𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝙀𝙅 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡

↳ 14

"You'll have to thank Ash for recording that video of you dancing." Autumn says, giggling. "It was hilarious."

"Alright, alright, are you done teasing me?" A certain senior replies, although he can't help the smile growing on his lips.

Autumn had just found EJ on the corridor a few minutes before, and now they were walking together to rehearsal. Well, his rehearsal – Miss Jenn decided to focus today's practice on the scenes between Troy and Chad.

The Campbell obviously knew about the unspoken rivalry between Ricky and EJ, it was quite obvious. That's why, despite not being needed in today's rehearsal, Autumn decided to tag along.

It gave her an opportunity to see her two best friends and, most importantly, to assure there would be no catfights between the two. Knowing them, she was almost sure there would be.

﹏﹏﹏

"Troy and Chad, scene 45." Miss Jenn announced as she entered the bomb shelter. "Oh, hey Autumn. Let's begin."

"Hi Miss Jenn." Autumn replied sweetly while Ricky, EJ and the dancers rose from their seats. The girl, however, remained seated criss-cross on the ground.

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ʀɪᴄᴋʏ ʙᴏᴡᴇɴ, ᴊᴜɴɪᴏʀ

I'm looking forward to doing the scene today. You know, just gonna be Chad, a decent guy with a lot of talent, whose only problem is that he cares too much.

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ᴀᴜᴛᴜᴍɴ ᴄᴀᴍᴘʙᴇʟʟ, ᴊᴜɴɪᴏʀ

Am I worried these two will cause trouble? Absolutely. I mean, have you met them? These two do NOT get along, at all. If they manage to pull off the image of two best friends in opening night, I'll be impressed. But until then, I want to make sure they don't murder each other.

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ᴇᴊ ᴄᴀsᴡᴇʟʟ, sᴇɴɪᴏʀ

I'm just gonna power through the day, find Nini, say what I need to say, and everything will be fine. Just gotta get through this Troy rehearsal and get on with my life. Hopefully Nini will be as understanding as Autumn.

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"Hey, let's take it from the top. And, remember, these two boys are 'best bros', which is a sacred thing for reasons I will never understand." Miss Jenn speaks. "Ready?"

﹏﹏﹏

"Win or lose, we're teammates." Ricky says his line as he steps closer to EJ, reaching over to punch EJ's shoulder with a little too much strength.

"Even if you turn out to be the worst singer in the world." Ricky continues, rolling his eyes. His eyes fell on Autumn's figure, who was glaring at him as if telling him to behave.

This whole dispute between the two of them was utterly ridiculous, in her opinion. Yes, they both liked Nini – although for reasons yet unknown to Autumn, she found her heart tightening with that thought –, but that didn't mean all this tension was necessary.

"And you're not gonna hear me sing, dudes," EJ follows his speech, and it sounded just as tense as Ricky's previous sentences. "Because Gabriella won't even talk to me, and I don't know why."

"Okay." Miss Jenn interrupted, looking back and forth between the two boys. "That was okay, but, huh, it was a little stiff."

Autumn nodded in agreement. Indeed, both of them sounded like robots. At this point Miss Jenn was praying the two teenage boys would get along before the big show, or the whole musical would be seriously compromised.

"Let's loosen up." The drama teacher suggested, trying to encourage her students with a smile. "Pass some energy back and forth, right? Let's use the ball and improvise!"

One of the dancers tossed the basket ball he was previously holding to Ricky, while EJ took a few steps away to amplify the distance between him and the Bowen and, therefore, make the exercise easier.

The senior glanced to Autumn over his shoulder, who gave him a thumbs up and a reassuring smile. All the anxiety in EJ's mind finally disappeared and he found himself smiling back, before his gaze moved to Ricky so he could focus on the task at hand.

Ricky cleared his throat, signaling he was ready to start. "Troy, you're the best player we've got. So dang lucky." He says, before tossing the ball to EJ.

The exercise went on for a few more minutes. At first, the two of them were completely in character, though their tones and sarcastic smiles were proof they were anything but the best friends they were supposed to be playing.

Soon enough, they started bickering – without breaking character, and Autumn thought it was impressive – and tossing the ball with more and more strength while their fight got more and more heated.

"Back at you infinity plus one!" Ricky shouts, throwing the ball way too hard and accidentaly hitting EJ's lips. The taller boy fell to the floor, grabbing the side of his face in pain.

Autumn's eyes widened as she quickly stood up and rushed towards EJ, her heart beating wildly while she noticed the blood stains on his shirt.

All the anger on the boy's face seemed to dissipate once he caught sight of Autumn's worried expression and she helped him stand up again, guiding him out of the room while she threw a disapproving look in Ricky's way.

﹏﹏﹏

Soon Autumn and EJ were back in the corridors they crossed a little less than an hour before, and the circumstances couldn't be more different.

While the walk to rehearsal had been filled with teasing comments and laughter, the walk to infirmary was full of preoccupied stares and comfortable silence.

Autumn took a deep breath – she had finally had enough. The Campbell girl stopped in her tracks, causing EJ to stop as well. His eyes shimmered with confusion and Autumn sighed, taking a few steps towards him.

"Dang it, I knew this would happen." She cursed under her breath, carefully cupping EJ's cheek and letting her thumb slightly trail the bloody side of his lower lip.

He winced when her finger touched the wound and Autumn quickly retracted her hand, giving him a small apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure Ricky didn't mean to hurt you..."

"It's okay, tulip. It's not your fault." He replies, chuckling a bit. It hurts to laugh, yes, but he just thought it was so cute when she was worried. "Besides, I'm fine. It stings a bit, but I'm fine."

"Right..." Autumn says, not too convinced by his affirmation. "Well, I still need to take you to the infirmary to put some ice. And then we could go eat ice cream? To cheer up?" She asked, not too sure about the last part.

EJ smiled softly, before throwing his arm around the brunette girl's shoulders and pulling her with him as he started walking towards their destination. "It's a deal, tulip."

(A/N – I'm so sorry I haven't been writing or publishing anything lately! Truth is, I was trying to sort out some things in my private life, but that's taken care of, fortunately. I hope to write more frequently from now on, and let me know if you enjoy today's chapter!)