s date tonight.

He just hoped his dad didn’t find out!

...

As soon as she heard the opening piano notes of “You Are the Reason”, Nini smiled at Kourtney, saying, “I guess that’s my cue.”

“Sorry, Neenerz,” her BFF said as they left the dance floor together, heading for their table. Upon arriving, Kourtney offered Howie her hand, asking, “Hey there, handsome. Wanna dance?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he replied with a grin as he took her hand and let her lead him onto the dance floor.

Nini collapsed onto a chair with a relieved sigh, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Ricky smiled. “You look tired.”

“That song was a workout,” Nini commented. “Besides, do you have any idea how exhausting it’s been trying to keep a secret all week?” Ricky gave her a look, causing Nini to laugh, “Oh right! Of course you do!”

Ricky nodded. “But I think it all worked out okay, right? I mean, they seem pretty happy,” he said, nodding towards the dance floor where Seb and Carlos were holding each other close while they literally danced cheek-to-cheek.

Nini sighed, thinking how nice that would be.

Though it would mean finding a guy who was only 5’5”, so she might have to resort to dating a freshman.

Of course, this year she’d dated both a senior and a junior and neither of those had worked out particularly well, so maybe she ought to give a freshman a try.

“What’re you smiling at?” Ricky asked.

“Nothing.” Nini shook her head, still staring at the happy couple. “Just thinking about how many karma points we’ll get for tonight.”

Ricky laughed. “I’m definitely getting more than you,” he taunted.

“Says who?”

“Says my bow tie,” Ricky said, pulling it from his pocket and holding it out towards her.

Nini could still smell the vomit and made a face, insisting, “Put that away! Some of us are going to want to eat breadsticks later.”

“Breadsticks?” Ricky asked, perking up, as he stuffed the soiled tie back into his pocket.

“Yeah, where have you been?” As soon as she said it, she remembered and quickly teased, “Oh right, you were in the restroom getting barfed on.” She grabbed the to-go container and shoved it towards Ricky. “Ashlyn brought them. Help yourself. Apparently they were the only tasty part of their dinner.”

“Oh good,” Ricky said as he reached for one. Nini assumed he was simply pleased with the breadsticks, but then he went on, “Big Red will be so happy—he was worried they were gonna to eat into their business—no pun intended!’

But Nini was shocked. “You KNEW he was taking Ashlyn to a competing Italian restaurant?!”

Ricky shrugged. “It’s an upscale place—not the sort his family would ordinarily go to—so he figured he could kill two birds with one stone.”

Nini shook her head. “Well, one of the birds is not exactly happy about it, if you know what I mean.”

Ricky nodded, clearly understanding.

“So where’d you two end up going?” Nini asked. Ricky looked momentarily confused so she quickly clarified, “You and Carlos? For dinner?”

“Oh. Burger King.”

Nini laughed. “How...regal!”

Ricky nodded. “Yeah, well...” He ended in a shrug before adding, “And thanks, by the way, for distracting Seb so we could make our getaway.”

“I thought you guys weren’t even getting dinner together.”

“We weren’t. But then Big Red needed dancing lessons so Carlos and I were already together and we both needed to eat so...”

Nini glanced out at the dance floor, where Ashlyn’s date was now holding her close in standard ballroom position, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re just helping people all over the place tonight,” Nini teased, even though she recognized that Carlos had probably been responsible for most of the dance lesson.

But Ricky really had helped Carlos, and Nini didn’t want to make light of that.

“Thanks for being a champ and agreeing to be Carlos’s date,” she offered sincerely. “I know it can’t have been easy.”

“Which part? The Tuxedo Commandments, dealing with his freak-out in the restroom, or getting barfed on?”

Nini laughed. “Yeah, you definitely deserve some sort of medal for all this.”

Ricky shrugged. “I got a cardboard crown, does that count?”

Nini laughed before reaching across the table and tenderly placing her hand atop his. “You’re one terrific guy, you know that, Ricky Bowen?” she asked, suddenly realizing just how much she’d missed this. It was upsetting that it had taken not one but two break-ups to get the two of them back here to this comfortable place together, but she was thankful to have his friendship again.

But Ricky was shaking his head, trying to pull his hand away.

She wrapped her thumb around his hand and gently but firmly held on, continuing, “I mean it, Ricky. Not many straight guys would be willing to ask a gay guy out on a date, whatever the circumstances.”

Ricky was now frowning and looked almost stricken, and Nini wasn’t sure why. Was it something she’d said? What could have possibly upset...

Oh!

Perhaps she shouldn’t have assumed...

She quickly backtracked. “I didn’t mean... You don’t have to... I shouldn’t’ve made assumptions about your sexuality,” she said, pulling her hand away, suddenly feeling awkward and embarrassed to have put him in this situation.

Only that wasn’t the problem.

“Uh...that’s the hand that I’ve been touching my vomit tie with,” he pointed out matter-of-factly, and Nini suddenly noticed he was still holding his partially eaten breadstick with his other hand.

Ew! No wonder he’d looked upset.

She must’ve looked upset as well for she heard a voice ask, “Are you guys okay?”

It was the voice of a savior!

“Ashlyn, do you have any hand sanitizer with you?” Nini asked.

“Of course,” the girl said, reaching into her large purse and pulling out a tiny bottle. Nini grabbed it with her non-contaminated hand, popped the top, and poured it all over her hand and Ricky’s.

Big Red furrowed his brow, asking, “So why—?” but Ricky cut him off with, “Don’t ask, bro!”

After three separate applications, Nini finally felt clean enough to hand the bottle back to Ashlyn. “Sorry we used almost all of it.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “No worries—I have three more bottles in here,” she said, demonstrating by lifting them out of her purse.

“You came prepared!” Nini said, impressed.

Big Red smiled and proudly put his arm around his date. “That’s my girlfriend—the ultimate Boy Scout!” He frowned as he realized what he’d just said.

But Nini had finally realized that the couple was no longer on the dance floor and asked, “Why aren’t you dancing?” before noticing that the Calum Scott song had ended...and the latest Lizzo was now playing—not exactly the best music to slow dance to.

But fun none-the-less.

She offered Ricky her hand, asking, “You wanna dance?”

Ricky gestured to the table, saying, “I figured someone should stay—“

“You guys go,” Ashlyn encouraged. “We could use a break. And we’ll make sure no one steals our breadsticks.”

“And, more importantly, the hand sanitizer,” Nini teased as she pulled Ricky onto the dance floor.

...

“Phew!” Gina said, collapsing into a chair and wiping her brow. She and her partner had been dancing for over two hours, so it was no wonder she was tired and sweaty.

Though she was no longer with her date.

Ricky glanced around, curious. “What happened to EJ?”

“Oh, he’s off getting us punch. We decided we should probably hydrate—man, it’s hot out there!”

Ricky nodded—that was why he hadn’t stayed out on the dance floor very long.

Well, that and the fact that SOMEONE should probably watch the girls’ purses, and it wasn’t like he had a date to entertain.

“I haven’t seen you out on the floor much,” Gina observed.

Ricky shrugged. “Just doing my part, watching the table.”

“And partaking of breadsticks?” Gina teased, gesturing to the half-eaten one in his hand.

Ricky laughed. “Hey, after what I’ve been through these last few days, a few breadsticks is only the BEGINNING of what I’m owed.”

“Yeah, I heard tuxedo shopping was intense.”

“You’ve no idea,” Ricky said, rolling his eyes. “And to make things worse, Carlos’s Tuxedo Commandments are now like ingrained in my head, so when I look out on the dance floor, all I can see are all the rules that are being broken.” He nodded to a couple nearby, saying, “Commandment #5: Thou shalt never button all the buttons on your tuxedo coat.”

“I’m impressed! Ricky Bowen, fashion maven!” Gina teased. “Maybe you could do a segment on our morning show: Beauty...with the Beast!”

“Yeah, that’s a hard no!” Ricky laughed, frantically waving his hands.

“C’mon! You’d be a huge hit. You know what they say: ‘Every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.’”

Ricky couldn’t help but smile. He’d missed this! He had so much fun hanging with Gina; it was all so comfortable.

Or at least it had been.

Before...

“Hey,” he started. They’d never actually talked about what had happened after opening night of HSM, and maybe it was time they did...just to get closure or something. “About—”

“Don’t!” Gina said forcefully, cutting him off.

Ricky frowned, and she quickly went on, “I mean, there’s really nothing to discuss. Not...anymore.” She gave him a bittersweet smile as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Okay.” If that’s what she wanted, he wouldn’t go there.

Besides, he hadn’t really been sure what he was going to say anyway. He didn’t think Sorry I was such an idiot who didn’t appreciate the amazing person right in front of me until it was too late was really what she needed to hear right now.

Especially since he knew she wasn’t the sort to hesitate in pouring punch over an idiot’s head at a formal dance!

Though she still didn’t have any punch, so at least he was safe for now.

“What’s taking EJ so long?” he asked, glancing over towards the punch table...

...where the senior was clearly in an intense discussion with Mr. Mazzara.

Gina must’ve noticed as well for she chuckled, mumbling to herself, “I should’ve gotten my own punch. Now it’ll be HOURS.”

Ricky nodded. He was glad EJ had become so close with the STEM teacher. The senior had seemed so down earlier this semester, but working on the Morning News show had really cheered him up.

And Ricky was certain that had nothing to do with all the planning time EJ had to spend with his pretty co-anchor!

Ricky noticed that the latest bop had finished, and the dance floor was starting to clear as a solitary flute played, signaling a slow dance. It was obvious many of the dancers were taking this opportunity to leave the floor and take a break, but Gina instead suddenly looked eager to return.

“Oh! I love this song!” Gina enthused as a girl began singing, “I don’t want to start a riot, I don’t want to blaze a trail.”

Ricky shook his head, not recognizing it. “Never heard it.”

“’Dance with You.’” Ricky shrugged, and Gina went on, “The prom.”

Well duh, he knew where he was. “Yeah, I haven’t forgotten in the last few minutes,” he teased.

Gina laughed. “No, the song is from the musical The Prom.” She anxiously looked over at the punch table, obviously eager to dance, but EJ was still absorbed in his conversation with Mr. M and wasn’t liable to make it back to the table in time.

So Ricky knew the proper thing to do. He turned to her, offering her his hand as he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

Gina crinkled her nose. “Not with you.”

“Oh!” Ricky was surprised at being so rejected, but she quickly explained, “Sorry. It’s not you. It’s just...”

“Gina!” Nini called out as she rushed towards the table. “Wanna dance?”

Gina grinned and jumped to her feet, hurrying towards Nini’s outstretched hand. The taller girl took the smaller girl’s hand and twirled Nini around several times before landing in ballroom position, where Gina expertly led Ricky’s ex back out to the dance floor.

Ricky was bewildered by this sudden turn of events. Not that Gina hadn’t danced with Ashlyn in “Be Our Guest”, but he thought it strange that she’d turned him down so quickly but eagerly accepted Nini’s invite. First he’d been (not unexpectedly) abandoned by Carlos, but now a girl wouldn’t even accept a simple offer to dance with him—this evening wasn’t doing much to build Ricky’s post-break-up self-confidence.

But then Ricky started to notice something different about the dance floor—it suddenly seemed to be filled with girl-girl couples. Ashlyn and Kourtney were now dancing together next to Gina and Nini. He also noticed Addie and Lauryn dancing together, along with Steph and Kenidee. Of course, Carlos and Seb were still dancing together—they hadn’t left the floor since they’d arrived—but they were about the only males out there.

Ricky glanced over and saw that Big Red and Howie had made their way over to the punch table to join in EJ and Mr. M’s confab. And they weren’t the only ones—the perimeter of the room was filled with guys standing around, awkwardly chatting as their dates danced with each other.

Ricky then noticed that a second female voice had joined the first, and they were now singing a duet:

“I just wanna dance with you
Let the whole world melt away
And dance with you
Who cares what other people say?”

Oh. Ricky was starting to understand. Gina had said this was from a musical, and he guessed—by the girl-girl couples dancing and the one singing—that the song had something to due with a lesbian couple going to prom.

That could be...fun!

Ricky smiled, watching the girls joyously belting out the lyrics to the pretty ballad as they danced in each other’s arms.

Maybe musicals weren’t so bad after all!

...

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3